The Sacred Thievery

Chapter III: Rescue.

Bursting through the door is Leroy Thicket, the hall monitor. He was a scrawny kid, though I wasn't too much better, with tan skin and brown eyes. He's wearing a hoodie and his glasses are crooked like he tripped and had just gotten back up. His pants are wrinkled, and his cap is tilted sideways.

He blows the whistle around his neck. Usually, that means you're in trouble, or he noticed a Snickers bar you left in the hallway.

"What is going on in here?" He shouted.

Yeah, that probably wasn't the case. For a moment, everyone froze. The Stymphalian bird about to go for another dive-bomb on Jesse stopped midair. The others turned, focusing on Leroy with their beady black eyes that made me stay away from rats. All the kids stopped screaming and looked at the door as Mr. Drintus stopped waving his arms and shouting for everyone to calm down.

Leroy examined the situation and surprised me when he seemed genuinely scared. Like Jesse, it's almost as if he can see the birds. He glanced at Jesse, who he's friends with like I am. His expression darkened when he saw hers.

"Jesse!" He shouted. "Come with me!" The birds reacted to this. Instantly, all Hades broke loose. Two birds dove for Leroy, beaks glistening. One shot three feathers at him. The other two dive for Jesse, their eyes focused dangerously on her.

Leroy shrieked and ducked down. The three feathers barely missed his head, but one pierced his cap so hard, it knocked it clean off. The two Stymphalian birds nipped both of his arms as he raises them when he crouches, ripping his sweater.

Jesse, on the other hand, vaulted in the air once again. She dodged the birds, and they shatter the glass window behind her, the one in between us. Pieces of glass rained down from behind us. Two pieces the sizes of my big toenail embedded themselves in my left shoulder.

Fortunately, they barely went in, so they fell right off once I jumped over my table to try and get out.

Jesse finally decided to do what Leroy told her to do, running to the front right corner of the room, and dashing out of the door. I followed her out of there and heard the birds follow us out like aggressive gusts of wind.

We dashed down the hall. On the way, Jesse looked over at me. "Sorry about the glass."

"It's fine," I replied. "Now, come on, we have to get out of here."

As if to prove my point, a feather shot past Leroy's head, right between two black stubs I hadn't noticed before. It landed in front of him, and he jumps over it easily. I look at the stubs. They looked like horns. Really short ones, though, with dull points, as if they'd only recently started growing through his short glossy hair.

"Leroy," I said as we turned down the stairs. "What are those on your head?"

He wrinkled his nose like he smelled a sour lemon. "So, you can see. Well, if you can believe it, I'm a satyr. The goat-human hybrids in Greek mythology. And I've come for Jesse."

My brain kind of accommodated the weirdness, so I was able to believe that my school's hall monitor was a satyr. "What do you mean, 'come?'"

Leroy lowered his voice. "Well, at camp, we satyrs find and bring demigods. They're not very safe out in the regular world. Many monsters would love a demigod as a snack."

I reflexively lowered my voice, too. "Wait, but that means that Jesse is a demigod, right?" The realization struck me like a sledgehammer to the skull. That's what the lyre meant. Demigod means half-god. So if she was a demigod, it means her parent is a god. Mrs. Jameson was Jesse's only biological parent, as Mr. Hull, or "Joseph," only married her mother last year.

"Hey, Leroy. If you are really a satyr, why can I see you for what you are? And the pigeon monsters? And every other monster I've seen?"

"I'll explain it all later." He answered. "Just don't slow down."

Jesse'd been looking between us as we talked. But she didn't seem to want to intervene. Probably because she was at the center of the conversation. So she sped back up, surprisingly faster than she usually is.

I probably should have stopped talking, but I didn't. "What should we do to stop these guys? We can't run forever, can we?"

Jesse spoke up. "He's right. We have to stop this. What can we do?"

I decided I should tell them about the lyre, to see if it could help or sort some confusion out. So I did. I explained how I saw a lyre over Jesse's head, and Leroy instantly agreed that she was the daughter of Apollo. Jesse stayed absolutely calm when I told her the news.

"APOLLO?" She screamed so loudly, the Stymphalian birds slowed down for a second, while I was partially surprised that she didn't follow up on how she was a demigod. "How?"

"Well, unfortunately, the gods are real. And every other creature, person, or place in the wonderful world of Greek mythology. And you are a daughter of Apollo."

Jesse took a deep breath, stomped her foot, and continued talking. "Okay. Well, if my dad is an all-powerful sun god, can he help us out here?"

"Gods usually don't directly intervene in mortal problems," Leroy answered with a sigh that made him seem old. "They know about mortal issues, but don't help."

She grunted. "Well, these gods don't sound like nice people." As she said it, a crackling sound filled the air. There was a rumble, and I heard rain pattering windows. Out of one window, I noticed a flash of lightning strike the ground. Jesse might have just canceled flights out of New York.

"Don't say that!" Leroy shushed. "The gods demand respect, even if they don't seem to deserve it." I could tell by his voice that he didn't think they deserved all that much respect himself.

"Well," Jesse began shouting. "DAD, if you could HELP here, I would APPRECIATE it!"

I expected it to have no effect, but then, I saw a glow. About a foot in front of us, next to the science classroom, was an arrow. But not a regular one. Jesse picked it up and examined it. The arrowhead was a glossy gold, not flint. The shaft was the same material, and they both glowed a bright light, as the red fletching rippled in a non-existent breeze.

Then, it spoke. Well, what do you want of Jay? Make it snappy!

Jesse gave me a look of nervousness and confusion. But before she could say anything, the five birds swooped down, one nipping at my arm, and two missing Jesse's head.

"Jay, kill the birds!" She commanded. "Now!"

The arrow flew from her hands, and it shot right through the closest Stymphalian bird. It exploded into golden dust and plumage, which disintegrated as they fell to the ground. It instantly redirected, gutting another bird with a terrifying cry from the monster.

Jesse was grinning now. But her expression turned to fear as the third one swooped down. The arrow darted toward her and shish-kebabed the bird. Two more flew down, coming from both sides, but the arrow shot left and right in a flash, killing them both. Then its glow dimmed, and it flew back into Jesse's pocket.