When I told Aunt Pearl I could watch Mumbo and Iskall for a few hours, I didn't expect to be attacked. We were so close to summer, I could survive another month without being attacked!... or so I thought.

I guess I shouldn't have expected things to be so easy.

I wasn't really surprised when the hellhound burst through the front window, lunging at Iskall. I knew my cousins were demigods, - Pearl had told me about their godly mother - and thus I had been preparing to take them to camp this summer. For protection.

Within a second I had shoved Iskall out of the direct line of fire, getting myself slammed into a wall. Everything spun, the kids screaming as I slid my pocketknife out of my hoodie. I fumbled with the blade, ignoring the burning chest pains from the beast's claws digging themself into my skin, and stabbed the dog right in the chest.

The hellhound whimpered, turning to dust with another couple of stabs. I took a moment to breathe through the pain, cursing Hades under my breath as I folded my knife back up.

"What... was that?" Iskall, the older of my two cousins, had moved to hold Mumbo protectively. I sighed, wincing as I had to reach for my phone, which was all the way in my back pocket.

"Hellhound. Sent by my beloved uncle, most likely." I dialled up Pearl, ignoring the possibly-deadly injury I was still bleeding from. "I think it might've confused you, Issie, with me."

Pearl answered quickly, her shrill voice making me cringe back from the device. "Grian, is everything alright? What happened?"

"Pearl, please be a little more quiet." My head was ringing too much for her panic. "We were attacked, I'm bringing the boys with me to camp. It's too dangerous."

"No, they were supposed to have time! Another couple months, Grian please!"

"Pearl, if I could guarantee their safety here, I wouldn't take them." My eyes caught on the terrified expressions, the protective hold of Iskall over Mumbo. "But they're not safe anymore. I'm sorry, but we have to go."

"... okay. Just... if they can come home-"

"No promises, Pearl." I hung up, dropping the phone on the floor. A wave of nausea hit me, pitching me forward. Iskall was quick to react, catching me before I could land in the dust from the hellhound.

"Grian, you're... really hurt." I nodded at Mumbo's quiet words, forcing myself back to my feet.

"Yeah... I ran out of my freaking ambrosia yesterday..." I stumbled to the broken window, whistling sharply into the sky above. "I have a way to get us to camp fast."

"What exactly is this... camp?" Iskall walked over, guiding my left arm over his shoulders for extra support.

"A safe haven for demigods. Like us." I did a round gesture, including all three of us at once.

"Demigods?" Mumbo was on my right side, mimicking Iskall's support move.

"Half god, half mortal." A distant bird cry made me relax slightly. I was glad he had heard. "Essentially, Auntie Pearl is a regular human... your other parent is a god."

The boys didn't get to ask anymore questions as a golden brown blur flew into the house, landing on my right shoulder. I smiled brightly as the bird nibbled my ear in greeting, rubbing my face against its side.

"This is Sally," The eagle cawed gently, gently biting my nose with its beak. "She was a gift from my father. She'll get us to camp."

"Uhh... Grian," Iskall was looking at the bird warily. "How exactly is a little... what is that, an eagle?... going to get us to this 'camp'?"

"Simple." I clicked my tongue a bit, and Sally hopped off my shoulder. As I had seen her do only a few times before, she grew in size until she was massive. The size of a large horse, she could easily carry three kids on her back across the country.

"Oh."

"Awesome!" Mumbo ran up to Sally's side, reaching out and petting her wing. The bird cooed, encouraging Mumbo closer until he was tucked up under her wing. Great, Sally adopted another demigod. Stress was gonna be jealous.

A small wave, and gusts of wind got us all packed up on top of Sally. I sat behind my cousins, doing my best to not bleed on them. Everything continued to spin and hurt as we took off, Iskall screaming in terror and Mumbo screaming in delight.

I watched the country below us bend and morph, Sally's feathers keeping us safe from the pressure of warping through the space to New York from California. We slowed down above the woods outside camp, and I realized everything was kind of dimming.

"Come on Sally," It kind of hurt to breathe, to speak, to move any limbs required more effort than normal. "Just a little bit more."

The second we were past the main barrier I heard the conch horn. People were shouting as I used my powers to help Iskall and Mumbo off of Sally, sliding off myself and into the arms of Stress.

Her hair was longer than before, going down to her mid-back. She was colder than anyone else I had ever touched, which made sense with her being a daughter of the snow goddess Khione. I smiled a bit, unable to quite hear what she was saying. Her icy blue eyes were the last things I saw before passing out.

