The satyr yelled as he spiked the ball, delivering a powerful shot that would have broken the volleyball net in two if it had made contact. The ball missed the top of the net by an inch, connecting instead with a surprised camper's forehead. The camper gasped and stumbled backwards. The ball sailed out of play.
"Sorry," the satyr called. "You all right?"
"Fine," the girl waved a hand at him, rubbing her forehead with the other.
The incident dismissed, the players turned their attention to retrieving the ball.
They found it in the hands of a tall, dark-haired man standing to the side of the sandpit. His blue hooded jacket and tall boots indicated that he wasn't familiar with Camp Half-Blood's warm weather, which meant that this man was not a camper. They might have mistaken him for a lost mortal who'd accidentally wandered in, but his stormy grey eyes were sharp and focused, suggesting that he'd arrived here on purpose.
"Hello," the girl smiled at him, a little uncertainly. "New camper?"
The man was obviously too old to be a new camper, but she had no idea how else to approach him. Something about him gave her a vague sense of unease, like a thunderstorm about to erupt. Behind her, one of the satyrs turned pale.
"I'm looking for the hunters of Artemis." Jordan told her.
"You're about half a day too late," she replied. "They just left last night."
"What?" Jordan had not been expecting this. "Where? Why?"
"Beats me," the girl shrugged. "No one knows. Not even Chiron."
Jordan felt his train of thought come to a screeching halt. The hunters, he knew, were capable of travelling large distances in a short amount of time. Twelve hours could put them anywhere between Florida and the Canadian border, and that was assuming they hadn't gone inland towards the Midwest. If Chiron didn't know where they were, he had more hope of winning the lottery than tracking them down.
"Damn bloody girls." he grumbled. He tossed the volleyball to the campers and marched back towards Half-Blood Hill, muttering angrily to himself.
"Who was that?" the camper wondered out loud, palming the ball in her hands.
"That was Jordan van Staal," one of the older satyrs replied. "He…used to be a camper here."
"Used to?" another camper asked.
The satyr shifted uncomfortably. "We don't like to talk about it."
Jordan stormed down the hill, sweating in his heavy winter jacket.
"Three thousand miles all for nothing," he muttered.
He fell silent as he continued down the road, anger fading as his mind began to plan.
He had not given up on finding the hunters. If nobody knew where they were, then he'd have to track them down. Being hunters, they were notoriously difficult to locate, but while he didn't know how to locate them, he knew someone who did.
He pulled out his phone and punched in a number. After six rings the other side picked up.
"Alabaster, it's Jordan van Staal. I need your help."
"So who is she?" Alabaster Torrington asked, staring at a picture of Lisa van Staal from Jordan's wallet.
"My sister."
"That is your sister?" Alabaster frowned. "You're what, twenty-five?" Lisa didn't look older than thirteen.
"Thirty." Jordan replied irritably, as he always was whenever people commented on the age difference between him and his sister. "She joined the hunters," he explained. "Ten years ago."
"You look young for thirty." Alabaster gave him a glance, looked back to the picture. "Runs in the family."
"Just find her," Jordan told him.
"Alright, fine." The son of Hecate took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "This may take some time."
"I'll wait." Jordan, leaning against the closed door of Alabaster's RV, folded his arms. After a minute, Alabaster's eyes popped open.
"That was fast."
"Yeah," Alabaster muttered. "Easier than expected. Her location wasn't shielded like I thought."
"That's unusual." Jordan was surprised. "The hunters always mask their location. Where is she?"
"Camp Half-Blood."
Jordan shook his head. "That can't be right. I just came from Camp Half-Blood. The hunters left that place last night."
"Well she's still there."
"Impossible."
"Did you actually search the camp?" Alabaster asked.
"No," Jordan admitted. "I asked a camper."
"When have campers been reliable sources of information?" Alabaster snorted. "Looks like its back to camp for you."
"It doesn't make sense," Jordan frowned. "The hunters are either there or they aren't. A camper wouldn't lie about something so obvious."
