For the longest time none of us talked. My head was killing me, my eyes were aching and I could still smell something like wet dog or some kind of animal that I couldn't quite place. We must have been going for hours, judging by how many songs I'd gone through on my playlist, but still mom said nothing. It was Percy who spoke first and when he did, I moved one of the sides of my headphones away from my ear so that I could listen as he spoke up. "So, you and my mom…know each other?" He must have been speaking to Grover, and I was curious too because although mom had never met Grover before, they had acted like they had known who the other was back at the cabin from what I could hear. I mean, a random kid showing up at your vacation rental cabin in the middle of a storm and just rolling with it? Something was definitely going on.

"Not exactly. I mean, we've never met in person, but she knew I was watching you. Watching both of you." Hold up, watching us?

"Wait, wait so you're saying mom knew about you all along? And you were what, stalking us or something? Mom!" But she did not respond, either because she had no excuses or because she was too buys focusing on the road, and personally I hoped it was the latter because with the feel of the car drifting at every turn, she had to be breaking the speed limit and since it was dark and stormy out, I had no idea how anybody could see anything out there even with headlights.

"No! No not like that I swear!" Grover croaked, sounding rather nervous as I twisted in my seat to hear him as his teeth seemed to grind against each other the way they did whenever he was anxious about something. "I was keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were both okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend, Perce. I am your friend."

"Um…what are you, exactly?" Why would Percy ask a question like that? Well I shall tell you. It was because of the fact that, where Grover was meant to have legs and feet with five toes on each, he did not. This was all completely unknown to me, however when I listened to their next part of the conversation, I totally freaked out.

"That doesn't matter right now."

"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey…"

"Your best friend is a WHAT?!" Yelling, I could now understand the smell of wet animal. I don't know why I reached around and groped in the foot-well behind me where Grover sat, because the moment my hand touched damp fur and something hard like resin, I shrieked and whipped my hand back. Why did I do that? I should have just kept my hands in my lap and tried to believe that my brother had lost his mind, because now I couldn't ignore the fact that there were a pair of donkey legs attached to a human right behind me.

"Blaa-ha-ha! Goat!" I do apologise. Goat legs attached to a human right behind me.

"What?"

"I'm a goat from the waist down." This did not improve my panic, now jittery and trying to figure out exactly when I had fallen asleep and started having this nightmare. Percy and Grover were still talking, the latter telling Percy that there were satyrs – yes, satyrs – that would trample him under hoof for such an insult as being compared to a donkey. What's the freaking difference?!

"Donkey or goat, the legs shouldn't be attached to a person!" I yelled and mom tried to hush me though it was a feeble attempt because she was still concentrating on the road. Grover tried to get me to calm down, telling me that it was alright and that he wasn't anything dangerous, but my mind was reeling. "So you're telling me that the clip-clopping I could hear when you walked were your hooves?! I was hearing your hooves all this time?!"

"Um…yes?"

"I've been calling you Mr Clip-Clop all year!"

"Yeah, um, maybe don't call other satyrs that. They would absolutely pummel you." Other satyrs? Now I know I've completely lost my mind. I fell back against my seat and just allowed my head to wash away into oblivion, hardly believing any of this and still not understanding what it actually all meant.

"Wait. Satyrs. You mean like…Mr Brunner's myths?" Percy suddenly realised and with a start, I also made the connection. Satyrs were goat-human things in the ancient Greek myths, followers of the god Pan, I think. Wait, priorities Lils. Focus!

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs Dodds a myth?" Grover demanded rather dryly and my mind was blown all over again, because until now I had been certain, adamant even, that there never had been a Mrs Dodds at Yancy Academy but even as Grover spoke, it felt like a layer of fog was peeling itself back in my mind and I remembered that nasty sounding teacher that always seemed to smell like ash and sulphur like I'd never forgotten her in the first place. So all that time Percy hadn't been crazy? I needed so many explanations about this, and I probably owed my little brother an apology for not believing him.

"So you admit there was a Mrs Dodds!"

"There was a real Mrs Dodds?!" Percy and I had exclaimed at the same time and I could almost hear Grover rolling his eyes as he confirmed that Mrs Dodds had been a real person. Percy was as stunned as I felt, starting to ask why Grover and everyone else in the entire school had forgotten about her after she'd been smoked by him and a magical sword that had transformed from a pen, but Grover cut across him.

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract. We put Mist over the humans' eyes and on you, Lily, though you required a stronger dose because of what you are. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realise who you were." What I was? Who we were? What the…I want to leave. I'd had enough, and I wanted nothing more than to just get out of this car, but with how crazy mom was driving I knew jumping wasn't an option and there was no way she'd stop because whatever her hurry was, she seemed desperate to get to our destination as soon as possible. To make matters worse, I heard the sound of a deep rumbling bellow that did not sound anything like thunder, and it caused the blood in my veins to freeze as I held my breath and gripped onto my backpack like it was my only lifeline and source of comfort.

"Grover, you said something about…monsters?" I desperately hoped my intuition was wrong. "Please tell me that sound wasn't something chasing us." Possibly in an attempt to spare my fears as well as keep from lying, Grover said nothing. A meek whimper came from me then.

"There's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you two to safety." Mom spoke for the first time, but this didn't exactly settle my feelings of rising panic as Percy demanded to know who was after us.

"Oh, nobody much. Just the Lord of the Dead, and a few of his blood-thirstiest minions." The sarcasm did not help at all, because I couldn't quite tell if Grover was being serious or not. Mom scolded Grover who quickly apologised, then nervously asked her to go faster. I had a feeling that if we were to go any faster we'd leave the road altogether and just be flying. When we made a sharp left I was unprepared for it and felt my entire body slam against the side of the door and I even knocked my head which made me dizzy, mom gasping and apologising as she quickly reached out and gave my hand a squeeze. I am so over this. I would even settle for just going home to Smelly Gabe if this madness would all just stop. It was then revealed that mom was driving us to the summer camp that she had mentioned before, that the old ladies Percy had seen cutting yarn were actually Fates, and that when they cut yarn apparently it meant somebody was about to die. Only, Grover had said 'you' first, now Percy was panicking that three old ladies had basically signed his death certificate and he argued over it with Grover who was growing increasingly anxious and fearful until his voice was practically squeaking.

We swerved again though this time to the right and Percy must have seen something, though no one dared tell him what it was and that just made this entire situation all the worse. "We're almost there. Another mile. Please. Please. Please." To me it sounded like mom was praying, though to who I couldn't say because she had never been a religious person. We continued driving through the rain with everyone on the edge of their seats, however just as I had started to relax and come to terms with the fact that apparently, the whole world was nuts and my little brother's best friend was a goat, I felt the car suddenly give a violent lurch which threw me forwards then side to side as I felt everything seemingly compress around us, water suddenly pouring in from somewhere as my entire body throbbed with pain. I had no idea what had happened, but it felt like our car had hit something then been thrown off the road. Mom called our names but her voice sounded distant like an echo, something ringing in my ears as I groaned and gradually came back to my senses. I must have been knocked out momentarily, though I was recovering shockingly fast.

Still clutching my bag against my chest, perhaps it had had helped to cushion me from whatever impact we had just experienced. Percy said that he was okay before reaching out and gripping my shoulder, shaking me slightly whilst calling to me. "M'okay." Mumbling slightly, I blinked several times and took a deep breath to replenish my lungs from where I'd been winded. "Mom? Mom you okay?"

"Yes, yes I'm alright. Oh honey…" Her hands were on my face then to check me all over, trying to see if I was hurt or bleeding even as I tried to tell her I was fine. Or at least, as fine as I could be, though I turned my head when Percy yelled to Grover.

"Is he alright? What's happened back there?"

"It's Grover, he's bleeding and unconscious, but I think he's fine. He keeps on saying 'food'." Well, if Grover was dreaming about food then I'm sure he'll be right as rain in no time. Mom started to tell us that we had to do something, and I hoped it was to get out of the car and call for help, but when her voice faltered I could hear the genuine fear in the light intake of air she took, getting the feeling that we weren't out of the woods yet. When Percy started to talk, mom hastened to order us out of the car. I remained still for a moment, too stunned to move until the sound of them rattling their doors unsuccessfully jolted me into motion. My door felt like it had caved in, but with a few good shoves with my shoulder I forced it open whereby rain immediately began to hammer against my face, making me wince.

"Climb out the passenger's side!" Mom was yelling, pushing me to get moving and help me out as I felt with my hands for the ground, trying to find my way forwards as I felt wet grass and leaves under my palms, the scent of the earth masked by the dampness of the rain that overcame everything. It wasn't entirely a bad thing, however, as I could feel myself growing sharper under the torrents, able to feel and sense my surroundings with better clarity and I could almost make out the indistinct shapes of things around me, the curve of the road, the slope of the ditch we'd crashed into, and the tall impressions of trees not too far away all in a smoky haze. "Percy, Nerida, you have to run. Do you see that big tree?" Of course I can't! "That's the property line. Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door. Make sure not to leave your sister, Percy, she'll need your help."

"What are you talking about mom?" I demanded as I managed to stagger to my feet, slightly unbalanced but otherwise okay as I shouldered my backpack so that it was fixed against me, turning back towards the door and feeling for the side so that I could reach in and try to pull my mom free as Percy insisted that she was coming with us. She tried to refuse, to tell us to go without her but neither Percy nor I would ever, ever, leave our mother behind. As I wrestled with mom to try and pull her out, I could hear the sound of something grunting. Turning my head towards it, I could almost hear and feel the rain as it struck something large and solid, telling me that there was a person who was at least seven feet tall approaching us some distance away yet, and they were huge. Like a bodybuilding basketball player had had a mutant baby with a beast, because their huffing and grunting did not sound human.

Around my wrist I could have sworn I felt my bracelet grow warm, as if reacting in some way but I ignored it, because I had bigger problems right now. Percy managed to drag Grover's useless form out of the car as I pulled mom free whereby she immediately hugged me against her as she and Percy had referenced the person coming at us, saying that it was after us. Meaning me and Percy. I was terrified, but I did my best to hide it for the sake of my mom and little brother, because he was probably even more terrified than I was. Mom and Percy carried Grover and I held onto my mom so that I could follow after them, stumbling occasionally whenever the ground became uneven but did my best to keep up even as we started to climb up a hill through grass that was as tall as my waist. I didn't know Percy was looking back over his shoulder, but when I heard him yelp quietly I had jumped and clutched onto mom a little tighter. "That's…"

"Pasiphae's son." Mom answered him as I just balked. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you both." K-Kill us?! Pasiphae's son? Satyrs….monsters…it was all making a little sense, but only if you believed the impossible, and I wasn't quite there yet. This all had to be one terrible nightmare, because there was no way that the thing behind us, the thing that I could still feel in the rain that caused my legs to tremble and my body to shake, was a minotaur. Percy started to say the name but mom cut him off with a fearful warning. "Don't say his name. Names have power." This did not make things any better. Lifting my face, the onslaught of the rain continued against us as we continued to fight our way up the hill with Grover, me even managing to pick up his legs and carry him with mom and Percy to make things easier. In the distance I could almost make out a massive structure which I soon realised to be a tree, the one my mom had mentioned earlier, the one we needed to get to. The shifting black and white of my vision darkened and brightened intermittently, vague shapes of the trees around me standing like shadows until they were completely gone as I passed under them.

"Mom what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?"

"Don't tempt him to look!" I hissed at Percy, wanting nothing more than to get away from the supposed monster behind us and was seriously considering dropping Grover and just making a run for it with Perce and mom.

"His sight and hearing are terrible. He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough." Whimpering, I tried to take larger strides in order to move faster and push mom and Perce to do the same whilst Grover bleated lightly, still dreaming about food. I flinched when I heard the monster bellow and it really did sound like a bull, but it meant that it had now figured out we weren't with the car. There was a huge crunching and groaning sound like metal before it went quiet, but it was followed by a massive crash and explosive sound that made me shriek unwittingly, not having expected it.

