We waited for what felt like hours.

Hermes continued to stand, holding his caduceus like a spear. He created a small fire and smoke wafted into the air. Ventus had left a couple of minutes earlier, promising that he would be back when I needed him. Chloe went to sleep, laying her head on my lap. Her skin felt as cold as ice, so I took my army jacket off and lay it on top of her. I kept my sword at my side, in case any trouble came, but Hermes assured me that nothing was there.

"Is she okay?" he asked me in concern.

I shook my head slightly. "She's not doing well at all. She told me that her whole body felt like it was on fire. I don't know what's wrong with her, but whatever it is, that antidote you gave her made it worse."

Hermes lowered his head. "I'm sorry. I thought I was helping."

"Don't be so hard on yourself – you were," I assured him. "Don't worry about it." I looked at my sleeping sister. "I knew she was in pain, because, even though she kept it quiet, she's been very private about what Proculus and his Strom Guard did to her. I'm worried that all that torture has finally taken its toll."

Hermes then looked up and gripped his staff even tighter. "Marcus."

I turned my head to where he was looking, worried that it was the police coming to arrest us. When I saw what was in front of me, my heart leapt with relief.

A white van had pulled up on the street and several teenagers poured out of the back. At first they looked around in confusion, but then they saw the smoke rising into the air and saw us right in front of the building flames of the campfire. They rushed down the beach and stopped right in front of us. One of them came forward and knelt next to Chloe, checking her forehead and placing blankets after blankets on top of her chest.

"Has she gotten worse?" he asked me.

I looked at my sister, who was shivering in her sleep.

"I don't know," I answered. "She passed out five minutes ago, because she said she was tired. I don't know if she's gotten worse at all."

"Did she say that something didn't feel right at all?"

"She said that she got some sort of burning sensation all over her body, but that was it," I admitted. "After that, she just passed out cold and I fear her conditioned has gotten worse."

The teenaged medic looked at his friends. He had bushy brown hair and grey eyes. He was dark skinned and didn't blink at all. He nodded at a couple of them and they came forward with some sort of stretcher. They carefully lifted Chloe onto the stretcher and carried her away with Hermes and me following behind them. We reached the van and the driver opened the back doors, allowing the medics to carry Chloe inside. Once, she was placed on a medical bed, they started extracting a vile of her blood and analysed it.

"You're hurt," one of them told me. She reached for a first aid kit and brought out several wipes and tissues. She started cleaning the cut on my head, which I forgotten had dried blood over it, from the day before. She gently scrubbed all the red away from my forehead.

"Thanks," I told her. I looked at my sister. "Is she going to be alright?"

The girl looked at the patient. "Your sister had some sort of toxin in her blood. The antidote that Hermes gave her aggravated the toxin to some extent. But we managed to extract it out of her bloodstream. She'll be fine."

Proculus poisoned my sister? That freaking, idiotic, son of a–!

The nurse frowned. "Did you know she was poisoned?"

I shook my head adamantly. "I had no idea. Chloe and I went through different procedures in Cyclone City. She wouldn't tell me what they did to her."

The medic patted my shoulder. "At least we found out what was wrong. She just needs a couple hours sleep."

"Hey," a new voice spoke behind me.

I turned around and faced another teenager. He was exactly the same height as me and was wearing black combat jeans and boots. And with his wavy brown hair and dark blue eyes, I cracked a smile at him, which I had not done since I last saw him.

"Hi, Jake," I said, bowing slightly.

"No need for formalities," the son of Zeus said. He then sighed, "You look like you've been through hell."

I looked down at my clothes – my new leather coat had burn marks on it, my jeans were ripped at the knees and my hands were covered in tiny scratches.

"I've been through worst," I chuckled, "believe me."

Jake flashed a small light in my eyes. "No sign of any head trauma...though there are signs of tiredness. I would suggest that you should get some rest, but I'm guessing you won't do that anyway."

I shook my head adamantly. "I can't rest yet, Jake. I need to get to Chiron about what is happening. And if possible, persuade him to help me and my sister."

He then looked at me. "You know, after you and Chloe was banished from the school, Katie and I complained to Chiron on your behalf. He wouldn't listen to us."

I was shocked at the news. Jake and Katie stood up for me and my sister? No one had ever done that for us...well, except my parents.

"Thanks," was the only thing I had to say.

Jake patted my back. "Come on, let's get you to school. I'm pretty sure that Chiron will listen to you this time. He hasn't got a choice now."

Before I even took a step forward, I felt something. I stopped in my tracks. Something...or someone was standing directly behind me.

"Going somewhere, Dimascio?"

I spun around, and what I saw made me really freak out. There, a couple metres in front, was my brother.

"You!" I drew my sword, my muscles tensing. "Stay away from me!"

Proculus smiled. "Oh, please. I'm an apparition of my physical form. You can't harm me. It'll be like slicing through mist, you dumbass."

His face had gained some colour, but that didn't make him any less menacing. He wore mortal clothing – jeans, jumper and trainers – and a sword was strapped to his belt. His eyes, however, had taken a more evil shade of yellow in them.

"Stay back," I growled.

Jake looked at the Prince in confusion. "Who is that?"

I quickly glanced at the son of Zeus. "It's Proculus."

Jake's eyes widened and he drew his sword out. His sword was made out of pure gold, hilt and blade. Etched on the hilt was the word Paralysis.

Proculus laughed. "Making friends with your cousin already, brother? After what happened last time? And how did that go again might I ask? Oh, that's right – they banished you."

"Don't listen to him, Marcus," Hermes warned from my left, holding his caduceus outwards, as if warding off the Cyclone Prince. "He's trying to make you mad."

"Oh, I'm not," Proculus said truthfully. "I'm just reminding my little brother that he has no place at the school because Chiron won't accept children of Poseidon, like us."

"Go back to Cyclone City," I shouted. "Leave me alone!"

"When you're needed for the Storm Ritual? I'll never leave you alone. Cyclone City is over Utah already. You'll only have a matter of hours before we arrive in California. You can practically see the edges of the city's storm cloud. Look."

All of us turned around and looked at the sky. I caught my breath as shock and panic grabbed my lugs. The clouds were starting to turn black and tombstone grey, the rumble of thunder making the ground shake. I felt a harsh breeze blow on my face, freezing the sweat pouring down my face as I looked back at Proculus.

"You can hide all you want, but I will find you and will drag you back to the palace if I have to. You and your sister will die and I shall get what I truly wanted for hundreds of years."

"SHUT UP!" I felt my eyes burning with hatred. "YOU MURDERERING BASTARD, LEAVE ME ALONE!"

Proculus just kept smiling, enjoying my anger, but there his eyes smouldered with malice. "Remember: you've got five hours. Either you hand yourself and your sister in, or a lot of demigods are gonna die because of you."

He disappeared into smoke, leaving a smell like blood behind.

"I hate that guy," I spat. I looked at Jake. "Get us to Chiron's school NOW."