Chapter 14

It had been around four months away from camp that Kayla had spent. Some demi-gods spent more, some less, depending on circumstances. Kayla didn’t go to school outside of Camp. Her Aunt teached her a few things, but, she had given up trying to fit in long ago. She always got expelled, or almost killed by a monster. Her Aunt also hated her not being at camp, as much as she loved seeing her. She came home for the weeks up to Christmas, and a month or so afterwards. Then, back to camp.

She had gotten a taxi to long island, a half a mile away from the camp, and walked the rest of the way with nothing but a small backpack.

She reached the Big House, knowing the drill of making sure Chiron could mark down her presence. “Hello, hello, Chiron.” She announced, not looking up until she had her Demigod ID placed on the desk. Staring back at her was one… rat of a man. Kayla could have screamed. He looked miserable.

“Where’s-“

“Right. Back from Christmas?” He looked down at her ID. “Okay, get out.”

“Where’s Chiron?” She asked quickly, snatching her ID up like he might steal it.

“Not here, duh, I’m your new activities director. Tantalus.” He replied, standing up. He hovered over Kayla, who let out an audible gag and backed away.

“Taratula? Yeah, you look it.” She replied. He stood there, looking dumbfounded for a second, before circling the desk with a brooding look.

“You dare to-”

That’s when Kayla called it quits. She yelped, and ran off in dramatics out of the big house. Hell no, let her go back home. Now.

Kayla made sure to steer far away from the Big House. She asked the first sane person she saw what had happened to Chiron. And- oh, oh, Malcolm. He was engulfed in a hug within the second.

“Oof! I- Kayla? Hey! You’re back!” He exclaimed, cut off from a conversation with a cabin mate.

“Who is the tarantula guy? Where’s Chiron? Everyone looks so miserable!” She exclaimed, pulling back after tightening her hug just a bit.

Malcolm visibly paled. He frowned, shaking his head. “Tarantula guy is called Tantalus, and he’s replaced Chiron. Chiron was kicked out cause… he’s a son of Kronos. The gods don’t like him right now.”

Kayla let out a sad whale noise, her shoulder slouching. “I don’t care what he is, he was a good person,they can’t-“

“They would,” Malcolm cut her off with a sigh. “And they did. We’re trying to get him back. Tantalus is… Tantalus.”

“Are most campers back, now?” She questioned. Malcolm shrugged.

“A few more coming today. But… I wouldn’t be coming back, if I were them.”

Kayla made an odd face. She looked around. It seemed more… disciplined. A mix between having less campers, and an activities director that looked like he had banned activities all together. Campers were having quiet conversations at the mess hall. No one was running around. The Stoll Brothers weren’t back just yet to cause a happy amount of chaos.

Kayla popped her wings out- gentle. She had learnt how to not jump scare people with them now. And, she had also learnt to sort of fly with them. She fluttered her wings free of any loose feathers. And yes- by now, most if not all of her shirts had two long lines cut in the back to be able to summon them at any time without ripping clothes.

Malcolm gazed over them before humming in half shock and clearing his throat. “Uh.. how does your back feel? Still give you neck pain, too?”

“Huh, not much anymore. My back muscles look crazy, dude.” Kayla grinned wickedly. Okay, maybe at fifteen, her back muscles weren’t that big, but, they had definitely grown due to needing support with her wings.

“Damn, okay,” He nodded, pausing before putting his hands in his pockets and hesitating on his words. “Hey, so–”

Before Malcolm got anywhere, the conch horn blew. Kayla jumped at first, furrowing her brows. What could possibly be happening this early on in the year?

“Oh, for the love of- not again,” Malcolm whined, looking over at where they chaos was starting to happen. The front of camp up on the hill, near the cabins. “Come on, were under attack.”

“Under attack?” Kayla rushed to his side, trying to pull him back. “Again? Camp is never under attack. What is going on, Malcolm?”

“Can’t explain,” He replied. Any other campers who were up at the mess hall were also starting to rush towards the threat. Which when Kayla looked off down the hill from the mess hall, she saw… fire breathing cows? “Colchis Bulls. Don’t let them touch you.”

“I- what? Hey! I’ve been gone for four months, Im outta shape!” Kayla shouted as Malcolm started to pick up pace. He sped up to a jog with some others. God, what had been going off lately?

Up on half blood hill, at the fight, Clarisse and what looked to be her little army were trying all different army strategies to save whatever they could. Percy was in a similar boat as her; staring at the chaos. He looked to have also just arrived at camp too.  Kayla cursed. She didn’t even have any weapons. She dropped her backpack, scanned around, and shook her head. She may aswell go find some popcorn at this rate.

