Chapter Ten
In Which Camp Half Blood Is Plagued with Dreams
I honestly don't know, and don't care, what is happening back at Camp. It's not like I have the time to really worry about it, seeing as I'm a little bit busy questing at the moment. I'm sure worry-worthy things are happening there, but let's be real, I don't have the brain space to do that right now, as much as my anxiety wants me to. I'm sure Camp is just Camp, same as it's always been… I miss Paul and Silena. Zari is definitely not a good substitute for them.
Mia Douglass was alone. She was alone in a bedroom, the bed pushed up against one corner covered in blue sheets, the closet put up against the opposite wall, and the windows frosted with ice. There was no door. Slowly, Mia turned around, scanning the room. She began to notice other things as her vision came into focus. Dark-wooded tables covered in silver click-clacking instruments. Velvet curtains framing the window. A soft carpet between her bare toes. The biting cold of the room.
Usually, Mia wasn't bothered by the cold.
It must be sub-zero temperatures in order for the cold to be affecting her at all. She breathed out, her breath formed a cloud of mist that hung in the air.
She wasn't alone, now that she looked. Someone else was in the room too.
He was ugly as ugly could be, his face looked like it had been smashed several times with a hammer. He had a long, dark beard, bushy eyebrows, and dark, beady eyes that poked out from under them. His arms were thickly muscled, but he lay there on the bed as if he was immobilized.
"So, here we are," The man said, lifting his head to look at Mia. Mia took a step back.
"I'm not-" She started to say, but the man spoke over her, his voice a deep rumble.
"I don't think that either of us thought we'd end up here, of all places. I never thought that you might win someday. Of course, you never were fighting for him, were you? You were fighting for yourself. Fighting for revenge," The man growled.
"I wasn't-" Mia tried again. Again, she was interrupted.
"So you lock me here. You contain me in this icy prison. You try to stop me from ever helping again. What is your plan for the others? Do you plan to lock them away too? Do you plan to take the throne?" Then, Mia spoke, but it was like she wasn't in control of her words. They flowed from her mouth, but she couldn't stop them.
"You think I want a bloody throne? No. I will not take it. I will let him take it instead. I will simply stand in the background, pulling at the strings, manipulating everyone into doing what I want. That is what I wanted all along. Can't you see the extent of my plans now? Perhaps now. You are blind even now to what happens. You would prefer to stay in your workshop, tinkering away, not caring about the world around you!" Mia spat. She tried to cover her mouth, but she was no longer in control of her body. She strode easily across the room and fisted the front of the man's ragged shirt, "I despise you and your kind. You believe in hope. I believe in power. That is the only truth of the world."
The world around Mia shattered and she sat bolt upright. Her skin was covered in a cold sweat, her breathing came in gasps. She was back in the Hermes Cabin, Cecil sleeping in a bunk across the room, emitting purring little snores.
Mia always slept in the Hermes Cabin since Camp Half Blood didn't have a Cabin to Khione. The reason behind this was that there was little to no snow in Greece, and Khione was rarely even worshipped or acknowledged as a goddess. And, the fact that she sided with Gaea in the last war had sort of cinched the deal. No cabin for Khione. Not that Mia entirely minded. As far as she knew, she was the only daughter of Khione. Of course, there was Julian, but he was a son of Aquilion, not Khione or even Boreas.
Mia was actually glad that Julian Ramírez-Arellano and she weren't siblings.
As much as she tried not to admit it to herself, for Julian and she were good friends, Mia had the biggest crush on him. He was one of those people who was attractive, charming and witty, but he knew it. Besides, his bone structure was simply gorgeous. That jawline was fabulous, and his hair was even more so. And his eyes…
Mia knew that she was blushing. She didn't like thinking about the fact she had the biggest crush on Julian. Julian and she were just friends, and that's what they would remain. She pushed some of her black hair away from her eyes and glanced around the room again. She knew the Hermes Cabin well. In all of the time that she had spent at Camp Half Blood, she had lived in the Hermes Cabin. It was warm, welcoming, comforting… as summer progressed it would fill up with laughing, talkative people, who always liked to steal your toothbrush.
