Chapter 2

Blackout Begins

The rest of the evening continued as if we hadn't just watched an unknown girl get fished out of the sea. Chiron had taken Drew back to the Big House to rest. Despite how lucid she had seemed when speaking to everyone, Chiron had decided that she should spend one night in the Big House infirmary to recover.

The campfire was as lively as ever. The Ares campers were being especially obnoxious, taking every opportunity to rub their victory in the Athena demigods' faces, even though it had really been Percy that had captured our flag.

Speaking of the flag, Percy's sea-green banner was planted in the gravel at the front of the campfire alcove for all to see, flanking the fire. It was matched on the other side by the Ares banner.

I watched Percy, who was sitting next to Connor Stoll near the front. Connor clapped Percy on the back and whispered something in his ear. Percy made a surprised face, then the two burst into laughter.

I sighed.

"What's wrong?" asked Malcolm, who sat beside me.

I stared at my half-brother in shock. That kid is dangerously perceptive, especially for his age. "Nothing," I lied.

"It's not your fault, you know," he said.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Your plan was flawless," Malcolm said. "I heard Solace screwed up by leaving the base. Don't feel bad."

I scoffed mentally. Did he really think I cared about that? Maybe he wasn't so perceptive after all. I just decided to play along. Playing guilty was better than being harassed.

"Thanks, Malcolm," I said, forcing a glum smile.

"No problem!" he beamed.

Even if he was comforting me for the wrong reason, I did appreciate that Malcolm cared. Of all my half-siblings, he was the one that felt most like a real brother.

I watched as Clarisse walked over to Percy and clapped him on the back so hard he fell off the bench. I stifled a giggle. She yelled something at him that made her entire cabin guffaw—probably some kind of half-congratulation, half-insult.

"What do you think of that new girl?" Malcolm asked out of the blue.

"Drew, you mean?" I said with a shrug, "I don't even know her."

Malcolm frowned. "Don't you kind of think it's weird?"

"What, that she fell out of the sky and hasn't explained why?" I asked sarcastically.

He snorted and rolled his eyes. "That too, but I'm really talking about how she mentioned she already knew she was a half-blood."

I nodded. "I was wondering about that."

Malcolm and I watched as the Ares cabin chant victoriously. The huge bonfire pulsed higher every time they yelled their father's name: Ares! Ares! Ares!

"Maybe her mortal parent told her?" Malcolm offered.

"I doubt it. That's like sentencing your child to death. Monsters sense us more easily once we know what we are, remember?"

He shrugged. "Yeah, but how else would she know?"

I tapped my lip in thought. It really didn't make sense.

"I have no idea," I finally said.

"Maybe… maybe she was lying?" Malcolm phrased it more as a question than a statement. "After all, she only said it after Chiron said we were demigods."

I shook my head. "But why would she lie about that? It makes no sense."

He opened his mouth to reply, but stopped short. I could tell he was thinking hard, but it didn't seem like he was turning up any results.

"You don't think she might be one of… you know, Luke's, do you?" Malcolm asked carefully. He seemed hesitant to even say Luke's name.

I swallowed hard. Even thinking about Luke made my heart hurt, but I forced myself to. Come to think of it, what Malcolm said could be true. It would explain why she knew she was a demigod—Luke would have told her. And she could be here now to spy on us or even to attack us from within.

"I hope not. I'll just go ask her some questions later," I said. "How about that?"

Malcolm nodded. He didn't seem quite done talking about it, but we couldn't continue the conversation, because Chiron came clopping up to the front of the bonfire alcove.

As Chiron walked down the center aisle, the campers all quieted down, even the Ares ones, which was impressive. The only sound came from the crackling fire, the wind, and horse hooves on gravel. Everyone watched him expectantly as he turned around and faced us.

"Campers!" He said loudly. "I'm proud of you all for how you played tonight in capture the flag. Both teams employed admirable strategy—I can tell you have learned much since last year."

There were mixed murmurs throughout the sitting campers.

"Congratulations to the Ares cabin for leading the red team to victory," Chiron smiled a little at Clarisse and her siblings.

The campers applauded. Some of it was half-hearted, including my own. It was hard to cheer for the team that had just beaten you, even if you were expected to. Clarisse victoriously held a fist high, eating up the praise.

"And a big congratulations to Percy for being the first in a very long time to capture a flag in the name of Posiedon!"

Everyone applauded again, this time more genuine. Percy had far fewer enemies in camp than Clarisse and her siblings. I saw him wave to everyone from where he sat with a big goofy grin on his face. I admired the sea-green banner as it shimmered in the firelight. Honestly, there was nothing special about it. It was very similar to the banners of other cabins, but the fact that nobody at camp had ever seen it before, except for maybe Chiron, gave it novelty.

"Now then," Chiron said, his smile fading. "A couple announcements. I'm sure you've all heard the first by now, even if you weren't there to witness it yourself. We have a new camper."

There was more murmuring. Malcolm leaned over to me and whispered, "What cabin do you think she is, anyway?"

I just shrugged. "There's always a chance she won't even be claimed."

Malcolm nodded grimly.

