In the Shadows: A PJo x KotLC Crossover

Chapter 9

They had arrived. After weeks, and months of searching. They had finally arrived.

Standing at the top of a lush green hill, dusk wind blowing in his face, Keefe Sencen kept watch of a small strawberry field in northern Long Island.

He was nearby. Keefe could sense it.

The essence of shadows hung in the air. Not just his, but a much more unique one too.

Taking a deep breath to steady his nerves, and to partially restrain himself from going down there and wrecking the place, Keefe raised a small metal square to his lips. "Show me Sophie Foster."

~°~

The day after the big incident, Tam loaded his plate with smores and cake.

He had no idea what any of these human desserts were, but boy were they tasty.

"What's this made of?" he said through mouthfuls, sidling up next to Annabeth.

The blonde looked at him like he had just announced he had a second head. "Biscuits. Chocolate. Marshmallows. Cake."

"What are those made of?" he said in a muffled voice.

"If you keep shovelling it into your mouth like that, you'll get sick!" Will chided.

"No he won't," Nico sighed. "And to answer your question, flour, eggs, cacao beans, butter ..."

"... the crushed bones, skin and cartilage of innocent animals," Annabeth added nonchalantly.

Tam spat out his food. "Did I mention I'm a vegetarian?"

"Really?" Annabeth looked confused. "But that chow mein you ate the other day also had chicken in it."

"I thought those were umber leaves!"

Tam's semi-midlife crisis was interrupted as Chiron came over to their table. "Tam."

"Hey, Chiron," Annabeth greeted him. "Something you need from Tam?"

"Yes," Chiron agreed. "I would like if the rest of you had him on your team for Capture the Flag. Explain the rules. Just a crash course. Help him out."

Will nodded eagerly. "Sure. We're a few heads down anyway, since ..." he trailed off Nico shot him a look.

Chiron smiled and shuffled away.

Tam stared at his plate of cake and smores. "I should probably throw this in the bin, right?"

Will looked longingly at him.

Annabeth shrugged and said, "Do whatever you want. Only the marshmallows have meat in them though."

"Oh thank God," Tam sighed as he scraped his leftover smores onto Will's plate. "I couldn't imagine losing cake too."

"Don't thank God," Annabeth corrected. "Thank the gods. The Greek gods."

Tam felt sick at the reminder.

After everyone had finished eating, the group made their way to the battlefield with some of the other campers. "Just some light training before the big game," Annabeth helpfully explained.

It was a large terrace, lined with seats like a stadium, or an arena. Different campers sat along the sidelines, laughing and munching on snacks. Tam recognised the lanky Travis Stoll sitting beside a pretty redhead. He nodded when Travis waved at him.

In the middle, swordsmen fought eachother, parrying and striking and ducking. Some of the younger campers were having a waterballoon fight.

Tam followed Will, Nico and Annabeth as they reached for their weapons.