"Maybe they left her behind," Alabaster suggested.
"Why would they do that?"
Alabaster snapped his fingers. "Didn't you say she was injured? Maybe they left her behind because she was unfit to travel."
Jordan's head snapped up. "You're right. Ugh, why didn't I think of that?"
"You're getting old." Alabaster told him.
"Old enough to stick your head through this window," Jordan shot back. He opened the RV door. "Thanks for the help. I'll see you soon." He marched out.
"Not likely." Alabaster muttered.
"I'm looking for a hunter," Jordan said.
"Bad news, mate," the camper replied. "They left last night."
"There's one left," Jordan told him. "And I want her."
"So do we all, if we could have them," the camper grinned. "But I'm telling you, they're all gone."
Jordan rolled his eyes, realising he'd phrased his question the wrong way. He changed tack.
"Where do you keep all the injured people?"
"Oh, the infirmary?" the camper pointed to the Big House. "You want the Big House. Level one."
"Thank you." Jordan marched off.
Nobody answered the doorbell, so Jordan turned the knob and let himself in.
Will Solace jumped up as he heard the infirmary door open, having dozed off in one of the beds. His eyes widened as a tall man in a heavy jacket came through the doorway, the sound of his boots loud on the infirmary's wooden floor.
"C-can I help you?" Will stammered, his brain still half-asleep.
"I'm looking for a hunter." Jordan told him.
Will froze. He'd been warned by Chiron to keep Lisa's location a secret, given the recent string of attacks on the hunt. Foggy with sleep and startled by the sudden intrusion, he mistook Jordan for an assassin.
"There are no hunters here. They all left last night."
Jordan stepped forward and grabbed him by the shirt, slamming him against the wall.
"I know she's here." Already irate from having to venture out of Alaska into Olympian territory, coupled with the annoyance of searching back and forth for his sister, his temper had just about reached the limit.
"If you don't tell me where she is right now-"
Will's eyes widened a fraction, his pupils shifting minutely to focus on something behind him. Jordan ducked, showing lightning-quick reflexes, and the big porcelain vase that was meant for the back of his head struck Will's forehead instead. Will collapsed, eyes rolling back into his skull.
Jordan lashed out with a savage back kick, catching the attacker square in the stomach. The power of the blow sent the unseen assailant flying backwards, landing fortuitously onto one of the infirmary beds. She sprang to her feet, using the bed's soft surface as a gymnastics mat. Jordan spun around just as the girl leaped off the bed towards him like a flying fox. His eyes widened.
"WAIT!" he yelled, but it was much too late. The girl slammed into him, sending both of them crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs. She got on top and pressed her forearm against his throat.
"You wanna kill me?" she growled.
Jordan started to shake. At first it seemed like he was having a fit, but where his face should have shown panic he had a big, rare smile. He started to laugh.
"Let me up, Lisa. You feel like a bloody elephant."
Lisa's eyes widened as she recognised the man pinned beneath her. "Jordan!" she squealed, wrapping him in a tight hug.
"No," Jordan groaned. "Can't…breathe."
Lisa was too consumed with happiness to register what he was saying and continued to squeeze the life out of him.
Jordan braced himself against the floor and pushed, flipping the two of them over like a turtle. He managed to get to his knees, Lisa still clinging to him like an overexcited koala bear. Freed from her weight at last, he gave a big whoosh of relief, taking in a giant gasp of air.
"It's been sooo long since I last saw you!" Lisa said excitedly. "Where've you been? When did you get here? You should have told me you were coming!" She let go of him at last, falling onto the floor with a thump. "Ow," she muttered. "Why'd you let me fall, you jerk!" she slapped his arm as he straightened.
Jordan laughed. His sister was still the same ball of energy he remembered. Seeing her, he felt for a moment like they were kids again, chasing each other around the rickety table in the tiny flat back home.
A slow burn started in his chest, like an ember slowly being heated until it was red-hot and glowing. He pushed the memory away before it could rise fully. It was too painful.
