craving |PERCY JACKSON| [book 1] UNDER EDITING

VII

EACH MORNING FOR THE NEXT WEEK, Percy took Ancient Greek from Annabeth, and they talked about the Gods and Goddesses in the present tense, which Percy thought was kind of weird. Percy discovered that Selena was right about his dyslexia and Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for him to read. At least, no harder than English.

The rest of the day, Selena rotated Percy through outdoor activities, looking for something he was good at. She tried to teach the boy archery, but found out pretty quick he wasn't any good with a bow and arrow. He didn't complain, even when he had to de-snag a stray arrow out of his tail.

Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left Percy in the dust, giving Selena a good laugh. She told him not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods.

And wrestling? Forget it. Every time Percy got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize him, "There's more where that came from, asshole," she'd mumble in his ear.

The only thing Percy really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.

Percy knew the senior campers and counselors were watching him, trying to decide who his dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it. He wasn't as strong as the Ares kids, or as good at archery as the Apollo kids. He didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork or-gods forbid- Dionysus's way with vine plants. Luke told the poor boy that he might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none. But Percy got the feeling he was just trying to make him feel better. 

He really didn't know what to make of Percy either.

Despite all that, Percy liked camp. He got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night. He would eat dinner with Cabin Eleven, next to Selena, and of course, scrape part of his meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to his real dad. 

Yet nothing came.

Percy started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes. So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't Percy's dad, who-ever he was, make a phone appear?

Thursday afternoon, three days after Percy arrived at Camp Half-Blood, he had his first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from Cabin Eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be the instructor.

They started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. Percy figured that he did okay. At least, he understood what he was supposed to do and his reflexes were good.

The problem was, Percy couldn't find a blade that felt right in his hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long. Luke tried his best to fix Percy up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for the younger boy.

They moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be Percy's partner since this was his first time. "Good luck," Selena grinned at Percy, "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."

"Maybe he'll go easy on me, " Percy suggested and Selena gave him a shrug,

"Maybe."

Luke showed him thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, Percy got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy, " he'd say, then whap him in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" 

Whap! 

"Lunge!" 

Whap! 

"Now, back!" 

Whap!

By the time he called a break, Percy was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea, so Percy did the same. Instantly, he felt better. Strength surged back into his arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.

"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo. "

The Hermes guys gathered around. Selena knew they were suppressing smiles. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique; how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of the sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.

"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, now. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique." He demonstrated the move on Percy in slow motion. Sure enough, the sword clattered out of his hand.

"Now in real time," he said after Percy had retrieved his weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"

Percy nodded, and Luke went after him. Somehow, Percy kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of his sword. Percy's senses opened up. He was able to see his attacks coming and he countered. Percy stepped forward and tried a thrust of his own. Luke deflected it easily, but Percy saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press the younger boy with more force.

The sword grew heavy in Percy's hand. The balance wasn't right. He knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took him down, so he figured, what the heck?

He tried the disarming maneuver.

Percy's blade hit the base of Luke's and he twisted, putting his whole weight into a downward thrust.

Clang.

Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of Percy's blade was an inch from his undefended chest and the other campers were silent.

Selena stared, her eyes wide and mouth open in shock.

Percy lowered his sword. "Um, sorry. "

For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak. "Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"

This time, there was no contest. The moment their swords connected, Luke hit Percy's hilt and sent his weapon skidding across the floor. After a long pause, somebody in the audience said, "Beginner's luck?"

Luke wiped the sweat from his brow. He was appraised at Percy with an entirely new interest. "Maybe," he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword..."