Chiron continued once the talking died down. "Before you all ask—her parentage is unknown. Tonight, she will be staying in the Big House. After that, she will go to the Hermes cabin with the rest of the unclaimed."

Connor Stoll groaned. He wasn't the only one who did. I heard several Hermes campers voice their disapproval. I felt kind of bad for them. For most cabins, a new sibling is exciting. But for the overcrowded Hermes cabin, each new camper is a burden, especially the unclaimed.

"I trust that you will all do well to make Drew feel welcome tomorrow, yes?" Chiron said with a little smile.

There were some curt nods, but most people just didn't reply. New campers were a standard thing—anyone who wasn't on their first summer had gotten used to it by now.

"Lastly," Chiron said, "now that repairs from the battle are officially done, camp activities will resume tomorrow. You can find the schedule posted outside the Big House. That is all!"

With that, Chiron clip-clopped back down the aisle, towards the Big House. The talking resumed immediately, more excited this time, as the demigods stood up to head back to their cabins.

I saw Percy stand up and laugh about something with Connor and Travis. The three walked off towards the cabins. He didn't even look my way. I sighed again.

"Wanna go check out the schedule?" asked Malcolm, restoring my focus.

"No… I'm exhausted," I lied, standing up. I glanced at Malcolm and offered him a tired smile. "I think I'm just gonna go to bed."

He frowned, but didn't question it. "Alright, well I'll go have a look at it. Seeya in a little."

"See you," I replied.

He ran off towards the Big House, and I headed to the Athena cabin.

I'd been having bad dreams since the end of my quest, but that night, the nightmares got much worse.

"Annabeth," said a familiar voice.

I winced at the voice and stirred in my sleep.

No, too early, I thought, covering my eyes with my arms. Bother me later.

"Annabeth," the voice said, more aggressively this time. But this time, it was two voices. A voice I knew, with a second darker, raspier voice overlaid on top of it. The second voice sounded inhuman—distorted and evil.

I shot up to a sitting position in terror. My vision was horribly blurry from sleep. I blinked frantically to try to bring anything I could into focus.

When I finally could see what was around me, everything stopped making sense. I wasn't in my bunk. I wasn't in the Athena cabin. The place was familiar though, with its black facades and huge support columns. In front of me was a large golden sarcophagus.

I gasped. This is where it had all happened. Mt. Othrys. Where Luke—

I choked back a sob at the thought of Luke. The one I recognized was his voice, I realized.

"L-Luke?" I stammered, fearfully.

"No," the dark voice boomed from the coffin, alone this time. "It is me."

"Kronos," I said through clenched teeth. "Let Luke go!"

"In due time, girl, I fully intend to."

"You… you do?" I asked as I took a careful step forward, towards the coffin. I felt the temperature drop a few degrees, even with just a single step. Whatever was in that sarcophagus was radiating an unbelievable amount of evil power.

"Oh, yes," Kronos replied, his voice full of malice. "In due time. The son of Hermes has proven to be far less useful than I had hoped. He is merely a stepping stone to my next platform. I will discard him when I am finished with him."

My upper lip twitched in rage. "You're going to kill him!"

Kronos released a twisted laugh that made anger swell in my veins. The Titan had the audacity to find Luke's death amusing, even after Luke had given everything to him, even his body. Bitter tears of rage formed in my eyes.

In a fit of fury, I charged the golden sarcophagus. Kronos only laughed harder. I desperately clawed at the lid of the sarcophagus, struggling to pull it off. With a great deal of effort, it finally budged, and fell aside, revealing… nothing?

Aghast, I stared into the coffin, which contained absolutely nothing—and I don't mean it was empty, I mean the coffin opened into a black void that seemed to repel all light.

"Where are you?!" I screamed in fear and frustration as tears started to stream down my face. "Show yourself!"

"I am closer to you than you know." Kronos' laughs grew louder and louder, ringing in my ears. I felt gravity intensifying. In horror, I realized what was happening—I was being sucked into the abyss. I tried to resist, but it was too late; I was too close. With an awful scream, I was pulled into the darkness. Everything went black.

I sat up in a cold sweat, breathing heavily. In panic, I took in my surroundings. I was in the Athena cabin, sitting in my bunk. The room was dark, and I heard one of my siblings snoring.

I cursed silently, realizing it had just been another dream.

A glance at the clock revealed the time to be 5:03AM. I huffed in relief; at least I had gotten a decent amount of sleep. I slid out of my bunk, changed into fresh camp T-shirt, and pulled my hair back hastily. I was very careful not to make too much noise—I knew Malcolm woke easily, and the last thing I needed was him asking me more questions.

Thankfully, I managed to get my shoes on and get out the door silently enough that nobody noticed. I took a deep breath of the brisk morning air and gazed out over the cabin yard. As I expected, all was quiet. I saw a light on in the shower house, probably a Hermes kid using their only shower time, but the yard was still. The sun still hadn't peeked out from behind the horizon, but I could see the faint glow of dawn shining in the east.

It had been the same way the past six mornings: go to bed, have a bad dream about Luke, wake up alone. But last night's had felt so much more real.

I walked down the steps of the Athena cabin and followed the path that led towards the beach. As I passed the Big House, I paused to look up at Thalia's Pine far above on the hill. I wondered how she was doing. She had been just as close, if not closer to Luke than I was before she had sacrificed herself. Last summer, when she found out Luke betrayed the gods, she was crushed. I hated to think how she would react when she found out that Luke and Kronos were now one and the same.

With a sigh, I pressed on. I had been going to the beach alone in the mornings ever since the battle. The sound of the waves crashing was soothing—it helped me to forget my awful dreams about Luke.

As I stepped out onto the sand, I heard rustling in the trees behind me. Still jumpy from my nightmare, I drew my dagger, whirled around, and yelled, "Stay back!"

Juniper, apparently the source of the noise, gave me an odd look. "Annabeth?"

"Oh…" I sighed with relief and lowered my knife. "Juniper."

"You're up early," she remarked, walking out onto the sand to follow me.

"So are you," I said, sitting down on the ground. I sheathed my weapon.

Juniper sat beside me and brushed a lock of hair behind her green-tinted ear. "We dryads don't sleep much. But what brings you out here?"

"I couldn't sleep," I admitted, playing thoughtlessly with some sand, letting it run through my fingers.

She smiled sympathetically at me. "Bad dreams?"

I nodded.

Juniper sighed. "I had horrible nightmares about Grover when you guys went into the Labyrinth."

I nodded once more. I remember Juniper had told me about it during the two weeks when Percy was missing. When I had returned without Grover or Percy, she had been inconsolable. The two of us had suffered together, making us good friends.

I looked down at the floor miserably. "Dreams really know right were to hit us, don't they?"

She eyed me with concern. "What was yours about?"

I hesitated for a second, but figured I had nothing to lose. "Luke."

The Dryad nodded solemnly. "I heard what he did," she said. "I'm so sorry."

"So am I."

She blinked at me in confusion. "Why?"

I pursed my lips. Not even Juniper knew what had happened at the beginning of summer. Could she be trusted? I felt like I had to tell someone.

"Luke visited me," I admitted. "Before summer he begged me to run away with him."

"And you said no, didn't you?"

"Yeah."

She nodded. We were silent for a while. The sun was just starting to come over the horizon. The beach was a great place to watch it—probably the best in camp.

"I'm glad you did," Juniper said. "For Percy's sake."

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"If you ran off with Luke, he would be crushed."

I blinked at her in shock. How could she be so wrong?

"No," I said sadly. "I don't think he'd even care. We basically haven't even talked to each other in a week."

Juniper laughed and shook her head. "I doubt it. I've heard all about him. Grover tells me Percy… well, he really cares about you."

I leaned back on my arms, wondering just what Grover had told Juniper. Maybe I'd ask him later. "I guess."

Juniper put a hand on my shoulder and smiled warmly. "You told me he held up the sky for you, remember? He cares."

I smiled half-heartedly back at her. As much as I wanted to believe that meant something special, a part of me knew that Percy would have done that for any of his friends—not just me. He would have done it for Grover, or Thalia, or… Rachel Dare.

For a minute or two, I didn't reply, just listening to the waves breaking on the shore. It was ironic, really, to soothe myself using something that reminded me so much of the source of my strife. The sea reminded me of Percy. And lately, Percy had been reminding me of Luke.

"Thanks, Juniper," I said, after a long silence.

She looked over and grinned at me, but then her gaze wandered over my shoulder. I saw her eyes widen in shock.

"Oh my—" she started to say, before she covered her mouth in alarm.

I turned to follow her gaze. To my surprise, I saw someone laying face-down in the sand a hundred feet away, unmoving. It must have been too dark to see the person on our way out, but now that the sun had peeked out from behind the horizon, it was impossible to miss.

Without a word, I jumped to my feet and rushed over to the downed person. I heard Juniper following close behind.

As I got closer, I noticed the figure was a teenage guy, probably a little younger than me. He was wearing an orange camp T-shirt and blue jeans, and he had blond hair. Even though I couldn't see his face, I had a sinking feeling that I knew who it was.

I reached his side and rolled him over, and my fears were confirmed.

"Malcolm!?" I shrieked in horror, praying to all the gods in Olympus that he was okay.

To my immense relief, as soon as I flipped him over, his gray eyes fluttered open to meet my matching ones. His face was caked in sand, probably due to having been laid face down.

Juniper knelt down beside me and shot me a baffled look.

"Annabeth?" Malcolm asked, sounding extremely confused. He used a hand to wipe some of the sand off his face. "What are you—"

He must have realized where he was, because his eyes went wide, and he cut himself off. My half-brother's eyes darted around the beach in utter confusion.

"What the—? Why am I on the beach?!" he asked me loudly, sounding a little afraid.

I blinked in surprise. "Wait, you don't remember coming here?"

"No!" he said fearfully.

Under normal conditions, I might have suspected he was kidding, but something about his tone made me think he was dead-serious.

Juniper tilted her head in confusion. "You remember nothing at all?"

