AVERY
.CHAPTER FOUR.
never abandon your siblings kids!!
AVERY REALLY HAD ENOUGH of what was going on that evening. she had to dance with the boy she hated most, she had been attacked by a manticore, she had watched her friend jump off a cliff, and now she was standing in the freezing cold snow with ripped jeans and a sleeveless top on. oh how she desperately wanted a cup of hot cocoa and to sit in front of a fire. but no. she was standing, watching perseus jackson make some real intelligent response to being told he was speaking to a goddess.
"um... okay." yeah. really intelligent.
that was nothing compared to grover. he gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "thank you, lady artemis! you're so... you're so... wow!"
"get up, goat boy!" thalia snapped. "we have other things to worry about. annabeth is gone!"
"whoa," bianca di angelo said. "hold up. time out."
everybody looked at her. she pointed her finger at all of them in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "who... who are you people?"
artemis's expression softened."it might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! who are your parents?"
bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at artemis.
"our parents are dead," bianca said. "we're orphans. there's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..."
she faltered. avery guessed she could tell from their faces that they didn't believe her.
"what?" she demanded. "i'm telling the truth."
"you are a half-blood," zoe nightshade said. her accent was hard to place. it sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "one of thy parents was mortal. the other was an olympian."
"an olympian... athlete?"
"no," zoe said. "one of the gods."
"cool!" said nico.
"no!" bianca's voice quavered. "this is not cool!"
nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "does zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? does he get extra movement points for—"
"nico, shut up!" bianca put her hands to her face. "this is not your stupid mythomagic game, okay? there are no gods!"
the anger in thalia's eyes subsided a little bit. "bianca, i know it's hard to believe. but the gods are still around. trust me. they're immortal. and whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well... our lives are dangerous."
"dangerous," bianca said, "like the girl who fell."
thalia turned away. avery looked to the ground. even artemis looked pained.
"do not despair for annabeth," the goddess said. "she was a brave maiden. if she can be found, i shall find her."
"then why won't you let us go look for her?" percy asked.
"she is gone. can't you sense it, son of poseidon? some magic is at work. i do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."
"oo!" nico raised his hand. "what about dr. thorn? that was awesome how you shot him with arrows! is he dead?"
"he was a manticore," artemis said. "hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. they re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear."
"or they'll hunt us," thalia said.
bianca di angelo shivered. "that explains... nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in dc?"
"and that bus driver," nico said. "the one with the ram's horns. i told you that was real."
"that's why grover has been watching you," avery said. "to keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."
"grover?" bianca stared at him. "you're a demigod?"
"well, a satyr, actually." he kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. avery thought bianca was going to faint right there.
"grover, put your shoes back on," thalia said. "you're freaking her out."
"hey, my hooves are clean!"
"just put them back on goat boy!" avery said, stepping in front of grover a little so bianca didn't pass out.
"bianca," percy said, "we came here to help you. you and nico need training to survive. dr. thorn won't be the last monster you meet. you need to come to camp."
"camp?" she asked.
"camp half-blood," percy said. "it's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. you can join us, stay there year-round if you like."
"sweet, let's go!" said nico.
"wait," bianca shook her head. "i don't—"
"there is another option," zoe said. avery and thalia exchanged nervous glances.
"no, there isn't!" thalia said. they glared at each other.
"we've burdened these children enough," artemis announced. "zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. raise the tents. treat the wounded. retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."
"yes, my lady."
"and, bianca, come with me. i would like to speak with you."
"what about me?" nico asked.
artemis considered the boy. "perhaps you can show grover how to play that card game you enjoy. i'm sure grover would be happy to entertain you for a while... as a favor to me?"
grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "you bet! come on, nico!"
nico and grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other stuff. artemis led a confused-looking bianca along the cliff. the hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.
zoe gave thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things.
as soon as she was gone, thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "the nerve of those hunters! they think they're so... argh!"
"real, they are such bitches to aphrodite kids for no reason!" avery said.
"i'm with you guys for once," percy said. "i don't trust—"
"oh, you're with me?" thalia turned on him furiously. "what were you thinking back there in the gym, percy? you'd take on dr. thorn all by yourself? you knew he was a monster!"
"thalia, it was-" avery tried to interrupt.
