Chapter 12: Charm Speaking
I couldn't remember what happened when I got back to my senses. That wasn't very rare of course. When I woke up in the woods with a horrible pain in my leg the first question was the same as it always was: What had I done? Sometimes the answer was horrible sometimes it wasn't even important but given I was wounded I figured it was. Luke didn't say anything about it though. Obviously he was still pissed at me. We went back to camp in silence and split up without saying a single word to each other. We had moments like that many times before but not because we were pissed at each other. It felt weird and wrong. We were friends and we shouldn't be fighting, especially not now that camp was in danger. We needed to work together, not fight each other. I think we both knew that but were too stubborn to acknowledge it. Being stubborn was definitely a flaw and a virtue wrapped into one. It helped a man do the greatest things and made him make the stupidest mistakes. Luke and I were definitely in the making mistakes sector at the moment.
The sun had already started to rise. I wondered what had happened the night before. I knew Colt was involved but what had he done? Luke seemed all right even though he was hurt. I wonder if Colt had done that or something else. After all there were many piles of dust around where I woke up. I hated it when I didn't remember what had happened. The feeling of having no control was something I couldn't stand. I wanted to know what had happened and now I had no idea, there wasn't even anyone to tell me, I hated it. I walked back towards the Erebus cabin through the awakening camp. No one was actually out and about yet but I could hear the early risers inside their cabins. Personally I wanted to avoid them but when I saw a black haired girl come out of the Ares cabin my interest was peaked. This was the girl Jaeden brought with him and the one Luke despised. Those two things made me quite interested in the girl I only knew as Nox.
"Hello Angel." She said to me. I was happy enough that I didn't have to approach her but I wondered what she could possibly want. We didn't talk before and even though she might have overheard my name I doubted I'd be of much interest. Ever since her and Jaeden swooped in for the rescue the stories of Max, Luke and I had been less heard. Something I was quite happy about.
"Hello, Nox right?" I asked. She simply nodded with a seductive smile. I saw her come out of the Ares cabin but I could hardly believe she was one of his daughters. She seemed to have the strength of one of Ares' daughters but she was as gorgeous as a daughter of Aphrodite. Now that was a rare combination.
"So you're the famous and infamous Angel." She said with the same smile. I preferred neither of those titles but I didn't say anything about it. I just wondered what she wanted so I could help her out. For some reason I didn't want to say no to whatever she wanted me to do. It was a very weird feeling.
"I was wondering if you could give a message to Luke for me." With a smile she passed me a small note. I grabbed it with the intention of giving it to Luke as fast as I could. "For his eyes only yeah?" I nodded like a five year old. I wasn't going to disobey her. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I was captivated by her. "Thanks." She said with a wink. While she was walking towards the big house where Jaeden had gotten a room I followed her with my gaze until I couldn't see her any more. Without hesitation I walked towards the Hephaestus cabin where Luke would probably be by now. He wouldn't have fallen asleep yet, I knew him well enough to know that for a fact. Entering the Hephaestus cabin without thinking twice about it I saw Luke sitting on his bed thinking about something. I figured it was the Dracanae or his attempts to have himself a wedding or maybe what colour socks he was supposed to wear. Truth was, I didn't care whatsoever. I was there for one reason and nothing more.
"I got a note for you mate, it's from Nox." I said as if we hadn't been fighting. I seemed to have forgotten about that or maybe I just didn't care any more. The note from Nox was all that mattered to me.
"That can't be good." Luke said with the same spite I heard in his voice when he first saw her. Again I wondered what had happened between them. When he grabbed the small folded note from my hand I felt weird. I felt dizzy and thoughts that I had forgotten seemed to return to my head. For instance that Luke and I were still fighting. I looked at Luke and saw him turning red. I didn't know if it was anger or embarrassment that made him turn that colour though. Once he had read it he tore it to pieces in a rage and threw it in the fire that was burning not far from him.
"Damn that bitch." Luke said more to himself than to me. I wondered what had happened between them once again. There was a story there that's for sure. I was actually quite sad that I obeyed Nox, I would have loved to know what was in that note.
"So what did she say?" I asked. I felt sleepy, as if I had just woken up from deep sleep. I wondered what could have happened to me. Did Nox do something to me or was this something else? I had no answer at that time.
"Nothing important, just taunts as usual." He said sounding pissed. Truth was it wasn't a tone I was very familiar with, not coming from Luke anyway. This wasn't anger just spite and annoyance as if the world had pissed him off and he was taking it out on everyone. He seemed bitter which was something that I didn't understand. He was always the optimistic guy with a smile on his face not the grumpy one. I wondered what could have happened to change that?
