EIGHTEEN, haunted
❀ ✿ ❀ ✿
"KEEP GOING, WE'RE ALMOST THERE!"
Aster's lungs were burning. While she was athletic, her young body was built for this type of endurance. Her legs had been hurting an hour ago, but Luke had grabbed her hand and dragged her along with him, telling her they had to keep going. She just wanted it all to stop; she wanted to sleep or take a break, but Luke kept telling her they had to keep going. Aster clasped Annabeth's hand tightly, the two seven-year-olds finding the barest comfort in each other as they fled.
"Come on! Keep going!" Grover shouted at them, racing ahead of them.
The monsters had been chasing them for hours now, the most Aster had seen since she had joined with Thalia and Luke back in Massachusetts. But after traveling up and down the east coast and having Annabeth join them, they were a huge magnet for things that hunted demigods. Especially with the first child of the Big Three in fifty years among their ranks.
The three leathery bats with fiery whips and an army of hellhounds were gaining on them, their cries and roars getting closer and closer to the five children.
Children. That's what they were. In another life, Aster would have been attending school, still holding her father's hand while she crossed the street. But this was their new life; running and running and running. Running from the beasts and gods that wanted them dead.
Aster's cheeks were wet with tears, and her body was covered in cuts and scratches. Though the tree roots they ran over moved to avoid her, she still had some cuts from the branches that had tried to help her along, but she was running too fast. Aster's dark waves were tangled together, thrown back in a ponytail that had long become packed with dirt. Annabeth was running beside her, princess blonde curls caked with mud and sticks, her gray eyes darting around for any sights of trouble, full to the brim with terror. Luke ran in front of them, sending the two young girls encouragement along the way. Thalia took up the rear, wielding her spear and fighting off the occasional beast that caught up with them. In the months that Aster had been with Thalia and Luke, she had seen the older girl best countless monsters, and she was a force to be reckoned with. But even Thalia couldn't fight off an army on her own. Grover, the satyr who had come to rescue them, was far ahead of Luke, constantly shouting that they were almost to camp.
Camp Half-Blood. The place of refuge for people like them. Somewhere that they could be safe, be fed, train, and actually sleep without the fear of being hunted. Grover had told them stories of the camp, his words weaving together the beauty of the strawberry fields and the tranquility of the forests. He talked so highly of the place that Aster had longed to call the camp home.
"Hurry, the patrol will see us!" Grove called out.
Aster could almost make out lights at the edge of the forest. They emerged, the roars of the monsters not too far behind them. In front of them was a large hill; it was daunting and Aster wasn't sure she could do it. She was about ready to pass out from exhaustion.
The steep hill was difficult for Annabeth and Aster's small legs, and they couldn't be quick enough. As Luke hurried them along, Aster tripped on a small rock, feeling a pop in her ankle. She fell and cried out in pain, and Annabeth pulled at her arm.
"Come on Aster, we have to go!"
More tears flowed down Aster's cheeks. "I can't! It hurts, oh it hurts!" she sobbed.
Luke didn't hesitate, helping Aster to her feet and practically carrying her up the hill. Aster could hear him grunting with the effort of carrying her, but she was in too much pain to tell him to put her down.
"Annabeth!" he yelled. "Go with Grover! Get ahead!"
Annabeth hesitated, tears brimming her fierce gray eyes. "But–"
"Go Annabeth!"
Annabeth obeyed, running to catch up with Grover. He kept shouting that they were almost there, as if it would make them go faster. His eyes turned into slits as he looked over Luke and Aster, to Thalia. Aster risked a glance back, where Thalia's dark brows creased. The monsters had all come into view: the three Furies, the large hellhounds, and one casting a shadow over them all—a large cyclops, its giant green eye blinking at them.
"Thalia!" Aster cried out, causing the girl to turn to her. "Come on!"
"Come on!" Grover repeated. "We can make it!"
"We're not going to make it," Thalia said grimly.
"Yes, we will!" Luke countered. Annabeth and Grover stopped briefly, waiting for them to catch up.
