"Um, w-what do you mean?" I asked, defaulting to the play dumb routine. No one was supposed to know about my power, yet somehow within 24 hours I have undone what Mother and I spent years hiding.

"You and I both know that Laelaps was dead before Kelsey's sword touched her," Rory replied. His voice was low, but not in a threatening way. I glanced up to the rearview mirror and saw that his brown eyes were staring back at me. "You didn't have a weapon on you, and the dog died after you grabbed her. So, Penelope, was it your hands that killed the dog?" I pursed my lips, and quickly looked down. Rory knows. There was no doubt in my mind. If Mother found out, I would definitely be in trouble. I could practically feel mother's harsh gaze falling on me, despite her being miles away. My fingers found their way to the scar on my palm. I needed to come up with something, some kind of excuse that would save me from the inevitable humiliation and isolation that would follow if someone like Rory were to find out about my powers. But, no matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find a good excuse for how I killed a demon dog with my bare hands.

"Actually, I don't even know how to explain how the Devil's hands work?" I frowned and clasped my hands together. "I can't just say, 'it's like the midas touch, but with pain and death instead of gold." I didn't want Rory to see me how I did, how mother did. I wanted him to think I was the kind girl he was introduced to before, not… whatever I actually was. Hopefully, he would accept being kept in the dark, even if it was for just a bit longer.

"I-I'm s-sorry," I stammered, "I'm n-not supposed to say." I cleared my throat, and continued to look down at my folded hands. I didn't want to look at the disappointment on Rory's face, and tried not to think of Mother's dismay over someone finding out about my power.

"Hmmm… Okay," Rory said nonchalantly.

"What?" I whispered, confused by the boy's response. I wasn't expecting him to drop the subject so quickly.

"I mean, you don't want to talk about your powers, and that's fine," Rory replied, "I know plenty of kids at camp who are a bit shy and awkward when it comes to their powers. Heck, my half sister, Urvi, she still hasn't gotten complete control of her powers. I find that it's best not to pry, and let people open up at their own pace. Don't you agree?"

"Uh...yeah," I said. I couldn't help, but smile.

"Yeah," Rory chirped in agreement, "So far I've been able to curse people's weapons. Like making arrows fly off course, making swords hot to the touch, and weakening metal."

"Oh, uh, I guess that'd be pretty handy in a swordfight, huh?" I said, attempting to keep the small talk going.

"Of course. It pisses the other campers off, though. They call it cheating, but I think of it more like using my resources properly." Rory chuckled, and I let out a small laugh.

"On a serious note, though, I ask about your powers because I want you to know camp is a place where it is safe to be yourself. You'll be fine, and you know, if you want me to, I'll find you some gloves to wear when we get there. Sound good?"

"Yeah," I replied, having almost completely forgotten about the distress I felt before. I rested my head on the back of Rory's chair again. "Thank you, Rory."

"Not a problem," Rory hummed back, "That's what friends are for, right?" I glanced back at Kelsey.

"If she found out about the Devil's hands, would she have acted so calmly?" I asked myself. I shut my eyes, giving the question some thought. When I opened them again, I smiled. "Kelsey has been my best friend throughout this entire year. She has accepted me, and stuck by me despite my flaws. If I was going to tell anyone about the Devil's hands, I'd want her to be the first to know." I nodded and sat back against my chair. I looked out the window, and watched as the sun reemerged from the horizon.

Now having some reading light, I decided to picked up one of my books, and try to read. It'd be best to try to learn some things before we got to the camp. The greek myths for kids was pretty much a collection of dumbed down and censored greek myths. The guide on the other hand was more about describing the many different people and tragedies throughout mythology. There had even been one on Laelaps. She was supposedly a gift from Zeus, a hound who could catch whatever she was hunting. One day the hound was sent after the Tuemessian fox, a fox who could never be caught. Since they both contradicted themselves, and created a paradox, Zeus turned them into stone and then constellations.

