CHAPTER TWO

SILENA FIGHTS AN ARMY

We got back to Camp Half-Blood just as the sun was setting.

Chiron was awaiting at the top of Half-Blood hill. His face was stern and watchful. He was in centaur form, holding his bow, with a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

"I see that the mission wasn't a success," said Chiron.

"Actually—" I began, but Annabeth cut across me and said, "It was a disaster."

At that moment, Silena Beauregard ran up to us. Her beautiful face was red and wet from crying. She had her long dark hair pulled into a ponytail and wore a pink and red tennis outfit that she accessorized nicely.

"What's happened?" she asked, quickly. "Did you guys find another one?"

We all looked at her.

"You know?" asked Annabeth.

"Well, yeah." said Silena, taken aback. "I'm been having horrible dreams."

You see, half-blood dreams are different from mortals. We tend to dream about things that are happening to people we know or the past. A helpful tip, its scary when your dream turns into your reality nightmare.

"I've-I've been dreaming for the past couple weeks now about someone old rising." explained Silena. "I just assumed that it was some old monster or something. You know, nothing to worry about. But now I see, my dreams were real and someone is hunting us."

I knew by us, she meant children of Aphrodite.

"Don't worry though," said Grover. "We wouldn't let any of you get killed like the last one." He put a hand over his mouth, shocked at what he'd just said and you could tell by the way he was turning red how embarrassed he felt.

"Wait to go," said Annabeth.

"Sorry," he said, timidly.

We crossed over the boundary line and began to descend the hill. Annabeth, Grover, and I were walking in front of Silena and Chiron. I, personally, didn't want to walk behind a horse's backside.

"It doesn't matter," Silena was saying to Chiron. "You see, I was right all along. I need a quest."

All three of us stopped in our tracks and turned to face them.

It wasn't everyday a child of Aphrodite volunteered to do anything that might mess up their hair or nails.

"I don't know, child." said Chiron, staring off in the distance.

"Chiron," said Silena. "I'm a head counselor, the prettiest, smartest, and most powerful child of Aphrodite here! I could go on a quest and lure the monster out."

"I believe in due course that the monster won't need a lure much longer," said Chiron.

"I have to protect my little brothers and sisters," Silena said, forcefully. "I-I can't see anymore of them die. Not when I know I can do something about it."

"We will see," was all Chiron said. Silena figured that was her cue to leave and she did so.

Grover and I watched as she walked away. It was hard not too. She was so—

Annabeth cleared her throat, which brought me out of my daze.

"She's serious?" she asked, rolling her eyes to me and looking at Chiron.

"She has been asking for a quest since you and Percy left camp to meet Grover."

"Has Silena ever been on a quest before?" I asked.

"Once," Chiron, Grover, and Annabeth said together.

"What happened?" I asked, curiously.

"She went on a quest five years ago, when she was fourteen to find the immortal Pegasus." said Annabeth.

"Did she succeed?"

"Yes and no," said Grover.

"Come on, what?" I said, impatiently. I really wanted to know the rest.

"She was aided by a mortal," said Chiron, "a few days into the quest. They fell in love and the mortal was, unfortunately, killed trying to protect her from forces beyond his own control."

"Whoa," I said.

"Sounds like Aphrodite and Adonis doesn't it?" said Annabeth. "Just something her own mother would pull. Tragic love."

"Being a child of Aphrodite allows them, out of everyone else, to feel and understand love in great quantities. Their power of love is their greatest strength against their enemies." said Chiron.

Love was a weapon against monsters? Yeah right.

"Don't be fooled, Percy. I should think that you being in the company of the goddess of love herself, you would know this."

Actually, I did, but come on, I'd take a sword any day, as opposed to love.

"Aphrodite's love keeps the world in a never ending cycle of life. Without her, life would stop. If someone is hunting her children, the monster should be slain immediately. I just don't think Silena is as capable as she wants herself to be."

We stood in silence for a few moments. I thought about Silena and her siblings who were being hunted, even now, by some monster and it's ice guards. It was actually sad to think about. I had no idea why I wanted to cry for her and the loss to her family she was experiencing. I quickly pulled it back and shrugged it off.

