Fighting the Brother of my Killers

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{Iowa, 14th of June 2006}

Thalia POV

"Gods dammit," I muttered under my breath, my heart pounding as I wiped blood from the corner of my mouth. Grover stood at my side, handing me a small bottle of nectar—one of the few we had brought along.

As the godly energy surged through me, stitching me back together just enough to keep going, I surveyed our little battlefield.

Percy was in the thick of it, swinging Riptide like a demigod possessed. The mixed abomination of a horse and car, with the words FEUD that seemed to light up with every attack.

This metal monstrosity moved like greased lightning, its chrome limbs deflecting Percy's strikes with showers of sparks. It was like watching a sword fight a very angry Transformer.

Grover, bless his goat heart, was going full Phantom of the Opera on his reed pipes. His frantic melody was making plants surge from the ground like they were on steroids. Vines wrapped around the creature's legs, and I couldn't help but think, 'Great, now it's a car-horse-plant. What's next? Will it sprout wings?'

And then there was Alastor. Mr. Red himself.

He stood there, cool as a cucumber in a volcano, his eyes never leaving me. That twisted smile on his face made me want to introduce him to the business end of my spear. His blood-red suit caught the moonlight in a way that screamed, I'm evil, but make it fashion.

"Percy was right," I muttered, gripping my spear tighter. "That's way too much red."

Beside me, Swiper and Lailaps growled low. Their black fur bristled with tension, purple eyes gleaming in the moonlight. They looked ready to tear Alastor limb from limb, which, honestly, I was all for.

I tightened my grip on my spear, and it crackled to life small sparks running through it. My bracelet shifted revealing the true form of my shield, Aegis, gleaming on my arm, Medusa's face looking as charming as ever. If Alastor wanted a fight, he was about to get one.

With a war cry that would've made Ares proud (not that I care what that jerk thinks), I charged. Alastor responded by throwing a wave of red energy at me that looked like a radioactive tsunami. It slammed into Aegis, and the force of it nearly knocked me off my feet. But I fought against it, pouring all my weight into the shield so as to not get flung again. 

Alastor's grin widened, then he clapped his hands mockingly. "Well look at you, that's very impressive."

"Shut up," I growled, not in the mood for godly gossip.

But Alastor was on a roll. "That's why I don't like you pompous sparks. So seriouss."

"I said, shut up!" I yelled, charging forward with renewed anger.

Swiper and Lailaps sprang into action. Before my eyes, they grew, swelling to the size of cars. Their purple eyes blazed with fury as they darted in, snapping at Alastor's heels like the world's most aggressive ankle-biters.

Alastor's eyes widened in surprise. "Well, well. Looks like someone's been shopping in the 'XXL' section of the pet store."

For a second, his grin faltered. I allowed myself a moment of smug satisfaction. Not so cool now, are you, Mr. Red?

But then, because the universe hates me, things got worse.

Alastor's eyes flashed with fury, and he sent out another pulse of energy that made my teeth rattle. I braced behind Aegis, feeling like I was trying to hold back a hurricane with a dinner plate.

"You know," Alastor said conversationally, as if we were chatting over tea instead of trying to kill each other, "your father really did a number on my lord's lover. Nasty business, that. But looks at you know he was the first to break the oath. After all he's always thinking with his lightning bolt, if you know what I mean."

"For the love of Olympus, will you please shut your godly pie-hole?" I shouted, my patience wearing thinner than Aphrodite's latest 'dress'.

I risked a glance at Percy. He was still doing his demigod dance with the car-horse, which now looked like a metal demon horse statue that looked like it had been left alone in a forest for a few hundred years, thanks to Grover's plantwork. But where was Annabeth?

Before I could ponder our missing brainiac, Alastor made his move. His hand, crackling with dark energy, shot out towards my face. I swung my spear up, but I was a fraction too slow. His fingers were inches from my skin, and I had a fleeting thought that this was a really stupid way to die.

But then Swiper, in all his car-sized glory, leaped over me. His massive jaws clamped down on Alastor's arm, and the god let out a very ungodly yelp.

"You mangy mutt!" Alastor snarled, trying to shake Swiper off. "Do you have any idea how much this suit costs?"

Lailaps took this opportunity to charge in from the other side, ramming into Alastor with the force of a furry freight train. The god went flying, crashing into a nearby tree with a satisfying thud.

For a moment, I allowed myself to hope that this might be it. That maybe, just maybe, we'd won.

But of course, because being a demigod means never catching a break, Alastor stood up. His perfect suit was torn, his hair a mess, and the look in his eyes could've melted celestial bronze.

"Enough games," he growled, his voice losing all its previous amusement. "Now I have to go back to the tailor because of you, mortals."

