BODYSNATCHERS; Luke Castellan

Chapter Two, Alrighty Aphrodite

Luke stood casually outside of the Big House. Chiron had asked him to give the new girl a tour, and he wasn't one to look bad in front of Chiron. 

As the new girl and Chiron exited the house, he thought he saw tears in her eyes, but they were quickly erased and a stony look appeared on her face. 

She looked annoying. 

Chiron caught his eye and gently waved his hand. No need for the tour. Luke nodded, a simple up with no down, and went off to practice with the dummies, work on his sword fighting. 

Daphne saw the boy with dark hair walk off. Chiron didn't flinch or seem to show any sign that he had been there for any reason and didn't seem to notice that Daphne had seen him. 

The boy seemed annoying, doing the "bro" nod as she had come to know it as. He was attractive in a way that seemed like he knew it. He had a thin scar running down his cheek, similar to hers. His eyes, unlike hers, were intact. 

Her eyes flicked across the landscape, inspecting the kids running around. It looked like any other summer camp until you saw the lava covered climbing wall and nymphs floating around the lake and forest. And, of course, you remembered that it was April. A shiver ran across Daphne's arms, biting through the otherwise warm air.

"The camp's temperature and weather are regulated, keeping it relatively warm throughout the entire year. Only if we truly desire something like snow or rain does it come."

Daphne nodded slightly. How had he known what she was thinking? 

Chiron motioned toward the steps and out toward the camp. "Shall we?" 

"Whatever you want, chief," Daphne said, stepping down the steps quickly, taking them two at a time. Chiron went around to the left and went down a long ramp, presumably helpful both when he was a centaur and when he was in his wheelchair. 

"I am technically not the one officially in charge. I'm the activities coordinator, but the camp director would be Mr. D."

"Who's he?"

"Let's just say you do not want to be on his bad side."

"A god?"

"You're a good guesser."

The camp was magical. A few kids gave her weird looks, but that happened everywhere she went. 

"So, how does this claiming thing work?" Daphne asked Chiron part way through the tour. They were strolling through the outskirts of the woods, walking toward the cabins. Gravel and wood chips crunched under them. It smelled of pine. 

"Your godly parent will send a sign."

Chiron's calmness, the air around him that proved he had been alive for a millennia, was driving Daphne insane. "Yeah, but how the fuck is that going to happen?"

"It depends. Some half-bloods are claimed right away, some have signs that show who it is such as certain skills, some, when they show they have a skill, are claimed. Sometimes it takes days, sometimes weeks, sometimes a demigod is never claimed."

Daphne grit her teeth. "So I might just never know? Aren't the cabins separated by parent? Where do I go until then?"

"The Hermes cabin. As the patron of travelers, it's customary. However, this means they're a little tight on space."

Daphne took a deep breath in and nodded. "Let's fucking go then."

The girl walked into the cabin, Chiron standing a good foot behind her. She glanced back, but Luke wasn't sure if it was really because she was nervous. She didn't seem like the nervous type. 

"This is Daphne," Chiron projected across the cabin. Few demigods stopped their chatter. This was normal. "She's new, unclaimed. Make her feel at home."

He leaned down to her right ear, the same side her damaged eye was on. She motioned toward it, shook her head. Chiron seemed to understand, switching the ear he was speaking into. He motioned toward the sleeping mat and backpack that lay on the floor toward the back of the cabin. Daphne furrowed her brows and with her head down she walked toward her small space. 

She sat down quietly. No one seemed to notice her besides the couple side glances, peering at her scars. Daphne crossed her legs and unzipped the backpack. Inside, there was a toothbrush and toothpaste, deodorant, all of the essentials. An orange shirt and pair of sweatpants. Socks. A book that when she looked at it more closely she was was in Greek, but she could understand most of it just fine. 

"Strange" she breathed. It was as if her dyslexia had gotten better during the time she had been knocked out. 

Luke stuck his sword in the bag that hung off his bunk. He had claimed the top bunk in the middle of the room, prime position. A perk of being head counselor. He glanced over at Daphne. She was flipping through a book written in Greek. Maybe she was a daughter of Athena. 

He strolled over to her, holding out his hand in greeting. 

"Hi. I'm Luke."

"Daphne," she said, standing up and shaking his hand. She had a strong grip, full of force. 

"I saw you when you got here. You looked pretty badass."

She raised an eyebrow. "I was a mess. I barely killed that snake thing. I've looked much more badass, trust me."

Luke nodded, the bro nod again. Could his head not go down?

"Which is the Apollo cabin? Chiron said they have my guitar."

"The one next to ours. Sunny-looking. You'll know it when you see it. Head counselor's name is Lee Fletcher."

Daphne scooped up the book and zipped up her backpack, securing it with a string. "Thanks."

"Someone might try to take your stuff. Be careful. Hermes' the god of thieves, too." Luke cracked a smile.

Daphne didn't seem to find his joke funny. She clutched the book to her chest and started walking out of the cabin in search of her guitar.

"Don't worry. I'll be fine," she said over her shoulder. 

Luke sighed and leaned his shoulder against the closest bunk.

"Spunky kid," Travis, one of the Stoll brothers, said. 

"No kidding."