He shoved the book resting in his opposite hand into the messenger bag on his hip, and sauntered from the clearing. In the distance, he could barely hear arguing in the direction of camp. The face-splitting smirk that spread across his lips couldn't be stopped if he tried.
It had taken months to perfect this trap, even with a master's journal by his side, but the look on all of their faces would be well worth it. Ignoring the fact, of course, that he could easily use several variations of the same spell for a multitude of situations.
Now though, he needed to be on point with his awareness and reactions for what he was about to do. He could see the Hunters of Artemis and what he assumed was the males of the Ares cabin squaring off against each other. Alright, Chiron would owe him for this one.
Blue sparks fell from his palms once more, and he savored the looks of confusion and anger on both sides of his Mist. He curled his hands to form a wide circle to force the Mist to curl around the Ares cabin, and transported them back to their cabin.
When he looked back at the hunters, they had found him, all of their faces screwed up in disgust or confusion. He took a single, deep breath and raised a single finger to them. He didn't hesitate to turn and sprint back into the woods, swerving between trees to avoid the arrows whistling by or sticking into said trees.
The footrace had been in his favor at first, but several of the huntresses rapidly drew closer. He could practically feel their breath on his neck when he finally made it to the clearing. He skidded to a stop at the far end from where he entered, splayed his palms to face the ground, and shouted two words.
"Incantare BIA!" The force from the spell sent Percy from the clearing and pushed a large cloud of dust through the air. Seconds after he flew from the clearing his trap fell into place. A barrier settled just inside the circle, blocking any escape as the Mist began to weave its illusion.
The breath whooshed from his lungs when he landed, and left him gasping for the suddenly precious air around him. He weakly traced his hand across the dirt, and relaxed when he felt the book still snug in his bag. After a moment, he slowly righted himself and brushed the dirt from his clothes.
The sight of the Hunters, all wary of their surroundings, told him just how well his illusion worked. He carefully picked his way across the ground, careful to keep silent, until he stood just before the barrier and pressed his hand to it. The entire thing rippled for a heartbeat, then the illusion was his to control.
From the inside, the Hunters examined the barely lit cavern surrounding them, defensively circled with weapons drawn.
"Show yourself, boy!" Zoe shouted from the end of the circle closest to him, Uselessly scanning the walls with a livid gaze. He barely suppressed a chuckle, and slid his hand down the barrier. At the peak of the barrier, a large spider manifested and glided down towards the girls.
One of the daughters of Athena among the group was the first to notice, and gave a piercing scream. Their ranks lost formation as they reacted, though the Athena children either scrambled away or froze in fear. The mist beast only lasted a second before it dispersed under the barrage of silver arrows.
The reformation of their ranks was nigh instant, but that hardly mattered to him now. He brought his focus to the forefront, preparing for one of his trickier plots. He shoved his free hand into his bag and pulled free a handful of powder.
"Monster dust, ground bat fangs, and dried blood. You better be godsdamned grateful, Nightshade." He muttered, slamming the combination to the shield wall. For a second, he thought it didn't work somehow, but the stirring of the Mist directly in front of him proved him wrong. Before him stood a mountain of a man, though this man was no mortal. He could feel that just from the aura he was supposed to exude.
Before the being, Zoe paled and froze, eyes wide as saucers. Her voice was barely audible.
"Impossible." She seemed to snap out of whatever trance she was in, if only just. The being's stride was impressive enough, shaking the cavern according to Zoe's mind. And that didn't even begin to describe the voice it let out.
"Well, Well, Well," He started, voice deep and ancient. "It has been many millennia since i have been free, hasn't it, traitor?" Percy watched Zoe flinch back as it spoke. He could feel the malicious glee bubble in his chest, especially when the other hunters' expressions worsened upon seeing their lieutenant's fear. A small part of him kept focus on the apparitions words, but the ornate armor on the man took that little focus away.
"Perhaps you need a reminder of where you belong, d-" Percy, lost in his spell, was sent sprawling by a silver light that shattered his masterpiece. He looked up, to see a group of dazed, terrified hunters, and one livid goddess.
He gave one look at her expression, and scrambled into a run towards the big house, frantically clutching the band on his wrist and funneling a healthy chunk of power to it. And a second later, when he felt Artemis' power burn some of said energy before ricocheting into the dirt, he thanked a non-specific deity.
