Last chapter was a little shorter but it was exposition for the quest, in this chapter, it begins!

I just want to say thank you for all of the reviews! They mean a lot, and I hope that you keep reading until the story is complete, we still have a good ways to go.

Also, I don't live in New York. I went to the city once on a school trip a few years ago, and we stayed for a few days, so If I get some details wrong about the city and the Central Park Zoo, I apologize and feel free to correct me.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, and Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.

6. We Meet A Jerk Demigod Assassin

You would think that the night before my deadly mission, I'd get a good night's rest.

Nah.

Of course I didn't. I don't know why I expected to rest peacefully, it just wasn't the way this world worked. There would always be nightmares or strange dreams prophesizing some crazy event. The thing is they all feel real. All of my nightmares feel lucid, except I don't know that I'm dreaming. My brain seems to forget that I'd fallen asleep not an hour ago.

This vision was no less confusing.

I was back on the Cursed Island, which is what I had started calling it now. Seemed fitting if you ask me.

Anyway, my consciousness floated behind the man in the cloak. He was sitting cross legged on a cliff about a hundred feet from the shore overlooking the sea. From his perspective, I saw the wide sandy shore below, the white sand glimmered in the sunlight, bright clear blue waves washed over it in a calm pattern. There wasn't a cloud in sight. Had there not been a creepy dude sitting in front of me, I would have pictured this as the perfect tropical vacation.

Sitting directly left of the man was his giant buster sword. As tall and long as himself, probably weighing as much as a motorcycle. It was dark carbon gray, line with celestial bronze on its point and edges, just enough of the stuff to be lethal to monsters.

The man sat on sand, but he was surrounded by grass and bushes. It looked like he had travelled through a path in the forest to get to this overlook.

He still had his hood up, concealing his face, that seemed to be pointed down at something in his hand. At my curiousity, my ghostly form seemed to drift with my thoughts, allowing me face his front and see what he was looking at.

Seeing it up close, I identified it as a book. No wait, a journal. It was shaped more like a diary or journal. Either one.

He didn't take his eyes off it for several minutes, flipping through page after page and occasionally muttering things like, "Very interesting," Or, "True."

After a few minutes he reached in his cloak and pulled out a black bookmark, placing it in his page spot and closing the journal. It looked almost silly, like some college student catching up on his book assignment. But this was anything but humurous. I knew there was ill intent behind whatever he was reading. I doubted this guy just read classics like Charlotte's Web in his free time.

He sat the journal gently on the sand beside him, replacing his grip with the sword. He stood up, hoisted the blade over his shoulder, and walked away, leaving the journal sitting there.

As he left my line of vision, I noticed the wind had blown the cover of the book to the side, revealing the first page.

It read, Property of Luke Castellan.

I woke up. Not with a start, not in a puddle of sweat, but just like any normal kid would wake up in his bed. Probably going to hang out with his friends, enjoying the summer break.

Meanwhile, I'd be meeting a demigod hitman to see if he'll track four legendary creatures for me.

Yep. That's quite the way to kick off the summer. Hey guys, wanna go kill monsters with me? Yeah, Matt, let's do it!

I sat up, feet dangling off of the couch. I thought about what I'd seen, the name Luke Castellan on that journal. That had to be the same Luke Percy mentioned yesterday. Why was the cloaked guy reading it? Percy said Luke had his issues...so does that mean he was evil at one point? Was this guy taking inspiration from Luke?

I had to tell the others. I needed to find out if they've seen anything, especially Harper. She mentioned before that the cloaked guy's been talking to her, trying to get her to join him. But why her? Doesn't he know that she wants to kill him?

I yawned, looking through the curtains to gauge what time it is. Sunlight...so it was definitely morning. Time to go. I got up and slipped on my- sorry, Percy's jeans, then my socks, sneakers, and orange camp t-shirt. I already had my necklace on. In fact, I only take it off when I need the spear.

After putting the Nemean Lion shield on my back, I made a quick detour to the bathroom, I checked to see if my hair was still somewhat okay looking. It naturally shoots up in the front, but it droops if I don't use anything on it. I'm not one of those guys constantly looking in the mirror at themselves, but I check every now and then, to make sure I don't look like a slob.

I brushed my teeth with the spare toothbrush Chiron told me about, and even found some hair spray...that might've been meant for Chiron's beard. Not sure. Either way, one spray and it held my hair up perfectly. Go figure.

Taking a deep breath, I looked around the Big House interior for what might be the last time. I had no idea if I'd ever see it again or not.

I will, I thought. I'll see it again. I'm not going back to that apartment unless Mom's there. Which...won't happen.

I'll be back.

Unless the Hydra incinerates you, or this demigod hitman cuts you to pieces, or Cerberus snaps you in half, or Malachi shows up out of nowhere and destroys you with his lightning.

With those happy thoughts in my mind, I opened the front door and exited the Big House. Stepping into the morning heat, I sighed. The sun was bright above the trees, the birds chirping, fluffy white clouds all over the sky, and a few campers walking around, getting their day started.

I looked down the porch and saw Harper sitting on the first step, Annabeth standing up in front of her. When she saw me, she gestured my way, causing Harper to turn her head.

She got up, "Jeez, you should have said you were gonna sleep in. We've been out here for thirty minutes!"

Annabeth checked her watch, "It's eight on the dot, Matt."

I barely registered their words, because I was staring a storm at Harper. Even at eight in the morning, she looked like a million golden drachmas. She wore the same single, thick braid as always, letting it sit behind her comfortably in this soft heap of smooth raven black. It seemed effortlessly straight, not tangly or knotted in the slightest. Around her neck, she had this choker necklace sitting above the beaded camp necklace, with a tiny silver dagger. A bit like my shark tooth. She wore a thin black leather jacket, with the sleeves rolled up to her elbows. The front pocket had a short chain coming out of it, a tiny skull hanging around the middle chain loop. Underneath, she wore her custom camp t-shirt, and below that, tight jeans nearly as dark as the shirt and jacket, signature rips at the knees and shins, topped off with combat boots.

