Chapter 7

Iliana Pov:

Fighting monsters was scary as well as intoxicating. I felt a little bad since I am not sure if they were from a tribe that kills demigods. I watched as Ezra swiftly manoeuvred around the trees and stealthily attacked the monsters with either his bow or his bidet. He was a far better fighter than I expected, especially for one so cute.

'Don't underestimate people just because of their looks, daughter. The boy is dangerous but not just with a weapon.' My mother told me while I quickly launched an earth spear to a centaur that tried to attack Amelia from behind. She was upfront in the action, weaving through the enemies with skill and speed.

She flashed me a smile before going back to attacking them with a sort of mania to her. 'What do mean, mother. He doesn't seem too bad.'

'Look how fast he moves and compare it to the daughter of Ares. Children of Ares are born stronger and faster than your average demigod, yet he almost matches her speed and strength despite their age difference. It goes to show how diligent he is with his training. He seems smart and ambitious, good to have for a leader.' Mother informed me.

'Does Amelia not train?' I asked, confused. She looked like an amazonian after all, all abs and everything.

'I believe she does, but I once saw him train his physique for 6 hours and spend the rest of his day sparring with some of the other campers. Remember Iliana, not a lot is hidden to the gods in Camp Halfblood. Of course, we rarely watch you but keep it in mind for the future.'

'Will do, mother. I won't let you down.' I thought I could hear her sigh before disconnecting from my mind. I don't understand why she is unhappy that I want to prove myself to her, she is the only one that loves and takes care of me. My loyalty and love are the least that I can payback.

I dismiss my thoughts for a second to get my focus back on the battle. Using the mist on one of the centaurs, I make him think one of his friends is Ezra. Seeing one of their men attacking each other freaks them out, something my fellow questers quickly capitalise on.

One of the centaurs decided to ignore the two and attack me. I wasn't an expert marksman and couldn't hit someone with those incredible speeds, especially if they were heading towards me. My other shots I could land because they were distracted by the others.

Contemplating taking out my knife or using a dangerous destructive spell, my decision is taken out of my hands, by George who charges the lone centaur with his sword and shield ready.

He blocks the centaur sword before dropping his shield and slicing the legs of the beast but gets knocked back a few metres as a side-effect. Quickly using my magic, I send an earth bolt into the head of the struggling centaur.

To be honest I forgot George was even here, causing me to flush in embarrassment.

This was thrilling though.

Ezra Pov:

I sigh as soon as I finish the last centaur, watching it turn into golden dust. I grunt in pain as I take the arrow out of my arm. I could dodge and even deflect arrows, but unfortunately, that doesn't take into account attacks from behind. I had armour on but it just protected my vital areas.

I move towards our resident healer. "Fix me up, Doc."

"My head is fuzzy, give me an hour," He said. He barely looked injured, he just had a few scrapes and was dirty.

"No, you were mildly shoved. My adventurer career could have ended if the arrow landed in my knee." Maybe he has a concussion, nothing his power can't fix though.

"How did you even know what happened to me." He asked as he began closing my wound.

"It is good to keep an eye out in case something happens," I said, probably why I took an arrow to the arm.

"Is that why you have had an arrow in your arm?" Amelia interrupted. Her armour was dented from the blows she took.

"There is a perfect explanation for that." She was right but I wasn't going to admit it though. I have to appear infallible, so giving an excuse was important.

"What is that?"

"It was part of the plan," I said, causing her to give me a blank stare, which quickly disappeared as her eyebrow twitched. "You can't see it now, but later it will be clear."

Now onto the team review. I have never been a leader in these kinds of things, so I know I had a long way ahead of me. "Illiana, I saw you kept zoning out and while you were good as a support, I expect better from you. Our lives are on the line, you should be more focused."

"Amelia, if you want to commit suicide, there are easier ways. Taking cover is nice, so stop rushing into their formation. Your armour isn't impenetrable and it would just take one lucky blow to the head and you will die." She didn't have a helmet, or proper pants or sleeves. Honestly, she looked more like she was trying to look good than be safe. This is why I find it absurd that she is recklessly fighting between them.

"George, I have an extra bow in my backpack, you can use it to hit distracted enemies while not moving away from the back. George, heal Amelia so that loot them before heading out."

One loot session later we were in the car. They only had drachma and food. I secretly stashed a lot of the drachma in my bag so that Amelia wouldn't complain about her not taking the majority.

"I will take 27% and you get 24%," Amelia told us. I would refuse but I already had more than her plus my main goal is just to keep myself and Iliana alive. Iliana and George didn't seem to have a problem with it either. Plus I expect at least one of us to die on the quest, so I can just take that person's loot too.

I did feel a bit bad about thinking someone would die, but I was being realistic. I might have no qualms about manipulating children but having them die is an entirely different story. I honestly don't know how I would feel, I may find killing monsters relaxing but children were a different story.

"Good." She said as she followed me back to the car.

"So does anyone have any suggestions on where our target is, maybe through a dream or an anonymous contact?"

"No, maybe tonight though. The problem with those is that they are extremely unreliable except to the luckiest individuals." Iliana said. "George is the son of Apollo, he should have more accurate ones."

"Nope, I hardly get anything important." He refutes causing me to sigh.

"Let's just drive west, we can figure it out as we go along. Keep an ear out for any information about a disaster happening, just because monsters love to eat us the most doesn't mean they won't be fine with humans as a substitute." I warn as I start driving to continue our journey.

A/N: You can read ahead on patre_on/ DickMcJones.