"Nothing!" he insisted, pushing himself into a sitting position. "What… what time is it?

I shrugged, but Juniper replied for me. "5:38 AM," she said, as if she had a perfect biological clock. Come to think of it, she might—I haven't studied Dryads very well.

"I've been out here all night?!" Malcolm exclaimed in shock.

"Calm down, Malcolm," I said, placing a hand on his shoulder, "What's the last thing you remember?"

He rubbed his temples, getting more sand in his hair. "Um… it's all kind of fuzzy after I left the bonfire. I remember getting to the Big House and walking up the steps. I was looking at the schedule, then…"

He trailed off. I looked at him expectantly.

"Then what?" I asked.

Malcolm blinked rapidly, the way he always did when he was thinking his hardest. "I… I can't remember!" he said in frustration. "It's all just black after that."

Juniper and I glanced at each other, wearing matching expressions of concern.

"Memories don't just disappear, Malcolm," I said doubtfully. "If you're kidding about this, I swear—"

"I'm serious!" he said desperately. "Please, Annabeth, you have to believe me!"

"Hmm…" Juniper muttered thoughtfully, twirling a strand of her hair on her finger. "Memories don't disappear, but maybe someone took them from him?"

I eyed her with alarm. "Juniper, only gods have that kind of power."

"Not exactly," she said. "Maybe only gods can directly take memories out of your head, but making an amnesia potion isn't that hard. Some of the other dryads here can do it."

"You think someone drugged me?" Malcolm's eyes were as big as saucers.

"I don't know," Juniper said, shaking her head. "It's a possibility."

I clenched my teeth. "Either way, whoever did this has to be in the camp, which means…"

"Kronos' spy." It might have been my imagination, but the air felt a little colder when Malcolm said that name. He brushed some of the sand out of his hair with his fingers. "We know he has at least one in the camp, right?"

I nodded grimly. "Maybe. I don't get why they'd attack you though. It would be a risk to their cover."

Malcolm sighed. "I dunno."

The sunlight got brighter as the sun rose higher over the horizon. I shook my head with dislike. Camp Half-Blood was supposed to be safe. Recently, it had been anything but.

"Let's get you back," I said, looking at Malcolm. "Maybe some Nectar will help you remember."

He nodded uneasily and pushed himself to his feet. "Yeah, good idea. I'm starving too."

I chuckled and got up. When I glanced at Juniper, she still looked worried.

"Can you ask your dryad friends about that amnesia potion?" I said. "If we know what's in it, we might be able to develop an anti-potion, assuming that's what's happened to Malcolm.

"Sure." Juniper nodded slowly. "I'll talk to them today."

"Thanks," I said gratefully, and then I looked at Malcolm, who was still picking sand out of his blond hair.

"Come on tough guy," I said playfully. "You need a shower."

He rolled his eyes but cracked a little smile. "Okay mom."

I heard Juniper giggle at our antics as we set off back towards the camp.

I asked Malcolm not to tell the rest of our cabin about what had happened to him. Chiron had forbidden the general public from knowing about the spy, demanding that the counselors keep the knowledge limited to only our second-in-commands. The last thing we needed was to start a panic.

The story we went with was that he had come with me on a walk that morning. None of our half-siblings questioned it.

At breakfast, I got up from my table and walked over to the Big House's table. The head seat—Mr. D's—was unoccupied. He was out handling business at Olympus regarding the war. Chiron munched on an apple in his magic wheelchair right next to where Dionysus would normally be. Across the table from him sat Drew, who was drinking from a golden chalice.

She looked a whole lot better today. Despite just being dressed in a camp T-shirt and new shorts, she was stunning. I actually felt a little jealous. Her hair was perfect, and her makeup was done so well that it tempted me to try wearing some, even though I never wear makeup.

Drew looked at me questioningly as I neared them. She lowered her chalice and placed it on the table. I noticed that she was drinking Nectar.

"Did you come to give me a refill, hon?" Drew asked, a taunting smile on her lips.

I smiled, amused, and took a seat next to Chiron. "No, I came to talk."

"Hm," she said simply in reply.

"Oh!" Chiron said as I sat next to him. "Annabeth, good. I was just telling Drew you'd show her around today."

"Sure, I can do that," I said. "I'm going to need some Nectar, though."

Chiron's expression clouded. "Did something happen?"

Drew looked between us in confusion.

"Not to me," I said, choosing my words carefully. I wasn't about to let anything slip in front of a non-counselor, especially not a newcomer. "I just really need it."

Chiron obviously knew something was wrong, but I hoped he trusted me enough to just grant my request anyway.

"Very well," he said with a frown, handing me one of the golden chalices from the Big House table. They were the only ones in the camp that could summon Nectar. "Return it when you are done."

His narrow eyes on me said what his voice had not: I expect an explanation later.

"Thanks, Chiron!" I said, taking the cup. I glanced at Drew, who wore a blank expression. "Come talk to me after breakfast and I'll show you around, ok?"

"Yep, okay," she said sweetly.

I stood up and walked back towards the Athena table, where Malcolm was waiting. I glanced over and caught Percy eyeballing me as I went, but as soon as I looked at him, he looked away.

