Wait… why is she glowing pink all of a sudden? I wondered, my eyes widening in disbelief. There was Esmé on the benches, sure, but now she had this weird pinkish glow around her. No, not like Poppy from Trolls (lol), but this soft baby pink aura. Is she actually getting claimed right now? In the middle of a game?
I was still out there on the battlefield, sword in hand, trying to keep my cool. Sweat was pouring down my face as my blade clashed with a wooden shield. There were way more of them than I expected—honestly, I didn't do much spying anyway; I just kinda winged it and hoped for the best.
Things were starting to look grim. Helen was down and out, which meant we were losing ground fast. I kept swinging my sword, doing my best to hold my own, but with the way things were going, it felt like we were barely hanging on. The chaos around me was overwhelming, and I could feel the battle slipping away.
"WATCH OUT!" I shouted, my voice straining against the roar of the battle. Another wave of arrows sliced through the air, their deadly tips glinting in the dim light. Most clanged off my armor with sharp, metallic thuds, but a few managed to slip past, grazing my skin with a throb.
"Seriously, can we catch a break?" I muttered, wincing as another arrow grazed my arm. We'd been going on for, like,... 2 hours now, I think. It was already evening and everything was a mess—arrows whizzing by, people shouting, and weapons clashing everywhere.
And just like that, Helen was gone. I liked that girl. It was weird—one minute she was right there, fighting with us, and the next, she was just... gone.
"Nebby here. We need backup!" I yelled into the comm. "I repeat! We need backup for main team! Over!"
There was no response on the other end. I figured some troops had snuck past us and reached the defense lines. This wasn't working. We had no backup, and the Blue Team kept bringing in more reinforcements. And the heat was really getting to me. If I were Christal, I could just dive into the creeks and cool off—
Wait, the creeks! Tha-
I barely dodged another arrow flying my way. Christal was nowhere in sight. Maybe she was with the troops trying to steal our flag, or secretly plotting to ambush me because she somehow knew I was going to ditch these guys. I mean, could she blame me? She knows I'm not a people person.
The most obvious place for her to be would be around the creek, Poseidon's girl and all. I'll figure out the next steps after I secure the flag.
I darted off the forest clearings into the thicker parts of the woods. Most of the light was blocked by the enormous branches of the pine trees, but that didn't really bother me. My eyes had always adjusted well to the dark since I was a kid. It didn't help much with school and everyday things, but I remembered sneaking into the kitchen one night for some cookies and oh boy were they the best ones I had yet. I would always win those hide-and-seek games when I was younger, too. I wonder if other people feel the same way about the dark as I do. It's kind of peaceful, in a creepy way. Sometimes you can hear… voices… echoing somewhere. Or maybe that's just my stomach growling.
Light peeked through the gaps between the pines. The exit had to be around here somewhere. I peered out from behind a trunk and spotted it—a blue flag lying on the ground just a short distance away. There it was. The flag. I took a step closer, but then, out of nowhere, someone appeared and whacked me with something cold and metal.
"You're not here for the flag, are you?" The 'celestial' bronze sword glinted menacingly, its edge hovering just inches from my nose. "Because if you are… there's no reason not to hurt you."
"Oh, really?" I shot back, tightening my grip on the hilt of my sword. "Y'think?"
"Finish her."
The next thing you knew, our swords clashed, and I was stuck in a 2v1. Bronze against iron with a shower of sparks. I grunted, straining against their attacks. One lifted their weapon off mine, and before I could even catch my breath, the guy was already swinging at me.
Ah [censored].
So, what did I do? All those self-defense classes paid off. I slammed my foot into the guy pinning me down right in the groin. Yep, the groin. He doubled down, groaning and clutching himself. I rolled away, then gave the other guy a quick sidekick that sent him sprawling.
I got up, checking to see if they were going to come at me again. When it looked like they were out of it, I bolted into the shadows and disappeared. (shadow fusion)
"Ah, that was good." I cracked my knuckles and dropped down into a low crouch. "Now… oh yeah, the flag."
I hurried into the clearing, knowing it was risky since there wasn't anywhere to hide.
As I rushed forward, my foot splashed into a pool of muddy water, soaking my boots and coating them in thick, brown sludge.
"фу." I grimaced, pulling them out while trying not to gag. It wasn't anything new, but man, it was still gross as hell.
I kept moving forward, the grass crunching loudly under my feet and giving me away. I grabbed the flag, and I was in for a shock when I saw her.
"Christal."
"Nebby. Long time no see." Her dagger was ready to strike, and the water in the pools and creeks rippled furiously. I wouldn't have stood a chance alone, but with some backup… maybe. Plus, the flag was seriously heavy. "Give me the flag, please."
