The Lightning Thief: Apollo's Daughter

Determined

Skyler's POV

I felt bad. Like really horrible. I didn't want to agree to Annabeth's plan but I had to admit...it was kind of brilliant. Leaving Percy alone on border petrol, knowing full well Clarisse and her pug-faced siblings would go after him wouldn't have been my first choice of plans. But when Luke and I came racing out of the northern woods with the blood-red flag of the Ares team, I wasn't really complaining.

"A trick!" Clarisse shouted, an ugly forehead vein pulsating under her skin. "It was a trick!" Clarisse and her siblings tried to stagger through the creek to grab us before we could make it across but it was too late. Luke had made it to the other side with the flag in hand before any of them could touch him.

The blue team erupted in whoops and cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned silver. The crudely painted boar and spear were replaced by a caduceus. As much as I would have loved to have been the one to cross the creek with it and have it turn a brilliant gold with a sun on it for Apollo, Luke deserved this. 

Luke was quickly hoisted onto the Stoll brothers shoulders. Chiron blew the conch horn loudly as he cantered out of the woods. The game was over. We won.

"Not bad Hero." I heard Annabeth say a bit behind me. I turned to see Percy, looking around in confusion. "Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" She asked, removing the blue Yankees baseball cap from her head, her body materializing only two feet away from me.

"You set me up," Percy said, his fists clenching. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke and Skyler around the flank." Percy said angerly.

"I told you. Athena always has a plan."

"A plan to get me pulverized!" As they argued I noticed a sword cut across Percy's arm. 

"Percy...how'd you do that?" I asked, motioning towards his arm.

"Sword cut." He said. "What do you think?"

"It was a sword cut," I mumbled. "Look at it..it's healed." I carefully touched my finger to where the cut had been moments ago. "That's impossible."

"Get out of the water Percy..." Annabeth said. Percy took a step out of the water and looked like he might collapse.

Both Annabeth and I shared a look. "This is not good. In any way." I mumbled.

"I assumed it'd be Zeus..."

A loud howl ripped through the forest. The cheering behind us stopped almost instantly. "Να είστε έτοιμοι! Το τόξο μου!" Chiron shouted. Annabeth drew her sword beside me as I quickly notched an arrow. I scanned the area around us and then spotted it. There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of an adult rhino, with glowing ruby red eyes and fangs the size of daggers

It stared directly at Percy. "Percy...run," I instructed. The hound was fast, too fast. It leaped over me and Annabeth, landing on Percy as he stumbled backward.

Chiron, the rest of the Apollo cabin and I fired a good two dozen arrows that sprouted from the hound's neck. The creature fell dead at Percy's feet and I quickly ran towards him.

"Di immortales!" Annabeth exclaimed, looking over the monster. "That's-- That's a hellhound. They don't... they're not supposed to..."

"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."

"It was Jackson who summoned it!" Clarisse yelled.

"Shut it, La Rue!" I shouted. I turned my attention back to Percy who looked like he was going to pass out. He was losing blood...fast.

"How bad is it-"

"Not too bad..." I lied, trying to think of what to do. There was no way that out here any of us Apollo kids or Chiron could fix him up. The slashes across his chest were large and maybe half an inch deep. "Percy, get in the water." 

"I'm okay." He tried to protest.

"No, you're not. My father is the god of healing I think I know a bit more than you do." I said, helping Percy into the creek. "Chiron you'll want to see this," I said, letting Percy go once he was in the water.

The deep gashes on his chest started to close, first leaving a small white scar then that vanished too. "Look, I--I don't know why that thing was here.." Percy said, but none of us were paying attention. We all stared at the gleaming green light above his head.

"Percy..." Annabeth said, pointing above his head where the green trident spun calmly.

"Your father..." I murmured. "Oh, this is really not good."

"It's determined," Chiron announced.

Every camper, even Clarisse and her siblings kneeled. Luke and Annabeth on either side of me. Luke had a strange somewhat angry look on his face, Annabeth looked like she was trying to figure all this out in her head, and I just stared at Percy.

.

.

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"Hail Perseus Jackson, Son of the sea God!"