In the Beginning

Chapter Nineteen

I had never tried this whole charmspeak thing before, but Piper said I could do it. I didn't know if it worked on inanimate objects or if a wall of smoke counted as an inanimate object. But I had to try, there was no other way to stop the smoke from devouring everything in it's path. I planted my feet square to my shoulders and took a deep breath in. I commanded the smoke to stop. It halted. I whirled around, grinning, only to see Annabeth, Percy, and the girl frozen. The smile disappeared off my face.

"Not you guys." I sighed with relief as they began to loose the clouded look in their eyes. Annabeth looked at the smoke, then back at me.

"Did you....?" I nodded slightly. She glared at me. "Thanks for the warning, Starr."

"Sorry." My face was hot with shame. "I didn't know if it would work."

"Guys...." An alarmed look spread across the girl's face. I turned to the wall, small curls of black smoke were starting towards us again.

"We've got to get out of here, come on." I broke into a run, dodging the thing trunks and leaping over the gnarled roots. I could see a clear field in front of us and made a sprint for it. I wanted to get out of these woods, something about them didn't feel right. I slowed as I reached the open field, the others joining me. "Which way to camp? I don't have the best sense of direction." No one spoke up. Oh great, we're lost. I heard a branch snap coming from the woods behind us. I unsheathed my dagger and slowly turned. A black pegasus came from the dark woods. Two others followed close behind it. Percy smiled.

"Hey, Blackjack." The horse whinnied as if speaking to Percy. Percy climbed onto the pegasus's back, then offered Annabeth a hand up. One of the other pegasi trotted over to me, stamping it's hoof in impatience. I got onto the pegasus's back as the girl mounted hers. The pegasi took off with an alarming speed, gradually soaring into the air. I squeezed my eyes shut, I wasn't a fan of heights.

"You have to see this." The girl flew next to me and pointed to the ground far below. I shook my head. "Come on, it's beautiful." I looked down. She was right, the scenery was beautiful but my fear overcame me and I had to close my eyes again. When I reopened them we were back at camp. I got off the horse and headed for my familiar cabin only to be intercepted by the son of Apollo. He smiled at me.

"How'd it go?" His voice clear and lower then I would expect, but not low enough to sound older than he was. I returned his smile.

"Better then expected." Before he could respond I was headed for my cabin. I wasn't in the mood for conversation. When I entered the doll-house of a cabin, all eyes turned to me. Brittney smirked from where she sat on her bunk.

"So you lived." I raised an eyebrow.

"Of course, would you expect anything less?" I strode towards the back of the cabin, all eyes following me. "Well?" I waved my hand to the others. "Go back to what you were doing." They all looked away. I sat on the edge of my bed, pulling of the boots. Within minutes, I was seated comfortably on the soft pink quilt, journal laid across my lap, in sweatpants and a t-shirt. I messily wrote down the contents of the night. And in the blink of an eye, the lights were out and I was yet again struggling to get to sleep.