[Percy's POV]
The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself. Instead, Grover and I were elected to carry her. I didn't figure that was because we were the most popular.
"Watch her head!" Grover warned as we went up the stairs. But it was too late. Bonk! I whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew. "Ah, man." I set her down and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?"
"I can't tell," Grover admitted. "It's all just dust."
We hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, both of us huffing and sweating. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much? I was relieved when we finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut.
"Well," Grover said, "that was gross."
I knew he was trying to keep things light for my sake, but I still felt really down. The whole camp would be mad at me for almost losing the game to the Hunters. Somehow overshadowing that we did in fact win the game.
And now there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. Y/N was looking at the oracle expectantly when it turned to Zoe. It almost felt like the oracle went out of its way not to look at anyone but Zoe.
"What will Chiron do?" I asked Grover. "I wish I knew." He looked wistfully out the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there."
"Searching for Annabeth?" He had a little trouble focusing on me. Then he blushed. "Oh, right. That too. Of course."
"Why?" I asked. "What were you thinking?"
He clopped his hooves uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder... if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe... maybe not all of them are evil."
"You mean Pan."
I felt kind of selfish, because I'd totally forgotten about Grover's life ambition. The nature god had gone missing two thousand years ago. He was rumored to have died, but the satyrs didn't believe that. They were determined to find him. They'd been searching in vain for centuries, and Grover was convinced he'd be the one to succeed.
This year, with Chiron putting all the satyrs on emergency duty to find half-bloods, Grover hadn't been able to continue his search. It must've been driving him nuts.
"I've let the trail go cold," he said. "I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He's out there somewhere. I can just feel it."
I didn't know what to say. I wanted to encourage him, but I didn't know how. My optimism had pretty much been trampled into the snow out there in the woods.
Before I could respond, Y/N and Thalia trumped up the stairs. Thalia was officially not talking to me now, but she looked at Grover and said, "Tell Percy to get his butt downstairs."
"Why?" I asked. "Did he say something?" Thalia asked Grover. Y/N massaged the bandages over his stab wound. He sighed greatly. "Dionysus called a cabin leaders meeting, Percy. Come downstairs."
[Y/N's POV]
We were all standing around a ping pong table in the rec room. Mr D waved his hands and served the snacks for the meetings. Crackers, spray cheese, and several bottles of wine.
After Chiron reminded Mr D that very few of the people in here could drink, including the god, and then he snapped the win into Diet Coke. Nobody wanted that either. I just had water. Being stabbed makes a man thirsty.
The camp activities director, Chiron, and the head of camp, Mr D were at one end of the table. Bianca and Zoe were sat at the other end. I sat down with the cabin's head counselors on the left side of the table. Thalia, Beckendorf, Silena, and the Stoll brothers were with me.
Now I know what you're thinking. 'Y/N, you're not the head counselor of any cabin. What are you doing here?' and you'd be right to wonder.
See, I thought the exact same thing, but according to Chiron, I had seniority at the camp over pretty much everyone at the table, so it was my right to be here. I disagreed, since a meeting like this felt tedious given the imminent threats, but I also had no choice. Not to mention I was still recently stabbed and healing.
Another question you may have, is what did the Ares cabin do? Clarisse isn't here. Again, you're right to think. She wasn't. In fact, there wasn't a single child of Ares at the table. They'd all managed to get broken limbs (accidentally) during capture the flag. Courtesy of the Hunters.
Zoe glared at me as I sat down. "Why is he here?" she asked Chiron. The centaur frowned as Zoe continued. "He has not been claimed to be the head of any cabin, so why is he at this meeting?"
"Miss Nightshade, Y/N is the longest tenured camper here. He's been here for roughly twelve years. He's more than earned a spot at this table." Zoe's brow raised at that. "Twelve?" That also raised my eyebrow.
As far as I knew, I'd been at camp half blood from nearly the moment I could breathe. I was 14. "Two whole years..." Zoe muttered, before clamping her hands over her mouth.
"Hang on, Chiron. Could you run that by me again?" I asked, my eyes darting around the table. Chiron looked at me worriedly, shrugging off my question. I'll have to ask him about that later. Zoe regained her composure and started on a really positive note. "This is pointless."
