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chapter xxi.
( the sea of monsters )
❝ claire moore, part two ❞
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CLAIRE MOORE. It was a name that belonged to many before it was mine. My grandmother, and her grandmother before her, and then her great-great aunt, Claire-Jane Moore. It was my mother's middle name, and if her brother ( the one no one ever talks to ) had been a girl, his name would have been Claire instead of Clyde. Claire Moores: girls with blonde hair and pale skin, perfect voices and good fortune. It was a tradition in a long-running family that if you give your child that name, they'd receive beauty and luck among their life.
And yet, I didn't get any of the luck apparently. My father was a narcissist greek god, who gave me powers I really don't need; my mother left me on the streets and ran off with my baby brother because of those powers; Luke and Thalia found me and brought me along in which we found Annabeth and then Grover—in which one turned out to be a backstabbing traitor, the other a pine tree ( which was now dying ) and the others two of my best friends in the world. In which one is still with me, fuming over Percy-The-Idiot, our other friend and the other is on a quest in which no other satyr had returned alive from ( and if Percy's right with his dreams—in danger ). Yeah, good luck.
I guess you can tell I'm not in the best mood. After my fight with Percy, Annabeth ( the gods bless Annabeth ) left him as well and the two of us were creating our own chariot. No way was it in spite of him ... not in any way. We're just going to kick his damn ass in the chariot races, that's all. If he'd rather build a chariot with his monster Cyclops of a brother ( the very species of monster that are responsible for Thalia's death ), well, then, go him. I don't care. I'm just going to beat his ass in the tournament...
Okay, maybe I'm doing it to spite him—just a little.
During the week that we built our chariot ( it was a little squeeze for time, since everyone else had started while we were busy fighting with Percy ), Annabeth explained to me everything going on with Chiron. She and Percy talked to him while he was still here and I was out in the infirmary.
"The poison was from the depths of Tartarus," Annabeth told me as we painted the sides of the chariot grey and the wheels, braces and everything else gold.
"So we know that ... well, you know, did it with Luke helping him," I said, frowning. "And if Chiron knows how to save Thalia, then why aren't we already going on a quest to find this thing?"
There was a pained look on her face, "Chiron said no ... but—now that he isn't training heroes ... he's ... he's ..."
Annabeth looked to her hands, her eyes welling up with tears. I didn't want to think about it either. Chiron's sole purpose was to train heroes, and now that he isn't needed anymore, his life will just slowly waste away. Chiron was like a father to Annabeth and I—he was better than our real fathers, that's for sure. Seeing him gone without the chance to say goodbye like Percy and Annabeth made my chest tighten and my heart rise up in my throat.
The daughter of Athena soon recovered herself, taking a deep breath and standing up straight again. She began painting again. "Chiron made me swear on the River of Styx to look after Percy, and to remember the Prophecy ... when the time is right."
"When he reaches sixteen, yeah, I know," I said, pursing my lips.
Annabeth's grey eyes glanced up at me, "I ... I know you and Percy are fighting right now, but ..."
I didn't think before saying, "Annabeth, I'll help you protect him—I swear on the River of Styx."
There was a rumble in the sky, and the deal was sealed. Annabeth gave me a grateful smile, and I returned it.
After lunch, I joined my cabin in swordplay in the arena. I tried to explain to Kylie why I didn't join her, Jay and Lee in the Chariot races, but she had sniffed and turned away. Jay laughed and swung his sword around;
"They'll get over it," he told me. "Don't worry."
"I'm not worried," I answered. "I'm just annoyed."
"Everyone's tense, Claire," he passed me a sword. "With Thalia's tree dying and Tantalus about, all the monsters finding a way into camp ..."
"I want to go against Tantalus and help somehow," I mumbled, walking to where everyone else was in the middle of the arena. "But I don't know how."
"I'll help," said Jay, determined. "This is my home and I want to protect it."
I gave him a grateful smile. "Thanks."
We joined the group that casually formatted into a circle, waiting for the first two opponents to arise. I frowned when I saw a familiar mop of black hair among the golden and angry sea-green eyes.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, and Percy turned to face me.
