Cecilia Holmes, Daughter of Minerva (Sherlock/Percy Jackson crossover)

Chapter 52

    Claude showed me around the entire camp— the lake and the dock, the strawberry field, the amphitheater, and he did show me the rock wall, which ended up interesting me, after all. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t let me look at the mechanics or controls, so I wasn’t able to figure out how the lava part of it worked. He showed me the dining pavilion, and then the forest. He told me more about the games they played there and warned me to never go there alone, because different wild animals roamed there as well as other dangerous “things” as Claude put it.
    I was sincerely impressed that they had something dangerous at the Graecus camp.
    We also find out as we went that it wasn’t Friday.
    Claude had enthusiastically showed me the Armory— the quality of their weapons and armor was better than I expected— and we had been told by a demigod in passing that the Capture the Flag practice game wasn’t until tomorrow.
    Because tomorrow was Friday.
    “Wasn’t she supposed to drop us off on Friday?!” I whispered fiercely to Claude as we walked away.
    “Yes, she was,” he replied, frowning. “But I guess… she made a mistake. The TARDIS isn’t easy to control, even the Doctor has trouble sometimes.”
    I cursed in Latin, clenching my hands into fists.
    “Mistakes like these are what started this whole mess,” I spat.
    Claude was silent. I fumed, silently, looking around at the breath-taking camp.
    I never wanted to come here.
    This is all the Doctor’s fault. No, it’s Nemesis’s! It’s— it’s mine! This is all my fault!
    I stormed away from Claude, not sure where I was going, but knowing I had to find something that I was allowed to break and fast.
    “Ceci— Sherlock?” Claude called, coming after me. I didn’t look back at him but focused on the ground beneath me, which was becoming hazy. I clenched my shaking hands together tighter.
    The sound of clanging metal reached my ears, and then moments later a round of loud applause, more full of shouts than clapping.
    I looked up, forcing my eyes to focus. I found myself at the entrance of what appeared to be an arena. Inside was a large crowd forming a circle around a wide red and blue mat.
    I walked down the slope, into the arena.
    “Sherlock!” Claude hissed from behind me, but I ignored him. The sound of cheering, booing, swords, and screams was welcomed to my ears. My eyesight began to clear again and I saw a demigod standing on the mat, sword in hand. He raised it into the air, looking around at the crowd that cheered, wildly. The boy grinned.
    He had light brown hair that was quiffed in the front, though some strands fell messily onto his forehead, mixing with his sweat. He had a cleft chin, a swoon-worthy jawline, and a mischievous smile. That along with his muscular arms and the cheering crowd told me who this boy was before Claude came and whispered his name in my ear.
    This was the boy I needed to kill.
    I knew, just by looking at him.
    “That’s Armin,” Claude said in my ear.
    I nodded.
    “Aha! Another challenger!” he exclaimed in a distinctly British accent, pointing the sword at another demigod as he jumped onto the mat, sword in hand. The match started a few seconds later, and I watched Armin closely, studying his movements. He was offensive, like children of the god of war always were, but he was also light on his feet and calculative— it was evident. He knew what he was doing. His Roman siblings usually just dove in and fought until they won. Armin was smarter than that, it seemed.
    He attacked his opponent, who didn’t stand a chance. A quick combination ending with a hard blow near the end of the blade sent the other demigod’s sword onto the ground.
    Armin swung the hilt of his sword toward his head, and the demigod collapsed to the ground with a moan.
    “Ruthless,” I murmured, grinning slightly. Good. At least he’s not completely different from the rest of his siblings. I can predict him.
    Armin laughed and raised his sword. The crowd erupted.
    “Give the boy some room! Geez!”
    I looked to see Will pushing through the pack of boys that had helped Armin’s opponent from the mat. He didn’t look happy as he knelt next to the groaning boy, but he didn’t say anything.
    I looked back at Armin just as he winked and pointed to a group of girls. They squealed and giggled.
    “Any other challengers today?” he roared, opening his arms, as if he would embrace another opponent. His dark brown eyes searched the crowd— I was close enough to the front to see his eyes now. His eyes landed on me for a brief moment, and then lifted up.
    “Claude!” he exclaimed, his voice taunting, “You’re here! It’s about time! Why don’t you come on up here so I can whoop your arse again, just like last year?”
    Everyone began to laugh. I glanced up at Claude.
    His glower was so fierce, I was surprised Armin didn’t explode from the intensity of it.
    “Language, Armin!” a girl’s voice shouted from the crowd.
    “Whatever, Patricia. Bug off,” Armin laughed, his eyes still focused on Claude. “What? Too cowardly to face me again?” He shook his head and appeared to be moving on.
    I walked up toward the mat before I knew what I was doing. There was a barrel not far from it, and I saw the glint of sword hilts inside. I walked over and looked through them, feeling the hilts and lifting the swords until I could find one that would suit me.
    The crowd began to murmur with excitement as I finally chose a sword. I turned and leapt onto the mat.
    “What’s this?” Armin said, raising his eyebrows as he looked me over. He was tall, not as tall as Claude, but much more muscular, at any rate.
    “Who are you? I don’t believe I’ve had the pleasure of meeting you before,” he said, lowering his sword slightly. I was slightly surprised at his change in tone, but I didn’t let it change mine.
    “Newbie. Now hit me with your best shot, jerk,” I raised my sword.
    “I don’t fight ‘newbies’,” he said, though he was obviously surprised at my sharp words.
    “I’m new at the camp, not to fighting,” I growled. But Armin didn’t look convinced.
    “Here, I’ll make you a deal,” the whole crowd hushed suddenly. “If I win, you apologize to Claude. If you win, then… Claude and I will jump in the lake.”
