The Winged Warrior

Chapter 4

Beneath these words was a smaller inscription, which read;

This statue was forged my Hephaustus.

To the left of the pedestal were four graves. The inscriptions were too much for me and I fell to my knees, sobbing silently into my hands.

Sally Jackson. A loving mother and a caring wife. She died for the wrong cause.

Paul Blofis. A kind father and a friend. He died for the wrong cause.

 Micheal Blowfis. His life was ended too soon. He died for the wrong cause.

Nico di Angelo. He was a beloved friend and an innocent victim. He died for the wrong cause.

I didn't know what to think. I thought they hated me...

But just then, I heard a cough from behind me. A familiar cough.

I looked around and was just fast enough to pull a still dark blue Adalind away from the person, who looked thouroughly shocked.

Annabeth.

Annabeth's POV

I was sitting in my usual spot behind Percy's statue, thinking of him, when I heard the sound of huge wings from above me.

I looked up to see a dark blue dragon flying over the trees. A second later, another, bigger creature flew to her side. His wings were huge. It was that Chaos king guy and his dragon. Alianne?

It was odd. His cloak was flapping around him, but his hood wasn't even stirring in the wind.

They went into a sudden dive and landed in the clearing in front of the statue, as I peered around it.

What were they doing here?

The hooded figure walked towards the pedestal, looking up, apparently staring into Percy's carved face, as I couldn't see anythng but his mouth. He then read the inscription on the pedestal, and turned to Percy's parents' graves.

To my great surprise, he dropped suddenly to his knees, and what I could see of his mouth was clamped in a grimace of grief before he covered his face with his hands, his body shaking with what appeared to be sobs. I had to find out who he really was.

I walked up behind his kneeling figure, enveloped in his sea-green wings, but before I could touch him, his dragon turned her head sharply, staring at me with a cold, challenging glare. To my suprise, a glimmer of recognition passed through her huge, deep purple eyes, and she sprung at me, claws extended, as though to rip me to shreds.

But before she could get to me, the figure jumped up and seized her, stopping her from reaching me. I hadn't even pulled out my knife. I felt like a coward.

"Who are you, and why are you at Percy's clearing?" I said suddenly, brushing off my moment of embarrassment.

"Percy's clearing?" he asked from under his hood, in apparent shock.

"You didn't answer my question. Who are you?"

"I've told you, my name is Aeschus, but everyone calls me Ash." he answered, and I felt his gaze even though I couldn't see his eyes.

"Why are you at Percy's clearing? Why were you so upset about his parents?"

He seemed to think for a second, before sighing and saying, "Too many innocent lives lost. And... I knew him."

"You knew Percy?"

"Yes."

He didn't say anything else and turned away. He was walking off, followed by his dragon, but I had to know who he was.