Perseus the Hunter

Chapter 7

Kynigòs appeared on the borders of Camp Half-Blood, high up in a tree where he wouldn't be seen. Sure, the almighty drama king of the gods had asked, nay, demanded he stay at Camp Half-Blood but, that didn't mean he had to go in. Let alone be known to the inhabitants. He smirked under his cloth mask and settled into his branch, watching the movements of the camp. It had hardly changed since he had been here last. The campers all wore the signature bright orange t-shirts and the bead necklaces. He saw as campers greeted friends and made small talk, had deep conversations and watched the sunset together. He watched as a few campers fell off the climbing wall, one scorched by the lava. The group of Apollo medics that ran to heal him and he was carried off on a stretcher. One particular small group caught his attention. A group of girls all dressed in silver parkas and glaring at any male who dared to walk past.

He watched as the evening patrol switched shifts with the sunset. The campers that looked straight out into the forest a mere ten metres from where he sat. None of them even thought to look up into the branches, but in case they did Kynigòs pulled the darkness around him like a blanket. Letting his senses stretch over the camp and closing his eyes. Not that he would sleep, he hadn't slept since he left, but he had managed to train his brain into hibernation mode. Switching it off so that his muscles and body would rejuvenate but his mind and senses would still be active.

He felt it, in the darkness. The strange movement fifty feet from the borders of the camp. The collection of footsteps, the gathering of beings, the hoard of monsters. His eyes snapped open. Withdrawing from the darkness, he leapt from tree to tree in the direction of the army. Sure, he didn't especially like camp and no he wasn't protecting them because the stupid gods wanted him to, but, because he could feel a specific energy signature that he knew all too well. The beef head himself.

He waited at the edge of the clearing. Watching the group of monsters that seemed, a little too organised for his taste. The horn hadn't sounded so the camp didn't know of the impending doom. Which was a good thing if he was going to take them all out. He didn't need the distraction.

He pulled a few throwing knives from his belt and waited for the ultimate shot. Calculating distance, weather, aperture and height. Balancing the knife in his hand he flipped it, grasped it by the blade and threw. Letting it soar through the night. Slicing the throats of three Empousai before landing solidly inside a Drakon's heart. Each turning into a cloud of golden dust that reflected the moonlight as it fell.

The horn from the camp blew and Kynigòs knew that if he faced these monsters then they would know of his existence. He instead waited in the darkness, knowing that the remaining lot could be dealt with by the campers. The deaths, however, had grasped the attention of old beef head who was looking around the clearing.

A group of heavily armoured campers burst through the forest line, one small brown-haired boy took one look at the monsters and made a loop around his friends, shrieking, and running behind another boy. Brandishing a small bronze dagger in a small attempt at defence. Kynigòs raised an eyebrow. How old was this kid, why didn't he have a proper weapon and why was he on the night guard if he was so undertrained?

Beefy smirked at the feeble defence of the camp and dispatched the Drakons after them. The boys seemed to hold their own but none of them made a mark or a scratch on the offenders. However, they were magnificently producing a lot of red liquid which seemed to multiply by the second.

Kynigòs rolled his eyes stepping out from his cover, drawing the attention of every monster and demigod. He strode across the clearing, not making a sound letting the eyes follow him. As he had gotten far enough, he pulled out his cylinder and waited. He wasn't going to make the first move, he never made the first move, unless it was an assassination.

The Drakons quickly lost interest in the feeble boys and charged on their enemy. The rest of the monsters having the same thought. He waited patiently.

The rest of the armed campers flew out of the treeline, pausing at the sight of the running boys and the horde of monsters focusing on a cloaked stranger. Kynigòs still waited, patiently counting until one Drakon was within a metre and then he clicked a button on his cylinder, elongating it into his staff. He swung expertly and gracefully lopped the head off of the Drakon, stepping forward and twirling the staff to stab into the next one, right in the link of its scales.

The monsters dropped left and right, almost like flies, while the campers watched bewildered at the grace and etiquette of the new stranger. He swung the staff and moved like a dance killing them before they had the chance to know what was happening. Finally, the last one left was the minotaur. The stranger stopped, closing the cylinder and placing it back at his side. The minotaur saw this as a weakness and charged forward, swinging its axe down. Kynigòs sidestepped just enough to watch the blade pass by his face. The minotaur was stunned at the sudden movement and wasn't able to clock the blade until it was embedded in its eye. Kynigòs retracted the blade back into his vambrace and lowered his arm to his side.

Turning his cloaked head to the side to see the camp still frozen in place. Not wanting to face the questions and interrogation that was bound to happen by the teenagers and the centaur, he bowed his head toward them made a gesture with his arm and vapour travelled away. Yes, Zeus was the drama king but that didn't mean that Kynigòs didn't appreciate a flair for the dramatics when it was needed.

The campers were brought out of their shock by the sudden disappearance of the stranger and they headed back to the camp. A group of girls in silver waited behind at the end, understanding who the stranger was and nodded between each other before turning and following the campers trail.