Hecate's Daughter and the Dissipating Mist

Chapter 2- Riding A Bike

-Blake POV-

"Surgere! Surgere! Surgere!"

I was hidden in the middle of a crowd full of monsters and misfit demigods who were either lost, psychopathic, or just plain stupid. I realized I was hidden with the mist, a power that I have had all my life. Choking in a breath, I recognized the words they were chanting to be Latin for "rise."

This can't be good.

Black and red smoke surrounded us, the tainted essence of evil running through the dark cavern. The chanters were holding up torches of Greek Fire for light, and the eerie green glow that emitted only added to the terror.

It was pure chaos, and I was confused as to how I had gotten there. I had never been a part of something like this since Kronos was being risen from Tartarus, something I had seen to personally. But this… this was something else.

All of the sudden I felt a presence start to pull me from my spot, and move me through the crowd. The monsters and traitors were seemingly unaware of the fact that I was bumping into them and being forced through the crowd, as if something else was in control here.

I tried to call out to someone, anyone, I didn't care if they were on my side or not. It's better that than the latter.

The strong force continued to pull me through the crowd until I was standing in front of a pit, one that seemed to go on and on forever. There was no way anyone could have survived falling down that. I continued to struggle against the resistance, and dug my heels into the ground.

Quickly realizing that I wasn't having any effect on the force pulling me, I started to reach blindly for something that could hold me. I grabbed for someone's arm, but oddly my hand went right through their body and threw off my balance, forcing me to the ground.

I couldn't even think about the impending death that awaited me, it all started to happen so fast.

It pulled me to the edge, and I let out a cry as with one swift tug the force sent me over the edge into the unknown. I couldn't hold back my scream of terror.

"Blake! Wake up!"

I shot awake, sitting up with a gasp. I was lucky I was short enough so my head wouldn't hit the top of the bunk, which is probably the only reason I like being short. Other than that, my height deficiency kind of sucks.

I was met with the lovely presence of the head of our cabin, Lou Ellen. She was probably the only one of my siblings that tried to talk to me, but after I saw that it affected her relations with my other siblings, I made the bold decision to save her and push her away.

"Huh? What's going on?" I mumbled, my voice laced with sleep.

Lou Ellen laughed. "You didn't tell me you and Samson were hanging out, Blake. He seems very nice."

She winked at me, and I let out a hard breath, not really liking the innuendo she was putting in there. "Look, we're just friends and that's all we're ever going to be. Besides, he's like, totally out of my league."

Lou Ellen rolled her eyes. "Well, the guy who's so not out of your league is waiting for you. I guess he wants to walk you to breakfast."

I shook my head. "Look, whatever you think is going on is definitely not going on. So let me get dressed and out of your way."

Lou Ellen's eyebrows furrowed, obviously taken aback by my statement. "Blake, you're not a hindrance. I know it, and if you just prove yourself the others will too."

Sighing, I looked towards the door that I knew Samson was waiting behind. "I need to go. I'll see you later, Lou Ellen."

She nodded, and I inwardly cringed at the sad look on her face, knowing that it was my fault that she felt that way. I'm just glad she knew not to push anymore. It made this a whole lot easier.

I got out of bed and threw on my camp shirt and some jeans before I quickly brushed my teeth and threw on my favorite ball cap. I didn't bother throwing my hair into a pony tail or doing anything that required time because I knew Samson was probably getting bored.

I didn't think making him wait would be smart if I actually wanted him to be my friend.

Opening the door, I had to dodge a fist that came knocking. "It's too early to take a swing, Sam," I teased, laughing a bit at the look of horror as he realized how close he was to actually hitting me.

"Oh my gods, I'm so sorry, I was just knocking to see if you were up-"

"Relax, no harm no foul," I said, rolling my eyes at his weariness.

He smiled at me with his 100 watt smile that probably made most girls go weak at the knees, but I didn't really think of him that way so I guess I was immune to his charms.

"Do you want to head to breakfast? We will probably be a little late, but I think we'll be okay."

