CHAPTER FOUR

He's real? Was my first thought when I saw him.

He was mounted on some creature that looked like it was half eagle and half lion. It looked around with alert eyes, squawking at this thing or that. Peleus had curled himself around his pine tree and was quietly growling at the creature.

The boy from my dream wore jeans, black shoes, a red shirt, and had a brown leather bag slung across his body. Strapped to his side was some kind of weapon, a sword with a hooked end. He gracefully hopped off his mount and whispered something in its ear. The creature shuddered and calmed down. It folded its wings and laid down on the grass.

While all of this had been happening, a few demigods in camp had run up with weapons drawn. The only thing that kept them from attacking was a reprimand from Chiron. They glared at the boy as though he had committed a terrible crime.

"Hello. My name is Dakota Storm," the boy said. "I need to talk with the director of this camp."

"That would be me," Chiron said. "What is it that you need?" He said it with almost, annoyance in his voice.

"I'm looking for a girl named Tamara Hope. Is she here?"

I tried to keep calm. Why was he looking for me? What did he want?

"Why do you need this girl?" Chiron asked.

"She's in danger, especially here. She needs to come with me, where I can train her."

I couldn't take it anymore. I jumped off of Chiron's back and said, "Why? Why do I need to be taken away? I belong here, at Camp Half-Blood."

Dakota looked at me for a second, blinking his eyes at my questions. "You don't understand. You're not like the Greeks here. You belong with your kind."

"I do belong here! My mother was Zeus's daughter!"

Campers around me stared at me in shock. Dakota looked at me in surprise.

"That's not right," he whispered to himself. "This could be very bad."

"Dakota," Chiron said. "perhaps you should come into the house and we can talk. I think we have a lot to discuss."

We were all silent as we sat in the Big House living room. I wasn't really sure what to say. I still didn't quite understand what was going on.

"Dakota, maybe you could explain to Tamara who you are and where you came from." Chiron suggested.

Dakota looked at me. "Well, you know my name is Dakota Storm. I came from Brooklyn, where I train the Kane Mansion."

"What does this Kane Mansion train you for? Is it like camp here?"

"Sort of. We train to fight monsters too, only the monsters we fight are different. They're Egyptian monsters." He let that sink in.

"Egyptian monsters. But, if there are Egyptian monsters, does that mean that there are Egyptian gods too?"

Dakota smiled. "Smart girl. Yes, the Egyptian gods are real, and we're part of them."

"We? As in, you and me?" I asked hesitantly. "Are you saying I'm the daughter of an Egyptian god?"

"Not quite. We aren't children of the gods, we're magicians. Thousands of years ago, the gods gave certain families magic, and every generation since has inherited that magic."

I sat back in my seat, trying to process what he was saying. I wasn't a demigod, I was an Egyptian who could do magic.

"But, my mother. She was a demigod."

Dakota sighed. "That's where this gets complicated. The only thing I can venture to conclude is that your father had no clue that your mother was a demigod. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been with her. The Egyptians and Greeks are supposed to be kept separate. That's why our training facilities are on different sides of the East River."

"Well, that's how it was supposed to be, until you came here," Chiron said quietly.

I had never seen him like this. Almost, hateful of Dakota. If Chiron disliked Dakota this much, the demigods in camp must be furious that he was here.

"So, you want to take me back to the Kane Mansion so you can train me?" I asked.

"Yes, though it seems like your powers haven't really shown up yet."

Suddenly, everything clicked. My freak out in the mess hall. The glowing replica of me. It all made sense now. I traded a glance with Chiron, and I knew he was thinking the same thing.

"They have shown up," I said. "This morning in the mess hall, I kind of had a melt down, and this golden sphere appeared and surrounded me and then I was lifted into the air. This huge golden giant appeared and I could control it."

Dakota's face paled. "You, summoned an avatar without any training? And it was gold?"

I nodded. I wasn't sure why he was so freaked out, but it was starting to scare me.

"Golden avatars only appear if you've channeled the power of Horus, the war god."

Outside, thunder crashed and lightning streaked across the sky, even though the sky had been clear moments before.

"Perhaps you shouldn't mention your gods names while here, Dakota," Chiron said. "It's bad enough that you're in our camp."

Dakota nodded. "As I was saying, golden avatars only appear if you've channeled the war god's power, and to summon an avatar by yourself without any training hasn't been heard of. You have to come with me right away. Your powers are obviously very strong and if you can't control them, you could hurt a lot of people."