"But if they were constellations how was Laelaps able to appear and attack us. Twice." Thinking about it, I didn't get my answers from Rory earlier, and now was as good a time as any to ask him. I was about to ask Rory, but a sudden swerve and bump made me drop my book and grip the car seats for dear life. Through the rearview mirror I saw Rory's eyes slowly close and then snap open. The coffee was losing its effect, and the teen was falling asleep. Rory swerved again.

"Rory!" I yelled. His eyes snapped open again, and began darting about.

"The road!" I yelled pointing to the sidewalk we were about to drive into. Rory swore under his breath and quickly jerked the wheel to the left. We just barely missed hitting the cement, and were back to melding in with traffic. Rory and I sighed in relief.

"Sorry, I guess I started dozing off," he said.

"Yeah, I noticed," I said, placing a hand over my quick beating heart. I glanced at Kelsey who was still sleeping. She must be a heavy sleeper whenever monsters weren't around.

"Speaking of which…"

"How did Laelaps come back to life?" I asked, thinking questions would help him stay awake. He'd be more focus, and I'd get some of my questions answered. Rory yawned loudly, but kept his eyes open.

"Well, all monsters do," Rory explained, "We kill them, and they turn to dust. Then, their souls are sent to Tartarus. You've read about that, right?" I nodded. Tartarus was a large pit in the underworld where the gods' enemies were held.

"Well, they slowly reform in there and return back to try to kill halfbloods. Although, Laelaps should not have reformed after only a few hours." He paused and honked his horn at the car in front of us. "Maybe it was just her determination to catch her prey."

"Why are we her prey?" I asked.

"Because we got away," Rory replied, bluntly, "The mutts got a reputation to uphold."

"Does that mean she's going to come after us again?"

"If she has any sense she'll drop it, and go hunt some ducks or something." Rory sniffed and sat up.

"Hey, we're almost there," Rory said. I relaxed a bit. I was glad we were getting closer to safety, and as long as Rory didn't kill us from falling asleep behind the wheel we should be home free.

"Do you need me to keep talking to you?" I asked.

"No, keep reading your book," Rory said, opening a window. I huffed and picked up one of my books. Rory cut on the radio and Rihanna started to play in the background. I began to read a story about how Hades had gotten Persephone to stay in the underworld with him for half a year in the fall and winter. I had just read the part where she ate pomegranate seeds when I noticed the air above Kelsey's head was shifting. It looked like tiny particles in the air were moving together to form an image. I watched as the particles shimmered and flicked into a group of people sitting amongst a pile of rocks by a lake. My attention was drawn to the two teens in the front pushing at each other's faces. The first was a young black male with lavender eyes that seemed to twinkle in amusement. A mischievous smile was spread across his lips as he held the other camper away from him. Said camper was a small brunette girl with furious green eyes. Her olive skin was almost beet red with anger, and she looked very close to frothing from the mouth. She was swatting at the taller boy, fingers reaching for his face. The purple eyed boy had superior arm length, and was able to keep his face out of the girls reach. The last teen was a young brown girl who's jet black hair had been neatly pulled back into a bun. She sat on a large boulder with her legs crossed neatly. Dark, almost black colored eyes watched the others. She reminded me of a cat, observant and alert. Like the other three in the group, she wore an orange shirt with black letters reading Camp Halfblood. I also noticed that she wore a small woven necklace with a single bead. I looked to the others and saw they had beads too. The other girl had two beads while the boy had one. It was too hard to see the designs on the individual beads, but I'm sure I'll be able to check them out when I meet them.

"Rory!" The stoic girl called out. Immediately, the quarreling two stopped what they were doing and smiled at the magic screen. Rory looked startled for a moment but once he recognized who was talking he cut off the radio and grinned.

"Urvi, hey. I see you too, Anzu and Lit," Rory replied, nodding to each of the teens respectively, "How've you guys been?"

"It'd be great if these two would stop bickering for once," said the solemn girl, Urvi, rolling her pitch black eyes. As soon as the girl spoke, Kelsey's eyes opened. She didn't say anything. She just watched, and listened like me.

"Oh please, when has Anzu ever stopped picking fights?" Rory joked.