Despite the layers, everything hugged her tight, revealing the shapeliness and toned physique she possessed. I had to unconsciously reach up and yank my eyes away with telekinesis to avoid being weird.

Basically, she looked ready to hit up a heavy metal mosh pit. That's a good summary that would've been way shorter and preferred. But sue me, she looks good.

Her pale skin was foreign to the sunlight, and standing next to Annabeth's tan complexion, it was like night and day. Annabeth looked the exact same as I saw her yesterday, only this time she had her sword strapped around her shoulder.

I finally answered their annoyance by rubbing my eyes. "Sorry, I should've given a specific time. Didn't know you guys were early risers."

"This is early for you?" Annabeth said, eyebrows raised. "I only slept this late because I know how lazy Percy is in the mornings."

Harper smirked slyly and nudged her, "Yeah, I bet you know all about that, don't ya?"

Annabeth blushed, "I-I didn't mean..." She nudged Harper back, regaining her composure. "Stop teasing me!"

"You make it easy, Annie."

"And stop with the Annie thing!"

"Afraid it's stuck with you. I got a knack for nicknames, just ask Matt."

"It's true," I vouched, "She won't let up."

We stood there for a few more minutes. I started counting the trees in front of Camp, while Harper played with one of her knives. Throwing it at a tree nearby and summoning it back to her hand with those magnetic gloves she used in Capture the Flag. Which is still really cool.

Annabeth finally lost patience, "Ugh! Where is he? I'm about to-"

"Where is who?" Said a new voice.

Annabeth jumped. Behind her, was Percy, clad in a blue jacket, camp t-shirt, and faded jeans. His usual outfit. Although the backpack was new. I guess it was for supplies and stuff we might need. Wow, hadn't thought of that. I didn't think Percy did either, it was most likely Annabeth's decision.

She glared at him, "You, Seaweed Brain! We've been waiting!"

Seaweed Brain? Heh, that's pretty good. I guess she has a knack for nicknames too.

Percy chuckled, "Do you really think this demigod for hire is gonna be gone by the time we get there?" He leaned down and pecked her on the lips, melting away her annoyance. "Relax, it'll be fine."

Chiron came over and said goodbye. I noticed Nico and Will also seeing us off, and when I was about to turn around, I saw Aiden running toward us, shouting, "WAIT A SECOND!"

He caught up with us, panting. Harper looked at him, confused. "Aiden? What are you doing?"

"I just needed to talk with Matt a second before you guys go."

Percy and Annabeth glanced at us, I motioned for them to go ahead. Harper hesitated.

"What do you need to say?" She asked him.

"Guy talk, sis, not your concern."

Her eyes flashed annoyance, "It might be my concern. You'd better tell me what's up."

He sighed, "Look, I just wanted to talk to Matt for one second. Please."

She looked at me, and I nodded, gesturing that I would handle it. She walked reluctantly to Percy and Annabeth.

"So what's up?"

He pursed his lips, "Look man, I wish I could go too. I mean, I could be of great help to you guys-"

"Not happening man. You're too young." I noticed I sounded like a kid's worst nightmare. An authoritative figure. I imagined being in his shoes, and somebody telling me I was too young. As if I were inferior, and couldn't handle anything. I decided to add, "The camp needs you, Aiden. You gotta keep things in line."

He considered this, "Keep things in line?"

"Yeah man. You're brave, and you've got a lot of potential. If a monster were to show up, you'd be the man for the job, you know?"

He lit up, his face brightening with each encouraging word. "Really?"

"I think so. But you gotta have faith in yourself too. You can't just take my word for it."

He nodded, grinning from ear to ear. "Yeah...you're right. I'll do it!"

I clapped him on the shoulder and was about to leave when he grabbed my elbow.

"But that's not why I wanted to talk."

"Oh?"

"I just wanted to ask you to..." He fumbled, "I just wanted to ask you to look out for Harper, okay?"

I was a little taken back. I mean, I was going to do it anyway, but he trusted me that much? We hardly knew each other.

"But-"

"I know. We don't really know each other, but I can tell you're a good guy. And I've seen the way you look at her-" My ears got hot. I started to argue but he cut me off, "-And that's cool, man. I don't mind. But just promise me, okay? You'll have her back?"

I looked him in the eye, getting over my initial embarassment. "Of course I will."

He sighed, relieved. "Thanks. It's just...she never told me everything about her past, but I know enough." He shook his head, "She's been through a lot, man. And she can come off as this super angry, rude, cold person, but she's got a good heart. I've tried to be a replacement for her older brother, and we get along fine, but she's still distant. Pushes me away sometimes. As for me, well...my dad died in a car accident, so Harper's been kind of like the parental figure in my life since I got here."

Wow. Did all of Nemesis' children have such hard lives?

I could tell how important she was to him. He was getting emotional just talking about it, and I took that to heart. I made a vow to myself to not just make sure she stays safe, but to not let her stray too far down her dark path of vengeance. If she does...she'll just lose herself completely. Aiden won't have anybody then.

"Aiden, she'll make it back fine. I promise on the River Styx." Thunder rumbled in the distance, sealing the most sacred vow. If it was broken, the consequences weren't good. I knew that.

He seemed to realize that too, his eyes widening a little. "Thanks, Matt." He then smiled, a bit mischievously, "Good luck by the way. You know, I think she likes you too."

"W-What?"

He laughed, "Come on. She never talks to anybody new here. That's gotta mean something. Either way, whatever happens, my permission is on the table." His cheerfulness turned into a glare as he jabbed a thumb at me, "But break her heart, and I'll gut you with my sword."

I felt nervous chills run down my spine. "Aiden, man, don't jump the gun. I'm not even sure we're friends yet. She's got her own thing going on."

He shrugged, "Doesn't matter. When it's real, go for it."

I couldn't believe it. Aiden was sounding like Cupid, a wise thirteen-year-old giving me permission to date his half-sister. I wasn't thinking that far ahead. I mean, maybe it was at the back of mind...but, you know, way back there.

"I'll think about it. Thanks."

