Camp Half-Blood was definitely not your typical summer camp.
Kara swallowed as Apollo led her into the grounds. He smiled at demigods as they stared at him with wide eyes.
The pit in her stomach was steadily growing. She knew, intellectually, that this was impossible. But everything in her said it was real. She felt as though she'd known Apollo her whole life, that she'd always known that this was real, even if her mind rejected it as fantasy.
Shock kept her from getting too angry and hurting everyone in sight until she really knew what was going on. She swallowed at the lump in her throat, clinging to her father's hand like a child being dropped off at a babysitter for the first time.
"Apollo!" A voice called from behind Kara. Her father turned, and she turned with him.
Her breath caught in her throat.
It was a centaur.
She'd read enough Greek mythology to recognize a centaur when she saw one. His head and torso were completely human, but the rest of him was…
A horse.
"Chiron!" Apollo grinned. "I believe you know Kara."
Chiron nodded, a smile on his face as he looked at her. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."
"Thanks." She muttered.
He grinned and turned to Apollo. "Though I believe you're breaking a few rules here." He raised an eyebrow.
Apollo shrugged. "Nothing I haven't done before." He winked.
The other eyebrow joined the first. "Yes, well, I don't normally recall you coming inside camp with most of your children."
Apollo raised his hands in surrender. "That's not my fault. Kara is the only one who wasn't being chased, or I would have come in with all the others."
Chiron sighed and extended a hand to Kara. "Come on. I'll show you to your cabin."
"We'll handle that, Chiron." Derek came up behind the centaur, James following him.
Chiron nodded gratefully to the two demigods, who gestured for her to join them as they walked away. She took one last glance at her father before obeying.
Chiron turned to Apollo, his eyes hard. "So why are you really here?"
Apollo sighed. "She's going to be lucky to make it through this summer. I figured I should at least say hello."
Chiron sighed as well. I figured as much. How long?"
"I don't know."
Meanwhile, Derek was walking towards the cabins with Kara and James following.
"So… Who's your… you know…" Kara tried not to blush, but she felt so… small.
Derek smiled. "The person on the 'god' side of the family?" He asked.
She nodded.
"Ares." Derek replied.
"Athena." James joined in.
"And you're Apollo's kid." Derek continued.
She glared at him. "No, I'm Kara."
James grinned, his expression telling her he knew exactly how she was feeling. "You get used to it." The demigod whispered.
Derek smiled. "Sorry, Kara."
She rolled her eyes, but didn't seem too angry. She didn't punch anyone, which was a relief to the two demigods who were taking her to the Apollo cabin.
There weren't too many of Apollo's kids there. Only four, not including Kara.
There were the twins, April and Addy. They both had shimmering blonde hair, like gold and bright amber eyes. Kara felt blind just looking at them. She could tell she wasn't going to like them already; they were both way too happy and excited about the slightest things.
Odysseus was the only boy. He was too much like his half sisters, happy about everything except his name (though he could do nothing about that).
Patricia was the only non-optimist in the group, other than Kara herself. She had greeted Kara sullenly, then turned back to her book.
All in all, Kara didn't really like her new home.
Derek and James left her there with her half-brother and sisters. Kara sighed deeply and sat down on her bed, realizing that she hadn't really brought anything with her.
She briefly toyed with her anklet. Apollo had given it to her before she'd entered the camp. She had a feeling that she shouldn't have accepted it, but she had anyway. It was beautiful, a golden sun that shone brightly, surrounding a silver harp.
But if one trinket was meant to make up for all this, then it was a miserable failure.
"So! Have you tried to use a bow and arrow yet?" Addy asked. Or maybe it was April. The two of them wore identical clothes, as though they were purposely trying to deceive everyone.
"Of course she hasn't!" Patricia snapped before Kara could answer. "She just got here! Give the kid a break, will ya?" She snorted and turned back to her book.
April (or maybe Addy) rolled her eyes. "Ignore her." She said brightly. "She thinks that being a demigod is the worst thing to happen since the Great Depression."
Addy (April?) slapped her sister's arm. "Oh, that's too sad."
April (Who the heck was it?) nodded. "Too true."
Patricia hurled a pillow towards the twins, who dodged it with ease. "Would you two shut up already?"
Addy (Kara decided that this was Addy) threw the pillow back. Patricia caught it without looking up from her book. "Oh, you're just a cloud on a sunny day, aren't you?"
Kara massaged her head, willing away the pain these three were causing. In a second, Patricia wouldn't be the only one throwing things, and Kara had something much harder than a pillow in mind. Like maybe a nice rock.
Odysseus stepped in before she had the chance. "Enough." He had a calm voice, like he'd dealt with this before. "You will all leave Kara alone. She needs some sleep."
Kara raised an eyebrow. He spoke with such authority that the others obeyed instantly. Addy and April walked to their beds, and Patricia shoved her nose back into her book.
Odysseus smiled at Kara. "You need some sleep, Kara. Go ahead." He gestured to an unclaimed bed.
Kara nodded, suddenly feeling very tired. The stress of the day was catching up to her. Her legs felt like lead as she forced them to move forward. Finally, she made it to the soft, comfortable bed.
She was asleep before she even hit the pillow.
When Kara woke in the morning, the sun was streaming into her eyes. They didn't react to the sudden change; they never did.
She yawned. It was all a horrible dream. Or fantastic dream. She wasn't quite sure yet.
She closed her eyes again, willing herself to believe it was a dream, trying desperately to think of it that way.
But as her eyes flickered open, she saw that this was not the case.
