Tail slapped by Leviathan

I grunted and tried to hold on, fingers wrapped tightly around his tail, but his echo came down next and more water pushed its way between my skin and his scales. Slowly at first, then with increasing speed and ease, it slipped out of my grasp, and I was left holding nothing.

I rolled to my feet, taking a short second to glance back at Alexandria — but that was a mistake. Wind whistled, Herakles’ instincts blared like a siren in my brain, and my head snapped back around as my body started to move on its own — too late to avoid the lightning fast tail that whipped at me and snapped against my cuirass with all the force of a speeding train.

Once more, Leviathan sent me flying.
It wasn’t as far as when he’d thrown me through a building, but it still must have been about fifty feet before I hit the ground with a splash. I rolled with the landing, twisting my torso, and pushed myself up to my feet with a maneuver that would have made an Olympic gymnast cry with envy.