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Finally, after the most bullshit week ever, the weekend arrived. Even better, Claudia wanted to come to Manhattan for the day. Being able to have a not-so-long-distance relationship with your girlfriend from New Orleans is one of the many perks of being able to manipulate reality and time. Once I got her to New York, she decided a walk to a cafe was in order. Normally I hate walking, especially with a bunch of people crowding the sidewalks, but it wasn’t so bad with Claudia to talk to. Besides, it was getting warmer out, and the budding greenery was sort of nice.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWbqDcR5sNX
“And then she posted the pictures of her wearing the exact same thing, and totally expected us to believe she was the one who designed it,” Claudia was explaining, and I was doing my best to understand.
“But she couldn’t have, because the other girl made the patterns way before?” I asked more than answered. Honestly, I don’t know a single thing about fashion design, but it was Claudia’s dream, so I did my best to be supportive. She was always dressed to the nines, crazy yet coordinated patterns, bold colours, and wild hair. Claudia looked perfect, and at this point, I just let her pick my clothes for me.
She nodded aggressively while taking a sip of her drink, “Sooo petty, right? But I guess it worked out, because now everyone knows. She’s pretty much done for.
“God,” I muttered, “I didn’t know the fashion world was so cut-throat.”
She shrugged, “You do what you gotta do.”259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo3bxS4igL0
We walked down the sidewalk aimlessly, catching each other up on the week. It was nice to finally relax.
“Hey,” she said slowly, peering through passing bodies across the street, “Do you hear somethin’ ?”
“Something like what?” I frowned, trying to follow her gaze. There was a group of people all crowded together, buzzing excitedly. I could see a few phones recording something further down the adjacent street that I couldn’t see.
“That’s probably bad news,” Claudia sighed.
I sighed, “You’re probably right.” So much for relaxing.
“I know,” she smiled, “Let’s git outta here.”
You might be thinking, Bella, Percy and Annabeth would have probably checked it out, why aren’t you? Trust me,I’d love to, but I don’t have a powerful olympian god as a parent to back me up if things go south. Besides, being on Zeus’ watchlist forces me to stay under the radar, and I don’t have plans to be fried by the god of lightning anytime soon.
As we turned around, screams erupted behind us. I looked back and saw the tallest man I’d ever seen, at least two whole heads taller than the people running from him. I blinked a few times to filter the mist from my vision, and then I saw it: A giant.
“Oh, that’s really bad news,” Claudia whispered, “I think he’s gunnin’ for you, Bella.”
“Looks like it,” I sighed sharply, “Okay, if you can make sure those people get out of here, I’m going to lead it away, sound good?”
Claudia nodded, and quickly ran off. It was times like these that I was thankful that my girlfriend is a talented witch. I turned sharply back around, making my way through the sea of bodies. If I could lead it to a park or something, it wouldn’t be able to smash any buildings and cause even more trouble. Let’s be real, though, it’s a giant. I’m fucked. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqJELSA4R9S
Soon I felt the vibration of the concrete beneath me as its steps became faster and faster, and louder with each one. Finally, I could see the green buds treetops as I neared the park, practically feeling the soggy breath of the ugly thing behind me, and definitely smelling it. Its roar shook my insides, and I looked behind me to see a car being hurled in the air at full force.
“Overkill, dude,” I sighed. There were still a lot of people around to see, but I had no choice. I took a deep breath, feeling the tingling of sparks skitter across my skin as a purple haze fell over my eyes. After a blink, I was in the park, cringing as the car smashed into the pavement, rolling a few times, before resting sideways and blaring an alarm.
All he did was roar again, running at impressive speed. Then I realised he wasn’t running, he was slithering.
“Are you serious?” I scowled. His legs weren’t legs, they were- they were giant, green snakes! And I hate snakes!
“Concede, Bella Cooper!” he snarled, “Or be killed!”259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeSKvE2gcqu
“Oh no, I’m so scared,” I rolled my eyes, “Can’t at least one of you come up with an original one-liner? You all say the same thing.”
“This is the will of the gods!”
“Great,” I muttered, “Now they all want me dead?”
He swung his huge boulder-like fists wildly at me, growling so deep it felt like a mini earthquake. God, was this personal or something? He seemed really pissed. There was no way I was taking this guy down using brute strength.
I narrowly dodged a flying park trash can, backing up as much as I could for a clear shot. A buzzing, tingly feeling ran across my hands as a dark purple light began to form a sigil on them. Demi-gods might get everything else around here, but I’ll always have one thing they won’t: Magic.
The monster tried to shield its stone carved face as the electric purple light struck him like a soundwave, shaking the trees around it. He cried out, stunned, but I don’t think it was out of pain. As soon as he was up on his feet (or, snakes, I guess), he was charging towards me. Yep, it was definitely out of anger.
I managed to warp out of the way just in time for him to collide with a tree, the snap of wood echoing through the park like a gunshot. With each spell I cast, he showed no sign of stopping. Fatigue began to gnaw at my mind.
“Do us all a favour,” he seethed, “Surrender now, and you might live yet.”
