Chapter 1:

I stood over my bed, the black suitcase in front of me filled with as much of my stuff as I could jam in it. Truth is most of the stuff I need can fit into this suitcase with no problem, which is great for me; the lighter the pack, the faster I can travel. The bag had a luggage tag on it that said 'Property of Kyle Scott, Son of Ares'. Let me just answer the obvious question. Yes, by Ares it means the Greek god Ares, god of war. I am a half-blood, or demigod to be technical, meaning one of my parents is human and the other is a god. A few more hours and I'd be on my way to the happiest place on Earth for a demigod like me, Camp Half-blood.

Camp Half-blood is this camp that was created to house and train demigods. Camp Half-blood is the safest place on Earth for demigods, well other than Olympus of course, but most demigods aren't usually welcome there. The camp has magical borders that keep out any monsters sent to kill the demigods. The borders are reinforced by the Golden Fleece, a magic fleece that holds the power to heal anything or anyone. The fleece hangs off of the lowest branch of a pine tree that stands at the crest of Half-blood Hill, the hill that sets the borders for the valley where the camp is. The tree is a symbol of protection for the camp. About ten or eleven years ago, a group of half-bloods came to camp led by a satyr, half goat, half man beings that the camp use to find demigods and bring them to the safety of camp when they are ready. These three half-bloods are some of the most well-known around camp these days. Of the three was Annabeth Chase, a girl who at the time was about seven or eight and is now known as Architect for the new Olympus and a very capable fighter that helped bring us to victory in the war against the Titans two years ago. Another was Luke Castellan, a boy of about fourteen at the time but eventually became weak under the pressure of the Titans and was forced to become the new host body for the lord of Titans Kronos himself. He was seen as a traitor, but died a hero as he sacrificed himself to kill Kronos. The third was a girl by the name of Thalia Grace. She was twelve when Annabeth, Luke, and she arrived at the camp, being pursued by a Cyclops. She urged her friends and the satyr helping them to camp to cross into camp without her as she tried to fend off the Cyclops. As she was sacrificing herself for her friends, her father, god of the skies and god of all gods Zeus, took pity on her and turned her into a pine tree with the power to protect the borders of camp. About five years later, when Luke began to be used as a pawn for the Titans' rise to power, he poisoned the tree. The only way to save the camp was to find the Golden Fleece. Annabeth was one of the half-bloods to be on this quest. Her and her friend Percy returned, but the Fleece's power was so strong it brought Thalia back to life, although she was brought back as a girl of about fourteen or fifteen rather than seventeen or eighteen like she should have been. Ever since then the borders have been protected by the Golden Fleece.

The Camp is home to any demigods who choose to stay. Most only stay for the summer, but anyone can stay all year long if they want to. I usually only end up staying for the summer before returning to the hotel room that I live in with my mom and my half-brother. But I had a feeling I wouldn't be returning to the hotel this year, especially not after the incident in school last week.

I turned to my dresser and caught a look at myself in the mirror. My black hair was sticking up in about a million different directions. I guess it's kind of like the 'bedhead' look. You would think it would look bad, but it kind of completed my image. My hair was always a mess. I couldn't do anything to fix it. Not that I really cared what it looked like. I followed my reflection in the mirror from my hair down to my eyes. They were black, which I had always thought was weird because I had never seen anyone with black eyes before. But every now and then there was a glimmer of orange, almost gold. It made my eyes look as though they were pieces of coal that were smoldering. I had heard that when I am mad, it looks like a full blaze in my eyes, though I obviously have never seen it for myself. I had a smirk on my face, just like my father and my siblings always had. It kind of made me look cocky, like I thought I was the coolest thing in the world. But, again, it completed my image. My eyes drifted down to my neck. I was wearing a necklace with a bead that displayed a trident with a brilliant blaze around it. My best friend, Grace Carter, had a matching bead on a charm hanging off of the pen she always carried with her. She made them for us two years ago, when we had both been claimed by our Olympian Parents. It compiled the symbols of our fathers, the trident being Poseidon (her dad) and the flames being Ares (my dad). My hand flew up and gripped the necklace, feeling the cool and smooth texture of the bead. I thought of Grace and all my other friends waiting for me at camp. I couldn't get there soon enough.

I glanced down at the black t-shirt and torn jeans that I was wearing and smiled, thinking of how Grace would force me to change into something more 'cheerful' when she saw me. She never liked my so called 'punk and biker' clothes that I always wore, but she agreed that it was me, and she might have mentioned that my style made me look pretty good. I picked up some last minute things to put in my suitcase, including the multiple Camp Half-blood t-shirts I owned, all folded neatly and standing out bright orange against my dark clothes that were already in the suitcase. I also threw in a couple of pairs of sunglasses and my photo album that contained pictures of me, Grace, and all of our other friends. After I zipped my suitcase closed, I laced up my black boots and took one last look around the small room I had lived in for 5 years. I put on my favorite belt, a black one that had a sheath for my sword. Now I know what you're thinking, 'a kid running around with a sword? How dangerous!' But when you are a demigod, well let's just say you need the protection. I walked over to my dresser and picked up my favorite sunglasses, a pair of all black Ray Bans. The lenses were so dark that even when I'm mad you can't see the flames in my eyes. I hooked them to my belt and picked up a small cellphone that was lying on my dresser. I thought for a minute before turning it off and walking over to my bed to stick it in the small front pocket of my suitcase. Usually, any kid my age wouldn't have thought for a second about bringing their cellphone, but for a half-blood, cellphones send up a signal to every monster within miles that you are there. They are dangerous for us to have, but I couldn't part with my only way to check up on my little brother. I swept my eyes across the room one last time before picking my bag up off my bed and turning off the light, shutting the door as I walked out.

"Bye James," I said to my six year old brother, who was sitting at the kitchen table, coloring in a coloring book. I frowned at the thought of him being left all alone with my mom without a chance of me returning. There's no way I would be welcome back here after what happened. It was surprising enough that mom let me stay an extra week. "I'll miss you little man." And I truly would miss him. Even though having a little brother can be a pain, I love him and I feel bad about leaving him to put up with our mom, but he couldn't go where I was going.

"Mom, I'm leaving. You know how to contact me if you need me." I shouted to the back bedroom, where my mom was getting ready for a date with some sleezy guy she met at work. Honestly, I didn't need to say anything. She wouldn't care that I was leaving. Even after sixteen years, she was still furious with my dad for getting her pregnant with the, oh how did she say it, devil child? Something like that. She hated me. I was the mistake that never should have happened. I should have run away to Camp years ago, but James needed me. Well now it's too late. James is a strong kid; he'll be okay without me.

I ruffled James' hair as I walked to the door. I opened it and turned around to take my last look at the hotel suite that I might never see again. I sighed and turned, walking out the door. I closed the door behind me and casually walked down the hallway to the elevator, my bag slung across my shoulder with one of the long straps. At the lobby, I said goodbye to the doorman and told him to keep an eye on James for me. He knew enough about my mom to know that my brother would need someone to look after him. He promised to check up on him and contact me if anything was wrong. I thanked him before walking out the front doors on to the street.