    “Hey!” Claude whined, but I didn’t look at him or respond. Armin considered it for a moment.
    “Deal,” he said after a moment. I adjusted my feet to a fight-ready stance. Armin raised his sword lazily.
    “I won’t hit her, I promise,” he said, smirking at Will who was glaring at him.
    “I make no such promises,” I growled.
    I struck first. Armin blocked the blow, looking more amused than surprised.
    “You have a strong swing,” he said. His British accent was beginning to grate on my nerves. It was hard to hate him because every word he spoke was adorable.
    But it also reminded me of my dad, which empowered me.
    He pushed his sword against mine, flinging me back. I landed with ease and I forced my momentum back toward him, aiming toward his torso.
    My purposes for starting the fight had been to defend Claude. However, those purposes quickly changed as adrenaline pulsed through me, inciting my intense bloodthirstiness that was hard to control.
    I didn’t try to control it now.
    We were evenly matched opponents, but I had several advantages over him.
    The first being I was smaller.
    I ducked under a powerful swing and kicked him in the knee. He stumbled back a pace, scowling, but I didn’t let him have a moment’s rest. I swung my sword at him again.
    The second being I had had the opportunity to study his maneuvers. As short as the previous fight had been, it allowed me to predict his combinations. It wasn’t hard. He was smart, but he was no son of Athena.
    He wasn’t like me.
    He couldn’t beat me.
    I gritted my teeth as I swung my sword faster and faster. His movements were strong, but they were big and slow. He couldn’t block my fury of movements quick enough.
    He cried out as I sliced his lower arm. He jumped away from me, and I quickly ran after him, but then he dropped his sword.
    “I surrender! I surrender!” he exclaimed, raising his hands.
    I stopped, lowering my sword.
    The crowd was silent. My eyes scanned over them. They all stared at me.
    “You’re… really good,” he said. I looked back at Armin. He smiled at me and held out his hand.
    “I’m Armin. Armin Noble, at your service,” he said. I took his hand.
    “Sherlock.”
    “It’s good to meet you. You wouldn’t happen to be a daughter of Ares, would you?” he said, raising his eyebrows.
    “I… don’t know yet,” I lied.
    “Ah, right, right, you’re new,” he said with a nod. “Where’d you learn to fight?”
    “I, eh, I took fencing as a hobby,” I lied again.
    “That explains it. I’ve never fought someone with training like yours. Here at Camp most people’s movements are more… spontaneous and… free? Not orderly and… tense, like yours,” he nodded to himself. “Well, it’s good to meet you, Sherlock. Good fight, and now you are the champion of the Arena!” He surprised me by lifting my hand into the air.
    The demigods erupted with applause. I grinned a little.
    “And hey! Claude!” Armin shouted once the noise began to die down. I searched for him and found him near the front of the crowd, standing next to Snorri and Patricia.
    He scowled up at both of us.
    I glanced at Armin.
    “I’m sorry!” he exclaimed. And I almost believed he was sincere by the sound of his voice and the look on his face.
    Claude turned and pushed through the crowd, toward the exit.
    Patricia and Snorri looked at each other and then went after him.
    “Excuse us!” I heard Patricia cry, and the crowds parted for them.
    “Eh, weirdo,” Armin murmured, releasing my hand.
    The crowds were beginning to disperse. I walked to the barrel to put away my sword and Armin followed me.
    “Wow, Sherlock, you’re good!”
    Harle walked up to us.
    “Hey Armin,” she greeted with a big smile.
    “Hey,” he said with a wave.
    “Your arm is bleeding, you should probably go to Will to get that checked,” Harle said, concern obvious in her voice.
    “What, this little scratch?” Armin joked, pointing to the cut I had given him. It wasn’t too long, only a few inches, and it wasn’t deep, either. It practically was just a scratch. He laughed.
    “I’ll be fine. Besides, if I go to Will, he’ll ensure I don’t get a scar! And that takes the fun out of everything,” he winked. “I better go. But I’ll see you later, won’t I, Sherlock?”
    He looked at me as he began to walk away.
    I managed a nod.
    “Good! See you!”
    And then he turned away. Two tall boys ran up to him, slapping him on the back and gesturing at me. He just laughed and talked loudly with them as they walked away, and I could only assume those were two of his brothers.
    I focused my gaze back on Harle, but she was also watching Armin.
    When she looked back at me, I raised my eyebrows.
    “What?” she asked.
    “What are you doing here?” I asked, crossing my arms.
    “What, I can’t enjoy a good fight?” she said quickly with a dramatic roll of her eyes.
    “I guess.”
    “I also wanted to check on you,” Harle said, gesturing for me to follow her as she began to walk toward the exit. “But now it’s apparent that you can fend for yourself. I would think that Ares would most likely be your godly parent, but you said that you grew up with your dad, so it must’ve been a goddess.” She looked thoughtful. “I wonder if you are a daughter of Nike, then? Ah, maybe it’s better not to guess. We’ll find out sooner or later, right?”
    I nodded.
    “So what happened with the magic mess at the Hecate cabin?” I changed the subject.
    “They promised to clean it up and to never try anything like that again, so Mr. D let ‘em be,” she said with a shrug. “It wasn’t too big of a deal. And no, Patty didn’t have to charmspeak to convince us of that.” Harle grinned.
    “Why did everyone clear out of here so quickly?” I asked, looking around at the empty Arena.
    I thought of Claude, who had left first.
    “Oh, it’s because it’s almost dinner time!” Harle said enthusiastically. “The bell should ring any—“
    A bell began to toll in the distance.
    “There it is! Come on!” Harle grabbed my arm and pulled me along behind her.