"What do you think I'm doing?" he replied back smartly. "We're in a sword arena."
"Yeah, I see that."
"Well, then—"
"Smart-ass. I meant what're you doing here, with the Apollo cabin," I told him, crossing my arms. "You're the son of Poseidon."
"Well," he uncapped Riptide. "Since Luke isn't here to train me anymore ..."
I tried to ignore the pang of anger and hurt whenever Luke was mentioned. "Yeah, well, go find some other cabin to annoy, just not mine. Try Athena cabin—Annabeth isn't angry with you, I am. Now shoo."
I tried to push him away, but he dug his heels in the dirt underneath and wouldn't budge. "Percy!"
"Oh, come on, Claire," Lee stepped in, "Just let the kid practice."
I pulled away, and sent a glare Lee's way. But it was hard when he was much taller than me and older, so in the end, I huffed and said, "Fine!
I stood back and watched as Percy went against Lee and beat him in seconds. Now that Luke was gone, I suppose that would make him the best swordsman Camp Half-Blood has—which in no way am I admitting to him.
That night, I had another dream about Kronos. I tried to shut him out, pulling my pillow against my ears, but as soon as I came in contact with the pillow, my arms moved so slow I just gave up and sat back up and glared at the air around me.
"What do you want?" I snapped at him. "Can't you see I'm sleeping?"
"I gave you time to consider, Child of Light."
I scoffed, "And you think I would say yes?"
It sounded as if Kronos had clicked his tongue right at my neck, chilling me to the bone. "You are so innocent, Claire Moore, so ignorant ... you want to help your friends, but what have your friends done for you?"
"A lot," I told him. "Annabeth and Percy have saved my life more than you can count."
"Percy Jackson ... the son of the Sea God ..." he sounded bitter and angry, and suddenly, Kronos seemed much scarier than before, "... saved your life has he?" He let out a laugh that shook the walls and bounced in my ears. "No one has saved your life, Child of Light. It would have been a gift if your father just left you to die in that alleyway alone."
"Jokes on you," I tried to hide how much my voice began to quiver. "Percy's meant to show me the purpose of my powers, I don't need you, Lord of Time."
There it was again, that laugh. I clenched my bedsheets, whipping around to try and see where the laugh was coming from, but it was everywhere.
"So innocent ... so ignorant ... you really think Percy can show you the purpose of your powers, Claire Moore? That your purpose is to die?"
I would say that time had slowed down ... but ... well ...
"What?" it was more of a breath than a voice, trembling so hard that I could barely understand what I had said. No one has told me that ... that I was going to die. My stomach dropped. Living as a demigod, you never really thought about dying because you were so focused on surviving. But now, as I heard Kronos speak, I thought for the first time in a while, I don't want to die.
"Yes," replied the Lord of Time. "Didn't your dear father tell you that? Oh, such a pity. I can show you how to channel your powers properly, Claire Moore. I can change your purpose. You won't die if you let me help you."
The anger returned, "Yeah? And how many of my friends will I betray in return, huh? You twisted Luke's mind, and I'm sure you twisted many others, Lord Kronos. You're not going to twist mine!"
I closed my eyes and clamped my hands over my ears, trying to shut him out. And when a ringing silence echoed afterwards, I knew with a breath of relief that I had succeeded. For now
*
I TOLD NO ONE ABOUT MY TALK WITH KRONOS. I didn't want to believe the Lord of Time, for he was a master manipulator if he got Luke to poison Thalia's tree and betray me and Annabeth after his promise all those years ago. He would use anything to his power, to change and twist bits of information to aid in his cunning ways and make people turn sides and join him. No matter how tempting it was to learn who I am and what he meant by the Light's Apprentice, and my purpose ... I wasn't going to listen. I would learn nothing from him.
You keep telling yourself that.
Shut up!