"Hey! The brunette shouted, green eyes glaring at Rory, "I wouldn't get into so many fights if you people weren't so infuriating."

"Sure you wouldn't," Rory said sarcastically. Anzu, looked like she wanted to tear Rory's head off. Lit leaned from left to right, violet eyes trying to see around Rory.

"You brought fresh meat?" The boy asked, playful grin still on. Before Rory could speak Urvi replied.

"I thought that was Kelsey's job," she said an eyebrow raised. This was the first time anyone on the screen acknowledged Kelsey. The entire group was looking at her now, and Kelsey's usual cheery face was one more bitter.

"Oh, hey Kels," the boy greeted, in hopes of lightening my friend's mood. The others nodded and waved. Kelsey's face relaxed slightly.

"Hello, and I am doing my job Urvi," Kelsey said stiffly. There was clearly some tension between the two. I didn't want an argument to break out, so I decided to speak up. I did so just as Urvi opened her mouth.

"Um, hi." I gave a small wave, "I'm Penelope. Penelope Hosh." Urvi shut her mouth, and squinted at me. A small spike of anxiety welled up inside of my stomach as all eyes turned to me.

"Sup, I'm Anna Matias, but you can call me Anzu," Anzu said. Her kindness made me feel slightly at ease. Anzu gestured to the lavender eyed boy she was fighting with before, "This here is Triston, but everyone just calls him Lit."

"Lit?" I parroted, not understanding where you'd get Lit from Triston.

"Yeah, it's a long story. Don't ask," the boy laughed.

"Um, okay," I said, eyes moving to the last kid. "A-and you're Urvi?" I asked, using process of elimination. The girl sighed loudly, as if the response would be too much effort to give.

"Urvi Pisal, and I'm sorry to say this, but you don't look like much Miss Penelope," the girl said bluntly.

"W-what?" I stuttered, thrown off by her statement.

"To put it simply, you don't look like you'd make a good fighter," Urvi restated. I frowned, "I can see your eyes look a little puffy. You've been crying, haven't you?"

"No," I said in defense. My voice sounded strained, and unconvincing. I didn't respond. In that single moment I felt like any chances of me looking cool in front of these new people were dashed. I wiped at my cheeks furiously.

"Oi, Urvi, be nice," Rory scolded sternly.

"It's the truth. Crybaby's don't make good fighters," Urvi huffed, "I bet she pissed herself when a monster came for her."

"Actually, Pen single handedly faced down, Laelaps," Kelsey said. Urvi looked slightly surprised, "You should have seen it." Kelsey went on to recite the tale of how I face Laelaps a few hours ago. She had exaggerated many of the details, of course, but her tale was definitely earning me some cool points. I smiled, taking pride that my best friend had my back.

"Are you guys close bye?" Anzu asked, once Kelsey's tale had ended.

"Yup, we should be there in forty five minutes," Rory said with a nod.

"Seriously? How did you get here so fast?" He rubbed the back of his neck, like Kelsey would when she did something she knew would get her scolded.

"Well, let's just say I may or may not have used a few illegal shortcuts." I shot Rory a look, but he just shrugged it off. "Pen's going to need a tour when we get there."

"We've got you covered!" Lit said excitedly.

"Perfect. I have to focus on the road, so I'll see you guys later."

"Bye guys," Kelsey waved.

"Uh, bye," I said, smiling at the group. The group of teens waved back and bid farewell. Lit lifted his hand, and waved it through the across the screen on his side. As his hand moved through the image, the group disappeared from view.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Iris message," Kelsey said, "With the help of the goddess Iris we can message people pretty much anywhere as long as we have a rainbow."

"Iris... Iris," I quickly scanned my book for the goddess.

"Goddess of rainbows. We've got plenty of her kids back at camp."

"Were any of them Iris' kids?"

"Nah, but I'm sure you'll run into a few in no time."

"Then, who are their parents? Godly ones, I mean." Kelsey started to tell me, but stopped. She smiled.

