There is a cost to increased power, villians cannot monologue as much...
Aaron wanted to die laughing as Sally told another story of Percy's youth, one of many stories of how cute he looked in the bath. It was freaking hilarious and perfect, she just talked and talked digging Percy into a never ending cycle of misery that left the poor boy blushing head to toe. Making a point to memorize every precious detail, Aaron swore to harass his brother for all he was worth later on.
The eight hour trip wasn't bad to be honest, what with Sally's stories and Percy's embarassment. Eventually they reached their target, Westover Hall.
Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be f... " Her eyes widened. "Aaron is this... what I think it is?" Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other. However to Thalia and Aaron, it had an entirely different feel. "Are we here for them?"
Everyone else, especially Annabeth, looked confused but Aaron just nodded. "Yup, today is the day."
"YES, I can challenge Bianca again. She is amazing and I want to beat her. " Thalia's eyes filled to the brim with powerful energy, matching her powerful aura entirely. She turned and must have seen her friend's confusion. "Aaron's has been teaching these two kids, Nico and Bianca, for almost as long as he has been involved in the supernatural world. They are both scarily good at swordplay, and they are extremely powerful demigods. I wouldn't be shocked if they were one of our Siblings, Percy."
"Really, their that powerful?" Percy gaped.
"That and more, I've met them a few times in Aaron's dreamscape. Power is more fluid their and that is with their powers being supressed by Aaron's magic. Trust me, they will be scary when they are fully trained."
Quickly they all began to get out of the car, eager to met these two powerful new Demigods.
"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Sally asked.
"No, thanks, Mom," Percy said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."
"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy.
"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep him out of trouble."
Sally relaxed immediately, eased by the presence of Annabeth. "All right, dears," Sally said. "Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."
"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"
"Mom—"
"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"
"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."
She looked hurt, which sucked but Aaron sort of got it. She was reaching with those stories... funny as they were.
Annabeth and Thalia and Aaron followed Percy outside. Aaron's magical hoodie eased him to the cold and wind, though not as much as he could. He wished he could have messed with his hoodie some, but it was still outside of his skillset. Runes, unlike regular magic, required a more fine tuned knowledge more like math then the art that was magic.
Once my Sally's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."
"She's pretty okay," Percy admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"
Thalia turned and gave an evil look at Percy. "If that was any of your business, Percy—"
"Stop, he asked a simple question, be nice." Aaron stopped the girl with a glare, he could feel her sudden thrum of pain that resonated from her. She was about to say something cruel.
After shivering at his look and calming down, Thalia looked at the castle. "You're right... sorry Percy. No, I haven't talked to her. She's dead, she died a few years ago in a car wreck. She was a drunk... that's all you need to know." She stomped away to the front of the door.
The oak doors groaned open, and the four of them stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.
All Percy could say was, "Whoa."
The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. Each one oozed a small aura of war, one that would strengthen those that were tied to war and violence and protection.
Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"
The doors slammed shut behind them.
"Oo-kay," Percy mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."
YOu could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.
They stashed their overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. They hadn't gone very far when they heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them.
They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.
"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"
"Um…" Percy said. "Ma'am, we're just—"
"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"
He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.
Aaron stepped foward and waved his hand, sending a surge of Mist forward. It took a lot of concentration, but thankfully for him The three powerful demigods oozed enough magic that the Mist had easily gathered around him. "We got to school here, this is Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. I am Aaron Mathews, We're in the eighth grade."
The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"
The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I… yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. Aaron What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"
Before we could answer, They heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—" He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"
"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."
Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made… the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"
Dr. Thorn glared at them but before he could run his mouth, Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"
They didn't wait to be told twice. To Aaron's joy the other's left left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes. Grover hustled them down the hall in the direction of the music.
Percy leaned in towards Aaron. "That was awesome, how'd you do that?"
"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?" Aaron frowned. "He taught Thalia after like a week... damn it, I'll show you later. Your aura is powerfully magical, I have no doubt that you can control it Percy."
Grover hurried them to a door that had GYM written on the glass.
"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"
Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. Percy gave him a big high five. Aaron just exchanged a nod with the goat, not very close with Grover.
He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT.
Aaron smiled. " So how are Nico and Bianca?"
Grover gaped. "You know them?"
