The Hunters of Artemis

Chapter 21: Family Reunion

The next week was boring and uneventful. School and homework, but nothing on the Ethiopian Pegasus. The whole reason we had come here wasn't here! Jerome stayed away from me; I think he was still terrified about that... date...

But it was fine by me. He could stay away as long as he wanted to. On the other hand, Liam acted like that... thing hadn't happened. It made me angry. So angry that I thought my anger might just make him burst into flames.

One week after the Incident as I now call it, I sighed at breakfast. "Guys, I think we need to move on. We're never going to find anything here, and I have a feeling that Jade and Teresa were just playing us. They couldn't have had the pegasus."

Atlanta nodded. "I told you guys that the first day we came here! I bet you they were just kidding about all that."

"About demigods and mythological monsters?" asked Robyn, unconvinced. She still wasn't over Lyra's kidnapping. She stabbed a piece of egg and ate it sadly. 

Atlanta shrugged. "You never know."

Noah pointed his fork up. "Well, I did hear some mortal students talking about the minotaur and a cyclops, but that was just for fun... I think."

I shrugged. "It doesn't matter anyways. If we want to get this done, we need to move on."

Rhea put her hand up. "Um, what if we... oh, I don't know, go to Ethiopia to look for the Ethiopian Pegasus?"

Hannah nodded. "That would make sense. After all, Ethiopia is it's native country."

"Alright, then let's book plane tickets--" started Liam before Rhea stopped him. 

"Um, wait a minute Mr. Romance." I nearly upchucked my eggs when she said that. Did she know about... The Incident? She continued. "Robyn and I are daughters of Poseidon. Planes don't exactly agree with us."

He looked confused. "Why not?"

She rolled her eyes. "Daughters of Poseidon. Planes fly through Zeus's domain. The two brothers don't agree that often. The last time Zeus let a child of Poseidon fly was Percy, and he had the Master Bolt with him." She snorted. "While that 'hero' is a boy, he can sure kick butt..."

I snorted along with her. "Do you remember that Capture the Flag game where Fawn shot that tripline arrow and tripped him? Z... Zoe won because of that."

Robyn laughed. The first laugh we had heard from her since Lyra... Anyways, she laughed, and so did the rest of the Hunters.

Liam frowned. "That win was faulty. Thalia would have won if it weren't for Percy."

Hannah nudged Atlanta. "Another reason we joined the Hunters... and probably a reason she did too."

I laughed. I noticed Liam frowning at me. "What?" I asked.

He pointed at me. "I remember now. It was you who shot a fart arrow straight into my face that Capture the Flag game..."

My eyes widened. "That was you?" Then I laughed. "You should have seen the look on your face." I snickered when he frowned again. He was only ten when that happened. It was hilarious. The memory came back to me in a flood of images.

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The frigid night air chilled my throat as I took a deep breath. The conch shell emit its deep call and the game began. I watched as Zoe ran across the stream. I followed, leaping across the water and sprinting into the ominous forest.

I could hear shouts and calls from the demigods. Grinning, I slowed in my running. Hiding behind a bush, I could see two girls stalking slowly towards the water.