The Child of Artemis

Chapter 2

"Oh gods, Rachel!" Annabeth and Piper took off, Harley and Lacy hot on their heels. As they ran, Annabeth prayed to any god listening that her friend was alright.

They arrived at the cave in no time. It wasn't a pretty sight.

Rachel lay sprawled across the threshold of the cave, eyes closed, her skin pale. Two Apollo healers attended to her. The torches, which would light only when she was there, threw strange shadows on the painted walls and across Rachel's face. She looked almost dead, Piper thought, then shook the notion away. She'll be fine. Probably.

"What happened?" Piper asked the closest camper once she had caught her breath. "Is she alright?" The camper shrugged.

One of the healers heard her and raised his head. "She'll be fine." The crowd seemed to breath a sigh of relief. "She slipped and knocked herself out. She should wake up soon with little more than a headache." His partner passed him a bottle, and he dripped blue Gatorade into her mouth.

"Rachel, Rachel can you hear me?" The second healer addressed the Oracle, then frowned. "Wait. What's that noise?"

A moment later, Piper heard it too.

Soft serpentine hissing echoed from the cave. Tendrils of thick green mist crept out of the shadows, like snakes slithering into the daylight, and wrapped themselves around Rachel. Her eyes flew open, but were completely green.

"Quick, someone grab her stool!" One camper sprinted into the cave and returned with the Oracle's infamous seat. The healers propped Rachel up just as she began to speak. The words poured out, echoed and salient.

           "A new demigod, The daughter of the moon,
             Shall bear the weight of the sky-holder soon.
           The Seven shall raise up to fight a new threat.
And save the goddess who's strength is not gone yet.
The thief of the flames has escaped his end;
            The bane of the gods, a hated old friend."

The most faded, but Rachel's words remained. No longer possessed by the Oracle, Rachel fell over. The healers caught her, and carried her off to the infirmary. Piper and Annabeth followed them.

"Alright, campers, back to your activities." Lacy and Harley herded the curious demigods away from the cave. Lacy flashed Piper a thumbs up before going back down the hill to Cabin Ten.

Piper turned to Annabeth, who was mumbling to herself. "We need to tell Chiron. Immediately."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Bang bang bang.

"I call this meeting to order." Chiron sat at the head of the air hockey table, clopping his hoof against the ground. The troop of demigod counselors sitting around the table immediately quieted down.

"Thank you." Chiron backed up a few steps and began to compact his lower equestrian half into a wheelchair. When he was finished, a blanket and two false legs popped out.

"Hey," Annabeth asked, "What happened to the old ping pong table?"

Chiron sighed. "We had to dispose of it after a faulty firecracker incident." Everyone at the table cast weary looks at the counselor from Hermes cabin, who looked sheepish. "Nevertheless, it was a good lesson in safety with pyrotechnics." He clapped his hands to gain the demigods' attention.

"Thank you all for coming. For the sake of time, we will discuss the situation at hand." He nodded toward Annabeth and Piper. "Miss McClean, Mrs. Chase-Jackson, please recount your tale for us."