A new fire ignited in Thalia's eyes, like a lightning spark. It was different from the usual flame that smoldered in her gaze. She sighed and looked back at the monsters, which were dangerously close now. Her eyebrows knit together, like she had made a decision. She turned around and readied her spear, her back to her friends.
"You guys go! I'll hold them off!"
"Thalia, no! " Luke said. "You can't be serious!"
Thalia didn't answer him. She looked seriously at each one of them from over her shoulder, her electric blue eyes seeming to glow brighter. "Just go!"
Grover continued up the hill as Luke carried a sobbing Aster, dragging Annabeth with him, who was screaming for Thalia.
The daughter of Zeus stood tall behind them, her eyes narrowed in determination. She wouldn't let her friends—her family—fall to these monsters. She readied herself, then charged.
They were nearly to the top of the hill when Aster glanced back. Thalia had just turned a Fury into dust, a second one coming to take a swing at her. Aster shouted a warning, and Thalia avoided the monster. Three hellhounds pounced on her, but she jumped out of the way at the last second. The hairs on the back of Aster's neck stood up, and she knew what was coming next.
Thalia raised her spear to the sky, a bolt of lightning meeting her there. She directed the blast from her weapon at the army of monsters, and Aster watched in awe as they all disintegrated to dust. But there was one monster that she had missed.
Thalia slouched, slowly turning back to her family. Her electric blue eyes had lost a certain spark as her chest heaved. Aster was more concerned with the claw marks down her arms.
"Thalia!" Grover shouted, "Come on!"
Thalia ran towards them, but she had forgotten the blinking green eye. The cyclops who had held them captive had followed them all the way here—he apparently had a particular disdain for losing his dinner. Aster watched in horror as a giant, wandering hand grabbed Thalia by the neck and lifted her in the air.
"NO! THALIA! " she screamed, but it was no use.
Aster tried in one last attempt to save her friend, reaching out to her with the stray roots and grasses that lay on the side of the hill. They went to the cyclops, but she was too slow.
A sickening crack sounded in the air, and tears streamed down their faces as they saw their friend take one last breath before turning deathly pale, all the light fading from her eyes. Aster sobbed into Luke's shoulder. Annabeth cried out for her and tried to run forwards, but was held back by Luke. He just stared into the spot where she had last been, like she'd just reappear. Thalia's lifeless body dropped to the ground, on the very top of the hill.
Aster knew then that they were going to die. The large green eye stared at them in the darkness, and she could barely make out the monster's shape.
Then, a miracle happened. Thunder rolled through the sky, and they all watched as Thalia's fingers turned to roots, stretching out over the ground. Her skin turned to bark and moss, and from her torso sprouted a pine tree, one that grew until it was taller than all those around them.
Lighting struck down in front of them, a blue light spreading through what used to be Thalia. It blinded them for a moment, and then it disappeared like it had never been. When the cyclops went to strike them, Aster and her friends braced themselves, but the blow never came. The cyclops fist was caught on a bubble of blue, shielding them. He tried again, but the punch still didn't come through.
This was when Luke came to his senses. "Come on!"
He, with the help of Grover, carried Aster into camp and to the safety of the infirmary, with Annabeth following closely behind. Aster's consciousness was fading with every fleeting moment, her last sight being a large red barn.
Her last thought before the darkness claimed her was how Thalia had sacrificed her life for her new family, and she had saved them—one last time.
– ❀ –
ASTER WOKE IN A panic. Her chest heaved as her eyes darted around. The sun was peeking through the window, casting a beam of light across the room. A few birds chirped, resting in the oak trees on the street outside.
She was home; she was okay.
Aster rubbed the sleep from her eyes, sighing to herself. She hadn't dreamt of the night Thalia had died for a while—she didn't even like to think about it. Over the course of the past month, her dreams had been filled with that now familiar dark voice, sending her similar ominous messages about Camp Half-Blood's destruction. They always ended in the destruction of Thalia's tree, usually by the lightning strike that had transformed her in the first place.
Aster wasn't sure what these dreams meant (she never did, that was the fun thing about demigod dreams) but she'd heard enough to know that there was something going wrong with camp. And wherever there was trouble, surely there was Percy. Aster needed to find him and see what he knew.
