Heroes with Wands

Chapter 4

Annabeth

After Chiron's little speech, I was going to check on the others when I sensed somebody watching me. When you've been in battle so many times, you get that feeling.

I turned around and saw a girl standing there. She was wearing jeans and a sweater, looking kind of fancy. She had blazing red hair and intense blue eyes. Her eyes widened when she saw me.

"Who are you?" I demanded, but she didn't have time to answer. She disappeared completely. Wow. That's rude.

Then I realized something. She was one of the girls in my dreams. I wanted to tell Percy, but I didn't want to make him even more upset. I knew he was scared about the prophecy.

That girl had something to do with the prophecy, and I was gonna find out what it was. By myself. Sometimes, I thought of what Percy might feel like. I'm the strategist, the brains between us. He doesn't even think of doing anything on his own because he can't figure anything out.

Wow. That sounded a lot less harsh the first time I thought of it.

I wasn't going to tell anybody until I figured out who that redhead was. I met everybody at the hospital. Hazel and Jason were the only ones seriously injured.

Hazel had cloth wrapped around her leg, and was sitting up with an ice pack on her head. Jason was doing the same, but lying down, with another pack on his chest and cloth wrapped around his hand and wrist.

"Bruised ribs," Piper said, glancing at Jason, "Sprained wrist. Nothing ambrosia and nectar won't fix." Jason and Hazel both had thermoses with nectar in them and were eating little squares of ambrosia.

"I just got cut in my leg, I'm fine," Hazel tried to sound firm, but her voice was unsteady.

"Just drink the nectar," I teased. "You guys will be fine."

"Annabeth." I looked over at Jason. "Pipes told me what the prophecy said. Wisdom's daughter...the wise one....could be somebody else. We could run into another child of Athena."

"Unlikely," I said. "It doesn't matter. Chiron said we'll discuss it in the Big House."

"Are you sure? Piper can calm your nerves with charmspeak--,"

"Jason!" Piper protested.

"You'll be fine!"

"Let's just not think about it right now, all right?" I said angrily. "I don't want to hear it! I'm not going to listen to any of this!" Hazel and Piper shrunk back and the boys looked astonished.

Had I really sounded that mean?

I softened. "Look, I'm sorry, I'm just under a lot of pressure. I need some space."

I started off towards my cabin, ignoring my friends calling my name. If all they wanted to talk about was the stupid prophecy, I wasn't going to have it.

What had gotten into me? I was so mad, so enraged, but at the same time I was so terrified I was scared to fight another monster. Trust me. That sounds like the complete oposite of Annabeth Chase.

Halfway to the Athena cabin, I heard Percy behind me. "Annabeth, c'mon, that was pretty harsh back there." What, so instead of comforting me, he pretty much scolds me? So much for a perfect boyfriend.

"Just leave me alone, Percy," I said, trying to manage my fury and terror. He might've been the one to kiss me goodnight, but he wasn't the one I wanted to talk to about that girl.

"Annabeth, seriously, you're usually so calm and understanding--,"

I whipped around, anger suddenly taking over. "What, so just because I'm a child of Athena, I'm supposed to be 'calm' and 'understanding?'"