LoSP Side Story Ch.17: The Dragon's Death

AN: This is the continuance of Thalia’s POV from Ch.66 of the main fic. To read it, go to Ch.66 Golden Waters.

LAST TIME

The weapon my father had gifted me shot toward the dragon, leaving a faint sonic boom and the crack of thunder in its wake, tearing across the air like a lightning-wreathed comet, aimed straight for the dragon’s head. At the last moment, the dragon moved like a snake, my ax missing its colossal head and screeching off its scales in a burst of electric sparks that scattered across its body. 

It roared, billowing another jet of fire at me, which I weaved away from, hissing as I felt the heat of the flames crawl through my armor and hunting gear, feeling like someone had doused me with almost boiling-hot water.

This, I decided, wasn’t going to be quick. Which meant Percy was on his own.

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THALIA POV

The smell of burnt hair and soot stung my nose, pulling the winds closer around myself like a blanket as I regained my bearings. Sweat dripped down my forehead, stinging my eyes despite the storm clouds churning above me, where the dragon flew in circles. 

Raising my hand, I summoned my ax back, feeling the cold metal slam into my hand

Draco wasn’t slowing down. If anything, the lightning had only made it angrier. Its eyes, molten gold like starlight, fixed on me as the dragon turned and I readied myself, swallowing the storm of fear that churned in my gut. 

Below me, a gong reverberated through the battlefield, and I glanced down to see Atlas striding out of a pile of rubble, the monsters around him snapping up, as if they were an army.

The rattling of gunfire drew my attention back as the dragon screeched, tiny explosions peppering its face as Percy’s chariot flew past me, drawing the dragon’s eye.  With a billow, it breathed fire, which Clarisse narrowly swerved out of, the blistering fire, tearing through the storm clouds above, turning them to steam. 

Suddenly, a horrible, screeching, tearing sound tore through the air that made the hair on my arms stand up. Draco, on the other hand, screamed a roar that rattled through the sky and darted higher in the air, away from the ground

I cursed under my breath, praying to my dad for strength as I rose after it, breathing in the sauna-hot air and the smell of ozone. I spun my ax, summoning the lightning from the skies around me, letting the electricity coil around me like armor. 

The storm shrieked in my ears as I tore after Draco, aiming straight for the weak spot I’d opened in its wing. As I approached, Draco twisted impossibly fast, tail whipping upward with the force of a battering ram, which caught me square across the chest.

Pain exploded through my ribs as I was flung across the sky, the world spinning violently. I gagged on the taste of copper filling my mouth, spitting blood into the wind as I plummeted. Below me, the ground lit up in an explosion of Greek fire, sending a shockwave of heat through the air that worsened my pain till I saw dark spots in my vision. 

My meager concentration on the winds slipped, and I felt dread coil in my gut.

Suddenly, a strong grip wrapped around my ankle, and I was pulled up, a scream tearing from my throat as my ribs cracked and I felt dizzy.

“You ain’t leaving me alone against the massive dragon, Sparky,” a rough voice said, pouring a cool liquid into my mouth.

Immediately, the pain lessened and the world swam back into place, and I saw Clarisse’s face staring at me with worry.

“What?” I blinked, wincing slightly as I tried to move.

“It is a mixture.” She poured another sip of the liquid into my mouth. “Ambrosia, nectar, pain killers, and some herbs I don’t know shit about. I called in a favor from the Apollo medics before we started on this quest. They owed me a bit, and I told them to make me this. I think Apollo helped too— secretly.”

“Thanks,” I managed before wincing as Draco roared again, loud enough to rattle the whole chariot. “Clarisse—”

“I’m on Draco. Don’t worry.” She turned and pressed a button on the dashboard. “Car? Shoot the last of the missiles. Target injured spots.”

The next second, I saw the few blurs of Greek fire shoot from the side of the car and blur toward Draco, exploding across its wing and one of the ridges in its spine, causing it to screech.

“What’s the ammo left?” Clarisse asked.

“Missiles, bombs, and cannon are empty, ma’am.” The computer’s voice through the car. “Fifteen bullets remain in the gun. Advised course of action: Retreat.”

