Chapter 11: Razor Moonlight
Annabeth woke up shivering, a blanket wrapped around her. She looked up through a mop of sopping wet hair. Leo was sitting nearby, arms around Piper to keep her warm. She looked about as cold as Annabeth was. A small fire was crackling on the stone floor. They were in a cave. Outside a blizzard was blasting across the frozen landscape, desolating the plant life.
She took a double take and realized Luke wasn't there. The cave was empty except for those three. It was not a very big cave, but for some reason it felt empty. And she also felt that Luke wasn't a part of that.
Then she remembered. Percy was gone. The events came rushing back to her then, the attack, Festus exploding, Midas's house- Midas! "What happened to Midas?" she asked.
Leo glanced at her nervously. "Um…he's not going to be a…problem anymore." he said hesitantly, removing his arms from Piper.
Annabeth's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"
Leo looked down. "He's not going to be bothering anyone for a while." He cast a glance out into the night nervously, as if afraid of something out there. Annabeth could only guess as to what it was.
Luke appeared in the entrance of the cave so suddenly that Leo was on his feet with a hammer in his hands before they all realized it was him. "Luke." Piper said, sheathing Katoptris. "Where were you?"
"Taking care of business." Luke answered curtly, taking a seat with his back against the rough stone. His tone suggested no further talk. Annabeth and Piper exchanged glances. Something was going on.
Something about Luke looked different. There was a darkness around his eyes, a permanent downturn to the mouth. He seemed grimmer, meaner, than before. Annabeth couldn't help wondering what had happened. He shifted his leg and she noticed a gash on it. It didn't look like it had been made by a sword, rather, more like a claw. She met his eyes, wondering just exactly what kind of business he'd been taking care of.
Leo was sitting down a few inches away from Piper, eyeing Luke warily. His hand rested on his tool belt, tensed and ready. But for what? Luke leaned his head back against the wall, closing his eyes. But his hand was on his sword hilt as well. What was going on?
There was a small growling noise and everyone jerked up, hands to their weapons. Piper looked around sheepishly. "Sorry." She patted her stomach. "I'm hungry." They all started laughing.
"You should've just said something, beauty queen." Leo said. He whipped out some cooking ingredients from his belt and began to prepare a meal. "Give me about ten, fifteen minutes, and we'll have some tofu burgers ready for everyone." He busied himself with preparing the food. Annabeth scooted a bit closer to the fire, trying to warm herself. She zoned out, staring outside the cave into the storm. She couldn't help but worry for Percy. But as she remembered what had happened, she knew the chances of her ever seeing him again were slim. She had to face the truth. Percy was probably dead. No one could survive a five-hundred foot drop onto solid ground.
She buried her head inside her arms, trying to hold in the tears. Not here. Not now.
"Food!" Leo said, drawing everyone's attention to the delicious-smelling burgers that were on a plate in his hands. Everyone grabbed two, and they were eaten in a few short minutes. When Annabeth finished, she leaned back against the wall and closed her eyes. After everything she'd been through the past week, the fatigue was catching up to her. She was just drifting off to sleep when the howl reached her ears.
Everyone in the cave sat bolt upright, Leo going so far as to stand up. "What was that?" he asked tentatively. Luke met his eyes tiredly.
"A major problem. It's the werewolves. They've found us."
"What?!" Piper exclaimed, leaping to her feet and drawing Katoptris. "What do you mean, found us?" she demanded.
Luke almost cracked a grin. "They've been hunting us for days. I tried to slow them down; that's where I was the last two hours. But it's too late. They caught us. And we're cornered." He got to his feet tiredly, drawing his sword. Annabeth stood as well, knife held ready in her hand. The howl repeated itself, closer this time. Luke's hand tightened and Annabeth noticed a weird expression in his eyes. It was defiance mixed with acceptance and anger.
The last howls came from right outside the cave, and then they appeared. Massive black wolves padded into the firelight. They were larger than regular wolves, and there was something humanly intelligent in those yellow eyes. They formed a ring around the cave, blocking all escape. But they weren't attacking.
A man walked straight in between them, coming to a stop at the edge of the light. He was dressed in furs and a long dirk hung at his belt, narrow, angular and wickedly sharp. His eyes were the same color as a wolf. He smiled at them, and Annabeth shuddered. His teeth were filed to sharp points. "Ah, I've finally found you." He said. "It's been surprisingly difficult to catch you. Never staying in one place. Terribly inconvenient."
"What do you want, Lycaon?" Luke demanded, stepping to the edge of the cave. Annabeth drew in a sharp intake of breath. Lycaon met Luke's eyes with a surprised spark of recognition.
"Well, well. You came back. I always said one day I'd catch you. And here you are. What a remarkable turn of fortune." He gloated, an eager gleam in his eyes.
"Shut up. What did Enceladus tell you?" Luke asked, his voice dangerously quiet.
"Why would you think Enceladus told me anything?" Lycaon asked innocently.
"You know very well why." Luke answered. Lycaon dipped his head.
"He only told me you needed killing. In a very deadly fashion." He responded.
"He also knew you'd enjoy that a lot." Luke said.