"It'd be more fun if you find out on your own," she giggled. I sighed, a little annoyed at the blonde's antics, but I was used to them by now.

"Hey, aren't you supposed to turn up here?" Kelsey asked Rory, pointing out the window.

"Oh, right," Rory said, turning the steering wheel to the right,. "Pen, we're going to have to move pretty quickly. How fast can you move with your suitcases?"

"I guess I can run," I said, "Why?"

"We'll have to hurry through a clearing just outside the entrance, and monsters may come out." I fidgeted, remembering Laelaps' attack.

"I mean, I'll still protect you, but we'll need to move quickly," he said. I turned to Kelsey who was wiggling her eyebrows up and down.

"Stop," I mouthed, giving her a stern look. She cracked a smile, and had to cover her mouth with her hand to stifle a giggle.

"You see that big tree over that hill?" Rory asked, nodding to the right. I looked and saw it, a lone tree standing on the opposite side of a large, grassy hill. As I peered closer I saw smoke coming up from near the tree.

"The tree's on fire!" I gasped.

"No, we have a... guard dragon." Kelsey said.

"Yes, because that makes more sense," I muttered sarcastically. Kelsey was about to retort, but Rory cut her off.

"No time," He had parked the car outside a small garage, behind three large white vans. I peered at the closest one, and on the side it read "Delphi Strawberry Service".

"Strawberries? But, I thought this was a summer camp." A hand snapped in front of my face, breaking my concentration. It was Kelsey. She was now in the back seat, gesturing for me to get out of the car. Rory was outside acting like a lookout. His brown eyes darted about, searching for any sign of danger.

"Let's go!" He shouted, pressing a button on his car keys. The trunk of the car opened with a dull pop. I quickly grabbed my books and got out after Kelsey. Rory pulled out the two suitcases we had brought, and a large dark blue duffel bag. On the side was our school mascot. A barracuda with it's fanged jaw agape, the corner of its fish lips tilted in a smile. Rory tossed the bag over his shoulder, and distributed the suitcases to Kelsey and me. He looked around, checking the surroundings once more, and then took off running. Kelsey quickly followed with me running close behind. We rushed uphill, which wasn't easy with the heavy suitcases weighing us down. I stumbled a few times over hidden rocks that jutted up in the grass. It seemed like we were home free as we made it to the peak of the hill. That is, until I heard a loud caw. I looked up to see half a dozen birds with shiny beaks circling above us.

"Crap," Rory hissed. He stopped running, and pulled out his dagger. I slowed down, and upon seeing the two of us were lagging, Kelsey stopped, too. Rory angrily swatted back at us. A signal of dismissal.

"Keep going until you get past the tree," he said, no longer shouting. Although he was quieter now, it made me feel more tense. "You'll see farm house. Go in there."

"I know the way," Kelsey grumbled back, "Let's go, Penelope."

"But what about-" I started, but stopped when one of the birds snapped it's wings open, and its feathers, no bigger than the blades of a scissor, zipped down and slashed at Rory. The feathers were as sharp as razors, and easily tore through his shirt and skin. Rory clicked his teeth, holding his now bleeding arm.

"So, that's how we're going to play this," he said to the birds, as blood leaked through his fingers. I stiffened. There was something dangerous in boy's voice. A tremble, but it wasn't from fear. No. It was something else, something more… feral. It was as if Rory was trying to hold something back. An odd feeling seemed to pulsate from the boy. I felt myself become irritated, and angry. I wanted to reach up and grab the birds. Show them who was boss. Kelsey seemed to be feeling the same way because she drew her sword with a dangerous sneer on her face. I could feel my blood boil as I watched the birds circle faster and faster. I wanted to kill them. All of them. Make them regret ever messing with us. Rory looked back at us, and muttered something under his breath, Just like that the feeling was gone. Rory roughly shoved Kelsey and I towards the hill.

"I said to run," he shouted. I felt the same pulse of fury I had felt before, but this time I ignored it. I had to focus on lugging my suitcase and myself to safety. I ran in the direction Rory had told me, Kelsey following close behind. We were heading downhill, and it was hard to navigate with the rocks and roots sticking out of the ground. I took a glance back at the birds to see a few had broken off from their group, and were heading towards us.

