The Crow

It took us about an hour to stop the fire, calm down and repair the kitchen. Calming everyone down is what took the longest. Katelynn had finally stopped shaking after the argument, I guess getting all of the energy out. After, she cried. She still refused to talk to Ellie, though. I had a feeling their friendship would never be the same.

Everyone was so upset and so fragile right now, it was hard to talk without someone exploding. We were all carefully dancing over what to say and choosing our words wisely. Even Prometheus stopped talking after Maliah yelled at him to shut up until she told him otherwise.

This entire quest was now a nightmare.

"Okay," Maliah said, calming down, "let's go put our emotions to good use and train, yes?"

No one disagreed with her. She nodded her head and we all followed her out to the deck of the ship.

"I want a group training course led by Prometheus at first. Teach us as a whole basic stances, offensive attack, defensive moves, and everything else we should know. Then once I'm comfortable with everyone's progress, we'll break into pairs. After that, we'll each train with Prometheus one on one. It's going to be a long day and if it goes well, it's only the beginning until we find Tony."

As much as Maliah would sit here and tell everyone that she's no leader in this war, she was a natural leader. She was smart and radiated a power that told you to sit down, shut up, and listen. No one disagreed with her plan, but why would we? It was well calculated and it would be the best way for us to see the quickest results. We all unsheathed our swords, Dynami resting comfortably in my hand.

Maliah's own weapon, a three foot long Greek sword made of Olympian gold, was a one of a kind. It could kill anything, and I mean kill anything. It was a gift from her father for one task, to strike down the evil goddess. It shined blindingly in the sun, but if she noticed I couldn't tell.

"You can talk now." Maliah told Prometheus.

"Right," the titan said, "let us begin."

After a while of going over the basics with the titan, like simple offensive and defensive movements, disarming attacks, and a few stances, Maliah decided we were ready to break off into groups.

The twins paired up together, as did the Hecate brothers. Ellie and Brandon paired up and that left Katelynn, Maliah and me. I looked between them and the titan approached.

"Come, daughter of love. We'll train. You have much to prepare yourself," he told her, softly.

Katelynn nodded and went off with the titan. I had no idea what he'd meant, and from Maliah's expression she had no clue, either. She came over to me, though, a sheepish smile on her face.

He hair looked redder now, out here in the low setting sun. Depending on the lighting, it was blonder or it was redder, always changing with what reflected off of it. Her curls were long, past her waist. I thought, again, back to last night in her room. Our oath.

"Wanna train?" she asked.

"Hate to break it to you, but it looks like I'm all you have left." I laugh.

She laughs with me. It's nice to hear that sound again.

"Well, hopefully you're a worthy opponent."

"Likewise."

We take a stance and she strikes first, but I'm not surprised. I raise my blade to meet her, blocking her sword. It almost seemed to glow now, in this light. She pulled her sword back and I did the same, this time I struck. She blocked and twisted her sword, almost disarming me. I was able to grip my sword just in time before completely losing it, but she didn't hesitate in swinging again.

"You know," she began in between blows, "I never imagined I'd be fighting you."

"What do you mean? This is only sparring." I remind her, matching her timing.

She'd taken completely to the offense, so I had no choice but to match her by blocking. She was so swift, it was like she'd been doing this forever.

"That's true," she agreed, "but it's still weird. It still feels wrong. How do I know that one day this won't happen for real."

I hesitate at her words and she disarms me, her blade to my neck.

"It won't." I assure her.

She drops her sword.

"I'm sorry. I don't know why I'm thinking like that. It's just everyone is choosing sides and I'm scared, Tyler. What if people I know choose her. What if I have to hurt someone I care about?"

"It won't be me." I tell her.

The hilt of her sword, navy with a yellow bolt of lightning, was gripped tightly in her hand. I knew what she was thinking. That sword wasn't old. It hadn't been passed down from hero to hero. She was the first owner, and she'd be the first to spill blood with it. I think that terrified her.

"Dunamas," she said.

"Huh?" I ask, confused.

"It's name. It's name is Dunamas."

I stared at the sword, taking in the power it held. It held the fate of so much, and it was in the hands of someone I'd grown to care a lot about. It may have been new and it may not have had a history yet, but something told me that when all this was over, Dunamas would have the most bloody history of all.

"Do you think about them?" she asked me, softly.

I looked around and noticed everyone was departing back down. We were all tired after the vigorous training, I think we all needed a break.

"Who?" I ask her, letting Dynami return to a necklace and putting it back on.

"The Lost Generation. Our siblings, their friends. Your mortal mother. Everyone back at camp. Everyone on this boat. The mortals. Tony. Your sister. All of the many lives that depend on us. Do you think about them?"

She's looking up at me now, her vibrant blue eyes searching my face for an answer. She still holds her sword in her hand, and I think it's because she's scared to put it away, scared to relinquish the power it gives her. I think about the dream I'd had last night of my brother. I thought for sure he would tell me to come straight for him, to rescue him, but he told me that I needed to save Tony.

I remember reading Brandon's research and one thing it said about Percy Jackson was that his fatal flaw, something all of us demigods apparently possess, was loyalty. His loyalty to his lost friend, Nico, must have something to do with this. I was worried about Tony's condition, it surely had to be bad for my brother to sound so urgent.

