Disclaimer: All characters, settings, or other story components taken from the Harry Potter, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Heroes of Olympus, or Trials of Apollo series belong to J.K. Rowling and Rick Riordan, respectively. I do not own any of the aforementioned. I do not intend to use this story commercially.

A/N: Hello! I apologize posting this later than expected. This chapter contains content from the Chamber of Secrets and the Son of Neptune. I will try to get the next chapter out by next weekend, 27 and 28 May, but, as this week has shown me, I might not be able to! Any thoughts you have about my story would be greatly appreciated. Please read and review!

Everyone stands frozen, petrified by those cries. Suddenly, everyone bursts into movement. I stand at the top of the steps with a feeling of lonely detachment, watching the campers. Everyone is doing something - putting on armor, checking weapons, finding friends. A small pool of campers are gathering on the amphitheater floor around Chiron. I spot Annabeth and Rachel in their midst.

As I lean against the pillar, my eyes catch on Liliya, who is still huddled under the bench. Like a firework blast, memories explode through my mind. My view of the amphitheater flickers into a mirage of memories: a small, dusty room papered with cobwebs … a murky forest … the world swooping upside-down as a horrid clicking breaks the silence.

Liliya huddling under my bed as I hunt her attacker with a tissue.

The biggest pair of milky-white eyes I've ever seen.

With a shake of my head, I pull myself back to the present. I've pressed my back against the pillar, staring at my feet.

Not centimeters from my trainers is a tiny spider.

Suddenly, everything falls into place. I push myself away from the column, scrambling down the stairs.

"Sophy!" Annabeth calls, just as I miss a step and go sprawling down the last few steps. For the second time that evening, I land on the cold marble floor of the amphitheater. I push myself up on my elbows, blowing my hair out of my face. The girl with the braids offers me a hand, and I let her help me up.

"Sorry about that," Annabeth says. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," I respond, brushing off my jeans. "You called?"

"Let's cut to the chase," Thalia says from behind Rachel. "That something in the woods is not supposed to be there. We have never heard anything like it. As far as we can tell, that call does not come from any monster - or creature - that any of us, including Chiron, has ever even heard of."

"That's problematic," a curly-haired boy. I think he's named Lee, or something similar. Thalia sends him an annoyed look.

"It could be that this isn't harmful to us," another girl - Hazel - suggests.

"It is," I assure her, my head aching from the barrage of memories. "Very much s-"

"You know what it is?!" Annabeth interrupts, turning to face me. "But-"

"Just go with it," Rachel advises perceptively. "You were saying?"

I pause for a second, carefully considering my words. "These creatures are a, er, peculiar species of -"

Another call ricochets through the night, causing my last word to fall upon a completely silent camp.

"-spiders."

"Spiders?" Annabeth echoes apprehensively. I can detect something in her voice, and the same thing in the faces a number of campers.

"Spiders," I clarify in a small voice.

Annabeth blows a strand of hair out of her face, adjusting the sheathed sword on her belt. "I am so done with giant spiders!"

"I apologize."

From beside Annabeth, Percy shakes his head. "But how? I already killed the one giant spider that exists. Arachne."

I stifle my glare. "Just because Greek mythology exists doesn't mean that everything must therefore come from Greek mythology."

I receive a few skeptical - and a few wary - glances.

"And so therefore you know something specific about the origin of these so-called giant spiders?" I turn to see Nico crouching beside Liliya, gently scratching behind her ears. He waves his hand in a circle, prompting me forward.

Nico is very observant, I decide, filing the information in my corner of my mind. Tilting my head slightly, I consider how to phrase what I know without breaking the International Statute of Secrecy.

"I live near where you met me in Scotland, yes?" I begin. "In those woods, we have an, erm, animal sanctuary of sorts. We provide a home for a whole array of different, um, exotic creatures. I mean, exotic to the point of being a bit supernatural. Among these creatures are a sort of giant spiders called acromantulas. From what I remember, they were bred as a sort of watchdog … watch-spider? At any rate, they're carnivorous. I almost got eaten once." I shudder slightly.

