Chapter One—

The first night was horrible. I arrived at my new cabin just as it was getting dark. Everyone had eaten their dinner, and so I was left to eat the scraps. That, however, was one of the fun parts.

As soon as I walked through the door, a flock of kids were stood at the doorway-making an arc around me, as if they knew I was coming. I wondered how many people they'd done this to before; it all seemed very well rehearsed.

One boy, stood at the front on the right, was first to speak. He was about my age or so.

"Determined or undetermined?" he asked.

"I-uh…" I began.

They were all staring at me, with the same menacing eyebrows raised. It definitely felt pressurising, for one thing. It was like the time when school bullies had cornered me down an alley, asking me questions that they knew only made me feel upset.

Right now, it was very much similar-a question that made me feel more confused and left out than ever.

"Well?" the boy crossed his arms and raised his eyebrows even further, which looked quite odd if you don't mind my saying.

They kept staring expectantly, all crossing their arms now. It was as if they were all copying the first boy's move, changing their position or facial expression to look even more menacing.

"Well?" they repeated, like a chorus.

But then I noticed them relaxing, their arms going down and eyebrows returning to…well, however normal they could be.

"Come on now," I realised why they had stopped pressurising me. There was a tall boy, perhaps even almost a man, walking through the herd of kids. He seemed important, some what respected among them. "Leave the poor girl alone. I suppose you all know she's undetermined."

"But wait," for some reason I was now gathering the ability to speak again. "What does that mean?"

He grinned, amused at my innocence. "It means you do not know which god parented you; that you have not yet been claimed."

Claimed? The more I knew about this the more I wished I hadn't ever found this place. All this news about a god being my parent, claiming me and using me for battles, made me feel like a small sheep. Just a farm pet, being used for wool.

"Perhaps I should introduce myself," he continued, after I'd stayed silent. "I am Greg, head of Hermes cabin. It's nice to meet you." He held out his hand, and I shook it confidently.

"I'm Delphi," I replied simply.

"I thought you might be…" he muttered thoughtfully.

"You knew my name?" I asked suspiciously.

"No, that's not what I meant," he snapped. "It-it doesn't matter. Welcome to the cabin-I guess you'll stay until you're determined."

"Apparently so," I muttered bitterly, taking another look around at the other kids. They weren't really the type of people I wanted to stay with.

"Well I hope you feel welcome-and if not, then be sure to tell us!" he continued proudly, arms open wide, apparently over his short moment of anger. "We'll make sure you enjoy your stay, isn't that right siblings?"

The others nodded and smiled, but their smiles looked menacing and up-to-no-good.

"Here, feel free to go claim a bed," he turned, and everyone moved out of my way of vision. In the far corner of the cabin were plenty of bunk beds. It seemed I was to go and pick a bed to stay in. "Just until you're claimed yourself."

I knew it was supposed to be some sort of joke, but it only made me feel worse about being 'claimed'.

Hesitantly I moved towards a bed that sat beside a window, which looked out to a tall cherry tree. I figured that birds may sit there early in the morning, chirping away with their harmonic songs. That was why I decided to go there, to see the birds in the morning. Perhaps I could feed them, befriend them?

"I think I'll stay here," I stated, turning to the cabin members. "This'll do just fine."

I climbed up to the top bunk and laid my dagger, which I had used to overthrow the hellhound, on the pillow. Unfortunately, I hadn't actually managed to pack. It wasn't really expected that I'd end up in a camp.

"No worries, we've got plenty of camp pyjamas for undetermined heroes who turn up here-and they're completely fresh!" he assured me, as if he could read my mind.

I grinned gratefully as he handed me the pyjamas, and I slipped into a room that I guessed might be a bathroom. I checked my reflection in a mirror, and sighed heavily. My blonde hair was matted, with leaves and blood mixed up in knots. I'd been away from home a long time now; it was hard to maintain perfect hair.

Then I looked into my sky blue eyes, that'd seen so much these past days-yet knew so little than I realised. A scar was printed on my left eyebrow, and the right of my neck. They were only small, but noticeable if you looked properly. They showed up on my tanned skin perfectly; it was a wonder nobody had asked me about them.