Aster's school had ended a week ago, and she'd been spending her last days with her father and Wendy before she went off to camp. Andrew had finally asked Wendy out after months of pestering from Aster.
Aster walked by her packed bag on her way to the kitchen. She wasn't supposed to leave for camp until next week, but she was usually prepared for anything and everything to go wrong. Especially after their quest last summer.
Aster sauntered into the kitchen, surprised to find Wendy cooking up a storm. The sight brought a smile to Aster's face. After knowing the woman for nearly a year, she loved Wendy dearly. Even before she'd started dating her father, Wendy had become the mother she'd never had. Aster took a seat at the counter and rested her chin in her hand.
Wendy swayed her hips while she flipped pancakes, humming the chorus of Pon de Replay. She set a stack of pancakes in front of Aster—blueberry, her favorite.
Though she was only in sweatpants and a t-shirt, Wendy still wore them with the utmost grace and beauty. Aster could tell that she hadn't done her hair or makeup for the day, but she still looked pretty perfect. There were no fly-aways in her jet black hair, which fell in perfect waves to her shoulders. Her thick, dark lashes seemed to always be curled, and no blemishes stained her cheeks. Sometimes it was strange—almost like she was too perfect.
"Morning, Aster," Wendy said, turning the stove to low.
"Morning," Aster said through a mouthful of pancakes. "Is it your day off?"
"Yes," Wendy breathed, leaning against the counter. "I haven't had one since that trip we took on your spring break."
Aster smiled at the memory. Wendy had joined Aster and Andrew on a short weekend trip to Boston, where they explored the city for three straight days. Aster had been especially excited when they'd visited the botanical gardens, one of the most beautiful places she'd ever been (though probably nothing would beat the Lotus Hotel's, unfortunately).
"Wedding planning sounds really stressful," Aster said. "How do you do it?"
"A lot of improvising. And charming people into extra services for more money." Wendy chuckled to herself. "I deal with a lot of bridezillas; and Halloween-themed weddings. It is Salem after all. But people these days are getting married way too often."
"It doesn't help that you're the best wedding planner in town," Aster pointed out.
Wendy nodded, playing with the golden cuff on her wrist. Aster noticed that she never took it off—it must've been sentimental or something.
"So... what are you doing here so early in the morning?" Aster asked, swirling her pancakes in syrup.
Wendy pointed a firm finger at her. "Don't be getting any ideas. My car was out of gas, so your dad offered to let me stay over." She looked earnestly at Aster. "I hope you don't mind.
"Of course not. I was just wondering."
Wendy started mixing more batter. "So your dad tells me that you're going off to summer camp next week."
Aster's heart sped up, but she stayed calm. "Yeah, it's really fun. I've gone every summer since I was seven." Aster prayed that Wendy hadn't been watching the news at all last June.
"What's it all about?"
Aster dragged the last piece of her pancake around her plate. "Oh, you know, just a normal summer camp. Kids from all over unite in New York—on Long Island. We farm strawberries and play games. That sort of thing."
"That sounds fun," Wendy said, turning towards her. "I used to go to a summer camp when I was a teenager, you know."
Aster's eyebrows rose. "Really?"
"Yeah." Wendy smiled as if she was looking back on fond memories. "It was a lot of fun."
"What was it called?" Aster said, taking a sip of orange juice.
"Camp Half-Blood."
Aster choked on her drink. She coughed as Wendy stared at her strangely. It almost looked like she had a twinkle in her eye.
"What?" Aster asked after she could breathe again.
"Camp Half-Blood," Wendy repeated herself. "Does that mean anything to you?"
"Are you..." Aster trailed off.
"Am I what?" Wendy asked, chuckling nervously. Her soft honey eyes darted around the kitchen, looking anywhere but at Aster.
Aster gave her a look. "Don't play dumb with me. You're a demigod?"
Wendy's eyes went wide, and she kept opening and closing her mouth, trying to find words to say. Finally, she said, "Yes, I am."
"You're a what ?"
Aster's father had picked the wrong moment to walk into the kitchen. His eyes were wide with shock as he stared at Wendy.
