Chris Rodriguez was not a happy camper. His girlfriend had disappeared without saying a word to him, and the only message she sent was an angry warning that the camp would be attacked. Percy, Annabeth, and Chiron were gone which meant it would be much easier to attack the camp.
Since he was such a good camper, he told Malcolm about it. They agreed it would be best to keep quiet about it. The leaders of the cabins were told to stay on high alert.
Chris sighed as he walked towards the Leo and Malcolm. They were talking outside the Athena cabin and were looking rather suspicious while they did. As Chris approached the two, they looked at him.
"What's going on?" Chris questioned. He leaned on the cabin and tried to calm himself down. His nerves were extremely on edge, and his mind was clouded. "And, what happened to Camp Jupiter?"
"We only know that a few Romans escaped, but I tried sending an Iris message to Annabeth this morning and couldn't get through," Malcolm answered. He looked at Chris and motioned for him to follow. He started to walk away. Leo followed behind them.
"Where are we going?" Chris asked. Malcolm glanced around. He seemed nervous for some reason. Malcolm leaned in close.
"Annabeth told me that there was another entrance to the Labyrinth in this camp," Malcolm whispered. His eyes held fear. "We have to find it before anyone can use it against us."
Horrible memories ran through Chris' mind. When he had joined Kronos, he was forced to go into the Labyrinth. The maze had taken him to many places. He had even gone to Greece. It wasn't long before the Labyrinth stole his sanity.
Clarisse saved him. She helped nurture him back to health. He swore to repay her, and he knew how he was going to do that. Chris looked up at the others.
"Is that why you're poking around at five in the morning?" Chris questioned. He hated the mornings. Malcolm nodded. "Are the Hecate kids done resetting the barrier?"
The barrier had proven to be a big problem. Ouranos managed to practically destroy Thalia's tree, and the barrier was not the same since. The children of Hecate had to restrengthen it every morning.
"They were starting to do it when I checked on them. That was a few minutes ago," Malcolm answered. He seemed distracted. Leo looked like he was lost in thought. Chris sighed in annoyance.
"I'm going to check if Rachel knows anything about where the other entrance is," Leo said. He was playing with a pencil and focusing on everything but the task at hand.
"How would she know anything?" Malcolm questioned. Leo raised an eyebrow, but he seemed distracted. It was like he knew more than he was letting on. That made Chris nervous.
"She can see the future. Maybe, she saw something that showed where the entrance was," Leo explained. Malcolm looked away and rolled his eyes.
"We'll keep looking out here. Let us know if you learn anything," Chris said. Leo nodded and walked away. Chris followed behind Malcolm.
"Do you know anything about where Annabeth is?" Chris questioned. He kept glancing around. It was lucky that Malcolm didn't look back at him. He would wonder why Chris was so nervous.
"Amazon base," Malcolm answered. "Have you talked to Clarisse?"
"Not since the warning message," Chris answered. He looked down at his watch and took a deep breath. Chris grabbed a dagger from his belt and stabbed Malcolm in the back.
Chris covered Malcolm's mouth. He spoke, "I'm sorry about this, but I have to protect Clarisse. I'll gladly exchange the life of everyone here for her."
He shoved Malcolm to the ground. The son of Athena crawled forward towards the lake. He tried to pull out a golden drachma. Chris sighed as he watched him. They had never been friends, but it still hurt.
"Iris was kidnapped two hours ago, so there will not be anymore Iris messages unless they allow it," Chris explained. "The children of Hecate are being slaughtered as we speak. The rest of the camp will soon be captured."
Chris thought that he saw movement, but it was just a tree. His nerves were frayed, and his attention was jumping everywhere. He quickly took off running back towards the camp knowing that Malcolm was as good as dead. Everyone should still be asleep.
A hand grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into the shadows. Chris turned and stared at the man in front of him. Two cold, gray eyes met his. The man spoke, "It's awfully early to be making such a ruckus."
"Akil," Chris whispered. The man in front of him smiled coldly. Akil was one of the leaders of the Arimaspi, but he was a child of Athena who joined the group. He also scared Chris absolutely shitless.
"The others are dealing with the children of Hecate," Akil said. "Where is Dionysus?"
"Gone to convince his son to come back," Chris answered. Pollux had worked with Ouranos during the last war, and there was no way he would be able to come back. Akil nodded and looked around. "What should I do?"
"We wait as the others deal with this camp," Akil answered. He leaned on a tree and stared straight ahead. "You will tell me everything you can about the reaper."
"She's suppose to kill you, right?" Chris asked. He gulped a moment later as Akil just stared at him. It was like he was reading Chris' soul. It sent fear tearing through him.
"Suppose to," Akil repeated. His eyes were like a storm. "The reaper is not to be feared."
Chris nodded slightly. His knees were shaking. Akil smiled. There was nothing comforting about the smile. Akil looked around as if he was scanning for threats.