"You should pay more attention to your surroundings," he told her. "And I did tell you to let me go. You almost squeezed me to death."
He stood and offered her a hand up.
"I pinned you," she beamed proudly.
"Only because I realised it was you," Jordan countered. "If I hadn't, you would have already been dead."
"Bull," Lisa scoffed. "I had you."
"You wish." Jordan bumped her with his shoulder, sending her stumbling. She bumped him back, much harder, but only managed to make him waver slightly.
"So why'd you come?" Lisa asked, curious.
"Athena called me. She said you had been attacked and almost died."
Lisa nodded. A sad look came over her face. "I was lucky to survive. Jasmine killed twenty-five others."
"Twenty-five?" Jordan thought he must have misheard. "How could that happen?"
"She did lots of things." Lisa's voice became slightly muffled. "Summoned a hellhound. Shot them while they were injured. Blew up the shrine." The memories overcame her and she began to cry into Jordan's shoulder.
"There were so many of them," Lisa sobbed, as Jordan pulled her into another hug. "So many. Then she tried to kill me and…" Lisa
"It's over now," Jordan said, stroking her hair softly. "She's gone. She cannot hurt you any more."
"I know," Lisa shuddered and sniffled.
The sound of rapid footsteps reached their ears; somebody was coming down the hallway in a hurry. Jordan's senses pricked.
"Lisa?" The voice was reassuringly familiar.
"Infirmary," Lisa called.
"Chiron," Jordan recognised the voice.
The tall centaur appeared in the doorway, ducking his head to fit through the opening, then caught sight of Jordan.
"Jordan," he suddenly looked uneasy. "You're…back."
"I came to see my sister," Jordan nodded to Lisa.
"Lisa is your sister?" Chiron was surprised. He looked to Lisa, saw the tears on her face.
"Are you all right, my dear?"
"Yeah," Lisa nodded, wiping tears away. "I'm fine."
"Your fellow hunters have just left Camp. You wouldn't happen to know where they were headed, do you?"
Lisa nodded. "They went to find Thalia and the others."
"Do they know where she is?" Chiron asked.
"They split into three groups to cover more ground. They're headed north, west and south."
"WHAT?" Nico bellowed. "They split up?"
"It's not surprising," Percy shrugged. "We're doing that too."
"If someone's capturing hunters," Nico growled. "Don't send hunters to try and find them! They might as well be offering themselves up. Stupid girls."
"Right now our main priority is to find them, fast." Annabeth decided.
"The group that went south is only a couple of miles from me," Piper said. "I'm gonna try intercepting them."
"You do that," Annabeth said. "I'll see if I can catch the westbound group. Nico-"
"I'm not budging until my tracker finds Thalia." Nico folded his arms. "That's my main priority."
"Nico, their lives are in danger."
"And I've saved them twice over already. I'm sick of their stupidity. Ask Jason to go after the north group."
"Fine." Annabeth knew that there was no arguing with him. "Jason?"
"I'll find them." Jason nodded.
"The more time we spend talking, the further they get." Piper said. "I'll get in contact when I find the girls." she swiped her hand over the iris-message, dissolving it.
Piper's iris-message came in half an hour later. Nico, who had been taking a nap in his cabin, frowned as the shimmering rainbow woke him up.
"That was fast," he mumbled blearily. He blinked the sleep out of his eyes, yawning, then froze as his vision came into focus.
"Oh, no."
The iris-message showed the remains of a battle. Silver arrows and knives littered the ground around three tattered tents. There was blood on the ground, along with a sizable amount of monster dust.
"I just got here," Piper told him.
"Can you tell what took them?" Nico stared hard at the live image, but the piles of monster dust looked fairly nondescript.
"What makes you think they weren't killed?" Piper asked.
"Not enough blood." Nico said bluntly. "Also, there are no bodies."
"True," Piper noted. She sighed. "I'll see if I can pick up their trail."
