-Loth's P.O.V-
The forest hummed with life as I followed behind Luke, the head camp counselor, and a group of campers from the Hermes and Apollo cabins.
Our duty? Collecting wood for the nightly Camp fire.
Percy walked beside me, his expression as stormy as ever, while Grover led the way up front. The satyr's cloven hooves crunched lightly against the forest floor as he sniffed the air and listened for the whispers of Dryads, ensuring what we gathered wouldn't offend them.
Several Hermes campers carried magical bags, enchanted with infinite storage to hold the firewood they collected.
Meanwhile, Percy and I carried nothing, and my vigilance had me constantly scanning the surrounding forest.
Percy, already irritated, threw his hands up. "Why are we even here? We're not collecting anything."
I shrugged, keeping my eyes on the dense trees. "Probably as lookouts. Extra hands, maybe."
Percy rolled his eyes. "Lookouts? For what?"
I glanced at Luke, whose easy smile belied the quiet authority he carried.
Some campers around him had weapons—bows slung over shoulders, swords strapped to hips. Luke understood the dangers of the forest, which reassured me slightly. Still, I wasn't about to let my guard down.
I considered sharing my observations with Percy, but his sour mood made me hesitate.
Besides, I reminded myself for the millionth time, I should keep my distance from the main cast. They attracted trouble like magnets.
Unfortunately for me, fate seemed intent on pulling me into their orbit.
---
A soft rustle alerted me just before Annabeth appeared out of nowhere, startling Percy.
"What the—how did you do that?" Percy demanded, stepping back.
Annabeth smirked, holding up a battered Yankees cap.
"It's the hat," I cut in before she could answer. "A magical item that grants invisibility, right?"
Annabeth nodded, spinning the cap between her fingers. "Exactly. I've been following you two long enough to get tired of Percy's sulking."
Percy flushed. "I'm not sulking!"
"You're sulking," she replied flatly, turning to me. "Chiron told him something earlier, and now he's all gloom and doom about it."
"What did he say?" I asked, already wary.
"That Percy shouldn't have been born."
I winced at the harshness, but Annabeth's matter-of-fact tone told me there was more to the story.
"Why would he say that?"
Annabeth crossed her arms. "It's not personal. It's… complicated. After World War II, the Big Three—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—swore an oath on the River Styx not to have any more kids. Their demigod children caused too much destruction, too many disasters."
I stopped in my tracks, processing her words. "Wait. Are you implying the gods were responsible for World War II?"
I didn't recall anything like that from the books. Then again, I read them over ten years ago.
"No," Percy cut in, his tone bitter. "Their 'kids' were. They fought on opposite sides, and everything went to hell because of it."
The implications churned in my mind. I glanced at Percy, who stared down at his hands.
"So Zeus and Hades can't be happy you exist," I said carefully.
"Yeah, well, I'm not happy I exist either," Percy muttered. "If I didn't, maybe my mom would still be alive."
His words hit me harder than I expected. I knew, thanks to my future knowledge, that Sally Jackson was alive—trapped in the Underworld—but I couldn't bring myself to tell him. How would I explain knowing that?
Before I could think of something to say, Luke's voice rang out.
"That's enough!" He waved the group back toward camp. "We've got what we need. Time to move!"
---
The campers formed up, and we started the trek back toward camp. I relaxed slightly, the tension easing from my shoulders.
Then I felt it—a presence in the air, fast and filled with rage. My Aura Sense flared to life, and I whirled around, my voice sharp. "Duck!"
Pink energy burst from my chest as I summoned a dome-shaped barrier around us, stretching it wide enough to cover everyone.
A bone-chilling screech cut through the forest, and a massive shape descended.
A Gryphon, its golden feathers gleaming in the dappled sunlight, slammed into my barrier with razor-sharp claws.
The dome held for a moment, but the beast's strength tore through it. A consequence of spreading the barrier too far was that it wasn't very strong.
One of the campers cried out as the Gryphon's talons raked across his arm, sending him sprawling.
"No!" I yelled, frozen in horror.
The Gryphon's tail lashed out, aiming for me. Percy barreled into me, shoving me aside just as the ground where I had stood erupted in a shower of dirt and debris.
"Get it together!" Percy shouted at me.
Grover's panicked voice rose above the chaos. "It's coming around again!"
The Gryphon circled, its mad eyes locking onto me. My stomach clenched as I realized it wasn't going after the group—it was coming for 'me.'
"Fire!" Luke ordered the Apollo kids, and a volley of arrows streaked toward the beast.
The Gryphon didn't even try to dodge. It barreled through the arrows, letting them pierce its body in its blind fury to reach me.
My survival instincts kicked in. Pink energy flooded my body as I summoned a spear construct, identical to the one I had created during training.
The Gryphon dove, its beak wide open as it lunged for me.
I released the spear.
The construct soared straight into its maw, and an explosion of light and energy shattered the air.
The Gryphon's head disintegrated, and its body crashed to the ground in a limp heap.
The beast skidded across the dirt, only stopping when it slammed into a pink barrier I threw up reflexively.