“Or kill you now, and also live,” I countered with an annoyed smile. Clearly, I needed to look for some sort of weak point because I wasn’t making a dent. His torso towered above me, protected by thick layers of rock. His head looked like it was straight up made of stone, so that was a no-go too. The only fleshy part I could see were those disgusting snake-legs.
This better be worth it.
I’ll be honest, I don’t exactly know what kind of spells I’m casting, only that they seem to do what I need them to do. Spellbooks are more Claudia’s thing, especially since the Epousa ones are all in greek. I needed something sharp, and I had to be fast to hit those… uh, wriggling, little… worms.
Gross.
I took a deep breath in, focusing. The moment he lunged towards me, I warped behind and cast the spell as hard as I could.
He screamed, definitely out of pain this time. His snakes were cut clean off, the now stumpy legs spewing some sort of dark brown ooze that smelled like swamp mud. I gagged.
“You will regret this,” he choked out, boulder-like body now crumbling like pebbles into the ground, “Stay out of his way.”
“What?” I scowled, but he didn’t have time to repeat himself before he was reduced to rubble.
“God, you jerks always have to die right when you say something important,” I muttered, kicking the rocks in annoyance. What the hell did that mean?
“Nice, Bells,” I heard Claudia call from behind me, panting heavily.
“Are you okay?” I asked her.
“Yep!” she beamed, “Are you?”
“Yeah,” I nodded, “But I don’t like this. Somebody sent him to attack me directly, a man by the sound of it.”
“We should tell Nico.”
“Yeah,” I nodded again, unhappy, “Let’s just get out of here.”
This was starting to look worse and worse for us.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjPimcdZkay
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Back at home, I waited impatiently as the phone rang, listening to Claudia chat up my dad. I'm glad that he likes her, but I’m not glad that he very obviously likes her more than me. 259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLEuBvHvn7f
“I was just about to call you,” Nico’s voice muttered over the speaker, “I’m guessing you got attacked, too?”
“Yeah, by giant. Sent especially for me,” I scoffed.
“I guess I got a gift from the same person, then.”
“Shit,” I sighed, “Are you good?”
“Of course. Look, I think we should meet up,” he told me, “My dreams are getting worse, but I know whatever is about to go down is happening in New York.”
I groaned, “Yeah, okay. Let me know when you can get here. See you.”
“Bye, Bella.”259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡewbNeH5gGI
I hung up the phone, sighing. There was no doubt about it. Something serious was going on.
“What’d he say?” Claudia asked as I flopped down next to her in the parlour.
“He was attacked by a giant, too,” I told her, “Probably sent from the same person.”
“Any idea as to who it might be?” My dad asked, not looking pleased, but he definitely wouldn’t chew me out for destroying a public park while Claudia was here.
“No, I only know that it’s a man.”
“Well,” he cleared his throat, “I’ve done some research on Melinoë. She appears to be a nymph with ties to Persephone. Her abilities are connected with nightmares and madness, which explains the dream-like state you found yourself in.”
“Which could mean Hades is involved,” Claudia said quietly, almost to herself. My chest tightened at the thought of the literal King of the Underworld wanting me dead. I did not want to piss off twomajor olympian gods, especially the one that could kill me with a flick of his pinky finger.
“Do you think whoever sent Melinoë also sent the giant?” I asked, trying to control my nerves.
“I wouldn’t be surprised. Afterall, two attacks in the same week is very rare, and by monsters of high calibur, no less. It cannot be a coincidence.”
“You call that slobbery thing ‘high calibur’?” I muttered.
“So what do we do?” Claudia frowned with concern.
“I think it best to be on guard for now. We don't know enough yet to make any decisions,” my dad told us, then turned to smile at Claudia, “Claudia, why don’t you ask your parents how they feel about you staying here for the time being? I imagine whatever is targeting Bella could possibly target you as well, and the manor is quite safe.”
I rolled my eyes at the obvious favoritism. The closest I got to a smile from him was a disappointed frown. Claudia did her best to contain her excitement, but she was practically buzzing on the couch next to me.
“I’m sure it won’t be a problem,” she beamed.
“Nico’s on his way, too,” I added, unable to help from smiling at her enthusiasm.
My father just nodded, and quickly left the room.
“Daw,” Claudia smiled, squeezing my arm, “He’s so worried about you.”
I choked on my scoff, “What?! I’m sorry, do you know who you’re talking about?”
“He is worried about you Bella,” she insisted, “He just doesn’ know how to show it.”
“Oh please,” I rolled my eyes, getting up from the couch in a huff, “You and I both know damn well he’s sending my ass to school on Monday, because he doesn’t give a fuck.”
Claudia sighed, “That’s just what you think, Bells. You never talk to him, so how could you know why he does what he does?”
I stood there silent for a moment, looking for some sort of excuse.
“I’m just saying, maybe you could give him a chance,” she smiled softly.
Without an argument, I just sighed and stormed up to my bedroom. I had other things to worry about right now than patching things up with my dad.259Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRBnMTX79U
