chapter ninety-five

─── you get an insult and you get an insult and-

          𝔚ill Solace was nominated to come with me to help the wounded, the rest of his siblings still searching for Michael. I steal another motorbike, taking it to the Plaza Hotel at speeds that would make my mom kill me.

It only took us five minutes to reach the hotel.

Tactically speaking, it wasn't the best place for a headquarters. It wasn't the tallest building in town or the most central, but it would do. I bring it to a screeching stop, both Will and I clambering off as we head for the hotel.

I'd never actually been inside and I was impressed at the décor, but I had more important things to worry about. They'd taken up occupancy of the penthouse suites and when the elevator doors dinged open, it was carnage.

Hunters and campers were crashed out, some being treated with ambrosia, others in the human methods as people raided food and drinks from minibars. Most were quite badly beaten up, but they were alive.

"Romy!" Jake turned, from where a Hunter was sewing up a gash on his arm. "We're getting reports-"

"Later." I pat his shoulders. "Where's Annabeth?"

"The terrace. She's alive..." I don't stay to hear the rest, pushing out and onto the terrace. Annabeth was laying on a lounge chair, her face pale and sweaty. Silena is trying to treat her, talking to Luke in a quiet voice. Will moved me aside, unwrapping the bandages to examine the wound and I tense. It's green which isn't exactly the healthiest colour for skin.

She'd taken that knife for me? She'd taken that knife for me and I let that happen?

"Poison on the knife." Luke muttered, Annabeth barely being conscious to talk. "How bad?"

"Could be better, could be worse. Hasn't gone past the shoulder, few more minutes, we'd be screwed." Will explained, pulling nectar from his healing bag. "She has to stay still."

I grab onto her arms, Luke holds her by the shoulders and Silena takes her legs as Will pours the nectar on. Annabeth tried to writhe, but we keep her still, silvery tears falling down her cheeks as I hush her, soothing her softly. Will binds it, humming a hymn to Apollo before standing up, shakily. He's pale and Silena helps him sit down. 

"We need stuff, medicine an-"

"Travis!" Will barely finished his sentence before Luke's calling for his brother. "No stealing. Medical supplies, as much as you can get. Pay with cash. Take some others, raid a few. We need a lot, nectar and ambrosia are running out."

"Got it." Travis nods. Luke catches him before he runs.

"No stealing, I mean it." Travis nods again, before they disappear. Silena helps Will up.

"We'll give Annabeth some space. Jake's using Annabeth's shield to keep an eye on things. The enemy withdrew until sunrise." Silena opens the door, Will heading inside before she hesitates. "Can I stay out with you two just until it calms down?"

"Course." I nod, as I place a cold cloth onto Annabeth's forehead, tracing her face as Luke hovers on her other side.

"This is all my fault..." Silena muttered, placing her head in her hand.

"What are you talking about?" Luke turns to her. "This is no ones fault."

"I've never been any good at camp, not like you or Romy. If I was a better fighter..." Her mouth trembled. Ever since Beckendorf died, she's getting worse and I was reminded that we were too young to be dealing with this sort of grief, far too young. It made me worry for Luke.

"That's not true." Luke stops her from spiralling. "Not everyone at camp has to be a great fighter. You're one of the best pegasi riders we have and you get along with people."

"Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent." I point out as her head shoots up.

"That's it! We need Five. I can talk to Clarisse. I know I can convince her to help us!"

"Silena, even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she gets angry-" Silena cut Luke off.

"Please. I can take a pegasus. I know I can make it back to camp." Luke and I shared a sceptical glance. "Let me try."

Luke looked over and I nodded. It didn't hurt, that was for sure.

"All right. I can't think of anybody better to try." Luke relented as Silena threw her arms around him. She immediately let go, turning to me with an awkward glance that I merely laughed off. 

"Sorry...Thank you, Luke. I won't let you down!" She rushed away as Luke turned back to me. I mimed writing on a list, knowing that would draw a smile to his face, and sure enough, he was chuckling. Annabeth was still burning up as I rinsed the cloth out.

"She knew my weak spot, my Achilles spot." I turn to Luke, who sits opposite me, keeping an eye on her. "She took the knife for me. I would have died if it hit me."

"Where's the spot?" Luke questioned and I knew I wasn't supposed to tell anyone, but this was Luke and if there was anyone that I trusted with my life, more than anything, it was Luke. You'd hope, after we'd been dating for almost three years that we'd trust each other.

"Back." I told him.

"Where?" He stood, walking behind me as his fingers touched my back. "Here?"

Electricity shot up my spine, before I grabbed his hand and moved it further up, to where I'd been attached to the mortal world. His fingers touch it and a thousand volts of electricity seem to arc up my body as I sigh and stare at Annabeth.

