Percy
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"Perseus Jackson. A while it has been, has it not?"
I shook my head at her. "No, you can't remember. Why do you remember?"
"Remember what?" the kid asked from where Michael was helping him to his feet.
He was exactly as Nico had described him. As tall as me with orange eyes and dirt brown hair. Definitely not a normal mortal.
"Enough," the auburn-haired girl said. She turned towards me. "Perseus Jackson, is it? Zoe has mentioned you before. Only in mere passing. I feared she was to leave the Hunt for you, but now I see."
"Uh," Michael interrupted. "Who are you?"
Her eyes, colder and brighter than the winter moon, narrowed in annoyance. She whirled around to tell him off but froze when she saw him.
"I sense...I sense the power of the Moon in you," she said quietly. She recollected herself and said, "Child of my predecessor, I am Artemis. Goddess of the Hunt."
"Contact!" one of the girls further back shouted. There was a sudden scuffling before Nico and Bianca were thrown into the snow. "These two were watching from the shadows, my lady. Are they spies?"
Artemis shook her head. "They are not spies, Chloe. They are merely demigods. Friends of yours, child of my predecessor?"
"Uh." Michael looked at the di Angelos, then to Artemis, then back at the siblings. "Yeah, I guess."
"Yes, they are," I clarified. "We were here to take them and him." I pointed at the other kid. "Back to Camp Half-Blood. We had no idea that a manticore was watching them."
"I did not ask you, Perseus," Artemis snapped. "I asked them."
"Them?" the kid asked, looking at Michael. "I thought you were a girl."
Michael just shrugged, used to being questioned about it at this point. "Who knows, chico? Who knows?"
"My lady, be at ease," Zoe said, walking up to Artemis. "He meant no disrespect in speaking. He was merely clarifying his friend's incomplete answer."
Artemis relaxed slightly, but still glared at me like she wanted to turn me into a jackalope. "Thank you, Zoe." She faced her hunters. "Set up camp for the night. You two." She pointed at Michael and Bianca. "I wish for you to follow me. I would like a word."
She led them away and the hunters started setting up. Thalia walked over to the kid and began explaining things to him, which left me with Zoe.
She began walking away but before she went far, she glanced over her shoulder. "Come, Perseus," she beckoned. "You have questions, do you not?"
She led me to a small clearing, out of earshot of her sisters. She cleared away some snow before sitting down criss cross. She gestured for me to sit down in front of her. I was cautious since she was a part of a man-hating hunt and this was a perfect time to murder me. But something in her almond eyes reassured me, so I sat down.
She placed her hands in her lap and looked at me expectantly. Waiting for me to ask a question.
"How?" was the first thing I asked.
She smiled slightly. "How what, Perseus? That is a very general question."
Did she just make a joke? What the actual fuck.
I pushed my shock to the side to rephrase, "How do you remember me? You're not supposed to."
She looked thoughtful as she pondered her answer. "I do not truly know," she said. "I woke up one day and was alive here on earth. I remembered dying, remembered fighting by your side against my father to save my lady. We succeeded, but at the cost of my life. Artemis placed me in the sky, and the next thing I knew, I was being woken up by Phoebe. I asked what year it was and they told me-"
"2005," I said for her.
She looked at me curiously. "Yes. How did you know?"
"A friend of mine, Katie Gardner, went through the same thing. It's a long story, but in the year 2012, Michael and I were to be tried by the gods for crimes we did not commit. We were framed. Michael and Katie were close, so when she thought we were going to be killed, she cried herself to sleep. She said that the next thing she knew was that it was 2005 and our names were unheard of. We didn't exist in the minds of the demigods, other people we knew and were close to. Grover, Thalia, Clarisse. Not even Chiron knew us. Strangely, the only other people besides you two to remember us are Bianca and Luke Castellan. We can't seem to figure out why this is, either."
"But Thalia knows you now," Zoe pointed out. "Why?"
"Well, when we began to tell her about ourselves, her memories came back to her. It works for some people, but not for others."
"Hm." She put her finger to her chin. "Perhaps some god is the cause of all of this."
