War of the Gods: The Quest Begins
Chapter 1: Off We Go
CARTER
I flew over Long Island in our reed boat, which I had hitched to the back of Freak, our griffon. Unlike the gryphons of fantasy games, Freak had the head of a falcon and wings like a hummingbird's, except that they beat faster and more powerful than helicopter wings. As we flew toward the call, I contemplated my decision to come. I had left the Brooklyn House abruptly, telling Sadie I "needed to do something". I knew that it would have to be something pretty bad for Percy to feel the need to call me, but I wasn't sure I was making the right decision. What if he was leading me into a trap? No, I had felt his urgency in the call, and I knew from our last encounter that he wasn't that type of person.
Whatever it was, it was important. He needed my help. And for what? Was I going to find myself in the middle of a battle against a titan or something? Or was I finally going to see this camp of his? I knew he wouldn't try to cause me harm, but what about his fellow "campers"? How did I know that they were all like him?
I was broken from these thoughts as I saw a flash of bronze light among the trees. I had flown over this area before, but there had never been anything here. Perhaps he had simply wanted a neutral meeting place? Or maybe a good place for an ambush?
My breath was taken away as a veil seemed to be lifted from my eyes. Suddenly a large section of trees expanded and then vanished, revealing an entire valley that had not been there before. From where I stood in my reed boat I could see a rock wall(which appeared to be spewing lava), a massive arena, and a large collection of Greek-looking buildings. There was a lot more than that, but at the time I was too shocked at seeing any of it to take it all in.
"Wow," I murmured. "That's some camp."
I directed Freak to land on a hill on the edge of the camp, where I could see a small gathering of people around a single large pine tree. That was where the flash of bronze, and the hieroglyph's call, was coming from. As I neared the ground, I saw some of the people in the gathering weren't exactly people. Did that guy over there have horns? And was that a centaur?
. . . . .
JASON
I watched warily as the craft landed and its unusual occupant exited. He looked to be of African descent, with brown skin and curly brown hair. He wore regular clothes one would expect to find on a teenage boy, but his weapons were definitely not regular. He held a sword with a strangely bent blade in his right hand and a slightly curved stick in his left that appeared to be made of ivory. Percy had told us all about his encounter with this kid and had said that we could trust him, but I wasn't so sure. Every fiber of my being told me that this was my enemy.
"Hey there," the boy said, "I'm Carter. Nice to meet you all."
Chiron stepped up to him, offering him his hand. "I am Chiron, the activities director here at Camp Half Blood. You may have also noticed that I am a centaur."
"Camp Half-Blood, huh?" he asked, eyeing the dragon winding itself around Thalia's Tree warily. "And yah, I think I noticed."
"It's good to see you again," Percy said, shaking his hand. "But I didn't call you here for the sightseeing."
"I hope not," Carter answered. "That was a one-time deal. I did say only to use it in an extreme emergency. I wouldn't be all too happy if you dragged me all this way for nothing."
"Come on then," Percy told him. "We've got a lot to tell you."
Percy began to explain the situation to him, the others filling in when needed. I hung back, watching the newcomer intently. I didn't know exactly who he was, but I didn't trust him. I usually trusted my instincts, and they were telling me that he wasn't to be trusted.
. . . . .
CARTER
"So…" I began. "Angels?"
"Yep," Percy answered.
"And we have to save the world from something that wants to destroy Rome, Greece, Egypt, AND Heaven."
"Yep."
I sat there for a moment, thinking. I glanced over at James, having to look up because of his height. He was impressive sure, but the son of the Archangel Michael? A real, actual angel? This was bigger than anything I had ever seen before. Of course, I had saved the world several times now, but this collection of cultures couldn't be a good thing.
Was I really going to join them on the words of some strange prophecy? I looked around at their collective faces. Percy looked determined, James looked somewhat confused, and Jason looked more angry than anything else. Were these to be my traveling companions? Could we do this? More importantly, could we do this without killing each other?
"Then let's get going," I told them. "We can take my boat, unless you have a better means of transportation."
"There's the Argo II, but that's Leo's baby," Percy answered. "I don't think it would be a good idea to take it on a voyage without him, and the prophecy said that it could only be the four of us."
I had no idea what the Argo II was, or who Leo was, but I got the gist. "Let's go then."
"What about the hummingbird?" James asked, glancing at Freak's razor-sharp wings.
"It'll be fine," I answered. "As long as you don't get too close."