PART 4: PRESENT

THE GIRL SCOUTS GET GREEDY

"Please!" This awful scream filled the chilly air. "Why the hunters?"

"I don't see what a problem you have with them," Ivan looked strangely at Marié, who was screaming like the hunters would kill her the next time she met them. "We're getting to their headquarters. They're at Oregon."

"The hunters have headquarters?" My eyes widened.

"The hunters have headquarters at Oregon?" Gracie added.

Ivan laughed. He had an odd laugh - it sounded like the cheeping of some bird. But Marié didn't laugh - she had calmed down a little, but now... well, she looked somehow frustrated. "I knew that," I heard her mumble, and even I had wondered the way she seemed to fear the hunters, but suddenly something came to my mind. It had kinda been forgotten, because it was one of the first things Marié had told me about herself, but now it was there again in my mind, as clearly as she had told it to me like five minutes ago.

I remembered Marié telling me the story about how she had came to the camp. Well, obviously she wasn't kidnapped by a freakin' chopper or anything. She had come to the camp led by her half-blooded friend, Doris, a Demeter kid. I had always kinda thought that the Demeter kids were close to nature and everything, but I still, becoming so close with it that someone actually abandons guys and ageing older, decides to stay forever looking like a twelve-year old and goes sleeping in the woods with some forest pixies all eternity... Well I had kinda considered that maybe being a hunter would be cool, but as I now thought of it I was puzzled - I must've been drunk the minute I actually considered joining them. Okay, it'd be nice to prevent all those wrinkles and nasty sicknesses you get as you grow older, but it still seemed a little crappy of a fate. And somehow I felt a little sad for Marié that she had thought about it. We would probably never have met.

Or was it only Marié's friend, Doris, who tempted Marié to thinking about it? She had joined herself and was probably even now chasing some monster from Shrek 5 that came out last year. They looked so awfully real, that I could've even believed that they lived there somewhere.

"Let's just say... that I hold a grudge on them. Maybe when you'll meet them, you'll also know."

Ivan raised his eyebrows (again!!!) looking at Marié sorta empathically, but then he was again his leader-self. "Well, now it's your chance to solve things out. You come here too, Pruce. You're probably the only one on this quest who's not going to die."

That kinda seemed to wake Pruce up. He had been in this sorta trance, just looking at the sharp blade of my old dagger, so damn fascinated. Now that we were again safely in a bunch, Ivan's gaze wandered to the end of this narrow path that seemed to come out of nowhere to this camp, like he was waiting some car actually to drive on it. "So, which one you choose? Shall we walk or call the Gray siblings?"

Okay. The moment we left the camp I had totally felt like not walking, because fear took over me pretty much after we had a plan done and everything, a plan with a lot of holes, should I say. And after Ivan shouted something pretty odd in ancient Greek and this cab knit out of pure smoke appeared where we stood, we didn't totally feel alright. "They should invent more ways to get to the camp," Ivan sighed as he opened the back door letting all us girls in first, and already then the space was getting a little narrow there. "They got about ten ways to get to the Underworld, even to Olympus... And people don't even visit those places as often as they visit the camp, so why the Hades we have to choose between this and walking?"

I shrugged my shoulders, but thought about it. "Did you just make that all up? Way too many visit the Underworld, I guess right now there's another 100 lost souls travel-"

"I said people, Elea," Ivan closed the door with a thud. "People."


That cab should've been a little bigger. We had only one big seat at the back, three seatbelts and five passengers - and three crazy siblings as the drivers. Okay, I can't actually remember about anything of that journey because those siblings were totally mad (if I wasn't deaf, they totally were arguing about some eye they had lost) and the ride sure was bumpy. Even more bumpy than our helicopter ride. I guess they drove in speeds that would've lit a normal car's gasoline tank on fire, but this was made of smoke and everything. During there was chaos going on the front seat, the back seat felt very uncomfortable. Marié sat so close to the door that I almost feared she'd get pushed towards it so hard it'd open and she'd fall off if we'd move even an inch, because she had no space at all. We had let Pruce sit next to Marié, because Ivan and I had to sit behind the driver (due we were the only people knowing what our destination was.) Gracie sat all in the middle in this baby seat and was the only one of us who had her own seatbelt (I shared one with Ivan and Pruce shared his with Marié) but it wasn't comfortable for her either, because she was squished from the both directions and kept on repeating 'ow!' as the taxi made quick turns and she seemed to sit in the poorest position ever. I was next to her, and almost fell to the floor a few times, because the seat of the driver kept on wagging into all directions right in front of me and Ivan... well, he could move somehow, but it must've been horrible to him anyway, because he had to scream the driving directions over all that racket the siblings in the front seat made. I remembered that once as Ivan commented on how the car almost fell over this cursed bridge and drove over a pitfall so that it felt like the damn floor could pull away any time, the sibling in the middle who had the name of some crazy bug turned to us with her empty eyes and screamed: "Life is a ride, boy! Get used to it!"