"And he was right." Lycaon grinned.
Piper broke in, puzzled. "Um, I'm sorry, but do you to know each other?" she asked.
"Unfortunately." Luke answered, eyes still locked on Lycaon.
"And just exactly how?" Piper questioned.
"We had a few run-ins in the past." Luke said.
"They were very exciting. Ooh, remember that one where you had that girl with you? The way she screamed-." Lycaon began.
"Shut up!" Luke growled, pointing his sword at Lycaon's throat. The wolves suddenly grew very still, tensing, ready to spring.
"Put the sword down, son." Lycaon said lazily.
"And why should I, monster?" Luke snarled. Lycaon laughed.
"Me? I'm the monster? Who exactly here killed Ashley? Who destroyed an entire population-?"
"SHUT UP!" Luke screamed, spit flying from his mouth. His face was red and his arm trembled with anger. "You've done just as bad as I have! And as for me, you know exactly the situation I was in. You think I wanted to? It was survival! I needed to get away from your kind before I was caught, and you saw how well that worked out for me. You've always been the predator, Lycaon. You don't understand your prey." The veins on the back of his hand were throbbing. Annabeth was in shock. She could feel Leo and Piper frozen nearby, all staring at Luke in new eyes.
Lycaon laughed again, throwing his head back. "You're so right, Luke Castellan. I don't understand my prey. But I don't have to. They can understand themselves, I really don't care. But you…I hoped to cause as much pain as I could to you before you were killed, but it seems like you've done that for me."
"You have no idea how tempting it is to just flick my wrist and take off your head." Luke confessed.
"I'm a god. That wouldn't kill me."
"But gods can be hurt. And you are just asking for it." Luke said.
Lycaon shook his head in disbelief. "Look around you, boy. You're surrounded by werewolves and are facing down their leader, who happens to be a god. You and your three friends are outnumbered by a good five to one, and that's being generous. And it's also not counting me. You'd be attacking me, which leaves the rest of my pack against your friends. Don't be fooled, I have many more wolves nearby, watching and listening. Waiting for me to tell them to rip you to shreds. So I wouldn't be so careless in dealing out threats."
"I also happen to be holding a sword to your throat." Luke countered.
"I could probably kill you right now in the blink of an eye if I really wanted to, sword or no." Lycaon warned.
"I'd like to see you try." Luke dared him, voice low. Lycaon grinned again.
"Ah, but why? This is much more fun." He taunted, and then they both moved.
Annabeth couldn't keep up with the rapid movements, but suddenly they were further apart, Luke's sword was missing and there was a claw mark on his cheek. Lycaon had two cuts, one on his shoulder and the other on the back of his hand near the wrist. He held Luke's sword in one hand by the blade. Annabeth blinked. They had moved to fast for her to process what had happened.
Lycaon regarded Luke a little warily. "You've gotten better. Much better. Last time I could have you pinned against the wall without even trying, but now…you've been practicing."
"That I have. You won't be able to kill me so easily, Lycaon. Not anymore." Luke said, watching him intently.
"Indeed. However, you are now weaponless, and I'm rather mad. So I think I'll just-agh!" He dropped the sword, clutching the back of his hand. A silver arrow was sprouting out of his hand. He looked up to the left. "Hunters!" he howled, and similar howls from his wolves rose. Then one of them fell on its side, an arrow in its neck. Lycaon threw a hateful glare at Luke and backed away. "Another time." He turned and fled off into the darkness.
Annabeth ran outside, watching the wolves retreat. But Luke had other ideas. He grabbed his sword and spun around, holding it ready. "Luke, the wolves are running! The Hunters are coming." She said happily. But he shook his head, face bared in a snarl.
"Stay away from us!" he yelled into the woods. He was watching the forest around them angrily. The first Hunter walked out of the storm and Luke turned to her, sword held out. "Don't come any closer." He threatened.
"Luke, what are you doing?" Annabeth exclaimed, grabbing his arm. Luke shook her off, eyes locked on the girl.
"You can't ever trust a Hunter." He said. Another Hunter stepped out of the trees nearby, and Luke spun to confront her.
"Thalia, you might want to see this." The girl said, calling back into the woods. Annabeth's eyes widened.
"Thalia!" she called out, and then Thalia appeared. She gave Annabeth a quick hug. "I'm so glad to see you."
"Me too." Thalia said, smiling warmly. Leo and Piper stayed back in the cave, looking uncomfortable. Luke was downright hostile, pointing his sword at every single Hunter that came near, keeping them in a wide arc. Thalia looked at him nervously. "Luke?" she called out hesitantly.
Luke turned and saw her, and his expression was one that was terrifying to Annabeth. "You." He said through clenched teeth. "Why are you here?"
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened last time." She began, but Luke cut in.
"I don't want your apologies. I want you to get the hell away from me and stay away." He snarled. Thalia signaled to one of the Hunters behind him, who crept forward, knives held ready. Annabeth tensed, waiting for Luke to explode. "I want to never see you again, and I want everything you did undone. But I can't have that. But it will always be your fault."
"Luke, we had no choice. Would you rather have had us die?" She asked.
