Vines and Thorns

𝟘𝟙𝟙-𝕃𝕚𝕧𝕖, 𝕃𝕒𝕦𝕘𝕙, 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕂𝕚𝕝𝕝 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕤

Oliver and Tori were already outside in the now crowded streets—fire fighters and policeman all shouting orders as the other students run from the burning building.

Well, I can add 'burned down a library' to my resume.

The duo was on the edge of the large group—no one giving them any attention as they talked in hushed voices. There was a panic in Tori's eyes as she spoke to Oliver, no doubt wondering if she was going crazy.

Oliver was working to calm her down, but I could quickly see that he was failing—miserably. I approach them slowly, looking over my shoulder to make sure that no one was paying me attention. "We should probably get out of here before people start wondering how that fire started." I tell them, giving Tori a long look. "I know this is a lot to take in—but if you don't come with us, more monsters will come after you, especially now that you know what you are."

I can see the indecision in her eyes, and she looks behind me towards the school. "I have questions." She says finally, and I nod my head, already walking further down the street.

"And I have answers. Let's go."

The girl sent one last, fleeting look towards the school before turning back around and running after me, a new determined gleam in her eyes. "If you guys turn out to be crazy lunatics, I'm going to be really upset." She quips when she reaches us, and I send her a grin.

"Oh, you have no idea the irony of what you just said."

≫ ──── ≪•◦ ❈ ◦•≫ ──── ≪

Finding a cab that would take us to the school was easy, and I made sure to use some of the 'emergency fund' that Chiron had given me at the start of the year. I also had a bag of golden drachmas that I let Tori inspect in the back seat as she asked her questions.

I had to answer quietly, but I did my best to answer everything—telling her that as soon as we made it to camp, everything would be so much easier.

She told us that it had always been just her and her dad—a dad who would rather send her away to schools than deal with her himself. He never spoke of her mom. Oliver had his own speculations about who her mother could be, but we told her that there was no true way of knowing until we made it to camp, and she was claimed.

She had a million questions about camp—where it was, how many kids there were, would she have to tell her dad, could she leave if she wanted, were there books...etc etc.

I told her that some kids—the more powerful ones who could be scented out really easily, stayed at camp year-round. Others just came for the summer to learn how to protect themselves and learn more about Greek history. It was up to the camper on how long they stayed.

She seemed acutely interested in the fact that I was a child of Dionysus, and any questions about that I quickly evaded and tried to push onto Oliver.

It was the most I had ever heard the girl talk since meeting her, and while she still seemed apprehensive about the whole idea of being demi-god, she wasn't freaking out anymore.

It only takes us roughly 20 minutes to get to the school, and I leave a small wad of cash with the cab driver before hopping out of the car, my hands fidgeting with the bracelet around my wrist as I look around the small parking lot.

The outside of the school looked akin to a prison—with black stone walls and tiny windows that were barely more than slits. On one side of the school was a dense forest, and the other side of the school lay next to a steep cliff overlooking the white frothed ocean.

Thalia, Jackson and Annabeth are standing next to the stairs leading up to the entrance to the school, and they all straighten when they see us getting out of the cab. I look at Tori, leaning down to grab my bookbag. "Stay close to us. Hopefully we can get this over quickly and get you to camp." I tell her, and she purses her lips before nodding her head.