I ca guarantee there will be typos because I have already gone through and edited this. File is gone and I don't have time, sorry. Also kind of a slow chapter, didn't wanna have it too long (just as good though) anyways, enjoy.

Chapter 14

I stood their admiring the beautiful creature in front of me. It was an all white beat with hints of blue feathers in its wings. Despite the fact it was made of two different animals that should go together, it didn't look weird at all.

After giving the creature the attention it deserved I approached it. I reached my hand out to pet it, causing the creature to rear its head back. "It's okay girl. I ain't gonna hurt ya." I said.

For some reason I subconsciously decided she was a girl. I reached my hand out again and this time she accepted it. I pet her head gently for a moment, letting her get used to it. It didn't take long for her to start enjoying it and leaning into it.

After I was sure she was fine with me, I attempted to make more progress. I took another step forward and ran my hand across her back, back and forth. She kept her eyes on me but made no move to stop it.

"You don't mind if I hop on for a second. Do you?" I said after a moment of petting.

She didn't seem to mind at all, she actually bent down to help me on. I made sure to keep her satisfied as I hopped on. It seemed she was used to being ridden.

There was something breathtaking about being on top of such a majestic beast. I think this was the only mythological creature that wasn't made to kill me.

I decided that if I was going to be traveling with this girl, she needed a name. I thought for a second before a name that seemed perfect popped in my head.

"Wylo." I said aloud.

It didn't come to me that it was more of a masculine name until I said it aloud. I remembered as a kid I always hoped I could get a magical dog that could talk to me and guide me. "Wylo, the magical dog" was his name.

I decided that a flying eagle-horse was the closest thing to a magical dog that I could get. And Wylo herself didn't mind at all, instead embracing the name.

"All right girl, lets go!" I said bucking my hips. Immediately Wylo skyrocketed upwards, seemingly vertically at a speed that I wasn't ready for.

In only took too wing flaps for Wylo to get over a hundred feet in the air.

"Woah!" I said. It took all my effort to stay on Wylo's back, witch I barely managed. As if sensing my struggle Wylo settled herself into a nice glide.

"Thanks." I huffed out. I was still trying to catch my breath.

I looked around to see the forest covering the ground below me, and the St Louis Arc in the distance.

How long had I been in the clearing, I wondered. It had to have been at least a day since it was already nighttime. The hunters must have packed up camp a long time ago.

I wondered if anyone was able to sense two gods in the same place as I went through my challenge. Nekros had said that gods had a sensible presence, so someone must have noticed two. Did that mean that the gods knew I was on a quest.

This was supposed to be going on behind Hades back, but somehow three gods had already found out. So what were the odds that the god of death himself didn't already know, I wondered.

That's when I remembered something even weirder. Deimos he called me a son of death. I mean, it's not like it had to be a secret or anything, but being the son of death himself wasn't what I wanted to be known as.

And there was also the fact that I hadn't said anything about it. There was just something about Deimos that put me off.

I decided to clear my mind of these thoughts. I had to focus on my quest, that's all that mattered.

As I soared on the back of Wylo, my eyes started to get heavy. I tried my best to stay awake but Wylo's flying was just so soothing. She seemed to notice me slipping and adjusted herself every time.

I decided to trust her and close my eyes. Besides, I deserved a little rest after those challenges.

Once my eyes closed I decided to let them rest, laying down on the fluffy back of Wylo. But of course I couldn't sleep without dreams coming to bother me.

In my dream I found myself floating high up in the air without a body. I looked down below me to see what looked like an abandoned park or something.

I looked around and saw at the entrance three people entering the park. "What are they doing here?" I wondered to myself. Wait, what was I doing here?

I moved in closer to get a better look at the people. Once close enough I saw that there were two guys and one girl. Wait, was that Grover?! I called out to him, forgetting that this was a dream.

I tried to get closer to hear what they were saying, but the dream started to fade. I was waking up. "No, Grover!" I called, trying to get his attention.

"Don't worry about them, demigod. You have your own problems." Said a deep booming voice. " I'll be waiting." Said the voice with a cocky laugh.

I looked around to find the voice, but it seemed to be in my head. Before I could question it though, my dream faded, and I woke up.

I found myself in a dark alley inside some sort of comfy blanket. On second inspection I noticed that the blanket was made of feathers, and I was actually laying against the side of Wylo.

"Thanks girl." I said, getting up. "Couldn't have made it without you." I said to her, assuming we were in Denver. I don't know why but I just trusted her.

"But uh, I think it's best if you not follow me." I said. I didn't know much about the mist, but I didn't trust it enough to hide such a big creature.

Wylo, though didn't seem to mind. She actually didn't seem fond of the city at all.

In a second, she was instantly in the air, flying out of eye sight.

I turned around, and walked out of the alley. I had never been to Denver, but it did seem a lot different than New York. I had decided that the voice beckoning me in my dream had to have been Ares.

So somehow he knew I was coming, which somewhat worried me. But as long as I found him was all that mattered. "I'll be waiting." He had said.

I made my way down the street, contemplating where I would find Ares.

I didn't know exactly how I was going to find him in such a big city when I noticed something.

Across the street from me, there was a real life boar. I blinked a couple times to make sure it was real, but it didn't leave.

The thing was , no one walking by seemed to notice it, but it was clearly there. The boar itself nodded its head in my direction, beckoning me towards it.

I decided that there was no problem in following it since it was the best lead I had. I crossed the street, following the boar. But as I reached the spot it was at, it ran.

The boar bounced around the people on the sidewalk, nearly hitting them.

"Look mommy, a puppy!" Said a little kid.

"A puppy? Is that what they say?!" I sad as I chased after it. I only lost it multiple times as it ran around corners.

