Chapter 2
Dennis's P.O.V.
The retrieval mission didn't go the way I expected it to.
If Chiron was right, this demigod was a powerful one, with a scent even stronger than the last two combined. Apparently, they had managed to stay alive on their own for more than a year, driving away monsters with little to no help.
This was probably why, when I spotted the girl, I was shocked to see she was so tiny. Her small body was curled up under a tattered blanket like a child and as I approached, I realized that she was surprisingly pretty.
It was hard to picture someone her size fending off a hellhound, but I'd learned the hard way not to make assumptions about demigod powers. And when the girl shot up and slammed me onto the wall with startling speed and strength, I knew at once that I'd found the person I was looking for.
Once I'd managed to calm her down, I'd swiftly sent an Iris Message to Sapphira Watson, the camp medic who'd accompanied me on the mission. We'd split up to try and find the demigod as fast as possible and, after confirming she didn't have any serious injuries, Saph told me to get her to camp as soon as I could, stating that monsters were probably on our tail.
Knowing she was probably right, I quickly treated the girl's scratches with the first-aid kit I'd packed from camp, and practically dragged her out of the alley. After a lot of cursing and struggling, she seemed to understand that I was taking her to safety and gave up trying to escape. Before I knew it, we were sitting on a train to Long Island.
I attempted to give her the usual speech about the gods, and what she could expect at camp, but I could tell that she wasn't paying attention. In the edge of my vision, I could see her examining me with a calculated expression. It wasn't unlike the sort of look you see from scientists who were confronted with a difficult problem. Not curiosity, but it wasn't annoyance either, just a frustrated sort of interest, as if she couldn't quite figure out what she was looking at when it came to me.
I didn't blame her. Unnaturally fast reflexes, dagger, combat boots and fierce green eyes, she'd probably spent most of her time on the streets terrorizing random stalkers who were unlucky enough to run into her. I could tell that she was unnerved by being caught off guard, let alone so easily disarmed.
"There used to be only twelve cabins for the Olympian kids, but after the second Titan war the camp hero, Percy Jackson, made the Gods promise to build cabins for the children of the minor deities too." I paused as I felt her glance at me again, and unable to help myself, I added,
"And you can stop staring at me. I know that I'm too good-looking to be a mortal, but trust me, I'm available."
Her brows flattened with annoyance. "You know, I really should've just killed you in the alley."
"Sorry about that," I grinned, but it was unapologetic. I probably shouldn't have, since she'd practically just given me a death threat, but I found that I enjoyed messing with her. "But I guess you're stuck with me now."
"Lucky me." She said sardonically, and turned her face away from me, her body language clearly giving the message "leave me alone".
We sat there in silence that could only be described as extremely awkward.
She rested her head on her palm, which was starting to glow in an eerie tint of purple that I didn't think she'd noticed. Her dark hair was straight, and fell passed her shoulders in long tangles, no doubt from sleeping on concrete, and her light eyes were gazing out the window at the trees and buildings that quickly flashed by.
Her face, half-lit by the setting sun and stained with grime, was so pale, it had me wondering how long it had been since she'd had a decent meal.
She was obviously trying to look bored, but I wasn't fooled. By how stiffly she was sitting, and the way her fingers were tapping restlessly on the window sill, I could tell she was agitated. Scared even.
I frowned. Her meal, a sandwich which I'd bought her at the train station, was left untouched.
"Seriously though, are you okay?" I pressed, and was rewarded with an irritated expression.
"I'm fine. Been sleeping on the streets, held hostage by a guy I barely knew and about to go to some stupid camp, but fine."
"You should eat something." I insisted.
She glanced at the sandwich with a look of distaste.
"I don't really have an appetite."
"Me neither," I admitted, "But we've got almost an hour to kill, and you look like you've been starving."
I looked at her, feeling a sense of unease wash over me as I truly got a sense of her condition. She was small, almost scrawny even, an impression not helped by the fact she was in an oversized winter jacket, despite the fact it was summer. That, and her dirty leggings, that looked as if she'd fished them out of a dumpster, had me wondering just how long she'd been on her own. How long it had been since she'd had any real food.
"What's your name?"
"Felicity," She replied stiffly, her face still stubbornly turned to the window.
"That's a pretty name," I said a little awkwardly. Not that it wasn't the truth. While I didn't know what word I would use to describe this girl, I was pretty sure it wouldn't be felicity.
