Welcome back, again, be glad you're not reading the old version. It sucked, take my word for it. Honestly I got some pretty good feedback, and people liked it, and at the time I was like hell yeah, but now, when I look back on it I'm just like Oh my God how?

Chapter 11: We have a spy

Raven:

"This is a total waste of time!" Clarrise yelled "We retreated! We had them! What is wrong with you all?"

"Clarrise!" Annabeth said angrily "You were out there, you saw what was happening to us! They knew we were coming, we all nearly died. They have a spy, somehow, someway, they've gotten a spy in here, there was no way they could've known what our strategy was unless somebody was giving them information!"

"So?" She demanded "They obviously didn't know those lightning bolts were coming, we could've finished them off right then and there."

"No we couldn't," I spoke up, staring her down "We didn't even know those were coming, we barely got out of there with our lives."

"You're all a bunch of sniveling cowards," She spat at us "This is our home, we had a chance to walk all over them and you didn't take it!"

"They would've regrouped and finished us off!" Percy snapped, standing up "This is why nobody lets you lead! You would get all of us killed!"

"Calm yourselves!" Chiron roared over everybody "Fighting amongst ourselves is not going to help us. What the issue is now, is what our strategy is tomorrow."

"Annabeth is right," Frank said gruffly "We obviously have a spy, they knew we were coming and they were ready for us. First thing's first, let's address the obvious, that spy is sitting with us in this room."

Immediately, the entire room erupted in outrage at the allegation. Even I was a little taken aback by the boldness of the statement, but I hadn't know Frank as the quiet, withdrawn boy I had heard he was before the war with Gaea. I had only known Praetor Frank Zhang, the brave leader and hero who commanded respect wherever he went.

"They had to have been," He said when the room had settled down "This is where the plan was made, nobody outside the room knew about it. Everybody in here, weather you like to admit it or not, led those people to their deaths today because someone in this room talked."

"How could you say that?" Nico demanded "This is our home, those people that died out there today were our friends, our families. Why would one of us betray them?"

Before Frank could respond, Hylla stepped forward. I could see anger very clear in her face, she looked as if one wrong word would set her over the edge. To give Nico credit, he didn't falter as she stood, looking down at him, and I'm telling you, if looks could kill.

"My sister," She began through gritted teeth "Is lying in that infirmary, with fifteen broken bones, a concussion so bad she doesn't even know where she is, and an arrow sticking out of her shoulder. That should be proof enough."

"That isn't proof," Nico said, getting back in her face "There's a lot of wounded in that infirmary."

Two Amazons stepped behind her, preparing to level their spears. At the same time, Percy, Leo, and a few other campers stepped behind Nico, and I started to wonder if we were going to be taking a few more people to the infirmary tonight before Hazel stepped between them.

"Enough," She said forcefully, pushing them apart "This isn't going to solve anything!"

"Maybe," A new voice spoke up "We should attack anyways, they wouldn't expect it. With a spontaneous attack, whoever the spy is won't have time to report back to them."

For a moment, nobody was quite sure who had said it. Eventually, all eyes in the room settled on a young kid in the back of the room standing next to Katie Gardner. I didn't recognize him, although there was a lot of new faces these days so I couldn't be too sure. He looked young, maybe fourteen or fifteen, definitely didn't look like he belonged in the war meeting.

"Who the hell are you?" Jason asked him

"Dean Abernathy," He said "Son of Demeter."

"He's my new second," Katie spoke up "Austin died yesterday."

"I see." Chiron said, eyeballing Dean

The kid looked nervous, but who wouldn't be with a whole room of demigods staring at him? Either way, I was itching to tell him how stupid that plan was, I couldn't believe they brought this kid in here and actually let him make suggestions. I also took note of Katie, who seemed a bit hazy eyed, and, for just a moment, I almost wondered if it was just the stress of a battle. Call me paranoid, but I didn't think this kid showing up after the mention of a spy and Katie Gardner all of the sudden looking all dazed and drugged out was a big coincidence, still, I was going to let it go for the moment.

"You do realize how stupid that sounds?" Percy asked him, beating me to the punch "Sure, maybe it's got some merit, but the smarter plan would be to not allow anybody to leave this room until we find the spy."

"And how, exactly, do you propose we do that?" Asked one of the Stoll brothers

Percy didn't have an answer for him, and as much as I agreed with Percy, neither did I. There wasn't any way to find the spy other than start beating the breaks of everyone in the room until somebody fessed up. Which, of course, would then create issues with the rest of the people who weren't the spy.

"Who says the spy is even in this room?" Dean piped up again "Maybe somebody told one of their siblings, and the spy overheard, or even that sibling could've been the spy."