As I rounded the corner I couldn't seem to find the boar. I looked around but it was nowhere to be seen. After a minute of looking I decided to take a break at the diner in front of me.

I walked in and sat on the first booth I saw, catching my breath. Not a minute after, a waiter approached me.

"Uh, hi young man. Can I do anything for you?" She asked. The look on her face told me that she knew I wasn't going to ordering anything.

"Uhhh..." I said with no response.

"Don't worry, he's with me too." Said a deep voice. In the booth next to me stood up a huge man in a biker outfit. "I'll cover everything from him, alright? Just get a cheeseburger or something." He said.

"...Ok then, right away." She said as she rushed away.

The man sat down in front of me, not breaking eye contact with me. "Took you long enough, kid. But to be honest I didn't think you had the balls to come here in the first place."

"Ares...?" I asked, knowing the answer.

"Perceptive, I like it. I wish certain other demigods were like you. But yes, I am Ares, the god of war." He said arrogantly.

"Yeah, I got that." I said unimpressed.

He squinted his eyes. "You better watch it kid, don't forget, you need something from me"

"How do you know that?" I asked. "I haven't said anything to you, you approached me."

"Don't play dumb, you really think I don't know what's up? Any god who pays attention can tell your on a quest. You really think your doing this without Hades knowing? Think again." He stated.

"What do you mean...?" I asked, confused.

"You really don't get t? Hades and your dad are just using you to find their precious stone before Zeus finds out that they lost it. And the only reason any god is helping you is because we know what would happen if that thing was destroyed."

Hearing this made me mad that I was lied to, but I knew I still had to finish this quest. I would settle things with my dad after this.

"I don't care who knows or not, I just need to finish it in time. So are you gonna help or not." I said defiantly.

Ares took a second before responding. "Damn brat, your lucky your needed. But you know, I'm a nice guy. I was planning on just helping you, but now I gotta see if your just all talk or not. Just gotta make sure your worth helping, y'know?"

"A challenge, then?" I said, dreading the response.

"You could call it that, but a hunt is a more fitting word." He replied. "Pretty simple, all you have to do is find and brick back my pet. Do that and I'll tell you what you need to know."

"What pet are you talking about." I said.

"A boar. As you saw earlier, it's my godly symbol. If your able to retrieve such a fearsome beast, then you got guts." He said.

"You really think I'll struggle with that little boar?" I asked.

"Nope, that's why you be hunting that." He said pointing to the parking lot. Instantly a massive boar the size of a car appeared. It immediately bolted into the streets and around the corner.

"What l?! How am I supposed to bring that back alive!?" I asked.

"That's up to you, but I'd hurry up if u wee you, you only got until sundown. Regret sleeping in now, huh." He said cockily.

"Damn you!" I told him. I got yo from my seat and bolted into the parking lot.

I ran into the street and around the corner of the lot. The boar was completely out of site but I could see the path it left.

I curved through people on the sidewalk, trying my best to catch up to the beast. "Stupid Ares making everything difficult. He knew how important this quest was, but he was still messing with me." I thought.

"Of course I was gonna reply, he provoked me!" I decided I wasn't gonna focus on that since catching the boar was much more important.

I kept in running until I came across a fence that was completely broken down.

Beyond the fence all I could see was a thick forest. I read a sigh near the fence that read Rocky Mountains National Park".

"Makes sense that a wild animal would return to nature." I said, though I didn't think boats lived in forests. But I guess this was time to show of my tracking skills I learned from the hunters, which was none.

I looked towards the sun to see it was already setting. If I had to guess I would say I had about three hours to complete the hunt, not a lot of time.

Best to get going. I crossed over the fence and made my way deeper into the forest. I didn't understand how such a massive beast could make its way into the forest and not leave a trace.

For a forest, I found that there was a severe lack of life besides the occasional bird and a squirrel if I was lucky. Guess most of the animals live deeper in.

It seemed like forever before there was any sign of making out of the forest when I came across a clearing with a massive lake and a mountain on the other side. Also the trees seemed to be less dense.

I decided it would make sense that the boar would head in that direction and started my way around.

Halfway across I found a little cave opening attached to the mountains. I summoned my sword and braved myself. There was something of about this cave.

I made my way into the cave which was darker than expected, but I had no problem with it. After further examination I could confirm there was nothing in the I couldn't get rid of the feeling that their was something different about this cave.

I glided my hands around the cave walls, searching to see if maybe there was more to it than what it seemed.

I was ready to give up when I came across a weird part in the corner. Instead of the stone texture the rest of the cave had, this part was different, more smooth.

I felt around it to confirm that it was indeed different. I tapped on the spot with my sword and heard a clink. "Metal?" I wondered. I tapped it again and this time I noticed not only was it metal, but it seemed to be thin, based on the fact that that it sounded as if it echoed on the other sides.

I decided that that the cave was hollow, meaning there was something behind it. I knew I had to complete my quest, but whatever was behind this wall was beckoning me towards it.

I didn't think that I could break down the wall so I decided I had to find a different way in. "Open sesame." I tried. Worth a shot, I guess.

I stood there for a moment, going over my situation. The boar was probably long gone, there was almost no chance of me catching it at this point. The only way I could was if I got help from whatever was behind this wall. I didn't know why it would help, but there was hope.

I stood there thinking of ways when I heard something beyond the wall.

At first it was faint but it got louder and louder. I could hear someone, a man, mumbling something on the other side.

I could also hear the heavy panting of a beast.

I switch my weapon into a scythe. I would need it if there were going to be multiple enmities. "Damn animals always bothering me in my studies." Said the voice. As he said that a weird emblems started to glow on the wall.

After a moment the wall split in half, revealing a middle aged man equipped with a longsword, and a massive hellhound.