Divergent Path

Stand Against Darkness

Chapter 17: Stand Against Darkness

Appearing overhead in her silver chariot, a steely-eyed Artemis answered a desperate call from Camp Half-Blood. Alongside her, Apollo rode in his own chariot, an equally grim expression plastered across his face. The twins were the first help to arrive, and mirrored shock at the scene below them. Fires blazed across the forest and cabins, littered with hulking silhouettes of both titans and giants. Disoriented campers screamed from the forest as others tried to shout orders to organize and evacuate. Chiron stumbled out of the destroyed Big House, visibly injured as he readied his bow.

Artemis' eyes scanned the lineup of enemies, her eyes widening further and further as she tallied them. She shot a glowing silver arrow into the sky, her emergency signal for the rest of the Olympians, as she clasped her hands and sent out her own set of instructions. A midnight black arrow tore through her chariot, splintering it. The goddess teleported to the ground as her chariot fell. Artemis snapped in the direction the arrow had been fired from and noticed an impossibly black portal with another arrow protruding from it.

The image pulled at a memory from the very first night Percy had reappeared and been shot in the back by a black arrow. Artemis launched her own arrow towards the portal as the one from inside flew towards her. She dodged as she released and the black arrow lightly grazed her shoulder, only leaving a thin cut. Her silver one found its mark as the thunk of impact was followed by a pained grunt. A figure emerged from the portal with her projectile sticking out of its chest. Artemis' eyes narrowed when she recognized the midnight archer.

Orion grinned in response, his mechanical red eyes glowing as the portal closed behind him.

"Didn't have any room to sidestep from inside Erebus' domain," the giant complained aloud.

"It was you that night, wasn't it? When the monsters that ambushed my hunters were massacred by one man? And you appeared to try and kill him as a consolation prize, before you hesitated and missed," Artemis asked him, disregarding his excuse.

Orion sneered at the moon goddess.

"That damn Percy Jackson should've stayed hidden away. It is a shame that I am no longer the only man to have ever been a part of the legendary Hunt. But after today, I will be the only one still living."

"You're wrong, Orion. Percy Jackson is the only man to have ever been a part of the hunt. You, on the other hand, were never more than a boy," Artemis spat as she nocked another arrow.

"It is a shame that I will not be given the privilege to kill you," Orion seethed.

The flat side of a spear collided with Artemis' side and rocketed her twenty feet into the side of the nearest cabin. She angrily stood up in the rubble of Demeter's cabin, and looked up to find Porphyrion glaring back at her. The goddess was taken aback by the king of the giants making an appearance. The goddess rose to her divine height and unsheathed her knives when a thick bolt of lightning ripped through the air and crashed into Porphyrion's shoulder.

"It is embarrassing to watch a king do another master's bidding," Zeus said disgustedly as he rose out of the crater he had just made.

Porphyrion lifted himself to his feet and towered above the pair of Olympians present as he readied his spear.

"Hah! I would never serve Erebus of my own accord. My father, Tartarus, urged me to be here to usher in his own ultimate victory!"

Zeus gritted his teeth as his body tensed, coursing with lightning. The kings of the gods and giants roared as they clashed together. Orion and Artemis did the same, her hunting knives slashing against his mechanical bow. The camp lit up with the sounds of battle as more Olympians arrived and took up arms against the monstrous lineup in front of them.