Chapter 9: The Plan

Thanatos is the hint.

The camp was in a frenzy. Everyone seemed to be shouting at me. Telling me that this was all my fault or asking me what Vulgnam and Chris were after. I looked at the ground and saw the dead body of the camper. I recognized his face but I didn't know what his name was. I just stood there staring at him until I felt someone grab my shoulder. It was Rapturn.

"Come in Percy. We're going into my office. We need to talk about this in private." He said to me as he lightly pushed me forward.

I walked towards Rapturns cabin and opened the heavy door. I remembered there being candles lit all over the place before but now everything was so dark that I had to use my vampire night vision in order to see. I walked through the door leading into Rapturns office. He sat down at the table, lit one of the candles on his desk and looked up at me through his tired eyes.

"What happened? Tell me everything Percy." Said Rapturn.

I stared at my feet and began, "It all started a little while ago. A vampire named Vulgnam came to my house and set it on fire. Shortly after that I learned that Lex was in possession of a book containing half of a spell that belonged to Morpheus. You see, when the second half was stolen Morpheus got worried and gave it to Lex but, someone ended up stealing it from Lex. That was when I was attacked by a fury wanting to know where the book was and Annabeth, Lex, and I went to New York City to stop Vulgnam from getting both books. We succeeded, but not before Vulgnam gained control over 11 people including my mother."

Rapturn closed his eyes and sighed. The silence in the room made me feel uncomfortable. Looking at him now, I saw that he had large bags under his eyes from no sleep.

"It seems we're in trouble then aren't we." Said Rapturn. "At least you have to first spell book. It could be worst. At least he can't get any more slaves."

I nodded and smiled, "Yeah! We have to look at the bright side."

Rapturn sighed. I could tell that something was bothering him but I didn't know if I should ask him. I eventually decided it was better to and I asked him, "What's wrong Rapturn? You don't seem yourself."

Rapturn looked up at me and said, "I'm sorry Percy. I am supposed to be the man who runs this camp but I haven't been doing a very good job recently. Not after she died."

Time seemed to stop for me. What was Rapturn talking about?

"Who's she?" I asked.

"My wife." Rapturn said, staring at the ground now. "She died. She died of old age. Something that will never happen to me. Believe me Percy, living forever is not all it's cracked up to be."

Everything was starting to make sense now. Rapturn had a wife and she died recently of natural causes and now Rapturn was depressed. I didn't know what to say back to him so I just stood there and crossed my arms. It was nearly five minutes before Rapturn said anything.

"Where is the book now?" He asked quietly.

"Lex has it." I said. "I figured it would be best if he held on to it."

Rapturn nodded and stood up. He started pacing back and forth in his office.

"Percy. This is very dangerous. If Vulgnam gets both halves of the spell then he could wipe out the entire vampire world as we know it. Everyone would be under his control. Right now the fate of the entire world is in Lex's hands. However, all is not lost. Morpheus most likely knows how to reverse the spell and if he does then I believe it to be very important that you go and find him." Said Rapturn.

"But. Rapturn," I said, "I can't leave. Vulgnam is going to keep coming back and killing more and more vampires until everyone is dead.

"Not if you put Vulgnam to sleep." He said.

I did a double take. Of course! If Vulgnam went to sleep then he wouldn't be able to control them anymore! It was perfect.

"What do you want me to do?" I asked him.

"I want you to go to Morpheus. Make sure to bring all the help you can get because it will be challenging. While you are on that journey, I will stay here and put Vulgnam to sleep and then lock him in a cell below ground. Then, you will come back with the ability to reverse the spell and set everyone free." He said.

I nodded and agreed with him. For once it seemed like we had a plan that was going to work perfectly. I had no idea how wrong I was.