Hecate's Daughter and the Dissipating Mist

Chapter 1: The Outcast

-Blake Evans POV-

There is evil and there is good in this world. The hardest part is figuring out which is which. A few years ago, there was an evil titan named Kronos that had been risen from the depths of Tartarus by a group of rogue half-bloods and monsters.

I was one of those half-bloods. My mother, Hecate, had decided to side with Kronos during the war, as the Olympian gods never showed any sort of charisma toward the minor gods and goddesses. She felt mistreated and misused, so she believed that there should be a new start.

I sided with my mother, as at the time, I knew nothing else. I didn't know the story of Kronos, I didn't realize how bad the world would be if he were to come to reign. The thought of the world being a worse place if Kronos would come to power never really occurred to me.

The rise of his power held promise for people like me, people who were lost and alone for the majority of their lives. I was one of those many children who never had a place to go for their godly parent, so I was stuck sleeping on the floor of the Hermes cabin.

And those Hermes kids really know how to make your life miserable, I tell you.

I never had any friends at Camp Half Blood, even after being there for years. People knew I was a daughter of Hecate, a spawn of magic, and they feared me. I thought there might be hope for me when I saw Nico and Bianca Di'Angelo come to camp, as they were both children of Hades.

They were like me, feared and untrustworthy.

But in the end, I still ended up alone. That's what drove me over to evil, to the mindless manipulation of Kronos and his goons.

And there is nothing that I regret more than what I had done while serving him. I had ruthlessly killed other demigods, letting my rage of being subjected to the fear of other people for so long take over. I had finally decided to become the monster that they thought I was.

I used my powers for evil. And that is something that I will never forgive myself for.

Ever since then I refused to use magic, something no one really seemed to understand. People labeled me as a traitor once I returned to Camp Half Blood, after speaking with Chiron about how I never really wanted to see the world in destruction, of course.

My fellow demigods decided that I wasn't one of them, and after I fought against them in the Battle of Manhattan, I've learned that I will never be able to live up to their standards.

Even my own siblings have seemed to have it out for me. They love magic and their worlds revolve around magic, so seeing that I have been refusing to use my magic- they simply do not understand. And because they can't understand my reasoning, they alienate me, and refuse to admit I am a child of Hecate.

I don't really blame them, really. After everything I've done I don't think I'm fit to call myself a child of Hecate either.

The only person who shows me mercy is Samson. He is a son of Hephaestus, and has a knack for fixing things- but not all the things he's drawn to fix are just things. Samson seems to think that he can fix me and how people think of me at camp.

He's probably the only person I could call my friend in this camp, even though I think he just really wants to fix me. I almost find it a bit insulting when he tries to get me involved with different things at camp.

I knew that in two minutes he was going to show up at my cabin's door, knock twice like he always does, and ask me to go listen to the campfire stories.

Sighing in defeat, I looked in the mirror and noticed just how blonde my hair was. It looked as though it had been bleached over and over again, and now it was practically white. My eyes were a light grey, but I don't think I remember a time where they weren't dull and lifeless.

So maybe I can understand why Samson wants to help me. Doesn't mean I have to like it.

I sat there in silence, seeing into the mirror, but not really seeing. I wasn't bad looking, and I knew that I was even borderline beautiful. But the things that made me beautiful, my eyes, my usual tan skin, my hair… it was as if everything had been oppressed and dulled.

I looked half-dead.

I shot out of my chair at the sound of two knocks on the door, and wildly grabbed a baseball cap from my nightstand, strung my long hair into a pony tail, and quickly made my way to the door.

I took a deep breath and opened it, and immediately was met with Samson's large body towering over mine.

Samson probably could have been in the NFL if he wasn't being chased by monsters every time he stepped out of camp's borders. He was a tall and built African American guy, who was probably one of the most athletic people I've ever met.

He was the fastest, strongest, and tallest guy in camp. He could easily be in any cabin right now making out with any girl of his choosing, but apparently he also has a ginormous heart too. And today I was going to appease him.

"Blake! I- uh- you opened the door," Samson spoke awkwardly, obviously surprised to see me. He ran a large hand on his neck, and smiled sheepishly. "I'm going to the campfire, would you like to come with me?"

I smiled up at him, and nodded. "Sure, Sam. But this isn't a date, okay? We are not going on a date."

Samson's smile widened at me, and he threw an arm around my shoulders. "Of course not, Doll. I wouldn't want to be the victim of your wrath again."

I rolled my eyes. "Just take me to the campfire, dude."

He grumbled a bit before releasing me and walking out of the cabin, grumbling something about girls and magic. I couldn't help but laugh as I shut the door behind me.

Samson brought me to the campfire, and it seemed as though everyone stopped conversing with each other when we arrived. We all knew who I was, we all knew what I did… but reactions like this doesn't make it any easier for me.

The big guy led me to a bench that was completely isolated from everyone else, I had to smile at the thoughtfulness. He knew I didn't really want to speak to anyone else, and he didn't try to force me on someone. I think I might have to take Sam up on his offers more often.

We slipped into a calm string of conversation; small talk, really. I asked him about the projects that he has been working on with his siblings, and he asked me about my magic.

