The Darkest Sunrise

(Cody's P.O.V.)

I am ready to go beat the Hades out of another dummy or maybe to go find Miss Rachel Elizabeth Dare in the flesh when a small voice calls out to me.

"Um... Mr. Cody, Sir?" The little boy asks.

Two kids stand in front of me. Their names are Stevie and Tim. Tim is nine. He's one of our youngest campers and he's afraid of his own shadow. I know he's terrified of me, but whoever sent him probably knew I wouldn't beat the hell out of him. He always calls everyone older than him "Sir," probably because their dad was British and raised them to be super respectful of their elders. Stevie is his older sister. She's eleven going on nineteen. They've been at Camp Half Blood for nine months, since their father died in a car wreck. Their mother claimed them right after the accident, doing the unheard of and manifesting to bring them to Camp herself. Of course, Aphrodite often disobeys the norms. I guess she thinks she can get away with it because she's gorgeous or something.

"What is it, Kid?" I ask. I try to sound harsh and scary, but I don't have the heart. Tim always looks so lost and broken and afraid. It's wrong to pick on him.

"I-I-um... Mr. Chiron said you're going to be included on the new quest."

I stare at him and I must look angry because he flinches. Stevie glares at me. "No shooting the messenger, Son of Ares," she says. I suspect she wants to call me son of something else, but she resists the urge. That little girl has guts. I kind of like the kid.

"How am I on the quest?" I ask.

"Mr. Chiron says you're going to lead the other two on their path," Tim tells me.

"Babysitting. Again? What the fu-" I catch myself. "Er... What the Hades is up with that?"

"No clue. Just go pack your stuff up. You leave at dawn," Stevie informs me. "Come on, Timmy. Let's go."

Tim looks back at me, his eyes like saucers. He's terrified of something, and I don't think it's just me. "Tim?" I ask. "You got something to say?"

"Don't get dead, okay?" Tim asks.

I'm surprised. Does the kid actually care about me? I mean, sure, I've tried to look out for him, but why would he be worried about someone he hardly knows?

"I won't die," I promise him. "I'm better than that."

"You're not immortal," Stevie points out to me. "Don't make promises you can't keep. We've had enough of that." She sounds so bitter. I know instantly she's thinking about her father.

"You guys okay?" I ask.

"We're fine. Let's go, Timmy." She practically drags the kid away.

I don't know why, but I feel bad leaving those two behind. Tim's gotten sort of attached to me, and maybe I'm starting to get attached to having them around.

"Don't go soft," I scold myself. "You can't lose sight of the goal. You have a quest."

"We have a quest, actually," Ian corrects me. I nearly jump out of my damn skin.

"Dude! Do not sneak up on me! I'm dangerous. I could hurt you."

"I'll keep that in mind. So, are you up for this or not?"

"Of course I am," I say. "Is that even a question?"

"Well, you don't seem too big on me and Tara, so..."

"I'm not. So what? It's about the quest, not the fun times with new friends and warm fuzzies."

"Warm fuzzies? Can a Son of Ares legally say that?"

I glare at him. My father would probably kick my butt over that choice of words. "Just be ready by morning, or I'll leave without you."

"Right. Because being alone on a quest worked so well for you the last time."

I can't stop myself. I attack him before I even realize I'm moving, pinning him against the tree and punching him in the face several times. He tries to fight me, but it doesn't last long. I barely register when he stops struggling.

It's only when I feel heat scalding my flesh that I let him go. Ian falls against the ground gasping, but that means he's alive, so I guess it's not a bad thing. My right arm has a red hand print singed into it.

I spin around to see who grabbed me. I'm startled to realize it's Tara.

"That was a bad move," she informs me. Her face is filled with so much rage I am waiting for her to punch me. I can tell she's thinking about it. This is the first time I'm really seeing Tara. She's actually sort of hot, and not just in the she-can-apparently-burn-my-flesh way.Her eyes have flames in them.

I realize it would be stupid to move. "Tara-" I begin. "Tara, listen. I didn't mean to hurt him. I got mad. It was an accident. I didn't even realize I was doing it until it was too late."

"You're a bully, Cody! I hate bullies!" She pauses. "I mean, I think I do... Oh, damnit. I have no idea if I hated bullies before, alright? But I definitely hate them now."

I can't help it. I laugh. I think she might attack me over that, but after a second, she laughs, too. Soon, it gets louder, and we're both hysterical. It's been a rough day. We needed this. "I am pathetic," she says as she continues laughing. "I've really got to figure this out."

"Um... Hysterical as this all is, I'm sort of... ow..." Ian mentions.

Tara kneels beside him, and I stand over them. "Crap... Crap, Ian, I'm sorry," I say. He's in bad shape. He's gushing blood from his nose and mouth and I know his eye is going to swell shut. This isn't the way to start off on a new quest with people who don't know me.

"It's fine," he says. "It's just a flesh wound."

"Ian, this isn't the time for bad British humor," Tara scolds. She puts her hands over him and seems to be taking inventory of his wounds.

"Tara... How did you know what I was quoting?"

"I don't know... That's a good question. I can remember stupid movies and I can't remember my life? What's wrong with me?"

"Nothing," I say firmly. I can see Ian's wounds starting to vanish. I don't know how, but she's healing him. "There's nothing wrong with you, Tara. You're actually pretty amazing."

Tara rolls her eyes. "No, he's right." Ian says. "I'm feeling a little better. How are you doing that?"

"I'm not," Tara insists.

"Tara, you're Apollo's. He's a God of medicine and healing and the sun. You're healing Ian. Just like you burned me. You've got his gifts," I tell her.

She looks skeptical. "There's no proof I'm doing this," she argues. She pulls her hands away from Ian.

Ian groans. "That was nice while it lasted," he says sadly.

"Proof enough?" I ask.

Tara puts her hands over Ian again. He relaxes, his wounds starting to close again. "This is so..." she begins.

"Awesome?" Ian suggests.

"Cool?" I ask.

"Weird. But yeah, it is kind of awesome and cool..." Tara looks at me. "Is this normal?"

"Normal is a relative term in our world. But you're gifted, Tara. And that's a good thing." I look at her and I'm suddenly wondering if maybe this quest won't be so bad after all.

Notes

Thanks for reading so far! I hope everyone's enjoying the story. :)