˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚
BOOK THREE
CHAPTER FOUR.
❝ apollo is hot. ❞
THE TWO demigods exited the tent, Percy stomping off like a toddler in the other direction. Aria left him to sulk, the girl in no mood to deal with his anger.
Artemis materialised behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder. "He isn't worth your energy, my dear."
Aria didn't say anything.
Artemis assured them that dawn was coming, even if it was colder and darker and snowier than ever. Up on the hill, Westover Hall's windows were completely lightless. Aria wondered if the teachers had even noticed the di Angelo's and Dr. Thorn were missing yet. She didn't want to be around when they did.
The Hunters broke camp as quickly as they had set it up. Artemis stared into the east expectantly. Thalia, Grover, and Percy were huddled together for warmth, the son of Poseidon still dodging Aria. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. Aria could tell by the look on his gloomy face that she was explaining her decision to join the hunt.
Hesitantly, Aria sat down on the wooden bench next to Percy. The boy gave her a furious look, still refusing to talk to her, his lips curled up in what Aria guessed was a mix of frustration and...sadness?
After a brief conversation about Grover's obsession with Artemis, and how Percy wasn't happy about Bianca, Aria began to feel the ice seep into her bones, threatening to freeze her forever.
"It's so fucking cold," she muttered, wrapping her hands around her middle for warmth.
Without a word, Percy mindlessly took off his jacket, handing it to the shivering demigod. She took it gratefully, slipping the larger article of clothing on, smelling the familiar scent of vanilla and sea salt which she had grown to love so dearly.
"Thanks," she mumbled, but Percy still said nothing.
She would never understand boys.
Finally, the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so lazy during the winter."
"You're, um, waiting for sunrise?" Percy asked.
"For my brother. Yes."
"Oh."
"It's not exactly what you think," Artemis said. By Percy's freaked out expression, she was answering his silent questions.
"Oh, okay," Percy muttered. "So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a--"
There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon. A blast of warmth. Aria could feel the sun practically radiate off her skin.
"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."
"Parks?"
Aria averted her eyes, and saw that the other kids were doing the same. The light and warmth intensified until she felt her clothes practically melting off her. Then suddenly the light died.
She looked. Her dad's red convertible Maserati Spyder was parked in all its glory. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why she was now standing on green grass and her shoes were getting wet but her feet stayed dry.
Apollo got out, smiling, looking the same as when Aria last saw him. About eighteen, sandy hair and an outdoorsy look. He wore jeans, loafers, and a sleeveless t-shirt.
"Wow," Thalia mumbled. "Apollo is hot."
"He's the sun god," Percy deadpanned.
"Aria!" Apollo exclaimed, opening his arms wide invitingly. The girl ran into them, giving the man a tight hug. The two of them had gotten extremely close the last two years, and Aria loved her dad, even if he was a terrible poet.
"Hi dad," she mumbled into his chest, and he eventually released her.
"My gods," Apollo said. "You look pale as anything, sweetheart. Have they been feeding you? Is Artemis being nice to you? Is Percy being nice to you because--"
"Dad!" Aria cried out. "I'm all good."
"Hey, I'm just making sure, sunbeam," the sun god defended, putting his hands up in the air in mock innocence.
Aria's thoughts went back to the mystical island with the sirens. "Oh, and dad," she said, and Apollo looked down to intently listen. "Fawn says hello."
Apollo seemed to perk up the mention of the woman, his cheeks becoming tinged with the colour of a rose. "She did?"
Aria nodded, trying to refrain from giggling at the man's interest in what Fawn had to say.
Artemis cleared her throat.
"Little sister!" Apollo called. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"
Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."
"Hey, I was born first."
"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue--"
"So, what's up?" he interrupted.
Artemis gritted her teeth. "I need a favour. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to camp Half-Blood."
"Sure, sis!" then he raised his hands in a stop everything gesture. "I feel a haiku coming on."
The Hunters all groaned. Aria couldn't blame them. If she wasn't his daughter she would've complained too.
He cleared his throat and held up one hand dramatically.
"Green grass breaks through snow.
Artemis pleads for my help.
I am so cool."
He grinned at them, waiting for applause.
Aria gave him a clap.
"The last line was only four syllables," Artemis said.
Apollo frowned. "Was it?"
"Yes. What about I am so big-headed?"
"No, no, that's six syllables. Hmm." He started muttering to himself.
Zoë Nightshade turned to them. "Lord Apollo has been going through his haiku phase ever since he visited Japan. This is not as bad as the time he visited limerick. If I had to hear one more poem with, there once was a goddess from Sparta--"
"I've got it!" Apollo announced. "I am so awesome. That's five syllables!" he bowed, looking very pleased with himself. "And now, sis. Transportation for the hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."
"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to them. "Some of Chiron's campers."
"No problem!" Apollo checked them out. "Let's see...I obviously know my daughter, would be a bit awkward if I didn't...stupid sea boy," he said dismissing Percy immediately. He looked at the daughter of Zeus. "Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."
Thalia blushed and Aria felt the need to throw up. "Hi, Lord Apollo."
"Zeus's girl, yes? Makes you my half sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you're back. I hate it when girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time--"
"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."
"Well!" he exclaimed. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way--west. And if you miss it, you miss it."
"Cool car," Nico said.
"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.
"How will we all fit?" Percy asked, looking questionably at the car in front of them.
"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose..."
He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button. Chirp, chirp.
For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by one of those small buses just like they used for school field trips.
"Right," he said. "Everybody in."
Zoë ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Hey, honey. Let me get that."
Zoë recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.
"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them honey."
Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"
"Hunting," Artemis said simply. "It's none of your business."
"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."
Artemis snorted, an odd noise for Aria to hear. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!"
"No, no! I never mess around."
The sun god shot his daughter a playful wink.
Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at them. "I will see you by winter solstice. Zoë, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."
Zoë straightened. "Yes, my lady."
Artemis knelt down and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."
She sprinted towards the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.
Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"
The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of the highly infectious males. Bianca sat with them, leaving her little brother to hang out at the front, which seemed a tad cruel, but Nico didn't seem to mind.
"This is so cool!" the young boy said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"
"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The uh--Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."
"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"
Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumour probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that is more interesting. They've got a lot of riding on the sun...er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as western civilisation. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"
Nico shook his head. "No."
"Well the, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."
"Can I drive?"
"No. Too young."
"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.
"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry."
He looked at Aria. "Can't risk having you crash."
Not sparing a glance at Percy, Apollo focused on Thalia.
"Daughter of Zeus!" he said. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."
"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."
"C'mon," Apollo urged. "How old are you?"
Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."
It was sad, but true. She'd been turned into a tree when she was thirteen, but that had been seven years ago. So she should be twenty, if you went by years. But she still felt like she was twelve. If you looked at her, though, she seemed somewhere in between. The best Chiron could work out, she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly.
Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're sixteen, almost seventeen."
'How do you know that?"
"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn seventeen in about a week."
"That's my birthday! December twenty-second."
"Which means you're old enough now to drive with a license!"
Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh--"
"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honour like driving the sun chariot."
"That's not what I was going to say."
"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a really short trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus's daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky."
Apollo laughed good-naturedly. Nobody joined in.
Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take 'no' for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield that read WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER.
"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural! Speed equals heat. So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."
Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick.
"What's wrong?" Percy asked her.
"Nothing," she said shakily. "N-nothing is wrong."
She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted and the bus lurched upwards so fast Aria fell back and crashed against a body.
"Watch it, Silvers," Percy grimaced, hands wrapped firmly around her middle.
"Awh, look who's finally talking to me again," Aria replied, still being held by a less angry-looking Percy.
"Shut the fuck up," the boy grumbled.
"That is no way to talk to a woman," Aria said, twisting around her body to face him.
Percy bowed his head. "Yes ma'am."
Aria made a 'what's next?' motion with her hand.
"Sorry ma'am."
"Well done."
"Slower!" Apollo yelled from the front.
"Sorry!" Thalia spat out. "I've got it under control!"
Aria managed to get to her feet, reaching out her hand to Percy, who shook his head and got up by himself.
"You're gonna be mad at me the whole trip?" Aria asked, not liking the way they were actually fighting now.
Percy shrugged.
"Dick," she muttered under her breath.
"Thalia," Percy said. "Lighten up on the accelerator."
"I've got it, Percy," she said, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored.
"Maybe loosen up?" Aria suggested.
"I'm loose!" Thalia shouted. She was so stiff she looked like she was made out of plywood.
"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. "Hang a left."
Thalia jerked the wheel and, again, threw Aria back into Percy.
"You just can't get enough of me, can you, Silvers?"
"Shut up."
"That's no way to speak to a man."
"I'll speak to a man however I wanna speak to a man."
Percy grabbed her waist and hoisted her up onto the seat, clicking on her seatbelt for her.
From the front, Apollo was still giving suggestions to Thalia. "The other left."
Aria made the mistake of looking out the window. They were at airplane height now--so high the sky was starting to look black.
"Ah..." Apollo said, and Aria got the feeling her dad was forcing himself to be calm. "A little lower. Cape Cod is freezing over."
Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk white, and her forehead beaded with sweat. Something was definitely wrong. They had never seen her like this.
The bus pitched down and somebody screamed. She let out a snicker when she realised it was Percy. Now they were heading straight towards the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the new England coastline off to the left. It was getting hot in the bus, even for her sun inclined skin.
Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he started climbing up the rows of seats.
"Take the wheel!" Grover begged him
"No worries," Apollo said. He looked plenty worried. "She just has to learn to--whoa!"
Aria saw what he was seeing. Down below was a little snow-covered New England town. At least, it used to be snow covered. As they watched, the snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to smoulder. Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.
"Pull up!" Percy yelled.
