Chapter 10
Addy stared at the target, eyes narrowed, and released the arrow. It slid into place, just next to bullseye. The bullseye itself was already occupied by one of her arrows.
"You know, it takes years of practice to be able to split your arrows," Jemma said. She watched as Addy tried again, sinking into the target, snapping another arrow off. "I sense anger." Addy glared at her for a moment, before grabbing another arrow. "Does it have to do with a boy?"
"What if it does?" Addy asked. They were the only two at the range as most campers were getting prepared for dinner.
"Have you ever thought about joining the Hunt?" Jemma asked.
Addy sighed. "Look, the Hunt is more for those that really don't have any other options left open," she said. "But, I still have my sister, my parents, my uncle... friends and family that I can't leave behind." She rolled her blue green eyes. "I'm not about to allow one stupid boy make me change my whole life."
"I think that you'd fit in great with the hunters," Jemma said. "Headstrong, fierce, fearless..."
Addy snorted at the fearless comment. Sure, in social situations, Addy pretty much was fearless. When real danger came, her fear got the better of her. Izzy would be a much better Hunter than she would make.
"Look, Jemma," Addy said finally. "You can try to convince me all you want, but I'm not joining your little gang of Hunters. It's not really my thing." She grabbed another arrow and aimed at the target, but then lowered it. "What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you girls supposed to be off hunting?"
"Our Mistress Artemis saw something threatening approaching," Jemma said. "She sent some of us here, for our protection and took only herself and her absolute best to hunt the creature."
"What's so scary that she felt it would be best to hunt it with just a few?" Addy asked, her interest finally piqued.
Jemma shrugged. "She didn't say, but it truly frightened her. I had never seen my Mistress Artemis even the faintest bit worried except with Typhon. But this... whatever it is, it might be enough to destroy the world as we know it."
Addy blinked. "Then, why aren't all the gods pursuing it?"
Jemma looked around for a moment, then stepped closer. Her voice was just above a whisper. "Most gods are cowards.
"Are you sure you're allowed to say that about the gods?" Addy asked.
"Definitely not," Jemma said. "Which is why I whispered. As it is, their attentions are focused on something else."
"This big bad creature?" Addy asked.
Jemma nodded. "But remember, you didn't hear it from me."
Izzy was sitting on the porch of her cabin when Char came by and sat next to her. She'd been there ever since she had left Hera's cabin, her head spinning with what had happened. She though about how casual Sonny had simply said, 'That was fun. We should definitely do it again sometime.' And then he had walked out, without so much as one last kiss or even a good-bye.
"So, I hear that you and Sonny had a session," Char said, holding out a red plastic cup to Izzy. Izzy stared at the seemingly clear liquid, not quite sure what Char had given her. "Oh, relax, it's just water."
Izzy nodded and took a sip. It was crisp and refreshing. She drank the whole thing down. She then nodded as an answer to Char's question. "Yes, I suppose we did," Izzy said.
Izzy expected the older camper to congratulate her, but Char simply looked down, her black curls falling around her face. She noticed Char's body shudder a bit. "I'm sorry, Izzy," she said, her voice cracking a bit, and Izzy knew that Char was crying.
Izzy's blue-green eyes widened in surprise. "Why?" she asked, surprised by Char's reaction. After all Char had done to help her.
"I didn't... I didn't think he'd actually go for you," Char said. She reached up and wiped at her face, and though her curls still blocked Izzy's view, Izzy suspected that Char was crying. "Even with the clothes and hair and make-up... I thought that Sonny would think you were too young. That someone your own age would like you, someone that wouldn't take advantage of you." Finally, Char turned to look at Izzy again, and indeed there were tear stains on her cheeks. "Remember how at the beach party I said it was okay if there weren't any better options?" Izzy nodded. That was about all she remembered from the beach party, her conversation with Char. After that, everything had become a blur. "There are better options... for both of us. You, Izzy, you could have the most normal of lives. Find yourself a nice mortal boyfriend. A bunch of them. Never have to worry about monsters, because even with your powers, you don't carry the half-blood scent."
"Why would I want normal?" Izzy asked. "I may not have been born traditionally as most Half-bloods are, but I still think I was meant to be here... that I'm supposed to be among demigods."
"Anyone, any camper here, would love to have the options that you and your sister have," Char said. "But we don't. We have the choice of fight or die... and for many of us, fighting won't be enough. We die horrible deaths. I'm going to die a horrible death, and now, I feel horrible for what I allowed to happen with you and Sonny."
"Char, it's what i wanted," Izzy said, though there wasn't much conviction in her voice.
Char shook her head. "No, it's not," she said. She reached up and wiped a tear that was threatening to escape away. "You wanted holding hands and picnics on the beach. Romantic trips into the woods just for a simple kiss. You wanted romance, flirty little romance."
