The Sorrowful Deity: Does [Bianca] have similar powers as [Nico] or a bit more to Hazel's side?
Since Bianca is Hades' kid, I see her as being more like Nico than Hazel, due to Pluto's added aspect of being the god of riches, which is something Hades is not—not to mention that most of Hazel's natural powers come from her curse, which Bianca obviously lacks. Given a little time, Bianca will likely become a more powerful version of her brother.
The Hunter's Heir
Chapter Twenty-Eight: A Prophecy Is Given
As always during the winter months, only a handful of campers were sitting at the Hermes table. Nico was sitting next to his sister, talking excitedly with Mel. The Stoll brothers kept trying to butt in and teach the kid about Poker, but Jay and Mel stopped them every time. Bianca sat across from me, eating what looked like a vegetable plate.
I took a sip from my glass of water, swallowed, and said, "How are you liking camp so far?"
She shrugged and said, "It looks pretty cool. I'm…still a little unsure…" She looked at the Artemis table. The Hunters were drinking and eating and laughing like one big happy family. Zoe sat at the head like she was the leader. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair.
"You made the right choice," I said.
"You think so?"
"Absolutely." I cut a piece of meat on my plate and ate it. "Trust me, camp is way better than the Hunters. Tell you what, I'll even teach you proper archery."
Suddenly her eyes lit up. "That was you!"
I nodded. "Yep."
"What was him?" Connor asked.
"We met a while ago, back during the quest for Lord Zeus's Master Bolt."
"Quest?" Nico cut in. "What's a quest?"
By the time I was finished explaining everything to him, we'd finished eating, and Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis to camp. The clapping was pretty halfhearted. Then he announced the "good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception.
After that we were sent to bed. Since nobody was around, we all got our own beds instead of a space on the floor, which I was happy about. I took the top bunk, Jay got the bottom; Mel and Bianca bunked together; same with the Stolls; Nico got his own bunk, which he was pretty thrilled about. We spent another hour or so talking, until we got an angry knock from Chiron telling us to go to sleep.
-o-
In my dream, the crow came for me.
It had started as a wolf dream, where I was in Winter's skin, running through the forest. I'd had many similar dreams, and they had only gotten clearer as I began to understand my powers. Then a bird cawed above me, and I was standing—back in my body—at the edge of a cliff. On my shoulder was perched the ugliest crow I had ever seen in my life, all mangy black feathers and beady black eyes.
"Who—?"
Quiet, came the woman's voice from the crow's beak. Watch.
I turned. Artemis was standing just out of arm's reach, her back to the cliffside, silver bow drawn and notched.
Out of sight, shrouded in shadows, a booming laughter echoed. "About time, little Olympian."
"General," she snarled. "How have you escaped?"
"Helpful friends," came the voice. "You'll be meeting them shortly." From the shadows, he emerged.
Dark slicked-back hair, grey eyes like stone, light brown skin, and enough muscle to give Heracles a run for his money. The man was tall, standing almost taller than a tree, and extremely muscular, with a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could level mountains. In one hand was a spear.
Artemis fired one arrow, then another, then another, each deflected by the Titan's—he had to be a Titan—spear. Then the General moved, and Artemis just narrowly avoided being impaled. Knives flashing, Artemis cut and jabbed, moving quickly, sliding right and left, not unlike how I fought.
But it wasn't enough.
The Titan would get a lucky cut in, at the leg, the arm, the knee, until Artemis was covered in battle scars. And for as much damage as she was doing, it didn't seem that the General felt any of it. He was laughing too, a deep-throated cry that could chill an iceberg.
The went round and round, until Artemis faltered, the Titan knocked her blades away, seized her by the neck, and slammed her into the ground hard. He held her down and reached into the pocket of his suit, pulling out a pair of bronze shackles, which he forced onto Artemis at the hands and knees, then hauled her to her feet.
"Where are you taking me?" she demanded.