He glanced behind himself for mere seconds, before he acted, momentarily face to face with an even angrier Artemis less than three steps behind him. His instincts saved him by a hair, and he felt her fingers graze his jacket before he cast another spell
"INCANTARE BIA!" He screamed, thoroughly launching himself from the goddess' grasp and instead over the treeline. This time, he needed a thorough escape.
"MAGIA OCCULTANDI!" He shouted to the rushing wind around him. He allowed a grin when the magic layered around him. A grin that only lasted seconds before he looked to his landing site, just outside the arena. Sweet Hades, this was going to hurt.
He called it, it did hurt. He remained in the tangle of limbs he landed in for a heartbeat, then rolled to his feet with a wheeze. He took a few moments to regain his breath, then began his sprint aknew. As he sprinted into the Arena, he pressed a palm to his chest and covered himself in one more layer of mist, obscuring himself from the sight of his fellow campers.
Once he made it past his fellow campers, and up to the seats, he slowly walked to his mirror and settled on it. He took a minute to catch his breath.
Alright, time for part two. Acting.
He dispelled the Mist dummy, and his cloak, with a breath of relief. He'd had enough practice at this point that smaller manipulations weren't hard, and he could hold medium ones if he put some energy in in advance, but holding two and using more active magic taxed him more than he wished.
Now, He maintained a calm demeanor as he gave the Athena cabin a friendly wave and left the arena. His route was practiced, and relatively quick, a beeline to the Big House. And with the Big House, Dionysus' protection.
As he walked through the Cabins, he gave the occasional wave to other campers wandering around. He had to look calm to properly sell the act. Of course, Chiron would know he lied from the start, but if he had dozens of campers backing his innocent facade, then he had more than enough witnesses to cover him.
With a spring in his step, he sauntered up the steps of the Big House, and plopped into the seat between Chiron and Mr D. Both silently restarted their game of Pinochle, easily adopting the boy amongst themselves.
It took about thirty minutes for Artemis to find him again, though he saw the hunters slowly shuffling into her cabin, so he gave her a pass for taking so long. He could practically feel the malicious intent behind her stare, and he was certain he didn't imagine the silver glow pulsing from her skin.
All three at the table looked up to watch the goddess till she stopped before them. He met her stare with a lazily neutral gaze, certain he couldn't hide the smug feeling watching her fume.
"Well, hello Artemis. How can we help you on this fine evening?" Dionysus drawled, with the barest of a glance in her direction. She only bristled further, which made Chiron intervene.
"Welcome back, Lady Artemis. How can we help you today?" He placed a winning card on the table, to which both Percy and Dionysus tossed their decks to the table with a scoff and a grunt respectively. Just before she started speaking, Percy jumped in.
"With respect, Lady Artemis, Lord Chiron, Mr. D," the chair squeaked obnoxiously as he stood, and the twitch of the goddess' eye reminded him how much he was pushing it, "I will be in the Athena cabin, catching up on my studies." With a quick bow, the boy excused himself from the trio, a full grin blooming on his lips the instant his back was turned.
Sometimes, life was good.
The illustration he now stared at was decent, in his eyes at least. A small depiction of his illusion trap, and a small description with a list of possibilities. In the least, it would be far easier to decipher than the journal he found, for the first demigod to uncover his corpse. And until that point, it was a study guide and a memorisation tool.
He lightly pinched his temples to avoid the oncoming headache, and stuffed the books into his bag with his free hand. He could see several children of Athena casting sympathetic glances as he passed, until the cool air of Long Island removed the smell of parchment and ink from his nose.
He made it through the Hermes Cabin door just in time to avoid the harpy patrols, maintaining a steady gaze at the floor to avoid anything on the ground and to keep his anger low. It was such bull, that the minor gods had no cabin, and that the Hermes cabin had to share with all the rejects while Hera's cabin sat empty for as long as it had stood.
With silent steps, he snuck between Lou and Blaine, both tucked into their sleeping bags and fast asleep. As silent as possible, he slid into the sleeping bag between the two, using his bag as a makeshift pillow. For a moment, he only lay there, staring at the levels of hammocks hanging above.
Maybe, just maybe, life could stay good.