That totally silenced Ivan up. The siblings argued the whole damn trip and it took almost an hour. Well, that must've been because they drove in crazy speeds, but I was kinda thankful of it - I couldn't have sat there another minute. Then they almost robbed us as we arrived to Oregon, because it was so far away from the camp, but we had money and everything. "Life is a ride!" I heard the same old granny screaming as they let us out with our sore muscles and all that crap, and after they had driven away we couldn't do anything else than be silent for a while.

"I'll never, ever again take a cab," Marié commented, and I nodded.

"I'd use Chiron's chopper or something."

"Chiron brought you with a chopper?" Marié asked. So, I hadn't even told it to her yet. But maybe it was about time, and suddenly I started thinking about the odd sign Chiron had made as he said us goodbye, because it felt very familiar. The events of the night I had arrived to the camp came to my mind and now I could see it - I had for some odd reason done the exactly same sign, even though I had never even seen anyone do it. So I raised my gaze to meet Marié's own, and as we started following Ivan to the way he was walking I told her the story, all up to the part where the giants came trying to eat me.

"You know that sign Chiron made before we left? The one that is kinda like a cross."

"Oh, that?" Now even Ivan turned around. I was amazed by the way he could walk without even looking where he was heading to. "It's an ancient sign used to chase evil away. Well... I didn't come with the chopper to camp, but a few have done it, like you. For example that one girl who lives in the Aphrodite cabin... her name was Williams or something. She lived in Canada too - I bet the same monsters came after her."

I could remember the name also. "So... like, if I'd do it now, Chiron would come?"

"No, no," Ivan shook his head. "If someone has done it before, it doesn't affect. The first time someone does it without understanding, it's like a call for help. So, if you start playing with it, you do it for nothing, because no-one will answer."

I swallowed, but was also kinda thankful - I now knew that I hadn't been crazy or something that night. Now I knew about the stories of all of our group, how they had came here. Ivan was chased by the Cyclops, Gracie saw the dream, Marié followed Doris. And Pruce... he was brought there.

Before I could even notice, we were already in the woods. I had never been in Oregon, but I had seen a several films made in there - and in all of them the whole place was full of smart people who go to fine schools and the whole place is like full of forests. But there wasn't as much forest as in Canada, that was for sure. The half of that country was like total wilderness.

"Remember, you all, as you speak to the hunters, never start asking them about three things; about their age, about their relationships to boys, or about how do they look. They're quite accurate about the things they may answer to-"

"Oh, gods, Ivan!" Marié huffed, staring as the skies if like the Hand of Zeus or something would rescue her. "I know what the hunters are like, I the damn even almost joined them! You're the one we should be telling all that stuff, you're a GUY..."

"What about that?" Ivan asked. "I and Viquel met the hunters thrice on our last voyage. And as I already told you, this is the time for you and them to solve your relationships."

Ivan said it in the way like she was talking about Marié and the hunters starting to go through their ex list or something. Marié seemed to frustrate even more the more we continued walking deeper into the woods - she didn't remember the location of the hunter headquarters, but I bet she could sense that we were approaching the place. I was sorta puzzled about the fact that there could be any headquarters down here middle of the forest. The word headquarters reminded me always of this office building of about 20 storeys or something like that, a modern, huge building anyway. And as we finally were there, I wasn't really surprised. It would've been odd to have a very eye-catching building right here, where mortals shouldn't ever be heading.