There was a wild light in Thalia's eyes. She yanked back on the wheel, and Aria clutched onto the seatbelt, keeping an eye on Nico as well. She could see through the back window that the fires in the town were being snuffed out by the sudden blast of cold.
"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. Dead is only an expression."
Thalia was thundering towards the coastline of northern Long Island. There was Camp Half-Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach. Aria could see the dining pavilion and cabins and the amphitheatre.
"I'm under control," Thalia muttered. "I'm under control."
They were only a few hundred metres away now.
"Brake," Apollo said.
"I can do this."
"BRAKE!"
Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at a forty-five-degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge FLOOOOOSH! Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets.
The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes.
"I knew I hated buses," Aria muttered.
Camp Half-Blood was beautiful during the winter. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and a fire flickered in the attack window of the Big House, where the oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. She wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something.
Percy jumped off the bus first, the fear of just almost dying seemingly washing away his previous anger. He held up his hand for Aria to grab so she could safely descend from the vehicle, much like how he had done on their first quest.
Aria took the outstretched hand. "I'm getting deja vu," she said lightly, stepping onto the frozen ground.
Percy smiled. "I know you like the nickname Riri. I think I should use it more often."
Aria wasn't opposed to the idea. Her mouth thought differently though.
"I don't."
Percy let go of her hand, dropping it to his side. "Riri."
"You sound like a child."
"A cute child?"
"An annoying child, that's for sure."
Nico interrupted. "Woah. Is that a climbing wall?"
"Yeah," Percy answered.
"Why is there lava pouring down it?"
"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoë, have you met--"
"I know Chiron," Zoë said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in cabin eight. Hunters, follow me."
"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.
"We know the way."
"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't--" he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking-- "Like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"
Zoë rolled her eyes, but Aria figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off towards the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away.
"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He walked over to Aria and gave her a small hug. "I'll talk to you soon, Aria."
"Bye," Percy grumbled out.
Apollo winked at the boy. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll be seeing you soon."
"What does that even mean?" the boy asked.
Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!"
He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. Aria turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When she looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.
Nico was still looking grumpy. Aria wondered what Bianca had told him.
"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."
"Our activities director," Percy said. "He's...well, you'll see."
"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico muttered. "That's good enough for me. Let's go."
Camp was awfully empty during this time of year. Most Half-Bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be here--the ones who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. But from the growing rate of campers who disappeared...camp wasn't filling in as much.
Aria spotted Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armoury. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, from the Hermes cabin, were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it.
The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to set anything alight. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlour.
Chiron's beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.
He smiled when he saw them. "Percy! Aria! Thalia! And this must be--"
"Nico di Angelo," Aria said. "He and his sister are half-bloods."
Chiron breathed a sight of relief. "You succeeded, then."
"Well..."
His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"
"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice. "Not another one lost."
Aria had been trying not to pay attention to Mr.d, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes (Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life.) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.
"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"
Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!"
Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico. "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."
"But...oh, right. Yes, sir."
"Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict--"
"It's PG-13," Grover assured.
"Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room.
"Now," Chiron said to the remaining trio, "Perhaps you should sit down and tell us the whole story."
When they were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately."
"I'll go," the three demigods said all together.
Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"
Aria, Percy, and Thalia all started complaining, but Mr. D help up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if they didn't shut up.
"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "We have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell-"
"Annabeth," Aria corrected.
"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."
"She's not dead!" Aria yelled standing up, Percy grabbing her arm and pulling her down.
"Annabeth may be alive," Chiron agreed, but Aria could tell he was having trouble finding hope in the situation. "She's very bright. If...if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."
"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive."
"In which case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."
"Have you ever had a happy thought in your life, you old fuck?" Aria spat out, narrowing her eyes at the wine god who simply chuckled at her statement.
"I knew I liked you," he said, but for once, Aria wasn't leaning in to the praise.
"You're glad to lose another camper," Percy said from beside her. "You'd like it if we all disappeared"
Mr. D stifled a yawn. "You have a point?"
Percy glared at the man. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilisation, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!"
For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Mr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. But Nico suddenly burst into the room, followed by Grover.
"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding out his hands to Chiron. "You're...you're a centaur!"
Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form for, ah, first encounters."
"And, whoa!" he looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"
Mr. D turned his eyes away from Percy and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?"
"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."
"My figurine."
"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holo foil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"
"Ah," Mr. D seemed truly perplexed. "Well, that's...gratifying."
"Percy," Chiron said quickly. "You, Aria, and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."
"Capture the flag?" Percy asked. "But we don't have enough--"
"It is tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."
"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly."
camp notes ᶻ 𝘇 𐰁
saw someone call people who read this book part of the "gracie nation" and i have honestly never recovered
but hai my lovelies
TELL ME ABOUT YOUR DAYS AND EVERYTHINGGG
and please remember to eat and drink
your body deserves it and im so proud of you
💗💕🩷💝 - hearts from gracie