Chapter 26

Hunter's POV

Santa came early this year and forced me to write this chapter while his elves threatened to harm me with candy canes. Not the most comfortable experience, but definitely the most delicious one!

I've already got the next chapter started, and with Christmas Break and annoying family and friends I need to hide from, I'll have plenty of time to write and play Minecraft.

Merry Christmas!

Gracie has always been my best friend. I'd follow her to the end of the earth, stand beside her in whatever battle she faced, and always be there for her no matter what. I believed that her plans were usually some of the best, and she's saved me too many times to count.

There were some other times, though, when her plans are just plain stupid. Now would be one of those times.

"-how you're a big, fat chicken."

I stared after Gracie as she bolted into the woods. I could have easily left her to blow off some steam by herself, but there were plenty of unknown dangers in this forest, things that could probably even battle my father one-on-one and destroy him; I couldn't let her face that alone, no matter how much pain it would cause or how much trouble I'd get in.

Moving as quickly as I could, I raced after Gracie. The winds came to my aid when I called them, pushing me along at speeds that would have made an Olympic runner jealous.

At first I had been worried that I wouldn't have been able to find her under the darkness of the trees, but she's left subtle boot tracks in the thin layer of frost, and her Celestial Bronze sword glowed faintly far in front of me.

Suddenly, the glow stopped moving. I struggled to slow the winds down, but I was already going too fast and tumbled into Gracie.

"Get off!" she whisper/yelled ferociously, shoving me onto the hard ground. I tried to stand up on the blanket of leaves, but she shushed me into silence.

"What is it?" I whispered, though I was instantly answered by a shrill, evil cackling that echoed above me.

Out of anxiety my Celestial Bronze sword grew into my hand, and I gripped it tightly, scared of the unknown dangers above me.

"They're from one of my dreams," Gracie whispered, slowly standing on the crunching leaves. "Evil little buggers, ordered by their mistress to rip me and any other half-bloods to shreds."

"That's right, our dearest little Andromeda," a high voice said, and one of the disgusting creatures dropped onto a branch just above me. "My fellow Erklings and I have orders to do away with you and your little friends. But that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun first."

The Erkling cackled, and a chorus of cries answered. Many more creatures dropped into view, each one with a hungry gleam in its eyes. I feared for my life.

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" I asked Gracie.

"Yeah. Should I do the distraction this time?"

"Nah, I'll handle it. Just be ready to run in three, two-"

The creatures bared their fangs and swooped down, searching for blood. They didn't get very far before I sent a strong gust of wind into the trees, their wings catching on it so that they soared toward the stars.

Gracie grabbed my wrist and started running, though I was pretty sure we were going in the wrong direction. I didn't have the chance to tell her, mostly because the blood-thirsty creatures only seconds behind us.

We kept running as quickly as we could, panting heavily as we weaved through the unfamiliar territory. Gracie pulled me into so many turns that my sense of direction because completely messed up, but one thing I did know what that we were getting farther and farther from those horrible Erklings.

Finally, we stopped, hurrying to catch our breath next to a giant boulder.

"That was… exciting," I said between breaths. "What do you think we should do next? Sack New Rome?"

Gracie had sat down next to the rock, and she smiled up at me, her breathing slowing down a bit.

"Sounds like fun. All we need is our Pegasi, a chariot, and a few metric tons of laughing gas."

I sighed. "Let's wait on that. How about we focus on getting back to Hogwarts first? We've probably missed breakfast by now, and I'm starving."

"Fine. Fly up and see how far we are. I'll explore a bit down here."

I mock saluted her and launched into the air, pushing off the boulder and flipping for dramatic effect.

It didn't take very long to reach the top of the trees, but once I did I was utterly crushed.

Hogwarts was nowhere in sight.

I wanted to fly a little higher to get a better look, but dark, ominous clouds had moved in and were hanging low above the trees, blocking the rest of the world in a fluffy grey sheet.

Suddenly, Gracie's scream came from below me and I let myself drop, summersaulting when I reached the ground and letting my sword grow into my hand.

She'd left the clearing, but I saw a flash of Celestial Bronze and heard a creature's growl off to my right and ran to aid her.

Gracie had somehow managed to get herself noticed by a giant furry dog that most definitely wasn't a hellhound. It had overgrown fur the color of mud and dark eyes that looked untamed and vicious.

My friend wasn't looking too good; she was holding her left wrist like it was broken, one of her two swords lying at her feet. I hadn't seen anyone look so terrified since the day Gracie had nearly died when we were ten.