He raised both hands, and the air around him began to shimmer with heat. The ground cracked, red energy seeping out like lava.

"Any last words, daughter of Zeus?" Alastor sneered.

I opened my mouth, ready to tell him exactly where he could shove his last words, when suddenly... he froze.

Alastor's eyes widened in confusion, his hands hovering in midair like the world's most dramatic statue. He looked like someone had just told him his evil lair had been foreclosed.

I followed his gaze to the car-horse monstrosity. There, sticking out of its chest like the world's weirdest hood ornament, was a bronze dagger. As we watched, the creature began to dissolve into golden smoke, looking as surprised as the rest of us.

Alastor stumbled back, his mouth opening in a silent scream that would've been comical if it wasn't so creepy. Then, like his monstrous pet, he too turned into golden smoke and vanished.

The silence that followed was so thick you could've cut it with Riptide.

Percy stood in the middle of the clearing, looking like he'd just been told that blue food was being outlawed. Grover's plants wilted faster than my hopes for a normal life. Swiper and Lailaps, now back to their normal size, wagged their tails, looking entirely too pleased with themselves.

And then, like she'd been there all along, Annabeth appeared, pulling off her Yankees cap with a flourish that would've made Houdini jealous.

"Alastor was also a horse," she said, cool as a cucumber. "One of Hades' horses, actually. When he said 'my lord,' it clicked. If we killed the horse, Alastor, the god Alastor would disappear too."

I stared at her, my brain trying to catch up. "Wait... you figured that out in the middle of all this?"

Annabeth shrugged like she hadn't just solved a mythological mystery while we were all playing whack-a-god. "Well, yeah. Made sense, didn't it?"

Percy stepped forward, looking like he'd just run a marathon in full Greek armor. "Okay, but what if killing his ride hadn't worked? What if Alastor didn't disappear with the horse?"

Annabeth gave him a smile that was equal parts mischievous and terrifying. "Then we'd have had a bigger problem."

Percy just stared at her, looking like his brain had finally thrown in the towel and gone on vacation.

I shook my head, feeling a smile tugging at my lips despite everything. Leave it to Annabeth to out-think a god while the rest of us were just trying not to become godly pancakes.

Grover let out a long, relieved sigh, leaning on his flute like it was the only thing keeping him upright. "Well," he bleated, "that was awful. Can we please not do it again?"

I patted him on the shoulder, trying not to laugh at his wobbly knees. "No promises, G-man. But hey, at least that's one less god to deal with, right?"

Percy groaned, flopping onto the ground like a very dramatic starfish. "Can we please get a break now? Like, a real one? With pizza? And no monsters trying to turn us into demigod shish kebabs?"

Annabeth shot him a look that was half fond, half exasperated. "Knowing our luck? Probably not. But maybe we can find a monster-free zone for a quick nap."

As the adrenaline began to fade, I felt the weight of everything that had happened settle on my shoulders. We'd survived, sure, but Alastor's words kept echoing in my mind. I needed some space to think.

"Hey," I said, trying to keep my voice light, "I'm gonna take a quick walk. Clear my head, you know?"

Annabeth's eyes narrowed slightly—nothing gets past her—but she nodded. "Don't go far. We should get moving soon."

I gave her a mock salute and headed into the trees, Swiper and Lailaps following close behind. Once I was out of earshot, I leaned against a big oak, letting out a long breath.

"What did he mean?" I muttered, more to myself than my furry companions. "Paying for what Zeus did to his lord's lover?"

Swiper tilted his head, his purple eyes gleaming with curiosity. Lailaps let out a soft whine, nudging my hand with her nose.

"It's just... it reminds me of something," I said, scratching Lailaps behind the ears. "Something one of the Furies—Megaera—said the night I... you know, became a tree."

I closed my eyes, the memory washing over me. Megaera's words, hissed through pointed teeth: "You're father's actions have consequences."

A chill ran down my spine. "What if... what if there's more to this? What if Zeus did something to someone Hades cared about?"

Swiper let out a low growl, his tail swishing back and forth. I knew the feeling. The idea that I might be caught in the middle of some divine family feud—well, another divine family feud—made my stomach churn.

"And if that's true," I continued, the thought hitting me like a bolt of lightning, "could there be... another child of the Big Three out there? Someone connected to all this?"

The possibility made my head spin. Another child of the Big Three could change everything—the prophecy, the balance of power, our whole quest.

I shook my head, trying to clear it. "Great. As if we didn't have enough to worry about."

Lailaps nuzzled my hand again, her big purple eyes full of concern. I managed a small smile, scratching under her chin.

"You're right, buddy. One problem at a time, right? Let's focus on finding Jason first. Then we can deal with whatever godly drama is heading our way."

With a deep breath, I pushed off from the tree and started walking back to the group.