"We shall be playing capture-the-flag tonight, Percy and Annabeth. You best to suit up." said Chiron.

"Alright," said Annabeth. She locked her arm in mine, which sent a little twinge in my stomach. "Come on, Seaweed Brain. Let's talk strategy."

"Stop calling me that," I groaned.

"You know you love it," giggled Annabeth, as we walked off together.

"And Grover, please meet me in the Big House." said Chiron, finally, before trotting off toward the cabins.

That night we all met up at the entrance to the woods. Demeter, Apollo, Dionysus, and Ares had made alliances, while Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Poseidon, Hermes, and Athena had teamed up together. Everyone was stilling pulling on their armor.

Dawn, a daughter of Aphrodite, was still trying to put her armor on. Silena rushed over to help her with the bronze breast plate and straps.

"There you go, Dawnie," said Silena, with a brilliant smile, fixing it, perfectly.

"Thanks sis," said Dawn. "You're the best."

"Heroes," called Chiron. "You all know the rules. Blue team (that was us) to the west and Red team to the east! I will serve as grounds medic. May the gods help you all!"

And we were off.

Annabeth had came up with this great plan. She sent decoys and defenders, led by the Stoll brothers into the east woods to combat anyone the Red team had. She, Silena, Beckendorf, and I headed toward the creek where we were sure would be already guarded since the east woods were a lot closer to Zeus's Fist.

The Ares flag fluttered in the wind.

We looked around, waiting for an ambush that never came.

"Something's not right," Annabeth said. "They should have been here by now."

Then, I saw something sparkle in the moonlight where the Red team's guards would have came from. I decided to check it out.

"Seaweed Brain, where are you going?! Your not suppose to leave your post! They could attack at any minute!" called Annabeth.

I drowned her out.

As I got closer, I got a cold feeling. Not the monster sense, but actual cold, like during the winter. I moved into the clearing and I couldn't even yell to my friends at the sight I saw.

When they saw I didn't call to them, they rushed over.

"Oh my gods," whispered Silena, covering her mouth.

All of the campers who had joined us to play capture-the-flag were standing, as though in battle, as ice statues, just like that son of Aphrodite in Clover Village.

"But how?" shot Annabeth. "No monsters can get into camp unless invited. Chiron wouldn't ever let one of those monsters in."

"Your right," said a voice from behind us. We all turned around and saw Jessabelle, hovering six feet above the ground. "That old centaur wouldn't let us have any fun."

"Jessabelle!" I said. "I see you've reformed faster than I thought."

"Oh?" said the Arteca. "I'm not Jessabelle. She's gone. I'm Lissa. The second and supreme general of the Artecans. Another servant to my wonderful mistress, Illya."

She pronounced Illya like ill-yah.

"What?!" said Annabeth and Silena, together at the sound of Illya's name.

"What do you want?" asked Beckendorf, holding up his sword and shield.

"The daughter of Aphrodite," said Lissa.

Beckendorf, Annabeth, and I stood in front of Silena, blocking her from Lissa.

"I see you all want to be difficult," said Lissa, with a grin. "That's why I brought some friends!"

At that moment, Artecans who liked just like Lissa began to materialize out of thin air. We were surrounded. It was four to a hundred.

"Now, either hand the girl over or all of you will join your half-blood friends." said Lissa.

I uncapped Riptide and Annabeth pulled out her bronze knife.

"Dying it is," said Lissa, hovering just above her summoned army. She snapped her fingers and the Artecans created ice spears and attacked!

I didn't know how we were going to stop a hundred spear-wielding maniacs from killing us, but we did try.

Beckendorf took off his shield and pressed a button on the flat end. Spikes erupted around the edge of the shield and he tossed it through the air like a Frisbee. The shield took out at least half of our competition.

"Get ready," I said, preparing myself for the ambush.