"So, that's it," Ivan spoke as we finally came to a huge opening in the woods - the trees were there sorta taller than in other places and everything seemed to echo there. Right in the middle of the opening there stood this wooden building with many towers, so it looked like a fort made by the greatest nature-lovers ever. As Marié saw what we saw too, she let out a deep sigh, but I think she was sorta relieved too. It wouldn't take long til' we would already find out the next stop - the passage to Death Harbour; though I couldn't still understand what it was.

"They can help us," Ivan continued, and this time he sounded even more determined than before. "But to call them... we must prove that we are benevolent. Sigh, we have no satyrs with us... but you, Marié, can you play the camp tune on your flute?"

Marié didn't turn to Ivan in a flash, like she was frozen gazing to the headquarters of the hunters. "What? The camp song?"

Gracie's eyes moved off from Marié to Ivan, and I didn't know whom she was asking her next question. "Which year?"
Oh, gosh. The camp had its own song and everything! Even a new song for each year. I sorta stepped back and looked behind us – Pruce stood there like 10 foot away and held my former dagger in his hands, like he was in his own world, and as Ivan, Gracie and Marié discussed with each other I felt very... odd. Me and Pruce, the Outsiders.

"I know only two songs," Marié turned to Ivan, smoothing her flute with her fingers. "Which shall I play?"
Ivan rolled his eyes, probably trying to tell Marié that he couldn't possibly know either of them, because he was on a quest last year, and didn't know the Camp song for that. But Gracie and Pruce had been there and everything, so Pruce requested the song of last year – it must've been nice or something. Then Marié nodded her head and gulped, she must've been anxious summoning the hunters that way. After standing there quiet for a minute, she finally took a deep breath and closed some lid on her flute, maybe to prevent the snakes from coming, and started playing.

I had heard Marié play once before, but then she had only played one tune at the time as it was only practice with Fredrick. I knew she wasn't as good as Fredrick, but it must've been the song that enchanted me – it told a story so magical even I could feel being in, though I didn't even know what the song was about. But it brought things into my mind – things like the ocean, seagulls... and through it storms, skies, clouds and booming thunder, some kind of battle. It wasn't a long tune, but sounded somehow menacing, and Marié looked a little worried after playing it as if she thought it made us seem like we came for a fight.

"That's the Glory of the Brothers!" I heard Gracie whisper, as if the song had took her breath. "It's so epic!"

It was so silent for a while, and I started to feel worried the way Marié did. "I should've played Music of the Universe. It's the song for year -13, I wasn't on the Camp then, but Fredrick taught it to me – it's dedicated to the Apollo cabin, it would've been much more..."

Then Marié was stopped, as we had to duck when a dozen of arrows flew right past our heads – and as they didn't hit their goal, they hit the tall spruces and pines around us, sticking into their trunks like a bee's sting into human flesh. "...Calm," Marié finished her sentence, holding her hands on her head as if she feared another wave of arrows would flow over her head. We all stood there ducked about a minute, no-one dared to raise their view. But then a clear command pierced the air, and Ivan was called by his name.

"Is that you?" A female voice asked. She sounded sorta masculine, too, and she had a slightly sarcastic tone in her voice. But she was also pretty young, that's what I could tell. "Ivan? That's you?"

She must've been young. Only teens spoke in such way as she did. I finally dared to raise my gaze – but I still kept my hands on my head.

"The Hunters!" I heard Ivan reply. "Oh, gracious. Why did you attack us that way?"
"My sisters only greet you that way, old friend."

Then Ivan laughed, and dared to stand in his full height – and as Pruce and Gracie followed, I stood up too – Marié only remained there small and unnoticed, behind us all. Now I could see every one of the hunters; they surrounded us in a half arch and held their celestial bronze bows and arrows by their side, and the sight of it disturbed me. They were very young, from ages eight to probably fourteen, but were such good archers. They all must've been Apollo kids or something. And their leader, a slim, tall girl from the middle of the arch, in ripped jeans and the T-shirt of some band I had never heard of, smiled in a warm way and flashed the gaze of her sharp, blue eyes from Pruce to me. I shuddered when her eyes met mine – they were so unbelievably blue, but not cold, just... electric. She had also freckles as Gracie did and looking at her made me inhale for breath – she looked so unbelievably familiar.