“DON’T JUST STAND THERE!” A loud screech came from somewhere infront of her. She knew that gruff voice anywhere.

Clarisse and a few campers were trying to get into a phalanx formation. There weren’t many she had been able to muster up. Around six other campers. They formed an ox hide with their spears pointing upwards.

A bull from the side of their phalanx formation had decided to change targets from Annabeth- instead pummeling into Clarisse and her small army and sending them a good six feet into the air before they all skidded along the floor.

The colchis bull is question took its target- a dazed Clarisse against a tree trunk right infront of it. Kayla made a disgusted face at the possible outcome. Those bull horns did not look very welcoming.

“Watch out!” Shouted Percy- to the left of her, yet quite far away. Kayla let out a breath, knotting her brows in focus. She didnt want the gory sight of seeing Clarisse La Rue impaled with a bull horn. Sure, the girl wanted to die in battle. Everyone knew that. A warriors death. But now? Too… early. Too public. Too everything.

Kayla lunged forwards. She jumped up in the air- tightened her wings before springing them upwards with all her might. It got her up in the air. Not high, but enough to glide. She flapped them once, twice,  then zoomed straight past Clarisse, grabbing her by her armour straps and dragging her up and out of the bulls eyesight. “GET OFF ME-“

Kayla dropped her after a few seconds, tumbling onto the floor with Clarisse who was shouting in anger and annoyance. They both grunted. Kayla yelped as her ankle got caught under Clarisse, and she fell to the ground in a heap.

Meanwhile, Percy had started to fight the bulls, arriving just after Kwyla to make aure the bull had something to focus on.

Clarisse groaned. She got up on her knees, snatched her helmet off her head, and pushed Kayla in the back so she had no hope of getting her ankle free.  “I had it! Who do you think you are to push me out of the–! Kayla?” The red left her eyes. Oh look, it was the gremlin she hadn’t seen in a good few months. Did she just fly her out of a Colchis Bulls way? Clarisse removed her pressure from Kayla’s ankle, standing up. Her expression was still one of pure adrenaline and rage.

Kayla twisted her head to try and look at Clarisse again, moving onto her back.

“I had it.” Clarisse grumbled, stomping her foot.

“It was about to impale-“

“I had it!”

“…Nice to see you too.” Kayla nodded, accepting her face with a thin-lipped smile. She grunted, sitting up slowly. Behind them, Percy seemed to have reached a focus state on fighting both bulls at once with a bit of help from… was that a cyclops. Kayla shook her head, rubbing it and slowly standing up.

“Is that your little army? They’re wounded.” Kayla spoke again, pointing off the the side of the hill. Clarisse snapped her head towards them, looking back to Kqyla eith a gruff expression before storming off. Kayla sighed, eyeing back to where she had just saved Clarisse from. Thalia’s pine tree. She furrowed her brows when taking note of the yellow needles on the tree, and the chipping bark.

Kayla missed whatever happened as she stared at the tree. A bunch of fire- the bulls being decommissioned, then somewhat silence. The whole hill was burnt. Campers were all over. Some sweaty and standing, others in pain, in heaps on the floor.

“Get up, we need people to get the injured to the infirmary. And inform Tantalus on what has happened.” Clarisse had stomped back over, crossing her arms just out of arms reach with a stubborn look on her face. Kayla’s wings flopped.

“Im not going back to Tarantula.”

Clarisse walked away knowing what she had told Kayla was none negotiable. She said the same to a few others. Including Percy, and some Apollo kids.

Before they knew it, Kayla was helping Clarisse with one of her brothers with a broken leg. She was miserable. Each step closer to Tantalus made her more unhappy.

“I don’t want to go to Tarantula.”

Clarisse internally face palmed. “Will you stop calling him that? And we have to, so suck it up.”

“She’s right, y’know, I don’t want to go to Tantalus either, drop me off at the infirmary first?” Clarisse’s brother, Axel, inputted. Clarisse snarled.

“Shut up before I break your other leg. You’re lucky we are dropping you off first.”

“So what, you’ve been conforming to this man for how long?” Kayla rolled her eyes, looking at Clarisse as she peered over Axel.

“Two months. God’s fired Chiron. Thalia’s tree has been poisoned, hes a suspect. The camp is becoming unsafe, since the border is failing as Thalia’s tree dies.” Clarisse replied off the top of her head, like she had already had to tell twenty different campers the same thing.

“What? I thought it was cause he was a son of Kro-“

“That too,” Clarisse cut her off quickly. “But piece it together, Kayla. That’s what makes him a suspect. So… we get Tara-Tantalus.”

Kayla rolled her eyes yet again. She could half assume Clarisse was enjoying Tantalus and his evil orders. It meant she had to act like an army captain at all times. And Kayla could bet Clarisse got a kick out of that. To be angry and mean without a telling off from Chiron.