"She saved me. I really owe her." Luke kisses the top of my head as we watch the city and keep an eye on Annabeth. We don't talk for a while, neither of us feeling the need to say anything to each other as the sun begins to rise.

"I think Puck's body is a transition." Luke speaks, breaking the silence as I turn to him. "I've been playing over what happened with Kronos and I think he meant to use Puck as a stepping stone, to make himself more powerful."

"We'll deal with that when we get there."

"It's my fault, Andi." Luke shook his head. "Annabeth getting stabbed, you taking the curse. All of it is my fault. I wasn't strong enough."

"Don't say that." I stop him. "It's not your fault, you were seventeen, emotionally vulnerable and manipulated and groomed by a Titan."

He shakes his head, not believing that for a moment as I squeeze his hands. Before I can say anything more, Jake opened the door.

"Romy. Your dog is back with Grover." I wince, switching with Luke as I headed back into the penthouse, finding that Grover was snacking in an off room, no other demigods near him.

"Hey man!" I called, Grover turning to hug me. He was in armor now, something I'd never actually seen him in before, and he looked nervous. "What's up?"

"I heard about Annabeth. Is she...?"

"She's gonna be alright." I placate him. "She's resting, Luke's with her."

"That's good." Grover took a deep breath. "I've mobilised most of the nature spirits in the city, well the ones that listen to me, and let me tell you, having acorns thrown at you is not for the faint of heart. They've got fantastic aim! We're helping out as much as we can."

He told me about the skirmishes they'd seen whilst covering uptown. Hellhounds were appearing inside the line and a young dragon had appeared in Harlem, a dozen wood nymphs dying before the monster was killed. As he explained, Thalia entered the room with two of her lieutenants.

She didn't acknowledge me, heading out to check on Annabeth before returning to listen to the rest of Grovers report, that was getting worse.

"We lost twenty satyrs against some giants at Fort Washington." He trembled, before regaining his breath. "Almost half my kinsmen. River spirits drowned them in the end."

"Andromeda, Kronos' forces are gathering." Thalia had shouldered her bow, folding her arms across her chest. "Every bridge and tunnel and there's another Titan. Scouts saw a huge man in golden armour mustering an army on the Jersey shore."

"Great." I mutter, flicking Riptide about in my hands. "Any good news?"

"We've sealed the subway entrances, laid traps." Thalia explained. "The enemy is waiting for tonight to attack. I think Puck needs to regenerate after each fight. He's not comfortable in his new form and it's taking him a lot of power to slow time around the city."

"I'd assume most of his forces are more powerful at night too. They'll be back after sundown." Grover reminded me as my face grew even more bleak. 

"Any word from the gods?"

"Is there ever?" Luke appeared in the room, having stepped in from outside as one of his brothers took over caring for Annabeth. His face was dark, eyes narrowed and he looked every bit the intimidating warrior that I knew him to be. I wondered what he would have been like if it was him that I had to fight. He would have terrified me.

"Lady Artemis would be here if she could, Athena too but Zeus needs his best soldiers to fight." Thalia corrected. "Last I heard, Typhon was destroying the Ohio River valley. He should reach the Appalachian Mountains by midday."

"So, we've got another two days before he arrives."

"There's another thing." Luke muttered, reaching behind him to slam the door so that it was just the four of us. "Kronos showed up at the Williamsburg Bridge, like he knew you would go there. He shifted his forces to our weakest points, changed tactics as soon as we deployed. They barely went near the Hunters or either of Eleven's strongholds. He knew where we'd be."

"Almost like we've got a spy." I muttered back, knowing now why Luke was staying quiet.

"What?" Thalia looked between us, and I explained, telling them about everything. "That's bad."

"I know." I stuck my hand in my pocket. "It could be anyone. Everyone was there when I was giving the orders."

"But what do we do? Frisk them until we find the charm?" Grover pointed out how bad an idea that was.

"It will make tensions rise. We just have to keep fighting. We can't obsess over the spy." Luke pointed out.

"Look, I couldn't ask for a braver army. We'll see up a rotation for the watches and rest up. Spread the word, take some time." I muttered, before standing up, knowing that I need to crash. I had to be in good shape, needed to remain strong to take on Kronos. I disappeared away from everyone, finding a quiet corner to curl up in and pray for no dreams.

But, why would I have that sort of luck?

I dreamt of all sorts of gloomy things, death, despair, horrifying torture that would occur at the hands of the Titans if I failed. You know, stuff to 

I only came out of it when Luke slumped down to my left, bringing me into his embrace.

"Why you up?" I muttered, listening to his heart beat as his fingers traced the spot on my back.

"Had a dream."

"About?"

"Rachel Dare." He muttered. "Not a dream, a vision. She wrote your name in the surf, then persuaded her dad to come back to New York."

"Having dreams about other women?"