Annabeth is looking noticeably green. "How giant are these … acromantulas?" She sounds apprehensive. Apparently, Cabin 6 has a spider phobia.

"Well," I say slowly, "that depends. The - er - head of the colony we have is over fifteen feet long. He and his mate are the biggest. The others vary. Dog-sized, maybe? Horse-sized?"

Annabeth turns greener.

"Well?" One girl steps around Percy. She's holding a spear that's crackling with electricity. "How do you suggest we deal with them?"

"Deal with them?" I say impulsively, my instinct to protect all living creatures overriding my common sense.

"Do you seriously think I'm letting two giant spiders run around my camp?"

I feel a pang, thinking of how Hagrid risked everything to raise Aragog. "These - these are living, sentient creatures! They form families, they have tremendous loyalty to their each other, they-"

"Don't spiders catch flies to suck out their insides?" Jason points out helpfully. "And you said these spiders are carnivorous and the size of horses. Maybe they'd try to to catch us and suck out our ins-"

Annabeth whips around, fire in her eyes. "Shut. The Hades. Up."

Jason wisely takes several steps back.

"Annabeth sends him a murderous glare and turns back to me. "So. How do we get rid of them?"

"I - um - actually, I don't know." I feel my blood rushing to my cheeks.

She sighs. "Do you know anything?" At all?"

I bite my lip. "We'd have to find them first, and that's hard in itself. They're very fast and extremely hard to kill."

The girl with the spear looks doubtful. "Can't we just shoot them?"

"I don't know." I remember in our second year, when Harry, Ron, and I found the acromantulas in the Forbidden Forest. I tried to hex one, but the spell bounced off. "They have really tough hides."

"Great." She looks annoyed. "Fast and bulletproof."

"What do you think, Sophy?" Annabeth presses. "You are the only one who knows anything about these acromantulas. Please tell me you know something."

I reach up to twist a strand of hair around my finger. "We have to send someone out to find them. There's no fighting something unless you find it. And, if it comes to finding the acromantulas, I only want to send people who have … oh, what do you call them? Those powers inherited from your godly parents. People who can defend themselves without physical weapons, and not just with hand-to-hand combat."

Annabeth frowns a bit, but begins giving orders immediately. "Okay, then. Jason and Thalia should go as a team. Let's see. Leo, you go, too. And … oh, let's see …"

"Me," Percy suggests. They exchange a silent conversation, and Annabeth grudgingly acquiesces.

"And Percy." She turns to me. "You'd best go, too. You can go with the boys, to make sure they don't do anything stupid."

Hazel appears next to us with two girls. One of them is tall, about eighteen. She's got curly, waist length brown hair and is wearing a pretty green top. She smiles at me. The other is small and wearing a windbreaker zipped up to her chin.

"Sophy," Hazel says softly, "meet Miranda and Elle." Elle takes one hand out of her windbreaker pocket to wave at me. "They're from the Demeter cabin, and they're the best trackers in camp."

"Besides the dryads," says Miranda, "and the satyrs, and -"

Hazel waves a hand to silence her. "The best trackers in camp."

Miranda jogs over to Jason and Thalia, so Elle quietly joins me. Next to me, Leo is pulling little scraps out of pockets on his belt, twisting them together. I look up to see Thalia adjusting her bowstring.

"So now what?" The girl with the spear waves a hand at us. "Are you just going to tramp around in the forest until-"

"We are going to track down these two acromantula. Once we find them, we will work together to render them innocuous. If something happens, we can have a dryad send a message back to camp and you can come to help us." We turn to see Elle glaring at the girl. "That's the plan. We're going with it. Let's go." She turns on her heel and starts up the stairs.

Thalia looks a bit surprised. "Well, then. I guess we're off. C'mon, brother dear." She turns to follow Elle up the steps, Jason on her heels.

The night air is colder away from the fire, and I shiver a bit in the wind. Campers are streaming out into the night from behind me.

