Chapter 10:
Quest
"You have no flaws," Molly complained, as she looked her own body over critically in the mirror.
Ava looked up from her sketchpad and rolled her eyes. She watched as Molly leaned in so close to the chipped old mirror, that her nose was practically touching the glass. "I do too have flaws."
Molly turned around to face her friend, crossing her arms, "No you don't. You're idea of flaws is a bad hair day or bloodshot eyes after crying. You don't get pimples, or dark circles under your eyes, or cramps…" Molly said, throwing her arms up in the air and turning back to the mirror.
"I don't get mood swings either," Ava said under her breath.
"What was that?" Molly questioned, spinning around to face her friend.
Ava sighed and stretched out on her bed, "Molly, what's the deal? You have been back to camp for two weeks and all you have done is stare at yourself in that stupid mirror and complain. The last time I checked that mirror isn't magical, and you look just fine to me."
Molly's face fell, "But that's the point. I look 'just fine', not pretty or beautiful, or even interesting, I'm just fine. And then there is you, and you look like some sort of Disney princess."
Ava shifted in her blankets uncomfortably, "Molly you look like Tinkerbelle- thee fairy princess, and I look like Wendy. Want to know why?" Ava asked sitting up in her bed and looking at Molly. "Because Tinkerbelle is a woman and Wendy is just a kid."
"What are you talking about?" Molly said walking over to her own bed now, and thankfully away from the mirror.
Ava groaned, "Molly you may get the occasional pimple or mood swings that can rival Aunt Connie's, but you also have breasts and hips. I don't. Your growing up faster than I am, but don't worry I'm sure I'll get to that self-loathing stage soon enough." Ava said airily.
Molly looked down at her chest critically, "I am getting breasts," she said brightly.
"Yup," Ava said, popping that 'p', "You can stop stuffing that training bra now."
"I can't believe I would start developing faster than you," Molly said with a shocked tone.
Ava rolled her eyes, she wasn't all that bothered that Molly was hitting puberty first, "We are only twelve, maybe I'm just a late bloomer."
A frantic banging on the door to the Hermes Cabin interrupted the girl's conversation. Clarisse's brother Vinny came running into the cabin, batting away at the curtain. "The Colchis Bulls are trying to get into the camp, Clarisse told me to get you to suit up," he said to Ava.
Ava and Molly both jumped to their feet and ran around the cluttered room, gathering their armor. Since camp didn't technically start until today, the girl's had their half of the cabin to themselves, and their belongings had managed to scatter throughout the room.
When they finally suited up, the two ran down to the camp boarder by Thalia's Pine. There Clarisse was standing, shouting orders at a mismatched group of campers, as two large bronze bulls charged at them, breathing fire.
Ava ran down to Clarisse, "Does anyone have Medea's sunscreen?" she shouted.
Clarisse turned her head, "No. Now get in phalanx formation."
"It's no use, if they breathe their fire at us, we will be forced to scatter," Ava said, but Clarisse ignored her.
One of the bulls sniffed and charged near Conner, Ava just managed to drag him out of the way before he was barbequed. And that was when Percy and Annabeth showed up. On one hand they did a good job at helping defeat the bulls, but on the other hand they made things worse by distracting everyone.
In the confusion Ava heard Molly's scream. She ran over to where her friend had fallen, trying to get out of one of the bull's path. Molly was clutching her shoulder in pain.
"What is it? What's wrong?" Ava frantically asked.
Molly's face was scrunched up in pain, but she managed to grit out, "I think I broke some bones in my shoulder. I hit the tree when I went down."
Clarisse stomped over to the two spitting mad, and muttering about how Percy needed to be roasted over the campfire. She crouched down on Molly's other side and prodded at Molly's shoulder with one giant finger. Molly let loose a string of curses that would have made a sailor blush.
"Broken in at least three places I'd say. Nectar and ambrosia can only do so much. This will need time to heal on it's own, but go to the infirmary to get it set and cast," Clarisse said.
