Book 1: Sparks Fly (Leo Valdez x OC)

Chapter 6: Woo, Scary Green Smoke

Piper and Rachel are already waiting for us under the banner-less section. There are kids dancing around the fire holding lyres and singing some weird song about how Grandma puts on her armor, complete with movements for each piece, that every camper is participating in. With every verse, a new piece of armor is added and the fire grows brighter and taller. It's the type of thing that would be really embarrassing to do in the daylight, but at night, it's all good fun.

The song ends with rowdy applause. Chiron trots up, and Piper gasps next to me when he steps into the light. I realize that she was unconscious the whole time that he was around her, so she must not have known what he is.

"Very nice!" he says. "And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you all arrived here alive with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise I'll get to the s'mores, but first—"

"What about capture the flag?" someone yells from under a banner with a boar's head. The kids sitting with them start grumbling assent.

"Yes," Chiron says. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to get back to the woods and return to our regular games—"

"And kill people!" one of them shouts.

"However," Chiron says, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Anything to report on that, Cabin Nine?"

He turns to the group with the hammer banner Leo is sitting there, with a few other burly kids with bandanas. He shoots a finger gun at me, and I wink at him as the girl on his left stands up.

"We're working on it," she says. Her brown hair is tied back, and her hands are covered in callouses.

"How, Nyssa?" an Ares kid demands.

"Um, really hard," she replies, sitting down.

There's a lot of complaints (most come from a group under a certain boar's head banner), and the fire sputters chaotically. It seems to be reading the emotions of the crowd—brighter equals happier and darker equals sadder.

Chiron stamps his hoof on the ground—bang, bang, bang.

"We will have to be patient," Chiron says. "In the meantime, however, we have more pressing matters to discuss. Three new demigods were brought to camp today, and we have a returning camper with some, ah, complications. Annabeth?"

"Is it Percy?" someone says. A couple excited voices pop out of the crowd. I hear someone say to someone next to them, "Maybe it's Jackie."

Annabeth steps forward. "I didn't find Percy."

"Jackie?" someone says.

The flames sputter higher, as if the crowd is getting hopeful.

"Well, like Chiron said, there's a complication," Annabeth says. "But yes, I found Jackie." She gestures for me to stand up and walk forward, and I do, stepping closer to the fire.

The crowd all begins to shout at once.

"Where were you?"

"Do you know where Percy is?"

"Are you okay?"

"What's the complication?"

I smile as best I can at the assembled campers. My eyes lock on Leo's. He's the only one in front of me that know at all. I imagine I'm only addressing him as I speak. "I don't know where I was until this morning, when I woke up on a bus with Gleeson Hedge, Jason, Leo, and Piper. I'm physically fine. We fought some anemoi thuellai, storm spirits, this morning, but I didn't really get hurt."