Percy
Uh, boss? Blackjack asked me uncertainly. Are you sure you want to try this?
I waved off the question with my hand, "It'll be fine, don't worry. We've got it all planned out."
Blackjack shook his mane. Well, oaky, then. But we're relying on Leo here for success. You sure you trust that kid to do his job right?
"Blackjack, his job is to cause mass confusion." I smiled a bit, "That's, like, his major talent. I think he'll do his job right." Blackjack tossed his neck, but didn't say anything else. He and I were about fifty feet away from Luke's camp. I were waiting for Leo's signal, telling me that I had the distraction and I needed to go get Annabeth. Blackjack was going to stick here until I bring Annabeth back, then we would meet Leo. I fingered the smooth hilt of Annabeth's knife, which was sheathed and attached to my belt. Piper had given it to Jason when she and Thalia told them to come to Athena's palace, and Jason gave it to me. I was holding onto it until I could return it to its owner.
It was dark around us, and the only noise was the trees rustling in the wind. The silence was eerie, and I was thankful for Blackjack's presence. My fingertips drummed against the bronze knife. I'm not saying I'm scared of the dark (which would be perfectly reasonable for a demigod, though, seeing as it is Hades' realm), but when you're a demigod, monsters could be anywhere, and they could jump out anytime. Unfortunately, I'm a child of one of the Big Three gods, so I stink. Like, major stink.
There, boss, Blackjack said to me. I followed his gaze and sure enough, I saw three bright flashes through the trees. Leo knew where I was, and he was going to start the distractions. It gave me enough time to get up and positioned while the guards weren't aware. I said farewell to Blackjack, then moved forward through the forest.
Stealth has never been my major talent, and when I had gotten about ten feet away, I stepped on a branch small enough to snap, but large enough to make a sound that was similar to a Fire Bomb exploding in the silence of the forest. I winced, and I could hear Blackjack chortling and making fun of me. I shot him a look over my shoulder and continued again, trying to be careful of where I put my feet.
Fairly soon, I could see the dying embers of the fire in the encampment ahead. A few more steps and I froze. Just a little ahead was a guard, close enough that he could probably see me. Lucky for me, however, Leo had already started, so the guards line of sight was trained on the trail of fire that was growing from the fire out. Leo's job was to light up a trail from the original fire and set a tent ablaze. I wanted it to be from the original campfire because it would make it less obvious that they were getting attacked, hopefully they would just think their fire got out of control. It was a far-fetched hope, but it seemed to be working.
I had stopped, my foot in midair, watching the guard who was watching the fire. The small flame burned through the tough and dry grass to the corner of a tent. It flickered a little, then caught onto the fabric. Also fortunate for me and Leo was that the tents were previously soaked in oil, then dried to make the tents waterproof. Smart when it rains, but stupid when there's a fire.
The small patch of fire quickly spread up the tent. The guard in front of me yelped in surprise, running forward and calling for help. I took that time to move quickly around the outskirts of the clearing to where Annabeth was. I saw the two people who had been in the tent that was now on fire jump out and start grabbing anything they could to put out the fire. A creek wasn't close enough, so they resorted to beating it was heavy sacks and clothing. But then the fire went out, not due to their attempts, but Leo had quenched it. The guards all stopped, confused and looking around. They pointed dumbly at each other, silently asking who had just put out the fire. I could imagine Leo snorting in the trees, having fun playing with their minds.
But then, a different tent set on fire, and then another, on the complete opposite side of the camp. I was really liking Leo's powers at the moment. The guards rushed to extinguish the new fire, and more guards joined in. The ones in the trees jumped down to help. It was working, everybody was trying to rescue the tents, not looking for people to attack. I know, they should've realized something was suspicious, but I guess Luke picked guards with brawniness, not brains. I tried to look for Luke, but I couldn't see him. He was either still asleep (though I don't know how he could sleep through this racket) or I just couldn't pick him out from the many men rushing about. Annabeth's guards were the only ones who hadn't moved. They watched, but they were probably obeying Luke's orders of sticking by Annabeth, not letting her out of their sight. But Leo and I had planned for that too.
The tents that were currently on fire abruptly extinguished, and then two more were set ablaze. Leo was leading the group of hurrying guards slowly away from where Annabeth was positioned. When they were on the opposite side of where Annabeth and her three guards were, Leo turned his attention to the tent closest to her guards. This one he set totally ablaze, fire heating up the guards torsos, causing Annabeth to turn her face away and bury it in her shoulder. I cringed, I hoped she didn't get hurt. I snuck up behind the three guards and Annabeth, staying out of sight. Annabeth's guards knew that the other men wouldn't make it back in time, plus there were still four tents on fire, and the other men had their attention fixed on those. So they abandoned their post, desperately beating at the fire. I crept forward, tiptoeing loudly (is that possible?) through the stick-covered forest ground. Annabeth was watching the guards process with squinted eyes. She was even confused, wondering what was happening.
