Helena took a long sip from her red cup, letting the sweet fizzy liquid make its way down her throat, before looking up at the tall, dark-haired boy in front of her.
His dark eyes were looking at her expectantly as if waiting for an answer. The music blasted through the speakers that surrounded the bonfire, as campers chatted and danced to the fast-paced song. On a makeshift stage, the DJ, a freckled red-haired boy with oversized headphones, bopped his head to the beat as he thrusted his fist in the air. Percy had told her that he was one of the newer members of the Apollo cabin who was apparently gifted at turning anything into a club hit. So far, among his strange creations, he'd gotten campers to jump and dance to what Annabeth had later clarified was an EDM version of the beginning of the Iliad. Helena blinked a few times, shifting her gaze to meet the pair of dark brown eyes in front of her.
"I'm sorry, did you say something?" She asked, cursing her poor attention span.
The tall boy looked at her, before speaking loudly.
"I said, aren't you the girl that nearly split Stoll in two." He repeated with a smirk and Helena arched her brow at him.
Helena mentally cursed herself. She had been trying to get through the night as unnoticed as possible, but of course, that was nearly impossible when anything the entire camp had been talking about in the last 24 hours was her anger management issues during dinner. She glazed over the crowd once more, before settling on to the teenage boy in front of her. Again, Kass was nowhere to be found. The 10-feet high flames from the bonfire made the shadows and campers merge into one another. The soft golden glow made the boy's skin look like copper. Helena gave him a strained smile.
"Yep. The one and only." She said taking another sip from her cup. The boy shifted his weight from one foot onto the other awkwardly.
"It was pretty wicked if I'm being honest." He said giving her a small smile, his dark hair sticking up from the wind. "I'm Ishan by the way, son of Eris." The boy added.
Helena nodded, once again surveying the crowd, this time focusing on Percy and Annabeth who were opposite her. Her mind kept running in circles over all the things that could go wrong, especially given she hadn't seen Kass since the stables. She thought maybe her sister was embarrassed and wanted to be left alone, but that had been hours ago. Helena was starting to worry. She noticed how Percy bowed dramatically in front of Annabeth before taking the blonde's hand and leading her, with a goofy smile, to the dance floor. The gesture made Helena smile.
"If you're pinning over him, you might as well give up now, he and the blonde have fancied each other for ages." Ishan said, standing next to Helena now, rolling his eyes.
"What?" Helena responded dumbfounded.
"I said-" He started but she cut him off quickly.
"- I heard you the first time, and I'm not pining!" She said, annoyed. "First off, I met the guy like a week ago and he's apparently my brother, which is… ew. Second, he's clearly unavailable. Third, even if none of the other things were true, he is very much not my type." Helena responded, tapping her foot impatiently.
Ishan's eyes widened. "Oh shite, you're a Poseidon kid?" He asked.
"Did you not see the shimmering trident above my head or did all that hair gel kill off one too many brain cells?" Helena replied sarcastically.
"Ha ha, very funny. I didn't see anything. I wasn't at the dining hall that night. But you're the only person here tonight that I haven't seen before, so I figured, 'Hey, she must be that weird kid everyone keeps talking about'" Ishan said, burying his hands in his pockets. Helena glared at him.
"Is this how conversations with you normally go?" She asked, which made him chuckle.
"This is actually one of my more successful social interactions." He said with a smirk.
"I see-" she said feigning interest, "so the weird-earthquake-girl and the guy clearly no one else likes are stuck together as the camp's pariahs. Great." Helena said dryly.
"That's half of the charm of being a son of the Goddess of discord, doesn't exactly bring out the best in people." Ishan said with a shrug.
The girl opened her mouth to respond, but her voice was caught in her throat. Helena, she heard the voice loud and clear, but she couldn't pinpoint where it was coming from. She glanced around quickly, searching for a familiar face around her.
"Are you okay?" Ishan asked, but she simply nodded.
"Yeah, I'm-" She began, but the voice called for her again.
Helena, it said, this time louder. She quickly surveyed the crowd around her, her gaze shifting quickly among the sea of unknown campers. She saw Percy and Annabeth still dancing to an upbeat song, the boy's hand waving at her from afar. She turned back, away from the bonfire. By the woods, she noticed a shadow move quickly by the trees. She squinted her eyes, trying to get a better look, but she could barely make out the shapes in the darkness.
"Wait here." She said, before sprinting towards the tall pine trees that surrounded the edge of the lake. Helena didn't wait for an answer, instead, she could hear the voice beacon in the back of her mind as she got closer to the woods.
Almost like a whisper, she heard the boy with copper-like skin call out after her- "-Wait, you didn't even tell me your name!"