Molly groaned. As much as she hated chores, she hated not being able to do camp activities, like riding the pegasi or her favorite- the lava rock climbing wall, even more.
Ava supported Molly to the infirmary, and then left as Taylor told her that it would be quite a long procedure, as he had to realign the bones. Molly let her leave when it looked like Ava was about to lose her stomach contents.
On her way to the dining hall, Percy and Annabeth met up with her, along with a… cyclops?
Ava stared at the creature in both parts fear and fascination- she had heard all sorts of stories about cyclopses. And after her run in with one at Target when she was seven, she felt distinctly uneasy around this new one.
"So I guess I missed a lot being with my dad this year," Annabeth said wiping her eyes. She had evidently just heard the news about Chiron.
Ava pursed her lips, she was slightly angry with the both of them for never Iris Messaging her all year.
"Yeah," was all the younger girl said.
"Who is the new Activities Director then?" Percy asked, trying to clear away the awkward moment.
"Tantalus. He's horrid," Ava said, still keeping her answers clipped.
"And Thalia's Pine is poisoned?" Annabeth said, her voice quivering.
"Yes," Ava said, finally coming to a stop now that she reached the Hermes table. She spun around and looked at the Percy and Annabeth, trying not to pay attention to the giant cyclops behind them. "But you already knew that, so is there anything else?"
"Are you a princess?" the cyclops asked, his hand reaching in between Percy and Annabeth towards Ava.
Ava hastily back out of the way, still not sure about him.
Austin appeared at Ava's side, surprising the girl almost as much as the cyclops did. She didn't know that he had arrived at camp yet. "Everything all right?" he asked, but his golden eyes never left the monster's outstretched hand.
"Everything's fine, lets have dinner," Ava said, effectively turning her back to Percy and Annabeth, and following Austin to the opposite end of the table.
"So how have things been since I last talked to you?" Austin asked, dishing caesar salad onto his plate.
Ava smiled- Austin Iris Messaged her at least once a week. The last time she had heard from him, he was telling her all about his role in his school's production of A Midsummer's Night Dream with Molly's sister school. He had enthusiastically told her about his role of Puck, and how he loved being on stage.
"It's been, well… stressful around here," Ava said, sighing deeply. She leaned in closer to Austin, trying to ignore her body buzzing with awareness and lowered her voice, "Thalia's Pine was poisoned, and it protects the boarders of the camp. If it dies, then monsters will be able to get in. And nobody knows who did it- I mean most of us suspect Luke," Ava said, spitting out Luke's name like a dirty cuss word. "But then Chiron, of all people was brought up on suspicion. So on top of that, Chiron's been sacked and we have this new Director- Tantalus, and he loathes children."
Austin chuckled weakly, "So I missed out on a bit then?"
Ava smiled, "Yeah, just a little."
Dinner was riot. Rumors and gossip were being spread from table to table about what was happening to Thalia's Pine, and legends about Tantalus. The whole hall fell silent when the cyclops (Tyson was his name) was claimed as a son of Poseidon.
Ava walked with Austin and the rest of the Hermes Cabin out of the hall, but instead of heading to the amphitheatre, she turned in the direction of the infirmary. "I'm just going to go check on Molly."
Austin nodded and headed to the campfire with all the other campers.
Ava walked along the path to the infirmary, with sticks loudly crunching underneath her sneakers. It was a quiet night- too quiet. She heard another twig snap from behind her, and unsheathed her blade from her hip, spinning it around and into the neck of whoever was behind her without hesitation.
"Wow, easy tiger," Percy coughed, his sea green eyes wide with shock. "No wonder why Travis and Conner never prank you, if that's your reaction to someone sneaking up on you."
Ava narrowed her own emerald green eyes, "Can't be too careful in times like these."
Percy sighed and dropped his head a little. Annabeth suddenly materialized beside him, pulling off her Yankees cap.
