Sea of Monsters [Book Two]

A New Pawn.

     Tyson had carried Reagan to the infirmary, where the children of Apollo got to work on fixing her up the best they could, which was pretty damn good. But murmurs of discontent spread through the camp like a wildfire. Whispers of what she did, of what she could have done that they don't even know of. Annabeth was sitting next to Reagan's bed now that the medics were done patching her up as best as they could.

"The nose is fixed, but it'll take some time to heal correctly," a boy said. "And the swelling in her face should start to go down."

     Annabeth nodded in thanks as she stared at the sleeping form of Reagan. She looked peaceful, and like she could actually open up the eye that was previously sealed shut. The blonde reached over with one hand and brushed a strand of hair from Reagan's forehead. She looked so comfortable and calm at the moment, like there wasn't a single thing wrong in the world.

"You...kissed me."

     That one sentence rang like a fire alarm in the back of Annabeth's head, causing her to sub-consciously touch her own lips with the tips of her fingers. Malcolm materialized behind Annabeth, reaching over to gingerly touch her shoulder to get her attention.

Jumping suddenly, she whipped around to face her sibling. "What is it?" she asked curiously, reluctant to have to leave Reagan's side.

He glanced at Annabeth, then Reagan, then back to Annabeth. "I just wanted to tell you that the Athena cabin is preparing to leave for dinner." She nodded in acknowledgement, and so he continued. "You should come get something to eat. She'll be here when you get back."

     Annabeth knew that he meant well. Looking once more at Reagan, the daughter of Athena stood up from her chair and followed her second out of the medical cabin to find Percy and Tyson.

     Reagan awoke to an encroaching storm. Thunder boomed and lightning cracked, sending a jolt of awareness through her sore body and breaching her nightmares. Sitting up suddenly, she felt a wave is nausea hit her. Stumbling from her bed, Reagan found her way outside right as she began to wretch up whatever seawater was still in her system. Placing her hand on the side of the cabin to balance herself, she looked up at the sky curiously. The storm was bad enough that the thunder could be heard and lightning appeared once and a while, and the wind whipped her hair to and fro in a frenzy, yet no rain fell. The storm was a nightmare like in her dream, but the strengthening barrier protected them from the rain itself. There was another bolt of lightning streaking across the sky and lighting camp up, and Reagan barely caught a glance of Half-Blood Hill where a crowd of campers gathered.

     Wanting to see what was happening, Reagan quickly gathered up her clothes and dressed, slipping on a pair of new shoes that someone must have given her and went outside. It took her a moment to find her way through camp in the dark, but as soon as her feet found the main path through the cabins of the camp, she knew where she was going. Breaking into a light jog, Reagan made her way up the path to the hill and slowed down once she reached the first barricade of campers. They instantly parted to let her through, at least enough that Reagan didn't have to shove her way passed them. It was like her very touch was acidic, and no one wanted anything to do with her. But she didn't care. Chiron was there and so was Annabeth, dressed in Greek armor and ready for a battle. Percy was in the center of the crowd nearest the tree, cradling a girl's head on his lap. Her eyes snapped open suddenly, a vibrant blue surrounded by specks of freckles on her cheeks and nose. Her hair was short and black, pins and bracelets of bands that Reagan had heard before briefly were on the jacket the girl was wearing still.

"What's your name?" Percy asked as she sat up dazedly.

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."

Reagan suddenly understood why the thunder and lightning was as bad as it was.