"I'm going to be strangled to death by a plant," I grumbled under my breath, bending down and taking the hidden knife out of my boot. Taking a deep breath, I straightened out, clamped the knife between my knife and readjusted my ponytail. "Here goes nothing," I sighed, taking the knife out of my mouth.
The first step I took forward, a vine shot through the air and I dropped to the ground with a yelp. It raced past me, slamming into the metal gate with a loud ring. I flinched at the noise, feeling every muscle in my body tighten in suspense. It was difficult for me to convince myself to move onwards, but when I did, I suddenly felt . . . comfortable. Like this was something I should have been doing my entire life.
Nothing attacked me again as I moved. I wasn't sure whether that was a good or bad thing. Everything just seemed . . . too normal. The statues scattered around the garden didn't help either. Every single one of them had a terrified look on their face, as though whoever this woman had been sculpting had seen a ghost over her shoulder when she got to their faces. Something nagged at the back of my mind, making me double take and stop in front of one of the smallest statues.
It was a little girl, no older than seven years old at most. She, like all the others, looked petrified, her eyes wide and her lips pursed together tightly, as though they had been wobbling before she burst into tears. As I moved away, her eyes seemed to follow me, pleading with me to help her. Frowning deeply, I glanced at another statue, not too far from the girl. This one was of a rather large, rounded, balding man. His shirt didn't quite cover his huge stomach, and there was a half-eaten burger stuck to his foot, his empty hand outstretched as if he had dropped it. Just like the girl, his eyes were wide with fright, and pleading with me. I gulped as I stared back.
Statues, frightened eyes . . . why should all of this fit together? I strained myself for another minute before it clicked.
"Oh no," I groaned, spinning around on my heel as fast as I could and bolted toward the building. Suddenly, the plants didn't seem to want me to leave, but I was past thinking things few. Acting entirely on impulse, I was just grateful that this wasn't Athena's test.
Plunging my knife into the nearest plant, it cracked with a lightning that leapt to every other plant within the closest few metres. Or at least, I think it did, I didn't really stick around to check. Instead, I leapt over the remaining vines and bolted into the building as fast and as quietly as I could. The closer I got, the more I could make of the mumblings in the background. I skidded to a halt and caught my breath, inching closer to the end of the corridor.
"Two sisters?" Annabeth was asking cautiously.
"Please, please get it," I pleaded, praying to Athena with every ounce of energy I had.
"Oh well, yes," the woman answered her. "See, a woman got jealous of me a long time ago. I had a . . . boyfriend, see? The bad woman was determined to break us apart. My sisters stayed for as long as they could, but eventually, they passed on."
"Come on, Annabeth!" I hissed through my teeth, and to my relief, I heard the hurried scraping of a chair over the floor.
"Percy, we should go," Annabeth announced.
"Such beautiful grey eyes," the woman was saying and I knew she was talking to Annabeth. Restraining myself from running right at her with a knife, I slipped the blade back into my boot and opened my locket, loading an arrow in one fluid movement.
"Would you mind staying for a photograph?" Medusa was asking them politely. I tensed, tightening my hold on my bow and arrow and holding my breath. "I so rarely get to work with children."
"I don't think we have time," Annabeth answered shortly.
"Of course we do," Percy countered sleepily. I rolled my eyes as they stood up, but tensed again the moment I realised they were heading for me. Figuring she'd created her statues with all the others, I turned and raced back into the garden, despite every fibre in my body begging me not to.
Taking refuge behind the statue of the large man with the burger on his foot, I shifted so that I could see the reflection of Medusa leading Percy, Annabeth and Grover into the garden in a pool of water from the fountain ahead of me. My mind whirled as I tried to think of the best way to handle this. If this really was Demeter's test, what was she testing me on? Artemis tested my compassion, which as far as I could see, had nothing at all to do with hunting. So how was I supposed to work out what Demeter wanted from me?
Maybe that's the point, a small, wry voice said at the back of my mind. They're testing you on values you should already have, not the ones you can show off when it suits.
Behind me, Medusa was already setting up her shot. "The young lady in the middle with the gentleman either side please," she instructed clearly.
"I should go and get Acacia," Annabeth said forcefully, and the corner of my lips twitched. "She'd want to be in the photo too."
Medusa shook her head furiously, suddenly looking a little nervous. I almost smirked at the idea. "Of course not! Your little friend will be fine, I'm sure she has bigger things to worry about." I pursed my lips tightly, gripping the bow and arrow and double checking the aim.
"What does that mean?" Percy asked harshly. Taking a deep breath, I risked a quick glance around the statue, wondering how best to kill her. I was almost certain she'd see me if I tried to shot her with an arrow, and twice as sure I couldn't create enough lightning to kill her without taking out Percy, Annabeth and Grover too, and I was positive the gods wouldn't thank me for that.
