01. WESTOVER HALL
CHAPTER ONE
( WESTOVER HALL )
DAVINA SINCLAIR LEANED against the wall of Westover Hall, playing with one of her pigtail braids while waiting for Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase, and Thalia Grace to arrive. It was freezing and Grover Underwood, the satyr on this mission, told her she couldn't come in until the others arrived.
After a few more minutes of waiting, a car parked in front of her.
"Finally," Davina mumbled as the backseat doors opened. The first one to get out was Percy, who locked eyes with her. She pursed her lips and raised a challenging brow.
Percy took in the girl's appearance. She wore black skinny jeans, some random band t-shirt underneath her coat, and combat boots. The only thing that was different about her was her hair. Instead of the red streaks she'd had the last time he'd seen her, they were now purple. "You dyed your hair again," he noted.
"How observant," she muttered. Annabeth got out of the car next. Davina smiled at her and immediately went in for a hug. She hadn't seen the girl much since she'd started going to school. "Annabeth."
Thalia, who up until recently had been a pine tree, walked around the car. "Your mom is so cool, Percy."
"Guess you didn't take after her then, huh?" Davina remarked, tilting her head as she grabbed the overnight bag she'd packed.
"We better get inside," Annabeth spoke before Percy could retort. "Grover will be waiting."
"I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call," Thalia spoke as they walked into the school.
"I don't know but the stupid goat made me wait outside in the cold," Davina stated bitterly.
After hearing music come from down the hall, the four stashed their bags behind a pillar and headed down the hallway. They hadn't gone far when a man and woman came out, stopping them. They both had short grey hair and military uniforms.
Davina's eyes were glued to the man. . . there was something so much more intimidating about him than the woman. Her left hand subconsciously went to her right wrist, rubbing the brown leather bracelet that transformed into her sword.
"Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?"
"Um. . ." Percy started. Davina rolled her eyes again. This was going to go great. "Ma'am we're just–"
"Ha! Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be ejected!" the man snapped, prolonging the e sound.
It took a second for Davina to understand what he was saying due to his French accent. Thalia stepped forward and snapped her fingers. "Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," she lied. "We go to school here. You remember. I'm Thalia, and this is Annabeth, Percy, and Davina."
He narrowed his eyes, which were two different colors – one brown and the other blue. He hesitated and looked over to the woman. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?"
Ms. Gottschalk blinked. "I. . . yes. I believe I do, sir. Davina, Annabeth, Thalia, Percy, what are you doing away from the gymnasium?"
Before one of them could answer, they heard footsteps. Grover ran up to them, slightly out of breath. "You made it! You–" Davina pointed her finger to the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk, Dr. Thorn! I, uh–"
"What is it, Mr. Underwood?" Dr. Thorn leaned a bit closer as if he were waiting for Grover to expose them. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."
Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant I'm so glad they made the. . . punch for the dance! The punch is great – and they made it!"
It was obvious that Dr. Thorn didn't believe any of them. Ms. Gottschalk, however, was an entirely different story. "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again."
They didn't need to be told twice. They immediately followed Grover down the hallway. "So, what's the emergency?" Percy asked.
Grover glanced around and lowered his voice. "I found two."
Thalia's eyes widened. "Two half-bloods? Here?"
"A brother and a sister," Grover answered. "They're 10 and 12. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."
"Well, it's obvious that the doctor is a monster," Davina pointed out.
"He suspects," Grover confirmed. "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!"
Grover looked at Thalia. "Right," the girl started. "These half-bloods are at the dance?" The satyr nodded. "Then let's dance."
Davina looked around the gym. Red and black balloons littered the floors. Boys were either kicking them at each other or trying to strangle each other. Girls wore pretty dresses, full faces of makeup, and stuck together. Davina had never been to an actual dance since she was at camp year-round, but she never liked the idea of them. The awkwardness. . . having to ask people to dance.
"There they are," Grover nodded toward a pair of younger kids arguing on the bleachers. The girl seemed to be scolding her brother about something while he shuffled cards. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."
