The Demigod Files - Fighting Keres

She seemed to be listening. Then her eyes widened. A ring of a dozen daimones materialized around us.

They were part humanoid female, part bat. Their faces were pug-nosed and furry, with fangs and bulging eyes. Matted gray fur and piecemeal armor covered their bodies. They had shriveled arms with claws for hands, leathery wings that sprouted from their backs, and stubby bowed legs. They would’ve looked funny except for the murderous glow in their eyes.

“Keres,” Nico said.

“What?” I asked.

“Battlefield spirits. They feed on violent death.”

“Oh, wonderful,” Thalia said.

[...]

The lead daimon lunged. Nico was so surprised it might have slashed him to bits, but Thalia shot an arrow point-blank into its ugly bat face, and the creature disintegrated.

The rest of them charged. Thalia dropped her bow and drew her knives. I ducked as Nico’s sword whistled over my head, cutting a daimon in half. I sliced and jabbed, and three or four Keres exploded around me, but more just kept coming.

“Iapetus shall crush you!” one shouted.

“Who?” I asked. Then I ran her through with my sword. Note to self: If you vaporize monsters, they can’t answer your questions.

Nico was also cutting an arc through the Keres. His black sword absorbed their essence like a vacuum cleaner, and the more he destroyed, the colder the air became around him. Thalia flipped a daimon on its back, stabbed it, and impaled another one with her second knife without even turning around.

“Die in pain, mortal!” Before I could raise my sword for defense, another daimon’s claws raked my shoulder. If I’d been wearing armor, no problem, but I was still in my school uniform. The thing’s talons sliced open my shirt and tore into my skin. My whole left side seemed to explode in pain.

Nico kicked the monster away and stabbed it. All I could do was collapse and curl into a ball, trying to endure the horrible burning.

The sound of battle died. Thalia and Nico rushed to my side.


- The Demigod Files: The Sword of Hades