Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends. Welcome to the third chapter The God Hunter.
Wasn't going to update this story this week, but the PRL II chapter needed some more time in the oven, so hope you enjoy and now on to the review.
Lucius Walker: Happy you liked it. As for Matt being an Ares kid, you'll get an answer in this chapter.
Now story time.
Friday afternoon, Matt was with Percy at the pier, Matt remained mostly silent while Percy played a game called Mythomagic with Grover the satyr. It was one of the two card games they would play, the other being gwent.
As they talked, Matt watched the naiads do underwater basket-weaving. They talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, Percy asked him about the four empty cabins.
"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis." Grover said, "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."
"Sounds like something a god would do." Matt said, hands in his pockets, "What about the others ones, at the end?"
Grover tensed, "One of them, number two, is Hera's." he said, "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos."
"Zeus, Poseidon." Percy said, holding up a card, "And Hades."
"Right." Grover said, "After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."
"Zeus got the sky." Percy recounted, "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."
"Can't help but notice that the lord of the Underworld doesn't have a cabin here." Matt said, "What's up with that?"
"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either." Grover said, "He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld."
"Reminds me of someone." Percy said, giving Matt a glance.
"Doubt that I'm a son of Hades." Matt said with a chuckle, "But what about the Zeus and Poseidon cabins. They had a whole bunch of children in the myths."
Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."
"That's the most serious oath you can make." Grover said.
"And the brothers kept their word?" Percy said, "They had no more kids?"
"I'm going to seriously doubt that." Matt said.
"Yeah..." Grover said as his face darkened, "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo, he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia... well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."
"Sounds completely fair." Matt said with a scoff, "Why shouldn't a child be burdened with the sin of it's parent?"
"Matt, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods." Grover said, "They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."
He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."
Matt stared at the pine in the distance and felt even more anger towards the gods. A girl his age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters.
"How kind of him." Matt thought with a frown.
"Grover, have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?" Percy said, "And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"
"Sometimes. Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini." Grover said, "But they never... Orpheus came close... Percy, you're not seriously thinking..."
"No. I was just wondering." Percy said shaking his head, "So... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"
Grover studied him warily. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."
"And you found me." Percy said, "Chiron said you thought I might be something special."
Grover looked as if Percy had just led him into a trap. "I didn't... Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were, you know..."
"Child of the Big Three?" Matt said.
"Yes, that. You'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license." Grover said, "You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"
But Matt got the distinct feeling he was reassuring himself more than Percy.
That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.
At last, it was time for capture the flag.
When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and they all stood at their tables. Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.
From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
Matt turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"
"Not always." he said, "But often."
"So, whose side are we on?" Matt said.
He gave a sly look, as if he knew something he didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you two are going to help."
The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded in order to win support.
Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From Matt's observations, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them.
Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff but they weren't very aggressive.
Aphrodite's sons and daughters... They won't be a problem. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.
Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day... They might be a problem.
That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on this planet.
Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.
"Heroes!" he announced, "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"
He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, ox hide shields coated in metal.
"Now this should be fun." Matt said with a smile.
His shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. His helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.
Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"
They cheered and shook their swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at them as they headed off toward the north.
"So what's the plan?" Matt said to Annabeth.
"Your on border patrol with Percy." she said, "Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always has a plan."
"Alright." Matt said, "Just so you know, I hate losing."
"I knew there was a reason I wanted you on the team." she said before pushing ahead and leaving him in the dust.
It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed Percy next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, Matt a few feet away. Then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.
Far away, the conch horn blew. Whoops and yells where heard in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.
"Man..." Matt scoffed, hand on his hip, "I'm bored."
Then what sounded like a low canine growl came from somewhere close by. On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.
"Cream the punks!" Clarisse screamed.
Her eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords. They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight, just Matt and Percy against half the Ares cabin.
The Ares kids split their attention between Matt and Percy.
Matt managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid as the giant monster snake.
Clarisse thrust at him with her spear. His sword deflected the point, but painful tingling send all over his body.
Electricity. Her spear was electric.
Another Ares guy kicked his legs from out under him, the sword flying out of his hand as he hit the dirt. They could've kicked him into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.
"Give him a haircut." Clarisse said, "Grab his hair."
"Oh, no." Matt said, managing to kick one of the Ares kids back before standing up, "Nobody. And I mean, nobody, touches my hair!"
Power course through him, in an eruption of white and gold flames formed a silver-colored longsword. The blade is long and double-edged, with the forward-facing edge curving outward to form the guard. The handguard is designed to resemble a vortex that reverses at the center of the handguard.