She liked the children of Hermes. She liked that they had a sense of humor, which lightened up her world just a little bit.
Sliding out of bed, she retrieved her dagger, Krύstallos, from her bedside table and strapped it to her waist. It was probably a rash decision to go out in the middle of the night, but Mia was feeling like she needed some air. Silently, she slipped from the Cabin.
The semicircle of original cabins had been expanded to include many of the minor gods and goddesses, so Mia had to slip carefully through them, darting from rock to rock so that she wouldn't leave footprints in the dust. She moved quickly, and soon her feet touched the soft grass of the fields beyond the cabin. She wouldn't leave any footprints here.
The strangest desire to head towards the beach lingered in her mind. She knew that if she was caught by the harpies, it would be a long run back to her cabin. It was risky, but she didn't care. The cool night air felt good on her face.
Without even hesitating, she trotted towards the sandy expanse next to the ocean.
Moonlight flickered through the rapidly moving clouds and the scene was eerily quiet. Usually, one could hear growls and hoots from the woods, or even crickets, but there wasn't a sound tonight. It was the first night that the questers were gone. The first night that they weren't there.
Mia wondered where they were, if they were okay, what they were doing. Were any of them hurt or worse? Had monsters already found them? There had been no Iris Message from them, but then again, they could have been busy. Still, worry churned in Mia's stomach all the same.
She came to the beach, jumped down from rock to rock and landed in the sand like a cat. She then silently cursed her stupidity, she would definitely leave tracks in the sand. She just crossed her fingers and hoped that they would be washed away with the tide. She headed for the water, but paused halfway down the slope of the beach, right where the dry sand turned to wet.
There was a large rock that sat at the edge of the ocean, a long rock jutting up from the sand just about at tide-level. The base of the rock was usually covered in water, but when the water went down, barnacles incrusted the stone. There was a lone figure leaning hunched against the rock, feet soaking in the waves that lapped against its face.
Clutching her dagger tightly in her fist, Mia crept forward. She hadn't anticipated some sort of monster out in the night, but if there was one, there was no point running. It would hear the sound of her feet slapping on the sand and chase her. There were very few monsters that Mia could outrun, and humanoid monsters happened to be the hardest. It had probably come from the forest or lake, an angry humanoid creature that had decided to explore the camp by night.
Mia decided to exterminate the problem.
Moving carefully over the sand, she steadied her breathing. She could have killed it with a single blast of ice from her fingers, but after her dream, she felt like she needed to attack it with her dagger. It felt more right somehow.
Sprinting, then leaping the last few steps, she drew Krύstallos, preparing to drive it into the monsters back. In a second, the figure had turned, caught her wrists, and slammed her into the rock so hard it made her head spin. Taking a step back, the figure pushed the hood of his hoodie away from his shadowed face.
It was Cody Blaire.
Mia didn't know Cody Blaire well, but she knew that he was very bitter and took too many risks. She knew that he thought that, since his mother was the goddess of luck, he would always have good luck. Maybe that was why he was out in the middle of the night.
"Couldn't sleep?" He asked, taking her wrists again and helping her sit down. Her head was still spinning slightly, and she had to blink a couple of time for the stars and the moon to come into focus. She was lying in the sand now. How had she gotten there?
"No…" She said in a non-committal tone. Cody smirked.
"I guessed right!" He cried gleefully, rubbing the back of his neck. With a huff, he flopped down onto the sand next to her, stretching out on his back in a perfect X, "The stars are pretty tonight! People used to think that you could tell the future by the stars. I've never been sure if that's true, what do you think?" Cody turned his head so he was looking at Mia. Mia turned to look at him. He had shifted so they were lying shoulder to shoulder now. Cody's hair was slightly shaggy, a light sandy color, and his eyes were constantly dancing with color. He wasn't handsome like Julian, he had a more adorable, endearing look to him. For one thing, he had glasses that were hanging from a hemp cord around his neck. Mia had the sudden temptation to put them on.
