Chapter Twenty
Tristan
I sent a call to all the demigods that offered to come to war with us. They were needed. Outside my home were around a hundred men, plus demigods, waiting to overtake the house and steal my life from me. The babies were in the beginning stages of birth, and it was my job to make sure they were coming into a safe home. I transformed myself into my god-like form, and grabbed my sword. Leander and Orion came out, dressed for war, as Lacey raced to our room to support Thalia.
“I’ve called our allies. They will meet us outside. I set up a barrier about fifty yards away from the palace. We will fight them outside, keeping them as far away from Thalia as possible.” They nodded and began mentally preparing themselves for war. I could feel when our people starting showing up outside, looking for me to order the chaos.
“Let’s go.”
There were perhaps a hundred skilled demigods waiting for us as soon as we walked outside. Beyond them, forced back by my barrier, was the small army waiting to destroy us. At their lead was Wadjet, and a son of Zeus. Didn’t she learn that I was the wrong man to fuck with the first time? She saw me look at her and hissed. I would make her scream in pain for this. The son, whose name I didn’t know, was powerful. Zeus did not have many children anymore. They were considered too powerful, so he had been a good boy lately to keep himself alive.
“Simple strategy. Keep them away from the palace. No one gets inside. They will break past the barrier shortly, and when they come, we will demolish them. Thank you for your courage and willingness to protect my family.” I looked over the crowd, meeting their eyes. They needed to know that I cared, and was thankful. I was, undoubtedly.
“Leander, Orion. If anyone gets near Thalia, you shred them.”
They both nodded, prepared to do anything for her.
I heard the barrier start to crack; they would descend upon us soon. A growl came up from my chest and I raised my sword above my head. It had been a long time since I had battled like this, but I was primed to go.
Wadjet hissed at the men behind her, and the son of Zeus screamed instructions, getting them pumped to attack. This whole battle was pointless. Life would be lost on both sides, but we were left with no other choice. We had to fight.
The barrier shattered and the mob descended us.
The men and women that waited with me seemed calm, which made them more lethal, in my opinion. Our opponents were power-driven, likely to make mistakes. Our group was calculating, and had been trained to fight.
I barked out orders, and soon we were running towards them, ready to meet in the middle. I would handle who ever I could reach, and then the goddess was mine. Leander and Orion could handle the son of Zeus if the others couldn’t.
The sounds of metal swords clashed. Grunts and battle cries filled the air. I watched as people fought. Some were slain instantly. Guns weren’t allowed in the underworld, so it was old-fashioned fighting for everyone: hand to hand or bladed weapons. Wadjet held back and watched. I would make my way to her. One of the men ran at me with his spear held high. One quick swing of my sword, and he was gone. My sword was special; it absorbed my own power, so when it touched someone, it turned them to ash. My own specialty of turning all living things to ash would only work so far in this case— I couldn’t do it to this whole army. Around me the underworld was starting to change, reflecting its unrest. The sand was turning red, the air began to churn, and the sky turned orange. Things were going to get interesting soon. An hour had passed and we were still battling on.
More men tried to attack me and failed. With my eyes on Wadjet, and hers on mine, I made a show of killing the men even more violently as I got closer to her. I could tell she was ready for a fight. The son of Zeus decided it was time to join the fight and ran off to join his soldiers, giving me a wide berth.
“I warned you, Wadjet,” I growled.
“I will end this. Your children cannot live. It will destroy the balance,” she hissed and whipped her tail towards me.
“You will beg for mercy!” I roared, widening my stance, ready to attack. She shot a fireball from her mouth at me, which I dodged, but then she shot three more in quick succession. Two of them missed, but one got me in the shoulder. I growled with pain, and attacked with my sword. She pulled out two swords from her back and blocked my blows. Back and forth, we struck and blocked. Her skills were exemplary, and being who she was, that was a given. But I beat her the last time she came to my home, and this time, with the birth of my children imminent, and their lives at stake, I would do it again. Her tailed whipped back and forth, raking both allies and enemies out of her path. This fight was ours.
She tried to hit me high with one of her blades, and low with the other. I spun and barely missed one, and managed to snap the other out of her hand. She screamed in rage and moved her blade in an arc. I was on defense and blocked her, but her fangs struck the shoulder that was burned from her fireball. She had venom leaking from her fangs, which flooded my blood stream. It wouldn’t kill me, but it hurt like a bitch. I prayed there would be no other effects besides the pain. Pain I could work with, but paralysis, or any of the other rumors of her venom, would be hard to handle. I gripped her neck and threw her back, her fangs ripping skin as I removed her.
Blood coated her mouth, and she was smiling.
“I will win, and your precious wife and children will be mine.” She smiled, feeling as though she had already won this battle. That was not something I could allow; there was no other option but to push through and beat her. Beat them all. My soul filled with strength, from the love of my family, and I stood tall and readied my weapon. Wadjet’s smile fell slightly as she watched me steady myself. Without words, I rushed her, and dodged her ineffective attempts to whip me with her tail. Her blade struck mine once again, and we continued to fight for the lives of my children—her to raze them, me for their survival.
She screamed as I managed to slice her abdomen, and part of her tail. The skin around her wounds was starting to dry and flake off. The pain was evident on her face, and it fueled me more. I attacked with a ferocity that I had thought was lost. Feeling a sort of high run through my body with the knowledge she would be defeated, I lashed out with everything I had. With super speed, my blade shifted and lodged itself deep in her chest. She screamed with pain as the veins beneath her skin started to turn black, poisoned by my blade. I huffed in satisfaction. Just as she started to fade away, I felt a fire building in my blood.
“You may have defeated me right now, but you will not win this war. It isn’t allowed. Fate will win, as it always does.” Her lips lifted at the corners before her body burst into hot flames and ash fell to a pile on the ground. The venom in my blood was starting to make my vision blur.
“Fuck!” I cursed. I turned to look at the rest of the battle, and saw that we were winning, for now. The son of Zeus was fighting people left and right. He had a blade made of pure electricity, not that he used it that much. He commanded the electricity in the air to come down in a shower that hit anyone within his proximity. So far none had been able to stand against him. People were burned and falling to the ground before him. Leander approached him and I winced as the venom started to do its job. Soon I wouldn’t be much help; I wouldn’t be able to do anything.
Leander gripped his blade as Orion came out of nowhere and shot the demigod in the arm, making him drop his electric sword. Leander took advantage of the moment and attacked, the son grabbing his blade just in time for them to clash. Lightning spread out like tendrils from the meeting of metals, hitting anyone who was near them. Leander growled through his clenched teeth and pulled back his sword. They battled, neither besting each other, until Orion joined in. Together, they took down the son. But a few of the enemy army had taken advantage of their distraction and snuck inside the house.
“Inside!” I yelled at them, trying to move, but my legs wouldn’t move. My body was losing its strength, rendering me helpless for a short time. I would be able to fight soon, once the venom burned out of my system. But for now I could only watch as they ran inside to help save my family.