"So what is the history between you two?" I figured Luke would tell me. He usually told me everything I wanted to know about this kind of stuff. I never lied to him about my past (although I did filter out the nasty details) so I figured he saw no reason to lie about his even when he was reluctant about telling me.
"It's not important." Luke said. Given the pissy mood he was in I knew it had to be important. More so because he didn't want to tell me. Not only that, it also made me more curious.
"What happened to you man. I never kept anything from you so why aren't you telling me what happened between you two?" I didn't expect a good answer or that he would come around. I just hoped he could give me some kind of valid information on it.
"Do we have to go over this again Angel!" He got up and looked about ready to hit me. Either this was a very touchy matter or Luke had become a lot more aggressive than he used to be. Truth was I still believed it had to be something touchy but nothing had ever gotten him this angry. Not until we started insulting each other any way. "I can't trust you. Truth is we're better off without you. You're dangerous Angel, I should have left you in that cage." Now I was about ready to punch him in the face, and I would've if Maria and Sophie hadn't entered cabin 9.
"You two getting along." Maria said. Looking at the both of us. The anger seemed to disappear out of Luke. It seemed like he was incapable of being angry near her. Of course the same went for me. I didn't want Sophie to see me pissed so I had to calm down. "You get Angel out of here, I'll try to calm him down." Maria said to her younger sister. Sophie just nodded which was followed by her pretty much pulling me out of the Hephaestus cabin.
"So what happened between you two?" Sophie asked me raising one eye brow higher than the other. "I thought you were like bff's." She joked.
"Apparently not. He's been acting weird. Do you have any idea what happened between him and that Nox girl? I asked about it and he went berserk." I didn't know if she was around then or if there had been any word about it around camp but I did hope that Maria had told her something about it. Sophie and Maria were close and I was sure Maria knew about it, whatever it was.
"Well, I don't know much about it, the last time I asked Maria about it was ages ago and back then it was a very touchy subject, something that apparently hasn't changed. There were rumours though, but I can't say if they're true." Sophie bit her lip wondering about it. Obviously this was something that happened a while ago. It was definitely before my time as I had never heard of Nox.
"So what was the rumour?" She knew something which is what I wanted to know. I didn't trust rumours but it was better than knowing nothing at all.
"Well people were saying that Luke and Nox had a thing, while Luke also had a thing with Maria." I figured she could read the shock of my face as she didn't wait for a reply. "See why it's a touchy subject?" I just nodded. Truth was I had never expected that. Luke being with another girl while he was with Maria? I figured that was as impossible as pigs raining down from the sky.
"That doesn't sound like Luke does it?" I said. For some reason I had to think of what happened to me earlier. I still couldn't remember what happened exactly when I talked to Nox. She asked me to do something and I did it without hesitation. Not something I usually did. I wasn't known to trust people I didn't know that well even if they did save my life and after I gave Luke the note I felt very fuzzy. Did she do something to me?
"Not at all." Sophie said. "Anyway it got really weird. Luke and Maria were fighting and no one knows what happened but Nox disappeared and Luke and Maria tried to continue the way they always were. It didn't really work at first but I guess they got passed it eventually." Sophie said. Given they were getting married I agreed with that.
"So I guess her returning is making him kind of tense?" I figured that had to be it but I wanted to know her thoughts on it. Sophie and I seemed to have the same conclusion most days but how we got there was always very different. We had a completely different way of thinking and I was always interested to know how she figured something out.
"I don't doubt it. This is a few years ago but I doubt Maria has fully forgotten about it. Her returning when there wedding has just been ruined doesn't seem like a good thing. It will bring back memories for the both of them, and that might change their relationship completely. I think the thought of that possibility is tensing Luke up." I nodded in agreement. She was right as she usually was about these sort of things.
"Then I just helped Nox make it much worse." I said. Of course I didn't know before but now I felt really bad about delivering that note to Luke. I really didn't know what was on there but I figured it was something about whatever happened between Luke and Nox. I just hoped the pieces were small enough so that Maria wouldn't be able to read that. "She asked me to pass a note to him and I did. I can't imagine it was a 'congratulations on your engagement' note."
"Why the hell did you do that?" She asked me. I asked myself the same question. There was only one thing I could think of and I knew Sophie wasn't going to like it.
