Here's another chapter! Later than I said, but not months late, only two days. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed! Also, if anyone reading this likes the Hobbit and the Hardy Boys, check out my story Little Brother please! It's a one-shot that I wrote as a Christmas present to a friend. (And yes, I know, I should have been working on this, but I got the idea and had to write it immediately for them.) I hope you enjoy!
I do not own Percy Jackson.
August 29, 2020; 13:42:32; Idaho:
Amy stepped outside and frowned at the dark gray clouds above her. The storm had been there since the morning. She had stayed inside in the hope that it would leave and more people would come out, but she wasn't that lucky. Unfortunately, her and Kathryne couldn't afford to miss a day of pickpocketing and snatching, so Amy had grabbed her too small rain coat and an umbrella that she had stolen a year before and opened the door.
"I'll be back soon," Amy told Kathryne, turning around to speak to the younger girl. "I don't want to stay out in the rain for too long, so I'll shoplift some food and pick a few pockets before coming home."
"Ok," the most likely daughter of Dionysus agreed, her voice soft. "But be careful."
"I always am," the daughter of Hephaestus pointed out, though her voice was gentle. She knew that her younger sister didn't like her going out alone, especially in this kind of weather.
Amy turned and headed down the alleyway, fingering her knife. She would be quick, just hit the grocery store and the people inside before returning. At least, that was what she hoped. For some reason, she felt uneasy, and there was a shiver running continuously up and down her back, and it wasn't from the cold. Something was going to happen today, she could feel it.
August 29, 2020; 14:30:16; Idaho:
It happened an alley away from their home while Amy was running home. One minute the bag was swinging in her hands, filled with some food and money, the next it was flying and hitting a trash can while the daughter of Hephaestus hit the ground hard. She gasped, her breath leaving her, at the impact and the sight above her. It was a monster that she had only heard about in myths, its hooves black as the night sky and its fur a muddy brown, with eyes like coal and horns like a saber. Its muzzle was bared in a snarl as it bent down, nostrils flaring to pick up her scent. The minotaur.
Amy took a deep breath and unsheathed her knife, ideas flashing through her head at speeds a hundred miles per hour. She chose one, moved her arm back to throw - not daring to stand up in case the quick motion caught even the minotaur's dim eyes - but she didn't have to. A dozen arrows sprouted from the monster's back like porcupine needles, and it burst into golden sand.
Immediately, Amy sprang to her feet, knowing she had been seen and needing the agility it gave her. "Who are you?" she snapped at the girls and boys before her, guessing but telling herself no, because Artemis and her Hunters didn't bother with boys let alone travel with them.
"I am Artemis," the lead girl told her, and she interrupted before she could say more.
"No you aren't, Artemis detests boys."
"You dare-" a buff girl with brown hair started.
"Enough, Phoebe," the first girl ordered. "It's alright. Normally she's right." She studied Amy, who glared back. "I am Artemis, and I am traveling with these boys to take them somewhere safe."
"Camp Half-Blood," the daughter of Hephaestus guessed.
Artemis frowned, "You are obviously a demigod, and you know of Camp, but I don't recognize you. Who are you?"
"I'm the person you should leave alone," the twelve-year old snapped, turning away. "And don't bother following me."
August 29, 2020; 16:54:28; Idaho:
Amy sighed as she approached her home. She had taken a long way back to her house, going through shops and alleys and backyards in an attempt to throw off the Hunters if they were tracking her. She thought they were, and she pretty sure that she spotted one of the boys when she was turning a corner. If they did manage to follow her home, though, she had one hope - that they had picked up her bag. She had forgotten it in her anger, and didn't dare return to the alley in case they were still there. The only way she would get it back would be if they returned it.
Amy opened the door, tensed for the attack she knew would be coming. She should have been home more than two hours ago, and Kathryne would be prepared for an enemy entering their home. Amy saw a golden flash from her right side, and immediately she raised her knife in a block, spinning to face her younger sister. "Kathryne! It's me!" she cried as their blades met, and smiled softly as the daughter of Dionysus lowered her weapon.
"AMY!" Kathryne shouted in delight, dropping her sword with a clang to the floor and rushing her sister, causing her to drop her knife knowing she couldn't sheathe it in time for the hug that came. And then a voice came that sent shivers up her spine, fear at the knowledge that she had failed in keeping the hunters away and that both their weapons were on the floor instead of in their hands, the only easily accessible weapon being her sling shot that was meant for distance.
