The Goddess's Thief.

I was sitting in my usual spot- an old broke down apartment complex's doorstep. People entered and left without giving me much of a glance. I was used to that. I preferred it that way. A lot of them refused to make eye contact with me even when I attempted to make it with them. The yellowish green of my eyes seemed to unnerve them. Admittedly, I was sometimes startled by them myself. My eyes were so strange to me. As if there was something hidden behind them that even I couldn't see.

"Let's see," I muttered. "I have eighteen dollars from that one lady who's bags I carried in. Two from the gutter. That one guy left his bag of change sitting at the bus station." I had waited but he never returned for it so I took it. That wasn't wrong was it? "Altogether that gives me...dang! Almost thirty dollars!" Yes! I'd finally be eating good for a week maybe two if I could stretch the money a bit.

At ten years old I had run away. I was tired of my foster parents always bickering, fighting, hitting each other. It scared me sometimes. They both said they would never hurt me. Then they'd go right back to the yelling and throwing lamps and whatever else they could.

That was almost six years ago. I managed on my own pretty well.

"Still hanging around?" asked Mrs. Kemper, a hundred something year old woman who lived in the first apartment in. Okay, obviously she wasn't a hundred something. Maybe in her eighties, but that still doesn't discount the fact that she was old. She stood at the bottom of the steps, staring at me with her kind old lady smile.

"Hey, Mrs. K," I said. "Need help up the stairs?"

"Not today, Leah, but thank you for asking. Why aren't you in school?" Same old questions from dear old Kemper. I just grinned. "I hope you aren't getting into trouble now," she added.

"Not me," I promised. "You know me, Mrs, K. I stay good and clean." She patted me on the head and for a brief moment I wished she was my grandma. That she was any kind of family to me and then I could go inside with her. She tottered up the steps. The door creaked open and shut softly. My moment passed.

I got up to go finally. That was the only reason I ever sat there. Saying hi to her made the days bearable somehow. Maybe it was just knowing that someone actually cared for me. Maybe not deeply like a mom or dad, but I was sure Mrs. Kemper would keep an eye out for me if I needed her to. That in mind, I jogged away, hoping to find the nearest quick stop or plain old dollar store to buy my dinner before it got too dark. Secret? I hate the dark with a passion.

There was an alley I could usually cut down without any problem. No one went there because it smelled so bad. I just held my breath until the end. The shortcut would lead me closer to the center of town except for today.

Today it had two kids running out of it with a fiery haired woman hot on their heels. Oh, urgh, bad pun.

I had skidded to a stop, in horror. [i]This must be some sort of trick,[/i] I thought. No way was that lady's hair on fire! Then she stopped and sniffed the air.

"That can't...no, my nose must be..." she turned to look at me and I got a better look at her. Pretty face, the flaming hair, a metal leg, a goat leg, and fangs. And red eyes. Can't forget the scary red eyes that widened in glee. "Oh, you're just too cute! So much power and yet so defenseless! You don't even- oh, but I mustn't," she rambled.

"Just what are you?" I asked. There was no point in who. I mean, really she had, she, she was something out of a freaking fairytale horror!

"This will start a war for sure! Oh, how I miss the wars," she said, her eyes taking on a dreamy look for just a moment. "All the blood, the fear, and oooh, all the demigods a good monster could want. I-"

"Hey, ugly! You want us don't you?"

The two kids who had been running suddenly returned. "Not that it matters!" a girl shouted and a golden arrow suddenly protruded from the woman's skull. She shrieked and crumbled into dust.

"Yeah!"

"A'right!"

The two, a boy and a girl, high fived like this was nothing. LIke they had just won some sort of game by killing her. A monster? Yeah, the swirling dust was there. Not some dead lady's body. It took some time, but they eventually noticed me standing and staring in shock.

"Uh, hi," said the girl. "I'm Bree." Now she sounded awkward. Who were these two? Where did they come from that monsters were...well, [i]normal[/i]? "I take you could see what she was right?"

I nodded. I tried speaking only to gape my mouth like a fish. She approached me, slowly as if she was coming close to a horse about to bolt or crush her. "Have you seen anything like that before?" she asked.

"N-no," I stuttered softly. I looked away from the dust. It had all but blown away by then. "She was going to kill me."

"Huh, must mean you're like us." The boy finally spoke. "Since Bree didn't introduce me, I'm Sean. We're demigods."

"Demigods? You mean like Hercules was?" I asked. I wanted to say 'yeah right', but that monster. She had definitely sniffed the air as if...I don't know, as if I had some sort of unique smell on me had drawn her attention.

Bree glared at Sean. "Yeah," she replied. "You might be one too. Look, we're just on a scouting mission. If you'd like, you can come with us. We stay at a place called Camp Halfblood." She seemed annoyed and honest all at the same time. An odd combination, but one I found myself able to trust. Camp Halfblood? Weird name. Weird turn of events. Between risking running the streets still and finding another one of those things I think it was obvious what choice I had to make.

Notes

Just a little something to pass the time. I'm not sure where it's going to go. But like my warning already says, if you haven't read Blood of Olympus, the final installment for Heroes of Olympus then don't read my story yet. I don't want to hear complaints about spoilers!

Did some editing off my phone while at work. Gonna try for chapter two when I get home :)