Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends, welcome to the next chapter of The God Hunter and the first chapter of Book 3.
I've been looking forward to this one especially.
Hope you enjoy and now story time.
It had been nearly half a year since Camp ended. the months flew by and before they knew it, it was already the Friday before winter break. Neither Percy nor Matt hadn't seen Annabeth in those months. Matt had visited Thalia over at Camp Half-Blood, much to the amusement of his dad.
But the original trio plus Thalia where on a mission, Jack and Sally drove them for an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine.
Upon hearing their destination, Matt let out a curse which the adults luckily didn't hear. Sleet and snow pounded the highway, as Matt was preying to any god that wasn't Hera.
Between the blizzard Thalia asked, "What's his problem with Maine?"
"Matt believes that in the sewers of Maine, there lives a child eating clown." Annabeth said.
"...And we are sure he's the most powerful half-blood we have?" Thalia said.
"I am pretty sure." Annabeth said, "He's just not the brightest, unless it comes to a fight."
By the time they finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, both Jack and Sally where taking turns telling embarrassing stories of Matt and Percy.
Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun." she said.
Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.
"Are you sure you don't want us to wait?" Sally asked.
"No, thanks, Mom." Percy said, "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."
"But how will you get back?" Sally said, "I'm worried, Percy."
"Sally, everything will be fine." Jack assured her, "The boys got Annabeth to watch their back."
"Jack is right, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth said with a smile, her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap, "I'll keep them out of trouble."
This seemed to relax Sally a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most levelheaded demigod ever to hit eighth grade, which admittedly, she was.
"All right, team." Jack said, "Got all your stuff?"
"Yes, Jack." Thalia said with a nod, "Thanks for the ride."
"Any time Thalia." he said with a kind smile.
"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?" Sally said concerned, "Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"
"Mom, seriously!" Percy said annoyed, "We'll be fine. Even if they got an army, we got a Matt! Come on, guys." as he got out of the car.
"I'll be sure to tell him off later." Matt said, "See you later, Sally. Bye dad."
Annabeth and Thalia followed him outside, the wind blew straight through his coat.
"How come they call you Jack." Sally said when the car door was closest, "While I'm always Ms. Jackson?"
"Matt just called you Sally." Jack pointed out.
"But he's Matt, he's casual to everyone." Sally said, "I'm talking about their other friends."
"I honestly have no idea. But as for why they call me by my first name, it's because I'm a cool dad." Jack said as they drove off, "So, Sally, we got an eight hour drive ahead of us. How about we get some dinner along the way?"
"Sure." Sally said with a smile.
Matt watched his dad's car drive until it was out of sight. It was then that Thalia said, "Your dad is so cool."
"Yeah, I know. He's the best." Matt said with a smile, "What about you? Did you get back in touch with your mom?"
Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes, the black eyeliner and especially those intense blue eyes. Though Matt had to admit, there was something else about it. Something positive.
"If that was any of your business, Hauer..."
"Hey, easy there. Don't bite my head off." Matt said, holding up his hands, "Just trying to be friendly."
"Yeah, well." Thalia said unsure, "Be friendly to yourself!"
"Okay, that made sense." Matt said dryly, "Let's just get inside, Grover will be waiting."
Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "Good point." she said, "I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."
Matt stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall, "I don't know." he said, hands in his pockets, "But it should be fun."
The oak doors groaned open, and the four of them stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.
The place was huge, and of course Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff.
Do you sense it?
"Yeah." Matt thought, having continued to train his abilities with Asherah, "Something is wrong with this place, something dangerous."
Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. Despise of their usual arguing, Matt and Thalia where usually on the same wave length.
Suddenly the doors slammed shut behind them.
"O-Okay." Percy mumbled, "Guess we'll stay awhile."
What sounded like dance music was echoing from the other end of the hall.
Stashing the overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. They hadn't gone very far when footsteps could be heard on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them.
They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backwards. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.
"Well?" the woman demanded, "What are you doing here?"
"We go to school here." Matt said confidently, "Why shouldn't we be here?"
"Yeah, you remember us." Thalia said, "I'm Thalia. And this is Matt, Percy and Annabeth.", she snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud.