Ava jutted her hips and crossed her arms, "Any reason why the two of you are following me?"
"I'm sorry!" Annabeth said, her grey eyes pleading.
"Sorry for what?" Ava questioned, not quite willing to let this go so easily.
Annabeth sighed and looked to the ground, tears welling in her eyes, "I'm sorry I never messaged you."
"I have few enough friends in camp year round. I just didn't think I would lose even more of them to the outside world," Ava said stonily.
Percy and Annabeth both shuffled their feet, feeling immensely guilt tripped.
"We're really sorry Ava, real life just sort of got in the way," Percy hesitantly offered. Annabeth slapped a hand to her forehead as soon as he said that, and Ava scowled.
"Great. Thanks for reminding me of how easily I am forgotten in favor of a normal life," Ava huffed, and turned around, continuing up the path.
She heard Annabeth groan "Sea-Weed Brain," with exasperation and annoyance.
Annabeth and Percy both ran to keep up with her. "Ava wait," Annabeth pleaded.
Ava sighed, and turned around once again. She studied Percy and Annabeth's faces once more, before subtly checking their emotions. The two of them were swimming in guilt. Annabeth felt both guilty and self-loathing, while Percy leaned towards more guilty and worried.
"We didn't mean to hurt your feelings, we just got busy," Percy said. "Not that that's an excuse," he quickly added, noticing both pairs of female eyes narrowed on him.
Ava rubbed a palm over her face; she was horrible at holding grudges. "Fine, you're forgiven. But please don't forget about me again?" she said, feeling slightly vulnerable.
"Done," the pair said easily.
"So what's the deal with the cyclops…Tyson?" Ava questioned.
Percy clenched his fists slightly, "Nothing. I found him living homeless on the streets. He went to my school, and saved my life. Apparently he is my brother," Percy said in a slightly bitter voice.
Beside him, Annabeth's eyes were hard. Ava knew the reason- she had heard all about what the cyclops did to her, Luke and Thalia. In the only depictions she had ever heard of cyclopses, they were monsters that liked to eat humans.
"Well that was nice of you to…befriend him," Ava said awkwardly. "But anyways I'm off to check in on Molly. I'll see you guy later," she said before jogging up the stairs to the infirmary.
That week flew by in a blur of unease and competitiveness. Tantalus didn't seem to care at all that the camp was constantly under attack by monsters, so everyone was weary from doing secret midnight boarder patrol.
But, since Tantalus had reinstated chariot racing, everyone was in a flurry of excitement too. People kept breaking into other cabins, trying to steal ideas or sabotage other's work. For the most part it was cabin versus cabin. Percy and Annabeth were to be the only mixed pair, until they got into a big fight and split. The only downside was the Hermes Cabin thought that only children of Hermes should be allowed to race, meaning no unclaimed kids could be picked. The unclaimed kids could drive their own chariot, but that just seemed sort of lame, as they would be representing no one. Conner and Travis ended up being picked, and Molly was furious. But seeing as Molly was to be in a permanent cast and sling for the next two weeks, there was not much she could do about it.
The day of the races, Ava, Molly, and Austin piled into the bleachers, all looking slightly sullen. They did watch in amusement, as Tantalus kept trying to make grabs for an assortment of pastries, just to have them scoot away though. As the races finally begun, Ava watched with slight trepidation as everyone took off. It was hard to hear the noise of the race over the noise that the crowd of pigeons was making, but Ava was grateful for all the squawking when Conner and Travis crashed. She winced when the horses from the Apollo chariot took off into the bleachers right next to theirs.
Just as the final lap was being run, with the Athena Cabin in the lead, the birds started to dive bomb. Ava screamed as about three birds went straight for her face, scratching with their talons and pecking with their beaks. She heard Molly beside her shriek as one started hammering on her bad shoulder with its bronze beak. Ava pulled out her dagger, and started wildly swinging at the birds, but there was so many of them that it hardly made a difference. She watched as Austin tried to struggle with his bow, but the birds seemed to know his intentions, as they kept swarming his face.
