Percy awoke to a loud commotion that morning. Not that he didn't welcome the din. Once more were his dreams plagued with memories of Tartarus, and his wakefulness were a welcome relief from this dark memories. When he finally rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, he froze. It was cabin inspection and he had left his cabin thoroughly messed up. Not that it was unusual for him anyway. What was worse was that there would be no help for him this time around. Tyson had gone of to Camp Jupiter to help his 'girlfriend' Ella. His own girlfriend? Well she would be the one doing the inspection in the first place, and she wouldn't be giving him any liberties. If she told him it had to be tidied up, he'd just have to do it.

Percy didn't bother looking at the time. Every second he got would be a gift in itself. Cleaning first, looking around later. The commotion could sort itself out. He had more important things to do. After a while, though,Percy being well, Percy, got curious. It wasn't like the noises were going away, and it seemed like there was some serious panic out there. Where was Chiron when you needed him?

He quickly looked at the time to see how much longer he would get to finish up. He was rather surprised to see that Annabeth was running late! Perhaps something was really wrong after all! He grabbed Riptide and rushed out to see what the mess was all about. Nothing could have prepared him for what came next. Not another hundred years as a demigod. Not even another quest or two. Everything went still for a moment, and then it all came crashing down. Annabeth was nowhere to be seen, and if he was hearing things right, he doubted if he would see her ever again.

Question after question was aimed at Chiron, though for what may have been the first time, the wise centaur too had no answers. Annabeth had not been seen after last night, and no one knew where she had gone. She seemed to have just disappeared, leaving neither clue nor trail behind. What worried them more, was that all her belongings were still at her cabin, untouched. At first, they had all thought that she had sneaked out like she had once with Percy to the Sea of Monsters, but this time, she was alone.

He barely heard snippets of the conversation. Few questions broke through to him.

"How do we know if she really is gone?"

"Was it a monster?"

"No! They cannot enter the camp!""

What of there is another spy amongst us? It has happened before!"

"Silence!" ordered Chiron. Mr.D was away, and for the time being, the camp was left to it's own devices. "There will be no such talk anymore. Panic is not going to helo us. It will only serve to weaken us further. Train for battle instead. I suspect we will soon be thrust into one."

"What of the new campers? We don't have enough weapons!"

"What of the Ares Cabin and the armoury?"

"Most of our weapons were sabotaged by the Stolls! We'll need time to fix them!"

"We can only hope that we have that much time."

Were they to have no peace? Was it their fate to be forever apart? No, Percy told himself. Nothing would happen to Annabeth. He had to believe in her like she did in him. It was then that he realized that someone was speaking to him. He had been lost in his own thoughts, and hadn't heard most of what was being said, though it must have been important for someone to speak to him. They knew how much Annabeth meant to him, and so far, everyone else had just let him be, giving him the space he needed.

It seemed it was Clovis who was speaking. That got him listening. Any child of Hypnos was usually found sleeping, especially Clovis, their Head Councillor, but if he had something to say, then people would be wise to listen. Having noted Percy' s blank expression, he started all over again. Most of the camp's leaders were away, and it was important that he understood. I will worry about that later. The Camp needs me. Everyone needs me, he told himself.

"Not long ago, I had a dream. A vision of sorts, you can say. It hadn't made much sense then, but now I see that I should have told Chiron right away. Not much was clear. All I could see and hear was a dark form cloaked in darkness. Perhaps I was playing the role of a bystander, but I heard a noise. Then someone was drawing closer, knife in hand, probably trying to investigate what the sound was. It was all a blur after that, but somewhere along the way, the girl, I presume, lashed out. Then, she just vanished. I don't know who that dark figure was, but she seemed to exude power."

Chiron's face grew grave with concern.

"Anyone who can exude perceivable power must have been an immortal. That much is certain. I just hope we aren't dealing with someone beyond us. Do you remember where this happened, Clovis?"

"Yes Chiron. It happened well within our camp. Somewhere near the woods. Maybe close to our borders. I may know better when I get there."

"Can you lead us there?"

Clovis nodded, and with Percy and Chiron hot on his heels, he took off. They stopped near the trees, shocked. There amongst the trees lay the frozen shadow of a girl, looming eerily close to the chalky outlines that are found at crime scenes.

"I hope I am wrong about what has happened here, but this is definitely the work of someone far more powerful than us. I suppose we will have to wait for a few days for her to return."

"What if she does not?" came a soft whisper.

"Then we burn the shroud."