"Ha ha." He deadpanned. "No, I don't know. She's coming back though."

"Well, until she's back, we can sleep."

"What did you dream about?" Luke prodded me softly as I sighed.

"What would happen if I lost." I don't bother to answer much after that, falling asleep once more. 

It's not until late afternoon that we're woken, Thalia shaking Luke. She doesn't look pleased to find us together, but says nothing.

"We've got visitors."

"Who?"

"A Titan wants to see Andromeda, under a flag of truce. He has a message from Kronos." Thalia explained.

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The white flag can be seen from half a mile away, carried by a thirty foot tall giant with bright blue skin.

"A Hyperborean." Thalia explained as I scrunch my nose and huff. "The giants of the north. It's a bad sign if they've sided with Kronos. They're normally peaceful."

"You've met them?" Luke questioned.

"Yeah. There's a big colony in Alberta." Thalia explained as they giant grew closer. There's three human sized envoy with them, an empousa, a demigod and a man in a tuxedo. They meander towards the Heckscher Playground as I turn to Titan.

"The tux dude is the Titan?" Grover nodded nervously as I hum. We watch as they draw closer, and I cock an eyebrow as the man in the tux steps forward. He's about seven feet tall and sort of looks like my uncle if my uncle had been attacked by a cat on class A drugs.

"Andromeda Jackson. It's a great honour." I cock an eyebrow. That's the first time a villain's ever said that to me. The empousa hissed at me and I winked causing her to growl. "My dear. Why don't you make yourself comfortable over there?"

She drifted over to a park bench, as I took note of the demigod behind them. The eyepatch gave him away, Luke choosing that moment to stand up and glower down at the smaller man. He's got a black eye, a cut lip and his nose looks broken.

"Hi Ethan." I ignore the man in the tux, grinning at the demigod. "Looking good. Done something new?"

He shoots me a scowl as I chuckle.

"To business." Tux guy extended his hand. "I am Prometheus?"

"How'd they get you off the rock?" Is my immediate response as I shake his hand. "Did the vultures help or...?"

"Please, don't mention the vultures." Prometheus sighed as he touched the scratches on his face. Luke is smirking silently as Thalia watches us. She's never seen me act like this, and I think she's used to Luke keeping everything under control.

He'd given up with me long ago.

"So, how'd you get free?"

"Hercules did that eons ago. So, you see, I have a soft spot for heroes. Some of you can be quite civilised." Prometheus remarked and I'm not sure if he'd met me, because I wasn't known for that. 

"Unlike the company you keep." Ethan rolls his eyes, knowing that I'm talking about him. Prometheus thinks I mean the empousa.

"Oh, demons aren't so bad if you keep them well fed." I throw that thought away quite quickly. "Now, Andromeda Jackson, let us parley."

We sit at the picnic table. Luke hovers behind me, Thalia and Grover behind him. The blue giant propped the white flag and began playing (read: breaking) in the playground. Prometheus sat forward and laced his fingers, making me turn back to him.

"Andromeda, your position is weak. You know you can't stop another assault." I hum, before shrugging.

"We'll see." That brought a pained look to Prometheus' face.

"Andromeda, I am the Titan of forethought. I know what's going to happen."

"He's also the Titan of craft counsel." Grover added in. "Emphasis on crafty."

"True enough, satyr." Prometheus shrugged. "But I supported the gods in the last war. I told Kronos that he didn't have the strength and he'd lose, and then he did. I know how to pick the winning side. This time, I'm backing Kronos."

"Good for you." I muttered. "Doesn't change my standpoint."

"I'm here because I thought you might listen to reason." Prometheus ignored me and Luke, as both of us began to hide laughter. I was not known to be logical. He drew a map on the table, golden lines appearing on the concrete. "This is Manhattan. We have armies here, here, here, and here. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."

"Your spy is going great things." Prometheus watched my face, like he expected to see annoyance, but I was long past that.

"At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight, Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed. You've fought bravely but there's no way you can hold all of Manhattan." Prometheus explained. "You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There, you'll be destroyed. I have seen this, it will happen."

"Okay."

"Andromeda, you are refighting the Trojan War here. Patterns repeat themselves in history." Prometheus got out through gritted teeth.

"Great."

"A great siege. Two armies."

"Glad you can count."

"You are defending! You are Troy. And you know what happened to the Trojans, don't you?" I've struck a nerve now.

"So, you're telling me that you're getting a full sized wooden horse into an elevator?" I gasped in mock shock. "Write that down."

"Troy was completely destroyed, Andromeda. You don't want that to happen here. Stand down and New York will be spared." Prometheus bargained. "Your forces will be granted amnesty. I will personally assure your safety. What have the gods ever done for you?"

"Not much, but thing is, they haven't tried to kill me like five times in the last four years or manipulated a twelve year old into doing the job for him." I muse. "And I don't trust a word coming out of his mouth."

