Without hesitation she placed the tip of the barrel at the back of his neck as he groaned and unloaded once again, each shot blasting apart the back of his neck as he thrashed under her before going still and beginning to dissolve into ashen white dust.
Another faded god.
...
Still, it wasn't time to slow down as she felt more of the gods assuming divine form so she jumped forward into a roll, recovering her dagger in her left hand as she spun around to see the last eight other minor gods all in divine form as Phobos and Cloelia continued to fight just behind them and off to the side.
However none of the other gods where even as big as Phobos, the closest being some fifteen feet and just matching the power Cloelia was putting out right now. Seeing that they were in her way Annabeth growled as she rushed forward, unwilling to let the gods recover properly or form any plan of attack.
"Form up!" one ordered as they started to lock shields but Annabeth couldn't care for it.
Instead her eyes shifted to look at the other battle as her daughter cried out only to see Cloelia slam into a broken throne and Phobos advancing on her. Scowling she ran into the hastily formed phalanx before dropping into a slide, her heels slamming into the unprotected feet of one of the gods.
He fell with the loss of footing as a break in the phalanx formed and Annabeth took full advantage of it. Kicking up onto her feet she aimed and fired into the sides of the closest gods, the bullets impacting both armor and vulnerable flesh alike as the gods reared back in reflex.
Feeling an attack coming she ducked down as a spear head passed over her before she turned in the direction of the attacker and slashed with her dagger.
The god had been too close to dodge and screamed as the dagger cut into part of his helmet and eye, releasing his spear as he clutched at his bleeding face. Making use of the spear Annabeth tossed her dagger at one god and nailing him in the shoulder and grabbed the spear before spinning on a dime as she batted at the closest gods. The gong of spear meeting shields echoed as several gods were knocked over or pushed back.
Seeing the break she rushed passed them as she dropped the spear and ripped her dagger back out of the shoulder of the screaming god as she moved on, uncaring the mayhem left in her wake.
Her eyes narrowed on Phobos as the god advanced toward Cloelia, the goddess struggling to get back on her feet after having been slammed into a crumbling throne yet again. Annabeth saw the god getting ready to make another stab forward and knew Cloelia was too shaken to properly block it so she aimed her gun and shot.
The first round hit Phobos' helmet with a resounding clap making the god flinch mid-thrust, missing Cloelia's head by inches. Her second shot hit his exposed shoulder making the god cry out as he turned in her direction but by that point, she was practically on top of him.
Without pause she ducked under a sloppy bat of his spear before slamming her shouldered into his armored gut making the god cough up. Then she lashed out with her left and stabbed her knife into his gut, mentally smirking at his agonized scream as the blade plunged through his armor and into the tender flesh of his stomach.
To finish she twisted the weapon before rearing her right hand back, dropping the gun, and sucker punching Phobos right in the jaw. With a satisfying crack he went careening back, her strength sending the god into a short flight across the room and into where his father's throne once rested.
Panting in exertion and with the pain throbbing through her injured side she turned and looked down to meet the sight of her daughter. Injured, sweaty, and weakening as the curse spread up to her bicep but alive.
And that was all she cared about.
Annabeth knew they were close to the gates. All she needed to do was grab her daughter and run as fast as possible to get out of the barrier limits. Once done just a moment of flashing was all they needed and they were home free. She could almost cry at the thought as she prepared to grab her daughter, reaching out as she locked eyes with her daughter … only to see her daughter's eyes to glance behind her and widen.
In that moment she realized she made the worst rookie mistake. She took her eyes off the biggest threat. Then, her domain told her everything.
She sensed it the sudden attack, felt the hostile intent behind it … and the intended target. Her eyes met those of her daughters for a moment, knowing she was just out if reach to her daughter and trying to say everything she could in that one glance as Annabeth gave her a soft smile before she moved without hesitation.
Squelch!
...
( Cloelia POV )
She felt the divine blood splatter on her face as a scream died in her dry throat, her eyes widening in disbelief. In morbid synch both goddesses looked down, their gazes falling on the spearhead dripping ichor as it stuck out of her mother's gut.
"Mo … I …" she tried to say something, anything but she just couldn't get anything out as she looked back up to her mother's eyes.
She seen the attack coming by chance, looking just passed her mother's shoulder to see as Pallas, on shaky legs, had gotten up and summoned his own spear before hurling it … at her.
Her because she was the one down, her because she was weaker and wouldn't have been able to block or dodge in time, her just because it would cause her mother the most pain. She'd seen that look in her mother's eyes, registered the apology and her matured mind had been horrified to realize why.
And then the torrent of emotions flooded as she blamed herself. If she'd defeated or matched Phobos her mother wouldn't have to come to her protection. If Pallas hadn't seen her in the first place than her mother wouldn't even be here to begin with, and if she wasn't born cursed then she would have already been an adult and able to help from the start. But she simply couldn't and that cost her.
Squelch!
She was broken out of her thoughts as her mother jerked forward as another spear, this one piercing her left shoulder, made itself known as her mother gasped and fell to one knee in front of Cloelia, coughing as ichor dripped out between her lips.
"Momma!" cried this time, as she managed to push herself on her knees and tried to crawl closer even while still gripping Riptide but the pain flaring in her right leg and side worked against her.
Her mother looked to her again to show she was silently crying as well, her working right arm dropping her dagger as she slowly reached forward. Cloelia sat back on her knees and reached with her left, her right going numb as it continued to hold the cursed blade that seemed to pulse within her grip.
Cloelia looked at her mother, the sight burned into her memory as their hands clasped together. Her almost golden hair matted with ichor, her crystal like eyes glowing with an inner scarlet light that conveyed love and in no way blaming her framed by an almost pitch black moon behind her barely visible through the parted clouds and open ceiling.
"Good riddance Chase," she heard Pallas grunt as Cloelia looked passed her mother to see Pallas.
Another spear was hefted in his left hand while he used his right to grip his sword as he used the blade like a crutch, the remaining gods standing closer to him as they glared, covered in all manner of wounds delivered by her mother. Cloelia took it all in within seconds before looking to her mother.
Her mother didn't bother making any motion to respond to him, instead keeping her eyes locked with those of her daughter with the best smile she could. "Remember Cloelia, mama loves you," she said faintly.
Just hearing how frail her mother sounded even if her voice was laced with a familiar warmth broke the young goddess' heart as more tears stared to stream down her face. She shuffled closer on her knees until she was just before her mother, her own chest nearly being nicked by the spear currently jutting out of her mother's gut. She then leaned closer until their foreheads were touching, her mother having moved her hand from holding Cloelia's to cupping her cheek.
"…I love you too …" she said softly before she heard Pallas grunt before both closed their eyes, waiting for the spear to hit and knowing it would probably not only run through Annabeth but Cloelia herself as well.
===================
Don't forget to throw some power Stones, to keep the story going.
...
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