Annabeth's eyes flickered back to Grover. "Do they. . . 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."
"So let's grab them and get out of here," Percy suggested.
"Right, because the one thing we need as demigods is kidnapping charges," Davina retorted.
"Don't look at the kids," Thalia instructed, motioning slightly towards the door near the bleachers. Thorn had come in and was standing near the siblings. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them, throw him off the scent."
"How?" Percy wondered.
"We're four powerful half-bloods," Thalia replied. "Our presence should confuse him. Mingle, act natural, do some dancing, but keep an eye on those kids."
"Dancing," Davina repeated, looking around at her options. "Nope. I'm good."
Thalia made a face. "Ugh. Who chose Jesse McCartney?"
Grover looked slightly hurt. "I did."
Davina snorted and walked away to the punch table – the one that Grover had claimed they made. It tasted horrible, and she had to resist the urge to spit it out. She stood at the punch table and watched the kids around her.
"Hey, Vina," a boy walked up to her.
She'd never seen him before, so the usage of her nickname shocked her. ". . . hi?"
She knew how the mist worked, of course she did, she just hadn't expected anybody to come up to her. He clearly thought he knew her. Perhaps they were friends in his mind?
"I don't understand how you're drinking the punch," he wrinkled his nose.
"I'm not," she raised her glass and tilted it so he could see that it was still full. "I'm just holding it so it looks like I'm doing something."
He laughed. "Well, since you're not doing anything. . . do you want to dance with me?"
"Uh. . ." As she looked for Annabeth to help her, her eyes landed on the bleachers where the di Angelos had been. Her eyes then moved to where Dr. Thorn had been lurking. He wasn't there either, and the door was wide open. "Shit."
She rushed away to Annabeth and Percy. "Just ask her!" Annabeth was saying when Davina got to them.
"I'm not gonna ask her to da–" Percy argued.
"They're gone!" Davina interrupted.
Annabeth's attention snapped away from Percy and she looked around the gym. "We have to get Thalia and Grover. Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"
Davina and Percy went to follow her but were stopped by a group of girls who got in their way. "Oh, fuck–" Davina swore as she tried to look for the other three. "Where are they–"
"Davina," Percy nudged her.
Davina turned around. "What?" He pointed to a door on the opposite side of the gym, where Dr. Thorn was steering Nico and Bianca out but their necks. "If we wait for Annabeth and the others, we might lose them."
Without a second thought, Davina unclasped her bracelet. It began to move up her hand like a snake and turned into her sword. The word stratiótis was engraved in the handle, which translated to soldier in English.
She began to jog down the corridor, glancing back to see if Percy was following her. He was, his sword drawn also.
Percy opened a door and they found themselves back in the main hall. Davina didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but the di Angelo kids stood on the other side of the room, frozen in horror.
Percy got closer to the kids to try to calm them down while Davina kept her eyes out for the older man. She stayed in place, her sword still raised as she looked around the room. The blade of her sword, which was made out of celestial bronze, glowed slightly but not enough to help her see.
Hearing a yelp from behind her, Davina turned around. She could barely see that Percy had been pinned against the wall. A cold laugh rang through the hall and she carefully moved in front of the di Angelos to keep them safe.
"Yes, Perseus Jackson, Davina Sinclair. I know who you are."
"Come out, come out, wherever you are," Davina taunted, eyes darting around the room in effort to find the monster.
Dr. Thorn moved into the light. "Thank you for coming out of the gym. I hate middle school dances."
Davina hummed. "That sucks."
And then she went for it. She ran forward and attacked. Knives shot at her as she and Thorn fought. A knife impales the wall a few inches away from Bianca's face, making Davina surrender. She returned her sword to her bracelet and raised her hands.
"All four of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn instructed lowly, sending shivers down Davina's spine. "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."
𝒎𝒆𝒍 𝒎𝒆𝒍 !!
first chapter👏👏
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