The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes as he looked at his colleague, "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?" he spoke with a French accent.
The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... yes. I believe I do, sir." she said with a frown, "What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"
Before they could answer, Grover comes running up, completely out of breath. "You made it! You..." he said but stopped short when he saw the teachers, "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I..."
"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man, his tone made it clear that he detested Grover, "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."
Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made..." he said, "The punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"
Dr. Thorn glared at them, looking like he wanted to pitch them off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"
They left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do.
Grover hustled them down the hall in the direction of the music.
"Hey Thalia." Matt said as he walked next to her, "What was that? The finger-snap thingy."
"You mean the Mist?" Thalia said, "Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"
"Can't say that he has. Seems like a good skill to have." Matt said, "But then again, how many more bullshit superpowers do I need?"
Grover hurried them to a door that had Gym written on the glass. Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover, while Percy gave him a big high five before he exchanged a fist bump with Matt.
"That was close!" Grover said, "Thank the gods you got here!"
He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human.
"Don't thank those lazy jerks." Matt said, "Thank my dad and Sally."
"Right." Percy said, "So what's the emergency?"
Grover took a deep breath, "I found two."
"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked amazed, "Here?"
"No, he found the best enchilada's." Matt said with a roll of his eyes, "On the other side of the planet."
Thalia send him a glare while Grover nodded.
These were desperate times. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. They needed all the new fighters they could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.
"A brother and a sister." he said, "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."
"Monsters?" Matt said.
"One." Grover said, looking nervous, "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"
Grover looked at Thalia desperately. "Right. These half-bloods are at the dance?" she said, getting a nod, "Then let's dance, who's the monster?"
"You just met him." Grover said, and looked around nervously, "The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."
Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. Because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate.
There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices.
Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face.
"There they are." Grover said, nodding toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers, "Bianca and Nico di Angela."
The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.
"I assume you haven't told them yet?" Matt said.
Grover shook his head. "You know how it is, that could put them in more danger." he said, "Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."
"Good. Makes things easier for us." Matt said as he was about to move forward, "Let's get them and move out of here."
But Thalia put her hand on his shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in their direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.
Guess Thalia's trick with the Mist didn't effect him after all. He suspects who you and your friends are.
"Yeah, no shit Ash." Matt thought.
"Don't look at the kids." Thalia ordered, "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."
"How?" Percy said.
"We're four powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him." Thalia said, "Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."
"Hold up." Annabeth said, "Dancing?"
Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"
Grover looked hurt, "I did." he mumbled.
"Who else but Grover?" Matt said as he shook his head.
"Couldn't you play, like, Green Day or something?" Thalia said.
"Green who?" Grover said confused.
"Never mind." Thalia said.
"I do not claim responsibility for Grover's music taste or lack thereof." Matt said, before holding out his hand to Thalia, "So how about that dance?"
"Wait, what?" Thalia said surprised.
"Sure, let's go." Annabeth said, taking him up on his offer.
"Wait, what!?" Matt said, letting out a yelp as Annabeth grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.
As he was dragged off, Matt looked at his friends who just gave him a wave. Among them stood Asherah, who gave him two thumbs up.
On the dance floor Annabeth placed his hands on her waist, her arms locked behind his neck. Her body pressing against his.
"I'm not going to bite." she told him, "Honestly, Matt. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"
Matt declined to give an answer but they began to move in place, swing from right to left as Annabeth smiled.
"Why the smile?" Matt said.
"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back." Annabeth said, "A-And it's cool how you try to make her feel welcome and included."
Annabeth had grown taller since last summer. She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls.
"You know me, always the gentleman." Matt said with a smile.
"Back at camp, when Olympus's Sauron came." Annabeth said turning serious at the subject, "He gave you a card, what was on it?"
"Oh that. I had almost forgotten about it until early in the school year. I looked it up on the internet and it was an address to some sort of privet investigation firm on Guerrero Street in San Francisco. Must be some sort of sick joke on his part." Matt muttered, "But enough about me, let's talk about you. What have you been up to?"
Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Matt. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program..."
She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades.
It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York, a boarding school in Brooklyn. One she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble.
