upright: innocence, new beginnings, free spirit

reversed: recklessness, taken advantage of, inconsideration

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KATIE SWORE LOUDLY as she buckled herself into the passenger seat. The car jerked underneath her as Pollux tried to navigate through the traffic and outrun the empousa, and it was not working out very well. She had a brand new bump on her forehead to prove it.

She twirled her shears in her hands. They were specially made—a gift from her mother when she turned eighteen—razor sharp, celestial bronze, with some ornamental flowers carved here and there. Cute, but a pain to get blood out of. She twisted them around a little too far, and they separated into two wicked-looking knives. Perfect for monster fighting and for gardening. She looped her thumbs through the holes and held the knives in an upside-down grip that gave her more slashing power. Just in case the monster busted through the old car. Roof, window, wherever. She could throw.

She kept checking the rearview mirror, waiting to see the monster gaining on them, but luckily Pollux had stunned it long enough. He hadn't been able to land a killing blow before leaving—it was too risky for the girls. Her eyes lowered a few degrees to check on them. The one with all the necklaces looked like a typical demigod whose worldview had just been shattered, and the one in pink seemed very confused. They were quietly having a heated conversation.

          Katie turned around in her seat, both to face the twins and to get a better look out the rear windshield. "Holding up okay back there?"

          Lia locked eyes with her. "Why can't Addie see that...thing?"

          "I can see it," Addie protested. "Should we really have left school like that?"

          Katie thought for a moment before beckoning at Addie to lean forward. She tapped her on the forehead three times in rapid succession, then snapped her fingers under Addie's nose. "Better?"

          Addie looked at her like she was crazy, then down at Katie's hands. "Ack!" she said in surprise. "Those aren't scissors!"

          "It's only temporary," Katie announced, more to Lia than to Addie, who was craning her neck to see out the window. "We'll get that fixed once we get to camp."

The car swayed violently as Pollux gunned it over a speed bump. Katie punched his arm. "Once we get to camp alive, maybe?" she reprimanded.

"You try driving stick in Manhattan with an empousa on your tail, see how much better you are," he defended himself.

"Why are we going camping?" Lia asked, clutching her seatbelt. "Shouldn't we be hiding?"

Katie turned to face the girls again. "Exactly," she confirmed, watching their identical faces scrunch in confusion. "Have you learned about ancient Greece in school yet? Read The Odyssey? Maybe The Iliad?"

"Yeah," Addie said. "A few years ago. Sixth, seventh grade maybe." She reached up to fiddle with her nose ring. "But what does that have to do with this?"

"You're demigods," Katie told them. "So are we."

Blank stares. The car jostled again, and Katie shot Pollux a look of annoyance.

"But...those aren't real," Addie said quietly. "We aren't—"

"Addison," Lia interrupted. "There's really no other explanation for what just happened."

"I don't even know what just happened!" Addie protested, growing agitated. "We should be in school! In the office, telling the principal how Sloane just attacked you!"

"What just happened is that a monster infiltrated your school to find you," Katie said patiently. "We weren't expecting that to happen just yet. But she wasn't a student, just masquerading as one. In order to eat you," she added, hoping that would convince her she was where she needed to be.

Addie pondered that for a few moments, then spoke again. "Say we are demigods, then. Where are we going? Are there more?"

Katie nodded. "We're on our way to Camp Half-Blood. It's a safe haven for demigods to train and stay alive. You'll meet a lot more than just Pollux and me."

          Addie let out a breath. "So...our dad is..."

Katie shrugged. "Don't know. You'll find out soon enough. My guess is he's a minor god. You guys are a little older than the demigods we typically get."

"What did you mean, you weren't expecting it yet?" Lia asked. "Wasn't that why you were at Midtown?"

"Yes," Katie confirmed. "Demigods typically get attacked more once they start to realize who they are. We didn't think we'd have to deal with that just yet." She paused. "Did something happen? You find something out?"

Lia squirmed. "We may have overheard Pollux talking to some old guy through our vent."

Pollux laughed. "Sorry. I'll have to be quieter next time. That was Chiron, our activities director."

"Chiron," Addie repeated. "Like, Chiron, Chiron?"

"That's the one."

"But he's like...thousands of years old."

"So's your dad," Katie pointed out. "You're gonna have to get used to that."

"Right," said Lia softly.

Katie fielded a few more questions as the car left the city in pursuit of Long Island Sound, keeping her eyes on the back windshield in case the monster appeared on the horizon. It started to rain softly, and the windshield wipers worked hard to keep the water away, but Katie silently worried that it would be easier to be caught in a sneak attack now. She urged Pollux to go faster, and he was all too happy to oblige.

