Charmed and Dangerous

Authors Note: Dun Dun Duuunnnnn! Oh no! What will happen now? Please review and thanks for reading! Let us see what plans I have in store for our demi-gods….

Chapter 4

As I walked down the alley way, I noticed two boys a little younger than me being roughed up by a group of five older bullies. Sighing, I slung my backpack down and pushed up my sleeves. This may get messy. I pulled out the Yankee's cap and placed it firmly on my head. Looking down, I saw nothing but the gray cobblestone beneath my translucent feet. Both boys were lean and muscular and slightly shorter than me, but had an aura of power, and possibly even something more, something more elusive. While I was edging to a better position behind the thugs, the smaller of the two reached around his back as if to draw a weapon. Slipping my wand from my pants pocket, I took aim at the largest pig faced bully and with a whispered spell, cast him into a petrified sleep. A thud sounded and vibrated through the alley, causing the four remaining boys to whip around in my direction. Not waiting for an explanation, the two younger boys sprang forward and attacked a pair of the unsuspecting bullies. Using a mixture of martial arts and agility, they quickly had the two running in terror to who knows where. While they had engaged the duo, I had picked my next victim. Maneuvering behind him, I dispelled him, covered with water and a bleeding nose after the two running teens. I turned towards the last hoodlum and with a wild look in his eyes; he swung wildly in my direction, connecting with my wand arm. I dropped my wand grumbling. Comprehending that he felt a substantial substance, he swung once more, but I ducked under and kicked him in the back with a spin of my leg. He gasped and flailed for his attacker. Without a second thought I dispatched him with a firmly placed knee to the fork of his legs. Yelping and running away like a dog with his tail between the legs, he disappeared along with the remanded of the louts. I trod over to my wand and wiped the petrified bully's memory.

I then pulled off my cap and turned to face the two would-be-victims. They stood shoulder to shoulder with gaping expressions and defensive stances. Besides the fact they seemed dangerous, whether towards me or not, I felt as though I could trust them. Stuttering the smaller said, "Th-Thanks for helping us?" The way he said it sounded like more of a question. Clearing his throat, the bigger, more muscular one said, "Yeah, thanks. But we didn't need any help from a half-blood witch like you." The last words caught my attention. In barely more than a whisper I inquired, "How did you know?" The same one responded by saying, "First of all, you reek of monsters, and you used magic so you must be a witch. This place must be crawling with monsters." I knew he was right; I was endangering them even more by being here. All that aside, I was curious about them and they had a striking resemblance to Nico, son of Hades. "What are your names?" I knew I was digging, but as I said, I was curious. This time, the smaller said," Well I'm DuSolus and this is DuEvarinya," before the larger could rebut. What interesting names. Sounds as if the originated from some ancient language. Feeling extremely strange I asked if they had seen agiant scorpion run by. Wow, I really do sound crazy. When the replied no, I bid them well and they answered by saying something so quietly I didn't catch the meaning, but it sounded like something from the same language as their names. After some though, I think it was along the lines of, "Atra du evarinya ono varda, Juliana." Whatever that means. And I don't believe I ever said my name.

Now I was weary of inns, hotels, and motels so instead, I slept in the bedding section of Ashley Home Furnishing Store. I had snuck in using the invisibility cap. Gratefully, I had a good night's rest and finally got my head on straight. Once I had cleaned up my mess in the morning, I headed out hoping that today would bring good news. Walking along the street, my ADHD brain wandered off from what was at hand. Completely unaware of the world and traffic around me, I had a one person debate with myself about whether the Roman gods are bases off of Greek Gods or if they were manifested from the minds of the Romans. Don't ask what sparked the debate, but I was so enveloped I it, my feet were just carrying me along some invisible path unseen by all except the extremities of my legs. A loud din of noise from the traffic caught my attention as I realized that I was standing in the middle of an intersection. A choir of horns blared in harmony, pleading for me to move so they could get along with their oh, so important lives. How ignorant. As they struggled with taxes and strict bosses, two worlds prepared for war against deadly forces. Sighing, I jogged to the sidewalk so the citizens could continue with their busy lives.

Just then, I looked to my right, and my heart nearly skipped a beat. Grinning at me with malice was Ares, and next to him, a 7 foot long, three foot tall scorpion with a gagged teenager tied to its back. When his gaze locked with mine, Jack began to thrash and his eyes widened with unspoken pleading. Ignoring the cars, I sprinted around the honking vehicles to the adjacent curb. Launching myself into the air with dagger drawn and a fierce scowl upon my lips, I prepared to send the pest back to the depths of Tartarus. To my surprise, instead of being showered with golden scorpion dust, I was showered with snickers as I landed face first on the hot concrete. Jumping to my feet, I brushed off and scolded myself for falling for such an elementary trick. Jack had just been an Iris-Message. At this time, I wasn't giving Jack or Athena justice. I was putting this quest to shame. Determined not to let my heart get in the way of mind, I crossed the street one last time. Now I began to venture confidently to my destination.

