CHAPTER 4

Alright, so, in the past few hours, I'd been threatened by my abusive stepfather, been attacked by the Nemean Lion, a Greek monster, been told my mother was a goddess, and now I'm in New York. It's funny how things play out.

I didn't intend to sleep long, but I was really worn-out by the time we were thirty minutes into the air. I faintly recalled Anthony and Kylie having a conversation about Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades, and something about World War II.

But soon enough, we were getting off the plane and standing by the road waiting for a taxi.

New York was a lot different from Texas. Pretty much completely different. There seemed to some type of building everywhere I turned, and there were no rustic open fields. I admit, I did feel a little claustrophobic just walking around.

Anthony looked worse than I did. His eyes were hollow-looking and distracted. His black hair was ruffled, and he barely spoke to me. Maybe Kylie had said something a little too crazy to him.

Finally, a taxi pulled up in front of us. The driver was a fat, bearded man in saggy clothes and was glaring lazily at us.

Kylie told the driver a property address, presumably Camp Half-Blood's.

"That's a long ways away from here, kid. Long way. Costs extra." The cab driver told her.

I guess the camp that Kylie came from loaned her a lot of money, because we had no problem boarding the cab after she handed him a wad of cash. Then the driver sped off, swerving and halting abruptly every few seconds. He was probably the worst driver I'd ever laid eyes on.

My stomach churned and my head was pounding. I was easily car-sick; I preferred walking than anything else.

"You okay?" Anthony asked me. He looked a little green-faced himself.

"Er..." I held a hand over my stomach as we made another deft turn. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. I stabbed the Nemean lion in the paw, I can handle a taxi cab." The Plexiglass screen in front of us was sealed shut, so I could say as many weird Greek-y things as I wanted to.

Kylie had an excited expression her face. "Oh, this is going to be awesome. You two will love camp! And Chiron will be really happy that you didn't die along the way."

I shifted my feet, my face taking on a whole new shade of green. "Who's Chiron?"

"He's the activities director at camp," Kylie responded. "He trains heroes. He sent me to Texas to look for half-bloods. Our satyrs are kind of overworked, so the most reliable campers are sent to retrieve other half-bloods and escort them to camp."

Okay, maybe this Greek stuff did sound pretty cool. But I wouldn't believe it until Zeus slapped me in the face with his lightning bolt.

I hesitated to ask my question, because it wound sound a little ridiculous. "How do you know who a kid's parents are?"

"A demigod usually shares traits and sometimes powers that their parents have," Kylie explained. "Like, for example, Aphrodite kids are gorgeous. Cool kids of Hermes, like me, are skilled in thievery. Demeter's kids all have green-thumbs and have a way with plants. Those are just subtle clues. You know for sure who your Olympian parent is when they claim you."

"Claim?"

"Yeah. A god or goddess must claim their child once they reach the age of thirteen."

"I'm turning fourteen soon."

"Don't worry," Kylie responded, "The gods swore on the River Styx to claim their kiddies. So they have to."

"You keep talking about that river thing. What is it?"

Kylie opened her mouth, ready for a reply.

"It's a river in the underworld," Anthony responded. His voice was still hollow, his eyes distracted. "Where all the lost souls are forced to dwell for eternity-with their broken dreams and lost hopes."

I stared at him, mystified. That was really sudden...and bleak. Maybe Anthony paid attention to our lectures about Greek mythology more than I did.

Kylie nodded slightly, a frown faint on her lips. "Yeah, exactly. It's the most serious oath you can make. If you break it, bad stuff happens. The Fates will see to that."

"Fates! Er, uh, don't they control someone's life-their fate?" I remembered that one. The three Fates sort of stuck out to me; eerie, ancient, and powerful.

"Mhm. Alex, I would be careful with names. They're powerful when you're a half-blood."

I just nodded. That, for some reason, made a decent amount of sense. "Okay. Hey, Anthony, what's the matter with you? You're really quiet."

Anthony gave a sudden jolt like I'd just slapped him. "What? Oh, yeah. I'm fine."

Kylie and I just stared at him, but said nothing. I had a feeling that questioning him wouldn't do any good. Anthony would tell me if something was bothering him in his own time.

The cab-ride was shorter than I'd anticipated. Probably because the driver was speeding the entire way there.

I nearly leaped out of the taxi the moment it pulled aside on a road. I was so hasty with my exit that I didn't even realize the driver had dropped us off in the middle of no where.

My companions were quick with their depart as well, and the taxi sped off back to Manhattan.

We were left alone on the road. The scent of strawberries drifted around us, sweet and soft.

