#thinking about how ares is the only major god who said yes when Luke asked for help

[bright-eyes-strawberry-lies]

Ares joined Kronos because Ares is a god of the people.

[dumbledearme]

chapter three—bow to the sea

read Child of Land and Sea here 

Act I — Storm At Sea

Part III — A journey to bless, a princess to be. Under the sun, and under the sea...

Anthony, who seemed to be in a better mood, counseled Andy (actually told; he was rather bossy) to talk to the Oracle. Who or what that was, Andy wasn't sure she wanted to find out. "What if I wanted to leave? To go back home?"

He frowned. "Don't you get it? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

"You mean mentally disturbed kids? Because that's how I'm feeling."

"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

"Half-human and half-what?"

"I think you know."

"I certainly do not," she denied. Deep in her heart, she knew what he was going to say. But somehow she needed him to be the one saying it.

"God," said Anthony, "Half-god. Your father isn't dead. He's one of the Olympians."

Andy let out a nervous giggle. Anthony remained serious as stone. "That's crazy," she forced it out.

"Is it though? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed in the last few millennia?"

"But..." Andy's heart was beating fast, "if all the kids here are half-gods—"

"Demigods," he said, amused.

"Then who's your dad?"

His left hand tightened into a fist. "Frederick Chase," he said.

"Um. I don't know that god," Andy joked. He didn't like that. "Alright. Who's your mom, then?"

"Cabin six," he said. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."

Andy had to contain herself. This was going way too deep. "Okay. And... my dad?"

"Undetermined," he said, yet again. "No one knows. The only way to know for sure, is if he sends you a sign claiming you as his daughter. Sometimes it happens."

"You mean, sometimes it doesn't?"

Anthony looked up to the sky. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always... Well, sometimes they don't care, really," he said, bitterly.

Andy wondered about all the kids stuck in cabin eleven. "So I'm stuck here. For the rest of my life?"

"It depends. Some campers only stay for the summer. Depends on who your father is. For some of us, it's too dangerous outside. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us."

"But they can't get in here?"

"Not unless they're intentionally summoned by somebody inside."

"Who would do that?"

"Anyone. Good practical jokes."

"Yes. Nice sense of humor. So... you're a year-rounder?"

Anthony nodded. From under the collar of his T-shirt, he pulled a leather necklace with seven clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Anthony's also had a big gold ring strung on it, a college ring. "I've been here since I was nine," he said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."

"Why did you come so young?"

He twisted the ring on his necklace. "None of your business."

It felt like a slap on the face. Andy had, for a second, forgotten they weren't friends. "Right. So can I just leave if I want to?"

"Not without Mr. D or Chiron's permission. And they won't give it to you until the end of the summer, unless..."

"Unless what?"

"You were granted a quest. But that hardly ever happens. The last time..." His voice trailed off. "There is something wrong. Something pretty major. But Chiron won't tell me what it is. The last time I was in Olympus, everything seemed so normal, but now—"

"You've been to Olympus?"

"Some of us year-rounders—me, Luke, Clarisse, and some of the others—we took a field trip during winter solstice. That's when the gods have their big annual council. Right after we visited, the weather got weird, as if the gods had started fighting. A couple of times since, I've overheard satyrs talking. The best I can figure out is that something important was stolen. And if it isn't returned by summer solstice, there's going to be trouble." Andy remembered the talk she overheard between Grover and Chiron while he still was Mr. Brunner. "When you came... I was hoping... I mean, Athena can get along with just about anybody, except for Ares. And, of course, Poseidon. But I thought we could work together. I thought you might know something," and he glanced at Andy hopefully.

She shook her head.

"I've got to get a quest," Anthony muttered to himself. "If they would just tell me what's wrong..."

Later that day, Andy sat on the ground at cabin eleven, watching the other campers and wondering who their parents were, who her father was. Then, the hot counselor, Luke, came over. "Found you a sleeping bag," he said. "And here, I stole you some toiletries from the camp store."

"Oh, thank you. That's about the nicest thing anybody ever did for me," she confessed with a shy smile.

"No prob," he smiled too. Luke sat next to Andy and, as their arms touched, she tried not to blush too obviously. "Rough first day?"

"I don't belong here," she said. "I don't even believe in all this nonsense."