I still had a good full days travel to the Cathedral in my dream. The only thing different about this night was that I decided to sleep in a nearby Target, which is basically the best place to stay if you are on a daunting quest. I t was amazing because not only did they have food; I was able to restock my supplies and invest in a few new toys for the road. Don't worry; I left some money in their places. It wasn't until the morning when I realized I had fallen asleep crying. Pathetic I know, right? I'm not sure why but the last thing I remember thinking about was in the sparring arena back at camp when we didn't know how perilous this quest would get. I thought about Percy, Annabeth, but I mainly thought of Jack. All the stress from current events and years past had seemed to boil within me. Filly me to the brim and when I could no longer hold it, it all came spilling over.

Shaking these thoughts from my head, I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and stretched. Bouncing on the balls of my feet, I looked around to see people shopping around in the store. Oh gods! What time was it? I glanced at my new watch and saw that it read 9:37. Ignoring the strange stares I was attracting, I gathered my things and left the store. Stepping outside, I saw that it was a gorgeous day. Birds sang and the sun was casting its watchful light upon us. Double knotting my shoes, I set a fast pace towards the Cathedral on the opposite end of town. Surprisingly, no monsters attacked, but once or twice I could have sworn I saw an incoherent shadow pass by on an old beaten path. It was nearing twilight when the Cathedral was clearly in view. Filling up with new energy, I began to half walk half jog to the grand doorway. My heart was beating faster and I felt adrenaline course through me. Suddenly, I stopped. If Jack wasn't here, then was I to battle the King of Snakes? With grim acceptance, I trudged onward, now strategizing to take down a Serpent King. A sudden movement caught my eye. Running with blinding speed toward the Cathedral was the Scorpion. Quickly it passed by me not fifteen feet away. Squinting from the dissipating light, I saw, or rather saw the lack of Jack on the scorpions back. Trying not to let his absence bother me, I began to sprint after it, knowing that he was the moments prime target.

There was a slight rustle in the tree but I pushed it away, assuming it was the wind. Then again, never assume, and there was no wind. With flitting glances, I surveyed my surroundings while keeping the fleeing scorpion in check. There it was again. To the right, no the left; wait…on both! Instant dread washed over me, as I pondered fighting three scorpions. Looking once more, I saw two dark figures running along side of me, easily keeping pace with me. They were each a head shorter than me and clad entirely in black with the exception of the region around the eyes. They didn't run the the conventional sense, but rather pumping their legs faster my eyes could comprehend, with their heads low and their arms trailing behind them. Pulling out a handful of throwing stars each, which I noticed were not the expected slivery hue, but rather a familiar golden color, both figures , who I know understood to be ninjas, launched them into the air, towards the scorpion. They imbedded themselves into its thick armor. They had little effect , but did sizzle and steam were they hit, causing creature to cry out in pain. As I drew my dagger in my right hand, and placed my wand within easy reach on my belt, the shinobi drew their ninja-to's, or swords, (which I can now confirm are made from celestial bronze), and spun then in the hand expertly, letting the light glance off of them. The first scorpion had stopped and was facing us. The larger of the ninjas went straight for it, while the other veered off in a different direction. Why would he do that? The answer was soon clear, for a second arachnid had appeared and the smaller of the two boys (I decided they were so) was quick to confront it. I swiveled my head back in forth between the two battles, feeling much like an owl, and decided that I would assist the smaller of the two. But I never had that chance, because just as I prepared for battle, I saw another deadly scorpion approach from my right. One for each of us; yeah us. I steered back that way, and saw good news and bad news. Good news: Jack was coming towards me. Bad news: He was tied to the back of the scorpion again. This was going to get tricky. First, to properly kill the beast, I needed jack to be freed, and I had the perfect way to do that. Replacing my dagger for a stick of 11 ½ inch holy wood with dragon heartstring core, I cast a spell to release Jack from his binds. When they did not give, I angrily shoved my wand back into my pocket. What else could go wrong?

I flipped my dagger expertly in my hand and sent a silent prayer to all the gods known and unknown. I carefully aimed and judged the distance and size of my target. Waiting for the most opportune moment, I flung my celestial bronze blade through the air and watched it spiral through the near black sky. Yes! It hit its mark. The tail of my scorpion fell off in a spitting heap, causing the pest to cry out in anguish. But also enraged the beast. Turning around, it snipped the ties off Jack to give it more freedom of movement. Why it could cut the bonds and I couldn't? The only answer could be that the ropes were places under wards to only give in to the scorpion. I smiled menacingly, and bellowed my battle cry.

Hopefully some of you caught the Inheritance Cycle reference. the names DuSolus and DuEvarinya mean The Sun and The Stars in the ancient language. And "Atra du evarinya ono varda, Juliana" means "May the stars watch over you Juliana", its the elven phrase of formalities, and beacause they boys initiated it, it shows they hold respect for Juliana. Just an interesting tidbit.