Bonjour! I hope your day has gone well! This chapter will be long I promise! Sorry they have been so short before. Here we go!

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Heroes of Olympus characters. I only own Camilla, Kian, and the plotline.

CHAPTER FOUR: Kian

I stared up at the girl. She had raven black hair and dark brown eyes. Her pale skin made a huge contrast to her dark features. Another wave of pain wafted through me as I remembered the poisoned cut on my forearm. I groaned and laid my head back on the cool slightly damp grass. She kneeled down next to me.

"Show me your arm." The way she said it made it clear it wasnt a request. It was a demand.

The gryphons behind her had formed a large cirle. They looked like vultures. Circling their next kill. The largest of the group had red tail feathers making him look like a comet. He flew higher then the rest. Then without warning dove. He was heading straight for me and the girl. If he hit either one of us it would be a sure kill. And he was gaining to much speed to be stabbed. I pointed weakly at the gryphon.

"Watch out." I croaked. The girl turned her head and then raised her arm protectively. Like that was going to help. A couple of seconds before the impact a dark circle appeared right in the gryphons dive line. It looked like a swirling mass of..shadows? The poor bird flew right into the circle and dissapated. Leaving no traces.

It reminded me of the magic tricks I used to adore as a kid. Esspecially the one where the magician would put a rabbit in a hat and then somehow make it dissapear.

The girls hand was spread wide and her eyes were closed tightly as if in a strained effort. Another shadow portal thing appeared. This time it was sidways in front of a tree. The bird flew out of the shadows. And it looked as if he was still in mid dive. His head was slammed against the bark and his beak stuck into the trees wood. Leaving a large dent. For a moment the gryphon was completely still making him look like an oversized dart. then he dissolved into a pile of grey monster dust.

I sat up and stared mouth wide at the huge scar that now showed clearly in the trees once uniform bark. I looked at the girl with my mouth still open.

"Who are you?" I asked again. I mustve sounded like a broken record.

The girl flashed another perfect smile. "My name is Camilla. Nice to meet you.." she paused.

"Kian. My name is Kian." the girl nodded. "Alright Kian. Lets get you a medic."

Getting up was the worst part. Camilla had helped me stand but immediately a wave of nausea had washed over me. My knees buckled but she grabbed me before I hit the ground. I wrapped my arm around her shoulders and took small steps. Every step was a fight. But I was a little distracted with how close I was to her. I hadnt been this close to a girl since...ever.

I was so flustered that I didnt even notice that we had walked past the big redwood house that had been my destination.

We walked toward what seemed to be a fire pit. Surrounding the fire was a huge arc of cabins. They varied in size and shape. One to the far right was clearly the Zeus cabin. LIghtning bolts decorated marbled columns. Next to it a more circular building with abalone shell. And next to that there was a dark cabin seeming to be made out of pure obsidian. Bones hung over the door in the iconic skull and crossbones way. Other than that it was pretty dull.

In front of us was a blindingly gold building. I squinted and saw the symbols of Apollo above the door.

"That one." I pointed to the golden building.

Camilla frowned. "I was afraid of that."

"Why?" I asked.

"It's too bright. I despise gold."

I laughed. It felt good. I didnt remember the last time I had truly laughed. We walked in through the door. A couple boys sat around a cot playing a card game. They looked up when we came in. One kid with blonde hair walked up to us.

"What can I do for you?" He had a tone of a doctor. Calming and smart.

I held up my arm. "Can you fix this?" The boys eyes widened. "Yes of course. Come over to this bed." Camilla helped me lay down and then sat in a chair next to me. A new boy approached me with a cup filled with golden liquid. Nectar. I drank it down quickly. Then let the warm rush wash through me.

I closed my eyes and my exhaustion tugged at me. I slowly drifted into the realm of sleep.