Stupid, stupid, stupid.
They were so close. He could still feel Nico's heartbeat under his fingertips and his warm breath on his lips.
And yet, Will was giddy. Nico looked scared, sure, but he leaned in too! So he must like Will... right? The thought gave him a burst of energy and he shot past a couple galloping satyrs. Before he even got to the campfire, he could see the chaos and his heart sank.
Somehow, the fire had gotten past the cinderblocks used to contain it. The fire roared around the camp ground, threatening to eat into the woods. Percy Jackson, son of Poseidon, was desperately trying to put out the rogue flames with his water-blasting skills. Jason Grace, son of Jupiter, ran around the fire, following Percy and yelling out encouraging statements like, "You got this, bro!", "A little to your left!" and "No, your other left, idiot!"
Jason seemed frustrated. Probably because he couldn't use his powers to help in this situation. Fire plus lightning... not exactly a good combination.
Piper McLean was lending her charmspeak. It looked like she was talking to some of the flames and urging them to go back into the pit. As Will squinted and looked closer, it appeared that it might be working. He'll never understand children of Aphrodite.
The dryads and nymphs were helping, too. Well, if you count squealing and running away "helping". The satyrs were trying to help with those fireproof blankets and catchy reed songs that sounded suspiciously like Madonna. If the fire reached the nature spirits and their home trees, their life force would die, too.
"How did this happen? I thought the fire was controlled by magic?"
Rachel fiddled with the ends of her ponytail. "Will, a lot of things have started going haywire. Objects that are intertwined with magic are acting-"
"Incoming!"
Will and Rachel shot to the ground as an arrow sailed over their heads. Looking closely, Will could see multi-colored water balloons tied to the end. It flailed wildly in the air before crash-landing (do arrows crash land?) 10 feet away from the flames, soaking nearby campers with water and completely missing any flames.
Rachel sighed. "See?"
Will let out a shallow laugh. "I don't think that arrow was cursed with anything but bad judgement."
Rachel huffed. "Just keep an eye out on magical items around camp. They have been acting up."
Will stood up and lent his hand for Rachel to pull herself up. He brushed his hands off on his shorts and surveyed the scene and frowned.
"Rachel, I'm a healer. Why did you bring me here?" And interrupt my perfect moment with Nico?
Rachel hesitated. "Just in case," she said slowly. "There haven't been any injuries yet, but with a fire that big..." She shook her head. "Just in case."
Will studied her quizzically. "Rachel, are your Oracle powers back? I mean I haven't heard anything from Dad but-"
Rachel was shaking her head. "This one's purely a gut instinct. And a bit from worry, I guess. It's only been a couple days since Gaea. I just want to be extra careful."
Will could understand that. He was pretty sure Rachel was just being a little bit paranoid, but everyone was still on edge from the attack from Earth. Like, literal Earth. Gaea, the Earth Mother herself, had woken from Percy's nosebleed blood (which he insists is stupid and not his fault) and tried to destroy both Camp Half Blood and Camp Jupiter, and eventually, the world.. Luckily, the Greeks and Romans joined forces at the last second and decided to stop trying to kill each other and instead focused on destroying the Gaea.
It's also when Will and Nico connected. So in a way, maybe Will owes Gaea some thanks. Assuming Nico doesn't kill him when he gets back.
They stood watching the scene unfold from atop the hill. It didn't seem like the campers below were getting anywhere until a deep scream pierced the air- followed by a water typhoon that doused the flames and completely extinguished the campfire. And also managed to thoroughly soak everyone within a mile radius.
A couple seconds of silence, and then: "Sorry, guys, the fire was annoying me." Everyone turned and stared at a sheepish Percy Jackson. He was the only dry one out of 30 demigods, a dozen nymphs and dryads, and a few satyrs. Benefits of being a son of the sea god, you could control when your clothes soaked.
"He's becoming more and more powerful by the day," Rachel murmured. She cleared her throat and turned back to Will. "Sorry for dragging you out here and interrupting... that. Everything's clear now."
"It's cool. I'm glad my services weren't needed." He nodded to Rachel and started back towards the infirmary. His hands were itching to ruffle Nico's hair. But his soaked clothes screamed for reinforcements. Oh, priorities.
"Hey, Will?"
Will peered over his shoulder. "Yeah?"
"Your secret is safe with me. If you want it to be a secret, I mean," she said earnestly.
Will smiled. "Thanks, Rach. That'd be great. Now if you'll excuse me, I've got a son of the underworld to deal with."