"That is a story for another time."
Footsteps sounded in the snow, making us look up. Thalia looked between us curiously as she walked up.
"Am I interrupting something?" she asked.
"Not at all," Zoe said, standing up. "Have you come for a reason?"
"Artemis finished talking to Michael and Bianca," Thalia told us. "And now she's calling Apollo to come pick us up."
Thalia brought us to the cliff. The sky was beginning to lighten.
Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so-o-o lazy during the winter."
"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" the orange eyed kid asked.
"For my brother. Yes."
There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth.
"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."
I averted my eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until my winter coat felt like it was melting off of me. Then suddenly the light died.
I looked. It was the same car as last time. A red convertible Maserati Spyder. Still my favorite car ever. It was so awesome it glowed. Then I realized it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why I was now standing on green grass and my shoes were wet.
The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen, and for a second, I had the uneasy feeling it was Luke, my old enemy. This guy had the same sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. But it wasn't Luke. This guy was taller, with no scar on his face like Luke's. His smile was brighter and more playful. The Maserati driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.
"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."
"He's the sun god," Nico said.
"That's not what I meant."
"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could've blinded us without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"
Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."
"Hey, I was born first."
"No, you weren't," Michael spoke up. "In the legends, it always says that Artemis was born first and helped your mother, Leto, give birth to you. So, technically she's not your little sister. You're her little brother."
Apollo's smile became strained. "And who are you, you little bugger?"
"Enough, brother," Artemis said, trying to remain stoic but I could see a smile tugging at her mouth. I had a feeling Michael had made a good impression on the goddess. "My hunters need transportation to Camp Half-Blood, and so do these demigods. I have some hunting to do, alone."
Apollo nodded and clapped his hands together. "I can do that."
"Remember the rules. You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart."
"Gotcha." He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp.
For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those Turtle Top shuttle buses like we used for school basketball games.
"Right," he said. "Everybody in."
Driving to camp was as eventful as last time. Apollo insisted that Thalia drive and we nearly boiled the entire lake, but at least we made it in one piece.
Snow had been allowed to fall lightly inside the magical borders of Camp Half-Blood. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something.
"Whoa," the kid said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"
"Yeah," I said.
"Why is there lava pouring down it?"
"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, you want to head over to your cabin? I'll let Chiron know you girls are here."
She nodded. "Yes, thank you, Perseus." She barked some orders and the Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. I was surprised to see Bianca staying behind with Nico. I thought for sure she was going to join the Hunters again. What changed this time?
"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at me. "I'll figure you out soon, Percy. I'll remember."
He closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When I looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.
"C'mon," I said, waving a hand at Bianca and Nico. "Let's go introduce you to Chiron."
Oh boy, was that easy. Chiron accepted the two easily enough and Mr. D didn't seem to care at all, which was always nice. Chiron had them watch the orientation film and then sent us on our way.
Michael, on the other hand, had stolen the kid and was showing him around camp. Mainly to keep him away from Mr. D since he was always unpleasant.
We met up at the Hermes cabin, where Luke was leaning against the doorframe.
I still wasn't sure what to make of Luke. Part of me wanted to hate him for what he did, but the other part wanted him as my friend again. He seemed to have learned his lesson and while he still hates what the gods are doing, he knows not to trust anyone who says they can help him with that problem.
He wasn't even the one who Kronos manipulated this time around. Now it was a kid named Lace Wheat, who was also a son of Hermes, which is just bad luck for the guy. That makes two sons of his that were turned against him and wanted to kill him. Jeez.
Anyway, Luke showed Bianca, Nico, and the new kid, who Michael told us was named Killian, to their bunks. It was lucky that the Hermes cabin was much bigger than before. Luke had apparently talked Chiron into doing renovations on the cabin to fit all the unclaimed demigods. So maybe Luke really was trying to turn over a new leaf.
I still don't regret punching him, though.
At least the cabin was pretty empty. The camp always had less people around during the school year, which made sense since it was a summer camp. Only people who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left.