As if sensing my thoughts, she turned back to me long enough to shoot me a half-hearted glare, in a way that told me she'd had this conversation many times and was already tired of it.
"I'd rather be named anything else."
"Okay," I shrugged, "I'll call you Liccy then."
Her eyes widened, and the expression she gave me was nothing short of murderous.
"Don't you dare."
"What? You said you wanted to be called something else." I said trying my best to keep a straight face, but not quite managing it.
"Besides it's cute. Just like you."
She responded by slowly dragging a line on her neck with her index finger in the universal sign of "I'll kill you".
I bit back a smile, thinking that "cute" was probably not the most important to Felicity when it came to her namesake. Not that I'd let it deter me though.
"So Liccy," I continued, and she let out a noise of indignation that I cheerfully ignored. "Who do you think your godly parent is?"
I already had a bit of an idea of who he or she was, having seen the things Felicity was capable of, but I was a little curious as to how much she knew about her heritage. Clearly, she'd learnt about the mythological world, which was rare for demigods who hadn't been to camp.
She narrowed her eyes, apparently still annoyed by the nickname.
"What makes you think I have one?"
A series of memories instantly flashed through my mind at that question. The strength with which she'd pinned me. The way she'd easily levitated her dagger out of my grip with her powers, as if it was nothing. And most vivid of all, her face inches from mine, with a harsh, wild, bordering-on-crazy light in her eyes that bored ruthlessly into me. The kind that screamed: "I will survive, even if you die in the process."
I seriously doubted that a mortal, let alone a girl that looked no older than sixteen, who hadn't experienced the horrors of the mythological world could have that look in their eyes. It's a terrible honor that belonged only to demigods, to people who saw too much at too young an age.
But I didn't say any of that. Instead, I smiled.
"Because," I countered without missing a beat, "your hair's on fire and it's catching on your seat."
Felicity's eyes widened in surprise and she quickly ran her fingers through her hair, only to see a handful of purple flames. She swore, and furiously rubbed her hands together, which only seemed to make the matter worse.
I quickly stood up, slightly regretting telling her that in such an abrupt manner, and tried to summon a storm cloud or anything that might help put out the fire. But I couldn't help watching with fascination at the way the flames pulsed around her face like a halo, giving her features a devilish violet tint. It was mesmerizing, and though her fingers were already contorting with no doubt strong powers, I couldn't seem to look away.
All around us, people were turning and looking at the commotion with curiosity, some casting us anxious glances and others muttering among themselves. I vaguely wondered what was it that they saw in the Mist. A girl swatting at a swarm of bees?
There was a loud banging noise and the sound of glass shattering, and for a second I thought I saw what looked like a club in my peripheral vision. When I spun around to look at it, though, it was gone.
I furrowed my brows, trying to hear anything else out of the ordinary, but my senses were quickly drowned by the clamor of the crowd. I felt myself tense up, my battle instincts kicking in, and I unconsciously reached for my sword on my belt…
"Dammit!"
I shook my head distractedly, figuring I'd probably imagined the monster, and decided to focus on the more pressing issue at hand.
Which was, probably, the biggest mistake I made all day.
A sense of anxiety slowly seeped into my mind as I realized that Felicity was rapidly losing control of her powers. The flames were at her shoulders now, threatening to spill over her arms, and the wool on her seat was darkening, enveloped with who knew what kind of fire. Something white swirled around her, and for a second I thought I saw a dark figure in the shape of some sort of animal, a dog maybe, settle on her knees, but before I could make it out, it vanished.
"Wh-what's going on? It's never gone this far!" She muttered, panic evident in her voice, her expression distraught as her hands began to smoke. It was as if she was holding a bomb for which she'd accidentally lit the fuse, and now didn't know how to deactivate. Considering her abilities, it might not be that far from the truth.
"Felicity, calm down." I said, trying my best to comfort her, but when I touched her arm she yelped, and a strong, burning sensation spiked through my fingers. I instantly pulled back, wincing, but not before realizing just how feverish her skin felt.
"Yikes…" I winced, quickly shaking my hands to get rid of the sting.
That couldn't be good. I needed to contain the situation right here, right now, before things went too far.
The sound of rain caught my attention, and I turned to see that a downpour had started outside. Dark storm clouds had gathered, obstructing the sunset and rumbling with thunder, no doubt coming to my aid.
Slightly relieved, I smashed open the window and flung an arm out, feeling my power rush through me in a stream of euphoria as I bent the rain and gusts to my will. I called on the storm, summoning a fraction of it towards the direction of the train. The rain thrashed and the wind roared in my ears, swirling in what looked like a miniature hurricane. I closed my fist and it started moving towards me, slowly gaining speed.
As it drew closure, I could feel it gaining momentum. I grimaced, trying to slow it down, but it was too late. Before I knew it, Hurricane Dennis had gained a life of its own, and was hurtling at me through the window.
SPLASH!
I groaned and pulled myself up from the floor, my body sore as if it'd been hit by a brick wall. I'd taken the brunt of the water, but the damage was done. The interior of our section of the train was completely soaked and littered with twigs and leaves.
"Jeez…" I thought, guilt flooding through me as my gaze landed on a woman who was staring in disbelief at her half-destroyed expensive-looking leather bag. "That was probably a bit much…"
I felt someone shiver beside me, and I turned to see Felicity, a sense of relief settling over me as I realized that the water had done its job. Her dark hair was plastered to her face and her clothes were sopping wet, but at least there were no longer any flames on her body.
"What in the underworld did you do that for?" She complained, pushing her wet hair out of her face to reveal eyes that were with glowering at me with annoyance.
"Sorry," I shook my head, trying to get the water out of my hair before giving her an apologetic look. "Didn't have a choice. I had to put the fire out."
She glanced down at her hands, looking frustrated and distinctly uncomfortable. I momentarily wondered why, but the reason soon became apparent when I realized she didn't seem to want to meet my gaze. I'd just witnessed her lose control of her powers. She had just shown me something I was sure she wouldn't want others knowing, a weakness which, if exploited, might've cost her her life if I had been an enemy.
"You didn't have to do that." She said looking away, clearly embarrassed. "I would've been fine on my own."
"Felicity, your head was on fire." I looked at her incredulously. "That doesn't look fine to me. It's okay to need help sometimes."
She shook her head. "It's not a big deal. This," She gestured to herself, "what you saw, it doesn't happen often. I don't lose control."
"It's alright if you can't control your powers yet," I said in a pacifying tone, trying to sound encouraging as I continued. "Many of us can't at first, it's totally normal and it's okay to be freaked out." I assured her. "Our world is dangerous, but demigods help each other to learn and use our abilities to our advantage, that's what the camp is for. Us half-bloods have to stick together."
Something like anger flashed through her eyes.
"I don't need anybody sticking with me."
"But if you can't control-" I started, but she quickly cut me off.
"That's none of your business!" She snapped, arms crossed in front of her chest in a defensive manner.
She glared at me, making her green eyes seem paler and colder. Though there was less than two feet between us, I could feel the thick wall of tension and mistrust she was frantically building around herself, keeping us apart. It was almost as if she was trying to protect herself. Though from what, I had absolutely no idea.
"I'm not some weak child that needs protecting. I'm powerful enough to handle myself." She paused, and let a hint of sarcasm slip in her voice. "And I certainly don't need you, Mr. Flirty Knight in Shining Armor, to lecture me on what I should or shouldn't do."
"Excuse me?" I narrowed my eyes, surprised and slightly insulted, but I wasn't sure why.
What I was sure about though, was that nobody had ever called me that before, definitely not a girl. Technically it wasn't a derogatory term, but I couldn't help feeling a bit offended as her gaze met mine, the defiance in her eyes clear as the day. Was this really how she repaid me after I'd helped her wrangle her powers?
She stiffened, and for the umpteenth time today, she turned away.
"Just butt out and leave me alone."
The sentence hung over us in an ugly silence.
I tried to think of a way to respond to this, to make her understand, but was interrupted as a loud crash rang through the train, startling all the passengers inside.
"What in Olympus…" my eyes widened as another crash rang out, and the door that lead to the compartment we'd been sitting in shattered into splinters, revealing a large and extremely muscular arm, holding an iron club with menacing-looking spikes of what looked like Celestial Bronze on it.
When the assailant bent down and tried to squeeze through the door, I could see that he was at least eight feet tall, with arms that were heavily tattooed with Ancient Greek swears and depictions of gruesome deaths. Underneath his ragged clothes was leather armor, that was torn in places and stained with blood, as if he'd recently been in a fight.