I moved, placing my hand on her mouth quickly so she wouldn't make a noise. I felt her jerk in surprise and alarm, but she relaxed quickly when she saw me. Relief flooded her eyes, and I felt her smile beneath my hand. I smiled back, then took my hand off her mouth. Uncapping Riptide, I swung it swiftly, slicing through the chains around her abdomen. Her ankles were next, and then I undid her hands. Once she was loose, she shook her hands, twirling her wrists to bring the blood flowing into them again. She got up slowly on shaky feet, watching the guards. They had no idea that she was loose, they were still focused on the blazing tent in front of them. Annabeth quickly moved swung around the tree to where I was. We were out of sight, but we still had to make sure they wouldn't notice her missing.
Annabeth grinned again at me, and then enfolded me in an embrace. I wasted no time in putting my arms around her shoulder and waist, hugging her tightly. Her head rested on my chest, and her soft but firm hands were delicate against my back. I breathed in the scent of her curly hair, relief making me giddy. She was safe, she was with me. I smiled into her neck.
"Thank you for coming," she whispered into my ear.
I spoke quietly, "There was no way I was letting Luke keep you, Wise Girl." I could feel her smile into my chest, then I pulled back reluctantly. "We have to get going before they realize." She nodded, and I remembered her weapon. I unhooked it from my belt and gave it to her. She gave me a thankful look, and tied it onto her belt.
"Let's go," she said when she was finished.
"Woah, there. Not so fast, lovebirds."
That voice made us both jump and turn around. Luke was standing a little behind us, leaning casually on his sword. I glared at him, memories rushing into me. Sad memories, ones that I didn't want to go through, for it would only make me want drown in guilt or sorrow. Annabeth glanced at me, at the deathly glower in my eyes looking at Luke. But instead of being so confused as to why I seemingly hated Luke so much, she looked a me with a sense of understanding. I was confused. Did she know what happened?
Before I could think further, Luke picked up his sword and swung it around nonchalantly. I tightened my grip on Riptide, which I had stabbed into the dirt for a moment while I had hugged Annabeth. The daughter of Athena stood beside me, dagger in hand, staring at Luke with narrowed eyes. So far, everybody else was still focused on the fire. It was just Luke, Annabeth, and I.
"I have to say, I'm impressed, Percy." Luke was now studying the edge of his blade. It was half steel, half bronze, meaning he could kill monsters as well as mortals. My nostrils flared as my grip on Riptide tightened. I hated that blade. I knew first-hand that it could kill mortals, no matter how innocent they were. "How've you been? And how's Leo, your fire user, the one I'm assuming is accompanying you? But it's just you two, the rest are about nine miles back, setting up camp, waiting for you to come back. Didn't that daughter of Hades tell you not to do anything, like try and rescue Annabeth on your own?" He turned his attention to me, one slanted eyebrow high up on his forehead. I scowled at him. I didn't know how he knew all this, but at the moment, all I wanted to do was bash Luke upside the head.
Annabeth seemed to sense my intentions, and she stopped me with a hand on my arm, saying hotly to Luke, "Save it, Luke. Gods know you're going to need it when you're whining to get out of the prison you're soon going to be in."
Luke smiled at her, "Sweetie, I don't think that's going to happen. You and Mr. I-Am-So-Cool-I'm-A-Son-Of-Poseidon aren't strong enough to capture me. Sorry to burst your bubble." Annabeth wrinkled her nose, but I knew her too well to know that she didn't care about the rest of Luke's statements. She couldn't get past the sweetie reference he used on her. She hated pet names like that.
"Don't call me 'sweetie,' that's repulsive," she reprimanded.
"Like your face."
She rolled her eyes, shrugging off the comment, but I didn't take it that well. I tried to jump forward, bringing my sword arm out to attack, but Annabeth kept a firm grip on me, stopping my actions.
"Percy, stop," she said to me. "He's just jealous nobody would look twice at him."
Luke chuckled. I hated that laugh. "Oh, sweetheart, you make me laugh." He ignored the low growl that came from Annabeth at the word sweetheart. "Percy needs to be held back by a girl? Gotten a little soft, haven't you?"
I clenched my teeth, but I didn't take the bait. A rustle behind me sounded, and I looked briefly over my shoulder to see Annabeth's three guards. Apparently they finally realized Annabeth was missing and had come looking for her. Nobody else was here, though. They didn't attack either, and when I turned back I saw Luke was motioning for them to not attack.
"I guess you have gotten soft. You won't defend yourself, but you can defend the gods? Even when a little girl's life is on the line?" Luke made a tsk tsk noise, shaking his head mockingly. "Well, I can't blame you. Siblings can get a little annoying, can't they? But don't worry, her death was fast. Almost too fast. I was thinking about how I did it, and I was wishing I made it slower, more agonizing to you. Seems like her death wasn't enough to turn you to the good side. Oh well, there are many more people I can k-"
That's it.
