"Wh... You... how... it hur... you... monst..." Drew tried to piece the words together, but she could only stammer through the shock and pain of the impact.
"Who gave you the right to try and control my mind?" I asked, looking down at her coldly, without a shred of remorse or pity for what I'd done.
I clenched my fists tight, making her scramble back a few steps, trembling with sheer terror. Suddenly, a danger instinct spiked in my gut. I whipped my torso around, dodging by a hair as a battle-axe sliced through the air and buried itself deep into the packed dirt. I looked straight ahead and came face-to-face with what had to be another Ares kid, huffing with pure rage.
"Coward! Pick on someone your own size!" the brute bellowed.
He lunged at me, swinging his body into an aggressive diagonal slash. I visualized my ability and tensed my wrist, feeling the hilt of my own axe materialize instantly in my hands. Pivoting my hips, I swung upward in a powerful arc with everything I had. The blades of our weapons clashed in a violent, deafening crack. To the guy's absolute shock, his axe blade shattered into splinters upon impact. He stumbled backward, dropping into a desperate defensive stance while staring, incredulous, at the wooden stump left in his hand.
"Bring it on, you pieces of shit! We aren't friends, and I'm not about to sit back and let someone try to subjugate me with mind-control magic!" I yelled for the entire pavilion to hear.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Clarisse La Rue slowly stand up. A frigid smirk played on her lips as she gripped her electric spear, watching me with a genuinely thrilled glint in her eyes. Annabeth, on the other hand, was staring at me with surgical coldness, like she was calculating every single one of my weak points. That was when, to everyone's surprise—including my own—Luke Castellan took firm steps forward and stationed himself right by my side.
"Charmspeak is no joke," Luke declared, his voice steady, drawing the attention of the whole pavilion. "The rookie clearly carries his own trauma regarding that kind of magic, and everyone here knows Drew's reputation and her abuses all too well."
"We all know Drew's track record," Lee chimed in, looking around. "But blatant violence doesn't solve anything. The rookie is in the wrong for striking first. He should have reported her actions directly to Chiron."
Lee shot me a stern look. I held his gaze, keeping myself perfectly still.
"Put your weapons away. This isn't a battlefield," Annabeth ordered, stepping in before things escalated any further.
The distinct sound of hooves clopping against the dirt announced Chiron's approach. The centaur trotted up in front of us by the edge of the hearth, wearing an expression of pure solemnity and authority.
"Mr. Thorne, head to my office immediately. And I want the cabin counselors for Cabin 10 and Cabin 4 there as well," Chiron commanded firmly. "Lee, tend to her wounds for me. Miss Tanaka, I expect to see you at the Big House as soon as you've recovered."
I willed the command and sheathed my axe, which vanished into thin air. I started walking, stepping away from the heat, as the other campers parted to let me through. Passing between the rows, I heard Clarisse click her tongue in irritation.
"You got lucky today, Sprout," she taunted, throwing a dig at my cabin.
I stopped dead in my tracks and looked at her with total seriousness, before shifting my eyes to the rest of the Ares kids surrounding her.
"You guys are nothing but cattle. I honestly expected a lot more from the children of the war god," I replied, dripping with disdain.
In a fraction of a second, I materialized my axe again and snapped into a defensive arc, intercepting Clarisse's electric spear just in time. The impact kicked up cracking sparks that lit up the night and shoved me back a few paces onto the grass.
"You... you little piece of shit!" she hissed, glaring at me with pure hatred burning in her eyes.
I just held my guard and returned a cold smile.
"STOP THIS AT ONCE! MR. THORNE, TO MY OFFICE NOW!" Chiron's voice thundered, making the air around the hearth vibrate with his authority as director.
The two of us kept locked in a tense stare-down until I felt a firm hand pull me back. It was Katie.
"Cut it out, Caleb. Let's go," she ordered firmly.
I dismissed my axe and started walking toward the Big House. The entire walk happened in complete silence.
As we crossed the front porch, I caught sight of Mr. D sitting in his wicker chair... It didn't take long for us to enter the main room. To my surprise, Mr. D was already inside, having materialized into the corner chair in the blink of an eye. Chiron walked in right after and stationed himself next to Dionysus, who immediately began shuffling... and playing cards, completely ignoring everyone else in the room. Katie stayed by my side, but my attention was drawn to the third person to enter the office: a girl from the Aphrodite cabin.
She had long, wavy brown hair, flawlessly styled, which caught the light in different shades as she moved. Her overall look was natural, elegant, and soft... if it weren't for her eyes. Her deep, intense blue eyes were currently overflowing with pure fury directed straight at me.
"Chiron, I demand justice! He needs to be kicked out of camp right now. I know Drew had her share of the blame, but it was just a harmless joke. Caleb responded with completely uncalled-for violence, leaving her in a terrible state," she ranted, running her hands through her brown hair and speaking at a frantic pace, all while throwing me a theatrical, teary-eyed look. "He broke the number-one rule of camp: beating up an ally. And to make things worse, he openly threatened the Ares cabin."
