Wow! 20+ reviews! (okay, 21, but I felt cool saying 20+)
I seriously thought this story would get, like, three! You guys are so awesome *blushes*
You know the drill. Dialogue and characters belong to Rick Riordan!
Piper stared around the central green. I had to admit, it was pretty impressive.
Piper stared at a group of kids playing basketball. All their shots sank in without touching the rim.
"Apollo's cabin," I told her. "Bunch of show-offs with missile weapons—arrows, basketballs."
She nodded, her mouth slightly open, and I steered her towards the fire pit, where two guys were slashing each other with swords.
"Real blades?" Piper asked. "Isn't that dangerous?"
"That's sort of the point," I said. I blinked. "Uh, sorry. Bad pun. That's my cabin over there. Number Six." I gestured towards it.
We walked by it, and Piper looked through the slightly open door. I glanced in, too.
It was a complete mess. Someone had left a SMART board flickering on and another and left sheets of blueprints strewn across a table. I didn't want her to see the mess.
"Uh, speaking of blades, come here."
I took her around to the side of the cabin to the weapon's shed. I pulled out a set of keys and unlocked the door. I motioned her inside.
"Every demigod needs a weapon," I said. "Hephaestus makes the best, but we have a pretty good selection, too. Athena's all about strategy—matching the right weapon the right person. Let's see…"
I looked around and picked up a sword.
Piper's arm almost fell off from the weight.
"No," we both said.
I wandered to the back of the shed and found a cool weapon. I handed it to her.
"A shotgun?" Piper asked.
"Mossberg 500." I checked the pump action to see if it was still working. "Don't worry. It doesn't hurt humans. It's modified to shoot Celestial bronze, so it only kills monsters.
"Um, I don't think that's my style," Piper said nervously.
"Mmm, yeah…too flashy." I placed it on top of a shield and started looking through a rack of crossbows.
"Hey, what's that?" Piper asked. "A knife?"
I turned around and my stomach dropped.
"Uh…I don't know Piper," I said uneasily. "I don't think you want this one. Swords are usually better."
"You use a knife," Piper pointed out.
"Yeah, but…" I gave up arguing. "Well, take a look if you want."
She pulled the knife out of the sheath and weighed it in her hand. She looked relaxed, and the knife looked perfect with her.
"It suits you," I admitted. "That kind of blade is called a parazonium. It was mostly ceremonial, carried by high-ranking officers in the Greek armies. It showed you were a person of power and wealth, but in a fight, it could protect you just fine."
"I like it," Piper said. "Why didn't you think it was right?"
I breathed out. "That blade has a long story. Most people would be afraid to claim it. Its first owner…well, things didn't turn out too well for her. Her name was Helen."
"Wait, you mean the Helen? Helen of Troy?"
I nodded.
Her face paled, and she gingerly held the knife. "And it's just sitting in your toolshed?"
"We're surrounded by Ancient Greek stuff. This isn't a museum. Weapons like that—they're meant to be used. They're out heritage as demigods. That was a wedding present from Menelaus, Helen's first husband. She named the dagger Katoptris."
"Meaning?"
"Mirror," I said. "Looking glass. Probably because that's the only thing Helen used it for. I don't think it's ever seen battle."
Piper lifted the blade up and looked at her reflection.
Suddenly, her eyes widened and her face went pale. Her hands went slack and her eyes rolled into the back of her head.
She dropped the blade.
"Piper?" I knew that blade was bad news. I started to run outside. "Medic! I need some help over here!"
Piper came to. "No, it's—it's okay," she mumbled.
"You sure?"
"Yeah, I just..." Her hands were trembling as she bent down to pick up the dagger. "I got overwhelmed. So much happening today. But...I want to keep the dagger, if that's okay."
I looked at her. After the first five seconds of holding the blade, she had almost collapsed.
I let the feeling go.
I turned to the Apollo kids, who had abandoned their game and were running towards us, and waved them off.
"Okay...if you're sure. You turned really pale, there. I thought you were having a seizure or something."
"I'm fine. Is there...um, a phone at camp? Can I call my dad?"
I looked at her again. "We aren't allowed phones," I said. "Most demigods, if they use a cell phone, it's like sending up a signal, letting the monsters know where you are. But...I've got one." I pulled it out of my pocket and handed it to her. "Kind of against the rules, but if it can be our secret..."
She took it from me and walked out of the shed, turning towards the ring of cabins.
While she was talking on the phone, I thought about what happened.
Something was strange about Piper. She wasn't strange like Jason, but something was definitely up. She always had a frightened look in her eyes, although she was trying really hard to hide it.
And when she looked into the dagger...
I always knew the blade was cursed, but—
Piper walked back to me, handing me the phone.
"No luck?" I asked.
Piper didn't answer and avoided my gaze.
I looked at my phone and then stared.
"Your last name is McLean?" I caught myself. "Sorry, it's not my business. But that sounds really familiar."
"Common name," Piper said shortly.
"Yeah, I guess. What does your dad do?"
"He's got a degree in the arts. He's a Cherokee artist," she said, almost automatically.
"Oh," I said. I could tell she wasn't telling the truth, but I dropped it. I'd been doing that a lot with her. "You feeling okay? Want to keep going?"
Piper busied herself with fastening the dagger to her belt. When she felt like she'd taken long enough, she looked up.
"Sure," she said. "I want to see everything."
Whoopee-doo and la-dee-da! Chapter nine is now up!
I thought I might respond to some reviews :)
Starkid Rocks: Thank you! I wish I was Rick Riordan...and I purposely wanted to make Annabeth the complete opposite of Bella, so I'm glad you saw that! PS. Your username rocks.
softball4ever: I really don't know how long I plan to carry out the story. I still haven't decided if I want to create some Mark of Athena stuff. I'm thinking I'll stop it when Percy and Annabeth reunite. Let Rick do the adventure parts. Also, I think that tons of people have done their own take of MoA, so I don't want to be just another story like that.
bookworm909: Great ideas! I was thinking of what would happen after tLH stuff. It's kind of been writing itself right now, so your ideas are awesome. Thank you for your reviews! :)
Okay...I think that's enough A/N for one chapter.
Please leave me a review! I cherish every one!
PS. That sounded like something off of a Hallmark Christmas card...