He smiled, "Alright, see ya." He waved as I jogged off, "And good luck!"

I tried to force the red off my face as I jogged down Half-Blood Hill, where Percy's Prius was waiting. Everybody was already inside. Percy in the driver's seat, Annabeth in the passenger's, and Harper in the back left.

I pulled open the door and shimmied in, putting my shield in the floorboard between Harper and I. It surprisingly fit well, managing to avoid rubbing against my legs or Harper's.

Percy started driving. He and Annabeth chatted idly while Harper turned to me, "What did Aiden want?"

I decided to cut out a bunch of the conversation. Narrowing it down to the first part. "He just asked me to keep an eye on you."

At first, she scoffed. But when she looked ahead at Percy's headrest, the smallest smile of affection crept to her lips.

"He's a good kid." She muttered, above a whisper. "He deserves better than me."

I knit my eyebrows, "What? I'm sure you're a good half-sister. He said you've been like his parental figure ever since he arrived at Camp."

That made her eyebrows lower with sadness. "Really?"

"Yeah." I smiled.

It didn't reassure her. "Well, I'm not a good one. He's too nice for me, I just...I just push him away and never talk to him. I don't want him mixed up in my mess." She poked at the rip in her jeans with her pinkie, "He probably thinks I hate him."

I shook my head, remaining upbeat, "Nah, I don't think so. When he talked about you...I could tell he really looks up to you. He gets why you push him away sometimes."

"But I shouldn't."

"Well, maybe not. But still, he understands. He's smarter than you might think."

She nodded, still downcast and gloomy. I regretted even pushing the matter. Everything I said only seemed to make her mood sour even more.

"I know it's bad for me." She said, almost more to herself than to me.

"What?"

"I know this whole revenge thing is bad," She repeated, "I know it probably won't end well, and I know that I'm only becoming a worse person by stooping to that level. But Matt, I've been doing this for so long...I can't stop. It's more than just a desire, It's a need. Do you know what a target of vengeance means to Nemesis children?"

I shook my head.

"Whenever a child of Nemesis meets the person they hate the most, they become their target of vengeance. It's a curse every single child of hers has to bear. When that man killed my dad...it began. I was locked on. It's a force of nature, pushing me further and further to get my revenge. It keeps me up at night, makes me lose my mind, makes me...become less than human and more of a vessel." She looked at me, her eyes full of sadness and exhaustion. I felt so bad for her in that moment. It was the first time she's really been vulnerable in front of me.

"It only stops when that person is killed," She finished. "Only then can the curse go away."

I wasn't even sure what to say. "Gods, I...I had no idea it was that strong. I'm really sorry, Harper."

"Don't be." Her lips stretched into a quick half smile, but fell back into a neutral frown in a blink, "It is what it is. I just want you to know what you're getting into with me."

It was hard for me to even process what to respond with. I couldn't say for sure if she was a good person, but I believed she was. She clearly cared for Aiden, and if she were truly cold-hearted, she wouldn't have helped those kids in Capture the Flag from those metal boars. I think she's just someone that's had to endure so much, that it shaped her into what she is now. Not good or bad. Just broken.

I always try to see the best in people. And right now, I could only feel sympathy for her.

"Hey, I'm glad you're coming with us." She looked at me, a bit surprised that I hadn't just kept quiet and let the awkward silence follow. "We've all been through hardships, and we all deal with them in different ways. That's what makes us half-human, you know? I'm not gonna judge you."

She stared at me, as if she had X-ray vision and could see past my brain and out the car window. She was stunned.

"How can you even stand to talk to me?" She said, "I figured someone like you would-"

I interrupted, "Someone like me? I'm not perfect, Harper. Far from it. I've been in a similar situation. I've felt that kind of anger before, and I've become a different person because of it. Sometimes for the worse, and sometimes for the better. So I can relate a little. If you ever want to talk about it, just feel free. It helps, you know."

Honestly, just talking to Chiron and everyone about my visions, and even about my childhood helped so much. It really surprised me how relieving it felt, just talking about it. Like a weight being lifted off my shoulders that I didn't even know was there.

She blinked, breaking out of her trance. When she did, she gave me the most amazing, genuine smile. A gesture that suddenly made my heart very aware that it was directed towards me, prodding its beating intensity to amplify.

Her smile was so bright and wide that it could've been mistaken for a forced, fake expression. But I saw the truth. It was a rare moment of freedom, an act uncommitted in months, maybe even years.

"I'll...think about it." Her eyes darted between my necklace and my eyes, glassy with a noticeable twinkle. "Thanks, Shark Boy."

I shook my head, "Don't mention it. And you know, we can talk about other stuff too. Like that MP3 player in your pocket."

She broke away from our eye lock and touched the bulge in her front pocket, outlining the shape of an old MP3 player, earbuds and all.

"Oh this?" She pulled it out. It was the size of my palm, white, with a small screen. It had a couple of small scratches on it, clearly well used. "Yeah, Levi gave it to me when I was little."

"Levi?"

"My brother."

I nodded, "Oh, gotcha. Whaddya listen to?"

"A bunch of alt rock and some heavy metal." She shrugged, "Wanna see my song list?"

"Sure."

And for several minutes, we actually had a little fun. She showed me her long list of songs. Ranging in releases from now to the eighties. Nirvana, Green Day, Avril Lavigne, and so many more I lost count, many unrecognizable to me. I'm not the biggest music listener, but hearing her talk about something enthusiastically was nice.

She was naming off her top ten when Percy interrupted, "Hey guys, how far should we go? Where is this guy gonna be?"

I hadn't thought of that. Yet again, I'm mostly clueless about all of this.

But Annabeth saved me the embarrassment, "Harper said something about the Central Park Zoo, right? So we should try there first. It's our best shot, as opposed to just looking around the whole city."

I agreed. I mean, what she said was pretty much common sense, but none of us were thinking it. I'm glad she's with us, because I can already tell she's going to be the brains of the operation.

We'd passed the countryside a few minutes ago, reaching the outskirts of the city now. I leaned back against the seat and looked out of the car window, thinking about my vision. I knew I needed to share it with them.