“Fuck that, we’re going nowhere.” Clarisse’s spear appeared in her hand, and she pulled her Greek helmet onto her head. “Take me above the dragon. Catch me if I fall off it.”

“What are you planning?” I breathed, sitting back up, the pain now a dull throb. “You can’t take that on. You’re the size of a mosquito to that thing!”

Clarisse snorted. “Mosquitoes kill more humans than any other animal on the planet— and that’s including other humans. It’s the best kind of predator to be. And I am going to sting the Dragon where it hurts the most.”

I blinked. Trust Clarisse to know that kind of fact. 

“You rest here. This stuff will take some time to kick in.” Her eyes flashed red. “I’m going to take care of Draco till then.” She glanced over her shoulder. “See you!”

With that, she flipped out of the chariot, and I nearly screamed, lunging over the side to catch a glimpse.

Clarisse plummeted through the dark skies like a crimson comet, her spear gleaming with flickering red electricity rising above her head. The dragon below twisted midair, the scales shimmering with the crimson glow of Clarisse’s spear for a moment, until she slammed into the ridge of its spine with a sound like metal on an anvil.

The impact reverberated through the sky, and Draco roared, thrashing violently, the sheer force of its wings nearly ripping the storm apart. Clarisse clung on, bellowing a war cry that I barely heard through the howl of the wind.

“For ARES!”

She drove her spear down between the dragon’s scales, a line of blood-ichor spraying into the air like a geyser. The dragon’s roar shifted to one of pure rage, flames licking from its maw in all directions as it spun and twisted, trying to dislodge her.

But she held on, the glow around her brightening, visible even through the tearing storm.

“Holy shit,” I muttered, clutching the side of the chariot as she removed the spear and leaped forward, driving it through another ridge, another hand holding on to a long jagged spike as she shoved her spear deeper before pulling it free. 

Below me, a huge crack of power rocked the world, and I glanced down to see dust rise, gulping down the fear as I remembered that Percy and Atlas were still going toe to toe

I turned to the car. “Alright, no point in sitting here. How well is the aim of the gun? Can I blind the Dragon?”

“With the current weather conditions and accounting for the speed of the target, it is improbable, ma’am.” The chariot’s glass windows rattled as the Dragon screeched again in agony. “And bullets are not the best weapons against such a monster.”

“Yeah, I know the other part.” I picked my Ax back up, chugging the rest of the concoction, feeling power burn back into my veins as ribs snapped back into place. “Let’s try it anyway and take the best shot. Worst case, we lose the last fifteen bullets, which weren’t going to do shit anyway.”

A screen targeted the eye, zooming into the bright, golden irises. “Wind speed accounted for in targeting. Trying to follow the dragon’s speed. Yet an automated shot is unlikely. Would you like to take a manual shot, Ma’am?”

“Fuck it, why not?” I clutched the joystick. “Artemis, this isn’t an arrow, but still monster hunting. Guide me, please.”

I adjusted the aim as my gut told me and pressed the button. The gun roared for a fraction of a second before the ammo ran out, and I saw little bursts of green pepper around the dragon’s eye, before it screeched, its eyes screwing shut, and spun around in the air violently.

“Did I get it?” I breathed, tensing as Clarisse hung onto the dragon’s scales as it thrashed in the air, and I spotted ichor dripping from its shut eyelid. “YES!”

The dragon turned, and I felt my heart drop as it opened its mouth, revealing its massive teeth, even the smallest ones probably twice my size.

I dove out just as a burst of fire pulverized the air where I had been, consuming Percy’s chariot in its grasp as I willed the winds to take me away, watching as the fire melted the chariot until it burst into an explosion.

A part of me reminded me that Percy was going to be furious that his precious chariot burned down, but I told it to shut up as I soared through the air, pouring lightning down my Ax. 

Clarisse sprinted up the dragon’s spine in a crimson-lit glow, her spear digging through the scales as she yelled, lunging from spike to spike, leaving pools of ichor in her wake.

With a deep breath, I aimed my Ax at its maw and threw it with all my strength. My ax tore across the sky in a lightning-wreathed blur, slicing across the dragon’s maw, drawing another line of ichor.

