Chapter 7: I Win The Game, But Not A Friend
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The day after we burned Ruthann's shroud, we geared up for war.
Capture the flag was a point of pride for me. I'd led my cabin as the winning team for three summers—winter session didn't count; Ares only held the laurels then because there weren't enough year-rounders from Athena to launch a proper offence—and I wasn't about to lose now, not when I was co-counsellor and especially not when it felt like a quest was almost within my reach.
Luke made good on his promise of an alliance, and I managed to get Lee Fletcher and the Apollo archers on my team by promising to cover their clean-up duties in the arts and craft centre for a week. I met with them before dinner at the sword-fighting arena to explain the strategy that had come to me when watching Percy wash Clarisse with toilet water.
'Ares is pretty predictable,' I said, spreading out a map of the forest. 'They prefer an offence. Only thing is, they're strong enough with it that they tend to break through most defenses.'
'That electric spear Clarisse's got,' Lee said with a wince. 'Got me good last time I was guarding.'
'Yeah, but we can neutralise most of them with a decoy.' I circled a point on the map. 'Here's where we plant the flag. It has a good vantage point for this side of the creek. Lee, we'll put your two best archers on flag guard. They'll have an easy time picking off attackers from that direction.'
'I'll do it, with Mikey,' Lee said automatically. 'He's our best shot.' He studied the map. 'What about the south side? It's got better cover—I'd come up that way if I were attacking.'
'We booby-trap this whole area.' I pointed to the small stretch of forest between the south creek and our intended flag position. 'That's your specialty, Luke. Do you think your guys can set things up in time?'
'With Travis and Connor on it, sure,' Luke said. 'And a couple others on monster patrol. Why the focus on that area, though? There's any number of spots the other team could try to sneak past, and only so many of us who can successfully fend off Clarisse. Less, when you take away those of us who'll need to attack their flag.'
'She'll come through here,' I said confidently.
'How do you know?' Lee asked.
'Because we'll have a decoy. Here's where we plant the bait.' I circled the south creek crossing. 'We'll lure half the Ares fighters—including Clarisse—over here.'
'Bait?'
'Percy Jackson.'
Luke and Lee exchanged a look.
'You're right,' Luke said. 'She's been threatening to get him back for what he did with the toilets, but she hasn't had the chance yet.' He shook his head admiringly. 'If she sees him out there on his own … it's cold, but it's effective. You're brilliant, Annabeth.'
I blushed. 'Thanks.'
'Will he go for it, though?' Lee said.
'Leave that to me,' Luke said.
'As for the flag …'
'I got that, too,' he said. 'I can lead the flag team.'
'I've got the invisibility cap,' I protested.
'Which means you'll be the best at taking prisoners, since they won't see you coming. Plus, someone will have to cover Percy, someone who can't be seen, since we're trying to make it appear like he's easy prey.'
If it had been anyone else, I'd have retorted, probably with a who's the strategist, Athena or Hermes? But I didn't want to argue with Luke. He did have a point—I was setting Percy up quite cavalierly; it was fair that I keep an eye on him. Still, the chance to take the laurels … well, if I wasn't the one to capture the flag, I'd want it to be Luke.
'Okay,' I said.
'Great,' Luke said. 'We got this.'
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Celia made our flag, a long banner in Athena's colours, with our owl mascot flying proudly above an olive tree—the symbol of Athens. We carried it into the pavilion together after dinner on Friday, along with Malcolm, who was bursting with pride at the honour. I'd chosen him as flag-bearer since it was his first game, and also because he'd only get to be a foot soldier during the actual battle.
The Ares flag was nowhere as beautiful as ours. It was, as usual, blood-red, with a badly-painted spear and an attempt at the Erymanthian boar. Beneath it, Clarisse eyed me challengingly. I just smiled back. I was absolutely confident in the strategy I'd laid out. Lee and Luke had both agreed it was the best plan.
Chiron called for attention. 'Heroes! You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!'
The usual armaments appeared on the dining tables. I searched for Luke across the pavilion. He was standing next to Percy. He saw me looking and nodded. He turned to Percy, helping him to gear up. All according to plan.
