One more time, the Hunters broke camp as quickly as they'd set it up. Artemis stared into the east like she was expecting something. Bianca sat off to one side, talking with Nico. Drako could tell from his gloomy face that she was explaining her decision to join the Hunt.
Drako had to agree with Percy in one thing, her decision was selfish. She was abandoning her little brother, who doesn't have anyone to rely on. But Drako also understood that she is a little girl, and she doesn't realize the real consequences of her actions.
Finally, the sky began to lighten. Artemis muttered, "About time. He's so lazy during the winter."
Drako, who was at her side, asked. "You're, um, waiting for sunrise?"
"For my brother. Yes."
Drako didn't want to be rude. He knew the legends about Apollo -or sometimes Helios- driving a big sun chariot across the sky. But he also knew that the sun was really a star about a zillion mile away. He knew that some myths were real, but still… with so many sun gods, he didn't see how Apollo could drive the sun.
"It's not exactly as you think," Artemis said like she was reading his mind.
"Oh, okay. So, it's not like he'll be pulling up in a—"
There was a sudden burst of light on the horizon—a blast of warmth.
"Don't look," Artemis advised. "Not until he parks."
Parks?
Drako saw that Artemis was averting her eyes, but he didn't need to. The skill [Branch Destruction] is the best armour against temperature, and there wasn't any fire stronger than the flame of Surtr.
To Drako's surprise, what he saw was a Red Maserati Spyder. It was so awesome it glowed. Then he realized it was glowing because the metal was hot. The snow had melted around the Maserati in a perfect circle, which explained why Drako was now standing on green grass and his shoes were wet.
The driver got out, smiling. He looked about seventeen or eighteen. This guy had sandy hair and outdoorsy good looks. This guy was as tall as Drako, and his smile was bright and playful. The Maserati driver wore jeans and loafers and a sleeveless T-shirt.
He was Apollo, the next chief god of Greek Mythology.
"Wow," Thalia muttered. "Apollo is hot."
"He's the sun god," Drako said.
"That's not what I meant." Thalia turned a bit to look at Drako. "But you don't lose to him."
Drako shrugged. He was not competing with anyone.
"Little sister!" Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter, he could've blinded all of them without the sun car. "What's up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!"
Artemis sighed. "I'm fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister."
"Hey, I was born first."
"We're twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—"
"So, what's up?" He interrupted. "Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some archery tips?"
He looked at Drako, and his eyes opened wide for a moment.
"Woah, so you're that kid. Hey, you have potential, you know? Do you want some tips, too?"
Drako raised his eyebrow, surprised at Apollo's attitude.
The god came to Drako's ear and whispered, "Watch what you're doing to my sister, it wouldn't be the first time I killed one of her suitors."
Drako raised the other eyebrow, now he was even more surprised. Mind you, he was not afraid. Drako doubted that the god could actually kill him.
"I'd like to see you try."
Artemis grit her teeth. "I need a favour. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood."
"Sure, sis! Transportation for the Hunters, you say? Good timing. I was just about ready to roll."
"These demigods will also need a ride," Artemis said, pointing to Percy's group. "Some of Chiron's campers."
"No problem!" Apollo checked on them. Then, he turned to Thalia. "Let's see… Thalia, right? I've heard all about you."
Thalia blushed. "Hi, Lord Apollo."
"Zeus' girl, yes? Makes you my half-sister. Used to be a tree, didn't you? Glad you are back. I hate it when pretty girls turn into trees. Man, I remember one time—"
"Brother," Artemis said. "You should get going."
"Oh, right." Then he looked at Percy Jackson, and his eyes narrowed. "Percy Jackson?"
"Yeah, I mean… yes, sir."
Apollo studied him, but he didn't say anything.
"Well!" he said last. "We'd better load up, huh? Ride only goes one way—west. And if you miss it, you miss it."
Drako looked at the Maserati, which would seat two people max. There were about twenty of us.
"Cool car," Nico said.
"Thanks, kid," Apollo said.
"But how will we all fit?"
