Chapter 5: The Oath
Winter POV
All I heard after Artemis asked for someone to destroy Proteus was silence. I didn't blame them. Proteus' abilities sounded frightening enough-the fact that he was Poseidon's son didn't make it much better.
You're the only one who can face Proteus, a voice nagged in my mind.
I sighed; I didn't want to go out of my way to fight a monster when it wasn't necessary. But, someone else might die by trying to do so…
Tilting my head down, I pondered over my choices. I decided my only choice was to challenge Proteus, the son of Poseidon and Medusa.
"I'll challenge Proteus," I said reluctantly.
I couldn't go back now. I lifted my head to hear what the immortals had to say.
"You're blind, though..." Artemis said.
"That's the point, Lady Artemis," I replied, "There is no possibility of me becoming stone, for I will never see his face."
"Very well," she said.
"Winter Shakler, you will be Proteus' wrath hunter," Zeus' voice boomed.
I winced at the sound of Zeus' thunderous voice.
"Come forward, Winter," Iris said.
I stepped forward and could feel the warmth of the campers' bodies around me. Maneuvering myself towards the colder points of air-to places where there were less people, I could feel the vibrations in the ground of demigods hurrying to move out of the way for me. I felt the humidity of the air clear, and I felt another presence-the presence of the goddess, Iris. I bowed and kneeled next to her.
Artemis and Athena then started explaining the next wrath, a child of Charybdis.
"I'll be Achlys' hunter!" Percy shouted, interrupting the goddesses.
Mm, Percy was so impulsive; it wouldn't be a surprise if he regretted his decision later.
Artemis sighed and then continued describing Achlys' abilities.
"Perseus Jackson," Zeus said, "You will be Achyls' wrath hunter."
Suddenly, I felt cold drops on my arm, and they fell faster and faster. It was raining? The air around slowly grew more chilly. I could hear the surprised cries of the campers around me. I felt the jolting vibration of lightning striking the ground. In about ten seconds, I heard the rumbling of thunder. That meant the lightning was about two miles away. The time between the lightning bolts and the thunder was getting shorter. That meant the lightning bolts were getting closer and closer. I lifted my head to hear the thunder better. Judging from the repetitive rhythm of the lightning strikes…in a couple of seconds the next one would be in the group of the campers. I got to my feet as quick as I could and shouted, "Everybody, get away from the campfire!"
I realized nobody was moving so I shoved the closest campers away. I felt the aura of the rainbow goddess and the smell of horse move away. Iris and Chiron were moving away from the campfire. The echoing of the thunder sounded right after the tremble of lightning. I leaped away as fast as I could and felt the searing heat of a lightning bolt strike the ground. Smoke engulfed my lungs as I coughed violently. Getting to my feet, I waved the smoke away. Then, I realized there was a new weight on the ground. The vibrations indicated someone that was about seventeen years old was standing directly where the lightning had hit. I felt the warm smoke of the lightning clear away and I heard the campers gasp.
"Annabeth?" I heard a camper ask.
The murmuring of the demigods grew at the sight of her new arrival. Zeus must've felt an unnecessary need to send Annabeth down in some sort of dramatic way so she could join Percy in his hunt of Achlys. Well, Zeus certainly got that dramatic part accomplished.
"Really?" I heard Annabeth say, "It's great that you got me down here, but did you really have to make it rain?"
More like, it's great that you got her down, but did you really have to send down a huge lightning bolt while you're at it?
Probably, yes. I slowly moved back to my kneeling position next to Iris. Strangely, the thunderbolt didn't leave any scorch marks on the ground.
Percy POV
The gods allowed Annabeth to come back? No way! I couldn't help stopping the huge grin that was spreading across my face. Annabeth walked over to where I was, while waving to her other past friends, "Hey, Seaweed Brain."
Mm, first thing she says in a year when she sees me. How considerate. Did I actually expect anything otherwise? Not really. Eventually, the rain slowed down and the sky cleared, so the Aphrodite kids wouldn't have to fuss as much about their frizzy hair.
Iris gestured to me, indicating for me to come up. Following Winter's example, I bowed to Iris and then I kneeled next to Winter. Although he was blind, I could tell that he sensed me getting to the ground.
"The third wrath is the brother of Achlys, Timoleon. He also has excellent control over storms like his sister. Though Timoleon is better at water manipulation than Achlys, he's…" Artemis
"I'll take on Timoleon," Queena said in a haughty voice.
I glared at her. Queena Karen, the daughter of Zeus, always felt the needless impulse to show off. She looked exactly like her father, with black hair and stormy blue eyes. Queena was pretty, but her personality definitely brought the interest level down. She had the same grandstanding smile Zeus had, and just a little more dramatic flair. She did great, interrupting Artemis, so it seemed that she was facing a stronger monster than Achlys. She had a pretty big nerve, too, to interrupt the huntress goddess.
"Lady Artemis," Winter suddenly said, "If I may interrupt for a moment."
"Of course," she said, but she sounded pretty annoyed. Not surprising, she was already interrupted three times, and for a goddess that was outrageous.
"May you continue your description of Timoleon?" Winter said, "I believe that having full knowledge of this wrath would allow Queena to have a better chance of defeating this monster."