"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping. Percy put a hand on his shoulder, pulling him back down to his seat across the table from us.
"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."
"And go where?" Chiron asked.
"West!" Bianca said. The whole 'being a hunter' thing was taking complete control over her already. Bianca looked like a completely different person now.
Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's and she didn't have that big hat anymore, so you could actually see her face dotted with freckles. Her face still reminded me of someone, but nothing could be placed exactly. Bianca already looked a lot older, and she shined a lot like the moon.
"You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go."
"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."
"Zoe, you know you can't do that. You're trying to skip something." I said, meeting her eyes. "The prophecy said Campers and Hunters combined prevail. This is something we have to do together. I know good and well that we don't see eye to eye, but you can't go against this."
"No!" Zoe said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."
"Your" Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoe. Get with the times." Zoe hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. "Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help."
Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it." I put my head in my hand. "Oh dear gods."
"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."
"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine aroma. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"
"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?" Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."
"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoe, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"
Zoe grimaced, but I could tell Thalia had scored a point. "Trust me, Zoe. I don't like it either, but's pretty clear what we have to do." I added. She glared at me. "We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."
"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."
"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."
"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked. "Yes, Lord Dionysus." Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."
"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."
"Three and two." Percy suggested. We all looked at him. "We're supposed to have five," he said, looking nervous. "Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair." Thalia and Zoe exchanged looks.
"Two half-bloods is still far too many, but that is the only compromise I will make." No one argued with that. I glared at her.
"Well..." Thalia said. "It does make sense." Zoe grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers."
"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."
Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster. The bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."
We all looked at Mr D, since he was the only actual god at the table, and they're supposed to know stuff that we don't. He was too busy flipping through a magazine of vintage wine, but when the whole room went quiet, he looked up.
"Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."
"Chiron," I offered, "Do you have any ideas about what it is?" The centaur thinned his lips.
"I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Percy, your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."
"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die."
"One shall be lost in the land without rain" Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert." There was a muttering of agreement.
"And the Titan's curse must one withstand," Silena said. "What could that mean?" I saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it.
"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"
Everyone's eyes turned towards me. I met no one's gaze, looking into the crackling fire behind the god of wine. My entire prophecy confused me, but that one line, along with this separate prophecy made more than enough sense.
There was a heavy silence around the table. I met Thalia and Percy's eyes a few times. That was another possibility. Chiron, years ago, received a prophecy about the next child of the big three, and that kid would change the world forever.
Could an Olympian parent turn against their half-blood child? Would it sometimes be easier just to let them die? It wouldn't surprise me if my mother would kill me, but Poseidon doesn't seem like the type, and Zeus is too prideful to pull something like that off.
"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."
"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said. Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."
"Zoe is right," Silena Beauregard said begrudgingly. "Two campers should go."
"Oh, I see," Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?" Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"
"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"
Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back. "Stop it," Beckendorf said. He was a big guy with a bigger voice. He didn't talk much, but when he did, people tended to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"
Zoe stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is one of our best trackers."
"Is that the big girl that was on the basketball court the other day? Travis Stoll asked cautiously. Zoe nodded. "The one who shot me with arrows?" Connor added.
"Yes," Zoe snapped. "Why?"
"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have T-shirts for her from the camp store." He held up a set of matching big silver T-shirts that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath.
"They're collector's items. I caught her admiring it. You want to give her the shirts?"
They were one hundred percent up to something. I never stayed in the Hermes cabin, but I've seen the Stoll's enough to know that they always had a scheme running.
Zoe didn't know them very well, clearly, because she took the shirts, and thoughtlessly folded them over her arm, and sighed. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."
Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But... I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."
"You will do fine," Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself." Bianca closed her mouth. I felt bad for the girl. She was so young, and already had so much to prove.
"And for campers?" Chiron asked. He locked eyes with me, and subtly shook his head. "Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap.
"Anything to help Artemis!" Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."
"But he is a camper," Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"
"Absolutely!"
Zoe wavered. I've heard Grover's tracker song. It sounds suspiciously close to some random pop artist who's name I could never remember. Zoe must have thought it was a good thing.
"Very well," Zoe said. "And the second camper?"
