8.

I rescue a demigod named Regina

and Nico Di Angelo gives me a lesson.

Usually I would've taken offence to this kind of reaction had I not seen where she was coming from.

It not's everyday that you get swarmed by giant ants, and it's certainly not every day that one of those said ants miraculously transforms into an incredibly attractive demigod (I'm kidding of course). But if I had to say one thing – Hades could this girl wail like a banshee. At this point I'm pretty sure the whole camp had been alerted to her presence.

I held my hands up in the air.

"You're fine – I'm here to help you!" I tried to assure her.

"W-Who are you?" she spluttered, her eyes nervously darting back at the myrmekes again, all of them had now regained interest in both of us. "How did y-you do that?"

"My name is Clara," I told her. "And I'm a demigod but look, if want to escape the myrmekes – you're going to have to trust me. I'm going to do something that may be a bit strange or unusual so try not to freak out or anything, okay? What's your name?"

She examined me, probably trying to sense for any ulterior motives. When she was apparently convinced that I wasn't trying to fool her, she said, "Regina."

I might've laughed had we not been in such a dire situation.

I was pretty sure Regina was a character from the film Mean Girls but thought it probably wasn't helpful to mention so. Besides, making fun of someone's name upon meeting each other is no way to start a friendly relationship. So, instead, I nodded and looked upwards at the moon.

It was a clear night sky, allowing for the pale moonlight to illuminate us. I hadn't noticed this before, but somehow I felt even stronger than I did earlier like I'd just suddenly woken up from a nice, long nap. The feeling was strange but I knew I didn't have enough time to ponder on it. I turned and reached for her hand, willing the Mist to once again conceal me and the girl.

She vanished but I still felt her hand grip my own.

Having lost sight of their prey, the giant ants began to squabble amongst themselves over whoever would take the golden dagger. I took that as an opportunity to lead Regina down the stones of Zeus' Fist and back towards where the flag should be. There was no sign of Thalia, Hazel, Jaci or any of the other kids when we got there – our flag had now disappeared and I dreaded what that might mean.

I released the spell and let go of the girl's hand.

She swayed uneasily on her feet, her face a worrying shade of pale. Her eyes seemed glazed as she stared at me. "Your helmet's lopsided," she slurred.

And then she fainted.

She fell forwards and I had to go to extreme lengths in order to catch her, almost toppling to the floor in the process. "Glad you've got your priorities straight there," I said. My arms burned from trying to keep the girl upright so instead I carefully led her out on the ground and waited for someone to help.

*~PJ~*

"And you're saying her name is Regina?" said Chiron as we stood in front of the Big House.

After it was announced that the Hunters of Artemis had won capture the flag (I probably would've felt more gutted had I not been worrying about the girl), some of the demigods and a few hunters carried Regina on a stretcher to the infirmary where she was currently being tended to by the Apollo kids.

I nodded. "That's what she told me."

It was still night time, nearing the end of tonight's bonfire and sing-a-long session. The moon remained gleaming proudly in the sky, highlighting Chiron's baffled expression. "I simply just don't understand how nobody noticed her entering the camp," he said. "Argus didn't sense anything out of the ordinary, Peleus didn't react any differently."

"She must be like us though," I said. "She has to be a demigod to get pass the barrier, hasn't she?"

"Oh she's certainly a demigod otherwise we wouldn't have been able to give her any ambrosia. She's reacted well to it, healing faster than any regular mortal would," he sighed, peering down at me. "Perhaps we'll learn of the full story once she's awoken – for now, you should return to your cabin and get some sleep. I shall inform you if there has been any drastic changes in her condition."

I went to walk down the steps of the wraparound porch when I paused as something occurred to me. "When I found her she was holding a golden dagger – like it was made out of the same metal as Augury," I explained to him. "That must mean she knows who she is. She didn't just accidentally stumble across the camp. And then when I told her that I was a demigod, she trusted me."

Chiron pondered this for a while. "It's quite likely that her other parent knew of her godly parentage and sent her here once it got too dangerous."

"But the dagger," I said. "Where would a mortal get that kind of dagger from?"

The centaur seemed to scratch his head as if he couldn't suss that one either. "I am not sure, alas it will probably remain a mystery until she is well enough to speak again," then he smiled. "You shouldn't worry so much about it, child. Undetermined demigods dropping into the camp unannounced is not a rare occurrence – though they are usually paired with a satyr."

"Like Ash."

"Indeed," he replied, his expression softened. "You should be very proud of what you did tonight Clara – saving Regina was certainly a heroic gesture most honourable, especially since you yourself have only recently arrived at the camp."

I pulled a face. "I'm sure the other campers wouldn't think of it that way. I failed in protecting the flag."

He waved off the statement. "They'll come to understand eventually. Saving a life is much more important than a simple game – despite the fact that the hunters have now won once again. You'll get plenty of other chances to prove yourself."

With that thought in mind, I headed back to the cabins.

In the distance I could briefly see the bright lights of the flickering fire as the campers sung around it. However tonight the songs didn't seem to be as enthusiastic as yesterday – there was no laughter like normal. I couldn't tell if this because they had lost the game or that they were too curious about the mystery girl who had entered camp from the wrong direction.