"Hey," I hear, and someone touches my arm. It's Will from the infirmary. He's holding a jacket. When he holds it up, I notice an embroidered music note where a monogram would be. "I brought this for you," he says, draping it over my shoulders. I pull it around me, grateful for the warmth. "It gets cold here at night. I also brought you these." He hands me a bow and helps me fasten a quiver to my back before giving me a dagger to put on my belt.

"Thanks," I say, trying to be heard over the campers behind me.

He grins. "Anytime." Rifling around in his bag, he pulls something out, looking serious. "This," he says, "is ambrosia." He hands me a baggie filled with what appears to be lemon bars. "It's godly food, but it heals demigods, like you and me. If you or anyone gets injured, you need to feed them one - and only one - square of this. Understand?"

I put the baggie in the jacket's pocket, my hair whipping in the wind. "I understand."

"Okay." Will glances over my shoulder, and then back at me. "Listen, the others are almost ready to go. One last thing." He motions at my stomach. "You healed surprisingly fast, but you're still hurt. I know you might be fighting, but - try to be careful, okay? If you re-injure yourself, it'll be so much worse than before."

"I'll try," I say. He still looks a bit worried, but I haven't got much time before I have to go. "Can you do me a favor?"

He nods. "What is it?"

I bite my lip. "Lilyia. I'm worried about her. Could you watch out for her until I get back? She's never gotten this scared before."

"Of course." He adjusts my grip on the bow. "You hold it this way."

I grin sheepishly. "Thanks."

He gives me a wave, disappearing into the crowd.

"Ready?" Jason asks from behind me. Everyone is ready to go; Miranda and Elle are armed and Jason's put on what appears to be leather armor.

"As ready as I'll ever be," I return.

Leo raises an eyebrow at me. "Is that Will Solace's jacket?"

I blush slightly at his tone. "Um…"

"Moving on to the important things," Thalia snaps, "we need to be going." She gives me an encouraging look. "You'll be fine, little sister. Don't worry."

On that note, our group move toward the forest, toward where Miranda is talking with a girl … who isn't a girl. She's floating a tiny bit above the ground, her ears are pointy, and her skin is tinged green. Miranda says something to her, and she disappears.

"Any luck?" Elle asks, to my confusion. Miranda notices my expression.

"A wood nymph," she explains. "She and her sisters can tell us about the monsters and where they're going. According to her, our best bets are that way and that way." She points two different directions into the wood.

"We'll go this way," says Elle, motioning to the right. "Ready?"

I take a deep breath and look back once more at the campers, but I can't find Will or Rachel in the crowd. Gripping the bow, I follow Leo and Percy into the woods.

At first, the woods seem normal. Regular trees, regular undergrowth. But soon, not unlike the Forbidden Forest, it seems to grow spookier. Creepier. The trees seem to shift when I'm not looking. A stray feeler creeps around the floor. I hear noises, and once, see a pair of eyes - literally - peeking out at us from a bush. Leo sends a ball of fire at it, illuminating a scary, threatening … rabbit. It hops away, disappearing into a bush.

Elle stops suddenly, holding out an arm. We all come to a stop behind her, and Leo pulls a small hunk of metal out of his tool belt. (A grenade? A cell phone? Some sort of Muggle thing.) Elle closes her eyes, resting her hand on the tree next to her. We stand in silence for a moment, waiting.

"We need to change course," she says in a whisper, pointing into the trees. "The spider seems to be heading closer to its friend."

As we find a new path through the undergrowth, a sudden buzzing and crackling - static - comes from Leo's tool belt pocket. We stop and turn to him in surprise, as he pulls out the weird device. He pushes a button and talks into it as softly as Elle spoke before him.

"We didn't catch that. Please reply. Over." He lets up on the button and whispers, "Walkie talkie."

Thalia's voice crackles out of the walkie-talkie. "Miranda talked to a tree. We're changing paths, more towards your group. We think the monsters might be trying to meet each other. Over."

