Hours later, my raft washed up at Camp Half-Blood. How I got there, I have no idea. At some point the lake water just changed to salt water. The familiar shoreline of Long Island appeared up ahead, and a couple of friendly great white sharks surfaced and steered me toward the beach. The waters were rough and choppy, like my father was angry at camp.

When I landed, the camp seemed deserted. It was late afternoon, but the archery range was empty. The climbing wall poured lava and rumbled by itself. Pavilion: nothing. Cabins: all vacant. Then I noticed smoke rising from the amphitheater. Too early for a campfire, and I didn't figure they were roasting marshmallows. I ran toward it.

Before I even got there I heard Chiron making an announcement. When I realized what he was saying I stopped in my tracks.

"—assume that she is dead," Chiron said. "After so long a silence, it is unlikely that our prayers will be answered. I have asked her brother, and best surviving friends to do the final honors."

I came up on the back of the amphitheater. Nobody noticed me. They were all looking forward, watching as Annabeth and Percy took a long green silk burial cloth, embroidered with a trident, and set it on the flames. They were burning my shroud.

Percy and Annabeth turned to face the audience. They looked terrible. Percy's eyes were puffy from crying, but he managed to say, "She was the best sister I could've asked for. I loved her so deeply I—" he broke down into tears. Annabeth gripped his hand and finished for him, "She was the bravest friend I've ever had."

Lee stepped up to the same area Percy and Annabeth were. "She was my girlfriend. We never got to have any time together. . .we were planning for a date after her quest, and Kiera, I'm sorry that we never got it. . ."

When should I tell them? I had a very bright idea.

Percy wiped his tears and opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. 

"I look pretty good for a dead bitch." 

Heads turned. People gasped.

"Mini Me!" Beckendorf grinned. A bunch of other kids crowded me and clapped me on the back.I heard a few curses from the Ares cabin, but Clarisse smirked at me as if she knew I was alive anyways. Chiron cantered over and everyone made way for him.

"Well," he said with obvious relief. "I don't believe I've ever been happier to see a camper return. But you must tell me—"

"WHERE THE FUCK HAVE YOU BEEN!?" Percy interrupted, shoving aside the other campers. I thought he was going to yell at me, but instead he hugged me so fiercely he almost cracked my ribs. The other campers fell silent. Lee Annabeth came up and hugged me as well. 

"I—we thought you were dead, Jackson!" Lee said.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I got a little lost."

"LOST!?" Percy yelled. "Two weeks, Kiera? Where in the world—"

"Perseus,"Chiron interrupted. "Perhaps we should discuss this somewhere more private, shall we? The rest of you, back to your normal activities!"

Without waiting for us to protest, he picked up Percy and I as easily as if we were kittens, slung us both on his back, and galloped off toward the Big House. Lee and Annabeth jogged up behind us.

————————☁︎ ✯  ☾ ✯ ☁︎————————

I didn't tell them the whole story. I just couldn't bring myself to talk about Calypso. I explained how I caused the explosion at Mount St. Helens and gotten blasted out of the volcano. I told them I'd been marooned on an island. Then Hephaestus found me and told me I could leave. A magic raft had carried me back to camp.

All that was true, so I wasn't lying. I was just choosing what details to not explain!

"You've been gone two weeks," Percy's voice was steadier now, but he looked shaken up. "When I heard the explosion, I thought—"

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry, Perc. But I figured out how to get through the Labyrinth. I talked to Hephaestus."

"He told you the answer?"

"Well, he sort of told me that I already knew. And I do. I understand now."

I told them my idea.

Annabeth's jaw dropped. "Kiera, that's crazy!"

Chiron sat back in his wheelchair and stroked his beard. "There is precedent, however. Theseus had the help of Ariadne. Harriet Tubman, daughter of Hermes, used many mortals on her Underground Railroad for just this reason."

"But this is my  quest," Annabeth said. "I  need to lead it."

Chiron looked uncomfortable. "My dear, it is your quest. But you need help."

"And this  is supposed to help? Please! It's wrong. It's cowardly. It's—"

"Hard to admit we need a mortal's help," Percy said. "But it's true. Kiera's plan will have to work."

Annabeth glared at Percy. "You are the most annoying pair of twins I have ever met!" And she stormed out of the room.

