Percy Jackson: A Spark of Betrayal Complete

Chapter 4

PERCY POV:

We've been wandering in a westerly direction for so many days I've lost track. At least a month and a half, I'm guessing. And at least a month since we found Caleb wounded. He came along with us. We figured this would be out last shot to find any demigod camp of any sort. When we found Caleb, we were in Ohio. Now, we were in California. Somewhere in Yosemite. How we got here? Well, to make a long story short, I found a couple Pegasus. Go figure. So now, we were in the middle of Yosemite.

"Where are we?" said Caleb from the back of the group. He looked around bewildered. At the giant sequoias surrounding us.

Nico took out a map. But it didn't look normal. It was slightly glowing and the fact that it appeared to be made out of bronze.

"What is that?" Caleb asked.

"It's a map. It's different from the mortal maps."

"Gee, where'd you come up with that, Sherlock?" I said with a snort. "Anyways, what I want to know is where you got it."

"Right before we left, I stole it from the Hephaestus Cabin. Shadow cloaking. No one noticed a thing." he said causally. Then he looked at Caleb with a guilty face.

"No offense to your dad of course."

Caleb just shrugged. I looked at Nico.

"Are you sure you're not Hermes' child?"

"Yep. Anyways, we've still got a long way to go. That way!"

Sighing, we trudged off into the forests.

"Geez, finally. Civilization." Caleb sighed in relief. I suppose living in the wilderness for a week could that to a kid. We had walked through Yosemite. Our last shot for any camp on this trip was here, in Northern California. Right now, we were in Berkeley, California according to Nico's stolen map. We planned to stay here a few days to rest up if we couldn't find any camp. Then, we would leave.

"Look around. See if you can spot any demigod looking kids." I told them. We all looked around for about five minutes. That's when I saw them. Kids wearing armor. With swords. That was it. But I had to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating. I tapped Nico in the shoulder.

"Hey. Do you see those kids? The ones in the armor. By the tunnel."

Nico squinted for a bit. And then broke out into a grin.

"We've made it." he said in a low whisper. With that, I picked up Caleb on my back and jogged toward the two guards. They looked to be like a boy and a girl. As we got closer, it became apparent that they weren't just brother and sister. They were twins. They saw us rushing toward them and drew their swords. The girl's sword was golden, whereas the boy's sword was silver.

The two ushered us toward the door, frantically looking behind us. I looked too. Great, just great. We managed to bring a pack of hellhounds to the doors of this camp. Could our luck get any worse? We made it inside the door and the guards closed the door and bolted it. An earthshaking boom sounded through the tunnel. The hellhounds had hit the door. We all sighed in relief.

"Who are you? I understand you are demigods, but still, who are you?" the boy asked.

"Ryan! Be polite!" The girl said smacking Ryan upside his head.

"Sorry." Ryan coughed out, grinning sheepishly at his sister.

"I apologize for my brother's rude behavior. He can be a bit... rude sometimes. Anyways, my name's Carol. Carol Wei. And my brother is Ryan. We are the children of Bellona, the Roman goddess of war." The girl said while giving her brother the stink-eye. Ryan just shrugged.

I tensed up. So did Nico next to me. Romans were the enemies of the Greeks. We were Greek. They were Roman. But something else caught my eye. The two looked at each other as Carol talked, as if looking for confirmation. I could tell something was up. I shrugged it off. Probably nothing.

"Come. We have much to show you." Carol said beckoning.

"Yeah! You really need to see- OW! What was that for?!" Ryan shouted.

"Just keep your mouth shut. It's better if they see for themselves."

Together we walked to the end of the tunnel. We stepped out onto the shores of a river. The river flowed incredibly fast. I smiled to myself. Nothing a son of Poseidon couldn't handle. I reached out with my hands and concentrated. Arches of water rose to obey my will. But this water seemed to be different as if fighting my control. Then, I remembered. These were Roman waters. I shuddered, and the water momentarily faltered. I resumed my concentration and the water hardened in my control, forming a bridge of water. I can't turn water to ice, but I can make it as hard as it. We walked across the bridge to the other side. The Romans were on the other side. They had their weapons out. They were pointing spears and swords at us. Pilum and Gladius, I remembered from my History classes at Yancy Academy.

The girl in front was familiar, yet I couldn't quite place the face. I gave up. It was clear I wasn't going to remember anytime soon. She wore a purple cape. And she was scrutinizing me in much the same manner as I was.

"Carol, Ryan. Go tend to your duties." the girl with the cape said to the twins that had escorted us into the camp. The two nodded and rushed away.

She turned to face us.

"As for you three, I don't know who any of you are, but be careful. If you value your life, newcomers, tell your story truthfully."