Blood Of The Hero

Chapter 5

I blinked in surprise, and Luke laughed heartily. "Don't look like that man, you'll make me feel bad about my gift! It was a present from my dad, and now I'm giving it to you for your quest, so smile a little!"

I grinned, laughing as well. "Sorry dude, I was just confused. What do they do?"

"They help you fly. When you put 'em on and say the magic word, make sure to get a good run up and you'll start to run on air. It might take some practice but it should be useful." He explained, crossing his arms while I looked them over again.

"Well, thanks a lot man!" I thanked him sincerely, this was a pretty cool gift. But then something occurred to me.

"Wait. Are you not the other half-blood Chiron chose then? You're not going on the quest?" I asked, a little upset. Luke was a strong swordsman, and the only friendly face, other than Grover, I had around camp.

He snorted. "Percy, I'm too old. I missed my chance to do all that stuff a long time ago. But I do happen to know who's going instead."

"Oh?"

"I'm gonna leave it as a surprise."
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I trudged up the hill, backpack in tow, and noticed a familiar, friendly face looking at the tree, almost like he was reminiscing something.

"Hey, Grover!" I shouted, waving and getting his attention. He noticed me and grinned, waving back.

"Percy!" He yelled, walking up to me as I dumped my bag. I noticed he had a red duffel bag of his own slung over his shoulder.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." He hesitated, before looking me straight in my eyes. "I can't thank you enough for this opportunity Percy, I mean it. This means way more than you know."

I shook it off, still grinning. "No problem dude. You're the only satyr I would ever choose, you know that."

I paused, before sighing. "I dunno about this other half-blood though. I just hope they're useful. Maybe an Apollo kid, for some healing and archery. It's not Luke, so that means I barely know them as well. Great."

Grover blinked staring at me in surprise. "You really don't know who the other quest member is?"

I shook my head, but I was still puzzled. "First Luke, now you. Am I the only one who wasn't told?"

Grover laughed, bleating before answering.

"Fine, I'll tell you. Chiron chose-"

"Me."

I zipped my head around at the voice that appeared behind me, and crestfallen wouldn't begin to describe my face when I saw who it was.

I was staring at the annoyingly smug face of Annabeth Chase, and she was staring right back at me.

She had her arms crossed, leaning back with a backpack a similar size to mine across her shoulders and her invisibility cap hanging off of it.

"Surprised to see me?" She raised her eyebrows, and only then I realised how stupid I probably looked.

"Actually yes. Chiron said he'd give me somebody capable, not some blonde backstabber." I fired back, maybe a little harshly since her nostrils instantly flared up and her irises got smaller while she glared at me.

"Look, Sea-Boy, you've been at camp for three days. I've been here for eight years. I'm not the one you should be worrying about." She spat out, and I blinked, not sure what to say.

"But I'm still the one who got a quest. I wonder why that is, Wise-Girl?" I felt sassy when I said that, giving myself a mental pat on the back for that comeback, especially when I could see her teeth grit and her fists clench.