"Hey guys, I had a vision last night. It wasn't good." It came out in the most matter of fact, simple way possible. But it got their attention.

"Last night I saw the man in the cloak reading Luke Castellan's diary."

It was so silent that I barely registered the sounds of the engine or the other cars passing us. Percy kept his eyes on the road thankfully, but his mouth tensed up. Harper's fists were balled up. Probably not from the Luke diary thing, but the fact that I'd mentioned the cloaked man. His very presence in conversation alone made her angry, I could tell. Annabeth was the most shocked. I could see her eyes wide and zoning out in the mirror's reflection.

"This isn't good at all," she said, "I remember that diary. He wrote in it when we travelled together. I never knew he continued writing until the end of the war."

Percy tapped his fingers on the wheel nervously, "Is he trying to follow in Luke's footsteps?"

"In what way? Luke fused with Kronos, but this guy's not trying to fuse with Ouranos, is he? I thought that was Malachi's thing."

"I think it is." I said, "Hera called Malachi a demigod, and told him that he could break free of his control. Ouranos's name hasn't been said out loud in any of these visions, but-"

"-We have enough evidence to name him as the prime suspect." Annabeth finished for me.

"Either way, if he's reading up on Luke's life...that's not good."

I carefully faced Harper, who kept her gaze straight forward on Percy's headrest. "Have you had any more visions?"

She didn't face me, but she did shrug her shoulders, completely impassive. "Just the usual. Nothing new."

"He still calls out to you?"

"Yeah. I don't know why though, it's completely useless. He acts so oblivious, talking as if I'm his friend or something."

It clearly concerned me more than it did her. She probably passed it off as some trick to lure her in and catch her off guard, while I...didn't have a further clue, but just sensed something else was there. Something deeper than just a petty trick.

"I don't know if this helps, but in one of my visions, I saw a little bit of his face." I forgot to mention the detail in my earlier conversations, not really thinking it was important. But now sitting next to Harper, I took a gamble that it might be, "Just the lower part. He had these little scars on both sides of his upper lip. A little stubble, no wrinkles or anything, so I'd guess he's their age," Referring to Percy and Annabeth, "Maybe a bit older. Does that ring a bell?"

She shook her head quickly, not even listening to half of what I said. "I don't care who he is or what he looks like, I'm killing him regardless."

"Oh, alright." Well, that was smooth, Matt.

I put any intrusive thoughts out of my head. I needed to focus on convincing this tracker to join us, and not get killed.

We rode again in silence, everybody in deep thought inside their own little mind bubbles. Annabeth's was the easiest for me to read. It was clear she was close with this Luke guy a long time ago, considering they travelled together. It's painful to dig up old memories.

Eventually we made it into the city, and if I was anyone that lived anywhere else, I would probably gawk at the size of the buildings, the amount of people walking, the number of cars and taxis crowding the street, there were a slew of things to be amazed by. But if you're used to it, it becomes normal. Still, I have the ability to sometimes step outside of my body and marvel at a human's ability to create such things. They don't have powers, yet they were able to do this? It's awesome.

I could imagine through a country boy's eyes; this place would be a nightmare. A far cry from the quiet life where the sounds of crickets and cows fill the air. But for me, New York is home. Even if it is a little nuts sometimes.

We pulled into the Central Park Zoo. It wasn't as crowded as I thought. Of course, people were lined up to go in, since it basically just opened for the day, even though I lost track of what time it was, but I knew it was still morning, definitely. And besides, we weren't planning on going in the actual Zoo itself yet. I expected the hitman to be outside.

We found a parking place and got out of the Prius. Harper put her MP3 player back in her pocket, while Percy decided to leave his blue jacket in the driver's seat, since it was so hot out. Annabeth was the last to exit the car, but when she did, she was straight into action, studying people in line and surrounding us, trying to spot someone out of the ordinary.

Percy took in the view of the distant exhibits, beyond the entrance gate. He was a little taller, so he must've been looking at something I couldn't see, because he sighed. "This would've made for a good date, huh Annabeth?"

A twinge of guilt resurfaced, and I looked at the ground. Percy noticed, "Oh no, I didn't mean it like that, man."

I could tell he only half meant it. But I still appreciated it. Hell, I understood, I wanted to go to the Zoo like a normal kid again. I remember my mom took me a couple of times before I found out about my parentage. The memories are really fuzzy, but I can vividly picture going to the sea lion court and watching them do tricks.

Now though, couldn't dream of it. If I so much as talked to a gift shop employee, some monster would come crashing through the door and kill them. It was even more of a risk today, being with three other powerful demigods. There's no telling what kind of threats we can attract.

"Never been to the Zoo." Harper announced, looking at the entrance with mild amusement.

I looked at her, "Really?"

"Yeah. I wasn't into it as a kid, and we lived in a small town in Georgia, a long way from any city."

I was stunned. Harper was the definition of goth. Maybe not a hardcore one, decked out in tattoos and spiky hair and what not, but enough to give off the label. Also, she spoke in a normal accent, each word articulate and clear. I would've never guessed her to originally have grown up in the south.

She noticed my surprise and chuckled, "Yeah, I know. I don't exactly fit the look, do I? I can't really explain it, I've just always been into the style, even when I was little."

"Hey, I like it," I said, "I can't imagine you in cowboy boots and a farm dress."

That made her laugh, "That is something nobody wants to see, trust me."

Before I could blurt out something embarrassing or corny, I felt a sudden chill.

Then it escalated into fear, and a wave of pure dread.

The others felt it too. Their eyes widened. Annabeth reached for her backpack to pull out the white bone sword, Percy had his hand on his pocket, ready to draw Riptide, while Harper tucked her hands inside her jacket, where the knives had been concealed.

I stood still, noticing the air had a new blood red backdrop, silencing all other colors. It got thicker and heavier, making it hard to breathe. The presence of death lie all around, like a new tomb was being dug, my tomb. It was bloodlust. I could sense the overwhelming fact that someone wanted to kill me.