This was the first time Aster had seen Wendy stumble over her words. "Um... I–"
"Don't worry," Aster said quickly. "I'm one too. I go to Camp Half-Blood."
Wendy looked between the father and daughter, and she seemed speechless for once. After a minute or so of silence, Andrew spoke.
"You're a demigod?" He asked.
Wendy studied the floor. "Yeah."
Andrew chuckled. "Just my luck to have not one, but two demigods under my roof." Wendy looked up at him, panic in her eyes. "But I wouldn't have it any other way."
Wendy smiled softly, her shoulders relaxing. Aster hadn't noticed that she was so tense. She supposed that if she was put in a similar situation, she'd be stressed as well.
"Who's your godly parent?" Aster asked.
Wendy cleared her throat. "Aphrodite."
"That makes a lot of sense," Aster muttered under her breath. "Mine's Demeter."
"Ah. So the flowers... that's all you."
"Yep. When we first met, thos flower samples I showed you? Those were right on the spot."
Wendy's eyebrows shot up. "You're kidding! I never would have guessed. Although maybe I should've been a little suspicious when you had one of the rarest types of orchids just 'laying around.'"
"Hey, wait," Andrew said. "I do some of the work around here too!"
Wendy gave him a sidelong look. "Like what?"
There was a long pause. "I tell her what to grow, and she grows it. Sometimes."
"Sometimes?" Wendy questioned.
"Sometimes she just grows what she wants to grow," he replied.
Aster nodded. "I like to see if I can replicate things off the internet. Or I get upset and daisy's just start sprouting up everywhere."
Andrew snorted, heading to the coffee pot. He poured two cups and handed one to Wendy, who thanked him. With both of them in front of her, Aster decided to tell her father the decision she'd come to
"Dad, I need to leave for camp. Today."
Andrew narrowed his eyebrows. "Why? You aren't supposed to go until next week."
"I think camp's in trouble," Aster explained. "I need to go see for myself."
"How is it in trouble?" Wendy asked. "What happened?"
Aster quickly recapped last summer for Wendy, ending with how Luke had betrayed their camp to go serve Kronos. Thinking about Luke always left a bad taste in her mouth, but she did it anyway, leaving out as many painful details as possible.
"Wow," Wendy said when she'd finished. "He seems... determined."
"More like deranged," Aster said under her breath.
"Okay, so you need to get to camp," Andrew said reluctantly. "But how are you going to get there today? It's at least five hours away, and I have to open the shop at ten."
"That's why you're not going to be driving me," Aster proclaimed, and her father looked at her nervously.
"You don't mean–"
"Yes I do."
Wendy looked between them. "Hold up. What are you two talking about?"
Andrew sighed. "She's talking about plant teleportation to get to camp. Which is extremely dangerous, and the last time you did it you ended up in a wheat field in Kansas!"
"That was, like, the first time!" Aster protested, her cheeks growing warm. "Besides, I've been practicing and I've gotten so much better. There isn't any faster way I can get to camp. And you have to work, Dad."
Although he didn't look like he wanted to, Andrew agreed to her plan.
After about an hour or so, Aster was ready to go. Andrew had to go down to the shop in a few minutes, so she made sure to say goodbye when she could. He squeezed Aster tightly, telling her to be smart over the summer and have a good time, and try not to get killed. Aster told him that she couldn't make any promises, but that she would be careful. Aster then hugged Wendy, who told her to kick some monster butt.
With that, Aster walked through the front door with her backpack slung across her shoulders. She hid her daggers in her long sleeve shirt, which she had kept hidden in her sock drawer during the year for safe keeping.
Aster walked out of the shop door, and straight to the nearest tree. Though she didn't have to go far, due to the fact that every street in Salem was lined with oak trees. Aster had been practicing plant teleportation after she accidentally did it running from some mean girls from school. She'd ended up in a park several blocks from where she had been seconds earlier, in front of another oak tree. She'd discovered that she could use trees and other large plants to travel great distances, just by seemingly melting through the tree. But besides the time she had accidentally teleported to Kansas, Aster had never gone a distance as far as New York City. So she was nervous to say the least.
After glancing around to see if anyone was watching, Aster walked straight into the tree, and through it.
