Icarus - Annabeth Chase

chapter six.

After breakfast, Percy when out looking for Akira and told her and Grover about his dream. they sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she'd turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.

He had found the girl in the forge with Nathan Jones, she had her shirt off with a rag around her neck as sweat dripped down her body, she was hitting something with a hammer but he didn't know anything about that so he just told her he had something important to talk about. She said goodbye to Nathan and walked with him, drying the sweat with the rag. It seemed he was the only one to notice the longing/hungry stares the girl got since she was asking if he needed help with something and now there they were, him telling them her dream as she put her shirt back on.

When he told them his nightmare, Grover started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur. 

"A cave ceiling collapsed on her?" he asked.

"Yeah. What the heck does that mean?"

Grover shook his head. "I don't know. But after what Zoe dreamed—"

"Whoa. What do you mean? Zoe had a dream like that?"

"I... I don't know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked."

"Wait, how do you know this?"

Grover blushed. "I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin."

 "What for?"

"Just to be, you know, near them."

"You're a stalker with hooves, man." Akira chuckled.

"I am not! Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got real upset when Argus wouldn't let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene." 

Percy tried to imagine that. Argus was the head of security for camp—a big blond dude with eyes all over his body. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. Akira wouldn't want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoe Nightshade.

"What did she say?" He asked.

Grover grimaced. "Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout... I think that's a bad thing. And then he called her—"

"Whoa, wait. How could Artemis be in trouble?"

"I... well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and—" 

"He wears curlers in his tail?" Akira cackled at the image in her head.

Grover covered his mouth.

"Sorry," she wasn't sorry at all. "Go on."

"Well, Zoe said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoe that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said..." Grover gulped. "She said 'How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?'"

"What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?"

"No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped."

"Kidnapped?" He tried to get his mind around that idea. "How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?"