I looked down at Augury, the blade reflecting in the moonlight. Still had it not seen a victorious battle, it had always been on the losing side of a fight. Out of all its owners I was probably the most useless one it's had.

I circled around Hestia's Hearth and was just reaching the Hecate Cabin when a voice that seemed to come from the very depths of the shadows called out, "You took your time."

I stumbled backwards, almost tripping over my own feet in fright. "Jesus," I gasped.

"Nah," the voice replied sounding amused and I watched as Nico Di Angelo stepped out of the gap between the two cabins and smirked. "Just call me Nico."

"Why did you do that for?" I snapped, slowly willing my heart to stop hammering in my chest.

The boy merely shrugged. "Hazel said you needed my help with something, so –" he gestured to himself. "Here I am, ready to be of assistance."

"But did you really have to hide in the shadows like that?"

"Probably not."

I bit my tongue to stop myself from saying something that would likely end up with me getting sent to Hades. So instead, I nodded as if this was a perfectly reasonable explanation and tried to keep a straight face. "Did she tell you what I needed your help for?"

"Oh no," he shook his head. "I already knew – your aura gave it all away as soon as I met you. It's different compared to the other kids of Hecate."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that I noticed that 'special' ability of yours before anyone else did," Nico took another step forwards. "Also – you're not nearly as subtle as you think you are. I know you summoned someone this morning, I sensed it, an unauthorised spirit from the Underworld. I'd say you're pretty lucky Hades is close with your mother otherwise you'd probably be in quite some trouble by now."

"So you're helping me not only because Hazel asked you to but also because our parents are best buds hanging out together in the Underworld?"

"Partially," he replied. "But also because you don't properly understand your own powers yet and, believe it or not, I understand what that's like – I had to figure it out all on my own. I'm a reformed guy; you can ask me anything you want."

"Your boyfriend also put you up to this, didn't he?" I smirked.

"Uh, maybe – look, do you want my help or not because I could just –"

"Yes! Yes I want your help," I assured him, reminding myself that if I ever need to reduce the son of Hades into a bumbling mess again, all I needed to do was mention Will Solace. "So how does it work? Sometimes I can purposely summon...y'know –"

"Dead people," Nico said bluntly.

I rolled my eyes. "Yes dead people. But then other times I don't actually mean to do it...I can just feel their energies and then I just...pluck them into existence. How do I stop it? How do I ignore it?"

"This isn't something you can just ignore – it will always be there no matter how hard you try and push it away," the son of Hades informed me firmly. "Everything about necromancy is tied to emotions – happiness, fear, love, anger. As long as you still feel those feelings, you will always be able to communicate and summon spirits, whether it might be willingly or not."

I felt my shoulders slump in defeat.

"But," he continued. "There's a way you can control it, to tame it."

"And how do I do that?"

"Keep your emotions under control and then channel them directly."

He told me this like it was the simplest thing in the world but I had no idea what he was talking about.

How do you keep your feelings under control? And does he realise that telling a pre-teen to get their feelings under control was probably one of the most laughable things ever said. But then again, it was the only advice I'd ever gotten and so I had to take it into consideration or at least find a way to do what he was telling me. I was just about to respond when the sound of approaching footsteps came from behind us.

I turned around.

There was Jaci, the girl who had tried to shoot me with an arrow, strolling towards us like she owned the very ground she walked on. I went to look back at Nico only to see that he had somehow vanished into thin air.

"How does he do that?" I mumbled to myself.

"Clara Gilley," Jaci spoke out, returning my attention to her. "That's your name, isn't it?"

Now that she wasn't trying to kill me, I could take a proper look at what the girl looked like. She seemed to be only a few centimetres taller than me with shoulder-length auburn hair and shocking amber eyes. The girl was still wearing her Hunters of Artemis attire, though she was without her bow and arrows (thank the gods).

"Apparently so," I replied dryly. "I see my spell wore off. A shame really, I quite liked you as an ant."

Jaci's face twitched with irritation but eventually she attempted to school her features into a friendly smile which (in reality) made her look like she was grimacing. "I just wanted to say thank-you, for helping me."

"What kind of person cares more about some stupid flag over someone else's life?" I said and I felt the anger bubble up in my stomach. "Why didn't you come to help me?"

The huntress pointed her nose up into the air indignantly. "You seemed to have it under control."

"You can shove your apology – you don't deserve to be a hunter," I snapped and spun away, heading towards my cabin without a single glance back at Jaci. What kind of person cared more about winning a game than saving someone's life? I may not know the rules that the hunters had to follow but I was sure that wasn't one of them.

I stepped into the cabin and sat myself down on my bunk with a huff.

Gale, upon hearing my arrival, scrambled down the staircase and ran over to me. "Why are you even here?" I demanded. "Why did my mother send you? Have I got something to prove?"

Naturally, the polecat didn't reply. She just stared up at me with those red eyes and remained silent.