Plant teleportation seemed like a strange way of travel, and it felt even stranger. Aster could feel the molecules in her body slowly hardening as she concentrated on where she wanted to go, and escaping the tree just as she felt herself becoming it. Aster sometimes wondered if this was what nymphs felt like when they returned to their trees.
Aster emerged somewhere in Central Park, which was packed with teenagers throwing frisbees and families having morning picnics in the warmth.
Aster wandered the streets, following the directions she remembered Percy had told her just in case she ever landed in Manhattan—turn left from Walter Street, two blocks down and to the right, and she couldn't miss it.
Aster ducked into the alleyway outside of his building and waited. Now, one might think it was creepy that Aster was doing this, but she couldn't have just gone up to his apartment. Besides the fact that she didn't know what number it was, Aster thought that would just be weird to show up unannounced. So she waited for him to pass by on his walk to school. She had a view of the front door of the building from where she was standing, so Aster could see when Percy exited his apartment building.
Contrary to what some might think, Aster was not stalking her best friend. She just had to talk to him about something important. After waiting for what seemed like an hour, Aster saw a familiar mop of messy black hair exit the apartment building and join the crowd of people on their morning commute. Aster was just about to call out his name when she saw who he met up with. He had to have been the tallest thirteen-year-old she had ever seen, with tattered clothes and knotted brown hair—but that was not what made Aster's heart stop.
Aster was transported back to that night, seven years old and terrified, staring up at a blinking green eye in the darkness. Or running through the halls of an old mansion, searching for her friends—that thing calling out to her with the voices of her companions. The monster that had taken Thalia's life without a second thought and thrown her to the ground. He was the same kind, and Aster was grasping at thoughts, trying to comprehend what she was seeing.
Percy was friends with a cyclops.
– ❀ –
WATCHING PERCY CHAT CASUALLY with a cyclops was like reopening an old wound, rubbing salt in it, and then throwing a cigarette in there for good measure. Not that he knew about Aster's history with them, but still. Every time she looked up at the boy walking beside Percy—which she had heard called him Tyson—she couldn't help but feel a sharp pain in her chest.
Aster was pretty sure that Percy didn't even know that Tyson was a cyclops. Though it was very obvious, given his height and build, which was not normal for any thirteen-year-old. There was also the fact that Tyson only had one eye, which was usually the best way to identify a cyclops.
How could he not have known? Possibilities raced through her mind of how Percy could not have noticed the monster that was his friend.
One—the monster was manipulating the Mist. But that didn't make much sense, since it took a long time for cyclopes to mature. Aster didn't even know if cyclopes could even manipulate the Mist. This one seemed to be just a baby.
Two—he wasn't a cyclops, and Aster was just hallucinating. That would have been the most ideal option, but sadly, she knew this was not the case.
Three—Percy was very much an idiot, and had failed to notice the fact that his new buddy could and would kill him. Yep, that one made the most sense.
Aster knew that the Mist, which allowed mythical events and creatures to hide from mortals, could fool some demigods until they knew better. But Percy was a very powerful demigod, and Aster thought that the Mist wouldn't be able to fool him.
Maybe his head really was full of seaweed.
Aster continued to follow Percy and Tyson closely, teleporting through the trees on the sidewalk so she could keep up with them and not be seen.
Aster wished that Annabeth were there. She would be able to make a plan, or at least help her make sense of the situation. Aster was happy to admit that Annabeth was smarter than her. Last she heard, Annabeth arrived at camp a few days ago, so ideally Aster would see her soon.
Meriwether College Prep, the school that Percy attended, was a school in the middle of Manhattan. Aster could see that it was one of those weird progressive schools which were more understanding of 'troubled' kids. AKA, a school for kids with behavioral issues and bad grades. Since that's what ADHD and dyslexia often got labeled as, it was the perfect school for any other undercover demigods.
Aster tried her best to stick to Percy, just to keep him safe from the cyclops for the time being. After all, if this monster wanted to attack Percy—which Aster suspected was the most likely outcome—this would be the perfect day to do it. The last day of school, and the last chance at a strike.