"Kelsey," I warned. She glanced back, and her eyes widened.

"Down," she shouted, grabbing me by the hood and pulling her sword out. The birds screamed and Kelsey stepped in front of me. I held my breath, fearing for the girl's life. Kelsey, however, was holding her own. Kelsey now had her sword out, and with unnatural precision and speed, she cut each and every one of the feathers out of the air.

"How'd you do that?" I gasped, staring down at the metal weapons scattered about.

"Absolute Luck, my dear lady," Kelsey beamed.

"No time!" Rory yelled. Kelsey rolled her eyes and grabbed me by the arm, which was luckily covered by my jacket sleeve. She pulled me forward, so that I was running ahead of both her and Rory. I glanced back to see Rory stop, and toss his shield up at the birds. They birds momentarily scattered, but two divebombed at Rory upon seeing him defenseless.

"Rory!" I shouted. The birds tore at his clothes with their talons and beaks.

"He'll be fine," Kelsey yelled, "Just get to the barnhouse." Reluctantly, I looked away from the boy, but not before seeing him catch his shield, and smash it into the closest bird.

I heard a screech, and another slew of razor feathers hailed down. I screamed, ducking down, and using my only free hand to try to cover my head. I heard the sound of metal against metal, and a grunt from Kelsey as she tried to deflect more of the feathers. Her luck must have been wearing off because I felt a few of the feathers cut into my clothes. One feather, even got stuck in the sleeve of my jacket. I could feel the cold serrated edge of the feather rub against the back of my arm every time I moved it. Luckily, none of the feathers had torn through my skin, but I had started to panick. I couldn't slow down, I was too afraid that if I did, one of these birds would get their opening to shoot me in a vital spot. As we continued to run a few of the birds began to divebomb us. Kelsey muttered curses under her breath, a sign that she was starting to panic as well. These birds were a lot quicker than Laelaps was, and because I had to watch where I was running in order to keep myself from falling, I couldn't see where the birds would be coming from. One of the bird's clipped the back of my arm, tearing open the sleeve of my jacket, right as Kelsey and I reached the bottom of the hill. There was a good stretch to go before we would get to the safety of the white house, and the birds were relentless. I shouted, and ducked my head down as one went for my hair. This time the bird managed to cut through my skin, and I felt the warm blood ooze down the back of my neck.

"At this rate I was going to be minced meat in minutes," I thought, pumping my arms. I had been so distracted that I hadn't noticed an upturned tree root. I stumbled over it, and as I fell I reached out and grabbed a hold of Kelsey's shirt. The blonde yelped as we both fell down, crashing into the uneven, stone riddled grass. Kelsey groaned, and shifted beside me. I saw she had taken the brunt of the birds attacks, a series of cuts, including a large gash on her forehead, decorated her body. Like me, she was breathing hard from sprinting, but her eyes were shut for so long, I was afraid she passed out.

"Kelsey?" I choked, shaking the girl's shoulder. Groggily, she opened her eyes.

"...'smy sword," The girl slurred. I looked around for her sword, but couldn't see it in our immediate proximity. I pushed myself off the ground, and tried to stand. My lungs felt like they were going to burst, and my arms and legs were exceedingly sore, not only from the rocky landing, but also from running briskly for an extended period of time. I looked about, to see Kelsey's sword had flown well out of arm's reach. The familiar screech of the metal birds brought my attention upwards. Just as they had when we first started up the hill, the birds were circling us. Their beady eyes looked down at us as if trying to decide which one to pick off first. I glanced back down at Kelsey. She was struggling to get up, no doubt the cost of using so much of her luck, and suffering so many injuries. The birds were too quick. They'd get to us before either could get to her sword. Kelsey must have sensed this as well because she grabbed me by the leg. I felt an unexpected burst of energy, and my entire body began to tingle.

"Run," Kelsey panted.