I yelled, tearing myself from Annabeth's grip. I'm surprised I held out that long. When he started talking about what he did… The rush of agony was too forceful for me to cry, scream, or just curl up and bawl like a baby. No, I was past that.
My sword whistled through the air, faster than I ever imagined I could swing a sword. It was like an arc of lightning, a flash of bronze. Even Luke, who was one of the best swordsmen out there, looked surprised as he barely got his sword up in time to parry the oncoming blade. Behind me, I heard grunts and clangs as Annabeth took on the guards. I knew I should be worried about her, but the only thing in my mind was blinding, white hot rage coursing through me. Blow after blow landed on Luke's sword, which always managed to block my attacks before they landed on him. But I didn't care, I just hit and hit and hit. Luke didn't have time to do an attack of his own, he could only stick to defense.
I don't know how, maybe my wild anger was helping me out or something, but I found a flaw in his stance and was able to take it before Luke could parry my blade. He was leaning to far to the right. Most of his weight, that is. Upon seeing this, I faked an attack to his right side, and as Luke's sword came up to block it, I reversed my sword. Using the momentum of a full swing, I brought my blade around in a whistling circle, slamming the flat side into Luke's unprotected thigh. His body, which was leaning to the right, did not expect this sudden movement to the left when Luke attempted to block me, and therefore he was thrown off balance as my blade made contact with his leg. Even I winced as I heard the piercing crack that rang out when I hit his leg.
Luke's face contracted in pain, and he grimaced and grunted, but he didn't yell out. Instead, his leg, unable to hold his weight anymore, collapsed, bringing Luke down with it. He clutched his broken thigh, looking at me through the sweat pouring down over his head.
"What?" He asked, teeth gritted. "Too cowardly to finish me off?" I stared at him, hatred overflowing onto Luke, whose eyes slowly started to glow with the same loathing. I raised my sword, ready to run it through him. But all that was forgotten when I heard Annabeth cry out in pain.
I cursed, eyes widening. Stupid, stupid, Percy! I yelled at myself. How could I have abandoned Annabeth? I left her to fight three guards while I took one person? And I was saying earlier that all I really cared about was her safety. Idiot! I kept yelling at myself as I turned around, not caring about Luke anymore. Not like he could do much.
Annabeth was doing the best she could. Her dagger was slicing through the air, parrying attacks from both sides of her. One of the guards was on the ground, knocked out. The two others were still up and determined, although one looked to be sporting a hurt knee. Annabeth was definitely limping, favoring her left ankle. A small cut right above her eyebrow was bleeding into her eye, forcing her to blink rapidly and wipe her eye a lot. As she did this, I noticed a gash in her wrist. Droplets of her blood littered the ground. My anger had returned, but this time it seemed even more fervent.
I rushed forward, taking one of the guards by surprise. He didn't have time to stop Riptide from slamming into his helmet. He crumpled.
One down, one to go. This won't be that bad.
Of course, I just had to think that. Right as I thought those words, five more guards came from the camp. They had finally noticed what was happening. I started up a fight with three of the men surrounding me. I glanced over my shoulder to see more men coming to join the fight. Annabeth could hardly stand up, and I watched as one guard came up behind her and slashed at her leg. A shallow but probably painful cut was opened on her shin. I roared in defiance, pushing away the number of guards attempting to attack me. Dodging blades, I rushed to Annabeth's side. She was leaning against a tree, desperately trying to defend herself. I cut down a guard attacking Annabeth, and stood right in front of her, protecting her. Any guard that tried to get past me to Annabeth was done for. I wasn't letting them get to her.
But there were so many. I felt Annabeth say something to me, I think it was "Let me fight, Percy!" Either that or "Hades' right, Percy!" And since the latter is almost never true, I was assuming it was the first. Sorry, Uncle Hades.
I shook my head, not looking back at her. She was already injured, I wasn't going to let her get any worse. But it was getting overwhelming. I felt a blade connect with my leg, but for the moment I didn't feel any pain. I stabbed forward, hitting the guy back. My hilt came in contact with so many heads. But it wasn't enough.
Just when I thought I was going to drop, I heard a rush of powerful wings, and a horse whinnied. Next thing, a black hoof slams into the head of the guard that was about to attack me. A pegasus followed the hoof, and I was looking Blackjack. The pegasus had a murderous look in his eyes.
Nobody hurts my boss and his girl! He yelled telepathically. I was the only one who could hear him, but I don't think that mattered to Blackjack. He just shoved his way through the throng of attackers, kicking, bucking, and planting hoof-sized dents in people's skulls. I sighed in relief, breathing deeply. Pivoting, I looked at Annabeth, hoping she was still alright. She was leaning heavily against the tree, her face contorted in pain. Blood pooled in her hand from her wrist, and more was dripping from the cut by her brow. I looked at her ankle, but didn't see anything on the surface, so it must've been twisted or broken. I knelt beside her, but kept Riptide with me just in case Blackjack missed a few guards, which was doubtful but possible. She looked at me with an anguished expression that stabbed at my heart.
