A Guardians Choice (Book 2 of the Guardian of the hunt)

Chapter 3

Percy POV (Current time)

Artemis sat on her Throne - one of the few that was still intact after the fight. She looked to be deep in thought as she stroked her bottom lip, something i'd noticed her doing a lot recently. It had been like this for the past couple of minutes, deciding on what our next move was going to be. I clasped my hands behind my back and sighed, shaking my head at the floor.

"Personally I think we should go after Janus," I tried, motioning with one hand to nowhere in particular. "From what I can gather he would be a great advantage to have."

"But what of my father? My siblings and my uncles?" She argued, anger flashing in her silver eyes. "I can't just leave them to fight."

"Then go and fight with them. You are an Olympian, you should take a stand against Menoetius - you are far more powerful combined with your family. We can leave the Hunters at the camp to defend, I can take a select few with me to track Janus down. You may not like it Artemis but it has to be done," I explained carefully, trying to get my point across as her eyes change to a dangerous shade. "I trust Thalia enough to take charge in your absence."

"As do I but I can't just leave them!" She hissed, leaning forwards in her throne. "It is not your decision to make Percy, they are like my children."

Sighing, I kicked a small piece of rubble away sending it flying towards the hole where the two enemies had come from. Come to think of it, I should probably figure out how she escaped. After all it probably contained some form of deceit and trickery, both part of my title. Casting a glance over at Artemis, I saw her head in her hands as she groaned out a little, shaking. Being the gentleman I am I walked over and approached her, placing my hand on her leg.

"Within the few months that I have had to get to know them, I have realised that they are willing to lay their lives down for you. I believe this also means they will live for you. You need have no fear of their deaths since they will fight so hard and they will succeed," I tried, smiling a little as Artemis bit her lip, placing her hand on mine. 

"I am always going to worry about them, it's my job," She lightly chuckled before squeezing my hand with a slight smile. "I suppose I should trust them."

"How about you get back to camp, inform the hunters of the latest developments and tell them the plan. I'll be up here trying to figure out how in Hades she escaped, and where the Gods could be - but like I said they are most likely in Alaska," I summed up, moving away and allowing Artemis to stand up from her throne and elegantly walk down. "Please be careful."

"Only if you are," She replied, before a[roaching me and wrapping her arms around my waist and pulling me in for a hug before pressing her lips against mine. "I love you Percy."

"I love you too."

***

I slowly strolled into Annabeth's old cell, grimacing at the sight. There were at least ten dead guards, all painted with their own crimson blood. Glancing down at me feet, I noticed I'd stepped in some of the blood, a clear red footprint followed me as I walked over to where Annabeths cuffs were forced off - there was a light sheen of green, almost like a layer as my powers began to come into effect. The green intensified as I got closer, guiding me towards a red stain on the metal. Annabeth's blood. 

Bending down, I picked up the cuffs and focused on the stain. Maybe I could use this as some form of tracking?

"You may be wise, but you're not smart," I muttered, smirking as I turned around and saw green footprints beginning to appear in the dirt floor. Immediately I followed after, going at a quick pace. I did not have time to be slow, not with so much at stake. 

It didn't take long for me to be able to find a good piece of evidence. And when I say evidence I actually mean 'person who wasn't dead on the floor with a spear in his arm.' From what I could see of him he was tall and lean, black hair soaked with sweat was stuck to his face as he shivered every now and then, taking light and shallow breaths. Blood seemed to flow out of his left arm at a steady pace, luckily not hitting anything vital. He looked to be no older than 18, still a young kid. I bent down next to him and studied the wound, deciding if I should pull out the spear.

And I was going to until he grabbed my wrist.

"You need to stop her!" He cried out, his honey yellow eyes blazing with a passionate and burning fire. "Annabeth. She's gonna bring in Menoetius and attack the Gods!"

"She's already done that. Calm down, I'm here to help you," I tried, prying his hand off of me - which was harder than I expected due to his very hard grip. "Stay still, you have a spear in your arm if you hadn't noticed already."

"Wait, aren't you Percy Jackson? I managed to find things from Annabeth, important things!" He rushed out, gritting his teeth as I wrapped one hand around the spear and the other pressing his shoulder to the ground ignoring the small electric shock from his exposed skin. This was definitely going to hurt, and it wouldn't be pretty either. Yanking it out, I watched as blood shot out in a short burst before calming down to a slow trickle. He gave a cry of pain, a tear falling from one eye and hitting the floor. "That really hurt, please don't do it again."

"I wont need to, this shouldn't take too long. Now, tell me what you got from Annabeth," I distracted him, chucking the spear behind me and hearing the loud clatter against the floor. Carefully, I placed my hand on the arm and willed some of the moisture in the air to go towards his arm.

"She said something about Janus being in Tartarus and that after she'd finished with the Olympians she was going to use him for something, but I can't remember. I need to get to my dad!" He growled out at the end, squirming underneath me as I got closer to healing the wound.

"Son? Janus is your dad?"