The Titan laughed. "You'll see soon enough." Then he dragged her away.
"Who was that?" I asked the crow.
You will know soon enough. Your part to play in this is fast approaching. But for now...It tapped me with its beak. Rise.
-o-
I woke sweating. Your part to play in this is fast approaching. Was Niobe involved? Orion? How could a goddess—an Olympian—be taken captive? Would the moon still rise every night, or would the nights be dark and full of terrors, with no Huntress to keep them at bay? Everyone else was gone; already out and about, most like. I rolled out of bed and got dressed, but not before taking a look at the mark on my arm—two circles, one larger than the other, cut by six long lines. The crow was connected to that brown-haired boy with the stag, and the woman trapped in the tree. I just knew it. What do they have to do with Artemis?
A knot of fear coiled like a snake in my gut. Artemis…Artemis was gone. Taken. Despite our open hostility, even I knew that Artemis was necessary; a part of the balance of the universe. With that part gone, what would happen on Olympus? Would someone take her place? Who? Do god's have successors, heirs? It seemed ridiculous. Gods were immortal, eternal, what use could they have with heirs? But Apollo had told me that he named his son Asclepius, god of medicine, as his heir. Did Artemis have one? Probably Zoe.
And that was precisely who I bumped into as I was headed to the woods—I needed to see Winter, to leave my body and clear my head. I was so distracted I didn't even see her until we collided with one another.
She scowled. "Watch thyself, boy."
"Bugger off," I said back.
She was turning to leave when I pushed aside my pride and said, "Artemis is gone."
She whirled on me. "What did you say?"
"I…had a dream. Artemis was taken by someone."
She advanced on me. "What did you see?"
Ordinarily I would have taken a step back, but I refused to be cowed by this fool. Instead, I took a step closer, so we were almost nose-to-nose. "I had a dream. Artemis is gone. Taken. I don't know where to."
"Anything else? Did thou see who took her?"
I glanced around. "I'll explain everything, but not here." Even though there were only a handful of people around us, our closeness was drawing stares. Best not to give any false impressions. "Follow me."
I took a few steps, but she made no move to follow. I stopped, turned, rolled my eyes. "I'm not going to try anything, promise. Just…" I swallowed. "Trust me on this. Please."
Something, perhaps her honor or duty to Artemis, made her nod. "Fine. Lead the way."
I took her down to the beach, then followed the waves a few dozen feet before stopping. We stood about five feet apart, her dressed in a silver jacket, myself dressed in a black one. We both had dark hair, but that was about it. In another life, maybe you could have been my friend. My sister. I pushed that thought away. No need to dwell on what could not be.
"Why bring me out this far?"
"I couldn't risk anybody snooping on us. The trees have eyes, even here."
"What did you see?" she asked.
I told her, leaving the crow out. When I was done, she was quiet for a long time, then she said, "I had the same dream."
"Did you know who that man was? That 'General'?"
"No," she answered, but a moment too late.
"Are you sure? You reacted like you knew him when the manticore—"
"I have not heard the name," she snapped, "only the title."
"But if you know something—"
"I do not know who is responsible," she said fiercely. "And even if I did, it would be of no concern to you. Do not pretend to care about Lady Artemis, boy. All you seek is to cause my lady pain."
I scowled. "I care about being left alone. 'We will never speak to each other again,' those were the words I said to Artemis the day you saved us from Lycaon. I was fine our paths would never cross again, but the Fates seem to have it in for me, so I keep winding up facing her."
She grit her teeth. "Then we have nothing more to say to each other." She turned and stormed off, cursing under her breath.
-o-
After dinner we got ready for capture the flag. Only a dozen on each team, but that didn't mean we weren't going to give it our all. Across the dining pavilion, Zoe kept glancing resentfully at Chiron, like she couldn't believe he was making her do this. The other Hunters didn't look too happy, either. Unlike last night, they weren't laughing or joking around. They just huddled together in the dining pavilion, whispering nervously to each other as they strapped on their armor. Some of them even looked like they'd been crying. Cowards, I thought.