The leader narrowed her eyes. Her lids were dark, lined with strong black eyeliner, and it made her look pretty evil – not evil like evil, but that kind of evil that she'd for sure kick your butt. "Is that... Marié there, ducking behind you? Daughter of Hermes? I guess I'll always remember you, because your name's got that stupid apostrophe."

Marié turned red, but she looked pretty nice when she blushed – I always was red as some freakin' carrot, but Marié had this sorta rosy blush. Her blue eyes seemed to glow of some emotion – it wasn't fear, but something else; could it have been shame?

"Don't fear, daughter of Hermes. Artemis isn't here. She never stays here, at the headquarters. In fact, I don't even know where she is right now, probably hunting some terrifying monster again." Then the leader yawned, blinking her electric blue eyes twice, and laying her hands on her hips. I could notice she had painted her nails black – she looked pretty gothpunk, should I say.

"So, daughter of Hermes. I can see you brought your flute, played even the Glory of the Brothers to call us. And as Artemis isn't here, I, as her lieutenant am responsible of..." the leader yawned again, as if she would be bored of what she was doing. Well, she pretty much looked like she'd like to listen to some goth music in a dark, narrow room instead of roaming here in the forest. "Whatever. You need us, just tell us to what. Or should Xenia read your mind?"

One of the young hunters stepped up, a probably 12-year old girl with this scene-kind of hair dyed all shocking blue, so that she looked pretty emo. She even had a lollipop charm dangling from her neck, a freakin' lollipop! I kinda snickered, and Marié poked me with her elbow, whispering.

"She's Xenia, a daughter of Apollo!" She hissed from beneath her teeth. "She can read minds."

I must've turned pretty pale then. But thank gods Marié answered the leader before Xenia could creep into my dirty mind. "Lieutenant Thalia, we are here to seek a passage. I am here also to ask for remedy – if Artemis may see my soul as impossible to join your crew, I will believe her."

Marié's speech sounded formal, yes, but it wasn't that what caught my attention. What was the lieutenant's (oh, what a word monster!) name again? It wasn't pretty usual of a name, or anything.

"A passage?" Thalia nodded, just about to accept Marié's apology, but that moment my knees gave in. I didn't know was it because she had such shocking of an eye colour – or just because I got so tired, but it freaked me out anyway. I never fainted, collapsed or showed physical weakness. I felt pretty damn pathetic. But then I knew it must've been the other reason. I was... I was...

"What's wrong with her?" Thalia's eyes widened as Marié bended over me to touch my forehead. I was...

My eyes met the electric blue, and I shuddered. I was staring at Thalia Grace, the lieutenant of Artemis – the Daughter of Zeus, the warrior in the Half-Blood heroic war. Should I've asked her for an autograph or something? Oh, Zeus. She was totally real and everything. Then Xenia turned to Thalia, with curiously bright, amber eyes. She seemed to whisper something into her ear, and her mouth twisted to a thin smile. "Nice reaction, child of the Underworld. I believe your name is Eleanor Collins?"

Curses. How did Thalia know? If I remembered right, Xenia had just read my thoughts. Did I speak of myself as Eleanor inside my head?!

"We're here after a prophecy read to her. But I am the leader of their quest."

Ivan spoke for the first time then. Thalia turned instantly to him, and I could see that she was thinking – she had also a problem with remembering names.

"You're Ivan, Ivan Shore? It hasn't been a long time... but your friend isn't here. The one in the rainbow dress, she had a name like a burlesque stripper."

Ivan bit his lips. Okay, this Thalia sure said what she was thinking. "She isn't here... nor anywhere. I am here to seek revenge."

The expression on Thalia's face was unreadable, but it seemed as if her eyes had lightened a little. "The Cyclops... I already know, what do you mean by a passage. But a mission like that doesn't come free, you know. Ever thought of where we Hunters got our supplies? The expensive bows and arrows we use? There's 52 of us, you knew that? We're not bums or anything."

Ivan rolled his eyes, and suddenly I had a suspicion of what Thalia must've been talking about. Did she... ask for a payment?

"We didn't have to pay with Viquel," Ivan raised his dark eyebrows. "But well, if this gets expensive, I'd like to know how well will you do this mission. How long does it take? Who of you knows this earth well enough to lead us?"
"Well, I don't," Thalia yawned again, moving her gaze to the skies. "My kingdom's up there. My father's, exactly. But after she got that younger daughter she's never cared of me..."