The buildings changed to suburbs and the suburbs to forest. They weren't far now. Maybe about fifteen minutes. And good thing too, because a shadow rose in the sky behind them.

The empousa flew awkwardly on her leathery wings. Katie didn't understand why some of them had wings and some didn't—the metal leg made them really bad fliers. Not to mention Katie had already sliced it up a bit. Probably why it had taken so long to catch up.

"Heads up," she told Pollux. "Might want to step on it."

The car sped up considerably. The twins followed Katie's gaze, and Addie yelped. "Is that—"

"Sloane," Lia confirmed. "Even uglier than earlier."

"She's flying! And she's on fire! And her legs—" Addie stopped. "Okay, what is going on with her legs?"

"She's an empousa," Katie said, by way of explanation. "Basically a vampire. Fiery hair and mismatched legs. Don't ask why, because I don't remember." She gripped her knives tighter, watching the monster wobble in midair. "They usually go for male demigods, but they're not exclusive."

"Why didn't Lia remember her from before?" Addie asked, still staring out the window.

"Monsters manipulate the Mist in order to blend in," Katie explained. "It's like a veil of magic that hides the real world. She made it seem like she'd been there all along, but she really wasn't. Lia saw the truth."

"So the snapping thing—"

Katie nodded. "Demigods can train themselves to manipulate it too. I let you see through." She turned back around anxiously to gauge how far they were now. About five minutes. It was going to be close. Way too close for comfort. She closed her eyes and sent up a silent prayer to her mother. There wasn't much else to do but fight.

          The car shook as something hit the roof. A dent appeared in the shape of a foot.

          "Damn it," Pollux said miserably. "I just got that fixed."

          Katie unsheathed her sword from her hip and handed it back to Lia. "Just in case," she said. "We'll be there soon. Run towards the big blue house. Don't stop and don't worry about us. We can handle it."

          Lia took the sword, looking both determined and uncertain. A loud bang sounded, and a second dent appeared—a hoof. There was no mistaking it.

          Katie dumped one of her knives in Addie's hands and held the other expertly, waiting.

          Lia's window shattered, spraying the backseat with glass. Sloane's clawed hand reached in and grabbed Lia's arm, trying to pull her out.

        Addie shouted and struck with the knife. The hand exploded into dust, and Sloane withdrew her arm, shrieking.

          "Ha!" Katie whooped. "That was great. Keep doing that." She rolled down her window and yelled to Pollux. "Don't slow down!"

          "What? Why would I—" he started, but she was already shoving herself out the window. She hooked her foot to something—part of the seat, probably—and sat in the window as if trying to crawl onto the roof, trying to get within stabbing distance.

          The empousa was somehow still on the roof, holding on with one hand and clutching her stump to her chest. She hissed at Katie, baring her fangs. Katie slashed, and at the same time the empousa lunged. Her dagger made contact, sinking into flesh, but so did the teeth.

          "Ow! Fuck," Katie said, and punched it in the face.

          The empousa squawked and tumbled off the roof.

          Katie swung herself back into the car, nursing her arm. "It's gone for now."

          Pollux glanced over. "Shit, your arm."

          "Oh my god! Are you okay?" Addie reached forward tentatively. "I know first aid, I can—"

          "I'm fine, don't worry," Katie assured, wiping it with her shirt as if that would help. All that did was get blood on it sooner. Empousa bites bled like crazy. They were vampires, after all, and their needle-like teeth were designed to draw blood. "We'll be at camp in like thirty seconds. You guys ready?"

         They passed the sign for Delphi Strawberries, and the Big House was visible over the hill. Thalia's pine stood tall, and the air at the border shimmered. They were going to make it.

          "Almost there," Pollux muttered through gritted teeth. The car sped up even more.

          Thirty feet. Twenty feet. Ten.

          "Go, go, go!" Katie shouted, not waiting for the car to stop. They tumbled out, and Lia and Addie started running. Katie halted at the foot of the hill, knife in hand, watching the empousa get closer. Her arm hurt like hell, but she could get fixed up later. Pollux joined her, reaching behind his head to unsheath his twin machetes. He twirled them around his fingers, coiled to strike.

          They paused to take a breath, and then together they ran to meet the monster. She launched herself at Pollux, going for his neck. He ducked, swinging his blades, and managed to connect with one of her wings. She screeched, and the fire on her head burned brighter.

          "A son of Dionysus," she crooned, just out of their reach. Her mouth was red with Katie's blood. "I bet you taste sweeter than she does." The monster made a face, as if Katie had tasted bad. Katie took offense to that for a second, then paused, trying to figure out why that even offended her.