"Oh." Apollo seemed to notice the problem for the first time. "Well, yeah. I hate to change out of sports-car mode, but I suppose…"
He took out his car keys and beeped the security alarm button.
Chirp, chirp.
For a moment, the car glowed brightly again. When the glare died, the Maserati had been replaced by a big bus.
"Right," He said. "Everybody in."
Zoë ordered the Hunters to start loading. She picked up her camping pack, and Apollo said, "Here, sweetheart. Let me get that."
Zoë recoiled. Her eyes flashed murderously.
"Brother," Artemis chided. "You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart."
Apollo spread his hands. "Sorry. I forgot. Hey, sis, where are you off to, anyway?"
"Hunting," Artemis said. "It's none of your business."
"I'll find out. I see all. Know all."
Artemis snorted. "Just drop them off, Apollo. And no messing around!!"
"No, no! I never mess around.��
Artemis rolled her eyes, then looked at the Hunters. "I will see you by the winter solstice. Zoe, you are in charge of the Hunters. Do well. Do as I would do."
Zoë straightened. "Yes, my lady."
Artemis knelt and touched the ground as if looking for tracks. When she rose, she looked troubled. "So much danger. The beast must be found."
She sprinted toward the woods and melted into the snow and shadows.
Apollo turned and grinned, jangling the car keys on his finger. "So," he said. "Who wants to drive?"
.............................................…..
The Hunters piled into the van. They all crammed into the back so they'd be as far away as possible from Apollo and the rest of the highly infectious males, they didn't let Drako sat there. Bianca went with them, leaving her little brother to hang in the front with the boys, which seemed cold to Drako, but Nico didn't seem to mind.
The only exception for the girls was Thalia, who went with and sat with Drako.
"This is so cool!" Nico said, jumping up and down in the driver's seat. "Is this really the sun? I thought Helios and Selene were the sun and moon gods. How come sometimes it's them and sometimes it's you and Artemis?"
"Downsizing," Apollo said. "The Romans started it. They couldn't afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon, I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car."
"But how does it work?" Nico asked. "I thought the sun was a big fiery ball of gas!"
Apollo chuckled and ruffled Nico's hair. "That rumour probably got started because Artemis used to call me a big fiery ball of gas. Seriously, kid, it depends on whether you're talking astronomy or philosophy. You want to talk astronomy? Bah, what fun is that? You want to talk about how humans think about the sun? Ah, now that's more interesting. They've got a lot riding on the sun… er, so to speak. It keeps them warm, grows their crops, powers engines, makes everything look, well, sunnier. This chariot is built out of human dreams about the sun, kid. It's as old as Western Civilization. Every day, it drives across the sky from east to west, lighting up all those puny little mortal lives. The chariot is a manifestation of the sun's power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?"
Nico shook his head. "No."
"Well then, just think of it as a really powerful, really dangerous solar car."
Drako plunged into his thoughts. This chariot was very powerful, probably one of the most powerful weapons of the god Apollo. If Drako were to compare it to Golden Drive at full power... he felt his Noble Phantasm was inferior.
"Can I drive?" Nico asked.
"No. Too young."
"Oo! Oo!" Grover raised his hand.
"Mm, no," Apollo said. "Too furry."
He looked past Drako and focused on Thalia.
"Daughter of Zeus!" he said. "Lord of the sky. Perfect."
"Oh, no." Thalia shook her head. "No, thanks."
"C'mon," Apollo said. "How old are you?"
Thalia hesitated. "I don't know."
It was sad, but true. She'd been turned into a tree when she was twelve, but that had been seven years ago. So she should be nineteen, if you went by years. But she still felt like she was twelve, and if you looked at her, she seemed somewhere in between. The best Chiron could figure, she had kept aging while in tree form, but much more slowly.
Apollo tapped his finger to his lips. "You're fifteen, almost sixteen."
"How do you know that?"
"Hey, I'm the god of prophecy. I know stuff. You'll turn sixteen in about a week. But, since you are now a Hunter, it doesn't really matter. Which means you're old enough now to drive with a learner's permit!"
