Fire and Metal: Chapter 11

Fire and Metal: Chapter List

Enemy Fire: Lance's POV
Surprisingly, we were almost at Fort Ticonderoga, and we hadn't been attacked once. Most of the time, we traveled in silence, thinking about our enemies' motives and how to rescue Neil.

"This is what the prophecy meant," Felicia said abruptly.

"What?"

"Our goal changed. First, we wanted to rescue our mom, but then We discovered there was a new enemy, so our goal became reescuing our mother from the enemy and then defeat the enemy. Now our goal changed yet again. We have to rescue Neil and mom, and then destroy the enemy. And I still can't figure out how to do that."

"Maybe we don't have to," I suggested. "Maybe we should just rescue them and go back to Camp Half-Blood. We could gather an army too. From what I've seen, these guys would outnumber us two fifty to one."

"Yeah," She mused.

Suddenly a blinding flash of light appeared. Temporarily blinded, I put my hand on my weapon. When the light died down, I opened my eyes again. Standing in place of the light was a woman with a great deal of glowing jewlery and a bronze staff like Neil's.

"Hecate." Felicia knelt. I followed her example.

"Rise, friends of my son. He is in great danger. You two must get there as soon as you can. Otherwise, something worse than death will befall him."

"What is it?" I asked.

"I could not divine any more from my magic," She sighed. "Nevertheless, he is counting on you two. I have arranged a ride for you." She pointed at a van that said "Crossroads Delivery."

"Best of luck." With that, she dissapated into the Mist.

"So, who's gonna drive?" Felicia asked.

"You drive, I'm still not sure where we are supposed to go." I said.

We loaded up the car, and drove down the road. Before long, we reached a small town. Apparently, Fort Ticonderoga was all it had going for it, because it was advertised everywhere as the number one tourist attraction in the area. Probably the only one, too. After we drove inside the town, it was easy to find the Fort. Something caught my attention though. It was snowing very lightly, but the snow had been piled up a foot high. We stopped at a gas station. While my sister was refueling the car, I went to an attendant and asked about the snow.

"I'm not sure what happened to the weather lately. It's been snowing for a full week now, but it was always very light. In fact, I think even the fort is closed." He said.

This was not good. If the fort was closed, it would be even harder to get in. Especially since we were supposed to be terrorists. Luckily, this town appeared to be isolated enough, but I still think the security at the fort would know of us. I thanked the man and got in the car again.

Soon, the snow covered walls of Fort Ticonderoga loomed ahead. I gasped. ''How had I been so stupid? I didn't realize it until I saw the snowy walls, but For Ticonderoga had'' to be the fort of snow. I mentioned this to Felicia, but she just shrugged.

"I knew that already. I just never mentioned it because I figured you already knew."

That ticked me off slightly, but I said nothing.

"Hey, Felicia, back at Camp, you seemed as if you knew more than me. Granted, you usually do, but I wouldn't expect you to know more than me about a world you never suspected would exist."

"I did know about it beforehand though. The day mother had the dream. Our birthday. I had a dream too. Hepahestus told me about Camp. H-he said I would be too overwhelmed if I learned of it later. That's why I came out of my room later than usual that day. I was recovering from intense shock. He also explained my fire powers there." She recounted. "I'm so sorry for hiding this from you. Can you forgive me?"

"Sure. It's nothing, really. By the way, during Chemistry, that's how you lit the fire right? Your powers?" I asked.

"Yeah."

Soon we parked outside the Fort. "Thank you Lady Hecate," Felicia said, and the car disappeared.

"Hey! We might need that to get away!" I complained.

"We borrowed it from her. Debts to gods must be repaid."

I didn't argue. We went to the visitor's center, surprisingly, it wasn't locked, even though it says "CLOSED" out front.

As soon as we stepped in, the lights flared to life. A man dressed in purple robes came out. Not again.

Following him were ten people, five guys, five girls. "Caligula?" I asked.

"No, merely a family resemblence. I am Nero! These are my ten personal gaurds, just as Caligula and Claudius have." He boomed.

We turned around and tried to get out. "Stop them!" Nero shouted.

