Chapter 8: Deceptive Identity

Rush POV

She hadn't died.

Since I was the son of Thanatos-the figure of death-I could see his image whenever somebody died. In the smoke, I couldn't see a single trace of my father.

"She's not dead," Nico di Angelo muttered.

Somehow the girl avoided the lightning-but I didn't see how that was possible. Light was one of the fastest things in the universe and Queena was known for her sheer accuracy. Did she miss…or was Queena just bluffing?

The gray smoke swirled around the lightning impact, disappearing in the pale blue sky. I waited anxiously and curiously to see what had happened to the girl. The smoke slowly cleared. I saw a pale shadow. Then I saw a clear silhouette.

The girl was still standing.

Thalia POV

The mysterious person who had rushed between our fight was standing next to a giant gaping smoking crevasse-where the lightning had struck. She looked completely shocked and was moving away from the lightning impact. I was still shocked and bewildered. How did she dodge the bolt? Could Queena have missed? Why did Queena summon the bolt in the first place?

"What is going on?" Chiron roared.

He galloped into view, looking disapprovingly at all of us. His eyes rested on me and Queena. His expression instantly hardened into a suspicious glare. There was a long and awkward silence. It seemed everybody was too shocked to talk. I opened my mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

"Well?" Chiron said.

The girl cleared her throat, "I'm sorry for making such a scene, Chiron. I accidently surprised Queen and by instinct, she sent down a bolt to defend herself. Thankfully, she was kind and swift enough to redirect it so it wouldn't hit me."

What the…was this person serious? I stared at her bewildered. Did she just call Queena kind? After she was almost hit by her lightning? Oddly, her face betrayed no sign of untruthfulness.

"That's not…" Queena started.

Chiron looked at her.

"Uh…that's not a lie!" Queena stammered, "It's exactly what she said…instinct!"

"Is this true, Tria?" Chiron asked.

The person-who must've been Tria-chuckled, "Absolutely! If Queena wasn't as good-hearted as she is, I'd be a pile of ashes now."

Everybody stared at her in utter confusion and disbelief. Chiron raised his eyebrows, but Tria's words sounded surprisingly sincere.

Queena good-hearted and kind? Give me a break.

"Well, then...wrath hunters, be sure to be ready in three days," he said and trotted away. He paused and looked back, "Please try not to fight with each other."

"Tria, are you okay?" Grover said, rushing up to her.

She glanced at the smoldering crater inches away from her feet. "Don't worry, I'm alright."

"We were going to start planning the strategy today," Percy, who had also gone to see if she was okay, said, "But I think we better do it tomorrow. I mean with almost being struck by lightning and everything…"

I blinked. "What strategy?"

"For hunting Achlys," he said.

"The girly's on your team?" I said, gesturing at Tria.

"Yeah…why?"

I sighed. It was typical for Seaweed Brain to make things complicated. Who else was I going to add onto my team? I didn't know anybody else at camp. I knew Jade and Alex because my dad wanted to meet my siblings who were stuck in a casino for more than a couple of years. Byron was already a team captain. Ash Aslan, my half brother, was part of Winter's team. Could I add a Hunter on my team? No, none of them would bother to cooperate with Alex. I realized Percy was waiting for an answer.

"Huh? Oh, I decided we're competing against each other, I figured that the odds would have to be even. I decided that I'd have the same amount of people on my team that you do."

"That's fair," he grinned.

"Who's on your team anyways?" I asked

"Annabeth, Tyson, Tria, Grover, and me," he replied.

Well, if I didn't know anybody else at camp, it'd make no difference if I just got a random person on my team. I turned around and looked at the first person I saw. He was a somber looking dude with dark hair and green eyes.

"What's your name?" I asked.

"Rush," he replied.

Nice name.

"How do you fight?" I asked. If he was going to be on my team, I might as well learn how he fought monsters. It'd be easier to work together.

Rush patted the hilt of the sword hooked onto his belt, "I use a sword."

"Don't add him on your team!" a random demigod called out, "None of his parents are even considered a god!"

I cocked my head and looked at Rush, waiting for him to explain.

"My dad's Thanatos," he replied softly, "The figure of death."

"What does he do?" I asked.

He bit his lip and looked at the ground, "He appears when someone dies."

His expression looked so sad and pained.

"Basically all his dad does is look cool," another demigod sneered, "Thanatos doesn't even do anything-he isn't even considered a god. Hades is the death god. Thanatos is just the symbol of death. I don't get why the gods gave him a throne."

"Angering a god isn't a very smart thing," Annabeth warned.

"What can his dad do to us?" she retorted coldly, "Even if he did hear us, the figure of death can't do anything. Like Rush said, all Thanatos does is float around corpses."

I glanced at Rush. He was digging a hole in the ground with his shoes. He looked a little upset, but he didn't seem angry in any way. Mostly, he looked somewhat bored. Why wasn't he talking back at these people? I bit my lip, angry at the despicable campers. Rush gave me a look that told me not to get mad at them. I finally decided what I would do.

"You want to be on my team?" I asked.

The demigods around us gasped and looked at me in disbelief. Rush finally looked up-he looked pretty surprised. I grinned at the mean demigods' stunned expressions. It also felt pretty good to get rid of Rush's sad expression. Rush rubbed his messy hair. He seemed to be remembering something.

"Sure," he said.

"Don't worry," I said patting his arm, "I bet your dad's a great a guy."

