Daughter of Wine

Hazel

I almost feel sorry for Clytius. 

We attack from every direction. Leo shoots fire at his legs, Frank and Piper jab at his chest, Jason flies into the air, kicking him in the face. I'm proud to see how well Piper remembers her sword-fighting lessons. Calli swings her thyrsus wherever she can, but mostly, she's attacking from a distance. Every time Clytius even glances in her direction, he howls, shaking the chamber with guttural cries of terror. Grapevines have broken through the floor and ceiling, wrapping his limbs with every opportunity.  She yells encouragement at our friends, calling out openings and weak-points. 

Each time the giant's smoky veil stats creeping around one of us, Nico is there, slashing through it, drinking in the darkness with his Stygian blade. 

Percy and Annabeth are on their feet, looking weak and dazed, but their swords are drawn. When did Annabeth get a sword? And is is made of ivory? They look like they want to help, but there's no need. The giant is surrounded. 

Clytius snarls, turning back and forth as if he can't decide which of us to kill first, all while trying to avoid Calli's burning gaze. Wait! Hold still! No! Ouch!

The darkness around him dispels completely, leaving nothing to protect him except his battered armor. Ichor oozes from a dozen wounds. The damage heals almost as fast as it's inflicted, but I can tell the giant is tiring. 

One last time, Jason flies at him, kicking him in the chest, and the giant's breastplate shatters. Clytius staggers backwards. His sword drops to the floor, and Calli's grapevines overcome him, wrapping his limbs tightly, pinning him on his knees. My friends circle around him. 

Only then does Hecate step forward, her torches raised. Mist curls around the giant, hissing and bubbling as it touches his skin. 

"And so it ends." Hecate says. 

It does not end. Clytius's voice echoes from somewhere above, muffled and slurred. My brethren have risen. Gaea waits only for the blood of Olympus. It took all of you together to defeat me. What will you do when the Earth Mother opens her eyes?

Hecate turns her torches upside down. She thrusts them like daggers at Clytius's head. The giant's hair goes up faster than dry tinder, spreading down his head and across his body, using the grapevines as fuel,  until the heat of the bonfire makes me wince. Clytius falls without a sound, face-first in the rubble of Hades's altar. His body crumbles to ashes. 

For a moment, no one speaks. I hear a ragged, painful noise and realize it's m own breathing. My side feels like it's been kicked with a battering ram. 

Calli rushes over to Percy and Annabeth, hugging them so tightly that they wince. 

The goddess Hecate faces me. "You should go now, Hazel Levesque. Lead your friends out of this place."

I grit my teeth, trying to hold in my anger. "Just like that? No 'thank you'? No 'good work'?"

The goddess tilts her head. Gale the weasel chitters, maybe a goodbye, maybe a warning, and disappears in the folds of her mistress's skirts. 

"You look for gratitude in the wrong place." Hecate says. "As for 'good work', that remains to be seen. Speed your way to Athens. Clytius was not wrong. The giants have risen. All of them, stronger than ever. Gaea is on the very edge of waking. The Feast of Hope will be poorly named unless you arrive to stop her."

The chamber rumbles. Another stela crashes to the floor and shatters. 

"The House of Hades is unstable." Hecate says. "Leave now. We shall meet again."