αι. heliophobia - fear of bright light (or the sun)
Aza stepped forward, still holding her sword threateningly in the air. She raised her eyes to Khione's and in a low voice asked, "You did this?" Khione studied Aza, the cold smile remaining on her face. Aza did the best to match and repeated, "You did this? Answer me, goddess, so I can rip you apart. I'm on a tight schedule."
The goddess' smile widened and she purred, "She's not dead, Aza-Everett. She and her Hunters will make fine toys for our wolves. I thought we'd defrost them one at a time and hunt them down for amusement. Let them be the prey for once."
Behind her, the wolves snarled in appreciation. Aza's jaw tightened, and she suddenly began to feel something sneaking by her feet, winding its way up her leg. She looked down, but nothing was there - still, the touch remained. Soft and gentle, like a lover's caress. It felt intimate, like it was meant for Aza - something told her not to panic as it slithered up around her knee and thigh, winding like a snake.
"I think you will be a lovely addition," Khione continued. "The wolves' finale."
"Why wait for later?" Aza questioned. "I'm here right now, aren't I?"
She felt that same small something winding its way towards her neck, tickling her nape. Aza could have sworn something whispered her name just behind her back. The feeling seeped through her scalp, and Aza felt a small tendril reaching towards her mind.
Fire. Pain. Punishment.
It didn't sound like Aza's voice -it was colder and crueler, somehow familiar to her. Something about the small tendril in her mind made Aza feel like she had drunk an espresso shot, and she grew excited as Aza felt the small breeze winding up her leg again, seeping into her skin. When she looked to the snow-goddess, the tendrils sang her name, like a kitten cries for its mother. She felt the fears that crept in the back of the goddesses mind - she had never been able to read a god before.
Before Khione could respond, Hera snarled from her cage, "Traitor! You meddlesome, D-list goddess! You aren't worthy to pour my mine, much less rule the world."
Khione sighed and waved her hand in the air. "Tiresome as ever, Queen Hera. I've been wanting to shut you up for millennia." Ice encased the goddess' cage, sealing the small spaces between the small tendrils.
Aza felt something something spark up her skin, like she was being shocked - another tendril crept up her leg and wound its way towards the nape of her neck, seeping into her mind. She felt the tendril seep through her scalp.
Loss. Past. Failure.
This voice was deeper, more authoritative. She could recognize it anywhere, and when Aza turned back to glance at Jason, it sang his name. She had already known his fears, but something about this felt more intimate, like the tendril of fear was some part of himself that he had shared with her, knowingly or not. She felt connected to him, and she felt connected to Khione for the same reasons; the tendrils in her mind that sung their names were parts of them, and somehow Aza had called them to her.
"That's better," Khione purred, turning away from Hera's cage. "Now, demigods, about your death-"
"You're the one who tricked Hera into coming here. You gave Zeus the idea of closing Olympus." Jason accused the snow goddess. The wolves around her snarled and the anemoi thuellai stirred, ready to advance. Death. Lycaon. Silver.
Aza felt her body thrum with power, slowly building as the fears around her intensified, making their way to Aza like a homing missile. No more tendrils crept up her leg; instead, waves of fear hit her like the tide. But she needed more, she wasn't ready yet. Khione held her hand to the wolves, silencing their snarls. "Patience, my loves. If he wants to talk, what does it matter? The sun is setting, and time is on our side. Of course, Jason Grace. Like snow, my voice is quiet and gentle, and very cold. It's easy for me to whisper to the other gods, especially when I am only confirming their own deepest fears. I also whispered in Aeolus' ear that he should issue an order to kill demigods. It is a small service for Gaea, but I'm sure I will be well rewarded when her sons come to power."
Fire. Tia. Failing. Leo's voice crept into her mind, bolstering Aza's energy. She could see the faint red glow around her hands, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Aza suppressed her power, pushing it all to the back of her mind. The faint glow stopped, but Aza's power still buzzed through her body. She needed to be patient.
"Why not kill us in Quebec?" Jason asked. Khione's nose wrinkled. "Messy business, killing you in my father's house, especially when he insists on meeting all visitors. I did try, you remember. It would've been lovely if he agreed to turn you to ice. But once he'd given you guarantee of safe passage, I couldn't openly disobey you. My father is an old fool - he lives in fear of Zeus and Aeolus, but he's still powerful. Soon enough, when my new masters have awakened, I will dispose of Boreas and take the throne of the North Wind, but not just yet. Besides, my father did have a point. Your quest was suicidal. I fully expected you to fail."