I looked across the crowd and spotted a man that stood out from everyone else. Just on a glance, in between the passing civilians, I made out a biker's get up, with black sunglasses, and a rugged face. He seemed to have shorter hair, but what color it was, I couldn't tell. Not with all this red mist floating around.

The feeling faded, the red disappeared, all sense of bloodlust gone. The man motioned with his head for us to come over.

We obviously hesitated. I don't think Harper or Percy knew the man was there. But Annabeth did, she said, "That seems to be our guy. Let's go, stay alert."

We walked forward, crossing the lot and weaving our way through herds of people. We finally made it to him, and I got a better look.

The biker's getup assessment was accurate. He wore a black leather jacket with a big collar around the neck, a gray shirt, blue jeans, and brown cowboy boots, which those alone would've made him stand out from the crowd, because I've never seen anyone wear cowboy boots in the city.

Black sunglasses hid his eyes. He had fair skin, not quite pale but not quite tan, with short, dirty blonde hair that came up in the front. Not stylized and neat like mine, but more like a cowlick, messy and all over the place.

He was ruggedly handsome, shorter than Percy and I, but maybe an inch taller than Annabeth, so average height. A slim, lean build, with no facial hair, so If I had to guess, he was around nineteen or early twenties at the most. Which surprised me. I didn't expect the hitman to be so young, if this even was him. But come on, it had to be. Who else let off that bloodlust thing?

He smiled in a mock friendly way and greeted us. Harper and I just talked up Georgia and living in the south, well this guy must be the result of talking that up, because he spoke just like a cowboy. Deep, gruff, with a charming southern twang.

"I knew you were demigods, and powerful ones too." He studied Percy, "Percy Jackson. Quite a figure, very famous."

Percy stayed calm, I guess he'd been used to the treatment.

He continued, "Y'know, I had a few monsters offer me a lot of drachmas for your head. But I knew you were no joke. You're still one of the only guys I won't go after, to this day."

Percy didn't know what to say, "Uh...thanks, I guess."

"Don't mention it."

Annabeth intervened, "Are you sure it's smart to admit you're a hitman in front of people you just met? You don't even know what we're here for."

He shrugged, "Not a problem. People only talk to me when they want someone or something killed. I already know why you're here."

"You do?" I asked.

"Yep." He gestured for us to follow him, "C'mon, there's a few picnic tables nearby. Let's sit down and discuss some business."

I had to admit, this guy was pretty handy. He had this weird ability to just create anything at will, it seemed. I wasn't sure if it was an illusion or some rare power I'd never heard of. But with one motion of his hand, this coin would appear out of his palm, and he'd flip it. Once it landed, whatever he wanted to create, appeared.

Like for example, he asked us if we were thirsty, and of course Percy said yes, so the guy flipped a coin onto the picnic table and from it, spawned five Dr. Pepper cans, full of soda.

Harper was impressed, "Alright, that's awesome."

The hitman chuckled, "Think that's awesome? Check out the weaponry I haul around."

He flipped two coins this time, simultaneously. When they landed in his palm, they materialized into two different weapons. A five foot long, brutal looking sword in his right hand, and a Mossberg 500 shotgun in his left. He held both up proudly and smirked at us.

I couldn't help but be a little amazed, "What kind of power is that?"

"A little something from the godly parent. Comes in handy when I need something, or I'm travelling. It would suck to have to lug this shotgun everywhere."

Annabeth wasn't amused, "Shouldn't you put those away? What if the mortals see?"

He snorted, "Ah, they don't know a sword from a tree branch. The mist does all the work for me."

Percy was also in a little bit of awe, "Does that gun shoot celestial bronze bullets?"

He nodded, still smirking, "Sure does. Boy does it take a while to make those bullets though. Tough little things to create."

He tossed them back in the air and they transformed into coins again. He placed them in his pocket, and no mortal even batted an eye. The mist clearly covered them up as something else, just like he said.

He sat down, "Oh, I've also got alcohol, in case ya'll don't want the soda."

Annabeth looked at him with disgust, "These two are only fifteen, we're only nineteen, and you're suggesting we drink?" She paused for a second, narrowing her eyes at him, "How old are you exactly? You know the minimum's twenty-one, right?"

The hitman took a sip of the soda, letting out a sigh after drinking, "I'm a nineteen-year-old hitman, blondie. You think I care about the law? That would be a resounding no. I do whatever I want, when I want."

Annabeth shook her head, "This isn't a good idea, Matt. You still want this guy?"

Harper didn't look too uneasy. I guess she was still impressed with the coin thing, while Percy...well, he was hard to read. But he was slurping down Dr. Pepper, so I guess he didn't mind too much.

Before I could answer her, the hitman raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay, I'll chill with the alcohol. My bad." He then scratched his nose and leaned forward on the table, "Alright, since we're doing business, I'll explain how this works. I go after mortals, demigods, monsters, and the occasional immortal. But that one has to be at a really good price. Anyway, the price differs obviously, mortals being the cheapest, then low level monsters, then average demigods, then high level monsters, then skilled demigods, then children of the big three, then immortals, including titans and gods. And if you want any of those doubled, as in more targets, then that's gonna cost extra. It's also gonna cost in how you want it done. Quiet and clean, make it look like an accident, that's pricey. But sloppy and not so quiet, that's cheaper. For currency I take golden drachmas only, not mortal dollars. Well, there was that one time when I accepted a Lotus Hotel card, but that was-"

Annabeth interrupted, nearly slamming her hands on the table, "We don't want you to kill anyone."

He looked confused, "Really? Then why-"

I leaned forward, "Look, I'm on a mission. I have to capture and kill four powerful creatures, it's complicated and a long story, but I have to do it. We just need you to track them, since we have no idea where they are."

He processed this, then looked even more confused, "You need a tracker? You just want me to locate these monsters, and that's it?"

We all nodded.

"And you can help us fight them, we'll pay for it all." I said, unsure of how the heck we were gonna pay him, but I figured we'd worry about that in a minute, like always.

"I mean...okay. Not used to this request, but if you've got the drachmas, then I'll do it."

