ARIANA HAD A MILLION QUESTIONS running through her mind at once, but she couldn't seem to ask any of them. The sheer shock of what had just happened was too overwhelming. She remained silent as she followed Flora down Rue Notre-Dame. They didn't stop until they were in an alley between two lines of shops at the heart of Vieux Montrèal, the old part of the city.
Flora looked around cautiously. "I think it's safer now. We've put good amount of distance between us the school."
Ariana didn't speak. She didn't know what to say. Was this a dream? Or a practical joke? No, it had to be real. Flora's legs sure were and so was Tisiphone.
Flora looked at her sceptically until she noticed Ariana's wounds and her eyes widened. "Oh my gods! I completely forgot that you were hurt!"
"It's nothing." Ariana insisted.
"But you're bleeding!" Flora protested. "Let me help."
"You've helped enough." Ariana said, waving away the offer.
"Please," Flora pleaded. "It'll be quick."
Ariana thought about this for a moment. "Suit yourself." She replied nonchalantly.
Flora smiled as she got out her panpipes and started to play a song. Ariana gasped in surprise as she felt the pain recede as her wounds closed leaving her skin the way it was before.
"H-how did you do that?" She stuttered.
Flora put her panpipes back in her jeans pocket. "Music, a lot of practice, and a little bit of woodland magic."
Ariana gave her a dubious look.
Flora chuckled. "All of this must be kind of hard to digest."
"No kidding." She replied. "So, how are we going to get to this camp place?"
"I was planning to take a plane in case anything happened, but this is much more serious than I expected." Flora said. "We're going to have to use a faster transportation method."
"What can possibly be faster than a plane?" Ariana asked.
"Magical transport, duh!" Flora said, as if it were the most normal idea in the world. "Fauna should be here any moment with the Pegasi."
This was getting weirder and weirder. "Pegasi?"
"That's not important right now." Flora said dismissively. "The Kindly One, what was it she wanted from you."
Ariana sighed with exasperation. How many times was Flora going to use words that she didn't know? "What on earth is a Kindly One?"
"Tisiphone." Flora replied bluntly.
The mere mention of that monster's name turned Ariana's blood to ice. "I-I don't know. She said something about...stealing a helmet, from her master. Whatever that's supposed to mean. "
Flora smacked her forehead. "Oh gods, I knew it. I should have known it was going to happen sooner or later."
"What was going to happen?" Ariana asked.
Flora ignored her – probably unintentionally. "After all, you're the prime suspect. If the other Kindly Ones or worse creatures are sent after you...oh gods, this really is a crisis."
"But you still haven't answered any of my – "
Ariana was cut off by the sound of wings flapping and the neighing of horses. A dark shadow passed over her as a flying chariot pulled by two winged horses came crashing into the cramped alley. The chariot seemed to be newly constructed and had an open top. It was golden and carved with pictures. Ariana recognized some of the scenes from what she'd learned in fifth grade social studies.
"What the..." Ariana never finished her sentence, because at that moment a girl who looked like a replica of Flora stepped out of the chariot. Every last thing about her was the same as Flora. She had the same chestnut brown curls and frosty blue eyes. The only noticeable difference between the two was the fact that the other girl was taller and older looking than Flora.
"Wonderful job, Fauna! That was record time!" Flora checked her watch. "Fifteen minutes!"
"Well, when you said that it was an emergency, I did the best I could." Fauna replied. "So...who's the half-blood in question?"
Flora looked flustered for a moment. "Oh, silly me! I forgot to introduce you to each other. Ariana, this is my sister, Fauna. And Fauna, this is Ariana, the half-blood I was sent to protect."
For a moment, Ariana thought her ears were failing her. "Wait. What did you just say? I'm a...half-blood? What does that mean?"
Flora shot a tense look to her sister.
Fauna cleared her throat. "Maybe we should get going. You're not safe here."
Flora nodded in agreement. "We'll explain on the way there."
Ariana wanted to object. She wanted to scream at them for not telling her anything. She wanted to refuse to enter the chariot until they gave her some answers to her questions. But there was something about the way Fauna said it, the grave tone of her voice, that made Ariana know that she had to leave now or she might not ever.
She got into the chariot, passing by Flora and Fauna without speaking a word to either.
As she sat on the comfy red velvet cushioned benches she marvelled at the beauty of the carvings on the golden interior. Flora and her sister took a seat opposite to Ariana, making her feel like she was the one being interrogated rather than her being the interrogator.
Fauna whistled signalling the horses to take off. Ariana's stomach lurched as they took off. She regained her composure after a few seconds.
The sisters were looking at her expectantly. They were probably wondering why she wasn't asking any questions. Ariana knew it was because she didn't want to know. The truth could be a scary thing. She stared over the edge of the chariot to see that the landscape below was blurred. They were probably going much faster than an airplane.