I stared at the doorway. I felt like hitting something. "So much fo being the bravest friend she ever had."

"She will calm down," Chiron promised. "She's jealous."

A pang hit me. She was jealous of Rachel in case she liked Percy. Oh my gods. 

"That's stupid. It's. . . I—Uhm." Percy stuttered. I looked at him with a single eyebrow raised and his face burned a bright red.

I looked at Lee and he shrugged, lacing his fingers with mine and putting his head on my shoulder.

Chiron chuckled. "It hardly matters.Annabeth is very territorial about her friends, in case you haven't noticed. She was quite worried about you. So was your brother. Now that you're back and Percy is no longer as upset, I think she suspects where you were marooned."

I met his eyes, and I knew Chiron had guessed about Calypso. It was hard to hide anything from a guy who's been training heroes for three thousand years. He's pretty much seen it all. Percy looked between us, eyebrows furrowed as he tried to think of my island.

"We won't dwell on your choices," Chiron said. "You came back. That is what matters."

"Tell that to Annabeth," Percy snickered and I hit the back of his head.

Chiron smiled. "In the morning I will have Argus take the three of you into Manhattan. You might stop by your mother's, Kiera. She is. . .understandably distraught."

My heart skipped a beat. Mom probably thought I was dead. She'd be devastated. What was wrong with me for not leaving sooner?

"Chiron," I said, "what about Grover and Tyson? Do you think—"

"I don't know, my boy." Chiron gazed into the empty fireplace. "Juniper is distressed. All her branches are turning yellow. The Council of Cloven Elders has revoked Grover's searcher's license in absentia. Assuming he comes back alive, they will force him into a shameful exile." He sighed. "Grover and Tyson are very resourceful, however. We can still hope."

"I shouldn't have let them run off." Percy said.

"Grover has his own destiny, and Tyson was brave to follow him. You would know if Grover was in mortal danger, don't you think?"

"I suppose. The empathy link. But—"

"Lee, why don't you and Kiera go do some event." Chiron said quickly. "I need a word with your brother."

I frowned. "Why?"

"It's okay, Kiera. I'll be fine." Percy kissed my forehead and Lee walked me out of the Big House.

"What's up with that?" I asked him.

Lee shrugged again. "I have no idea. Let's get you a fresh pair of clothes."

I looked down at my outfit and remembered I was still wearing my dress from the island. Warmth climbed up to my face and I followed Lee to Cabin Three. He plopped down on my bed and I walked up to my closet and swung the doors open.

I had a pretty good closet, though most of it was blue. Not a bad issue to have! If we had dinner time in a bit, I'd wear jeans. . .but do we have capture the flag? Questions ran through my head and I just let them run out before turning back to my boyfriend.

"What time is it?" I asked. "And do we have capture the flag? Sing along? What about chore duty? I—"

Lee laughed. "Calm down, Kie. We just have dinner tonight. Tomorrow we will have other events, most likely. Dinner is in, let's see. . .an hour and a half. Poseidon Cabin has sword practice before it."

I groaned and grabbed a pair of black shorts, a blue sports tank top, and my blue converse. My black pair had burned up at Mount St. Helens. Remind me to get a new pair of black ones, I don't want to ruin these ones either. I hurried into the bathroom and changed, putting my shoes on while I was in there. While I looked at my arms, I noticed there wasn't a single burn mark on me. Not even the pinkish hue I had on Ogygia. I reached a hand to my back, running a finger over my rune, just reminding myself of it. 

C'mon, Kiera. Let's go, you have sword training. I shook the voice out of my head and walked out of my bathroom. Lee was going through my books, trying to read one of them. I had to get all of my books transcribed into Ancient Greek, my dyslexia was that bad. It was just easier for everyone to do that. Plus, the unclaimed Hecate kids would do it for me for free, just to practice their magic.

"What's this?" Lee asked, pointing at a picture in one of my unread books.

"Let me see," I said.

 I walked over to him to see the picture. It looked familiar. It was a beautiful lady. She had fair skin, lightly tanned. Her hair was as dark as the night sky. She had not a single freckle on her face. The woman was dressed in an Ancient Greek chiton, showing off all of her curves and a type of belt defined her waist. It was a silver rope, swirls etched into the belt like a galaxy. The only weird thing about her? Her eyes. They were solid white, as if she was the avatar or something.

