Daughter Of Light- Book 1: PJO

Chapter 16: War Games Gone Bad

It was still light when we got into the woods, but the shadows from the trees made it feel like midnight. It was cold, too, even in summer, it didn't bother me much, I always seemed warmer than everyone around me. But Rah shivered, he readjusted his amour. 

"Shoulda wore sleeves." I teased quietly. 

"Aren't you cold?" 

"Nah. I'm always hot." 

He snorted in amusement and raised an eyebrow. 

"Ha ha. Not what I meant, but it's true too." I smirked back and tossed my hair over my shoulder and sauntered forwards. He scoffed, but followed. I could hear the sounds of other pairs getting further and further away. Even in the dark forest we found tracks almost immediately-scuttling marks made by something with a lot of legs. We began to follow the trail. We jumped a creek and heard some twigs snapping nearby. We crouched behind a tree, but it was only the Stoll brothers tripping through the woods and cursing. Their dad was the god of thieves, but they were about as stealthy as buffaloes. Once the Stolls had passed, we forged deeper into the west woods where the monsters were wilder.

"So...uh Raph..?" I finally stammered. 

He just hummed. 

I ran a hand through my hair and tried to figure out how to word my problem. 

"Forget how to talk Sunshine?" 

"No." I snapped. I groaned. "Fine, the prophesy I was given. I need two people, the Healer, Will. I talked to him this morning. He's in. Reluctantly but he's in. The last person, The son of War...will you come on the quest?" 

He stopped walking and turned to look at me. The setting sun that trickled through the tree tops made his dark eyes almost sparkle and it cast shadows over his face. He folded his huge bare arms over his chest plate. "Why me?" He asked.

"Well...that's the other thing."

He was quiet, his face impassive and stone. With the shadows over his face, he looked a little scary, the intense stare, that kept me in place, the muscle in his jaw was clenching. 

"I know about the Labyrinth, I know Chiron sent you and Clarisse into the depths for a bit of scouting. It fits. The next line talks about twists and turns. We need to go into the labyrinth. And I need you." 

His eyes lit up in amusement and I knew right away I said the wrong words. I growled in frustrating again. I swallowed my irritation with his snarky arrogance. 

"You need me Sunshine?" 

"On the quest. I hardly know you. But will you accept?" 

A branch snapped behind us in the woods. Dry leaves rustled. Something large was moving in the trees, just beyond us, on the other side of the row of bushes.

"That's not the Stoll brothers," Raph whispered. He grabbed my arm and yanked me closer to himself, and then behind him. He pulled out his spear and pulled the shield off his back and I yanked my pendent off my necklace. Drawing the string back making it tight, I could feel the strain in my arm muscle. The scuttling got louder, together we slowly backed up. 

"It's right in front of us." He whispered. 

"No, wait," I said. "Behind us."

It was weird. Scuttling noises seemed to be coming from several different directions. We were slowly backing up, carefully stepping over the roots and undergrowth, our weapons drawn, when I heard the same noise come from our left. Raph and I turned. Coming out of the woods was a glistening amber insect, ten feet long, with jagged pincers, an armored tail, and a stinger as long as my sword. A scorpion. Tied to its back was a red silk package.