I looked at Chiron. "But, don't I belong here too? My mother was a demigod. That means I'm half demigod."

"Tamara, I really want to keep you here, I do. But it's obvious that your Egyptian powers are more dominant. You have to go with Dakota."

I looked at my hands. I didn't want to leave. I mean, yes, I knew that everyone would look at me strangely because of this morning. And I would never be claimed. But Hannah was here, and Percy and Annabeth, and. . . .

"You're leaving?" Tina asked. She had come up the stairs from the hospital wing of the Big House. Her face was a little pale and she was leaning on Archer for support. A white cast was around her injured leg.

I got up and walked over to her. "Tina, I have to leave. I can't stay here. I'm just not one of you."

Tina nodded. "I heard. I was coming up from the hospital when Dakota explained everything."

"I'm sorry. I don't want to leave, I really don't."

"But you have to. I understand," Tina gave me a weak smile. "Will we see each other again?"

I looked at Dakota and raised an eyebrow.

"I don't know. As I said, Egyptians and Greeks are supposed to be kept separate. But, if it's fate for you to see her again, I'm sure it will happen."

I hugged Tina. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too," she said back.

I turned and whispered in Archer's ear, "Take care of her, okay?"

He nodded.

"Do you have anything you need to pack?" Dakota asked.

I shook my head.

"Alright, then let's get going." He got up and walked out of the house.

I followed him out and we walked up to his mount, the eagle/lion creature, and Dakota turned and looked at me.

"This is a griffin. Don't worry, he won't bite. They're really gentle creatures, if you're nice to them."

I swallowed, and quietly said, "Okay."

Without any warning, Dakota scooped me up in his arms and placed me on the griffin's back. Then he mounted behind me and put his arms around me to hold the reins.

"You ready?" he asked me.

I nodded and gripped a few of the griffin's feathers. Dakota clucked and flicked the reins. The griffin turned and started galloping downhill. He then spread out his wings and flapped them twice. I shut my eyes as we went airborne, not opening them until Dakota said, "Hey, say goodbye to Camp Half-Blood."

I looked down at the camp, which was getting smaller and smaller. I watched it until I couldn't see it anymore, and then turned my gaze to the site in front of me. I could see all of New York City. It was amazing, seeing all of the buildings from this high up.

Dakota dropped one hand and placed it on my hip. I tensed up, not really sure what he was doing. But then two seconds later I was grateful, because the griffin went into a steep dive. I barely managed to contain my scream, but Dakota whooped behind me and laughed. Then he pulled the griffin up and we kept flying.

"What was that for?" I yelled at him.

"Hey, thought I'd have some fun. It was fun, wasn't it?"

"Well, yeah a little bit."

He chuckled and started describing the Kane Mansion to me. During the whole flight, he kept his hand on my hip. I wasn't really sure what to make of it. Had he forgotten that it was there? Or was he leaving it there on purpose?

We flew for another fifteen minutes before landing on what looked like an old factory from a distance. Up close, we were standing at the base of a huge mansion. It was at least five stories high, with floor to ceiling windows that were covered in hieroglyphics. The building was amazing, and if it looked like that on the outside. . . .

Dakota swung off the griffin's back. He then grabbed my waist and lifted me off. He placed me on the ground, but didn't let go of me. We stared into each others eyes until I could feel a blush creeping into my face. He finally let go of me and took the reins of the griffin. He whispered something into the creature's ear and it let out a squawk of delight. It took off into the air, flying to the very top of the mansion.

"So, this is the Kane Mansion," Dakota said. He walked over to a huge stone door and looked at me. "It's kind of a custom for a new comer to open the door on their own."

I looked from him to the door then back to him. "You want me to open that all by myself?"

"Hey, you summoned a golden avatar by yourself this morning. I'm sure you can handle opening a door."

But, I don't even know how I summoned that avatar, I thought to myself. I walked up to the door and stared at it, focusing on making an avatar. If I did, then I could just knock the door down and problem solved. But no avatar came and after three minutes of trying to summon one, I gave up and slammed my hand against the door. Where my hand touched the door, gold lines appeared. I pulled it back in surprise and where my hand had been, there was a golden imprint of it. Golden lines raced across the entire door, making some sort of shape. It was a falcon. A golden falcon that had my hand imprint where its heart would be.

I looked back at Dakota, who's eyes were wide and his mouth agape. Then the door groaned and slid upward until it disappeared.

