𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏: 𝐄𝐑𝐈𝐒 𝐂𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐒 𝐍𝐈𝐂𝐎 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐇𝐄𝐑 𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐓𝐇...𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘
"When you smile the whole room lights up."
PRESENT
DECEMBER 14th, 2007
"IS THIS THE PLACE?" PERCY ASKED HIS MOM.
A day before his winter break his mom helped him pack an overnight bag to take him to a new boarding school. On the way they picked up Annabeth and Thalia.
The only person left was to pick up Eris whose house was a long ride from Manhattan.
Eris lived in New Orleans, she always told Percy in her letters that it was the most beautiful place she had ever seen Percy always thought that maybe she was over exaggerating but it turned out he was wrong.
New Orleans was beautiful. It was filled with bright colors and people of different races at every corner. Every where you went some type of jazz music was playing even as Percy's mom drove down the street they drove past a parade. All of the buildings looked homily and beautifully done. He saw why Eris liked it down here.
The car ride to New Orleans was a bit awkward. Percy hadn't seen his friends in months and the thought of what they were about to do made them all too nervous to speak too much.
Percy's mom's car pulled up in front of a tall town house. Townhouses in New Orleans we're different from the ones in Manhattan, they were more old looking. Eris's house was painted light blue with a patio on the upper part of the houses down the house was covered different plants on the porch. In front of the house was a white mailbox that read 'The Robinsons'. The mailbox looked hand painted with little painted doodles on it, Percy automatically knew it was Eris who painted on it just by her art style.
He hadn't seen Eris in a months. They wrote letters too each other all the time. They couldn't Iris-Message because Eris's foster moms didn't know about the Greek Mythology world. From what Eris told him they seemed like good people which was good because Percy thought Eris deserved good people in her life.
"Yep," His mom said cheerfully, putting the car in park. She turned and looked at him with a teasing smile, "Ready to see your girlfriend?"
Percy's face felt hot. Percy goes on a small rant about Eris one time and now his mom thinks their dating. Annabeth laughed and for some reason Thalia glared at him but honestly Thalia glared at him a lot so he didn't think much of it.
"Mom," Percy complained.
His mom shrugged, "What?" She said, "I want to meet my future daughter-in-law."
"MOM!"
Annabeth laughed harder and somehow Thalia's glare intensified.
"She's not my girlfriend!" Percy said a bit snappily.
"Who isn't your girlfriend?" A voice came.
They all looked out of Percy's open car window and there she was.
Standing outside of Percy's car door was Eris Lewis.
Percy's face felt hot.
Eris's face had matured slightly, losing some of its baby fat. Her hair was a couple inches longer going down her back and styled in some half-up half-down style, it's dark brown shade had turned a shade or two lighter. Her skin was a couple shades darker and her acne had cleared up a bit but was still there. Her old thick black glasses were changed to a pair of slightly transparent green ones.
Her clothes hadn't changed much but instead of looking old they looked new. She wore a collared long sleeve white button down shirt with a slightly oversized forest green sweater on top, dark jeans and her same old dark boots. She wore the same dark brown vintage aviator jacket. Surprisingly she was wearing shiny lipgloss.
She had a huge growth spurt too looking to be about 5'6 and Percy was sure she would be taller in the future. She seemed to put on some weight too since her arms and legs looked a lot fuller.
Percy snapped out of his day dream, "N-No one," he told her.
Eris smiled a bit shyly revealing she had braces, "Hey, guys."
Annabeth waved at her excitedly and Thalia gave her a nod in acknowledgment.
Percy cleared his throat, "Hey, Eris."
His mom glanced between Percy and Eris with a knowing smile, "Hi, sweetheart, I'm Sally."
"Hi, Ms.Jackson," Eris told her. Percy opened his door and climbed out so Eris could climb in to sit next to Annabeth but before Eris could get in the car—
Eris's house door slammed open and Percy turned around so fast he almost got whiplash.
Two woman came rushing out the house both in pajamas looking a bit tired.
The first woman was pretty Latina with tan skin and long curly brown hair that reached her shoulders. The woman next to her was a gorgeous asian woman with thick looking black hair.
"Eris, honey," The Latina woman said loudly walking towards them quickly. There was a green duffle bag in her hands, "You forgot this! What if something happened and you didn't have—"
The Asian woman rolled her eyes, "Lena, relax the girl isn't going to die if she forgot her tooth brush. She's fine," she said calmly.
Lena frowned, "But, Katherine—"
"Thank you," Eris told Lena sweetly, taking her bag.
Katherine narrowed her eyes when she saw Percy and his friends, "You must be Percy, Annabeth and Thalia," she said before turning to Sally, "And you're Sally Jackson, we spoke on the phone." Katherine's tone was firm almost as if she was Zeus himself. Percy remembered that Eris wrote in her letters that Katherine was a lawyer.
