chapter 17: bloodlust

Hoa yelped as she was shoved besides Annabeth, their arms tied to their ankles. They were all thrown into a corner and gags were shoved into everybody's mouths. All they could do was wait helplessly for Geryon to come back.

Nico laid beside her, staring at the ceiling. She caught his gaze, raising her eyebrow. You good?

Yep, he signaled with a nod.

Sighing, she focused on tugging at the bonds but they pulled at her wrist, leaving bruises.

Maybe they're enchanted? she thought.

The rope dug into her risk as she pressed her tongue against the gag, trying to get herself out. She sighed around the gag as she slumped back down.

Do I have powers? she wondered. Can't Deimos summon some terror-inducing things?

Okay, she had an idea. Summon something to get her the hell out of here.

Hoa eyed Eurytion. What's he scared of...?

Heights? That's not helping me at all...

Being alone? No wait, that's going to apply to all of us. Doesn't Deimos's powers apply to multiple people?

Then it clicked. Fire. Summon fire and burn the ropes.

She tried tugging at the bonds, thinking of the warmth of the bonfire back at camp.

Hoa grunted as the bonds pressed against her. Fuck!

This isn't working, half of her brain said.

Get me the fuck out of here! her other half said.

Her anger and frustration grew, beginning to over power, and then...

A spark.

The others snapped their eyes towards her, but Eurytion just raised an eyebrow. "Ain't gonna work. Sorry, ma'am."

She gritted her teeth, her anger causing another flame to rise at his feet. Eurytion stomped at it quickly just as Geryon came back.

For some odd reason, he set up a barbeque stand. "Eurytion, go decorate the house."

Eurytion sighed, but he relented. Streamers and balloons decorated the railing as Geryon flipped burgers on his barbeque stand made of an oil barrel. Once done, Eurytion sat there, picking his nails with a knife at a picnic table.

Percy rushed towards the house, a look of fury on his face. "Let them go!" he yelled. "I cleaned the stables!"

Geryon turned, revealing his three aprons that read KISS-THE-CHEF, one word on one apron. "Did you, now? How'd you manage it?"

Percy looked impatient, but he explained about how he used seashells that could summon spouts of water.

Geryon nodded appreciatively. "Very ingenious. It would've been better if you'd poisoned that pesky naiad, but no matter."

"Let my friends go," the son of Poseidon said. "We had a deal."

"Ah, I've been thinking about that. The problem is, if I let them go, I don't get paid."

"You promised!"

Geryon made a tsk-tsk noise. "But did you make me swear on the River Styx? No, you didn't. So it's not binding. When you're conducting business, sonny, you should always get a binding oath."

You're fucking with me. Hoa looked up at the sky. Gods, may I ask, why?

Percy drew his sword. Orthus growled. One head leaned down next to Grover's head and bared their fangs.

"Eurytion," Geryon said, "the boy is starting to annoy me. Kill him."

Eurytion studied Percy. Hoa didn't like the odds with Percy against Eurytion and his huge club.

To everyone's surprise, Eurytion said, "Kill him yourself."

Geryon raised his eyebrows in confusion. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Eurytion grumbled. "You keep sending me out to do your dirty work. You pick fights for no good reason, and I'm tired of dying for you. You want to fight the kid, do it yourself.

It was the most un-Areslike thing Hoa had ever heard from a son of Ares.

Geryon threw down his spatula. "You dare defy me? I should fire you right now!"

"And who'd take care of your cattle? Orthus, heel."

The dog immediately stopped growling at Grover and came to sit by the cowherd's feet.

"Fine!" Geryon snarled. "I'll deal with you later, after the boy is dead!"

He picked up two carving knives and threw them at the son of Poseidon. Percy deflected one with his sword and the other impaled itself in the picnic table an inch from Eurytion's hand.

He went for the attack. Geryon parried his first strike with a pair of red-hot tongs and lunged at his face with a barbeque fork. Percy got into his next thrust and stabbed him right through the middle chest.

"Aghhh!" He crumpled to his knees. Hoa waited for him to disintegrate, the way monsters usually do. But instead he just grimaced and began to stand up. The wound in his chef's apron started to heal.

"Nice try, sonny," he said. "Thing is, I have three hearts. The perfect backup system."

He tipped over the barbeque, and coals spilled everywhere. One landed next to Annabeth's face, and she let out a muffled scream. Tyson strained against his bonds, but even his strength wasn't enough to break them. Percy had to end this before they got hurt.

He jabbed Geryon in the left chest, but the three-bodied man only laughed. Percy then stuck him in the right stomach. No good. He might as well have been sticking a sword in a teddy bear.

Hoa watched as Percy ran into the house, Geryon in his wake. She rocked back and forth, trying to get in a better position as she tried the fire again, focusing on her hands. This time, it was easier to summon sparks, and they quickly grew into bigger flames against the dry threads.

Everyone tried to scoot away from her flames as she got up and dropped her binds, pulling the gag out of her mouth. She held out her hand and her weapons appeared. She pointed Lửa at Eurytion with the bow and arrow necklace around her neck.

Eurytion raised his hands. "Whoa, there."

"You're going to kill everyone," Hoa said.