"Trust me, we all start that way. Once you start believing in them? It doesn't get any better." The bitterness in his voice reminded her of Anthony.

"So you're dad is Hermes?" The question seemed bizarre in her lips.

"Yeah," he confirmed, looking down at his own boots.

"The wing-footed messenger guy?"

"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travelers. Merchants. Thieves. Anybody who uses roads."

"You ever met him?"

"Once." Andy waited wondering if he would want to share more. Apparently, he didn't. "Don't worry about it, Andy," he said her name with a easygoing smile. "The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're extended family. We take care of each other." He seemed to understand how lost she felt which was surprising since Andy barely understood it herself.

"Anthony said I should talk to some... Oracle? What is that about?"

Luke shook his head. "I hate prophecies," he muttered as if that explained everything.

"What do you mean?"

His face twitched. "Let's just say I messed up things for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Tony's been dying to get out there in the world. But Chiron said he already knew his fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell him the whole thing, but he said Tony wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. He had to wait until... somebody special came to camp."

"Somebody special?"

"Don't worry about it, beautiful," he said and Andy almost forgot how to breathe. "Anthony is obsessed. He wants to think that every new camper who comes is the omen he's been waiting for. I'd sooner have him forget it."

At dinnertime Andy had to burn offerings to the gods. She was so hungry it was a true sacrifice having to throw part of the food into the fire, but she did it anyway, asking in return that her father, whoever he was, gave her a sign. But no such luck.

The next few days, Andy settled into a routine that felt almost normal, except for the satyrs, the nymphs and the centaur. They made her try everything until she found something she was good at. But Andy wasn't very good at anything that required brute force. She was tiny and her body was made out of baby fat, no muscles.

Archery? Terrible. Foot racing? No good. Wrestling? Awful. Though she was fairly good at canoeing, probably the most useless skill around.

After some time, she started to understand the bitterness that seemed to take over most of the campers. Okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But was it that hard to call once in awhile? To thunder? Anything? Where was her father? Why didn't he care?

That afternoon, Andy had her first sword-fighting lesson. Turned out she didn't suck at that. The only problem, she couldn't find a blade that felt right in her hands. They were too heavy, too long. Luke tried his best to help her, but he agreed none of the swords fit her. They fought together. Luke told her he would be her partner because it was her first time, but Andy chose to believe that maybe he just liked her. Weirder things were happening to her lately.

But if the boy did fancy her, he had a weird way of showing because he attacked her mercilessly.

With every swipe, she got a little more battered and bruised. By the time he called a break, Andy was soaked in sweat. She grabbed a bottle of water and poured it over her head. Instantly, she felt better. Strength she didn't know she had surged into her arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward in her hands.

The second round began.

Luke came after her and she somehow kept him from hitting her. She saw his attacks coming. She countered. There was a change in Luke's eyes and he started to press her harder. The sword was getting heavy again. Before he could disarm her, she thought, wouldn't it be neat if I could disarm him?

Her blade hit the base of Luke's and Andy twisted, putting her whole weight into a downward thrust. Luke's sword fell to the ground. The tip of Andy's blade was an inch from his undefended (hot) chest. The other campers were silent. Andy lowered her sword.

"Sorry," she smiled weakly. "Carried away..."

For a moment, he was too shocked to say anything. "Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Andy, why are you sorry? That was beautiful. I wonder what you can do with a balanced sword..."

Andy found Grover sitting in the sand, watching the waves. They hadn't spoken in three days. Andy sat beside him and nudged his satyr leg. "So... your career's still on tracks?"

Grover glanced at her nervously. "Chiron told you? That I want a searcher's license?"

"No. In fact, I have no idea what that is. He said you had big plans and that you needed some kind of credit... Did you get it?"

Grover looked down at the sand. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet, so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."

"Well, that ain't so bad!"

"Blaa-ha-ha!" Was the sound he made. "The chances of you getting a quest... And even if you did, why would you want me along?"

"I'd want you along," she assured him. Grover didn't say anything else so Andy asked him about the four empty cabins.

"Number eight, the silver one, is Artemis'. She vowed to be a maiden forever. The cabin is honorary."

"What about the three big ones?"