Now, would someone call it creepy that Aster followed one of her best friends around all day without him knowing? Maybe. But she didn't think so. As far as she was concerned, Aster was just keeping a close eye on him, staying in the back of his classes. It was also a prime opportunity to practice another new ability she'd discovered this year: plant camouflage. It wasn't anything too fancy—she was just able to blend into trees or really big houseplants if she concentrated on it. Luckily for her, Merriwether Prep was decorated with all types of greenery, so she had lots of cover throughout the day.
The more Aster watched this cyclops, Tyson, the more she realized that he wasn't capable of attacking much of anything. Like when the bully of the school, Matt Sloan—what a basic and pathetic name—tried to give him a wedgie, Tyson just launched him across the playground and ran away, crying as he went. She almost felt bad for him, until she remembered the life draining from Thalia's eyes.
It seemed like Percy and Tyson were the "losers" of the school, and Aster wasn't surprised when she saw Tyson's look. He looked like a homeless teen. The fact that he (and Percy by association) wasn't popular in a school full of rich kids wasn't shocking.
Aster followed Percy into his social studies class, blending in with the overgrown ficus in the corner behind his desk. She could see Percy clearly in front of her, drawing latitude and longitude maps. There was something else on the ring of his notebook that Percy was looking at, but Aster couldn't quite make out what it was.
It was just then that Matt Sloan ripped the piece of paper out of his notebook, and Aster's face grew warm as she recognized herself in the photo, wearing ripped jeans and an oversized t-shirt, her usual messy black curls pulled back into two neat Dutch braids that Wendy had done for her. She held a thumbs up to the camera as she stood on a river cruise, heading for the Harbor, which her father had won in a raffle. It was the picture that Aster had emailed to Percy, along with a description of her trip to Boston.
"Hey!" Percy protested as Matt stared at the photo in disbelief.
"No way, Jackson," Matt said in a slimy voice. "Who is that? She is not your–"
"Give it back!" Percy said, and the back of his neck was extremely red. Aster herself could feel her cheeks growing even warmer.
Aster had the urge to clarify that Percy was just her friend, but technically, she was a ficus.
Sloan handed the photo to his ugly buddies, who snickered and started ripping it up to make spit wads. They must have been new kids who were visiting, because they were all wearing those stupid HI! MY NAME IS: tags from the admissions office. They must've had a weird sense of humor, too, because they'd all filled in strange names like: MARROW SUCKER, SKULL EATER, and JOE BOB. No human beings had names like that. But these guys didn't exactly seem very human. They were bigger than any seventh grader should be—even bigger than Tyson.
"These guys are moving here next year," Sloan bragged, like that was supposed to scare Percy. "I bet they can pay the tuition, too, unlike your retard friend."
"He's not retarded," Percy said through gritted teeth. He was really defensive about this cyclops. It made Aster sick to her stomach.
"You're such a loser, Jackson. Good thing I'm gonna put you out of your misery next period in gym."
Ah, gym class. It was probably Aster's favorite class, since it didn't involve any reading, but almost every girl in her class made fun of her for it. Most of them just stood in the corner gossiping. Aster had to play against the boys a lot of the time, which she gladly beat in every game.
Aster glanced at the clock, and knew the bell was about to ring based on the schedule that was taped to the wall. She spotted another overgrown houseplant in the hallway by a group of lockers (this school really needed to pay closer attention to their plants). As she teleported, she hoped one of them was Percy's.
The bell rang.
Students all filed out from their classrooms, and Aster spotted that familiar mop of messy hair exit the social studies class. She whispered eagerly, "Percy!"
Percy looked around, but just then Tyson came out of the classroom, and Aster made sure to maintain her camouflage. She needed to talk to Percy, but not when that thing was around.
Aster tried her best to follow Percy to his new class, but he got lost in the wave of people. She teleported at random to the nearest plant, which was a potted fiddle-leaf fig tree that was outside the principal's office. She walked away from the plant nonchalantly, contemplating what to do next. Those guys wanted to pulverize Percy in gym class, but she didn't think that he would appreciate it very much if she jumped in. Best for her to just keep a close eye on him, from outside the gymnasium.