I didn't want to tell anyone about my talk with Kronos was because there was a small part of me that wanted to give in—and I was ashamed. I shouldn't be manipulated. I won't end up like Luke. I made a promise too, and I won't let go of that like he did. I know what it's like to feel betrayed, and I don't want anyone else to feel that way. I will not betray my friends.
I wondered whether this was what happened to Luke. He had had Kronos whispering in his ears in his dreams. When he stood there at the foot of Half-blood Hill, telling me to be careful, was he debating whether to betray us? No, he had already betrayed us. He had betrayed us well before. He had been lying to me for longer than the beginning of last summer.
It was hard to think that the boy that had found me on the alleyway and promised to protect me, "Because we're family, now. We protect each other." was now a traitor.
Bastard.
"I still can't believe you ditched us for Annabeth," Kylie was saying as I followed her, Lee and Jay towards the chariot race track. The morning was hot and humid, already making my camp shirt stick to my skin in sweat. At our feet, fog lay low like a sauna stream, and we found it hard to see what we were stepping on.
"I had already ditched you for Annabeth and Percy," I told her and she rolled her eyes. "It's only one less."
"You're doing it to spite, Percy, okay, fine," Kylie shrugged. "But you could have easily done it with us."
"But I wanna win," I said.
The three of them gasped, feigning hurt. Lee placed his hand over his heart, "I can't believe you just said that. You traitor—we'll definitely beat you now."
"Don't jinx us, Lee!" Kylie whacked the boy on the shoulder.
Jay, on the other hand, faced me and gave me a look. I frowned at him, "What?"
"What even got you and Percy into a fight?"
"He was being a kelp face, obviously," I told him, crossing my arms.
"Honestly, half the time I don't know what the two of you are fighting about," Kylie told her. "You spend more of your time fighting than making up."
"Well, it's his fault."
"It's most likely both of your faults," Jay told her.
"Well, I don't like to fight with him."
"Then it's easy, go and talk with him."
"What? No, are you crazy?! He has to come to me first."
Jay shook his head, chuckling. "I knew it. This isn't about your fight anymore it's about you and Percy's pride."
Jenna suddenly popped up and groaned loudly, "Then we are getting nowhere."
"Claire," Lee glanced at her over his shoulder. "You're acting like a child."
"Am not," she retorted.
"The only reason you're racing with Annabeth is to spite him."
"So? It was his fault for picking his monster of a brother over me."
Lee rolled his eyes and looked back to the path in front of them. "I stand corrected."
The racetrack had been built in a grassy field between the archery range and the woods. The Hephaestus cabin had used the Colchis Bulls ( that were now completely tame after having their heads smashed in ) to plough the grass to create an oval track in a matter of minutes. A group of chariots from the cabins participating were lined up at the start. I said goodbye to Jenna, who went to join the rest of their cabin and the rest of the camp at the rows of stone steps for the spectators, and wished good luck to my siblings before I made my way to Annabeth who stood by our chariot.
An annoying array of metal squawks made me cringe and glance up at the trees around the camp border and stone steps. Millions of birds were roosting among the branches and leaves, all fat and grey-and-white pigeons with beaks that seemed to glint in the sunlight.
"Right!" Tantalus announced as the teams began to assemble. A naiad had brought him a big platter of pastries and as he spoke, his right hand chased a chocolate eclair across the judge's table. I saw that Mr D hadn't shown ( which made sense, since he never got up before ten o'clock ). "You all know the rules. A quarter-mile track. Twice around to win. Two horses per chariot. Each team will consist of a driver and one or two fighters. Weapons are allowed. Dirty tricks are expected. But try not to kill anybody!" he smiled at us like we were naughty children, and I had a feeling he didn't really care if someone ended up dead by the end of the day. "Any killing will result in harsh punishment. No s'mores at the campfire for a week! Now ready your chariots!"
Beckendorf led the Hephaestus team onto the track. They had a ride made of bronze and iron that included the horses, too, which were magical automation like the bulls. The sight of their chariot made me narrow my eyes, searching the sides and the wheels for any clue of hidden mechanical traps and options that were unseen on the surface. It was Hephaestus, I wasn't that innocent. I knew they had something up their sleeve that we needed to be ready for.