"How—how did you do that?" Dakota asked. "I've never seen anything like that before."

I stared at my hand, shaking my head. "I have no idea."

Dakota stood there for a moment before finally walking past me and into the mansion. I followed him and caught my breath. It was the mansion from my dream. Everything was the same, except that there were kids running down the stairs, cooking in the kitchen, and sitting on the sofas.

"This—this is from my dream," I said. "Only, you were walking down the stairs and talking into a bronze bowl."

Dakota stared at me. "I was in your dream?"

I blushed and looked at the floor. I was getting the feeling that he liked me, I just didn't know what to make of it.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room." He walked up the stairs and I followed him.

We walked up flight after flight of stairs until my legs felt like limp noodles. Finally, Dakota stopped walking at the end of a hallway on the third level.

"Here's your room, I hope you like it. I'll send someone to come get you when lunch is ready." He turned and left me to explore my room.

I stood there for a few seconds, watching him as he left, and then I opened my bedroom door. What I found was not a bedroom but what looked like a large hotel room. I had my own kitchen with a mini refrigerator and microwave. The cabinets were stocked full of snacks and the fridge had soda, water, and juice. I turned my attention to the living room. I had a flat screen TV that was placed on top of a coffee table. A Wii was on one side of the TV and a Xbox 360 on the other. Inside the drawers of the table were movies and video games. Opposite the TV was a leather couch that had two speakers on either side of it.

"Dang, this totally beats the cabins at camp," I muttered, feeling guilty as soon as I said it. How could I think that about Camp Half-Blood? But then again, this was my home now.

I walked down a hallway to the left of the kitchen and found where my bed was. It was a queen size with two white pillows and a sky blue comforter. Another, smaller TV stood on a coffee table on the opposite wall to the bed. To my left was a closet, which was filled with all of my favorite brands of jeans, shorts, and shirts. To my right was a sliding glass door that led to a balcony. Back down the hallway was the bathroom, which already had my toiletries in it. This place was amazing and nothing at all like Camp Half-Blood's set-up. But then again, I was at an Egyptian training home where the kids were magicians.

I was about to walk onto my balcony when there was a knock at my door. I walked over and opened it. Standing there was a little girl who looked about five years old. She kind of looked liked Dakota a bit, with long black hair and bright-blue eyes.

"Dakota says it's time for lunch," she said quietly.

I smiled at her and said, "Lead the way." I shut the door to my room and followed her down the flights of stairs.

Downstairs, the living room was empty, but I could see that everyone had moved out onto a balcony, and the little girl led me out the door out onto it. The summer wind hit me in the face and I breathed it in, letting it calm me.

Outside on the balcony was a swimming pool and a patio table. Thirty chairs were somehow placed around it, and kids were sitting in them. I looked for Dakota and found him talking to a tall blond boy with green eyes. When he saw me, Dakota waved me over to the chair next to him. The little girl had run off to sit with some of her friends. I made my way over to Dakota and sat down.

"Did you like your room?" he asked.

"Oh my gosh, yes! If you want to call that a room!"

The boy next to Dakota laughed and looked at me. "Well, hello there. I'm Liam," he said with a smooth voice. "And you are?"

I sat there for a second, trying to compose myself. The way that Liam talked to me, with that smooth, silky voice, transfixed me.

"Um . . . I'm Tamara. Tamara Hope."

He took my hand and kissed it. "Pleasure."

I sat there, feeling my cheeks burn with embarrassment. They stared at me for a second before laughing. I looked at them, confused.

"Liam here is a ladies man, Tamara. Don't take it personally, he does this with all the girls," Dakota explained.

I started laughing too, blushing even harder at the way I had reacted.

Someone clapped his hands and all talk ceased. Seated at the head of the table was a man that looked the same age as Percy. He had curly-brown hair, dark-brown eyes, and cocoa-colored skin. I knew right away that this was the instructor of the mansion.

"To the House!" he said, raising a cup above his head.

"To the House!" everyone repeated, raising cups above their heads.

I hadn't realized that cups had materialized in front of us. I took a sip of the liquid inside and found that it was some sort of sparkling water.

The man at the head of the table said, "Everyone, I would like to introduce a new initiate, Tamara Hope. Welcome."

I smiled hesitantly as everyone looked at me. A lot of the kids smiled at me, but a group of three girls glared at me. Then one of them said, "What are you doing here?"