I sighed and led backwards on my bed – rubbing my eyes. I didn't know what to do right at that moment. I tried to think of what Nico had meant about controlling my emotions, I thought about what my mom would be doing right now and then I thought about Ash who I hadn't properly seen since breakfast this morning. Everything seemed to be this one large mess that I didn't even know how to put back together again.

Who was I? What was I meant to do?

Why was I the only child of Hecate that had this power? I didn't deserve or want it by any means; I could think of a list of names from my cabin that should've had the ability more so than me.

Eventually, I must've fallen asleep because I soon found myself wandering through the world of dreams.

*~PJ~*

I wasn't quite sure where I was standing at first.

For a while everything seemed like one big smudge of colour until eventually it started to solidify into a vaguely familiar suburban street. It was a foggy night, dimming the moon's eerie glow with the lampposts barely even brightening the area around them.

At first, it seemed as though there was no one about.

Everybody appeared to be safely tucked away in their beds, happily oblivious to the world around them. But then, two figures manifested out of the fog, shuffling themselves down the street until they reached an intersection. Then they stopped and looked around.

"You're sure we're not lost?" a feminine sounding voice soon reached my ears.

"Of course not!" snapped another. "I've been to this city before."

I peered closer at the silhouetted figures.

Upon just glancing at the two women it looked as though they were just ordinary (and admittedly beautiful) ladies simply walking through the streets of a city after a night out.

But then if you really look, peeling away the Mist's clever concealment and revealing something so truly horrid that I heard myself gasp in horror. Both of them had seriously pale skin with glaring ruby red eyes that would've given Gale a true run for her money. Their once flawlessly flowing hair transformed into blinding bright flames and their open mouths were lined with sharp, jutting fangs.

Their legs, which certainly weren't hidden from view by their dresses, consisted of one donkey and what seemed to be a prosthetic bronze leg.

"Circe gave us the address, it should be a few blocks away," said one of them. "And then we take the woman by the surprise."

"Why couldn't Circe just do it?" the other huffed. "After all, she claims to be so much more powerful than us."

"Keep your voice down! May I remind you that she can turn us into anything she wants if we displease her Chandra? We're doing this so we won't end up as some mouse or a guinea pig like she did to poor Bertha," the woman continued. "She promised us a better life compared to what we were living and that's all I need to know. I suggest you do the same. Soon the plan will be carried out and I want to be on the winning side once it does. Circe will prevail."

"This plan is one of insanity," Chandra retorted. "Circe has no chance against our former mistress."

"Then why would you dare join this cause?"

There was a pause, as if the person was pondering on this thought. "It appeared as if I had no choice," the lady replied. "All our sisters have followed the same path. I would have been foolish to remain alone but now I think that decision will have dire consequences. We will -"

The opposite creature raised her hand, both of their backs suddenly stiffened as if they just realised something. "Hold on – it appears as if we have an eavesdropper," in unison, they both turned to face where I was standing a few metres away.

I felt my heart speed up in my chest.

"You pesky little demigod, where are your manners?"

Both of them abruptly lunged towards me, their claws ready to rip me to pieces and I screamed myself awake.

I felt my face connect with the cool, hard ground of the cabin, the rest of my body sprawled uncomfortably across the floor. I had obviously fallen asleep with my sword still resting on my bed as there was a resounding clash as the weapon clattered beside me.

I groaned, rolled onto my back and looked upwards, only to be met with the multiple faces of my cabinmates. All of them were in their pyjamas, their eyes bleary from sleep and I probably just woke them up.

"Are you okay?" asked a boy called Levi.

I nodded, sitting up. I ran a hand through my hair, trying to go over the dream in my head. "Just a nightmare," I replied. "Sorry for waking you all up, this usually doesn't happen."

They smiled at me, each of them staring with those familiar green eyes. Lou Ellen stepped forwards and helped me up. "Don't be sorry," she told me. "Demigods are known to have nightmares. We all get them at some point. What was it about?"

So I told them. I told them about the deserted street, the conversation that took place and the appearance of the two women who had managed to tear me away from my own dream. My heart rate had eventually settled once I'd finished.

Levi turned to Lou Ellen. "That sounds like empousai to me," he said.

"Empousai?" I repeated.

"They're bloodsucking creatures usually under the control of our mother Hecate," one of my other siblings explained.

"I don't get it. If they're under her control why did they attack me? And why did I dream about them? What do you think it all means?" the rest of them crowded around me, listening intently to the conversation.

"By the sounds of it, they're currently under the control of Circe – another child of Hecate...I guess that's not unusual," pondered another girl named Kimberley. "But I thought Circe was running that C.C's Spar and Resort place in the Sea of Monsters, unless something happened."

"Something did happen," Lou Ellen reminded them. "Percy and Annabeth said the island was overrun by pirates, she probably ended up returning to the mainland."

Meanwhile, I was completely at a loss. Who were Percy and Annabeth exactly? Who was Circe and what was C.C's Spar and Resort that apparently got overrun by pirates? Mythology everyone, mythology.

"Well, maybe it's nothing," I spoke at last. "Maybe it's just some ordinary nightmare."

"Demigods don't have ordinary nightmares. They must be up to something and maybe it's you that has to stop them in the end."