Ava cringed when Dean Martin started blaring on a boom box Annabeth was holding. That's when the birds went crazy. They started flying in every which direction, some hitting each other. As they started to clear away from the campers, everyone raised their weapons.
Ava cursed herself for not having a bow handy. She watched instead, as Austin raised his bronze bow and loaded many arrows onto it. His arrows flew, hitting multiple birds per arrow. Austin kept firing arrows at rapid pace. The birds finally took off, and Ava watched in amazement, as a golden lyre appeared floating above Austin's blonde head. Ava took in Austin's emotions, as he studied Apollo's mark. First there way awe, then joy, then anger, then resentment.
Tantalus stood up, "Ah another Apollo kid. Well move your stuff over to Cabin Seven," he said, his eyes paying more attention to the jelly doughnut inching away from him.
"Congratulations," Ava quietly said, before the cheering Apollo kids came running up to Austin and dragging him away.
That night everyone enjoyed a feast in Clarisse's honor, as she won the chariot race, while Percy and Annabeth were on dish duty for 'disrupting' the race. After dinner everyone sat around the campfire, munching on goodies and halfheartedly singing songs. Ever since Thalia's Pine was poisoned, it felt as if the sickness had spread into the very spirit of the campers.
Percy finally stood up and announced his dream about Grover the satyr being kidnapped by an evil cyclops, Polyphemus, who was in possession of the Golden Fleece- a magical object that could possibly save Thalia's Pine. After his declaration, whispering broke out like a swarm of bees, and the campfire, roared higher.
Tantalus didn't seem at all concerned with helping the camp, and menacingly threatened any campers who misbehaved or snuck out, by placing a curfew. If it was broken, than anyone the harpies caught were to be their midnight snack. Molly and Ava shared an unenthusiastic look, as night was their prime time for stealing junk food from the camp store. Finally a quest was announced, and Clarisse was picked as the hero to go on it. Ava could feel Percy and Annabeth's anger and disappointment. But she was still happy that her friend got a chance to prove herself.
Ava watched as Clarisse departed for the Big House, ready to meet the Oracle. A plan started swirling in her mind. Camp Half Blood was her home. Never would she live in her childhood house in South Carolina with her mom again- it was just too dangerous for the both of them. But if Thalia's Pine died, then Ava would no longer have a home at all. Monsters would over run the place, and heroes would no longer have a safe haven and training area.
An hour later, Clarisse stepped out of the Big House looking weary and upset. She was surprised to see Ava sitting on the steps.
"Shouldn't you be getting to bed, curfew is starting soon," Clarisse said, the emotions disappearing from her face.
"I want to go on the quest with you," Ava said standing up, her tone forceful.
Clarisse tilted her head, "You're doing that thing. Where you look at someone, and they agree with you. Twisting my mind or something."
Ava was shocked; the only person she had told about her empathy powers was Molly. But then again, Clarisse was a lot more perceptive than people gave her credit for.
"Sorry kid, I can't let you come on this quest. Its too dangerous, I can't guarantee you'll make it home."
Ava nearly stomped her foot in frustration, "I won't have a home if you don't find this fleece. I am a good scout, and I follow orders. I'm an asset Clarisse, and I'm coming with you whether you like it or not!"
Clarisse sighed and sunk down on the porch step, "If I agree to this, then know that this was your own decision."
Ava sat down beside the older girl, "I've been training here for almost three years, It's about time I get out there and help. And this is my decision. Whether I make it home, or not, I still want to help you."
Clarisse nodded slowly, and studied Ava with her deep blue eyes, "Fine, I'll tell Tantalus in the morning."
Ava nodded and sent a quick grin before running off to the Hermes Cabin. She was almost there when she heard a "Psst," come from the bushes.