Silena pushed through us, and jumped into the air with amazing grace and accuracy, tackling an Arteca. They fell to the ground and began to wrestle. Now that their prey was in the open, the Artecans turned their attention to her. We rushed forward to help. I slashed, thrust, and stabbed with Riptide. Annabeth turned invisible and followed suite, while Beckendorf tried to break through the crowd to help Silena, who kicked an Arteca away from her.

"No more," said Lissa, angrily. She pressed her lips together and blew. The next thing I knew, Beckendorf stumbled and almost fell over. I looked down to see his legs incased in ice.

"I can't move!" grunted Beckendorf.

Silena picked up Beckendorf's fallen sword and killed the Arteca she'd been wrestling with. Others tried to grab hold of her and she was still fighting them off, with all her strength. Trust me, I was shocked. For a child of the love goddess, she kicked butt!

As I stabbed an Arteca through the chest, I heard a loud smack and saw Annabeth reappearing before hitting the ground, as her invisibility cap flew off.

Beckendorf was still struggling to get out of his icy prison.

"Give it up, half-bloods!" chided Lissa. "You can't win!"

The remaining Artecans rose into the air and went in for another dive. This time instead of attacking all of us like before, they singled out Silena and crashed into the ground around her, vanishing. She let out a scream of terror and shock.

"Where'd they go?!" said Silena, staring around.

"Capture!" ordered Lissa.

The ground began to shake violently.

Thick, reflexible looking icicles erupted from the ground and pushed Silena up into the air, wrapping around her body. They bound her arms behind her back and snapped her legs together in a firm grip. She struggled against her bonds, but it was no use. The icicles were protruding from the ground so I thought I'd hack at them with Riptide, but it was no use. Even though the icicles looked like they'd cut easily, they were as hard as steel.

"NO!" roared Beckendorf. "Let her go! Take me!"

"We have no interest in a son of Hephaestus," said Lissa, as though the name brought filth to her mouth.

"We have to help her," said Annabeth, getting to her feet. She looked like she could barely walk. She stumbled and I caught her.

We were hopeless. There was nothing we could do.

"Now," said Lissa, her eyes getting bright.

The icicles glowed and Silena screamed in pain, Beckendorf began to yell with her.

"Silence boy!" growled Lissa, blowing artic air at Beckendorf, freezing him completely.

"No," whispered Silena, weakly, tears spilling down her cheeks. "Charlie."

A tear hit an icicle and they all broke.

"What?!" screamed Lissa, shocked as Silena fell.

I ran forward to catch her, but Lissa was to quick and grabbed her by the arm.

"Your not getting away that easily!" said Lissa, her eyes getting bright again. Silena let out a scream again and seemed to collapse in midair. Lissa, with surprising strength, pulled Silena up and held her in her arms. "This is all I wanted. Ta-ta for now, half-losers!" She laughed and vanished into thin air with Silena.

Everything that had frozen, suddenly unfroze. Beckendorf, who had been struggling to get free and screaming his head off, had fallen over and landed in the grass. The rest of our team and the Red team came over to us and realized, immediately, something had gone wrong.

Chiron's thundering hooves were heard in the distance and he appeared within seconds.

He looked at all of us, making sure we were all there and unhurt.

"Where is Silena?" he asked, urgently, seeing that she was not with us.

"They took her," muttered Beckendorf, weakly, getting to his feet. "Those ice freaks took her Chiron. They work for Illya."

Everyone seemed to hold their breath at the sound of the name. Even Chiron looked shocked.

Who was Illya? I still didn't understand. But when I found out, I really wish I had never asked.

Chiron exhaled.

"The quest to save the children of Aphrodite from genocide has been granted," he announced. "Due to unfortunate events, Silena Beauregard was suppose to lead this quest. Now that she has been captured, I'm afraid the duty falls to another."

I hoped to the gods that he wasn't going to pick who I thought he was going to pick. That just confused me. Did you understand that?

Chiron looked directly at me.

"Percy shall lead the quest to stop this tragedy and rescue his fellow camper, Silena from our enemies."

Thanks a lot you guys. Praying to the gods sucks!