The thing about Cody was that he hated his glasses, so he always wore contacts. He couldn't see well without them on, like now, and contacts made his vision a little fuzzy.
"I've never really thought about it, to be perfectly honest," Mia said. She reached over, rolling onto her side and picked up his glasses. Cody pulled a face.
"Please don't make me wear those. You're as bad as my step-mother!" Cody complained, "Come to think of it, her name is Maia… so it kind of fits. Mia… Maia… Mia… Maia…" Mia took this opportunity to shove the glasses awkwardly down his nose. Cody slapped her hands away, wrinkling his nose, "That wasn't very nice!" He said, but he didn't make an attempt to take the glasses off.
"So what woke you up?" Mia asked, curious. She shifted back to lying on her back, and clasped her hands on her abdomen. She felt Cody shrug beside her.
"I had a bad dream. I've been having them a lot lately. It was about my mother…" Cody shifted uncomfortably, "Luck isn't really on our side this time."
"What do you mean?" Mia asked.
"We're fighting a battle, and we don't have the luck to do it. Every time, crazy luck has gotten us out of bad situations, but this time… Something's up with my Mom."
"Tyche?" Mia asked.
"Yeah," Cody confirmed, "I've tried to talk to her lately, but she won't talk to me. I don't get it. This has never happened to me before. I'm supposed to be her chosen champion or something. But now she's silent."
"Do you think it has anything to do with the quest?" Mia asked, trying to sound casual. Again, she felt Cody shrug.
"Maybe, I don't know. I just… I don't want to lose any of my friends to that quest. I know those questers and if any of them die…" Cody's voice sounded a little weak and shaky. Mia didn't know what to do. She had talked to Cody before, but he had never sounded so vulnerable and insecure. With a jolt, she realized how dependent he was on the times he talked with his mother. No one else in Camp understood him. He was too luck driven. He took to many risks, believing that it would all work out. No one understood why he did it, either. No one understood how he could be lucky literally 24/7. And no one else could understand what he was going through when he didn't have contact with his mom. He had lost the one person who he understood him.
"Isn't there any way of contacting her?" Mia inquired.
"Believe me, if Tyche wanted to be contacted, she would answer. The only way to find her is to look for her, and I wouldn't know where to start," Cody shook his head, "Tyche is cutting herself off."
"What's about to happen?" Mia whispered.
"I have no idea, but whatever it is, if Lady Luck herself is ditching us, it can't be good." Cody murmured.
.o0O0o.
Jourdaine Montague was not in a good mood when she was called to the Big House the next day, walking shoulder to shoulder with none other than Paul Jackson. Jourdaine wasn't particularly fond of Paul – he was a little too arrogant for her tastes. He had been the first one to pick on her when she came to Camp. Well, it wasn't exactly picking on her. It was more like… gentle teasing that she had always interpreted as picking on her. She didn't understand why he had felt the necessity to tease her every chance he got.
But now he was silent, slouching, with his hands stuffed in his pockets and his tousled dark hair flopping over his forehead.
Silena Rodriguez trailed behind them, her face tight with worry. Jourdaine had never considered Silena the worrying type – the granddaughter of Ares was always incredibly rough-and-tumble and devil-may-care. She was always making sarcastic comments and snarky responses, as well as calling people "Sis" or "Bro". Jourdaine didn't know that worry was an emotion that any of the Rodriguez's could even have.
But she'd looked concerned ever since Belle had left on the quest.
Now, Silena watched the back of Paul's head.
Jourdaine slowed her pace. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Silena was feeling towards Paul. She liked him, and not in a platonic way.
As Paul sped up, Jourdaine took a breath. Normally, she would be incredibly shy about this type of thing. She really disliked public affection and flirting, but this was just sad. Silena Rodriguez, one of the best fighters and most entertaining people at Camp, didn't know how to handle flirting with a guy. It was fairly depressing, actually, Jourdaine decided.
