Clarisse knew that she shouldn't of broken into Reyna's hotel room, but she didn't really care anymore. It had been nine days since Lachesis had decided that Clarisse would be her champion. It came with words burned onto her arm that would lead to pieces of Lachesis' sword.
No one could translate the words besides Reyna. That was why Clarisse needed to find her. It just had been complicated by how much Annabeth had been keeping an eye on her. Clarisse originally planned to sneak away two days ago, but everyone watched her like a hawk.
Now, Annabeth was at Camp Half-Blood with a sword buried in her gut. She couldn't bother them anymore. Clarisse looked down at the helmet she had been given. She tossed it onto the bed.
The bed had Reyna's duffel bag on it. There was a few open notebooks. Clarisse walked towards them and tried to find a clue for where Reyna had went. One of the notebooks had a list of names, and some of them were crossed out. Another had writing in the language of the Titans.
Clarisse sighed and turned around. A javelin flew by her head. She ducked under it. Clarisse grabbed her own spear and held it out in front of her. Reyna stared at her.
"What was that?" Clarisse demanded. She stared as she studied Reyna. The daughter of Bellona was wearing blue jeans and a black jacket. Her right arm was pressed against her side.
"You scared me," Reyna muttered. She walked towards her bed and started to pack up. Clarisse could see that Reyna's hand was in a glove that seemed to keep it completely immobilized.
"Lachesis chose me as her champion," Clarisse began. She showed Reyna her arm. "She also told me to follow the clues to find pieces of her sword."
"It's like Kronos' blade all over again," Reyna muttered bitterly. She examined Clarisse's arm. "The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here."
Clarisse stared at Reyna. She slowly looked down at her arm. Clarisse spoke, "Why in Ares' name is the Gettysburg address on my arm?"
"I guess that's where we're going," Reyna muttered. She sat down on the bed tiredly. "We should travel separately."
"I'm not scared of the Hunters," Clarisse said. Reyna shook her head. She closed her eyes and rubbed her forehead.
"There's more than that," Reyna muttered. She stood and packed her duffel bag. Reyna stopped to examine the helmet. "What's this?"
"I was told to give it to you," Clarisse answered. She kept Chase's name out of it. There was no telling what Reyna's reaction would be.
"How did you find me?" Reyna questioned as she gently placed the helmet into her duffel bag. She grabbed her javelin from the wall and flipped it into the rod. Reyna slipped it onto her belt.
"The Hunters know where you are," Clarisse answered. Reyna quickly looked up at her. An arrow suddenly flew past their head and buried itself into the wall. Clarisse tackled Reyna to the ground as there was an explosion.
Reyna cursed in agony. She had landed on her right arm. Clarisse looked up to see three Hunters. The daughter of Ares stood and spoke, "What do you three want?"
"Her," one of them answered. They aimed the bow at Reyna. Clarisse didn't react. She, as odd as it sounded, needed to keep the peace for as long as she could.
"I can handle it," Clarisse grunted. The Hunters shook their head. Reyna slowly got to her hands and knees.
"Don't get up," a Hunter growled. Reyna looked up at them. She cursed at them in Latin. Clarisse sighed and gripped her spear.
"I know for a fact that Reyna can destroy all three of you with only one arm. I can destroy five of you without blinking. Do you really want to take those odd?" Clarisse threatened. She helped Reyna stand.
The Hunters all looked at each other. One opened her mouth, but she suddenly collapsed. An axe was sticking out of her back. The Hunters turned. One collapsed as an axe tore into her head. The third didn't even stand a chance.
A man with one eye walked in. He was wearing an utility vest that had multiple weapons hanging off of it. Two more men followed. The man with the utility vest spoke, "Stand down."
"How did you find us?" Reyna demanded. She unsheathed her sword. Clarisse gripped her spear.
"We followed the Hunters," the man answered.
"Enough talk," Clarisse snapped.
"Agreed," the man said. He grabbed an axe that was across his back. It looked like it was made of the same metal as Reyna's helmet. The man threw the axe faster than Clarisse could have anticipated.
Clarisse quickly raised her spear to block it. The axe tore right through her spear and slammed into her chest. Clarisse stumbled backwards and stared down at the axe.
The man lifted another axe. He was aiming it right at her head. Reyna tackled Clarisse to the ground.
"Stay down," Reyna hissed. She stood and dodged another axe. Clarisse slowly grabbed the axe in her chest and pulled it out. She cried out in pain.
