The Blood of Olympus

Chapter 8: Piper

Hi! I decided to give you wonderful readers a longer chapter this time, enjoy!

Oh, and just so you know, I made some minor edits to last chapter. So in this, only Piper, Jason, and Leo went to check out whatever was happening in the Mess Hall, and Frank, Hazel, and Percy stayed with Annabeth. Just thought you might want to know.

_____________________________________________________________________________

Chapter 8: Piper

When Piper pushed open the door, Katoptris held high, the first thing she saw was a huge pile of thousands of drachmas and those Roman coins...denarii, sitting in the middle of room. How it got there, she had no idea, but something else drew her gaze.

The Mess Hall looked like a tornado had ripped through it. The dining table was in shambles, the screens depicting scenes from Camp Half-Blood were cracked and hanging off the wall, and half the ceiling had caved in.

Next to her, Leo whimpered,

"What - what did they do to my Mess Hall of awesomeness?" he asked faintly,

"The question is, who are 'they'?" Piper squeaked. Everyone was staring at the wreckage of a dining room in disbelief, and Piper suddenly became aware that her mouth was hanging open. 

Suddenly, the pile of coins started to shift, and a head poked out, followed by a body. From behind her, Jason yelped in surprise.

"You may well ask," grunted the man, as he struggled to clamber out from the pile of ancient currency. His voice was deep and melodious, warm and caring, and immediately made Piper feel better. Maybe there was hope after all for Annabeth. Maybe their situation wasn't as dire as she thought.

"No you may not!" yelled a voice from beneath the table, and the moment broke. Piper looked, and realized that a woman was feebly stirring from under the wreckage of the table.

The man straightened, turned to the three demigods. Piper suddenly became aware that he was very handsome. He had jet black hair, hollowed cheeks, and pale white skin, which admittedly would have given him an unfortunate resemblance to a vampire, but for his eyes. They were chocolate brown, and looking into them was like drinking a cup of hot cocoa. Warm, kind, and forgiving.

"I'm very sorry for this," he said, gesturing around the room, "I assure you it was all that miserable excuse for a goddess's fault. I am an embodiment of peace, and am only here to help," He turned his palms upward, and the warm feeling washed over Piper again.

But something was strangely familiar about that voice...

Suddenly Piper realized that Jason and Leo were nodding and grinning like fools. Only she seemed to still have control over her wits.

"Stop it," Piper said sharply. The man had the nerve to look surprised,

"I'm not doing anything," he said with a smile that made her insides melt. But she had to resist it...

"You're charmspeaking us," she said forcefully, concentrating to resist the urge to skip around and sing the man's voice made her feel, "I can tell,"

The man shook his head, "I am not, as you say, charmspeaking anyone. In fact, I'm just doing my job. Easing your pain, making you feel better,"

"Yeah right!" screamed the woman, and everyone returned to normal, "Easing people's pain. Bah! Meddling in affairs that don't concern you, more like!" She had apparently freed herself from what was once their magic dining table.