As much as the kid gave me the creeps, with that child of Hades pale skin and the sunken, sleepless eyes, he had made another good point. It was entirely possible, just as possible as it being somebody in the room. All eyes turned to Chiron, who looked as though he was scanning our faces, individually, trying to find the slightest hint of guilt, to see if he could get any sort of hint.

"I don't believe it was a Demigod, or a Hunter, or an Amazon, or a Cyclopes, or an Olympian guard who sold us out," He said finally "I think this spy is a monster disguised as one of us."

"Is that possible?" Dean asked, tugging nervously at his collar

Wait a sec, did I see that right? I noticed Dean had gotten a bit sweaty, and he was starting to fidget with his hands a bit. From across the room, I met Chiron's eyes, and he nodded, his message clear: Keep an eye on him. I was itching to snatch him up and start beating the living shit out of him, but, for the sake of everybody else in the room, and for the sake of the changed person I was supposed to be, I followed Chiron's example, remain calm and collected, as though nothing was happening.

"Percy and Jason," He spoke "Alert the camp, we will find this spy. Raven, Frank, Miss Gardner, and Annabeth, I would like a private word with the four of you. Dismissed."

"What do I do?" I heard Dean ask Katie as the others filed out of the room

"Head back to the cabin," She said "Tell the others the news, I'll be along shortly."

Dean nodded and left, heading off towards the Demeter cabin. As he left, I had an idea, and I spotted Nico, the perfect person for the job, across the room, hanging around, probably because he sensed that although the meeting was dismissed, the matter was not closed, and he intended to find out more. He saw me staring at him and, nodding silently, slipped around the others to join me in the back of the room, leaning in close so nobody else would hear us.

"Follow that Dean kid," I told him "Chiron might be onto something, if he leaves the camp, heads towards the barrier, or does anything suspicious, take him down. Hard."

"Got it," He said, nodding "Kid gives me the creeps, dude, and that's saying something considering I'm a child of Hades."

Nico headed outside and I turned to find Annabeth, Frank, Katie, and Chiron all waiting for me in the kitchen. I headed inside and closed the door, just in case somebody was lingering around, seemed like you couldn't trust anybody these days.

"So we all agree that kid's fucking weird right?" I asked "Annabeth, you ever see him before?"

"No," She said, shaking her head "If he's a camper, he's relatively new."

"What're you talking about?" Katie asked

"Katie," Annabeth said gently "What can you tell us about Dean?"

"About Dean?" She asked, confused "You don't think he's the spy do you?"

"Miss Gardner, I've been alive for a long, long time, I've learned to recognize faces," Chiron said "And Dean Abernathy, is a face and a name I do not recognize."

"You saw how nervous he got when Chiron mentioned monsters disguising themselves as Demigods." I told her

"Raven, he's not the spy," Katie argued "Dean is one of us, maybe a little weird, yeah, sure. But he's a Demigod."

"Where's he from?" Frank asked her, speaking for the first time "How old is he? Does he have any family? What weapon does he fight with?"

"I...I.." Katie began, her face falling "Oh my gods, I don't know."

"He's had you under some magic spell," Chiron said, nodding "Possibly the rest of the Demeter cabin too. Couldn't have been very hard, there's not many of you, and the rest of the camp surely wouldn't have questioned one new face."

"Why would he start talking?" I asked "Why would he draw attention to himself?"

"He tried to get us to go out and attack the monsters," Annabeth said, her face going into thinking mode "When he realized we weren't going to do it, he couldn't just suddenly go quiet when we started discussing the spy, he had talked himself into a corner, then he tried to talk his way out of it."

"Funny thing is," Frank said "I, personally, had forgotten all about the kid until he opened his mouth again."

"Me too," I agreed "Funny, the type of mistakes you make when you get nervous."

"You two," Chiron said, looking to Frank and I "Find him, bring him here, I wan't to question him personally."

"I've got Nico tailing him already," I reported "He shouldn't be very hard to find."

Frank:

"The old man is smart," I noted "Er..horse, whatever."

"Yeah," Raven agreed "Not much gets by him, I knew he'd figure it out."

"So what?" I asked him "We find Nico and we find Dean."

"That's the idea," He shrugged "Question is, will Dean come quietly?"

"Would you?" I countered

"Hell no," He said, shaking his head "Do me a favor, stay away, make it look like you ain't with me. Slip behind him just in case he tries to run."

"Got it." I nodded

We looked around, trying to find Nico, but in the massive crowd moving through the camp it was almost impossible to see him. Thank the gods I was as tall as I was, I could look right over everybody's head, and I spotted him quicker than Raven would've trying to search by himself. Actually, he was already looking for us, panic very clear on his face.

