39 Chapter 39

"That was a big ass bird..." Alex muttered, eyeing the large shadow that streaked across the asphalt before disappearing just as quickly. 

"Turn left here," Grover bleated. 

Sings of civilisation had been scant for a while now, green, lush pine trees flanking them from both sides in lieu of buildings. Occasionally, there would be a tall lamp-post on the side of the road, shining a gentle light; the sun was still out, but it wouldn't be long before it hid beyond the horizon. 

"Hey, kiddo, let me sit in the middle," Thalia asked with the utmost gentle smile she could muster. 

"Uh?" Annabeth tilted her head the way she did when she didn't understand something. "Why?"

Thalia pressed her lips into a thin smile, botches of red creeping up her neck. 

"Because I want to sit in the middle," she folded her arms. 

"Hm... no," Annabeth grinned, sticking out her tongue towards Thalia before leaning against Alex's arm.

Alex watched in amusement as they bickered. It was kind of funny to see a twelve-year-old get flustered by the witty comments coming from a seven-year-old. Still, the way the little girl glanced at Thalia half-amused, Alex felt there was some sort of secret he didn't know about. 

Shrugging, he turned his attention outside. It was almost dusk. The shadows cast by the sun seemed comically long, and Luke had to tilt down the sun visor to be able to drive whilst Grover carefully traced his finger along the path they were supposed to follow. 

For a moment, Alex wondered if this trip would end without any trouble whatsoever. He was tired of being constantly on edge and in a state of awareness— no matter how much he enjoyed striking down monsters.

According to Grover, the camp was the only safe place for demigods, but Alex highly doubted that. The fact that his mom had created a thing such as a barrier around the cabin proved that the other gods could do the same for their kids. 

He supposed it was something to be grateful for— that is if their godly parents hadn't ignored their mortal parents' deaths. 

'Not all godly parents are Olympians.'

What had Luke's father meant by that? Alex began to mull around the various possibilities; he knew there were twelve Olympian gods and that these twelve ruled over Olympus, with Zeus being the king, monarch, potentate— whatever Thalia's dad called himself.

But, according to Hermes, Alex's mom probably wasn't any of these twelve. 

He leaned back and leaned his head on the headrest. If he was being honest, he'd never taught about it that way. Perhaps because of Luke, Annabeth, and Thalia, he had been under the impression his mom also was an Olympian god like their parents. 

It was a stupid line of thinking, he knew that, but he wasn't the brightest tool in the shed when it came to stuff like this. And he partially blamed Grover for giving him the impression that his mom was one of the twelve. 

Now... how many Greek Gods were there in total?

Alex gulped audibly at that. Literally hundreds. Every river had a god, every emotion, every wind, every shade of dark, everything. It was an impossible task to count them all. And even if he filtered them by which god did or didn't have some dominion over shadows, just how many would he be left with?

Sighing, he closed his eyes and tried to relax— though his brain just didn't shut up. He supposed in this demigod's camp, there would be, he hoped, something about the majority of Greek gods. Maybe there, he could finally get some answers. 

==========

"Are you sure this is the way?" Luke asked.

"Erm... yeah, I think so... uh, okay, maybe not," Grover laughed nervously. "W-We missed a right turn like a mile back."

"Turn around it is then," Luke steered the wheel to his left, and did a quick manoeuvre to turn around the truck. 

Thalia sighed in relief. She could see, at the end of the gravel road they were on, a hauntingly large mansion that, by the looks of it, was most definitely abandoned. And after Alex had told them about the last time he'd been in a mansion like that one, she knew better than to go near it.

Speaking of Alex, her gaze shifted from Grover fumbling with the map to the light-brown-haired boy who had his head leaning back, his eyes closed. Some days, she would find her eyes locking on him more than she cared to admit. 

It wasn't her fault, really, and neither was it because Alex's face was pleasing to the eye. Truth is, she worried a lot about him. Thalia had known Luke for long enough to know he could take care of himself, and Annabeth had the three of them to look after her. But Alexander?

Yeah, he was strong— stronger than any of them, especially when it came to swordfighting. She thought it was amazing how good Luke was with the sword, but Alex... he was in a different league altogether. 

Thalia knew Luke cared a lot for Alex; even if they'd only known each other for a few months, sometimes it looked like they'd been friends for years. Still, she'd caught, more than once, something akin to envy passing through Luke's eyes whenever he witnessed Alex's skills. 

After all, Alex had been fighting monsters for a year and a half, but Luke? Since he was nine, and he was fourteen now.

Honestly, she sometimes felt jealous as well. 

Alex was, for the lack of a better description, a genius when it came to fighting. He wasn't very smart, but neither was she— they had Annabeth and Luke for that. 

For a second, she wondered if all the scars on Alex's body had been the price. The one that caught her eye the most was the gash that streaked between the left part of his lips to his cheek. It was almost impossible to not look at it whenever someone spoke with him. 

It was as if, whatever Alex fought when he got it, had grabbed a knife and carved out a piece of flesh until his teeth showed. 

Thalia didn't want to pry too much. It was a sensitive topic for Alex, but she had an inkling he got it fighting Echidna the day his dad died. Having a parent die in front of you... she couldn't even imagine what he must've gone through, though she supposed she knew what it felt like to lose a family member. 

