The Forgotten Daughter

Hunt

Aliana knelt down and traced a cloven track with her fingers. "We found our prey." She touched some of the dirt to her tongue and spat it to the side. "Ten minutes ahead of us."

Percy looked over her shoulder. "Are you sure it's not a satyr."

She looked at him, offended. "See the curvature of the hoof." She pointed. "It's too slender to be a satyr and, based on the spacing of the tracks, it's four-legged."

"Centaur?" Percy tried.

She gave him an annoyed look. "Really?"

He rubbed the back of his head. "What can I say? I'm not a hunter."

"Not yet." Aliana added, following the deer tracks deeper into the woods.
                                *   *   *
Another stick snapped under Percy's foot.

"Sorry." He hissed.

Aliana sighed as the deer bolted away... again. "Well, you got it running."

He chuckled nervously.

She shook her head. "Come on." She paused. "And try not to step on any twigs this time."

"No promises." He said as he almost snapped another one.
                                  *   *   *
Aliana crept forward carefully.

Percy had managed to avoid stepping on anymore sticks, but the deer still alluded them.

Suddenly, a twig snapped.

Aliana looked back at Percy.

"Wasn't me." He raised his hands defensively.

She knocked an arrow and listened.

Another stick broke and Aliana raised her bow. She tensed.

Something stumbled out of the brush.

Aliana whirled, aiming her bow. She let out a long heavy breath. "Annabeth."

The daughter of Athena brushed off her Yankees hat. "Hi guys."

"How long have you been following us?" Aliana returned her arrow to her quiver.

Annabeth thought for a moment. "About... two hours now."

"So, the whole time." Aliana deduced.

"I guess." Annabeth blushed in embarrassment.

Aliana shook her head. "Well, there's no use bringing you all the way back to camp and letting the trail go cold." She sighed. "Come on."

Percy and Annabeth followed her. "The more the merrier right." He just missed another stick.

"Not on a hunt." Aliana muttered.
* * *
Aliana examined a set of tracks. They were gaining on the deer.

"I've never seen this part of the woods." Annabeth spoke up.

Aliana sighed in exasperation. These two couldn't shut up for five minutes. "That's because we crossed the border of camp about three miles back."

"We're outside of camp?!" Percy quickly surveyed their surroundings.

"Yep." Aliana fiddled with a broken branch. "And we haven't been attacked by a monster. What a miracle." She said sarcastically.

Something half-concealed by the brush caught her eye. She crouched down and pushed the foliage aside. She gasped.

"What?" Annabeth and Percy said in unison.

"Look at this." She stared at what she had uncovered.

A footprint marred the earth, a human footprint.

Aliana looked farther up and noticed another one. "Come on."

"Wait!" Percy grabbed her arm. "We don't even know who we're following."

Aliana turned to face him. "Hidden footprints leading away from camp, we have to check this out."

"Why?" He pressed.

She sighed as if it were obvious. "We still don't know who helped Ares."

The pieces clicked in Percy's mind and he nodded.

They followed the tracks carefully.

Aliana stopped abruptly at the edge of a stone circle. At its center was a short column with a rough indented top. She threw out her arm to stop Percy and Annabeth from walking out onto it.

"Woah." Annabeth breathed. "What is that?"

"I don't know." Aliana knelt beside the circle. "These runes are definitely Ancient Greek."

"They're too eroded to make out completely." Annabeth touched the delicate lettering. "But there's something here about a ritual."

"And a stone." Aliana added. She furrowed her brow as she remembered what Hades had said while they were in the Underworld. "Zeus' Stone." She muttered.

"What?" Percy asked.

She looked up. "Zeus' Stone. Hades said something about it when we were in the Underworld. He said something along the lines of 'It's funny how Zeus turns a blind eye when he misplaces his stone, but threatens war when his bolt is stolen.'"

Annabeth sat back on her feet. "You think the stone has something to do with this."

"It makes sense." Aliana bit her bottom lip and examined the ancient writing for anymore clues.

"I never heard him say anything about a stone." Percy objected.

Aliana rolled her eyes. "You three were arguing about how the bolt got in your backpack." 

"Oh." He dropped his gaze to the stone circle.

Aliana shook her head. He could be adorably ignorant sometimes. She brushed some dirt aside. A jolt of fear shook her body. She stared at what she had revealed.

"What's wrong?" Percy jogged over.

"Did you find more legible runes?" Annabeth pushed herself to her feet and started over to them.

Percy's eyes widened when he saw it. "Not exactly."

Annabeth reached them and looked at what they had found.

A picture was carved into the rock. It was an image of the stone circle, but there was something resting atop the pillar. A bolt of lightening was shooting from the object and electrocuting someone.

"Is that Zeus' Stone?" Percy pointed at the object on the pillar.

"I think so." Annabeth examined the picture.

"Who's it zapping?" Percy stared at the figure being struck by the lightening.

"Well," Annabeth started. "in Ancient Greek carvings, mortals and gods were portrayed differently to depict the separation between them." She traced the figure. "This carving has the general shape of a human, but... there are certain aspects that resemble those of a god."

Percy narrowed his eyes. "So it's a..."

"Half-blood." Aliana finished. She looked back down at the terrifying image. Fear tightened her chest. She met Annabeth and Percy's gaze. "It's a Half-blood."

A/N
Yay!! I updated twice again!!!
Let me know what you guys think of the prophecy and the plot and how it progresses. If you have predictions, I would love to hear them.
So, with that. I bid you good night. Hope you enjoyed.
-Cheshire