The Male Hunter | Olympus' Traitor #1

Chapter 27: Everyone Has Secrets

Hannah and Leo walked into the forge, and so far they were the only ones there. Projects in various stages of completion littered the workbenches, while the forge that dominated one wall had some embers that were still slightly smoldering inside. Quickly they made their way to the back corner where they had set up some curtains to create a private workspace. Once there Leo lit up a small forge and got out some supplies. Hannah also brought out a series of small rings made from Imperial Gold and Olympian Silver, about five in total. Each one was progressively smaller than the last, and when laid flat each fit snugly inside of another. The largest ring also had a large circular frame on the front of it, like a lens. Soon after Calypso came in, whose nimble fingers and magic had been of great help, followed by a teen wearing a bandanna around his forehead, sunglasses, and a beaming smile that was all too familiar.

"Um. . . Lord Apollo," Hannah said tentatively. "What are you doing here?"

Apollo flashed his smile. "I don't know who this 'Apollo' guy you're talking about is, but he sounds like a truly awesome guy. No, my name is Fred," 'Fred' said while lowering his sunglasses and shooting a wink.

"Well, 'Fred'," Leo started, playing along with Apollo. "How good are you at anatomy of the eye?"

"The best around," Apollo replied, flashing his smile. He then grew serious, something that rarely happened. "What were you thinking for this prosthetic?"

"Well, the idea is that these rings create some sort of sphere with these connections on the ends and small rails inside," Leo picked up the rings off of the workbench, demonstrating how they could spin in multiple directions." Apollo nodded, seeming to understand. "Hannah will then create a ball using a mixture of shadows and the Mist to give the rings some support when in the eye. Then, with your help, Calypso will craft a spell that allows Hannah's mistform to become permanent, control the rings, and connect to the brain so sight can be achieved." Leo grinned as he finished, clearly proud of the design he and Hannah had come up with.

The day flew by quickly as the group worked. Leo made some adjustments to the rings while Calypso and Hannah worked with Apollo to craft and enchantment to the specifications they needed. They worked all day, only breaking for lunch, and by the end of the day the prosthetic eye was almost complete. Leo had created a lens using some sort of clear material, while Hannah had successfully crafted an orb that swirled in a mixture of black and purple mist. "I hope he likes it," Hannah said as she put the completed materials into a little pouch she had strapped to her side next to a dagger.

"Of course he will, the Flaming McShizzle made it!" Leo joked as he attempted to wipe the soot that had gathered on his face and arms off. Apollo laughed while Hannah and Calypso just raised an eyebrow at his antics.

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Jacob sat on the beach where the sand met the grass, watching as Percy taught his sister about her water powers. He stood on the sand near the water, while Kate stood in the surf. Jacob kept glancing around nervously, afraid that someone would catch them. Luckily, nobody seemed to be around. By the time the horn sounded for lunch Kate had shown great progress with her powers, able to manipulate the water with relative ease. She was nowhere nearly as powerful as her brother, but Jacob could tell that one day she would be an extremely powerful demigod that might even be able to rival Percy.

Maybe fifteen minutes into lunch Jacob heard a group of footsteps coming toward the trio by the water. He got up and turned around, expecting to see some Hunters coming to get them for lunch, only to get blasted backwards into the water. Jacob stood back up from where he had landed in the ocean, sputtering. Through the water on his glasses he could see Percy standing in front of Kate protectively, sword held out in front of him to keep a group of people at bay. Wiping his glasses clean, Jacob could see that it was Annabeth, Jason, and half a dozen Ares campers. "What do you want," Percy growled as Jacob waded out of the water to stand next to Percy, twisting his ring to bring out his spear as he did so.