She shook her head, pushing her thoughts to the back of her head. Again, while Luke followed Grover's directions and Annabeth messed around with a small drawing, Thalia found herself staring at Alex again. 

The sun-kissed tan, the soft-purple, almost lilac eyes, the dark, thin eyebags, the messy light-brown hair that felt perfectly to each side, the narrow and straight nose, the supple lips, the jawline that seemed to be sculpted from marble... she almost wished Alex would smile so she could see his pretty dimples. 

Okay, she'd be lying to herself if she said she didn't find him hot; but it was just that. The two of them bantered too much to last long as a couple. 

"Do I have something in my face, Sparky?" 

Thalia's eyes shot back to the front, but she still saw him opening one of his eyes and his mouth splitting into a grin. Oh, there there were the dimples.

"Shut up, Snorky," she said, folding her arms and looking out of the window. "You were drooling."

Alex scoffed, "No, I wasn't," but he still reached his hand to clean his mouth just in case. 

"You don't seem that confident in yourself," This time it was Thalia's mouth that formed a smirk. 

"Confident enough to know when someone's staring," Alex retorted, fully opening both eyes now. There was a spark of amusement dancing in them. "Especially when that someone can't take her eyes off me."

Thalia felt the warmth of a blush creeping up her cheeks, her heart skipping a beat despite herself. Damn those dimples, she thought. "I was just making sure you weren't drooling on Annabeth's hair. We're already dirty enough as it is."

"Oh, so you're my babysitter now?" Alex quirked an eyebrow, leaning forward slightly.

"More like a zookeeper," Thalia shot back with a snort. "Making sure the wild animals don't get too out of hand."

Alex laughed with mirth. "I'd say to 'cage me,' but we both know you'd enjoy that too much."

Thalia's smirk faltered, though she'd never admit it aloud. Instead, she scoffed, "In your dreams, Scarface."

"In my dreams, you're the one doing the caging," Alex said with a chuckle, then quickly added, "But, you know, metaphorically speaking."

Grover, who Thalia was pretty sure had been pretending not to listen, chose that moment to chime in. "Can we not turn this ride into a metaphorical zoo, please? I'm trying to figure out a map here."

"Speaking of maps," Luke interjected. "Grover, buddy, any more scenic detours you want to take us on, or can we try to reach camp before the next century?"

"I think I've got it this time," Grover sheepishly mumbled, looking at the map. "Just keep on going through this road and turn left at the next intersection."

The banter continued to flow effortlessly among them, drowning out the tension that hummed in the background. Thalia watched as the landscape shifted, the dense forest beginning to thin out. The dirt road they were on was surrounded by grassy plains on the right and the coast on the left, with the occasional farm looming in the distance. 

The sky was painted in hues of pink and orange, dusk settling over them like a cosy blanket, but Thalia couldn't shake off a nagging feeling that something wasn't right.

After gods knew how many twists and turns, as they neared the next intersection, Grover suddenly perked up, his eyes wide. "Wait, wait, wait, this is it! Turn here, Luke. This road should take us straight there!"

Luke obliged, turning the truck onto a narrower path that seemed to carve through the heart of the wilderness. The trees here were noticeably old, their branches stretching up as if trying to pierce the clouds.

Thalia felt a mix of relief and anticipation churning in her stomach. They were close; she could almost taste the sweet safety that the camp promised. Yet, the closer they got, the tighter the knot of anxiety wound itself in her gut.

She noticed the sky darkening; not because the sun was setting, but because of the clouds that began to loom over them. 

"Is that supposed to be our welcoming party?" Luke asked with a nervous, low chuckle, cutting through the silence in the truck. 

Up ahead, the road was blocked. Not by a fallen tree or a rockslide, as everyone initially expected, but by a group of what appeared to be large, shadowy figures. Grover leaned forward, squinting his eyes, probably trying to make heads and tails of whatever or whoever was upfront. 

"Wait..." The satyr's voice was barely above a whisper. "Are those hellhounds? And those three... why are they here?"

The atmosphere in the truck shifted instantaneously. Every muscle in Thalia's body tensed. Luke slowed the truck to a stop, the engine's idle rumble a low growl in the quiet of the forest.

"Elaborate?" Alex asked, his relaxed posture gone, replaced by cold, narrowed eyes. 

"T-Those three," Grover began, struggling to find the words he needed. "They are the Kindly Ones, the torturers of hell, the—"

"The Furies?" Annabeth asked, clutching her dagger with both hands. 

Grover hissed as if he was in pain. "Don't say that! Their names give them power!"

"These Kindly Ones," Thalia said to Grover, her voice steady despite the rapid drumming of her heart against her ribs. "Will they let us pass? Or do we have to take a detour?"

Alex leaned forward. "How do you want to play this? We can try to take them on, or we could—"

"No," Luke cut in, his grip on the steering wheel tightening. "We're not equipped for a fight with them, not to mention a pack of hellhounds. Fought one a few years back; not fun."

"There's no need for that!" Grover quickly interveined, waving his hands. "T-The Kindly Ones aren't exactly evil. They serve the King of the Underworld, and as long as we don't piss them off, we're good. They probably just want to deliver a message to camp." 

Thalia highly doubted that, but again, Grover knew more about their world than any of them. She just hoped he was right, and that the sickening feeling she felt in her stomach was just her nerves acting up. 

**********

A/N: Exams are done. Should go back to realizing 3-4 chapters a week.