"Jab! Dodge! Parry! Slash! Block! Side-step!"
I am drenched in sweat, the sun cooks the air until it feels at least a thousand degrees. My palms are slick, and the hilt of the sword slides back and forth in the liquid. My t-shirt is plastered to my back, and I am sure there is a dark stain covering the majority of my shirt.
Perspiration drips down my chin as I keep my eyes level with the trainer. His name is Percy Jackson, a son of Poseidon, the god of the sea.
"No! Duck lower! Aim higher!" Percy says in frustration, parrying my sluggish attack again. Mr. Jackson is a young man, perhaps slightly over the age of twenty, and he has windswept black hair and sea green eyes. He's a hero, according to all the campers, and they all envy me for my private lessons with him. I sure don't envy myself.
"Try again," Percy frowns, flipping his own mass of sweaty hair out of his eyes. His sea green eyes are hard, as the sea is on a stormy night, "Make sure to get the full rotation of the parry, and don't make it too big, small, quick, and strong. Again!"
I groan inwardly as I force my straining wrists to twist again and block Percy's oncoming hit. Our blades clang together noisily, and I wince at the sharp screeching noise as Percy pulls his blade away, looking frustrated, "You're too slow."
"Thanks, I didn't know that already," I pant, taking the moment to wipe the sweat out of my eyes.
"You're tired?" Percy's eyebrows fly upwards.
"I have been for the last three hours!" I reply sarcastically, plopping onto the ground in bliss relief. My aching legs relax as I am able to put my weight on something besides them.
"Take a five minute break then," Percy says, jerking his head towards the baby blue cooler sitting untouched in the shade. The son of Poseidon strides over to the cooler, pulls out a bottle of cold water, and to my surprise, dumps it on his head.
"What was that for?" I ask, joining him to the drinks. I pull out a bottle of water and press the cold surface to my hands.
"I'm a son of Poseidon," he explains nonchalantly, choosing another bottle of water, and this time he drinks it normally, "Feels nice and refreshing. Strengthens me too."
"Sounds cool," I say, dumping my own bottle of water over my head. I don't feel any stronger, but the water is cool and refreshing in my sweaty hair.
"Still unclaimed, eh?" Percy asks casually, sitting down cross-legged.
I survey him for a moment. When he isn't holding his weapon, Riptide, he almost looks like a normal twenty-year-old man in the mortal world. But most young men don't have the lean body shape Percy possesses, and the unusual sea green eyes, "Yeah," I say heavily, "I hope I'm claimed soon."
"It'll happen soon," Percy assures me, "The gods promised."
"Why?" I ask, "Why'd they promise? The really don't have to do anything the mortals want, right? One could zap us both into shreds if they wanted."
Percy laughs and turns his gaze to the heavens, "That's the fun part about it," he says, and I stare at him in surprise, "When I was around your age, I made the gods promise something on the River of Styx. There was a great war, and the titan lord rose again—"
"You mean Kronos?" I interrupt, then I hastily falter, "Continue, sorry."
"Names have power Athene," Percy says somberly, "Remember that… anyways, the only reason he was able to rise again was the power her received from the bitter demigods that were willing to fight against the gods."
"Their own parents?" I blurt in bewilderment.
"The gods aren't much of parents," Percy says, and I tense, waiting for the gods to punish him, but the sky remains clear and blue, "To tell the truth, they don't care much about their children. I mean, they've had thousands and thousands of children throughout the eons, and it seems insignificant for a god to care about a mortal, even their own child."
"What does that have to do with the promise?"
"After the war was over, the gods each gave a reward to the major demigods that fought in the war. I was one of them," Percy's eyes began to mist in the memory, "They offered to make me a god."
I gape in stunned silence, and my mind grasps at the unlikely possibility. Percy's not a god… he's… that means he… "You said no?" I demand incredously.
"I said no," Percy confirms, "I told the gods no."
"But… a god… why would you? I mean…" I stammer.
"There were many reasons that I cannot explain to you now. You wouldn't understand," Percy says, smiling kindly, "But I made them swear on the River of Styx that they would claim all their demigod children. All of them. There wouldn't be any more demigods sitting in the Hermes cabin, praying every day and night for a sign of their parenthood."
"And they agreed," I say.
Percy nods solemnly, then he stands up, clapping his hands together, "Now, let's get back to our lesson. Where were we?"
I groan, but I have forged a newfound respect for Percy, and I stand up eagerly, "You were teaching me about parries," I remind him.
