──── chapter six

{ 🔮 }  · quest awaits the witch . ݁ ٬٬ ࣪

IT WASN'T UNCOMMON to see Endora and Basil in the informatory helping injured campers with their healing potions. And after the game of Capture the Flag, they were much needed. Travis was knocked out, laying in the bed close to the door and Endora was heading Connor some ambrosia. There were several campers with broken ankles, scratches and other injuries she helped mend ─ like of the Ares' children broken arm. Basil was going around, handing nectar, ambrosia and healing potions to those in need and helping Will Solace with some stitching.

The calm environment that fell upon workers in the informatory was soon broken by Percy Jackson coming in and looking for the young witch.

"Um, Chiron is looking for you," the boy said, his hands deep in the pockets of his jeans, "Said you should come with Travis and Connor."

Endora nodded, "Yeah, okay, just give us a couple of minutes."

Percy hummed and hanged around the informatory, waiting for the three campers of the Hermes Cabin. The boy watched as Endora held a vial of smoking green liquid under Travis' nose and the boy instantly woke up, gagging at the smell.

"Dora!" Travis said, covering his mouth. Endora handed him a bucket, "Not that shit again! I told you try something else."

"This is the only thing that works for you," the witch said, giving him a bit of ambrosia, "Now eat. Chiron is waiting for us to start the meeting."

"Yes, ma'am."

Endora looked over at Percy, "You alright, Jackson? No injuries?"

"Just small cuts, but it will heal." Percy shrugged.

"It will heal," Endora said sarcastically and rolled her eyes, "Come here, let me see." she motioned for him to come over.

He did, his legs following her voice before his brain could. The girl took his arm and examined the cuts all around them. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't good either; some were a bit deep, while some just normal cuts like when Lou Ellen's cat scratches her. She let her hand trail over his arm as a light shone underneath it. Percy watched as cuts disappeared, leaving no scars behind.

"Next time, don't be ashamed to ask for help." Endora said, as she let go of his arm.

Percy nodded, "Thanks."

"No problem," she smiled and Percy felt warm inside.

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of them were underage. Mr. D sighed. With a snap of his fingers the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody, except Fredrick of course, drank that either.

Mr. D and Chiron ( in wheelchair form ) sat at one end of the table. Zoë and Bianca di Angelo ( who had kind of become Zoë's personal assistant ) took the other end. Endora sat with Percy, Thalia and Grover along the right side, and the other head councilors ─ Fredrick, Lee, Beckendorf, Silena, and the Stoll brothers ─ sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs ( accidentally ) during capture the flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary with Basil and Will loosing their shits about it.

Zoë started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time for talk," Zoë continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said. Endora was amazed at how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face. She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded Endora of dark night. Her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight. "You heard the prophecy. Six shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get six hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoë agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoë said. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

"Your," Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times."

Zoë hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. "Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help." 

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"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 bouquet. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. One shall hold the magical pain ─ whatever that means. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Dad, please," Fredrick pinched the bridge of his nose.

"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, Zoë, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoë grimaced, but Endora could tell Thalia had scored a point.

"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," Zoë said. "She has been one of the most vocalon 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 Zoë," 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 three," Percy said. Everybody looked at the boy. "We're supposed to have six; three Hunters, three from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."

Thalia and Zoë exchanged looks.

"Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."

Zoë 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."

Zoë 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."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, probably because he was the only god present and gods are supposed to know things. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced 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," Fredrick said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed 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. 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 six are going to die. And whatever pain the one is supposed to hold."

"And one shall hold the magical pain," Fredrick said, "Does anyone know what that means."

Endora felt herself shrinking back in her chair as Chiron and everyone else looked at her. Now, it was a known fact that she had this spirit attached to her body, to her soul and what she could do if the girl allowed it to overcome her, but still, she didn't like the pitiful looks everyone was giving her.

Fuck.

"One shall be lost in the land without rain" Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay outof the desert."

There was a muttering of agreement.

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand," Silena said. "What could that mean?" 

Endora saw Chiron and Zoë 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?"

There was heavy silence around the table. 