Percy's mom nodded quickly, "Yep. Eris will be just fine, we'll be back in a couple of days and I'll call you if anything happens."
Percy's mom came up with a cover story that they were going to a fancy camping sight for a couple of days. Katherine nodded accepting her answer.
"Call us if you need anything," Katherine told Eris but her tone was much more gentle. A small smile even cracked on her stone cold face.
Eris nodded, "I will."
"And we mean absolutely anything!" Lena said quickly, "if you want to come home, if you just miss us, if you miss Salem, are you sure you still want to go sweetheart because you can stay home if you want too and if—"
"Lena," Katherine said tiredly. "Baby, she'll be fine."
"But Katherine—"
"I'll be okay," Eris told Lena.
"We'll take care of her," Annabeth said.
Lena bit her lip before sighing, "Fine," she leaned down and placed a kiss on Eris's forehead making Eris blush. She smiled, "Take care of yourself and if anything happens..."
"Call you," Eris finished. "I will."
Lena took a step back and Katherine sighed before kissing Eris on the cheek, "Make good choices." She took off her scarf and gently wrapped it around Eris's neck.
"I'll...I'll do my best," Eris told her.
Lena glanced in Percy's direction, "Don't forget to ask him," she said quietly but it was still loud enough for Percy to hear.
He frowned. What did she want to ask him?
PERCY COULDN'T HELP BUT GLANCE IN ERIS'S DIRECTION ANY CHANCE HE GOT.
He just couldn't help it she was just so...Eris.
Eris who looked the same yet so different at the same time to him. Percy had to force himself to look away as blood rushed to his face.
Eris was asleep on Annabeth's shoulder most of the time but woke up towards the end of the car ride long enough to hear his mom
tell every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about Percy.
Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."
Eris glanced out the window. She didn't find anything fun about having to recruit new half-bloods, she just wanted to grab them and go. No mess no trouble. That's what she thought they'd be doing. It was the only reason she said 'yes' to coming in the first place.
"Did you get my letters?" Eris asked Thalia quietly on the car ride.
"Oh," Thalia flushed and focused her gaze on the window. "Yeah, I did."
"Oh, okay I—"
"Sorry, I didn't reply," Thalia said quickly her cheeks bright pink, "I just didn't know what to say. But I read them all, I swear, they were nice."
"Oh, it's fine," Eris waved off Thalia's apology. "I'm just happy you're doing well."
"Why...why did you send me those letters in the first place? I don't know you that well."
Eris shrugged, "I...I guess I just thought you'd maybe be lonely. Coming back from the dead and all...it has to be hard to adjust too. And I guess...I know what it's like to be lonely and...I didn't want you too feel that too."
Over the months Eris sent letters to Percy, Thalia and Grover. But for some reason Thalia never replied. Eris didn't think too much into it, Thalia didn't know her well. Eris just thought that Thalia may have been lonely having to come back to the real world after coming back from the dead and decided to add her to the people she sent letters too.
Eris spared a couple of glances in Thalia's direction.
Thalia was pretty. Like, really, really pretty. She had dark black hair cut short with pale skin with freckles that splattered across her nose. She had these bright electric blue eyes and a heart shaped face.
Eris looked away, her face feeling hot.
Percy was handsome too. Eris wondered if it was tradition for children for the children of the Big Three to be attractive and wondered why the tradition skipped her.
Eris didn't think of herself as ugly but she didn't think of herself as pretty either. She thought of herself as a good average.
"Your moms are cool," Thalia added after a moment. Her eyes anywhere but Eris's direction.
"They're not my—" Eris stopped and her face softened, "yeah...they are."
Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.
"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Percy's mother asked.
"No, thanks, Mom," Percy said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."
"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."
"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep him out of trouble."
"All right, dears," Ms.Jackson said. "Do you have everything you need?"
"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."
"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"
"Mom—"
"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"
"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."
Eris nudged him slightly at the tone of his voice. She thought Percy was lucky to have a mom who cared about him so much but then again she had no idea what it was like to have a mom who annoyed you from time to time. All she had was Lena and Katherine.
Eris wrapped her jacket tightly around herself as a sharp cold wind blasted through the air again.
Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."
"She's pretty okay," Percy admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"
Though the question was nosey it was also innocent but Thalia glared at him like he just stole candy from a baby.
Maybe Thalia's glared wouldn't scared Eris months ago, Thalia had a great glare. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears—the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes.
But Katherine was better at glaring, she was the intimating women Eris had ever seen when she was angry. Katherine had never glared at Eris but she did glare one time at a woman in Target who accused Eris for stealing. She was intimidating but Lena always told Eris that Katherine was a secret softy.
