chapter six
─── the hot guy now has a name, and shocker, it's hot
ℑt seemed that my Latin teacher actually being part horse sent me into a crisis, but I mean, can you truly blame me? My life had just gone from tolerably sane to taking a full blown nose dive into insanity. I was not coping well with this.
He led me down into the valley, past a volleyball pit lined with columns. A bunch of campers in ugly orange shirts were watching me and the Minotaur's horn with wide eyes.
"That's her," I turned around to shoot a glare at them, but my height (or lack thereof) meant that I was not all that intimidating.
I wasn't normally shy, but the way they stared at me made me uncomfortable. I felt like a new kid at school again, and I'd long since grown out of that emotion after joining my fifth school.
Were they expecting me to break into song and dance about how weird all of this was?
I looked back at the farmhouse. It was a lot larger than I'd thought - four stories tall, made of pale yellow brick, with a white trim. The windows were covered with shutters, and little balconies were on some of the higher windows. I was checking out the brass eagle weathervane on top when something caught my eye, a shadow in the uppermost window of the attic gable. Something had moved the curtain, just for a second, and I got the distinct impression I was being watched.
"What's up there?" I asked Chiron, pointing at the attic.
He looked where I was pointing, and his smile faded. "Just the attic."
"Somebody lives there?"
"No," he said with finality. "Not a single living thing."
He was so definitely lying to me. I kissed my teeth quietly, before Chiron coughed.
"Come along, Andromeda," Chiron said, his lighthearted tone now a little forced. "Lots to see."
We walked through the strawberry fields, where campers were picking bushels of berries while a satyr played a tune on a reed pipe. Chiron told me the camp grew a nice crop for export to New York restaurants, and godly temples.
"It pays our expenses," he explained. "And the strawberries take almost no effort."
I smiled, before it fell at the thought of my mum's world famous strawberry shortcake that she used to make in the summers. Turning away, I chose to focus on another thought.
"Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" I asked Chiron. "I mean...he was a good protector. Really. He kept me out of trouble as best he could."
Chiron sighed, a tone that was familiar to me. "Grover has big dreams, Andromeda. Perhaps bigger than is reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."
"Well, I got here in one piece!" Gabe's car might not share the same sentiment.
"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate...ah...fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."
Most of the things Chiron was talking about were my fault so a wave of guilt wrapped around me.
"He'll get a second chance, won't he? Grover's a good kid,"
Chiron winced. "I'm afraid that was Grover's second chance, Andromeda. The council was not anxious to give him another, either, after what happened the first time, five years ago. Olympus knows, I advised him to wait longer before trying again. He's still so small for his age..."
"How old is he?"
"Oh, twenty-eight." I choked.
"What? He told me he was twelve!" I winced as I thought of how many times I'd called him kid and he was, in fact, older than me.
"Satyrs mature half as fast as humans, Andromeda. Grover has been the equivalent of a middle school student for the past six years."
"And you made him follow me to high school? That's horrible."
"Quite," Chiron agreed. "At any rate, Grover is a late bloomer, even by satyr standards, and not yet very accomplished at woodland magic. Alas, he was anxious to pursue his dream. Perhaps now he will find some other career..."
"That's not fair," I said. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"
Chiron looked away quickly. "Let's move along, shall we?"
Well, that was never a good sign. But his words got the small amount of brain cells in my head turning.
"Chiron," I said. "If the gods and Olympus and all that are real..."
"Yes, child?"
"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"
Chiron's expression darkened.
"Yes, child." He paused, as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now...until we know more...I would urge you to put that out of your mind."
"What do you mean, 'until we know more'?"
"Come, Andromeda. Let's see the woods." The one thing about Chrion that did annoy me was his ability to change the subject at any given point. I didn't like it.
It made me feel less like an adult.
As we got closer, I realised how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could barely see through the branches.
Chiron said, "The woods are stocked, if you care to try your luck, but go armed."
"Stocked with what?" I asked. "Armed with what?"
He must think I knew more than I did.
"You'll see. Capture the flag is on Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?"
"My own—?" I raised my eyebrow.
Did he see me carrying a sword and shield when I rolled into camp unconscious?
"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armoury later."
