chapter forty-five

─── luke and i are incredibly responsible adults, sometimes

          𝕷ife never goes my way, at all. Which is why I wasn't optimistic about tonight's excursion, and I'd told Luke as such.

"I just don't like the idea of this," Luke nodded, watching me pull on my boots. "Something's bound to go wrong."

"That's why we're there to supervise. You and I are good at our jobs." Luke was right, we were good at our jobs. The pair of us were there to supervise Annabeth and Thalia's extraction plan, with Grover as their satyr guide, of a demigod from a school. Not that I was thrilled about this.

You see, Annabeth and I got along. We had moved past the whole her having a crush on someone who saw her as a little sister and was my boyfriend. It had taken a month or two, but we were now back to normal. She crashed with me at weekends, when she was at camp, and I was teaching her how to skate. She also came over to play board games with me and mom, who liked the company. That was all fine.

Thalia and my relationship, on the other hand, was dreadful. Annabeth had been right, Thalia did attempt to strike me with lightning, I was just very good at dodging. She hated the fact that, after having been in a coma for 6 years or so, she'd come out to find that the guy she liked was now dating her cousin, and also an adult.

So, the eight hour drive that we were going to have to take with me, Luke, Thalia and Annabeth, was about to cause me dreadful pain (and not just on the ADHD side of things).

"Andi, darling, you're daydreaming." Luke pointed out, tapping my head a few times. "Look, this is going to be okay. We're going to get this done, have a night chaperoning the kids, and then come back to sleep. You'll be back at college on Monday, you can submit the essay and then date night Friday. Alright?"

"Alright." I sighed, before leaning up to kiss him quickly. He grinned at that, holding on a little tighter as he kissed me once, twice, three times more. I beamed. "We do need to go and get the kids."

"Sure." Luke laughed. "Come on then." 

He wrapped his scarf around me, before grabbing our bags, leaving his apartment and stepping into the cold air of New York. Luke had graduated (read: kicked out) of camp at the end of the last summer, and had found an apartment in New York that used to belong to Hermes. He'd set up there, a mere train ride away from my mom's, and I'd inadvertently started to live with him as his place was closer to college.

We'd also found his car, which had been a good conversation to have with the police.

We left New York soon after, picking Annabeth and Thalia up on the way, which was the start of a very long and awkward drive to Bar Harbour, Maine. If I never had to do something like that again, I was going to die very happy.

We reached Westover Hall just as it was getting dark and if there was ever a building that was going to look like an evil villain's lair, then it would be this place. It was made of obsidian stone, towers and slit windows with a big set of wooden doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the grey churning ocean on the other. Now, as the daughter of the sea god, I liked the sea. At the moment, I did not.

We stepped out of the car, locking it to prevent a second theft, and burrowed into our jackets. I hooked my arm through Luke's, trying to steal his body warmth as we looked up at the hall.

"It looks like an evil Hogwarts," I had introduced Annabeth to Harry Potter three weeks earlier, and she loved it. In fact, she was already designing a model Hogwarts, in typical daughter of Athena fashion.

"You got that right, Wise Girl," I muttered, pushing her hat further down on her dark braids. "Come on, let's get going otherwise I'm gonna freeze my t-"

"Andi..." Luke warned.

"Toes, I was going to say toes," I winked at Annabeth, who snorted at that.

"Hey, Thals, you cold?" Luke looked back at Thalia, who seemed to melt the snow around her with her glare.

"No," She stomped past me and Annabeth, her arms crossed over her leather jacket as I cocked an eyebrow. This was going to be a long night.

The oak doors groaned open, and the four of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow.

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. 

My hand went to Riptide, which lay in my pocket, as I saw Luke reach for Backbiter, both of us sharing a look. Our demigod senses were tingling.

Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—"

The doors slammed shut behind us.

"Well, that was ominous."

I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music. We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us.

They both had short grey hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy moustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines.

"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"

"Um..." I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question two teenagers, an adult and a somewhat adult sneaking into the school at night. We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would get inside. I said, "Ma'am, we're just—"

"Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected !"

He had an accent—French, maybe. He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colours—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's.

I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird. She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth. We're in the eighth grade. Miss Jackson and Mr. Castellan are chaperoning the school dance."

It was almost as good as Luke lying, and he was good.

The male teacher narrowed his two-coloured eyes. I didn't know what Thalia was thinking. But the man seemed to be hesitating.

He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students and teachers?"