Grover tensed. "One of them is Hera's. Also honorary. She's the goddess of marriage so, of course, she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals. That's her husband's job. The Big Three, the sons of Kronos—Zeus, Poseidon and Hades—after the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."

"Zeus got the sky," Andy remembered. "Poseidon the sea. Hades the Underworld."

"Uh-huh."

"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here..."

"No," Grover shuddered. "He doesn't have a throne on Olympus, either. He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld."

"Okay. Family's black sheep. Got it. But... Zeus and Poseidon... they both had like a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"

Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events, causing too much carnage. World War II, you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other. After it, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."

Thunder boomed.

"The most serious oath you can make?" Andy guessed, glancing at the sky. "And did they keep their word?"

Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon. There was this TV starlet—he couldn't help himself. When their child was born, Thalia, well... the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."

"But... that isn't fair at all! It wasn't her fault, she didn't ask to be born!"

Grover hesitated. "Andy... Children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods. They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy with Zeus breaking the oath. He let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia. A... satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was ten, but... there was nothing he could do, I guess. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of the hill." He pointed across the valley, to a pine tree near where Andy had fought the Minotaur. "All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a horde of hell-hounds. They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal. The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill. As she died, Zeus took pity on her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."

Andy stared at the pine tree in the distance. The more she was part of this world, the more afraid of it she got.

Capture the flag wasn't fun at all. They all gathered in the pavilion where Clarisse and Anthony faced each other. Luke told Andy that Ares and Athena often led the teams. He also told her they were supposed to steal the flag from Ares. But Athena had only made alliances with Hermes and Apollo, the two biggest cabins. The rest was against them.

To Andy's surprise, the campers actually armed themselves for the game. Anthony told her to watch Clarisse's spear and not let it touch her. And then he commanded her to stay by the creek, patrolling or whatever. At the time, it seemed like an easy enough job.

Andy stood by the creek alone for quite some time. She even thought she was missing all the fun. That is, until Clarisse showed up with four other Ares' sons. They charged across the stream. They attacked Andy, who defended herself pretty well at first. But soon they surrounded her and Clarisse hit her with the spear. Immediately, she understood Anthony's warning. The stupid thing was electric. It hurt so much it numbed her.

Laughing, Clarisse said, "Give the rat a haircut." One of the boys grabbed Andy by the hair, but she managed to hit his nose with the back of her head. Then there was the pain again. Another shock and she was on the ground again. "The flag is that way," she managed to say, but Clarisse wasn't interested. This was what she wanted: to beat the crap out of the new girl.

Two of them came at her and Andy backed away toward the creek. One of the boys slashed his sword across Andy's arm, leaving a good-size cut. Seeing her own blood made her dizzy. The boy pushed her into the creek and Andy landed with a splash.

They all laughed.

But then the water—the blessed water—woke up her senses and Andy was able to stand again. Clarisse and the others came forward. With her new strength, Andy fought and disarmed two of them before breaking Clarisse's spear in two. Andy smacked her between the eyes and Clarisse stumbled back.

Then there was yelling and Andy's team showed up cheering. They had won somehow. The game was over.

Suddenly, Anthony's voice said, "Not bad, newbie," into Andy's ear, but as she turned she couldn't find him. "Where did you learn to fight like that?" The air shimmered and he materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap.

Andy felt angry. "You set me up," she accused. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured it out!"

Anthony shrugged. "Athena always has a plan."

"Right. And me dying doesn't matter as long as your plan works fine."

"I came as fast as I could," he sort of apologized. "I was about to jump in, but... You didn't need any help." Then he noticed Andy's arm. "How—" Andy looked at it. The blood was gone.

Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. It disappeared before their very eyes. Anthony was thinking hard. "Step out of the water," he said and pulled Andy. The moment her feet touched the ground she lost her strength and would'd fallen if Anthony hadn't caught her.

"Oh, Styx," he cursed.

Andy heard everyone gasping and tried to apologize. "I don't know why—" But then she noticed they were looking not at her, but at something above her head. Andy looked up and saw a hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming: a trident.

"It is determined," said Chiron, who Andy hadn't noticed so far.

Around her, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin. Anthony remained beside her, and thank the gods for that because he was all that was keeping her vertical.

"Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses," Chiron boasted. "Hail, Andromeda Jackson, Daughter of the Sea God."