The ax slammed back into my hand, and I grinned, darting closer as Clarisse climbed up Draco’s spine, thrusting her spear wildly, crimson electricity flickering around her.

“Clarisse!” I bellowed, flying closer as she looked up, her eyes a solid crimson now. “Stab it somewhere soft and get clear!”

She nodded and lunged, her spear digging through the flesh, going almost halfway deep before she slid back while I flew past her, rising in the storm and raised my ax. 

The storm split open above me as I brought the ax down.

Lightning crashed, a pillar of white fire lancing straight into Draco’s back where Clarisse’s spear was buried deep. The explosion lit the sky in blinding light, thunder shattering the air so violently I thought my skull would crack.

Draco shrieked, and its wings spasmed, jerking violently as the current coursed through its body; ichor boiled and scales popped like overheated metal.

Clarisse was flung upward by the blast, but she didn’t fall. She twisted in midair, kicking off one of Draco’s spines, and grabbed her smoking spear, using it as a lever to catapult herself up straight onto the Dragon’s head, all without losing a step of balance.

With a feral roar, she jammed her spear straight into its eye, pouring all the crimson power down her spear.

The dragon convulsed and its scream tore through the clouds, wings faltering as it spiraled downward in a wild, chaotic dive. Smoke and ichor poured from its wounds, fire guttering out from its ruined throat.

Say whatever you may about Clarisse and her bloodthirsty behavior, she was a stone-cold badass. And deadly useful to boot.

Without waiting, I moved on my own, only Athena and Percy’s training ringing in my head.

The winds surged beneath me, hurling me forward like a thunderbolt of my own. My ax blazed in my grip, every ounce of storm I had left thrumming into the blade until it hummed like a star.

In the next moment, I struck, driving the ax into the mangled joint of Draco’s wing, the same one I had opened earlier. Lightning ripped free in a violent cascade, searing through muscle, tendon, and bone. With a surge, I flew further and brought my ax down onto Clarisse’s buried spear like a hammer, pouting the lightning down its shaft.

The colossal beast let out one last defiant roar before its body plummeted, spiraling like a dying comet toward the battlefield below. 

I pulled away, dragging Clarisse with the winds as she let go at the last possible second, both of us tumbling through the air as Draco fell, with me barely controlling the winds as the pain in my ribs flared.

A second later, Draco hit the ground with the impact of an earthquake, shaking the city as dust and ichor erupted in a mushroom cloud that stung my face.

“YEAH!” Clarisse let out a jubilant laugh. “Take that, you dragon bastard!”

As the dust cleared, I blinked as I saw the dark, bleeding form of Draco lying in a crater, and staggered back. “It’s still alive. How the fuck is it still alive?”

“Well, then we behead it!” Clarisse marched forward with a barely noticeable limp, and her spear appeared in her hands. “Come before it regains consciousness, Sparky.”

I followed weakly, sliding down the crater, and looking closely, properly at the dragon, which seemed the size of a small town in front of us, rising like a massive wall.

Clarisse hacked her spear through the biggest wound, a small river of ichor widening as it rolled down the side of Draco’s neck.

I followed her lead, slashing at it as fast as I could, small tendrils of lightning cracking across the blade of my ax, the blood thumping in my ears as the wound widened, until monster dust began to form from the wound, and I smiled.

“NO!” Percy’s loud yell tore through the air, and I whirled around, seeing a spear soar through the air in the distance. “GROVER!”

Even in the distance, I saw the spear pierce through Grover’s chest, and he fell, turning to dust.

The world seemed to slip out from beneath my feet as I collapsed. “No.”

Grover Underwood, one of my best friends, had fallen.

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AND… DONE! Hope you all liked the story!

I just made this a quick update before I put Black Dawn up in a couple of days. I don’t think I need to say much, though.

This is one of two side stories I need to publish with the Trap’s subarc, the other being the Artemis fight, which I will publish next month, after LoSP’s main chapter.

So, stay tuned till then!

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Stay Happy! Stay Safe! Keep Smiling! Keep Reading!

HPfanfictioner66