Izzy stared at Char, amazed. Sure, that is what she had actually wanted, but with Sonny, she knew that it was his way or nothing, and she didn't want nothing. "How do you know?"
"Because, Izzy, that's what I wanted when I fell for him three years ago," Char said. "He wasn't as... well, being with him then wasn't as intense as it is now, but that's what I wanted." She laughed weakly. "Actually, it's what I still want."
"Well, I want Sonny," Izzy said. "More than those things." She looked at Char for a moment, and then turned forward. "I guess you just have to decide what you want more."
Char shrugged. "It doesn't matter," she said. "I've been one of his girls for too long now. No one will ever see me as anything but his. But... Izzy, you still have a chance to not be seen as his property."
"I'm not his property," Izzy said.
"Yet," Char said. "But, if don't break away now, you will be."
"No," Izzy said. She shook her head. "Sonny and I, we have something."
Char stood up and looked at Izzy. "No you don't, Izzy," Char said. "The make-over was fun, and I honestly thought that it would attract someone your own age to you, but Sonny is just using you."
Izzy stood up angrily. "He's using you, Char," Izzy said. "And he has been for years."
"You think I don't know that?" Char asked. Her jaw began to tremble. She shook her head. "Stay away from him and stay away from us."
"You can't order me around," Izzy said. "Sonny likes me."
"No, he doesn't," Char snapped. "He's been hitting on Addy this whole time. You're just filling in his fantasy until he can get into her pants."
Izzy gasped. "How dare you lie like that. Addy wouldn't betray me like that."
Char shook her head. "No, I don't think she would. That's not going to stop Sonny. He always gets what he aims for."
Izzy frowned. "I'm what he wants."
"You're delusional," Char said. She then turned and made her way toward her own cabin.
"Katie, your pacing is making me dizzy," Travis said, sitting up on the bed. "Do you want to go on a walk outside?"
"Travis, stay down," Katie said, placing her hands lightly on his shoulders. "You're still weak from the attack."
Travis rolled his eyes. "I'm fine, Katie," he said. "I'm healing just fine. But being cooped up is driving me insane. And you seem to have something on your mind."
Katie sighed. She then nodded. "There's an internet cafe in town," she said. "I want to check my e-mail. Make sure that Henri isn't over-loaded with too much work." She went to their luggage and pulled out a tiny bit of ambrosia. "Have another piece before we go. You need it for strength."
Travis opened his mouth. Katie rolled her green eyes and popped it into his mouth. He closed his lips, catching her fingers in his lips, causing her to laugh a bit. But, after swallowing the godly food, he stood and dressed properly. He was clearly still in pain as he walked slowly and stiffly, but once they were outside, Katie could see that the fresh air was doing good for him.
Now she just had to figure out how to tell him that they were going to have another baby.
Addy was sitting in a tree, looking out away from camp. Things were wrong, she could feel it in her bones. The Telekhine attack, the monster that scared the goddess Artemis. And she knew she hadn't been at camp long, but her uncle Connor had promised to visit her while there.
That's was she was looking for. Any sign that her uncle was on his way for a visit. But she didn't see him. Instead she spotted something that scared her. A monster. A scary one.
One that Sonny had said he killed, if her memory served right.
She stayed absolutely still, not that she needed to. She was still inside the camp borders, so it couldn't get to her.
However, it was soon passing under her, not having smelled her, as she didn't carry the Half-Blood scent. But it was heading into camp, and she needed to warn them.
She felt a tear drip from her eye, down her cheek, as she turned around, pulled her bow and an arrow from her quiver. If she didn't kill it with her first shot, she knew she wouldn't get a second chance.
She notched, aimed, and with a twang, the arrow sailed through the air.
The Manticore dodged, turning at her. It charged, jumping up and tackling her out of the tree. She screamed loudly, from fear, but it was cut short as she landed on the ground, the manticore on top of her. All the air was knocked out of her, and she felt as if her body must have been broken into a hundred pieces. She gasped for breath, but then it stung her shoulder with its scorpion tail.
Tears leaked from her eyes as she attempted to scream, but couldn't. The edges of her vision began to go black, as she was certain that she was going to die and be devoured by the manticore.
And then she heard a slashing noise. Someone yelled, and the weight was lifted off her. She began writhing in more pain that was spreading from where she had been stung. But she could see Sloan, spear in one hand and a sword in the other.
"Addy, are you alright?" Alex was kneeling next to her. But Addy couldn't answer. Everything was blurry, and she was still having trouble breathing. "Sloan, she's hurt."
"I'm kind of busy right now," Sloan said. He slashed at the manticore with his sword, causing it to back up. And then he took the opening, stabbing his spear, celestial Bronze tipped, deep into the manticore. It let out a loud cry.
Within moments, a few more bodies arrived. "Sloan, are you okay?" It was Linda. She approached the boy, her nails extending into their celestial bronze knives as she was ready to defend the boy from the manticore.