"I'll ask the satyrs to do another tracking song," Nico told her.
"Thanks," Piper already looked tired from searching the whole night before, and she faced at least another half a day of travel, or more if the trail didn't go cold like it had before. "I'll catch up with you if I find anything else."
"Sure." Nico waved his hand over the iris-message, dissolving it, and went back to sleep.
"What?"
"I'm sorry, Lisa." Chiron said sadly. "Annabeth found the third group's campsite about half an hour ago. Whatever attacked the hunters was long gone."
"No!" Lisa couldn't believe her ears. She looked like she was about to cry.
Chiron's heart ached for the young hunter. No matter how much tragedy he saw, he could never dull the pain like other warriors did. Every loss hit him hard. He had always found the strength to move on, eventually, but that didn't make it any better.
Standing beside his sister, Jordan felt a surge of anguish. He hated monsters above all others, and the news of the hunters' recent decimation was making the blood roar in his ears despite his dislike for Artemis and her followers. A single thought rose above the haze of anger.
"You said they were captured, not killed."
Chiron nodded. "Annabeth and the others are all but certain. None of their bodies were found."
"Then we find them," Jordan pounded his fist into his palm. "And kill whoever took them."
"The satyrs' tracking songs aren't working," Chiron shook his head. "They can't locate them."
Jordan cracked his neck. "I know someone who can."
"Nice to meet you," Alabaster shook Lisa's hand. "I didn't know Jordan even had a sister until today." Alabaster's smile was wider than normal, his handshake a little longer than necessary. Jordan's eyes widened.
"Right then," Alabaster turned away from Lisa at last, clasping his hands together. "Sit down. Have some tea. This'll take some time."
"That's what you said the last time." Jordan reminded him.
"Last time we weren't looking for captured hunters." Alabaster explained. "This time they will probably be concealed with strong magic, unless whoever took them is a complete idiot, which can't be, because they manage to take down the entire hunt."
"In small groups," Jordan pointed out. "It's like cutting up a beef for a baby."
"Beef?" Alabaster frowned.
"Steak," Lisa corrected.
"Same thing."
"Your little sister speaks better English than you do." Alabaster noted. "Haven't you been living in America for the past fifteen years?"
"Yes," Jordan growled. "But I was too busy fighting monsters to learn English."
"You should've stayed at Camp." Lisa told him. "Much safer there."
"And become a wall painting?" Jordan scoffed. "Like everyone else?"
"Wall painting?" Alabaster asked.
"It's an American saying." Jordan waved a hand dismissively. "You Americans are always making funny terms."
"Wall flower." Lisa corrected. "But that's not the correct term either."
"Whatever." Jordan threw up his hands. "Americans and their English. Why can't they speak something simple?"
"Like Dutch?" Alabaster said dryly.
"Yes," Jordan snorted.
"English and Dutch," Lisa said. "Will not help us find my missing sisters."
"Sorry. Got distracted." Alabaster straightened. He rubbed his hands together. "Let's find the missing hunters."
"There's one group here," Alabaster clicked his mouse, marking the spot on the map with a red dot. "And another here." He clicked again. "But most of them are here." He moused over a third location.
"That's in Alaska," Lisa frowned.
"The other two groups are also near the border," Jordan noted.
"Whoever captured them must be taking them across," Alabaster guessed.
"But who would want to capture hunters and bring them to Alaska?" Lisa wondered. "And why?"
"Time to find out." Jordan grabbed his backpack off the floor. "Want to come?" he asked Alabaster.
"Sure," Alabaster agreed. "Been a long time since I had any action. Besides, I want to see who's making such a ruckus."
"I'll call you when I get back." Jordan told Lisa.
"No way." Lisa got up from her seat. "I'm coming with you."
Jordan shook his head. "Too dangerous."
"They're my sisters," Lisa insisted.
"They've captured fourteen hunters already." Jordan said. "Do you really think one more is going to make a difference?"
