The Court Going to Camp Half-Blood

Chapter Eight

Percy echoed Celaena's curse and sprinted up half as gracefully to the pavilion to see the end of her story telling and her friends shock and glances to the water that they tried not to show. Percy only saw it because he knew what to look for. It was not the first time since meeting them he thought this was not their first rodeo, and they had lied and tricked before, and wondering if they were lying to him and everyone else as well.

Celaena said something and then they all started to laugh, seemingly happy and oblivious to all the obvious issues arising here. Then after glancing around sneakily, Celaena snatched a roll of bread of off Vaughan's plate and dashed away with it. He made a loud and angry sound of exasperation, before bounding off after her, like a huge lion chasing after a gazelle. Everyone else turned to watch, and when Celaena disappeared into the trees, Vaughan behind her, and everyone else sprinted to watch them, Percy knew it was all a distraction to go to the water.

He walked up to Annabeth, who was still talking about something intellectual with Chiron, and said, "I need to show you something." He couldn't think of anything witty to say, not when his mind was so preoccupied with the demons who arrived at just about the same time as the other people. He would start calling them... He would come up with a good name later.

Annabeth looked up at him quizzically, but from years of learning how to read people she must have seen the terror and confusion and anxiousness in his eyes. Or he just was a very bad actor and everyone could see it. He led her to the strawberry fields, and then pulled her down to hide under the bushes.

"What in all the gods are you doing Seaweed Brain?"

"I have to tell you something." And he did. Everything he knew, and saw, and what he suspected. And Annabeth's answer was just what he would have assumed. 

"Take me there."

* * *

Aelin had brought everyone to the Puddle of Death™ where they were all huddled around it, Lysandra perched on Evangeline's shoulder

"So this is the puddle," she said when everyone had nothing else to say. She had debated actually telling anyone, and just solving it on her own. Her subconscious mind had already formed all kinds of plans with all kinds of factors and back up plans with back up plans, but she was trying to suppress the need for secrecy and learn to fully trust people, even herself.

Everyone didn't know what to say, so Aelin started. "I used a wyrdmark to create liquid light, and directed it to the puddle, but it just... disappeared. I haven't tried with my magic yet."

"And you won't. Not until we learn what it does," Rowan said. She would normally be mad at being told what to do, and she was a little pissy, but it was the tone he said it with. He didn't want her to be hurt, like so many times before. She knew the feeling. So she just leaned into his side and put her head on his shoulder.

But she got an idea, and strode a couple feet into the trees, searching the ground. She came upon a long stick, approximately four feet, that was probably a branch of a tree once, and brought it back to the puddle. As an experiment, she dipped half of it in, holding onto it from the other end. She left it in for one second before pulling it out. The two feet that had been put in the puddle were now about one foot, a foot stained black and shriveled, and looking like... well, death.

"Well," Elide said. There wasn't much else to it. The puddle was meant to destroy.

"I don't have much water magic to begin with, and Mala gifted me with more fire, not water. I still only have the drop of water from my mom, and so I don't know if I can't sense what's in there because something is blocking me or because I'm just not strong enough." It was hard to say those words, to admit defeat and weakness, but she had to remind herself these were her court, her friends, her family. They would do anything for her, and she for them.

Starting with making a plan.

* * *

"Okay so if liquid light makes no difference, what makes us think fire will?" Lorcan asked, and Fenrys wanted to strangle him, even though part of him knew the bastard was right. He looked to Aelin, but she looked lost in thought, playing with the clasp on her wrist.

He knew how hard it would be, he was there for every second of her torture, that torturing himself. He wanted to reach out a hand, but knew that with this, she would have to come to him. He needed to be supportive, so his arms would always be open. He figured it would have taken convincing herself to even tell them what she found and did. He tuned back into the conversation, where people were throwing in ideas and trying wyrdmarks, and Aelin was still just sitting and twiddling with her bracelet, which she never did. It was a pretty bracelet, enter-twined twigs with flowers and leaved sprouting from them, and especially pretty if you ignore the fact it could make many magic wielders so insane.

Elide's voice broke the conversation, "Guys." Everyone looked to her, including Aelin, who looked completely in tune with the world. Elide's voice wavered from her normally assured voice when she said, "What's that?"

* * *

Annabeth and Percy had been watching them for the whole conversation, not being sensed due to their distraction, getting there just as Celaena pulled the stick from what she called the puddle. Percy had ben trying to piece what it was together, with his knowledge he was sure was limited, and came upon nothing. Annabeth looked to be thinking about something, and her "I'm thinking" face turned into her "I found something" face and she whispered what sounded like Fae, he knew his knowledge was definitely limited. He was about to ask what it was, when Marion asked, "What's that?" Their attention snapped to each other first, then to the puddle, where something was slowly rising out of the water. Or someone.