"Who's there?" Ava asked, her hand cautiously sliding over to her hip where one of her daggers always sat. Austin parted the bushes and stepped out. "Austin? What are you doing back there?" Ava questioned, her hand now falling limp to her side.
Austin walked silently up to her, "I just wanted to see you. Haven't really got a chance to talk to you since I was claimed this morning."
Ava nodded, "So how does it feel, knowing that you're a son of Apollo?" Ava teased. In actuality she knew exactly how he felt, but Austin didn't know that.
Austin pushed a hand through his tousled blonde hair, "I don't know. I thought it would be amazing, being claimed after so long. But all I feel is angry. Why did Apollo wait so long to claim me? Did I really have to prove myself before he thought me worthy as a son?"
Ava nodded, in some ways she could understand, "Well at least you get to move into a less crowded cabin."
Austin smiled, "Yeah, but I'll miss sharing a cabin with you."
Ava blushed; it was really flattering getting this kind of attention from a cute older boy.
"Though, I will still see you a lot anyways," Austin, said, his smile showing off a full set of pearly whites.
Ava frowned and shifted her feet; "Actually I'm going to be accompanying Clarisse on her quest for the Golden Fleece."
Austin moved forward and took Ava's hand, "Ava everyone's been talking. No one thinks that the fleece can be found. That it's lost to the world. Going out there could be dangerous."
Ava nodded and looked up into Austin's gold eyes, "I know, but if there is any chance that it could help save the camp then I want to help. Besides I have been cooped up in here long enough."
Austin sighed, "Alright, but I have to give you something first."
Ava cocked her head, "What is it?"
She nearly stumbled when Austin brought his face close to hers and closed his eyes, gently placing his lips upon her own. Her body suddenly felt as if it was alight with electrical charges. She somehow knew exactly what to do, closing her eyes and applying a little more pressure. It felt amazing, and life changing- her first kiss! Aunt Dove would be so proud! Austin finally broke away, slowly opening his eyes and offering a shy smile, before taking off to the Apollo Cabin. Ava stood there for a moment, her hand coming up to her lips that were still tingling. She couldn't wait to tell Molly about this!
The next day was bittersweet for Ava. Apparently while she had been kissing Austin in the moonlight, Percy, Annabeth and Tyson had snuck out of camp to go look for the Golden Fleece. Her ears were still ringing from Clarisse's roar of rage.
As she packed for her quest she could feel Molly's glare on her back. Molly had been through the roof with excitement when she heard about the kiss. Bouncing on her bed, she asked question after question- did Austin have nice smelling breathe? Did he have to lean down far to reach her? Did he try to slip in any tongue? And as Molly was her best friend, she shared every detail. But Molly was not happy when she heard about the quest- mostly because she couldn't join them on it.
"It's not fair," Molly sullenly complained, readjusting the strap of her sling.
"Mhm," Ava absently nodded. After forty-five minutes, she had started tuning Molly out.
"I should be able to go."
"You would just be a liability," Ava reminded her.
"Why do you have to go though? I mean, who am I going to hang out with?" Molly pouted.
Ava sighed, "Molly, I never get to leave camp, except for twice a year- on my birthday and my mom's birthday. I have been training my ass off for years, I deserve to be on this quest."
Molly sighed, and blew out a strand of her hair. Ava could sense the slight guilt she felt.
"I know. You do deserve to go, its just going to suck without you here."
Ava nodded and cracked a smile, "Yeah probably."
Both girls started laughing.
Two hours later Clarisse and Ava stood on the docks at camp with their bags packed. Only a few campers, including Molly, Austin, and Lee waved them off as they got into a canoe.
"Ok, so we are going to find the Golden Fleece, by canoeing to it?" Ava asked, her brow quirked.
Clarisse snorted, "No smart ass, we are going to canoe to the ship."
Ava felt pretty impressed, and knew that it showed on her face, "How'd you pull that off?"
Clarisse shrugged as she paddled, "Prayed to my father last night. He said that a ghost ship was going to be anchored just off Long Island South for us to take."