Jourdaine was seventeen, and certainly not the expert on dating. She'd only been on one date before, and that had been an accident. It had been with an old friend, they'd gone to get coffee and then to see a movie. He, apparently, had thought it was a date. She had been too naïve to see it until after the fact. When she had figured it out, she had tried to run away as fast as possible, by calling her friend Ariana San Jose and getting someone to rescue her.
That had been four years ago, before the whole demigod mess had sucked her in.
Pushing some of her light blonde hair out of her eyes, she attempted to give Silena a warm smile. Silena didn't return the smile, so Jourdaine attempted a different tactic.
"So…" She started, but it was like the words had stuck in her throat. She couldn't force them out. Curse her shyness, it really was a pain sometimes.
"Are you talking to me? If you are, so what?" Silena crossed her arms, cocking an eyebrow skeptically. Jourdaine opened her mouth in an attempt to continue, but once again the words stuck in her throat. She finally took a breath, and forced them out all in a rush, without taking a breath.
"So you and Paul?" She questioned. Silena's eyes narrowed and her posture became tenser.
She reached into the air and pretended to pluck something free, "Oh look, I found your nose. It was in my business. Mind your own." Jourdaine had to admit – she was a little taken aback by the rudeness. She hadn't known that Silena could be so… rude.
"Look, it's a little obvious, if even I noticed it. Come on, Silena, why don't you just go talk to him and, you know… flirt?" Jourdaine questioned, trying to be as tactful as she could. Silena gave her a withering look.
"Because he… has someone else." That was all she said, before speeding up, and catching up with Paul. She stretched her arm over his shoulder and started talking to him, but Jourdaine knew she wasn't flirting. Jourdaine slouched a little. She was not good with romance. After all, her mother was the one goddess who had sworn off of romance.
Yes, her mother was Artemis.
Jourdaine had tried not to acknowledge the fact, but there was no denying it. She was the daughter of Artemis, and there was no denying it. She just tried not to admit one of the traits her mother had passed down to her – not knowing what to do with men.
Thanks for that, Mom, Jourdaine thought bitterly.
.o0O0o.
Jourdaine, Silena and Paul stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the adults with one addition. Julian. Julian was tall, with thinner shoulders, and a little bit of a lanky frame. He had toned muscles along his arms that were shown off by the fact he was wearing a ratty old Camp Half Blood t-shirt, and even though Jourdaine didn't have a crush on him, she had to admit that he was attractive.
Before them, Chiron, Annabeth, Percy (Who had gotten back in the early hours of the morning and looked exhausted), Calypso and Piper all stood in front of them (Well, Chiron was in his wheelchair for ease of space).
"Are you wondering why you're here?" Percy asked. He looked tired, his shaggy dark hair messy, huge bags around his eyes, and a two-day beard going on, making him look scruffy. There was also a white bandaged wrapped tightly around his arm, with splotched of blood on it. Paul fought the urge to give his dad a hug.
"No luck on McStrife?" Julian asked, crossing his arms. Percy shook his head.
"We've been going for days, and there's no trace of her. I'm exhausted, and we're no closer to finding her." Percy shook his head. Julian's face flickered with concern for a moment. Then, his usual bitter arrogance was back.
"Thanks for that complaint. I will file it under 'sucks to be you'," Julian snapped, "Can I go now?"
"NO!" Percy and Annabeth cried in unison, glaring at Julian. Julian glared right back, and made a rude gesture. Neither adult seemed phased by this, but Jourdaine looked a little surprised.
"Look," Calypso intercepted, before an argument could begin, "I know you don't want to be here, Julian, but there is a problem that we must face. The questers haven't contacted us, and our information sources tell us that they have… disappeared." Paul went white as a sheet and reached for Silena, who took his hand without really thinking.
"What sources, and what does this have to do with me?" Julian challenged. Percy massaged his temples like he had a headache.