"The reaper is a seventeen year old girl and a damaged daughter of Bellona," Akil said. He closed his eyes. "Yet, no one has been able to kill her. Why?"
"I don't know," Chris whispered. Akil opened his eyes and placed a hand to Chris' shoulder. "Maybe, it's because she is a daughter of Bellona and can fight. She might just be that good. I don't know though."
"Luck. Pure, blind luck," Akil explained. "I have a motto in my life. Do you know what it is? Everything can be broken down."
"Everything can be broken down," Akil repeated. He laughed to himself. "Plans can be broken down. Fear can be broken down. People can be broken down."
"I want one thing from you," Akil whispered. He didn't continue which forced Chris to look up at him. "I want you to give my location to the reaper."
"What?" Chris questioned. "If she is destined to kill you, why do you want to see her?"
"There is nothing to fear but fear itself," Akil said. "Everyone fears the champions. I am going to show everyone that the reaper can be broken down. Then, I will drive this dagger through her heart."
Akil unsheathed his dagger. It was a rainbow of colors. Even though it was a piece of metal, it felt evil. Chris spoke, "What is that?"
"One of the many ways to begin the killing of a champion," Akil answered. "Everyone thinks that a champion is immortal. They are. Unless, you apply the right pressure."
"What would that pressure be?" Chris slowly asked. It was clear that Akil wanted him to ask. Akil looked like he was enjoying himself.
"It depends on the champion," Akil responded. "For the reaper, it is pain. Physical and mental pain. This dagger is made up of the five major types of metal and dipped into every river in the Underworld."
"The poison held in this dagger will help me break the reaper. She will beg and plead for Atropos to free her from her duties. The only way to end a champion is for them to undo themselves," Akil finished. He took a deep breath. "All you have to do is make the meeting."
"How?" Chris asked. Akil smiled and led him towards the middle of the camp. Chris saw campers being thrown to the ground. Their arms were tied behind their back.
"Considering your life depends on it, you will find a way," Akil answered. He led Chris towards the other two leaders of the Arimaspi.
"The Aphrodite, Zeus, and Hades cabins were empty," Macsen reported. He seemed agitated. One hand cleaned his axe.
"That was your duty," Atticus snapped. "The Aphrodite cabin was too large to just disappear! They have to be here somewhere."
"It's more concerning that they managed to disappear without any of us knowing. How did they manage to leave in such a tight window?" Akil questioned. The other two leaders were forced to look up at him. Akil was over six feet tall.
"Rachel Dare is gone as well," Atticus said. He started pacing back and forth. "What are we going to do?"
"We allow them to spread the news," Akil answered. "We take the campers back to our prison. Those seen as leaders will be broken to quell any resistance. Then, we issue our ultimatum."
"What is it?" Chris wondered. He saw campers staring up at them. At him. They looked betrayed and shocked.
"We are going to make an example of one of the champions," Akil responded. He smiled. "The Hunters and Amazons are the only thing that stands in our way."
"The Hunters are walking into our trap soon," a woman said as she walked towards them. Chris knew her as Metis even though he had only seen her once before.
"The fall of Camp Half-Blood," Metis said. She turned towards the Arimaspi. "You three have done well."
The Arimaspi nodded. Macsen and Atticus were smirking. Akil was looking around as he examined all of the campers.
"My plan has worked perfectly," Metis muttered. "The reaper has done everything I predicted that she would. She has made this all possible."
"You're manipulating Reyna?" Chris questioned. "Why?"
Metis laughed and looked at him. She spoke, "Why do you think? What does every war have as its root cause? Power? Money? Revenge?"
"Well, Kronos wanted revenge," Chris began. Metis held up a hand.
"The giants wanted power. Ouranos wanted revenge. I want revenge and power," Metis hissed. "All it took was a little manipulation of a psychopath. That's how it always has been."
"What is our next move ma'am?" Akil questioned. Metis looked around the camp. She seemed to consider her options.
"Beat the crap out of the children of Athena," Metis answered. "Then, we proceed with the original plan that Akil outlined. Reyna must be the first champion eliminated."
"Why her?" Chris asked. Metis turned towards him.
"This began when the rogue Amazons first attacked Reyna. It will end as Reyna begs and pleads for Atropos to free her from being a champion," Metis explained. "Akil, your Assyrian blood should serve you well for that task."
"It will," Akil promised. He looked at the goddess "Do we need anymore loose ends?"
"No," Metis answered. Akil nodded. He turned and stabbed Chris in the chest. Chris stared at the knife that was an inch from his heart. It didn't make sense. He had done everything they had asked of him.
Chris fell to his knees. He stared up at Akil and slowly spoke, "You swore on the River Styx."
"I did," Akil said. He grabbed a rod from his belt and flipped it. Chris stared at the scythe. "I swore that your girlfriend would not be harmed, and I lied."
"If you break an oath on the River Styx, it does terrible things to your soul. Lucky for me, I don't plan on dying, and I already sold my soul," Akil said. He raised his scythe and brought it down. That was the last thing Chris saw.