I suddenly noticed how empty the cabins were as everyone had already headed out to get food. "Are you sure you want to be seen with me?" I asked, half joking.

He scoffed, and threw an arm over my shoulders. "Look, I don't care what people think about me. I want to have breakfast with you, so I am going to have breakfast with you. No questions asked."

I nodded at his perfect answer, a small smile playing on my lips. I knew Samson had a lot of experience making people feel good about themselves, but if I didn't know he was a son of Hepheastus, I would have thought he inherited Aphrodite's Charm Speak.

The rest of the short walk to the Dining Pavilion was spent in a comfortable silence, which was actually kind of nice. We walked into the hall together, and I made sure we kept a safe difference apart so no one would get the wrong idea.

If I felt awkward from the stares at the camp fire, I sure did feel uncomfortable now. The entire camp pretty much stopped and looked at us when we walked in together, more or less taking notice of me. I cringed at the glares that were coming my way, primarily from Samson's fangirls and the Hephaestus cabin.

Everyone else seemed to shrug and carry on with eating and their conversations, but there were some glares that I couldn't shake, making me regret the idea of coming with Samson.

"Let's sit there," he directed me, pointing to an open table in the far corner of the hall. This was really supposed to be a table for guests, but after the Great War not many people have come around, so I normally sit there.

We sat down in silence, and I immediately thought of pancakes and orange juice and started to eat to my heart's content. I barely noticed how much of a pig I was being until Samson laughed.

"I didn't know you ate like that," he joked, quirking an eyebrow at me.

I paused at his remark, an entire pancake stuffed in my mouth, and simply shrugged before carrying on with eating my delicious meal. I mean, props to the god or goddess who made this possible because they always make the best food.

"So, what were you and Grover Underwood talking about last night?" Samson asked after he swallowed a large bite of food.

I looked at him oddly. "Why do you want to know?"

Shrugging, he replied, "I guess I've never seen you in a conversation with someone for that long before."

"Am I supposed to take offense to that?"

His eyes widened at my suddenly defensive nature kicking in, and he held his arms up in a surrendering gesture. "No! No, of course not. I mean, it's just that you were talking with him when my siblings and I left… it seemed to be very serious."

I sighed, and put my fork down onto my plate. "Look, apparently Chiron got him to check in with me and see why I wasn't using my powers. Grover had apparently just gotten to camp to visit with his girlfriend, and because of his connections with demigods Chiron decided to use Grover as an inside reference."

Samson nodded, his dark eyes darting to the head table where Chiron was conversing with Dionysus calmly.

"Why would Chiron care about you not using your magic?"

I rolled my eyes at his bluntness. "Besides the fact that I'm all sorts of amazing? I have no idea."

Samson believed the lie, and started to dig back into his food with what could be a worried look on his face. Any camper knew that if Chiron bothered to get involved with someone or something that there was going to be something going on, and soon.

I hope that it doesn't turn out to be too bad, seeing that I'm supposed to be in the main cast for this one.

"Samson?" I asked, my voice sounding as though I was in a daze. "Do you think you could teach me how to defend myself?"

He looked up at me, and I immediately knew the look I had seen before was definitely worry. "Why would you need to learn that?"

I shrugged, trying to look as complacent as possible. "Other than trying not to be eaten by monsters when I leave camp, you mean?"

Samson's eyes stared into mine, and I knew that he saw through my lie. But I also knew that he wasn't dumb enough to try and call me out on it. I knew he would think it would scare me away.

"You know you can tell me anything, Blake? No matter how bad it is? That's what friends do, you know. They tell each other things no matter how bad it turns out to be."

I nodded, turning my eyes away from his intensifying stare. "Of course."

"And Blake?" I looked up to see a softer look on his face. "I would love to teach you how to fight without your magic."

I nodded, a smile coming onto my face. "Thanks, Samson. Can we start today? If it's not too much to do, I mean. I know you actually go and participate with your cabin's activities."

He rolled his eyes at me. "You do realize that if you did the same thing you would be able to fight? I mean, holing yourself up in your cabin all day is probably why Chiron decided to check on you."