Though as she wandered the halls of Meriwether Prep, Aster quickly found herself lost. All the hallways looked the same, especially when all the doors were closed for classes that had started. Aster found herself roaming around for ten minutes until she heard a BOOM!
Aster's head snapped in the direction of the explosion, coming from a few hallways down. She had a feeling the source of the sound was those really big seventh graders, currently in Percy's gym class.
As she sprinted towards the gymnasium, hurling herself around corners and past adults, Aster heard another series of explosions and yells. Screams sounded from down another hallway, and she ran faster.
Finally, Aster made it to outside the gymnasium door. She looked inside the window, and saw Percy and Tyson—dressed in sky blue shorts and tie-dye t-shirts, which looked kind of ridiculous—facing off against a giant. A Laistrygonian giant, the cannibals that Odysseus ran into on his travels. She was shocked to see them here, as they liked the cold and never really went south of the border in Canada. Aster was extra surprised that they attacked Percy when Tyson was around. Cyclops were notorious for being the most terrifying breed of monster, and other monsters tended to stay away from them because they're immune to all fire and burns and pretty durable in a fight.
There were multiple burning holes in the walls, one that led into the street, and one that exposed a locker room. Percy was eyeing the pile of clothes at the giant's feet, and Aster wondered why he didn't have his magical pen-sword, Riptide, out to defend himself.
Aster tried to open the door, but it was locked. Stupid giant magic. She took her smallest throwing knife and picked the lock, something Luke had taught her years ago. She cracked the door open, unnoticed due to all of the commotion. She was right near the giant, if she could just get close enough... The door closed behind her, and she heard the lock click again.
"Stop!" Percy yelled suddenly. He hadn't seen Aster yet. "It's me you want!"
The giant grinned. "You wish to die first, young hero?"
Percy then charged at the giant (with no weapon!), which was the stupidest thing he could have done.
The giant laughed. "My lunch approaches."
He raised his arm to throw a deadly dodgeball, but Aster was too quick for him. In one swift motion, Aster took her biggest throwing knife from her ear and threw it straight in the giant's back. His body went rigid as Aster's blade sank into his flesh. It went straight through his stomach area, and the ball dropped from his hand. The monster stared down at his belly, where she had no doubt her knife was poking through.
He muttered, "Ow," and burst into a cloud of green flame.
The smoke began to clear a little, and Percy stared at her as if he wasn't sure if she was really there or not. Aster stared at him back, his sea green eyes piercing through the smog.
"Target practice really does pay off, Seaweed Brain," Aster simply said.
Percy looked stunned to respond.
Matt Sloan, who'd been standing there dumbfounded the whole time, finally came to his senses. He blinked at Aster, as if he dimly recognized her from Percy's notebook picture. "That's the girl... That's the girl–"
Aster walked straight up to him and punched him in the nose, and she heard a satisfying crack. "And you," she told him, "lay off my friend." She hoped she broke his nose.
The gym was in flames. Kids were still running around screaming. Sirens wailed in the distance, getting closer, and a garbled voice came over the intercom. Through the glass windows of the exit doors, a stern-looking man wrestled with the lock, a crowd of teachers piling up behind him.
"Aster..." Percy stammered. "How did you... how long have you..."
"Pretty much all morning." Aster put her knife back to her ear, and it returned as an earring. "I've been trying to find a good time to talk to you, but you were never alone."
"You've been following me all morning?!" Percy asked, his face going scarlet. "How–"
"There's no time to explain!" she snapped, though she could feel her own cheeks growing warm. Her eyes traveled over to Tyson. "I just didn't want to–"
"There!" a woman screamed. The doors burst open and the adults came pouring in.
"Meet me outside," Aster told him. "And him." She pointed to Tyson, who was still sitting dazed against the wall. Aster looked at him distastefully, and as much as she didn't like it, he should probably come with them. At the very least, he could act as some sort of protection detail. "You'd better bring him."
"What?"
"No time!" she said. "Hurry!"
Aster dove out the gaping hole in the side of the building, walking down the sidewalk and trying not to look suspicious. She kept looking over her shoulder, worried that the giants may be the least of their problems.
And boy, was she right.