The burgers were juicy, and honestly they hit the spot. I ate my burger, all my fries, then another burger, and I ordered dessert since we had time. Nico just smiled, looking incredulous, as I kept ordering more food. Oh well, a girls gotta eat.

We decided to walk around the little town, just to kill some time until our bus left. Staying in one spot for too long is always risky, but we really didn't have a choice. The bus would ride through the night, so we could both crash and get a good night sleep. Or so we planned.

I started to feel like something was off when we walked through the main square. It's just a feeling in my gut, ya know? I heard satyrs could feel monsters, or smell them, whatever. I guess its something like that.

"Nico, something isn't right."

"What do you mean? Its only seven o'clock, the bus doesn't leave for another hour."

"It's not the bus. Come on, we need to keep moving." He looked at me like I was semi-crazy, but he followed me anyway. I kept walking, never going down the same street twice. If you move around, the harder you are to track.

We were on the outskirts of town when we were finally attacked. A massive dog with two heads came out of nowhere, tackling Nico to the ground. He was pinned in an instant, trying to hold both of the beast's faces from his own, struggling to push it off.

I jumped into action, taking my daggers out of my boots. "No, don't!" Nico yelled, just as I was about to gut the thing.

"Are you crazy?! Why can't I kill him?"

"Because he belongs to a friend! Orthros, heel!" I didn't want to burst his bubble, but the dog was still trying to rip his throat out. I couldn't take it anymore, I pounced the dog, rolling across the ground, trying to keep both heads at bay. Eventually Nico joined me, and we were able to subdue the beast, just barely.

"Do you want to tell me why my knives aren't in this thing's stomach right now?" I practically growled. Obviously this dog was trying to kill us.

I heard laughter behind me. "Because Nico knows better than to kill my pet. Orthros, heel." The dog instantly stopped biting, and following Nico's lead, I let it go. It merrily jogged back to the owner.

"Eurytion, this is a surprise." Nico didn't sound happy to see this man, but he also didn't sound mad. I guess more confused than anything.

Nico continued, "Eurytion, this is Skye, Skye this is Eurytion, immortal son of Ares. This is his dog Orthros, son of Typhon and Echidna."

"Pleasure," Eurytion stated. I just nodded my head in reply.

"What brings you here?" Nico asked. I was wondering the same thing. Why here, why now?

"I've been looking for you for ages, kid. You're the only demigod that roams around and doesn't stay at camp. Knew you were the only one I could contact. I got some news, advice if you will."

I was wondering what he meant. Why doesn't Nico stay at camp? I thought that's where all demigods go. That is, if you want to survive.

"Really?" Nico sounded unsure. I wondered just who this man was. I couldn't get a good read on him. I knew he was a god, but not very powerful. I crossed my arms.

"Yeah, really. My ranch got sacked by a group of monsters, lead by a titan. Minor titan from what I felt. They asked for an army of fire breathing horses, and I refused. They took them anyway. I managed to save most of the animals, including Apollo's sacred cows, but they stole the horses and most likely any other dangerous beast they thought would help. Seemed really interested in the animals with fire. He mentioned marching on Camp Half-Blood. You know anything about this, kid?"

So they were going to bring fire to Camp Half-Blood. Interesting.

"Yeah, we're trying to take care of it. This helps a lot though, thanks. Sorry about your ranch, by the way. Anything I can do?" It was nice of him to offer, but really Nico, as if we have time for that right now.

Eurytion just laughed. "Nah, I got eternity to worry about it. Ranch is moved now though, up in Kansas instead of Texas, but there's something else. I overheard the army talking the night before I refused the deal. They plan on marching on camp at summer solstice." Summer solstice, June twenty-first. It was June seventh. That meant we had two weeks to gain the trust of the camp, explain who I was, unite as one, and prepare for battle.

"Nico we have to get to camp, now." I was starting to feel the pressure. Two weeks is not a lot of time to plan a war. I didn't think it would be this soon. I thought we would have months, not weeks. We didn't even know who we were fighting until last night when Lady Artemis visited me, and even she was unsure who the threat was until then.

"I know, Skye. We're doing our best." He was obviously trying to sound reassuring, but I knew from experience that sometimes your best isn't good enough. He turned to Eurytion. "Is that all you came for?" He sounded weary. I wondered what else the son of Ares wanted.

"That's all for right now, but you owe me one, di Angelo. After this battle, come see me and we'll work something out. I got a job for you to do."

"I'll find you when it's over." I wasn't sure why Nico didn't refuse. This was a minor god. Nico could beat him in combat, and Eurytion probably wasn't powerful enough to terrorize him. At least, he didn't look like he was.

Eurytion just nodded. With that, the son of Ares and the two-headed beast walked away from us. Nico watched them with scrunched eyes, thinking about the encounter. I had a few questions myself.

In the mix of events, I forgot about our bus ride. I glanced down at my watch, 7:56 pm.

"Shit! We have to go!" I grabbed Nico's arm and pulled him after me, sprinting to the bus station. If we only had two weeks until war, I was not going to miss this damn bus.