"Yup, their extremely well trained, they could fight on par with Percy each of them. Don't let their ages fool you, their are armed and extremely dangerous. I know Bianca has been studying Monsters by name and teaching Nico with his favorite game, Mythomagic."
Grover blinked and Percy stepped forward. "Monsters?"
One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"
Grover looked at Thalia desperately.
"Right," she said. "The DiAngelo's are at this dance." Grover nodded. "Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"
"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."
Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. It was kind of annyoing.
There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked ridicolous. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face.
"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo"
Aaron was happy to see them and wanted to rush over to them, he adored those two more then most. They were his kids, his siblings in all but blood, his proteges! They both showed it too, having lean but strong muscles etched onto their small frames. Aaron saw their weapons hidden in their bracelets, both of them tense and ready for a fight. It was clear they sensed something.
Annabeth said, "How much do they know?" Annabeth turned to Aaron.
"They know everything, my magic masked their signature for a while but they are aware of it all. Bianca figured out their parent too, but she knows better then to say it aloud. She is extremely smart, they both are. I taught them tactics, battle, swordplay, archery... you name it. They could beat most kids in camp and that's without their powers." Aaron shudderd as a rush of Monsterous energy filled the room, and he turned to see the source. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in their direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.
Judging from his expression, he knew enought to be a threat.
"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."
"How?"
"We have three powerful half-bloods here. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."
"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.
Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"
Grover looked hurt. "I did."
"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"
"Green who?"
"Never mind. Let's dance."
"But I can't dance!"
"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."
Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.
Aaron didn't wait, he gathered his magic and uttered a simple spell. "Et lux flectere!" His spell twisted the light around him, and within a second he vanished from everyone's radar. The low light helped, making him harder to notice that he vanished. With great patience, he slowly slipped past the students, making a point not to bump into anyone. What should have been less then a minute of walking too him nearly five full minutes but soon enough he reached his students. He leaned in and tapped Bianca on the shoulder twice. She twisted towards him, which thankfully meant she was facing her brother. "It's Aaron, I am here to get you out of here. Thorn is a monster, get ready to fight..."
She nodded. "I can feel your magic..."
Nico nodded. "So can I!" He was more excited then worried. "Can we handle him, he's our first real fight..."
"The three of us can, plus Grover is a Satyr, and I brought three powerful Demigods including Thalia. We are good... now fake weakness then strike when I say." He shuddered as the spell keeping him invisible wavered, it was hard to manage it even if the power it required was pretty minimal. He needed more practice... damn it. A new thing to train in.
Thorn, as if on a timer, approached them and growled. " Come with me, there is something we must discuss."
The two kids nodded, they moved with the man with Aaron following in the background. He drew his sword, making not a single sound, ready to cut this monster into ribbons. They were led toards a door, and the door led into a dark hallway. That was okay, Aaron felt his spell strengthen in the poor light, casting him into greater invisiblity.
Bianca and Nico were great actors, picking at their bracelets like they were nervous or afraid, but he knew they were determined. They had been preparing for a while and they could handle whatever Thorn was...
They reached the twist of the Hall when Aaron struck, slashing at the back of Thorn's knees. The man screamed in agony, falling to his knees but before he even reached the ground Bianca and Nico whipped around, Celestial bronze swords in hand. They quickly carved thick paths of bloody violence into the man's chest. Aaron summoned his shield and bashed the man hard in the face, breaking his nose.
Three swords stabbed into his chest a moment later and Thorn just gaped, horrified and shocked and disgusted all at once.
"You... defeated me." He exploded into Dust a moment later.
Bianca let out a long laugh, shaky and nervous but deeply proud. Putting her blade away, she hugged Aaron close. " That was terrifying."
A clammering down the hall revealed a shocked Percy. " Where's the monster?"
"Dead." Aaron said. " I should introduce you more fully, these are my Students Bianca and Nico DiAngelo. Their good no..." Aaron froze, sensing a literal godly force appraoching. "We need to get outside, all of us. Someone is coming here, a god... Goddess actually. Annabeth, I can sense you. Get Thalia and met up at the front. We have a goddess to entertian."
Annabeth took off her hat, pouting. "You can sense me under that?"
Aaron just nodded. "Your very powerful, so yeah. Let's go met this goddess, I have a feeling I know why she is here."
Chapter end, tell me what you think in the reviews.
This was a lot of fun to write.
Love, your Ninja Overlord,
Mika.
Bend the Light