"Nico did the same thing, or don't you remember that?"

Samson crossed his arms at my sudden snap. "Nico, unlike you, actually used his magical powers and summoned undead warriors to practice with. So unlike you, Nico actually received some training. Even if it was very unformal."

I decided to ignore him and his stupid logic knowing that he was obviously too stubborn to let me win. I quickly finished my food and my orange juice before turning to him, seeing him poking at the remainder of his omelet.

I stood up out of my seat and picked up my tray. He looked up at me and opened his mouth to say something, and knowing him, it would probably be an apology. I held up my free hand and he snapped his mouth shut.

"Are you going to teach me or not? Because I don't know about you, but I have the rest of the day to learn some sick moves."

A small smile came onto his face, and his eyes lit up with enjoyment. He stood up, his large figure towering over me as it always does, never failing to make me feel like a complete midget.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" He asked, leading the way to the dumping station and out the dining pavilion, dozens of eyes following our every movement as we made our way out.

We reached the amphitheater quickly, as I was practically running from my excitement and Samson easily kept up with me. I've never really been this excited before, but learning how to do something without the crutch of my magic was very intriguing.

Once we got there, Samson led me to a shed that was just on the outside of the practice battlegrounds. I was confused, and he quickly saw that and explained, "Before I teach you how to fight, we need to find you a proper weapon."

Immediately on instinct my eyes widened and I rubbed a hand on the back of my neck in nervousness. "Wait, what? Why can't I just use one of the practice swords?"

"Look, I know you understand the basics of swordplay. There's no way you would have survived the Battle at Manhattan and the Great War without knowing it. Besides, if you want to be able to defend yourself in the real world, you're going to need a weapon."

"But I can use my-"

"Magic?" He rose an eyebrow. "You haven't performed a spell in years. Even if you were to in a life or death situation, we both know you're too out of practice to really make an actual difference."

I sighed, and nodded. Instead of acting like a three year old and denying it, I accepted my fate. I was going to need a weapon.

Samson smiled and opened the door, and we walked into a shed, or rather a warehouse of old-looking weapons. He immediately pointed out some small daggers that were easily concealed and good for someone who didn't really want to have a weapon, but none of them really felt right in my hand.

He directed me to the long swords, ones ancient sons and daughters of Hepheastus must have crafted, and just by the look of them I knew that if I even tried to pick one up, it would be a complete nightmare.

"Okay… so, what kind of weapon have you used?"

I shrugged, "I only ever fought with a knife, but it broke during the battle. I also did some sword work, Luke made sure that we were all up to par on our battle skills."

Samson nodded, and looked around the room before he stopped. "So, you can use a sword, but you need to be able to actually hold onto it… actually, I know what might work for you."

He opened a chest that looked really old, and pulled out a sword in a sheath. "I don't know where this came from, or really anything about it- but I do know that it was made from my father, because only he could make something like this."

He unsheathed the sword, and my eyes immediately widened. The sword was pure, almost like glass, but gold was molded through the glass making it seem very enchanting. "It's made out of celestial gold and some sort of glass isotope that is stronger than steel, I think."

I nodded, grabbing the sword from his hand and swinging it around, feeling as though it was like an extension of my arm- a perfect fit.

Samson jumped out of the way of the sword when it got too close. "Gods!" He exclaimed. "I'm glad you like it, but please point that thing someplace else."

I chuckled, a giddy feeling taking over me. I didn't think I would be able to sheath a weapon, more or less actually enjoy the feeling of it in my hand.

Samson dragged me outside into the amphitheater and immediately brought me towards some dummies. "Okay, Blake. Show me what you got."

I smirked at him, and nodded. "You bet."

It was if I remembered a part of my life that I had tried so hard to forget in an instant. The very memories that I had worked so hard to forget came back. The memories started to flood through me of my time following Kronos, and I felt myself being sucked into the past.

I started going through the routine I had learned before at the base camp the demigods who sided with Kronos went to. There wasn't any real name for it, but we did have a very organized training system, and swordplay was one of them.

