Percy Jackson: Daughter of Shadows

3. Why the Hades does Luke Have to Ruin Everything?!

 Much like Percy, I'd never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before. Viktor had and he was used to it. Frost covered the tops of the trees and strawberries, with snow on top of the cabins. "Whoa" Nico said. "Is that a climbing wall?" "Yeah" Percy said. "Why is there lava pouring down it?" "Little extra challenge. Come on, I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met-" "I know Chiron. Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me" "Don't" I said, holding Grover back. "You don't associate with the Hunters, it's not worth it" "B-But-" "No buts. Help Percy find Chiron" Grover bleated, annoyed, but followed Percy and Nico. I followed them to the Big House. "Um, hello?" Apollo said, waving his hands. "You can get on your sun chariot, go on, we'll be fine. DONT talk to the Hunters. Bye-bye!" Apollo sighed and went back to his chariot. "Good riddance. Let's go" I said to Viktor. 

 Chiron and Mr. D was playing a game of cards in the parlor. "Hey-o, Chiron. Dionysus, very terrible to see you, as always" "Still snarky, I see" Mr. D said, drawing a card. "Have you met me? Snarky is 85% of my personality. Anyways, Annabeth's missing and we've got a new camper. Meet Nico di Angelo, undetermined" Dionysus groaned. "Another one?" "Calm down, he's definitely not yours. Thank the gods that at least your mostly loyal to your wife" Mr. D's eyes flashed dangerously. "I am completely loyal to-" "You have twin sons, Castor and Pollux. And they are definitely not Ariadne's. Try that lie on Zeus, he'll believe you" He shrunk back into his seat. "Percy, why don't you and Grover go and show Nico the orientation film? I'd like to have a word with Lilly in private" Viktor gave me a quick glance and rushed Percy, Grover, and Nico into the other room. "What is it? Oh no" Mr. D looked surprised. "We haven't even told-" "You didn't have to. Campers are missing, aren't they?" "How did you-" "They've gone over to Luke. Most of them were from the Hermes cabin, weren't they?" Chiron nodded. "Great. I need to message Chris, see if any regulars there have gone missing too. Excuse me" I left the Big House and went to my cabin. The Hermes kids had clearly had fun covering it in graffiti while I was gone. I headed to the bunks and pulled out a bag of monster essence. I lit a fire and tossed it in. "Chris Mcgill or Eliza Tyril, Haven, Kansas City" An image of Chris appeared in the smoke. He seemed to be yelling at some customers. "Oy, Chris!" 

 "Lilly! Good to hear from you. You've been at camp for, let's see, three years now? How are things?" "Not great. Have you noticed any of the regulars at Haven going missing?" "If you're referring to Kronos's army and if any from here have joined, no. Everyone's been waiting to hear from you, we're getting worried" "You should be. Annabeth, Viktor may have mentioned her? She's been taken by a manticore. Keep your guard up" Chris laughed. "What?" "Nothing, just that you sound how you did when you first came here. You were so small back then, but your temper's still the same" "Shut up" "See? Don't worry about us, we'll be fine. Elizas completely recovered from the dracnae attack and is doing great. We'll be fine. You go and save the world. Besides, my old man-" "I AM BARELY THREE THOUSAND, YOUNG MAN!" came a voice from the kitchen. "SAY WHAT YOU WANT, DAD, YOU'RE STILL A GOD AND WAY OLDER THAT MOM AND PSYCHE! NO OFFENSE, PSYCHE!" "YOU'RE GOOD! TELL LILLY I SAY HI!" "Hi, Psyche. Chris, I've got to go, see ya" "See ya!" The message dissolved. 

 Dinner was the worst. The food was fine, barbeque, pizza, and all the coffee I could possibly want, but it felt weird, with so many campers gone. I had already informed Chiron about Haven's status. "Good, so no one there has sided with Luke. Can we count on them?" I thought about that. Most of the people at Haven were demigods who didn't want to settle down, or peaceful monsters. I didn't know if we could necessarily count on them to help if Camp Half-Blood were to be in danger, which it was ninety-five percent of the time. The only ones in the dining pavilion having a good time were the Hunters. Bianca looked wiser and older, despite still being twelve. "Are you okay?" Viktor asked, grabbing a bushel of grapes. "Yeah, just thinking" "I wouldn't advise doing that. Thinking can be very dangerous for a demigod such as yourself" I snorted into my coffee. "You idiot" "Thank you, thank you very much. You call Chris?" "Yeah, no one there has switched sides" "I called Circe and Polyphemus. They're already gearing up for war. Small problem though" "What?" "One of Circe's handmaidens found a baby girl near the entrance to the Underworld. Child of Hades is unlikely, the baby's a daughter of Hecate" I groaned. "What's the plan?" "Circe's taking care of her for the moment, seeing as she is her half-sister" "Tell them to send her to camp" "What?" "With any luck, Dionysus can make her immortal. Circe can't pull that off. That or I'll contact Thanatos and get him to protect the baby. Either way, that kids got to become immortal before the war" Viktor nodded. "I'll send a pegasus to get her tonight" "Great." 

That night, I had the worst nightmare of my life. It started out with Kronos's sarcophagus talking in Luke's voice. "Don't trust the gods, child. They will only betray you. Join me, and I will give you vengeance for your mother" My mothers face flashed in gold. Her tan skin and dark purple eyes gleaming. "Lilly..." She disappeared. "Mom!" It was one thing to take my friends from me, showing me my mother after everything was a dirty move. "Kronos! Luke! Come here and face me, you coward!" I yelled. Kronos laughed. "I am not the one you're angry at, child. You're upset with your father, for abandoning you and your mother, and then letting her die. You want revenge, don't you?" "SHUT.UP" The dream shook. "Let me show you" The dream changed to a dark throne room. "Where is she?" came a voice. "With the mortal, my Lord. He convinced her to run" "Good. Keep tabs on her. I won't lose her like I lost her mother. Love?" "Yes, my Lord?" "Contact the nymphs, tell them to get her to Haven, Eros is there, he can help keep her safe." 

 "You see?" Kronos said. "Telling everyone to help you but doing nothing himself. You mean nothing to him. You're just another bastard-" "I said SHUT UP!" I swung my fist. Kronos's cold laugh shook the dream. "We'll meet soon, daughter of-" "ENOUGH" The dream ended. 

I got even worse news that morning. Percy had seen Annabeth getting crushed by a cave ceiling, and Zoe had had a dream that she refused to tell anyone but Chiron about. "Great. So, Luke and Kronos appear in my dreams and piss me off, and now Luke's tricked Annabeth and Zoe isn't telling anyone about her dream. Just great" I hadn't told Percy or Viktor about the person who had interrupted my dream. Someone had purposely cut it off when Kronos tried to tell me who my father was. And I wanted to know why.