"I'm so sorry, Annabeth, I forgot. I'm so stupid!" I said, biting my lip and forcing myself not to punch the tree in frustration. She was hurt, and this was my fault. Her countenance softened, and some of the pained look went away, but I knew she was just faking it for me.
She said, "Don't beat yourself up, Percy. It's fine." Her voice caught on the last words because she had moved her wrist, and I could only imagine the pain that was jarring her arm.
"Don't move, we need to get you some ambrosia."
Boss? You ready to go? I looked over to see Blackjack still fending off guards. He was unharmed, thankfully, but even he had a hard time. I'm thinking I'll swing by and you can quick grab onto me. You'll probably have to help Annabeth, by the looks of it.
I nodded, assuring him I was ready. Then I told Annabeth what we were doing. "Do you think you can move?"
"No, I really don't," she answered honestly.
"Well," I said, still cursing myself, "I'll help you on." She nodded, and sat up a little. I picked her up, trying to be careful of her ankle and wrist. One arm went under her knees, and the other held her shoulders. She held on, looking up at me. We were really close. Like, kissing distance close. I remembered our first and only kiss, when Annabeth was leaving. That was amazing, and I often found myself reliving it, even if it was full of sadness.
Her grey eyes captivated me, I never wanted to look away. I could hear her small puffs of breath flowing in and out of her slightly party lips. Her curly hair was dirty and matted, but it still looked better than Aphrodite's in my opinion. She was warm in my arms, and I realized how chilly the night air was now that we were done fighting. One of her hands was around my neck, and her fingers were curled lightly so I could feel them on my skin.
Boss, I'm coming! Blackjack's frantic cry jerked me out of my thoughts, and I looked up abruptly, seeing Blackjack charging at us with quite a few guards following him. He skidded to stop, just long enough for me to get Annabeth on, then Blackjack was moving as I swung up behind her. His massive wings unfurled, beating at the air. Within seconds we were off the ground.
Blackjack, you know where to go, right? I asked.
Pfft, what do you think I am, boss? Of course I know. Just settle down, I got this, Blackjack said, whinnying.
I smiled faintly, then I remembered something. Wait, Blackjack? He grunted in response, his wings still beating at the sky. We were rising higher, and soon we were high enough that I was getting kind of nervous. But Blackjack sensed that and kept an unwavering pace and height at that moment.
I finished my thought. Did you say 'Nobody hurts my boss and his girl?' He snorted in assurance.
'His girl?' Were you referring to Annabeth as my girl? I asked.
Yeah, got a problem with that, boss? He questioned mockingly. I rolled my eyes and chuckled. But I didn't say anything in protest. To be honest, I liked the sound of it.
"Woah, you guys got off on the wrong end!" Leo exclaimed when he saw me and Annabeth dismounting. I had to say, she did look pretty beat up, and I hated the sight of it. There was still blood coming out of her wounds, but during our short flight I had wrapped them up as best as I could with scraps of my short I tore off. It didn't do much, but it stemmed the blood flow enough so she didn't lose much more blood. But what I didn't know was how bad I looked. When I saw him looking at me funny, I raised an eyebrow, then glanced down at myself. My eyes widened. I was bloody, bruised, and cut up. A slash on my thigh looked to be really painful, but I hadn't felt it before. Along with the cut on my side, arm, and a huge bruise on the other thigh. Various other cuts were showing up as I studied myself, and slowly the pain registered. At first it was just a low throb, but then slices of pain shot through my body. I didn't know how I hadn't noticed this before, but I clenched my jaw and kept a straight face.
"Yeah, we did," I confirmed with a pointed look. "Where were you, huh?"
He winced, "Sorry, I got hung up."
I raised an eyebrow, "'Hung up?'"
"Yeah. Quite literally. I kinda, uh," he drifted off, scratching the back of his neck. "Got, um, stuck in… a tree," he finished with a weak, tiny smile. He tried for a laugh, but failed.
I stared at him. "You got stuck," I started slowly, "in a tree. A tree."
"Hey! I was trying to see what was going on, and there was a really big tree, so I thought, 'Why don't I climb it!'" He rambled, defending himself. "So I climbed it, and then I was like, 'Can't see anything, better get down.' So I tried, but I swear that tree hates me. I don't know what I did to offend the god of trees, whoever that dude is, but I'm sorry. Trees are mean! The branches kept swatting me in the face as I tried to climb down, and I'm positive the bark got smoother and slipperier, so I couldn't climb down very well. So I was stuck looking like a flailing duck that had to stay quiet! It wasn't fun, man! Or funny!" He added as he saw that I was trying to hold in my laughter. Annabeth was biting her lip, but her mouth kept twitching, so I knew she was trying not to smile as well. Leo frowned, feigning a hurt face.
"And I thought you were all my friends," he said, placing a hand over his heart and sticking out his lower lip.
