Revenge

Chapter 17

"Come on, you said yourself that you wouldn't get in the wheelchair. Just eat it." Aaron insisted.

"You said it would burn mortals up. What if it burns my mortal side up and I die?" Beck retorted.

"Your godly side will stop that from happening, unless you eat a really big amount." Aaron held out the small square of golden biscuit. "I promise."

Beck eyed him warily, then took the ambrosia and bit off a corner of it. Her eyes flared open in surprise. "It tastes like mac and cheese!"

"Of course it does. Ambrosia tastes like your favorite food. Mine always tastes like my grandfather's lasagna." Aaron grinned.

Beck took another small bite and looked down at her ankle. It didn't feel any different to her.

"Try putting your weight on it." Aaron advised.

"Okay..." The blonde girl said doubtfully. She slowly pushed herself off the infirmary bed she was sitting on. To her surprise, her ankle held.

"Well, I'll put the rest back with the Apollo kids' stash." Aaron said, holding out his hand. Beck placed the square of godly food on his palm.

"From what I hear, you held your own pretty well against Percy." The son of Hermes commented as he put the ambrosia back with the other squares the Apollo campers kept on a high shelf so no little kids could reach it.

"I didn't think it was that hard." Beck said. "I just had to find the beat."

"Find the beat?" He asked, turning and frowning at her.

"Yeah. Like in music? Everyone's fighting style is slightly different, and you can find a rhythm if you know what to look and feel for." She explained.

"Interesting. What did you pick that up from?"

"Various things. Color Guard, band, dance."

"Band? What do you play?" Aaron's tone was curious.

"Violin." Beck shrugged.

"Cool." He said. "Are you good?"

"Yes."

"You should talk to the Apollo kids. Maybe you're a child of the sun god." Aaron suggested.

"How could I be a daughter of Apollo?" Beck asked. "I turn into a tomato every time I go outside for more than 10 minutes when it's sunny."

"Demigod children don't necessarily have all the traits their parents have. Some of the Apollo kids have healing capabilities and understand healing with the expertise of a surgeon. Others have voices that sound like angels. There are even stories of children of Apollo cursed with the touch of plague or the control of deadly illnesses. Will Solace has a freaky whistle, let me tell you-"

"Whistle?" Beck asked him.

"Yeah. The kid can shatter glass. Literally. It's one of his powers from his dad. If he finds the right frequency, he can destroy every window within 600 feet."

"That's impressive." Beck commented.

"Yeah. He's used it a few times in battle, the monsters have a frequency too and if he hits it, they just explode. The only problem is the "monster whistle," as the little kids like to call it, knocks any demigod in the immediate vicinity unconscious. Get within 10 feet of him while he does that and you're down for the count."

Beck nodded. "I'll keep that in mind. Where is the rest of the cabin?"

"They're at Ancient Greek class." Aaron said after checking his watch. "Do you want to join them?"

"That's probably the best idea. I'm kind of behind on my Greek."

"Well let's go then." Aaron smiled and led her out the door. As they walked along one of the paths that criss-crossed camp, Beck heard yelling from the volleyball court.

Two teams had formed and a game was being played, which had attracted many spectators. Aaron and Beck stopped to watch for a little while.

"Right here, right here!" One of the players shouted. She was blonde and muscular, but Beck didn't know her name. Her teammate set the ball up, but pushed it too far to the right. It crossed over the net.

Instantly Percy Jackson leapt into the air, slamming the volleyball back the way it came, nearly straight down into the sand. His team cheered and the other team groaned.

"Another point for Percy's team!" The boy reffing shouted. "That's 11 to 4!"

Percy passed the ball back to the girl on his team who was serving, a girl with bright red hair and vibrant green eyes. Looking closer, Beck realized that her skin was slightly tinted green.

The ball went over the net. "Nice serve, Juniper!" One of the men standing on Percy's side of the court shouted. He looked like Jamie to Beck, but maybe it was just the furry legs which identified him as a satyr that made her think that.

"Mark, send it here!" Annabeth shouted. Her teammate set the ball to her and she leapt up into the air. Percy went up with her to block and Annabeth tipped it lightly, dropping it right behind him.

"Nice shot, Annabeth!"

"Awesome placement!"

"Go team!"

Annabeth's team was ecstatic. One of Percy's teammates helped him up, as he'd landed with one foot on the volleyball and fallen over.

"5 to 11!"

Aaron leaned over to talk in Beck's ear. "Still want to go to Ancient Greek?"

She debated. "Yeah. I need to catch up."

"Alright, let's go then."

They walked off. Beck turned back once to see Percy's team high-fiving as they scored another point.