"So you've sabotaged the quest this entire time," Aza challenged, cocking her head. "How very impressive for such a minor goddess."
Khione's smile softened, but looked even more deadly. "Ah, I feel so close to all of you. Once you made it past Omaha, I asked Lycaon to track you down so Jason could die here, at the Wolf House," Khione smiled towards Jason. "You see, Jason, your blood spilled on this sacred ground will taint it for generations. Your demigod brethren will be outraged, especially when they find the body of dear Aza-Everett from Camp Half-Blood. The two sides will blame each other for conspiring with giants. It will be... delicious."
Aza ground her teeth, not quite understanding what the snow goddess meant. It didn't matter to her, anyway - they were losing time. The sun was sinking below the hill, and the sky was darkening by the second.
Aza stayed quiet when Leo laughed in Khione's face. She didn't quite hear what he said; Aza could only hear whispers in her mind, like she was trapped in her own head. She wasn't the one in charge of her body; it felt like she was looking through a mask.
Fire. Pain. Gaea. Loss. Failure. Tia Callida. Thalia. Phoebe. Jason. Piper. Leo. The whispers only grew louder, chanting repeatedly in her head. Aza wanted to groan, to put a hand to her head and stop its pounding, but her body was frozen of its own accord, like it needed her to sit through it. Their fears pounded at her like a hurricane; she could feel the frigid fear from the frozen hunters, the pain of their injuries.
"Yeah, right," Aza heard Leo laugh behind her, but she couldn't move her body to see. "Join you. Until you get bored of me and turn me into a Leosicle? Lady, nobody messed with my dragon and gets away with it. I can't believe I thought you were hot."
Fire. Pain. Gaea. Loss. Failure. Tia Callida. Thalia. Phoebe. Jason. Piper. Leo.
"Hot? You dare insult me? I am cold, Leo Valdez. Very, very cold."
It hit Aza all at once, like a train accident. One second she was frozen, her mind screaming at her, and the next, Aza glowed a violent red, casting a bright glow in the dim lighting of the reflection pool. The fears in the back of her mind over-spilled, flooding her body like a drug.
Power surged her body, and she wondered if this was how Percy felt in water. She felt like she was where she belonged, thrumming with power as she stood between the monsters and her friends. She didn't feel like herself anymore - Aza felt like she had suddenly become someone else, someone far more capable than little Aza-Everett Malin, who's russet eyes caused her mother to send her away. Someone different than a young girl who swore that she, too, saw the basket-ball sized arachnids creeping towards the door of their classroom with their black spindly legs, clicking their pincers like a metronome.
No longer was she little Aza-Everett Malin, choking on useless medications and suffocating in incorrect diagnoses.
So when the monsters charged towards them, Aza looked to them with a cold, fearless smile. As her enemies grew closer, Aza only grew stronger. The emotions of the battle flooded Aza's system, circling through her body - she felt amazing. The raw emotion, the sheer dread of what would happen next. It fueled Aza, she grabbed a wolf's jaws, preventing it from biting her arm. She threw it against the wall, watching in satisfaction when it fell to the ground with a thump.
The wolves clawed at her, but it only felt like soft touches on her skin. She had lost count of how many wolves she had killed almost instantly, acting on autopilot as she grabbed and beat and threw. She heard the vague sounds of battle from Leo and Khione, and Aza could only hope the boy was okay.
Aza hadn't known there was an Earthborn behind her until her body twirled of its own accord, her sword deeply slashing the Earthborn, who instantly melted into a pile of clay. It felt like something was channeling through Aza, reacting to her surroundings before she could process.
As Aza turned to deflect a wolf's bite, a movement caught the corner of her eye. For a moment, she could have sworn she saw a man that looked similar to her father. She noticed his short, slicked back hair, and the Ray-Bans that he paired with black jeans, a black t-shirt and a grey-and-white flannel. But when she looked back, after body-slamming the wolf, the man was gone, and Aza could have sworn she heard a faint chuckle.
