Hopeful - Luke Castellan [1]

6 ~ Adelaide Douses Clarisse

Luke's pov: 

Not much surprised me anymore considering I was a demigod. But what did surprise me was the fifteen-year-old girl who beat the Minotaur single-handedly and then stood up to Dionysus. 

When Adelaide's eyes turned blue and that protective bubble wrapped around her as a result of Dionysus, I was stunned. Something struck me about the protective bubble it almost looked like water. It can't be. 

I was walking with Chiron and Adelaide when Adelaide spoke up  "Grover won't get in too much trouble, will he?" she asked Chiron. "I mean ... he was a good protector. Really."

Chiron sighed. He shed his tweed jacket and draped it over his horse's back like a saddle. "Grover has big dreams, Addy. Perhaps bigger than is reasonable. To reach his goal, he must first demonstrate great courage by succeeding as a keeper, finding a new camper, and bringing him safely to Half-Blood Hill."

"But he did that!"

"I might agree with you," Chiron said. "But it is not my place to judge. Dionysus and the Council of Cloven Elders must decide. I'm afraid they might not see this assignment as a success. After all, Grover lost you in New York. Then there's the unfortunate ... ah ... fate of your mother. And the fact that Grover was unconscious when you dragged him over the property line. The council might question whether this shows any courage on Grover's part."

I could tell that Adelaide was biting her tongue which was interesting. I observed that she was extremely protective over the people she called her friends. I hoped that Kronos wouldn't try and get her to join him because I'm not sure that she would. "That's not fair," she said after Chiron had told her that this was Grover's second chance. "What happened the first time? Was it really so bad?"

Chiron looked away quickly as I looked down remembering Thalia. "Let's move along, shall we?"

Suddenly Adelaide spoke again  "Chiron, if the gods and Olympus and all that are real ..."

"Yes, child?" I had a bad feeling that I knew where she was going with this.

"Does that mean the Underworld is real, too?"

Chiron's expression darkened.

"Yes, child." He paused as if choosing his words carefully. "There is a place where spirits go after death. But for now ... until we know more ... I would urge you to put that out of your mind."

"What do you mean, until we know more?"

"Come, Adelaide. Let's see the woods." As we got closer, I saw Adelaide noticing how huge the forest was. It took up at least a quarter of the valley, with trees so tall and thick, you could imagine nobody had been in there since the Native Americans. Chiron said, "The woods are stocked if you care to try your luck, but go armed."

"Stocked with what?" she asked. "Armed with what?"

"You'll see. Capture the flag is Friday night. Do you have your own sword and shield?" I almost wanted to face palm at the stupidity of Chiron's question.

"My own—?"

"No," Chiron said. "I don't suppose you do. I think a size five will do. I'll visit the armory later."

Finally, Chiron showed Adelaide the cabins. There were twelve of them, nestled in the woods by the lake. They were arranged in a U, with two at the base and five in a row on either side. And they were without doubt the most bizarre collection of buildings I knew that Adelaide had ever seen.

It was the same when I arrived. Except for the fact that each had a large brass number above the door (odds on the left side, evens on the right), they looked nothing alike. Number nine had smokestacks, like a tiny factory. Number four had tomato vines on the walls and a roof made out of real grass. Seven seemed to be made of solid gold, which gleamed so much in the sunlight it was almost impossible to look at.