"So, I've been meaning to ask, why is it that you refuse to use your magic? I remember before the Battle at Manhattan… you were amazing."

I looked away from him and stared into the fire, suddenly being hit with all the pain and suffering that I had caused. I mindlessly struck down helpless demigods, turning against the people who I was surrounded by every day.

"I don't really like to talk about it."

I saw Samson frown from in corner of my eye, but he was smart enough to drop it. The rest of the time we spent together was sitting in an awkward silence, but that was the most interaction I have had with another person in weeks.

It was kind of nice, actually.

My face fell when I saw that Samson had been called over to his siblings, and he looked down at me wearily. "Sorry, Doll, my cabin is working on a project right now, and I guess they need my help with it."

I nodded at him, and gave him a weak smile. "It's okay, don't worry about it, Sam."

His eyebrows pushed together and he looked at me confusedly. "Normally if I bring a girl somewhere and leave them they get all mad and yell at me."

Rolling my eyes, I explained, "Dude, we aren't on a date. You have no obligation to hang out with me, either. So go talk to your siblings. It looks like it's important."

He nodded at me, then smiled at me slowly, "Do you think we can hang out again? Not in a romantic way- I mean, it was easy to talk to you. And it was nice that you didn't slam the door in my face like you usually do."

I laughed. "Sam, I promise I won't ever do that again. It was nice to be able to talk to someone for a change."

"Well, if you ever want someone to talk to, I'm always willing to get into a conversation."

"Yeah, I know. Now go, your siblings must be thinking I'm holding you hostage."

He let out a laugh. "Okay, okay, I'll see you later, Blake."

I waved him off, and smiled when he walked over to his siblings. He might have looked like a NFL player, but at the heart, he was just too nice to be one. His siblings obviously adored him, from the glares they were sending my way. That's some real love, right there.

Turning away from their harsh stares, I looked around at the people around the campfire, seeing if there was anyone there I could recognize. The entire Apollo cabin was there, signing campfire songs while being led by Will Solace, probably the brightest kid I have ever encountered.

I saw a large group of girls from the Aphrodite cabin flirting with the boys from the Ares cabin. It was kind of fun to watch Clarisse deck a girl for trying to kiss one of her younger brothers. She's gotten a lot more laid back over the years.

My siblings were nowhere to be found, and I figured they must be out and about somewhere doing gods knows what. It seemed that everyone had someone to talk to, someone to be friends with, and there I was, sitting alone.

It was pretty pathetic.

I sighed, looking back towards Samson who was still in a heated conversation with a few of his siblings, who have all just decided to ignore me now. I knew he meant well, but this always seems to happen. Without Sam, there's no place for me here.

I got up to leave, and started to slowly walk away when I heard a voice say, "Where are you going?"

My eyes widened when I realized that the voice was talking to me. I slowly turned around, cautiously expecting some sort of prank to be pulled or someone to make fun of me.

But instead of seeing some know-it-all from camp, I saw a satyr standing in front of me, wearing an old Rasta cap. He had brown hair and a growing beard on a face that made me think of a leprechaun, of course, besides the whole fact he was half goat. A goatprechaun. That's what he was.

And oddly enough, I swear I had seen him before.

"Excuse me?" I asked, surprised he had bothered to speak to me.

The satyr shrugged. "I guess I always thought people had fun at these things."

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you insinuating I'm not really a person?"

His eyes widened almost hysterically, and he put his hands up in a surrendering gesture. "N-No, of course not! I was just saying that normally a person, such as yourself, doesn't leave early…"

I smiled at his awkwardness, and he seemed to relax when he saw I really didn't take anything offensively. "My name is Blake. What's yours?" I asked, holding a hand out.

He looked at it for a second then up at me with wide eyes. "Never seen someone hold out their hand before?"

He bleated in embarrassment and shook my hand quickly. "No, it's just… you remind me of someone I know, that's all."

"Oh."

We stood there awkwardly for a second, and he coughed before continued, "My name is Grover, Grover Underwood."

My jaw dropped as I realized who I was talking to. Percy Jackson's best friend, the Lord of the Wild. And I had just been joking around with him, making him feel uncomfortable. Gods, I can't believe I'm that stupid.

He nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his neck while I just stared at him stupidly, my mouth opening and closing like an idiot. I was at a complete loss of words.

"I-I'm so sorry, I didn't know-"

He smiled warmly at me. "Don't worry about it. I do realize I'm probably one of the most awkward satyrs to ever exist, so please, don't worry about it. It's nice to talk to someone who doesn't look at me in awe, being Percy's friend and all."

I shook my head. "No, it's not that you're Percy Jackson's friend, which is pretty cool I guess, but you're the Lord of the Wild! The Chosen One of Pan! Dude, you've got quite the resume."

He rolled his eyes at the titles, but blushed at the same time before muttering something that sounded like, "I told Rachel to stop telling stories…"

We stood there in an awkward silence, and I have to admit that it wasn't just his awkwardness, I can be quite the uncomfortable presence too.

"Well, I guess I better get going," I said, quickly gesturing back to my cabin. "Don't want to keep you from telling about your adventures."

