The leaves burned the brightest of red, clashing with the low fall sun that hung over the horizon, both a signal of the onslaught of fall. The air still felt hot and sticky, clinging to any solid surface possible, a reminder of the past summer. Mountains jutted up from the landscape, covered in the burning forest, taunting those who dared to trek with steep cliffs and jagged rocks. Old-as-time trees stood still, as if knowing winter was soon to come. Rocks and roots popped from the still-wet dirt, like traps set to stop anyone to walk past.
Gale hiked along the mountain path, Celestial bronze sword gripped in hand. He burned with a fire, fueled by hatred and anger, matching the leaves surrounding him. His temper was like lighting, stored in the sky until the storm. His will was strong, unable to be broken by the temptations of pleasure, strong against the threat of pain; a rebel by nature, like the winds that he was born into.
He grew impatient of his sister behind him, "Tali! Hurry up. We've got plans to keep."
The girl he was speaking to emerged from the forest, strikingly silver hair waving in the fall breeze. Her lightning blue eyes- matching his- scanned the forest in search of a threat.
"Yeah, yeah, you've told me before. I've never seen you this stressed," Tali responded while looking at the mountains ahead of her.
Gale snorted sarcastically, "It's a big deal." He rested his sword to the ground, ADHD causing him to fiddle with his hoodie's string.
"What? Monsters? We've killed enough of those."
"Yeah... but, these ones- they have something we need," Gale said.
"I wish you'd tell me what they have," She said, a hint of demand in her voice.
"You'll see. Now, we need to go." Gale lifted his sword back up, deciding to sheathe it; there didn't see like much around here. He started to walk again, his sister following close behind him. He hiked along the path, footsteps stirring up mud and debris. The two reached a clearing, out of place in the forested mountains. Grasses swayed back and forth, wild flowers dotted here and there.
Gale unsheathed his sword, sizzling blue electricity sparking from the tip. "This isn't natural." Instincts screamed at him to leave.
Tali followed her brother's move, a smaller, double-blade sword appearing her hands. The wind picked up strength, thin leaves blowing to the ground in tornado-like eddies.
Branches snap from the left and both of the Greeks whirl around, adrenaline beginning to pump through their veins. A pale figure steps from the forest, a smirk painted upon his face. A scar is distorted by the evil grin, several smaller ones around eyes. Obvious battle wounds. Gale studies the disfigurements, finding weaknesses in each one, finding what could have causes him; planning. Tali stands nearly completely still as the figure nears closer, revealing itself more handsome than before. The girl flicks her hand, storm clouds riding the winds overhead.
"Child, don't be so quick in your decisions," The man said, his moderately deep voice having no particular accent, but soothing none the less; almost hypnotizing.
"What do you want?" Tali spat, her eyes narrowing into a hateful glaze.
Gale nudged her, "Tact, sister."
The man seemed to teleport from the edge of the forest to directly in front of them. "You."
Gale instantly slashed his sword at the man's chest, sparks exploding from it, blasting the man backwards. "Who are you?" Gale asked between explosions of thunder.
"Why, how rude!" He snarled, revealing his two upper fangs. "I'm Cephissos. And you two smell like demigods."
Gale's eyes narrowed, pupils expanding with adrenaline as the man took a swipe at Tali. She deflected it with a blast of pressurized air, nimble muscles straining with the use of energy.
"And, you, my girl, could use a lesson from your brother. He seems polite enough."
"Oh, yeah?" Gale asked, trying to make it sound as genuine as possible as the clouds condensed around him, lightning singeing the air. He formed a ball of it into his hands, tossing it teasingly.
"Well, much better than your si-" The vampire couldn't finish his sentence before a blast of super-heated air hit him, exploding into hundreds of lightning bolts as the man was blasted into the burned grasses.
"Nice to meet you, too. I'm Gale, this Tali." He motioned to the still angered girl. "Children of Zeus."
"Oh, children of Zeus? They always taste the best." He flew from his imprint on the ground, hands grabbing daggers from his belt. He tosses them at both the demigods in a lightning fast speed. Gale deflects the one coming his way with a gust of wind, Tali's scraping along her arm. The vampire hovered in air before launching another attack, this time of an fire. It missed both teens, instead exploding on contact with the ground.
The explosion rocked the Earth, mountains reflecting the noise that shot from the fire. Gale tumbled behind a log, Tali quickly following them. Their faces were black with the soot shot up, but no harmful injuries- not yet.
Gale flicked his wrist, lightning raining down from the sky in spar to the previous attack. The force swirled the vampire around, knocking him into a trees.
Cesphissos spit something onto the ground, "I expected much more from two children of Zeus."
"Oh, you'll get it." Tali said, jumping up from the cover of the log as her brother followed. His muscled already ached.
"We'll see," He said, blasting two more daggers at them. The winds gusted them back, the hilts bashing into his stomach as he cringed in pain before landing back onto the ground.
Tali was the first to charge, slicing her sword through the air. Chephissos caught the blade between two fingers, slinging the girl to ground. She shot back up, slashing the sword along his hand. A golden-like blood oozed from the wound as he jumped back from the demigod.
Gale charged next, using the winds to propel him faster. He rain with stealth, faking an attack at the vampire before blasting himself upward and behind him, the hilt of the boy's sword crashing into the man's head. Chephissos growled in pain before fading farther backwards.
He threw an array of daggers at them, one slicing along Gale's tanned face, another cutting through Tali's skin, but falling back to the ground.
"You- you two, you'll see more of me. Do not worry." He jumped back to the forest, disappearing in several cracks and snaps of twigs.
Gale turned to her sister, his wound dripped ichory-blood. Bruises littered his body, obvious on his arms and legs. Tali was worse. Her arm was dripping blood from both her shoulder and elbow, her face covered in dirt and grime.
"The perks of being a demigod," Gale said, a tinge of pith in his voice.
"Yeah, fun. Smelling like gourmet dinners to psychopath vampires from Ancient Greece." Tali snorted a laugh.
Gale stepped to toward the forest, "On we go." He handed Tali a bottle of nectar, taking a drink of his own before the two trekked back to the forest.