The Forbidden Daughter | PJO Book One

two

NICO DI ANGELO SEEKS VENGEANCE

Ariana watched as Annabeth and Percy hiked to the crest of the hill. The young guardian dragon was dozing, coiled around the pine tree, but he lifted his coppery head as they approached and let Annabeth scratch under his chin.

Steam hissed out of his nostrils like a kettle and he went cross-eyed with pleasure.

Skye whined for Annabeth. The girl laughed as she knelt down and petted her.

"Hey, Peleus, Skye." Annabeth said. "Keeping everything safe?"

Then Annabeth turned to Ariana. "Hey Ari."

"Annabeth. Welcome back."

Annabeth frowned, they hadn't seen in each other for ages and yet Ariana seemed unbothered by it.

They walked down into the valley and found the summer session in full swing. Most of the campers had arrived last Friday.

The satyrs were playing their pipes in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow with woodland magic.

Campers were having flying horseback lessons, swooping over the woods on their pegasi.

Smoke rose from the forges and hammers rang as kids made their own weapons for arts & crafts.

The Athena and Demeter teams were having a chariot race around the track, and over at the canoe lake some kids in a Greek trireme were fighting a large orange sea serpent.

A typical day at camp.

"I need to talk to Clarisse." Annabeth said.

Percy stared at her as if she'd just said he need to eat a large smelly boot.

"What for?" He asked.

Clarisse from the Ares cabin was one of  his least favourite people. She was a mean, ungrateful bully, in his words.

Her dad, the war god, wanted to kill him. She tried to beat him to a pulp on a regular basis. Other than that, she was just great.

"We've been working on something." Annabeth said. "I'll see you two later."

"Working on what?" Percy asked.

Annabeth glanced towards the forest.

"I'll tell Chiron you're here." she said. "He'll want to talk to you before the hearing."

"What hearing?"

But she jogged down the path towards the archery field without looking back.

"Yeah." Percy muttered. "Great talking with you, too." He looked at Ariana for answers but she just shrugged.

She didn't keep track of things around camp anymore. As they made their way through camp, Percy said hi to some of their friends.

In the Big House's driveway, Connor and Travis Stoll from the Hermes cabin were hot-wiring the camp's van.

Silena Beauregard, the head counsellor for Aphrodite, waved at them from her pegasus as she flew past.

Finally they wandered into the sword arena, where Ariana would usually be found now.

Practising always calmed her down.

They walked into the amphitheatre and her heart almost stopped. In the middle of the arena floor, with its back to her, was the biggest hellhound she had ever seen.

Ariana had seen some pretty big hellhounds.

But this hellhound was bigger than a tank. She had no idea how it had got past the camp's magic boundaries.