When Aza, Jason and Piper finished off the anemoi and the wolves, Leo defeated Khione, and she melted into a pile of snow. A cracking sounded from behind them, and Aza saw the melting ice on Aza's cage. "Oh, don't mind me! Just the queen of the heavens dying over here!"
Aza leapt into the pool, racing towards the goddess. Beside her, Leo frowned at the goddess, "Uh, Tia Callida, are you getting shorter?" Aza slapped the back of Leo's head, shooting him a glare as Hera yelled, "No, you dolt! The earth is claiming me! Hurry!"
Inside the cage, Hera was sinking - but that wasn't it. The earth was slugging up around her, already reaching to her shins. "The giant wakes! You only have seconds."
"On it," Leo turned to Piper. "I need your help. Talk to the cage."
"What?"
"Charmspeak her," Aza said urgently. "Lull Gaea sleep, slow her power."
"Right," Piper cleared her throat and knelt towards the ground. "Hey, Gaea. Nice night, Boy, I'm tired. How about you?" Oh gods, Piper was making Aza's eyes feel heavy. As Leo asked for Jason's horse, for an electric outlet, Aza made her way towards Porphyrion's cage quickly. She peered closer, but then the giant's spire crumbled loudly, and the outer sheath of the tendrils exploded, raining stone and wood. Aza yelped, throwing herself to the floor and covering her head and chest.
When she was sure the debris was no longer a threat, Aza raced to her feet and shuffled back - Porphyrion made Enceladus look like child's play. He was humanoid from the waist up, clad in bronze armor, decorated with scenes of war. Aza could have sworn she saw her father on it. From the waist down, Porpyhrion was scaled like a lizard, with the same dragon-claw feet. His hair - and skin - was a bright, obnoxious green. His hair was braided with weapons, and Aza had the feeling they were trophies. When the giant opened his eyes, they were pure white.
"Alive!" Enceladus bellowed. "Praise to Gaea."
Aza gulped, and she forced herself to focus on the emotions around her - she could feel Jason's fear, choking him like a vice. Without having to touch him, Aza was able to draw it towards her, freeing Jason from the grips of his fears, and fueling the thrum of power within Aza. From Leo, and Piper, and if Aza concentrated hard, she could reach towards the frozen Hunters outside.
"Leo and Piper," Jason called, his voice strong and clear. "Get Hera free."
"What are you two going to do? You can't seriously-"
"Ah, no worries," Aza waved a dismissive hand in the air. "Mommy's got this."
"Excellent," the giant roared as Jason and Aza shared a glance, approaching the giant slowly. "Dinner, and dessert! Who are you two? Oh, I know - Ares and Aphrodite. How rare for you to accompany him into battle. How long has it been - since Troy?"
Aza fought the blush as she confidently called, "I am Aza-Everett Malin, daughter of Phobos." Beside her, Jason called, "I'm Jason Grace. Son of Jupiter." Their voices rang clearly across the courtyard. Porphyrion threw back his head and laughed; behind them, Aza could hear a saw buzzing, and the distinct sound of Piper talking soothingly. Their emotions continued to flood Aza, until Aza thought she was going to explode.
"Outstanding! So, the Olympians sacrifice their children to me. The gesture is appreciated, but it will not save you."
Aza could have sworn she saw the familiar outline of a shadow, just behind Porphyrion, and she felt eyes boring into her body. As power flooded through Aza's veins, her confidence bolstered and Aza called, "If you knew who we were, giant, you would not be so confident. I've slayed demons far beyond your understanding."
Porphyrion's eyes lit up, and he studied Aza briefly. "So, we'll begin by boasting. Just like old times! Very well, demigods. I am Porphyrion, king of the giants, son of Gaea. In olden times, I rose from Tartarus, the abyss of my father, to challenge the gods. To start the war, I stole Zeus's queen," the giant's eyes slid towards the cage. "Hello, Hera."
"We've destroyed you once, monster," Hera yelled indignantly. "We'll do it again."
"Gaea is waking. She has provided us with many fine servants. Our armies will shake the earth - and we will destroy you at the roots."
"You won't dare," Hera said, but Aza could tell by the waver in her tone that the goddess was weakening. The earth had reached the goddesses waist; they were losing time.
