𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐬'𝐬 𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 • 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘺 𝘫𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴𝘰𝘯

Camp

Percy's Pov:

I'd never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before, and the snow surprised me. 

See, the camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr. D, wants it to. I 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 flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of actual fire. More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I 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," I said. 

"Why is there lava pouring down it?" 

"Little extra challenge. Come on. Grayson and I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—" 

"I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me." 

"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!" 

Zoe rolled her eyes, but I guess she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. TheHunters 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 me. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon." 

"What do you mean?" 

Instead of answering, he hopped back on the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!" 

He gave her a wicked smile as if he knew something she didn't. Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. WhenI 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. I wondered what his sister had told him. 

"Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine." 

"Our activities director," I said. "He's... well, you'll see."

"If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go." 

"Hey!" complained Grayson. "Y/n's also a hunter girl."

"Oh yeah!" Nico said. "I like her. She's nice. She gave me really good advice on McDonald's Happy Meals."

~

The second thing that surprised me about camp was how empty it was. I mean, I knew most half-bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be here—the ones who didn't have homes to go to or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either. 

I spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, from the Hermes cabin, were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Even my old rival from the Ares cabin, Clarisse, didn't seem to be around.