"This is why you went everywhere," Artemis spoke with amazement in her voice. "You were protecting your sister."
"Yes," Amy snapped, even as she moved said sister to safety behind her. "What of it?"
"I find it admirable," the goddess remarked, "That you would go to such lengths to protect her."
"Amy...?"Kathryne whispered. "Who is that?"
"That, is Artemis, her hunters, and their two strays," she replied, not daring to look back and break eye contact with Artemis, though she did see the frown that appeared on the goddess' face at the word 'strays' and the anger on the blonde-haired boy's face.
"You mean the goddess?" Amy knew that her sister's eyes had gone wide with a mix of apprehension, surprise, and delight.
"Yes, I mean the goddess. And they are going to leave once they hand over my bag," she motioned to the item being held by one of the hunters.
Said Hunter glanced at her lady and, once she had received a nod of permission, handed it over. Amy longed to glance down and make sure nothing was missing, but she didn't dare give the Hunters even a second of the upper hand - though, of course, they already had it by outnumbering them. Instead, she questioned, "Aren't you leaving?"
"Not until I give you an offer," Artemis countered.
Amy sighed, but decided it couldn't hurt to just hear what she had to say. "Alright, what?"
"Come with me to the place I'm taking Dylan and James. You obviously don't want to go to Camp Half-Blood or become a Hunter, but I don't want to just leave you here. Your scent is clearly strong enough to attract monsters, and one day you won't manage to kill them. If not for your sake, but your sister's."
Amy had been prepared to say no, but now she hesitated. Artemis was right. They knew who they were and they were only getting older, so their scent would only get stronger. And they weren't the children of two minor gods either, they were children of Olympians. "Where?" She asked.
A genuine smile of relief appeared on the goddess' face, and Amy entertained the idea that she really wanted the best for them briefly. "First, you must swear on the River Styx never to tell anyone about it unless you get permission from the owners."
Amy frowned, but decided that it was ok. "Fine, I swear on the River Styx to never mention this place without permission." She motioned for Kathryne to do the same, and she did so.
"It's in Montana, a forest there," Artemis told them, "Two experienced half-bloods live there. They're isolated and few monsters find them, plus the smell of the forest covers their scent well. There's a girl a little younger than you living there already, and soon these two boys will live there too. There is plenty of money as both boys have jobs and don't need to buy their food. Plus, the Hunters and I drop off supplies whenever we visit. It is a place where you will be relatively safe and be able to be trained."
"Why don't they need to buy their food?" Amy asked, eyes narrowed in suspicion. It sounded almost too good to be true.
Artemis hesitated, then said, "The two boys are vampires, they hunt animals in the forest."
"And we're supposed to be safe with them?!" Amy yelled in disbelief. "What if they decide that we look and smell tastier than those animals?!"
"They won't," the goddess snapped, then took a deep breath and said more calmly, "They won't. They have been raising their sister and cousin for about eight years now and never drunk her blood. Plus, they are not new to being vampires. They have been for years. Not an extremely long time, but years."
Amy paused, then turned to look at Kathryne after deciding the Hunters weren't going to stick her in the back with with arrows, and noted that her sister wanted to go. She was directing puppy dog eyes at her, and Amy sighed. She knew Kathryne wanted to be around other people more, and when she saw those eyes... "Alright," she spoke, "You win. We'll go."
Artemis sighed in relief, nodded, and said, "I'll right back. Close yours eyes."
August 29, 2020; 17:52:56; Lost Creek:
Percy and Nico looked up, exasperated, after the flash faded. "Let me guess," Nico said sarcastically, "You've found other demigods and are bringing them here."
"Yes, actually," Artemis said, smiling faintly at their shocked expressions. "And I think Haley will be happy."
"Why?" the eight-year old asked.
"Because," the goddess replied, "They're two girls just a little older than you, and," she turned back to Percy and Nico, "They have no desire to go to Camp or become part of the Hunt. They were living in a city in Idaho living off of stolen food and money."
"Bring them here," Percy ordered, and Nico sighed as he saw the look in his boyfriend's eyes.
"Bring them here," he agreed.
Artemis smiled, thanked them, and left as the three demigods closed their eyes.
"Well," Percy said brightly, "We better get more tents. It's about to get livelier around here."
Almost 2k! cheers I hope you like it! I also can't promise another chapter soon, but I'll do my best to do faster than last time. Please review!