Like their cabin, the Ares chariot was blood-red and pulled by two horse skeletons. Clarisse climbed aboard with a batch of javelins, spiked balls, caltrops and a bunch of other weapons. I shared a grimace with Annabeth, knowing full well that they won't hesitate on hurting someone.
Apollo's chariot was trim and graceful and completely gold, pulled by two beautiful palominos. I scratched my nose, trying not to show how unhappy I was with their choice. I chose to work with Annabeth to spite Percy, so I didn't get a say on the Apollo chariot, or who drove it, or who were the fighters—but it still annoyed me, because if I didn't win ( but I was going to win ), I would hope that my cabin would win instead. But by the looks of it, they focused more on looks rather than capability. Jay was driving, with Lee out the back with his bow and arrow ( that wasn't so bad, he hardly ever misses ), and Kylie with a javelin to poke back oncoming chariots. They had to promise not to use regular pointed arrows at the opposing drivers—which is stupid, but I guess that's just me. I had to make that promise to ... but they didn't make me promise against not using my powers.
Hermes's chariot was green and kind of old-looking as if it had just been picked out from the back of the garage. It didn't look special, but looks can be deceiving, especially when you had the Stoll Brothers manning it—I couldn't think of what dirty tricks they had schemed up.
The Athena cabin had made a chariot as well. I knew they were going to be a force to be reckoned with. Annabeth's mother created the chariot, so they were already at an advantage. Annabeth's siblings, Malcome and Billie were manning the chariot, the latter at the reins while the former out the back with a long pole. They waved at Annabeth, but I could see the competition, especially when Annabeth sent them a wave in return before making a rude gesture.
Annabeth and I's chariot was rather simple looking. A pale grey with gold-painted wheels and ridges. We had put spikes on the wheels which hopefully would keep other people away from bashing right up against us, but I had a feeling that wouldn't be the case. It was being pulled by two chestnut horses that I had picked out ( they were gonna be the ones Percy was originally gonna use but ... well ... ). Annabeth was driving, while I was out the back fighting. There was only two of us rather than three, but I knew the two of us were easily a match.
Percy and Tyson's chariot was blue like the sea ( no surprise ) with terrible waves painted on the side. They had two ordinary horses pulling them, and it looked as if Percy was the one driving, which I guess was because Cyclops weren't so good around horses. Which was an irony, since Poseidon created horses.
Speaking of Percy, he was making his way over to us right now. I arched a brow at him, which he ignored. Annabeth jumped off the chariot one-handed and landed down on the ground beside me, crossing her arms. The both of us watched Percy with scrutinising looks, wondering what he wanted to say. Good luck? I hate you? Are we still friends? I think it could probably be all three.
It wasn't. As soon as he reached us, he completely ignored the tension and went straight into a story about a dream he had about Grover. At the mention of our favourite satyr, I perked up and almost forgot that I was angry at him, and then he mentioned Polyphemus I knew he was kidding. "You're trying to distract us," I told him.
"What?" Percy looked so annoyed like he couldn't believe me at the moment. "No, I'm not!"
"Oh, right!" I shot back. "Like Grover would just happen to stumble across the one thing that could save Thalia."
"What do you mean?"
While Annabeth was quiet and looked to be listening, I scoffed and shook my head. "Just go back to your chariot, Percy."
"I'm not making this up!" Percy waved his hand at me in frustration. "He's in trouble, Claire! Like really in trouble!"
I was about to reply with something smart, but Annabeth got there before me and said, "Claire, just shut up." My brows went up high, staring at my best friend in surprise. She returned the look with a stern one so I stepped back and leaned against the chariot with my arms crossed.
Grover couldn't be in trouble, could he? Percy had to be distracting us, right? Maybe I didn't believe him because I didn't want to believe him—didn't want to admit that Grover was on a dangerous quest at the moment that no satyr has ever survived. And an empathy link? They were really hard to do.
