The Winged Warrior

Chapter 9

Luke's POV

I was walking around the camp in invisible mode, trying to decipher the meaning behind the camp's new defenses. My heart was still racing from the meeting with Chloe, but I was alert enough to notice patterns. The hands of Clarisse and Annabeth were clearly visible, with the Ares cabin and the Athena cabin leading most of the attacks. I was a little miffed when I saw that Hermes cabin was centered around the other cabins, acting as defense. When I had asked Clarisse about it, all she'd said was, "Someone had to do it." Annabeth had said that there were too many young campers under the age of thirteen who hadn't been claimed in the Hermes cabin, so it was dangerous to put them in offence. She had also said Hermes was the biggest, and a large cabin on defense was a good strategy. It had only been about four hours since the Monster Donut incident, and I was impressed at how quickly the camp organised itself.

The one thing I really did agree with was the large platform in the tallest tree of the forest, where the Chaos warriors would stand. It was an excellent vantage point and would make archery and spell-casting a lot easier if the need arose.

It was my turn on the platform, so I climbed the tree quickly and took my seat, dangling my transparent legs over the edge and staring down at the top of Thalia's pine below me.

I had made so many mistakes. I had not seen Thalia for so many years, and I knew she would still be alive and well in the hunt. I missed her.

At first, the rush of regrets racing past my eyes was all I could see, until I realized they weren't regrets at all. They were shadows, racing past in the form of... Stymphalian birds.

Without hesitation, I turned and blew the horn next to me on the platform.

The sound echoed around the camp, a loud, urgent battle cry that made the ears prick up and the heart restless.

A few of the birds fell out of the sky at the sound, but many kept coming, ignoring it completely. I knew that these birds were long accustomed to the sound of a conch horn.

I immediately reached out to the other chaos warriors in my mind.

"Styphalian birds! Grab your weapons NOW! Alert the other campers, we'll hold them off."

I felt the shocked responses of my fellow fighters through the frenzied cries that reached me before the mind link was cut. I took out my bow and arrows and stood up, firing at a rapid pace.

I had discovered while training that though I was good with a sword, I actually preferred fighting with a bow and arrow. It allowed me a sense of control instead of hacking wildly at everything.

I shot down about fifty in the first ten seconds, and was a bit disappointed with myself. I sped up the pace as I heard the shouts of the Ares and Athena cabins behind me as they fought.

After about two minutes, in which I had managed to kill 6,894 birds, (Yes, I counted) about twenty seemed to realize I was the biggest threat, and zoomed at me. I had no time to shoot before they were upon me. I didn't have my sword, and I didn't have enough space to swing a kneasel (That's a HP joke, guys) let alone fire an arrow.