The Demigod King; Book 2

"Percy, No!"

Percy hated falling.

He had fallen from the Gateway Arch in St. Louis. He had fallen through to air towards Ogygia. He had fallen off a cliff in Alaska. He had fallen into Tartarus for Annabeth.

And now he was falling through open air towards a raging river below, huge sharp rocks waiting to impale him and his friends. The water wad entirely white from where it crashed violently against the sides of the chasms. No mortal could survive this fall. Wind cut into his ears and his face.

He wrapped his other arm around Annabeth's waist and used his weight to flip them so his back was facing the current below. Around him, Piper was flailing. Jason was going towards her, but they were falling too fast for him to be able to grab her and brake. Frank was shifting into something, maybe a bird, but he wouldn't be able to save anyone at this speed either.

"Percy!" Annabeth screamed, her voice ripping away in the wind. "Water!"

The memory of their fall jerked through him. Percy closed his eyes, concentrating. They were so high up, and this water did not want to be controlled. But he didn't care.

It rose up towards them like a geyser, punching up hard and fast. His friends screamed louder around him as the white water rocketed towards them.

Percy's gut clenched as he willed the approach to decelerate so it wouldn't flatten his friends upon impact. The water reached in perfect models of Percy's hands as it engulfed them all.

He felt the water around him and quickly created air bubbles for the other demigods. He willed the water to rise again, fighting now both the water current and force of gravity.

It pushed them up—up—up hundreds of feet, taking an insane amount of precision. The water gave a final push up and deposited the demigods up on the top of the cliff.

They fell onto their stomachs and backs, shaking and coughing. His friends weren't accustomed to crazy water stunts like that.

Percy walked forward—unfazed—on the snowy hilltop, assessing his surroundings.

Ouranos stood a few yards away, watching Percy as he recognized where the primordial had brought them all.

Westover Hall stood, abandoned, behind him.

Percy had immediately recognized the chasm into which they fell, as he had stared down it in horror after watching Annabeth fall off that cliff.

It was this exact spot where Percy had sacrificed both his life and Annabeth's to protect Nico and Bianca di Angelo.

This was where Nico had first discovered his demigod heritage. If Ouranos had brought them here, could it be because Nico was still inside? The primordial had been intent upon insisting that both Nico and Percy were gone while possessing them. But that wasn't true. Why insist that if it weren't a threat?

Or perhaps Ouranos had brought them here because he knew how painful it would be for Percy. Here was the beginning of his broken promise. Here was the cheerful son of Hades, a boy now gone.

His friends staggered to their feet behind him, looking quite confused as to their location. Annabeth, however, stood with a pained expression on her face. Percy knew it wasn't just from her dislocated shoulder.

All the others seemed to have injuries, Percy realized. Frank looked sick and close to vomiting from whatever Ouranos had done to him. Piper was limping on her ankle, which looked either sprained or broken from getting thrown. Jason had a patch of blood sticking to the side of his head. Hazel had a slash on her cheek from their duel with the primordial. Will appeared untouched, but they had been shielding him in the back. He was a son of Apollo, a healer, not a fighter. What could he do? Even Leo, who had been back protecting Will, looked exhausted.

"You may as well yield yourself now," Ouranos hissed, gesturing to the exhausted, injured forms of his friends. Was Percy the only one unharmed because Ouranos wanted him to inhabit? "Your friends will not survive another round."

No, they would not. Percy did agree with that, their survival rate looked pretty dismal. Ouranos had wiped the floor with them using Nico's unrestrained power, and the primordial wasn't even fading yet. As Percy had realized earlier, it didn't matter that he was more powerful than Nico. The son of Hades's power wasn't water or horses—it was death.

How could they fight death?

With flying? Charmspeak? Controlling gems? Battle strategy?

No, only like could combat like. If Ouranos was going to utilize the darkest of Nico's power, then perhaps Percy needed to do the same.

"You will lose," Ouranos snarled, not even bothering to raise his sword.

"Maybe," Jason agreed, lifting his weapon. "But we'll take you down in the process."

He lunged forward, and the other demigods charged with him, weapons ready.

Percy watched as if from outside of his body. He saw his friends running towards certain death, determination and fear on their faces.

He saw himself, tshirt and jeans torn, unharmed but tired and worn.

He could not let his friends die. Even if it meant the destruction of the world. That was his fatal flaw.

Perhaps it was finally time for his personal loyalty to kill him.

Percy waved his arm fiercely. A whip of water exploded from the chasm below, shooting forward. The band of water wrapped around the demigods, dragging them back ten yards and throwing them back to safety.

They yelled out—in surprise and anger. But Percy willed the water to hold them back. And he saw Ouranos, who was straight up laughing.

"Oh, brilliant! You always surprise me, Jackson," the primordial mused. "Have you come to sacrifice yourself to save your friends?" The band of water fell back, and the demigods started moving forward. Ouranos clapped his hands and a cafe of bones jutted out of the ground and trapped them.

"Percy, no!" Hazel screamed, jerking against the bone cage. The other demigods struggled to break free. Leo tried to burn away the cage in vain while Frank tried to snap them with his pure strength.

Percy approached Ouranos.

The primordial stepped forward, ready to shred Nico's body and take over Percy.

"Come join me, Perseus," Ouranos opened his arms, beckoning.

"Never," Percy snarled, and threw out his hands.

Ouranos froze, body suspended, as Percy seized control of him.

The human body was 70% water. Which meant that while he inhabited a mortal body, Ouranos was 70% water.

And now Percy controlled it all.