As soon as Hecate pushed the doors open, smoke exploded from inside, washing over all of them and the retinue of servants and soldiers.
The smoke didn't seem noxious or dangerous, but Percy made sure to hold his breath. He turned to his mother, feeling something was wrong.
Hecate's gaze darkened, she twirled her fingers through the air, summoning those green wind spirits once again to clear the smoke.
The moment they could see again, Percy's eyes widened. A man cut through the clearing smoke, dressed in all black, face covered. In his hand was a green dagger.
Hecate raised her hand to blow the man away, but Thalos was already moving. Percy, who was in his father's arms, felt his mind dragged as Thalos closed the distance in an instant.
It was like zooming in with a camera. Thalos' right hand had been gripping the red handle of his blade since they got into the city. His katana ripped itself from the scabbard with a low hiss, a luminous red glow surged over the blade.
Thalos muttered. "First cut."
He drew a red line in the air with his blade, drawing and slashing in one lightning-fast move. Percy's eyes widened as the man fell to the ground in two separate pieces.
Thalos clicked his tongue.
"Died to the First cut. His spirit is too weak."
More assassins broke through the small space in the smoke that Hecate carved for them. She was ready for them this time, however.
Her voice was raspy and low, chanting in a language that Percy couldn't understand, but the wind spirits around him did.
A green bubble expanded around, slamming into the assassins and blowing them backwards. The smoke filling the entrance was cleared, revealing the soldiers fighting the assassins and the servants being killed.
Hecate turned pale and reached over to her husband.
"Thalos, give me Perseus. Save the servants."
Percy was traded over to his mother without any complaints. Thalos shot towards the assassins, glowing red sword in hand.
The assassins only had a second to catch the glint of crimson before the sword cleaved through their bodies.
Thalos swung his sword in violent but smooth maneuvers, flowing from an upward slash that disemboweled a man to a downward hack that split a man's skull like a rotten watermelon.
Percy turned pale as the assassins abandoned the servants to put down the deadly swordsman. They moved in a coordinated pincer maneuver, four daggers coming for his father from all sides.
Thalos didn't move, however, taking all the blows to his body. The absurdity of the action made Percy grip Hecate tighter.
He paused for a moment, eyes widening. Thalos was unhurt, the daggers not even managing to cut his black robes.
Thalos almost looked disappointed.
"Only the first two techniques are enough for you."
The crimson katana severed the air once again, scattering drops of blood across the stone floor. He beheaded two people with one swing and turned to kill the other two.
These two assassins seemed to realise they were vastly outmatched and began retreating. But they didn't get too far.
Thalos' sword sliced through open air, too far away from the assassins to hit. But then the crimson light that covered the blade extended the sword's edge, neatly slashing into the backs of the assassins.
"Second cut, Blood edge"
Now that was fucking awesome, Percy thought to himself. Hecate smiled, pleased with her husband.
Strangely, no one was attacking them. Other than the first assassin, Hecate had not been targeted by anyone. She watched the black-robed assassins attack the soldiers for a moment, then raised her hand.
Her chants were always so strange, a human voice distorted like it was three different people speaking. But the spirits responded to her easily, green lights spun through the air until Hecate was surrounded by five spinning circles of wind.
With a casual flick of her hand, the circles cut through the assassins, accurately passing between friendly soldiers to saw enemies in half.
The gruesome display was made more terrifying to Percy by the fact that if Hecate even slightly missed her mark, a soldier would die.
But the deadly attack called an end to the terror of the black-robed men, leaving the last few of them in chopped-up pieces.
Hecate ignored the blood pooling at her feet.
"Do we have anyone still alive? For interrogation, of course."
Thalos dragged the two assassins he had cut with his blade extension to Hecate.
"I only crippled these ones from the waist down. But I don't think they'll tell us much."
True to his word, the assassins only twitched and let out horrified gasps, fists held tightly in utter horror.
Hecate nodded. "We'll keep them though. You never know what you'll learn. And the rest of you stand at the doors, I'll call you in soon. Let the soldiers deal with the dead."
The servants were still shaking uncontrollably. They walked over to the door and gave their fallen friends some space, eyes gleaming with barely held tears.
The soldiers quickly gathered the dead and lined them up. Someone went to the barracks on the left side of the fortress and returned with clothes to cover up the deceased, leaving the assassins uncovered in disdain.
In the meantime, Thalos, Hecate and Percy went into the massive fortress. Their eyes ran over the white walls that soared above them and the glittering chandelier at the center of the room.
Hecate turned to Thalos.
"Sorry, can you hold Perseus?"
Once again bouncing him between hands like a hot potato, Hecate was free to rummage through her pockets and pull out a blue glowing rock.
You keep rocks in your pocket?
It was obviously magical. But you have to admit that would be uncomfortable.
The rock or geode was artificially lined with metallic strips of silver in a circular pattern that Percy found very intriguing.
Thalos seemed more shocked she was pulling it out and asked.
"Are you sure you want to use that now? There might be deadlier enemies hidden around the fortress."
Hecate shook her head, smiling.
"Viscount Sion didn't leave those assassins here to kill us. He put them here as a show that he could set deadlier traps and kill us anytime he wanted. It's basically there to scare us."
"Didn't really work if I'm being honest," Thalos shrugged. "But now that you mention it, I am worried he might have left traps."
Hecate raised the blue geode, smiling even wider.
"That's what this is for. He wouldn't set magical traps because we might use an Elshire hound to sniff them out. But I can cast spells higher than my rank with this and find the non-magical traps he has hidden."
Percy reached from Thalos' hand and tried grabbing the geode. For scientific reasons, of course.
Hecate pulled it back and bopped his nose.
"No, little Percy. You can't touch this. It might take your random wishes and grant them. This is a Wishing Stone, it's used to ask more powerful spirits for favors."
Another baby might have started crying and being uncool, but Percy was a chill guy… as long as they showed him how it works now. ʀᴇᴀᴅ ʟᴀᴛᴇsᴛ ᴄʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀs ᴀᴛ novᴇlfire.net
Hecate closed her eyes and cupped the geode in her hands. Wispy, silver light began to flow from her hands into the stone, making Hecate flinch a little.
She relaxed once it slowed down and the stone erupted with blue light, covering the entire castle. The light coated every chair, wall and lamp in blue light, then faded. But some spots still retained their glowed blue
Hecate opened her eyes and turned to the soldiers and servants waiting at the door.
"Come inside. We'll find all the traps illuminated by the blue light and disarm them. Don't touch anything without calling us first and get a pair of gloves just in case. It's going to be a very long day."