Annabeth shifted on her feet, deep in thought. "Empathy links are really hard to do, Percy. I mean, it's more likely you really were dreaming."
Percy didn't take this as an answer. "The Oracle," he said. "We could consult the Oracle."
This made me frown. If Percy was lying, why would he want to consult the Oracle? This made my stomach clench and I suddenly felt sick. Grover ... this would mean two things. Grover was in great danger, and there ... there was a chance to save my home. But before I could say anything, the conch horn sounded.
"Charioteers!" Tantalus called. "To your mark!"
Disregarding our past argument—because no matter what, we've been through too much together to stay angry at each other for too long—I turned to Percy and said, "We'll talk later," I then grinned. "Good luck—you'll need it. Since I'm going to win."
"If you say, Sunshine," Percy gave a mock salute. "You better watch out!"
"Jerk!" I called after him as he ran back to his chariot.
"Your welcome!"
I shook my head at him before pulling myself up onto the chariot. Annabeth was busy harnessing the horses before she jumped into her seat and started leading us over towards the race track where all the other chariots were situated. As she did, I pulled my necklace off my head, spun the key, and wielded Sun-Bearer. It gleamed gold in the summer sun. I reached behind me and pulled out a blunt arrow from my quiver and had it ready against the string.
The screeching from the pigeons had gotten worse, and when I glanced up, I saw that many more had flocked to the trees. Their terrible voices made the whole forest rustle. Nobody seemed to be paying them much attention, but there was something about them that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Especially when I noticed that their beaks were glinting strangely, and their eyes looked a lot shinier than regular birds.
As we waited for the rest of the chariots to line up, the birds got even worse. The trees were now shaking under the weight of how many were perched on its branches, and they were making so much noise that campers were starting to notice. Tantalus didn't look concerned, but he had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise.
"Charioteers!" he shouted. "Attend your mark!"
He waved his hand and the starting signal dropped. The chariots roared to life. Hooves thundered against the dirt, and the crowd cheered. It was hard to stay balanced on the back of the chariot, for every bump in the road nearly threw me over the sides.
Almost immediately, there was a loud nasty crack! I watched as the Apollo chariot flipped over. The Hermes chariot had rammed into it—most likely on purpose—and I groaned, embarrassed by my siblings. Come on, you could have lasted longer than that! The riders were thrown free, but the panicked horses dragged the golden chariot diagonally across the track. Travis and Conner Stoll were laughing at their good luck, but not for long. The Apollo horses crashed into theirs, and the Hermes chariot flipped too, leaving a pile of broken wood and four rearing horses in the dust.
We passed Percy's chariot, and I took the chance to make it stumble slightly with a wave of my hand, a contort of my stomach, and the bright summer light smacking against it like one great large hand. Percy sent me a glare as we passed and I waved back gleefully, shouting, "See yah!"
The Athena cabin was gaining on us, and I notched my arrow at Billie and sent it flying towards her, hoping that it would distract her. She dodged it, before whacking the reigns, and making the horses go faster. We were head to head now, and almost like that movie Grease, Annabeth tried to get close to her siblings' chariot to dig our spiked wheels into their own, but Malcolm pushed us away with his pole.
But Annabeth pursued. She closed in on the Athena chariot, and before Malcolm could push us away, I threw my hand out. A string of light zipped out and wrapped itself around the pole. I pulled. It flew out of his grasp and I quickly grabbed it, then spun it around and whacked him in the side of the stomach, sending Malcolm to the floor of the chariot. Annabeth then could dig our spikes into their chariot and it sent them spiralling. Billie lost control of the reigns and she and Malcolm quickly jumped out before they would be crushed by their own chariot.
"Sorry!" Annabeth shouted as we sped past them and around the corner.
I took a look around. Percy and Tyson had sent Beckendorf's chariot skittering sideways with a great big shove of Tyson's pole, and they were now trying to come towards us.
"That's weird," Annabeth muttered.
"What's weird?" I asked her, notching another arrow and readying it, aiming it towards Percy.
"The birds."