Leo's eyebrows go up, and we stare at each other. He presses down the button and talks into it. "Elle did the same. Over." We begin to walk again, Elle studying our surroundings, seemingly in her own level of a world.

We walk in silence for a while. My nerves are prickling, setting me on edge. Memories are starting to tug at the corner of my mind, and I'll give anything to have Liliya with me. I'm half expecting for a bear to appear out of the dark, like when I was seven in Russia.

Leo breaks the silence. "I think I recognize this area," he says. "We're near Bunker Nine."

"At least we'll have somewhere to run," Percy points out. "Where's Festus?"

"Suitcase form. I've been doing some maintenance work. I think Calypso's at the Bunker."

I clear my throat. "Bunker Nine?"

"Um, a workshop in the woods. We can hide there if we need to." Leo looks a bit proud. "Festus is my metal dragon, he-"

Elle throws out her hands, whacking Percy in the stomach. We freeze, looking through the woods. Ahead of us, a chilling scuffling noise is coming through the undergrowth, and a familiar sound of clicking pincers …

Leo's walkie-talkie crackles. Thalia's voice comes crackling out, saying something I can't hear. Leo's eyes widen, and he jams down the button as soon as she stops speaking. "Stop, stop, you have to stop moving now, we found them, Thalia, now shut up!" He lets up on the button and turns to us. "They're on the other bank of the creek."

Percy's eyes widen. "Holy Hera, that's close." He hits his watch, and a shield spirals out into existence. Elle has pulled a dangerous-looking spear from somewhere.

"This way," she whispers, beckoning. Silently, we tread through the forest until she sharply tugs us down behind a thicket. We duck down, and I try not to sit on my quiver. "There," she whispers, pointing through the trees.

I shift, trying to find an eyehole in the bush. Suddenly, the clearing comes into view. I see two spiders - over ten feet, maybe thirteen, scuttling in the clearing ahead of us. Their pincers are clacking, obviously in an intense conversation.

"See the others?" Percy breathes in my ear, and I look to see where he's pointing. Sure enough, behind another thicket, are the three others. Miranda and Thalia are discussing something and Jason's readying his sword.

"Now what?" I ask softly.

Elle turns back, taking her hand off of the tree next to us. "I asked this dryad to send a message to my sister. Hopefully, she'll get it." She sounds very final.

"They're saying something," Leo says from my other side. He's been studying the spiders, watching them talk. "Can't you hear? They're talking. Talking."

I shrug. "Probably. They can speak English. Some of them."

Percy whirls to me. "And you failed to mention this earlier?"

"Speak, Percy, not think! Their minds work much more differently than ours. They probably only speak English because they were bred by wi - ah," I force a very realistic sneeze to cover my mistake. "Bred by experts in the eighteenth century."

He blows out his breath. "Fine."

Elle catches her breath, grabbing my arm. "No," she whispers. "Oh, no, no, no."

One of the spiders is turning its head, slowly, scanning the bushes on the far side of the clearing. It stops, seeing its prey. Miranda is pressing against the tree, leaning back slowly. Thalia's readying her bow as the monster steps forward. Suddenly, it lunges forward, moving faster than I ever would have expected. Thalia shoves Miranda back behind a bush, and the startled girl rolls out of sight as Thalia aims her bow at the monster. Beside her, Jason raises his sword.

Percy's on his feet already, sword at the ready. Leo's fire is crackling, and I back up, reaching for my knife.

Crack! I hear, and Jason's sword ricochets off of the spider. He falls back, unbalanced. Thalia shoots her bow, but the arrow bounces off as well.

I spring up, carefully taking aim and throwing my dagger. It strikes the acromantula right on target, piercing one of its eyes. Black fluid streaming from the wound, the spider staggers backward, giving the others a chance to collect themselves.

"Very nice, very nice, but we need to run, and now!" Leo's saying, pulling me to the side. He weaves through the trees, heading around toward the others. I see Elle melting silently through the trees and Percy calling water from the stream.

