Thalia was not a natural. 

She drove them into the lake. The sun bus was now covering the water. 

Apollo wished the Hunters luck and told Thalia to be good. With one last glare at Percy and a ruffled of Finley's hair, he was off. 

"It may just be me," Percy whispered to Finley as she begrudgingly fixed her hair as Apollo left. "or your dad doesn't like me."

"You have this thing where you piss off every immortal being possible," Finley joked. "It's kinda your thing."

"I haven't done anything to him!"

"Who knows," Finley shrugged her tan shoulders. Percy wondered who she managed to hold a perfect tan with the slight snow covering the ground. He chopped it up as being the daughter of Apollo, granting her amazing skin. "You probably did something. Seeing as he is the God of Prophecy, he could see the future. Maybe you did something in the future that really pisses him off."

Percy looked ready to object but knew it was a possibility and simply shrugged. "Probably."

As Percy and Finley made their way to the Big House, a small blonde boy sprinted towards. 

"Finny!" He exclaimed. He is turning twelve soon but was already showing signs of mental maturity. It seemed to come early to some half-bloods. "Have you seen my book ancient remedies?"

"Sorry, Will," Finley frowned. "I haven't. I need to talk to Horse Man then I'll help you look."

Will Solace nodded before running away after waving at Thalia, Percy, and Nico. 

Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory. The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, from the Hermes cabin, were picking the lock on the camp store. A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest.

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor. 

Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wasn't posing as a teacher this year. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely. He smiled when he saw the group. 

"Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—" 

"Nico di Angelo," Percy stated. "He and his sister are half-bloods." 

Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then." 

"Well..." 

His smile melted. 

"What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?"

"Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not another one lost."

Both Percy and Finley had been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards. 

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?" 

Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and redlines on his face that looked like a slap mark. "The Hunters are all moved in!" 

Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." 

He glanced at Nico. 

"Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film." 

"But... Oh, right. Yes, sir." 

"Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—" 

"It's PG-13," Grover said. 

"Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room. 

"Now," Chiron said to Thalia, Percy, and Finley, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story."  

When they were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Annabethimmediately." 

"I'll go," The trio said in unison. 

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!" 

The trio started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if they didn't shut up. 

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—" 

"Annabeth," Percy snapped. 

She'd gone to camp since she was seven, and still Mr. Dpretended not to know her name. 

"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her. So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead." 

Finley glared harshly at the god. She was thinking of all the ways to wake him suffer. It wasn't their fault he pissed Zeus off and got sent here to deal with the half-bloods. It wasn't their fault he wasn't allowed to have alcohol. 

"Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, but one could tell he was having trouble sounding upbeat. He'd practically raised Annabeth all those years she was a year-round camper, before she'd given living with her dad and stepmom a second try. "She's very bright. If... if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."

"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive." 

"In which case," said Mr. D, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."

 Percy got up from the table. 

"Percy." Chiron's tone was full of warning.  

"You're glad to lose another camper," Percy snarled. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!" 

Mr. D stifled a yawn. "You have a point?" 

"Yeah," he growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!" 

Mr. D moved to do something and Finley's short fuse had finally blown. 

"You, Dionysus," she growled. "Are pathetic. You sit around getting fat and drink coke! You are an Olympian! Do you wish for the downfall of Olympus?" 

Mr. D was growing angrier. 

"Finny . . ." Thalia groaned in warning. 

"Of course not-"

"Annabeth Chase is one of the best strategists to walk this Earth," Finley raged. "Not to mention an accomplished fighter! Leaving her to the devices of the Luke's Army is perhaps the stupidest thing!"

For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected inMr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something—probably a curse that would blast me to smithereens—when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover. 

"SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're... you're a centaur!" 

Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters." 

"And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!" 

Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?" 

"Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine." 

"My figurine."

"In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!" 

 "Ah." Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's...gratifying." 

"Percy," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening." 

It was then, and only then, did Percy notice Finley storming away, shaking with rage. 

"Capture the flag?" Percy asked. "But we don't have enough—" 

"It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit." 

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly." 

***

Finley sat angrily in the forest. She hadn't gone to dinner the night before, nor had she gone to breakfast. She laid in a single clearing, glaring at the sky. The cold ground didn't seem to affect her as she did so. 

Percy, who had been looking for her, finally found her. It was safe to say he approached her with caution. 

"Sunny?" he called, alerting her of his presence. He'd rather not be pummeled with the nearest object. 

She turned her head to look at him before sitting up and glaring at the ground. 

Percy sat beside her. 

"You weren't at dinner."

Finley hummed in response. 

"You weren't at breakfast."

Finley hummed again. 

"I had a dream about Annabeth," Percy declared. 