'All right, guys,' I said to my table, 'we've got a plan to neutralise Ares. Elias, you'll be with Luke on the flag team. Arthurs, take Roger and Anita and run an offence along the northern edge. Celia, you, Rupert and Isaac do the same on the south side. Malcolm, you're on border patrol north of the creek. Holly and Carter, you guys know where that is—take him with you.'
They all nodded. 'Annabeth's got another great plan,' Anita said, grinning at me. 'We'll rule this. For Athena!'
'For Athena!' we all cheered.
'All yours, Annabeth,' Anita said.
I raised my sword. 'Blue team, forward!' I shouted. Both the Hermes and Apollo tables rose to join us, cheering, and I led our march into the south woods.
Percy sidled up to me, clanking noisily. It was a good thing he was meant to be visible; he'd have been a disaster on stealth.
'Hey,' he said nonchalantly, as though we were just having a pleasant dinner conversation. I fought the urge to roll my eyes.
'So what's the plan?' he asked, when I didn't reply. 'Got any magic items you can loan me?'
I wondered if Luke had told him about my invisibility cap, sitting deep in my pocket. I wasn't sure how much Luke had revealed about the strategy, or if he'd kept Percy completely in the dark so he didn't freak out and refuse. I figured it was probably fair to at least give him some tips to defend himself when Clarisse came charging.
'Just watch Clarisse's spear. You don't want that thing touching you. Otherwise …' I studied him carefully. 'Don't worry, we'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?'
'Border patrol, whatever that means.' So Luke hadn't shared the details.
'It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away,' I explained. 'Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan.'
I didn't bother explaining more. He might be the key to our strategy, but he didn't have to do much more than stay in position. I'd be watching out for him, after all. He fell back after that and trailed the group from behind.
Once we got to the south creek crossing, the Stoll brothers and a small group of their Hermes siblings split off into the woods with crafty expressions on their faces. I didn't know what they had up their sleeves, but I trusted them to know their stuff when it came to traps. Luke and his flag team set off on their way. I made sure Percy was in position, then climbed a tree for a good vantage point and put on my cap to wait, invisible, for the game to begin.
It wasn't long after Chiron's horn signalled the start of combat that I spotted the first red team scout trying to scout the creek, a few hundred metres north. I grabbed a vine and swung down, landing lightly on my feet. It was Castor Gable, one of Mr D's sons. Attacking outright wasn't a good idea, since Castor could make the vines turn on me, so I just followed him, rustling the trees occasionally to make it seem like someone was darting through, guiding him straight towards the section of the woods that the Stoll brothers had booby-trapped. Whoops and howls rang out from other parts of the woods as fighters clashed. I hoped Luke had broken through the red team's defences. Clarisse didn't seem to have made it across yet.
'Come on, Travis, don't let me down now,' I muttered.
A massive silver net fell from the trees. Castor noticed it and tried to dart away, but he was a second too late. It descended over him, trapping him in its woven mess. He raised his arms and vines shot up around him, but they were useless. He cursed ferociously. I giggled and ran off; he wasn't getting out of that for a while.
I felt a strange tingling sensation, as though something was vibrating at my waist. I clamped my hand to the sheath I had on my belt, where I kept my bronze knife. Then something growled near me, low and sinister. I drew my sword, holding it at the ready.
There was a flash of black, a large shadow passing, then the growling stopped, replaced by an almost inviting purr. A grey leopard leapt down from the trees, heading towards the creek, where I'd stationed Percy. One of the animals Chiron had brought in for the fun, no doubt. I had to be careful with this one, though. Leopards were Mr D's special creatures, and he wouldn't be too happy if I killed one.
'Here, kitty,' I hissed. It turned and sniffed the air. I rooted in my pockets and came up with a golden drachma. It would have to do. I flung it hard in the direction of Castor. The leopard sprung after it. I heard a strangled yelp, followed by the sound of vines springing from the ground, and I figured Castor had the situation well in hand.