On our team, we had Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus guys, a few from the Ares cabin, the Stoll brothers, Melony, Jay, and Nico from Hermes cabin, and a few Aphrodite kids. Even though I was surprised to see them participating, it was still good to have the Aphrodite cabin be involved in a game for once, since they usually stuck to the sidelines. I guess the whole Artemis vs. Aphrodite thing went deep.
"I'll show them 'love is worthless,'" Silena Beauregard grumbled as she strapped on her armor. "I'll pulverize them!"
"Love the attitude," I said as I walked past her, over to Percy and Thalia.
"I'll take the offense," Thalia volunteered. "You take defense."
"Oh." He hesitated, looking sheepish. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?"
Thalia already had Aegis on her arm, and even our own teammates were giving her a wide berth, trying not to cower before the bronze head of Medusa.
"Well, I was thinking it would make better offense," Thalia said. "Besides, you've had more practice at defense."
"Yeah, no problem," he lied. His first year, he'd been set up as bait by Annabeth and nearly mauled by a hellhound Luke had let in.
"Cool." Thalia turned to help some of the Aphrodite kids, who were having trouble suiting up their armor without breaking their nails. Nico di Angelo ran up to Percy with a big grin on his face.
"Percy, this is awesome!" His blue-feathered bronze helmet was falling in his eyes, and his breastplate was about six sizes too big. I laughed and pulled his helmet back.
Jay and Mel were helping Bianca with her armor, and I gave her a confident smile. She gave one back, turning so Jay could do the straps at her side.
Nico lifted his sword with effort. "Do we get to kill the other team?"
"Well…no," Percy explained.
"But the Hunters are immortal, right?"
"That's only if they don't fall in battle. Besides—"
"It would be awesome if we just, like, resurrected as soon as we were killed, so we could keep fighting, and—"
"Nico, this is serious. Real swords. These can hurt."
The kid looked pretty dejected, but I put a hand around his shoulders and said, "He's right, Nico. But don't worry, give it a few months, and I'm sure you'll be a master at the game. But for now, try not to get too involved. Stick with your sister, she'll look after you."
Percy agreed. "Just follow the team. Stay out of Zoe's way. We'll have a blast."
Chiron's hoof thundered on the pavilion floor.
"Heroes!" he called. "You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team—Camp Half-Blood—shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis—red team—shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"
Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"
We cheered and followed. I fell behind to where Mel and Jay were. Bianca was with them, but she left quickly to catch up to her brother.
"What do you think?" I asked.
"She's a sweet girl," Mel said. "But there's something off about her. I don't know. I'll need to consult the flames."
Melony could see visions in fire, though they weren't always accurate. She got it from her mother Hestia, who got the gift of prophecy from Apollo in an attempt to win her favor.* Still, anything that could help us figure out the di Angelos' secret. I thought about telling them about my dream, but decided against it until the game was over. No need for any unnecessary distractions.
We set our flag at the top of Zeus's Fist, a cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if looked at just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. It was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.
Bianca and Nico were put on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers, figuring they'd be safely out of the way.
"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."
"Got it!"
"Take Laurel and Jason. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."
Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work.
Thalia looked at Percy. "Anything to add, Percy?"
"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."
"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.
"Unless you see a golden opportunity."
Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."
"Right, unless—"
"Percy!" She touched his arm and shocked him. When Thalia shocks you, it hurts, since her dad's Zeus. As it was, Percy tensed, like he'd been punched in the back of the head. He opened his mouth, but I stepped in between them
"I have a suggestion."
Thalia looked me over. "And that would be…?"
"That you le me try and take the flag."
She furrowed her brow. "But—"
"Hear me out. You all can still take your team and try and get the flag, but instead you'll be serving primarily as a decoy. I can sneak ahead, grab their flag while you distract them, and make a beeline for our side. Think about it—I'm faster than all of you, and I can sneak through the trees, so there's no way they'll see me unless they're also in the trees."