That did little to surprise me that we had an armoury, but there were so many other things to focus on. We saw the archery range, the canoeing lake, the stables, the javelin range, the amphitheatre, and the arena where Chiron said they held sword and spear fights.
"Sword and spear fights?" I asked.
"Cabin challenges and all that," he explained. "Not lethal. Usually. Oh, yes, and there's the mess hall."
Chiron pointed to an outdoor pavilion framed in columns, on a hill overlooking the sea. There were a dozen stone picnic tables. No roof. No walls.
"What do you do when it rains?" I asked.
Chiron looked at me as if I'd gone a little weird. "We still have to eat, don't we?"
As per usual, cryptic.
Finally, he showed me the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And it looked, for a moment, like we'd taken a step back in time.
Each one was made of marble, large columns supporting the roofs, though they all had different gardens and accessories and numbers. Nine, for example, had smokestacks, like a small factory. Four, had tomato vines curling up the columns, grass and wildflowers growing on the roof. Seven seemed to have veins of gold in the white marble, glimmering softly in the light.
They all faced a large stone-line firepit, being tended to by a small girl, who poked at the coals with a stick. Statues, flower beds and paths covered the entire area.
"You have to walk on the paths. Demeter children don't particularly like it when you step on the grass." Chiron explained, showing me the largest two cabins at the end. They reminded me of mausoleums, cold and empty, but carved with images of lightning (on One) and peacocks and flowers (on Two).
"Zeus and Hera?" I guessed.
"Correct," Chiron said.
"Their cabins look empty."
"Several of the cabins are. That's true. No one ever stays in one or two."
That confused me.
Three, to the left of them, was long and low and solid. The outer walls were studded with pieces of seashell and coral. I peeked inside the open doorway and Chiron said, "Oh, I wouldn't do that!"
Before he could pull me back, I caught the salty scent of the interior, like the wind on the shore at Montauk. There were six empty bunk beds with silk sheets turned down. But there was no sign anyone had ever slept there. It was kind of sad to see. "Come along, Andromeda"
Most of the other cabins were crowded with campers. Five had weapons rack around the cabins, along with more areas to spar and places to sharpen weapons. It was filled with a mix of girls and boys, all laughing as rock music blared around them. They were watching an arm wrestling fight between one of the younger girls, and an older boy. She slammed him down, the cabin erupting into cheers and I smiled. They looked like fun.
I kept walking, trying to stay clear of Chiron's hooves. "We haven't seen any other centaurs," I observed.
"No," said Chiron sadly. "My kinsmen are wanderers. They don't like staying in one place, as I do."
"You said your name was Chiron. Are you really..."
He smiled down at me. "The Chiron from the stories? Trainer of Hercules and all that? Yes, Andromeda, I am."
My god, he was old.
"But, shouldn't you be dead?"
Chiron paused, as if the question intrigued him. "I honestly don't know what it should be. The truth is, I can't be dead. You see, aeons ago the gods granted my wish. I could continue the work I loved. I could be a teacher of heroes as long as humanity needed me. I gained much from that wish...and I gave up much. But I'm still here, so I can only assume I'm still needed."
I thought about being a teacher for three thousand years. It wouldn't have made my Top Ten Things to Wish For list. Imagine being accidentally called dad by kids for all eternity. Ugh!
"Doesn't it ever get boring?"
"No, no," he said. "Horribly depressing, at times, but never boring."
"What?" I looked up at him with wide eyes.
"Oh, look," Chiron ignored me. "Annabeth is waiting for us."
The dark haired girl I'd met at the Big House was reading a book in front of Eleven, her nose scrunched up as she wrote down small notes on a notepad beside her. Her eyes narrowed as she looked me up and down.
She seemed determined to either kill me or hug me and I wasn't too sure about that.
"Annabeth," Chiron said, "I have an archery class at noon. Would you like to get Luke to take Andromeda from here?"
"Yes, sir," Annabeth did not seem happy with that idea, slamming her book closed and I wondered who this 'Luke' was.
"Cabin Eleven," Chiron told me, gesturing toward the doorway. "Make yourself at home."
Eleven felt more homey than the others, splattered with paint and glitter. Inside, it was packed with people, both boys and girls, way more than the number of bunk beds. Sleeping bags were spread all over on the floor.
