The Shadow Archer Twins

After the events of the night, the approaching events of the day weren’t exactly things to be thankful for or look forward to. But, nonetheless, they were necessary. As soon as the conch horn sounded for breakfast at sunrise, the entire Apollo cabin shot out of bed, and in thirty seconds flat, we were all out the door of Cabin 7, on our way to breakfast. I guess that’s a perk of your dad being the god of the sun. You wake up when he does.

Sitting with my half-brothers and sisters and looking at the Big House, I knew what I had to do. I didn’t want to, but I knew I had to. It’s those kinds of feelings that make your stomach not want to eat. So, with a half-eaten bagel still in my hand, I walked over to the blue-painted farmhouse. Chiron was waiting for me.

“Tox, my boy,” He said in greeting. His voice was full of knowledge, knowledge that saddened him. “Tell me of your troubles.”

So I did. I told him about last night, and how Octavian had promised war. The worst part was, he took the news without any show of emotion in his face. Only an expression of calm. But not calm like a peaceful lake or quiet library. Calm like a slab of stone, waiting to be cut. Calm like the winds before a hurricane.

After I had finished, he sighed, and said, “This I have feared. It seems as though the peace treaty idea would be too slow, and would be grasping at straws now. If Rome is preparing for war, then we must prepare to defend this camp. It is unfortunate, horrible, really, but it was inevitable.”

I wanted to protest, to have Chiron tell me that it would be okay, but that wouldn’t have been appropriate. I knew that he was going to say that. But now that he had, I still had trouble accepting it.

“Will we be able to hold them off, Chiron? Isn’t Reyna supposed to be coming back with the Athena statue?”

“We’ll have to wait and see, my boy. I hope the Roman praetor brings the Athena Parthenos soon, because we won’t be able to hold them for longer than a few days. Then it will all be over.”

He looked so grim, I wanted to sit down and cry. But I remembered my duty, my love for this awesome camp, and I straightened my jaw and said,

“Tell me, Chiron, how to ready the Camp for war. I will fight to the best of my ability to defend this camp. I will defend this camp.”

I felt so angry, I wanted to shoot an arrow at something, just to see it break into a million pieces. A fierce desire to save this camp burnt in me, and under me, moving my body forward for me. I realized what I had to do next, and, after Chiron relayed his instructions for setting up the defenses, I headed off. But not to do what he had asked. Not yet.

Walking through the infirmary door, I turned to my right and saw him lying there. I remembered watching helplessly as he fought for his life, and how I had subconsciously drawn my arrow and fired. I remembered the Roman’s face, panicking for a chance at life. Looking at Malcolm’s peaceful face, I wanted to kill more Romans. I wanted this to end. I wanted my friends to be safe, and happy. I wanted to protect them.

I walked over to his bed in silence, as I often do when practicing being stealthy. I stopped at his right side, and I grasped his hand in a firm grip, and kneeled down. I said a prayer to my father in Ancient Greek, the words rolling off of my lips in a soft murmur. I must have been seeing things, because I felt as if the sun, just for a moment, shone brighter through the window, increasing the intensity of the natural spotlight that fell on Malcolm’ face. After I finished the chant, I squeezed his hand tighter, and then released, standing.

Looking at his closed eyes, I suddenly felt an unsatisfiable urge to see him wake. And, to my utter and complete surprise, he did. His grey eyes fluttered open for the first time in nine days, scanning the world around him like a newborn baby. I smiled to myself, thinking about how happy Izzy would have been to see him awake.

Oh my Gods, I thought, Izzy!

Without meaning to leave Malcolm alone, I sprinted over to the Hermes cabin and rapped on the door so loud it must have woken up everyone in the cabin who had slept in. Which was everyone. Not meaning to break the rules, I ripped open the door and found Izzy’s bunk. I picked her up out of her bed, laughing like a maniac, and, as she woke up, I sprinted back over to the infirmary. She was quite startled to find herself moving at a fast pace as she woke up, and then realized who was carrying her, and was even more startled.

“Wha—?” She started to say, but I cut her off.

“Malcolm’s awake, Izzy!”

Instantly, her eyes turned wild, like a kid on Christmas morning. As we reached the infirmary door, I dropped her on her feet, and she ran over to his bed. When Malcolm saw her, he smiled, a twinkle of a tear sparkling in his eyes. She stopped in her tracks, and put her hands to her face in shock.

“Hey,” Malcolm said softly, “I missed you in my nightmares.”

“My life has been a nightmare,” Izzy said, starting to cry tears of joy, “I thought…I thought…”

She didn’t finish the sentence. She just ran over to his bedside and kissed him. They both closed their eyes tightly, savoring the emotions that had run rampant over the last nine days. Looking at them, I felt happy. I thought about Emily, and how I wanted her to be safe after this whole thing. Then I realized that I had gotten sidetracked. I was supposed to be preparing the Camp for war. And so, I left them, still kissing passionately, as I walked towards the Ares cabin.

The only thing I could think of while I looked at the red paint and barbed-wire cabin was,

You want a war, Octavian? Oh, I’ll give you a war! I'll give you the toughest damn war you've ever fought!

Notes