Half-Blood Means Two Things || Marauders Era | Percy Jackson ||

|| 19 - Poseidon Doesn't Like Barbeque ||

The Fates hate demigods. I'm not sure why. Maybe they just hate everyone all the time. I guess we do have a sort of talent for ticking off the higher powers. And that is why I'm always so majorly shocked when literally anything at all goes my way. Especially since I've gotten lucky quite a bit this last week. And yet, the Fates still continue to bless me.

But why?

The more good fortune they gave me, the more I realized I'm screwed in the future. But I wasn't in a position to argue, nor did I want to. Lying unconscious in the middle of a terrifying forest with monsters lurking in the shadows? Not exactly what I would call ideal.

"CHARLIZE!"

I shot up into a sitting position so quickly I started to see stars. Wait... no. I was seeing actual stars. It was night.

For a delirious moment, I couldn't figure out why I was able to see the stars from my dorm bed, but then the memories came back with the force of a club to the forehead.

An uncomfortably loud groan slipped through my lips as I slunk back to the ground, my body tingling with pain. It wasn't as severe as Miss Snake Eyes's poison, but I was fairly sure I wasn't going to experience that kind of pain again. Regardless, the pain was still there and it was harsh enough to momentarily stun me.

I could hear chatter drifting in one ear and out the other but I wasn't sure if it was a person, the wind, or some other monster. I tried to focus on it, but I was having a difficult time not passing out again.

It was only when I tried to look around that I realized I'd closed my eyes. I opened them slowly, wondering if I had a concussion. The scene that greeted me was slightly bone-chilling.

I was laying in a crater of blackened dirt. Scorch marks stretched all around me, winding across the ground for several feet. The trees around me were dark as well but I wasn't sure if that was from burns or the lack of proper light. But even without having enough light to see farther than my nose, I could make out a few lifeless lumps that were only a shade darker than the inky blackness that seemed to wrap around me like a blanket.

The Red Caps.

But it wasn't the darkness or the possibly still alive Red Caps that stressed me out. It was the person in the Iris Message staring right at me.

"Charlie, is everything good?"

The son of Apollo and my old pranking buddy, Asher Murray, with his blonde hair stuck up in a cowlick, was staring straight at me. He wasn't wearing a shirt which told me he'd just rolled out of bed.

I blinked as I struggled to my feet ignoring the sharp pains that pulsed through my entire body. I didn't examine my arms. I didn't want to know how much the Red Caps had messed me up. I could only imagine how bad I looked to Asher. Then again, he'd seen me in pretty bad shape before.

Before I responded, I glanced one more time at the unmoving Red Caps. They weren't Greek monsters, so I had no idea if they would disintegrate and go to Tartarus. But I didn't want to be caught off guard if they were still alive. I pulled out my knife, forgetting my wand for a moment as I studied Asher's face.

It had only been a week since I'd left, but so much had happened that I was glad for some sense of familiarity that wasn't Chiron's deceitful words or Maeve's stern glare.

"Asher, no, it's fine," I assured him even though it was definitely not. "What's up?"

I attempted to keep a facade, but in reality, I was close to hyperventilating. I was lost in the middle of the forbidden forest, and Vega was gone. Vega... had he purposefully ditched me? Or had something happened to him? I pushed the thoughts out of my mind until I could use the proper amount of brainpower to think about it. Right now, I needed to focus on Asher. Something bad must've happened if he'd called in the middle of the night.