I shook my head and sighed. I reached the Athena table and sat down at the head. Malcolm was leaning on his elbow, but he perked up as I sat down.

"You got it?" he asked.

"Yeah," I said, handing him the chalice, "Here. Not too much, okay?"

"I know, I know."

He took the cup and closed his eyes in concentration. With a little rush of wind, the vessel filled with a golden, glowing liquid.

I nodded encouragingly. "Drink up."

He tipped the cup back and chugged. The speed at which he drank it made me a little nervous, but I figured he could at least down one glass safely.

In just ten seconds, he drained it.

"Woah!" he sighed in satisfaction. "Man, I forgot how good that stuff is."

"Been a while since you had any?" I asked.

"Over a year," he admitted. "Remember that sword accident?"

I nodded, remembering when he had gotten a bad cut sparring. He had been lucky that Chiron was nearby with nectar, which had stopped the bleeding.

"What did it taste like?" I asked.

He laughed sheepishly and scratched the back of his neck, reminding me of Percy. "My grandma's pies."

I smiled in response. "So… do you feel anything?" I asked, carefully.

"Oh! Right."

Malcolm closed his eyes and rubbed his temples with both hands. I could almost feel his intense focus. His face was strained, as though he was struggling on a mental bench press.

After about ten seconds, he opened his eyes and growled in annoyance. "Nothing."

I frowned. "It didn't work?"

Malcolm shrugged. "I feel the exact same. I mean, I feel healthier and stuff, but I still don't remember last night."

I groaned in frustration. So much for that plan.

"I mean…" he said, sounding deflated, "What if it wasn't someone that did this to me? What if I really did just forget everything somehow?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so, Malcolm. We're children of Athena—we don't forget."

"But if it was a poison, wouldn't have the Nectar healed me?"

"Maybe," I shrugged. "But Nectar doesn't fix everything."

He shuddered. "If a poison was so strong that not even Nectar could heal it, wouldn't it have killed me?"

I offered him a sympathetic smile. "You would think so, but magic doesn't always make sense."

Around us, campers were starting to clean up their plates. Half of our siblings had already left. Most were probably going to shower, since our daily reserved time was starting soon.

Malcolm looked uneasy. I could tell the fact that he'd lost the memory of last night was bothering him.

"Malcolm," I said. He looked at me. "It's okay, we'll figure it out, alright? I promise. We've got mom on our side. There's nothing we can't solve."

Malcolm smiled a little and nodded. "Yeah. You're right Annabeth, thanks."

I smiled gently. "Now go shower. You need it."

He laughed and stood up. "Alright. I'll talk to you later about… you know."

I nodded. Malcolm walked off, and I picked up the golden chalice he'd left behind. I was a little tempted to summon some Nectar for myself, but I resisted the urge. The stuff tasted great but it was dangerous, after all.

I glanced over to the Posiedon table, hoping to catch Percy looking at me again. To my disappointment, he was already gone. Instead, I saw Drew walking towards me.

"Hey," she said, stopping in front of me. "M'ready for that tour. You're Annabelle, right?"

"It's Annabeth," I said, standing up. Now that I finally got to stand next to her, I realized she was pretty tall for a girl—only about an inch shorter than me.

"Oh, sorry," she said, extending her manicured hand towards me. "Drew."

I took it and shook. "Yeah, I was there when you were rescued yesterday."

"Were you?" she said, frowning. "I don't remember seeing you."

I blinked in surprise. "Really? I was right in front of you. I took your pulse."

"Hmm," she looked up and tapped her chin in thought. "I don't know! I guess I just forgot." She giggled.

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. The girl was clearly ditzy. Whether it was an act or the truth I didn't know. I knew there were some girls that faked it. It was hard for me to get along with people like her, but I knew I had to.

"That's okay," I said. "Let me show you around."

"Alright!" she said enthusiastically, looking around the pavilion. "Where do we start?"

"Well," I said thoughtfully, "You've already seen the Big House, up the hill." I pointed to it.

She nodded. "I slept there last night."

"Right. That's where the camp staff stays. It's also got the infirmary, which is what you stayed in."

"Hm," she said idly.

"And this is the dining pavilion," I said, stating the obvious. "But since you've already seen those places, we'll just skip them in-depth. We'll start with the cabins, but first, I gotta return this." I held up the chalice.

Without waiting for a reply, I walked towards the Big House table, and Drew tagged along.

"Why'd you ask for that golden drink anyway?" she asked from behind me. "The horse guy told me it was dangerous."

"My friend is hurt," I said, telling a half-truth. I set the chalice down on the big table with the others.

"Will they be okay?"

"Probably," I said.

She didn't ask any further questions about it, thankfully. I turned to walk out of the dining pavilion. Drew matched my pace and walked beside me, eyeing people as they walked by. As we went, I noticed that most of the guys that we passed stared at her. I rolled my eyes. Of course they'd be interested in her.

"I like it here," Drew said.

I glanced over at her with a little smile. "You'll come to love it. This place is home for me."

