The gods attacked. Lightning flashed. Arrows of gold and silver streaked into

the cloud like rocket tracers and exploded. Slowly, the cloud ripped apart, and

I saw Typhon clearly for the first time.

 

I knew as long as I lived (which might not be that long) I would never be able

to get the image out of my mind. Typhon's head shifted constantly. Every moment

he was a different monster, each more horrible than the last. Looking at his

face would've driven me insane, so I focused on his body, which wasn't much

better. He was humanoid, but his skin reminded me of a meat loaf sandwich that

had been in someone's locker all year. He was mottled green, with blisters the

size of buildings, and blackened patches from eons of being stuck under a

volcano. His hands were human, but with talons like an eagle's.

 

His legs were scaly and reptilian.

 

"The Olympians are giving their final effort." Kronos laughed. "How pathetic."

 

Zeus threw a thunderbolt from his chariot. The blast lit up the world. I could

feel the shock even here on Olympus, but when the dust cleared, Typhon was still

standing. He staggered a bit, with a smoking crater on top of his misshapen

head, but he roared in anger and kept advancing.

 

My limbs began to loosen up. Kronos didn't seem to notice. His attention was

focused on the fight and his final victory. If I could hold out a few more

seconds, and if my dad kept his word . . .