A Laistrygonian Ogre. And below his dirty mane were wild eyes filled with bloodlust, scanning the crowd hungrily, clearly searching for something.
"WHERE IS THE GIRL?"
Or more accurately, someone.
"Di immortales!" I cursed, instinctively stepping in front of Felicity, already drawing out my sword. He must have got on the train when it stopped at the last station. How could I be so careless?
The monster grunted as it tried and failed to get through the door, and I would've laughed at the absurdity if not for the situation.
"Excuse me, sir," A couple of train attendants said anxiously as they shuffled past me, apparently unaware that the person they were attempting to speak with was larger than a truck, and was holding a club.
"I'm afraid that firearms are not allowed aboard-"
"WHERE IS SHE? I SMELLED HER DEMIGOD STENCH!" The ogre bellowed, the noise deafening my ears, and I felt Felicity take in a sharp breath beside me. The mortals, however, didn't seem to be affected.
"Please hand over your weapon, sir, or else-"
"GET OUT OF MY WAY!" He yelled, swinging at them with his club and they were thrown to the floor like ragdolls.
More of the door crumbled, and he was finally able to step inside our compartment. He turned, and I winced as three more ogres came into view outside the remains of the door, equally strong and armed. Powerful as I may be, I wasn't sure I could make it out of a fight like this unharmed.
I gripped my weapon tightly, letting power flow though it from my hands, anticipation building inside of me as I saw that the first ogre's back was turned. A perfect chance to attack.
"Don't move. Stay out of sight, and don't even think about trying to join me." I turned to give Felicity a stern look, and before she had the chance to protest, I'd already leaped out of the row and into the air. Summoning an air current, I shot forward, careening towards the ogre, my sword outstretched and crackling with electricity.
The monster roared in pain, gripping a slash I'd made across his shoulder. I had to duck as he blindly swung his club at me, narrowly missing my head. Before he could react I quickly stabbed him in the stomach, a lethal blow, and he exploded into yellow dust. Surprised, the remaining ogres raised their clubs, pointing them threateningly at me.
'One down,' I thought wryly. 'Three more to go.'
"FOOLISH BOY! I WILL CRUSH Y-" The smallest one growled in rage, but he never got to finish his threat. I lifted my free hand, feeling power surge through my arm, and with a loud bang and a blinding flash, lightning had shot out of my fingertips. It raced towards his chest, and collided in a shower of sparks.
He fell to the floor groaning and twitching, looking dazed but not fatally injured. I stepped on him and delivered the final blow, powder falling on my sneakers as he disintegrated.
'Two down.' I thought distractedly, already planning my next move. 'So far, so good.'
Mortals were screaming and the storm pounded on the windows, but I hardly noticed. Adrenaline was coursing through me as I met blow after blow with my sword, my arms feeling heavier with each movement. Summoning the storm had taken too much of my power, I hadn't expected to come across monsters so soon.
'But then again, we're demigods,' I thought with a hollow laugh as I swung my sword in a huge arc but missed, 'when do things ever happen as planned?'
I knew that the surprise was wearing off, and the Laistrygonian ogres weren't called cannibals for nothing. They were downright ferocious, snarling at me with those yellow pointed teeth, and I found myself being pushed back as I tried to find an opening but couldn't.
Suddenly something was hurtling towards me in my peripheral vision, and I barely managed to dodge out of the way as a football-sized object shot past me, scraping my cheek. I glanced to see in horror that one of the ogres was ripping up the chairs, and smashing them together to create roughly round projectiles with his bare hands.
He looked up to see me staring at him, gave me a gruesome, animalistic grin that resembled that of a starving man looking at a hunk of meat, and promptly chucked another makeshift cannonball at me.
I gulped and quickly ducked, successfully avoiding getting my face smashed in, but the moment of distraction was all he needed. Before I could realize what was happening, the second ogre's club had connected with my side.
Pain, so sharp and intense it was almost unbearable, spiked inside of me like wild fire. Everything seemed to go in slow motion as the force of the club sent me flying, and I braced myself for the impact before I collided hard onto the wall, shattering a window and probably a few of my ribs as well. All the air was knocked out of my lungs as I crashed to the floor and landed on debris.
"Urrrrgh…" I groaned, finding it a little difficult to regain my senses. My ears were ringing as alarms blared around me, my head was pounding with dull pain and my vision was so blurred, I could only make out the dark brown colored shape of an ogre as he marched triumphantly towards me. I tried to stand up, but nearly shouted out as the motion sent waves of pain through my body.