"Central Park Nymphs contacted us earlier today. They said they saw Belle and Auden headed for the subway, Zari and Jamie headed in the opposite direction, and Marley and Thea were headed for the Rockefeller Center. And no one even saw Coal and Paris!" Percy sounded stressed. Paul's face went a little paler.
"What happened?" His voice was choked.
"No one knows. None of the Nymphs saw what happened before they scattered." Annabeth interjected.
"All anyone heard was gunshots," Chiron shook his head, "I was afraid this would happen. The first quest in many years and it goes wrong on the first day. For all we know, they're-"
"They're not dead!" Paul exclaimed suddenly, pulling his hand free from Silena's, "You liars! They're not dead. I would know. Silena would know. They can't be dead." Silena looked down at her hand like it had morphed into a venomous snake and bitten Paul. Jourdaine watched both Silena and Paul in confusion, while Julian leaned against the door, his brows furrowed as he glared at Chiron.
"Now you've made the kid go crazy," Julian reprimanded, but his tone had a dangerous edge in it. He watched the situation critically.
"I'm not a kid!" Paul shot back, "I'm barely a year younger than you!" Julian snorted.
"In my book, you're a kid!" Julian rolled his eyes, "Besides, you freak out at the very idea of death!"
"I don't! The only reason I'm angry is because Belle is my best friend, and I'm not going to lose her on a stupid quest I wasn't even allowed to go on!" Paul vented. Silena reached out in a desperate attempt to calm Paul down, but the only adult who hadn't spoken yet reacted first.
Piper let a frustrated cry. "Enough!" Her Charmspeak worked wonders on the people in the room, everyone fell silent at once and looked at her in stunned silence. "We don't know if they're dead!" She said.
"You assumed that they were, though." Paul spat.
"Never assume. It makes–" Julian started to say but Piper held up one hand.
"Thank you, Julian, but we don't need to know that." She spoke.
"But… Chiron said for all we know they could be dead…" Paul protested. Chiron looked at his lap, his hands wrapped in his patchwork blanket. His face was sad, like he was watching a great tragedy play out before his eyes, and he could do nothing about it. His skin was unusually pale.
"Or worse. I don't know what we're dealing with, but whoever we're fighting, and whoever kidnapped Vera, they need her to do… something. Whether she's a bargaining chip, or she's destined to open Amphiaraus's Realm, we cannot say. But whatever we're dealing with… there are thing worse than death for our questers." Chiron shook his head sadly.
"Isn't there any way to find them?" Silena demanded.
"Not unless another quest to find these questers is issued and I doubt that," Annabeth said, "Quests are like birthmarks, you've had them ever since you were born, waiting for the right time to become reality. There is no physical mark, but there is a mark imposed on the person by the Fates. If necessary, the Fates will snip their yarn for the questers who are to die. Each and every one of you has a destiny preordained by the Fates," Her eyes lingered on Julian for a second, and he raised his chin a little, "Some less obvious than others. The paths that we follow may vary from what the Fates originally planned, but in the end, our destinies will come to collect us…"
"She means none of you are meant to go on a quest to rescue them." Percy translated.
"Oooh." All four of the teenagers in the room nodded, suddenly understanding. Annabeth huffed.
"Honestly, Seaweed Brain, do you even read?" She demanded, crossing her arms. Percy winked at her, but said nothing more. Instead he looked at Paul and Silena.
"Paul, Silena, we just thought you should know. You may go now. Jourdaine, Julian, you'll need to stay." Paul and Silena exchanged confused glances, but they trailed out of the Big House, Silena holding onto Paul's shirt. Jourdaine watched the movement. For anyone else, they would have just dismissed the fact, but now that Jourdaine had recognized what was going on with Silena… the motion seemed to be taken to an entirely new level. Jourdaine closed her eyes.
It was understandable that Silena was going through a rough time – her two best female friends had left on a quest, leaving her with no one to talk to but Paul, who she had a crush on, but who didn't return her feelings. Jourdaine hoped that she would never be in that situation.
Julian nudged her with his elbow, "You still alive, Montague?" He grinned his crooked grin.