With an enraged yell, I leapt, the wind pushing me forward. My sword slammed into the beast's side, but instead of cutting into it, the sword snapped in half and I fell forward.

I tried to get away as quickly as I could, but the beast was faster than I was, and its teeth bit into my t-shirt and scratched my back as I fled.

"What the Hades is this thing?" I yelled at Gracie, who was still staring at the creature, her face stark white and beaded with sweat. I realized that she must be in shock.

"Uh, I-I-I-I'm not s-sure," Gracie stuttered out. "It looks like the N-Nemean Lion and a-a hellhound h-had a little brat."

I'd always marveled at her ability to joke about whatever situation we were in, a trait she'd obviously gotten from her father. I wasn't complaining, though; it feels good to laugh before you die.

The invincible dog had started to stalk towards me, sizing up its new prey. I didn't have any spare weapons on me, so I held up the jagged end of my Celestial Bronze blade and tried to look threatening.

Gracie made eye contact with me quickly, and I motioned with my head for her to get out. For once, she didn't argue with me, and she slowly started pulling herself away with her good hand, her legs not seeming to work.

Meanwhile, I kept the dog's attention on me.

"Hey there, you big, fluffy fleabag. You don't want to eat me, do you?"

It growled, and my injured back smarted in the area where it'd bit me. I didn't know what I was going to do when it attacked; I'd really been pushing my powers with the amount of uses in the last hour or so, and I was feeling very fatigued.

The half-lion-half-dog-thing started stalking towards me, pushing me back a step with every one he took forward. It only took a second for me to get stuck in between a tree and the creature.

I prayed to any god I could think of to get me out of this situation, and I was shocked to find that my incredibly dysfunctional family actually listened to me.

A couple loud yells issued from the trees around me, and I was able to see a few horses galloping into the clearing, distracting the monster for a moment. But, as soon as its eyes weren't on me, I heard someone ride up near me and grab my shirt collar, hoisting me into the air.

I'll admit it; I screamed like a girl after she got tickets to her favorite boy band (yes, they're still just as popular now, and yes, the auto tuning has gotten worse). But I was happy to notice that my saviors were centaurs.

I was set on one's back, and he carried me away from the scene, hopefully towards safety.

"You okay there, lad?" the centaur said once we'd gone a short way from the fight.

"Yes, sir," I said, taking slow, deep breaths to calm myself.

"Chiron told us to keep an eye out for any first-years with a death wish, and I assume he meant you, aye?" The centaur let out a hearty chuckle. "The name is Tamas. I'd shake your hand, but I'm a bit preoccupied now." Just to prove his point, he leaped a fallen tree and continued on at a full gallop. "And what's your name, my boy?"

"Hunter Grace," I responded. "Do you happen to know where my friend is?"

"My wife picked up a short girl who was holding her wrist and cussing in Ancient Greek. Sound familiar?"

I smiled. "Yes, that surely does."

Jingle bells, Twilight smells, Edward ran away. Bella dies, Jacob cries, Potter all the way!

After ten minutes of solid galloping, we finally reached the edge of the forest, Hagrid's hut only a few yards away. The aforementioned giant was standing outside of his hut, conversing with a beautiful female centaur, Gracie on her back.

I raised my hand in greeting, but I quickly noticed that she wasn't in much of a mood to talk; her face was chalk-white, and her wrist was as swollen as a marshmallow. She looked a little green, and she swayed ominously. I only just had time to leap off and catch her before she fainted.

"You'd better get her some care," Tamas suggested, trotting over. "Would you like me to carry her to the castle?"

"We'd better not risk it," Hagrid said, gently taking Gracie from my arms. "We'll take fine care of her here. Go on along now; see if your folk have slain that dreaded beast yet."

"Good day," the two centaurs said as they headed back into the forest.

Hagrid stared at me for a moment once they were gone.

"Yeh had better be happy I've gotten used to this sort of thing, what with all the stunts I've seen from students over the years. Come on now, we'd better get Gracie cared for and get you some dinner."

"Dinner?" I asked, and then I looked up towards the sky; the storm clouds had moved to reveal that the sun was halfway up the sky. "Right. Lunch. Still have to get used to your fancy terms."

Hagrid laughed. "Trus' me, kid. There ain't nothin' fancy 'bout my speech."

He started to carry Gracie into his hut, and I followed behind. The adrenaline of the fight started to wear off, and the pain in my shoulder came back full force. I pulled my shirt to see how much it was bleeding, only to find the entire left side of my white shirt stained dark red.

I wanted to make sure Gracie would be okay, and I wasn't totally sure how good Hagrid was at healing spells. That meant I'd have to get her some ambrosia or nectar as soon as possible.

