Chapter 8 ~ Liam
A/N: llamasandsnickuhsbahrs: Hey! So this chapter is proabably the longest one yet!
Infamoushogwartsjaquar394: Yep! And the story gets a little more interesting ;)
llamasandsnickuhsbahrs: Well, sort of...
Infamoushogwartsjaquar394: What do you mean 'sort of?' Of course it's interesting!
llamasandsnickuhsbahrs: Anyway, ONWARD TO THE CHAPTER!
Infamoushogwartsjaquar394: Yes! Hope you enjoy it as much as I love bacon, in other words, a lot!
Ok. I have to say I did not expect that, I mean spooky. She would be an awesome fortune teller. I looked at everyone else. Ryan, Jack, and Lacy seems as confused as me, but Chiron looked fine, and Rachel looked like nothing had happened.
"Ok, what was that?" I asked
"Rachel just gave us a prophecy, it means we have a quest," Lacy explained
"Quest?" Ryan asked, "like a knight going to kill a dragon?"
"Sort of," Chiron answered. "In times of great need, or to test a demigod's powers, we send campers on quests. Rachel is our Oracle, she gives prophecies."
Ryan still looked confused. "Do you need a prophecy?"
" For the most part there is a prophecy, it's sort of a prediction for what will happen on the quest."
"So..." I said, "what you're saying is, what Rachel just said will come true?"
"Yes, but prophecies are tricky, they don't always mean what you think they do, they often have double meanings. You shouldn't stick to them too much, but they are always fulfilled, one way or another." Chiron explained.
"So, does that mean that we," He pointed at himself, Lacy, and me, "are supposed to go on a quest to save Alex and Emma?" Ryan asked.
"Well, we can only assume, that because she gave the prophecy to you, you are meant to go on this quest, however," he looked at Ryan and me, "you two have not yet been claimed."
"Maybe at the bonfire tonight, they will." Lacy said, "They have to be, if they're meant to go on the quest! I can give them a tour of the camp, and by the time we're done, it should be dinner time."
"Ok, off you trot," Chiron said. "See you at dinner."
"This camp is super cool! There's an archery range, a sword fighting arena, and a rock climbing wall that spits fire and rocks-" Ryan rambled as we walked back to dinner. All of a sudden, Lacy stopped walking abruptly, causing Ryan to run into her. "What the-" Ryan said, startled by Lacy's sudden stop. Lacy was staring at a place above my head. Ryan followed her gaze and his jaw dropped. "What's that?" he asked.
"That," Lacy said, "is claiming." I looked above my head to where they were staring.
"Ahh!" I said, startled by the fading holographic wand that was floating above my head. "I- I-"
Lacy smiled and said, "Welcome, Liam Avery, son of Hecate, goddess of magic."
"So, can I do magic?" I asked, hoping the answer would be yes.
Lacy laughed and said, "You're claimed and the first thing you say is 'can I do magic'?"
"Umm, yeah. Magic is awesome! Haven't you read Harry Potter?" I asked in disbelief.
"No, I haven't," Lacy replied. We continued walking towards the dining pavilion. When we reached it, Lacy told Ryan to go to the table that was almost completely full and had a lot of kids with mischievous looks. "The Hermes table," she said.
"So my dad is Hermes?" Ryan asked, confused.
"No," Lacy said, "Hermes cabin takes all the unclaimed campers."
"Oh," came Ryans reply.
"Liam, your table is the one over there towards the back. Lou Ellen is your head counselor," Lacy said, pointing to a table that had about 10 kids at it.
"Ok," I replied but Lacy was already gone. She seemed to be talking to a bunch of kids with blonde hair, some with blue eyes, others with stormy gray.
I walked over to the table that Lacy had pointed out. I walked right up to the table and cleared my throat. Conversation ceased and ten pairs of bright green eyes turned towards me. In fact, their eyes were exactly like mine.
"Er- Hi!" I said into the awkward silence that seemed to fill the table. "I'm Liam Avery and I'm new here..." I trailed off, seeing their faces that said 'we already know that you're new.' Who knew that green eyes could be so intimidating.
"If you're new, why are you over here? The new people go to the Hermes table," a girl with brown, pixie-like hair said.
"Well, I was told to come here," I replied, not understanding, because Lacy seemed to know how things worked and she did send Ryan to the Hermes table.
"By whom?" another asked.
"Lacy," I replied, indicating the girl who was walking to a pink table.
"Oh, well, were you claimed? Maybe she meant one of the other tables," the first girl said again.
I nodded in answer to her question.
"Well," she prompted, "who is your godly parent?"
"Hecate," I replied.
Her eyes widened and she said, "Oh my gods, sorry, sorry, sit down, sit down." She scooted down the bench a bit to make room.
Gods, tell me your name already, I can't keep calling you she and her!
"My name's Lou Ellen," she said. Yes! Thank you! A name! "and this is Mike, Lily, James, John, Sarah, Matt, Rose, Will, Sami, Brad (Bradley), and Lizzie."
"Nice to meet you," I said. Their hostility gone, they began to talk amongst themselves as they piled their plates with food. I was about to take a bite, when everyone got up and brought their plates over to a big bronze brazier. Everyone seemed to be dumping the best part of their meal into the flames.
"Offerings, for the gods," Lizzie muttered as she dumped a piece of steak into the fire.
Okay then. I dumped a very buttery roll into the flames and wished for a successful quest.
I went back to my seat and sat down. "Sorry about being so mean to you before," Lou Ellen said. "Its just- we don't get very many new campers, and I guess you could say we're a suspicious lot."
I nodded in understanding. "The other campers ignore us sometimes. I think it's because they're jealous that we can do magic and they can't," little Lily added. She only looked to be 8 or 9 years old.
I nodded again and ate the rest of my dinner, chatting contentedly with my half siblings.
I took my seat in front of the big campfire, not quite sure what to expect. I glanced over at Ryan and caught his eye. He smiled and I smiled back. He then turned back to a conversation with two of the Hermes campers. He seemed to be enjoying himself. I looked around the big amphitheater and was inspecting the fire when Lizzie elbowed me in the side and pointed to Ryan who had a burning hammer floating above his head.
So that's claiming. Interesting.
The hammer disappeared and Ryan moved towards a group of tanned and muscled campers. Those must be his siblings.
"Campers!" Chiron stated. "Today we have two new campers, Ryan Wolfe, son of Hephaestus, and Liam Avery, son of Hecate. Now, I don't know if you've heard, but Alex and Emma were kidnapped earlier today. A quest will be made and those on it shall be leaving tomorrow after a counselors meeting. Now on with the campfire!" This announcement was greeted with murmurs from the whole camp.
The campfire was awesome, it changed colors and height with our energy. S'mores are good too. Did I mention I love s'mores? Anyways back at my cabin I was given a bed and told, "we won't prank you on your first night here, but you better watch out." What is that supposed to mean?