She's still staring at me.

"I do." I tell her.

She sighs, looking up at the sky. I study her. She practically glows in the light, her loose curls moving ever so slightly with the wind. She's sweaty from training, and her chest moves heavily as she trains her breath, still tired from training. She looks back at me.

"Will you stay with me again tonight?" she adds, "I still feel uneasy here."

"Of course."

I smile at her, and she smiles back. The oath we'd made lingers in my mind and she reaches up, fixing a piece of my hair that I'd guess gone astray. Before I can even thank her, a large crow swoops down, slicing her arm and drawing blood with its sharp claws. She hisses in pain, Dunamas clattering to the ground. She held her arm, and with a caw the crow was gone just as quick as it'd come.

"Are you okay?" I ask her.

"Yeah, it just stings a little. Where did that thing even come from?" she asks.

"I have no idea. I think we've had enough training for today. Let's get some food and then rest. Are you sure it's fine?"

"Yeah. I should be okay."

She didn't seem so sure. She looked at her arm, still confused by the events, but I usher her back below the deck and to the kitchen where everyone else is. She's no longer bleeding when we make it there, in fact there isn't even a trace of evidence left.

After we'd eaten, everyone was ready to turn in for the night. Maliah and I were no different so we headed back to her room after saying our goodnight's to everyone. Once we reached her room, she grabbed a change of clothes and went into the bathroom. I could hear the shower running and figured she'd be gone for a minute so I relaxed, sitting on a chair.

I thought back to my dream of my brother. I had to save Tony now more than ever. Percy Jackson needed me to save him. I couldn't let him down, not now. I thought about everything I'd gone through since finding out I was a demigod, and so far I had done nothing worthy of praise. I was just as lost as everyone else was. We were just kids.

Maybe by some lucky chance, we'd pull this off. But then what? Where do we go from here? I have my quest, but when that's done, what do I do?

Maliah pulls me out of my thoughts. She walks into the room, her hair soaking her red t-shirt. She wore black leggings and nothing on her feet. She smiles at me. I could get used to her smile.

"You go ahead," she says, combing through her tangled hair, "I'll be waiting when you come out."

I nodded and got up, grabbing my own change of clothes. I went into the bathroom and started my own shower. Even in here, I couldn't escape the thought of my brother. I thought of Tony, too, a faceless boy that I didn't know. After a while of my thoughts eating me away, I finished up and got dressed.

When I walked back into the room, I found Maliah wrapped up in her blanket and asleep. I could never understand how people as serious as her and Brandon looked so at ease while asleep. I walk over to her, laying down and using the blanket with her this time.

It doesn't take long for me to fall asleep. My dreams lead me to a boy in a round, glass prison. He's unconscious and appears very weak, and starved. His hair is dark, and his skin is pale. He looked... dead. His back moved, though, ever so slightly. He was still alive, but only barely. I knew it was him, I knew it was Tony. I wanted to scream to him, tell him that we were on the way, but I couldn't. He mumbles something. I don't catch it, not even when he mumbles it again.

He looks up, his dark eyes trained on me. He mumbles again and I still don't catch it. I take a step forward and he sighs a deep breath, grunting. He speaks again, and this time I hear him.

"Run."

I wake up in a cold sweat to an empty bed. Maliah isn't beside me, but my sight hasn't fully adjusted to the dark. I look in front of me, and through my blurry vision I see Maliah, her eyes glowing a sickly pale blue. She's holding Dunamas and had it raised over me.

"Run." she says, barely audible.

"Maliah?" I ask.

"Run, Tyler!" she yells, bringing her sword down.

I barely got out of the way in time, the sword nicking my leg. I rolled onto the floor and brought out Dynami just in time to block her next attack.

"Maliah, snap out of it!" I scream at her.

"Run, Tyler, I can't stop."

She was crying. She had just told me how much she hated fighting me, and here we were.

"Mal," I say, once again taking the defense in our fight, "wake up!"

"Stop her, Tyler. Stop her and save me. Help me." she begged, crying as she attacked me.

"Help! Someone help us!" I screamed, "Harvey!"

After screaming for both Perry and Harvey a few more times, they finally show up.

"What is it?" Harvey asked, tired.

"Duck!" I scream, knocking him and Perry out of the way.

"She's possessed." Harvey notes.

"Oh, well what gave that away? The eyes? The zombie like movement? Maybe the fact that she's trying to freakin' kill us?" I snap.

"I can see how you're upset," Perry begins, his voice almost foreign to my ears.

"Perry, shut up and help me!" Harvey snaps.

I hadn't noticed, but he'd been chanting words in ancient Greek and making weird hand signs, slow at first and then gradually speeding up. Perry ignores me, and picks up with where his brother is at. Their chants and hands both speed up with every repetition until, finally, Maliah stopped mid-swing at Harvey's neck. Her eyes stopped glowing, then shut and she fell forward. I reached forward and caught her, holding her.

"What the hell was that? How did she get a spell like that?" I ask.

They're quiet.

"You know something," I say, "tell me."

"It could have been anyone," Harvey starts.

"But?" I ask.

"But, it was more than likely our mother." he said, shame in his voice.