Arion snorted, I'm definitely not your friend, you silly idiot weak man. Stuck in a tree! What an imbecile fool. He had a few more insults, which were somewhere along the lines of muttonhead, cretin, and dunce when you took out the cuss words woven in between.
"What'd he say?" Leo half-demanded half-asked, looking at me.
I shook my head. "You probably don't want to know, Leo."
Leo huffed, then stuck his tongue out at Arion. The horse turned around, sticking his rear in Leo's face, and promptly passed gas.
Blackjack was snorting, barely able to stand as he laughed, and I was guffawing as well, despite the pain coursing through my body. Leo yelped and backed away quickly, stumbling over his own feet. He slapped at his face, as if beating the smell away.
"Come on, man!" Leo complained angrily, still waving his hand in front of his face. My stomach hurt, and I couldn't breathe. I don't know why I found it so funny, but the relief of having Annabeth with me, safe except for the injuries she just got, was making me extremely happy. I was elated, overjoyed, that Annabeth was with me. She pressed her lips together, attempting to not laugh for Leo's sake, but she wasn't doing a good job. She shook her head, rolling her eyes as if thinking, Boys. What dumb creatures.
That expression was just so Annabeth that I smiled even wider.
"Gods above, I did not want to know what the air inside of a horse's rear smelled like!" Leo yelled, still viciously swatting at the air in front of him.
"Shh, stop yelling!" Annabeth chastened. "Who knows what's in this forest." But she was still smiling.
Leo glared at her, "Well, nothing's gonna come near me with this smell lingering." Cue another eye roll from Annabeth.
I snickered, but settled down. "Come on, let's get back to the camp. I don't know how long it's been, but we're already going to get a lecture from Hazel for doing what she said not do to do. We better not be late." Leo exhaled loudly, narrowing his eyes at Arion, muttering about he "didn't want to ride a gas ball" or something like that.
Annabeth had been leaning on me for support, and I gently helped her onto Blackjack. Leo cautiously climbed onto Arion, and the butterscotch horse took off, flying back to his owner, who was about nine miles away from here. It was going to be a pretty long ride back, since we didn't need to push the horses that hard. I mounted Blackjack, and he started running, jumping into the air.
Annabeth was sitting with both of her legs on one side of Blackjack, and she clung tightly to me so she didn't fall off. I put a steadying hand around her shoulders and her grip loosened a bit.
"It's going to be a fairly long ride," I informed her in above the wind screaming around us.
She nodded, then leaned into my chest, taking a deep breath and relaxing. I tried to keep myself from smiling in satisfaction, but I couldn't help it. Blackjack flew with ease and swiftness, following the brown line that was rapidly moving on the ground. It was getting colder and colder as we flew higher, and I was grateful for the warmth Annabeth's body gave to me. I looked down at her to see her eyes closed, and she was breathing deeply and evenly, appearing to have fallen asleep.
I held her tighter, so she wouldn't fall, then rested my chin on her head, gazing at the sky around us. The stars were keeping us company as we soared through their domain, and the crescent moon let out an amazing amount of light. It turned Annabeth's curly hair into silver strips of silk, her skin into a milky sheen of softness.
Man, I'm getting really poetic, I thought, pursing my lips.
Sooner than I expected, I could see a dim light through the forest ahead. The Questers had started a fire, and I was grateful, for even though I had the warmth from Annabeth I was still pretty cold. It was a good thing we were landing soon, the night air was getting chillier and chillier each second it seemed, and I didn't exactly want to become an icicle. But I think I would make a pretty good looking icicle, just saying.
Right, something like that, boss.
I rolled my eyes. You call me boss, but you insult me? I sent that in reply to Blackjack, who tossed his neck and chuckled, ignoring me. He started descending slowly, and I woke Annabeth up. Her eyelids flew open to permit sight to her enchanting grey eyes full of intelligence and beauty. Boss, you're starting to sound like Homer.
Why do you have to be able to read my thoughts? It was more of a rhetorical question, but I guess that didn't matter, since Blackjack and I could hear each other's answers even when it was a rhetorical question.
Arion was already in the camp, and the Questers had awoken and were standing beside the horse and Leo, talking with him. He looked up and pointed at Blackjack flying to them, and eyes followed his hand. I waved slightly, and Annabeth smiled down at them. Hazel was glowering at me, but she looked relieved to see Annabeth. Right when Blackjack touched the ground, I jumped off and helped Annabeth down, putting her lightly on her feet. She was still wobbly, and I was scared to see her pale face. She had lost a lot of blood, but I hoped it wasn't too much. I turned to explain to Hazel, but she went past me to Annabeth without even acknowledging my presence. She gave her a light hug, avoiding her injuries, then helped hold her up. Annabeth gratefully leant on her, grimacing from the pain of her wounds.
"Save it for later, Percy," Hazel said, leading Annabeth off to a tent where she would treat her. "But we are still talking about this." Even though Hazel was a sweet girl who was a lot younger than me, I even got scared of her sometimes. Her surprising ferocity was pretty freaky.
