Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends, welcome to the last chapter of Book 1 of The God Hunter.
Like with my Harry Potter stories, I'll put everything in one Story. Hope you enjoy and now on to the reviews.
BIRD0FHERMES: Yeah, I was worried it would be a bit too confusing. Though bolding her dialogue is actually a good idea. And thank you for the compliment.
GreatAce50: There is currently not a set Love Interest for Matt. Though I'm currently leaning to either Annabeth or Thalia.
And now story time.
They were the first heroes to return alive to Half-Blood Hill since Luke, so of course everybody treated them as if they had gone and won some reality-TV contest. According to camp tradition, they had to wear laurel wreaths to a big feast prepared in their honor, then led a procession down to the bonfire, where they got to burn the burial shrouds their cabins had made in their absence.
Annabeth's shroud was beautiful. Gray silk with embroidered owls.
Being the son of Poseidon and the child of Hera, neither Percy nor Matt had any cabin mates, so the Ares cabin had volunteered to make their shroud.
They'd taken an old bedsheet and painted smiley faces with X'ed-out eyes around the border, and the word LOSER painted really big in the middle.
But they where fun to burn at least.
As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s'mores, Matt was surrounded by Hermes cabinmates who he really hadn't spend any time with, Annabeth's friends from Athena, and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders.
The council had called Grover's performance on the quest 'Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past'.
The only ones not in a party mood were Clarisse and her cabinmates, whose poisonous looks told that they'd never forgive Matt for killing their dad.
Even Dionysus's welcome-home speech wasn't enough to dampen the spirits.
"Yes, yes, so the little brats didn't get themselves killed and now they'll have an even bigger head. Well, huzzah for that. In other announcements, there will be no canoe races this Saturday..."
With the RV now back with his dad, Matt was forced to sleep in Cabin Two. Unlike the one next to it, Hera's cabin was a lot more graceful than Zeus's. Slimmer white columns garlanded with pomegranates and flowers.
Peacocks were carved on the walls and on the bronze door, which took iridescent hues. Aside from the one huge statue of Hera standing at nine feet, draped in fine golden fabric and a fire pit at her feet, it was rather bare.
On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. Being Hephaestus's kids, they weren't going to settle for a few lame red-white-and-blue explosions.
They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles.
According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky. The finale was supposed to be a couple of hundred-foot-tall Spartan warriors who would crackle to life above the ocean, fight a battle, then explode into a million colors.
As the trio of Percy, Matt and Annabeth were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell them good-bye.
He was dressed in his usual jeans and T-shirt and sneakers, but in the last few weeks he'd started to look older, almost high-school age. His goatee had gotten thicker. He'd put on weight. His horns had grown at least an inch, so he now had to wear his Rasta cap all the time to pass as human.
"I'm off." he said, "I just came to say... Well, you know."
It wasn't every day a satyr got permission to go look for the great god Pan. But it was hard saying good-bye. Even though he had known Grover for just a summer, he was one of Matt's oldest friends. Annabeth gave him a hug, telling him to keep his fake feet on.
"Where are you going first?" Matt said hands in his pocket.
"Kind of a secret." he said, looking embarrassed, "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan..."
"We understand." Annabeth said, "You got enough tin cans for the trip and you remembered your reed pipes?"
"Jeez, Annabeth." Grover grumbled, "You're like an old mama goat."
"Grover, don't talk to your mother like that." Matt said sternly like only a dad could.
The four of them shared a laugh before Grover gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker one might see on an American highway.
"Well." he said, "Wish me luck."
He gave Annabeth another hug, he clapped Percy on the shoulder, he and Matt gave each other one last fist bump then he headed back through the dunes.
Fireworks exploded to life overhead: Hercules killing the Nemean lion, Artemis chasing the boar, Kassandra dueling her brother Alexios, George Washington, who turned out to be a son of Athena, crossing the Delaware.
"Hey, Grover." Percy called.
He turned at the edge of the woods.
"Wherever you're going, I hope they make good enchiladas."
Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.
"We'll see him again." Annabeth said.
July passed and the last night of the summer session came all too quickly. The campers had one last meal together. They burned part of their dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counselors awarded the end-of-summer beads.
