Chapter 4: i. the hunt
"welcome to the hunt, bianca"
Archery has never been Cassandra's favorite activity. To say the least, she was horrible at it.
She liked to joke that Apollo had cursed her, like he had the original Cassandra. Zoe would just roll her eyes and shake her head, muttering about how she just needed to practice.
Despite this, her bow was drawn as her and the rest of the Hunter's ran through the woods, following a scent Artemis had found. The moon shone bright overhead, shining a slight light across the woods.
Artemis stopped running from ahead of them. She held her hand up and ordered, "Stop."
They stopped their running, and notched an arrow in their bows. Cassandra scanned the surrounding woods, but she couldn't see anything. The only sign that something was wrong was the slight chill against her head as the silver metal of the circlet grew cold.
Zoe must have felt it too as she pressed her hand to her forehead and muttered, "Something is wrong."
Cassandra nodded, "What is it, Artemis?"
The goddess looked around as well, pressing her hand to a tree beside them, "I sense demigods."
The Hunters all groaned in annoyance. They had been on this mission for days, and demigods always got in the way.
"There's a satyr as well" Artemis continued, interrupting the groaning. "We have to be much more cautious about this. We don't want anyone to get hurt."
Zoe nodded firmly. "Yes, my lady."
"Hunters continue forward" Artemis ordered, waving her hand forward. They resumed their running, sprinting as fast as cheetahs.
They stopped again at the edge of the woods. A cliff could be seen, a tall figure standing over six teenagers, or maybe kids? Cassandra couldn't tell from her angle.
She moved closer to the goddess, along with her co-lieutenant Zoe Nightshade. "What is it, Artemis?"
"That's the manticore" Artemis answered, her eyebrows furrowed. "We need to help them."
Zoe drew her bow, notching and aiming an arrow towards the monster. Cassandra grabbed the hunting horn, raising it to her lips. "On thy mark, my lady" Zoe said.
"Now, do you see how hopeless it was? Yield little heroes" The manticore laughed.
"Now" Artemis ordered.
Cassandra blew the hunting horn, the loud sound piercing through the quiet night.
The manticore froze in fear, "No" He said. "It cannot be—"
Zoe didn't let him finish his sentence, releasing the string and sending the silver arrow zipping through the sky. It shot past a boy and landed in the monster's shoulder.
"Curse you!" He cried, sending his poisonous spikes toward the woods.
The Hunters let their arrows fly, intercepting the spikes and splitting them in two. Cassandra grinned, "Nice job, girls!"
The manticore pulled Zoe's arrow out of his shoulder, howling in pain. He knocked a boy aside as he attempted to attack him.
Artemis stood, motioning for the others to do the same, before they stepped out of the woods. Cassandra drew her bow and jogged to catch up with Zoe.
Her grip became tighter as she recognized Thalia Grace, a daughter of Zeus she had a less than pleasant history with, and Annabeth Chase, a daughter of Athena she hadn't seen since the girl was seven.
"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.
"Oh wonderful" Thalia muttered, rolling her eyes.
Cassandra ignored her as the two lieutenants stepped forward. "Permission to kill my lady?" Zoe asked.
"This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against ancient laws!" The monster wailed.
Cassandra rolled her eyes and muttered, "Here we go again."
"Not so" Artemis argued. "The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast" She turned to the two girls. "Zoe, Cassandra, permission granted."
The manticore growled, "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!" He lunged at the boy and Thalia.
"No!" Annabeth yelled and charged the monster. It was probably the dumbest move she could have done, but Cassandra gave her a point for her bravery.
"Get back half-blood!" Zoe yelled. "Get out of the line of fire!"
"If you don't move, you're going to have twenty arrows lodged in your chest!" Cassandra yelled, rolling her eyes. This girl was a daughter of Athena. She was supposed to be wise.
Of course being a demigod, she didn't listen. She jumped onto the monsters back and stuck her knife into his mane. The manticore howled in pain, spinning in circles while Annabeth hung on for dear life.
"Fire!" Zoe ordered.
"No!" Thalia screamed.
"I tried to warn you!" Cassandra yelled back before letting an arrow fly through the air. It wasn't nearly as accurate as the other Hunters but it didn't do horrible, landing in his chest.
The Hunters also fired, landing in various places. The manticore staggered backward, wailing , "This is not the end Huntress! You shall pay!"
Before Cassandra could retort, the manticore jumped off the cliff, with Annabeth still on his back.
"Annabeth!" The boy yelled, running towards the cliff. Cassandra raised her hand, prepared to prevent him from jumping off the cliff but he stopped. A snap-snap-snap sounded from the helicopter. The sound of gunfire.
The Hunters scatted, deciding they didn't want to die.
Artemis raised her hand, looking up at the aircraft calmly, "Mortals" She announced. "Are not allowed to witness my hunt."
She thrusted her hand forward, and the helicopter exploded into a flock of ravens.
"You" Zoe said with distaste as they advanced on the demigods.
"Zoe Nightshade. Cassandra Regalia" Thalia's voice trembled with anger.
"The one and only" Cassandra muttered, with a small smirk.
"Perfect timing as usual" Thalia said, ignoring her comment.