Endora, unfortunately, knew of the Great Prophecy. It wasn't her fault ( it totally was ), but she ventured to the attic when she arrived and found Chrion reading over it. And, as a curious child, the young witch stayed at listened to the whole things. A prophecy about the next child of the Big Three ─ Zeus, Poseidon, or Hades ─ who turned sixteen. The kid would make a decision that would save or destroy the gods forever. Because of that, the Big Three had taken an oath after World War II not to have any more kids. But Thalia and Percy had been born anyway, and now they were both getting close to sixteen.

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said. Everyone looked at him and Fredrick just rolled his eyes, used to his father's behavior. The god glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Percy is right," Silena Beauregard said. "Three campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoë 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," Zoë 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?" 

Zoë stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis asked cautiously.

Zoë nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.

"Yes," Zoë snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?" 

Endora narrowed her eyes at two boys who she grew up with. She knew the Stolls were up to something. They always were. But she guessed Zoë didn't know them as well as she did. She just sighed and took the T-shirt.

"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," Zoë insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself."

"And for campers?" Chiron asked.

"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!"

Zoë 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!"

"Very well," Zoë said. "The second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

"And third?"

Chiron looked at Endora and she shook her head. Shit, she knew that look. He was going to ─ 

"Endora, dear," Chiron said and the girl wanted to scream at him, "You shall accompany the Hunters and go as third camper."

Everyone looked at her. The girl bit her lip, thoughts swirling though her mind. And one shall hold the magic pain ─ that could go so many different ways. It could be the pain caused by the Hollow or just pain in general, or pain from one of the spells not working. It could be anything.

"Whoa, wait a sec," Percy said. "I want to go too." 

Thalia said nothing. Chiron was still studying Percy, his eyes sad.

"Oh," Grover said, suddenly aware of the problem. "Whoa, yeah, I forgot! Percy has togo. I didn't mean. . . I'll stay. Percy should go in my place."

"He cannot," Zoe said. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."

"You traveled here with me," the boy reminded her.

"That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by the goddess. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy."

"What about Grover?"

Zoë shook her head. "He does not count. He's a satyr. He is not technically a boy."

"Hey!" Grover protested.

"I have to go," Percy said. "I need to be on this quest."

"Why?" Zoe asked. "Because of thy friend Annabeth?"

Percy frowned, "Of course! I don't want my best friend to go missing forever! Plus, I just feel like I'm supposed to go!"

Nobody rose to his defense. Mr. D looked bored, still reading his magazine. Silena, the Stoll brothers, and Beckendorf were staring at the table. Bianca gave him a look of pity.

"No," Zoë said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male hero."

Chiron sighed. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions." Percy sat back down as Chiron concluded the council. "So be it," he said. "Thalia, Endora 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." 

It wasn't Endora's fault she had a place on this quest, and it certainly wasn't her fault for Percy to be mad at her. She tried to approach him after the meeting, seeing as he took the news pretty hard. And what did that motherfucker do when she approached him and said she was sorry? He just brushed her off and told her 'See you later.' in a tone that she could translate as fuck off or I don't want to talk to you.

Well, fuck him. She tries to be nice, maybe form a friendship like she did with Annabeth and he brushes her off. . . She's not trying anymore. All he can do now is come to her and apologize for being an asshole and then maybe, maybe, she will think about forming friendship with the boy.

Plus, Morpheus looked like Endora was his new favorite victim to torture with dreams.

Endora was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above her. Annabeth was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, the girl knew she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her.

"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed.

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."

Oh please shut your mouth, Endora thought in her dream, Like you even care.

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of her dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light ─ Artemis ─ her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains. Endora gasped. Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. The goddess looked at Annabeth and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a maiden like this!" 

"She will die soon," Luke said. "You can save her."

Annabeth made a weak sound of protest. Endora wanted to run to her, but she couldn't move. Despite not close friendship, no one deserved to die.

"Free my hands," Artemis said.

Luke brought out his sword, Backbiter. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs. Artemis ran to Annabeth and took the burden from her shoulders. Annabeth collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks.

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?"

"Yes, General. They will come for her. I'm sure."

The man 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."

"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."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse. 

niki speaks!

making prophecy is both stressful
and excited, i love the prophecy i made for
my dear endora. . .
you all, will not like it :)

started writing for maddy in the second
book, could you guess her pairing??
also, started writing for max and i love it
already!!

updating this before the bday party i have
have a good day/night!

bye!