Better Angels

Chapter Twenty: William

Will emerged from the Portal and was shocked by the bright sunlight that hit his eyes. The weather at Camp Halfblood seemed untouched by the darkness that lurked just outside of the Camp's magical barriers. However, inside of the camp seemed deadly still. Sharp cries echoed from the forest where monsters lurked. Normally, they would be masqueraded by the sound of Camp activities, but there were no active forges and no sound of swords clattering or laughter. It was silent.

A chill ran up Will's spine as a thick breeze struck him in the face. His stomach flipped over as the wave of heat hit him again. It seemed to scald his face as the image of Camp melted away in front of him as was replaced with the burning remnants of the Big House and the Cabins. Smoke billowed from the Apollo Cabin taking with it the home he loved.

"You failed son of Apollo," said a low mocking voice. "You were born to save the world and you watched helplessly as it burned. It's a pity that love ruined all the potential you had. You could have been a great leader. I pity you William. I really do. I will tell Victoria you said hello."

"Will!"

"What?" Will whipped his head around looking for the burnt remnants of Camp Halfblood. What was once silent and smoking now bustled with life and battle preparations.

Kayla, his half-sister, looked at him warily as she took in his stunned appearance. "You appeared out of nowhere and just stared off in space for twenty minutes and you ask me 'what'?" she accused.

"What?"

Kayla sighed. "You've been gone for three weeks."

"I know," Will said. "All transportation systems were down and it wasn't exactly safe to leave the indoors. The city is a mess, Kayla." Will shook his head.

"We tried reaching you but zilch. Our iris messages wouldn't get through. My texts didn't either," she said. Kayla's eyes narrowed as she searched his face. "Hey, are you okay? You look like hell."

Will ran his hand over his face, and tried to rub the images of Camp Halfblood away but they were seared into his mind. As for that voice, it knew something about him and it made him uneasy. A knot took form in the pit of his stomach as he tried to remember where he had heard that voice before, but he couldn't place it. He knew that it wasn't Gaea, but it didn't make sense that it would be anyone else.

"Yeah, I'll be fine. I just saw something. It wasn't enjoyable."

Kayla's expression turned grim. She turned to look at where Will had been staring. Kids ran around, and while they were preparing their battlements for an attack by the Romans they still appeared happy. The sound of laughter could be heard over the loud clanging from the forge where armor was being refitted and swords were being made. Even that was normal for Camp Halfblood though.

"You had a vision didn't you?" Kayla asked.

Will nodded.

Kayla closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "A lot of kids have been having waking nightmares recently or visions, whatever, but they are dark. It's like there is a dark energy trying to work its way into the Camp. At least that's what the Demeter Cabin said. The forest has become more hostile, and people can't sleep. We've made it a habit to sit around the hearth all night and just be around each other. It feels safer than trying to fall asleep in the dark. The older kids watch over the younger ones so that they can get some sleep. Austin woke up screaming the other night. He said something happened to his mom, but we have no way of finding out." Her voice shook and she grabbed the small dagger on her hip to help keep her grounded.