"The pigeons?" I risked the glance and saw that what she was worried about. The pigeons had risen from the trees, and were now spiralling like a huge tornado, heading towards the tracks. "But they're just pigeons, right? No big deal, yeah?"
Annabeth didn't look so sure. But we didn't have time to think about them anymore, for Percy had made his first turn, and now was only three metres behind Annabeth and I. If he got any closer, Tyson could push us off the track.
The arrow whipped past my ear and hit Percy in the shoulder. He let out a shout of pain, and I expected him to let go of the right-hand reign in his reaction, but he gripped on tight. Come on, I rolled my eyes and went to load another arrow ... then the screams started.
The pigeons were swarming—thousands of them diving and swooping the spectators in the stands and attacking the other chariots. Beckendorf was mobbed. His fighter tried to bat the birds away by he couldn't see anything. The chariot veered off course and ploughed through the strawberry fields, the mechanical horses screaming.
One tried to come at me, but I whacked it with my bow and it tumbled out of the sky and to the ground. In the Ares chariot, Clarisse barked an order to her fighters, who quickly threw a screen of camouflage netting over their basket. The birds swarmed around it, pecking and clawing at the fighters hands as they tried to hold up the net, but Clarisse gritted her teeth and kept driving. Their skeletal horses were immune to the attacks. The pigeons pecked uselessly at their empty eye sockets and flew through their rib cages.
The spectators had it the worst. The birds were slashing at any bit of exposed flesh, driving everyone into a panic. Now that the birds were closer, I could see that they weren't ordinary pigeons. Their eyes were beady, and their beaks were made of razor-sharp bronze.
"Stymphalian birds!" Annabeth yelled. She had slowed down and pulled her chariot alongside Percy's. "They'll strip everyone to bones if we don't drive them away!"
"Tyson," Percy shouted at his brother, "we're turning around!"
"Going the wrong way?" he asked.
"Always," Percy grumbled but steered the chariot towards the stands.
Annabeth rode right next to him. She shouted, "Heroes, to arms!" But I wasn't sure whether anyone could hear her over the screams and screeching of the birds.
Percy had managed to grip the reigns with one hand and Riptide with the other, "Claire!" he shouted at me. "Can you—?"
"Already on it!" I dropped my bow to the bottom of the chariot and swirled my hands around, pulling light into a ball that was unstable with bustling energy before throwing it up into the air as a wave of birds dived at us. Just like when a bird flies into a window, the Stymphalian birds bounced against the barrier and dropped, only to rise back up into flight and fly straight back into the shield again.
But it didn't stop all of them. As we neared the chaos, the number of birds thickened, and they came at all angles. From in front, the sides, and behind us. Others managed to break through the barrier when I lost concentration after being jabbed right in the back of my leg. Percy, Annabeth and Tyson desperately tried to keep them away, stabbing and swiping and hitting. But it really was no use. I couldn't defend myself, putting all my concentration into the barrier that was getting weaker and weaker by the second, and I had birds diving at my arms and body, trying to get at my face.
Some of the spectators were trying to fight back. The Athena campers were calling or shields. The archers from Apollo brought out their bows and arrows, ready to shoot, but with so many campers mixed in with the birds, it wasn't safe to shoot. All the while, I was starting to feel the strain. My limbs were shaking, searing with pain with fresh cuts from the birds' razor-sharp beaks.
"I can't hold on for much longer!" I yelled. "There's too many of them!"
Percy turned to Annabeth, "How do you get rid of them?!"
Annabeth stabbed at a pigeon with her knife. "Heracles used noise! Brass bells! He scared them away with the most terrible sound he could—"
Her eyes got wide. "Guys ... Chiron's collection!"
We understood instantly. Percy said, "Do you think it'll work?"
"Well, it better!" I shouted. "I'm gonna break any second!"
Annabeth shouted, "Get ready to jump!" and before I knew it, she had let go of the reins and jumped straight into Percy's chariot.