"Ghost ship?" Ava asked, feeling much more uneasy now.
Clarisse snorted, "Old civil war ship. Don't worry, they'll follow my commands."
The only particularly worrying part, was that Clarisse tended to get annoyed rather easily. So commanding her ghost minions to throw Ava overboard was a distinct possibility.
When the two had finally paddled far away enough from camp, and into deeper water, they could see the ghost ship anchored. It has blue letters painting on the side, proclaiming it the 'CSS Birmingham'. Ava watched with trepidation as ghostly figures in torn Confederate uniforms paced up and down the deck waiting for them, while another one hoisted a red Ares flag to the mast.
When the canoe finally reached the edge of the boat, a rope ladder was thrown down and Clarisse and Ava hoisted their bodies aboard.
"Welcome to the CSS Birmingham, Lady Clarisse. I am Captain Barringer, ready to serve," a ghostly figure with a naval hat, and a bullet hole through his temple said.
"Good," Clarisse grunted, "This is Ava Summers, you are to also follow any commands she gives you and protect her at all costs," Clarisse said gesturing to Ava.
Ava shuffled her feet, but nodded to the captain, as he gave her a low bow.
"First orders lady Clarisse?" the captain asked, and all the men behind him stopped moving.
Clarisse nodded, "We need a map."
The two half bloods and three dead confederate soldiers walked into a tiny room that looked like it was built for planning battle strategies. Piles of maps outlining the rivers of the U.S. were hung over the walls- from details of the Mississippi River to the Hudson Bay.
"We are looking for the entrance to the Sea of Monsters right?" Ava question, and everyone stopped their movements to stare at her.
Clarisse wordlessly nodded and pulled a map of Virginia closer to her, "I want to head toward Chesapeake Bay, and from there we sail south down to the Bermuda Triangle."
The captain shouted orders to his men, and Ava felt a lurch, as the boat started moving.
Clarisse turned to look at her once they were the only two people in the room.
"Are we going to look for Percy and Annabeth, or are we just going to continue?" Ava questioned, silently praying that Clarisse would want to look for the others. Two more demigods would certainly help their odds of finding the elusive fleece.
Clarisse sat in the captain's chair. "If we find them, then that's good, but we aren't going out of our way looking for them. We are on a time limit, Thalia's Pine will only last so long."
"Okay," Ava said nodding. Clarisse did bring up a good point. They didn't really have any time to spare searching for the others.
Clarisse pulled some more maps closer to her, "Why don't you go find a room and catch some sleep. We don't know how much of it we will be getting in the next few days."
Ava nodded, "You should get some sleep too," she told the older girl. But Clarisse didn't pay her any head, instead, circling something off the coast of Miami.
The next day when Ava woke up, she looked out of the tiny window in her closet like room, and all she could see was the ocean. Having no idea what time it was, she decided to polish her daggers. Time seemed to fly by as Ava cleaned off every speck of dirt from her weapons. It was a task that allowed her mind to wander. She spent most of her time thinking of her incredible first kiss.
Her thoughts were rudely interrupted when she heard Clarisse yell, "LOAD THE CANNONS!"
Ava ran out of her cabin, clutching her daggers. "What's going on?" she questioned a soldier.
"We have landed on the coast of Virginia. Found two half bloods and a cyclops being cornered by a hydra, lady Ava."
Ava felt the blood from her face drain- Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson were being cornered by a hydra. She had seen the stuffed hydra heads in the big house and prayed she would never see a live one. Nevertheless Ava ran on deck and saw Clarisse shouting orders at the ghosts.
"FIRE," she yelled, and Ava watched as two cannons shot towards a giant dragon like creature with nine heads. They hydra turned most of its heads just in time to see the two cannons, as they smacked into it with a resounding 'BOOM' and the monster exploded.
"Jackson you are so lucky we found you," Clarisse said, as she jumped off the deck and into the marshy water.