"Percy?!" I turned desperately to my little brother for an explanation.

"Um…Gabe's car has a bit of scratch on it." Oh crap, he's going to kill us if this monster doesn't get there first.

"Neri, Percy, when he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way – directly sideways. He can't change direction very well once he's charging. Do you understand? Neri, stay with Percy, he'll help you but you have to move fast!" Wait what was she saying now? She didn't expect us to actually…I don't know…fight this thing, right? Couldn't we just make a run for it now and hope that we can lose it amongst these trees? I didn't even understand how mom knew so much about this stuff, but before any answers could actually be given, the bull monster behind us suddenly gave another bellow and I felt the vibrations thunder underneath my feet as it came charging towards us uphill. Oh crap.

Now more fearful than ever I dropped Grover's legs, fur and all, as mom told me and Percy to separate from her as she took Grover all by herself as Percy was now clinging to me and I to him after we'd found one another. I was the big sister. It was my job to protect Percy, but I was blind and useless. He dragged me away from our mom and stood with me as the bull kept on coming towards us, and I could only imagine what this must have looked like to a twelve year old kid. A giant half-man half-bull with head lowered, horns protruding towards us, charging full pelt directly to where we were standing. It suddenly hit me that I could feel the vibrations of the creature moving towards us, and the closer it came the more powerful they felt. I used that, feeling it rise through my heels and calves all the way to my spine, and just as the reverberations began to thrum through my entire body, I felt Percy tense ready to spring. I grasped hold of him and launched him out of the way as I too leaped backwards and not a moment too soon.

I felt the brush of thick, foul smelling fur against me as I hit the ground and started to roll back down the hill as it was slick with rain and I rolled several times over, Percy calling out my name fearfully. I was fine, shockingly. Mom also yelled out to me as I started to get up, hand pressed into the ground in order to get back up but the vibrations returned and I realised that the bull was charging again. A flash of fear soared through me as I lifted my head, lightning flashing and for the briefest moment, I saw everything illuminated around me. I could see the giant, hulking shape of the minotaur bearing down on my mom who was racing towards me, the blank shape of her form outlined in the harsh white of lightning's illumination, Grover lying still unconscious on the ground, and Percy a ways off where I had thrown him. "MOM!" I screamed, pushing myself upright and tried to run towards her but I slipped and hit the ground again as the minotaur continued to charge. I couldn't see what happened next because the lightning faded and my eyes lost any integrity they had gained, leaving me completely blind once again though I could hear my mom's gasping and choking, the grunting of the minotaur and her final word to Percy and I. Go.

Then Percy was screaming, and I was crying, and I had no idea what had happened but I had this terrible feeling that mom was gone because I could no longer feel her in the rain. Next thing I knew Percy was yelling with a fury I had never heard in him before as I somehow managed to rise to my feet but stayed rooted to the spot, because I didn't know if moving forwards would put Percy in more danger. In the end, I went forwards anyway on my hands and knees, feeling for Grover to try and at least wake him up so he could do something as I listened to Percy and the bull grunting, too terrified to imagine what was going on but instinct told me to keep my mouth shut, to not draw attention to the monster. The fact that I could still hear Percy meant that he was alright, and that was enough for now even as I felt the heat of my tears mingle with the cold drops from the rain. My hand felt something furry and I immediately grasped hold of it, recognising it to be Grover's leg. Pure luck I found him, to be honest. I started to shake him, but this only made him groan and bleat for food loud enough to draw the minotaur's attention, and next thing I knew, I could feel cold and deadly eyes on my back. "RUN LILY!" Hearing my brother's petrified scream, I bolted.

