𖡼.𖤣𖥧𖡼.𖤣𖥧

chapter thirty-six. ☄︎. *. ⋆

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THAT DAY WAS one of the happiest I'd ever been at camp, which just goes to show you never know when your life's about to take a huge turn.

Grover announced that he'd be able to spend the rest of the summer with us before resuming his quest for Pan. His bosses at the Council of Cloven Elders were so impressed that he hadn't gotten himself killed and had cleared the way for future searchers, that they granted him a two-month furlough and a new set of reed pipes. The only bad news: Grover insisted on playing those pipes all afternoon long, and his musical skills hadn't improved much. He played "YMCA," and the strawberry plants started going crazy, wrapping around our feet like they were trying to strangle us. I guess I couldn't blame them.

     That was the day Tyson left. Chiron told us he'd been called to work in the Cyclopes' forges for Poseidon. Which, okay, I guess made since, seeing as Tyson was both a Cyclops and Poseidon's kid, but it still hurt. I'd spent quite a bit of time with the big guy. I didn't even get to say bye.

     Later on in the afternoon, Annabeth, Grover, and I found Percy on the shore. He was blinking a lot. I twisted my lips to the side, and he looked at me like he was about to cry.

     "Tyson.." he said. His voice was scratchy. "He had to..."

     "We know," Annabeth said sadly.

    "Chiron told us," I said. "He'll visit, though. And Chiron said the cafeteria food in the forges isn't anywhere as good as it is here."

     Grover shook his head, making a disgusting sound. "No enchiladas..."

     Percy caught my eye. I pursed my lips in a frown and held out a hand. Without a word, he took it, and all four of us walked to dinner together, like old times. It felt good.

A storm raged that night, but it parted around Camp Half-Blood like always. Lightning flashed against the horizon, waves pounded against the shore, but not a drop fell in our valley. We were protected again, thanks to the Fleece, sealed inside our magical borders.

My dreams didn't get the hint. When I fell asleep, all I could hear was Luke's taunting, luring me into his forces, telling me he could give me what I wanted. But after my horrible encounter with the Sirens... I wasn't even sure I knew what I wanted anymore.

Annabeth came by sometime after midnight. I'd told her to, so I could relieve her of guard duty for the Fleece so she didn't have to stay awake all night. Her knocks woke me up instantly. Still a little unnerved, I shuddered at my dreams, then climbed out of my bunk to meet Annabeth at the door of my cabin.

"Anything?" I asked her.

She shook her head, then glanced to the tree. That was something I secretly admired about my cabin—its position was just perfect enough to be able to see Thalia's tree from standing right outside the threshold.

Annabeth handed me her armor. As I put it on, she said, "Be careful. There was something weird going on."

     I had plenty of time to ponder what she meant by that as I sat next to the tree. Gods, was nobody going to warn me how boring guard duty was? I found myself tracing patterns in the dirt to keep myself awake.

     But then I found out what Annabeth meant by the tree acting weird. I almost thought I was imagining it, but no—the tree was definitely producing a faint humming. I could sense a shift in the energy emanating from its bark—there was almost a glow coming off of it. I lifted my bow, unsure of what I was supposed to fight off, but I didn't get the chance.

     As soon as I raised my bow, blinding lighting flashed. I stumbled back, shielding my eyes.

     Then I froze, because lying unconscious at the base of the tree was some random girl.

     Sooner or later, campers started gathering at the bottom of the hill. People had began stirring when they'd heard the crack of the lightning, I guess. I don't know. All I could focus on was whoever this girl was. She had pitch black hair hanging loosely at her shoulders. Freckles dotted across her nose. She had the build of an athlete, with long legs and a lean body, and wore clothes that were like a mix between punk and Goth—a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands I'd never heard of.

     Soon, campers started crowding at the top of the hill. I told one of the nearby Ares campers to go find Chiron. Grover approached warily. I turned to tell him to get Percy, but when his gaze landed on the girl, his eyes widened almost comically. I couldn't even get a word out before he dashed off towards Poseidon's cabin.

     I was kneeling next to her. Something told me I needed to heal her, but I wasn't sure how I could do that if I didn't know who or what she was. She could've been some kinda monster, for all I knew. Judging by Grover's odd reaction, he knew who she was. I was grasping blindly at straws, though. I'd never seen her before. She wasn't a camper, as far as I knew.

     Percy, Chiron, and Grover all got to me at the same time. Percy looked first to me, like he thought I was the one injured, but I shook my head and looked at the young girl again. He knelt next to me.

     "Curse the titan lord," Chiron muttered. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."

     Annabeth rushed over. She was breathless, and her face was pink like she was about to cry, but when her eyes landed on the girl, tears began pouring down her cheeks. Suddenly, I got a prickling idea in the back of my mind, and I thought I might have known who this girl was.

     "It's true," Grover said. He was panting from his run up the hill. "I can't believe..."

     Nobody else came close to the girl. I put my hand on her forehead. Her skin was cold, but my fingertips tingled as if they were burning.

     "She needs nectar and ambrosia," Percy said. He lifted the girl's unconscious figure to a sitting position, looking to Chiron, then Annabeth, then me. He was breathless. "Come on! We have to get her to the Big House!"

     "Percy..." I whispered, giving him the slightest shake of my head. He didn't move. Nobody did.

     Then, the girl drew in a shuddering breath. She coughed and opened her eyes. They were a startling blue—electric and piercing. My heart pounded in my stomach.

     With one last glance at Annabeth, I knew who this girl was even before she introduced herself. She looked to Percy, then Chiron, then me. She drew in a shaky breath. "I am Thalia Grace," she said. "Daughter of Zeus."