To Thwart The Darkness {Book 3}

Stuck On The Wrong Side

A Lake, Somewhere in England

Percy was really getting sick and tired of moving around, forest to lake to forest and back to a stupid lake. He loved water, don't get him wrong, but for goodness sake, there's only so much you can do by the lake the Scotland autumn.

"Percy, take the locket off," Annabeth said softly, easing the chain up around his head, "it's Ron's shift now."

The locket came off.

What had he been saying? Something about the lake? Oh, he loved the lake, couldn't get enough of it. It was so beautiful during the day, when the light sparkled off the clear water.

"What's for dinner?" He asked Hermione, glad to be rid of the horcrux from around his neck.

"Soup," Hermione said, handing him a bowl of a grey soupy mixture. It looked disgusting, but he ate it anyway. It didn't taste half bad.

"My mother can make good food appear out of thin air," Ron mumbled as he poked his food.

"No one can make food just appear," Annabeth said, mindful of the horcrux around his neck that she'd just given him. She took a bowel from Hermione with a thank you.

"Yeah, well she can," Ron pushed the bowl away from himself on the small table in the centre of the tent, "this is rubbish."

"Well I'm sorry Ron, maybe next time you can go out and find the right food and what not and charm them to actually taste edible." Hermione huffed, still mad about what Ron had done that afternoon, and Annabeth put a hand on her arm, warning her that it was the horcrux that was making him say those things.

"Guys—" Harry warned.

"Oh, don't you start," Ron groaned. "I'm sorry that I stayed back in the tent. I didn't realise that Percy couldn't use his voodoo magic to purify the water. He doesn't need an arm for that."

"I can use my powers for that," Percy retorted, " but because I'm so exhausted from wearing the locket and trying to brainstorm for hours on end about what we should do next, I couldn't do it quick enough, apparently. Maybe if you want some healthy drinking water, you should do it with your own 'voodoo magic' if you're going to be a jerk about not getting it when you want it."

"Guys," Harry hissed.

"Oh you and your powers are pretty useless, I mean, when has your goddliness actually come in handy this entire trip? If you're so powerful, why can't you just summon a deer or a bear to our camp so we can have a decent meal?"

"Bears aren't—"

"I know, Annabeth!"

"Will you all shut up? I hear someone!" Harry almost-yelled. He held up a hand, telling them to stay quiet. Then, under the rush of wind and rustling of leaves, they heard it. Two or three voices. He looked at Hermione. "You cast a Muffliato charm on us, right?" He whispered.

"I did everything," she whispered back. "And I recast them yesterday just to be sure. Whoever it is shouldn't be able to hear or see us."

There was the sound of heavy footsteps on leaves before it changed to the shifting of pebbles and rocks, followed by a yelp and a thud. There was more shifting noises on the pebbles, suggesting that whoever it was had sat by the lake. Hermione scrambled for her bag and brought out three Extendable Ears. She threw one to Harry and the other to Percy, who both hastily inserted the flesh-coloured strings into their ears and fed the other ends out the tent entrance.

It took a few seconds, filled mainly with Ron's grumbling that he didn't get one, before they could make out a mellow, pleasant voice. "Surely there's some kind of bird around here. Accio bird! "