He suddenly dropped back into that sad state. He shook his head like he was trying to shake off some sort of memory. He plastered back on a smile and looked back up at me, "Thanks, Thalia."

"No problem," I said, "I'm a pretty bad strategist, so if you have any kinds of plan then show me, okay?"

"Sure," he said. He pointed at me, "So, if I have any ideas, I go to the Zeus cabin?"

"Yeah," I said, "Today is Tuesday?"

He thought for a moment and then nodded. I scanned the camp, trying to find Jade and Alex. Once I found them, I waved them over.

"We meet at Cabin One on Saturday morning, nine o'clock, okay?" I told them.

They nodded their heads.

"Don't tell me I didn't warn you," a demigod said, looking distastefully at Rush.

Rush just turned his head and walked away. I sighed and shook my head. I was going to have to teach Rush some self-assurance.

Percy POV

It was so typical of her to add a totally random demigod to her team. I grinned, but of course, she was Thalia after all.

"Who's that guy?" Thalia asked, turning to me.

"I dunno," I said, scratching my head. I watched the son of Thanatos disappear into the crowd. In truth, I didn't know Rush really well. I didn't even know his name until Thalia asked him. Nice name, though.

"Well, Percy," Thalia said to me, "Good luck with Achlys."

"You, too," I said.

Thalia turned to Tria.

"Thanks, Tria," Thalia said, "for stopping our fight. It was pretty dumb of me to get into a fight with Queena."

"No problem," Tria replied, smiling.

"I'll see you all later!" Thalia said, waving.

Hades POV

"The gods are letting your son go on this quest, I can't believe they are so foolish," Alecto hissed.

"They don't know about the prophecy," I muttered, tapping my finger on the arm bone that made the armrest of my throne, "I'd rather have it stay that way."

The Furies perched on my throne above me, reprimanding me about my decision.

"So are you still against your brothers, Lord Hades?" Tisiphone asked.

"No, it's just that Winter…he wouldn't do something like that. I trust my son."

"The prophecies don't lie, Lord Hades," Tisiphone said, "You should know this by now."

"Prophecies always are spoken in riddle, it might not mean what it seems," I said.

"The god of the dead's son with visionless eyes,
Accepts an oath decreed by the Lord of Skies
He shall face the wrath child of the god of the sea,
But the blind warrior will surely guarantee,
The wraths and the immortal beings' confrontation,
And Mount Olympus will be of annihilation," Tisiphone echoed.

"Does that have many meanings?" Megaera nagged.

"Perhaps not many," I said, rubbing my head, "But, Winter…I know my son! He would never do something like that. He wouldn't allow the monsters to storm Olympus."

"Even of the evil stories you told him of your brothers?"

"Winter," I remembered, a memory that made me smile, "He always disagreed with me. He was a strong and confident soul. He believed the Olympians weren't as bad as I thought they were. He was one of the reasons I decided not to raid Mount Olympus with my undead."

"You are making a mistake, Lord Hades," Alecto said, "If Winter does fulfill the prophecy, you shall never be able to redeem your honor as an Olympian."

"I trust my son," I insisted.

The Furies were so annoying, even if they did make sense. Out of frustration, I let out a blast of obsidian energy that melted a tree made of diamonds. I let out a sigh of annoyance. It was irritating to be so confused. It was the right decision not to tell my brothers, right? Of course it was, they would hurt Winter if they knew. Hurt? That was an understatement. They would destroy my son.

Suddenly a change in the atmosphere interrupted my thoughts. I sensed a presence behind my throne. I stood and looked behind me. There was nobody except for the slightest aura of…someone.

"Megaera! Did you see something?"

"I did not see anything out of the ordinary, Lord Hades," Megaera replied.

I carefully examined the area behind my throne. There was nothing but the smell of dead and tortured cries. Mm, that was normal. I must've been imagining things. I shook my head and went to check on Cerberus.

"Did you get that custom-made red rubber ball?" I asked.

"Yes! We did!" Alecto explained

"Have my skeletal guards to bring it to Cerberus."

I strolled in front of the skeletons and started towards the three-headed dog. The crackling of bones sounded through the still Underworld air. I turned around and saw crushed bones and a giant red ball rolling towards me. I willed an orb of black energy to wrap around the rubber ball. It floated in midair surrounded by my magic.

"What happened?" I demanded.

"The guards crushed under the weight, Lord Hades," Tisiphone explained.

"Weren't they able to hold up the last one?" I asked irritably.

"Yes, but the other ball was quite smaller in volume."

"How big is this one?" I questioned.

The Furies looked questionably at the giant red ball.

"Perhaps a twelve feet diameter?"

"Next time we shall use five guards, not two. Because of the unfortunate accident, I'll personally deliver Cerberus' new ball."

I sighed and walked toward my three-headed pet. Taking care of the Underworld was hard enough, but now I had to constantly order custom-made red rubber balls for Cerberus. Eventually, Cerberus always ripped up the rubber toy. They had to be red. Once a blue one was given to Cerberus, and he didn't even bother to look at it. I rubbed my head. Maintaining the Underworld sure was hard.

Proteus POV

"Proteus, are you sure?" Achlys asked.

"Yes," I replied.

"Who is it?"

"For now, you shouldn't know, but this person might help us in destroying Olympus. I just might have difficult time convincing the person," I replied.

"It'll be no problem for you. If the nice approach doesn't work, just force the person into doing it. Nobody can even face up to you."