I had more pressing problems. A triumphant yell was coming from the creek, accompanied by the sounds of clanging armour and splashing water. I heard Clarisse's battle cry: 'Cream the punk!' Cursing, I sheathed my sword and ran for it.
Just as I'd predicted, Clarisse had brought nearly half her cabin after Percy. I got there just as Clarisse slammed her spear straight into his chest—he jerked at the contact and I winced, knowing that the point was electric—and Martin Nemean opened a deep sword gash in his arm. Percy staggered back.
'No maiming,' he gasped, looking like he couldn't quite believe what had just happened.
Martin laughed and said something. He pushed Percy into the creek. I was about to sneak in to help—I figured I could start with Tabitha Baxtor and Alex Copley, who were practically doubled over laughing, and try to take them out first—but to my surprise, Percy got to his feet and faced the three Ares campers coming at him. He picked up his sword and swung it hard. Martin Nemean's helmet flew twenty feet. The older boy fell to his knees.
Tabitha and Alex were no longer laughing. They charged up with Clarisse and the last guy, Baxtor Nivens, but Percy didn't miss a beat. He managed to simultaneously smash Tabitha's face with his shield and practically decapitate Baxtor. Alex halted in his tracks. Clarisse, of course, wasn't about to retreat. Her spear was primed, and I had just enough time to think about how much worse the shock would be in water, when Percy clamped his shield and sword over it and twisted.
The electric spear that all the campers dreaded snapped into two.
Clarisse screamed in fury, letting loose a string of curses. Percy reversed his sword and hit her in the nose. I had to sidestep quickly to avoid her as she tumbled out of the creek, howling madly.
'Yeah!' someone screamed from further upstream. The Ares flag streamed out as it raced towards the creek. I pumped my fist in the air. Luke had done it! And a lot faster than I expected, too. I grinned as Clarisse staggered to her feet and threw Percy a venomous look.
'A trick! It was a trick!' She dragged her teammates in Luke's direction, but they would never make it in time. I smiled in satisfaction. One more capture the flag conquered. Luke and Hermes cabin would get the laurels, but that was okay. I knew it was my strategy that had taken Ares out of the running.
My strategy, and some surprising fighting skill from Percy Jackson.
I jumped into the creek next to Percy, looking at him with renewed appreciation. 'Not bad, hero,' I said. 'Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?'
He stared blankly at a spot three feet to my left. I realised I was still wearing my Yankees cap and whipped it off quickly. His eyes narrowed when my head appeared.
'You set me up! You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out.'
I shrugged. It was strategy. He'd worked it out faster than I thought he would, but he was also taking it a lot more personally than he should. 'I told you. Athena always, always has a plan.'
'A plan to get me pulverised!'
'I came as fast as I could,' I told him. 'I was about to jump in, but …' He'd been handling himself just fine. Most campers would have been proud of themselves, not angry. 'You didn't need help.' I remembered how he'd fought back after they'd drawn first blood, as though the wound had set off something in him. I glanced at his arm, where Martin Nemean had struck him. To my surprise, it was no longer bloody. It looked as though he'd scraped a tree branch on the way in, rather than gotten sliced by a sword.
'How did you do that?' I asked in amazement.
'Sword cut, what do you think?'
'No, it was a sword cut. Look at it.' I pointed. It was still healing as we spoke, the thin scar that it had turned into fading away as we watched. Even nectar and ambrosia didn't work that quickly.
'I—I don't get it,' Percy stammered.
I thought about how Martin had stabbed him, then pushed him into the creek. The way the water had rushed out of the toilets and tackled Clarisse and her friends on his first day. I'd thought it might be a sign of Zeus's power, like Thalia had been able to call on sometimes. It hadn't really occurred to me until now that he might have gotten his powers from a different mighty god.
We were still standing in the creek, water running below our knees. Water. It was the commonality between all three of Percy's incredible displays. If it was the water, then it had to be …
'Step out of the water, Percy,' I said, testing my theory.
'What?'
'Just do it.'
He did so tentatively. As soon as his feet left the surface of the creek, he staggered and nearly fell back in. I leapt up and caught him. He leaned against me, astonishingly heavy for such a skinny kid. It was pretty convincing proof. And that really sucked.