People like Luke, Michael, Katie, and I. I also saw Beckendorf stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll brothers were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest.
I lost track of Michael after we left the Hermes cabin. He disappeared to Zeus knows where. So I hung around with Killian. Asked him what he liked to do, what he knew about the gods, what he knew about his parentage.
That last one was a touchy subject. He didn't know much about his father, but when talking about his mother he became bitter and angry. Said that she was the one who sent him to the boarding school just to get rid of him.
I didn't try convincing him otherwise. I knew parents could be pieces of shit. I'd had plenty of talks with Michael about his, and knew Luke's whole deal with his mom, so while I couldn't personally relate or understand, I knew enough.
Interestingly enough, he did say he couldn't be burned or blinded by bright light. When I asked him about it, he opened his palm and flames sprung to life in it. It made me think he might've been a son of Hephestus, but it didn't make much sense. If he was, he would've been claimed by now. Hephestus was one of the consistent ones, after all.
Killian also radiated more power than a child of Hephaestus. I'd been around Leo and Beckendorf, probably the two most powerful Hephaestus children to live in centuries, and they didn't have the same power behind their eyes. Killian had something more akin to Michael, though I didn't like what that meant.
At least we had capture the flag to look forward to.
I knew this game was going to be different. I could feel it in my bones. It was about the same amount of campers vs Hunters, but I was much more experienced this time. Not only that, but we had Luke, one of the greatest swordsmen to walk the earth, Beckendorf and his traps and inventions, the Stolls and their sneaking skills, and raw power in the form of Thalia, Nico, Michael, and Katie.
Bianca wanted to join in too, so I set her with Silena, hoping to keep her out of harm's way. I wasn't sure of how experienced she was at fighting and didn't want her to find out while facing the Hunters.
We set our flag at the top of Zeus's Fist. It's this cluster of boulders in the middle of the west woods that, if you look at it just the right way, looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground. If you look at it from any other side, it looks like a pile of enormous deer droppings, but Chiron wouldn't let us call the place the Poop Pile, especially after it had been named for Zeus, who doesn't have much of a sense of humor.
Anyway, it was a good place to set the flag. The top boulder was twenty feet tall and really hard to climb, so the flag was clearly visible, like the rules said it had to be, and it didn't matter that the guards weren't allowed to stand within ten yards of it.
"We'll send out a decoy to the left," Thalia told the team. "Silena, you lead that."
"Got it!"
"Take Laurel, Jason, and Bianca. They're good runners. Make a wide arc around the Hunters, attract as many as you can. I'll take the main raiding party around to the right and catch them by surprise."
Everybody nodded. It sounded good, and Thalia said it with such confidence you couldn't help but believe it would work.
Thalia looked at me. "Anything to add, Percy?"
"Um, yeah. Keep sharp on defense. We've got five guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."
"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.
"Unless you see a golden opportunity," I added.
Thalia scowled. "Just don't leave your post."
"Right, unless—"
"Percy!" She touched my arm and shocked me. I mean, everybody can give static shocks in the winter, but when Thalia does, it normally hurts. But this time, I absorbed it. I frowned, but no one else seemed to notice.
"Sorry," Thalia said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "Now, is everybody clear?"
Everybody nodded. We broke into our smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.
Silena's group disappeared into the woods on the left. Thalia's group gave it a few seconds, then darted off toward the right.
I waited for something to happen. I climbed Zeus's Fist and had a good view over the forest. I remembered how the Hunters had stormed out of the woods when they fought the manticore, and I was prepared for something like that—one huge charge that could overwhelm us. But nothing happened.
I caught a glimpse of Silena and her party. They ran through a clearing, followed by five of the Hunters, leading them deep into the woods and away from Thalia. The plan seemed to be working. Then I spotted another clump of Hunters heading to the right, bows ready. They must've spotted Thalia.
The sudden sound of screaming appeared in the forest. I smirked. Nico must've summoned some skeletons to help fight.
"What's going on?" said a voice next to me.
I nearly jumped off Zeus's fist in surprise. Right next to me was Killian, balanced perfectly on one foot.
