Max Flinton and the Cursed Crown
1. I Read People's Minds
I couldn't help feeling embarassed when Chiron told me to come forward in front of the whole camp. Nope, I don't have stage-fright, but standing up in front of at least a hundred demigods is a freakish experience. "This is Max Flinton," Chiron announced. "We have not yet discovered his godly parent, so he will be staying with the Hermes cabin." The whole camp alternately cheered/groaned, and I felt my face go bright scarlet. One guy was cheering more enthusiastically than all the others, a teenager with dark hair and sea-green eyes. There was a girl with blonde hair and grey eyes sitting next to him, and I figured it out straight away, I thought: She's his girlfriend. I noticed that they both had identical streaks of grey in their hair, because the silvery colour was catching the light from the campfire, which was six feet tall, glowing a brilliant green. "Annabeth and Percy," Chiron continued. "I want you to keep an eye on him." The demigods I'd been looking at nodded, and I felt myself blushing again. I just hoped they hadn't seen me staring at them. Eventually the campers dispersed, and they came up to me. The guy with green eyes was grinning happily. I got the feeling he was generally in a good mood lately. The girl, Annabeth, was studying me critically, as if she was figuring where she should stab me. That made me feel kind of angry for some reason. Apparently she decided to dismiss me as a threat to her, or possibly her boyfriend, because she smiled in a friendly way. "Well, you probably know now, but I'm Annabeth," she said cheerfully. "I'm Percy," the guy said politely, but he seemed to be thinking of something else, his eyes had that glazed look I get when I'm in school. Annabeth nudged him with her elbow, giving him an irritated look. "Oh, yeah, I'm Percy," he repeated, looking embarassed. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood." Then his face went sort of dreamy again, like his brain was drifting. "Seaweed Brain..." Annabeth muttered, and I could tell I wasn't the only one who'd noticed his lack of concentration. I waited a sec, pretty sure this wasn't the time, but then I had to ask. "So... you're his girlfriend?" I inquired innocently. Percy snapped back to earth like a dog on a leash. "Um... yeah," Annabeth said, blushing furiously. I studied Percy for a moment to let the mushy stuff pass by. He had sea-green eyes, just like my own, and dark hair with that grey streak. I'd heard a lot about him, especially how he'd defeated Kronos just a few weeks ago, and how before that he'd held up the sky. He didn't look particularly special, but I knew he was literally invincible. "Uh-huh... Well, are you going to show me around, or do I need to call on an Aphrodite kid to snap you out of it?" I asked mischeiviously, grinning when I saw both faces go a darker shade of the Camp Half-Blood T-shirt. "Um... yeah," Annabeth mumbled, gesturing for me to follow her. "So... How long you been together?" I asked, abandoning all attempts to keep my curiosity under control. I could get used to this, I thought happily, when I saw Annabeth's face. "Five weeks," she muttered, giving me a glare. If looks could kill, I'd probably be some sort of super-concentrated ghost by now. Hades would have to build a special section of the Underworld for people who died from Annabeth's killing glares. Seriously, that girl's got eyes like Medusa. Anyway, after she'd finished doing the angry-demigod thing, she was pretty nice. Then... "I'm going to take you to meet Lyra Castellan. She's the new head of the Hermes cabin after Luke died... She's Luke's cousin." Annabeth's face tightened. "You don't trust her, do you?" I said. Suddenly I clapped my hand over my face, amazed I'd just said that. Di immortales, I hadn't even thought about it before my stupid mouth ran again. "Gods, Annabeth, I'm so sorry," I said desperately. Her face was unreadable for a second, then... "It's okay," she said wearily. "You know, you could be one of Dionysus' kids. They're generally really good at reading expressions." I nodded meekly, disgusted with myself. Anyway, she took me to see Lyra Castellan. She wasn't at all like I expected. "Hi, I'm Lyra.," she said. I nearly choked.