Thalia shifted her feet nervously. "Uh—"
"I know what you're going to say," Apollo said. "You don't deserve an honour like driving the sun chariot."
"That's not what I was going to say."
"Don't sweat it! Maine to Long Island is a brief trip, and don't worry about what happened to the last kid I trained. You're Zeus' daughter. He's not going to blast you out of the sky."
Apollo laughed good-naturedly. The rest of them didn't join him.
Thalia tried to protest, but Apollo was absolutely not going to take "no" for an answer. He hit a button on the dashboard, and a sign popped up along the top of the windshield. Drako had to read it backwards. He was pretty sure it said "WARNING: STUDENT DRIVER."
"Take it away!" Apollo told Thalia. "You're gonna be a natural!"
....................................…
Drako had to admit he was a little worried. Thalia had no knowledge of how to drive a car, much less this solar-powered chariot. This wasn't the time to cause a not-so-natural disaster in the United States.
"Speed equals heat," Apollo advised. "So start slowly, and make sure you've got good altitude before you really open her up."
Thalia gripped the wheel so tight her knuckles turned white. She looked like she was going to be sick.
"What's wrong?" Drako asked her.
"Nothing," she said shakily. "N-nothing is wrong."
It was obvious that something was wrong.
She pulled back on the wheel. It tilted, and the bus lurched upward so fast that Percy fell back and crashed against something soft.
"Ow" Grover said.
"Sorry."
"Slower!" Apollo said.
"Sorry!" Thalia said. "I've got it under control!"
No, you don't.
Drako looked out of the window, he saw a smoking ring of trees from the clearing where we'd taken off.
"Thalia," he said, "lighten up on the accelerator."
"I've got it, Drako," she said, gritting her teeth. But she kept it floored.
"Loosen up," he told her.
"I'm loose!" Thalia said. She was so stiff she looked like she was made out of plywood.
"We need to veer south for Long Island," Apollo said. "Hang a left."
Thalia jerked the wheel and again threw Percy into Grover, who yelped.
"The other left," Apollo suggested.
…
She had mistaken right with left right now?
Drako made the mistake of looking out of the window again. They were at aeroplane height now—so high the sky was starting to look black.
"Ah…" Apollo said, and Drako got the feeling that he was forcing himself to sound calm. "A little lower, sweetheart. Cape Cod is freezing over."
Thalia tilted the wheel. Her face was chalk-white; her forehead beaded with sweat.
Something was definitely wrong.
The bus pitched down, and somebody screamed. Now, they were heading straight toward the Atlantic Ocean at a thousand miles an hour, the New England coastline off to their right. And it was getting hot in the bus.
Apollo had been thrown somewhere in the back of the bus, but he started climbing up the rows of seats.
"Thake the wheel!" Grover begged him.
Drako frowned. If Apollo did not do something, there was a chance someone would die today.
"No worries," Apollo said. He looked plenty worried. "She just has to learn to—WHOA!"
Drako saw what he was seeing. Down below them was a little snow-covered New England town.
At least, it used to be snow-covered. As he watched, the snow melted off the trees and the roofs and the lawns. The white steeple on a church turned brown and started to melt.
Little plumes of smoke, like birthday candles, were popping up all over the town. Trees and rooftops were catching fire.
"Pull up!" Drako yelled.
There was a wild light in Thalia's eyes. She yanked back on the wheel. As they zoomed up, Drako could see through the back window that the fires in the town were being snuffed out by the sudden blast of cold.
"There!" Apollo pointed. "Long Island, dead ahead. Let's slow down, dear. 'Dead' is only an expression."
Thalia was thundering toward the coastline of northern Long Island. There was Camp Half-Blood: the valley, the woods, the beach. Drako could see the dining pavilion (it looked like that) and cabins and the amphitheatre.
"I'm under control," Thalia muttered. "I'm under control."
They were only a few hundred yards away now.
"Brake," Apollo said.
"I can do this."
"BRAKE!"
Thalia slammed her foot on the brake, and the sun bus pitched forward at a forty-five-degree angle, slamming into the Camp Half-Blood canoe lake with a huge FLOOOOSH!