Chiron didn't go in, as the door was too low for him. But when the campers saw him they all stood and bowed respectfully. It looked like it pained them to do it though, and I forced down a smile.
"Well, then," Chiron said. "Good luck, Andromeda. I'll see you at dinner."
He trotted away toward the archery range and left me to the wolves (otherwise known as small children).
I stood in the doorway, looking at them. They weren't bowing anymore, luckily. Instead, they were sizing me up. I knew this routine. I'd gone through it at enough schools.
"Well?" Annabeth prompted, standing behind me with her arms crossed. "Go on."
I entered, watching everyone with the same narrowed eyed glare as they were giving me. Two could play this game.
Annabeth announced, "Andromeda Jackson, meet Cabin Eleven."
"Regular or undetermined?" somebody called.
I had no clue what I was anymore, but it seemed that Annabeth did, "Undetermined."
Everybody groaned.
A guy a little older than the rest came forward and I mentally cursed. It was the hot guy.
"Come on guys. That's what we're here for," He grinned as he stepped forward, his blue eyes dancing with something I couldn't quite place. His blond hair was a mess on his head, like he'd just rolled out of bed. He held a hand out. "Hi, Sleeping Beauty. Good to see you're awake."
I grinned sheepishly, still checking him out. What? You see a hot guy, or girl, and it's kind of instinct to check them out. I'd be weird if I didn't.
He was taller than me, and more muscular, with a friendly grin that definitely held a hidden side of mischief behind it. Unfortunately, the hot guy wore the same ugly orange shirt as everyone else with jeans, Converse and a leather necklace with five different colored clay beads on it.
The only thing out of the ordinary about his model-like appearance was the thick white scar that ran from just beneath his right eye to his jaw, like some had tried to blind him. But I was not complaining. Scars were hot.
"This is Luke," Annabeth said, and her voice sounded different somehow. I saw the look on her face and realised what it was. She had a crush on the guy. She saw me looking, and her expression hardened again. "He's your counsellor for now."
"For now?" I asked, not complaining. I was glad to have the hot guy's name though. Luke was quite a hot name.
"You're undetermined," Luke explained patiently. "They don't know what cabin to put you in, so you're here. Eleven takes all newcomers, all visitors. Naturally, we would. Hermes, our patron, is the god of travellers."
I nodded, as Luke led me to a spot on the floor. It wasn't much and I didn't have anything to put there, but still, it was better than nothing. I was going to put the Minotaur horn down but I remembered that Hermes was the god of thieves as well. I would not be leaving my stuff unattended.
"How long will I be here, roughly?" I asked, turning to look at Luke. He shrugged, shoving his hands in his pockets.
"Good question," Luke said. "Until you're determined."
"Cryptic. How long will that take?"
The campers all laughed, before Annabeth rolled her eyes and looked back at Luke with the same sappy expression once more. This girl had it bad but I couldn't really blame her.
"Chiron wants you to finish giving her the tour." Luke nodded at Annabeth's words, before taking the Minotaur horn from my hands.
"Hey!" He was trying to rob me in broad daylight.
"Don't worry, Sleeping Beauty," He rolled his eyes with a grin. "Just didn't think you wanted to have to carry it around."
"I suppose not. You could have asked first," He grinned, before catching eyes with someone across the room.
"Hey, Puck! Look after this for me." The boy turned around, before nodding as he came bounding over to take it from Luke's hand. He could have only been a few years younger than me, with curly brown hair and dark eyes.
"Course," He grinned, before clutching it tight and watching me with a raised eyebrow. Why did everyone here look at me like I was some oddity in the museum?
"Come on, let's show you the rest of Camp. Behave yourselves while I'm not here. Ethan will keep an eye on you," A tall boy stepped forward, nodding. I followed Luke out of the cabin, that erupted into chaos as soon as we left. "You should probably get back to your siblings, Annie. See you at the campfire."
"Bye Luke! Andromeda." I rolled my eyes at the distinct change in tone, before following after Luke.
"Why do I get the feeling she doesn't like me?"
"Annabeth just needs some time to warm up to you," He replied with a grin. "Don't take it personally."
"Feels kind of hard when everyone's watching me like I'm about to break into dance," He snorted, shaking his head in amusement. "It's true."