"Jordan, I'm not thirteen anymore." Lisa said angrily. "Stop telling me what to do."
"I'm trying to keep you safe," Jordan told her.
"Stop treating me like a little kid." Lisa snapped.
"You'll die if you go," Jordan put out his arm, blocking the doorway of the RV.
"You can't stop me." Lisa glared at him.
"I can and I will." Jordan's hand drifted towards his pocket.
Alabaster came between them before things could get violent.
"Let's remember that we're all on the same side here," he put a hand on Jordan's shoulder, the other on Lisa's.
"Don't touch me." Lisa snapped, slapping his hand away.
"All right, all right." Alabaster held up his hands placatingly. "But if we leave her here," Alabaster turned to Jordan. "What's to stop the enemy from capturing her as well? They're probably looking for her."
"You think she'll be safe in Alaska?" Jordan retorted.
"I think she'll be safe with us." Alabaster reasoned.
Jordan scowled so hard that his face turned dark. Lisa glared at him, unwilling to back down.
"Fine," Jordan said at last. "But you remember," he told Lisa. "That I'm in charge." He marched off without waiting for her reply, fishing in his pocket for his electronic plipper.
"What a guy." Alabaster shook his head. "He should change his name to Jordan van Scowl."
Lisa laughed at his remark, her anger dissipated by Alabaster's dry humour. "Maybe he should."
"Did you drive here?" Alabaster asked, looking out at the street. "I don't see a car."
"I flew." Jordan replied. He stood at the empty kerbside, his plipper blinking in his hand.
"Yeah right." Alabaster laughed. His smile faded as a large object suddenly flickered into existance right above him.
"You're kidding." he gaped up at the large aircraft.
"I told you I built a plane, didn't I."
"I thought you were joking!" Alabaster watched the aircraft touch down in the middle of the road, holding his head in his hands. "Holy shit."
"Better than your RV?" Lisa was amused by his stupefied expression.
Jordan's aircraft was double the size of a private jet, but where a plane had wings and fins the body of this aircraft was completely bare like a space rocket, floating in the air like a metallic grey cigar. Four downward thrusters stuck out of the sides like a drone, the only indication of how something so big could fly without wings.
"Welcome aboard the Javelin," Jordan grinned. "My name is Jordan van Staal and I'm your pilot to Alaska."
Alabaster struggled for something to say. "This doesn't look like an ordinary plane." he finally managed.
"It isn't," Jordan laughed.
Bay doors on the underside of the aircraft opened and a section of the underbelly lowered, creating a platform that lifted them up into the aircraft's interior. The platform continued to rise even after they were all the way inside and Alabaster realised that it functioned as an elevator as well as a means of entrance.
"Celestial bronze quad-core engine." Jordan pointed to a heavy door in the side of the elevator shaft that had a radioactive sign stamped into it. "Both Lemnos and Greek fire for fuel."
"Why so many cores?" Alabaster asked.
"Completely infallible." Jordan boasted. "One engine is enough to power the whole ship. The rest are there to provide back-up and turbo boost.
"How fast can this thing go?" Alabaster asked.
"The Javelin has a top speed of Mach ten. Seven thrusters," Jordan rattled off the statistics like he was giving a presentation. "Four for vertical landing and takeoff, of which two can provide thrust. Three more for main thrust."
"Holy shit," Alabaster muttered. "You could punch a hole through Olympus with that kind of speed."
"That was the idea."
"The impact would crush this thing like a tin can." Lisa pointed out.
"Not if I had celestial bronze armour." Jordan rapped the side of the hull. "Zeus himself couldn't break a hole in this thing."
The platform rose above the engine door, coming up to a second level. "Here's where we have coffee."
"I think you've misunderstood what it means to have coffee." Alabaster told him.
They had come up to a small room that seemed to be full of tables. All four walls had built-in tables running along them like bar counters with touch screens built into the walls in front of them. The centre of the room was dominated by a large rectangular table. The space between the two tables was just enough for a person to pass through abreast, although the narrow passageway was further congested by two chairs on either of the table's four sides. Every inch of table space was cluttered with mechanical equipment and half-assembled machinery.
