Miles Dilara and the Quest for Legends (A Percy Jackson fanfic)

1: A Dragon Claw Gets Me in Trouble

"This was not a good idea," I whispered to my best friend, Alyssa. I was supposed to be smarter than this, I thought. Mom must be disappointed, if she was even watching. I looked to see Alyssa a few feet in front of me, already inside the big house. She was wearing a red and white baseball cap, and her super light brown hair was pulled back into a ponytail, as it was most of the time. "We are going to get caught," I urged her. It was dark, but Chiron and Argus both slept inside the big house, along with any campers who might be in the infirmary. We could wake any of them up with the slightest sound.

Alyssa looked back at me and rolled her eyes. "Miles, it'll be fine. Just don't make any more noise."

"Not everyone here can sneak around like you," I whispered. "I should just leave."

"Oh no you don't," Alyssa said, then grabbed my arm. "You are not getting out of this that easily." I protested quietly, then realized the best chance for me to get out of here is to let Alyssa go in, and then make a quick escape.

"It's not like this is against the rules," Alyssa added quietly. "Everyone is just superstitious."

I knew that to be true, but I couldn't help feeling nervous anyway. I nudged my glasses up then started following Alyssa. I cringed as every step of mine made squeaks, or my legs would pop, or I would stumble ever so slightly, where Alyssa was dead silent, creeping up the stairs like the thief she was.

She was a daughter of Hermes, so it was in her blood. I had no such luck. As a daughter of Athena, I couldn't help but analyze all the reasons this was a bad idea, but I was curious. What was in the attic? Everyone knew that it was filled with junk, and was where the corpse that gave prophecies to Percy Jackson and some of the other heroes once lay, although it wasn't there anymore.

We think.

As we climbed the stairs, I got chills. I figured it must be the nervousness of getting caught. Or possibly the slight chill in the air, although the temperature at Camp Halfblood was never too cold, never too hot. We reached the top of the stairs and Alyssa pushed the door open. I took a deep breath then looked up into the room.

No mummified oracle. Phew.

Alyssa and I quickly looked around. I immediately became engrossed in some dusty old books, and out of the corner of my eye I noticed Alyssa glancing at some things.

"I found some fuzzy dice that a halfbrother of mine stole a long time ago," she said.

"Mmm hmm," I responded, not really paying attention, my eyes searching the pages for anything interesting. I couldn't read most of the words, they were all faded and in a fancy cursive, not to mention it was dark in the attic. But I knew that I could read it if I took a little time.

I was lucky, one of the few demigods who wasn't cursed with dyslexia. I could still read ancient greek, but it takes me some time to read a book of it. Plain english is easier.

"Hey Miles, check this out," Alyssa said in a reverent whisper.

"What is it?" I asked, setting the book down and going over to look. I was unimpressed by the claw, but what the plaque said was what caught my attention. "That's the claw from Luke Castellan's quest," I said in shock.

"What's it doing here?" Alyssa asked. "Shouldn't it be somewhere more special? Like at least in the main room of the big house, not this dusty attic. After everything Luke did, this is how his legacy gets treated? He was a hero! He sacrificed himself to save everyone. He saved the world."

I puzzled over it for a moment, then picked it up. "Well, whatever the reason, we should go talk to Chiron, make sure it gets a proper place."

Alyssa nodded her head, making her ponytail bounce. "Come on, we better get going." I tucked the claw under one arm, a few books under the other, then started down the stairs. I paused in the middle of the stairs to adjust the books I was holding. I didn't want them to slip and bang on the floor. Alyssa was waiting for me at the big house main door. I rushed out onto the porch into the night, feeling the chilled air. We were still quiet as we crept back to the cabins. I waved a small goodbye to Alyssa, who left to go to Cabin 11, then walked to my own, Cabin 6. I quietly pushed open the door and-