Indigo Eyes

Chapter 40

Grover was already on his knees as he bowed at Artemis' feet and started yammering thanks, while the goddess merely nodded at Cressida. The daughter of Dionysus painfully knelt down by Percy's side as she took his hands and closed her eyes.

"Calm," she ordered and like before he felt a wave of calm wash over him, taking away all the panic, fear and anger that was bubbling inside him since Annabeth went over that cliff.

"Whoa," Bianca di Angelo said as Percy was now the one to help her to her feet, the girl dizzy as she reached for more ambrosia. "Hold up. Time out."

Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of them in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who... who are you people?"

Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"

Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis. "Our parents are dead,' Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..." She faltered, the looks on their faces telling her that they didn't believe her.

"What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth."

"You are a half-blood," Zoë Nightshade said. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian."

'"An Olympian... athlete?"

"Nope," Cressida answered before Zoë could, still leaning heavily on Percy who calmed further at the fact that at least she was ok. "She means an Olympian god. The Greek Gods to be specific."

"Cool!" said Nico and Cressida smiled at him.

"No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!"

Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for –"

"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"

While Cressida understood that this was a big pill to swallow, she couldn't help but feel sorry for little Nico, especially after Thalia continued explaining about the gods and demigods...and Annabeth.

"Hey," Cressida said as she wobbled over to Nico, Bianca still with her head in her hands. "I know this is probably pretty scary, but..." she paused for a moment, Nico both scared and on the edge of his seat. "Zeus has one really big lightning bolt that I'm pretty sure can do more than six hundred damage."

"Really? Have you seen it?!" he asked, his eyes bright like the sun on the rise.

"I have," she nodded. "And because you're a demigod like me, maybe one day soon, you'll get to see it."

"Cool!" he exclaimed and despite how worried she was about Annabeth, the corners of her lips turned up.

"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her."

"Then why won't you let us go and look for her?" Percy asked, Cressida turning back to him in case she had to hold him back. Something must really be wrong if she was the one holding him back when usually it was the other way around.

"She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished," Artemis answered and Percy knew she was right. If Annabeth had fallen into the water he would've sensed it, she was gone.

"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"

"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully, he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They reform over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."

"Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said.

Bianca di Angelo shivered. "That explains... Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in D.C.?"

"And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."

"It's the Mist," Cressida explained. "It's magic basically. It prevents mortals from seeing pretty much anything that they wouldn't consider normal. Sometimes it's too powerful for even some demigods to see through."

"That's why Grover has been watching you," Percy added. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."

"Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?"

"Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves and Bianca looked as if she was going to faint.

"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out."

"Hey, my hooves are clean!"

"Bianca," Percy said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."

"Camp?" she asked.

"Camp Half-Blood," Cressida informed her.

"It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like," Percy said. "Cress is a year-rounder."

And she elbowed his ribs, making Percy smile a little.

"Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.

"Wait." Bianca shook her head.

"I don't –"

"There is another option," Zoë said.

"No, there isn't!" Thalia protested.

The two then glared at each other, the tension in the air thick and clearly, there was a bad history between the two of them.

"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoë, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."

"Yes, my lady."

"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."

"What about me?" Nico asked.

Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while... as a favour to me?"

Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!"

Nico and Grover walked off towards the woods, talking about hit points and armour ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their backpacks and making camp. Zoë gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.

"Are you alright?" he asked Cressida who nodded, a hand on the scarf tied to her leg.

"I'll be fine," she answered, Percy not trusting her words, as Thalia stamped her foot in frustration.

"The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so... Argh!"

"I'm with you," Percy said. "I don't trust –"

"Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on me furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster!"

"I –"

"If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved. Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?"

Percy's jaw clenched as he balled his fist.

"Alright, Thalia, ease up," Cressida said. "And don't act like you wouldn't have done the exact same thing. Percy's move may have been stupid, but he had good intentions. At least he was with Nico and Bianca. So don't blame this all on him."

Her words had an impact but what had a bigger impact was the navy-blue object lying in the snow. Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.

Thalia didn't say another word as she wiped a tear from her face and marched off, leaving them cold in the snow with a trampled cap.

And the only warmth they had came from each other as Cressida pulled a still-stunned Percy into a hug.