Chiron shifted his eyes away from the girl and looked at me, letting out a heavy sigh. Katie stepped forward before the director could even speak.
"It's impossible to expel him for this. We all know Drew Tanaka's track record all too well; she always plays these psychological mind games with the rookies. And charmspeak isn't some innocent or silly joke; it's a weapon of mental manipulation that was pointed directly at my brother." Katie clenched her fists in anger.
"A weapon? Oh, please! We don't even have proof that she used charmspeak today. Caleb didn't even fall under the spell! He's just a brute who likes hitting women," the Aphrodite girl shot back, flashing me a look of pure disgust.
I held her gaze for a second and let out a loud laugh, causing everyone in the Big House office to go dead silent and look at me.
"Are you for real? That clown is your leader? Honestly, what a massive letdown. If I'm going to get expelled for defending myself, fine. If you want to punish me with hard labor, go right ahead. I just demand that you leave Cabin 4 completely out of your sanctions. Throwing the first punch was entirely my choice, so I can handle the consequences on my own," I declared, turning my eyes straight back to the girl, who was now staring at me in silence, completely losing her fake-crying act. "And you don't need to pretend like you're about to faint from shock. Let's wrap up this little theater performance."
Mr. D abruptly stopped shuffling his cards. Chiron fixed his eyes on me with analytical intensity.
"You've got some nerve, Caleb... But I wonder what your love life is going to look like from now on after insulting our cabin," the girl threatened, narrowing her blue eyes.
I returned a cold smile and took a step forward.
"I can live perfectly fine without romance," I replied, locking my eyes with hers. Without realizing it, my posture shifted, taking on a commanding presence. Katie extended her arm and pressed her hand against my chest, trying to hold me back. "But I have to wonder, daughter of Aphrodite... Can you and your sisters live without food?"
The exact millisecond I finished the sentence, the atmosphere in the room shifted drastically. Suddenly, the surrounding air grew thick and heavy, saturated with an unbearably sweet scent of roses. But the perfume didn't last long. It was instantly replaced by the sharp, pungent smell of wet dirt. The decorative plants in the Big House pots began to wither on the spot, and the air turned so cold that my breath came out as white fog before us.
I kept a smirk on my face, staring the girl down as I watched the smugness in her eyes turn completely into terror.
We were locked in a tense stare-down, but out of nowhere, a clap of thunder exploded so powerfully that it left a loud ringing in my ears. I was startled by the sheer noise, and both Silena and Katie looked terrified too. I stood frozen as the environment changed completely, and a heavy scent of grapes took over the room.
"Very well, Clebes Thernes. You will be confined to Cabin 4 for a week, with no right to join the main training sessions or meals at the pavilion. And you will handle the heaviest, most humiliating chores in this camp all by yourself: scooping Pegasus poop, washing the pavilion dishes, and cleaning out the harpy nests," Mr. D spoke. His eyes glowed in a way that sent a genuine spike of dread through me.
"I want to know if I'm allowed to train on my own. In exchange, I'll take the labor for four months," I said, trying to negotiate.
Chiron's eyes widened at my audacity. In that exact instant, I crashed to my knees on the floor, feeling a massive weight crush my body, and a spray of blood spat from my mouth
"I think you need to learn your place, child," Mr. D said coldly.
His eyes looked like two spinning galaxies. A horrific migraine began hammering my brain, but I just stayed there, resisting the weight.
"I'll... take the punishment for a year if I can train alone," I insisted, even while spitting blood.
He offered a frigid smirk. I got the distinct feeling I was about to die at any moment. Insane cracks of thunder began exploding in the sky, making everything shake so violently that I was nearly deafened. Suddenly, even Mr. D grew serious, looking upward, and the thunder cut out out of nowhere. He looked back at me, and a can of diet soda materialized in his hand.
"Two years of punishment. You will do the heavy labor and you can train alone, but you are barred from participating in any events without my permission."
He vanished right after, disappearing into thin air. I felt the crushing weight lift from my body, and Katie rushed over, desperate to pull me up. I let out a smirk. To think that a god's power—and just a tiny fraction of it—almost killed me... What would it be like to face one of them at full power? It must be incredible.
"You're insane, Caleb! Chiron, are we dismissed...?" Katie asked, her voice trembling.
I noticed the daughter of Aphrodite staring at me in absolute shock, and Chiron looking me dead in the eye. He offered a worried smile and waved his hand, dismissing us. Katie let me lean on her, and we began making our way toward Cabin 4. Along the path, I saw a few campers watching me from a distance, whispering.
"He's bleeding."
"Did you hear the thunder?"
"Yeah, he really pissed off Olympus."
"He's bleeding and he's smiling... That guy is a psycho."
Gods... Will I ever reach that level of power one day?