Helena ran as fast as she could up the grassy hill, towards the small and slightly hidden dirt path that led towards the pine-tree-filled woods. She moved quickly, trying to keep her eyes focused on the path in the darkness that surrounded her. During the day, the woods felt welcoming, with all the campers and nature spirits around. But once the sun set, Helena couldn't help but feel intimidated by the rows of trees that now surrounded her. She heard the voice again, just a single word echoing in her mind, her name. Maybe she was finally losing her mind, she thought as she ran faster. She was so focused on her thoughts, that she didn't notice the dark figure that was standing right in her path, or the way its outstretched hands waved at her. Instead, she ran straight into it, the force of the impact, knocking them both to the ground. Helena was about to grab the small Swiss army knife she had in her pocket before the voice spoke up.
"Geez, relax! It's just me!" He said with his arms raised, looking as startled as she was.
"Hector? What are you doing all the way out here? Wait... if you're here, why didn't you give me the signal?" Helena asked, slowly getting to her feet. Hector grabbed a small red bag and tossed it to her, before taking out a metal flashlight.
"I was on my way to walk over to the lake; this stupid thing ran out of batteries." He said waving the flashlight at her. "I was trying to figure out a way to get to you. It's almost time." He said quietly, shoving the broken flashlight back into his backpack.
Helena stared at him for a second, wondering whether she should mention the voice she'd heard. But instead, she simply nodded at him. In the July heat, the wind rustled through the leaves, making her feel uneasy.
"We need to find Kass, she's supposed to help me with the pegasi." Helena said, looking around impatiently.
"What? She wasn't with you at the party?" Hector asked, turning around to face her.
Helena shook her head. "I haven't seen her since this afternoon. I thought she would go to the party with Percy and Annabeth after dinner, but she's been acting weird all day." She said with a sigh.
Hector scrunched his eyebrows together, the way he always did when the gears in his mind began to turn. As they snuck past the last row of pine trees, and into a small clearing, he stopped abruptly, holding onto his head.
"Whoa, are you okay?" Helena asked, worry filling her voice. The boy took a deep breath before continuing down the small path he'd designed for them.
"Yeah, I- I'm fine. Let's just get out of here." He said curtly.
The siblings walked in silence as they snuck through the soaring pine trees. They could hear the upbeat music from the lake in the distance, fading away as they zig-zagged through the forest, following the path closest to the stables. Sometimes, they would hear murmurs and giggles coming from the nymphs. Even though Annabeth had told her the nymphs were generally harmless, Helena couldn't help feeling uneasy at the sound of their high-pitched voices. She glanced over at her brother who was walking a few steps in front of her. His shoulders tensed as he took carefully calculated steps, side-stepping old branches, and dried leaves to avoid making any unnecessary sounds. Despite the precision in his movements, Helena could tell his mind was elsewhere, leaving his body on autopilot. She had sensed the worry in his voice when she admitted she had lost track of Kass, Helena knew he felt the same way she did. Despite their proximity in age, Hector and she had become increasingly protective of their younger sister over the course of the past month. But now, Helena couldn't help but feel guilty for leaving the party without Kass. She'd assumed something had triggered the younger girl while they were at the stables, and that giving her some space before they were all crammed in a 3-person chariot would do her some good. But when she'd spoken to Percy before the party had started, he had confessed she had barely eaten during dinner, before hastily running off. Now Helena was worried their escape plan would be ruined by her subpar babysitting skills.
As they reached the edge of the forest, she could see the stables a few hundred feet in front of them, besides the strawberry fields. Behind them, the dim light from the bonfire continued to glow, lighting up the night sky in a golden hue. She glanced around and noticed that the camp was relatively empty. The few campers who weren't at the party were mostly walking by the cabins in small groups. From afar, she noticed a few couples sneaking by them, holding hands and giggling. She rolled her eyes, quickening her pace to catch up with her brother. His eyebrows were still scrunched up, a look he always got when he was concentrating extra hard on something.
"Do you think she'll be at the stables?" Hector asked as they walked. Helena shrugged.
"We're not leaving her behind, she knows that." She replied softly.
"Obviously, I just mean, it's weird for Kass to just run off." He replied and Helena nodded.
As they neared the stables, she noticed most of the pegasi were fast asleep near the hay. She could only tell Blackjack apart since he was the only jet-black horse at camp half-blood. As they got closer, the winged horse quickly paced quietly towards them, neighing as he bobbed his head.
"What's up Lil bosses? Where's Big Boss? Crew's all ready to go!" Blackjack said eagerly. Hector gave her a dumbfounded look.
"Did he just…" He began before she replied.
"Yeah, we can talk to horses. Get over it bookworm."