My mind just switched off and I ran into the dark as the bull headed man started to charge forwards. I at least had the sense to veer away from Grover so that he wouldn't be trampled, but now I had a monster on my tail and I had a horrible feeling that my brother was riding on its back. The ground was wet and slippery, meaning that although I was moving as fast as I could, I almost constantly tripped and once or twice I hit a tree, but every time I did I'd push off it and change direction as I distantly recalled mom saying that the minotaur couldn't swerve quickly like we could. Behind me I heard it suddenly scream in pain, but my body was now in full flight mode and I continued to flee until I suddenly remembered Percy. I slid to a halt but my foot caught on a root and I fell forwards, slamming into the ground rather painfully and now my ankle was also throbbing like crazy, an angry heat flaring through it as I cried miserably. "Percy? Percy!" Taking a deep breath, I tried to yell for him as loudly as I could. "PERCY!" I was so stupid. With all my changing directions, I now had no idea which way was back to him.

In a full blown panic, I started to hobble and limp back the way I had come, calling for him desperately until my voice was hoarse, sobbing and pleading with whatever deity existed to let my brother live and let him be safe. I called for mom too, but no one answered me. The rain started to ease off until it was merely a light drizzle, meaning that I could no longer sense things as clearly. I stumbled and tripped continually in the dark, fumbling with my hands to find any kind of significant detail that might help me, a sign post, a fence, something, but it was only trees. Out of breath and exhausted, I slumped against the trunk of a tree and drew my knees into my chest to bury my head for a moment. If Percy was killed…I don't think I'd be able to live with myself. Please don't be dead. I swear I'll never argue or mess with you again, just please don't be dead. I couldn't even think about mom, because I didn't even know what happened to her either. Everything just came crashing down on me at once and I cried all over again, feeling utterly useless and grief-stricken. I was lost. Alone. I had no idea what to do or where to go, and no matter how much I had shouted no one had answered me. Was I just going to wander aimlessly through these woods until I found someone to help?

Worse still, I didn't know who to rightfully blame for all this mess, so I could only put the blame on myself. I shivered, frozen stiff and feeling like I just wanted to curl up, go to sleep and never wake up again. Just as I was about consider doing just that, to give up everything and lay down, I heard something shuffling through some foliage. It made me quieten down and look up, straining my ears to listen. The sound of something snuffling at leaves and picking its way through the woods set me on edge, and I felt the fear strike me all over again like it had with the minotaur. My instincts were screaming at me, telling me I was in danger but I had no idea where to run, and even as I felt my bracelet and twisted it around my wrist, I heard the creature coming closer. It was big, I could tell that much, and it growled like a beast so I figured whatever it was probably wanted to eat me. I twisted my bracelet around my wrist with increased obsession as it felt warm against my skin, bordering on hot.

A deep, rippling snarl caused the hairs of my neck to stand on end as I held my breath, having risen unsteadily to my feet and turning my head towards where I could not feel its eyes upon me, stalking closer and I could feel each step as a massive foot or paw shoot through the ground and up through my body. I was going to die if I didn't do something, but my body had frozen up and I couldn't run blindly through the woods all over again, and so as the creature have a terrifying roar and started to run straight at me, I did the only thing I could think of. Cry for help. I don't know what made me choose the words I spoke next, something like an instinct or simple luck, but they were the words that saved my life. "Epikaloúmai to ónoma tou Ermí!" Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard mom's warning ringing, but as of this moment it had been my salvation. Names have power. That's what she'd said, and so I invoked the first name that came to mind, almost like it had been waiting for me to select it. I invoke the name of Hermes. Hermes, Herald of the Gods, but also the protector of travellers. Considering I was currently a traveller, it was the first and only name that seemed right to me, even in that instantaneous moment where everything seemed to move quickly and slowly at the same time.

I'm fairly certain there was a flash of light of some kind with a sound of something bursting outwards, but I definitely remember feeling suddenly warm like I wasn't even soaked through from the rain. A pleasant sensation seemed to flow through my entire body as I stood there, the sound of the monster squealing and skidding upon the forestry floor ringing in my ears. I heard the running footsteps of someone, rushing towards us with the clear sound of metal touching the air as I remained rooted to the spot, as if I had become one of the numerous trees that surrounded me. There was a yell, almost like a warrior's cry and the monster snarled as it turned to this new threat where I listened to the sound of metal striking repeatedly, feeling the vibrations through the ground until all at once there was a strained whine with a final ripping sound like flesh being pierced, then the weight and presence of the monster was gone and I could almost feel them vanishing, becoming dust as they were slain by my rescuer.

