Percy Jackson: The Knight of Chaos

New Faces

Later that night, I lay awake in my bed, the silence of the cabin a suffocating panic. Dionysus's words circled around and around inside my head.

The greatest failure....owe your life to more people than you could possibly remember....letting the others do the 'heroic saving'.

Did everyone really believe that? Did my girlfriend and best friend truly believe that I was as good as a con artist, faking my way through all of my quests? Even after traveling to literal hell and back?

After hours and hours of depressing thoughts, I finally drifted off to sleep, my dreams bursting with quick snatches of conversations between the people I loved. My mom and Annabeth, discussing at length the innumerable mistakes I had made my entire life. Chiron and Tyson, laughing as they recalled the battles I would have lost if not for help from others. The entire camp, turning red at the sight of Nico imitating the apparently hilarious face I'd made when I had waded in the River Styx.

Intense screams broke me from my nightmare. Somewhere outside of my cabin, a young child cried out, fear and agony clear in their shrieks. Before I knew it, I was up and dressed in the battle armor that always waited beside my bed. Charging out under the full moon, I froze into a lithe war stance Luke had taught me years ago. Seconds dripped by sluggishly as I waited for something to happen.

The eerie cries began anew and instantly I realized they were echoing from the dense woods. Without missing a beat, I rushed into the woods and past ferny trees and plants that scraped at my ankles. With each passing minute, the screams increased in pain and despair. Eventually the trees began to thin out and a large clearing opened up. In the middle, a boy about my age cowered at the feet of the Minotaur. I stopped in my tracks, shocked to see my old enemy back again.

Bloody scratches ran down the arms and legs of the boy, but otherwise he wasn't as hurt as I had imagined. Thank the gods, I silently prayed. Above him, the Minotaur raised his double-edged axe, a sight I was all too intimately familiar with.

"Hey!" I shouted, catching the monster's attention. He grunted, shifting his focus from the easy target at his feet to the guy waving around a sword fifty feet away from him. Hey, no one ever said that monsters were smart.

The Minotaur charged, white foam dripping from the corners of his upturned mouth. I waited as he approached, drawing Riptide. As soon as he was close enough, the axe came swinging my way in a rapid stream of metal, but I was faster. I ducked and rolled, slashing Riptide in a deadly arc across his legs. He moaned, buckling at the knees. Taking advantage of his weakened state, I stabbed my sword downward, the Celestial Bronze slicing easily through his matted fur and thick hide. The Minotaur turned to dust at my feet.

Immediately, I turned my attention back to the boy, who remained curled up in the fetal position. As I neared him, his shaking state reminded me of Dionysus's earlier episode of weakness and then hatred.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked, to no reply. I touched his twitching shoulder, and instantly he sprung from the ground. In an alarmingly fast movement, the boy wrestled Riptide from my hands and jumped back. He aimed the sword at my neck, his pupils dilated and breathing heavily.

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay," I said, raising my hands, "I mean you no harm. Seriously. Can you just...put down my sword? Uh, please?"

His sharp green eyes narrowed, but the sword remained dangerously close to my head. As we stood there, frozen, I began to take in his appearance. Messy black hair, blue-green eyes, short arms and legs....Things began to connect in my head. He looked a lot like me.

"Who are you?" I asked hesitantly.

He paused, staring at me in disbelief, "You don't know who I am?"

"Uh, no."

The boy laughed darkly, a canine smile forming across his creepily familiar face, "Why, I'm Troy. The son of Poseidon."