In no time at all we were bound. Felicia was unlucky enough to be caught by Nero himself. "Let's give you a taste of my power, eh?" With that, his hand flared up in flames.

"What?! You're a son of Hephaestus?" Felicia stammered.

"No. I was descended from Vulcan from my mother, Agrippina's side. Iwas lucky enough to inherit the powers of pyrokinesis from Vulcan. How do you think I started the Great Fire of Rome?" He said, pushing his hand into Felicia. Nothing happened.

Nero cursed and dropped her. "Stupid child of Hephaestus."

While Nero had been occupied with Felicia, I took every metal object from the gift shop, and used my powers to form them into a huge cage. I lept onto a shelf and fastened the cage to a chain. When a bunch of the guards ran underneath, I cut the chain. The cage went whistling down to the ground. I jump down and welded the metal to the floor and shelves with my mind, and then ran back to help Felicia. She was attacking Nero in hand-to-hand combat. Both of their weapons were on fire. I looked around. There were still three guards left. They apparently didn't go with their comrads to be trapped under my cage. I pulled out my falchion and whirled into battle. I tried breaking their swords with my powers, but I had exhuasted my ferokinesis powers, and could not even dull the blades.

One of them came at me with a yell. I recognized him immediately. He was the son of Thanatos I had encountered before. He slashed at me with his midnight black sword. I spun around, the blade a hairsbreadth away from my arm. I came around him with my sword, stabbed on of the other guys through his calve.

"Ahh! Letian, look out!" He screamed.

The son of Thanatos, who was apparently named Letian turned around and parried my strike. The other demigod spun around and cut me across the cheek. Howling, I grapped his sword by the blade and bent it with ease. Despite having exhausted my powers, bending swords with my strength and ferokinesis was fairly easy. However, my left hand was bruised and bleeding. I kicked him in the stomach.

The only enemies left were Nero, whom Felicia was still engaging in a fierce duel with, and Letian, who was easily the most skilled of all of Nero's guards.

He looked around, realized he was alone, and raised his black sword into the air. Suddenly a skeletal hand grabbed me. Another hand shot up from the ground. Letian laughed, "I pity you. Most who fight the dead become dead themselves."

Snarling, I grabbed one of the fallen guards swords, bent it with my mind, and then tied one of the skeleton warriors arms to his ribcage, and slashed him apart. Letian winced. I looked around for more metal, but there was none readily availible.

I dove aside, barely dodging the skeleton warrior, and knocked the sword out of its hands. To my horror, it plucked a bone from his left arm, and continued fighting with it as a mace. I ducked as the bone whistled over my head. I took the opportunity of its outstretched arm and stabbed it in the arm pit.

It didn't even fall back. I should have known dead people don't feel pain. "I need some help here!"

Felicia came to my aid, leaving Nero opponetless. She swept through the skeleton with her flaming sword, and said, "I'll get the Thanatos kid, you take Nero."

I nodded, and charged toward Nero. While he seemed to be my match with a sword, if slightly better, it was really hard parrying his strikes while doging the fire. So I retreated.

"Running away little hero?" I ignored him. Suddenly an idea hit me.

I flipped my flachion back into the hilt, and it became a Swiss Army Knife again. Then I dug out the reamer, my fingers fumbling as Nero approached. I clicked the emblem, and it became a harpoon. I grabbed the rope, and threw the harpoon at Nero. He couldn't stop himself, so he raised his sword, trying to bat it away. The harpoon punched his sword out of his hand, but glanced off of it and landed left of Nero. He looked at his sword. It was dented and useless. I tugged on the rope, and the harpoon came sliding back toward me.

I took aim once again. "Letian, get us away from here!" Nero shouted. Suddenly a bunch of skeletal horses dragging a black chariot came in, and Nero climbed on, along with Letian, and picked up the two unconscious people.

Breating heavily, I went to go check on the seven captured gaurds.

"Hello, I would like you to introduce youselves, and tell us where we can find prisoners." I said.

Felicia came in behind me, "Should we free them?"

"Not until they give us information." I said determinedly.