Chapter 10 - Oh, Look! Another Drakon.

I woke up at the smell of smoke and herbs and the bleating of sheep. I'm on a bed made of leather and wool. I'm in a hut made of bones, mud, and somewhat familiar scaly animal skin. Herbs and cured leather hung on freestanding racks. At the back was a pen full of sheep. In the center, a bonfire made of pitch and bone crackled in life. Hanging above it was a pot suspiciously made of some old monster's skull. A slim figure was stirring a ladle on the pot.

"You recover pretty quick for a half-blood." The figure said. I recognized the wavy blood red hair and three ring silver earrings on each ear. "I expected you to wake up later than that."

"Atè." I said.

She turned to me. She looked younger than I remembered. Almost at my age. Her black eyes glinted like fiery charcoal against the light of the bonfire. "I thought you had forgotten about me, daughter of Hera."

"I have a name, you know." I said as I sat up. I pushed the blankets and threw my feet at the side of the bed, letting them settle on a grey wool rug.

"Is that so?" Até continued stirring. "I didn't know until now."

I stared at her. "You're lying."

"You flatter me."

"Where are we?"

"In a giant's house. The name's Damasen. I supposed he's the anti-Ares child of Gaea and Tartarus. He perished on the hands of his own father together with the Titan Iapetus months ago for helping a couple of demigods in their quest."

"Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase. The Doors of Death." I muttered.

"I don't care about the details. Seeing demigods perish because of their foolishness is a whole lot better than that."

"You're such a caring goddess." I said sarcastically.

"Thank you very much, little demigod."

"My name's Christine, not little demigod." I stood up and looked over the pot. My stomach growled at the sight of food."How did we get here by the way?"

"Found you almost dead on the claws of the arai." She said as she walked the racks and picked some spices. "I drove them away and brought you here. Had to kill that stupid drakon outside or else, we're dead meat. Oh, sorry. Just you. I'm an immortal goddess." She dropped them to the stew and stirred. "The drakon will be back in a few hours. We must leave as soon as possible. I like an occasional fight but definitely not in Tartarus."She poured some on a bowl and offered it to me. "Drakon-meat stew?"

I ate in silence as Até looked outside, watching out for the drakon. I finished eating before speaking. "You shouldn't be here."

Atè turned at me.

"We had a deal, remember?"

"Yeah. Yeah. I do that and whatnot. But what good would it be if you're dead?"

"Good point."

She shrugged. "Whatever. But that would not longer be possible since Tartarus already knew I'm helping you. But don't worry, princess. I got what you need."

"First, little demigod. Now, princess? Really? When will call me by my name?" I asked in an annoyed voice.

She raised an eyebrow. "If that's your real name."

I stared at her. "What do you mean?"

She waved that aside. "Not now. Tartarus might be listening to us." Her eyes glittered. "That's why I didn't specify every word I said, right?"

I smiled. "That's a goddess of mischief and folly for you."

Atè pressed her chest in a mock gesture. "Awww! That really touched my mischievous heart."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah. Yeah. Whatever. I will just change, then we'll keep going."

"Be quick, then. The drakon will be here in half an hour."

I nodded and went to the outhouse. I changed in a Camp Half-Blood t-shirt and faded jeans sent by my friends above. Over it, I threw a black hooded parka given to me by Até which magically adjusts the temperature for the wearer and black combat boots. When I returned to the hut, Até had already stuffed extra rations of food and water and other stuff in a satchel. I picked up a smooth dagger strapped at my sword belt.

"Made from a tooth of the drakon. Quite sharp, I might say."

I raised my eyebrow. "Really?"

"Don't tell me you're thinking of surviving this damn place with a long range weapon alone?"

"Right." I said and strapped back the dagger. I looked around the hut, remembering something. "Hey, do we have drakon jerky here?"

Atè stared at me with confusion. "Yeah, why?"

"Someone requested me to bring them some back home. Scratch that. I need plenty. I will be feeding a couple of hungry wolves."

"I'll get it." Atè stood up and grabbed the satchel. As I waited, I picked up the silver arrow sent by Apollo which I guessed belonged to Artemis. I ran a finger on the inscription carved on the arrow. I am the faint light that cuts through the bonds of the dark past. I picked up the sender card and flipped it over, giving me a good look of the haiku.

A little advice,
Kill them before they kill you,
Admit it, I'm hot.

I fought the urge to gag when I heard a loud roar. I looked at Atè who do not seemed to be bothered by the noise.

"Don't go outside if you don't want to be shredded into pieces." Atè said as she stuffed the satchel with drakon jerky.

Typical me. I did the opposite. I picked up my bow and nocked an arrow. I peeked outside. I could feel Atè watching me from behind. At a distance, a monster I know too well appeared. It roared. The sound reverberated in the swamp. I watched as it whipped the trees with its tail and spat poison. It looked quite angry. Yet, I felt that it won't hurt me. I lowered my bow and walked outside.

"What in Hades are you doing?! Do you want to die?!"

I ignored Atè and approached the drakon. My body moved on its own. I stopped in front of the drakon. It bared its sharp teeth. Venom dripped down from its mouth. A low growl coming from its throat. Its frills unfurled. Part of me screamed What the hell are you doing?! Run, idiot, run! Another said It won't hurt you. It's your ally. I decided to follow the latter.

I reached out a hand. "You're not going to hurt me, aren't you?"

Behind me, I could hear the heavy boots of Atè and her, shouting Get back here, you little demigod! I ignored her.

The drakon growled, its reptilian eyes narrowed. Its stance seemed to be prepared to attack. The former part of me screamed Stupid! It's going to strike! Get out of there! I held my ground. Instead of attacking, it closed its maw and lowered its head. Its head snuggled against my palm. I held its head with both of my hands and rubbed the underside of its head. The drakon closed its eyes in pleasure.

~Atè's POV~

I watched as the daughter of Hera deal with the drakon. My hunch is right. She's not just an ordinary half-blood. No, she's not really a half-blood. She's more than that. I looked at the bloodred sky. What are the Fates playing at this time?