We all looked at each other, silently questioning if anyone had drachmas. Harper shook her head nervously, Percy was digging in his pockets, and Annabeth doing the same.

Eventually they pulled out a handful of them total.

The hitman looked at it, not impressed, "Not enough for four monsters here. And you still haven't told me what kind."

"The Hydra, the Cretan Bull, the Ceryneian Hind, and Cerberus."

He almost spit out his drink, "Cerberus?!"

I nodded.

"Okay hold up. First of all, those creatures are one of a kind each, not easy to track. And second, Cerberus? I ain't exactly friends with Hades, and I'm not keen on capturing or killing his dog."

Harper spoke up, "Look, Hitman dude. This is a matter of life and death for everyone, including you. There's a greater threat here, and we have to do all of those things. We'll pay you your price...somehow" She looked at me nervously and whispered, "how the hell are we gonna make enough drachmas?"

I shook my head.

He thought for a moment, then sighed, "I don't care about other people's well being. You all should know that by now-"

Percy interrupted, "Dude, we've known you for like ten minutes!"

The hitman continued, "And I don't care about this world ending crap, all I want is the drachmas. You don't have em'...tough." He started to get up until I stopped him.

"Wait! Please, we'll get the drachmas, just...tell us how. Tell us a way to make money quick, it doesn't matter, I'll do it, we'll do it." I hated speaking on behalf of everyone when they looked like they did not want to do anything to get money.

He considered and studied me for a moment, then he grinned, a wicked grin that sent a shiver down my spine.

"Alright then, If you're willing to do whatever, then follow me."

He turned and started walking, we got up quickly and followed, Annabeth muttering that this was a bad idea, and I was beginning to agree.

I caught up to him, and asked, "Where are we going, how are we gonna make the money?"

He chuckled and said, "We're going to the underground arena. Hope you don't mind fighting to the death for entertainment...and money."

We followed him down the streets, dangerously avoiding traffic and the hordes of people, Annabeth protested a couple of times, we demanded an explanation, but the hitman didn't respond, he just smirked and walked.

I wasn't worried about the fighting part. I was confident that I could defeat most people in this arena, but what I was worried about was the death part. I don't plan on killing anyone ever, and certainly not over money and some thugs' entertainment.

After what seemed like forever we made it to an area that at night, would probably look like a pretty rough place. There was litter everywhere, metal garbage barrels that homeless guys used for fire, a couple of alleys that looked like they had been used for fights and even more heinous things. We stopped in front of a small building entrance, a furniture store. It looked like a typical old store, not very wide, chairs and tables could be seen through the window.

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

He looked inside and then turned to me, "We're here, but we better wait until nightfall, that's when the crowd really picks up." he said excitedly.

I looked nervously at Harper, she squinted inside, and looked at the hitman in confusion, "This is the arena? I don't see a thing but old furniture."

Percy spoke up, "Rule number one in our crazy world, nothing is as it seems. Even the mist can affect demigods."

Annabeth nodded, "That's right. I'd guess it's literally underground, probably a long staircase behind that opening back there." She pointed in the store and there was a doorway, filled with a faint light.

The hitman looked mildly impressed, "Daughter of Athena actually knows her stuff. Yeah, there's a long staircase that leads underneath all of this." He gestured to the surroundings.

We let that thought sink in. Only imagining how the heck we were gonna get transported to this place.

So we waited and waited. Leaving as early as we did from Camp Half Blood now seemed like a terrible idea. A couple of sketchy looking people went in, and paid us no mind.

I finally got impatient, "Why do we have to wait until dark? Is that when this place opens or something?"

He turned, his sunglasses reflecting the daylight, "Nah, it's open right now, but like I said, the crowd really picks up at night, more people betting, which is good for you, since you need drachmas to pay me."

Harper was leaning against the store window, "How much do you want anyway? You never said."

"Oh I'll decide when you've earned enough...that is if you win your fights."

Annabeth suddenly became interested, "So we all have to fight once?"

He nodded, "That should be enough, yeah. The four of you fights one match each."

"How are our opponents picked?" Percy said.

"Just wait and see. Not much longer to go."

I doubted that, the sun was still relatively high up, it was maybe four in the evening, which sucked. We could sit on the ground of course, but there weren't many clean spots. Believe me, I'm not a clean freak or a germaphobe, I've had to hide and even sleep in allies to avoid monsters when I was younger, but even they were more appealing than this.

After what seemed like an eternity, the sun set, which I did not get to see, due to the numerous buildings blocking my view. I hated that, the sunset was one of the only things that gave me a sort of peace, and I used to watch it almost every day. Now it's been a few since I've seen one.

Finally the sky got black, and piles of people pushed their way into the store, literally fighting to get in. I supposed this was the crowd, there were a lot of them, and they looked like people eager to watch some death matches.

After the crowd eased off and went in, the hitman smirked and got up from his position on the sidewalk, "Alright, let's go."

We obliged, not eager to go into this arena, but eager to stop standing and waiting around.

We went inside and I was surprised to see that it was not at all a furniture store anymore. The view from outside was totally different from the view in here.

For starters the interior was made of old brick, not red but a grayish type, there were a few tables around and to my surprise, humanoid monsters sitting at them, drinking alcohol and watching a large tv in the back that seemed to be playing a football game. I had no idea what interest monsters had in football, and yes, these were monsters. Not very obvious, but if you looked close enough, they were.

The place looked like a huge run down bar. To my right there was a literal bar with glasses and bottles of beer everywhere. A few people sitting at it and turning their heads back, guzzling down the liquid. The bartender himself looked relatively normal, until I looked closer and saw that he had two horns barely poking out of his curly hair, and a goat hind quarters that could barely be seen over the counter.

Percy wasn't pleased with that part. "Why is there a satyr working here?"

The hitman waved his hand dismissively, "Ah, I forgot you were a friend to the satyrs, Jackson. Well, I don't know, they need work, here they are."

"But satyrs should be involved in the wild, that's their calling."