For a moment all was quiet and still I remained totally still, too afraid to speak or breath until finally the weapon was sheathed, for I could only assume now that the metallic ringing and slicing sound had been from a weapon of some kind. It sounded a lot like one of those swords Mr Brunner used to show the class and would even demonstrate with so that I could hear it whistling and slashing at the air. "Wow! That was intense." When the sound of a boy's voice suddenly spoke I was jarred awake and stumbled backwards as I sensed them coming towards me. "Whoa hey, hey it's okay, it's okay I'm not going to hurt you. I'm a friend. You're safe now." Cheerful yet concerned, their tone softened as they slowed down and took gradual steps towards me. "Why didn't you run away? How come you…oh." When they reached me they saw my face and my eyes, and it all became clear to them why I hadn't run from the monster. There must have been moonlight or some kind of light I couldn't see if this stranger could determine that I was blind, and considering the mess of emotion I was in right now, I immediately became defensive.

"Don't touch me!" I smacked at the hand I could feel coming towards me and made contact, knocking it aside as I stepped away again with a limp, because now I remembered that my ankle was absolutely killing me. "Where's Percy? Where's my brother? And my mom? Where am I? What's going on? What…what was that thing and where…just…what…?" Humiliated because I started to cry, I scrunched up my face and tried to stop myself but it didn't work, so now I was crying in front of the stranger who had just saved my life.

"Sounds like you've had a rough night." The guy said to me, and I noted dimly that he sounded young. At least, he didn't sound like an adult, but he wasn't a kid like my brother either, and the source of his voice was over my head so he was also definitely taller than I was. "Um…look I don't know anything about your brother or your mom, but we're not safe out here. I can take you to camp, and we can get some people to look for your family. You'll be safe there, nothing can get past the barrier." Barrier? What was he on about? My confusion must have registered, because the stranger hastened to continue. "Oh right, you probably don't know about the barrier. It's a lot to take in and I promise we'll explain it all to you, but for now you're going to have to trust me. Can you do that?" Strangely, that didn't seem like such a bad thing. Usually I didn't trust any stranger ever since mom had given me that talking to, but considering this guy had just fought a monster for me, I rationalised that he should be alright. Meekly nodding my head, I felt his hand gently brush against mine and this time I didn't knock it away, letting him give my fingers a squeeze before he turned me around and placed an arm around my shoulders in order to guide me forwards. I limped a little which the guy immediately noticed but I refused to be carried, already embarrassed enough. Thankfully he didn't press, and instead continued to guide me forwards steadily, warning me if the ground was uneven or if there was something I might trip over. "I'm Luke, by the way. Luke Castellan."

"Lily Jackson."

"Nice to meet you Lily. By the way, that was clever thinking back there, invoking the name of Hermes. I've never seen anyone do that before. At least, not without being ignored. I'm surprised you were granted Hermes' protection, he must like you. Be careful though, he might expect something from you in return at some point. The gods are finicky like that." I had no idea what this guy, Luke, was on about. I frowned deeply, struggling still to come to terms with everything and generally too exhausted to think much beyond finding my mom and Percy.

"I just came out with it, I didn't expect anything to happen. Was it magic or something?" Luke laughed at that, his arm growing a little more secure around me as he drew me to his side in order to help me sidestep a big rock that was in the way.

"Something like that, but not quite. Once we're at camp, everything will be explained and hopefully then you'll understand." This still didn't clear anything up, but I didn't press for more answers just yet, though I did glance behind me to consider the place we had left where that monster had almost eaten me as a midnight snack. When I asked what it had been, I could hear and feel Luke wince before speaking in a bright, unaffected tone. "Probably best that you don't know. Come on, we're almost there."