I woke up to the sound of hushed voices, sounding frantic and quick. I felt an open book under my hand on my chest, and slipped my eyes open only slightly. My clock showed 3:16 AM, and I heard footsteps and more whispers around the dark cabin.

When I completely opened my eyelids, I could see Percy throwing things into a bag and talking with Grover.

"How're we supposed to get there," he whispered in a question.

"Chiron said we're taking a team there by boat."

"By a boat? Is he nuts?"

"That's just what he told me and Annabeth, man."

I sat up, holding tightly to my capped pen. "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Percy answered in a slightly louder voice. "We just have to go out on a mission."

"This is about the several appearing beasts, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Percy breathed out, tossing his backpack over his shoulder and gripping something small in his hand. "It's Scylla."

"I thought you killed it, though?" I began to stand, grabbing my bag.

"Much easier said than done. You've seen Scylla, it can't be just killed like that," he snapped his fingers, "We ran, and were able to thanks to your help. But it was found by a demigod on the east coast and on the move north, and some mortals by Georgia and Florida reported seeing 'large whirlpools by the horizon,'" he used air quotes.

"Charydbis," I breathed out.

"Yeah, so Chiron wants us to head out with a team and see if we can guide them away, do whatever we can to get them away from the coast. I'll be back in a few days, I promise."

"No, I'm going with you," I stated.

"I'm not letting you go out there. You've never been on a mission like this-"

"Yeah, I have. I can handle it. I'm not some little kid, I can go with you."

"I don't want you getting hurt, this is really dangerous, Calixia."

"I know, which is all the more reason you need as much help as possible, especially considering I have the same abilities as you towards the sea."

"Last time I let a thirteen year old come on a dangerous mission with us, she got killed," Percy's voice became soft. "She was crushed. Her name was Bianca, and I'm not letting the same thing happen to you."

"I'm not the same as them, Percy, I've been doing this since I was nine."

"Perse," Grover interrupted softly. "We don't have much time. She's coming or she's not."

Percy paused and turned to me with a sigh. "You have to be careful."

I nodded, gripping my pen tighter and hanging my backpack from my shoulder. I followed him and Grover out of the cabin, pushing the curtains out of the way. The two taller demigods led me across camp to where the large house was placed in the middle of the camp. They went through the front door, gesturing me to follow.

I stood next to Percy and Grover in the large room of the house, where Chiron stood by a table near where the camp director, Mr. D sat.

"You're having the new chick go, too?" The man said. He picked up a wine bottle by its neck and poured the red liquid into the glass. As soon as it hit the surface, the wine turned a clear colour.

"Why do you torture yourself?" Chiron shook his head.

"I can handle it," I insisted. "I've gone on missions like this, I can help."

"I believe you, Calixia," Chiron commented deeply. "But you must know that it will be dangerous, and you can not back down once you get there."

I nodded. "I won't."

"Percy," the centaur turned to him, "You must be sure to keep an eye out for her. Just don't smother her," he gave the boy a small smirk of knowing. "Take the boat by the coast. Annabeth and a crew are there, do what you have to."

"Yes, sir," Percy nodded, "I will."

"Good. Go on, and be careful, all of you."

Percy and Grover turned to leave, and I followed them. They began trekking up the hill, slowing only slightly to help me keep up without jogging.

"Do you have any type of weapons with you?" Percy turned to me as we stood behind a gate.

I nodded. I held out my pen to him, pointing to the etched name in the wood.

Cataiga.

"Is it a sword?"

"No," I answered quietly, removing the cap. The body stretched into a bow and the cap became its arrow-filled quiver.

"You know how to use it, I hope?" Grover raised his eyebrows.

"Yes, of course," I rolled my eyes.

"Good, let's go," Percy turned to Grover before removing a pen.

He has one, too?

Instead of uncapping the pen, Percy clicked the small button on the end. It grew into a long sword, shimmering silver in the moonlight.

"Come on. Once we pass this gate, we'll no longer be protected by the shield, so we have to move fast. Clarice and the others should already be by the boat."

I followed Percy and Grover quickly through the woods, crouching against a tree to hide from a patrol team. We stalked across the grass, our weapons tightly in hand. Percy stepped quietly heel-toe on the ground with Grover silently making large steps with his hooves. I followed silently, making sure not to step on branches or debris.

We finally came to the edge of a body of water. A large ship sat halfway on land and halfway in the water. A small group was huddled by the side. The only thing to see for miles was water.

"It's about time, Jackson," a girl said to him as she approached. She was tall and buff, and she gave off an aggressive aura about her.

"We need to get going," Percy replied as if her words meant nothing to him.

"Who's the kid?" She nodded at me and gave a disapproving glance at Percy like I didn't belong here.

"Calixia. She's coming with us."

"Better take care of yourself, sweetheart," the older girl told me with a lace of sarcasm in her tone. "Nobody's gonna take care of you."

"I don't need anyone to," I commented. I didn't like her already. I had a feeling she was one of Enyalius's kids.

Or what was it that Chiron called him, I wondered to myself. Ares.

Percy passed the taller girl, walking towards the ship. Annabeth looked at him and nodded in acknowledgement of his presence.

"Is the ship all loaded?" Percy asked the blond girl.

"Yeah, we should be ready. You're coming, too?" She turned to me, but didn't give the same disapproving expression as the other girl had.

"Yeah," I replied softly, barely above a mumble.

"Okay, let's get up there, then," Annabeth nodded. She began to climb up the rope ladder to get to the deck of the ship.

"That girl is Adrianne," Percy introduced to me quietly, gesturing to the girl. "Be careful around her."

"Okay," I responded in the same quiet volume as him before he began to scale the ladder effortlessly. I followed, and looked behind me at the small group of people.

Once I stood on the wooden deck of the boat, I gazed across the floor. Pillars that reached up held out white sails, and barrels and bags and boxes littered the edges of the floor, all strapped down.

I was pushed forward, and I looked behind me to see Adrianne pushing past. She went to stand by the wheel of the boat with Percy, placing her hands on her hips. She was much taller than him, even though Percy was average height for a seventeen year old boy.

I gripped my bow tightly in my hand, staring at them talking. I had a bad feeling about Adrianne, not just because of her sheer aggressiveness. Something was off about her.

The way she obviously forced her control on others, the way she got in everyone's face, her sharp words.

Something was definitely off about Adrianne, something I hadn't seen in other children of Ares.