"Can't people see a golden chariot pulled by winged horses zooming through the sky?" She asked.
"Mortal minds can believe just about anything but the truth." Fauna explained. Her blue eyes became stormy and dull, as if she suddenly remembered something dreadful like a dentist appointment or an upcoming final exam.
"Aren't I mortal?"
Fauna inspected her like she had a mole on her face. "Not quite."
Ariana didn't understand that. "If I'm not human, what am I?"
Flora, who had remained abnormally quiet for the past few minutes, sighed and fidgeted. "You're a – "
Their conversation was cut off by a strong surge of turbulence and the sudden loud neighing of the steeds.
"What's going on?" Flora asked, her voice tinged with panic.
Fauna was trying to calm down the horses. "I don't know. There seems to be some sort of disturbance in the air."
Ariana looked around for any sign of the problem. She managed to find it. In the winds swirling around the chariot, something was forming – a dark, shadowy figure, vaguely humanoid – definitely bad news.
"That!" She yelled. "What is that?"
"Oh no! Not again!" Flora moaned.
"It's a storm spirit." Fauna said with disgust. "We must land. There's no way we can fight it in its domain of power."
"But we have to get Ariana to camp." Flora complained. "It's not safe to make any pit stops!"
"It's either land and have a chance of her staying alive, or bring her to camp dead." Fauna said darkly. "Your choice. You're the Keeper. I'm just the chauffeur waiting for orders here."
Flora seemed to be struggling to make a decision. "It's a trap, Fauna! I just know it is. I can sense it. There's something waiting for us down there. The anemoi thuellai is just a decoy leading us to something worse."
Meanwhile, the wind spirit was starting to crackle with lightning.
"Uh, you guys," Ariana said apprehensively. "Sorry to interrupt your little tea party chat, but I think you guys should make up your minds quick cause this thing is about to attack and golden arrows won't do anything but go straight through something made of wind."
Fauna shot her sister a look that said 'I told you so'. Flora scowled and reluctantly said, "Ok fine, you were right! Let's land. Quick!"
Unfortunately, Fauna wasn't right. A couple of minutes after they'd touched down in a grassy field, Ariana heard a strange mix of growls, hisses, and something that sounded like clattering of metal. She knew it was bad news so she activated her bow and braced herself.
"Can you hear that?" Flora asked.
Fauna's expression darkened. "It can't be good."
They turned to where the sound was coming from. In the distance, they saw not one – but half a dozen armed skeletons rapidly approaching. There wasn't enough time to unhook the Pegasi from the chariot so they'd have to run.
For a moment, everything seemed to slow down. Ariana barely heard Flora scream at her to run and couldn't move, as if her feet were stuck to the ground. The creepy animated skeletons were only a few metres away when she started running. Fauna shouted something about camp being only half a mile away.
Ariana ran faster than she knew she could. She'd never run so fast in her life. She didn't dare look back. The sight of the monsters was far too terrifying. Thank goodness she was a fast runner. She occasionally ducked to avoid spears being thrown at her. They arrived at the foot of a hill.
"Half-Blood Hill." Flora panted as they climbed up the slope. "Almost...there."
Soon, the trio had managed to drag themselves to the top of the hill where there was a marble entryway and a pine tree that was guarded by a sleeping dragon who for some reason was oblivious to the commotion around it.
At this point, they were all completely worn out. If the monsters attacked them, they wouldn't make it. And right on cue, the undead warriors began climbing up the hill, completely unscathed by the distance they'd just travelled.
"Hurry!" Flora insisted, tugging on Ariana's sleeve. "Cross the gate! They can't get in. You'll be safe there."
Ariana didn't need to be told twice. She entered the marble gateway and distanced herself from the entrance.
As the skeletons got closer, Ariana saw that they had greyish bones and dark voids in place of their eyes. They seemed to be wearing army uniforms from different eras: Canadian soldiers in blood red uniforms from the War of 1812, some dressed in Spartan battle armour, some wearing uniforms from both the Confederate and Union sides of the American Civil War, some had modern camouflage war uniforms. Their faces had fleshless grins as they advanced forward with their weapons.
Then came the trouble. Apparently, Ariana wasn't safe even in the camp. It wasn't until the legion of skeletons stepped onto camp ground that Flora realized what was happening.
"Oh no, not now." Fauna mumbled.
Flora stepped in front of her, getting into a football stance, probably trying to protect Ariana, but there was no point the skeletons had crossed the border.
Ariana considered their odds. Two satyrs with woodland magic and one...whatever the heck she was, with a bow and arrows – against half a dozen experienced murderous undead soldiers carrying an assortment of metal weapons, guns, and grenades. Things didn't look so good for them at that point.
