Chapter 4

"AAAAAAACCCHHHH!" I screamed as a Hermes boy named Kyle slipped an ice cube down my shirt. I whirled on him. He was leaning back against the wall in the Hermes cabin, laughing his head off. "YOU IDIOT! What the heck was that for?" He pointed to a boy next to him. "He said you were tense, and thought you ought to chill. We thought we'd help you with that." He said while trying not to laugh. "AAAAARRRGGGHHH" I yelled, hoping they would take it as a point to stop laughing. They didn't. I glared at them. Direct violence wasn't really my style, but revenge was and I was really angry. Most people are smart enough not to cross me. I marched up to him, my blood boiling. I grabbed his shirt and lifted him up. "Don't you ever, EVER do that again!" Travis Stoll, the head councilor, came running up behind me and put his hand on my shoulder. "Demetri please put Kyle down. Now." I scowled and slowly lowered Kyle to the ground. The moment my grip loosened he scuttled away to his bunk. "Demetri, you need to calm down. Why don't you take a walk?" Travis said awkwardly. "Sure. Send the weird new girl into the forest. Maybe she'll get eaten and we won't have to put up with her." I grumbled angrily. I hadn't meant for them to hear it, but Travis scowled. "Take a walk. Let it all sink in." He said. "Fine." I stomped out the door, grumbling angrily to myself with the unhappy Hermes cabin watching me go.

I hadn't walked too far, but I was starting to feel better. It was about midnight, and the half-moon was out. There were a few clouds, but they were far off in the distance. I sighed contentedly. The breeze smelled of the ocean, and the grass shone a silvery-blue in the moonlight. I was immediately calmed. I sighed deeply, savoring the night. I decided to walk down to the lake to sit on the pier. As I walked I felt as though I was being watched. I subconsciously felt for my dagger, which I had found by pure luck in the cave I lived in for a few years. I walked onto the pier and sat down, took off my shoes and socks, and stuck my feet in the water. I knew it would be dangerous with all those water nymphs in the lake, but I didn't really care and the water felt nice cool against my toes. I unsheathed my dagger as I recalled the night I found it. It had only been a week since my father had been killed when I found it, and only a few days since I had killed the monster that killed him. I had heard about orphanages and refused to go, so I ran away shortly after the Cyclops death. I ran and ran until my feet could carry me no farther. I fell asleep beneath a cypress tree. When I awoke it was night and there was a bear and her cubs nearby, but they only looked at me curiously and moved away soon. I walked this time, for the darkness concealed me well. Dawn soon threatened to arrive and so I started looking for a place to sleep. It started to rain, and although I loved the rain, I knew it could make me sick and spoil the small supply of food I had taken from my house. As lightning flashed, I saw a hill. There was a small stream running by…Was that a hole in the mountain? Perhaps it was empty. Perhaps there was a bear in it. I shivered as the rain fell harder. I decided to take my chances. As I climbed the hill, I grew weary and by the time I reached the cave my knees were buckling. Please don't let there be a bear! Please, please, please no bear…" There was no bear, but there were some shiny things in the corner. I was bone tired, but curiosity won out. I crawled to the corner, not minding the dirt that clung to the knees of my soggy pants. There was a small bag, it had some sort of dried herbs in it, but as I saw what had been shiny, I caught my breath. It was a dagger, a silver dagger. Its handle was simple, not meant for decoration but meant to work. Its sheath was sitting nearby, it was made of simple black leather, though what animal it was from I couldn't tell. I picked it up carefully, almost as though I thought that if I dropped it I would die. After that night I never went anywhere without that dagger. I called it " " or "Silver". My father was half-Greek, so he taught me Greek as he taught me English. He said it might come in handy one day, but I could never figure out why. Nobody spoke Greek there but my father and me. Now I understood. I would be able to use Greek in this environment quite well. I stared out across the water. The moon seemed so close to the earth that it almost looked like a sliver, setting sun. The water rippled where a fish touched the surface. Peace at last. If only life could always be like this. I heard heavy footsteps behind me. I was instantly reminded of my life on the streets. Pretend you can't hear it… I hesitated a moment more before I estimated it was about 6 feet behind me. Now! I jumped up, my feet dripping, and spun around. As I spun, I let go of Silver. It flew through the air silently and pinned some black cloth to a pier post. It was Nico. "What the heck are you doing? I thought you were a monster!" Nico's eyes were bulging with fear, but he spoke with contempt in his voice. "What are you doing out in the middle of the night? If the Harpies find you they will eat you!"He glared at me as he pulled the dagger out and handed it back to me. "Nice throw, by the way." I ignored the compliment. "Harpies? I've fought off hundreds of them. Why should I be afraid of Harpies? All you have to do is stab them. They don't have any armor." He sighed. "I just think you should be more careful. What are you doing out anyways?"

"Nothing, much. The Hermes cabin tricked me, so I did the natural thing and threatened to beat 'em up. They told me to take a walk. They'd probably be happy if you were a monster and ate me."

"Aw, don't say that. They probably sent you out so that you could let the whole "Greek God" thing sink in!"

"You should have seen Travis's face when he told me to take a walk. It reminded me of a hungry ogre. And trust me; I've seen plenty of them before." Nico laughed.

"I'm sure you have." As I looked at Nico, and then the water, I began to feel very comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that I felt very uncomfortable. I slipped my socks back on, even though my feet weren't dry. "I had better get back before they think you did eat me!" I joked. Nico stood up as I tied my shoes. He looked unhappy. I stood up and walked back to the solid ground. "I'll see you later." He managed a wave in reply. "Later!" Now I felt even worse as I trudged back to the Hermes cabin.