"Things are about to get crazy." Matt said with a grin as he dropped his shield. He twirled the blade in his hand as his sword was enveloped in the same white flames with traces of gold which he had shot from his hands, "Let's rock."
The blade cut through the fist guys shield as if it was made of hot butter. With his free hand, he planted it up on his chin, knocking his helmet clean off, his eyes vibrating as he was send flying.
"Go help the others." Clarisse said, "Blondie is mine."
The others went to help against Percy, leaving the daughter of Ares alone with Matt.
"Clarisse, baby." Matt said with a grin, "If you wanted some alone time with me, all you had to do was ask."
"You cocky loser!" Clarisse said with an angry growl.
She kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust, Matt evade under it before following it up with an upward strike, slicing through the shaft like a scissor through paper. The last Clarisse saw was Matt's shit eating grin, before he decked her right in the face hard enough to send her flying and into a tree.
The sword disappeared in the same flames it had appeared in.
Yelling was heard, elated screams, and Luke comes racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.
"A trick!" she shouted, "It was a trick."
They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. The blue side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven.
Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.
The game was over. Victory was theirs.
Matt gave a smile before she spotted Annabeth talking with Percy by the creek. He was about to come over to them as they stepped out of the creek, Percy almost fell over but Annabeth steadied him.
"Oh, Styx." she cursed, "This is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus..."
Before Matt could ask what she meant, the canine growl was heard again, much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.
The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek: "Stand ready! My bow!"
Annabeth drew her sword.
There on the rocks just above them were two black hounds the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.
One staring at Percy, the other straight at Matt.
Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Matt! Percy! Run!"
She tried to step in front of Percy, but the hounds were too fast. It leaped over her to get at Percy.
Matt didn't know what happened to him, as he was too busy gripping it's two teeth, stopping it from chomping down on him as his feet dragged back into the ground. Close to the creek, another surge of power comes over him, drawing enough strength to reverse the hounds momentum and slamming it hard in the ground.
Drawing his fist back, he send an explosion of white flames down the beasts throat, before summoning his sword and striking hard to separate its head from the rest of it's body, making it disappear in the same dust as the giant snake.
"Di immortales!" Annabeth said, drawing the attention of Matt, "Your hair, your eyes... Their glowing!"
"They are!?" Matt said surprised, looking down to the water to indeed see his hair and eyes where glowing, before returning to a none glowing state.
Chiron trotted up next to them, a bow in his hand, his face grim.
"That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment." Annabeth said, "They don't... they're not supposed to..."
"Someone summoned it." Chiron said, "Someone inside the camp."
Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.
Clarisse yelled, "It's all Matt's fault! Matt summoned it!"
"Be quiet, child." Chiron told her.
But Matt headed her no attention as he went to Percy as the hellhound who attacked him melted into the shadow, but his friend was bleeding.
"Matt, quick." Annabeth told him, "Get Percy in the water."
"But I'm okay." Percy said.
"Trusting her on this one." Matt muttered, lifting Percy's arm over his shoulder before helping him up and walked him back into the creek.
The whole camp gathering around him. The cuts on his chest closed up, some of the campers gasped.
"Look, I—I don't know why." Percy said, trying to apologize as he stood up on his own feet, "I'm sorry..."
But they weren't watching his wounds heal. They were staring at something above his head. Matt stepped back, it was a hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.
"Your father." Annabeth murmured, "This is really not good."
"It is determined." Chiron announced.
All around Percy, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.
"My father?" Percy asked, completely bewildered.
"Poseidon." Chiron said, "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."
"That's cool, dude." Matt said with hands in his pockets, "Ariel is your step-sis... Or half-sister, however that works...", he got a frown on his face when everyone suddenly turned their attention to him.
"What now?" he added before he looked skyward, he saw another hologram, one of purest white.
It was shaped like a peacock.
"Not good." Annabeth murmured, putting a hand over her mouth, "That might actually be worse."
Chiron stared at him like he was an oddity, even more so than Percy.
"Hera." Chiron declared, "She of Heights, White-Armed Goddess, Protector of Men. Hail, Matthew Hauer, Son of the Queen of the Gods."
"...Oh my me..." Matt muttered with wide eyes.
And there it is, cat's out of the bag.
Honestly when I started planning this story, I was debating between Hades or Hera. One fitted one draft more than the other but with what I'm planning, Hera would fit more and I thought it would be pretty unique.
I was also debating revealing it now or at the end of the first book, but I went with reveal it early so I can have some interesting interactions a bit earlier.
And for those wanting to point out that Matt's powerset isn't fitting for a child of Hera. I want to point out he also has a dad.
Anyways many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.
Hope you enjoyed and see you people next time.