"How'd you get up here so easily?" I demanded.
He shrugged. "I climbed. Do we need to do something?"
"No, I think-"
I was cut off when rustling sounded in the bushes not far from us. There were some grunts but they were cut off when a wave of ice froze whatever was in there.
"Are they gonna be okay?" Killian asked, peering curiously at the bushes.
"Yeah, they'll thaw." I peered through the darkness. "Probably."
A flash of silver in the trees caught my eye. On instinct, I pushed Killian out of the way as the Persian Princess herself lunged at me, knives out. I bent over backward to avoid her hunting knives, letting her sail over me and to the flag.
I rolled off Zeus's fist, but not before grabbing Zoe's foot. I dragged her down with me and we tumbled to the ground.
I pushed myself to my feet and wasn't surprised to see her already up and with her knives ready.
"Lowly move, Perseus," she growled.
I shrugged. I unsheathed my sword and pointed it at her. "Shouldn't have missed then."
"I won't, this time."
Without another word, she lunged towards me, bringing down her hunting knives in a downward arc. I raised my blade and blocked before attempting to kick her.
Zoe jumped back but quickly lunged at me again, this time feinting the strike with her knives and quickly crouching and kicking my legs out from under me. I landed hard on my back and rolled to the side just in time to avoid being stabbed in the chest. I jumped to my feet only to be kicked hard in the chest.
I stumbled back and was forced to spin to my left to avoid being cut open by a blur of silver hunting knives. I still received a glancing blow, opening up a shallow cut on my shoulder. I winced from the blade before focusing on Zoe's charge again. As Zoe sent a hard kick towards my stomach, I swatted her foot aside with the hilt of my sword, causing her to stumble back and wince from the power of the strike.
This time, I attacked, bringing my sword down in a downward arc towards her head. She raised her knives to block, giving me the chance to kick her in the leg, knocking her down to a knee. I swung again but she blocked my attack, so I sent a hard kick to Zoe's exposed ribcage, knocking her off a knee and onto the ground.
She was on her feet again before I could press the advantage and looked ready to attack when she noticed what I had in my left hand. I grinned at her shocked expression as I raised the silver hunting knife I had nicked from her belt when I rolled away from her. It felt unfamiliar in my hand, but a blade was a blade, and I certainly knew how to use them. A small smile tugged at the corner of her mouth as she looked at me with a new respect.
But then her eyes narrowed as she sprinted forward, sending a flurry of strikes at me. I struggled to keep up with her speed. She feinted a strike at my legs before driving a hunting knife through my exposed shoulder.
I grunted and jumped back as the pain made my vision swim. Blood was now flowing freely from my shoulder, but Zoe didn't give me time to examine the wound. She pressed her attack, trying to get inside the reach of my sword but I met her every strike with my sword or her knife. Her face scrunched together in frustration and her strikes became more wild and unpredictable. I raised his sword to block a strike at my wounded shoulder but received a hard kick to my stomach for my troubles.
I hunched over as Zoe made to attack again, but I suddenly lunged forward, tackling her to the ground. I quickly rolled off and climbed back to me feet. Zoe somersaulted to her feet but barely had enough time to defend herself from my oncoming attack. She raised her knife to block my sword, but I sliced the hunting knife across her thigh, drawing a deep gash.
She growled at me before lining forward with god-like speed. Something I presumed she learned from Artemis. She dropped into a crouch and swept my feet out from under me, knocking me on my back again. In a blur of silver, she pinned me to the ground with a knife to my throat.
"A decent attempt," she panted, a small smile creeping onto her face. "But you have lost."
"Maybe this time, but I swear, I'll beat you one of these days."
"That day will not come for a while, I assure you." She glanced at the flag as if evaluating the situation and estimating her chances of grabbing it and running off when Chiron's horn sounded.
"Camp Half-Blood wins!" he shouted.
Cheers erupted throughout the forest. Zoe seemed dumbfounded.
"I didn't need to beat you," I told her. "I just needed to stall you."
I pointed to where Thalia broke through the brush and undergrowth with the Hunter's flag.
