The Nature of a Demigod

Breaking (More) Rules

Then I noticed two girls talking at one of the dining tables. I thought I was the only one crazy enough to ever be up this early in the morning.

I pulled Annabeth's magic baseball cap from my back pocket. It felt too small. Hopefully it would still fit Annabeth when I was done with it. I looked down at my hands, and saw nothing. The hat worked perfectly fine.

I snuck around Percy and then Nico, still staying as quiet as possible, because I had never bothered to ask Annabeth just how this hat works, so there was no telling how much of me it actually hid. Once I crept up far enough to hear clearly, Zoe and Bianca's voices were arguing.

"It cannot be cured," Zoe was saying. "Not quickly, at any rate."

"But how did it happen?" Bianca asked. "A foolish prank," Zoe growled. "Those Stoll boys from the Hermes cabin. Centaur blood is like acid. Everyone knows that. They sprayed the inside of those Artemis Hunting Tour T-shirt with it."

I called it. Travis and Connor are never that good willed. They're always up to something.

"That's terrible!" Bianca said. "Phoebe will live," Zoe said. "But she'll be bedridden for weeks with horrible hives. There is no way she can go. It's up to me... and thee."

"But the prophecy," Bianca said. "If Phoebe can't go, we only have four. We'll have to pick another."

"There is no time," Zoe said. "We must leave at first light. That's immediately. Besides, the prophecy said we would lose two."

"In the land without rain," Bianca said.

"I'm not sure," Zoe said, though she didn't sound convinced. "The camp has magic borders. Nothing, not even weather, is allowed in without permission. It could be a land without rain. But it matters not."

"But-"

"Bianca, hear me." Zoe's voice was strained. "I... I can't explain, but I have a sense that we should not pick someone else. It would be too dangerous. They would meet an end worse than Phoebe's. I don't want Chiron choosing a camper as our fifth companion. And... I don't want to risk another Hunter."

Bianca was silent. "You should tell Thalia the rest of your dream. You should tell Y/N about it. He's Artemis' son, after all. He might be able to-" Zoe scowled. "No. It would not help. That boy would not understand."

"But if your suspicions are correct, about the General and his lieutenant-"

"I have thy word not to talk about that," Zoe said. She sounded really anguished. "We will find out soon enough. Now come. Dawn is breaking."

Nico scooted away. Percy ducked. Their reactions were smarter than mine. The hunters sprinted down the steps towards me, so I did what felt smartest.

I jumped into a bush.

Like I've said. Annabeth is the smartest one of our group. Not me.

Zoe froze when the shrub rustled, her eyes narrowing. Her hand crept toward her bow, but then Bianca said, "The lights of the Big House are on. Hurry!" And Zoe followed her out of the pavilion.

Nico took a deep breath and stepped out from behind the column after them. Percy stepped out, whispering Nico's name. The boy jumped out of his socks. I scrambled out of the bush, slipping off the invisibility cap. I whisper shouted towards him. "Guys, wait." They almost fell down when they jumped around to face me. "Where did you come from?" Percy nearly shrieked.

I held up Annabeth's hat. "I've been here the whole time. I was just invisible." Nico mouthed the word invisible. "Wow. Cool."

"Why were you watching Zoe and your sister over there?" I asked him. He blushed. "I heard them walk by the Hermes cabin. I don't... I don't sleep too well at camp. So I heard footsteps, and them whispering. And so I kind of followed."