"Uh-huh," she said, mindlessly, watching a passing Apollo guy, who was around our age. I shook my head with an amused grin.

That reminded me—I never asked her age.

"How old are you?" I said.

"Thirteen," she said, glancing at me. "You?"

"Fourteen."

"How long have you been here?" she asked me, eyeballing another passing boy—I think he was a son of Hermes. He winked at her, but she didn't react.

"A long time," I said with a little laugh, and pointed to my necklace. "Each one of these is a year."

"Ohhh…" she mumbled. "So that's what those mean. I thought they were some kind of awards."

I scoffed. "They are, more or less, awards for surviving the year."

"Surviving?" Drew looked at me with alarm. "The horse guy told me it was safe here!"

"His name is Chiron." I gave her a weak smile, trying not to be frustrated. "And normally, yeah, it's safe here. Crazy stuff's been happening lately, though…"

"Like what?"

"A battle, among other things."

Her look implied she wanted me to explain, but I didn't. When I didn't say anything, she changed the subject.

"Have you got a boyfriend?"

Well that caught me off guard.

"I, uh…" I said, uncomfortably, and swallowed hard. "No, I don't."

Drew gaped at me. "Seriously?"

"What?" I asked, confused by her response.

We stopped walking, having reached the middle of the cabins' yard. Drew stared at me like I was from another planet.

"You're, like, super pretty. And there's cute guys everywhere," she said, gesturing around. "Why in the world are you single?"

I snorted, ignoring the compliment. For some reason I doubted it was genuine. "Maybe I just don't want a boyfriend."

Drew squinted at me. "Uh-huh," she agreed, clearly not really believing me.

I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. "Anyway, we're here. The cabins."

She broke her stare on me and looked around. Campers were milling about idly, socializing with their friends and preparing for the coming day. I found myself subconsciously scanning the crowd for Percy, but I didn't see him.

"Twelve houses," she said after a moment, crossing her arms. "Why so many?"

"One for each of the twelve Olympian gods," I explained.

"Which one do I stay in?"

"For now you'll be in Hermes," I said, pointing to cabin eleven.

She blinked in alarm. "Isn't he, like, the god of thieves? I'm not a thief."

"He's also the god of travelers," I said, trying not to sound too annoyed. It was a common question asked by new campers. "He takes all the children of minor gods and the unclaimed, like you."

"When do I get 'claimed'?"

I frowned. "We don't know. Some campers never get claimed at all. They just stay in the Hermes cabin permanently."

Drew sighed. "I hope I get claimed."

I smiled sympathetically. "Most people do. Don't worry too much."

"Which one do you stay in?"

"My mom is Athena. I stay in cabin six." I pointed to it, where Malcolm was arguing with one of our younger half-siblings on the porch, holding a towel in his hand. It seemed whatever our sibling was arguing with him about was delaying his shower.

"What's she the goddess of?"

"Wisdom and battle," I said proudly.

"Oh… sorry," Drew said with a frown.

I raised an eyebrow at her accusingly. "What do you mean 'sorry'?"

She shrugged. "Just sounds like a lame god. Wisdom? Bor-ing! Unless you can blow people up with knowledge…"

I had the sudden urge to punch her, but I managed to contain it.

"Whose cabin is that?" Drew asked, pointing to cabin ten.

I looked at the cabin, which had a blue and white checkerboard deck and purple columns. "Oh, that's the Aphrodite cabin—number ten."

"It's cute," she remarked.

I tried not to gag. Personally, I hate the way it looks. The colors are nauseatingly bright.

"Yeah," I lied enthusiastically. "Let's move on though. You can look around the cabins later."

"Hm," she said. I'd learned to interpret that as some kind of uninterested agreement.

I started to walk back the way we came. She caught up and walked beside me again.

"So…" she said as we walked, "do you get any superpowers, since your mom is a goddess?"

I chuckled. "Not really. Athena is relatively minor compared to some of the other Olympians."

"Goddess of wisdom, huh? Are you, like, really smart?"

"Smart enough."

"But some demigods do get powers, right?" she asked, with a weird tone.

"Well, some do," I said with a shrug. "Most of them aren't that powerful, though. For example, most of the kids of Demeter have botanomancy."

It was hard not to laugh at her blank look. "What now?" she said, baffled.

I rolled my eyes. "They can control plants, but only small ones."

"Okay, but some do have strong powers?"

I nodded. "Kids of the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—are always powerful. It's rare, but sometimes the other Olympians will have powerful half-bloods too."

"I see," she said. I noticed she sounded kind of uncomfortable.

"Something wrong?" I asked, glancing at her.

"No, nothing."

I decided to leave it at that. I figured she was just disappointed to find out she probably wouldn't have superpowers. I knew from experience exactly how disappointing it was.

We walked in silence the rest of the way to the training arena. As we approached, Drew gaped at the half-bloods swinging swords at each other.

"Isn't that dangerous?" she asked, sounding a little scared. "Why don't they practice with, I dunno, wooden swords?"

"It's best to practice like you play," I said, using an old quote from my dad.

Drew looked at me, confused. "Huh?"