"Of course." She said, wrapping her arms tightly around herself. She looked at Percy, Annabeth, Piper, Calypso and Chiron. All five adults looked grave, like something was horridly wrong. Jourdaine glanced at Julian for reassurance, but his jaw was set, his profile rigid. It was getting ready to bolt from the spot if need be. The muscles along his shoulders had tensed. He too knew that something was up.
"Fourteen years ago, in October, I dreamed of this moment. Eight had left on a quest, and two people stood before me," Piper spoke, but her eyes were slightly glazed over and she was talking funny, almost in an old English fashion, "Those two people were you. I also dreamt of two more, Mia Douglass and Cody Blaire."
"I was taking a catnap on the porch swing, and I dreamed of this moment just earlier today when the same dream repeated for me." Calypso added, tucking some of her caramel colored hair behind her ear.
"So what does that mean?" Julian asked grumpily, crossing his arms.
"Something… is terribly amiss." Percy said.
A Couple of Notes on the Chapter:
Mia, being the daughter of Khione, can withstand incredibly cold temperatures, even sub-zero temperatures, before she starts freezing to death. That means that in her, it must've been colder than the Arctic.
Since snow was not common in Greece, and Khione wasn't really worshipped, a cabin was never built for her. After her involvement with the war with Gaea, it ruled out the possibility that she would get a cabin for a long time – until she redeemed herself at least.
Cody Blaire has really, really, really bad vision. He has to wear glasses, but wearing glasses in a fight isn't a wise strategy move. He's broken more pairs of glasses than he can count while playing Capture the Flag. It's the only thing that he has super bad luck with.
Cody Blaire was always incredibly lucky, which annoyed everyone in Camp Half Blood to no end. Besides, Cody is a boss when it comes to playing poker (and would be, even without his luck – he has a way of telling when people are lying).
Cody has a bizarre, unexplained love of the beach. He always goes there in the middle of the night when he can sneak out of the Tyche Cabin. The head counselor, Armati Rousha, has taken to locking the cabin door at night so he can't get out, but Cody just climbs out the window. He has a problem with risk taking.
Cody's step-mother never tells him "No". She lets him do pretty much whatever he wants, which makes him a little bit of a crazy teen at sometimes. He has the tendency to push until someone tells him "Stop" or "No" but people rarely do. It's gotten him in trouble several times.
The idea of Jourdaine's mother being Artemis will be explored in more detail later in the story and be a bit of a plot point. Until then, just know that Artemis passed on the don't-deal-with-romance gene onto Jourdaine, just like Hephaestus passed on the not-good-with-living-things to Leo.
Silena's crush has become slightly more obvious now that the questers are gone. She's trying to reach out to someone because she feels alone. That someone is Paul.
Julian is almost always in a bad mood or foul temper.
Oh man, this chapter was a pain to write. That's why I haven't been updating. All of this info needs to be established, but I really had a hard time writing this. If you were bored out of your minds reading this, I don't blame you. There's a lot of new concepts that have been introduced in this chapter though – it deals with Tyche AKA Lady Luck, the idea of Silena's crush on Paul, a dream Mia has, the ideas of Fate and even a large part about the questers.
Hopefully, the next update will be considerably easier to write, especially since we're getting back to the action of the Quest. Anyone curious what happened to Belle and the others? Tune in next time, which will hopefully be soon.
There will be some action that, in theory, will be a little easier to follow than the last chapter. I know that there are a lot of characters, and the story can feel scattered, but at least for the next chapter, we get to focus on pairs of characters for a little while each, so (once again, in theory) it won't be nearly as confusing. There will also be a little bit of Greek lore woven into the next few chapters, which I'm pretty excited about.
So, please, like always, I urge you to share your theories, ideas, and other stuff about what's going to happen next. I did leave some clues about the next chapter in this one, and they're pretty obvious, so yeah. Hopefully, Camp interludes won't be as boring as this one.
Anyway, until next time,
PR