"Not without you," I added. Careful not to actually touch her skin, I attempted to lift Kelsey up. Alas, I was not very strong, and Kelsey was heavier than I expected. I carefully laid her back down, and briefly turned back to the birds. My only chance was to go for the sword. I gulped, but something within me told me I could do it. I took a deep breath, and bolted to the weapon. The birds squawked and swooped down. I launched myself forwards, reaching for the sword handle at the same time the bird's talons reached for my face. I shut my eyes as I, once again, slid in the grass. My fingers brushed the handle of the sword right as the bird's cries rang out in my ears. Eyes still shut, I tensed up, waiting for their claws to dig into my skin and tear me apart. But that didn't happened.

There was a loud squawk and a thump. I slowly opened my eyes to see that one of the birds had been shot out of the sky, an arrow sticking out of its side. I blinked hard, unable to believe me eyes, and I saw another two go down. Then another. The last of their flock broke up their circular formation and flew off. I sat up and saw two teens holding bows pointed at the was Urvi and another girl with long, sunny blonde hair.

"You've got this, Sammy?" Urvi asked as she made her way to us. The other girl nodded, notching another bow.

"Are you okay?" Urvi asked extending her arm to help me up.

"We're fine. Thanks to you two." I said getting up by myself. Urvi looked at her extended hand, then back at me, and back at her hand before putting it down. I smiled awkwardly, hoping she wasn't upset I hadn't taken her help. Urvi turned and jogged back to kelsey too help her up. Kelsey didn't look happy about having to get Urvi's help, but she still accepted it.

"Thanks, Urvi," she mumbled, trying to keep balanced. Rory crashed in behind us, scratches all over his body and his shield. His sword had been put away, and in his hands were the body of two dead birds.

"Gross."

"Hey, didn't expect you to be apart of our welcome wagon," he panted, doubling over from the run.

"You should get yourself checked before you start cracking jokes," Urvi shot back, a small smirk pulling at her lips, "Come on. More of the Styphilian birds may come."

I picked up my suitcase and Kelsey's. Rory and I quickly followed Urvi and Kelsey, with Sammy trailing behind, bow at the ready. We made it to the barnhouse without anymore monster attacks. Urvi and Rory helped Kelsey up the front porch. Rory opened the front door, and Kelsey stumbled in with Urvi right behind her. The inside of the building was dark, and I couldn't see any part of the other two girls after they stepped inside. I began to slow down, unsure of why they had suddenly disappeared, and wondering if this was the safe haven I was led to believe. A gentle hand on my back urged me to keep going. It was Sammy.

"Don't slow down now. We're almost at the border," she said encouragingly.

"The border?" I repeated, looking at the black hole that was the building's entrance. Sammy gave me a reassuring pat on the back, and I slowly ascended up the steps. Rory smiled gently as I appreached the door. He still had the nasty birds in his hands as he ushered me to the door. I frowned, but stepped forward. I shut my eyes and took a few steps into the darkness. It was just as warm inside as it was outside. I slowly shuffled forward, not wanting to run into any furniture accidentally. The floor felt very hard and uneven. I heard the sound of activity in the distance, including what sounded like the voices of children.

"Open your eyes, Pen," Kelsey said, now right in front of me. I did as I was told, and saw that the reason the inside of the building felt like the outside was because I was still outdoors. Instead of standing inside a barnhouse, I was in a dirt pit, tons of kids who looked my age or younger were running around or talking to each other in the shade of large cabin buildings. I caught my breath and looked back to my friends who were calmly strolling back to me. The barnhouse had disappeared, and in its place was the back of a large stone archway. On the top of the arch was a wooden plaque that read 'camp halfblood'. I must have been staring for awhile because Kelsey grabbed me by the shoulders and shook me roughly.

"Ah! Kelse stop!" I cried, very startled.

"Geez, what's with you?" The girl sighed, "You've been a space cadet this whole trip."

"Sorry," I shrugged, giving her a wry smile, "I'm just taking everything in." Kelsey grinned.

"Welcome to Camp, Penelope," she said, "Come on, it's time to meet the others."