Rescue Part 1
Percy heard irritated whinnies that, in his mind, sounded like furious insults. Out of curiosity, he moved closer and, when he looked inside one of the tents beside the pools, he saw a black pegasus chained up, struggling to free itself while continuing to complain loudly.
Percy recognized it immediately. It was Luke's horse, the same one he had ridden when Luke escaped after stabbing Thalia's tree. The animal did not look happy about being tied up. Or, in general, about being on that ship at all. Every whinny seemed to include Luke's name along with some particularly creative insult.
Percy was a little pressed for time, but after hearing the animal's complaints he simply walked over and, with a quick movement of his sword, cut the chains.
Once free, the pegasus stared at him for a moment, lightly shaking its black wings as if it still could not quite believe the chains were gone. It seemed grateful, bobbing its head energetically. Percy only waved a hand in a casual gesture, as if saying "no big deal," then turned around to leave.
Percy let out a small sigh.
Behind him, the pegasus started following him.
It did not seem to have anywhere to go, even now that it was free.
Percy quickly turned around and gestured for it not to follow. After all, he was on a rescue and infiltration mission. Well, "infiltration" might have been a bit of an exaggeration, considering that practically the entire ship already knew he was there.
When he saw the horse seemed to understand him, Percy nodded in satisfaction, turned around, and put his serious expression back on as he continued forward.
But after only a few steps he heard the unmistakable sound of hooves behind him.
Clop. Clop.
Percy sighed again and turned around.
Yes. The pegasus was still right behind him.
It was a bit more complicated when he could not speak with the animal and Tyson was not nearby to act as interpreter. So he ended up wasting a few minutes trying to convince the pegasus not to follow him.
In the end, the animal seemed to understand that Percy would come back for it later. So it simply stayed hidden among the tents near the edge of the pool.
That made Percy let out another sigh before turning again and walking toward the center of the ship.
With the card he had taken from Eiden. Or whatever his name was. Percy slid it through the door's reader.
The door opened immediately.
The moment it did, Percy ducked his head and slammed himself against the wall on the opposite side as dozens of arrows tore through the space where he had been standing a second earlier.
Several spearmen were positioned along the sides of the corridor, letting the archers attack first.
Percy rolled into the hallway, avoiding the arrows, and grabbed the nearest spearman. The monster's eyes widened in shock as Percy spun him around and shoved him in front of his own allies.
Then the man saw dozens of arrows flying straight toward him.
For one frozen second, the entire hallway went silent.
"Wait, wait!" the spearman shouted in pure panic as he was used as a human shield.
Luckily for him, he was wearing a fairly sturdy breastplate. The arrows pierced the armor but did not reach his skin. Still, the man had gone completely pale as he stared at the arrows sticking out of his chest.
He did not have time to say much more.
Suddenly he felt his body being thrown aside before crashing straight into another spearman.
Meanwhile, Percy was already running down the corridor. He planted a foot against the wall and used it to push himself upward, leaping while avoiding the arrows. In the same motion he kicked one of the nearby fighters in the face, knocking him out instantly, while pulling out Riptide and throwing it toward the archers.
The archers ducked in panic.
But the sword was not aimed at them.
It was aimed at the enormous hellhound charging behind them, as big as a grizzly bear, followed by several more rushing forward to join the hunt for Percy.
That did not stop the archers. They quickly nocked new arrows and fired another rain of projectiles at Percy.
Percy crouched slightly for a moment and grabbed one of the spears. Holding it in front of him, he began spinning it at high speed, deflecting the arrows flying toward him without slowing down.
Then he used the spear like a staff and vaulted upward. By that time Riptide had already returned to his hand.
Percy landed right in the middle of the archers. For a brief moment, none of them seemed to understand how he had gotten there.
With a quick movement of his sword he blocked the daggers they pulled out in a hurry. Then he elbowed one in the face, punched another, struck a third with the pommel of his sword, and delivered a direct kick to the chest of the next.
It all happened almost at the same time.
The archers went down immediately.
Percy spun around and kicked the daggers that had fallen to the ground, sending them flying toward the other monsters approaching. Several creatures exploded into dust and mist as they were struck.
Percy stood in the middle of the corridor, looking at the unconscious enemies around him. Then he stretched his neck slightly, letting it crack softly.
Then he glanced to the side.
One archer was still conscious, but he was staring at Percy with pure terror in his eyes.
"You… you… you're a monster," the archer said, looking at Percy while seeing all his companions defeated in just a few seconds.
Percy gave him a sarcastic smile.
Then he punched him, and everything went black for the poor archer.
After that, Percy turned his gaze forward with a serious expression and continued walking without looking back.
…
Meanwhile, in another part of the ship…
"Are you sure we're really going to do this? I know Alison sent us, but after all Luke was the one who brought her here," one of the young men said as the group slowed down slightly to look at him.
"Luke is just going through a sentimental phase remembering his old days at the camp. Alison thinks that if it keeps going like this, he'll grow weak. So we have to help break everything tying him to that place. We can't have a weak leader," another of them replied quickly, his tone much more serious.
"Yeah, well… I mean, it makes sense. But you know, I've never… well…" the young man made a gesture across his neck with his hand, as if mimicking a cut. "Anyone. Have you?" he asked.
They all looked at each other for a moment.
Some of them looked away.
"That doesn't matter. We just have to deliver her to Alison. She'll take care of the rest," another said quickly, while the others nodded.
"Yeah… that's probably for the best. After all, Alison isn't exactly known for her patience," a third added.
"That's putting it mildly," a fifth muttered with an uncomfortable grimace.
"Shh… keep it down. What if she's nearby?" a sixth said quickly, glancing around nervously.
"Let's just finish this already before we start preparing everything for the attack," another added impatiently.
They all nodded and were just about to open the door when a voice spoke from the darkness.
"I can't let you do that. A certain Seaweed Brain is acting completely insane right now trying to rescue the damsel in distress… and, to be honest, something I don't like admitting is that it's a little scary. So I'll stop you here."
From the shadows in the corner, Clarisse stepped out.
She slowly walked into the light, staring straight at them, her spear in hand and a completely serious expression on her face.
The men present were slightly startled to see her appear there so suddenly. Almost at the same time, they drew their swords, daggers, or spears, the surprise still written across their faces.