"That could work," Beckendorf said. "I mean, we've all seen what he can do, so why not?"
"Yeah," Travis offered. "Give him a shot."
Thalia nodded. "All right. Let's do it. That good with you, Percy?"
He still looked a little miffed about the shocking thing, but he nodded and said, "Sure."
"Good. Everyone know what they're doing?"
Everybody nodded. We broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began. Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few seconds, then darted off toward the right.
I waited a few seconds after that, then I climbed into a tree and started moving, using the branches as beams to move unseen across the forest. Below me, I saw Selina and Jay lead their group away from Thalia, a group of Hunters on their heels. I saw another group of Hunters run to where Thalia was supposed to be; apparently they'd been seen. I hoped Zoe was with them—it'd be nice to see her get her eyebrows zapped off. Still, I kept moving, running through the enemy territory, unseen.
I turned in an arc, intent on hitting the Hunter's flag from behind. There was only one guard, a little girl with dark hair—Daphne.
I jumped down, snatched the flag out of the tree, and ran past before Daphne could realize what was happening. "Sorry, kid!"
I ran a few feet, then used a pile of rocks as a stool to get back into another tree. By then Daphne had called out, asking for help. An arrow whizzed by my head, then another by my feet. I avoided them both and kept running. I was just about to cross the creek when I heard screaming. Nico, Bianca, and Percy were chasing Zoe, who held our flag in both hands.
I ran as fast as I could, then dropped down just at the border between teams, and slammed into Zoe as hard as I could, catching her neck on my arm. She flipped and landed on her back, hard.
My team cheered as they converged on me, pulling me onto their shoulders as I held the flag up high.
"The campers win!" Chiron cried, looking happier than I'd ever seen him. Below me, Zoe was holding her neck, looking murderous. I smirked down at her, victorious…
…until my smile melted. "What in Hades?"
Something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped. I slid from their shoulders, entranced
"This is impossible," Chiron said. I'd never heard him sound so nervous. "It…she has never left the attic. Never."
And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around our feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.
Nobody dared move. Then a voice hissed inside my head. Everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears.
I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. The Oracle regarded me with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. Approach, Seeker, and ask.
Zoe swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"
The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. I saw the vague image of a mountain, and Artemis standing at the barren peak. She was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain.
The Oracle spoke:
Five shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.
Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic, as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.
Parent's hand, I thought, the words repeating in my head. It's not possible. I felt a rock form in my gut, and my throat kept clenching and unclenching, like I was going to throw up. Your part to play in this is fast approaching. I felt pale and sick.
"Hunter," Mel whispered, putting a hand on my arm. Next to me, Jay put a hand on my shoulder, as though to steady me.
Then everyone gasped a second time. All across the creek, campers and Hunters alike took steps back. Mel looked at something above me. "It…you…"
"Impossible," I heard someone mutter.
I looked up, heart in my stomach. Floating above me was a wispy stag, symbol of the goddess Artemis. No…
Chiron stepped forward, looking far older than he should have. "It is determined. Artemis, the Huntress, Lady of the Hunt, Protector of the Young and Innocent, Mistress of the Wild. All hail Hunter, child of Artemis." He knelt, and everyone did the same, even Zoe Nightshade and her Hunters. Your part to play in this is fast approaching.
It had happened. I had been claimed.
Then I doubled over and vomited into the creek.
* Apollo and Poseidon initially wished to marry Hestia, back before she took her vow of maidenhood. Hestia's never shown the gift of prophecy in any of the myths (at least none that I've found), but I thought it would be a nice little add-on to Mel's powers.
A/N: Please leave a review telling me what you thought. Don't be afraid to ask questions, either; I promise I'll do my best to answer them in the next chapter. Follow and favorite to show support. I'll see you guys next time.
Bye!