Steam billowed up, sending several frightened naiads scrambling out of the water with half-woven wicker baskets.
(Naiads are daughters of the river gods, they are a type of Nymphs)
The bus bobbed to the surface, along with a couple of capsized, half-melted canoes.
"Well," said Apollo with a brave smile. "You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let's go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?"
So here is the only "filler" chapter of all this volume (If I don't remember bad).
(So, here is some description of Camp Half-Blood for those who hadn't read Percy Jackson novels)
(This information come from https://riordan.fandom.com/wiki/Camp_Half-Blood)
(Be careful, this contains spoilers for those who want to read the original novels. Still, I recommend it to understand more about what is going to happen in the next chapters. I'm not going to write it because it is a lot of information and it may be annoying for most of you. I'm only going to write here the most important things)
Camp Half-Blood is a Greek demigod training facility located on the north shore of Long Island. The camp is directed by the god Dionysus, who the campers call "Mr. D," and Chiron, a Centaur who is the activities director. It is also the Greek counterpart of Camp Jupiter, a Roman camp in San Francisco, California.
The camp has magical borders which are enforced by the Golden Fleece, retrieved by the satyr Grover Underwood, the Cyclops Tyson, and demigods Percy Jackson, Clarisse La Rue, and Annabeth Chase. Stolen from Polyphemus' island, it was placed on Thalia's pine tree, ensuring that no monster could get into camp. The Fleece stays on the tree, guarded by the dragon Peleus, its magical powers protecting the camp from monsters and invaders.
The camp is described as being the only safe place for half-bloods, although in The Heroes of Olympus series it is revealed that there is a similar camp for Roman demigods – Camp Jupiter, located in San Francisco.
The half-bloods live in cabins (one for each of the twelve Olympians; later, many more cabins were added for minor gods and goddesses after Percy's request in The Last Olympian), and eat at the dining pavilion. There is also an archery field, a sword-fighting arena, a climbing wall with lava for training, an amphitheatre, stables, an armoury, and the Big House.
The camp's cover name is Delphi Strawberry Service, a reference to the name of the Oracle of Delphi.
(There is more important information about this camp, but it is up to you if you want to know about it.)
..........................................….
Drako had never been in Camp Half-Blood, so Percy had to explain a lot of things to him.
See, the camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr D (who is the god Dionysus), wants it to. Even Percy thought it would be warm and sunny, but instead, the snow had been allowed to fall lightly. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields.
The cabins were decorated with tiny lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of a real fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a flame flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. Drako wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something.
"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?"
"Yeah," Percy said.
"Why is there lava pouring down it?"
"Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoë, have you met—"
"I know Chiron," Zoë said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."
When she said Hunters, she wasn't talking about Drako. He knew it, and he knew that he wasn't going to reside in the same cabin as them.
"I'll show you the way," Grover offered.
"We know the way."
"Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here if you don't—" he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"
Zoë rolled her eyes, but Drako guesses she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away.
"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters. He winked at Percy. "Watch out for those prophecies, Drako. I'll see you soon."
"What do you mean?"
Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!"
He looked at Drako with an identifiable look. He gave a mysterious smile when he spoke, "Be careful, your presence here is significant to us. Even my vision of prophecy becomes cloudy when you get involved."
He then turned again to look at Thalia. He gave her a wicked smile as if he knew something she didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. They turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When they looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.
Nico was still looking grumpy. Drako wondered what his sister had told him.
"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."
"Our activities director," Percy said. "He's—"
"A centaur," Drako interrupted. "The one who has taught the greatest number of heroes, one of the best teachers of all times. His legend is well known."
"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."
................
Drako was surprised when he realized how empty the camp was. But soon he understood why it was like that. Most half-bloods only trained during summer. Just the year-rounders would be here—the ones who didn't have homes to go, or would get attacked by monster too much if they left.
But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either.
The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside. Flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate.
Drako spotted a guy who was radiating divinity, Mr D, and a centaur, Chiron, playing a quiet game of cards in the parlour.