"Yes." Luke's answer stopped Thalia short, bringing tears to her eyes. The Hunter behind Luke laid a tentative hand on his shoulder, and then he moved again.
No one was able to follow his movement, but when he stopped, the girl was laying on the ground in front of him, her arm broken. Luke looked emotionlessly at her
for a moment, then ran, disappearing into the woods. The Hunters were too shocked by his attack than do anything but watch him run by.
Thalia stared in horror at the girl, sinking to her knees. "Someone help her!" she exclaimed. Three girls came and carried the moaning girl away. "We need to set up camp. And make sure Phoebe is taken care of." Thalia said.
Line Break
Annabeth sat in a tent, holding a cup of steaming coffee in her hands. Thalia sat in front of her, bow lying across her legs. A quiver was slung across her back. She didn't look any older than she had two years ago. "It's been a long time." Annabeth said.
"It really has. What are you doing way out here?" Thalia asked.
"We're on a quest to rescue Hera." Annabeth said, mouth twisting into a grimace. Thalia winced.
"Ouch. I'm sorry." She said. Annabeth shrugged.
"It wasn't that bad at first. But then Percy died, and Luke got- well, you know. And of course, there was Festus-." Annabeth began, but Thalia cut in.
"Wait, you said there was a boy named Percy with you?" She questioned.
"Yeah, he joined up with our quest after saving us from three Cyclops." Annabeth informed her.
"Did he have a sword that would just appear in his hands?" Thalia asked nervously, as if afraid of the answer.
"Yeah." Annabeth said, and Thalia burst out laughing, clutching her side and falling over. "What's so funny?" Annabeth asked, but couldn't resist a smile at Thalia's hysterics.
"That sneaky son of a goat." Thalia giggled. "I cannot believe he's still alive."
"What do you mean, still alive?" Annabeth asked.
"A year ago, we were off hunting a particularly nasty monster in some pretty remote mountains. It was actually the Erymanthian boar. So anyway, we found him sitting on a pathway, a hole in his side. He'd been ambushed by Scythian dracanae that lived nearby in that mountain. As thanks, he agreed to follow us and help with the boar. Most of us doubted him at first, but we decided to give him a chance. During that week, we sort of began to actually like him. A few even started calling him friend. Knowing us, this was pretty rare. But then we found the boar near a gorge. Percy jumped on its back, steering it away from a few Hunters and saving their lives. In the process he rode it straight off the cliff. We all thought he was dead, and we all regretted his death. But now, if he's really alive…they'll like that news. He's the only male we've actually not hated in too long." Thalia shook her head, grinning.
Annabeth's heart was heavy. "Um, actually…he died near Midas's mansion." "What?" Thalia exclaimed, eyes wide.
"We were riding Festus and he got blown away when it was knocked out of the sky. We haven't seen him since." Annabeth said.
Thalia mused for a few seconds. "I wouldn't count Percy out. Don't think he's dead until you find the body as proof. He's probably had many insanely close calls to death a lot, and there'll be more later. Just wait. He'll show up again." She said. Annabeth felt her spirit's lifting.
"Really?" she asked hopefully.
"Yeah. But I need to ask you something else. What happened to Luke? He seemed worse than last time." Thalia questioned. Annabeth got quiet.
"I don't know. Throughout the quest he seemed to get darker and darker, meaner and crueler. It seems like now he finally snapped." Annabeth eyed her curiously. "Why was he so angry to see you?" she asked.
Thalia didn't answer. "Come on. Let's go check up on Phoebe."
Line Break
Luke sat down on the cold hard stone, putting his sword down next to him. He closed his eyes, but the scene still played out vividly in front of him. The encounter with Lycaon, the Hunters….He wanted to forget all of it!
Anger flashed across his face. He knew he was being played, but she was so good. He'd always thought resistance could win, that maybe he'd be able to move on and out of her grip. But it was no good. She knew all the buttons to push. And she knew just how to push them.
He opened his eyes and stared at the earth. Taking a deep breath, he picked up his sword and sheathed.
"Okay Gaia, you got your wish. You win. What do you want of me?"
The earth rumbled in laughter.
A.N.: Hello! It's me again.
So, I know I'm really making it seem like it, but it is not a Percabeth. Trust me. It's not.
The Black will actually come back later in the story, and will be an important character. Just so you know he was not some random crap thrown in the middle of my story. You're gonna like him. Probably.
Now it's time to respond to your reviews!
To Nicolite: No, it's not going to be Percy/Piper, and the reasons I haven't thrown in much romance are a) his girlfriend hasn't come in to the story yet, and b) I suck at writing that kind of stuff, so…yeah. Romance is a background aspect in this one. Sorry.
To JackOfAllTradesMasterOfNone: That name is freakin' amazing, just letting you know. Also, just wait. In about one or two chapters, Percy gets way more boss. He gets a few awesome abilities. So hang in there, man!
To Bob the Titain: Yes, everyone can see everyone else's reviews, and no, I'm not going to add you or your kitten in. Sorry. And by the way, it's Small Bob, not tiny bob.
Thank you all for reading, favoriting, and following. It really means a lot to me. Please review.
READ ON!