He raised an eyebrow. "I just didn't, missy."

"Swear on the River Styx that you won't harm them while I'm gone."

"I swear to abide by your terms."

"Fantastic." Hoa quickly spun on her heel and ran towards the barn, armed and ready.

~•~•~

The living room walls were decorated with a bunch of gruesome hunting trophies-stuffed deer and dragon heads, a gun case, a sword display, and a bow with a quiver. Hoa arrived just in time to see Percy drop Riptide and grab the bow off the wall.

He was the worst archery shot in the world. He couldn't hit the targets at camp, much less a bulls-eye. But he had no choice. They knew that he couldn't win this fight with a sword.

Percy notched an arrow.

Geryon laughed. "You fool! One arrow is no better than one sword."

He raised his swords and charged. Percy dove sideways. Before Geryon could turn, Percy shot his arrow into the side of his right chest.

Only...

He missed.

They haven't seen me yet, Hoa realised.

And she smirked in the shadows. Her vision started turning red as she waited in anticipation. She could feel herself systematically putting her dagger in her sheath and transforming her necklace to a bow and quiver.

Geryon knocked Percy down with ease, the son of Poseidon hitting the floor with a loud THUD! He pointed the tip of his sword to Percy's neck, the boy swallowing in fear.

The three-bodied man laughed as he taunted Percy Jackson. "Foolish boy! You know you can't shoot!"

Hoa stepped out of the shadows. "But I can."

~•~•~

Percy stared at Hoa. How'd she get out?

Her eyes were now pitch black and red light was swirling around her, fast. It gave her a more cruel and sinister look, even though they all knew that it was still Hoa there.

Hoa raised her red-and-gold bow. "Now, you die."

Geryon was towering over Percy, giving Hoa the clearest shot. She smiled creepily as she let the arrow loose, hitting all three of his chests. He heard THUMP, THUMP, THUMP, as the arrow passed clean through each of his chests and flew out his left side, embedding itself in the forehead of the grizzly bear trophy.

Geryon dropped his swords. He turned and stared at Percy. "Good luck," he coughed.

Percy looked up, confused. "What?"

The monster smirked at Percy. "Bloodlust is a very hard thing to snap out of..."

His face turned a sickly shade of green. He collapsed to his knees and began crumbling into sand, until all that was left were three cooking aprons and an oversized pair of cowboy boots.

Hoa walked over, that sadistic smile still on her face. She kicked the dust, scattering it on the floor, but her black eyes and red aura still hadn't dissipated.

Slowly, she turned towards him. "You're next, Perseus."

She lunged at him, slashing out with her dagger. He rolled, barely getting out of the way in time.

"Hoa!" he yelled. "Snap out of it!"

She growled as she slashed at him again. Her speech was slurred, but although her mind seemed down, her physical strength was starting to overpower Percy.

He quickly lunged for Riptide, getting back up to parry Hoa's attacks. Percy continued to yell at Hoa to wake up from her trancelike state, but it was no use.

"Hoa!"

Nico suddenly appeared, grabbing Hoa's hand and disarming her. "What are you doing?"

Hoa fought against him, trying to throw a punch at Nico.

Percy panted, trying to recover. "She walked into the room like this," he told Nico. "Her eyes were black the moment she stepped out of the shadows and faced Geryon. That red aura surrounded her too."

Nico held a small glare at Percy while fending the girl off. "Have you thought of actually helping her?"

Percy frowned. "Forgive me for trying not to die."

The smaller boy huffed, trying to keep up with her moves. He whispered a "sorry, Hoa" before raising his sword and slamming the hilt against her head, knocking her out. She crumpled to the floor, Nico steadying her fall and carrying her bridal style.

As Percy watched, the aura slowly faded while she was held by Nico. She groaned, and the black in her eyes was gone. "What happened?" she asked.

Percy looked at her. "You killed Geryon, but you didn't stop. You tried to kill me too."

Her eyes widened. "Wait... no. Why would I..." Hoa faltered, as if recalling memories. "...I felt powerful," she recalled. "Like I could do anything. So I killed."

"Killed Geryon and tried to kill me," Percy said. "Geryon called it bloodlust."

There were tears in her eyes as she squirmed out of Nico's grip and ran at him for a hug. "I'm so sorry, Percy."

Percy felt tears against his chest as she hugged him. Slowly, he lifted his arms to return it, rubbing her back and ruffling her hair. "S'okay," he whispered. "Lil' H."

They stayed like that until Nico coughed awkwardly. "Should we get back to the others?" he asked in a cold tone.

Percy nodded. "You're right. Let's go."

The boy glared at Percy like he was the devil, but when Nico looked at Hoa, apparently she was an angel. He gripped Hoa's hand firmly, walking out with her and refusing to look back.

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hi im madi, your loyal author ♥️

heres this iconic scene with a twist >:)

hoas gaining more powers now! heres the list:

-she has that manifesting thing where she can create anything-super strength-bloodlust-fear aura-calm others fears

damn this girl is powerful

also, muse just came out! its a jax x reader. go check it out!

anyways

how was the chapter?

also, what are some questions of your own?

anyways, tysm for reading this crappy book! 😃