"Because she asked." It was a stupid answer obviously but it was the truth. There was no other motive behind it. I did as she asked without having any reason to do so. "She asked me and I did what she asked. I can't remember why. There was something that made me do it but I can't put my finger on it."
"Angel you can try to make up excuses and act like you were hypnotized or something like that, or you can just admit that you thought like a guy and did what she asked because she's 'hot'." She rolled her eyes and walked off without allowing me to plea a defence. I didn't really know what her problem was but she seemed disappointed. As if that wasn't a thing she expected from me. I knew she was wrong, I wasn't like that. Hell if I was I wouldn't have been able to live with a girl as beautiful as her for a year without making a move. But if it wasn't that it had to be something else, something Nox did. I knew I had to check it out. I made my way to the big house where Jaeden was staying, Nox was there now. It was time to get some answers.
Sneaking around wasn't hard for me, being a son of Erebus had its advantages on that front. I had my glove, shadow travel and I knew to find the shadows and I was pretty quiet when I wanted to. So sneaking into the quarters Jaeden got from Chiron wasn't very hard. The door was opened when I arrived and thanks to the glove I got from my dad Jaeden and Nox couldn't see me. So I sneaked inside and placed myself in the corner where there was no light for at least another hour or two. As long as I stayed in the shadows I wouldn't be seen and I was patient enough to wait. At least I thought I was. It was definitely put to the test when the first twenty minutes I was sitting there all Jaeden and Nox were doing was talking about good coffee places in New York. Given I couldn't stand coffee the conversation bored me very quickly. As Jaeden put down his cup of coffee he looked at the door of the room with a piercing look.
"Close that will you." He told Nox. She got up from her seat and did as he asked. I didn't think Nox was the kind of person to take orders from any one but apparently Jaeden had tamed her. Either that or she was under some sort of control like I believed I had been under Nox's. "So how are things among the first line of defence?" Jaeden asked Nox. He said it with a mocking tone as if he thought we were a bunch of weaklings. I wondered why he cared at all.
"There's fighting among them. Especially between Luke and Angel, something I helped with." Nox said with pride in her voice. She wanted me and Luke to fight but why? "Angel was so easy to control, I figured he'd put up some fight at least but he couldn't resist me for a second." Nox said laughing to herself. So she did do something to me! It made me wonder about what happened between her and Luke years ago. Had she caused that in the same way or was this ability something recent?
"You should not use your charm speak ability too often Nox. Someone might notice. I know you want to drive those two apart but that's not what it is for. I found you with that ability and we both know it has been useful but don't waste it." Jaeden said. For some reason I didn't think it was the answer she expected. She looked up at him and I damned my choice to look at Jaeden and not at her. Her expression could have made a difference for me here. "Now I think you should get yourself some fresh air." He sounded like some kind of wise man but I didn't see him for that. There was something in his eyes that was...sinister. They looked around with a constant awareness of everything and with a piercing look. When his gaze turned to me, I thought my heart was going to stop beating. Nox had left the room and he looked me right in the eyes, could he see me? "Stop hiding in the shadows son of Erebus." Now my heart almost really did stop. I stood up straight and walked out of the shadows revealing myself. How could he have seen me? It seemed almost impossible.
"How did you see me Jaeden? The shadows keep me concealed for most eyes." I said. I wanted to know. I had used my glove on multiple occasions and no one had ever seen through it until now. It made me wonder how powerful this guy was.
"Magic is a funny thing Angel. It can fix your troubles or create them, depending on what you're looking for at the time." He said with a small smile. I wonder what that meant to him. To me it seemed as if he was more familiar with the causing trouble than with the fixing it.
"So what, are you going to fix my problems?" I asked sceptically. Jaeden wanted something from me, or at least I thought he did. Of course according to Luke I thought everything was about me and maybe that was true. The year before everything seemed to be about me and maybe that had risen to my head.
"If you have problems to fix, I'll try." Jaeden said with a almost kind smile. I could see that he wasn't very acquainted with kindness. So what was his motive then? He was a mystery to me.
"I don't have any to fix if you don't cause any." I said looking at him with a look of warning. He didn't seem at all impressed. Of course he had no reason to be. He destroyed an army of Dracanae within seconds, he would fillet me without even trying. Still though if he was here to cause trouble I was going to do anything I could to stop him. Given it worked last time I figured it would help again. I started to make my way towards the door. I didn't really want to spend any more time in Jaeden's quarters.