Oh, you've got to be kidding me. Before the horses led me away in a rampage, I broke the barrier. Immediately, the birds came at us. I covered my head with my arm, grabbed my bow before stepping up onto the edge. As the chariot tipped over, I jumped into the air and landed in the back of Percy's chariot. Instantly, I threw my hands up again and sent the birds flying away in a burst of light.
"God, I'm going to die of exhaustion after this," I said, already feeling fatigue.
"Just hold on for a little longer!" Annabeth told me. "Now—to the Big House! It's our only chance!"
Clarisse had just pulled across the finish line, completely unopposed. It was then that she seemed to notice for the first time how serious the bird problem was. When she saw us driving away, she yelled, "You're running? The fight is here, cowards!" She drew her sword and charged straight for the stands.
Percy urged his horses into a gallop. The chariot rumbled through the strawberry fields, across the volleyball pit, and lurched into a halt in front of the Big House. Away from the birds, I could now let go of the light and nearly collapsed as I did if it weren't for Tyson, who grabbed ahold of me before I hit the ground.
"Get off me!" I told him and pushed him away, stumbling off the chariot alongside Percy and Annabeth and the four of us ran inside, tearing down the hallway to Chiron's apartment.
His boom box was still on his nightstand. So were his favourite CD's. Ignoring the pain in my heart at the sight of how empty the room felt without him, I grabbed the most repulsive CD I could find, while Annabeth snatched the boom box, and together, we ran back outside.
Down at the race track, the chariots were in flames. Wounded campers ran in every direction, with birds shredding their clothes and pulling out their hair, all the while Tantalus chased breakfast pastries around the stands. Every once in a while, he yelled: "Everything's under control! Not to worry!"
We pulled up to the finish line. Annabeth got the box ready, and praying the batteries weren't dead, I put the disk in. I pressed PLAY and started up Chiron's favourite: the All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin. In seconds, the air was filled with violins and a bunch of guys moaning in Italian.
The Stymphalian birds went mad. They started flying in circles, and slammed into each other, tearing one another apart. Then they abandoned the track altogether and flew skywards in a huge dark wave.
Finding strength, I yelled out to my siblings, "Now! Archers!"
With clear targets, the rest of the Apollo cabin had flawless aim. Most of them could knock five or six arrows at once. Within minutes, the ground was littered with dead demon pigeons, and the survivors were a distant trail of smoke on the horizon.
Now that it was over, I let out a sigh and fell onto my bottom, staring out at the wreckage with deep breaths. Most of the chariots had been completely destroyed. Almost everyone was wounded, and the Apollo cabin ( even though they were wounded themselves ), started going around to check the hurt campers. The kids from Aphrodite's cabin were screeching because their hairdos and clothes were now ruined. But they were alive and saved. Relieved, I closed my eyes and leaned my head on the wood. My whole body ached, the cuts on my skin stun, and I just wanted a nice sleep ...
Tantalus' voice made me open my eyes and lift my head to see him standing among the wreckage. "Bravo!" he said, but he wasn't looking at Percy, Annabeth, Tyson and I. "We have our first winner!" He walked to the finish line and awarded the golden laurels for the race to a stunned-looking Clarisse.
Then he turned and smiled at us. "And now to punish the troublemakers who disrupted his race."
*
a/n: sorry it's been like a month since I last updated. I tried to get rid of the amount of books im working on Wattpad and off Wattpad but I'm just a buddling girl with so many ideas. And now that I've seen all the Marvel movies, well...
i actually really want to see Claire and Percy in the Avengers. I might write a fun one-shot or series in the future. That would be cool. 'Hydro and Ultraviolet'. That would be awesome.
anway, i hope you enjoyed this chapter. And if you like Marvel, check out my new series, The Tempest Chronicles that at the moment already have two books out. The Dog's of War, Bucky Barnes and Vampire, Peter Parker. More will join them as the series goes along. If you wanna read in order, start with Dog's of War, and then go on to Wanted Man when it comes out. Just follow the movie timeline if that helps. Or you can read them however you like, you'll still understand things as you go along. There will just be appearances and mentions of other characters through the books.