33: Saving Grace

                                    

                                          


                          
THIRTY-THREE
                          
            Jason did not know when he ended up on the shore of a sandy beach, struggling to keep the jaws of a giant sea serpent from closing in on him. But here he was.
                          
            The Trojan Sea Monster had terrible timing. It had come for Jason just as he'd finished slashing his way through a swarm of gryphons, shooting bursts of air at them to knock them away from the battle raging below. He had ended up over the river separating Istanbul from the rest of Turkey, where he had fallen prey to the Trojan Sea Monster almost instantly. 
                          
            Jason should have known he would cross this thing sooner or later. 
                          
            "Oh, gods," he gasped out, pushing up harder with his arms. He could see his sword lying several feet away, the gold glinting in the sunlight. "Whoa!" Jason yelped, losing his balance. Thankfully, he fell forwards and not backwards, into the serpent's mouth. Jason summoned a wave of air to push him away from the monster's mouth before it could grab a bite of his legs. 
                          
            "Jason!" someone shouted behind him. Jason couldn't turn to look, however. He grabbed his sword and charged. 
                          
            Only to be beaten to it by a slew of silver arrows.
                          
            "Jason!" the voice shouted again. He turned around just in time to see a black blur jump at him. He was knocked to the ground, a pair of thin, lithe arms wrapping themselves around him in the tightest of embraces.
                          
            "What the... Thalia?" Jason blinked, breathing in the familiar scent of his sister. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, burying his face in her hair. "Thalia."
                          
            She pulled back and grinned at him, her blue eyes bright. "Always getting yourself in trouble," she teased, pointing to the body of the Sea Monster behind them. 
                          
            "You know me," Jason agreed, sheathing his sword and pulling back from their embrace. He glanced behind Thalia to see a small army of Hunters setting up a barrier between the river behind him and the town where the battle raged. "How did you get here?"
                          
            Thalia shook her head. "It was the most incredible thing, Jason. We were camped out in the Andes, trying to figure out how to go on without Artemis." Her expression darkened. "It was getting bad. We were fighting, arguing about every little thing. I really thought it was the end for the Hunters."
                          
            "What changed?"
                          
            Thalia jerked her thumb over her shoulder to the battle. "That did. We got an Iris-Message from Chiron, something about a battle and life and death. The end of the world. Normal stuff. We were getting ready to head out when..." Thalia took a deep breath. "When she came back."
                          
            Jason frowned. "Who?"
                          
            Thalia's eyes shone with what could only be described as starlight. "Artemis," she breathed. "She came back to us, out of the trees, like she had never left. She brought us mounts, told us we needed to come here to help you guys. I almost didn't believe it was her. I still can't."
                          
            Jason's eyes widened. "How is that possible? She... She died, Thalia."
                          
            Thalia shook her head. "Something changed," she said softly. "Can't you feel it? Things feel... different. Better somehow. More right."
                          
            "Hold!" one of the Hunters shouted from a few feet away. She nocked an arrow in her bow and took aim. There was a large, black panther slinking its way towards Jason and Thalia. "Ready arrows!" she shouted to the other Hunters, who were already following suit.