Hector looked like he was about to protest, but instead followed her over to the side of the shed. They quickly snuck into the inside of the wooden building, the smell of hay filling the air. In a couple of minutes, they had dragged the chariot out of the stables and quietly opened the stables to let Guido, Blackjack, and Porkpie, the three pegasi Percy had convinced to go on the quest with them out. Helena had begun hooking the chariot up to them the way the son of Poseidon had shown them, all the while trying to shut out the ongoing conversation that was going on between the horses about whether string cheese was better than sliced.
"Guys, shhh" She finally said, as she finished hooking up Guido to his harness. Porkpie scoffed, or at least she thought that was what it was, before keeping quiet.
"Thanks, I was starting to get another headache from them." Hector mumbled, walking next to her.
"Are we sure all of us are going to fit in this thing? It seems pretty small." Her brother said, and she shrugged.
"I thought the same thing, but Percy said to trust him. At this point, I'm starting to believe anything is possible."
Hector nodded as he kept his eyes fixed on the winged horses. "Fair enough." He said.
Once she finished securing the final horse, the three creatures moved stealthily and in unison, dragging the small Greek cart behind them. She trailed behind them with her brother, a stern look on his face as they walked out into the open field below the night sky. Hector's eyebrows were scrunched together, a look Helena had only seen a few times throughout their childhood, and less so in their teenage years.
"Your hair is going to turn gray with all that stress." She whispered, playfully punching his shoulder. That seemed to break him out of his concentration spell and earned her a smile that was barely there.
Despite how annoying her younger brother was, he was still her little brother. And despite him being her little brother, he was infinitely smarter and more mature than her. Sometimes she even thought he was like a character from an old film she had seen with her mom once, where the main character aged backwards, except in Hector's case, he was an 80-year-old stuck in a 15-year-old's body. Usually, she would tease him about it, but that night, looking out at the starry night sky, she knew there was only one thing on both of their minds, their parents. She also knew, that out of the three of them, the question of whether they were okay weighted the heaviest on Hector. Kass got by on pure optimism, and despite her guarded nature, Helena knew she was an idealist at her core. But for Hector, the story was different. He weighed every probability, every outcome one against the other. He found solace in being prepared, not in holding out for hope. Then, there was the fact that Kass was nowhere to be found, which also made her heart drop at the thought. She hoped her sister would show up with Percy and Annabeth.
"It's going to be okay, you know that right?" She said, forcing him to look at her. She wasn't great at comforting her siblings, but, she tried. He nodded.
"No, I mean, you're right. You're probably right." He said as she ruffled his dark curly mop of hair.
They sat in silence for a couple of minutes before Percy and Annabeth showed up, walking quickly down the hill. Helena wouldn't have even heard them approaching, had it not been for Blackjack's enthusiastic Big Boss is here! Helena got up to greet the demigods, as they got closer, she could see them smiling easily at each other. She looked around for a third, smaller shadow among them, but saw none. Her heart sank, and she could tell Hector was thinking the same thing. Something was wrong.
"All ready to go?" Percy asked once they were within earshot. She was about to answer when the other blonde answered.
"Where's Kassandra?" Asked Annabeth, looking around for the dark-haired girl.
"Well, we were hoping you guys knew." Hector answered, lowering his gaze to the grass below his feet.
"Huh? She told us she was meeting you guys!" Percy answered, his brows arching up in confusion.
"She must've snuck off somewhere, I swear I'm going to kill her when I see her." Helena complained, running her hand through her tangled curls. In that moment she wanted to murder Kass. She looked at her watch, she shoud've met them 15 minutes ago.
"Can't we just postpone?" Hector suggested, but by the way he asked the question, it felt as if he already knew the answer.
"This is Apollo's chariot, if we wait, we won't get the chance to use it again, and it's the only quick way to make it to California. It's now or never." Annabeth answered quickly, her hands on her hips as she looked around, trying to see if she could spot the younger girl.
"Can't we just use not-Apollo's chariot? Aren't there supposed to be hundreds of these things" Helena asked. She was not about to leave without her sister.
"It's a magical chariot. It seems small, but the inside is bigger, plus you have the added bonus that it's not only aerodynamic, it's made out of special light-bending crystals, meaning we will be able to fly over the country virtually undetected by monsters." Annabeth responded quickly, meanwhile, Percy looked like a runway coordinator, making sure the horses were in position to take off.
Helena let out a frustrated sigh, as she slumped her backpack over her shoulder. They couldn't leave until Kassandra was with them, they couldn't be separated again. In a few minutes, Percy was standing by their side, his arms shoved deep within the pockets of his hoodie.