"And what perfect timing you have," Annabeth said, scrambling over to the boat. "Ava what are you doing here?" Annabeth questioned incredulously, as she finally spotted the girl on deck.
The two other heads snapped over to see her standing aboard.
"I'm accompanying Clarisse on her quest," Ava said with a pointed look to Annabeth.
Annabeth offered her a guilty grimace.
"Aren't you a little young to be on a quest?" Percy questioned after he climbed aboard.
Ava narrowed her eyes, "I'm a year younger than you. And you went on a quest when you were twelve, and had less training than me," Ava reminded him.
Percy flushed, "Right."
The four demigods spent most of the afternoon arguing about the best way to enter the Sea of Monsters. Clarisse seemed to shoot down any suggestions Percy offered based on principle, even though with his father being Poseidon, he would probably know the best route.
The boat made it to the entrance of the Sea of Monsters in record time. Ava almost wished that it would've taken longer, once she spotted the acid green looking water. The boat churned closer and Ava watched with horrified fascination as a large whirlpool kept inhaling tons of water, like a large funnel and then exhaling it, making twenty foot waves churn back.
Clarisse turned to her, "Charybdis or Scylla? Which do you think we should take?"
Ava shrugged helplessly, "I don't know. Rock, paper, scissors- they both seem pretty bad to me."
"Charybdis it is," Clarisse said after a moment. "Scylla is too fast, we wouldn't have time to defend ourselves against her."
Annabeth looked uneasily at the cycle of water being lifted from the ocean and spat back out. "I have no idea how we are going to defend ourselves against that either."
Tyson kept muttering and clutching Ava's t-shirt, and whimpering. Ava fought off her unease, as Tyson was clearly harmless and just scared.
"What is it big guy?" she questioned him trying not to squirm.
"Boat's engine is too hot. Not going to last," Tyson said with a nervous look at the deck.
"He's right," a nearby ghost soldier said. "The engine is overheating. Too much pressure is being put on it from the waves. This is a river boat, not meant for rough water."
"Tyson, is there anything you can do?" Annabeth yelled over the wind.
Tyson adopted a determined expression and disappeared below deck with two ghosts trailing after him.
"Lady Clarisse we must head for the cliffs," the captain shouted.
"NO," Clarisse yelled. "We plan our movements, and pass through the entrance the moment after she inhales."
Ava nervously looked around for a life jacket, as they got even closer to Charybdis.
"My lady we can't-" a soldier began, but he was plucked away by some fast moving creature with wings. Ava groaned- of course the monster would have wings.
Ava ran across the deck, intending to go down below and grab her bag just incase everything went to hell (which was increasingly likely) then at least they would have some supplies. She had almost made it to the door, when she felt something sharp grab her and lift her from the ground. Ava screamed, and took a dagger from her hip plunging it into the monster's side. Scylla dropped her with a shriek, and the soldiers shot at her.
Just as Annabeth was helping her to her feet, a soldier ran up from under the deck, half of his ghostly face seemingly melted off and yelled at Clarisse, "My lady, its going to blow!"
Ava only had time to close her eyes and clutch Annabeth, as the explosion busted the ship by its seams. She felt searing heat, and her body being ripped from Annabeth's as she catapulted through the air. The ocean felt like concrete when she hit it, and Ava's face felt like it was ripped in half. As she floated on a piece of wood that appeared to be the hull of the boat, she absently placed a hand on the side of her face and then noticed that it was covered in red. Ava fought against the pull of unconsciousness, but couldn't help it, the darkness was calling.
A/N: Hi everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Things are starting to get exciting! I can't obviously cover all the material in the books, because that would take too long, so I just skimmed over certain events.
As for the ages, Ava and Nico are one year younger than Percy. I know that Nico is much younger in the books, but for my story's sake, I changed it.
We will find out who Ava's father is very soon- no I'm not giving hints. Some of you will be surprised, others maybe not.
Please Review and let me know what you think!
-Nyx