Matt got his own leather necklace, and the bead for his first summer. The design was pitch black, with a white peacock shimmering in the center.
"The choice was unanimous." Luke announced, "This bead commemorates the first known Son of Hera at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"
The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.
The next morning, Matt found a form letter on his bedside table. He knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting his name wrong:
Dear_ Mads Mikkelsen_ ,
If you intend to stay at Camp Half-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.
Have a nice day!
Mr. D (Dionysus)
Camp Director, Olympian Council #12
Matt just smirked as he crumbled up the paper, throwing it over his shoulder as he went for a walk. The campgrounds were mostly deserted, shimmering in the August heat. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection.
Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport.
At the sword fight arena, Matt spotted Luke's gym bag plopped at the edge of the stage. Further on, he spotted Percy and Luke walking towards the forest, probably looking for a monster to fight. But Matt got a feeling in his gut that he should follow them.
He didn't know which direction he needed to go, but something was guiding him until he heard Luke's voice nearby.
"The heck with laurel wreaths." Luke said, "I'm not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic."
"You make it sound like you're leaving."
"Oh, I'm leaving, all right, Percy. I brought you down here to say goodbye."
He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground and out crawled something glistening black, a scorpion.
"I wouldn't." Luke cautioned when Percy went for his pen, "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."
"What's the feck is going on?" Matt said as he made his presence
"Hey there, Matt." Luke said as he stood up calmly and brushed off his jeans, "Just the one I wanted to see before I left."
The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on Percy, clamping its pincers.
"I saw a lot out there in the world." Luke said, "Didn't you feel it? The darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics, being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they have hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."
"Luke..." Percy said, "You're talking about our parents."
"And that's supposed to make me love them? Their precious Western civilization is a disease, rotten to the core." Luke said, "There's no saving it. We need to pull it out by the roots. Wipe the slate clean. Burn it down! Start over with something more honest. Ares is a fool. He never realized the true master he was serving."
"Kronos." Percy said, "That's who you serve."
The air got colder, a lot colder.
"You should be careful with names." Luke warned.
"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."
Luke's eye twitched. "He spoke to you, too, Percy. You should've listened."
"Your crazy." Matt said, "You let Kronos get inside your head."
"You're wrong. He showed me that my talents are being wasted. You know what my quest was two years ago?" Luke said, "My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done, that was the best he could think up."
"That's not an easy quest." Percy said, "Hercules did it."
"Exactly, where's the glory in repeating what others have done?" Luke said, "All the gods know how to do is replay their past. My heart wasn't in it. The dragon in the garden gave me this scar and when I came back, all I got was pity. I wanted to pull Olympus down stone by stone right then, but I bided my time. I began to dream of Kronos. He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter-solstice field trip, while the other campers were asleep, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades's helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible. I was halfway across New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."
"So why are we having this conversation?" Matt said, "Wouldn't it have been better then to bring them right to Kronos?"
Luke's smile wavered. "I... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt. Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence."
Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. "Afterward, the Lord of the Titans... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way from Ares down to Tartarus."
"You summoned the hellhounds." Percy said, "That night in the forest."
"We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe for you, so he would start you on your quest." Luke explained, "We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after you. And it worked."
"The flying shoes were cursed." Matt said, "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."
"And they would have, if you'd been wearing them. But you gave them to the satyr, which wasn't part of the plan. Grover messes up everything he touches. He even confused the curse."
Luke looked down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on Percy's thigh.
"Thalia gave her life to save yours." Matt said with anger, "And this is how you repay her?"
"Don't speak of Thalia!" he shouted, "The gods let her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."
"You're being used, Luke." Matt said, "You and Ares, pawns both."
"I've been used? Not anymore than you are, Matt. We're not so different you and I." Luke's said, his voice turning shrill, "You already realize it, how things really are and I knew we where similar back when we first met, when you refused to sleep on the floor because your mother had not yet claimed you. Kronos has a place for you at his side. There is a new Golden Age coming and you can be a part of it."
"No thank you." Matt said as he called his sword to his hand, "And I warn you, Luke. If you hurt the people I care about, I'm going to feed you your own heart."
"Shit. That was a great line!" Luke said as he slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.
The scorpion lunged.