“Whatever, I’m dropping the injured off with you and leaving. Im not taking orders from him.” Kayla replied. Clarisse went to bite back, yet her eye twitched instead and she kept whatever words she had inside.

“Welcome back, Kayla. Things aren’t the same as when summer ended.”

…

When Kayla left after helping the injured, she collected her backpack from the burnt hill and made her way to the cabins. She found out for herself that the Thanatos cabin had been built. No congratulations, no welcoming. It was cold and dark inside. It was located in the North Woods of camp, a little behind the Hades cabin. So, it was already secluded from the circle of cabins.

The outside wasn’t too bad. It was dark, yet fancy. Purple butterflies hovered all around as if it was blooming with flowers, however. It had a sort of victorian look to it.

Kayla accepted her fate and opened the door. It was unlocked, and the key to lock it was on the windowsill besides the door. Thankgod whoever had done that. Inside was very similar to the outside. Dark. Victorian.

In the centre of the cabin, in the hallway, was a large, seven foot stone figure of Thanatos himself. He was angelic and beautiful, yet muscly. His wings were even bigger than Kayla’s. He was draped in an enkyklon. A long sword in hand, and mid length, unruly, curly hair. Kayla rubbed her nose. Why do the camp architectures have a better idea on what my dad looks like than I do?

“Right.” She mumbled to herself, spinning around slowly. It didn’t look… all too bad. Still too dark for her liking. But there was a lounge area, and a separate bedding area. Just one bed. So it looked like no one predicted anyone else to get claimed by Thanatos any time soon. There were minimal decorations. Kayla would try and change that the best she could. Hell, she’d steal some paint from the arts and crafts hall at this point to paint over those depressing dark oak walls. She didn’t want to be stuck in such a depressing place. It made her wonder if it was her fate. If one day, this assumed personality people figured she would have had as a Thanatos kid would just kick in.

She made it feel a little more like home by setting up her bedroom. Placing her diary in her drawer. Putting the minimal items of clothing she had on her at the moment in the wardrobe. Her rest were in the Hermes cabin- she had threatened Julia to keep a bunch under her bed. But she could bet that had been short lived. She moved back around to place a deodorant bottle on the set of drawers, “Hm,” she hummed. Her brows furrowed as she picked up a single piece of A3 sketch paper. Wrote in cursive, black ink, from…

“Dad?”

The words left Kayla’s lips with intense difficulty. Ew. Dad sounded wrong. She began scanning the paper. A letter, from Thanatos- dad.

‘To Kayla. I hope this finds you, and finds you well. This cabin was blessed by me during the holidays. I’m sorry for not claiming you sooner, it simply wasn’t the time. Now it has come, and I wish you great happiness with this cabin. It should be easier here to manifest your powers. Yes- you have them. Take a look in the bottom drawer, it will do you some good. Love- Dad.’

Kayla froze. She read it again and again about ten more times, before placing it face down where she had found it, clearing her throat. Love? Dad? Sorry? She let out a mix of a groan and a growl from her throat, bending down to pull open the drawer.

Wasn’t the first thing a demigod would ever want to receive from their godly parent a book? Apprently, according to Thanatos, that was a great first gift. Not like it hadn’t been fifteen years or anything, dad.

Kayla picked up the book gently, sitting down on the edge of her bed to read. ‘Power Manifestation.’ The cover was matte black and hard back. Outlined in golden greek patterns, with two giant wings that spread across the front behind the title. It was a thick book. Atleast three hundred pages.

Thanatos’ personal learning book? The idea sounded a bit goofy. Upon opening, she was greeted with a silver slither of jewellery that slipped out onto her lap from the first page. Shiny, new. A delicate, tiny charm of a scythe dangled from a rope chain. It looked pretty, and expensive. She knew Thanatos probably made it from the very palm of his hand, however.

It was discarded on her dresser  without a second thought of putting it on, the book being placed besides it. Not even direct contact? She was fuming. Anyone in their right mind would see just a tiny bit how Luke had a point with his betrayal of camp. Kayla had thought about that ever since she went back home for Christmas.

The sunlight that streamed through the trees into the window was the only thing that made Kayla’s room look anything less than dull, and what made her feel otherwise. It filled it with golden light. The faint shadow of butterflies flickered about on the floor, as dust particles made themselves present from being exposed in light. It gave it a nostalgic look. Yet when realising where you were, and who’s cabin you were in, and the fact it was so quiet she could hear her own tinnitus- it just sunk back into the dull, even more uneasy vibe that the Thanatos cabin gave in the first place.

She sighed, tucking her wings away and allowing herself to flop back onto the bed.

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