She missed them already which maybe she should be embarrassed about but she was happy she had people to go home to now.
"If that was any of your business, Percy—"
"Guys," Eris cut in uneasily, "Please...just don't."
For some reason Eris's words shut Thalia's mouth like a fly trap.
"We'd better get inside," Annabeth said. "Grover will be waiting."
Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call."
Percy stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," He guessed.
The oak doors groaned open, and the four of them stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.
"Whoa," Percy muttered.
The school was huge with the walls lined with battle flags and weapon displays like old rifles and battle axes.
But still...a sick feeling filled Eris's stomach. Something was off. Her hands grasped around her skull necklace a bit nervously but she tried to relax.
"Being nervous in battle will get you killed," Hippolyta had told her.
Eris had goals she wanted to reach today in conquering her anxiety. Like she didn't want to stutter for the rest of the day and she didn't want to shed a single tear.
Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"
The doors slammed shut behind them.
"Oo-kay," Percy mumbled. "Guess we'll stay a while."
There was party music exhaling from the end of the hall.
They hid their bags overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. They hadn't gone very far before Eris could hear footsteps approaching and man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them.
Eris tensed automatically in their presence, her hand wrapped around her necklace ready to yank it off in a moments notice.
They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.
"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"
"Um..." Percy said, "Ma'am, we're just—"
"Ha!" the man snapped,"Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"
He talked a bit like Jules-Albert, a French accent. He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors— one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.
Thalia stepped forward snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. A just of wind ripped from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of them, making the banners rustle on the walls.
"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth, Eris and Percy. We're in the eighth grade."
The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. Tthe man seemed to be hesitating.He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"
Percy sniffled a laugh at the woman's last name and Eris nudged him. Surprised, Percy winced and rubbed his shoulder.
Eris must have been lifting weights or something because never in his life had he ever felt a nudge that hard.
The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I...yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at them. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. Eris. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"
Before any of them could answer Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—" He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—"
"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."
Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made... the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"
Dr. Thorn looked like he wanted to strangle them all with his bare hands but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"
They left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do. Grover hustled them down the hall in the direction of the music. Grover hurried them to a door that had GYM written on the glass.
"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"
He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves.
"So what's the emergency?" Percy sked.
Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."
"Two?" Eris asked hesitantly, "Alive and well with no monster attacks? In one place."
Grover nodded.
Finding one half-blood was already hard but finding two especially in one place was harder. This year apparently Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. They needed all the fighters they could.
Eris felt uncomfortable at Chiron recruiting new campers because of Luke's upcoming war. He was literally recruiting campers to become child soldiers. The thought made her feel sick to her stomach.
"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."
"Monsters?"
"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"
Out of the corner of her eye Eris could see Percy shift uncomfortably when Grover looked at Thalia for answers. She glanced between the two and could already feel a headache coming.
"Right," Thalia said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?"
Grover nodded.
"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"
"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."
Eris swallowed thickly. "Okay," she paused to stop any potential stuttering. "I can do this," she muttered.
Truth be told Eris didn't believe she could do this but Willow told her that if you say something long enough you start to believe it and Eris wanted to believe she could do this.
She needed to do this, she needed to get out of here alive. She had people waiting for her now.
There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each other's faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and scrappy high heels. Some of the older guys looked around Eris's age—looked uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives.
"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."
Eris whirled around in the direction he was looking.
Eris's first thought was that the girl looked pretty. The second thought was that she looked familiar and the third thought was that she looked a bit like Eris.
The girl kind of looked like an alternate universe of Eris if Eris was two years younger and well...white.
The girl was pretty with olive colored skin and dark eyes. She wore a floppy green hat like she was trying to hide her face. She had dark silky hair that matched Eris's. Their eyes were a similar almond shape and the curve of their jawlines were identical.
The little boy had a head full of fluffy curly hair with olive skin a shade darker than his sisters. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.
Annabeth glanced at Eris, "You kinda...look like them." She said quietly.
Eris nodded, "I know," she muttered.
Annabeth said, "Do they...I mean, have you told them?" She asked Grover.
Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."
"So let's grab them and get out of here," Percy said. He stepped forward but Eris grabbed his arm. He flushed, "Eris, what—"
He followed her gaze and saw her staring at
the vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in their direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.
"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."
"How?"
"We're four powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."
"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.
Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"
Grover looked hurt. "I did."
Even Eris felt a bit offended, 'Beautiful Soul' by Jesse McCartney was a great song.
"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"
"Green who?"
"Never mind," Thalia said, she looked in Eris's direction and her face turned a bit red before she shook her head and turned to Grover with a disappointed frown, "Let's dance."
"But I can't dance!"
"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."
Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.