"Wouldn't you rather be trained with a real sword for when you have to fight real monsters?" I explained.

"Oh… yeah. I guess so." Drew said, her expression darkening.

"Had some run-ins with monsters?" I guessed, based on her reaction.

She shuffled uncomfortably. "Too many."

I didn't push the subject. I planned to ask her later about how she got to camp, but I didn't want to immediately. I knew from experience that it could be traumatic. It definitely was for me.

"Come on, let's go watch," I said, trying to cheer her up. "There's a class going on, I think."

She nodded and followed me as I led her to the spectator benches, where some younger half-bloods sat, observing the class. It wasn't until Drew and I sat down and started watching that I realized my mistake—Percy was in front of the crowd, teaching the class.

The Hermes cabin watched as he demonstrated a simple disarming technique, using Travis Stoll as his model. He skillfully twisted Riptide and smacked Travis' sword out of his hand, sending it clattering to the floor.

I cursed my stupidity under my breath. I should have checked the schedule last night. If Percy saw me in the spectator area, he'd probably think I was stalking him or something.

It was kind of weird to think of Percy as an instructor at camp. Only three years ago, Luke had been doing the job Percy was doing now. In a lot of ways, Percy had replaced Luke at Camp Half-Blood. The younger male campers really looked up to him the way they used to look up at Luke.

"It's him!" Drew said excitedly, leaning forward.

I was surprised—she had almost seemed bored with the tour thus far, but now she was giving her undivided attention.

"Who?"

"Him," she said, pointing at Percy. "He's the guy who rescued me yesterday, right? What's his name again?"

I got a bad feeling. "Oh, that's Percy Jackson."

Drew almost swooned. "He's so hot, don't you think?"

I laughed nervously, trying to keep the heat out of my face. I'd listened to other girls gush about Percy before, but they had never asked my opinion on it. "I… I guess."

Percy instructed all the campers to pair up and try the technique themselves. The Hermes kids obeyed, and the training arena quickly became a buzz of activity as weapons clashed.

"How old is he? Who's is god parent? He's not dating anyone, is he?" She fired the questions so rapidly I felt a little overwhelmed.

"He's fourteen. Son of Poseidon."

"The sea god?" Drew glanced at me in surprise. I could practically see hearts in her eyes. "Ohmygosh, that means he's, like, super powerful, right?"

I cursed myself for telling her that only a few minutes earlier. "He can control water," I admitted. "He actually used it to get the water out of your lungs."

"That's so cool," Drew said, staring at him. A mischievous smirk formed on her face. "He's like my hero, isn't he?"

I didn't like the sound of that, but I said nothing. Percy was my hero, not hers. She didn't even know him.

We watched as he squared off with Connor Stoll this time. Even though they're friends, I could tell Percy was not going easy on him. Connor swiped horizontally at Percy, but he easily deflected with Riptide. Undeterred, Connor attacked again, this time slashing from the left. The two swords clashed twice as Percy parried two more blows. The second attack left Connor's footwork sloppy, and Percy capitalized. With impressive grace, he did a low-sweeping kick and knocked Connor's legs out from beneath him. The son of Hermes fell to the dirt with a thud!

"Wow…" Drew marveled at Percy as he laughed and helped Connor back to his feet. The two went back at it again, swiping and parrying. "Can I learn how to fight from him?"

I was getting really tired of listening to Drew gush about Percy, but she showed no signs of stopping. "Maybe," I said, trying not to sound too bitter. The girl was starting to make me mad in the same way Rachel Dare did.

"Come on," I said, desperate to get myself (and Drew) away from Percy. "Let's move on."

"Do we have to?" Drew complained, without even looking away from him.

"Yes."

She sighed and stood up. "Alright, fine. What's next?"

"We'll see."

We walked out of the training arena. I looked around, trying to decide where to take her.

Anywhere but here, the jealous side of my brain (that I often tried to ignore) told me. Get her away from Percy. I rubbed my face with my hand in frustration. Why did I have to be the one to escort her around? It was just my luck to be assigned this.

"Let's go see the stables," I said, finally.

Drew looked at me, surprised. "You have horses?"

I smirked knowingly. "You're in for a surprise."

"Is that a pegasus?!" Drew exclaimed, her eyes wide. Some of the campers tending the stables looked up at the new voice, but promptly returned to their work after seeing the stern glare I gave them.

I reached out and pet Blackjack on the nose. He sniffed my hand and gave me a questioning look, as if he expected me to bring him something, but he didn't protest when I stroked his fur.

I barely managed not to laugh at her excited smile. "Yes, he is."

"Can I pet him?" Drew asked, carefully putting her hand forward.

"Of course."

She giggled like a kid on Christmas when Blackjack nickered happily as she pet him. Blackjack was one of the friendliest of the pegasi we kept, and he was especially nice to me since he knew I was friends with Percy.

I chuckled, remembering when Percy had described Blackjack's weird personality. It was hard for me to believe at first that Percy could actually talk to horses, but he had confirmed it to me last summer by having Blackjack follow his instructions perfectly, with no training at all.

"Can it really fly?" Drew asked as she admired the pegasus' black wings.