"Hey, where's your camera?" Grover suddenly asked stupidly.
"Uh-oh," I groaned.
"Big smiles dears!" Medusa beamed, ignoring Grover and lifting a hand to her veil. I shuffled back an inch and aimed over the head of the statue, setting the arrow for her throat, the top sparking dangerously.
"Look away from her!" Annabeth squealed, shoving her Yankees cap on her head. She vanished from sight in the same second, and Percy and Grover were suddenly pushed to the ground by an invisible force. My mouth set into a hard line the moment they were out of the way and my hand released the arrow, automatically reaching for another as I spun to avoid looking at her.
"Acacia!" Grover yelled in surprise, and I found myself cursing him as Medusa leapt out of my line of fire with a loud screech. The arrow shot past her, thudding into another plant and exploding with a crack of lightning.
"Next time, Grover, DON'T YELL!" I shouted back at him. All I got in reply was an apologetic bleat. Rolling my eyes, I was suddenly focused on Percy, who was groaning and pushing himself upright . . . about to look Medusa directly in the eyes.
"PERCY, NO!" Gritting my teeth, I bolted forward, weaving through the statues as fast as I could. The second I reached Percy, I snatched a handful of his shirt and yanked him behind another stone statue before Medusa even had time to turn. "Do not look at her," I frowned irritably at him, breathing hard.
"What?" he asked, blinking a few more times that necessary.
"Percy, that's Medusa," I warned in a deliberate tone. "You want to end up the same as these statues?" He shuddered, shaking himself harshly. "Exactly. Where's Annabeth?"
"Here." I almost leapt out of my skin as she spoke from right beside me, obviously still wearing her Yankees cap. "Oh, sorry," I heard her apologise.
I took a deep breath, scanning the garden as Medusa squealed in rage. "We have to be able to see her," Percy frowned.
"There's a fountain over there," Annabeth's voice came. "To the left. You could see in the water's reflection. And there are glass balls all over the place. The image would be distorted, but it's better than nothing."
Before either me or Percy could reply, Grover's voice suddenly sounded desperately from the left. "Maia!" In the same second, a satyr flew directly overhead.
"Oh, this won't go well," I grumbled under my breath, slinging my bow over my shoulder and pushing away from the statue. An ear-splitting crash of wood rang through the air, just as Grover gave a shout of triumph. Unfortunately, it was soon followed by a loud thud and a bleat of pain.
"Grover!" Percy shouted.
"Percy, catch!" I exclaimed, and he spun just in time to catch the glass ball I launched through the air at him. His face set and he pulled Riptide out in the same second, pushing himself to his feet and spinning the blade through his hands. I moved for the fountain, watching Percy and Medusa in the water's reflection. He was advancing on her, but she had far too much room to move while he was restricted by his sight. There was no way he could attack before she did. We needed a way to limit her space, fast.
Just as the thought crossed my mind, a vine jerked through the air, scratching the side of my face enough to draw blood. I gasped, ducking sideways as my cheek burned. But as I lifted a sleeve to rub the blood away, my eyes fixed on the surrounding plants, I caught my breath. "That's it," I breathed.
"What?" Annabeth shimmered into view beside me, her face pale and her eyebrows tight. I didn't answer her, shaking my head and bolting across the room to the furthest corner. Bending down, I yanked my knife out of my boot again and cut one of the many vine's free, pulling it to make sure the plant on the other end still had hold. It pulled back, so I figured that was a yes.
"Guys, this would be a great time for some sort of help!" Percy said, just as he dove behind another statue to avoid Medusa's gaze.
"Okay, I'm thinking!" Annabeth retorted sharply.
"Well think faster!" Percy snapped as the statue he was hiding behind blew up into a million tiny shards. Steeling myself, I pulled an arrow from my quiver and tied the end of the vine tightly to the end, double checking the strength. Without waiting for any advice from Annabeth, I loaded the arrow into my bow and drew it back, aiming straight between Percy and Medusa.
"Acacia, wait!" Annabeth suddenly shouted, but I released it before she could say another word. Lightning cracked along it as it sped across the room, but the arrow embedded itself in the wall with everything still intact. "Acacia, what on Earth are you doing?" Annabeth breathed loudly over the sound of Medusa cackling. Apparently, she thought I wasn't a very good aim.
I didn't hang around though. Instead, I raced as fast as I could to the other corner, repeating the process and shooting another arrow in the opposite direction. Aware that Annabeth was still shouting advice at Percy, Grover was nursing a wound, and Percy himself was a minute away from being turned to stone, I moved as fast as I could, shooting as many arrows and as many vines as humanly possible.
"Oh," Annabeth's breath came as she realised what I was doing. Loading a last arrow, I shot it as close to Medusa as I could while she had her back turned, then ducked behind a statue as she whipped around. The shriek of irritation that followed made my lips twitch, but there was still one thing left to do.
