"Huge eagle!"
"That's no eagle," Frank says.
Maribelle looks up to see a creature that was definitely not an eagle. It had a sleek black body the size of a Labrador retriever. Its wingspan was at least ten feet across.
"There's another one!" Frank points, "Strike that. Three, four. Okay, we're in trouble."
The creatures circle the train like vultures, delighting the tourists. But Maribelle wasn't delighted. The monsters had glowing red eyes, sharp beaks, and vicious talons.
"Those things look familiar . . ." Percy says.
"Seattle," Hazel answers, "The Amazons had one in a cage. They're—"
Before Hazel can finish her sentence, the emergency brake screeches, pitching them forward. Tourists screams and tumbles through the aisles. The monsters swoop down, shattering the glass roof of the car, and the entire train topples off the rails.
Maribelle went weightless. Her vision blurs. Claws grab her arms and lift her into the air. She's reminded of the Gorgons from when Percy first came to Camp. Below, train wheels squeal and metal crashes.
When her eyesight clears, she saw the beast. It had the body of a panther with the wings and head of an eagle. She sees Percy was also being carried by a different one.
She couldn't free herself to reach for her daggers, and her sword was below tucked safely in the train. She rises higher and higher in the cold wind, she could barely keep her eyes open.
She hears Percy yell. Then something whistles by her ear. An arrow sprouts from the monster's neck. The creature shrieks and let's go.
Maribelle falls, crashing through tree branches until she slams into a snowbank. She groans and manages to stand. She retches as a searing pain moves through her wrist, she glances down to see it bent at an odd angle.
Percy falls next. He groans and rises, he didn't seem to have any broken bones. Frank stands to their left, shooting down the creatures as fast as he could. Hazel was at his back, swinging her sword at any monster that came close, but there were too many swarming around them.
See AlsoLoyalty is its own Reward (A Traitor Legion Chapter Master Quest)Save the Students Main Quest Guide | Shin Megami Tensei V: Vengeance (SMTVV)｜Game8Fallout New Vegas: Worst Things The Courier Can DoBuilding Worlds Together - Introducing the Lore CommitteePercy draws Riptide. Maribelle forces down the bile and tries to ignore the pain as she grabs both of her daggers. She yells and slices the wing off one monster and sends it spiraling into a tree. They seem to reform almost immediately.
"What are these things?" Percy tells.
"Gryphons!" Hazel says, "We have to get them away from the train!"
"Used your last charge?" Maribelle hears Percy ask Frank. She would look to see what he was talking about but her vision was growing white.
"Yeah. I had to help the mortals. The spear just dissolved."
"Let's move the fight!" Percy suggests, "Away from the tracks!"
They stumble through the snow, smacking and slicing gryphons that re-formed from dust every time they were killed.
About fifty yards from the tracks, the trees gave way to an open marsh. Frank was running out of arrows. Hazel was breathing hard. Maribelle could barely see anything, the pain overtaking her senses. She leans heavily against the person closest to her, which happened to be Percy. Percy stumbles, but then he helps Maribelle up and into what looked at a nest.
He presses his sword tip against one of the eggs, "Back off, or I break it!"
The gryphons squawk angrily.
"Gryphons collect gold," Hazel says, "They're crazy for it. Look—more nests over there."
Frank nocks his last arrow, "So if these are their nests, where were they trying to take Maribelle and Percy? That thing was flying away with them."
"Alcyoneus," He guesses, "Maybe they're working for him. Are these things smart enough to take orders?"
"I don't know," Hazel says, "I never fought them when I lived here. I just read about them at camp."
"Weaknesses?" Frank asks, "Please tell me they have weaknesses."
Hazel scowls, "Horses. They hate horses—natural enemies, or something. I wish Arion was here!"
The gryphons shriek. They swirl around the nest with their red eyes glowing.
"Guys," Frank says nervously, "I see legion relics in this nest."
Maribelle blinks back the hot tears threatening to spill.
"I know," Percy says.
"That means other demigods died here, or—"
"Frank, it'll be okay," Percy promises.
One of the gryphons dive in. Percy raises his sword, ready to stab the egg. The monster veers off, but the other gryphons were losing their patience.
"I've got an idea," Percy says, "Hazel—all the gold in these nests. Do you think you can use it to cause a distraction?"
"I, I guess."
"Just give us enough time for a head start. When I say go, run for that giant."
"You want us to run toward a giant?"
"Trust me," Percy says, "Ready? Go!"
Hazel thrusts her hand upward.
Maribelle and her friends run. Their feet splash and crunch through the frozen marsh. She had never been a fast runner, but that changed today as she could hear the gryphons closing behind them, and now the monsters were really angry.
The giant hadn't noticed them yet. He was inspecting his toes for mud, his face sleepy and peaceful. Around his neck was a necklace of found objects: garbage cans, car doors, moose antlers, camping equipment, even a toilet.
Maribelle felt a little bad for disturbing his peace.
"Under!" Percy shouts, "Crawl under!"
They scramble between the massive blue legs and flattened themselves in the mud, her wrist practically screams with pain as they crawl as close as they could to his loincloth. She tries her best not to gag. She had never envisioned herself to end up here.
"What's the plan?" Frank hisses, "Get flattened by a blue rump?"
"Lay low. Only move if you have to."
The gryphons arrive in a wave of angry beaks, talons, and wings, swarming around the giant, trying to get under his legs.
The giant rumbles in surprise. He shifts. The Hyperborean grunts, a little more irritated. He swats at the gryphons, but they squawk in outrage and began pecking at his legs and hands.
"Ruh?" The giant bellows. "Ruh!"
He takes a deep breath and blows out a wave of cold air. Even under the protection of the giant's legs, Maribelle could feel the temperature drop. The gryphons' shrieking stops abruptly, replaced by the thunk, thunk, thunk of heavy objects hitting the mud.
"Come on," Percy tells them, "Carefully."
They squirm out from under the giant. All around the marsh, trees were glazed with frost. Frozen gryphons stuck out of the ground like feathery Popsicle sticks.
They scramble away, trying to keep out of the giant's vision, but the big guy was too busy to notice them.
"Percy . . ." Hazel wipes the ice and mud from her face, "How did you know the giant could do that?"
"I almost got hit by Hyperborean breath once," He answers, "We'd better move. The gryphons won't stay frozen forever."
Maribelle holds her wrist close to her chest, not bothering to wipe her face of ice and mud, and follows her friends.
—
