Stole My Heart

2.

"Lewis, want me to teach you swordplay?" Travis asked me.

I could tell them apart easily, I was one of the few who could. Apart from their height difference, Connor had a more angular face, with a sharper jawline, whereas Travis was smoother on the eye. Wait, what? I did not just say that! It had been a week since I got to camp and, as they say, so far, so good. Chiron had explained a few things about the gods. Me and Percy were on good terms and I liked his girlfriend, Annabeth. Me and Jason, a son of Zeus, had instantly clicked. I didn't like any of the Aphrodite girls, not even Jason' s girlfriend, Piper. The Stoll brothers, though, were my favourite people at camp. They were geniuses, that's the only way to put it: their pranks were absolutely hilarious.

"Hey, Lewis, you coming?" Travis yelled again.

I scowled at his use of my last name but followed him.

"What's your problem with my first name, Travis?" I muttered when I caught up with him.

"I know your last name annoys you. It would annoy me too, if I were you. It's wrong." He teased.

"What's wrong with it?" I asked, for conversation's sake.

"It's not Stoll." He laughed and took off running.

I stood there dumbfounded for a moment until I recovered my wits and ran after him.

"Did you just tell me to marry your brother? " I mocked.

That shut him up.

We sparred for a while. Travis taught me a lot of useful tricks, which I added to the tips Percy had given me.

"Can we go to the armoury?" I said suddenly.

As much as I enjoyed sword-fighting, I didn't feel like the sword was my weapon. Travis nodded. I felt an almost imperceptible weight on my back pocket.

"Put it back, Stoll." I whispered.

He glanced at me in surprise. I guessed it was rare he got caught pocket picking. If ever. He slid the seashell back into my jeans.

"How did you-?" He stammered.

"I guess you're losing your stealth." I teased.

He blushed. As we stepped into the armoury I felt a tug in my stomach: my weapon was close.

"What are you looking for?" Travis asked.

I shrugged. After looking at a few swords, a bow and a kindjal I found what I was unknowingly looking for. A bronze whip. I picked it up and wound it around my left arm. It transformed into an elegant bracelet. I found a few daggers and put them in my hair: that is what I call strategic weapon concealment. Travis found a ruby pendant.

"Come here." He called.

I walked closer to him. He put the necklace around my throat and secured the clasp at the back.

"That way you'll always know when monsters are around." He whispered in my ear.

I blushed at his proximity and his breath on my ear. After a moment, though, I disentangled myself from his arms and pushed him off roughly. The conch horn sounded, signalling dinner. I took off, leaving Travis stunned at the armoury's door and scolding myself for letting him get so close. On my way to the pavilion I ran in, literally, to Percy.

"Whoa! What's up, sis?" He asked, seeing my distraught face.

"Travis..." I whispered.

"What did he do? Did he hurt you? I'm going to-" Percy immediately questioned.

"No, no! It's nothing like that!" I quickly explained. "I-"

I saw Connor leading his cabin to dinner, looking for his brother. Then I noticed Travis standing frozen facing me. I wondered what was wrong when my brother yelled. My necklace pulsated.

"Isabelle, go to Cabin Three. Now!" He ordered.

I saw him run off and uncap his sword, Riptide, to fight alongside Annabeth. Jason urged me to go with a glance as he and Piper stood back to back, him with a golden javelin and her with her knife, Katoptris. I glanced to the woods and saw three Hellhounds and an army of Cyclops, probably twenty-five of them. Against my will I ran to the cabins. As I reached them I stopped dead.

Chimera.

The Chimera was setting fire to Cabin Two. By now the rhythmic pulsating of my pendant had become a constant throb. What I did next may be considered very stupid, but I saw no alternative at the time. Try keeping an ADHD kid from doing something rash. I charged the Chimera, alone, with a loud war cry. I reached for the bracelet and it immediately transformed back into a whip. The monster turned and I lashed out at its front legs, pulling. The Chimera roared in outrage and rolled over, dragging me into the air. I released my hold on the whip and flipped in the air, landing on my feet with a graceful arc of my back. I took out the sword with which me and Travis had practiced earlier. I ran at the beast, feigning for a low strike. It sent a wall of flame at me, which I just managed to avoid by rolling to the side. I found myself under its belly. I stabbed upward with the sword and rolled out from its underside. It didn't vanish. I struggled to remember if there was a particular way to kill a Chimera. If I was correct, Bellophoron had killed it, flying on Pegasus to avoid it's fire breath. I needed to get on higher ground. Dodging searing hot fire, avoiding getting bitten or trampled and snatching up my whip, I made a beeline for Cabin One, the biggest of the cabins. I slashed the air with the whip and it curled around a firm looking ledge high up. Using my momentum I jumped up and swang onto the roof. From there I could see the battle raging on at the pavilion. I quickly glanced away, before I could waste precious time by looking for my friends. The Chimera was growling below, trying to reach me. I took out four daggers from my hair. I hoped they would be enough. I threw the first as hard as I could towards the lion head. I aimed the second towards its rear, where the snake was. The third found its mark in between the goat's horns. Down to my last shot, I sent it flying to where I pictured a heart would be, if monsters had hearts. A blast of flame melted it in midair, so I took my chance. Before it could work up another hot breath, I jumped with my sword aimed to kill. I closed my eyes, praying to the gods I made it.