"Just doing our job" Cassandra said, with a shrug. "Maybe you'll actually let us do it this time. I would hate for you to go back to being a tree."
Thalia glared at her, and Cassandra narrowed her eyes in response.
"Four half-bloods and a satyr" Zoe said, scanning the group.
"Yes" Artemis said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."
"Annabeth!" The boy yelled. "You have to let us save her!"
Cassandra rolled her eyes at him, taking a good look at him. Jet black hair, sea green eyes, tan, muscular.
"Son of Poseidon", Cassandra decided.
Artemis turned toward him, "I am sorry Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond our help."
Percy Jackson. Son of Poseidon. She called it.
He struggled to get to his feet, but a few Hunters stepped forward to hold him down.
"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs" Artemis said.
"Let us go!" Percy demanded. "Who do you think you are."
Cassandra sighed. Demigods were always so disrespectful.
Zoe stepped forward as if she wanted to slap him, but Cassandra placed a hand on her shoulder. "Leave it."
"I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand." Artemis said.
Artemis looked back at Percy, "I am Artemis" She told him. "Goddess of the hunt."
"Um... okay" Percy said dumbfounded.
This was nothing compared to the satyr who quickly knelt down, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so... you're so... wow!"
"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about, Annabeth is gone!"
"Woah" Another girl said. "Time out."
Everyone's eyes turned to her. She pointed her finger at all of them, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who... who are you people?"
Artemis's expression grew soft. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you? Who are your parents?"
She glanced nervously at her brother, who was still awestruck by Artemis.
"Our parents are dead" She said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but..." She faltered. She could probably tell from their faces that they didn't believe her.
"What?" She demanded. "I'm telling the truth."
"You're a half-blood" Cassandra said.
"One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian" Zoe continued at her confused look.
"Or a minor god or goddess" Cassandra added, nudging her best friend with her elbow.
"An Olympian... athlete?"
"No" Zoe said. "One of the gods."
"Cool!" The boy said.
"No!" Her voice quavered. "This is not cool!"
The boy danced around like he needed to use the restroom, "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"
"Nico, shut up!" The girl put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!"
Thalia's glare softened, "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well... our lives are dangerous."
"Dangerous" Bianca said, "Like the girl who fell."
Cassandra nodded. Thalia turned away, and evenArtemis looked pained.
"Do not despair for Annabeth" Artemis told them. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found I shall find her."
"Then why won't you let us go look for her?" Percy asked.
"She is gone. Can't you sense it Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."
"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"
"He was a manticore" Artemis said.
"If we're lucky, then he's dead for now. But monsters don't actually die. They just keep re-forming over and over again. They have to be killed when they do" Cassandra explained.
"Or they'll kill us" Thalia muttered.
Bianca shivered, "That explains... Nico, do you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?" She asked.
"And that bus driver" Nico added. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real."
"That's why Grover has been watching you" Percy explained. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods."
Bianca stared at the satyr, "Grover?" She questioned. "You're a half-blood?"
"Well, a satyr actually" He kicked off his shoes to show her his goat hooves. Bianca looked as though she was about to pass out.
"Grover put your shoes back on" Thalia ordered. "You're freaking her out."
Grover looked offended. "Hey! My hooves are clean!"
"Bianca" Percy stepped toward the girl. "We came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp."
"Camp?" Bianca asked.
"Camp Half-Blood. It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like" Percy explained.
"Sweet, let's go!" Nico said.
"Wait" Bianca shook her head. "I don't—"
"There is another option" Cassandra suggested.
"No, there isn't!" Thalia snapped
They glared at each other. Hatred loomed in the air between them.
"We've burdened these children enough!" Artemis announced.
"Zoe, Cassandra, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents, treat the wounded, retrieve our guests' belongings from the school."
Cassandra nodded, "Yes, my lady."
"And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."
"Ha!" Cassandra muttered before turning away.
"What about me?" Nico asked.
Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show, Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure, Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while... as a favor to me?"
Grover practically tripped over himself standing up. "You bet! C'mon Nico!"
They walked off towards the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and other geeky things. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff, and the Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp.
Zoe and Cassandra both gave Thalia one more glare before going to help the Hunters.
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After they had set up camp, Zoe and Cassandra were tasked with retrieving Percy Jackson and bringing him to Artemis.
"Percy Jackson" Zoe said when they had reached the group. "Come with us. Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee."
The two girls led Percy to the last tent where, inside Bianca and Artemis sat around the fire.
"Join us, Percy Jackson" The goddess said.
He looked at her curiously.
"Are you surprised by my age?" She asked him.
"Uh... a little" He responded.
"I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I patron, before they go astray."
"Go astray?" Percy asked.
"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."
"Oh."
Zoe gave Percy a glare full of malice as her and Cassandra sat down. Like everything Artemis had said was his fault.
Cassandra smacked her arm lightly, and whispered "He isn't him."
"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you" Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp..." She looked to Cassandra, "Which one was it?"
She wanted to answer with "The boy with the big forehead" but she decided that it might not be appropriate so she answered with "The boy in Colorado. You turned him into a jackalope."
