by Emery Pugh
Chapter 11
Percy
The serpent disappeared as soon as I set my eyes upon it. I blinked to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating. Time returned to normal speed.
Everyone rushed out of the meeting room and scrambled to assemble themselves into a fighting formation. I continued to stare at the spot where the serpent was. No one else appeared to see it. It must have been an illusion.
Across the Little Tiber, a massive siege tower was surrounded by a horde of hundreds of monsters. On top of the siege tower was another weapon – a snake made from Imperial gold, hissing and spitting out a green liquid, presumably venom. The tower could cause no end of trouble for us.
I had no time to dwell on the serpent issue.
I felt someone touch my shoulder. It was Annabeth.
“Are you going to fight?” she asked me.
I turned to face her and looked her in the eyes. “I thought this… was all over. I thought we were finally going to live a normal life together. As much as I want to avoid the chaos of demigod life, I can’t not fight for this camp. This is my home, just as much as Camp Half-Blood.”
She nodded and remained silent. I knew what her decision was without even asking her. That determined look said it all.
We both bolted for our rooms, which was where our weapons were. I uncovered my sword, in pen form, in a pocket of a spare set of jeans.
Outside, I found the legion fully assembled. I located the Fifth Cohort, the cohort I was once in, and positioned myself at the left flank.
The monsters across the Little Tiber gathered in clusters to cross the river into camp. The legion separated into its five cohorts, heading off to defend different weak points in Camp Jupiter’s defenses.
Dozens of massive, dark masses – hellhounds – jumped into the river and made a mad dash to our side. Water was my specialty – it was my job to stop them.
I concentrated and closed my eyes. Whirlpools swirled around the monsters, slowly sucking them down. They panicked and thrashed, but to no avail. A pit slowly formed in my gut – I willed a tidal wave to rise two stories into the air. The hellhounds were thrown into the air with the wave, yelping and waving their paws. (Their yelps, though, were like cannon blasts. Hellhounds are nothing like little puppies.) The wave/hellhound gang slammed into the siege tower, but to my disappointment, the tower was unshaken.
Ballistae cannons fired from the inner camp onto the siege tower and the monsters. I watched the cannonballs reach its apex and arc down, but they hit an invisible barrier and exploded midair.
Annabeth was studying the architecture of the siege tower – looking for weak points. “Percy, target the spot right above the doorway arch.”
I nodded with determination and focused all my energy on the water. These monsters were attacking the camp – my home. I would not let them do this. The pulling sensation in my gut increased, but I hardly noticed it. These monsters were after my friends and I – something I would not tolerate.
All my rage exploded from the river and crashed with tremendous force into the siege tower, right on the weak spot. I let out a primal scream, mostly from the pain in my gut. You try controlling a whole river, and you’ll be able to empathize with me.
The tower shook dangerously, swaying from side to side. The monsters tittered nervously and backed away.
And of course that’s when the venom-spitting snake started going nuts.
Did I mention that I have an intense hatred towards snakes? I’ve seen way too many – normal ones, snakes with 7 heads, massive serpents, and now a metal venom-spitting figurehead atop a tower.
Venom droplets sprayed everywhere. Campers crouched behind cover, but it did little – the venom melted even the Imperial gold shields and swords like butter in a hot pan. They had to get more distance to be safe.
“Get back!” I yelled. “Get behind cover, and get as far away as possible!”
“Everyone, follow me!” Frank held up his half-melted shield in front of his face.
An intense pain jolted up my right arm. I felt like it was being slowly sawed off at a point somewhere between my shoulder and elbow.
Only one word can describe than pain: a pure feeling of ow.
I looked in horror at my arm, which was now turning a green-ish purple. A venom droplet had struck me.
Within a few seconds, I probably cursed more than in the rest of my life. Hey, I couldn’t help it.
I uttered another primal scream, but this one was from pain. Then everything went black.
Chapter 12
Hector
I was, naturally, a little stunned. The son of Zeus (what was his name again?) just randomly selected me for the quest. I barely even knew what a quest was, and I didn’t know the guy.
The camp was silent. Chiron trotted over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Congrats, Hector,” Chiron said, trying to have an encouraging tone. But it sounded like he was leading me to my grave. “Going on a quest is an honor.”
I gave a weak attempt at a timid smile. “Um, thanks.”
Walking back to my seat, I felt the eyes of the entire camp on me. I strained to not stare back at them and yell, What? Stop staring!
“Choose two more quest partners, Godric,” Chiron beckoned to him to continue.
Sanderson raised his hand. “I’ll be going.” He whispered something in Godric’s ear, who nodded.
Can I choose the other quest member? It echoed around the dining pavilion, but nobody else seemed to notice.
Suddenly, I realized why – at school, I’d even sometimes hear whispers across a noisy cafeteria. It was one of my powers as a demigod. Honestly, I didn’t know how extra good hearing could help much, but okay.
Sanderson’s gaze drifted over to a girl at the Iris table – who I presumed was his girlfriend. The girl smiled and stood up.
“I’ll go with Sanderson,” she said, putting an arm around him.
Chiron cleared his throat. “Alright, Andromeda. We have our quest team assembled. Get ready to depart next morning.”
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Chiron called me to come over to the Big House that evening.
If you don’t know, the Big House is just a house that Chiron and some of the other camp leaders live in, and where stuff is stored.
I walked across the camp and climbed the stairs to the porch, where Chiron (in wheelchair form with his centaur lower body magically compacted) was sipping a lemonade. He gestured for me to take a seat.
“Hector… I need to tell you a few things about your quest.” Chiron drooped his head.
I held my breath, waiting.
“Quests…” Chiron took a deep breath. “Are very, very dangerous. I must stress the perils you will face. Hades chose to claim you at that moment because he wants you on the quest, and I won’t dispute that, but I feel guilty if I don’t give you a chance to back out.”
I swallowed. I barely even knew what was going on, or even what being a son of Hades meant – I’d never even met the guy. Garret and Hedge the mad whacker did their best to explain everything, but little made any sense.
A thousand and one questions ran through my mind. Would the camp make fun of me for chickening out? Would I die on this quest? Why are strawberries red?
Despite being new, the camp already felt like home. The Hades cabin wasn’t all that comfortable, and the last son of Hades who lived in there was off on a different dangerous quest. I made up my mind.
“I… I don’t know,” I admitted. “I barely know what’s going on. But I’m sure this camp is and was a home to many, and I’m willing to defend it.”
Chiron nodded gravely and made an attempt at a smile. “That’s the spirit of a hero. Good luck out there, Hector, and may the gods be with you.”
“Thanks,” I said weakly as I stood up to leave.
“Oh, and one more thing.” Chiron interrupted. “Usually at least one satyr accompanies the quest team… how would you like your old friend to go along?”
My heart leapt. “You mean… Garret?” Chiron nodded.
I grinned. Maybe this quest wouldn’t be so lonely after all.
The Lighthouse 