Thrust

Side cut

Backhand side

Overhand

Overhand backhand…

I lost myself in the routine, feeling as though I was back with the traitors, back learning how to become a monster.

I immediately felt myself stop mid-swing, and I relaxed my stance, looking at the now completely beaten up dummy and Samson who was staring at me with wide eyes.

I felt myself drop the sword and I wrapped myself in my arms, staring coldly at the dummy in front of me. I was angry at myself for letting my emotions take over and letting myself become sucked into being a mindless machine. A monster.

Samson cleared his throat, turning my icy gaze towards him. I saw his eyebrows scrunch together at my sickened appearance, but he didn't comment on it. Instead he said, "I guess you don't really need me to teach you after all."

I let out a shaky breath and attempted to smile. "Just like riding a bike, I guess."

Samson nodded, and walked toward me and held out his arms slowly as if I was going to jump at any moment, before pulling me into a warm embrace. I stood still, not really knowing what to do, as he held me for a few seconds.

Then, I felt my knees give out.

I heard him gasp at the weight, but he held me up as I wrapped my arms around him. "I can't do this, Samson… it's turning me into something I'm not. I didn't even know I could do that, Samson. What else don't I remember?"

"You're going to okay, Blake. I won't let you become someone else. I'll help you… you just need to let me."

I pulled away from him and his embrace, and he looked down at me with a small smile. "Thank you, Samson. I mean, you could be hanging out with any person in this entire camp and you chose me. You make me want to be human."

He rolled his eyes. "Sister, as far as I'm concerned you're human. Well, part human part god. You're no monster, no matter how much you think you are. You still have your humanity left."

I nodded, and smiled. I was really happy to be able to call him my friend.

"Okay, now pick up that sword and show me some other moves of yours."

Laughing at the friendly innuendo in his voice, I reached down and grabbed my sword, and started to attack the dummy, but with different tactics. I decided to make my own routine, and avoid all flashbacks with caution.

But, all of the sudden, a new voice cut me off. "Samson, what are you doing?"

I immediately stopped and turned around at the masculine voice, curious to see who would approach us. I was surprised to see, standing there in all of his glory, was Aiden Thorne, son of Athena, and probably the most ruthless guy I've ever met.

Aiden's curly dark hair and his stormy grey eyes resembled his mother, along with the long and lean athletic figure that made him look as though he could have been on the cover of sport's edition. Everything about him was above standard, which also included his choice in friends.

And that's one of the main reasons why he refuses to even acknowledge my existence… until now.

"I'm helping Blake with some sword fighting. You can join us, if you'd like," Samson replied, his voice very tight as though he was expecting a confrontation.

"You cancelled on the strategy meeting for capture the flag to help her? Do you realize who she is?"

Samson glared at the enraged Aiden, and crossed his arms stubbornly. "First of all, her name is Blake, and yeah, I know who she is, but I've decided to give her a second chance."

I scoffed, looking between the two bumbling idiots with disdain. "Is that what I am, Samson? A charity case who needs to turn over a new leaf?"

Aiden rolled his ridiculously gray eyes. "Who asked for your opinion, traitor?"

"And who asked for yours, you pompous brat? Just because Sam wanted to help someone out doesn't mean you have to act like a two year old about it."

He sneered. "Traitor."

I grinned. "Brat."

Samson, becoming uncomfortable with the oncoming tension, and also probably obvious of the sword I still held in my hands, decided to speak up. "Okay, knock it off. Aiden, can we talk about this later? As in, get the hell away before she decides to slice you up? And Blake, please don't slice him up. He's my friend."

I dropped the sword, pissed off. Of course he wanted to talk to Mr. Arrogant Ass and toss me to the side. Just like he did with his siblings. Push Blake aside when you get bored is starting to become a common theme around here.

"You know what? I'll just go. I don't really want to get in the middle of a bromance anyways."

I stalked out of the amphitheater with clenched fists, hearing an apologizing Samson and a mocking Aiden as I left them behind me.