"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her. I looked at her with wide eyes. Just like that, we ran out of room for campers. I stood out of my chair. "Wait a minute. No, I have to go."
Percy followed. "Me too. This is our friend in danger." Thalia was silently eyeing us. Chiron frowned at me with worried eyes. Grover muttered. "Oh..." and suddenly realized the issue. "Oh! Wait, yeah, I forgot! They have to go. I didn't mean... I'll stay. One of them should go in my place."
"They cannot," Zoe said. "They are boys. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."
"Zoe, you drove here on the sun with us." I said, sighing. "That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by my goddess. And I would not call that driving. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy. Especially not you." She pointed an accusatory finger at me.
Percy fought the urge to swear, and Grover protested for me. "I need to go," I stopped him. "I've got to be a part of this quest."
"Why?" Zoe asked. "Because of thy 'friend' Annabeth?"
My face warned slightly. "Well, yeah. But..." I swallowed my nerves as everyone stared at me. "It sounds like someone's tagging along unwanted anyway. It'd be easier if you just accepted that now. But not only am I camp half blood's best demigod tracker, but the whole 'perish by a parent's hand' line seems to have a pretty clear meaning. I know you're all thinking it. My mother is at the end of this quest, but that's not what I care about." I looked at Percy and nodded. "Our friend's in danger, and we... I have to help her."
The room went silent. No one stood to agree with me, but no one else dared to oppose me. Silena looked at me with pity. Beckendorf was silently staring with furrowed brows, and the Stoll brothers were really interested in the table. I looked at Thalia who sat stunned, her mouth open to say something, but no words wanted to come out.
"No," Zoe said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male hero." I slammed a hand into the table. "Damn it, Zoe! You're out of your mind!" Chiron sighed, signaling for me to calm down. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions."
Thalia put a comforting hand on my shoulder, trying to pull me back into my seat. She succeeded, and as I sat down, my entire body was going haywire. It felt like all of my organs were vibrating, and my senses were failing me.
I could feel the different people in the room looking at me in sympathy, but I just clasped my hands, clenched my jaw and held my balled hands to my mouth, trying to keep from snapping at everyone. Chiron frowned and concluded the council.
"So be it," he said. "Thalia and Grover will accompany Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods," he glanced at Dionysus, "present company included, we hope, be with you."
For the second time in three days, I didn't show up for dinner. That wasn't smart, because Chiron, and Grover came looking for me.
"Y/N, I'm sorry!" Grover said, sitting next to me on the bunk. "I didn't know they'd- That you'd- Honest!"
He started to sniff. "It's okay," I said, standing from the tree I was leaning against. "It's fine, Grover." His lips started trembling. "I wasn't even thinking... I was so focused on helping Artemis. But I promise, I'll look everywhere for Annabeth. If I can find her, I will."
I swallowed a massive lump stuck in my throat and nodded to the satyr. My whole body still felt as if there was electricity coursing through it. "Grover," Chiron said, "perhaps you'd let me have a word with Y/N?"
"Sure," he sniffled. Chiron waited, "Oh," Grover said. "You mean alone. Sure, Chiron." He looked at me miserably. "See? Nobody needs a goat." He trotted back towards camp, blowing his nose on his sleeve.
Chiron sighed and knelt on his horse legs. "Y/N, I don't pretend to understand prophecies."
"I'm not sure anyone can." I said, looking down at the grassy earth below my feet.
Chiron gazed around the forest. "Thalia would not have been my first choice to go on this quest. She's too impetuous. She acts without thinking. She is too sure of herself."
"Then you would have chosen Percy?" I asked. Chiron frowned. "Frankly, no," he said. "He and Thalia are much alike."
"Would you have sent me?"
Chiron stopped for a moment, looking up towards the canopy of branches and leaves shading us.
"Y/N... I know how you feel about Annabeth-"
"No you don't! I'm not even sure how I feel!" I said, starting to choke back my anger and tears again. "Annabeth's been my best friend for years, but ever since last summer, every time I look at her I get this fuzzy feeling in my brain. Like... I- I can't focus! Every time she smiles I feel happy, and now she's in danger and now people tell me that I'm not allowed to do anything to save her!! I feel like I'm drowning!"
My voice carried around the trees, echoing back at me. Chiron grimaced, looking upset. "I feel like when she was taken, a part of me went with her." I muttered, looking down at the earth.
We said nothing for a while, as I thought about what could be happening to my friend at this very moment, and here I was feeling sorry for myself. "Perhaps it is for the best," Chiron mused. "You don't seem in the right state of mind at the moment."
What I wanted to say was, 'Of course I'm not in the right state of mind, Annabeth is in life threatening danger!'
What I actually said was, "Yeah," I said. "Not like I have any other choice." Chiron grimaced. "It's no wonder Zoe doesn't want you along. She is your mother's oldest soldier. Artemis has surely told her everything about you. Down to your father."
My eyes shot up. "Who is my father, Chiron? No one ever seems to want to give me a straight answer about that." I slammed my fist against the bark of a tree. "Just once in my life, I'd like someone to be honest with me! Maybe about why my own mother wishes I was never born! Maybe what happened to my father! Why I can't know who he is, maybe?!"
Chiron shuddered. My voice bounced around in the woods for a moment, eventually fading. "Alas, Y/N." he said. "I cannot give you a clear answer either." I screwed my face up, trying not to lose my mind.
My face fell into my hands and I let out a strangled cry, trying not to completely lose my mind. Chiron put a comforting hand on my shoulder. "All in due time, my boy. I promise." He wrapped his arms around me, and held on until my body stopped shaking.
"For what it's worth..." he said as he let go. "I almost volunteered for this quest myself. I would have gone, if not for the last line. The same reason I didn't want you going along. I worry about you sometimes, Y/N. You seem far too eager to jump in front of danger."
Chiron's father was Kronos, the old evil king titan. Which was shocking to learn all those years ago, because Chiron had raised me since I was apparently two, and then I find out he's the son of one of the most evil beings to ever exist. My age came back into question.
"Chiron." I muttered. "You said I've been here for twelve years?" Chiron's eyes widened. "Well, yes. We found you on the border, walking around, with no idea what was happening or where you were, nearly a dozen years ago."
"But where was I before that?" I asked, a nervous tick on my voice. Chiron's head tilted in thought. "I... I've never thought about it." He was lying. I could tell. Chiron thinks about everything. "I can't say for sure... maybe your mother cared for you until then." he offered.
"That doesn't make any sense." I said. "Little does anymore, I fear, my boy." Chiron said.
Another line in the oracle's prophecy came to memory. "You know what the curse is, don't you, Chiron?" His face dropped. He did the whole 'warding off evil' gesture that people seemed to do when they were nervous. "Let us hope the prophecy does not mean what I think. Everything you want to know will find its way to you eventually. I know-"
"'At a parent's hands, his strength falls.'" I said, interrupting the centaur, glaring at some tree root below me. "What?" Chiron asked. I looked up at him. "That's what my prophecy says. And the oracle just backed that up."
I shuddered. "It seems like things are getting pretty clear, Chiron. I'm going to die soon. And if I die saving Annabeth, then it's worth it."
Chiron looked down at me sadly. He wanted to say something, but nothing would come from his mouth. "Son-" the centaur started.
"I don't want to hear it, Chiron. You can't stop me. Whatever happens, it's going to happen, one way or another. Someone's going to tag along on this stupid thing either way. So, if I don't see you again, I'm sorry. And thank you. For everything."
With that, I stood, turned, and walked back to camp.
I don't remember falling asleep, but I remember the dream. I had never dreamed very much before this week, mostly due to the complete lack of sleep needed, but lately they'd been here, and they'd been bad.
Annabeth knelt under the weight of some huge dark mass that looked like one giant boulder. She looked exhausted, and had become too tired to even cry out. Her legs shook under the weight on her back.
A hard tug in my stomach made it feel like any second her energy would run dry and the whole weight of the ceiling would cave in on her. "How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed. This wasn't Kronos. Percy had described it to me before. This voice was deeper and lower. It felt like the ground shook whenever he spoke.
Luke emerged from the shadows. He ran to Annabeth, knelt beside her, then looked back at the unseen man. "She's fading. We must hurry."
What a cheap, lying pain in the ass Luke was. He didn't care about her. He'd trapped her under here in the first place. The deep voice chuckled. It wasn't any of the voices I'd heard before.
It felt like the laughter was coming from the edge of my brain, right outside of my vision, but just loud enough to hear it. Then, a thick, calloused hand shoved someone forward. Artemis.
My mother was bound in chains of celestial bronze. Her hands and her feet were cuffed, like she was in a prison lineup.
Her arms and legs were cut in several different places. She was bleeding the golden blood of the gods, ichor. The same thing that seeped from Ares' heel when Percy cut him. "You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"
Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. She looked somewhere else in the dark, her face flashing with horror. When the goddess looked at Annabeth, her expression changed to one of pure outrage and concern. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!"
"She'll die soon," Luke said. "You can save her." Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. I felt like someone was reaching their hand into my chest and giving my heart a good squeezing.
I wanted to move. To scream to her. To let my friend know that I'm trying, but nothing. I couldn't do anything. I felt more than helpless. I felt useless right now.
"Free my hands," Artemis said. Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one swift stroke of his blade, the goddess' handcuffs shattered. Artemis hurried over to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders.
Annabeth collapsed onto the ground, shivering weakly, like a fish taken out of the water. Artemis struggled, trying to support the dark weight now on her back.
The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."
"You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."
"Indeed it will not," the man said. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear."
Artemis groaned "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."
"On that," the man said, "we can agree. Luke, you may kill the girl now."
"No!'" Artemis shouted. Luke hesitated. "She- she may yet be useful, sir... Further bait."
"Bah! You truly believe that?"
Another voice seeped out from the deep. One that made Artemis' face contort to one of fear, and trauma. "I hear this girl is rather fond of Artemis' son?" the voice asked, in a cold, snake bitten tone.
"Is that true Castellan?" the voice asked from the darkness. Luke nodded. "Yes, Lieutenant."
The voice got closer to the goddess. "How's the kid doing, anyway?" he asked, leaning forward, but not enough to be fully made out.
Artemis' face looked more terrified than I had ever seen a god or goddess. She shook even harder than before, this time, with terror. The voice's laugh echoed around my dream.
"Now, mortal. You're sure they'll be here?" he asked. Luke nodded furiously. "Yes, Lieutenant. They will come for her. I'm sure. Y/N, especially. He cares too much about her not to."
The General considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard her here. Assuming she does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless."
Luke gathered up Annabeth's listless body and carried her away from the goddess. "You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail." she said, through shuddered breaths.
"How little you know, my young goddess," the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is... challenging. I look forward to meeting this son of yours, though, goddess."
The Lieutenant's voice rattled with laughter. "From what I've heard, he's a lively one. So be careful. He might bite!" The general joined in on the laughter, and the ground seemed to shake, so much so that I felt off balance, even though there was no ground for me to stand on in the first place.
I woke startlingly, taking a deep breath and drenched with sweat. My heart raced as silver moonlight crept through the window.
In the glow, on my bedside table, Annabeth's magic Yankees cap rested. I dropped it in here once we got back from Maine, and hadn't thought much about it since. I couldn't waste anymore time.
Not even thinking about it, I put the cap in my back pocket. I put on warm clothes, grabbed my sword off the wall, and opened my bedroom door.
My heart pounded with guilt as I looked back at a picture stuck to my mirror, that Chiron no doubt took. It was of Annabeth and I the first time I beat her in a sword fight. We were only nine in the picture. She was always crafty enough to beat me. (Not to mention I sucked with a sword for a much longer time than I'd wanted to be.)
I could remember just what it was she was saying at that moment: 'You got lucky, Prancer!'
And sure, I did get lucky. But I still won. I was smiling tiredly in the picture as I laid on the arena floor, cuts and bruises laced on my face. But I was pumping my fist in victory as Annabeth glared down at me with her tongue stuck out playfully.
Something was pushing me to leave. I crept down the stairs, leaning against the porch railing of the big house, trying to get a moment to breathe, the cold air visible out of me, only to see movement from across the yard. I saw four figures.
Two were in the dining area, with another pair watching from a distance.
I took a long look at the big house. There wasn't a good chance I'd ever come back. If nothing else, I knew that today, I was leaving camp. Whether I was needed or not, I was going to get Annabeth. I snuck down the porch, and away from the Big House, possibly for good.