Finley turned to, intrigued. 

"Luke tricked her into holding the sky," he stated. "Grover explained it to me. Apparently, Artemis is with her now."

"This is so fucking stupid!" She growled. "Especially since a whole dam goddess is missing!

"I tried going to the oracle," He admitted. "She didn't say anything. But I did see Aphrodite's scarf. The one you grabbed from me while we were on that joy ride two years ago."

"Yeah," Finley nodded with a shrug. "Annabeth kept a hold of it. She said I should add it the collection in the attic."

"Are you actually going to join the Hunters?" Percy asked nervously. He couldn't explain why he was nervous for her answer. He also couldn't explain why the mere thought of her joining them made his blood boil. Not at Finley, but at the Hunters. 

"I'm thinking about it," Finley nodded. 

"Why?" Percy demanded, jumping to his feet. 

"I've considered it. So has Annabeth," Finley admitted. 

This made Percy angrier. 

"You're joking."

"I'm not," Finley said hotly. "Annabeth isn't as interested as I am."

Percy's eyes reflected one of the sea churring viciously.

"Why?"

"To be something," Finley stated. "I'm nothing like my siblings. I don't have any particular talent that sets me apart from anyone else. I want to be a part of something bigger. With the Hunters, I can do that."

"You're a camper!" Percy said hotly. "You are apart of something bigger!"

"Percy," Finley crossed her arms. "What do I really do around here that makes a difference?"

"You go on quests!"

"Quests that I'm not even needed on!" Finley shouted. "You and Annabeth would be fine without me!"

"Not we wouldn't!"

"Really?" Finley challenged. "I'm just an extra person! I'm not even needed!"

"We want you there!"

Percy wasn't sure about Annabeth, but he knew he liked Finley on quests. She always made jokes to lighten the mood. She was also amazing with a sword. 

"I'm not sure why you're making a huge deal about it!" Finley huffed. "I was only considering it! It's not like I have taken the oath! I was simply considering my options!"

Percy stayed silent. 

***

Capture the Flag was a complete mess. 

Percy and Thalia were both co-captains. 

They both wanted to be on offense, but one needed to be on defense. 

Percy, wanting to beat the Hunters, left his post and went after the Hunters' flag. 

Long story short, the campers lost. Thalia and Percy are both angry. 

"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming toward the boy. She smelled like rotten eggs, and she was so mad that blue sparks flickered on her armor. Everybody cringed and backed up because of Aegis. It took all my willpower not to cower. 

"What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?" she bellowed. 

Percy balled his fist angrily. "I got the flag, Thalia!" He shook it in her face. "I saw a chance and I took it!" 

"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won." 

"You had too many on you!" 

"Oh, so it's my fault?" 

"I didn't say that." 

"Argh!" Thalia pushed him, and a shock went through his body that blew him backward ten feet into the water. Some of the campers gasped. A couple of the Hunters stifled laughs. 

"Sorry!" Thalia said, turning pale. "I didn't mean to—" 

A wave erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe. 

Percy stood up. 

"Yeah," He growled. "I didn't mean to, either." 

Thalia was breathing heavily. 

"STOP!" Finley stepped in, but it was useless. 

What's the punny daughter of Apollo going to do against two powerful demigods. She had no powers. She wasn't smart like Annabeth. She was simply there. 

Sometimes, Finley wished it was her who was taken. Not Annabeth. Annabeth would be here. She'd be solving problems, not making them worse by getting involved. 

"Enough!" Chiron ordered. 

But Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?" 

Somehow, it was okay when Finley called Percy that—at least, he'd gotten used to it—but hearing it from Thalia was not cool. 

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!" He raised Riptide, but before he could even defend himself, Thalia yelled, and a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit her spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into his chest. He sat down hard. There was a burning smell; he had a feeling it was his clothes. 

"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is enough!" 

Percy got to his feet and willed the entire creek to rise. It swirled up, hundreds of gallons of water in a massive icy funnel cloud. 

"Percy!" Finley pleaded. "Stop!" 

Percy stopped. 

His sea-green eyes drifted to the side. Finley followed his gaze. Someone... something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped. 

"This is impossible," Chiron said, sounding nervous. "It... she has never left the attic. Never." 

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around their feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green. 

None of them dared move. Then her voice hissed inside their heads. Apparently, everyone could hear it, because several clutched their hands over the ears. 

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. 

The Oracle regarded Finley with its cold, dead eyes. Then she turned unmistakably toward Zoe Nightshade. 

Approach, Seeker, and ask. 

Zoe swallowed. 

"What must I do to help my goddess?" 

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Finley saw the vague image of a mountain and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand. 

 Then, as we were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.