Half-Blood High

XIX

                                      Hazel

I gotta say, that day was definitely the weirdest day ever.

And that includes the day the Jupiter Academy cafeteria tried serving authentic Roman food. Stuffed grape leaves are not as good as they sound. Trust me.

The weirdness had reached its peak when the horse-man appeared.

I was being attacked by the bat-grandma, the blonde girl was being chased by Percy, Frank was being choked, and Piper, Jason and Leo were having a terrible time in general.

I screamed as the demon swiped her sharp talons across my arm. A few thin cuts appeared, and the sight of blood made me dizzy. I tried not to pass out as Tisiphone reared back for another swipe.

"What in the name of Olympus is going on out here?!"

I glanced up. A guy riding a horse had somehow appeared in the courtyard. He raised a bow, and an arrow was suddenly sprouting out of Tisiphone's neck. She gave a loud screech and slowly crumbled to dust.

The man on the horse fired another arrow, and down went Megaera. Frank gasped for air, his face going from purple to red to normal.

Thank god. I sent a silent prayer to whoever was listening up there, thanking them that he hadn't been choked.

With two demons down, that left only Alecto.

She hissed as the horse man advanced on her. As he got closer, I noticed something odd. He wasn't riding a horse. His, er, bottom half was the horse.

Now I'd seen everything.

"Chiron," Alecto spat angrily. "I should have known you would show up. You just can't resist helping a hero in need, can you?"

Horse-man, who I'm guessing was named Chiron, simply shook his head, gripping another arrow, thought he made no love to nock it.

Alecto let out a sharp laugh. "Ha! Well, you may have stopped my sisters, but He is rising. He will not be stopped. He will rule once again. He will-."

SHHIINNGG.

Percy Jackson appeared behind Alecto, sword in hand.

"He needs to find some minions who aren't so chatty."

Like her sisters, Alecto crumbled to dust, then blew away in the wind. Chiron nodded to Percy, who looked as though he'd just been run over by a train.

"Thank you for the assist, Percy."

Frank's head shot up. He glanced at me, and I nodded.

This was the guy from the tunnels.

Things were getting stranger by the minute.

Chiron glanced up and the sky, where storm clouds were gathering. "Quickly, inside everyone." He gestured for us to exit the courtyard.

"Sir, Annabeth's hurt." Percy spared a mournful glance at the blonde girl, sorry, Annabeth, who was lying on her back, unconscious. Chiron noticed and drew in a sharp breath. "We must get her inside fast. I can heal her, along with the rest of you." He started for the girl, but Percy stopped him.

"I can carry her." He scooped Annabeth up in his arms gently but firmly, and carried her to what I guessed was the exit. There was an odd sort of sadness in the way he looked at her, like he was trying not to cry.

"Come along please." Chiron waved to the other three teens, who followed Percy. That left him standing in the courtyard with us.

He turned and studied me and Frank intently. I tried not to squirm under his gaze. Now I knew what fish in an aquarium felt like.