An excerpt from Chapter 12: A Death at Sea from the Son of Hades)
“Jump, Keegan!” yelled Delma.
He hesitated. He could not swim, but he wanted to keep the plane from its perceived watery fate, so he began to back up, preparing himself for the plunge.
Continuing to hesitate, he threw down his shield, thinking it would not help him stay afloat. He breathed deep.
“Poseidon, have mercy.” Then he ran and jumped.
Boom!
Sharply and suddenly, he was blasted out of the air by a burst of electricity to the chest. He shot back through the doorway, across the width of the airplane, and slammed into the door on the opposite side, knocking it square off its hinges with the force of his impact. His outspread arms and legs were now embedded in the doorframe, having stopped him from falling out of the other side, into the sea. Just then, the demigod that struck him appeared in the doorway.
“Son of Hades.”
Coming to, Keegan grimaced at the title.
“Time to die.”
He lifted his sword as the clouds above the craft began to glow
with a violent dance of electricity.
With amazing speed, the blast leapt from the sky, through
the open door at his back, and into the demigod. Then it went out through the sword, causing it to glow brightly pale-yellow.
Boom!
But timing it as best he could, Keegan tossed his arm out from the doorframe, across the width of his body, allowing the shot to just graze the shoulder of his tunic.
The blinded and deafened passengers panicked in their seats.
Boom!
Keegan freed his other arm, narrowly dodging another blast. He grunted out his forceful exhales, for the speed at which he moved greatly stressed his body.
The demigod had grown tired of his target’s good fortune. He fired a third blast, faster in succession than the last two.
Boom!
With a leap, Keegan freed his heels from the doorframe, swiftly rolled onto his shield, seized it, and defended himself as the demigod fired another blast.
Boom!
Keegan slid back under the force of the demigod’s mythical lightning. He regained his footing with the moment he had before the demigod continued his onslaught.
He fired a blast.
boom!
Then another.
Boom!
And another.
Boom!
And another.
Boom!
Keegan heard only ringing in his ears now.
Boom!
But he continued to hold his ground under the barrage of lightning strikes.
The blasts were bouncing off his shield, striking the inside of the airplane, creating scorch marks on metal, setting the things that could catch fire ablaze, hitting passengers, killing them instantly.
Boom!
As Keegan fought to regain his focus, he noticed a moment’s pause in the demigod’s assault.
Boom!
And then he seized the opportunity. He stood erect swiftly, like a man quickened, dashing forward. He spun to the inside of the blast, knocking his attacker’s arm outward with his shield causing the lightning strike to hit the inside of the cabin—boom!—and then finished with a devastating blow to the belly.
The demigod went soaring under the force of the blow toward the front of the airplane at a slight upward angle then burst through the top of the cabin, out into the open air.
In his triumphant respite, Keegan noticed the hiss of heated metal. He looked around and saw that smoke was coming from his reddened shield and frantically began blowing and fanning it to cool it off.