"Look out!" I hear a yell, and we turn to see the other spider bearing down on us. Without thinking, I pick up a handful of arrows out of my quiver and jump, instinctively using the air currents to lift me as I sink the shafts into the creature's eyes. For a moment I feel sorry for it, but then pain splits down my leg; the creature's pincers are tearing my calf open. I roll forward despite the throbbing pain, landing on its back.

For a terrifying moment, I have a clear glimpse of the clearing. Behind me, Leo is scrambling away from the half-blinded spider. To one side, Thalia and Jason are blasting the second spider with lightning as they back away. Percy is using water to enhance the electricity, but the monster's thick hide protects it from the worst of the pain. To the left, Elle and Miranda are standing side by side, waiting for the moment to join the battle.

I see all of this in a heartbeat. Suddenly, the acromantula lunges, and I struggle not to slip off its side. It's a huge drop down, and I don't want to risk falling, not with my bleeding leg and my old wound, which is throbbing. The scratchy hide of the spider skins my elbow, not unlike a rug burn.

I hear a scream, and the first spider is standing over Miranda, who is clutching her side as she falls. Jason grabs its leg and somehow yanks it back, sending it onto its side. He thrusts a sword into its unprotected belly, sending a squirt of black blood all over his shirt. The flailing legs of the spider fall, limply, and Miranda coughs, gasping in pain.

"How bad is it?" Thalia demands, bending over the girl.

"Bad." Elle is surprisingly steady, brave. She touches the tree. "I'm taking her back to camp."

"Take care," Thalia says.

I remember Will, back at camp. "Ambrosia!" I call. "I've got ambrosia."

She shakes her head. "We've got to get her back to camp. I promise I'll bring help." Clutching one arm around the older girl, she touches the tree. Vines whip around her and her sister, spiraling down from the canopy. When they withdraw, Elle and Miranda are gone.

My concentration lost, the spider throws me off. As I hit the ground, the impact knocks the air out of me. I roll to absorb the impact and get away from the spider.. Will's jacket takes some of the shock away, but not much. As I try to scramble to my feet, the spider spins, racing across the clearing toward me.

I'm left up on my elbows, the acromantula racing toward me. Thalia's arrow bounces off of its side. Percy raises his sword, but the spider is moving too fast. As the acromantula bears down on me, I realize that with my leg, I won't have time to move. In those frozen seconds, my thoughts spin in a whirl, flickering in and out with a storm of memories. I'm so sorry, Mama. I'm so sorry. I must break my promise. I must. I'm sorry.

I fight back both tears and overwhelming memories, reaching for my pocket. The acromantula is rapidly blotting out my view of the clearing. I take a deep, deep breath in and decisively make a choice I never thought I would.

"Avada Kedavra," I whisper, giving my wand a sharp flick. A chilling green light rushes from the tip of my wand, swirling to cover the looming spider. I hear a sinister rushing of wind, the rushing of Death himself. The acromantula stumbles, legs curling under itself. It skids and falls, practically crushing me. Dead. Gone. Forever.

I scrunch my eyes against the stinking black hair in my face and try not to breathe. I feel the weight of the spider being shifted off of me. Someone grabs me, pulling me out from under the carcass.

"Oh, gods. Gods. Okay. You're hurt. Oh, gods. I don't know what the Hades that was, but there's a pair of myrmekes coming and we need to get out." Jason scoops me up like I'm a little kid again, turning away from the clearing and deeper into the woods. My leg burns with pain, blood staining my shoes. Bump, bump, bump. More woods fly by. Ow. Ow. Ow. Ahead of me, Leo presses his flaming hand to a stone cliff, and we dart inside as it swings open. My head is too cloudy for me to start considering anything - the cliff, Leo, the fire, the blood. My vision blurs, pain rushing through my brain as we stumble to safety.

"And you're sure that you can't wake up Festus," Thalia says for the last time. Leo throws a wrench at her head.

"For the last time, yes! I have to finish these modifications first. Jeez." He plops down on a workbench, knocking tools onto the floor.

