Audentis Fortuna Iuvat

I resisted the the urge to pull Jason aside and give him a lecture on the art of tactful swearing as he let out another curse. But there wasn't time for that. The hall lit up with an intense orange glow that grew as the clashing footsteps neared. The air stunk like the hairspray blow torch I'd experimented with during a workshop at camp that seemed so long ago now. I pressed myself to the back of a shadowy pillar as I had done so long ago when I had visited with Mark. The others followed my lead and we held our breaths while the light seemed to solidify and join the burning of the bronze braziers on the wall.

The footsteps slammed into the stone so hard that I was surprised it didn't shatter into fragments. The titan - for who else would be so large as to cause such gigantesque footbeats? - let out a cruel but hearty laugh and opened one of those huge stone doors. The natural light made us all flinch away slightly, the white glare piercing through the layers of orange and red emanating from the titan and the braziers.

"And they still fight!" He boomed, the laugh lilting in a harsh way that made me wish i had been born deaf. "Stupid Romans! As if they stand a chance!"

He slammed the door and honestly, if I could've cringed any more then I would have. The burning titan began on his way back to the cavernous hallway he had emerged from. Before I could stop her, Dawn rolled out from behind the pillar to get a better look at our enemy.

She gasped, a split second before we heard an ear-splitting roar and she erupted into flames.

I stared in shock at the ashes drifting across the floor that had moments before been a girl; my comrade. Jason caught my eyes, his blue gaze clear and steady. He nodded and we rushed out with a battle cry that rang with desperation and fear.

But maybe a little hope too.

Notes