He smiled. "Daughter of Hecate, huh? Were you in the-"

I nodded, a frown covering my face. He saw the change and quickly cut himself off. "Bad memories?"

I sighed, and realized that if I couldn't talk to someone I would probably never see again about this, I would never be able to talk to anyone. "Miserable memories, really. Can I tell you something?"

He looked at me, his eyes widening before he gestured for the empty bench behind us. We sat down, and he gestured for me to go on. I looked at him weirdly, at this, and he explained, "I wasn't a guardian for nothing. People like to talk to me. Must be my social awkwardness that makes it more comfortable."

I smiled a bit, and took a deep breath, not really knowing how he was going to take this. "Look, back at the Battle of Manhattan, I sided with Kronos."

His eyebrows furrowed, and he nodded. "Many people did."

"Looking back at what I did, what they made me do… I killed so many Half-Bloods, the very same people I used to call my family… it's disgusting."

Grover sighed, and put a hand on my arm softly. "This happened years ago. It's what you're doing to yourself now that people see. I know many people who sided with Kronos that are just fitting back in with camp fine. It was a lapse in judgement, and we understand that."

I crossed my arms, and sighed to myself. "It's not like I try to isolate myself… it's just that people naturally fear me and what I can do. I don't know how to be like them."

Grover smiled. "You know how I said that you reminded me of someone?"

I nodded, and looked at him with anticipation.

"Percy Jackson. You remind me of him. When he first came to camp, he was very powerful, something that many people didn't understand, and they feared him because of the power that he held. He was confused, and he didn't realize that in order to keep people from fearing him, he needed to stop fearing himself."

I snorted. "I'm not scared of what I can do."

He rolled his eyes. "Then why do you refuse to use your magic?"

I looked at him pointedly, shocked that Grover had actually been able to fool me.

"Someone set you up for this, didn't they?" My eyes flickered to my so-called friend who was now heading back to his cabin. "Samson put you up to this?"

Grover now looked confused. "Sam-who?"

I sighed. "Never mind. So who made you talk to me about this?"

Grover smiled, gesturing to the Big House. "You do realize Chiron knows what's going on with every camper, every second, of every minute? He saw that you have been continuously refusing to play nice with others and use your magic, so when I came to see my girlfriend, he asked me to help him out."

"Why would Chiron, of all people, care about what's going on with me?"

Grover's face went pale, and I realized I was touching on a very serious subject. He gulped before responding, "Chiron cares about all of his campers, it's really not that big of a deal."

"You're lying."

His face continued to turn into a tomato. "N-No I'm not!"

I laughed at his denial. "Of course you are. Now will you please tell me why the guy in charge of this camp has suddenly decided to look out for me?"

Grover sighed, knowing that he lost this battle. "Okay, you can't tell anyone what I am going to tell you. Do you swear?"

"Every damn day." He narrowed his eyes at my response. "Okay, fine. I won't tell the one person I actually talk to."

He seemed pleased at my answer, then continued, "Something big is going to happen, Blake. Big things have been happening behind closed doors on Olympus, and no one knows what it is. Not even Chiron. But Chiron seems to believe that it may have something to do with you."

"Why me?"

"I don't know. All I know is that very important people are starting to pay close attention to you. Whether or not it's good or bad is all German to me."

"It's all Greek to me," I pointed out.

"Huh?"

I sighed. "The phrase, that you just said? 'It's all German to me'? Well, it's really supposed to be Greek, not German, so…"

"Okay, whatever. It's just that the gods are starting to get worried about something, and Chiron seems to think it has something to do with you. So, just be on the look-out, okay?"

I nodded, biting my lip as the confusion and nerves over my impending fate began to take over my body. "Okay, thank you for letting me know."

He seemed to see my sullen expression, and then quickly covered, "I'm sure it's not really that bad, you know. I mean, I don't think you're going to die or anything…"

I gave him a half smile. "If the gods are worried about something that I am going to be smack dab in the middle of? Yeah, I think that's pretty bad. But forewarned is forearmed, so thank you, Grover."

He nodded, and then stood up. "Well, seeing that we're the last ones here, and not to mention that you're probably past your curfew, I think we should get going."

I suddenly realized that everyone had up and left, and the camp fire that had once been burning tall and bright is now just tiny embers that create a sad, dim light.

"Yeah," I agreed, standing up with him. "Thanks for the talk, Grover. Even though you were kind of forced to do this, it still means a lot."

He blushed, holding out a hand. "I look forward to our next meeting, Blake Evans. Good luck, and don't forget about what we talked about."

I shook his hand with a smile. I knew he wasn't talking about why he was sent to talk to me in the first place. He was trying to get me to see that I couldn't let fear control me. But that fight was going to be for another day.

Grover Underwood turned away and walked back into the darkening woods where I figured his girlfriend was probably waiting for him.

I turned and looked at my cabin, made of stones that could blow the entire camp up, and sighed. All the cabins were dark, and the one I was going to return do wasn't any different. I couldn't help but think about how no one was waiting for me as I started the short journey to Cabin 20.

And with that final thought, the last ember faded and the camp was shrouded in darkness.