Bloody Lover | Piper McLean

CHAPTER 4 : Journey to the Lake and strange claim

PIPER

After a rather disturbing morning, populated by storm spirits, goat men, and a super-strong best friend, Piper should have gone crazy. Or the only thing she felt was fear, and nothing else.

It's starting, she thought. Exactly as the dream had said.

She was standing at the back of the chariot with Leo and Jason, while Earlana was leaning next to the blonde girl, Annabeth. The latter was adjusting a bronze navigational instrument, while Butch, the one with the buzz cut, was handling the reins, pointing them toward the clouds. They rose above the Grand Canyon and headed east. A chill wind blew through Piper's jacket. Behind them, storm clouds were gathering.

The chariot jolted, bouncing wildly. With no seat belt and the back open, Piper wondered if Earlana would catch her a second time, just in case she fell. That was the most disturbing thing about this crazy morning: not the fact that Earlana was super strong, but the fact that she had held her without knowing who she was. Or the fact that she was thinking of her best friend first and not her boyfriend.

She had worked hard to forge this relationship throughout the semester, had worked hard to point out to Jason that she could be more than a comrade. Finally, the guy had decided to kiss her. The last few weeks had been the best of her life. And then, three days ago, the dream had ruined it all: that horrible voice, telling her abominable news. She hadn't told anyone, not even Jason, or Earlana, for whom she had no secrets. And yet, she was thinking more about the girl, than her blond boyfriend.

And now she had lost it. It was as if a hand had erased her friend's memory with a sponge, and she was left in a total void. She wanted to scream. Jason was standing right next to her : his sky-blue eyes, his blond hair cut very short, that little scar on his upper lip, so charming. His expression was full of kindness, but still tinged with a hint of sadness. And now he was staring at the horizon, not paying attention to Piper's presence.

But something deep inside her was not so sad. The young Cherokee turned to the front of the chariot, stopping to look at her amnesiac boyfriend. Her eyes fell on the figure of her best friend, who also seemed to have forgotten her. Earlana, like Jason, stood next to her, but she was focused as she frowned. She looked cute as she frowned and played nervously with her rings. Her dark gaze was fixed on her hands, her raven hair pulled back in a messy bun, her scar more visible, giving her a dangerous look. Somehow, Piper found herself drowning in the observation of her best friend. Her current expression differed greatly from the one she usually approached. The smirk, exchanged for a frown. And Piper caught herself thinking of her as cute. The young beauty was on the verge of panic, how could she think that ? She was simply her best friend, nothing more.

Leo, on the other hand, was breaking everyone's ears, as usual.

"I love the ride !" He spat out a pegasus feather. "Where are we going ?"

"To a safe place," Annabeth replied. "To the only place where teens like us are safe. To Camp Halfblood."

"Half-bloods ?" repeated Piper, immediately on guard. Those kinds of words had unpleasant connotations to her ears ; she, who was half Cherokee, half Caucasian, had been called a half-blood too many times, and never as a compliment. "Are you kidding, or what ?"

"She means demigods," Earlana's husky voice rang through the air. "Half god, half mortal."

"You beat me by a second," Jason exclaimed.

Annabeth ignored Jason, and turned to the latina.

"You seem to know a lot, Earlana. But yes, that's right, demigods. My mother is Athena, Goddess of Wisdom. Butch is the son of Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow."