The Next Olympians

Chapter Two - Zac

Why did she run away all of a sudden? I wonder, watching Katie's dark hair disappear into the distance.

"I'd better go then," Ariana says in a muffled voice, quickly getting up from her seat and exiting the dining pavillion in a whirl of bright red hair and orange clothes. I guess she doesn't want to be beaten by the new girl, nor does she want to drop the prospect of a new ship so quickly. Honestly, she's as bad as the Cabin Ten kids when she wants to be.

After the daughter of Apollo vanishes, heading down toward the archery range, that leaves Lexi and me by ourselves. Oh, and Rika still sits there at the Hermes table, watching the pair of us with her unnerving dark eyes.

"So," I say, trying to sound casual but for some strange reason, Katie's image remains in my head. The daughter of Ares glances up and raises her eyebrows at me knowingly.

"I think she has a thing for you," Lexi says. I give her a mildly confused look, but there's something about the way she reacted before. Something that makes me wonder if the new girl is as wise as her mother. Well, it's obvious, isn't it? She isn't an airhead, nor does she have a way with plants. And, from what I've heard around the camp, she's actually very intelligent.

"No kidding. Katie never blushes like that," Rika mutters in her quiet voice, with both of her eyebrows raised and her dark eyes following the pair's trail as the morning sun shines over the camp. I fiddle with the necklace with four brightly coloured clay beads on it that sits around my neck in an absent-minded way as I change my thought pattern to my schedule today. As if sensing some sort of reluctance, Alexis grins, and leans back slightly on her bench.

"Well, I'm with Ari, and probably half of Cabin Ten when they find out; I ship it." Before I can say or do anything, the tanned girl laughs at seeing my face and makes a quick exit. That leaves me with Rika.

"So. What's on the schedule for the almighty son of the Lord of the Sky today?" she asks, as I strain to hear the dry tone in her quiet voice.

"Sword practise with Cabin Twelve," I reply to Rika mechanically, having memorised what I had on each day a long time ago. But Julian, the infamous camp director's only claimed child at camp was probably hanging out with the satyrs over at the strawberry farm. What? I've been here five years, and know the other counsellors' habits. But, of course, I have other plans, so to me, it doesn't really matter that Julian isn't where he should be. I stand up after a moment of thought, and nod to Rika as I leave the dining pavillion. "See you later."

By now the sun has risen fully into the sky, and I remember my old life before Camp as I take in the familiarity of the cabins, the lava wall, strawberry fields, the woods and the canoe lake, amongst other things. Sam, a friendly satyr about my age, waves at me as I pass him. I return the gesture, and continue to walk down towards the woods as I continue to ponder my past.

I'd grown up as the youngest child of Bianca Hemsworth, and all my life I'd thought that my stepdad was actually my biological father. But no, that wasn't the case, and that was proven when a baby hydra decided to attack my school. Of course, I'd only been there six months and was about nine years old at the time, but I managed to escape from the monster with only minor injuries and make my way to camp with the much-needed help of Paul, an older demigod of Hermes. He had been nineteen, just about to go out into the world and live his life, when he'd come across me. Nine years old, being chased by a young hydra, and extremely ticked off, I had been wary to accept help but eventually I began to trust Paul, and had let him bring me to the camp.

Paul is married now, and happily living in New York, last I had heard from Chiron. Chiron is our - meaning the demigods at Camp Half-Blood - teacher. He's a centaur, by the way, so from the waist down he is a white stallion, and his top half looks just normally human. He's pretty tall standing up, and even I have to tilt my head back to look at him up close. And, considering that I reached six feet tall about three months ago, that's saying something.

I wander along the small path worn between the trees, and place one hand on my celestial bronze sword, Hurricane, for reassurance. Despite my talents and powers, it feels good to have a piece of metal I can kill things with close by. When I'm sure that I can't be seen by the other campers, I call on my powers as a son of Zeus and feel my feet leave the ground. I rise into the air, slowly at first, so that I hover only a few feet off the leaf-strewn forest floor. But then I let the pressure build and soar over the tops of the trees, the wind rustling through my hair. I extend my arms, relishing the feeling of freedom this brings. Away from all of the rules and restrictions of the camp, despite them all being relatively simple and relaxed.

But then an idea suddenly comes to my mind, and I hover in midair for a few moments as I decide to put it in play. I fly towards the archery range, noting that the Hermes cabin is still there and practising as I land in a tree to check. Arrows litter the ground around the targets, and as I look around for the familiar faces of Rika and Katie, and don't see either of them, though Ari is still walking up and down, correcting aim and such. Frowning, I hear the clashing of blades in the distance, and take to the skies again to head for the swordplay arena.

I arrive a moment later, perching in another tree, to find Lexi and Katie locking weapons. Both girls wear full armour, but don't carry shields. The daughter of Ares has a sword of about a metre long in her right hand, celestial bronze, but it seems to be stuck against one of the new girl's twin daggers, made of the same material. Katie shifts her weight as I watch, pushes Lexi off balance slightly, and holds her left dagger to Lexi's throat. I lean against the tree trunk, and smile absently as I concentrate on what the girls are saying.

"Bang, you're dead," Katie laughs, before withdrawing her knife and sheathing both blades in the belt at her waist. Lexi joins in, and claps the slightly taller girl on the back.

"I was going easy on you, new girl," she teases, grinning. "Care to make it two from three?"

"That was two from three," comments Rika as she steps into my line of vision. "It's my go now, you said I could spar with the winner. Admit it, Lexi, Katie won fair and square."

"Fine, I'll ref."

As Rika and Katie set themselves up to spar, I come to another decision. Maybe, just maybe, I might just end up liking this Katie girl. In a different way than everyone thinks right now.