I couldn't help but grin. Queena glared at Winter and stuck her tongue at him. Too bad he wouldn't be able to see it. Queena's face started getting red with embarrassment despite herself.
"Certainly, Winter," Artemis said, "Though, Timoleon is better at water manipulation than Achyls, he has almost no ability at controlling earth related storms, such as earthquakes and sinkholes."
"I have no fear of this monster," Queena said, "I shall take on Timoleon."
Of course, Queena, of course you will.
"Queena Karen, you will be Timoleon's hunter," Zeus said.
Iris beckoned Queena to come forward. Without bothering to acknowledge Iris, Queena carefully distanced herself from me and stood with her head held high.
"The fourth monster is Obelix, the son of Chrysaor," Artemis said.
Yes! I might figure out who that Chris dude is!
"Being the son of Chrysaor, Obelix is extremely proficient with his sword, the aor."
Great, that tells me practically nothing about Chrysaor.
"Not only is Obelix good with his sword, as his father is part horse, Obelix can move considerably faster than a typical mortal."
Okay, Chris is a sword-wielding, half-horse, son of Medusa. That is totally normal.
"Obelix is also very intelligent," Artemis continued, "He is an extremely talented strategist, and is definitely the smartest wrath of the group."
"Who will be Obelix's hunter?" Athena asked.
I glanced at Annabeth to see if she would accept the request. Obelix sounded like the type of monster that she would be interested in tracking down. She was simply looking around, like everyone else; to see if anyone would accept.
"I answer the call," Hector Lunar, son of Athena.
"Very well," Athena said, sounding pleased.
"Hector Lunar, you will be Obelix's wrath hunter," Zeus affirmed.
Hector bowed to Iris and kneeled in line next to Queena. Hector had a determined expression. He probably wanted to see if he could outdo Obelix-whom Artemis described as a genius and excellent strategist.
"The next monster is Melanctha," Artemis carried on.
Ew, what type of parent would name their child Melanctha?
"Her father is Geryon."
Geryon, apparently.
"She appears as a normal human, but she possesses two hearts. She is also an expert with her pair of hunting knives. Who will hunt Melanctha?"
Suddenly, a crash of thunder was heard. Behind the group of campers I could see a swirl of silver smoke. Ugh, I've had my share of mysterious lightning and smoke for today. The silver vapor slowly faded away, and I saw a girl wearing a silver circlet and a black band shirt.
"Hey!" Thalia said, as she stepped out of the silver fog, "Did I hear somebody talk about hunting some powerful monsters?"
"Hey, Thalia!" I heard a camper call.
"I'll hunt the monster!" she declared, triumphantly.
"Thalia Grace, you will be Melanctha's wrath hunter," Zeus said.
"Thalia, why are you here?" I whispered, as she approached.
"I can't let you beat me, Seaweed Brain," she answered, "Besides; this is the perfect opportunity to test my skills as a Hunter."
"Oh, so this is a competition?" I confirmed.
"Yep, winner gets to choose what the loser does," Thalia answered.
"You're on," I said.
She and Queena exchanged death-threatening glares, before Thalia took her seat next to Hector. Last time Thalia and Queena met, not a good experience. Half of the new cabins were destroyed. Although their features were extremely similar, they also looked like opposites with Thalia's black punk clothes and Queena's crisp clothes that always had some shade of pink.
"The sixth monster is Alcander," Athena said, "He is the son of Polyphemus. Alcander basically has elevated muscle capacity."
"You could also say he's really strong," Ares said summing things up for us confused campers.
"Who will be Alcander's hunter?" Athena asked.
"I'll do it," Clarisse growled.
She was still pissed at Polyphemus for trying to marry her, huh? I didn't blame her; I would, too, if some Cyclopes tried to marry me.
"Aw, you can't go and destroy your son," an Aphrodite camper said.
Clarisse turned around and promptly punched the person in the face. The Aphrodite kid collapsed to the floor and her brothers and sisters hurried to help her up.
Ares grin basically read, you go, girl! When Aphrodite glared at him, he immediately dropped his smile.
"Um, Clarisse La Rue, you will be Alcander's wrath hunter," Zeus said.
Clarisse glared at the Aphrodite camper one more time before taking her place next to Thalia.
"The last wrath is Idylla, daughter of Lamia," Athena said, "Idylla is responsible for several cases of cannibalism and she has the power to manipulate one's mind. Her power of control grows weaker if a person has strong willpower."
Um, that thing about willpower? Maybe you shouldn't have told us that she ate people.
"Who will be Idylla's hunter?"
An awkward silence spread across the campers. They all looked at one another questionably, and seemingly nobody wanted to take on Idylla.
"Um, well, if nobody else wants to," Byron said after a while, "I suppose I'll do it."
Surprisingly, nobody else wanted to hunt a cannibalistic monster that could control your mind.
"Byron Rivers, you will be Idylla's hunter," Zeus declared.
"The seven demigods have now been chosen," Hades said, "To make it official you must swear on an oath of the River of Styx."
"Will the seven of you promise to do your best to destroy these demigod-wraths and not withdraw unless of absolute necessity?" Poseidon said.
"Demigods, please rise and accept the oath," Iris said.
I glanced at Grover and Annabeth. If anything else, I was obviously going to add them on my team to hunt Achlys, but could I really endanger their lives like that?