~~

Being back at camp meant weird dreams. I was used to weird dreams - some of them worse than others. But this one terrified me more than any dream I had ever had.

Camp Half-Blood was on fire. I could see corpses litter the ground, but I was unable to identify any of the faces. The center of camp drew my attention, made me scream.

Iskall was attacking Mumbo. Iskall's sword glinted in the firelight, while Mumbo was barely holding his own with a dagger. The younger seemed to be crying, saying something to his brother as Iskall continued to attack.

I felt the ground below me vanish, and I tumbled into darkness. Raspy whispers haunted me all around, and the faintest pulse was consistent as I tumbled down, further and further.

Spawn of the Sky... The whisper echoed around the tunnel, grating like nails on a chalkboard. You bring me the most delicious of sacrifices...

I couldn't fight it, the voice... it was wrapping around my wrists, my ankles, dragging me down faster and faster.

Your family will be mine!

~~

I shot awake with a gasp, the trapped feeling vanished into nothing. Instantly I regretted my fast movement, as I now had bandages wrapped around my chest and head.

"Well well well, the airhead is finally awake." The familiar male voice from nearby made me grin, and I turned to pull Ren into a tight hug.

"You piece of schist," I pulled back, looking the familiar satyr up and down. "You've been gone for over a year, and you didn't tell me when you got back?"

Ren chuckled, his horns poking up from long brown hair. "Well... yeah. I just got back the other day, right in time to see you land and pass out. You scared Stressie a lot, by the way."

That sentence made my grin fall. You do not want to get on Stress's bad side. She would make sure you never drank hot chocolate again.

Ren laughed a bit, lightly socking me in the shoulder. "Hey now, don't be so scared. You and Stress are best friends; I'm sure she won't kill you."

"Yeah, keep thinking that Ren." I forced myself to swing my legs over the side of the bed. "How long has it been?"

"Three days." Ren moved over so he was sitting next to me on the cot. "Mumbo was claimed by Athena, though I'm sure you knew that."

"Pearl told me about their mom." I smiled at the memory of her talking about Athena. "She gave birth to Iskall herself, but Mumbo was given to her in a golden basket."

Ren frowned a bit. "Doesn't Athena always give birth to her own kids?"

"From what I was told, Athena allowed Pearl to give birth..." I frowned, considering the circumstances. "But that does seem unlikely... do you think Iskall could have a different parent?"

"Maybe." Ren stood, grabbing a glass of nectar and handing it over. I drank it quickly, longing for the taste of my mothers brownies now more than ever. Any pain I had felt vanished, and I felt strong enough to stand.

"Well, I better let them know I'm not dead." I glanced out the nearby window, spotting the glint of gold that meant Sally was nearby. "And I probably have to talk to Chiron..."

"He's in the Big House," Ren looked outside as well. "I gotta go find Doc. I'll find ya later Grian!"

Ren left the infirmary, and I followed close behind. I had seen enough of the sterile white for a lifetime after... well, I didn't like thinking about that. I stretched out, basking in the warmth from the sun once outside. The camp was still gorgeous, with its dozens of cabins for every god and goddess, the lake, the woods, the strawberry fields... I loved it all.

"Grian!" I glanced to the right to see Mumbo running over. He was now sporting an orange camp tee, his grey eyes shining in the light. While his black hair was abnormal for Athena kids, I always loved seeing the wisdom in his eyes, the constant analysis of the world around him.

"Hey kiddo." I held out my arms, laughing as he launched himself into a hug. He was full of energy, and I was glad to see him so excited for camp.

"I've been having so much fun!" He was bouncing, pulling away to jitter with energy. "All of my brothers and sisters are so cool! They're super smart, and are helping me learn Latin and Greek and even some hieroglyphs! Iskall's been staying in the Big House since he's unclaimed, but he's super excited for me!"

I glanced towards the big house myself, where I could see Chiron in the main window. My shoulders slumped at his stern expression, and I hugged Mumbo once more.

"I gotta go meet with Chiron," I smiled at my younger cousin, pulling away. "I'll see ya at dinner, Mumbo."

The younger one grinned, nodding rapidly. "Yeah! Seeya!" He took off running towards the arena, and I forced myself to walk in the direction of the Big House.

~~

(Reposted from my oneshots book ;))

~Parker