Ocean Magic (PJO x KC x HOO)

8. Artemis Really Hates Flirting

The young girl guided us toward the camp, all decked out in silver. She had long, dark hair hanging down her back and an ancient air surrounded her. It made sense that she was Artemis, Greek goddess of the hunt. She looked ancient in the eyes, but the young face really threw me off. And the other girl next to her had this weird sheen to her, almost as if silver was shining all around her. Cal and I were weirdos compared to them. 

As we walked deeper into the camp, Cal kept getting heavier and heavier, and my grip on him tightened until my arm started shaking. I had no idea how much longer we had to walk for, but it felt like Cal and I weren't going to make it much farther. "Cal, are you okay?" I whispered to him. He didn't answer me for a few seconds, so I glanced over at him and noticed that his skin was getting paler than it was before. Something wasn't right with him.

"Uh, I feel kinda floaty right now," he said, his voice so incredibly weak. As he took another step forward, his shirt lifted up, and I noticed that his wound that had closed up earlier was quickly opening once more. Something was really wrong with him. Did Pepe's healing stop working because Cal wasn't with him anymore? Did my healing stop working, too? "Are we almost there?"

I didn't know the answer to that question because Artemis and the other girl were a few paces ahead of us, softly talking together. I didn't dare ask them, either, because both of them kind of scared me, especially when they pointed their sharp arrows right at my heart. I didn't think that this whole trip would consist of me walking right into dangerous territories, but apparently, that was going to be my life from now on.

That's what it means to be a demigod, Ariel. They aren't of this world, but they also aren't of the gods' world, either. They don't belong.

I assume it gets worse when I have an Egyptian goddess speaking to me in my head.

Ama didn't answer me. She really didn't have time to answer me because, suddenly, Cal tipped forward, pulling me with him toward the ground. I wasn't sure if he was the one screaming or if I was the one screaming as we fell forward. The last thing I was able to see was a large rock sticking out of the ground, and that I was in the direct path of hitting that with my face, and then everything went dark and quiet around me.

〰✦〰

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the intense pain throbbing in my skull. My eyesight was fuzzy as I laid in an uncomfortable cot, and I heard the quiet rumblings of someone asleep next to me. Three girls were also chatting to each other, and as my sight cleared up, I realized that the little girl -- Artemis -- and her second-in-command were in the room with us. Clumsily, I ran a hand across my face. 

"You awake?" the girl asked. I slowly turned my head toward her and saw through the blur a grin on her face. "It was quite unfortunate that you were taken down that easily, especially because that boy brought you down with him."

I grumbled in response. I wasn't sure how long I stayed in that position, trying to come in and out of consciousness. Finally, my eyes cleared up enough that I could see a girl with pigtails and horns coming out of her head sitting beside Artemis and the girl. She looked very nervous and kept glancing out of the windows of the building we were in. 

Cal was awake now, too. He hummed softly to himself, and I slowly looked over at him to see him swaying back and forth. His eyes were trained on the girl with horns that was closest to him. 

"Who are you?" I asked the girl. She gave me a weird look and cocked her head to the side. "And what are you?"

"I'm a satyr," she said and opened her mouth to say more. She didn't have the chance to say anything because Cal was suddenly talking.