I didn't know what Thalia sounded like – was she bitter? But I knew she was speaking of Erin, and for some reason I had a feeling Erin had better luck than Thalia. The introduction film was already pretty hazy in my memories, but from that I could somehow remember that Zeus turned Thalia into a cursed pine.

"How much is it?" I heard Ivan ask. I saw him digging his black packsack, and finally he got out the thing he needed – some random... notebook.

"I can't say yet. It depends on our leader... how many daughters of Demeter had we here again? No daughter of Persephone... a Hades kid would be useful here."

I saw Gracie opening her mouth as if she was to say something, but I silenced her with my gaze – although there was a possibility that I was one, I had no idea of where a cursed passage would be. Marié acted also pretty odd there – she wasn't trying to make me her leader or anything, but she sorta twitched, like someone was poking her constantly. Then I noticed where Marié was looking – into the green eyes of a young girl in a pink hoodie and converses the same colour, white trousers and pretty hair. It was orange, as mine, but the colour was so much more intensive, as if she was dying it.

Thalia seemed to notice her gaze too. "Who's that you're staring at? Doris, daughter of Demeter?"

Marié nodded in an awkward way – she was sorta trembling. The corner of her eye jerked in an odd way, as if there was some invisible hook dragging her lid up from there. Thalia turned around in the blink of an eye, snapping her fingers in a loud, sharp way. As I now could see her from the close, the look-alike with Erin was obvious. They both had pitch-black, messy hair and the same, electric eyes, but Erin's skin was kinda paler, and she lacked the freckles. They also had definitely the different chin. Erin's was sorta more... cute. Thalia looked a little tougher.

Now I, Ivan, Gracie, Marié, and Thalia with her Hunter Doris stood pretty close to each other. I couldn't even remember Pruce that moment, it must've been because he was so damn far away – like in the other side of the forest opening, playing with his little dagger.

"Doris," Marié breathed, looking her former friend straight to the eyes. "You look... young."
"I don't age," Doris spoke. She sounded very little, and I couldn't tell her age. "And you look... short. I thought you'd have grown a little as you're not immortal."

I was pretty amused. Marié didn't even sound insulted though Doris spoke of her in that way – I'd have knocked her down already if I was Marié. But she just smiled there, her cotton-like hair bouncing in the cool breeze.

"I borrow a couple of heels from the Aphrodite cabin every now and then..." Marié blushed again – the same rosy, pretty colour. "But I'm kinda happy the way I am. Taller people fall over when riding a chariot. I rode with Elea, and we came third!"
"You even beat the Demeter cabin?"
"They didn't take part," Marié smirked, and it came silent, but the silence wasn't abrupt. It was somehow... accepting. Two friends saw themselves after a long time – they needed silence, time when there would be no words to be said aloud.

"You know, Elea is a daughter of Hades? So we sort of... need your help. Do you know a passage? Not the Los Angeles one."

Doris' eyes glowed bright and wide, as if she was frightened. "...Death Harbor?" She only managed to say. Each and everyone of us nodded; Ivan still with his notebook in his hands.

"They change their place," Doris continued. "I don't know where one is currently, but I may gather the energy of the earth to lead us to the place. It works a little like a compass."

Doris waved her pretty, long locks from one side to other. "The journey might be long, you know."
"...and expensive," Thalia added.

"It may take for days. Don't you know any faster way to travel?"
"One, that you will pay," Thalia snapped.

Ivan rolled his eyes, again. I snickered as I thought of what must've been going in his mind. Thalia, you greedy bastard!

"Well, what do you say for 24 drachmae? Our goal is 24 hours – one drachma per hour. I cannot pay such a price right now, but maybe after this quest..."

Then Ivan ripped a page out of his notebook and wrote Thalia a cursed cheque. He must've had a chequebook in his hands, that's what it was. "Keep checking on it. I hope Zeus ain't gonna kill me for a little slow-up in the payment. I'm kinda short right now."

Thalia nodded with a smirk on her face, folding the cheque in double and putting it into her pocket. If I'd be her, I would accept only cash. I didn't really trust on Ivan paying the money to anyone ever.

