CHAPTER EIGHT:
I HATE MY LIFE

      The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.

      Also I knew what those were now! Yay me!

      Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. I felt like I was in school again, which made it suck.

      I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.

      The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at.

      One day I was out in the archery range (is that what you call it?). Practicing with Lee and I almost killed him.

      I stood Maybe ten feet from the target, Lee stood off to the side.

      I pulled the arrow back, the way Lee had demonstrated, but I guess I wasn't paying close enough attention because the bow wiggle and I shot the arrow right towards the blond.

      He stood there, his eyes wide, clearly trying not to look at the arrow that was now stuck in the sign right next to his head.

      Will, and the other kid who's name I didn't know, on the other hand seemed to find this hilarious. Each of them were bent over laughing.

      "Sorry" I apologized.

      The boy stood for a second before he stepped towards me, carefully taking the bow out of my hand. "Maybe you should try your next activity" he said, making will and the other boy just laugh harder.

      Foot racing? I was okay, for a human. At least that's what the wood nymphs said.

      Wrestling? Also not bad. But maybe because I was parred with Estella. Percy was stuck with clarisse and every time he got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize him.

      "There's more where that came from, punk," she'd growl at him.

      Wasn't that good at canoeing, which was annoying because Percy was great.

      I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, definitely not as good at archery as the Apollo kids. I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or gods forbid Dionysus's way with vine plants. Which I was eternally grateful for. I could not stand it if he was my father. I would kill myself. Honestly.

      Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either.

      Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came. Just that warm feeling I'd always had, like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back.

      I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?

      Is that so stupid? Apparently.

      Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, including Percy, where Luke would be our instructor.

We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good.

The problem was, I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands, I guess Percy had the same problem considering the faces he'd make everytime he picked up a sword.

We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be Percy's partner, since this was his first time. Then he assigned someone else to be mine.

"Good luck," one of the campers told Percy. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."

"Maybe he'll go easy on me," percy said.

The camper snorted.

I rolled my eyes turning around to go find my partner when I was immediately faced with a girl. She seemed to be laughing at someone's joke, a joke I hadn't heard.

Her hair went to just above her shoulders, her eyes were a deep dark brown, and her smile kinda made me wanna jump off a cliff.

She noticed my staring "River right" she held out her hand "I'm Aella"

Was it weird to say she was the prettiest girl I've ever met, and possibly the love of my life, even though I just met her.

I didn't even realize I had shook her hand until I pulled away, my hand suddenly feeling cold "I'm river" I paused. She already knew that "you knew that" I repeated out loud. Somehow her smile grew wider. I was about two seconds away from throwing myself off of Olympus.

"I believe we are partners" I god no. My life is over. She's gonna see how bad I am and then never wanna talk to me again.

Instead of saying anything I just nodded my head.

Aella showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks. She didn't seem to be as harsh as Luke but I knew if we were in a real fight she would send me to an early grave.

By the time luke called a break, I was exhausted.

Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which apparently made Percy think was cool and did the same.

He noticed the annoyed look on my face, which apparently made him think it was okay to shake his head, like the dog he is, and splash half of it on me.

I grumbled grabbing his head and throwing it to the side "do not"

He then did the same thing to me and honestly I was about to full on attack him before I saw Aella walk up beside us.

"Hello" she sounded like she just walked on a rainbow. My mind stopped working and I said something that kinda sounded like "gah-bff-hm"

I heard Percy start to laugh from behind me. I shoved my hand out, pushing him away while mumbled "go away"

"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo." I thought we were about to watch Percy get wiped out.

The Hermes kids gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in Percy's shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used him for a punching bag. I'm glad it wasn't me.

He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.

"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."

I'm his sister. I can laugh at him if I want to.

He demonstrated the move on Percy in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of his hand.

"Now in real time," he said, after Percy retrieved his weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"

Percy nodded, and Luke came after him. Somehow, he kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of his sword. It almost looked like he knew what he was doing. Which was impossible because Percy doesn't know how to do anything.

He stepped forward and tried a thrust. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press Percy with more force.