"Hate to burst your bubble, but things didn't turn all sunshine and rainbows after the war with Gaea. Creatures, monsters and demigods are still suffering, poverty exists, and you work where you can."

Percy and Annabeth were horrified. I was surprised as well, I had no idea that there was a side to the mythical world like this. I knew that a lot of demigods had it rough as kids, but they eventually found Camp Half-Blood. And I would have never thought that some monsters actually had lives and ambitions. The only ones I've come across are mindless and just want to kill you. But sure enough, here some were, drinking away their sorrows, seemingly hitting life's dead end.

I shook off the sympathy. Every one of them would kill you if given the chance, stop getting soft, I thought.

Harper didn't seem shaken up, she looked around, keeping a calm look on her face, like she'd seen these things before.

We crossed the bar, a few eyeing us with some interest, some with anger at Percy, probably because he killed their relative or something at some point on his adventures, but they kept their cool and went back to their business.

We finally made it to a line where demigods, monsters and even some mortals were standing. At the front there was a short guy that looked like he was in his sixties. He wore a red sleeveless flannel that showed off gray chest hair and flabby arms, he had on a trucker cap and had a long, unruly white beard, a few teeth missing in his mouth. To sum it up, he looked like an old redneck that had done a few drugs in his time.

But when we got a little closer and I figured he'd be wearing blue jeans with tobacco stains on them, I saw four furry legs, donkey legs. I was a little surprised, I had obviously heard of centaurs and satyrs, but half man half donkey?

We made it to the back of the line. But instead of stopping and waiting, the hitman lowered his head a little and strained his face, it contorted to a look of menace.

I felt the same feeling as earlier. A feeling of impending death and bloodlust filled the air, it turned slightly red, and all of the figures standing in line scattered, some whimpering in fright, a clear path was made for us within a few seconds.

I was about to ask him how he had done that, along with everybody else, when we walked forward and made it to the donkey man.

He shook his head and spoke in a southern accent, "Damn, Talon! Don't go throwin' around your bloodlust like that! You'll scare away the audience!"

So the hitman's name was Talon? That was pretty unique.

Harper's eyes were wide, "So that's where it came from in the park. How did you do that?"

Talon smirked, "Another little trick I picked up, I'll explain later."

Annabeth noticed the man's donkey half, "You're an Onocentaur." She said casually.

The man nodded proudly, "Smart girl, here. Not many recognize. Them cousins of mine and those goat boys get all the recognition!"

Talon snorted, "That's cause they can be somewhat useful, Earl."

Earl shook his head, "We're useful too! Look at me, I'm selling tickets like crazy every night here!"

"A job that can be done by anybody."

Earl slumped his shoulders, "Yeah, yeah, I know." I almost felt bad for the redneck onocentaur, but then I remembered why we were here.

I nudged Talon, "Drachmas, Arena, fights to the death." I reminded him.

"Oh yeah! Tell the boss that I'm entering four demigods. One's a kid of Poseidon, a daughter of Athena, and..." he turned to Harper and I. "Who's your godly parent?"

"Nemesis" Harper said with reluctance.

He turned to me, "Hercules" I said.

He seemed a little surprised at that and smirked slightly, turning back to Earl, "and a daughter of Nemesis, and a-well no, the Son of Hercules."

I cringed at the the part. Yay, make me the center of attention, the unusual one.

Earl didn't notice or care however, he wrote it down, and nodded at Talon, "Alright, you should get your numbers shortly, show em' the way Talon."

Talon nodded, and motioned for us to follow downstairs.

We all walked single file, me behind Talon, Harper behind me, Annabeth behind Harper, and Percy behind Annabeth. We trudged down the stair case hesitantly, I noticed the multiple posters and flyers on the gray brick walls beside of us. A bunch of pictures of fighters, some demigod, some monster. I saw a couple of yellow flyers that said Old Joe's Fight Club, with the image of a guy in armor about to fight the minotaur.

Percy noticed them too, because he asked, "So that's the name of this place, Old Joe's Fight Club?"

Talon nodded, "Yep"

Harper peeked over my shoulder, "Who's Old Joe?"

Talon didn't even turn, but I could hear his voice loud and clear, "The founder and owner. Has been for years, I think he started it some twenty years ago, or maybe more, I'm not sure."

"Is he a monster, or what?" Annabeth said, her voice echoing across the walls.

"Oh no, he's a demigod. A cruel one too. A son of Dionysus if I recall." Then he shook his head, "There's not many bastards meaner than him out there in terms of both half bloods, and monsters."

"What's so bad about him?"

"First off, he's dangerous. He's like fifty years old, and if you live that long in this world, you've either been a coward your whole life, or you've been a damn good fighter. And he's the latter." Talon glared at the posters. "I was here a little while back, and I beat all of my opponents, until nobody was left. Now if that happens, you get to fight Old Joe and his pets. And let me tell you, it wasn't easy." He averted his gaze, "But if I fought him now, I'd kill him for sure."

"Wait, what do you mean by pets?" Percy asked.

"Oh...you'll see."

I didn't like the way he said that.

We walked for a few more seconds, these stairs were really long. It seemed this fight club was at the center of the earth.

Talon spoke again, "Second reason is that he's just a jerk. He thinks he's so much more superior than anybody, and uses his position to an advantage."

"Will we have to fight him tonight?"

He chuckled, "Doubt it. It's possible though. And if you do..." he turned around and pointed at Percy, "you'd better let him be the one in that ring."

No arguments here. Percy was the strongest of us. I could tell, and I hadn't really even seen him fight yet.

We walked on, the sound of a crowd roaring and shouting coming into earshot, right between the sounds of clanging swords and a monster's roar, everything getting louder with each step.

If I closed my eyes, I couldn't discern it from a stadium of screaming sports fans. The volume of this place had to be insane. I was a bit surprised that there was such a market for this stuff, and that this many...creatures would come out.

I decided to break what little silence was left, "So, um...Talon, you got a last name?"

"None of your business, kid." He seemed to change his answer before even finishing the first sentence, "But nah, just Talon."

Sheesh.

I'm not usually eager to start a conversation, but my nerves were getting antsy, considering I'd never been in an environment like this before, surrounded by monsters that could kill me at any moment.

Harper gave it a try, "So what was that bloodlust thing you did earlier?"

He decided to answer that, "Something I picked up a while back from an enemy. The godly parent lets me do all sorts of crazy shit. As to who that is, is also none of your business. The idea is that you channel your bloodlust outwards into an intimidation technique, and suddenly things become afraid of you. Didn't work too well on you guys though. Tends to happen if your skill level matches or exceeds mine."

I was about to argue that his technique had done pretty well, all things considered. I tried to figure out which god could belong to him, but I couldn't place a bloodlust technique on a specific one. They all seemed equally threatening and angry.

We finally made it to the bottom of the near infinite stairway, greeted with a large space that looked like an old boxing gym. In the center, stood a square ring with four metal posts for corners, each one wrapped with rows of thick, black colored cable rope. Surrounding it in a circle, towered a stadium setup of seats, filled to the brim with monsters, demigods, and mortals alike. I had no idea what the mortals thought they saw, but it must've resembled fighting nether the less, because they were going crazy.

In fact, everyone was freaking out. Throwing popcorn and beer and soda at a constant rate, every mouth wide open, shouting for their bet to win the fight.

It was completely barbaric and savage. I'd been in questionable situations, but never one like this. I had no idea this kind of place existed within the city. Neither did Percy or Annabeth, by the looks of it.

"Hard to believe this was right under our noses." Percy said, shaking his head in a horrified awe.

Talon leaned over to be heard, "Yep! Pretty tight-lipped operation!"

A fierce battle raged inside the ring between a demigod and a monster. The demigod was a girl, features hidden by a full set of armor and a bronze helmet. She held a long, thin sword, waving it wildly at the monster to keep it at bay. Said monster was massive. A humanoid, gray skinned looking thing with a mouth as big as me.

"Laestrygonian." Annabeth muttered.

"Cannibals." Talon said alternatively, "And that appears to be a new challenger."

We watched in horror as the demigod swung and missed, the giant cannibal smacked the sword from her hand and grabbed onto her midsection, preparing to eat her.

I waited half a second for the match to be stopped. For the booker or this Old Joe figure to step out and call this off. The monster had won.

But half a second later, I realized this wouldn't be stopped. These were matches that ended with death.

Quickly, my body sprang into action. I leapt off the floor and cleared the distance over the ropes, landing directly in front of the Laestrygonian. I jumped over and slammed both feet into the leg of the monster, knocking it down face first.

But that caused his grip to go limp, which sent the poor girl flying. She was going straight for the concrete at enough force to break a bone or two, minimum, even with armor protection. I had already landed on my side, and I'm not sure I could make it in time...

I considered going for it, despite my doubts. But luckily Percy was there, summoning water from thin air and creating a disc shaped cushion under the girl's fall, catching her just two feet off the ground. He sat her down, Annabeth and Harper came running over to check on her.

Man, I'm glad I'm not alone on this.

The Laestrygonian got up and sauntered around like a wobbling mesh of goo, roaring at me, "OH, YOU WANNA BE EATEN INSTEAD?!"

It charged at me with one arm swinging, attempting to cave my skeletal structure in. But I was way faster. I didn't even need to bust out the spear, brute force would do just fine. I ducked under the punch and climbed its back, all the way to its ugly bald head.

It bellowed angrily, as did the crowd. I felt popcorn and beer cans hit me in the side, the stadium booed and howled at me to get out of the ring and bring the girl back in, but I ignored them.

The Laestrygonian swung wildly at me, trying to swat me off, but I held onto its beefy neck. When it slowed down, I took my chance. I grabbed it by the chin with one hand, and punched it in the back of the neck with the other. My hand went through several inches, blood dripping out. I felt the disgusting insides of the cannibal.

There wasn't time to make a noise, because with a powerful tug, the head came clean off.

I had ripped the giant head off of the monster and threw it beside me in a clump of flesh and blood. Its body fell forward, limp and dead, me along with it.

A few seconds passed until the body faded into golden dust, like every other monster. The crowd was dead silent, and I heard a new voice from above.

"Interesting. A new challenger approaches." It was slow and gravelly, like if a baritone pitch went through a meat grinder.

I looked up to the source and saw a platform sitting above everything else, near the very ceiling of the entire building. It was like a celebrity box in the stadium, with a chair and one occupant who I assumed to be Old Joe.

He looked in his fifties, like Talon said. He held a fancy cane and had on this business suit that was way too small for his body, bulging with bodybuilder muscles ready to rip through every cloth on his body. He had a salt and pepper crew cut, a neatly trimmed beard of equal color. There were scars across what visible skin I could see, his hands and neck and forehead all held deep, faded cuts from various weapons.

I was wrong about him being the only occupant in the box, because just as I took in his appearance, two more figures stepped forward and knelt by his side. Two cyclops with collars around their necks and chains linking them to the chair Old Joe sat in. They were probably thirteen feet tall, both of them, with ragged burlap clothing on and one large milky eye in the middle of their foreheads.

I guess that's what Talon meant by his pets. I rarely felt sympathy for monsters, but right now I sure did. It was strange, feeling the urge to free two creatures of the same species that's tried to kill me before. There's more nuance than I thought in this world, that's for sure. Guess I was more ignorant than I realized.

Old Joe called down, "Well then, young challenger, welcome to the arena. But I must say, that is not the way we introduce ourselves." He snapped his fingers and the two cyclops looked at me with murderous intent, a few monsters came out of the crowd with security shirts on, weapons in hand.

Well, this hadn't gone to plan, but I didn't regret helping that girl.

If I was going down, I was going down fighting. Harper, Percy, and Annabeth jumped in the ring with me, joining my circle back to back. We nodded at each other, weapons drawn, ready to stand together.

I pulled off my necklace, gave the tooth a squeeze, and brandished the spear.

I got into a fighting position, and faced the horde in front of me.

(000)

See you later for chapter seven!

Until Next Time.