I nodded, then stopped her once, "Hazel?" She looked at me with an aggravated brow lifted. I continued, "Just- just make sure she's alright. Please."
Hazel's countenance softened, and she nodded, "She'll be fine, Percy. Now you go look after yourself, you've got enough cuts and bruises to worry about." She shooed me away while she helped Annabeth walk. Annabeth glanced over her shoulder at me and smiled, making me instantly smile back even though I didn't know why. But whenever Annabeth smiled, I got the urge to smile as well.
"Percy, eat this," Jason commanded, even though I was technically his captain. He had walked up and was holding a slab of ambrosia. I took it appreciatively, then ate it quickly, barely chewing. I sighed in alleviation when I felt the warmth of it spread throughout my body to the injuries on me. Slowly they started to heal, but I was still in pain. But it wasn't as mind-numbing as before. I excused myself, going to wash up and change clothes. I felt refreshed and healthy when I was in new pants and a shirt. I slipped Riptide into my pocket, then headed out of my tent.
I realized all the other Questers were looking at me, waiting for a story. They didn't seem shocked that I did what I wasn't supposed to do. They were pretty used to it. Nyssa had gone to help Hazel with Annabeth, so Harley was standing next to his other sibling, Leo. Leo was explaining in exaggerated detail about how he set the tents on fire and courageously fought off lots of big, scary men and helped save Annabeth from the ferocious people that were guarding her. Harley was wide-eyed, staring at his brother with admiration. I snorted and rolled my eyes as I launched into the actual story of how it all happened.
While the Questers "oohed" and "aahed" like they were just listening to a fascinating tale, my two second-in-commands were frowning and nodding at parts. They were listening to the details of the group of men Luke was with, and they were trying to think of ways we could overcome them. They were seriously two of the best second-in-commands a guy could wish for.
When I was done, Annabeth, Hazel, and Nyssa had rejoined us. Annabeth looked almost as good as new. Better even, but that's what I think. There was still a slight fissure on her wrist, and if I looked closely enough, I was pretty sure there was a minuscule scar above her eyebrow where she got cut, but she wasn't bleeding anymore, and there was no limp when she walked. She came to stand by me, offering me a grin which I returned.
"Did you learn anything else that could be of use to us?" Mark asked Annabeth, his eyes still wide from the story I just told. She hesitated, and then glanced at someone in the back. I quickly followed her eyes to see Chris Rodriguez staring back at her. Why was she looking at him? Then she looked at me with a concerned expression, and again, I was confused.
"N-no," she stuttered. "Not really. Luke didn't really tell me anything." I peered at her. I knew she was lying, but why couldn't she say what she had to say in front of everybody?
But she gave me a pleading look, telling me to keep things moving.
"Um, alright." I looked back at the Questers. "Well, we should get as much sleep as possible. We know where Luke is headed to, thanks to Poseidon. We'll think of a plan in the morning. I'll take first watch," I added.
There were some protests, saying that I needed to rest, but I ignored them. Annabeth spoke up, "I'll guard also, I doubt I can sleep right now."
More protests were voiced, but Annabeth's reason was pretty logical. I would be surprised if she could get any sleep tonight. So soon everybody had headed back to their tents, and within minutes, there were some soft snores I could hear from where I stood by the fire. Annabeth and I stayed in silence for a little while.
"I didn't just take the watch because I wasn't going to be able to sleep," Annabeth started, staring at the flames licking at the air. "I needed to talk to you."
I shrugged, "Well, talk." I sat down on an old log next to the fire and looked at Annabeth, waiting. She sighed, sitting by me.
"Luke knows all about your group of Questers, like who's in it, what you are doing, and where you are, because he has a spy."
Frowning, I replied, "Has someone been following us?"
She bit her lip, shaking her head. "No, the spy is in your group. It's Chris. Chris Rodriguez." Wow, I wasn't expecting that. I was sure my body stopped functioning at that moment. Chris was a traitor? Why would he do that? I've known him for a long time, and he was always a nice guy. We've been good friends. I mean, we're all good friends, the Questers. It's like one big family. So why would he… betray us?
Imagine your brother betraying you. Yeah, it's not nice, is it? That's how I felt, like I just got punched in the gut. I stared at the ground, trying to process that information. I had no reason to know that he was spy, he hadn't changed at all. He was still a nice guy that laughed, joked, and hung out all the time with every one of the Questers. Why would he do this?
"I know, I'm sorry," Annabeth stated quietly. "I didn't want to tell you in front of everybody."
I sighed, speaking. "Well, they'll have to know. I just- I can't believe he would… do that."
She nodded, "Trust me, I understand. Silena Beauregard. She was my maid, but more like a good friend that I've known for a long time. She's the one who led Luke's men into the tunnel, causing them to capture me. It hurts, knowing that they've actually betrayed you." She bit a trembling lip, hugging herself and rubbing her arms.