"It's about time," Thalia sounded pretty relieved. "Take that outsider pal of yours, let's start moving. You wanna run or what?"
"I have a better idea," Ivan stated, staring into somewhere in the distance. "You can't take all of your hunters with you, but I bet I can handle about... eight passengers. Me, you, Elea, Marié, Gracie, Pruce, Xenia, Doris. You okay with that?"
Thalia's eyes narrowed, but then she seemed to understand what Ivan was talking about. She nodded as a mark of agreement, and she must've known Ivan's next sentence before he even said it aloud.

"This might not work so well in such brightness... let me dim the lights first."

And as Ivan closed his eyes, the world seemed to blacken as his sight went dark. I didn't understand was it only an illusion, but suddenly it seemed like a cloudy day, not anymore sunny. Xenia's breath turned suddenly very shallow, as if what Ivan had done had been somehow unforgivable.

"We will shadow travel. Hold my hand."

Okay, to be honest, I had no idea how each and everyone of us should have taken hold of Ivan's hand. Thalia and Doris did that before anyone else could, and so Gracie and Marié took hold of his arm – Xenia took hold of his waist (okay, it looked seriously weird) and Pruce of his neck, like he was strangling him. But what was left for me to grab? His cursed arse?

In the end I took hold of his legs, but then Mister Exact tells us, surprise! That we wouldn't have to take hold of him – holding someone who was in touch with him was enough. As my hands were already lowering to grab his... you-know-what, everyone conjoined their hands, so that they stood in this sorta row, Thalia and Doris still the closest to Ivan, because they were sorta the leaders. I hated the fact I was holding only the hand of Marié – it was as if my other side was completely vulnerable now that no-one stood there to hold me. But thank gods Ivan understood my importance on this certain mission, and let me take hold of Xenia's hand quite near Thalia. I could've taken hold of Doris, but then I'd be in between her and Marié. So, now I was between the emo-girl with her plucked eyebrows and Gracie. I could tell Gracie was nervous – her hand was warm and all sweaty, as if she'd feared that we'd travel in so awesome speeds, that we'd crash into some thorn bush and she'd bleed dry or something. Xenia's hand was all cold and somehow oddly smooth, as if it was porcelain. The temperature difference made me shudder.

"We're gonna go fast, so Doris, you got good reflexes? Good. Just tell me where to go – keep on telling the instructions, direction, speed, everything. And the most important thing of all – this is for everyone – do NOT let go."

"Do let go, yes!" Gracie smiled, waving the hands of me and Pruce oddly backwards, so that she damn nearly broke our muscles or something. She was strong! Gracie had maybe meant it to be funny as she just let go and stepped a few steps ahead, smiling, but no-one else smiled.

"Well, sorry that I'm half deaf!" Gracie glared at us, especially at Thalia, probably because she had such a mean look. Then Gracie took hold of me again, with her crazy, powerful grip. That might've even hurt a little.

But Gracie wasn't the only one unwilling to stay in connection with Ivan. Doris, the daughter of Demeter, did almost the same as Gracie, except she didn't look so stupid and she had a damn reason – she bended down to her knees to the earth, placing her hands down facing the ground, and her long, orange hair covered her face like a curtain. She just was there for a second, as if she was just very, very tired, but then something happened. It was as a silent whisper would have run through the air. It touched every grass, stone, tree... moved forward from Doris' fingertips, like the wind which caught the grass and moved it like hair combed backwards. A minty scent filled the air and Doris closed her eyes, but rose from the ground as soon as she had bended down, facing us with a puzzling expression.

"It's going to be a long journey. We must hurry, the passage will change its spot again at midnight. We have eight hours time to travel."

"I might be able to do it," Ivan considered. "Give me that hand of yours. Everyone, take a grip like Gracie's. (Gracie turned all red!) Close your eyes, if you fear. It might help you."

I saw Xenia doing it, but I decided to keep mine open. I couldn't miss something like that.

"Let's roll."


It was a little like the beginning of a chariot race. First this awful suspense filled your insides growing and growing like you were a damn balloon, and then it all exploded in once as everything began so fast the moment it happened would be impossible to notice. But this time I wasn't on a chariot, fearing I would trip over or fall, because I couldn't feel anything of those. I had felt the jerk as Ivan had started moving, but then it all turned hazy, and suddenly I noticed we were flying.