Calypso bonks him on the head with a hammer. "No throwing things, Fireboy." She glances over at me. "Is your leg okay? Do you want any more unicorn draught?"

I shake my head. Jason, who's crouching next to me, pins a bandage in place. "That should hold," he says, helping me up. His voice echoes in the huge room.

The Bunker is like nowhere I've ever seen. The ceiling towers up, filled with catwalks and hanging contraptions. Calypso's corner is the only non-mechanical part of the place, filled with tapestries and soft colors. Thalia paces to one side.

"I don't want to spend all night here. I feel trapped," she complains.

"We are trapped," Leo points out, gesturing to the door. Apparently, some sort of Greek monster is outside, and we're in no mood or shape to confront it.

"So let me get this straight," Calypso says. "Nine of you were somehow transported to a forest in the Scottish Highlands while fighting a hellhound. Then you met Sophy, and shadow-travelled back. On the way, the group split up. At that point, Sophy transported Leo and Annabeth here. She then went back into the shadows - which shouldn't be possible - for you two, Piper and Nico. While this is going on, two giant spiders show up in the woods. You four and two Demeter girls decide to go tracking them, on your own, and end up here."

I sigh. "In a nutshell."

Jason points a finger at me. "I still want to talk to you about whatever that green light was."

I groan inwardly, seriously considering a few memory charms. "It's a Scottish thing."

"I don't think it is." Thalia settles down next to us. "You're different from other mortals. I still don't get why you were in those woods, if, as you pointed out, the nearest town is days away. Chiron was acting a bit odd around you, too. It almost reminds me of when we found out about the Romans."

Jason groans. "Please don't let there be, I don't know, Macedonian gods or something. Please."

I bite my lip. "No."

"Good."

Calypso sits down next to me. "How's this? We all swear, on the River Styx, that none of us will share your secrets unless you give us permission. We all swear."

"We swear," the other three echo.

I raise an eyebrow. "What is the River Styx?"

"It's the deepest vow there is," clarifies Percy. "I haven't heard of anyone who's broken it."

I give them a skeptical glance and receive a chorus of pleading expressions in return. With a sigh, I brace myself and mentally apologize to whoever runs Wizarding America. "Oh, fine. Don't freak out. There is, hidden just like you, a Wizarding world."

They gape at me. "Wizarding." Thalia repeats incredulously.

"Witches and wizards. We can do magic. In Britain, all wizards are sent to school at age eleven. Those ruins you saw weren't ruins. That was my school, magically disguised. Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

No one speaks. The boys and Thalia are all looking completely stunned. However, Calypso is nodding.

"I always thought Hecate would want to share her power with mortals," she says. "I guess it's just grown into a whole world."

Leo breaks the silence. "Witches. And wizards. Are you a witch?"

"Yes."

"Do you ride a broomstick on the full moon? Or turn into a bat? Or cook children in a cauldron?"

I gape at him. "Merlin, no! We have flying broomsticks. We play sports on them. Only some wizards can turn into animals. I've never heard of someone choosing a bat for their animal. And cook children? We have potions, Leo, but we're not murderers!"

Thalia snorts. "Those are all of the Halloween stories that … what do you call them? non-magic people tell about witches. Kids stories."

"Thank Merlin."

Leo's on a roll. "Do you have one of those fairy wands? Like the glittery ones with the stars on the top or … oh."

I've pulled out my wand from my sleeve. The pale applewood is not glittery, disappointingly, and the slim stick has no star.

"Can you do magic?" Jason asks, curious.

I point my wand at the floor. "Incendio," I say, and fire shoots out of the tip, lighting a twig on fire. "Aguamenti," and the fire's out again.

"Cool," Jason breathes, leaning forward.

I point my wand at Leo, trying to remember what we learned in Charms this year. After a bit of concentration and a flick of my wand, his left eyebrow is purple.

Leo blinks in confusion. "What did you - hey!" Calypso is holding up a small mirror. He examines his eyebrows with mixed fascination and annoyance. I grin and charm it back.