"Yep! Learning to ride is one of the most popular activities."

"I can't wait…" she muttered, scratching Blackjack behind his ear. "Do I get to choose which one I learn to ride?"

I frowned. "No, you don't, unfortunately. It would just take too long."

"Aw," Drew said, disappointed. "But this one seems to like me!"

"Well, that one actually doesn't let many people ride him. He's not camp property. One of the campers owns him personally."

"Who?" Drew asked.

I silently groaned. I should have known she would ask that. "The guy from the arena—Percy."

"Are you serious?" she said. Her expression perked up instantly at the mention of Percy. "He's good looking, has superpowers, is amazing with a sword, and owns a flying horse?"

"Uh… I mean—"

"I am so gonna ask him out," Drew gushed, grinning even wider as she pet Blackjack's nose. "Flying together on this guy would be such a dream date…"

I ground my teeth together. Drew was really starting to test my patience without even trying. Probably without even realizing she was doing it, too. I tried to stay calm, but it wasn't easy.

Thankfully, I was distracted from my anger when another set of hooves came clopping into the stables, but it wasn't a pegasus. I turned to see Chiron walking up to us.

"Hello Drew, Annabeth," Chiron said in his usual respectful tone, but I could tell that something was off. He looked concerned. "How is your tour going?"

"Amazing!" Drew said with dreamy grin. "I love this place already."

"It's going fine," I nodded in agreement, filtering away my mental frustration.

"I'm glad to hear it," Chiron said uneasily, "but unfortunately, we're going to have to cut it short. Something came up and I have to steal Annabeth. Drew, how about you go get settled in at the Hermes cabin? You remember the way back, right?"

She removed her hand from Blackjack and nodded. "Yeah, just down the path."

"Good," Chiron said with a forced smile. "Just walk right in and find Travis Stoll. His cabin should be back from training by now."

"Okay!" Drew smiled sweetly and waved to us. "Bye, Chiron, Annabelle!"

My right hand tightened into a frustrated fist, but I managed to wave back with my left. Drew walked out of the stables, earning looks from all the boys working as she did.

As soon as she was gone, Chiron's cheerful façade crumbled. He looked at me somberly.

"We have a situation," he said.

"You heard what happened?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. I still hadn't told him, but I guess Malcolm might have.

Chiron looked down at me, confused. "Follow me, and let's talk."

I looked around. Some of the stable hands were watching us. They probably weren't trying to, but they'd end up eavesdropping unintentionally if we talked here.

I nodded, and the two of us walked outside, putting some distance between ourselves and any other campers. We ended up standing near the fence across the path from the stables. We got some looks from passing campers, but it was private enough.

Chiron looked at me expectantly, "You first."

I nodded, thinking of how to start. "You know Malcolm, my second-in-command."

He nodded.

"He…" I started to say, but reconsidered. "Well, I found him on the beach this morning, passed out."

Chiron looked alarmed, but he nodded once again, encouraging me to continue.

"He tells me that he can't remember last night," I admitted. "Apparently he walked up to the Big House to check the schedule, and that's the last thing he remembers before I woke him up."

"Is that why you asked for Nectar this morning?"

I nodded. "We thought it might restore his memory, but it didn't work. We're worried that someone did this to him intentionally. You know," I said, looking around to make sure nobody was listening. I lowered my tone to a whisper, "the spy."

Chiron looked disturbed. He used a hand to stroke his chin in thought. "This is not good," he said ominously.

"What do you know?" I asked, worried.

He breathed deeply, closing his eyes. "Argus just returned an hour ago. I hadn't seen him since last night."

My eyes widened in realization. "Don't tell me that he—"

"Yes." Chiron said, shaking his head with dislike. "Just like your brother, he can't remember anything. Apparently he woke up next to Thalia's Pine."

My mind raced, trying to explain it all. It disturbed me greatly that Argus had also fallen victim to… well, whatever it was.

"That means that whatever it is that's doing this is attacking indiscriminately," I said, my eyes wide. "Not just demigods."

Chiron nodded. His eyes finally opened again. They were filled with worry.

"What does it all mean?" I asked.

"I don't know."

"Why would it just knock people out and move them across the camp? I don't get it."

He shook his head. "Neither do I."

A momentary silence fell between us. It really didn't make sense at all—Malcolm hadn't had anything stolen from him. He hadn't been physically hurt. He'd just had his memories taken and had been moved far away.

"Notify the counselors," Chiron said in a hushed tone. "We're having a meeting tonight. Usual time, usual place."

I swallowed hard and nodded. I had hoped we wouldn't need any more defense committee meetings this summer, but it seemed that wasn't case. Now that we knew Malcolm's attack was not a one-time thing, it was a big deal. A meeting made sense.

"I will."

"And, Annabeth?" Chiron said, quietly.

I glanced up at him.

"Watch your back," he said, looking around with suspicion. "I fear whatever's doing this will target its threats. If it finds out that you're looking for it, then…"

I gulped. "I'll be on the lookout."

He gave me a worried smile, then trotted off, leaving me dumbfounded.