The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I... yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?"

"That's why we were outside. We were attempting to find them," Luke stepped in, before shaking his head. "Well, what are you two waiting for, run along! We'll have a talk about this on Monday."

"Yes, sir!" Annabeth didn't need to be told twice, grabbing Thalia and pulling her towards the school hall.

"Well, we should go and make sure that no other students try to sneak out, Mr. Castellan," I fought a laugh, nodding at the two teachers, before following Annabeth and Thalia, Luke hot on my heels.

"Thank the gods you're here," Grover was smiling at Annabeth and Thalia, before he caught sight of me and Luke. "Romy!"

"Grover," I hugged him, slapping him on the back. "Long time no see."

It had been a while. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human—a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.

"So what's the emergency?" I asked.

Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.

"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"

He looked straight past me, Annabeth and Thalia at Luke, which was fair enough. Luke was the oldest, slightly more mature than me, the most talented and had far more real world experience (plus being the best swordfighter at camp). 

If you hadn't already noticed, I adored being able to praise my boyfriend, because he was brilliant and it made him slightly embarrassed.

"Are they at the dance?"

"Yeah,"

"Okay, then you guys go and dance. Andi and I'll keep an eye on the things from the side lines, make sure that we have them in our sites. Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls. Girls moved around in football huddles, nervously watching the boys, who seemed oblivious and I rolled my eyes. I had forgotten what that part of school was like.

"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo"

The girl wore a floppy green cap, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards. His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.

Annabeth said, "Do the...I mean, have you told them?"

Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."

"Well, Dr. Thorn is here so this isn't a grab and run mission," Luke warned, before placing a stern look on his face as he began to shake his hands like he was telling them off. I caught on pretty quickly, nodding along. "Don't do anything stupid, eyes on them at all times, no weapons at all."

"Okay," Thalia nodded.

"Great, now go dance or something,"

"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.

Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked hurt. "I did."

"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green who?"

"Thalia," Luke warned, shaking his head again.

"Never mind. Let's dance."

"But I can't dance!"

"You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."

Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor. Luke sighed, running a tired hand over his face as Annabeth ran off after them.

"You okay?"

"I don't know what's going on with Thalia. I thought after we talked, things would get better." He muttered as I shrugged.

"Honest opinion or not tone deaf opinion?"

"Tone deaf, honest opinion," Luke replied. "Always."

"She's jealous of me, upset that you're older and dating someone else and pissed that Annabeth and Grover have connected onto me instead of staying waiting for her," I shrugged. "It's understandable, and I get why she's upset, but I agree cause it's starting to get on my nerves. The conversation didn't help, probably overwhelmed her. She needs time."

"You? Annoyed? That's new."

"You know me. I'm an absolute gem at being calm and collected."

"You're an absolute gem at annoying every villain we meet," Luke corrected.

"So, I annoyed you when I first came to camp?" Luke fought a laugh, before shaking his head. "You can admit, you found my annoying cute."

"No, you challenged me to flirt with you, and then I accidentally got a crush."

"Damn, even when I'm not trying, no one can resist my charm." I turned back to where the siblings were and stopped. "You owe me dinner. I was right."

"Don't sound so excited about it, please." I rolled my eyes.

"What?"

"The kids are gone,"

"Shit." Luke hissed, as I grinned. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight. "I'll get Thalia, Grover and Annabeth. You look for them."

About fifty feet away from the bleachers, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks.

"Well, that looks suspicious," I muttered, hurrying out of the door. I left it cracked open, tying my scarf around it so that Luke could see where I went.

The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I uncapped Riptide. The pen grew in my hands until I held the sword in my hand. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers.

I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.

I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you."

They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated? Ha, I'd have no such luck, knowing me.

"My name's Andromeda," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."

Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.

I whirled around and something went WHIISH ! Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall. I groaned, looking at my shoulder before sighing.

A cold laugh echoed through the hall.

"Yes, Andromeda Jackson"  Dr. Thorn said, butchering my last name pronunciation. "I know who you are."

"Are you kidding me?" I cried. "I've only just got the last of the other poison out of my system. Not cool, not cool!"

A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. His eyes reflected the light of my sword.

"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."

WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.

Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.

"All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."

Well, Dr. Thorn had never met me before, clearly, because 'quietly' and 'obediently' had never really been in my vocabulary.

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

Thalia does have a somewhat ish justifiable reason for disliking Andi (who's completely done with everything) and I love her for it.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx