Page 75 of Bonds of Hercules
Mozart played the piano, fingers dancing, head flung back, eyes closed in ecstasy.
The monster careened backward into the grass—Fluffy Jr. and I fell forward with it.
In the grass, Fluffy Jr. went for its throat. I raised my daggers high, ruined back screaming in protest, as I slammed them down. Black gore sprayed as I stabbed again and again.
Pausing, I wiped blood from my face with my forearm.
The Titan was lifeless beneath me, a mangled mess of stab wounds. Its right arm was hanging at an angle, face swollen and covered in snake bites, mouth dripping with foam.
With shaking hands, I groped at my belt, fingers still tingling.
The pain in my back was slowly becoming a fire. The titanium cuffs wouldn’t unlatch. Tears streamed down my face, and it was getting harder to see as I fumbled with the cuffs.
Crunch.
Fluffy Jr. growled as he got to his feet beside me.
A few feet away, the other Titan’s head snapped back into place. It sat up, an empty ravaged cavity where its throat used to be.
No. No. No.
The Titan stood tall, blotting out the sky.
Wings unfurled wide.
I dropped the stupid cuffs and tried to stagger to my feet, groaning as my back throbbed with pain.
There was a split second—a flash of wings—darkness exploded.
Air whooshed and my stomach dropped, there was a horrible pressure on my arms, a fresh burning sensation streaked down my spine.
The Titan had slammed into me.
Two taloned hands were wrapped around my biceps. Its monstrous face hovered in front of mine as it held me up—and I realized we were shooting straight up into the air.
I screamed.
The Titan opened its mouth, emitting a raspy whistling noise as the muscles in its ruined neck contracted.
Fluffy Jr.’s barks grew distant. Nyx was down there with him, still wrapped around the fallen Titan.
My hair whipped against my face.
Mangled black wings whooshed as they pumped and we rushed past the top of the Colosseum, hurtling toward gray clouds.
I looked down, head lolling from the force.
People were crowded on the side of the street across from the park, peering up as if they’d all come out to watch me fight a Titan. Multiple cameras were pointed up at me.
The crowd became little dots as we flew higher.
My ears popped as the pressure and temperature plummeted.
The Titan squeezed its hands together, crushing me. There was no way to move, no way to infect it with my blood.
I wheezed as black spots filled my vision. Charlie, Helen, and Ceres were waiting for me to return to the villa.
The bowl of the Colosseum grew smaller.
