Maelstrom

Twenty-Six

[ab hinc]

The sun rose that morning, but Reese did not feel its warmth.

Reese stalked down the streets of New York. How ironic for the son of Apollo to no longer feel the warm rays of the sun. How ironic it was for the world to look so bright after so much darkness had infested it.

Reese scoffed. The universe liked to play some games, but these were dirty tricks, indeed.

Just before sunrise, Reese and Kaden had responded to a 'summons' from Menoetius. They'd gone out, pretended to have witnessed Tessa's 'kidnapping', gave themselves a few makeshift injuries, and trudged back home. Kaden would have circled around the long way back, to make it look like he'd gone by himself to search for Tessa. They'd meet up at the end of the block before returning to Nectar & Ambrosia.

According to Tessa's plan, the rest of their forces weren't to know the truth for two days.

Reese wasn't sure they'd be able to keep it a secret for long.

With a sigh, Reese turned onto Nectar & Ambrosia's block and found Kaden leaning against a streetlight, waiting. He looked up as Reese approached, shadows in his green eyes. "Hey."

Reese nodded by way of greeting. He jerked his head back towards the café, where an entire camp's worth of people would be milling about, realizing that their leader was missing. "Have you gone in yet?"

Kaden shook his head. "No, not yet. I was waiting for you." He pushed away from the streetlight, standing up straight.

"Right," Reese said. "Then we shouldn't keep our adoring fans waiting."

If Kaden had it in him to laugh, he would have. But instead, the son of Venus remained stony-faced and stoic as he and Reese marched down the block and into Nectar & Ambrosia, where demigods were shouting and rushing about. Their entrance stopped the madness in its tracks.

Reese cleared his throat. He didn't have to pretend to seem choked up or reluctant. "I'm sure you all are asking the same question."

"Where's Tessa?" One soul asked from within the crowd.

"That's the question." Reese looked down at his feet, gathering his thoughts before looking back out over the sea of half-bloods waiting for answers.

He wasn't as persuasive an orator as Kaden was. He wasn't as slick and resourceful with tricks like Dale and Mark. And he wasn't as powerful as Tessa.

He didn't have it in him to lie. Objectively, Reese was Camp Half-Blood's golden boy, righteous and truthful no matter temptation or crisis. It's what made him a good leader and a good strategist. He could see through the chinks in just about any plan, the light in the darkness of uncertainty.

But standing before him was a sea of uncertainty, made up of people he'd grown up with, lived with, fought with. And each one of them was waiting for good news, even though he could tell by their faces that they knew there was none.

Tessa had known that her plan would be difficult to uphold, not only for her own role but for the roles her friends and inherently her camp would have to play. They each were Atlas, carrying the burden of a sky filled with storms threatening their horizon.

But Reese was a fighter. He was skilled, strategic, and lethal. And he would lead it well in Tessa's stead.

Reese inclined his head, taking a deep breath. "Tessa Brennan has been kidnapped by Menoetius and his forces."