"All he wants is a pathway to Olympus." Prometheus promised. "The might of the gods is tied to their seats. You saw what happened to Poseidon once his undersea palace was attacked. Kronos just wants to use New York as a pathway to Olympus, to challenge the gods at their place of power. The gods will fade, they will be defeated and it is better to do this whilst the Olympians are distracted, fewer lives lost that way. But, make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us. Typhon arrives in two days, everything will be destroyed and that's much worse for you and your city. The Titans will rule."

"I don't respond well to threats, never have." I lean back, taking some gum from my pocket, throwing it in the air and catching it in my mouth. "Especially empty threats. They never work well with me. I know who you truly are, Prometheus, a trickster. You're the little voice in our head, the one who urges you to make the bad decisions. You sit here and try to tell me that I am doomed, yet Puck was scared to death of me, definitely terrified of Luke. He was your leaders second choice when he failed to get his first choice."

They all tense at that.

"What? Do you think I'm stupid?" I turn to Luke, who huffs. "They think I'm stupid."

"You give off that impression."

"Aw, babe, you sweetheart." I pat his stomach before turning around. "Puck is no more than a second choice host for Kronos. He's underqualified, weak some would say. So, you can sit there and try to persuade me to take this truce all day long, and it's not gonna work."

"We offer you peace and you scoff-"

"Not scoff." I correct him. "Spit on. Cuss at, laugh at. I don't scoff, that's too nice. I scorn."

He glares as I turn to Ethan, grinning.

"You must hate this."

"I don't know what you mean."

"How much did they force you to be here? If I were you, I would have hated trying to go for peace. I bet you want revenge."

"I want respect, Jackson!" I struck a nerve with him too, so I was on great form today. "The gods never gave me that. You wanted me to go to your stupid camp, to spend my time crammed into Eleven because I'm not important-?"

"And you're important now?" I laugh. "How'd you lose your eye? Nemesis, right? Goddess of revenge and balance. Go on, tell me how you lost it."

"It was payment!" He growled. "In exchange, she swore to me that one day, I would tip the balance of power. I would bring the minor gods respect. An eye was a small price to pay."

"Wow, mom of the year. She definitely cares deeply for you, I can tell." I smile.

"At least she keeps her word, unlike the Olympians. She always pays her debts."

"Have you actually tipped the balance of power yet or are you still waiting?" He doesn't answer, eye flashing. "Ah, so when you lose, will you have tipped it then? You owe me, kid. I saved your life, you owe me. Your mom is all about balance right, you've got a scale to even out."

"We're on a diplomatic mission." Prometheus stops Ethan from grabbing the hilt of his sword, raising his other hand out to me. I smirk. "It worries you what happened to Puck. Perhaps if you knew the full story-"

"I don't care." I cut him off. "Kronos manipulated a twelve year old who's brain wasn't at full functioning power yet. I've got enough of my own sob stories without worrying about anyone elses. Kronos groomed a child, got child soldiers blah bah."

"The gods know what will happen and yet they do nothing. Luke would know better than anyone who sits here. He knows the gods do not care for him." Prometheus spoke over me. "Has he ever told you about his mother, about what happened to her."

"We've been dating for three years now, if he hadn't of told me, I would have been a bit confused." I shrug. "What do you expect me to do? Roll around and scream about unfairness? I've had a shit life, quite frankly, knowing I have a dad who's alive is better than nothing at all."

I laugh at that.

"I'll give you a deal. Tell Kronos to call off his attack, leave Puck, return to the pits of Tartarus and I won't bitch slap him there." I grinned as the empousa's hair erupted into flames. Prometheus sighed before placing a Greek vase onto the table, three foot high and a foot wide.

"If you change your mind, I have a gift for you." Luke stepped back.

"That's not-"

"You recognise it." Luke and Thalia both seemed to. I had long since bypassed fear. "It belonged to my sister-in-law, Pandora."

"Oh, a relic." I look at it. "I love it when people give me things for my twenty-first. You shouldn't have."

"One spirit remained inside when Pandora opened it. Hope." Prometheus reminded me. "She can only be released by a child of man. I give this as a reminder of what the gods are like. Keep it if you wish, but if you decide that the death and blood on your hands is enough, open the jar and give up hope. Kronos will be lenient, he'll spare the survivors."

"Cheery." It's a bit too late for me to try and regift it so I pick it up and place it on my hips. "Bye bye now. Don't be coming back until evening."

I wave over my shoulder, putting my back to them before they can do the same to me.

"Come on, we've got work to do."

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Hiya,

So, Andi is just insulting everyone left right and centre and I love that for her. Her and Luke are super cute, really excited to see how this goes moving forward and definitely looking forward to more battle scenes in the future.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx