𝟎𝟎𝟏.𝟑
"I can't believe you like Dolce & Gabbana better than Versace, like what is wrong with you?" Juliet rolled her eyes at Augutus's over dramaticness, they'd gotten closer the past academic year.
Augustus Milliard was the adopted son of the businessman Jake Milliard who owned Milliard conglomerates and his second wife and Augustus biological mother Raye Milliard.
Raye had been 21 when she'd had a one night stand with a random stranger in Vegas and ended up pregnant with Augustus, six months into her pregnancy she met Jake and they fell hopelessly in love and got married.
Jake Milliard promised his wife, that he would prevent the hate about Augustus being a baby out of wedlock to not affect his future by officially adopting him and claiming him as his own.
Now nobody knew that Augustus Milliard wasn't actually Augustus Milliard but rather Augustus born out of wedlock kid.
He'd told her this story one evening when Juliet had told him about her mom being an asshole to her. Augustus had called Cordelia a bitch and then went on to confess his birth story.
Now the duo was inseparable and Juliet had decided to hang out with the guy before Percy picked her up and she was off to her time in camp half blood. It was Friday before winter break and the cold was seeping in.
Juliet still had her suspicions about Augustus though, sometimes he acted so demigodly that he made her question everything but then he was back to normal. Besides Augustus didn't look like he'd ever encountered a monster or was clear sighted, he just knew how to read ancient greek and was bad at reading. And had some incredibly suspicious tricks up his sleeve all the time.
"Gus, it's about the collection, did you see what Versace had for their fall show. That actually hurt my eyes."
Augustus scoffed, "Of course, I didn't see the fall show. I have zero clue about fashion I'm just bickering because I like getting on your nerves."
Juliet stared at him with a blank for a second before throwing her ice cream scoop in his direction. He dodged it but his shirt was stained. It was freezing cold outside, but Augustus had still insisted on ice cream and Juliet had obliged.
"I was just joking!"
"Me too," Juliet snarked back before moving forward to take a scoop out of Augustus's vanilla ice cream while he tasted her mango one.
"So this camp, you really can't skip it and join the school trip to Switzerland?" Wellington offered educational trips to all its students in different countries, this year Switzerland was chosen for the kids to get a better look at the UN office in Geneva as well as get to appreciate nature.
Juliet had so wanted to go and she'd even made up an entire plan with Augustus and her fellow classmates about enjoying the trip, when the dates had been announced she realised it was overlapping her meeting with Percy which is important due to Grover's distress call.
"I'd love to go to Switzerland, you know I love travelling. But this camp is important I've been going there since I was 9, not attending it might actually kill me." It definitely would kill her, though Augustus rolled his eyes at her being dramatic, Juliet knew she needed to be back in camp.
Grover's distress call was making her think about Ethan and Luke again and that made her all jittery and anxious.
"Damn, i was hoping you could come." Augustus sulked a little before looking up and pointing at Juliet's lips as she scooped up her ice cream, "Hey you've got some right there," he leaned forward and wiped the side of her mouth, Juliet who'd now grown accustomed to Augustus' random touches didn't react much.
"Jules," She was snapped away by the door to the ice cream shop opening and letting cold air seep in, Juliet turned to the familiar yet changed voice of Percy as he stood by the door with Annabeth and Thalia.
Augustus retracted his hand, moving to fix Juliet's coat from the back as she hurriedly stood up and rushed for her friends. Percy's eyes narrowed as he tracked the moment of his hand as he felt Juliet come forward and hug him.
"Oh Perce! Your here, Beth, Thalia. God's it's so good to see you all again." Juliet gushed breaking their hug to rush for Annabeth and Thalia, Percy finally got a good look at her.
Juliet had changed. Her usual street style clothing were gone and she now dressed in more elegant way, the baggy pants were exchanged for a plaid skirt and the leather jacket for a pale yellow capelet coat. Her hair was tied up and she'd even gotten taller.
"You too, i missed you tons." Annabeth hugged her back, Percy's attention snapped from Juliet to the Sandy haired guy he'd found touching Juliet a little too closely coming forward and holding Juliet's sling bag.
Augustus met Percy's eyes, and he didn't need to be a genius to know what the other guy was thinking. A smirk lit up his face as he threw his arm around Juliet's shoulder internally laughing at Percy's jaw clenched.
"Oh this is Gus- Augustus my school friend. Gus these friends from camp." Juliet introduced them all, Thalia nodded, Annabeth smiled but Percy just passively checked his watch as if he was late somewhere.
"Friends from the camp that you can't miss." Augustus mused making Juliet sigh as she gave him an aggravated look, "We've talked about this."
"Okay, I'll stop," he held up his palms in surrender before continuing with a mischievous grin, "Guess I'll just send you pics of the swiss alps every single day so that you die of jealousy and wish, that hey, maybe I should've taken Augustus up on it and went with him."
"Stop, I don't want to hear it," Juliet whinnied, she didn't want to be reminded of the swiss alps, she'd really wanted to visit but demigod calls had her stuck up.
Augustus smiled and stuffed his hands in his coat pocket, giving Juliet an amused smile, "Well then, see you in calc,"
Juliet wanted to punch him, she groaned as she remembered the pile of calculus homework she had at home, "Don't remind me of calculus. You know I hate it. Do my calc homework please."
"Only if you do my bio one."
"Deal."
Augustus smiled and held his phone out, shooting a text to his driver to come pick him up, "Take care. And just so you know, fiesty. Versace was always better."
"Fuck off, trouble." Juliet snarked back with a grin as Augustus grinned back while waving goodbye and rushing outside to his father's Bentley.
"Sooo.." Annabeth began with a suggestive look, seeing where Augustus had head off to, Juliet rolled her eyes while going to her table to leave some bills, "Oh my god, stop. Augustus is just a friend."
"I might've been dead for a long time but i still know what flirting looks like." Thalia commented as they walked outside, Juliet's glance flitted to Percy who looked like he was going to either kill himself or somebody around him with the way he was glaring at the floor and his jaw was clenched.
"Guys stop," Juliet tried to shush them as they came towards Sally Jackson's car where she was waiting for them "oh hey Sally!"
Juliet greeted the woman as they all seated inside the car. Sally started the car and looked back at her from the windshield mirror with a warm smile.
"Hey, Juliet, you look so pretty as always."
"Thank you! You look beautiful too," Juliet chirped back as the girls settled in the backseat while Percy was in the passenger one. Juliet asked the trio about Grover and what had been happening and they dived in, telling her all about it.
It was an eleven-hour drive from Washington to Bar Harbor, Maine but was shortened down to 8 hour due top Sally speeding. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Juliet, Thalia, and Percy hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what they were about to do, they were too nervous to talk much, not Juliet though, she over talked just like Sally, both of them talking more due to nervousness. By the time they finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and Sally had told Juliet, Annabeth and Thalia 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."
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?" Sally 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, Sally." Juliet smiled reassuringly. "We'll keep him out of trouble."
Sally seemed to relax a little. Sally was sure Juliet and Annabeth often kept Percy e from getting killed. She was right, but that doesn't mean Percy had to to like it.
"All right, dears," Sally 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."
She looked a little hurt, and Juliet wanted to punch Percy for not thinking about her feelings. Juliet never had a mom to fuss over her like Percy and she would kill to be in his position any day.
Annabeth and Thalia followed them outside. The wind blew straight through Juliet's coat like ice daggers.
Once Sally's car was out of sight, 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?"
As soon as he said it, he wished he hadn't. 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 the look she gave Percy now was a perfect evil "ten."
"If that was any of your business, Percy—"
"We'd better get inside," Annabeth interrupted. "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."
Juliet stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," she guessed.
The oak doors groaned open, and the four of them stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.
All they could say was, "Whoa."
The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. Juliet knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally. It was nothing like Wellington, where the hallways had renaissance paintings and country flags.
Her ears rung and she could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. Juliet knew they were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.
Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—" The doors slammed shut behind them.
"Oo-kay," Percy mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile."
Juliet could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music, awfully bad dance music, who added Adele to the club playlist?
They stashed their overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. They hadn't gone very far when they heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept them.
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 her. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.
"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"
"Um..." Juliet realized they hadn't planned for this. They'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, they hadn't considered that someone might question four kids sneaking into the school at night. They hadn't talked at all in the car about how they would get inside.
Percy said, "Ma'am, we're just—"
"Ha!" the man snapped, which made her jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!"
He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, 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.
Juliet figured he was about to toss them into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and altered the mist.
She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Juliet felt a gust of wind ripple out 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, Juliet and Percy. We're in the eighth grade."
Ninth grade, Juliet wanted to correct her but stopped. This wasn't the right time to correct Thalia that Juliet was fourteen and in ninth grade.
The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. The man seemed to be hesitating.
He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"
Despite the danger they were in, Juliet had to bite her tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.
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. Juliet. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"
Before they could answer, they heard more footsteps, and 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 glared at them. Juliet decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch them off the castle's highest tower, 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 didn't wait to be told twice. 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.
Juliet could feel the teachers' eyes on their backs, but let it pass, Percy walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?"
"You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"
An uncomfortable lump formed in his throat. Chiron was their head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown Percy anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not him?
Grover hurried them to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with her dyslexia, She could read that much.
"That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!"
Annabeth, Juliet and Thalia both hugged Grover. Percy gave him a big high five.
It was good to see him after so many months. 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. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. Juliet wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.
"So what's the emergency?" Percy asked.
Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."
"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?" Grover nodded.
Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, 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. These were desperate times. They were losing campers. They needed all the new fighters they could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.
"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!"
Grover looked at Thalia desperately. Percy tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to him for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. Thalia had more experience than any of them with fending off monsters in the real world.
"Right," she 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."
Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. Juliet guessed it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.
There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face. Some of the older guys looked more like Percy—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in his case, it was true...
Juliet looked absurdly, this was nothing like the dance she'd been to in Wellington. Dances in Wellington were always like a frat party, where they yelled out the lyrics of the songs and jumped around together like an absolute mess.
"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angela"
The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. 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 said, "Do they... I mean, have you told them?"
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 started forward, but Juliet put her hand on his shoulder. 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.
Judging from his expression, Percy guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who they were. He was just waiting to see why they were here.
"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."
"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"
"Green who?"
"Only like one of the best rock power trio ever." Juliet talked as if it was obvious and Thalia did a fist bump with her with a grin.
"Never mind. 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.
Annabeth smiled.
"What?" Percy asked.
"Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back."
"So..." Percy tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told them. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural?
"Hey!" Thalia called to them. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike Percy, he had an excuse for being clumsy.
"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."
Percy looked nervously at Juliet, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym.
"Well?" Annabeth said.
"Um, who should I ask?"
She punched him in the gut. "Juliet, Seaweed Brain."
"Oh. Oh, right."
"Nope." Juliet said gathering both Annabeth and Percy's attention as they stared at her in confusion, "You both dance together, no offence guys but I don't think you could manage solo." Juliet rolled her eyes before shrugging off her coat, revealing her fleece off shoulder top as she reached up and let her hair loose.
"Jules, what are you doing?" Percy asked, his gaze stuck on her, sometimes when Juliet was excited or happy Percy felt like she glowed, literally, Annabeth had once said Juliet had the blessing of Apollo.
"Dancing, what else?" She grinned over her shoulder while walking towards the dance floor just when the music changed to edm. Percy watched in awe as the daughter of Apollo threw her arms in the air and let the music sway her.
"I will never know how she does that," Annabeth commented with an amused smile, taking Percy by the arm to the dance floor too.
"Do what?" Percy asked, jumping slightly to the music trying to follow Annabeth's lead.
"Get everyone's attention and still be confident," Annabeth pointed and that's when Percy noticed he hadn't been the only one staring at Juliet, several other guys and girls were looking at the girl as if she a superstar amongst them.
Percy felt his gut twist a little. Juliet was popular. Popular girls had a lot of options, they met a lot of guys and Percy knew he stood no chance with how beautiful Juliet was and how much of a loner he was.
As Percy tried to navigate the dance floor with Annabeth, he couldn't help but steal glances at Juliet. Her energy was contagious, and she moved with an effortless grace that drew everyone's attention. He felt a mix of admiration and a tinge of jealousy as others looked at her with admiration.
Annabeth noticed Percy's distraction and chuckled. "Percy, relax. She's just having fun."
"Yeah, yeah," Percy mumbled, trying to focus on the awkward dance moves Annabeth was leading. But his eyes kept drifting back to Juliet, who seemed to be in her element, enjoying the music and the attention.
As the trio danced, Percy spotted Grover attempting to dance with Thalia. It looked like a comedy routine gone wrong, with Grover stepping on Thalia's toes and Thalia trying not to burst into laughter.
Suddenly Annabeth froze. "They're gone."
"What?"
he followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.
"We have to get Thalia, Juliet and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"
She ran through the crowd. Percy was about to follow when a mob of girls got in his way. He maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time he was free, Annabeth had disappeared. He turned a full circle, looking for her or Juliet, Thalia and Grover. Instead, he saw something that chilled his blood.
About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then he caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.
Percy still couldn't see Annabeth, but he knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Juliet, Thalia and Grover.
Percy almost ran after her, and then he thought, Wait.
He remembered what Thalia had said to him in the entry hall, looking at him all puzzled when he asked about the finger-snap trick: Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet? He thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day.
Not that he resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention... Still, he didn't need to run after her to solve every problem. Besides, there wasn't time. The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time he found his friends. He knew monsters. He could handle this myself
He took Riptide out of his pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.
That was Percy's first mistake in the grand scheme of things and he didn't know how bad the consequences were going to be.
Juliet had been dancing to the rhythm of the song she'd been grabbed and forcefully taken away. She looked at the arm clutching hers, dragging her into a dark hallway with too much force.
"Who the hell- Ethan!?" She stared at the face of her friend, with a gaping mouth. A gasped escape her when she spotted an eye patch, where was his other eye!
"Juliet, I- look I can't say anything right now but I missed you and I'm about to do something really bad." Ethan spluttered out, grabbing Juliet's arm again as his other hand reached for something in his pocket.
Juliet's ears rung, but she was too far gone staring at her lost friend to comprehend what was happening. She tugged at her hand but there was no effort behind it, "Ethan what? What happened to you? Are you okay?"
"Juli," Ethan looked at her, his gaze was so guilty, it helped snapped Juliet out of her head, she tugged her arm again, this time with more force, Ethan was here that meant Luke wasn't far away. "I'm sorry."
And then, before Juliet could react something hard met the back of her skull, pain exploded there and her eyes rolled back. The last thing she head was Ethan begging for forgiveness before the world went dark.