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CHAPTER EIGHTEEN ( pigeons of death )
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I WAS STILL worried about the tree's state, but I was forced to give up and follow Tantalus's orders, no matter how much I despised him. None of us had any ideas on how to save camp, so until then, there was nothing we could do. My cabin was glad to put the thought of finding an antidote to the side and focus on the chariot design. I was reluctant about it, especially now that I was in charge and didn't want anyone to end up hurt, but they all voted in wanting to do it. I had no choice but to follow. From what I heard, Annabeth and Percy were doing their chariot together, since Athena had invented the chariot, and Poseidon created horses. They'd be a tough team to beat, but I was convinced we could do something to have a fair competition with them.
On my way to the arena with the rest of my cabin trailing behind me, I couldn't help but think of what Chiron was referring to before he cut himself off. There was a magical object powerful enough to heal the tree, but he couldn't bring himself to say what it was. I had a feeling I knew what it was, but couldn't quite remember the name – it was at the tip of my tongue. I didn't give it that much thought after that for two reasons; Chiron didn't want to say out loud for a reason, and because Will fell backwards into the grass and knocked me off my thoughts.
After I told him to be careful and watch his step, I pushed my thoughts to the side and decided to focus on the day's activities. Surprisingly enough, I found Percy in the arena when I got there. He claimed he wanted to clear his mind for a while and sparred with a few guys from my cabin. Unfortunately, they were no match against Percy's sword fighting, and looked like they were no challenge for him. It reminded me of – No, Maia, don't you dare say it.
Milo, a new camper and a year younger than me, backed away from the arena in surrender after Percy quickly defeated him. He was sweating from the draining fight, but Percy looked like he still had energy on him. I turned around to face my cabin to see if anyone wanted to volunteer, but they all avoided my eyes when I looked back at them.
I sighed and grabbed one of the forgotten swords from the floor, making my way to Percy. I didn't practice my sword fighting as much as I wanted to, mostly focusing on skills that I already mastered – like archery – but I hoped that whatever I remembered from old classes might help me. Percy smirked, since he knew this already.
