The Shadow Archer Twins

I was dragged unceremoniously away from my warm bed until all I could see was darkness and shadow. My captor had placed me behind a pine tree and still had his hand to his mouth, his other arm around my neck in a headlock. I thought that he was going to kill me but he released, and I saw a familiar face.

“Octavian!” I shouted. That wasn’t a good idea. Instantly, he put his hand back over my mouth and whispered,

“Could you be any louder, maybe? It’s like you want to get me killed! I’m the one that should be mad here!”

We were both silent after that. Not that I could talk with his hand over my mouth, or anything. Then, after a few deep breaths, he started to relax, and he said,

“Now, if I remove my hand, can you promise not to shout? Because we need to talk.”

I nodded my head slowly. Then, after another deep breath, he started to lift his hand from my face. He raised his hands up in an ‘it’s okay’ gesture, and just as he was about lift me onto my feet, I drew my chimera-goat-horn dagger from my shoulder strap and tackled Octavian, pinning him to the ground and holding the blade of my dagger to his throat. He couldn’t move, which probably was a good thing for him, and he was so stunned that he didn’t say anything. He just looked at me in horrified amazement, and I said, in an angry whisper,

“How does it feel, Octavian, to be on the other side of a knife? You do realize that Malcolm still hasn’t woken up from the coma your trusted officer put him into!”

His expression changed from astonishment to concerned curiosity and confusion, but I kept going. I was on a rant now.

“Oh, you don’t remember the officer I’m talking about? The one who had my Mom in a headlock, who was spying on our camp!”

My voice had drifted into a normal talking volume, and I hadn’t realized that I was still holding Octavian to the ground. In a raspy voice, he said,

“Can’t…breathe. I didn’t…know…about the…officer. Wasn’t…working…under my…orders!”

He got the last word out in barely an audible whisper, and I released my hand from his neck. He breathed in hard, gasping for air. Now it was my turn to be confused.

“Wait,” I said, “He wasn’t acting under your orders? But he had Camp Jupiter gear and armor on!”

Then, remembering what I had seen around his neck, I said to myself,

“Oh, the charm! Of course!”

“What charm?” Octavian asked. His voice was still a little hoarse, but it was returning to normal.

“He had a pendant that was made of earthen…stuff. It had a Greek gamma on it. The letter ‘G’.”

“I knew it!” Octavian said with delight, which wasn’t fitting or appropriate after what had happened to Malcolm, “He was working for Gaea! Believe me, I was ready to attack tonight, but something told me the situation was a weird one. If he was working for Gaea, then that explains why he was spying on you guys! Gaea wants to see how the meetings are going, and what the camps are up to!”

I helped him up and put away my dagger, just realizing that the sheathe was so comfortable that I had slept with my weapon on me.

“So, does this mean you can trust us?” I asked, hoping for an answer I knew would never come.

“You know I can’t say ‘yes’ to that, Katie. The death of a prominent Roman officer at the hands of a Greek! The entire camp wants revenge, and I can’t tell them ‘no’ just because I like one of the girls at the other camp. Katie,” He said, making me look into his eyes, “I don’t think we can meet anymore. We,” He said, gesturing between us, “can’t happen anymore.”

I knew that that was going to be his answer. I knew that at some point, our feelings for each other would conflict with the animosity between our camps. So why did I feel so panicked, so afraid?

“Octavian,” I said shakily, “I don’t know if you realize this, but after the events of today, Camp Half-Blood doesn’t want war. We don’t want to fight you, because we know that the only way we can win this whole thing is by working together. Even if you don’t accept this, you need to hear it. We need you guys. And, after seeing Malcolm as injured as he was, I realized that I don’t feel at all protected from this situation. Octavian, I need you right now, more than ever.”

I looked into his eyes, those lightning-blue eyes, and I saw the same raw emotion that he had had when he said that he wanted to protect me. He saw the pleading expression in my eyes, and, for a second, I thought it would win him over. But his eyes changed course. Seeing the begging look in my face, his eyes hardened, becoming as cold as steel. A restrained, old, and purified anger buzzed behind his eyes, making them truly electric.

“Katie, I want you to be safe. But a Roman officer has been murdered in cold blood. Rome is at war, whether you like it or not. I’m sorry.”

He turned his back to me, and I could tell that he, in fact, was not sorry. He was just angry. Determined to avenge the loss of a corrupt, but still Roman, officer. As he walked away, back towards the turnpike, I realized what he was going to do. I realized that he was going to start a war. I sank to my knees, realizing how defeated and lost our cause was.

Just before my knees hit the dirt, two strong hands lifted me back up to my feet. I turned around, and there was my brother, in his leather jacket and stealth-pants, looking at me with something I had never seen in his eyes. Pity.

“Katie, it’s okay. Everything’s going to be alright. We’ll do the best we can against the Romans, and pray that Reyna gets here with the statue that Chiron’s been talking about. Even if he won’t, I’ll protect you. I won’t let another person’s blood be on my hands during a time of cease-fire. Murder is for war, not for peace. I’ve realized that now.”

Together, we walked back to Cabin 7 in silence, prepared for what was to come. I wasn’t hopeful, and neither was Tox. All we could be was ready to die fighting.

Notes

The final battle approaches! Obviously, BoO hasn't come out yet (4-28-14), so I don't want to write a battle that turns out the opposite way in the book, or never happens, so I will try to wrap up this story the best I can. I have about 6-8 chapters planned, and then the story will be over. But never fear! I have a new entire story planned, and I also want to start my own series of One-Shots that are more in-depth and of a superior quality of writing, with a bit more humor. Enjoy!