Eris looked around a bit awkwardly shifting on her feet. She resisted the urge to look down when she caught a couple boys whispering to each other while they glanced at her. Maybe they thought she was weird or something.
She did sway on her feet a bit when the DJ played 'If it isn't love' by The New Edition.
The music changed to a slow dance song that made Eris feel even more awkward. She turned to Annabeth and Percy. "So what have you guys been up too?"
Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program..."
She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff. Eris tried to listen to every word she was saying but she didn't understand a word of it but she was happy that Annabeth was happy.
For some reason Eris wanted Percy to ask her dance. Maybe it was the fact that they had exchanged letters while Eris was in New Orleans or something. She didn't know. But she did know that she wanted him to ask her.
"What about you?" Annabeth asked Eris.
Percy watched as Eris instantly brightened. It kinda made him feel bad that Eris had to be away from camp to thrive. She had been at camp half-blood for over six years and had been miserable but only three months in New Orleans and she was the happiest Percy had ever seen her.
Percy clung onto every single word Eris said. She told them about being accepted into a performing arts school for her paintings and about being on her school's competitive dance team. Apparently, her dance team was so good they were able to perform in one of the parades. Percy couldn't imagine Eris because on a dance team, she seemed like someone who would have stage fright. She went on to ramble about one of her friends at school named Freddie who apparently taught Eris how to do box braids and cornrows and about how much she loved her schools art program.
"And then—" Eris went to add on but someone tapped her shoulder.
She turned around and had to look up.
Standing behind her was a boy so handsome he could've been a son of Aphrodite. He was a tall black boy with boy skin and a short hair cut. He was tall enough to be a basketball player and dressed in a grey button down shirt with black dress pants.
Eris could hear Annabeth whistle lowly.
Percy eyed him, a sick nasty feeling bubbling in his stomach.
He smiled a bit revealing pearly white teeth, "Hey," he held out his hand, "I'm Keith. Do you wanna dance?"
Thinking he was talking to Annabeth, Eris turned to her waiting for her answer it wasn't until Annabeth nudged her shoulder and didn't answer him that Eris realized—
"You're...You're talking to me?" Eris asked slightly in disbelief.
"Yeah, I am," Keith said confidently looking at her up and down, "Wanna dance, beautiful?"
If Eris's face wasn't red before it definitely was now, "Um—"
Percy grabbed Eris's hand and started to tug her away, "C'mon Eris, let's dance."
IT WAS OBVIOUS PERCY DIDN'T KNOW HOW TO DANCE.
He just stood there looking uncomfortable looking up at Eris since she was taller than him by a couple inches.
"I...uh," Percy shifted on his feet, "Sorry for dragging you away from that guy I should've asked you first if—"
"It's fine," Eris blurted out, "I wanted to dance with you anyway!"
Percy looked at her with wide eyes, "Really?"
"Uh...yeah," Eris muttered trying to force herself to not look down.
"Um...cool."
Eris watched him fiddle with his hands before a dash of courage flowed through her and deciding to grab his hand and put on her lip and holding the other in her hand. Her hip felt hot slightly under his touch.
Percy tensed up and Eris squeezed his hand. "Now you move your feet side to side," she told Percy.
Percy noticed that Eris was good at slow dancing, in fact she seemed kinda confident in her dancing abilities. She seemed like a bit more confident person in general after he saw her today.
She still seemed shy but she walked with her posture a bit straighter, her words were still hesitant but she wasn't stuttering as much and though she wasn't looking him in the eye she wasn't looking down anymore. He thought maybe Katherine had some influence on her, the lady seemed confident in every single word she spoke.
But overall Eris just looked happier. Happier than he had even seen her. She had this glow around her like she could repel all negativity. She smiled more too, Eris didn't smile often but when she did it took his breath away a little bit.
Eris probably had the prettiest smile he had ever seen. It was filled with sunshine and rainbows and childhood dreams.
Percy kept looking at his feet to make sure he didn't step on Eris's toes, "You're really good at this. Dancing, I mean."
"Thanks," Eris said quietly.
He liked dancing with Eris. Her feet seemed to always match the rhythm of the music and she never made him feel bad whenever he stepped on her toes. It was also a bonus that she smelled like sweet vanilla.
Percy glanced around. He didn't want to ruin the moment. He had to think of something fast before Eris's shy nature kicked in. "How's life living with your foster mom's?"
Eris's lips twitched into a small smile, "They're great. They're really good people and they take care of me. I mean Katherine can be a little scary sometimes and Lena over thinks a lot but...when I'm there...I feel like I'm finally home. I've never felt that before. I mean, I know Chiron isn't that happy about me being so far away from camp but all my life it seemed like there was no place I could ever fit in, like there was this missing piece and there in New Orleans with Lena and Katherine...they're like finding a missing piece to a puzzle. They complete me well...kinda."
"Kinda?"
"Something...something still feels like it's missing," Eris told him, "I don't know what it is but...it's like there something missing until I can be satisfied. It's a little weird, I guess. I..I mean I'm not completely happy yet but..."
"But?"
She smiled, "I'm getting there I think."
There has always been this aching hole in Eris's chest after Willow died but then after meeting her friends the whole got a bit smaller, then after meeting Lena and Katherine it got a lot smaller but the whole was still there in her chest. It was small and still there waiting to be filled.
"Oh," Percy said, "What did you want to ask me? I mean, I overheard Katherine and..."
Eris blushed, "Oh," she muttered, "Um...recently at school I won an art contest. The prize is I'll be having an art show and it'll be completely funded by my school. It's at a gallery in New York...it'll showcase my paintings and stuff. I was gonna ask if you wanted to go," she said, "but if you don't want to I understand. Art can be boring to some people and I'm not that great so it's fine if—"
"No, no," Percy said quickly. "I want to go."
Eris's heart pounded against her chest, "You do?"
"Yeah," Percy nodded, "I won't miss it. You are a good artist, the best I've ever seen."
For some reason a weird feeling erupted in Eris's stomach as a giddy feeling filled her chest. Her palms felt sweaty and for some reason she wanted to smile which was weird because it was rare when Eris wanted to smile since she was still a bit insecure about her braces.
She took in Percy's appearance. He had gotten a bit taller but Eris still towered over him. His acne had a cleared up some and his limbs were still long and gangly. His skin was still the same pretty tan and his eyes were the same vibrant sea green. Just looking at him she felt tongue-tied.
Eris swallowed before forcing herself to look away. She blamed this weird feeling on puberty.
"Guys!" Annabeth came up from behind them with wild worried eyes. "They're gone."
Eris separate from Percy as fast as possible, "What?"
She followed Annabeth's gaze that lead to the bleachers where Bianca and Nico no longer were. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.
"Shit," Percy swore.
"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"
Eris followed Annabeth in the crowd not knowing Percy wasn't behind them.
FIVE MINUTES LATER.
Looking back at it Percy kinda did regret not grabbing backup before going after Dr.Thorn.
Thorn had forced them outside into the woods. They took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights.
Percy held back a wince at the shoulder Thorn had impaled with poison. Next to him Bianca seemed wary and held Nico close to her.
"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."
"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"
"Silence, you insufferable girl!"
"Don't talk to my sister that way!" Nico said but his voice was shaky.
Dr. Thorn made a growling sound that definitely wasn't human. The sound made the hairs on the back of Percy's neck stand up but he tried to keep calm and keep walking like a good kidnapped demigod l. He kept trying to project his thoughts to Grover: Grover! Apples! Tin cans! Get your furry goat ass out here and bring some heavily armed friends!
"Halt," Thorn said.
The woods had opened up. They had reached a cliff overlooking the sea. Percy could sense the sea down there, hundreds of feet below. He could hear the waves churning and could smell the cold salty froth. But all hecould see was mist and darkness.
Dr. Thorn pushed them toward the edge. Percy stumbled, and Bianca caught him.
"Thanks," Percy murmured.
"What is he?" she whispered. "How do we fight him?"
"I...I'm working on it."
"I'm scared," Nico mumbled. He was fiddling with something—a little metal toy soldier of some kind.
"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said. "Face me!"
They turned.
Thorn's two-tone eyes glittered hungrily. He pulled something from under his coat. He pulled out a phone He pressed the side button and said, "The package—it is ready to deliver."
There was a garbled reply, and Percy realized Thorn was in walkie-talkie mode. This seemed way too modern and creepy—a monster using a mobile phone.
Percy glanced behind, wondering how far the drop was.
Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon. Jump! There is the sea. Save yourself."
"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.
"I'll explain later," Percy said. He would explained later...if he lived. "I'll miss Eris's show if I die," he muttered to himself.
"You do have a plan, right?"
Grover! Percy thought desperately. Come to me!
"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my thoughts. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"
A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to Percy that it nicked his ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible... almost like a tail.
"Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."
"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I..." Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."
"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."
"Luke," Percy said. "You work for Luke."
Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste. "You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."
"The General?" Percy asked. Then he realized he'd said it with a French accent. "I mean...who's the General?"
Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."
In the distance , a searchlight over the sea. Then he heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.
"Where are you taking us?" Nico asked.
"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls. Truthfully, the general had his eyes more so on Essence Lewis," Thorn said, "but you will have to do I suppose."
Percy's blood ran cold, "You mean Eris? What the hell do you guys want with Eris?"
"She'd be an amazing addition to our army," Thorn said, "imagine all the power."