"Ah yes!" Percy pulls out Riptide and swirls it in his hands, "Let's resume."
"How was it?" Fredrick presses, his Hermes buddies surrounding me with wide eyes, "Having lessons with the great Percy Jackson!"
From across the dining hall, Patrick catches my eye and gives me a look full of hatred. Ever since Chiron has announced that I would be taking lessons with Percy, he has refused to talk to me, even taunt me. Melinda has been awfully silent to me as well, not even coming to the Hermes cabin to wake us up every morning. Not that anyone has any objections to that, unless we're late to breakfast and have to scrub the tables when everyone's gone.
"Did he whip your butt?" Jake, a lanky boy covered in freckles demands.
"Did he teach you how to behead vipers?" Reid, a pale boy with dark brown eyes adds in.
"Yes and no," I reply to Jake and Reid in turn, "At least, not yet," I add to Reid.
"Is he nice?" Fiona, a pretty red-headed girl asks shyly.
"Very," I say to her, remembering Percy's tiny lecture to me. Suddenly Fiona gasps and draws away, a look of horror on her angular face.
Rough hands grab at my collar, and I whirl around to see a massive son of Ares towering over me, his hand clutching the neck-hole of my shirt.
"Let go!" I shout, but the boy drags my backwards on my butt. Laughter erupts from behind me, and hatred rises in my chest. Stupid children of Ares.
I whirl around to see a small gang of Ares demigods, and to my initial surprise, Patrick is not among them. Then I see him, across the table far away from me, an amused smirk plastered on his face.
Of course he's not the one hitting me! He doesn't want to be involved, but I know he set his goons on me! Fury bubbles in my chest and a throw my fist behind me blindly, and to my own shock, I connect with flesh.
The boy behind me cries out in pain and he releases my collar, sending me sprawling onto the ground. I turn to see the boy that had dragged me. He's Adam Peterson, one of the biggest dudes in the Ares cabin, and one of the stupidest too.
"Hey!" Fredrick calls from somewhere off, "Stop it! What did he do to you?"
One of the Ares demigods slams Fredrick away with one swipe, "Stay out of this skinny boy!"
Fredrick gives me a pained look, but he does stay out of it. One of the Hermes demigods runs towards Chiron to fetch help, but he doesn't need to, the whole dining pavilion is chanting in vigor, fueling Adam's attacks.
"Stop! Stop!" Chiron bellows, but his voice is lost in the sea of voices. I know I am on my own, but it does not scare me. I can almost see Percy's face in my mind, urging me to beat this bully up. I know I can, and I crack my knuckles in readiness.
Adam is grinning as he launches himself at me, and I roll away almost teasingly. Then, while Adam scrambles back on balance, I find to the time to flash a glare at Patrick, who is watching with an innocent look on his face. I wish I could punch him in the nose, but Adam will have to do.
Adam throws a raw blow at me, but it is slow compared to what Percy has showed me, and I easily duck below it and slap my elbow against Adam's rock hard core. I grimace at the impact, but I keep going anyways. My elbows and knees are my best chance.
Through my hazy vision, I see Chiron trying to force his way through the crowd, but not having much luck. Percy is jumping up and down, shouting something I cannot hear. Patrick is watching smugly.
Adam flexes his muscles at the crowd, and the Ares cabin cheers him on. Suddenly, one of the Ares demigods grabs Fiona by the hair, and tosses her onto the ground. Fiona squeals in surprise as she hits the floor hard.
"Hey!" I shout in disbelief and rage. I am fine with them attacking me, but attacking someone as unprepared as Fiona is beyond cowardice. I hate cowards, "Get off her, now," he growl, my voice rumbling menacingly, and for a moment I feel no longer like myself. I feel like a vicious monster, ready to tear my prey apart.
Above my head, heavy rain begins to fall, and this brings my back to my normal state. Rain? I am puzzled. Bad weather usually avoids Camp Half-Blood. Hmm…
The campers shriek in confusion and fear, the chaos building. Chiron is even closer now, shoving his way past screaming demigods, "Quiet!" he hollers, but I can only see the movement of his mouth.
Another Ares camper throws a single punch at Fiona's shoulder and my anger erupts all over again. I scream in high-pitched, pure fury, and there is a brilliant flash of white that slices through the pavilion roof. The ground shakes as the light arches across the air, and slams into the wooden floor.
Adam shouts in shock and pain, and I sink to my knees and black out.