"Where's this camp you've been talking about?" I asked suspiciously. There was nothing here at all.

"Follow me," was all that Kylie said. She led us up the hill, and as we climbed to the top, I gasped.

Sitting on top of the hill was a forty-foot-tall gleaming statue of a woman dressed for battle, wearing armor, a shield, and a spear in her hands. She looked like she was guarding the camp.

That wasn't all. Maybe thirty feet away was a tall pine tree. A huge, black-scaled dragon was curled around it. Twin plumes of smoke drifted from his nostrils as he slept.

I nearly yelped. "Dragon!"

Kylie didn't look at all concerned. "Oh, that's Peleus. He's harmless, really. Well, harmless to us."

I had trouble looking past the dangerous 30-foot-long dragon sleeping just a little ways away from me, but I managed to soak up the details.

Two white columns stood beside the statue, engraved with the words; Camp Half-Blood. Beyond that was the most amazing place I'd ever seen.

Twelve buildings made a U below the hill and a whole other line of buildings were set below them. Past that was a vast field of strawberries baking under the sun. A large blue house towered over the fields. There was an arena, too, and what appeared to be an archery range. A large, white marble pavilion stood near a fire-pit. Near the back of the buildings was a shimmering lake.

That wasn't all. There were people milling around, practicing swordplay or archery, and maybe it was just my imagination, but, some kids were flying on the backs of winged horses. And there were people-no, not regular people, goat people clopping around on hooves with furry legs playing reed-pipes. There were too many strange yet wonderful things, I couldn't process them all at once.

"Wow..." Even Anthony was shook from his state of emptiness. He was staring slack-jawed at everything. "This...this is amazing!"

Kylie nodded proudly. "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood."

Kylie led us down the hill and into camp. We passed several questionable things like green-skinned teenage girls in flowing white gowns. Kylie explained that they were tree nymphs, and then continued on like it was nothing unusual.

We passed a big metal forge. Several burly-looking kids were hammering glowing-hot metal against their anvils, their hands and faces grimy from working all day.

"Kids of Hephaestus, the god of the forges," Kylie explained as we passed them. She waved at a girl working on a war ax, then led us on.

We passed several weird-looking buildings. One had a grass roof with a tree sprouting from the middle of it. Another one was made of pure-gold and nearly blinded me in the sunlight. One was obsidian-black and grim-looking. A black scythe was cut into door. Anthony eyed it almost nervously as we passed.

"These buildings are called cabins," Kylie said. "There's lots of them for each god, and we're constructing more. You get to be in the cabin of your godly parent with your siblings, basically."

There was a cabin painted blood-red, with barb-wire lining the roof and a boar's head overlooking the door. Rock music blared from inside, nearly cloaking the angry shouts from within.

"That's the Ares cabin," Kylie told us. "You should steer clear of those guys. They're not exactly friendly."

"Ares is the god of war, right?" Anthony asked, staring at the cabin pensively.

Kylie nodded. "His kids tend to be really hot-headed. Trust me. I stole a few drachma from a kid there once, and let's just say-"

"Ah, Ms. Todd!" A voice said from behind us. I whipped around to see...a horse.

Okay, not an actual horse. It was an older-looking bearded guy wearing a green T-shirt that read: MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR. He had old eyes and curly brown hair. But that wasn't all. He was at least six-feet tall, and where his two human legs should have been was the white back and legs of a stallion.

My jaw dropped. "You're...you..."

"Ah, hello, child. Yes, I am a centaur." The centaur smiled kindly at us.

"Er..." I found myself fumbling for words. "Okay."

"This is Chiron," Kylie said, bowing slightly to the horse guy. "He's the activities director that I mentioned."

"Hello." Anthony's voice seemed small. He was still eyeing Chiron's four legs in disbelief.

"Chiron, this is Alex Park," Kylie nodded to me, "And that's Anthony, er..."

"Did you not ask his name, child?" Chiron raised an eyebrow at the daughter of Hermes.

Kylie shrugged. "I was watching Alex, not him. He kind of came along unexpectedly."

Anthony tensed and scowled, but all he said was, "My name's Anthony Caverly...sir."

"Welcome to camp, Anthony," Chiron smiled again, but he seemed to be in a haste. He turned to Kylie. "My dear, I'm afraid I have important matters to discuss. Will you enlighten the new campers?"

Kylie nodded. "Sure, Chiron."

Then the centaur galloped off towards the tall blue house among the strawberry fields.

"That's the Big House," Kylie said as Chiron disappeared. "It's where Mr. D and Chiron live."

"Er...a centaur can live there?" Anthony asked.