"So you used magic to kill the spider?" Jason asks.

I wince. "The Killing Curse. It's one of the three forbidden spells. Don't tell."

Percy sits back on his heels. "We already agreed not to tell anyone. Don't worry."

"Thanks." I lean back. "Since I've had good luck so far, I suppose I could try to Apparate again and take us back to camp. Oh, you know, it's magic."

"What is that?" Percy gasps, shaking his head as though trying to clear it.

I raise an eyebrow. I'm the only one standing - everyone else is slumped over on the ground. "That's how we got back from Scotland."

"Still." Leo looks pale in the moonlight, and a bit green. "Is there any way to do the whatsit without doing it killer-death-grip style?"

"Not really. You get used to it after a while."

Calypso flops onto her back, arms above her head. "What I want to know is what that is exactly. Shadow-travel is using the shadows as a linked route of passage, by definition. Like one of your modern … interstates. But that?"

I frown, plopping down beside them. I can tell that they'll need a bit to recover. They remind me of the seventh years trying to practice in Hogsmeade. "Um, I'm not really sure. We don't teach definitions to stuff like Apparition, people just know what it is. If I had to guess … it's like forcing yourself through space from one point to the next."

Jason blows out his breath, shakily standing up. "Forcing yourself sounds pretty accurate." He turns to Thalia, who is looking as though she's having trouble keeping her supper down. "You okay, little sis?"

She whacks his leg. "Just because you turned seventeen this summer doesn't mean you get to call me little sis."

Jason grins. "You are younger now."

She pulls herself to her feet. "Nope. I'm the older one. Always will be, little brother. Wish on."

I raise an eyebrow. "I've seen and heard a lot, but this is the first time I've ever heard this type of an argument."

Percy laughs. "I'll bet. Thalia's a Hunter of Artemis. Right before her sixteenth birthday, she became immortal. Jason was originally younger, but now, he's older than she was when she became a Hunter."

"You're immortal?"

Thalia nods. "Artemis is one of the goddesses who swore off men. If you become a Hunter of Artemis, you swear off romance for all eternity and stay immortal unless you fall in battle or fall in love." She makes a face.

"Oh." I pick at a loose thread on Will's jacket. "That sounds really cool." I try to sound sincere.

Leo cracks up. "I'd bet you have a special someone, right, Soph? Otherwise, you'd be the type to join right up!"

I glare at him. "Oh, stuff it."

He's laughing so hard he has to sit down. Calypso and Thalia both roll their eyes. "If I had to guess, I'd say it's Will. Sorry, esa, but you're not quite his type."

I'm tempted to whack him upside the head. "You do realize that I can spell your entire head purple, right?" I point my wand at his head.

"Hey! My head is perfect the way it is now! Don't mess it up!" He scrambles away from me on all fours.

"Moving on," Percy interrupts, "we should get a move on before anything else comes out of that stupid forest."

"Hear, hear," Calypso agrees, brushing off her dress. She gives Leo a shove as he tries to get up. "I'm tempted to duct-tape your mouth shut, ese," she begins as we trudge up to the Big House. Percy and Jason are both scratched up and definitely bruised. Thalia holds herself high, but I can tell that she's hurt in some way. I'm limping, slivers of pain shooting up my leg as I follow the others up the hill.

"This makes no sense," Clarisse complains, beginning to pace. Reyna clears her throat, and Clarisse stops. "It doesn't!" she protests. "No magic should be able to do that."

I squirm uncomfortably at the mention of magic, but Jason sends me a reassuring look from across the room. He's standing next to the whatchamacallit … Iris-message … to Reyna in California.

"So let me get this straight," says Annabeth. She uncaps a marker, turning around to a huge whiteboard on one wall.

"Annabeth," Percy says tiredly, "Most of everyone here is dyslexic."

She sighs. "Still, Percy. I want to get this all down."