Odysseus grinned at her. "Come on." He hurriedly strapped a bow to his back. Kara noticed Addy and April doing the same. Patricia had already finished, and was once more sitting on her bed with her eyes glued to a book. It was a different one than yesterday's, Kara could tell by the color even if she couldn't by the title.
"Where are we going?" Kara leapt to her feet to find that she was already dressed.
"To see the sunrise, of course." Odysseus grinned. "Dad might wave or something. It's fun."
Kara raised an eyebrow, indicating towards the window. "Um, if you hadn't noticed, it's light already."
He smiled. "Not outside."
The other eyebrow shot up. "What?"
He grinned and opened the door. He was right. It was pitch-black outside.
"Most of Apollo's kids don't like the dark." He explained. "So that window always shines, even when it's night."
"Um… ok?"
He laughed. "It takes a while, but you get used to it."
"Here!" Addy suddenly interjected. (April? Crap, she'd forgotten which one she'd thought was which yesterday.) She tossed something in Kara's general direction. To her surprise, she caught it with ease.
She looked at the object in confusion.
"We figured you'd need one." April said. Addy nodded.
Kara stared at the object again. It was a bow.
"Arrows?" She asked weakly, hoping that was the right question.
Apparently it was, because Odysseus smiled. "Dad always gives us our first." He told her.
"And after that, you make your own." April added.
"What?"
Addy smiled. "It's easier than it looks."
"What?"
Patricia sighed. "Don't listen to them, Kara."
April frowned. "Spoilsport."
Patricia sighed again and set her book down, standing up from her bed. "They told me that first day. Little liars." She glared at the twins, who mock-shrieked and raced out the door. Patricia rolled her eyes.
Odysseus sighed. "Come on, Pat. They're just having some fun."
"Don't call me Pat!" Patricia hissed, suddenly in her half-brother's face. "It's Patricia."
He rolled his eyes. "Come along, Patricia. We have to see dad before he leaves."
Kara sighed as Odysseus walked out the door. "It's ok, Patricia. I… I don't mind too badly. I mean, I've pulled my share of practical jokes."
Patricia rolled her eyes. "These kids spend too much time around the Hermes cabin. Tricksters and thieves, most of them." She snorted and walked out the door. "Come on."
Kara stared after Patricia, then followed.
Apollo's 'sun chariot' turned out to be a sports car.
Kara almost laughed. She didn't associate sports cars with Greek gods. She thought more along the lines of chariots, togas, and epic sword battles.
But it was true, Apollo did give her an arrow; her first. It was beautiful, for an arrow. The head shone in the light, sparkling like gold.
"Celestial Bronze." Odysseus explained. "Can kill any monster, or demigod. One little cut does it for most monsters, fatal wounds for demigods."
"A cut? That's it?" Kara looked at him.
He shrugged. "Sometimes. Depends on the monster."
"Don't try it on the Hydra." Addy whispered helpfully.
Kara rolled her eyes.
Archery was easier than Kara had expected. The target was a good distance away, but it didn't seem that way.
She'd gotten more arrows when she practiced, and kept them attached in a quiver on her back.
The strange thing about it, though, was that it disappeared when she didn't need it. The quiver, the arrows, and the bow simply vanished until she required them.
But they weren't her only weapons. One of the Hephaestus kids (she was pretty sure his name was Raymond) had been instructed to make something else for her. Kara had tried to make him tell her what it was, but it was impossible. He was completely bully-proof.
She liked him already.
She chewed her lip nervously at the end of the day, after being instructed to find him so he could give her the new weapon (Whatever it was.)
He grinned as she entered. "Ah, there you are, Kara." He set down whatever he was working on and pulled something down from a shelf.
He handed it to her, completely wrapped in cloth. "Chiron was pretty specific on what he wanted you to have."
She unwrapped it carefully, and gasped.
It was a knife. A celestial bronze knife. Beautiful and dangerous.
It was longer than most knives, closer to a small sword. But small enough.
Her eyes lit up as she looked at it.
"Well?" Raymond asked, one eyebrow raised. "Try it!"
She looked at him. He nodded encouragingly.
Slowly, she began twirling the knife, twisting it in arcs and circles. Her motions grew more intense with the second, until the blade was a bronze blur.
She stopped suddenly, perfectly still in the blink of an eye. A wild grin crossed her face.
Raymond smiled. "And?"
"I was made for this." She said breathlessly.
"Addy." The twins were explaining to Kara, pointing to each when their name was said. "And April."
"Don't listen!" Patricia warned. "I'm telling you!"
"The only way you can tell is by the scar above Addy's eye."
Addy raised an eyebrow. "I don't have a scar."
"You just told her!" April groaned.
But Addy was looking at Odysseus. "I don't have a scar." She repeated.
Odysseus looked at her. "Who said anything about a scar?"
"Oh crap." Patricia was at her half-brother's side in a second. "Odysseus, you have to remember what you were just thinking about."
He raised an eyebrow. "What? Why?"
"You just had a bit of a prophecy." She explained.
He paled. "Crap. Crap crap crap."
"My thoughts exactly." Patricia said.
"What?" Kara asked. Addy and April were considerably paler as well. "What?"
"Our dad is the god of light, music, prophecy…" Addy trailed off.
"Sometimes, his kids can see parts of the future." April continued for her twin.
"And Odysseus just had a prophecy." Addy added.
"Even if it is a small one." April concluded.
Patricia was ignoring them. "Think, Odysseus, think! Where were you?"
He looked at her, swallowing.
"Addy has a scar above her left eye." He whispered. "There is darkness, complete darkness." His eyes widened, as though he could not see them.
"A battle once more lost.
A scar above the eye.
A creature you must face.
And leave one there to die."