He set Gracie down on his oversized couch, and then moved to his kitchen, pulling things out of cupboards and setting a kettle on the stove.

"You fond of tea yet, son?" Hagrid asked.

I shrugged. "It's not the worst thing I've ever tasted, but I still prefer my aunt's hot cocoa."

"Well, we've got to warm you up some way."

I noticed a vial of golden liquid sitting on the counter that reminded me strangely of Nectar. I shook my head, sure that it was just some wizard potion of healing or something.

After Hagrid poured the tea into three cups, he put the golden liquid into two of them, and the air was immediately filled with the smell of my mom's peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, something she had been making for Alexandrie and me since we were kids. It made me homesick, but it also made me realize something.

"How did you know?" I asked Hagrid when he set the cup of tea down next to me.

"How did I know what?" he asked as he started to pour small bits of the tea down Grace's throat.

"How did you know about nectar?"

Hagrid laughed. "I've known the centaurs since my early days 'ere at Hogwarts. After I became groundskeeper, they introduced me to a man named Chiron. He told me about the Greek gods and goddesses, and told me to keep an eye out for any that come to the school. I've been suspecting you lot for a while now, what with your heroics and Gracie's death wishes. My thoughts were confirmed when Jola came with Gracie all injured and sick and told me what had happened."

I took a sip of the tea, and it warmed me in a way that only nectar could.

"Who else knows?" I wondered.

"Chiron said he didn't trust too many people, so I don't think anyone else knows, though a few people in there might have figured it out."

Gracie started to stir. She moaned, fluttered her eyelashes open, and then sat straight up.

"Cake!" she screamed like a child, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry, sweetie, but there isn't any cake here. I have scones if you like."

She groaned at the no cake comment, and then put a hand to her head, only to wince in pain.

"What the Hades happened?" she asked. "All I remember is a giant dog attacking you and a centaur carrying me through the forest."

"Well, first of all, you have a partially-healed hand, which means you shouldn't be messin' with it at all. Secondly, you got into some nasty business in the Forbidden Forest, which is exactly the reason it's forbidden."

"I'll explain everything later," I promised, feeling the wound on my back close up. "But we really need to sneak back into the castle and clean off before someone notices. We can wrap your wound when we get inside."

"I'd rather just sleep for a good year," Gracie said with a dramatic moan.

"No more sleeping for the next few hours, missy. I'm pretty sure you still have a large concussion, but I still agree with Hunter; get inside while nobody's looking for you."

Hagrid gave us extra fur coats that were only a few sizes too big for us and sent us on our way, me holding Gracie's arm to make sure she didn't fall.

We stumbled into the castle and hurried up the stairs, nobody noticing a few first-years who had just come from playing in the snow.

I led Gracie up the stairs to my dorm, and was happy to find Orion lying on his bed with his head rested on a text book, fast asleep.

It took a few tries to rouse him, and when he finally did get up he laughed.

"Looks like you two got into some trouble," he said, holding in giggles.

I rolled my eyes. "Just help me fix up Gracie's arm and get my back patched up."

Orion pushed his dresser in front of the door to block anyone else's entry, and he patched us up as I retold the story of what happened.

"So Hagrid knows about us?" Gracie asked, holding ice to her broken wrist.

"Yes, but hopefully none of the other teachers know."

"I wasn't sure how Chiron was going to send reinforcements," Orion started, "and even though he asked the centaurs to watch out for us, they won't be much help if we get attacked outside of the Forbidden Forest. I hope he comes up with something else soon, because we won't always be able to protect ourselves, especially in front of the other students."

"I guess we'd better study ahead in combat spells," Gracie said as she moved to stand up. Orion gently shoved her back down, looking at her with fear in his eyes.

"Sleep, sis. You don't look very good. Just relax until the ambrosia kicks in a bit more."

"I'm fine!" she protested, but as soon as she stood, her legs immediately gave out. Orion and I caught her and pulled her back up to the bed. She didn't struggle, and within a few seconds, she was asleep.

"You should rest too, dude," Orion suggested, pointing toward my bunk. "I'll make sure nobody bothers us."

I hadn't felt so tired since my dad and Percy took Orion and me along when they ran a marathon. I collapsed into my bed, ignoring the burning pain in my shoulder and the blood on my shirt, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.

Okay, I just love Hunter using his wind manipulation to run quickly. Pretty sure I got that idea off of the new TV show Flash (no copyright infringement intended). Anyway, I wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Song of the chapter: Bring me the Night by Sam Tsui and Kina Grannis- the PERFECT Caleo song to have ever existed, like, ever.