"I lost him." He said as soon as he was close enough

"You lost him?" Raven demanded "What the hell Nico, how did you lose him?"

"He headed into the woods," He told us "I followed him but he must've known I was onto him, he just completely disappeared."

Raven and I exchanged looks, both of us thinking the exact same thing. Why would he go into the woods? Was he going to cross the barrier and let the monsters know we had figured out we had a spy? There was no way he would get back across, he might've fooled Katie Gardner and the rest of us for a time, but he'd have a much harder time with that kind of magic. Suddenly, as I had the thought, I realized what he was doing.

"We have to go after him." I said

"Why?" Nico asked "Well, obviously I know why, but I mean what's he doing?"

"The barrier," Raven said, realization dawning on his face "He's going after the fleece."

Without another word, the three of us took off for the woods. As we were running, I slammed into somebody coming around the corner of a cabin, almost plowing over a second person, a pretty blond girl. I looked down, with a start, to be staring down at Eli, who was pushing himself up.

"Motherfucker watch where the hell-" He stopped when he saw me and snapped to attention "Ahhh hell, my bad, Frank."

"Forget the formalities," Raven snapped, forcefully turning his brother around and dragging him with us "Come on, let's go!"

"What's going on?" The girl asked as we started running

"We've got a spy," I told them "He's heading to take down the fleece right now."

"Shit," Eli said, raising his eyebrows "That's an issue."

We barreled through the forest, jumping over fallen logs and craters from the previous battles. I was starting to get a stitch in my side, but I continued running as fast as I could. Raven and Eli had nowhere near the trouble the rest of us did, being sons of the goddess of the Hunt, it was like watching wild animals in their natural habitat. They moved seamlessly between the trees, barely making a sound. The rest of us stumbled over branches and logs, bumping into one tree in an attempt to dodge another.

When we came to where the fleece was stationed, Raven slowed and held his fist up, indicating for the rest of us to stop. We ducked down behind some bushes, spotting Dean a few yards away, talking to a group of about twenty Drachne standing just outside the barrier.

"They're onto me," He told them "We have to take them out now."

"Just kill them," One of them said "Tonight, when they're ssssleeeping, ssssslith their throats."

"No, Chiron knows, he called them in for a meeting afterwards," He said fearfully "The son of Artemis, the other Praetor, the daughter of Athena, and that counselor for the Demeter cabin that I put the spell on."

"Then we need to move now," Another one said "Take the barrier down, we'll get the ressssst of the army and eliminate them tonight."

Dean nodded and made a move to climb the tree, that was when we sprang out from our hiding spot and drew our weapons. Eli, the girl, and I drew our bows and notched our arrows, preparing to fire, but we were a split second too late. Right as we let our arrows go, he grabbed hold of the fleece and let himself drop from the tree, all of our arrows striking exactly where he'd been a split second before.

Eli:

The barrier fell as soon as the kid hit the ground. I was confused, a Demigod was stealing the fleece, helping the monsters? Maybe he thought they'd spare his life, sure it probably went through some people's minds, but to see it in action, it gave the thought life.

The Drachne rushed inside the barrier, weapons drawn, surrounding us immediately.

"Go!" One of them snapped at the kid "Take the fleece!"

Dean took off towards the monster camp while I shouldered my bow and drew my knives, digging my feet into the ground as the rest of us went back to back. Nico and Raven drew their swords, Kayla and I drew our knives, and Frank pulled his bow back, ready to start letting them have it.

"Nico and I will knock a hole in them," I heard Raven whisper to Frank "You and Kayla go after Dean, don't let him get away."

Frank gave a grunt in response and we jumped into action. Nico and Raven immediately went for the same spot, taking down two of the Drachne in one hit, I stabbed another in the chest and leveled my other hand towards where Raven and Nico were standing, letting a beam of silver light slam into the Drachne, taking down three more.

"GO!" Raven yelled to Frank

Frank and Kayla took off, jumping through the gap before the Drachne closed their ranks, some tried to turn and run after them, but another one, clearly the leader, ordered them to leave them to the others. I slashed another one in her throat while Raven covered my back. Nico, damn that kid was impressive, was taking on five at once, looking almost like he was just toying with them, seeing how long it would take one of them to actually get a luck shot.

Raven cut a spear in half from another one, cutting her throat in the same move and bursting through the pile of dust as she evaporated and stabbed the one behind her. I cut down two more and blocked a sword from another, catching on my knives and keeping her held there while she tried to pull her sword out. Raven stabbed her from the side and she evaporated, shrieking in frustration. Nico had cut down three of the five he had, and the other two were very clearly getting nervous.