"don't worry avery, this is percy's fault" percy's mouth dropped open "if we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the hunters getting involved. annabeth might still be here. did you think of that?"
he looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at his feet. annabeth's new york yankees baseball cap.
thalia didn't say another word. she wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving avery alone with a trampled cap in the snow and a boy who had seaweed for brains.
the hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. one of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. they began circling the camp like guard dogs. the hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but averu decided she would stick close to the tents. falcons watched them from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and avery got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. the air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.
avery brought her knees to her chest, rocking backwards and forwards. she desperately wanted her coat and scarf and hat, it was freezing!
finally, one of the hunters brought them their stuff. avery thanked the hunter who handed her coat to her, but the hunter just gave a dirty look and walked away.
"bitch.." avery muttered as she put on her coat. she zipped it up, instantly warming up alot.
grover and nico came back from their walk, and grover helped percy fix up his wounded arm.
"it's green!" nico said with delight.
"hold still," grover told percy as avery watched him. "here, eat some ambrosia while i clean that out."
grover nervously started dressing the wound, and avery stood up and held out her hand.
"do you want me to do it? i have alot of practice" she smiles. grover gratefully gives her the bandages. avery sat next to percy and starts to wraps up his arm.
nico rummaged through his own bag, which the hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into westover hall unseen, avery didn't know. nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. avery recognized zeus with a lightning bolt, ares with a spear, apollo with his sun chariot.
"big collection," percy said.
nico grinned. "i've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! well, except for a few really rare ones."
"you've been playing this game a long time?"
"just this year. before that..." he knit his eyebrows.
"what?"
"i forget. that's weird."
he looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "hey, can i see that sword you were using?"
percy showed him riptide, and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it.
"cool! does it ever run out of ink?" avery watched with an amused look on her face.
"um, well, i don't actually write with it."
"are you really the son of poseidon?"
"well, yeah."
"can you surf really well, then?"
"jeez, nico," percy said. "i've never really tried."
he went on asking questions. did percy fight a lot with thalia, since she was a daughter of zeus? if annabeth's mother was athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? was avery percy's girlfriend? avery looked up with an annoyed look.
"no way would i ever date him, he's not my type." avery said, folding her arms. percy gave her a mock offended look.
"hey! i'm very attractive-"
"sure you are jackson"
percy looked like he was going to retort back, but then zoe nightshade came up to them.
"percy jackson."
she had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. with her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty. she studied percy and avery distastefully, like they were bags of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.
"come with me," she said. "lady artemis wishes to speak with thee."
zoe led them to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me inside. bianca di Angelo was seated artemis.
the inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. in the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. the walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others.
"join us, percy jackson, avery quinn," the goddess said.
they sat across from her on the tent floor. the goddess studied them both, which made avery uncomfortable. she had such old eyes for a young girl.
"are you surprised by my age?" she asked.
"uh... a little." percy said. avery looks down, fidgeting with her hands.
"i could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else i want, but this is what i prefer. this is the average age of my hunters, and all young maidens for whom i am patron, before they go astray."
"go astray?" percy asked.
"grow up. become smitten with boys. become silly, preoccupied, insecure. forget themselves." she stared straight at avery, who was avoiding all eye contact with the goddess. it's not her fault she's liked people! and what's wrong with makeup, seriously.
"oh."
zoe sat down at artemis's right. she glared at percy as if all the stuff artemis had just said was his fault.
"you must forgive my hunters if they do not welcome you two," artemis said. "it is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the hunters. the last one to see this camp..." she looked at zoe. "which one was it?"
"that boy in colorado," zoe said. "you turned him into a jackalope."
"ah, yes." artemis nodded, satisfied. "i enjoy making jackalopes. with daughters of aphrodite...well, my hunters have sworn off love, so the idea of a girl who is very much a hopeless romantic in their camp disgusts them in a way. but at least you are a girl." artemis smiles at her "At any rate, i've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. bianca has reported some of the... mmm, disturbing things the monster said. but she may not have understood them. i'd like to hear them from you."
and so they told her. percy mostly, he kept interrupting avery. which pissed her off.
when he was done, artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "i feared this was the answer."
zoe sat forward. "the scent, my lady?"
"yes."
"what scent?" percy asked.
"things are stirring that i have not hunted in millennia," artemis murmured. "prey so old i have nearly forgotten."
she stared at them intently. "we came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one i seek. tell me again, exactly what dr. thorn said."
"um, 'i hate middle school dances.'" avery rolled her eyes.
"no, no. after that."
"he said somebody called the General was going to explain things to us." avery says.
zoe's face paled. she turned to artemis and started to say something, but artemis raised her hand.
"go on," the goddess said.
"well, then thorn was talking about the great stir pot—"
"stirring," avery corrected.
"yeah. and he said, 'soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of olympus.'"
the goddess was so still she could've been a statue. "maybe he was lying," percy said.
artemis shook her head. "no. he was not. i've been too slow to see the signs. i must hunt this monster."
zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "we will leave right away, my lady."
"no, zoe. i must do this alone."
"but, artemis—"
"this task is too dangerous even for the hunters. you know where i must start my search. you cannot go there with me."
"as... as you wish, my lady."
"i will find this creature," artemis vowed. "and i shall bring it back to olympus by winter solstice. it will be all the proof i need to convince the council of the gods of how much danger we are in."
"you know what the monster is?" percy asked.
artemis gripped her bow. "let us pray i am wrong."
"can goddesses pray?" percy asked. avery facepalmed.
a flicker of a smile played across artemis's lips. "before i go, percy jackson, i have a small task for you."
"does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?"
"sadly, no. i want you to escort the hunters back to camp half-blood. they can stay there in safety until i return."
"what?" zoe blurted out. "but, artemis, we hate that place. the last time we stayed there—"
"yes, i know," artemis said. "but i'm sure dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. it's your right to use cabin eight whenever you are in need. besides, i hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."
zoe muttered something about foolish campers.
"and now there is one last decision to make." artemis turned to bianca. "have you made up your mind, my girl?"
bianca hesitated. "i'm still thinking about it."
"wait," percy said. "thinking about what?"
"they... they've invited me to join the hunt."
"what? but you can't! you have to come to camp half-blood so chiron can train you. it's the only way you can learn to survive."
"it is not the only way for a girl," zoe said. avery rolled her eyes. the hunters were cool and all, but bianca had nico! what about nico?
"bianca, camp is cool! it's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and... i mean, what do you get by joining the hunters?"
"to begin with," zoe said "immortality."
"she's kidding, right?"
"zoe rarely kids about anything," artemis said. "my hunters follow me on my adventures. they are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal... unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. or break their oath."
"what oath?" percy said. avery really didn't have a good feeling about this. what if bianca died? she's so young, and she has no training at all. she needs to be in a safe place to train up a bit before going on adventures.
"to foreswear romantic love forever," artemis said. "to never grow up, never get married. to be a maiden eternally."
"like you?"
the goddess nodded.
"so you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"
"not just half-bloods," zoe interrupted. "lady artemis does not discriminate by birth. all who honor the goddess may join. half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"
"which are you, then?"
anger flashed in zoe's eyes. "that is not thy concern, boy. the point is bianca may join if she wishes. it is her choice."
"bianca, this is crazy," avery said. "what about your brother? nico can't be a hunter."
"certainly not," artemis agreed. "he will go to camp. unfortunately, that's the best boys can do." avery stifled a giggle and percy looked at her with a betrayed expression.
"hey!" he protested.
"you can see him from time to time," artemis assured bianca. "but you will be free of responsibility. he will have the camp counselors to take care of him. and you will have a new family. us."
"a new family," bianca repeated dreamily. "free of responsibility."
"bianca, you can't do this," percy said. "it's nuts."
she looked at zoe. "is it worth it?"
zoe nodded. "it is."
"what do i have to do?"
"say this," zoe told her, " 'i pledge myself to the goddess artemis.'"
"i... i pledge myself to the goddess artemis."
"'i turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the hunt.'"
bianca repeated the lines. "that's it?"
zoe nodded. "if lady artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."
"i accept it," artemis said.
the flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "i feel... stronger."
"welcome, sister," zoe said.
"remember your pledge," artemis said. "it is now your life."
"do not despair, children," artemis said. "you will still get to show the di angelos your camp. and if nico so chooses, he can stay there."
"great," avery said, trying not to sound annoyed. bianca just abandoned her little brother! she would never do that with elodie! "how are we supposed to get there?"
artemis closed her eyes. "dawn is approaching. zoe, break camp. you must get to long island quickly and safely. i shall summon a ride from my brother."
zoe didn't look real happy about this idea, but she nodded and told bianca to follow her. as she was leaving, bianca paused in front of me. "i'm sorry, guys. but i want this. i really, really do."
then she was gone, and they were left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess.
"so," percy said glumly. "we're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"
artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "yes, boy. you see, bianca di angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. it's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, apollo."
ALEXA'S NOTES:
hihihihihi sorry this took so long i just started up school so i needed to get used to it again lol. i'm gonna make an updating schedule to make sure i get weekly updates out for yall!!
hope you enjoyed!!