Miss Quinn

47 ~ Chariot Races and Campfire Songs

Emma slashed her daggers like a madwoman. She had definitely improved her technique from all her practice in the magical room in Hogwarts. The dummy receiving her wrath was a pile of straw on the ground when she was done.

Applause filled the arena. Emma turned around to see the grinning faces of Annabeth, Percy, Will, and Sadie.

"Wow, Emma, you could be a daughter of Ares!" Will exclaimed.

"And live in a cabin with Clarisse? No thank you," Emma said, sheathing her daggers. Will laughed, his white teeth shining.

"That was fantastic!" Sadie said, hugging her younger sister.

"With that speed and accuracy, you're probably the best dagger-fighter in camp," Annabeth said.

"Even better than you, Annabeth?" Emma asked.

"Much better. Plus, you have two daggers. I only have one."

"True."

Percy uncapped Riptide and stepped up to another dummy. In four lightning-fast swipes, the dummy looked exactly like Emma's. That is to say, a pile of straw on the ground.

"Nice, Percy," Will said.

"That was great!" Emma said. Percy grinned.

"Thanks."

"Your turn, Annabeth," Sadie said.

A thought crossed Emma's mind as Annabeth approached another dummy. Every summer, the campers had to create new dummies to replace the destroyed ones. If Emma could use magic at camp, she could repair all of them with a flick of her wand. The process seemed much simpler, but it was out of the question. She couldn't reveal her secret.

Annabeth attacked the dummy viciously. She was armed only with a dagger, but the dummy had no chance of survival. Annabeth fought with experience. Every strike was right where she wanted it to go. If Emma wasn't Annabeth's friend, she would be absolutely terrified of the girl.

The whole camp gathered in the dining pavilion. Emma sat with her siblings at the Apollo table. For the first time, she noticed Percy sitting with someone. He was a large boy, probably around 6 feet tall. Then Emma noticed his eyes, or rather, eye. As in a single blue iris in the middle of his head. He was a cyclops.

"Will, what's a cyclops doing here?" Emma asked.

"That's Percy's half-brother Tyson."

"Percy has a half-brother?"

"Yeah, he just showed up this summer. Supposedly Percy thought he was a homeless kid that went to his school."

Emma nodded and began to eat her lunch: chicken noodle soup. She looked around at the other campers. There were a few new kids, but Emma recognized most of them from the summer before. There was one person she didn't recognize; a man standing by Mr. D.

"Who's that?" Emma asked.

"Tantalus. He's the activities director," Will said.

"But Chiron is the activities director."

"Mr. D blamed him for poisoning Thalia's tree, so he left."

"What!?"

"Mr. D probably just found a scapegoat. Chiron will be back."

"I sure hope so."

Will and Emma were chosen to be the charioteers for the race. The Apollo chariot was solid gold, elegant, and beautiful. Sadie, Carly, and Fawn had designed it. Will would be driving the chariot while Emma shot arrows. She had promised not to use sharp, pointed arrowheads, though. The chariots lined up on the track. Will stroked the noses of the palominos pulling the chariot. He grabbed the reins and got on the chariot. Emma got on behind him, gripping the edge to stay on. Will clipped a rope to each side of the chariot so that if one of them leaned back, they wouldn't fall out. Emma leaned into it, and her fingers brushed the orange stone on her ring. Immediately, her golden bow appeared.