"The horses are ready to go, and they're getting impatient. I don't know how much longer I can convince them to wait around." The son of Poseidon spoke, trying his best to give the pair of siblings a comforting smile.
Helena met Hector's steel-like eyes. We can't leave her, she wanted to say, but in his eyes, she knew what his reply would be, we also need to do this.
"Just a few more minutes, she has to get here, or something is seriously wrong." Helena replied. Percy and Annabeth exchanged looks, but they quickly gave her a quick nod, before loading up their stuff unto the chariot and making sure everything was set.
The siblings waited for what seemed like an eternity, before hearing a roar coming from the distance.
"What the-" Percy began before Annabeth interrupted him.'
"Is that-" Annabeth questioned, and Helena yelled eagerly.
"That's her!"
The excitement to see her younger sister running towards them lasted about 5 seconds. At a distance, she could see the 13-year-old running frantically, her backpack swinging violently in each direction with each step she took. A few paces behind her were what looked like an angry hoard of campers, resembling a medieval mob, except, instead of pitchforks they carried swords and bows and all other sorts of ancient equipment.
"Oh Gods, we need to leave now. Like, right now." Percy said, looking at the crowd of campers running behind the girl.
Hector was the first one to haphazardly get into the Chariot, after him was Annabeth. Helena was climbing unto the chariot, as she heard the war yells of the approaching crowd.
"Get back here you little sea spawn thief!" A burly-looking camper with spiky blonde hair yelled at her sister.
Another was encouraging the faster demigods to catch the girl. She saw some of the archers' gear in position, but luckily her sister was swift and small enough to evade their attacks.
"What in the world-" Helena began, but as her sister was fast approaching, Percy shoved her into the chariot.
"I've got her, don't worry." He said, giving her a nod.
At a distance, Helena could see the rest of the campers approach, curious about all the commotion. So much for a swift exit, she thought to herself. Upon entering the chariot, she noticed a small trap door on the chariot's wooden plank. She could see the beginning of a handle, attached to a set of stairs, and she figured that would be the way to go, even though she couldn't imagine it would lead anywhere. As she climbed down, she understood what Annabeth had meant. The doorway led to a brilliant, golden common room. As she climbed down, she saw Annabeth pacing back and forth, as Hector nervously picked at his nailbeds. If it wasn't for her anxiety, she might've been able to appreciate the room more. Large Persian rugs covered the floor, and large white wool sofas and red wooden seats were scrambled in the common room. Bookshelves lined the walls, and small pathways led to even more areas. The room was beautiful, and a lot bigger than she had expected. Her awe was interrupted by Annabeth, whose piercing eyes were looking straight at her.
"What's going on out there?" She asked, tapping her foot impatiently.
"I'm not entirely sure, but let's just say our secret plan is no longer so secret." She replied before a large shockwave ran through the room. Annabeth looked at her impatiently, quickly drawing out her knife. Uncertainty spread through the room, making the air thick with tension. A few minutes passed before Kassandra climbed down the stairs quickly followed by Percy.
"Well, we're in the air-" Percy said. "-that's the good news."
"And the bad?" Annabeth asked crossing her arms.
"Well, we may have pissed off the Hecate, Apollo, and Hermes cabins in a single night. And the whole camp knows we headed off with the chariot, so I can't imagine that's gonna win us any favors." He said with a shrug, as Annabeth rolled her eyes. Kassandra was panting, clutching her backpack with both hands.
"What were you thinking?" Helena scowled at her sister. Kass could barely catch her breath before speaking. Her dark hair clung to the sweat on her forehead.
"I can explain!" She said, her green eyes widening making her look like a deer caught in headlights.
"Yeah, you better." Hector said, standing up from his seat. Annabeth and Percy were both looking intently at the girl.
Kassandra bit her lower lip, and with a small sigh, she reached into her pocket. She took out a small locket, the locket their parents had given her. Kass spoke in a small voice.
"I- I'm sorry, I just couldn't leave without it. I couldn't find the others." She said, sounding small.
Helena half wanted to kill the kid and hug her at the same time. Kass didn't need to say anything else, they understood. She approached her sister, and gently tied the locket around her neck.
"It's okay. The important thing is that you're here, and we're going to find them." She said, and the girl nodded softly, the fiery spark in her eyes replaced with a gentle ease. As the demigods finally began to settle, the tiredness of the day began taking over them.
"We should get some rest. Tomorrow will be a long day." Percy said with a yawn, and no one complained. He got up from his seat alongside Annabeth, giving Kass a small ruffle, before heading towards one of the small pathways, which Helena assumed led towards one of the bedrooms. Soon after, Hector left to go to sleep, before Helena finally drifted off on the wool sofa, dreading what awaited for them next.