Clarisse looked up and watched the two fight. Reyna was holding her own against the man. Two others were standing at the door and watching. Reyna suddenly stabbed the man in the neck.
Reyna shoved the man away. He stumbled backwards and placed a hand to his throat. Clarisse noticed that the man had dropped his axe when he had been stabbed. It was now on his back. The man suddenly grabbed the axe and threw it at Reyna.
There was no time for Reyna to react. The axe hit Reyna in her right shoulder and knocked her to the ground. The man walked towards her and kicked her onto her stomach.
"Reaper, you cannot kill me. The archangel cannot either," the man spat. He tore the axe from her shoulder and slammed it into her shoulder blade. Reyna bit her hand to suppress a scream
"I could sever your spine," the man hissed. He tore the axe out and brought it down once again. Reyna screamed into her hand again as it tore through her shoulder.
Clarisse tried to sit up, but everything went dark. The only thing she could do was watch. Clarisse spoke "What do you want?"
The man looked at her. He pulled the axe out of Reyna's shoulder. The man spoke, "I want to know where the queen of the Amazons is. After that, I want to find Clotho's champion and kill her before she receives the sword."
"You know who it is?" Clarisse questioned.
"You don't?" the man asked. He started laughing. Reyna slowly looked at Clarisse. It was clear that she was fading. Clarisse felt the same way.
"How do you know?" Reyna wheezed. The man laughed. He pulled Reyna to her knees and gripped her neck.
"Where is the queen of the Amazons?" the man demanded. Reyna didn't answer. She just gripped her shoulder to try and stop the bleeding. The man pulled Reyna to her feet and shoved her back.
Reyna stumbled back. She could barely stay standing. The man examined his axe. He hummed to himself before throwing the axe at Reyna. She barely stepped to the side.
The axe buried itself into one of the men. Reyna grabbed her rod and threw it. It turned into a javelin, but the man blocked it.
"Today, we begin the Periclean strategy" the man said like he expected them to know what that meant. Reyna took a step back. She was shaking pretty badly. "Atticus had you in his grasp, and he allowed for you to escape. I will not make the same mistake."
"Who are you?" Reyna questioned.
"Macsen," the man answered. He kicked Reyna's sword towards her and grabbed the other axe that was on his back. Reyna painfully grabbed her sword.
Macsen laughed. He attacked. Reyna barely blocked the axe. Macsen knocked her sword away and slammed his axe into her side.
Reyna made a choked noise. She fell to her knees. Macsen kicked her to the ground and tore the axe out. Reyna closed her eyes and placed a hand to her side.
"Pathetic," Macsen spat. "I would think that Atropos would pick someone of skill and talent. I was bitterly wrong."
Clarisse laid her head back. She was pissed at herself. They had gotten their asses kicked by Macsen. Clarisse tried to sit up, but the pain in her chest was intense.
Macsen stood over Reyna. He raised his axe and spoke, "Where is your sister?"
"Here," a voice answered. Clarisse looked up. She saw Hylla had a knife to the other man's neck. Hylla glared at Macsen. "Step away."
"This is the great queen of the Amazons?" Macsen questioned. "All of you are pathetic."
Hylla slit the man's throat. She shoved him to the ground and walked towards Macsen. He held a hand up and placed the axe to Reyna's neck.
"Don't," Macsen warned. "You Amazons are not as good as you think. It's a shame that you think you deserve to walk this earth."
Clarisse painfully rolled onto her stomach. She grabbed her spear and threw it at Macsen. It hit his shoulder and knocked him forward. Hylla moved forward and stabbed him in the chest.
Hylla grabbed Macsen and dragged him towards the window. She tore the knife out and threw him out the window. Clarisse stared for a few moments.
"Can you walk?" Hylla questioned as she walked towards Clarisse. She helped her stand.
"I'll be fine," Clarisse muttered even thought she felt weak and ready to pass out. She walked towards her spear and grabbed it. Clarisse cleaned it.
"We're going to my base," Hylla muttered. She grabbed her sister's things and stuffed them in a duffel bag. Hylla swung the duffel bag across her back and knelt by Reyna. She examined her sister's face before picking her up.
"Who are these people?" Clarisse demanded. She placed a hand to her chest.
"I'll tell you when we're safe," Hylla answered. Clarisse wanted to demand an answer then and there, but they needed to get going. Clarisse sighed but nodded. She silently followed Hylla out.