"Sounds great." Matt said with a smile, "Good enough to stay for the rest of the year?"
Her face got dark, "Well, maybe, if I don't..."
"Are you having trouble at school or something?" Matt said concerned, "Do I need to rough some people up? I know it's an all girls school, but my fists are rated E for Everyone."
"No, it's not that." she said with a hint of a small smile, "It's my dad."
"I thought it was going well between you two?" Matt said confused, "Is it your stepmom again? Do I need to beat her up?"
Annabeth sighed. "Matt no, please don't beat them up. He decided to move, just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book." she said, "In San Francisco!" she added this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment.
"Oh, no. The city where they sniff their own farts so hard, the city is covered in smug." Matt said, "So he wants you to move with him?"
"To the other side of the country." she said miserably, "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that."
"Why not?" Matt said.
"Come on, Matt." Annabeth said as she rolled her eyes, "You know why. It's right there!"
"Right of course." he said dryly, "So back to camp then?"
"It's more complex than that, Matt. I-I probably should tell you something..." she said before she suddenly froze, "They're gone."
He followed her gaze towards the bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open and Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight, neither was Percy.
"Go get Thalia and Grover!" Matt told her before he began to run through the crowd.
Moving around a mob of girls to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment. About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards.
Matt ran out a door at the opposite end of the gym, the door led into a dark hallway. His ears picked up the sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. He jogged down the corridor, but when he got to the other end, no one was there. He opened a door and found himself back in the main entry hall.
Dr. Thorn was nowhere to be seen but the entrance door on the opposite side of the room was wide open, leading into the cold, dark night.
He followed the tracks outside, which where lit by old-fashioned lamplight until he came to the woods, where his feet constantly sunk into the snow. Out of nowhere, his ears picked up a voice in the wind, "What ride? Where are you taking us?"
"Silence, you insufferable girl!" a second voice in a French accent hissed.
"Don't talk to my sister that way." a third voice quivered.
Farther ahead Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. "Halt." Thorn said.
He suddenly saw them. The woods had opened up and they had reached a cliff overlooking the sea. It couldn't be seen but the sea was down there, a hundreds of feet below, give or take. Leaving the snowy path, and taking a hiding place between the trees, Matt peered from behind a trunk to see Thorn push Percy and the di Angelo's siblings toward the edge.
"I'm scared." Nico mumbled, he was fiddling with something, a little metal toy soldier of some kind.
"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said, "Face me!"
They turned.
Matt could only see Thorn's back and he pulled something from under his coat, it was only a phone. He pressed the side button and said, "The package, it is ready to deliver."
There was a garbled reply, and Matt realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode.
"By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself. I would kill you before you ever reached the water." Dr. Thorn laughed, "But unfortunately, you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."
"Who wants us? Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family." Bianca demanded, "Nico and I... We've got no one but each other.", her voice broke a little.
"Do not worry, little brats." Dr. Thorn said, "You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."
"Luke." Percy said, "You work for Luke."
"You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson." Dr. Thorn said, "I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."
Matt saw a light in the distance, a search light over the sea. Then the chopping of helicopter blades was getting louder and closer.
"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.
"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."
"They're not dolls! They're figurines!" Nico protested, "And you can take your great army and..."
Matt didn't hear what Nico would say because he sensed a presence behind him. Turning on the spot, white flames erupted in the palm of his hands.
"I can see you." Matt said to Annabeth.
"Can you really, Cow Eyes?" she said as she took off her Yankees cap.
Just behind her came Grover and Thalia.
"Perhaps I can." Matt said as the flames dispersed, "Any idea's."
"At least you're not as stupid as Percy." Thalia said.
"I was talking to Annabeth." Matt said half annoyed.
"Matt, please." Grover said before turning to Thalia, "What is the plan?"
"We rush in, of course." Thalia said.
"So the plan of attack is attack?..." Matt said calling his sword to his hand before rushing in, "My kind of plan."
Thalia shook her amused head before charging in with her own weapons. Annabeth gave a slight frown before donning her cap and disappearing from sight.
"Hey, you French jerk!" Matt shouted, drawing the attention from Dr. Thorn.
