lacuna [connor stoll]

XLII. Set into Motion

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO: SET INTO MOTION

Spring weather came faster then Ellie had expected.

Even though it was only February, the trees regained their leaves; the air regained some of its warmth that she had grown to love. The atmosphere itself seemed to shift, the demigods always seemed to be happier in warmer weather.

Today was the first of February, the name day of St Tryphon, which meant a small celebration was in plan for camp tonight.

She strolled through camp carelessly, training didn't start for a few minutes. She soaked up the few moments of peace she could get. The sun beat down on her, perhaps a good omen that Apollo was succeeding in his trials.

"Look who it is,"

She turned with a smile, she knew that voice. She would know it forever, in disguise, sickness, and in death. His voice was playful, as if he were the star of his own movie. She could have stood there all day, simply to listen and smile.

"Excited to lose against me?" Ellie asked, tilting her head slightly.

Connor laughed, wrapping an arm around her. "You're going down, Dalton."

"We'll see about that," Ellie teased, and they made their way to Sherman's death camp. He sometimes forgot that not everyone ran on pure energy and didn't want to spend every second of their life with aching muscles. Mention that to him, however, and you might end up in the bottom of the ocean.

"Hey guys!" Kayden called from the left, jogging towards them. He held no weapon, meaning that he was going to have to use one from the pile near the mats again, which unless one got there early, all the good ones were gone.

"Kayden, you need your own weapon," Connor told the boy, shaking his head. "The swords in the training area aren't supposed to be your first choice."

"Where else do you have deadly weapons laying around?" Kayden asked, eyebrows furrowed. His eye bags had grown less dark, a sign that he was sleeping more. "This camp gets weirder every second I spend here."

"Come on," Connor said, pulling Ellie along and Kayden followed behind.

The armory was a large metal shed around the side of the Athena cabin. The metal had had its fair share of scrapes and dents, the camp wasn't exactly the safest place to be. But the metal held its own, the only way to get in would be the keys that only counselors had. The Hephaestus cabin had made it themselves.

"This is where campers go to get their weapons. Every camper gets a weapon. Although, the Hephaestus cabin tends to make their own. It has quite a large collection of swords, spears, clubs and even shotguns."

"Shotguns?"

Connor took the lock in his palm, pulling out the key. Twisting the lock, he pulled the door open. A few loose shields fell to the the ground, clattering against the grass. Connor walked over the fallen shields, entering the dark cabin.