Percy swatted it away with his hand. The thing jumped at him only to be cut in half midair by Matt's sword.
A little while later, Percy and Matt where in the Big House, Annabeth sat next to them as they explained what had happened in the forest and with Luke.
Once they where down, the room was quiet for a long time.
"I can't believe that Luke..." Annabeth's voice faltered. Her expression turned angry and sad, "Yes. Yes, I can believe it. May the gods curse him... He was never the same after his quest."
"This must be reported to Olympus." Chiron murmured, "I will go at once."
"Luke is out there right now." Percy said, "I have to go after him."
Chiron shook his head, "No, Percy. The gods..."
"Won't even talk about Kronos." Percy snapped, "Zeus declared the matter closed!"
"Percy, I know this is hard." Chiron said, "But you must not rush out for vengeance. You aren't ready."
"I agree." Matt said with a nod, "Our time will come."
Percy might not like it, but he was right. "Chiron... Your prophecy from the Oracle, it was about Kronos, wasn't it? Was I in it? And Matt? And Annabeth?"
Chiron glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Percy, it isn't my place. You will be a great hero, child. I will do my best to prepare you. But if I'm right about the path ahead of you... Not knowing too much of your future is a good thing."
"We can't just sit back and do nothing." Percy said.
"We will not sit back." Chiron promised, "But you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Like Matt said, your time will come."
"Assuming I live that long." Percy muttered.
"Good thing I'm around." Matt said with a grin, slapping Percy on the back, "Sorry to say it, but your stuck with me."
Chiron had a small smile on his face, but his expression told there could be no more discussion; he had said as much as he could.
With Percy getting a quick check up in the sickroom of the Big House, Matt and Annabeth stepped outside, going for one last walk as Matt's dad would be picking him up.
It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.
"What's up?" Matt said.
"Nothing." she said with a deep sigh, "I... just took your advice about something."
"Who are you and what have you done with Storm Cloud?" Matt said with raised eyebrows.
Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year."
"Wait, what?" Matt said, "Like to your dad's home?"
She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted. Two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.
"I wrote him a letter when we got back." Annabeth said, "Just like you suggested. I told him... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided... we'd give it another try."
"I'm actually impressed." Matt said with a smile, "That took some courage."
She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least... Not without sending me an Iris-message?"
"Annabeth, if you want me to write, you don't have to beat around the bush." Matt said with a chuckle, "I'll keep in contact."
"When I get back next summer, you, me and Percy, we'll hunt down Luke." she said, "We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"
"I think I'm rubbing off on you." Matt said his grin getting even bigger, "Count me I'm in."
She held out her hand and he shook it.
"Take care, Cow Eyes," Annabeth told him.
"You too, Storm Cloud."
They walked up the hill and Matt watched as she join her family. She gave her father an awkward hug and looked back at the valley one last time. She touched Thalia's pine tree, then allowed herself to be lead over the crest and into the mortal world.
Matt spotted a black Porsche 911, his dad behind the drivers seat waiting for him. He waved at him and Matt was about to walk over.
"Good afternoon! I'm here to pick up one Matthew Hauer." Jack joked, turning the music down, "Who was that girl? The blonde you where talking to?"
"You mean, Annabeth? She is a..." Matt said before he realized what his dad meant, "Oh, no! Gross!"
"Hey, Matt!"
He turned around to see that it was Percy, hurriedly running over to them as he carried his bag.
"So your not staying?" Matt said.
"Well, the sea does not like to be restrained." Percy said, "Can I..."
"Get a ride home?" Jack said gesturing with his head, "Hop on in."
"Thanks, Jack." Percy said as they got in the car.
With the radio turned on, it was in the middle of one of his dad's favorite songs. Matt turned to look out the window as they left Summer Camp behind, at least until next summer.
"No matter how far, how you go, how long it may last." Matt sang along with the radio, "Carpe Diem, no time to waste. Venture life, burn your dread."
There you go, the last chapter of Book 1, hope you enjoyed. Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.
I'm going to slow down a bit on this story, seeing as I have been neglecting my other stories.
Anyways, take care of yourself, get some rest, drink plenty of water and I will see you people next time when we raise or sails for the Sea of Monsters in Book 2.