The Apprentice of Thanatos

Chapter 18: Lakeside Conversations

{This chapter takes place right after the previous one.

We do not own Danny Phantom or Percy Jackson, only this story and our original characters.}

      Danny trudged out of the woods and towards the Big House. From the position of the sun in the sky, he guessed that it was mid-afternoon. There were a few campers milling about; some of them were saddling up horses at the stables, and as he passed by the archery range Danny saw Sunny and Aurora practicing with their bows. There was no sign of Annabeth, for which Danny was honestly grateful; he needed a long nap before dealing with anything else.

      So, of course, when Danny opened the front door to the Big House, he was greeted by Mr. D. The god was sitting at the round table again, but there were no cards this time. Instead, he held an open can of Diet Coke in his hands. He watched Danny as he entered the parlor.

      "Ah, a pity." Mr. D drawled. "I was hoping you wouldn't come back."

      Danny groaned; Of course he's here. "Me too, pal." He glared at the god. "But here we are."

      Mr. D's stare turned icy. "I suggest you watch your tone, young man."

      Yeah, Danny definitely wasn't dealing with this. Since Mr. D already knew that Danny could turn invisible, Danny decided that it wouldn't be a problem if he used that to his advantage now; so, he went invisible.

      Mr. D's eyes widened; Danny would even say that he looked freaked out. The god stood up, his Diet Coke forgotten on the table. He looked around the room from where he stood, searching for Danny. Finally, his eyes settled on the ceiling and his hands balled into fists. "Kataraméno paidí ('cursed child'), come back here this instant!"

      Danny rolled his eyes. I haven't even moved, stupid. He took a step towards the stairs, trying to sneak silently past Mr. D, but the floor betrayed him and creaked under his foot.

      Mr. D's gaze snapped towards Danny, his eyes glowing a furious purple. Grape vines sprouted from the floorboards and slithered across the floor, as if they were searching for something to strangle. Danny stepped back nervously. Mr. D's face was a deep shade of purple, similar to a grape.

      "Turn visible right now," Mr. D hissed. "Or so help me-"

      The front door suddenly swung open and Chiron walked inside. His expression was rather calm, but it quickly turned to a look of alarm. "Mr. D, what are you doing?"

      "Oh, I'm just having a polite conversation with Mr. Fenton, the little-"

      "Dionysus, please." Chiron interrupted sternly. "You made a promise. An oath." Chiron glanced around the room as if he was searching for someone. "Danny, if you're still here, please go to bed."

      Danny scowled. That's what he had been trying to do, but someone had prevented him from doing so. He stepped cautiously over the grape vines, growing more and more annoyed with each creak and groan of the squeaky old floorboards. Frustrated, Danny went ghost—still invisible, though the flash of light from his transformation gave away his location—and flew out of the room.

      Mr. D's angry voice echoed after him as he flew up the stairs: "Chiron, I've had it. He is not staying here..."

      Danny could no longer hear Mr. D's voice by the time he reached the fourth floor. Landing in front of his bedroom door, Danny transformed back to his human form. He reached for the doorknob, but paused when he noticed a piece of paper with his name on it taped to the door. He pulled it down, unfolded it, and saw that it was a handwritten note.