"What about Colt?" Jaeden said with a sly smile on his face. He said it just before I was out the door making me stop before leaving. "I'd say he is a bit of a problem. After all having a murderous psychopath in the back of your head doesn't seem very nice." Jaeden planned this well. I couldn't deny this, if there was a chance he could use magic to fix my multiple personality problem I would have to take it. In chess they'd call it checkmate.
I came out of Jaeden's room completely confused, not knowing what to do. I knew what he was offering me was perfect, but of course it came with a high price to pay. It was something I couldn't decide on a wimp, all I could do was say I'd think about it. Putting everything together it wasn't a huge problem but the only thing that still bothered me was Nox and the conversation I overheard. What was her part in all of this? Maybe Jaeden just tried to fix her problems, as he claimed to be trying for me. But he didn't give me a free deal either. Charm speak, the ability he spoke of, what was it? Usually I would go to Luke but I really didn't feel like doing that, that didn't leave many people. After all Sophie was pissed at me and Max was gods know where. He always disappeared and popped back when he pleased. I could probably reach him some way but I figured he was busy with something important so I felt it was better to let him be. So who else was there? I realized I didn't have many friends at camp half-blood. For a second but if I wasn't mistaken she was giving archery class (something I should have been attending since I am horrible at archery) so she was a no go. That left one person that might be willing to help. Colin Price, son of Nike. I made my way to his cabin (which actually had the Nike logo on both its sides) and knocked. I usually didn't enter a cabin that wasn't my own without knocking although I forgot about that every once in a while. But I only knew Colin and if he had any brothers and sisters I doubted they would like me entering their cabin without an invitation. Luckily it was Colin who opened the door with a smile on his face.
"Hey Angel, what can I do for you?" He said as he let me inside. Colin and I were pretty cool. Because Phthonos got defeated his curse was broken so he was very thankful to Luke, Max and I. I also heard he made a quick thanking prayer to Lucio and Dean as well. Although he still called Dean, Samael as there were only a handful of people who knew that they were the same person.
"Well I had a quick question I hoped you could answer." I said as I walked in. I saw Summer sitting on one of the beds (which was obviously Colin's as there was a Rise Against poster hanging against the wall next to it) making me realize that I might have interrupted them. For a second I wanted to leave but the damage had already been done so better to get what I came for instead of it being a waste. "Hey Summer." I quickly greeted the red head girl.
"Hi Angel." She quickly answered with a smile. I didn't know her that well but I knew that Colin loved her with all his heart and that she felt the same way. She was torn apart when Colin lived in the woods because of Colin's curse. I think of all the people they were the happiest about Phthonos being defeated. They could continue a life together that they had given up on.
"Ask away." Colin said after giving a quick smile to Summer. I was sure I had interrupted now. The quick smiles they shot at each other told me that much. I had to be out of there quickly and hope that they could still find the moment I had destroyed (I knew I wasn't making any friends that day.)
"Have you ever heard of an ability called charm speaking?" I asked what I wanted to know and nothing more. The quicker he answered yes or no the better. If he didn't I would be able to leave them soon enough.
"No don't think so." He said obviously trying to think of anything. "Where did you hear of it?"
"I read about it. It's some sort of hypnotizing ability but I'd like to know more about it." I wasn't going to say anything about Nox as I didn't want any to suspect Jaeden or Nox of anything bad. I needed Jaeden so I couldn't let anyone think badly of them and make them leave camp.
"I heard about it." Summer said. She got up and walked up to Colin and I. "It's a hypnotizing ability as you said. It's really rare and usually something that children of Aphrodite have. I haven't heard of any charm speaker who wasn't a child of Aphrodite to be honest but I can't be sure on that." She said. Well there was one now. Nox was a daughter of Ares yet she was a charm speaker. "It's pretty much full obedience. It has it's limits of course but if you're not strong willed enough it means you'd do anything for the charm speaker." I was pretty sure that Nox was a charm speaker and it made sense. Of course this was still minimum information but I doubted any one but Nox would know more.
"Thanks Summer, and you Colin." I said ready to leave again. It was time I stopped ruining people's day and went back to my own cabin. It was still early after noon but I could do with some
sleep. After all noon was my night.
"Any time Angel, by the way if you want to do some sparring later come round yeah?" I nodded and walked out of the cabin. I wasn't going to spar today, not in the mood. I could do with some peace and quiet after a morning like this.
"Hey Angel." As soon as I heard Max's voice behind me I knew I wasn't going to get any rest. I liked Max but he was usually the bearer of bad news or something that got my brain mauling, neither predicted a good sleep. "I need your help." Yup, good afternoon sleep, ruined.