Chiron looked like a middle-aged man from waist up, with thinning brown hair, bushy eyebrows, intense brown eyes and a scruffy beard. His lower half is that of a white stallion.
He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely.
Dionysus, also known as Mr. D, is the Greek god of grape harvest, wine, madness, parties, religious ecstasy, and theatre. He also serves as the camp director of Camp Half-Blood, having been placed there by his father Zeus as punishment for chasing after an off-limits nymph.
Dionysus has a chubby face, a red nose and curly hair so black, it looks purple. He has watery, blue, bloodshot eyes from drinking. Although it was winter, he had a tiger-striped Hawaiin shirt. Anyone can tell he's no stranger to wine just by looking at him. However, Drako didn't think that this was his true appearance.
Chiron smiles when he saw them. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and these boys must be—"
"Nico di Angelo," Percy said. "He and his sister are half-bloods. The other one is Drako, one of the Hunters."
Chiron's and Dionysus's eyes opened wide, but then they relaxed and put on a face of understanding.
Chiron looked at Nico and breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then."
"Well…"
His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"
"Oh, dear," Dionysus said in a bored voice, "Not another one lost."
Drako had been trying not to pay attention to Dionysus, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. (Like Dionysus had ever run a day in his immortal life.) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.
"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?"
Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!"
Chiron frowned and looked towards Drako. "The Hunters, eh? I see, we have much to talk about."
He glanced at Nico.
"Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."
"But… Oh, right. Yes, sir."
"Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? `Cause Bianca is kinda strict—"
"It's PG-13," Grover said.
"Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room.
"Now," Chiron said to the rest of them, "perhaps you three should sit down and tell us the whole story."
.........…
When they were done, Chiron turned to Dionysus. "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately."
"I'll go," Thalia and Percy said at the same time.
Dionysus sniffed. "Certainly not!"
Thalia and Percy started complaining, but Dionysus held up his hand. He had an angry purplish fire in his eyes which probably meant something bad or godly was going to happen if they didn't shut up.
"From what you've told me," Dionysus said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—"
"Annabeth," Percy snapped. She'd gone to camp since she was seven, and still, Dionysus pretended no to know her name.
"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her. So, I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."
Even Drako wanted to strangle this god right now. A girl who should have been in his care had disappeared, but he still had this same shitty attitude.
"Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, but Drako could tell he was having trouble sounding up-beat.
He'd practically raised Annabeth all those years she was a year-round camper before she'd given living with her dad and stepmom a second try. "She's very bright. If… if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."
"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive."
Luke… Drako remembered that Thalia had mentioned him before. He was one of her friends that scape 7 years ago, one of those she died to protect.
Now, it seems that… Luke is an enemy?
Drako still didn't understand well what is the situation here, so he just keeps quiet and learn the story with the little details coming from here and there.
"In which case," said Dionysus, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."
Percy got up from the table.
"Percy." Chiron's tone was full of warning.
Percy knew that Dionysus was not somebody to mess with. But right now, he didn't care.
"You're glad to lose another camper," He said. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!"
Dionysus stifled a yawn. "You have a point?"
"Yeah," he growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!"
For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Dionysus's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something—probably a curse—when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover.
"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're… you're a centaur!"
Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters."
"And, whoa!" He looked at Dionysus. "You're the wine dude? No way!"
Dionysus turned his eyes away from Percy and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?"
"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine."
"My figurine?"
"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even you've only got like five hundred attack points, and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"
"Ah." Dionysus seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved Percy's life. "Well, that's… gratify-ing."
"Percy," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."
"Capture the flag?" He asked. "But we don't have enough—"
"It's a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."
"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's really friendly.��
Chiron jerked his head toward Dionysus, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defences points all the gods had in his game. "Run along now," Chiron told them.
"Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on, boys."
"Oh, dragon," Chiron directed his first words to Drako. "I would like to talk with you alone later, if you don't mind."
Drako nodded his head and followed the two demigods.
........................…
I love naïve Nico, he is so lovely. And I love even more his development on the novels. He is, for me, the best-designed character of this series.
Does who have read the novels, do you agree with me? Don't be shy and give me your thoughts. 😉
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