"Percy, get ready!" I called, dropping the bow with a gulp and reaching up to wrap a hand around the last vine I'd shot.
"Ready for what?" he scoffed.
"Just aim!" I snapped back. "I'm pretty sure I'll only be able to do this once!"
"What in the name of the gods-"
He cut off abruptly as lightning cracked dangerously across the many vines circling Medusa. I'd managed to pen her into a small square, no more than three or four feet either way. The vines were constantly charged with lightning and low enough that she couldn't duck under, while still high enough to be impossible to climb over. All it needed was an extra power source to disorientate her long enough for Percy to attack.
So, without thinking about the ramification, I closed my eyes tightly and held on. My gut tugged sharply, sending jolts of pain up my spine as lightning cracked loudly throughout the room. Annabeth gasped, Grover bleated, and I was sure I heard Percy curse. All of that was drowned out by the shrieks coming from Medusa, half annoyed, half agonised.
"Acacia, it's not enough!" Percy managed to yell over the noise.
"Percy, she can't!" Annabeth scolded, but I clenched my free hand to stop it from shaking and forced myself to give everything I had.
The ground shook beneath us, so hard that the building was beginning to crumble. The temperature suddenly dropped well below freezing as thunder boomed outside, and the air caught harshly in my throat. With one last effort, lightning cracked thunderously, and Medusa cried out in horror. But the sound seemed to come from far off. It was as though someone was stuffing my ears full of cotton wool to stop me from hearing. My head was spinning, and my hand dropped from the vine as every muscle in my body shut down.
I heard was Annabeth yelling my name as darkness fell over me.
The next thing I knew, freezing cold water brought me back around, and I bolted upright with wide eyes, choking and spitting the water out as fast as I could.
"Oh, thank the gods," Annabeth breathed, lowering her face into her hands and mumbling under her breath. She, Percy and Grover were hovering at my sides, all looking a shade or two too pale.
"Hey," Percy smiled shakily. "We thought you were a goner."
I scoffed, running a quivering hand through my hair. "Should have probably warned you about that, huh?"
Annabeth head snapped up so quickly, her neck cracked. She didn't even blink. Instead, she glowered at me, so annoyed I thought I could see steam coming out of her ears. "You knew this was going to happen?"
Her voice was level and dangerous, and Percy and Grover exchanged a stunned look. I raised an eyebrow cautiously. "Well, err, yeah," I answered. "I've done it before. Only once mind, it really takes it out of me."
I was pretty sure it wasn't possible for Annabeth to look any angrier. "I thought you were dead!" she snapped at me, smacking my leg irritably. "And all this time you knew you'd wake up? Are you trying to give me heart failure?"
My eyes widened a fraction, and I gulped hard before I answered her. "There wasn't exactly time to explain," I pointed out.
"So help me, Acacia Grace," she glowered, pushing herself to her feet and stalking off, mumbling about daughters of Zeus under her breath.
"Well," Percy started uncertainly. "Good to see you up, maybe we should . . . err, get moving. Can you stand?" I nodded once, allowing him and Grover to help me to my feet. Before we could move more than a few steps, someone cleared their throat loudly.
The three of us spun, Percy reaching for Riptide as my hand inched toward the locket around my neck. The woman in front of us barely blinked at the movements. Her black hair was woven into a braid and her brown eyes looked oddly hostile. Her dress was golden, the colour of a wheat field. It took me all of three seconds to realise that this was Demeter.
"Acacia Grace," she said, and it made me shudder to notice she said it with almost the same amount of dislike as Hera did. "That was quite a performance. You certainly adapted well to the situation, though it might have been a slight overkill. And I was rather fond of the idea of having all of this nonsense over and done with by now."
"You wanted her to kill us?" Percy frowned, and I jabbed him harshly with my elbow.
Demeter shot him a cool look. "It's nothing personal, Perseus Jackson. I just find it incredibly boring to hear nothing but you and Acacia Grace. However, be that as it may, I am told I'm obliged to tell you that you've passed your test, Grace. Resourcefulness and adaptability are rather necessary attribute for your . . . future. Do not let my trust go to waste."
"Of course not," I replied, not entirely sure what she meant by future.
She stared at me for a moment, then scoffed with a wry roll of her eyes. "I suppose good luck is adequate. I doubt Hera will let you live much longer, whatever she tells Zeus." She didn't sound remotely bothered by the prospect, but I gathered passing her test was enough. If she didn't want to kill me as well, I couldn't complain.
Without another word, Demeter disappeared in a blinding golden light.
"That was . . . weird," Percy murmured. I didn't bother correcting him, taking a deep breath and making my way delicately back toward Annabeth. The excessive use of lightning had made my muscles weak and my stomach sore, but I was conscious, which was a good sign, and I knew the feeling would most likely disappear overnight. I just hoped we weren't attacked again before then.