'Oh, Styx, this is not good.' I glared at him, though it wasn't exactly his fault. 'I didn't want … I assumed it would be Zeus …' Like all things about Percy Jackson, this new information brought me another wave of mixed feelings. If he was the son of Poseidon, he still fit the bill for the prophecy, which was a good thing in theory. In practice, though … Poseidon and Athena had one of the biggest rivalries in the godly kingdoms. One that Athena won a lot, which didn't tend to endear her to the sea god or his children. I already didn't think I'd made a favourable impression on Percy, which didn't bode well for a future partnership.
My team was cheering and screaming Luke's name, but Percy and I just stared at each other until a loud howl broke the air.
I thought at first it was one of the leftover monsters from the game, but then I heard Chiron issue a sharp, urgent command. He spoke in Greek, too, which he never did unless something serious was going on. The cheering stopped. I took up a battle stance, immediately alert.
It appeared out of nowhere, as if it had risen straight from the shadow of the rocks, which it probably had. It bared its razor-sharp teeth and growled menacingly at us. Its eyes glowed blood red.
My heart nearly stopped. The last time I had seen a hellhound, a whole army of them had been stampeding after us, led by the Fury who had dealt Thalia the final blow …
The hellhound locked its eyes on Percy and I realised that it was him it was after. Just like before, the creature of the Underworld wanted my friend, not me. But this time, I wasn't helpless.
'Percy, run!' I commanded, pointing my sword at it.
The hellhound leaped. I swung at it, but only managed to slice off an inch of fur. It didn't even slow as it barrelled into Percy, claws outstretched. My insides twisted. It was like being transported back five years, as I watched the army of hellhounds and Furies descend on Thalia, sinking their claws into her …
Only then, we weren't surrounded by a band of archers. At Chiron's command, every Apollo camper let loose a barrel of arrows, one after the other. They sank into the hellhound's hide and it collapsed, loosening its hold on Percy.
I dropped my sword and ran forward, swearing. Everyone gathered round, stunned and silent. Percy sat up shakily. His armour was badly clawed, and I could see the blood seeping out from the sides.
'What in Hades was that?' I heard someone murmur.
'That's a hellhound,' I said. My voice was shaking. I tried to steady it. 'From the Fields of Punishment.' Only it shouldn't have been able to breach the camp boundaries. 'They don't … they're not supposed to …'
'Someone summoned it,' Chiron said grimly. 'Someone inside the camp.'
We looked nervously at each other. I saw Luke standing over the hellhound's carcass. He was still clutching the now-Hermes banner, but his knuckles were turning white from his grip. He looked like he was going to be sick.
'It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!' Clarisse accused, which was possibly the dumbest thing I'd ever heard her say. How stupid would anyone have to be to summon a demon to kill them? Chiron told her to be quiet.
The hellhound melted into the shadows, its essence returning to Tartarus the way all monsters did when killed. Percy brought his hand away from his chest. It came away stained red.
'You're wounded,' I said. The armour was hiding just how badly, but I thought it had to be a lot worse than anything Clarisse and her mates had done. Would the same trick work? 'Quick, Percy, get in the water.'
'I'm okay,' he said, though he was obviously not. Chiron took a step towards him and rummaged in his supply bag, looking for ambrosia.
'No you're not,' I snapped. 'Chiron, watch this.'
Percy didn't broker any further arguments. He shuffled into the creek. Immediately, he began to shine. It wasn't just the power of the water, healing the injuries he'd sustained from the hellhound. I immediately recognised it as something more, the beginnings of a powerful sign from the gods. The shimmering claim arrived, bathing him in a light green glow.
Percy spread his arms in a gesture of helplessness. He looked at me awkwardly, not seeming to notice the claim that was shining brightly over his head, casting a green halo of light above his wet hair.
'Percy, um …' I pointed at the glowing trident: incontrovertible proof of who Percy Jackson really was. 'Your father.' I sighed. 'This is really not good.'
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A/N: Thank you sarah . saunders .s and allen r-I really appreciate your taking the time to review! :)