"Oh, yes," Porphyrion bragged. "The Titans sought to attack your home in New York. Bold, but ineffective. Gaea is wiser and more patient. And we, her greatest children, are much, much stronger than Kronos. We know how to kill you Olympians once and for all. You must be dug up completely like rotten trees - your eldest roots torn and burned."
Aza noticed Porphyrion's gaze begin to slide towards Leo and Piper, so the demigod stepped confidently forward and called, "You will be far less confident when you know what I have done. I am the only daughter of Phobos, lord of fear and panic. I am the niece of Deimos, god of dread and terror. I fought in the arena of Antaeus. I single-handedly slew Antiphates, the king of the Laestrygonians and fought back the Titans in the Second Titanomachy."
Enceladus eyed the girl, looking slightly more uneasy than before. Jason stepped forward. "I'm the son of Jupiter! I'm a child of Rome, consul to demigods, praetor of the First Legion," Aza had no idea what the 'son of Jupiter' was saying, but she loved the way he said it. He was carelessly confident, easily intimidating - and, Aza hated to admit it, but he looked good while he said it. Jason continued, "I slew the Trojan sea monster. I toppled the black throne of Kronos, and destroyed the Titan Krios with my own hands. And now I'm going to destroy you, Porphyrion, and feed you to your wolves."
Jason and Aza glanced at each other. Their gazes didn't hold long - half a second, maybe less - but it told each other everything. Jason saw a blazing warrior, who would no longer suppress her power. A young woman who would protect everyone and everything she loved until the Fates cut her string. And Aza saw a true leader, who effortlessly commands and rouses those around him - a leader who cares for his companion. A leader who would put his troops before the world, who fights till the very end.
So the two glanced at each other, and when they saw it all, they shrugged.
Might as well, Aza thought.
It can't be that bad, Jason thought.
Aza looked back to Porphyrion and launched herself at him, determined to send him straight back to Tartarus.
If anyone asked Aza to describe how it felt in the heat of the moment, rushing towards Porphyrion, with power and energy pulsing through her brains, she'd laugh straight in their face. It was absolutely incredible, the way she felt - like her adrenaline was flooding her body, and endorphins were pumping her veins. In the moment, Aza was confident she could do anything. Scale a building? Easy. Run straight to Camp Half-Blood? She'd be there in an hour, tops. Kill Porphyrion and prevent the ending of the world? Aza had that covered.
Aza was momentarily stunned when before she attacked the giant, Jason climbed up Porphyrion's dragon-scaled legs, reaching to his shoulder before the giant could process anything.
She took the distraction, and as Jason ripped an old, golden sword out of the giant's weapon-braided hair, Aza twirled between his legs, slashing both of his Achilles' tendons. Jason yelled, "For Rome!" and drove his sword into Porphyrion's massive ear, burying to the hilt.
Porphyrion almost crippled, his feet rocking dangerously beneath him. Lightning flickered across the sky and struck the sword, blowing Jason off the giant. He rolled onto the ground, a few feet from Aza. She was already beside him when she landed, helping him to his feet.
Aza didn't have time to attack Porphyrion closer - she didn't even notice the loose ring of monsters around them slowly creeping forward. "No!" Porphyrion yelled. He regained his balance, the golden ichor no longer flowing from his heels. "I will kill them myself."
Aza stood in front of Jason when Porphyrion yelled, "You want to play with lightning, boy? You forget. I am the bane of Zeus. I was created to destroy your father, which means I know exactly what will kill you."
Aza could sense Jason freeze behind her; she shoved him to the ground, and she ran towards Porphyrion. She needed his attention on her, away from Jason. She was only twenty feet from the giant when Leo yelled, "Got it!"
Piper yelled, "Sleep!"
Aza could hear Hera's cage break behind her, and Hera yelled, "Yes!"
Aza didn't stop - she couldn't not when Porphyrion's spear began to glow, still aimed straight for the son of Jupiter. Porphyrion's gaze flickered to Aza, and then to Hera. He began to back away, his spear still held high in the air.
And as Hera yelled, "Cover your eyes, my heroes," Porphyrion's aim changed. Aza closed her eyes, and just before a brilliant flash of light flickered through her closed lids, the whistle of a sailing spear sounded. And when the light faded, two demigods fell to the ground.