TONGUES & TEETH; Luke Castellan [ 1 ]

< GOLD >

LUKE'S POV

Luke didn't wake up the next morning. Soft snores were the only thing filling his ears, until Chris woke him. "Luke.. it's quarter past 7, everyone should be up." He pressured rubbing his own face tiredly.

"Don't care." Chris paled watching Luke open his eyes a moment before shutting them again. After no effort to move eventually Chris begin waking the rest of the cabin. Luke turned over staring towards the wall, as he heard whispers about the older boy.

Never did he sleep in. It was unusual he knew it. He knew his friends would know it too. Even Pandora. He couldn't get around the conversation they had had. It wasn't his father's fault for his mother, rather hers. Pandora's father.

"Luke man, what am I telling Chiron, you know he'll ask." He squeezed his eyes painfully shut. "Luke." He refused to face his half-brother.

"I don't care Chris." He repeated reluctantly his footsteps creaking away. After an hour or two of laying still, Luke swivelled around sitting on the edge of the bed. He ignored the whispers from a few of the remaining teens in the cabin pinching the bridge of his nose.

With a stretch of his limbs he clambered from the cabin. He'd assumed Chris had told Chiron, Luke was unwell. He planned to go by that story wandering around the back of the cabin.

The forest was an easy place to hide, never ending trees, shrubs and terrain. He knew Annabeth would hiding at their usual spot.
Thalia's tree. He had memorised every cabin schedule. Annabeth didn't have sparring till later, leaving with the morning free.

"Sick as a dog, Chris said." She snickered from being the tree revealing herself. Her yankees cap hung loosely in her hand, Annabeth clearly avoiding her cabin for the day. "You look pale." He laughed joining Annabeth beside Thalia's tree.

"Thalia would've thought it funny. She would've liked Pandora too." Annabeth ran her fingers along the blue cap, analysing all the details. "She's alone. Dahlia's just making it worse." Shouts sounded from across the camp. Nothing good as both Annabeth and Luke sprung to their feet.

"What's that?" Annabeth begun trekking down the hill followed by Luke. As the shouts grew more frantic, they picked up the pace.

"Say it again." A loud growling filled the camp. Outside the cabins, vines crawled up Pandora's throat. Beside her Reaper snarled at Dahlia hurt across the usual tame girl's face.

"I met your mother." The vines grew tighter only held under Pandora's fingers. There was something dark about her. Her pupils darker than usual, "Weak, naive, have you even met her." Reaper barked moving closer to Dahlia. Desperately Micheal tried to talk some sense into the girl while Jerry kept his distance. Reaper wasn't one to be messed with.

"You're just like him I'm sure." Dahlia spat stepping closer to choking Pandora. "Cursed, dead. Everything bad in the camp happens because of you." Pandora choked out words to the hound beside her, taming the beast.

"Dahlia." Luke snapped, Dahlia's twisted hand hardly flinching. "Let her go." Pandora smirked as Dahlia dropped the vines, her knees buckled as Pandora fell to the ground. Coughing she managed one last word.

"Pathetic." A vine shot up hitting Pandora in the face before another secured around her leg. Dahlia darted forward pulling at Pandora's hair. Pandora retailed immediately, blue flames engulfing her hair scorching Dahlia.

Dahlia fell back painfully, Micheal pulling her to her feet behind him. Luke could only stand in front of Pandora waiting for the flames to die out. "Micheal." More words he muttered to Dahlia, while Jerry disappeared returning with Mr D slowly.

"Go back to the underworld Pandora, it's where you fucking belong." Micheal finally pulled Dahlia away starting to lead the angry girl off. Pandora wiped her bloody nose somewhat accomplished as she jerked to her feet.

"Your mother must be proud." Luke yanked her arm back dragging her away as Dahlia attempted to attack Pandora again. He ignored the blistering heat of her skin, with a scolding 'Enough', Pandora allowing him to pull her away.

"Pandora." He didn't know what to say speaking her name softly as he weaved away the prying eyes. Her cabin wasn't far away, by the time they had arrived her skin had returned to its usual paleness. "What the hell are you doing." He finally spat it out standing across from her.

"Step one." She fumed, "Complete." The door slammed in his face. What the hell was step one.