"They're not dolls! They're figurines! Leave Eris the fuck alone. And you can take your great army and shove it up your ass!"
"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well...there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."
"The Great what?" Percy asked.
"The stirring of monsters." Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"
"Okay," Bianca whispered to Percy. "He's completely nuts."
"We have to jump off the cliff," Percy told her quietly. "Into the sea."
"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too."
Percy never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into him.
Wearing her invisibility cap, Annabeth plowed into the di Angelos and Percy, knocking them to the ground. For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over their heads. But Thorn quickly corrected himself and snarled at them before—
Was that a tail? Percy's eyes were drawn to a sharp tail coming out of Thorn's back that swatted in their direction fast and hard enough that if it hit him it would knock them all into the sea. Just when Thorn's poisonous tail came down—
CLANK!
Percy watched with wide eyes as Eris appeared in front of him almost out of thin air. She stood protectively in front of all of them, her body tight and tense as she struggled to hold Thorn's tail back with her spear.
Thorn hissed at the sight of Eris's spear. It was made of Stygian Iron, this iron was mined and forged in the Underworld and cooled in the River of Styx, it could only be used by children of Hades. But unlike Celestial Bronze instead of just destroying a monster Stygian Iron absorbed the monsters life into its iron.
It also didn't help that Eris's blade leaked an aura of death.
"Woah..." Nico muttered but Bianca quickly shushed him.
Thron licked his lips, "Daughter of death, oh I've been looking for you."
"Daughter of what?" Bianca asked.
Eris grunted as she finally gained enough strength to shove away Thorn's tail. She panted as she looked back, "You guys need to move now."
"Oh, Essence, you should just surrender now we both know that—
His rambling gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis. Thalia fought with a huge spear that expands from this collapsible Mace canister she carries in her pocket. Her shield is modeled after one her dad Zeus uses—also called Aegis—a gift from Athena. The shield has the head of the gorgon Medusa molded into the bronze, and even though it won't turn you to stone, it's so horrible, most people will panic and run at the sight of it.
Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.
Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"
Thalia charged at him, she jabbed at his head but he snarled and swatted the spear aside.His hand changed into an orange paw, with enormous claws that sparked against Thalia's shield as he slashed. If it hadn't been for Aegis, Thalia would've been sliced like a loaf of bread. As it was, she managed to roll backward and land on her feet.
Thorn roared like a lion and swatted his tail side to side before hitting something, not something—someone.
"NICO!" Bianca screeched in horror.
Eris looked back fast enough to see the little boy from earlier being hit with Thorn's tail and tumbling off the cliff.
For the first time she didn't hesitated a second before sprinting in his direction.
NICO FELT NOTHING BUT HORROR AS HE LOST HIS FOOTING AND FELL OFF THE CLIFF.
He had heard about people's lives flashing before their eyes whenever they were about to die and he had never believed it until now. Images of him and Bianca's best moments flew over his eyes like a movie.
Nico shut his teary eyes hoping the pain wouldn't be to bad when he suddenly stopped midair. Confused, his eyes fluttered open. He was stunned at what he saw.
With half her body leaning over the cliff was Eris Lewis. She had caught him using her teeth...literally.
The top half of her body was over the cliff and trembled with the added weight of Nico's body as Eris held him up midair using only her teeth that were biting tightly on his tee-shirt. Her jaw was locked tightly around Nico's shirt aching as Eris refused to let go. Eris was surprised her teeth didn't give out and drop Nico.
Grunting Eris brought both of her hands down and grabbed Nico's collar tightly allowing her to stop biting on Nico's tee-shirt. She struggled using her knees that were still on ground to pull them into a sitting position and bring Nico back into the cliff. She set Nico next to Bianca who immediately started to coddle him as Eris panted tiredly.
"Are...are you okay?" Eris asked tiredly.
Nico nodded, not feeling words form in his mouth.
"Good," Eris said quietly, "I'm...I'm glad." She forced herself to stand up and grabbed her spear that she had tossed on the ground earlier to save Nico.
She looked up just in time to see Dr. Thorn launching another volley of missiles at Thalia using his leathery, scorpionlike tail that bristled with spikes at the tip. The missiles deflected off Aegis, but the force of their impact knocked Thalia down.
Eris swallowed but tried to force herself to stay calm. She didn't have time to freeze up and do nothing. The whole reason she got Hippolyta to help train her was to be able to defend herself in her friends but that didn't stop the terror that ran through her body.
Grover sprang forward. He put his reed pipes to his lips and began to play—a frantic jig that sounded like something pirates would dance to. Grass broke through the snow. Within seconds, rope-thick weeds were wrapping around Dr. Thorn's legs, entangling him.
Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.
"A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into Percy and the Di'Angelo siblings.