          "It's true, I'm delicious," Pollux taunted. He tilted his head to one side, tapping his jugular. "Want a taste? I'll give you a freebie."

            Her face twisted maliciously, as if sensing his sarcasm. She hissed and lunged again, but Katie was ready. Her knife sliced into the monster's stomach, and it screamed, peeling away.

          "Katie, go after the girls," Pollux urged.

          "No, you need—"

          "You're bleeding out and they need help," he pointed out. He twirled his machetes around his fingers again—a nervous habit of his. He was right, of course, and Katie hated him for it.

          "Don't die," she said.

          He crouched back into a fighting stance, steadying himself. "Ditto."

          Katie sprinted towards the hill, trying not to jostle her arm. Her legs protested—it had been a while since she'd run like this. The twins stood right at the invisible border, between the Big House and the pine, unsure. She knew immediately what the problem was, but before she could fix it, a few things happened at once.

          First, Pollux shouted a desperate warning.

          Second, the empousa sailed over her, claws extended, teeth bared, headed straight for the twins.

          Third, one of Pollux's bronze machetes came flying and hit the monster in the back. It exploded into dust.

          Fourth, the machete kept going, straight through Addison Morningstar.

          Lia screamed. "No!"

Addie's hands flew to her chest, astounded. She sucked in panicked breaths and looked down.

A beat of silence. Katie sighed, quietly thanking her mom. Her suspicion had been confirmed. Addie was fine.

"I, Katie Gardner, daughter of Demeter, grant Addison Morningstar entry into Camp Half-Blood," she said breathily. She was lightheaded with blood loss and relief.

          Addie stumbled as the border suddenly disappeared, and she was inside.

          Katie felt Pollux's strong hands on her—one around her waist, the other looping her uninjured arm over his shoulders. "Come on, let's get you to the infirmary," he said. His breath tickled her neck. "Can't have you dying after the monster's been killed, now can we?"

          She let out a small chuckle and allowed him to help her over the hill. He beckoned to the girls to follow him, and the four of them ventured into Camp Half-Blood.

          Pollux led them around the Big House and to the infirmary a short distance away, where Will Solace had emerged, drawn out by the commotion.

          "Hey, man," Pollux greeted. "Long time, no see."

          "Very funny," Will responded. He stepped forward to intercept Katie, who was getting a little dizzy. "You all right?" he asked her.

          "Peachy," she said. Will's hands were cold. "Might bleed on you, though."

          "Oh, no," Will deadpanned. "If only I could fix that." He removed Katie's arm from Pollux's shoulders and placed it over his. To Pollux, he said, "I've got her from here. Do they need anything?"

          Pollux looked back at the shaken but physically unharmed girls. "They're fine." He looked pointedly at Katie. "Don't give the doctor any trouble," he warned. "I'll be back to check in on you."

          Kati laughed. "Don't give me any ideas," she joked, and then Will led her inside to bandage her up.

She sat on a cot, nibbling a square of ambrosia while he cleaned the bite. "Close call, huh?" he said, swabbing it with antiseptic.

"Not that close," she huffed. Her breath caught as peroxide met the open wound. It almost hurt worse than the bite. Almost.

Will's brow furrowed. "What's wrong? Besides the arm, of course."

Katie bit her lip. "One of them's mortal," she told him. It felt weird saying it out loud, and even weirder knowing it was true. They were twins, for crying out loud. How was it even possible?

Will's hands paused in their work. "What?"

"Weird, right?" She sat back, leaning against the wall for support. "Can't even wrap my head around it."

Will's forehead wrinkled as he concentrated on the bandage and on the situation at hand. "Yeah, just...wow. That's a new one. Do we just...send her back?"

Katie winced. "Ow." Then she said, "I don't know. Not up to me. But I think that would be a bad idea, personally."

Will nodded. He finished up the bandage and handed her a glass. "Yeah, maybe. Drink up," he ordered. "Take a nap. We can talk more later."

Katie took the nectar. "Whatever you say, Doc." It tasted like the hot chocolate she was given whenever she got sick. Her dad's hot chocolate, made with a sprig of peppermint and a tiny splash of rum. To help her sleep, he'd say, and to chase away the germs. It always worked.

Somebody put a pillow behind her head, and she drifted off to sleep.

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good evening loves! thank you for making it through another chapter. if you're enjoying this fic, please vote or recommend to friends! you can also follow my profile, @cajoling, for notifications and updates. any guesses about who lia's dad is? bet you won't get it ;)
lots of love,
cajoling
12/14/20