Percy tried the disarming maneuver.

His blade hit the base of Luke's and he twisted.

Clang.

Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of Percy's blade was an inch from his undefended chest.

The other campers were silent. I was silent.

Since when could Percy do that.

Percy lowered his sword. "Um, sorry."

For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak. "Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"

He didn't seem to want to. But Luke insisted.

This time, there was no contest. The moment their swords connected, Luke hit his hilt and sent his weapon skidding across the floor.

After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"

Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at Percy with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."

Friday afternoon, for about half an hour i had been walking around alone. That is until I walked past the campfire where like half the kids were sitting.

Two people joined me in that moment.

Estella, the girl from the Ares cabin. And Aella, the love of my life. I still don't know where she came from.

"River" they both called my name.

"Oh hey Estella" aella noticed the other girl first.

Estella turned to Aella "Aella, hey." She sent the girl a wave. Which was kinda awkward, I'm not gonna lie.

They both reached me at the same time "whatcha doing?" Aella asked.

I continued to stare at her for a moment. Was it weird to say I was completely head over heels for this girl, even though this is only our second conversation.

I blinked away my thoughts "uh, just, you know, walking, you know" I feel like something is wrong about that sentence.

"Well do you mind if we join you" Estella asked, rejoining the conversation.

I looked between the two girls who, might I add, had completely different ways of holding themselves.

Aella stood almost straight up, almost. It was like she was trying to be professional and relaxed, and yet somehow I knew it meant "I'm being nice but if I have to I'll kick your ass"

Estella, on the other hand, didn't bother holding back the fact that she was clearly stronger then me. Her posture was probably straighter then possible. Her shoulder looked tense, as if she was always prepared to have a monster standing behind her.

Oh my god. I haven't answered them yet. I probably look so weird just standing there staring.

I should probably answer them.

"Yeah, yes. Wait" I paused what did she asked. If im not wrong I think she said something about joking my walk "yes" I said only this time more uncertain.

The two girls lightly laughed as we began to walk.

It was quiet for the first few seconds until I thought that someone should probably talk or this was gonna get awkward.

"So. I know Estella's godly parent thing is ares, the war dude"—I heard Estella's light laugh at that—"but who's yours?"

I realized after saying it that that might be a sensitive subject. Though just before I could take it back Aella answered.

"Anemone. She's one of the gods, or goddesses, of the wind" it didn't seem like a sour subject. Thankfully.

"How many are there?" Once again I know like nothing.

"Depends who you ask." She paused as if to tell me that if I wanted her to stop I'd just have to ask. "There are the Anemoi, which are the gods of the four winds, Boreas for the North-Wind, Zephryos is the West, Notos the South, and Euros the East. But there was also Aeolus, my mothers brother, but he's more like the keeper of the winds."

Is it weird that I actually paid attention to everything she just said.

"So is your mom a keeper, like her brother, or a god" I'm suddenly so interested in this.

"My moms a god, just a very minor god" she didn't seem to like that.

Something in my mind clicked "wait, doesn't that mean you'd stay in the Hermes cabin?"

She just nodded "then how have I never seen you"

I heard Estella laugh for beside me "Aella likes to keep to herself. Not in a bad way"

Aella agreed with the girl "yeah. Kids these days, mainly only stay during the summer, so if I make friends they just leave, and half of the time they don't come back." That seemed to be a sour subject.

"How's your head doing" Estella said, quick to change the subject. Interrupting the silence I didn't know had existed.

Instinctively my hand went to my head "actually it's been doing good"

"I heard about the whole bathroom incident, but I'm not sure If what I heard was right, so what did happen?" Aella asked, and of course I told her.

"Yeah, by the time I heard it, it had traveled through like 20 mouths so it was a little scrambled" Aella said, which made Estella laugh.

"Yeah, I heard that you slammed mags head into the mirror then tried to slit her throat" my eyes went wide. I looked over at Aella who was laughing while she nodded.

"No! I swear on my life that I didn't do that. I was like pinned on the floor by her nasty ass boot and the mirror just broke" Aella stopped laughing and now looked confused.