"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"
"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"
The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward them with a snarl. Instantly his tail released a stream of thorns this time in Eris's direction.
Instinctively, Eris forced her body to fall to the ground just barely dodging the thorns and when they missed her she used her lower body muscles to kick her legs upward in the air and into a standing position. The move reminded Percy of one of those karate movies he watched with his mom.
"She's so cool..." Nico muttered.
"Get down!" Annabeth shouted pushing the siblings into the snow.
Remembering his shield, Percy yanked Eris behind him and hit his wristwatch. Metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The shield stopped the attack but it was badly damaged.
There was a yelp and Grover landed next to them with a thud.
Swallowing, Eris steadied her spear in her hands as she moved to stand protectively in front of Bianca and Nico. Percy and Annabeth's were already well trained Demi-gods they could protect themselves but Nico and Bianca weren't prepared at all.
"Don't," Eris took a shaky breath, "Don't worry it'll be okay," she tried to force a reassuring look in their direction, "I won't let anything happen to you."
Eris trembled a bit. She was a bit rusty when it came to fighting monsters, monsters left her alone in New Orleans but her reflexes were still okay and combined with two months of Hippolyta relentless training she thought she was doing okay. Still she felt like she was going to piss her pants but she tried to remain calm. Being nervous in battle got you killed. She forced her trembling to stop and took a deep breath. On the bright side she wasn't as scared of Thorn as she would've been months ago without Hippolyta's training.
She was scared but she wasn't going to stand there and do nothing.
"Yield!" the monster roared.
"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. She charged the monster but before she could land a hit on him there was a thunderous noise and a blaze of light from behind them. The helicopter appeared out of the mist, hovering just beyond the cliffs. It was a sleek black military-style gunship, with attachments on the sides that looked like laser-guided rockets. The helicopter had to be manned by mortals, but what was it doing here? How could mortals be working with a monster? The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow. Her spear flew in the other direction.
"Thalia!" Eris yelled worriedly. Thorn growled again and Eris kept her feet firmly planted in front of Bianca and Nico.
"No!" Percy ran out to help her. He parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. He raised his shield to cover them but it wasn't going to be enough.
Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."
Eris looked between her spear and Thorn. The idea was risky but if it worked...
Eris held her in spear in one hand and launched it like a rocket. It zoomed toward's face and just as planned Thorn caught it with his reflexes.
Thron screeched as his hand started to catch on fire and threw the spear away from him. "What the hell?"
"Stygian Iron," Eris said tiredly, picking her spear back up and holding it protectively. "Can...Can only be held by children of Hades. Those who try to hold the spear with out being a child of the Underworld," she swallowed and met Thorn's gaze, "meet Hades himself."
"You bitch!" Thorn screeched trying to put out his flame covered hand by slamming it against the ground.
Eris looked around trying to find an opening but found none. But...she glanced out towards the exit of the woods and towards Bianca and Nico.
"I..." Eris hesitated nervously, "I'm...I'm going to hold him off," she whispered to Bianca, "then you...grab your brother and run as fast as you can."
"But what about you?" Bianca asked desperately, "You'll die."
Eris blinked a bit surprised. She didn't expect her to be worried about Eris's safety. "Don't, um, don't worry about me...I'll...I'll be okay...I think."
Eris promised herself she do her best to not die. She had to make it home to Katherine and Lena. If worst came to worst and Thorn almost killed her she'd summon a spirit. She hadn't summoned a spirit yet because whenever she did she always became exhausted and Eris needed to be able to move around.
"You think?!" Bianca asked.
Then Eris heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.
The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.
"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"
His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.
He staggered backward, wailing in agony.
"Curse you!" Thorn cried. He unleashed his spikes, dozens of them at once, into the woods where the arrow had come from, but just as fast, silvery arrows shot back in reply. It almost looked like the arrows had intercepted the thorns in midair and sliced them in two, No one, not even Apollo's kids at camp, could shoot with that much accuracy.
The manticore pulled the arrow out of his shoulder with a howl of pain. His breathing was heavy. Percy tried to swipe at him with his sword, but he wasn't as injured as he looked. He dodged Percy attack and slammed his tail into my shield, knocking him aside.
Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen like Eris. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions. Eris knew who they are instantly.
"Thank god," Eris muttered, dropping her tense stance.
"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.
Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."
One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was a Persian girl, tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"
The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."
"Not so," another girl said. She was a young girl with dark skin, her hair as dark as night but her eyes werea bright shade of silver. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoë, permission granted."
The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"
"W-Who are they?" Bianca asked.
"Hunters," Eris said quietly, "They'll...they'll save us don't worry."
Eris watched with wide eyes as Thorn lunged at Thalia and Percy. Bianca took a step back when she saw her eyes glow a brilliant green and her hands started to glow the same shade.