"I'll hand it over in a sec… CATCH!" I tossed the flag high into the air. Christal jumped to snatch it, but it sailed right past her and landed perfectly in Lauren's hands. Lauren didn't hang around and took off like a shot.
I seized the moment and tackled Christal to the ground. She looked more stunned than I'd expected, her gaze fixed on the top of my head as I pressed my nail into her throat. "Don't worry, just holding you here for a sec," I said with a grin.
Then the conch horn blew, and that was it—I'd won. Nice work, Nebby.
And yeah, I could see why everyone was staring at me—or more like staring at the air. A thin man with glowing eyes was peering down at me, and let me tell you, his gaze wasn't exactly warm and fuzzy. It was more like a relentless, unblinking stare that made you feel like you were judged.
"Nebburia Sokolóva, daughter of mine," He said, his bony hand reaching out. "Daughter… of Hades."
And all I could manage was a very, very annoyed, "какого черта?"
***
Seriously, I had no clue he was a god or my dad. If I'd known, I definitely wouldn't have reacted like that. I mean, who just blurts out stuff like that to someone who could zap you on the spot? At least he was cool enough to just leave after all that. But still, I don't think he knows much about what he put me through the night he left Mom. Oh well, not like he was there to know about all that. The bruises faded away about a month ago so even if I had to do a body-search, no one would find out.
"Now that all of you have been claimed, Rachel has something to tell you all," Chiron announced, standing up. "Rachel, what was it?"
And then, out of nowhere, green smoke billowed into the air, curling and slithering across the room like eerie serpents. I turned to look at Rachel and saw her eyes glowing with an intense, unsettling green. It wasn't the soft, familiar emerald we were used to; this was a harsh, sickly shade that seemed to pulse with a toxicity.
My mouth dropped open, the towel still in my hand and barely touched the water. Rachel started speaking, and it felt like she was reciting some kind of… well, poem for us. Like, actually reading something out loud.
"Seven shall journey through arid dunes,
Unraveling the truth by the light of moon.
Release a sorceress from her cage,
Who shows the path of the ancient sage.
Yet forced to engrave a friend in stone,
Yielding to a former king his throne."
Wow. I mean, ЧТО ЗА ЧЕРТ?! WHY ARE PEOPLE SO WEIRD HERE?!
"What?" Percy said, looking as confused as ever.
"Not 'what,' Percy," Annabeth said, shoving him aside. "It's 'who.' Who are the seven?"
"Chiron, can you round up the newbies for me?" Rachel said as she plopped down in a chair—oh, and she was back to her normal self. "And no, Percy, none of you are going. Well, some of you might, but definitely not you."
A minute later, we all gathered in a circle around Rachel, who was ready to start picking the team. Esmé went first, still glowing with that faint pinkish hue. Rachel introduced her as the "daughter of Aphrodite." Next, she picked Helen, calling her "the gray-eyed warrior," even though there were nearly a dozen other gray-eyed kids. I think she meant it to sound cool, but it came off as a bit unfair instead. Then came Christal, followed by me, "the child of darkness".
Jasper tried to sneak away, but with a quick glance and a flick of her hand, Rachel pulled him back into the circle. "You're one of them too," she said with a grin. "Go join the others. Golden blood… check."
"Alex!" Rachel shouted, and a bunch of kids stepped forward. After a moment, she called out again, "Wait… any blue-eyed Alexes? A guy… or was it a girl…?"
From the crowd of Alexes, a tall guy with a ponytail stepped up. Not gonna lie, the ponytail was kinda unexpected. Kinda too girly."Just a bit. Cool with that?"
"Yep, that's fine," she said. "Lastly…" She closed her eyes, leaned back in her chair, and tossed her hand toward one of her followers. "Hand me some paper and a pen, quick."
A moment later, a sheet of paper and a multi-colored pen appeared in front of Rachel, and she started sketching away. After a while, she let out a sigh and put the pen down. The paper now had a drawing of a girl who looked a lot like Emelie: hazel eyes, a head of rich, chocolaty brown hair, and rugged olive skin. Rachel studied the drawing, nodding as if it was exactly what she'd expected. She then held up the paper and scanned the crowd, waving it around.
Emelie stepped forward, hands in her pockets and her head tilted slightly. "Hope this is what you were looking for," She said.
"Exactly what I was looking for." Rachel chuckled and flexed her knuckles. She turned to Chiron and Mr. D. "Mind if I have a word with you two?"
"Of course," Chiron replied, and he trotted over to Rachel, with Mr. D following behind. As they conversed, the noise of the bustling camp faded into the background, and I was swept away by the crowd of campers.