"What do you mean it just broke" she asked.

"I mean I was on the floor, and it broke. I guess Someone must have hit it or something" I shrugged my shoulders but I didn't fail to noticed the strange look Estella and Aella shared.

I looked over at the pier and noticed Percy and Grover.

"Wanna go see what they're up to" I asked pointing over at my brother and goat-friend.

They both mumbled a sure before we made our way over to the boys.

Percy looked like shit. His shirt had smoking holes in it. And he looked completely exhausted.

"Of course I'd want you along!" Was the first thing I heard.

"Want him along for what" I asked as we stopped beside them.

"Oh, hey river. What have you been up to, I haven't seen you all day" Percy said scorching over making room for the three of us to sit.

"Nothing much. what were you guys talking about" I told you, I'm a noisy person.

"It doesn't matter" Grover sighed.

We now sat in a line at the edge of the pier. Grover was all the way to the right, then next to him was Percy, then me, then Aella, then Estella. And we all sat there staring at the water.

We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods.

So far we agreed the best god to be the child of would be Apollo. Not only because most of the kids were attractive, but also because they were good at most of the important things. Like fighting, whether it be just archery or sword. They were also good at medicine and I feel like that's kind of important.

Aella, Estella, and Grover all tried to make bets on who our godly parent was. Aella had said Aphrodite because we sucked at half the subjects but we still looked good (which 100% made me blush), Estella said that we might be Demeter because why not. She also said she hoped we weren't ares because then we would be stuck sharing a cabin with clarisse, which would suck. Grover said he didn't know, but if he had to guess he hoped it would be a minor god because they are nicer. Which made the sky thunder, and caused him to start apologizing.

Finally, Percy asked Grover about the four empty cabins.

"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," Grover said. "She vowed to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."

"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?" Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject.

Also who are the big three again?

"No. One of them, number two, is Hera's," Aella spoke up for grover. "That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job." Aella seemed very salty about that subject.

"When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful brothers, the sons of Kronos." Grover said.

Kronos the guy Percy was talking about at the museum. The one who ate his children. Well his children and a rock.

"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."Percy said. I know those ones!

"Right. You know. After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."

"Zeus got the sky," Percy remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."

"Uh-huh."

"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."

That doesn't seem nice.

"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld. If he did have a cabin here..." Grover shuddered. "Well, it wouldn't be pleasant. Let's
leave it at that."

"But Zeus and Poseidon they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"

I now noticed the sudden silence from the girls beside me.

Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."

Thunder boomed.

Percy said "That's the most serious oath you can make." Grover nodded.

What is the river Styx, and why is it a serious oath?

"And the brothers kept their word—no kids?" I asked. I noticed a slight tense in Aellas shoulders.

Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia... well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."

"But that isn't fair! It wasn't the little girl's fault." Percy said

Grover hesitated. "Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."

He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where Percy had fought the minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a hoard of hellhounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."

I stared at the pine in the distance. "Wait so that tree is a girl" I asked pointing at the tree.

The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters.

"Grover," Percy said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"

"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Heracles. Houdini."

"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"

"No. Never. Orpheus came close. ... Percy, you're not seriously thinking—"

"No," he lied. "I was just wondering. So... a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"

I could always tell when Percy was lying. It was like a weird tickle in the back of my head.

Grover studied him warily. He hadn't persuaded him that he'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they could cause really huge problems."

"And you found us. Chiron said you thought we might be something special."

Grover looked as if Percy had just led him into a trap. "I didn't...Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were—you know—you'd never ever be allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"

I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than us. I looked over at the girls who sat beside me. Aella seemed to be spaced out, staring into the sea, and Estella was watching me as if I was about to explode.

That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.

At last, it was time for capture the flag. When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.

Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a bar owl above an olive tree.

From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.

Percy turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"

"Yeah."

"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"

"Not always," he said. "But often."

"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do- repaint the flag?"

He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."

"Whose side are we on?"

He gave him a sly look, as if he knew something we didn't. The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight. "We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you two are going to help."

I'm pretty sure I have mentioned this, but I'm not a very helpful person.

The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins. Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support.

Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus.

From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them.

Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff, but they weren't very aggressive.

Aphrodite's sons and daughters, Aella told me not to be too worried about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.

Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem.

Then, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest and meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet. And it just so happens that they hate my guts.

Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.

"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm ourselves!"

He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.

"Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use these?"

Luke looked at me as if I were crazy. "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here Chiron thought these would fit. You two will be on border patrol." He pointed at me and Percy.

My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top.

Ares and their allies had red plumes.

Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"

We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.

I nearly jumped out of my pants when I heard a voice speak up behind me. "Hey."

I turned around to see Aella, painted with her perfect smile.

"So what's the plan?" I asked. "I'm stuck on border patrol, and I think I know what that means"

Aella nearly laughed. "I'm stuck as a defender" she paused pulling out her sword. "I'll probably be fine. You need to watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you. It hurts" her hand pressed against her shoulder.

I noticed a small silver ring on her middle finger. It looked to have either a design on it or writing. I couldn't tell from this far away.

"Well good luck" she said patting my shoulder.

It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me and Percy next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.

Standing there alone, well Percy was there but he didn't count.

There was no way anybody would actually attack us, right? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?

Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue-plumed ally from Apollo raced past me like a deer, leaped through the creek (almost knocking me over), and disappeared into enemy territory.

"He almost took you out" I heard Percy laugh from behind me.

"You'd think these people would look before jumping" I said watching in the direction the boy went.

It was getting kinda boring and I honestly thought that they had forgotten about us then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by.

I raised my shield instinctively, Percy did the same; I had the feeling something was watching us.

Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating.

On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.

"Cream the punks!" Clarisse screamed.

"Oh fuck" I mumbled under my breath.

Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard-issue bronze swords not that that made me feel any better.

They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.

I'm screwed.

I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing. They surrounded us, and Clarisse thrust at Percy with her spear. His shield deflected the point, but I noticed a slight shiver in his body.

He fell back.

Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I followed Percy down.

They could've kicked us into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.

"Give them a haircut," Clarisse said.

Alright. I'm not the type of person to care about my looks, but I like my hair and I know they aren't very good (or nice for that matter) barbers.

I jumped to my feet so fast. I raised my sword, ready to fight. Clarisse hit Percy, I didn't know where but for some reason I felt my arm suddenly get heavier.

"Oh, wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."

"The flag is that way," Percy told her. I didn't know if he wanted to sound angry, but It didn't come out that way.

"Yeah," one of her siblings said. I believe it was mags "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a kids who made our cabin look stupid."

"You do that without my help," we're dead.

Two of them came at him. I immediately jumped on one of them, sending us both to the ground. The kid threw me off of him and my head hit the ground.

What is it with me and always hitting my head.

Percy had backed up toward the creek, Clarisse hot on his trail. Her spear stuck him straight in the ribs.

It was so weird. When the spear struck his chest I felt it and it hurt like bitch.

The kid I had attacked was now standing above me, his sword was ready to hit me somewhere, but I'm not completely stupid.

I swung my feet out, pulling his feet out from under him. As I stood up I felt a sudden sting in my arm. I ignored it as I threw a rock at the boy on the ground. I didn't want to throw my sword, then I wouldn't have any weapons.

Of course I hadn't learned anything from sword fighting class because I wasn't watching my back.

I felt a boot slam into the back of my leg sending me falling down to the ground. I hadn't even noticed the cut on my leg until it slammed against the ground.

The person behind me rapped their, abnormally large, arms around my neck.

For a second I thought I was gonna die. Like seriously. My vision was going dark, and it was getting harder to breathe. But suddenly this rush of strength flooded through my body and in one swift movement I sent the girl behind me face first into the dirt in front of me.

My victory was short lived as the boy from minutes ago had gotten up and swung his sword. The most shocking moment in my life was when I blocked his sword. It's such a little thing, but I didn't know I could do that.