---
Silence reigned in the aftermath. The Gryphon's lifeless body, riddled with arrows and its head obliterated, lay crumpled in the dirt.
Around me, the campers stared—some at the beast, others at me—with wide eyes, their fear palpable.
Luke's commanding voice cut through the tension. "Annabeth! Ambrosia, now! Markus is hurt!"
Annabeth jolted into action, rushing to Markus, the injured camper clutching his bloodied arm.
I could barely register her moving as my own breath came in ragged bursts. I'd almost died...again.
The Gryphon's feathers began to glow faintly, disintegrating into motes of yellow light that rose into the air like dying embers.
Percy stepped closer to me, his expression concerned. "You okay?"
"I'll live," I said with a shaky laugh, rubbing my chest where the dome had drained my reserves. "Though I swear, this forest is trying to kill me."
Percy chuckled softly, but his eyes lingered on me longer than I liked, worry etched into his face.
---
Once Markus's wound was stabilized with a mixture of ambrosia and nectar, the group began the trek back to camp.
I hung at the rear, keeping my distance from the others. Their hushed whispers and sidelong glances told me everything I needed to know.
They were afraid of me.
Even Percy and Annabeth, who walked a few paces ahead, seemed subdued.
Percy eventually broke the silence. "What happened to the Gryphon's body? It just… vanished."
Annabeth answered without looking back. "Monsters don't die. Not really. When you kill one, it's dispelled. It reforms in the Underworld and eventually comes back."
Percy frowned at that but said nothing.
Meanwhile, my mind raced. I replayed the encounter, every moment of chaos and blood. The Gryphon's glowing red eyes, filled with madness, had been locked on me the entire time.
Unlike the Giant spider I fought in the forest—which attacked out of territorial instinct/hunger—this Gryphon had no reason to target me.
'So why come after me?'
The thought gnawed at me. My gaze drifted to Luke's broad back at the head of the group.
Could he have orchestrated this? But no, the idea felt wrong. Luke may have despised the gods, even stolen Zeus' Lightning Bolt, but he wouldn't blatantly endanger his fellow demigods just to take me out. Would he?
The unease lingered as we finally breached the edge of the forest and the camp came into view.
---
Up ahead, Luke slowed his pace, allowing Percy, Annabeth, and me to catch up.
He turned to us, his expression soft with concern. "You guys okay?"
Percy shrugged. "Yeah, I guess. Is it always like this when you leave camp? Getting attacked, I mean?"
Annabeth answered before Luke could. "No, not usually. Monsters tend to avoid the area around Camp Half-Blood. The barrier keeps them out. This attack was… unusual."
"Unusual," I echoed under my breath, my suspicion deepening.
Luke nodded gravely but quickly pivoted the conversation, flashing us a grin. "Well, whatever it was, you both handled yourselves like pros. Especially you, Loth. That spear of yours—pretty impressive. You probably saved all our necks back there."
I glanced at him warily. "I just… did what I had to."
Luke clapped a hand on my shoulder. "And that's exactly why we need you on our team for 'Capture the Flag' on Friday."
Percy perked up. "Capture the Flag?"
"It's a big deal here," Annabeth explained. "Camp tradition. Think of it as… training."
Luke smirked. "Loth, I'm counting on you to break that magic spear of yours over Clarisse's—well, let's just say, somewhere it'll hurt. And Percy, I'm sure you'd love to get her back for trying to dunk your head in a toilet."
Percy snorted. "You can count me in."
Luke glanced at me. "What about you?"
I exchanged a look with Percy, who grinned. Despite my misgivings, I couldn't help but smile back. "Yeah, I'm in. I've been waiting to give Clarisse a taste of her own medicine."
Luke beamed. "Good. You won't regret it."
-0-
-General P.O.V-
High above Camp Half-Blood, hidden in the swirling mist of the barrier, two figures stood side by side.
One was a tall, scruffy man clad in a biker's leather jacket, black sunglasses, and metal-studded boots.
His aura radiated cold steel, blood, and unrelenting madness. Ares, the God of War, smirked as he gazed down at the forest clearing where the Gryphon had fallen.
"Powerful brat," Ares commented, his voice rough and amused. "Even under pressure, the kid didn't freeze. Pushed through the fear and took down the Gryphon. That's some terrifying survival instinct right there."
Beside him, draped in a cloak of shimmering purple magic, stood Hecate, the Goddess of Magic. Her eyes remained fixed on Loth as he walked through the camp gates.
"Ares," she said coolly, "I didn't call you here for commentary. Your role is done. Leave, before Aphrodite comes sniffing around for her Boytoy."
The War God bristled, turning to glare at her. "Who do you think you're talking to—"
Before he could finish, Hecate waved her hand dismissively, and Ares vanished in a flash of blinding purple light.
Alone now, Hecate's lips curled into a small, knowing smile. Her gaze didn't waver from Loth, even as the group dispersed.
"You passed this test, Loth," she murmured to herself. "But you still have more to show me. Let's see how far you can take that magic of yours."
Her form faded into the mist, leaving the camp below untouched by her presence.