I worked my way around the back of the cabins and up the large hill that was the entrance to camp. Lucky for me, the dragon that guarded the gate was asleep. I gave a sigh of relief and darted past him. Honestly, I would have rather taken the dragon than Dionysus. I knew it was idiotic to run from a god; he could hunt me down in a second flat, but I wasn't going down without a fight.

Running over the boundary line, I found myself surrounded by trees. It wouldn't be easy to evade a god in a forest, especially one that could control plants. A sudden feeling of dread twisted my stomach into knots. Maybe this hadn't been the best idea.

Just when that wave of second thoughts washed over me, the ground beneath my feet began to shake violently, and I froze. Damn it all to Hell. I wanted to run; I knew what was coming, but all I could do was stand there. I was rooted to the spot- literally. Ugly brown roots had twisted up out of the ground as if they were alive and had started wrapping themselves around my ankles. I bent down and tried to tear them off, but only succeeded in scratching my hands. With my feet held firmly by the earth, I lost my balance and sat down abruptly against the base of a tree. The roots began loosening as I heard soft footsteps on the forest floor.

"Well, I'd say that was a pretty pathetic attempt to escape," Dionysus said in a bored tone as he looked down at me. The roots had luckily withdrawn into the ground and I slowly stood.

"If I annoy you so much, why can't you just let me go? Maybe I would die, and you wouldn't have to worry," I spat.

He sighed dully as if that was obvious. "Because," he said after a moment. "Your mother wanted you to stay at camp, and it's my responsibility to protect demigods who cross that border." He nodded in the direction of the dragon.

I narrowed my eyes. "My mother is dead. And I never expected someone like you to keep their word to a dead woman. She never cared about me anyways; I hardly ever saw her!"

Dionysus suddenly shoved me against the tree. "She had no choice but to leave you in that orphanage. She couldn't take care of you. She couldn't finish high school because she was raped by your father. You're just lucky Persephone picked you up a few years later and saved you."

My eyes went wide. "How the hell do you know that much? And why do you care? And lucky? You call that lucky?"

"Hades only has two demigod children now. I know Nico's story. I wanted to know why Hades never talked about you, so I slipped something in his drink one day after inviting him to lunch."

I shot him a suspicious look. "Does he talk about Nico?"

"No, and if it hadn't been for Chiron telling me he had another child, I wouldn't have known. He told me all about your mom and how she had wanted you to have a good future. He told me how she died too."

I growled. "I know how she died, and don't remind me! I know he killed her!"

Dionysus nodded. "So how can you say she didn't care for you?"

"If she had really cared, she would have fought to keep me instead of dropping me off at that orphanage," I hissed.

He shook his head. "She cared, believe me."

"Why should I?"

"I met her when I visited the orphanage once. She was there checking up on you," he answered.

"Why were you there?" I asked, suddenly curious.

"I was curious, simple as that," he replied.

"And why are you telling me all this?" I asked, honestly taken aback by the rude god's sudden show of heart.

"To keep you from leaving. I made a promise to your mother that day that I would protect you." Dionysus took a step back as if offering peace.

I glared at him. "So sorry that I'll have to disappoint you and make you break your promise." I turned and walked away from him, surprised he let me go.

"Where are you going, McCoy?" he called as I neared the crest of the next hill.

"A bar. I need a drink to clear my head," I called back.

The god suddenly appeared at my side and stepped into stride with me, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Then I'm coming along. You didn't think you could get away that easily, did you?"

I frowned. "You're just going to drag me back to camp in the end."

He shrugged. "That all depends on how you behave," he answered.

I glanced at him, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't answer for a moment. "You know it's going to take a whole day to get to the nearest bar, right?"

I nodded. "I like the fresh air after I've been cooped up for so long."

"You sure you don't want to just appear there?" he offered.

"I never thought of you as the helpful one…or even kind, for that matter," I stated as we passed through a clearing.

"I'm not, usually. So, consider yourself lucky."

I stopped walking abruptly and spun to face him. "I don't need your help, old man. I don't want it."

He narrowed his eyes but said nothing as I turned around and kept on walking. For hours he remained a few steps behind me. We walked in silence, winding our way through trees and over streams. It was nightfall before we stopped and rested in a clearing.

"You should get some sleep," Dionysus suggested.

"Don't tell me what to do, damn it," I growled.

He shrugged and sat down against the base of a tree on one side of the clearing. I took a spot on the other side so that I wouldn't have to be anywhere near him. I didn't know what made me so uncomfortable around the god, but I knew I didn't like him. I really wished he would just leave me alone. The last thing I saw before I nodded off into sleep was his set of deep purple eyes staring straight at me.