"I didn't say it wasn't, Sleeping Beauty,"
"I have a name. It's a very nice name. You should call me by it." He rolled his eyes with the same cocky half-grin. "Still don't get why you have to call me that."
"Cause you were a sleeping beauty." Luke shrugged. "I distinctly remember you calling me 'Angel'. Think I look like an angel, sweetheart?"
"Has anyone ever told you to dial back on the charming-ness or the cockiness?" He shook his head.
"Nope,"
"Maybe they should." I grinned, before catching sight of Half-Blood Hill. My smile fell, remembering my mother's scream, before I looked away.
"You've got something on your mind." Curse it, he was perceptive as well.
"Have not."
"You definitely have."
"Fine, so what if I do?" He raised his hands in surrender. We walked in silence for a while, as he waited for me to speak. "Here's what I don't get. If the thing I fought really was the Minotaur, the same one in the stories–"
"Yeah..."
"–Then there's only one."
"Yeah."
"And he died, like, a thousand years ago, right? Theseus killed him in the labyrinth. So..."
"Monsters don't die, Sleeping Beauty. They can be killed, in a sense. But they don't die." Luke tried to explain.
"Oh, thanks. That really clears it up." I snarked. Luke huffed, before licking his lips.
"Okay, so they don't have souls, like you and me. You can dispel them for a while, maybe even for a whole lifetime if you're lucky. But they're primal forces. Chiron calls them archetypes. Eventually, they reform."
I thought about Mrs. Dodds, and pulled a face. "You mean if I killed one, accidentally say, with a sword—"
"Your maths teacher. That's right. She's still out there. You just made her very, very mad." I sighed, before turning to look at Luke with narrowed eyes.
"Confidence building. How did you know about Mrs. Dodds?"
"You talk in your sleep."
"Ah shit. I thought I only did that when I was drunk." Luke snorted with laughter. "Moving swiftly onwards, why do I have to stay in Eleven? It's really crowded, couldn't I just bunk in one of the other cabins until I got determined?"
"You don't just choose a cabin, Sleeping Beauty. It depends on who your parents are, not on your personal choice."
It took me a moment to work out what he was insinuating.
"Well, my mum is Sally Jackson," I said. "She works at the candy store in Grand Central Station, but she wants to be a writer. Or...wanted to be a writer."
"I'm sorry." Luke muttered. He shook his head. "Your mum sounds great. But I was more hinting towards your dad."
"Dead."
Luke rolled his eyes having obviously had this conversation with other kids before. "Your father's not dead, Andromeda."
"How can you say that? You know him personally? Perhaps you can introduce us."
"No, of course not."
"It was a joke." I muttered. "But he's dead."
"Well, he's not because you wouldn't be here if you weren't one of us."
"You don't know anything about me even if you heard me talk in my sleep."
"No?" He raised an eyebrow, his face finally turning serious. "I bet you moved around from school to school a lot cause you kept getting expelled from them. Probably been diagnosed with dyslexia, most likely ADHD too."
He was listing off my faults and I was not liking it.
"Taken together, it's almost a sure sign. The letters float off the page when you read, right?Because your mind is hardwired for Ancient Greek. And the ADHD; you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom. That's your battle-field reflexes. In a real fight, they'd keep you alive. As for the attention problems, that's because you see too much, Andromeda, not too little. Your senses are better than regular mortals. Of course the teachers want you medicated. You're an anomaly in the system."
"You sound like you went through the same thing?" Luke shook his head.
"I didn't. But nearly everyone who comes through here has the same story," Luke sighed, looking sadder now. "If you weren't like us, you couldn't have survived the Minotaur, much less the ambrosia and nectar."
"Ambrosia and nectar?" His face turned back to the playful half-grin, like a mask sliding into place.
"The food and drink we were giving you to make you better. That stuff would've killed a mortal. It would've turned your blood to fire and your bones to sand and you'd be dead. Face it. You're a half-blood."
"What?"
∘☽༓☾∘
Hiya,
So, Luke's been introduced as has Puck and they're all adorably cute. Luke and Dree are hilarious together and this is gonna be a lot of fun. I also just love the fact that Annabeth and Andromeda both just mutually know that both of them think Luke's good looking.
Let me know what you think,
Love Li xx