"Ah yes" Artemis nodded, seeming satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes. At any rate, Percy, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the... mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."
And so he told them.
When he was done, Artemis placed a hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer."
Zoe leaned forward, "The scent, my lady?"
"Yes."
"What scent?" Percy asked.
"Things are stirring that I have not hunted in a millennia" She murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."
She stared at him intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again exactly what Dr. Thorn said."
"Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"
"No, no. After that" Artemis said.
"He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me."
Zoe's face paled and Cassandra chewed the inside of her cheek. They opened their mouths to say something, but Artemis held her hand up.
"Go on, Percy" The goddess instructed.
"Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stirring. And he said that 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all— the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"
Artemis froze.
"Maybe he was lying?" Percy suggested.
Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I've been too slow too see the signs. I must hunt this monster."
Zoe and Cassandra nodded, attempting to hide their fear, "We will leave right away, my lady" Zoe said.
"No. I must do this alone."
"But, Artemis—" Zoe argued.
"This task too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."
"As you wish, my lady" Cassandra said.
"I will find this creature" Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by the winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods how much danger we are in."
"You know what the monster is?" Percy asked.
Artemis gripped her bow tighter. "Let us pray I am wrong."
"Can goddesses pray?" He asked. Cassandra smiled.
"Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you" Artemis said, a flicker of a smile on her face from Percy's joke.
"Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?"
"Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return" The smile disappeared from Cassandra's face.
"What?" She blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. And they hate us. Do you remember what happened the last time we stayed there?"
"Yes, I know" Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burnt down."
Cassandra glared at the ground.
"And now there is a few last decisions to make" Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?"
Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it."
"Wait" Percy said. "Thinking about what?"
"They... they've invited me to join the Hunt."
"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive."
"It's not the only way for a girl" Cassandra and Zoe said in unison.
"Bianca, camp is cool!" Percy said trying to persuade her. "It's got a pegasus stable and a sword fighting arena and... I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?"
Cassandra clenched her fists, trying her best not to turn him into an ice sculpture.
"To begin with" Zoe started, "Immortality."
Percy was dumbfounded. "She's kidding, right?"
"Zoe rarely kids about anything" Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sister-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal... unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath."
"What oath?" Percy asked.
"To forswear romantic love forever" Artemis explained. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally."
"Like you?"
The goddess nodded.
"So... you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—"
"Not just half-bloods" Cassandra interrupted. "Anyone who honors Artemis can join. Half-bloods, mortal, nymphs—"
"Which are you then?"
She glared at him, "A demigod."
"Who's your godly parent?" He asked, ignoring the murderous look.
"Khione. Goddess of ice, snow, and winter. And just because Artemis won't turn you into a jackalope doesn't mean I won't turn you into an ice sculpture—"
Artemis cut her off by holding up her hand.
"What about you?" He asked Zoe, trying to hide his nervousness. Cassandra didn't seem like she made empty threats.
Anger flashed through Zoe's eyes, glaring at Percy. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice."
"Bianca, this is crazy" Percy said. "What about your brother? Nico can't become a Hunter."
"Certainly not" Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."
"Hey!" Percy protested.
"You can see him from time to time" Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us."
"A new family" Bianca repeated with a dreamy look. "Free of responsibility."
It sounded a little bit mean, but Cassandra could understand. Bianca has never had a childhood. Always having to take care of her brother. And now she could be carefree of all those things. Be a kid.
"Bianca, you can't do this" Percy told her. "It's nuts."
The girl looked at Zoe and Cassandra. "Is it worth it?" She asked them.
Zoe nodded, "It is."
She turned to Cassandra. "Just... make sure that this is what you want, Bianca. Will your brother be okay without you? Will you be okay without your brother? If the answer is yes, then it's worth it."
Bianca thought for a moment. "What do I have to do?"
"Say this" Zoe instructed. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."
"I... I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."
"I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt" Cassandra continued, thinking back to when she had said those exact lines.
Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?"
Zoe nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding."
"I accept it" Artemis said.
The flames in the brazier became brighter, a silver glow casting itself along every inch of the room. Bianca didn't look different, but she opened her eyes and took a deep breath. "I feel... stronger."
"Welcome, sister" Zoe congratulated
"Welcome to the Hunt, Bianca" Cassandra said with a smile. "You can call me Cassie."
"Remember your pledge" Artemis warned. "It is now your life."
Percy seemed ready to throw himself off the cliff. Or maybe become one of the ice sculptures Cassandra had talked about. "Do not despair, Percy Jackson" Artemis said. "You will get to show the di Angelo's your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."
"Great" Percy said, trying not to sound surly. "How are we supposed to get there?"
Artemis closed her eyes, "Dawn in approaching. Zoe and Cassandra, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."
Zoe and Cassandra looked very displeased with that decision but they nodded and beckoned for Bianca to follow them. As the girl was leaving she turned to face Percy. "I'm sorry, Percy. But I want this. I really, really do." She told him before leaving.
"So" Percy said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"
The goddess's eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca di Angelo isn't the only one with an annoying brother."
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author's note:
First chapter baby!
I'm super excited for you guy's to meet Cassandra and to see her relationship with Percy grow.
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