Or something as crazy. The scenery flew past us, colours couldn't be recognised anymore – there was only grey, black, green, a combination of those all. I couldn't hear anything, I just was there; knowing that I was holding someone's hand, but I didn't know anymore whose it was. I couldn't see who was next to me – only a flash of Gracie's reddish hair.

"What are you doing?" I managed to yell, but Ivan didn't answer – I couldn't see him, really nothing was what I saw. But I heard Gracie squealing, as if she already feared, and next to me Xenia was trembling or something – I couldn't really get it, because we were moving all the time. "What are we doing?" I yelled again, and suddenly Ivan seemed to slow down, because I could see his face.

"We shadow travel," his voice carried through the mush of colours as odd and somehow echoing. "We sort of... move with the shadows. We follow them."
"Our distance grows large every second from my father," I heard Xenia speak next to me. "It weakens my strength."
"You won't be needing that now," Ivan glared at her. "In the Underworld there is never day. And there we shall make our way."

Xenia seemed to turn paler and paler as we made our way, and I, as everyone else, was a little puzzled of what did Ivan mean by this shadow travel. So, we followed the shadows. But how it was possible for anyone to follow them? The shadows moved all the time... so Ivan must've been totally Hercules.

"Isn't only a child of the Underworld able to shadow travel?" I heard Gracie ask next to me. "You're... a son of Nyx."
"Isn't only a child of Hades able to sleep in the Hades cabin?" Ivan slowed his speed down again. I started suddenly to think about how did we look like to others – or had we entered some mysterious afterworld where there was no-one else. "I've been able to do both. Hades doesn't forbid anyone doing those things and Nyx is an Underworld goddess enough to be honored by Hades. But my shadow travel isn't complete, because we aren't totally in the realm of the spirits. I cannot see the dead."

Then Ivan turned to me, as if I had to finish his sentence.

"What?" I still had to yell, because we moved so fast that the wind blew in our ears blocking out everything else. "So, you expect me seeing some dead guys around here? First of all, you should first slow down a little –"

I hadn't even believed that Ivan would do it, but he did. For some reason though, the moment we stopped I felt it was for something else. Ivan's expression was sheer terror, and though it felt to me like we had been traveling only for a while, Ivan stood there as if he would move no more. I glared around me, waiting, as if some dead guy would pop up as I acted so paranoid.

"What is it?" I heard Thalia ask. I had for some reason completely forgotten that she was there still; she had been dead silent during our voyage.

But Ivan wasn't the one speaking. A female voice, still her hands conjoined with Ivan's, filled the air; and I could recognise it as Doris, but she sounded somehow odd. Like... she was possessed with something. Like Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"I do... sense it here," she began, in this curiously soft tone, "But for some reason I cannot see it. As if... it would not be here. Like it was hidden."

Ivan's gaze scanned the row through, from Pruce to Marié. "Hold hands, still!" He commanded, closing his eyes for a second. It was awfully dark then. It was impossible for me to tell where we were. But it looked like... a forest. Not the same forest where the Hunter headquarters were, though, there the trees looked older and somehow different. There was an odd scent in the air.

"Are we in the spirit realm?" I heard Gracie squeal right next to me. Xenia on my right side was pale as a statue, as expressionless too. It must have been because of what she had said – we were so far away from the sun.

"Not completely," Ivan whispered. "I believe... that we just entered the normal world. But this is a silent place; the passages always are in places like this. I am only puzzled about..."

I knew Ivan kept on speaking, but from that on I just shut my ears or something like it. I seemed to be staring somewhere in the distance – as I could see the woods, I could also see a lake faraway from us. My eyes locked to the waves... yes, the waves. It didn't even seem strange at first. Water had waves, didn't it? But these waves... they were different. They were too tall.

And then lightning struck a tree a mile from us, so that Thalia shuddered – she let go of Ivan's hands and jumped back like a ten feet. Her expression was sheer terror, and next Pruce was the frightened one. He could see the waves, too. I bet he could also hear them. They were so far away, but his gaze seemed to notice everything; how the tree struck with lightning collapsed into the water of the lake, so that the surface trembled and waves the height of apartment buildings flushed the shore. Pruce let go and ran.