I used my momentum and swung his sword down and slammed my knee into his wrist causing him to drop his sword. I then raised my knee for a second time, but this time I slammed it into his groin. Then as he folded over groaning, I swung the butt of my sword into the side of his head and sent him to the ground.

I hadn't even noticed how bad my vision had gotten until I fell back onto my knees. A moment later Percy ran over to me, placing his hands on my shoulders, I thought he was about to help me up but suddenly he hesitated.

Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I heard (possibly) Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of people covering his retreat, and a few other behind them, fighting off the enemy kids, I think. Remember I'm temporarily blind at the moment.

The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.

"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."

They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers.

Chiron (I think it was Chiron. If it wasn't there was another horse-man in this camp) cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.

The game was over. We'd won. I think.

I was about to stand up and hope my sight would come back so I could join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad."

I looked, i swear she wasn't there. Though it really just looked like a blob of blue and what I think is Percy.

"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she became another blob.

"You set us up," Percy was mad. "You put us here because you knew Clarisse would come after us, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."

I was just sitting down, in what i now realize was the creak, blinking rapidly waiting for my vision to come back. This was taking an annoyingly long time.

Annabeth spoke again. "I told you. Athena always, always has a plan."

I don't remember her saying, I must not have been in that conversation. Or I wasn't paying attention, both were possible.

"A plan to get us pulverized."

"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but..." She paused. "You didn't need help."

I wasn't sure if she noticed I was there yet.

"How did you do that?" Who was she talking to?

"Sword cut," Percy said, answering both our questions. "What do you think?"

My vision was slowly going back to normal and I could see her standing few feet away from me, closer to Percy.

"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it." She pointed to his arm.

There was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.

"That's cool" Annabeth sent a short glance towards me.

"I-I don't get it," Percy said.

Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at Percy's feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, then towards me, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."

"What-"

Im confused again.

"Just do it."

Percy stepped out of the creek and immediately almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied him.

I felt the same.

"Oh, Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want... I assumed it would be Zeus..."

I squinted my eyes. What the fuck is she talking about.

Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.

The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I realized I had understood perfectly as "Stand ready! My bow!"

Annabeth drew her sword.

There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.

It was looking straight at Percy.

Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled, "Percy, run!"

She tried to step in front of him, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her an enormous shadow with teeth- and just as it hit Percy, as he stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through his armor, there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hound's neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at his feet.

My hand was on my chest. I felt that And it hurt more then clarisse's dumb spear.

By some miracle, Percy was still alive. I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of his shredded armor.

Another second, and the monster would've turned him into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat. Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.

I took in every breath like it was my last, my hand was on my chest, which burned and stung. My head hurt again and I knew if I followed Percy out of the water I would faint.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't...they're not supposed to..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."

Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.

Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"

"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her just before I could yell a number of choice words at her.

We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.

"You're wounded," Annabeth told Percy. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."

"I'm okay." He was wrong, this time it wasn't a feeling in the back of my mind, it was the burning from my chest that told me.

"No, you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."

He was definitely too tired to argue. He stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around us.

Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the burning disappear. Some of the campers gasped.

"Look, I-I don't know why," he said, trying to apologize. "I'm sorry..."

I looked up at him, but my breath got caught in my throat.

"Percy," my voice was quiet but I knew he heard it. He turned towards me, he barely looked at me for a moment before his eyes fell on something above my head.

I didn't even have to look up to know that the same thing that was above Percy, was above me.

I looked up anyways, of corse. By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still tell it was a hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.

"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."

"It is determined," Chiron announced.

All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about
it.

"My father?" Percy asked, completely bewildered.

"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses. Hail, Perseus and River Jackson, Children of the Sea God."

AUTHOR TALKS!!
The Jackson's and their inability to talk to beautiful girls.
I hope the gods have like a reality tv show where they just watch the kids. I can only imagine the gasp from the gods when Poseidon claimed Percy. And he's just like "yeah, I just did that"
Also It doesn't sound right to say "children" instead of "son", but I'll get over it.