A Hint of Nightshade

Chapter Four

Helping the Huntress

A/N – I wanted to take a second to address some of the comments that I've been receiving on my story thus far. I am eternally grateful for all your kind words and support. Seeing that even one person takes the time out of their day to read my work, and has genuinely kind things to say about it, means more to me than you could possibly know. Thank you.

Firstly, in terms of a schedule, I would ideally like to continue putting out one chapter a night. I'm having fun writing at the moment and this community allows for amazing practice. However, there was a request to increase the length of each chapter. I'm going to do my best to accommodate that, but this could mean that I stray from that schedule a bit. I'll include a note if anything changes.

In response to another comment, I do have every intention of exploring the extents of Percy's godly abilities. However, similar to that of the source material, I want there to be a sort of canonical build up to obtaining these powers. I love the terminology of "Storm Bringer" and "Earth Shaker" powers. Definitely can't omit those abilities from the story.

Thanks again to everyone for reading.

-Gravezz

We'd arrived at Westover Hall just as the school dance was starting to get underway.

The journey to Maine was an interesting one, to say the least. I'd met Thalia, informing her that during our last encounter she was still a pine tree. She immediately made a comment about how, even if she was still rooted to the ground, she could still kick my ass. She also introduced me to Aegis, which was just about the coolest magical artifact that I'd ever seen. Albeit, terrifying. With the exception of Annabeth's Yankee's cap, of course. Basically, what I'm saying is, I liked her style.

Annabeth and I road on Blackjack while Thalia opted for her own steed. She had the flying thing down pretty well evidently. The trek was much quicker than I'd anticipated, but now we were facing a fairly major obstacle on our quest.

"You didn't bring a dress?" I questioned. Thalia glared at me.

"I didn't realize we needed to blend in with the crowd! Okay?" I groaned.

"When have you ever not needed to blend in? You're a demigod, Thalia!" Annabeth muffled my mouth with her hand.

"Speaking of not blending in." She scolded. "Will you please be quiet." I crossed my arms in defeat. She slowly retracted her hand. "Thank you."

"Okay." Thalia relented. "What's the plan then, because I definitely can't go in there dressed like this." Annabeth twirled a loose strand of blond curls in thought before a plan began to formulate.

"Percy and I will sneak in while you hang out back and look for anything suspicious. We'll split up and try to isolate the di Angelo's. Percy, you take Nico. I'll take Bianca. Say anything that you can think of to convince them to leave the building. When we're alone, we'll explain to them the situation. Hopefully, they'll be understanding enough that we don't raise any alarms." Thalia and I nodded. It wasn't a bad plan and she had a point. The worst thing that we could do was end up on anyone's radar, monsters and faculty alike.

"And say we do manage to convince them. What's our escape plan?" I glanced back into the tree line where Blackjack and Thalia's Pegasus were trotting around rather indiscreetly.

"Blackjack has a few friends that left camp shortly after us." I offered. "By the time we pull this off, we should have a fleet of Pegasi waiting for us." Thalia clasped her hands.

"Good enough for me." She stated. "Have fun at the dance you two." And she slipped off to play sentry at the back door. I turned to Annabeth.

"Anymore notes before we do this?" I asked. She smiled.

"Give me your arm." I did as I was told. She threaded her hands around my bicep and guided me forward. "Now, whenever we pass anyone that looks like faculty, just act like we're madly in love." I glanced at her questioningly.

"Um, okay, why?"

"If we act like we're swept up away in the magic of this night, so numb to anything else but our love for each other, no one is going to get in our way. It's called strategy. Unless, you want to just wander around the school aimlessly, looking like you're searching for something?"

"Fair point."

"So, you're on board." I groaned.

"Yes, dear." To Annabeth's credit, the plan worked well. We passed right by a professor at the front door without so much as another glance. Annabeth told me to just whisper something in her ear and then started cracking up like I'd told her a hilarious joke. She laid her head on my shoulder as we slipped away into the crowd on the dance floor. As quickly as she'd manufactured the façade, she removed her head from my collarbone and slipped off in the direction of the women's restroom. She was good. I had to give it to her.

I wasn't quite sure where to start looking. I didn't know anything about Nico di Angelo, other than that he was a demigod. Thankfully, as it turned out, that was all I needed. I spotted a small kid seated on the bleachers near the back door entrance. He was playing with some kind of figurine and I recognized several to be depicting Olympian gods. He had shaggy black hair and seemed completely uninterested in the school event. He matched the description perfectly.

"Well, that was easy." I told myself aloud. I excused myself as I passed by a few dancing students, but when I glanced back at his seat on the bleachers, the boy had disappeared. It was too strange. Something was definitely off. The figures were right where he'd left them and I had a feeling that they weren't something that he'd leave just laying around. My eyes darted to the back door where I saw the boy, who I presumed to be Nico, being led along side a girl. I was certain that the girl was his sister, Bianca di Angelo. A teacher was leading them and seemed to be in quite a rush. The behavior was too suspicious. I gave chase as calmly and coolly as I thought wouldn't raise suspicion, sliding the boy's figurines into my bag as I slipped out the backdoor. I wanted to find Annabeth and Thalia, but I knew that it would be a mistake to let the demigods out of my sight. Annabeth was smart. She'd figure out what happened soon enough.