I frowned. Under the picture there wasn't a single thing describing her, no name, nothing. "This isn't right. . . There should be some sort of information here." 

"Who is it?" Lee asked. 

"She doesn't look like any of the Olympians. Other than Artemis, she has no similarities. But Artemis portrays herself as a younger girl, so this can't be her." I murmured. "I'll ask Chiron later."

I grabbed a scrap piece of Celestial Bronze and shoved it in the page before putting down my book. Lee gasped."You can't do that!"

"Why not?" I asked.

"Ruins the book, duh!" he said, reaching for it but I pushed him back.

"Leave it." I said.

Lee grumbled something under his breath before agreeing. "Fine."

I grabbed his wrist and dragged him outside with me. Once we were out, I let go and started walking to the sword arena.

"Where are we going?" Lee asked me.

"Where am I  going." I corrected. "You, have archery lesson to teach."

Lee whined before separating from me and sulking to the archery range.

————————☁︎ ✯  ☾ ✯ ☁︎————————

Over time, I got the same Hecate kid—Ellie Grant, I believe— who changed the writing of my books to Ancient Greek, to help me enchant a mannequin in the sword training arena to fight like a demigod. It was so I could train on my own. Costed five drachma because she needed to get the stuff for it, and because she wanted some drachma.

I warmed up quick to it, but it was difficult. The 'demigod' never got tired. It just kept going, pushing, and attacking. If I progressed in skill, it would get harder to fight. That must have been in the enchantment.

This time, I gave the dummy a real sword out of celestial bronze. I had to get used to it.

Duck! a voice in my head screamed and I listened out of instinct. The sword swung right above, where my arm would've been. The dummy would have cut my arm off entirely. 

I got back up and kept fighting, my energy slowly going down as I fought. The voice kept calling out moves when I needed to either; duck, jump, slide out of reach, or parry a strike. Just as fast, the dummy would respond to my action and adapt.

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!—my alarm for the first round went off. By default, the dummy stopped attacking and froze in it's starting position.

The silence was too much for my head. It would give me too much time to let my mind wander. I had to change it, so I put on my playlist from my iPod and let it play aloud, without my headphones attached.

'Another Love', by Tom Odell played as I doused myself in water.

And if somebody hurts you, I wanna fight

But my hands been broken, one too many times

So I'll use my voice, I'll be so fucking rude!

The water rejuvenated me, as it healed and cuts I gained from my fight. It was refreshing, as if I had just gotten a full meal, and nine hours of sleep. 

I stepped back into the area and shook my arms, legs, and hands out. Why was I nervous? I was just practicing with it. Focus, Kiera. You're fine. I relaxed and summoned Nightfall, and the dummy unfroze.

As I fought, the voice kept calling out for me, and eventually, it didn't feel the need to. I was getting stronger already. I thrust my sword out, and the dummy swiped at me. I ducked and tackled it at the waist. The dummy got up and charged at me again while I was on the floor. How had it gotten up so fast?

I sweeper my leg out, and it ate shit. I stood up, but it grabbed my ankle. That shouldn't be possible. It's enchanted to stop working once I get it in a vulnerable position. I had done this so many times before, and it worked.

I banged my head against the floor and groaned as a headache started pounding on my skull. Maybe a little Athena was in there, begging to be let out.

The dummy had pulled me where it was and I rolled out of the way as it brought the Celestial Bronze sword down where my stomach was.

What the hell?

I jumped up and kicked it in the would-be-ribs, making it fall onto the other side and skid a little away from me.

CLINK!—I turned around, but nothing was there. I frowned, That's weird. 

The song in the background was playing, but something was off, I could just tell. Then, the voice returned. It sounded like a woman in later years. She sounded regal, even if she just said one word.

MOVE!

I spun around and saw the dummy with the sword inches away from my lower spine. I jumped out of the way and summoned a dagger, throwing it at the knee joint. The mannequin was enchanted to act like a real demigod, so when it was injured it would act accordingly. This time, it didn't stop. Fear overtook me as it sprinted at me. Something was wrong with it.

I  threw my other dagger at the other knee joint. The dummy was running weird, limping right, but it didn't stop. I brought Nightfall back into my hands and we fought like normal, except this time, I truly was fighting for my life.