I glanced down at myself, somehow unsurprised when I saw an alarmingly large portion of my shirt soaked in blood. Shakily, I reached out to touch the side of my body, and hissed in pain when I felt long, deep wounds made by the spikes on those damned clubs.
I cursed myself for letting Sapphira carry all the ambrosia we'd packed for the mission. Best case scenario, I was going to need stitches. Worst, I might bleed out in a few hours.
The two ogres had reached me now, and were looking at me with an expression that reminded me of a predator that had cornered its prey and was thoroughly enjoying its misery.
"Puny mortal." The larger one spat, cracking his fist menacingly. "You heroes claim to be the strongest breed, but look at you. Lying on the floor, trembling. You're pathetic."
Mustering all my strength and coordination, I grabbed my sword and threw it at him, but he easily deflected it.
"It's simple, son of Zeus," The other said in a soft voice that I knew was as fake as the leather on his armor. He leaned down so his eyes met mine, the wild red color of it making my skin tingle.
"Give us the girl, and we will spare you much pain."
"Get lost." I snarled, finally staggering to my feet, trying to call forth my powers. Sparks danced on my fingertips, but I exhaled as the monster prodded me in the gut with a rod and they quickly disappeared.
"Oh, how courageous." He sneered. "You know, I don't understand you mortals sometimes. You're eventually going to die and lose everything, but you'd still risk what precious little time you have left for the sake of others."
He paced, eyes trained on me as he continued. "Whereas we monsters are truly immortal. You may defeat us again and again," Another sneer. "but you can never kill us."
He stopped, and gave me a smile that suddenly turned to an expression of shock, as something bronze and wickedly sharp suddenly protruded from his forehead.
A dagger.
"What the-" He stuttered, eyes wide before letting out a scream and turning into dust.
"Have a nice day in Tartarus, immortal." Drawled a familiar, sarcastic voice.
Stunned, I looked around, but couldn't see anybody. Somehow, all the mortals had disappeared from the compartment, which was completely in ruins. The floor was covered in broken glass, the seats ripped off and strewn about, and the walls were smashed in, craters formed here and there. With a pang of fear, I realized that Felicity was nowhere to be seen.
She could be buried under the debris right now, and I wouldn't be able to get her out, not before dealing with the last ogre.
"Wh-who's there?" The monster looked a lot less confident now that his companion had been taken care of, gripping his weapon tightly and swinging it around as if he was fending off a fly he couldn't see. "Show yourself!"
"Alright you oaf," I growled darkly, ignoring the pain that burned inside of me as I quickly summoned my powers, this time with much more ease now that nobody was poking at me with a stick. My wound stung like Hades, but I didn't care. Fury was building inside of me like lava in an active volcano, threatening to spill over.
"I've had enough of you."
With a defiant yell, I thrust my sword downwards and lightning shattered through the broken windows, instantly incinerating the monster before he even had the chance to react.
Now that all the ogres had been sent back to where they belonged, I frantically glanced around, still seeing no sign of life in the broken compartment.
"Felicity!"
The anger inside me was quickly dissipating, replaced by a growing sense of panic as I tore through the debris and found nothing. For all I knew she could've been grabbed out of the train by a Cyclops and there'd be no way to tell. "FELICITY WHERE ARE-"
An invisible hand suddenly clamped over my mouth, preventing me from finishing the sentence.
I jumped so violently, the attacker was almost thrown off their feet, but they quickly stabilized themselves. Startled, I turned to see a figure hunched next to me, her form shifting in blurred colors like some creepy version of an out of focus camera. She looked up at me and the rest of her body disappeared, leaving only a pair of eyes that were fixed at me in a glare.
Wait. Green eyes.
"Be quiet, Dennis." She hissed, her teeth gritted. "Because you're going to regret it if you don't."
"What do you mea-" I asked confused, but she quickly slammed her hand over my mouth again, effectively shutting me up.
She responded by glancing back at the slightly opened door that led to the next compartment, somehow still intact after the fight. I felt my jaw drop as my eyes landed on what looked like a pack of hellhounds and a few dracaena racing across the train, their growls and hisses tearing through the silence of the night.
"Be prepared to run." Felicity muttered. "I think we'd just attracted all the monsters in the city."