Of Demigods and Wizards

In Which a Demigod and a Spellcaster Go On the Highway to Hell

"I don't suppose that we know where we're going," Jacquelyn snapped as she and Ron ran away from Camp Half-Blood as fast as they could.

"Who cares?" said Ron. "We need to get away from there right now!"

"Good idea," said Jacquelyn, "but I don't know what's at stake here."

"My life and your future are what's at stake!" Ron cried out.

"I see," Jacquelyn said as she glared at him. "Although I wonder if it would have killed you to explain everything to the Weasleys about everything that happened to you since they dropped us off at the bookstore two weeks ago."

"Yeah, like it would work, like last year when Harry and I crashed the Ford Anglia into the Whomping Willow and we explained that to Professor Snape?" Ron said, but noticing the blank stare on Jacquelyn's face, he said, "I'm sorry, you weren't there when that happened."

"Oh look, here comes the bus," Jacquelyn smiled as she spotted a bus coming in their direction. "Hopefully, it'll take us away from here."

"Good," Ron said as the bus pulled over and they boarded. They really needed to be away from Camp Half-Blood right now.

*-*-*-*

At the same time, Arthur and Molly Weasley had reached Camp Half-Blood, where they discovered that Ron had been hiding since they took him, Hermione, and Jacquelyn to the bookstore. Now, they had managed to retrieve Hermione when she called her parents asking for a ride back to their hotel, yet Ron and Jacquelyn were still out of their reach. And the fact that Hermione told them about her friends being in Camp Half-Blood had Molly very angry; she vowed to get those stubborn children back by any means necessary.

Chiron saw them coming and said to them, "I already know why you're here and I know what you want."

"Where is Ronald?" Mrs. Weasley snapped.

"You mean your son Ronald, who is the son of Poseidon?" Luke snapped as he stared at the witch. "Why should I hand him over to the likes of you?"

"He's my son, that's why," Mrs. Weasley snapped.

Mr. Weasley said, "Molly, we should probably hear them out first before you start verbally attacking them..."

Mrs. Weasley wasn't having any of it. She snapped, "Keep quiet, Arthur! Let me handle these charlatans..."

"I don't think they're charlatans, not if they know everything about Greek mythology," Hermione cut in, but Mrs. Weasley said to her, "That's enough out of you, Hermione! It was already bad enough that you called your parents and asked them to come pick you up; now they think I'm not responsible enough to keep an eye on you. I'm not even waiting for Jacquelyn's mother and grandmother to find out about this incident from her, and then they're cutting their vacation short and flying out here to come fetch her. I'm taking you all back and you're not going to see your parents and sister again!"

"You better be careful, as the same thing will happen to you," Luke snarled as he and his henchmen showed up and captured the Weasleys. Hermione, not wanting to be captured, turned around and ran; she had to find Ron and Jacquelyn and tell them what had happened...

*-*-*-*

Within a few hours, the bus pulled into a bus station in a small town. Jacquelyn stood up and walked towards the magazines, hoping to catch up on some gossip before they would have to leave again.

Ron frowned as he went to an old fortune telling machine. The machine sprang to life and printed out a huge piece of paper with the words: "Warning: Son of Poseidon, you and your companion are in grave danger!"

"As if we're not already in danger to begin with," said Ron. He continued reading, "As of right now, monsters are on the loose, and only you can stop them. You must retrieve the weapons at the grave of a king, a silver gate, and a city that goes on for a mile. Be forewarned, as there are those who will try to stop you. They seek your destruction. There will be a friend who will betray you..."

"It already happened," Ron thought to himself as he bitterly remembered how Hermione had informed Mrs. Weasley of his whereabouts.

"The spellcaster is in grave danger," the paper continued reading. "She must beware of the Hermaphrodite. If she comes into any form of contact with the Hermaphrodite, it will bring such a disaster that the world could end..."

"Enough with this!" Ron crumpled up the paper and tossed it into the trash. He didn't have time for this crap. He needed to escape now or else he would never be able to save himself.

*-*-*-*

"How could you let them get away?" Luke snapped at Grover in anger. The entire camp had been placed on lockdown and everyone was secured in their own cabins. Everyone except for Percy and Grover, that was.

"Well, it was a misguided attempt to draw the witch away from the camp, Grover began, but Luke was having none of it. "We need to find them before anyone else finds out," he cried out.

"What if we go find them," said Percy. "I'm sure I can do it."

"I would advise against it, cousin," said Luke. "You know not what the witch is like."

"Sheesh, just throw some water on her and she'll melt," Grover chimed in. Everyone stared at him. "What? It worked in The Wizard of Oz."

"This is not a movie," said Annabeth. "This is real life. You cannot fight a witch, Grover. She'll turn you into a frog faster than you can draw out your sword."

"So what do we do?" said Percy. "Ron is gone and it's not like we can't ask Tyson..." he suddenly slapped himself in the head. "Duh, we could ask Tyson to give us a ride!"

"Ride to where?" said Luke.

"I know what he's up to," said Percy, "and I know where he's going."

"Where," said Annabeth. Just then, a crumpled piece of paper appeared on the floor by her foot. She picked it up and read it. "They're on their way to Atlanta," she said. "If we hurry, we can catch them."

"Indeed," Luke said as Percy, Annabeth, and Grover rushed out the door.

*-*-*-*

Ron frowned as he and Jacquel settled into their seats on the bus. Little did he know that they had boarded the bus to Atlanta, Georgia. He looked out the corner of his eye and saw a strange creature staring at Jacquelyn. She was oblivious to the inherent danger that she was about to be in.

"She must never come into contact with the Hermaphrodite."

"Yeah right," Ron muttered to himself as he fell asleep. Little did he know that there was going to be even more danger for him...