The professor led to the two confused children into the woods and in the direction of a cliff overlooking the ocean. The demigods seemed panicked, asking the faculty member frantic questions about his behavior and where they were headed. His answers were not sufficient. Short, tort, and uninterested in the children's emotions. I decided in that moment that monsters come in many shapes and sizes. Even if this man's blood runs red, I needed to get the di Angelo siblings away from him. I didn't have to ponder on the thought too much longer, however, because the man grabbed hold of the young demigods and revealed his true form.

"A manticore." A voice stated, but it didn't belong to one of my friends. I whirled around to see a girl emerge from behind a nearby tree. She was strikingly beautiful and commanded a regal kind of aura. Her dark hair was braided down her back, held in place by a glistening silver circlet. Her coppery skin and powerful amber eyes captivated me in the glow of the moonlight. She wore an unusual attire, as though she were beginning a wild boar hunt in the medieval times. She was like some sort of woodland princess. That was made even clearer by the silver bow and quiver full of arrows that she was reaching for. She notched one and pointed it at my chest.

"State your name, boy." She commanded. I stared at her.

"Um, Perseus Jackson." I answered, without confidence.

"What is your business here, boy. You're interfering with my hunt." I cleared my throat.

"Well, girl. I'm trying to rescue two demigods. You know, the two that were just snatched up by a manticore, as you called it." She begrudgingly lowered her bow.

"What is your godly heritage, demigod." I smirked.

"Son of Poseidon." She gritted her teeth and stepped dangerously close to me. She studied me for a moment.

"I suppose that fact makes you feel superior to your comrades. I assure you, boy, your father won't be able to save you when you fall on the battlefield. I suggest you attempt to keep your ego contained." I put my hands up in defense.

"I don't have an ego. I'm just one demigod trying to help a few equally important demigods not get killed. So, why don't you continue your hunt and I'll back you up." The huntress glared at me. "You get your kill." I continued. "The new recruits for camp don't get killed. Everyone wins." She stepped even closer and looked me dead in the eyes.

"I don't need your help." I smiled.

"I believe it, but what harm could it do." She softened slightly at the praise, but still looked like she wanted to murder me.

"Just keep your distance, boy. The company of men is unwelcomed within my hunt." I didn't bother retorting. The girl notched another arrow and gave chase through the woods with incredible speed.

"Oh, shit." I spoke aloud and followed. She was quick. It took all I had to keep up with her otherworldly pace. I broke through a clearing in the trees shortly after her to a horrifying sight. The manticore was perched on the cliff, clasping the di Angelo siblings in its claws. Nico was crying while Bianca was frantically fighting to break the grip. The manticore bared its spined tail menacingly as the huntress primed multiple arrows in her bow at once. The pair were in a standoff. The huntress seemed unwilling to take the shot with the demigod children in the line of fire, a fact for which I was thankful. I ran to the huntress's side. She spoke without breaking her line of sight on the beast.

"What did I tell you. Do not interfere!" I ignored her.

"Do you think you can get the manticore to loosen its grip on Nico and Bianca?" She hesitated.

"Of course, but they'd likely fall into the sea. Their fate would be the same either way."

"I'll save them. You just handle the manticore." The huntress said nothing in response. "Trust me." I spoke seriously. Her eyes quickly shifted from her target to me.

"I cannot. Men are an untrustworthy breed by nature." I could've sat there all night, letting a beautiful girl mock the entirety of my gender. But there were innocent lives at stake. I'd had enough of her game.

"If you can't trust an ally in battle, huntress, then stay out of the fight." I didn't give her, the demigods, or the manticore time to react. With a nauseating pull in my stomach, I urged the sea below to obey me. I charged the manticore, barehanded, as a volley of lethal spikes were launched toward me. I ducked to evade the attack, as waves rocked the cliffside. The manticore was knocked off balance, the di Angelo children falling dangerously close to the cliff's edge. The huntress took action, jumping at the manticore and firing a silver-tipped arrow into the center of its chest. The monster cried out in pain as I practically threw Nico di Angelo in the direction of more stable ground. The huntress helped Bianca di Angelo to her feet, unaware that the manticore was not yet slain. The beast found its footing and readied its tail to fire another onslaught of spikes at the silver shrouded girl.

"Look out!" Nico yelled. The huntress was caught off guard, but I was already on my feet. Just as the manticore's tail reached its apex, I speared the monster to the ground. But I wasn't fast enough. Its spikes exploded into my torso like a grenade. I felt excruciating pain from my hip to my collarbone, like hot lead shredding through my flesh. I wanted to give in right then and there, but the others were not yet out of harms way. With what little strength I could muster, I grabbed the manticore firmly by the arm and pulled him over my body. With a look of horror and realization, the monster rolled over the side of the cliff and plummeted into the unforgiving waters below.

I shifted onto my back in agony. Reality began to fade in and out. It felt like I was watching a grainy film and listening through the restrictions of ear muffs. I heard Nico's drowned out lamenting. I listened to the distant sound of Annabeth calling out my name. I briefly saw a blurry glimpse of Thalia, angrily approaching the huntress. And for some reason, maybe as a result from my wounds, it seemed like the forest had become a foggy blur of silver. The last thing I took in from my surroundings was the huntress, with a lone tear trickling down her face. For whatever reason, that image seemed clearer than the others. But I was in so much pain that I couldn't think about it. Instead, I just stared up at the stars above me as the darkness took over. The only thing I remember thinking before it all faded to black was: damn, I wish I knew even one constellation.