"No, I'm serious." Jordan pointed to the corner of the room where a coffee grinder and espresso machine sat amidst a mess of empty coffee cartridges and spilled sugar.
"Your ship is such a mess," Lisa tutted.
"This way to the cockpit." Jordan went through a doorway to their left. Alabaster and Lisa followed him into a small, triangular space at the front of the Javelin.
There were banks of screens arranged in an inverted U shape around three chairs. In front and above the screens were wraparound windows that gave a panoramic view of the clear sky outside.
Jordan walked back into the coffee room, jumping onto the table and striding across a ridiculously narrow strip of space in the centre of the table that was miraculously clear of the mess all around it.
"Did you leave that part clean just so you could walk on it?" Alabaster asked.
"Yes," Jordan said. "How did you know?"
"Because it's something only you would do." Alabaster shook his head and jumped up onto the table after him.
"Boys," Lisa snorted. "So messy." She opted to go around the table instead, dodging around the swivel chairs.
"And here is where you'll be living." Jordan threw open the door at the other end of the room with a flourish.
This last room was much nicer than the coffee room, although it wasn't any less messy. On the right of the doorway was an arsenal of steel cabinets. On the left of the doorway was the bathroom, which took up most of the front half of the room. An L-shaped couch leaned against the corner made by the bathroom wall and the cabin's left wall, flanked by small square tables on which Jordan had evidently decided to pile his laundry. In front of the couch was the inevitable coffee table which for some reason had a football, shinpads studded boots and a few cones strewn over it. The right wall facing the couch was completely blank, while across the room, to the rear of the aircraft, were two messy bunk beds and a big, restaurant-size refrigerator.
"You mean the living room." Alabaster said.
"That's what I said."
"No, you said 'Here's where we'll be living'." Lisa quoted.
"Same thing." Jordan shrugged.
Alabaster and Lisa shared a look.
"Forget it." Alabaster said.
"You'll have the couch." Jordan told him. "It's also a pull-out bed, if you like. Lisa will take the spare bed."
"Right." Alabaster dropped his backpack onto the side of the couch and sat down. "Will I also have the coffee table?"
"Of course." Jordan cleared the coffee table with a sweep of his left boot, pushing all the football equipment onto a pile on the floor.
Lisa crossed to the lower bunk, frowning at the crumpled sheets, then climbed the ladder to the upper bunk, which was equally messy.
"Do you sleep in both of these?"
"Obviously." Jordan replied.
"Of course he does," Alabaster snorted.
"Why?" Lisa asked.
"Sometimes I'm too lazy to climb to the top."
"Then why don't you use the bottom bunk all the time?" Lisa couldn't believe him.
"I like the top."
"I'm not sleeping in your sheets." Lisa picked a corner of the duvet with two fingers and dragged it onto the floor. "Get me some new ones."
"It's over there." Jordan pointed to the mountain of laundry on the left-side square table as he walked past it on the way out the door. "I'm going to plot our course. I think we can catch the last group before they cross the border."
"I need the bathroom." Lisa headed to little cabin.
"Close the lid before you flush!" Jordan yelled at her through the door. "Otherwise you'll be sucked out of the ship."
"You have a sewage tank in this ship?" Alabaster asked, curious.
"Of course not," Jordan looked baffled. "It goes out of the plane. Straight down."
"Ah." Alabaster nodded in understanding.
A loud howling noise like a tornado came from the bathroom and Lisa yelped in fright.
"I told you to close the lid!" Jordan pounded on the bathroom door.
"Sorry," Lisa squeaked.
"Why don't you ever listen?" Jordan left for the cockpit.
Alabaster chuckled, then he realised that the ship was still floating above his house, which meant that Lisa had just flushed the contents of the toilet down onto his roof. He jumped up and headed after Jordan.
"Hey!"