Three Worlds Clash

Chapter Eleven

Annabeth Chase's POV

Chiron was in the middle of telling us about new threats to our world when a couple of wizards dropped out of the sky right in front of us.

Yeah, just a normal day at Camp Half-Blood.

Cue an introduction of names, and there you have it: more half-bloods, probably children of Hectate.

Something's off, what with the number of new arrivals. And Harry Potter looks exactly like Percy. Kind of strange, if you asked me, but I'm just going to roll with it for now.

Chiron and I were thinking in sync. They obviously had some demigod in them, or they wouldn't have gotten past the borders. And they could do magic.

Sophie said something about Kiara knowing, so I went to talk to her. I found her near a small stream, humming a song under her breath. I recognized the tune, and the words appeared in my head.

Come to the land of the lost and lonely,
Don't be afraid, we'll be one big family.

She stopped humming when I came up behind her.

"I know why you are here, Annabeth. You want to know about the wizards. Harry, and Ron, and the others."

She waited until I nodded to continue.

"I knew they were coming. I could feel the magical presence coming closer."

She wrung out her inky black hair that was dotted with grey highlights like she was trying to re-create the galaxy in her hair.

"I warned Sophie, so you wouldn't accidentally kill them. They are, after all, my siblings."

"Siblings like fifth cousin four times removed, exiled to another country, siblings?"

Kiara smiled.

"In a sense."

Her misty blue eyes were furrowed with worry.

"I fear they have come to find The Source. And if we don't work together, Death will find it first."

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I figured Kiara had meant Thatanos when she said death, but he hasn't been seen since before the war with Gaea.

It had to be something else. 

Something much more dangerous.

I found the rest of the camp at dinner, so I slid into my seat next to Sophie and started eating like I wasn't late.

Only Percy noticed I had arrived. He visibly relaxed once I was safely seated. 

I knew what he was thinking. It had been like that since Tartarus. 

I glanced around the dining pavilion to distract myself. I spotted the wizards at the Hectate table. They looked perfectly blended in, but many campers were giving them second looks like they couldn't believe there were more new arrivals. I would have to speak with them more later and ask them about The Source.

I ate as fast as I could, wanting to get away from the stares. Percy joined me on my way to the beach, the place I always went to clear my head. Percy sat down next to me on the warm sand.

"Are you thinking about... y'know, The Place?"

He meant Tartarus, but neither of us wanted to say it.

"Yeah. I--"

My voice cracked and tried to hold back a rush of terrible memories. Percy put his arms around me and held me to his chest. I felt safer around him.

"I-I'm s-sorry I dragged y-you down there."

"Hey," He gently rubbed my back and kissed the top of my head. "That wasn't your fault. I had to try and save you. I told you then, and I'll tell you now: I'm never letting you go again. Ever. I love you so much, Annabeth."

"I love you too, Seaweed Brain."

At that moment, Harry Potter and Ginny decided to come down to the beach too. They noticed us and were about to leave, but I stopped them.

"Wait, Ginny, Harry. I have to ask you guys something."

Harry glanced at Ginny, who nodded. They strode back over and sat on the sand next to Percy and I.

"What is it, Annabeth?"

I was surprised they had remembered my name.

"Well, we were just wondering if you could tell us more about The Source. We got attacked by Hellhounds yesterday, too. Hellhounds are those big black dogs you mentioned."

"Ah, that makes more sense now. Haven't seen any of those since the war with Voldemort-" Ginny smacked him, cutting off his sentence.

"Don't say his name."

"Sorry, dear, he-who-must-not-be-named gathered a few of those to aid him in killing us all, but they didn't listen to him. We always wondered why."

"Hellhounds are the guardians of the Underworld, they only listen to Hades. Wait, you guys had a war too? Man, I thought we were the only ones."

Percy commented. He tapped his finger to his lip and pulled a ball of water out of the sea to fidget with.

"A few days ago, a couple of Elves, descendants of demigods, came here. They're in the middle of a war too, and they said that the creepy guys with silver masks they saw were the bad guys in their war."

Harry shot Ginny a worried glance.

"Well, this is very bad. Those silver-masked people are death eaters, the followers of he-who-must-not-be-named. And if they've known about the two worlds this whole time, then..."

"They timed all of these wars to happen at a specific time." I finished. 

Harry nodded.

"And if they have... Hellhounds, if I'm correct?" He waited for Percy to nod before continuing. "If they have Hellhounds, then they're planning something huge, something that involves all of us."