Suddenly, I felt a weight slam into my back and I fell to the ground, realizing I was entangled in a net. One of the Drachne stepped forward to finish me off, but she was so distracted with me that she didn't see Raven coming up behind her until he had decapitated her. Who am I kidding? She still didn't see him.

"Always saving your ass." He laughed, cutting the net

I rose to my feet and blasted the two advancing behind him, they were engulfed in a silver explosion before the light died down and they were nothing more than piles of golden dust. We turned to help Nico, but he had finished off one and the final one was getting ready to share the same fate.

"Go!" He called to us "I've got this!"

We nodded, taking off in the direction Dean had run. Raven turned into a wolf and was leaving me behind pretty quickly, and, for just a second, I almost let him go. I hadn't tried turning into a wolf since I had gotten stuck in wolf form, but brothers were supposed to have eachother's backs, and so, silently cursing him for doing this bullshit, I concentrated as hard as I could, and felt myself transforming. It was a little weird, like fitting into clothes that were a couple sizes too small for you, but once the transformation had finished, everything felt alright.

I caught up fairly quickly, and together, the two of us covered twice the ground we would've in human form. Frank and Kayla came into view pretty quickly, just several feet behind Dean and closing fast. But, already, he was in view of the monster camp, and they were grabbing their weapons and rushing to help him.

Raven poured on the speed, leaving me behind once again, overtaking Frank and Hazel and jumping on Dean just a hundred yards from the monster army, sinking his teeth into his shoulder. Even from as far back as I was, I heard him shriek in pain, but that also might've been the enhanced hearing I had gained from being a wolf. Frank and Kayla caught up and grabbed Dean as Raven turned back into a human, stuffing the fleece into Kayla's hand and drawing his sword as I caught up, also turning back into a human.

"Go!" He told them "Get the barrier up, take him to Chiron, GO!"

Frank nodded and the two of them turned away and ran, Raven turning back to the monsters and leveling his weapon as they began to charge. He turned, seeing me standing beside him and glared at me, clearly intending for me to run too.

"Get out of here!" He yelled "Go! While you can!"

"Like hell!" I yelled back, pulling my gun from my waistband

Raven pulled his too and the two of us let everything in the magazine go, dropping it as soon as it emptied and pulling the spares from our back pockets. When I'd first arrived, I might've left him, I might've let him die on his own, but not now. I hadn't known him for long, but he was my brother, weather I hated my mother and father or not, Raven was my brother and I wasn't going to let him stand alone.

We ran out of bullets and pulled our weapons again, the monsters were closing in, and bullets hadn't made much of a dent. I was scared, going into battle with an army was one thing, but facing down an army with only one other person beside you was completely different, and I might've turned and ran if Raven hadn't been there keeping his cool, and I felt like he was probably thinking the same thing.

They were only twenty yards away now, and I knew this was it, we were going to die out here, and I wondered what the rest of the prophecy would be like without two of the heroes mentioned, but I had more pressing matters to worry about at the moment. But, right when I had started to embrace death, the ground in front of us split open, and an army of skeletons immediately began to pour out of it. Armed with anything that could kill, charging the monsters. In shock, we turned behind us and found Nico, several yards away, on both knees, one hand extended out, paled and sweaty.

"Come on!" He yelled weakly, struggling to his feet "Come on! Let's go!"

We took our opportunity and hauled ass, stopping to help Nico to his feet. He started to run, but then he fell again, this time he wasn't getting up.

"Just go," He wheezed out "Leave me! Go!"

"Not while I still owe you one." Raven said forcefully, grabbing him up

We supported Nico between us, moving as fast as we could. The skeletons weren't going to fight this war for us, I held no hope that the few hundred that Nico had called would actually wipe out the monsters, despite their ability to continue to reform if the monsters didn't completely smash the bones, which they would eventually get to. They did, however, slow them down enough to put some distance between us and them before the broke through, which they eventually did.

Kayla and Frank were up by the barrier, firing arrows furiously, but two people could only do so much. I wondered, for a moment, if we should've just left Nico, we'd already be across the barrier and safe, but I pushed the thought from my mind. If I was going to be a Demigod, if I was going to be a hero, I had to put the lives of others before my own, a concept I was still getting used to. Back in the day, Santo was the only person I would've given my life for, anyone else was on their own.

We made it across the barrier, with the monsters just a few feet behind us, collapsing over it. We looked behind us and watched the first few hundred monster slam into the barrier and evaporate before the rest of them got the message: Their plan had failed, and the barrier was back up.