Chapter 1 (I Play Pinochle with a Horse)
"I'm sorry, Annabeth. You know I can't grant you a quest, you're too young." Chiron said, for what had to be the millionth time.
"But Chiron, something was stolen from-"
"Will be found. Don't torture yourself over it." Chiron stated in a voice that said the conversation was over.
We were sitting on the porch of the Big House at Camp Half-Blood, my home since I was seven. I didn't want to lose it, and with the way things were going lately, it was a possibility. A couple of days ago, something was stolen from Zeus in Olympus. No one knew who took it, where it was hidden or even why. But Zeus had demanded its return by the summer solstice, and I didn't even want to imagine what would happen if he didn't get it back.
Chiron had just refused my demand to go on a quest for the bolt. He was always refusing me, all I wanted to do was go on a quest, to prove myself. But, no, Chiron said I was too young, and that he heard some prophecy that I had to wait for someone, a new half-blood came to camp. I was sick of waiting. I sat on the porch, deep in thought, going over my conversation with Chiron, when there was a sudden commotion.
There were two boys, one bearing all the weight of the other, struggling to get to the big house. The boy with black hair was screaming for his mother, it was heartbreaking. By the time I was over being stunned, they had made it to the porch, and I realized with a start that one of the boys was Grover. Once the black-haired boy's feet hit the porch, he fell. Chiron was at his side before I could blink. I rushed over, trying to make sense about what had happened. I had never seen this boy before, he had to be a half-blood or else he wouldn't have been able to make it past the barrier, but he was one that I've never seen before. He was cute, with black hair and I caught a glimpse of his sea-green eyes before they shut.
Suddenly, it struck me. A new half-blood at camp. This could be him.
"He's the one. He must be."
"Silence, Annabeth. He's still conscious, bring him inside."
It took what felt like hours to get the boy inside, but between Chiron and I we finally managed. We had put him in a bed in the Big House.
"Take care of him for me, Annabeth. I need to consult the oracle." Chiron had told me.
I spent hours making sure that he was still breathing, spoon-feeding him ambrosia when his eyes would flutter open. I couldn't help the smirk when I had to scrape the drips of his chin with the spoon. His eyes opened again, trying to focus and once they were open for longer than they had been I asked, "What will happen at the summer solstice?"
He struggled for words, and croaked, "What?"
I glanced around the room and making sure there was no one around to hear our conversation.
"What's going on? What was stolen? We've only got a few weeks!"
"I'm sorry," he mumbled, "I don't..."
Somebody knocked on the door, and before I could think about what I was doing, I quickly filled his mouth with more ambrosia. After a couple of mouthfuls, he nodded back off, I let out a sigh. Frustrated with how our conversation went, I got up and opened the door. Argus the camp's security guard, was standing there. He left himself in and took my empty seat next to the bed. Looks like I was going to have some time to myself to think this all over, so I head back to my cabin, head swimming with thoughts about quests, ideas and who exactly the black-haired boy was.