"I'm fine," Sloan insisted. He ran at the manticore, still alive and drove his sword into it, just below the neck. That caused it to finally perish, turning into dust. He dropped his sword and left it and the spear as he ran to Addy's side.
"She needs medical help," Alex said.
"She can't have ambrosia," Sloan said, lifting her off the ground. "We have to get her to Chiron." Sloan began running as best he could, carrying Addy.
"Go tell Chiron," Linda said to one of the campers, who ran ahead with another kid to warn the centaur what happened.
Linda stood a moment more. Another monster had crossed the camp border. And this time nearly killed Addy. She knew that she should feel smug. The girl had basically ruined her the summer before. But the worry was stronger.
"Izzy," Trixie ran up to the girl as she was brushing her hair. Trixie looked panic-stricken.
"What's wrong?" Izzy asked. She assumed that Trixie had found out about her and Sonny.
"It's Addy," Trixie said, breathing hard.
That got Izzy's attention. "What about Addy?"
"She's hurt," Trixie said. "Badly. There was a manticore... you need to hurry to the Big House."
And then Izzy was gone, super-speeding to the Big House. She rushed in, and found Sloan and Alex outside the door of the medical room. The door was closed.
"What happened?" she asked.
Alex shook her head. "I'm not even sure. There was a manticore... it attacked her."
"We were looking for her because she was late for her lesson," Sloan said, his eyes on his shoes. "She's lucky we happened to be near."
Izzy looked at the two, and then the door.
"You can go in," Sloan said. "We're not allowed because we're not family."
Izzy ran into the room and found two Apollo campers standing over her, chanting. Chiron was applying a sort of ointment to her shoulder. Addy's skin was a very grey color and she was sweating, but luckily unconscious.
"Is she going to be okay?" Izzy asked, rushing to Addy's side and taking one hand.
Chiron looked at Izzy. He sighed. "Honestly, we don't know." he said. "She was badly injured."
Izzy began sobbing, and a moment later, she couldn't even look at Addy. She kissed Addy's forehead, and then rushed out of the room and the building altogether. She ran as best she could through the camp until she found Leiko, Eri, and Sonny. "I need your help, Sonny," she said, desperately.
Sonny looked at her and lifted a blonde eyebrow. "Yes?" he asked, interest piqued.
"It's Addy, she'd hurt," Izzy said. "She needs more treatment, but can't have Ambrosia. If you and all your siblings worked together, I'm sure that you could heal her."
Sonny sighed. "I really have no interest in helping your sister, Izzy," he said.
"Don't do it for her," Izzy pled. "Do it for me."
Sonny shook his head and placed a hand on Izzy's shoulder. "I don't see how that benefits me. Healing can take a lot out of us. Sometimes, we just need to allow things to take Fates' course."
Izzy stood wide-eyed as Sonny smiled and continued on his way. Eri stuck by his side while it took Leiko a moment to keep going. "Sonny, at least make sure that Lux is helping."
As they walked off, Izzy couldn't move. How could Sonny not help her sister? Had he been only fooling with her just earlier that day? Once they were a bit away, Izzy fell to her knees. Char had been right; Sonny was only using her. And now, Addy was likely to die. When had things gone so wrong?
Addy faded in and out of consciousness over the course of the following hours after her attack. Sometimes Chiron was with her, sometimes one or two of the Apollo campers. At one point, she could hear Alex and Sloan talking, before hearing Chiron urge them to their own cabins.
It had to be well past midnight that she woke up and sensed, more than heard or saw someone else in the cabin. She allowed her eyes to scan the room before finally spotting someone by the window. Even with only a little moonlight, she recognized him.
"What do you want?" she asked, her voice raspy. Whatever ointment Chiron had applied to her shoulder had apparently drawn out the poison as the stinging in her veins had disappeared. She still felt broken, and from the cast on her leg and the splint of her arm and the pain in her chest, she assumed she still had several broken bones.
Sonny smiled at her. "I just want to make sure you'll live through the night," he said. "After all, it would be such a shame for someone as fun as you to not be able to live to her full potential." He leaned forward, one hand on her chest and Addy winced in pain. "So, I'll make another deal with you. I put in a little healing, and get my best healers to take turns chanting healing chants, and once you're back to your old self, you and I will take a little trip to a small clearing in the forest that I know of for some fun. No one even has to know." He leaned back, but moved his hand up on her chest, skimming it across her small breast. "Though you are welcome to bring your sister along."
Addy was still having a difficult time speaking. But she forced her words out. "I'd rather die."
Sonny stood up. "Suit yourself," he said. "I was just thinking how devastated your sister would be if you didn't make it." He looked at her. "But if you don't care about Izzy enough to live..."
Addy felt that. "Wait," she said once he was by the door. He stopped and turned to her. "You have to promise to stay away from her," Addy rasped out.
"I make no promises that she'll stay away from me," Sonny said as he approached. "But I'll do my best."