The dummy sliced at me, and I raised my sword, but I didn't see the attack coming. The blade sliced across my side, but it wasn't bad. I'd bleed a little, but it wouldn't kill me. The attack left it open. I swung my sword, and it connected with the neck, decapitating the dummy.

It was over. I was fine. 

My hands shook from the adrenaline that was running through me during the fight. I splashed water on my head, and something sharp pricked my back. Before I turned, a hand grabbed my hair and forced my head to the ceiling. It was the hand of the dummy. Immediately, I froze.

The mannequin had my own dagger pressed against my rune. I hadn't told anybody about my rune, other than Chiron, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, and Lee. They were the people I trusted most with the information. So how did it know? Lower back isn't a spot that someone would aim for during a fight. It's almost always covered in armor and impossible to get to. Fear coursed through me and for once, I was clueless with what to do. I couldn't get out of this. I was going to die.

If you could just get to the shadows. The voice coaxed from my head. You can get away and fight.

Why would I fight this thing? The enchantment is broken and it's going to kill me. I responded.

You will be fine, Kiera.

The knife twisted in my shirt, not necessarily trying to stab me, but warning me not to move. This was no longer an enchantment. Something was doing this, but they weren't aiming to kill me.

"Don't even think about it," a robotic voice whispered in my ear. "You move, you die."

It was a raspy voice, almost metallic. All I knew is, it wasn't human.

"Who are you?" I whispered.

"I'm nobody." It said.

"Funny joke!" I tried to lighten it up. "Like Odysseus's Nobody? My friend did that—"

"Stop talking!" It shouted and dug the blade of my knife into my skin. It wasn't enough to draw blood, but it hurt like shit. Like someone set a fifty pound barbell on a needle on my spine, making me balance it.

"'Kay," I murmured. Not a funny joke, got it.

"My master will return in a bit," the dummy said. "He doesn't have plans to kill you, so don't make me."

Master? The fuck is this shit?

Kiera, get to the shadows. A voice in my head said, but this time, it was different. It sounded familiar.

Who are you?

A small bubbly feeling made me assume they laughed. It's Jade and Joan.

I took a deep breath and let my hands fall to the table, steadying me, but giving my body a slight supply of water. The. . .thing. Didn't seem to notice this, and instead tightened the hand in my hair, yanking my head back. I groaned as the blade shifted again.

Get to the shadows. Joan/Jade ordered. 

I'm fucking trying! I can't quite move at the moment! I shouted at it.

The shadows of the arena were only a few feet from me, but with the mannequin holding my head and pressing a knife against me, I might not make it alive.

An idea popped into my head, and I summoned a lightning strike outside of camp boundaries. That got the attention off of me.

"Weird," the dummy said. "He shouldn't be here this fast."

The grip on my hair loosened as it slightly moved away, turning the full body away, other than the arm with my blade.

I took my opening. I ducked and dove into the shadows, traveling to the others side of the sword arena, right where the entrance was.

The dummy sprinted after me, faster than a demigod should be.

"Help!"" I screamed. "Help me!"

The door to Cabin Five opened, and Clarisse poked her head out. "Jackson?" She asked.

I ran up to her, the dummy had lost speed, but was still barreling to the Cabins. "Help!" I grabbed her arms and pointed at it.

 Clarisse's eyes widened. "What the fuck is that?"

"A training dummy," I gasped for air, summoning Nightfall. "I had it enchanted to train by myself months ago. Something happened."

"Why does it have your dagger?" She asked.

"Because it doesn't get hurt anymore! I tried throwing my knives at it and it didn't work. I cut the head off with my sword, and it simply popped back on." 

Clarisse shut the door and pulled me down the steps of her cabin, and we ran to the Dining Pavilion. Dinner should start in a little bit, but people still went early. We burst through the entrance and ran up to Chiron. 

"Help," Clarisse said. "An enchantment went wrong, and now this dummy is trying to kill Kiera."

"Dummy?" Chiron asked. "What's the name of the demigod?"

"No! It's quite literally, a training dummy!" I said.

Campers all rose from their seats and ran outside to the attacker. Chiron grabbed his bow—from beneath the table? He cantered outside following the eight or so campers who were originally seated inside the pavilion. I spotted Percy running from Cabin Three.  The dummy was pushing through the crowd, not even attacking the others. It had its sights set on me.

Any