As I turned around I spotted a brush, sitting on the floor with a note attached.

You might want to use this

I frowned, wondering how on earth it managed to get in here. But I went to brushing my hair, and soon forgot about it.

By the end-most of the knots were gone, I had my hair in a ponytail, my face was washed and I felt fresher than I had in a long time.

Back in the main part of the cabin, most of the Hermes kids were still up and in the game room. Well that's what I guessed it was, seen as there was a pile of board games in a corner-games I'd never seen before in my life-then there were all sorts of card games going on at tables. I suddenly wondered whether or not these card games were against the rules…

"Hey, you're back," Greg appeared in front of me, making me jump a little. I held my arms out to signal he was right, and smiled.

"Yep, I am," I confirmed. "Thank you for your kind hospitality."

"It was a pleasure," he replied happily, bowing humorously.

I laughed. "But I do have a question."

"Yes?"

"When Chiron was explaining things, he said something about Apollo…So how come, if he thinks he knows my 'god parent', am I here?"

He hesitated. "Well, you can never be sure. Making assumptions is not wise for our kind-you and me, Chiron, even immortals. Don't want to make a habit out of it."

"Right," I nodded, yawning. Outside it was pitch black, the stars were out and wind blew softly through the trees. I had begun feeling more and more tired whilst I was in the bathroom. Now that I could see it was night time, I knew I needed sleep.

"Get some rest," Greg suggested as if he could read my mind. "I suppose you probably need it-let me guess, been running away from monsters the past week?"

I nodded drearily.

"Figures," he smirked. But not in a mean way. It was a sort of comforting smirk. Like when people laugh with you, not at you. I hadn't had that feeling in a while. Or maybe even ever. "It was very brave of you to get here on your own, you know. Some of the greatest heroes have had to have help. You did well."

I felt a blush crossing my face, and I looked down at the blue carpet. "Thank you. Goodnight…"

I climbed up to my top bunk wearily, and lay my head down on the pillows. The knife underneath me did not hurt me, the two cushions made sure of that.

"Goodnight," I muttered once more, before yawning and slowly drifting off…

I don't tend to get normal dreams. On my way to camp, I would get dreams telling me where to go, warning me of what lay ahead. I never understood their true meaning-that they were real, with real messages. But I'd follow them anyway.

That night I had another dream. But not about where to go or what to do. This dream was more like a warning message, and I wasn't going to understand that for a while.

My surroundings were familiar, although when I look back on the dream I don't ever remember going there.

I was stood by an ancient building; the type you see in ancient history films. Except this building was not in rubbles, it was very much in perfect condition.

A lady stood by one of the columns, her dark hair blowing behind her shoulders in the breeze. She was beautiful, I have to say. And the man speaking to her was also handsome, with golden blonde hair and sky blue eyes.

"It is time," he announced.

The woman sighed. "As I suspected."

"Indeed," the man agreed, sighing also. He looked away from the woman, as if he was worried. "She has arrived. Soon they will detect her, and she will not be safe."

The woman nodded in agreement, also looking away from the man. They were looking out, the way I was standing but not directly at me. I guessed they couldn't see me.

"We will need to protect her," she confirmed, turning towards the man. "You know what happened last time."

"Yes, I do," he nodded, also looking at her now. "Prophecies can be dangerous things. I should know that. But we can not give up hope, she will be great."

The lady merely nodded, as if she didn't fully believe it. "I will take your word for it. But we have to make sure she knows not to trust anyone."

"Anyone?"

"Yes," The woman was sounding more and more intelligent as she spoke. "As there are many more Half-Bloods than last time, we can never be sure how many are spies now."

The man sighed heavily. "As you say…"

The dream faded, and I was back in the cabin. As I peered over at the games room, I could see people had fallen asleep during their games. Their heads lay on the table, and one boy had collected all the winnings when the others had fallen asleep.

To my right, birds cheeped happily and sung merry songs. I grinned at them half-heartedly. What on earth could my dream mean? But whatever it meant, I had a feeling many more were to come…