"So... I still have the car from the quest we did to get the Lighting Bolt. Why is your mother giving us a lift?" I ask Percy softly as Mrs. Jackson was driving us to the school. We were all huddled together as she drove us to the school, which was eight hours away from New York.
The drive itself was pretty okay. Percy's mother is very kind and understanding. I can already see why Poseidon would love such a woman. She reminds me a bit of my own mother, but is less energetic when it comes to involving other people's lives. Alexandra would have been going head first into asking my friends questions about their lives. Luckily, Mrs. Jackson was more relaxed about it.
"Because she offered and I couldn't refuse..." he answers me in a soft tone. "I see."
Thalia rubbed the car window a bit with the sleeve of her jacket to remove the condense. It is cold as winter is in full swing again. Further, where we are by going is also rather high up for some reason. I wonder what this place looked like.
"Wow, this will be fun," Thalia says as she smirks a bit. Her gaze goes to a large castle that comes into view. It is big and dark looking. This castle reminds me a bit of how I would imagine Dracula's castle. I wonder why someone would make it such an evil-looking castle. Can't be a good sign. As the car comes to a stop, Mrs. Jackson turns her gaze towards us.
"Are you sure don't want me to wait?" She asks. Percy shakes his head in response. "No, thanks, mom. We'll be okay, this may take some time," Percy says to her.
"But how will you get back? I'm worried," she says to him. What a woman. I can see why Percy wanted her back from Hades. She is a great person.
"No need to worry, Mrs. Jackson. He has us to keep him out of trouble," Annabeth says with a reassuring smile. "Indeed. We have so far," I added. Sally sighs a bit but nods in understanding.
"Alright, dears, do you have everything you need?" She asks. "We have, Mrs. Jackson. Thanks for giving us a ride," Thalia says. She nods a bit but continues.
"Extra sweaters? Do you have my cellphone number?"
"Mom-" Percy tries to say, but Sally continues. "Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a drachma for if you need to contact camp?" She continues to ask.
Percy was becoming a bit embarrassed about her worrying nature. I just smile as I remember my mother when she was sending me to a camp with the school. It was practically the same. The worry of a mother.
"Mom, seriously, we'll be fine. Come one, guys. Let's go," Percy says and opens the door to get out. Sally looked a bit hurt at the reaction but sighs in understanding.
"I'll remind him to send a message to let you know how he is doing, Mrs. Jackson. You have nothing to worry about. Thank you, for giving us a ride," I assured her. She smiles a bit and is relaxed by the looks of it. "Thank you, dear."
As we all were out of the car, we waited till Sally's car was out of sight before going inside. "Your mother is pretty cool," Thalia says as we see the car dipping under the horizon. "She's pretty okay. How about you? Ever get in touch with your mom?"
It made her angry and very displeased as if it was the most hurtful thing she ever heard. I can imagine why. She probably discovered her mother died. I know exactly how she feels. From what I gathered, she was not the greatest mother, but you always care for your mother no matter the relation.
"It's okay, Thalia. No need to crush him today," I say to calm her down. "Come, we better get inside," Annabeth quickly added to my statement. Thalia sighs to let her growing anger leave her. You can say a lot about her, but she is pretty good at controlling her emotions.
Tyson, Percy's half-brother, left camp not so long ago. We currently do not look armed to the teeth, but that's due to the fact he made us all new weapons or modified them. Annabeth may dislike cyclops as a specie, but they're great builders and inventors. He took my sword and made it into the ring. I just have to press the gem for a few seconds and it will appear. Tyson had to be careful, just touching the blade causes pain to anyone that is not from the Underworld.
"This castle gives me the creeps," Thalia says as she looks at the castle. "Yeah, it doesn't look inviting. Come, let's find Grover. I am sure he is in some sort of danger or he wouldn't send Percy a distress call."
Without further ado, we entered the castle. It is just like the outside, large hallways and the wall are covered with flags of battles and lined with all sorts of weapons. Rifles, swords, axes, you name it. I guess this school is a military school. Poor kids. It certainly made me more alert. This school could contain dangerous monsters. Thalia was also looking around with a healthy dose of skepticism and alertness.
"So, where to-" Annabeth starts to say but was interrupted by the door slamming closed. Percy glances at the door before looking around with more suspicion. "Sure make the scary castle more creepy. We better start searching for Grover," Percy says. And so we did.
As we started to walk down one of the many hallways, we eventually hear music reaching us. Annabeth said to stash our stuff away before moving further to make sure we're not looking suspicious to anyone present. However, even without it, we were soon intercepted by two persons that walk around as if this is a military camp. Their uniforms are clearly in a military style and their posture does not hide the fact that they march around like soldiers all the time. This is a bit too much for my taste.
"What are you doing here?" The woman asks. I am shocked to see that the woman has a small mustache. The rest were also a bit confused by the looks of it. The man and woman both had dark hair that is turning gray. While the man had no beard and was completely clean-shaven, I would think he should wear a mustache instead of the woman.
Thalia was about to walk up to them, but I was quicker as I put a hand on both of their shoulders. "You need to trust my words, Madame and Sir. We have been the latest addition to the respectable school. You were already notified that we're on our way to the dance. Don't you remember?"
Both blinked a few minutes before they shared a confused glance with each other. "Of course, miss. Grover Underwood, guide our new student to the dance. They should not wander around at this moment," the man says as we all see Grover coming our way.
"Uh, right away, Dr. Thorn! Have a nice evening Mrs, Gottschalk, Dr. Thorn," Grover says with a slightly wavering voice. We soon walked away with Grover. I turned to both man and woman. They are strange, but the man is a stranger. Something didn't feel right about the man. I mean, the woman is strange too, but the aura of the man was strange.
Grover lead us to the dance as the music was getting louder. He looked good, aside from the strange clothing. A black t-shirt with the rank of Grover. Grunt. They took this whole military theme a bit too far. Aside from that, his horns and beard have grown a bit more. Overall, he looked good but stressed. But that is nothing new.
"Thank the Gods you're here," Grover says. "What's up, Grover? What made you call us here?" I ask.
"I found the Demigods. Two of them," he says. "Two?! At this school?" Annabeth asks with surprise. It is rare to find Demigod children to begin with, but two is very rare. Only twins were the most common ones to be found in pairs.
"Yeah, but I can't seem to get them out of this place. This is the last day of the term before they go home for the holidays. I need to get them out, before he finds out who it is," Grover explains. "What are you talking about?" Percy asks.
"That Dr. Thorne, he is not what he seems, is he?" Thalia says. "Yes, he is a monster. I do not think he suspects who it is, but it won't be long I am sure. Every time he has blocked my attempts to get them out." We soon found ourselves in the middle of the gym. The party is absolutely nuts. Mainly due to the fact that the girls were the most dominant persons around.
Each girl and boy did not wear any kind of uniform due to the party, but it sure made the girls wear lots of makeup, heals that looked to be a huge pain to wear, and every time they corner a poor boy they leave him with lipstick and ribbons in the hair. What a strange place and the people are even stranger.
The older boys were keeping to the sidelines, probably trying to avoid the girls. It also seems like they are ready to fight for their lives at a moment's notice. A military mentality.
"There they are," Grover says and points to a girl and a boy. "Holy shit! Bianca and Nico?!" I say in shock. They look almost exactly like they did decades ago before they left for Washington.
"You know them?" Grover asks. "Yeah... I grew up with them when I was younger. You know during the Second World War. They're my siblings. It must be, this seems so much like my own situation."
"That makes them even more special. We need to get them out of this place before the monster can discern who they are. I hope they remember you, Aileen. It would make things easier," Grover says, "But Dr, Thorn watches us carefully from the sidelines. For now, blend in and we take the first opportunity to escape with them."
"Okay..." I mumble, still glancing at my old friends and now siblings. I am beyond happy to see them, and even more so because we were friends back in the day.
"Well, dear, shall we take this dance?" Annabeth asks as she takes my arm. "Uh, yeah, sure," I say.
We made our way to the dance floor and started swaying to the music. I saw that Thalia and Percy were doing the same. Although, I could see that Percy was rather uncomfortable as he danced with Thalia. I think her irritated expression did not help.
"Happy to see your friends again?" Annabeth asks. "Yeah, I am. It is even better now that they are my siblings. I can't wait to speak with them again. Nico and Bianca are great people, you'll love them!"
Annabeth chuckles. "I am sure they are if you like them, I will probably too. Bianca does look a bit more... I don't know really, looking for something more," she says as she ponders aloud. "Really...?" I say and look to the siblings again.
They were nowhere to be seen. "Fuck! They're gone!" I say. "What?!" Annabeth says shocked and looked around the room. "There! The door is open! Thalia, Percy, Grover, come on!" Annabeth calls out and we all run through the door, hallways, and rooms to find the siblings and the damnable monster.
Grover quickly took over the lead in the chase. His excellent smell and eyesight made him more suitable. Along the way, Annabeth disappears by putting up her Yankee cap. Eventually, Grover leads us to a cliff where Dr. Thorne had both siblings cornered.
"Wait for a moment guys!" I whisper yelled at them. "Why?!" Thalia asks. "Annabeth, she'll create a distraction for us. We'll charge when it happens," I explained. It didn't take Annabeth long before we saw her tackling the siblings out of the way. Thorne was surprised and out of instinct shot some kind of missile out. It didn't hit anything luckily.
Thalia shot up and with the rest of us in tow, we started to encircle Thorne. Thalia is always a frightening sight to see when you see her charging into battle. Not because she looks intimidating by herself, but also her shield, Aegis. The Medusa head scares almost any enemy. Thorne was not expecting it.
Thalia quickly thrust toward the head of Dr. Thorne, but he quickly evades and his hand morphed into a giant orange paw. The giant paw soon parked against the shield of Thalia. This monster is strong as Thalia was pushed a bit backward. Thalia used the momento to roll to the side, giving me a chance to slice the monster in half.
I am faster than most beings in this world, but this Dr. Thorne was quick as he evades my slash with a quick motion. I only managed to cut a bit in his leg, it still hurt like hell for him. Stygian Iron is one of the most painful types of iron to exist for monsters and immortals. It hurts the soul.
In a quick motion with his back, he sends us another wave of arrows. It was coming from a tail that looked similar to a scorpion tail. Thalia puts her shield up, and they deflected it. It did knock her to the ground though through the sheer force of the arrows. I simply managed to roll far enough to escape all of them.
Grover soon joined in the find by playing his reedpipe. It caused the grass to shoot out of the snow and tangle the legs of Dr. Thorne. He roars angrily as he seems trapped.
"Nice job, Grover!" I call out to him. However, Dr. Thorne was changing his form. He grew larger and larger, the grass and weeds broke as a large lion formed in front of us. The thorny tail with scorpion features whipped around in the air in a threatening manner.
"Gods, a manticore!" Annabeth says as she appeared once more as her cap is no longer on her head.
The siblings looked around in shock, confusion, and fear. "Who are you, people?!" Bianca asks. My gaze turns to her as I smile at her. "Hey Bianca, nice seeing you again!" I say to her.
"Aileen!? Is that you?" She says with even more surprise. "Yup! We'll talk later, gotta deal with the manticore."
Nico in the meantime looked with surprise at the manticore. "A manticore? He has three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws," he says with an excited voice. "Still the gamer I see," I mumble out.
The manticore again focused on the siblings as he shot another volley towards them. In a burst of speed, I placed myself in between them and the deadly missiles. I raised both my hands to create a thick and solid wall of darkness making the missiles harmless.
"Yield! You won't protect yourselves forever," the manticore roared at us. "Never!" Thalia says in defiance. She was charging at him, but we looked shocked to see a helicopter suddenly appearing behind the manticore. "What in Hades' name is happening?" I whispered out.
Thalia's half charge was quickly swatted out of the way. Her shield and spear were ripped out of her hands with brute force. I was about to charge forward. However, he threw numerous missiles at me making me stand where I am.
As he stood threateningly over Thalia, Percy came in and stood in between him and Thalia with his sword out. They fought for a fierce few moments, I wanted to join in. Only every time I moved he threw more missiles my way, I was pinned down.
I am not sure what happened, but Percy was suddenly thrown to the ground with a large wound to his legs with the tail. Annabeth joined in the fight as she attacked from behind the manticore. But even she was soon put on the defensive. I let out an angrily and frustrated yell at the sight, but I was again showered with missiles. I cursed at my situation. If I move, my new siblings will get hit. I can't help. But Annabeth...
It was then I heard the loud sound of a horn. From the woods, something was coming our way. I have not heard it before, but it is somehow familiar. The sound caused everyone to be silent for a moment, only the chopper making the loud noise of the twirling of the helicopter blades.
"No, it cannot be..." Dr. Thorne says. From the woods flew with great speed an arrow of moonlight towards the manticore. He roars in pain as it dug into his shoulder. "Curse you!" Dr. Thorne yells as he sends a barrage of missiles into the woods and me. The arrows directed at me were blocked by my wall, and the others were shot down by arrows. I would be looking in awe if I wasn't filled with frustration and anger. Annabeth is in danger I can't do shit.
It was then we saw the archers coming out to the wood. They were all female with most being around the age of ten and eleven. All were armed with bows and wore a similar outfit consisting of jeans and silvery ski parkas. The girls wore a determined and focused expression as they advanced on the manticore. Annabeth looked relieved as she saw them.
"The Hunters!" Annabeth says. Thalia groans as she was still on the ground, but managed to roll her eyes. "Wonderful..." she mutters.
One of the girls stepped forwards with an arrow knocked on her bow. Her skin is of a copper color with long dark hair. She looked like a princess from an eastern kingdom. Just like a princess, she is beautiful, taller than most girls around her, and graceful with her movements. She is probably one of the higher-ranking members of her group.
"Permission to kill, my Lady?" the girl asks. My lady? Oh shit, these must be the Hunters of Artemis. Annebeth said she met them once during the time I was knocked out. Although, Artemis was not present in the company when she met them.
The manticore looked frustrated at the presence of the Hunters. "This is not fair! Direct interference. This is against the Ancient Laws!" Dr. Thorne protested.
"Not so," another of the girls said. Artemis. No doubt about it. Her presence makes no mistake. Not only because she was stunning, even if she looked like a child, she was beautiful. Sure Annabeth was more stunning, but Artemis would give most Goddesses a run for their Drachmas.
Artemis was looking at the manticore with a stern and deathly expression. "The hunting of all wild creatures falls within my sphere of influence. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast," Artemis says, and turns to look at the girl that asked for permission. "Zoe, permission granted."
The manticore growled in anger. "If I can't have these Half-Blood alive, I will kill them!" He say with anger and was about to swing downwards to Thalia, but Annabeth jumped on its back and dug in her dagger.
"Get out of their, foolish Half-Bloods! Get out of the line of fire," Zoe yells at Thalia and Annabeth. I was about to run towards them when I heard a chilling command. "Fire!" Zoe ordered.
"No!" Thalia protests loudly. Arrows flew towards the manticore, but they missed as the manticore fell off the cliff with Annabeth on its back. I stood there watching in horror. I could not feel her presence anymore as if something was masking it.
The helicopter started firing at us. Many tiny holes appeared in the ground and snow. Artemis removed their foul presence with a swipe of her hand. All mortals turned into animals and the helicopter disappeared with them.
I kept staring at the place they fell off the cliff. Slowly I turned my gaze to the one that gave the order. All the Hunters moved forwards to surround us. "Thalia?" Zoe says as she looks at Thalia briefly. In a daze, I walked toward the woman.
"Perfect timing, Zoe Nightshade. As usual," Thalia says with barely held back anger. Zoe's gaze went over the rest. Her face visibly pales as she sees me approaching.
"You dare shoot at my wife?" I ask, every word is dripping with venom and anger. "I was-" Zoe tries to say but I cut her off. "There is no excuse, you crossed me, Huntress."
"Aileen, I ask you not to harm her. She was following my orders," Artemis says to me. "Her orders were not to kill my wife, Artemis," I say with a cold voice. "Please, forgive me..." Zoe tries, but I wave it away.
"Hear my words, Zoe Nightshade. I, Goddess of Trust, Honesty, and Good Faith, curse you from this day till the day you change for the better. You're cursed to answer all questions without lying or holding back. No secrets will remain hidden, no privacy, no safety from anyone that will judge you from what you hide in the darkness."
Artemis sighs. "Aileen, is there a way to persuade you to lift the curse?" I glance at the girl that is Artemis before looking at Zoe again. "Are you willing to take the burden of this foolish girl?" I ask her.
"I am," she says without falter. "My Lady," Zoe starts to protest. "It's fine, Zoe. Lady Aileen is a good-spirited young Goddess. No need to worry," Artemis says. "I will lift it if you swear on the river Styx to find Annabeth and protect her till she is returned to me."
"I swear it on the river Styx." I took a deep breath. "Remember, Zoe Nightshade, actions have consequences. Your position and age do not make you all-knowing or better than a mortal," I warned the girl before turning away from her.
"Shouldn't we go after them? It is not like they are dead?" Percy asks. "They are not here anymore, Percy. I would not be here if I could feel her presence. Annabeth is hidden from us for now," I answer.
"I don't care, we can still try! Get up Goat Boy! No time for sniveling on the ground to Artemis," she says. "Whoa, hold up! Time out! Who are you people, what's this about?" We all turn to Bianca, she was pointing at all of us as if to try to connect the many different dots.
"A better question is, my dear girl, who are you? Who are your parents?" Artemis asks, her gaze on the girl.
Bianca glanced at Nico for a moment before looking at Artemis again. Nico was more enthralled by the Goddess Artemis. "Our parents are dead. We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for the school, but..." she explains but stops as she sees us staring at her.
"What? Aileen, you know I speak the truth right?" she says. I smile at Bianca. "I do, but you're Half-Bloods. My siblings. Daughter and son of the Goddess of the Dead. You are children of Hades, Bianca, Nico."
"Hmm, I see. They do have similarities with you," Artemis says as she looks them over.
"That's cool!" Nice says excitedly. "No! It is not cool! There are no Gods," Bianca says.
"I think it's pretty cool," I mumble. Nico grins at me with a thumbs up. I smile at the boy. He then turns to Artemis again. "Does Zeus really have lighting bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra-"
"Nico, shut up. This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no Gods!" Bianca says as her hand drags over her face. "Bianca, believe her because it is true. The Gods are still around us. They are immortal and Hades is your parent. Every time they have kids with humans, well, we are born... It can be a dangerous life," Percy explains to them.
"Dangerous... like the girl who fell," Bianca says as she looks briefly at the cliff. I felt despair filling me as I think about what kind of torture she must be going through. "Do not despair for Annabeth. She is a brave woman. Unfortunately, she is no maiden anymore. I will find her as I have given my word to do so," Artemis says.
"Dr. Thorne what was he? A monster or something? They hunt Half-Bloods?" Bianca asks. "Yes, but we can kill them and they'll be gone for a while. You need training to survive. You have to come to Camp Half-Blood," Percy explains further.
"Camp?" Bianca asks confused. "There is a camp where all Half-Bloods go to be trained and live. Some even stay all year round, you could too, if you like," Grover explains. "Sweet, let's go!" Nico says excitedly.
"Wait just a second. I don't..." Bianca says before she thinks again about her situation again. "There is another option," Zoe says, although she eyes me wearily as she says it.
"There is not," Thalia interjected. It made Zoe glare at the girl, but she quickly stopped as I too glare at her. I am not sure why Thalia and Zoe glared at each other, but Zoe shouldn't be rude to any of my friends while in my presence.
"There is no need to burden these children any longer," Artemis announced. She turns to Zoe again. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve the belonging of the guest from the school," Artemis says to her.
"Yes, my lady," she says with a slight bow and started her tasks. "Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you," Artemis says. "What about me?" Nico asked. Artemis looked at the boy as she considers something. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that game of yours that you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while. As a favor to me?"
Grover half tripped over his hooves as he stands back up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!" Zoe walked away after giving Thalia one more evil glance. I do not like her one bit. Too arrogant and sure of her convictions.
Thalia approached me after all the hunters and Artemis is gone off to their respective ways. "The nerve of these Hunters... Argh! I can't stand it," Thalia says with frustration. "I am not sure about the rest, but I do not like Zoe. Too sure of herself and too self-centered," I answer. Thalia nods in agreement.
"Why did Artemis ask to speak with her?" Percy asks us. "To join them on the hunt. Annabeth and I were asked as well but we refused at the time. Annabeth refused because she was smitten with Creepy Girl, and I had no interest in leaving the rest to their fate."
"Will she accept?" Percy asks me. "Maybe, but it depends really..." I say as I glance at Nico and Grover. Something is happening between the siblings. Bianca has clearly been put up with her brother. And it has not worked wonders in their relationship, it seems.
"And what would it depend on?" Thalia asks. "Oh, on whether I can talk to her before she decides. Her place is not with these Hunters. They will not take my sibling from me."
Thalia smirks softly as she glances at the tent of Artemis. "Glad we're on the same page."