I do not own Percy Jackson or any of the characters.

Bad Sign

I duck under Will's sword, spinning and slashing at him, only for him to practically dance out of the way of the blade, then stab at me. I deflect the blade and slash upward at him, his shield blocking it. He shoves my sword away, but just as his shield moves out of my way, my own shield slams into his back, throwing him to the ground. He laughs, rolling onto his back before pushing himself up.

"Gods, you do improve fast," Will chuckles. "If I didn't already know, I'd never be able to tell you were on your ass for half a year."

"You're just sloppy with a shield," I say. "Your sword skills are great, and you have a natural skill for dodging, from what I've seen, but you leave yourself open whenever you use your shield because you try to use it to force opponents into positions that work for you. Instead, you just leave yourself open."

Will nods. "Good to know. So, spears next?"

"Might as well," I nod, both of us swapping out sword and shield for a shield.

Will twirls his in his hand for a moment before trapping it under his arm, the point on the higher end, pointing at the sky while I drop into a low stance, my own spear held over my head with the head toward him but held at an angle toward the ground. Then, we wait, both waiting for the other to make the first move. After several moments, Will decides to take the initiative. He steps forward, his spear flashing around and spinning, swiping at me. I knock the strike aside and Will spins away, the spear flashing around him to strike again, only to pass over me as I stab at him with my own. He spins out of the spear's path and I step forward, swinging the back end of my spear around it, the shaft crashing into Will's own. He shoves me back and stabs at me and I turn sideways, making myself thin and catching his spear between my own and my body. Then, I turn, bending at the waist and hurling Will. He flips, taking his spear and landing on his feet just in time for me to hurl my spear like a javelin, the back end of the shaft crashing into his chest and throwing him before I catch the spear, flipping it and knocking his aside before putting mine to his throat. He grins up at me.

"You're much more violence oriented than our siblings usually are," Will says, pushing himself up as he put the spears away. "You're scary good."

"Thanks," I smile. "You're good too."

"Not as good as you are," Will says. "You're a natural fighter."

"My ADHD just takes over when I fight," I shrug.

"Well then I want your ADHD," Will says.

"Hey guys," one of the year-rounders, one from Hermes' cabin, I think, says. "Chiron wants Adam to look into a disturbance in the woods. He says the dryads are freaking out."

"Dryads?" I ask. "Over what?"

"I don't know," the boy says.

I nod and Will and I head into the woods, finding the creek easily, along with Chiron, who's talking to several dryads. All of them are attractive, and have elven features, like angular faces and pointed ears, though the rest of their appearances differ, from skin color to hair color, to height, build, everything.

"Chiron," I say, stopping beside him. "I was told you needed my help?"

"Yes," Chiron nods. "I've been summoned by Mr. D. I've asked the dryads to show you what's got them so worked up. Do me a favor and see what's wrong, will you?"

I nod and Chiron leaves. Then, one of the dryads, a blonde with pale skin, grabs my hand and turns, running away from the creek, dragging me along, Will being similarly led by a red-headed one. After a few minutes we slow to a stop and the dryad leading me points. I stare into the trees for several moments before a boar the size of a truck suddenly bellows, charging out of the trees and slamming into the barrier, coming to an instant halt before snorting and turning, walking into the trees . About ten seconds later, the same giant boar, unless there were more than one of them here at once, slams into the barrier again, this time five feet to the left, then again five feet further toward Half-Blood Hill.

"What's it doing?" Will asks as we watch it ram the barrier a fourth time.

"I think it's...looking for a weak point," I say, extending my bow and drawing an arrow. The next time the boar slams into the barrier, my arrow drills itself through the boar's eye, killing it instantly.

I stare at the cloud of fading dust left behind before looking to Will. "Why would it be looking for a weak point in a barrier that's been impenetrable for however long?"

"I don't know," Will says. "Maybe Chiron will have a way to check the barrier's integrity. We need to be sure it's not failing somehow."

I nod in agreement and the two of us head back to the big house, arriving just as Chiron steps out of the door, looking displeased. "Is everything okay?"

"It's fine," Chiron sighs. "So, what were the dryads panicking about?"

Will and I exchange nervous looks. "There was a giant boar trying to get through the barrier. It was about the size of a truck, and it was feeling the barrier out for a weak point."

"How do you know?" Chiron asks.

"Because it was ramming the barrier once at a time about every five feet," I say. "It's dead now, but if there's a problem with the barrier, we need to solve it."

"I agree," Chiron nodded. "I'll have the dryads search it for a weak point."

I nod, turning to look up at Thalia's tree, only to freeze, arms falling limp at my sides, eyes widening. The tree looked almost normal. Almost. However, some of the needles closer to the trunk of the tree were turning yellow. Chiron and Will both looked as well, also staring.

"No," I breathe. "It can't be. How?"

We all quickly head for the tree, staring up at the yellow needles. I rest a hand against the trunk. It felt...wrong somehow. Too dry. My hand slides down the tree until I reach a hole about the size of a bullet hole. My stomach drops.

"Poison," I breathe. "We have to stop it."

"How?" Will asks.

"Get the others," I say. "It's a tree now, but it used to be Thalia. Maybe we can heal it."

Will nods and turns, running for the cabins. While he does, I look to Chiron.

"It's inside the barrier," I say. "Someone did it from inside."

"I know," Chiron says. "I have to go and tell Mr. D. Stay here. If Thalia's tree is dying, the barrier will be weakest here."

"I won't let anything through," I say, extending my bow and nocking an arrow.

Chiron gallops away and I turn my eyes to the front, seeing the bushes rustle across the road. Then, a giant scorpion steps out and I plant an arrow in its face, killing it. A few minutes later, the other Apollo kids who are present arrive and we all begin trying to heal the tree, even me. However, it doesn't work. We give up after ten minutes.

"What's the situation?" Mr. D. demands.

"The tree was poisoned," I say. "We can't heal it. We need to find another solution. And we have no idea who's behind it."

"We'll see about that," Mr. D. says turning and walking away.

"What do we do?" I ask, looking to Will.

"We'll set up a guard," Will says. "Adam, can you take first watch? We'll iron out a schedule at dinner tonight."

I nod, nocking another arrow and sit down beside the tree as the others leave.

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