"One minute," Eris muttered, "I just need one minute."
"No!" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.
"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"
But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.
"Fire!" Zoë ordered.
"Don't!" Eris screeched.
But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"
And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.
"Annabeth!" Percy yelled.
Eris's stomach dropped. Her blood ran cold as she stared at the spot Annabeth was previously. "No..." she muttered, she dropped her spear allowing it to clutter to the ground.
The earth rumbled under Eris's feet. Small rocks began fo levitate off the ground.
"W-What the hell?" Bianca muttered.
"Eris, no—" Percy started to yell.
There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.
Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with dark hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.
"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."
She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.
The earthquake increased, starting to make all the half-bloods fall to the ground. "Eris! Please!" Percy pleaded, "Stop!"
Eris's eyes glowed brighter, "Annabeth...she...I can't," a tear fell down her face.
"We'll get her back!" Percy yelled over the commotion, "I promise. But please, stop this!"
Eris had gotten better at controlling her earthquakes since moving to New Orleans. Taking time to focus on herself down there had given her a chance to become better at controlling her emotions but she still had her moments like now.
"Eris, please!" Percy pleaded, he shakily crawled over towards her and put his hands on her shoulders. "W-We'll get her back. She isn't gone. Trust me!"
He forced her to look into his eyes and squeezed her shoulders.
Her tear filled eyes looked into his. His eyes screamed honesty. They were genuine.
Eris dropped her hands to her sides, "Okay," she muttered. She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate. A few tense moments passed at the earth slowly stopped shaking and the levitating rocks dropped to the ground.
Eris sniffed and wiped her tears with the back of her hand. She had been doing so well trying not to cry today but Annabeth...disappearance pushed her over the edge.
A bright flash of green light appeared beside her making a few hunters and Thalia take a step back uneasily.
Standing next to her was a handsome man covered in a green halo. His skin was pale with dark narrowed grey eyes and sharp facial features. His hair was cut short and dark brown. He looked young in his early twenties. His clothes had changed a lot from the last time Eris saw him. He was dressed in a Greek toga with golden sandals. Golden wings sprouted from his back and there was a golden bow in his hands.
"Icarus," Eris said, "I...I need a favor."
Icarus looked around taking in his surroundings, "Name it."
"Annabeth, she fell off the cliff," Eris said shakily, pointing at the cliff, "do you think you can see if—"
"On it," Icarus didn't miss a beat. He shot in the air before using to dive over the cliff.
"Woah," Nico said in awe, "Icarus is 20 points!"
"Nico, stop talking," Bianca said firmly.
Eris had no idea what he was talking about. All she was thinking about is whether or not Icarus would return with Annabeth.
The Hunters advanced on them.
The one called Zoë stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.
"Zoë Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."
Zoë scanned the rest of them. "Five half-bloods and a satyr, my lady."
"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."
"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. "You have to let us save her!"
The dark-haired girl turned toward him. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help.You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs."
"Let me go!" Percy demanded. "Who do you think you are?"
Zoë stepped forward as if to smack him but Eris stepped in front of him. "Wait..." Eris said hesitantly, "can't we talk this out. There...there's no need to get violent. He's only known he's a demigod for two years. He has no idea who she is, I swear."
"She is correct," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoë. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."
The young girl looked at Percy, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said, "Goddess of Hunt."
That's the end of chapter 1.
I'm going through a bit of writers block about Eris's journey to Tartarus but don't worry the flashbacks of Tartarus will be back.
Please comment it helps me update faster!
Only two people commented about Eris's jacket in the previous chapter, there's a reason why she has a that jacket.
How do you feel about this chapter? How do you feel about Eris? Is there anything I can improve? Is there anything you liked?
I already I have two spirits who I know I'm going to introduce in part 3 but if there are some other spirits you guys want to see let me know.
Also, down in New Orleans Eris did train with Hippolyta she still does. But though she did train with her don't expect her to be OP or be super skilled with her powers. It's only been four months since she's left camp. I don't want to make her seem super powerful out of no where but she does have a slightly better grasp on her powers. She's more skilled in hand-to-hand combat now but she's not great at it if it makes sense. She still had a lot of work and training to do.
Eris has a bit of development nothing too drastic. This mainly came from Hippolyta's training and the influence of Lena and Katherine with a dash of Willow.
This part of the book will focus more so on Eris's character development, building a relationship with Nico and Bianca and making chemistry with Percy. I didn't want to start Eris and Percy's romantic attraction a lot for each other in TLT or TSOM because they're so young but now their freshman in high school so I think it's okay. I just wanted to establish Eris as a character before focusing on her and Percy's relationship.
I felt like Eris really needed some time away from camp to focus on herself. She's been at camp since she was six she needed a break.