Forbidden Quests

Chapter 47

Percy

Uh, boss? Blackjack asked me uncertainly. Are you sure you want to try this?

I waved off the question with my hand, "It'll be fine, don't worry. We've got it all planned out."

Blackjack shook his mane. Well, oaky, then. But we're relying on Leo here for success. You sure you trust that kid to do his job right?

"Blackjack, his job is to cause mass confusion." I smiled a bit, "That's, like, his major talent. I think he'll do his job right." Blackjack tossed his neck, but didn't say anything else. He and I were about fifty feet away from Luke's camp. I were waiting for Leo's signal, telling me that I had the distraction and I needed to go get Annabeth. Blackjack was going to stick here until I bring Annabeth back, then we would meet Leo. I fingered the smooth hilt of Annabeth's knife, which was sheathed and attached to my belt. Piper had given it to Jason when she and Thalia told them to come to Athena's palace, and Jason gave it to me. I was holding onto it until I could return it to its owner.

It was dark around us, and the only noise was the trees rustling in the wind. The silence was eerie, and I was thankful for Blackjack's presence. My fingertips drummed against the bronze knife. I'm not saying I'm scared of the dark (which would be perfectly reasonable for a demigod, though, seeing as it is Hades' realm), but when you're a demigod, monsters could be anywhere, and they could jump out anytime. Unfortunately, I'm a child of one of the Big Three gods, so I stink. Like, major stink.

There, boss, Blackjack said to me. I followed his gaze and sure enough, I saw three bright flashes through the trees. Leo knew where I was, and he was going to start the distractions. It gave me enough time to get up and positioned while the guards weren't aware. I said farewell to Blackjack, then moved forward through the forest.

Stealth has never been my major talent, and when I had gotten about ten feet away, I stepped on a branch small enough to snap, but large enough to make a sound that was similar to a Fire Bomb exploding in the silence of the forest. I winced, and I could hear Blackjack chortling and making fun of me. I shot him a look over my shoulder and continued again, trying to be careful of where I put my feet.

Fairly soon, I could see the dying embers of the fire in the encampment ahead. A few more steps and I froze. Just a little ahead was a guard, close enough that he could probably see me. Lucky for me, however, Leo had already started, so the guards line of sight was trained on the trail of fire that was growing from the fire out. Leo's job was to light up a trail from the original fire and set a tent ablaze. I wanted it to be from the original campfire because it would make it less obvious that they were getting attacked, hopefully they would just think their fire got out of control. It was a far-fetched hope, but it seemed to be working.

I had stopped, my foot in midair, watching the guard who was watching the fire. The small flame burned through the tough and dry grass to the corner of a tent. It flickered a little, then caught onto the fabric. Also fortunate for me and Leo was that the tents were previously soaked in oil, then dried to make the tents waterproof. Smart when it rains, but stupid when there's a fire.

The small patch of fire quickly spread up the tent. The guard in front of me yelped in surprise, running forward and calling for help. I took that time to move quickly around the outskirts of the clearing to where Annabeth was. I saw the two people who had been in the tent that was now on fire jump out and start grabbing anything they could to put out the fire. A creek wasn't close enough, so they resorted to beating it was heavy sacks and clothing. But then the fire went out, not due to their attempts, but Leo had quenched it. The guards all stopped, confused and looking around. They pointed dumbly at each other, silently asking who had just put out the fire. I could imagine Leo snorting in the trees, having fun playing with their minds.