Getting a trumpet was surprisingly easier than I thought it would be. Turns out my six hours in the Hermes cabin served me well. The plan was simple, while Lexie distracted the man in charge of the tent I would run in grab a trumpet and get hopefully unseen.

As I waited outside the tent for Lexie to distract the man I heard the familiar sound of symbols falling to the floor along with several other percussion instruments. (When you have a clumsy percussion section, you get used to hearing it.)

"Hey what do you think you're doing!?" Shouted a man's voice inside the tent. I went around the back of the tent as the man shouted at Lexie. I lifted the cloth wall at the back and entered without being noticed.

"Oh I am so sorry! I was just walking by and all of a sudden all of this falls to the floor! I swear I didn't touch a thing! Please don't be mad."

"Just get out! Didn't you see the sign 'No kids allowed without parents." I could picture Lexie grumbling to herself about not being a kid, as I searched the back of the tent for a trumpet I could use. If it were under different circumstances I would have been in heaven, there were so many to choose from!

"Oh, but let me at least help you pick all of this up. I feel bad enough as it is, and I'd feel so much worse if I just left leaving you to pick all of this up." I stopped at a silver trumpet that was lying in an open case, I picked it up and replaced it with a note that said:

I-O-U 1 trumpet.

I then slipped out of the tent and bolted for the meeting spot Lexie and I decided on.

"Well I suppose you could stay and hel-"

She looked back to see me standing a few tents away holding the instrument. "Oh sorry my parents are calling for me, I have to go." She said backing out of the tent, "I'm really sorry sir!" She shouted before running off to join me.

/\/\/\/\

"So what exactly am I being forced to do?" I asked Lexie as we crouched next to the stage.

"First off I didn't force you, I gave you a choice, and you chose to do this. You're going to go up there and challenge Linus to a... Music Off? Is that what this is called?"

"Does it matter?"

"Not really. So you're going to challenge him and beat him so you'll be considered the most worthy musician and get the lyre so we can leave before the sun set which is in about twenty minutes. So no pressure." Lexie grinned while shoving me towards the stairs.

"Have I told you how much I hate you right now?"

"What!?" She shouted grinning while cupping her hand behind her ear as if to help her hear me, "Sorry I can't hear you over huge crowed you're going to perform for!"

I glared at her. "You owe me."

"Don't expect me to ever repay you."

I ignored her and made my way up the stairs leading to the stage. I had no idea as to how I was going to approach this situation, I figured I'd just wait for someone to acknowledge me and wing it from there.

I made it to the top of the stage and could already feel the stares of the people in the crowd, I felt my heart rate increase as I walked up to Linus. Gradually the roar of the crowd died down probably because they had no idea who this ginger kid was and more importantly why was he interrupting their concert.

Linus must have noticed the lack of enthusiasm in the crowd because he turned around to see what the problem could be. "Sorry, no fans on stage." He shooed me away with his hand.

"Well that's a relief because he's not a fan!" I heard Lexie call from behind me. I ignored her.

"Yeah um..." I coughed uncomfortably. "I- I umm, want to challenge you."

"Oh really? Sorry kid, but I share the spotlight with no one."

"BOO! BOO!" I'll let you guess who that was.

"What afraid you're going to get showed up at your own game?"

"Excuse me boy?" He exclaimed leaning against the golden lyre-guitar. "You think you're better than me?" He looked to the crowd. "Lets ask the crowd what they think. What do you guys think? Should we give the kid a chance?!" He announced to the crowd.

"WOOO YEAH! WOOO YEAH! LETS GO GINGER!" Again I'll let you guess who that was.

Regardless, Lexie's plan seemed to work; the crowd responded just as enthusiastically as her.

"All right ginger what are the rules?"

"Who ever the crowd likes more wins." I paused. "Who ever wins gets the other person's instrument."

"Deal. Don't worry folks this won't last too long." He said turning to the crowd, and then back to me. "Name your style."

"Wait, you gotta swear on the terms." I interrupted.

"Fine, I swear on my black heart I will give you the lyre if you win."

I stopped him. "Now actually swear on it, I don't trust you."

"Fine I swear on the River Styx and the band." He sighed. "Now, what kind of music did you have in mind?" He leaned even heavier on the lyre now.

"How about at jazz?"

"Haha! You need soul to play jazz boy. And I know for a fact that you have no soul." He said while gesturing to my red hair.

"I've got plenty of soul, think you got enough?" I spat towards him, more for effect than anything.

He just smirked at me and stepped forward. "Well then, I'll go first, I am the star after all." He brought the lyre up in both his hands and played a few lines. It had a blues quality that reminded me of what my section leader would have us warm up on. The crowd was cheering loudly when he was done. "Beat that ginger. If you back down now I might sign your shirt."

"I can and will." I grinned bringing my trumpet up to my lips. I played a song I had played. I played a section of "Ain't That a Kick in the Head." "That got enough soul for you?" I joked.

He sneered angrily as he noticed the crowd was cheering just as much for me as it had been for him. "You're going to need a lot more than that to compete with the big boy's."

"Good thing you're not so big." I answered sarcastically. "Now's your last chance to win, go break a leg, really break your leg."

He sneered again before he went back to playing his lyre. It sounded like he was playing electric guitar. The instrument blared guitar rhythms from some old band my father listened too. The crowd around us got really excited and started to cheer even louder for Linos. When he finished he looked over at me. "Want to surrender now, or want to look like a bigger fool than you already do?" His words stung like bee's.

I honestly wanted to surrender. How could I compete with him, he was too good. I heard a female voice in my head say 'fear is more powerful than any army, fear can route armies and topple empires.' The voice sounded familiar. 'Focus my son, focus on the task at hand.' I knew who it was in that instant. It was my mother, I half wanted to cheer out in joy, and half thought I was crazy.

"Are you going to play or not?" asked Lenus, waking me from my thoughts. "I don't have all day." He leaned against the stage backdrop and plucked his strings casualty.

I took a deep breath and prepared to play again. The notes ran through my head, I remembered every quarter note, every rest. I made a prayer to my mother and lifted my horn. I played 'West End Blues.' Another song I had learned in jazz band, I flew through the intro and onto the part that was normally the solo, as I approached the part that I always messed up no matter how hard I tried I tensed, I was starting to get nervous. I wavered for a minute as the notes flew by but I didn't stop, before I knew it I had finished the song.

I hadn't noticed it but the crowd had started to dance to the blues tune. I looked to the very back and Apollo was smiling in the very back. My success was probably because of him. The god tapped on his watch, signaling me that we were running out of time.

"Well, Linus I guess I win."

His face grew an angry red. "Are you sure we can't come to some sort of arrangement?" He battered. "I'm sure there is something you want. Two demigods in the middle of the county, maybe you need information... or a car?"

I didn't have time to answer before my sister came up behind us and yanked the lyre from his hands. "Thanks, but no thanks." Lexie started towing me off the stage and towards Apollo. Once we got there the sun god took the instrument from her.

"Thank you, I thought you wouldn't make it." He looked to the horizon, the Sun had begun to set. He pointed over to a delivery van. "It should get you as far as Arizona." He waited a moment. "I must go, your friend is waiting for you two at the cafe over there." He gave Lexie a blinding grin and a wink before jogging over to the bus as it turned back into a sports car, he jumped over the side and drove away.