The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 11: A Long Lost Friend Returns

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Hazel stood in the war room of Camp Jupiter next to her fellow Centurion of the Fifth Cohort, Dakota. Noticing he was going for his flask of fruit punch Hazel elbowed him and gave him a pointed look. Finally, the Praetors walked in, causing the gathered Centurions to come to attention.

"Report!" Reyna demanded.

A Centurion from the First Cohort stepped forward. "First Cohort is battle ready, and spies report that Camp Half-Blood seems to be operating normally."

The other cohorts reported the same, the legion was prepared for war. Hazel hated the thought of going to war with the Greeks, but justice needed to be served. They had murdered one of her best friends, and a Praetor, they would not stand for this. Gathering around a table with some maps, the officers started discussing the plan.

"Prepare your cohorts to mobilize," Frank ordered at the conclusion of the War Council. "We leave in a month."

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Atop a golden dragon sat two figures. One was a shorter Latino boy with slightly elfish features, while the other was a beautiful young woman.

"There it is," Leo shouted over the sound of wind and the beating of Festus' wings as a shoreline came into view. "Camp Half-Blood!"

Leaning forward, Calypso planted a kiss on his cheek. "I look forward to meeting them."

It was about dinner time, and Leo couldn't resist making a grand entrance. Landing right by the dining pavilion Leo slid off of Festus while the whole camp gawked at him. "Don't worry ladies, Leo has returned!" he said while spreading his arms wide.

"Leo!" Piper squealed while jumping up from a table that was in front of and elevated above the other tables.

Running up to him, Piper tackled Leo in a huge hug. "Nice to see you too, Beauty Queen," he managed to wheeze out.

After a moment she let go, and then slapped him. "Where have you been!" she shouted.

"Oh, you know. Here, there, everywhere. I wanted to show my girlfriend the world," he said as he pulled a Calypso to his side.

This brought in a whole new string of questions from the campers, who had now all joined them. So, Leo explained how he had met her, rescued her, showed her the world, and then proceeded to get lost. At the end, the crowd went back to dinner, leaving on Piper, Jason, Annabeth, and his siblings around him.

"Wait, where's Percy?" Leo asked as he looked around, realizing that one of his best friends was not there.

Annabeth's face hardened for a moment at the mention of the forbidden name, but quickly softened it. "He's dead," she said simply.

This brought a gasp of Leo, and a small cry of anguish from Calypso. "What- How- When-" Leo stammered.

"I'll explain later," Annabeth said. "Now, why don't you come join us? You must be starving."

"No thanks," Leo said sadly. "I think I'll just go get settled back into my cabin. Telling Festus to go to Bunker 9, Leo led Calypso towards the cabins. As they got closer Leo broke the silence between them. "Something isn't right here," he stated. Calypso gave him a questioning look in return. "The aura, it feels different. Nobody seems happy either, like all the happiness of being here is gone," Leo explained

"That's understandable," Calypso said. "Their greatest hero, and friend, is dead."

"There seems to be more than that going on though," Leo argued. "Did you see where my friends were sitting? That's not normal. And how everyone acted around them, it's almost like they were afraid."

"I'm sure there's a good explanation," Calypso reassured as they entered the cabin area. Suddenly, Leo froze. "What's wrong?" Calypso asked.

"The Hearth," he whispered. "It's not lit."

"Well, maybe-"

"No, you don't understand!" Leo interrupted. "The hearth is always lit, at least, it was." Igniting his hand, Leo started towards the pile of wood and coals.

"It won't light, we've tried," a voice said from behind the pair. Turning, Leo and Calypso saw Annabeth, followed by Piper and Jason, walking towards them. "It hasn't since the night Percy died."

"What happened?" Leo asked.

Taking a deep breath, Annabeth strayed her explanation and accusations. She covered how he was a traitor the whole time, how she discovered it while in Tartarus, and how they had hunted down and killed him.

"No!" Leo yelled. "You're lying! Percy would never do that!"

"I wish I was," Annabeth said, faking sadness. "I'll give you some time to process, we'll talk more in the morning," she stated as she turned to leave.

Leo couldn't wrap his head around what had been said. On the one hand it sounded compelling, but in the other it sounded completely ridiculous and impossible. Percy would never, Percy would never, Percy would never, he kept repeating in his head.

"You should talk to my brother," a voice said from the shadows by Cabin 7. "He can tell you what happened that night," Will Solace said as he walked out from the shadows.

A/N:  Where could Percy be? Clearly he learned from the last time he was being hunted if the Hunters can't find him. The Romans are going to war, and Leo is finally back! I know that I didn't bring up Percy  in this chapter, but some other important events are happening in the world that I felt were important to address. 

Votes, reviews, comments, and critiques would be greatly appreciated! As always, have a great day!