I put a hand on her shoulder, but she didn't look at me. "I'll tell the Questers in the morning about Chris, and we'll… I don't know. We'll figure out tomorrow, I guess."
She nodded, "What about Thalia and Piper? Where are they? Are they alright?"
"As far as I know, they're still back in Athens at your mom's temple," I said. "But… before we started coming to get you, I tried to contact my dad." I told her what happened, how my dad couldn't communicate with me very well, and that something or someone seemed to be blocking us from talking to each other. I told her the rest, about how Athena ordered me to come and rescue Annabeth, but I left out a lot of Athena and my conversation.
Annabeth frowned, thinking. "So you couldn't really communicate with your dad, but nothing happened while talking with my mom? She didn't, I don't know, flicker in and out of view or something?"
I shook my head, telling her no. She grunted, still deep in thought. I asked her another question, "Did you learn anything else with Luke that you didn't want to say in front of the rest of the group?"
Her frown was instantly replaced with a look of sadness, but she didn't seem sad. It was like she was sad for someone else. She dipped her head slowly, not meeting my gaze.
"Well, what was it?" I pressed her for an answer, curious.
She took a deep breath, then said in a voice almost too small to hear. "I know what happened to Calista."
I sucked in my breath, fighting off memories that were now attacking me, forcing their way into me. But this time, I didn't succeed. The memories swarmed around me, each one popping up in my head.
Calista's laugh when I did something stupid. Calista's wide smile with her front tooth missing. Calista's dark brown hair that she wore in a braid, which is why I always loved Annabeth's braids but hated them at the same time, for they reminded me of my little sister. Calista's love for cats. Calista hugging me tight whenever I came back from a quest, claiming she missed me so much.
Annabeth was speaking to me, but I couldn't hear her. I could only focus on the memories pillaging my mind, each one getting steadily worse. Calista looking at me with wide eyes when she saw me come to rescue her from Luke. Her frightened but determined face when she told me to fight for the right cause. Calista's last look at me, her eyes filled with love and warmth for her older brother even though I had failed her. It was a vivid memory, I could remember every detail. What clothes Calista was wearing, every detail of Luke's mouth as he sneered, ready to do the act, even how warm it was in the room. Too vivid. I didn't want to remember this.
"Percy," Annabeth's voice was laced with concern, she was looking at my unresponsive figure with a frown. "Are you listening?"
"No, I'm not." I couldn't help but be snarky. I didn't want to talk about Calista. I was hurt too much from what happened to even talk about it, much less think about it.
Annabeth ignored my tone, and continued. "Percy, I was asking why you didn't tell me before."
"Because it's not something I want to talk about," I said with icy calmness.
She sighs. "Percy, you need to talk about it. It will help you, you need to at least get it off your chest. You need-"
"I 'need'?" I growled. "I don't need to do anything. I don't need to talk about it, just like I didn't need to defend the gods instead of my sister, but I did. Let's look at where that got me, shall we?" I was getting angrier and angrier, and since Luke wasn't around for me to get mad at, I got angry at Annabeth instead. I know, I was being stupid, but I was so mad I couldn't think straight.
"No, you didn't need to defend the gods, but maybe it was the right choice!" She said urgently.
I scoffed, "Right, now you're defending the gods. The ones who basically made my little sister die. Great, Annabeth. Nice for the support."
She glared at me, "That's not what I'm saying, Percy, and you know it. But even though it's hard and mostly unfair, the gods are in charge of the world, and we need to keep it that way. Because even though Zeus can be the worst leader sometimes, he's better than Luke."
"So if he's better, he could've stepped in and helped," I whispered/yelled, since the Questers were asleep less than twenty feet away. "It aggravates me so much!" I claimed, balling up my fists. The rage inside me was interfering with my mouth, so I couldn't speak fully, it was more like a growl with a ton of force behind it. "They just sit on their fancy thrones, and watch us demigods do the work. They don't even lift a pinky, because that might ruin their royal pedicure!" I lifted my hands like, oh no, gods forbid that to happen.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "It's a manicure, Percy. Pedicures are for your feet."
"Whatever. Look who knows all this girly stuff." So, I confess, I knew that would make her mad, but she was acting too calm for me. I wanted everybody in the world to be angry. I wanted to argue with someone, get into a fight, or punch a wall. I picked arguing.
Sure enough, Annabeth's eyes narrowed and she looked angry. "Percy, I'm just trying to help you! You're so mad about what happened that you can't think straight!"
She probably hadn't meant for that to be an insult, but I took it as one anyway. "I can't think straight? If a demigod can't think straight, then I'm pretty sure they'd be dead by the next day, and so I think I'm thinking pretty straight, Annabeth. And can't I get mad? Don' t I have the right to get mad? My sister was killed, for Hades sake!"
Her voice came through clamped teeth. "Shut up, Jackson! Stop yelling, you're going to wake everybody up!"