Kylie nodded, like that was a stupid question. "Of course." She didn't bother explaining how, and we didn't ask.

She showed us the forges, most of the cabins, and the sword-fighting arena, but there was duel going on that we didn't want to interrupt so we wondered off.

"This is the archery range," Kylie said; it was a large clearing with two large targets pushed against one wall. "The Apollo kids mostly dominate it, though."

Right now, there was only one kid practicing-a boy around my age with blond hair, wearing a bright orange T-shirt and blue jeans.

"Is he a son of Apollo?" I asked Kylie. I watched the boy pull an arrow from his quiver, notch it, and then aim. After several moments of concentration, the arrow flew through the air, barely missing hitting the bull's eye. I had the sudden urge to have a bow in my hands, and to see it soar through the air. I knew I could aim better than the boy somehow.

"No, that's Ezra. He's a son of Athena." Kylie explained with a shrug. "I guess he's the exception."

Ezra, the son of Athena, turned and slung his bow over his shoulder. He had stormy-gray eyes and a leather cord hanging around his neck, decorated with two clay beads. "Hey, Kylie!" He called, and then bounded towards us.

"Hey, Ezra," Kylie said. "How's training?"

"Good," Ezra looked like he just noticed us. "Who are you guys?"

I held out a hand and viewed the son of Athena skeptically. "I'm Alex," He hesitated, then shook my hand. I nodded towards Anthony. "That's Anthony."

"Cool." Ezra smiled. "Where'd you guys come from, then?"

"I dragged them all the way from Houston, Texas," Kylie said. "They attracted the Nemean lion and tore a hole in the cafeteria wall."

I scowled. She made it sound like Anthony and I maneuvered a bulldozer and crashed into the school with it. "Nice bow," Was all I said. "It's not the right size for you, though."

Ezra looked taken aback. "What?"

"It's two small and tight. Limits your aim." I didn't know how I knew; it just felt like instinct.

"Do you have any experience with a bow?" Ezra looked intrigued. "I've been at it for years and still can't hit a bull's eye."

I suddenly felt stupid for saying anything. I nearly shrank back. "A, er, parent of mine owned an archery range. I picked up some stuff."

To be honest, I'd only ever shot once before I'd been relocated, but I knew enough.

"You should try, then," Kylie coaxed. "If you're naturally good with archery, you're probably an Apollo kid."

I frowned. Kylie knew my father was mortal, but I still took the bow and quiver when Ezra offered it to me.

The other backed away, and I stalked up towards the targets at a reasonable distance.

I remembered what my foster-mother had said about the stance and position, and how to properly hold the weapon. My hands seemed to move on their own. In a few seconds, I had an arrow notched and aimed at the target.

I waited for the wind to die down so my arrow would be steadied. A few more seconds...now! I let the air fly through the air. It lodged right in the center of the target.

I heard the sound of Kylie gasping. When I turned to look at them, Ezra was staring at me open-mouthed, Anthony's eyes widened and he said, "You never told me you were an amazing archer!"

I blushed and let the quiver slip off my back. I handed them to Ezra, but he just shook his head and said, "No, you keep it. It's doesn't fit me, anyway, apparently."

I just smiled and muttered a thank-you.

"Now..." Kylie shook her head. "Most Apollo kids can't do that when they first walk into camp. Are you secretly training to replace Apollo on the weekends?"

I snorted. "I don't think Apollo would like that comparison." When they just kept staring at me, I shrugged. "It was just a lucky shot, really. And no, Kylie, my dad's not Apollo. Er, I think."

Ezra grinned. "That was amazing, Alex. You should give me lessons some time."

I just shifted my feet. As much as I loved archery, I wanted to leave. I felt tired and weary. My moment of accuracy and strength was gone.

"Hey, Kylie," I said as we were led out of the range, "Where exactly do I sleep, since I haven't been claimed yet?..."

"Oh, that's easy," Kylie shrugged and led us across a large clearing, towards another row of cabins. "If a camper hasn't been claimed yet, they stay in the Hermes cabin. Hermes is the god of travelers, too, you know. It's our duty to provide hospitality to those who need it."

That kind of made sense. Finally, we stopped in front of Cabin 11.

I don't know what I was expecting, but after seeing all the other weird and flashy buildings, I guess I thought that Hermes cabin would look...interesting.

It was an old, worn-looking building that looked like it needed a fresh coat of paint. I could hear the sound of talking inside, and the whole building rattled from the movement within. A caduceus hung on the doorway.

"Welcome to Cabin 11," Kylie said. "I hope you enjoy your stay."