A group of campers has gathered with Chiron in a room in the Big House. I'm seated around a table with the nine campers who came to Scotland, Will, Miranda, Elle, a girl named Clarisse, and Reyna (via Iris-message). Apparently, this doesn't quite count as a council for the counselors.

Annabeth clears her throat and begins dictating as she writes. "Nine campers plus one hellhound were transported to Scottish Highlands, discovering upon return that two acromantulas had appeared on Long Island, presumably in exchange." She looks up. "Sound good so far?"

There's a slight pause. "I think it's okay," I say. She beams at me and turns to write more.

I sigh, studying her careful handwriting. She's going faster now and in pink instead of blue. I think she's writing about the fight tonight, in the woods. I take a deep breath and begin trying to read the English.

Upon the discovery of the ac … acromantulas, I struggle, a team of campers was dis … dispatched? into the woods to find them. I want to cry with frustration. My head hurts; it has ever since I arrived from Scotland. Now my stomach is hurting again, as well as my leg. Trying to read English makes my head hurt even more, as well as my eyes. I silently curse the stupid English language. I learned to read Russian and French quickly, but I've always had trouble with English. At Hogwarts, I always charmed things into Russian, but that isn't possible now.

"Is that okay?" Annabeth asks, jumping down from the stool to let us see. Percy is mumbling under his breath, staring at the whiteboard. Leo appears to have given up trying, as have several of the others.

"It looks okay to me," Frank says.

"Great. Sophy, what do you think?" Annabeth turns around to look at me. I bite my lip. I'm barely past the first sentence. "Um, the first bit is okay."

Annabeth turns around in her seat to look at the board. "Which first bit?"

My face burns pink. "The first … couple of sentences."

Annabeth blinks. "Okay."

I'm trying to read, think, and keep back memories all at once, and the result makes me want to cry. "That's all I've translated so far." I want to kick myself. Word choice, Sophy!

Clarisse stops polishing her spear and looks up at me. "Translated? It's only English, kid."

I stop to get through another word. Con … confro …. confront …. confrontation! "Exactly. It's so confusing."

"But … you speak English just fine." Nico stops playing with a little black statuette in his hand.

"Sure, I speak it, because I've lived in England for seven years."

"What about school?"

"Homeschooling. I live on a farm." I remember the little Muggle school in town, where I would've learned to read with the four year olds.

Leo spins his chair around to look at me. "And you never learned English. Not once."

"Of course I tried!"

Leo blows out his breath. "So you're not dyslexic, you just can't read."

My face burns. "Of course I can read, you idiot. I can read Cyrillic and a bit of French. I just have trouble reading English!"

Miranda clears her throat, pulling her head back in the window. "I just got a message from the dryads confirming some things."

We turn to her. "What things?" asks Thalia immediately.

Miranda clears her throat. "For a month or so now, we - the dryads, the satyrs, and I - have been tracking a pair of a sort of miniature dragons. They were living deep in the forest. According to the dryads, they vanished from the woods less than a day ago. Gone. No hint of anything. No one sensed them leave. However, two unknown monsters, that we've just confirmed as acromantulas, appeared around their nest soon afterward."

Everyone exchanges glances. I brace myself against my chair, dreading what's next.

"I've also gotten an interesting report from other dryads. Four or so unknown creatures - we don't know how many - have also been spotted. I've heard some really weird reports. Some dryads report sensing offbeat spirits but not seeing anything. Others report seeing demonic pegasi. One maple dryad described it as … oh, what was it? The offspring of a pegasus and a demon reptile. I have no idea what those could possibly be. Also, one dryad thinks she faintly heard humans in the woods. Hopefully not mortals, but I don't know who else…"

I'm on my feet before I can think. "Oh, no. Not - oh, dear Merlin." I'm up and out, ignoring the cries of confusion behind me and the pain in my leg. I only pause once, to orient myself, and then I'm off again. I hear a cackling voice from across the camp - "children out of bed!" - but I don't care. I'm already ducking into the woods. Once out of sight, I risk a Ferula! to encase my leg in a splint, but I have to keep running.

I have to keep going.

I have to find them.