I exhaled a puff of angry air, but I dropped my voice a little. "Oh, so we're on last names now? Well, Chase, just for your information, Calista was everything to me. When she died, that was the worst thing that happened in my life. If you think you can waltz in and help pick up the pieces of me, then you're wrong. It's impossible." I glared at her for a few moments, watching her watching me. "I'm going to go wake someone else up, I don't want to guard."
I stood up abruptly, and was ten feet to the nearest tent when I turned around again, saying the last words. "I am never going to be the same after that incident. And you can't help me." When I saw her face, guilt crept up on me. She looked confused and hurt. My anger was starting to fade, and reason was coming to me. I realized that all I said to Annabeth she didn't deserve one bit. Why had I gotten mad at her? I felt bad, for taking it all out on her when she hadn't done anything. But I couldn't go back. I turned before she could catch a glimpse of my face full of oncoming regret. I bit my lip so hard that it split, blood pooling in my mouth. I spat at the ground, then walked into the tent. Jason was sleeping peacefully inside, and I didn't want to wake him, but I couldn't stay outside with Annabeth anymore.
Grabbing his shoulder, I shook him gently. He woke up easily, and I said, "Hey, can you keep watch for a little? Then Nico can after an hour or so."
He nodded, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Squinting at me, he asks, "Is it my turn yet?"
I hesitated, "No. But I just... I just need a break. Please."
He frowned, but said, "Yeah, I can."
"Thanks, Jason." I meant it. I walked back outside and over to my tent. I didn't look over at the fire where Annabeth was sitting. If I did, I'd break down and get even more sad, angry, and mad, all at myself for treating her that way. I knew I should apologize, but I couldn't bring myself to do it, not right now. I slipped inside my tent, falling onto my sleeping mat. Outside, I could hear Jason walking over to the fire. He started talking to Annabeth, and I strained to hear what they said.
"What's wrong with Percy?" He asked.
There was a pause, then I heard Annabeth's voice. It sounded timid, and when she started, her voice cracked, so she had to begin again. "No- Nothing."
Another pause.
Then Jason said, "Oh, okay then."
I grimaced, fighting off tears that I hadn't known had snuck up on me. Tears because of Calista, because of what I had done to Annabeth, because of my messed up life, thanks to being a demigod.
Slowly, sleep overtook me, but I never forgot that look on Annabeth's face when she heard me shoot her down for trying to help me.
Aww.. Percabeth is fighting. :( But with every fight, they just have to make up, right? I mean, it's Percy and Annabeth. They're so much in love they can't stay apart from each other. XD It's cute.
IMPORTANT!Sorry, another message. But I was asked by someone if my story was funny, they wanted to read a funny story. I was like, "Umm. Well, I don't know. I just kinda write. And post. Like every month." (yeah, sorry bout the late updates.) Soooo… question is, do you think my story is funny? It's totally alright if you say no, but I'm kinda curious. Thanks peeps! :)
Also, special thanks to IIII Winter Wolf IIII, EatBlueFoodAlways, natalieguist3, LEOFLAMINGVALDEZ, krazy. khik. noelle, Turquoise Crystal, 123, Castle-of-Dreams, Three Green Storms, and EagleTalon45 for reviewing! As always, ya'll the best. :) PS, thanks for the reviews telling me what your favorite chapters were and why!
Q&A and chit chat. :)
EatBlueFoodAlways : Yeah, I noticed a lot of people I was following stopped updating when BoO came out too. But to be honest, the BoO was kinda what made me get off my duff and start writing. I was like, "I love this. Why did I stop writing for two freaking months." Then I felt really bad. Sorry again!
LEOFLAMINGVALDEZ : I honestly love your username. It's sweet. Fantabulous. Amazing. Completely FLAMING AWESOME! xD
krazy. khik. noelle : Well, I already read the BoO, so I think my guesses at who was going to die in the book would be pretty accurate. *wink wink.* :) But I can honestly say I was incredibly mad, and I wanted to go to Boston (that's where Uncle Rick lives right?) and scream at him for writing what he wrote, but also give him a bear hug and cry on his shoulder for writing such good books with soooo much of the feels. :)
Turquoise Crystal : … so does that mean you didn't want any deaths because you didn't want to have any suspense? I'm confused. Sorry. :\
Castle-of-Dreams : AWESOME! WE ARE TWO DAYS APART IN BIRTH! AND I'M OLDER THAN YOU! HA! ;) Jk. But I am.
Three Green Storms : AWESOME TO YOU TOO! AND I'M STILL OLDER! xD It goes me, you, then Castle-of-Dreams! :) And you're a new reader! I get so excited when I see a reviewer I don't recognize. I always remember people who review, so I love the old timers, like people who have stuck with the story since chapter one, when I posted it last year. And all the trials and pains that came with it when they were forced to have me as an author, since I suck at updating. :P And Arion wouldn't be Arion without a potty-mouth. :)
EagleTalon45 : Another new reader! Yay! And I'm glad you are "sorta liking" the story. I hope this profound liking will stick around for a little while. :)