"Please." he snarled, "I'm Belgian."
"Then go make yourself a waffle." Matt said as he unleashed a stream of white flames from his fist.
Dr. Thorn was caught unprepared as he was send reeling through the air in a white explosion, he winched and growled as he stood up.
Thalia followed it up by moving in with her spear, "For Zeus!" she shouted.
She jabbed at his head, but he snarled and swatted the spear aside. His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.
Dr. Thorn launched another volley of missiles at Thalia, using his leathery, scorpion-like tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Matt's sword as he intercepted the attack.
Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play, a frantic jig. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.
Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form. His face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.
"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into Percy and the di Angelo's.
"A manticore?" Nico gasped, "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"
"Not sure what your on about, but it sounds powerful." Matt said as his weapons turned into his gauntlets, "But is it fast?"
The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl. Matt waved through the folly of missiles, appearing in front of the manticore in seconds. With a powerful swing, enhanced by the power of his overbearing strength, sending the monster flying through a tree.
"Show off!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster, and almost ran the monster through. But then there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light.
The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals.
"What is that doing here?" Matt thought, "How could mortals be working with a monster?"
Questions for later, Matt.
The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction. Matt blitz in front of her, catching the tail before it would've hit her chest. Matt tucked hard as Dr. Thorn pulled back and with a load crunch, his tail was ripped clean in half.
"I'm sorry." Matt said with a smirk, "Was that important?"
Dr. Thorn roared in pain, "You cocky loser!" as it intended to run Matt down.
"Hey, only Clarisse is allowed to call me that." Matt taunted as he casually strode up, "And maybe her dad, who's also my big bro, but mostly Clarisse."
Then Matt picked up a clear, piercing sound. The call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.
The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades when something shot past like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.
He staggered backward, wailing in agony as more silvery arrows shot back. The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged the attack and slammed what remained of his tail into his shield, knocking him aside.
Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fifteen. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.
"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.
"Oh, wonderful." Thalia muttered.
"Who?" Matt said confused.
One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess.
"Permission to kill, my lady?"
It wasn't obvious who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.
The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."
"I don't think so." another girl said, "The hunting of all wild beasts is within her sphere."
This one was around the same age as Matt, so fifteen. She had long auburn hair gathered back in a high ponytail, fair skin and baby blue eyes.
"Indeed it is, Korsica." another one said.
This one was a little younger, maybe twelve or thirteen. She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face was beautiful but her expression was stern and dangerous.
"And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."
"If I cannot have him alive, I shall have the God Hunter dead!" the manticore growled and he lunged at Matt and Thalia, but Annabeth let out a yell and charged at the monster.
She leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.
"Fire!" Zoe ordered.
"No!" Matt shouted.
But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"
And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.
"No, no, no!" Matt yelled in a panic.
He wanted to run after her, but the enemy helicopter started to rain down gunfire.
"Out of my way!" Matt roared, unleashing a massive stream from his fist.
Once the flames came into contact with the helicopter, it was dissolved into black dust, which scattered into the night.
The Hunters advanced on them. Korsica let out an impressed whistle and the one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You." she said with distaste.
"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia said, her voice trembled with anger, "Perfect timing, as usual."
Zoe scanned the rest of them. "Five half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."
"Yes." the younger girl said, "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."
"Don't care, my friend needs me." Matt said but the Hunters stood in his way, "Move. Now."
The younger auburn-haired girl turned toward him. "I'm sorry, Matt Hauer, but your friend is beyond help."
"I will decide that for myself, whomever you are." Matt snarled before turning to the girl called Zoe, "If your planning to hit me, you better make your only hit count."
"Easy, Zoe." Korsica warned, "You do know who that is right?"
"You don't need to tell me who this fool is." Zoe said, "But I would happily smash his foolish delusions."
"Foolish delusions?" Matt said confused.
"Enough." the other girl ordered, "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. And you do well to remember what he's capable of."
The young girl looked at Matt, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis." she said, "Goddess of the Hunt."
And that's the chapter, hope you enjoyed.
Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.
Take care of yourself, get some rest, drink plenty of water, and I will see you people next time.