Will Solace was worried.
Now, that wasn't unusual for him, being the head doctor and honorary therapist of every camper, but this time was a little different. At the moment, there was only one patient on his mind, and that person was the focus of half the camp.
After breakfast yesterday morning, Will had stayed at the dining pavilion for a meeting with Percy, Annabeth, Nico, and Chiron to discuss the Prophecy of Seven, as everyone had started calling it.
It had only been a month after the Second Titan War ended, but already wind spirits were swarming, monsters were growing agitated, and many campers had decided to remain year-round rather than face the dangers of the world outside of Camp Half-Blood's protective barrier.
Percy and Annabeth had returned from their one-month anniversary four days ago, and Nico had finally visited camp after ages of underworld duties, so Chiron had called a gathering of head-counselors who wanted to talk about the prophecy.
In the end, only four cabin-heads had shown up because the Stolls were goofing off, Katie was trying to corral them, Nyssa and Jake had been working on the dragon problem, and most of the other cabins were empty at the moment.
Annabeth had begun by reciting the prophecy, the daughter of Athena having memorized it the moment Rachel uttered the words.
" Seven half-bloods shall answer the call,
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the doors of death."
The five had considered the words, chewed over alternate interpretations, and attempted to guess which campers could be a part of the seven, but their meeting had been cut short rather abruptly.
A massive explosion rang through the camp, originating from the direction of Thalia's Pine Tree, and the demigods had leapt to their feet—Chiron having already been standing in his full horse form—and spun in the direction of the noise.
Will's jaw had dropped, eyes widening, as he saw the eruption of flames blazing above the trees on the opposite side of Half-Blood Hill. He only had basic first aid supplies in his medic's satchel, and if anyone was hurt in that fire, he would need more than that. He wanted to run back to the infirmary to collect stronger topical antibiotics, but the others were already running towards the flames, and Will had no choice but to follow.
By the time they had reached the crest of Half-Blood Hill the fire had died, but the heat remained. Will heard a soft growl from Peleus the dragon, still curled protectively around Thalia's tree, the Golden Fleece hanging undamaged from the lowest bough. Most of the hill was safe, but the destruction at the base was devastating. Percy had pulled moisture from the surrounding dirt to cool the ground, and then the group simply stood there for a moment, observing the damage in shock.
All vegetation in a one hundred and fifty foot radius was burned away, not a blade of grass remaining. There were no ghostly tree stumps like there would have been in a natural forest fire, just a gray coating of ash covering the entire expanse.
And that's when Will had heard a sharp inhale on his left, originating from Percy, exhaled with a slur of words.
"There's a person there," Percy said, dumbfounded, and then stronger, "There's a person!" And then he took off down the hill, the others following as soon as they recovered from their own stupefaction.
Half-bloods had been trickling into camp faster than ever before due to the god's promise to claim their children, and the cabins were finally filling out again. The war had left around forty demigods at camp, but in the past month, Grover—a leader of the Cloven Council—had sent various satyr guardians to collect half-bloods from across the country.
Most arrived with their protector, shaken from a fight with a monster or two, but were largely unharmed. In the light of all this, Percy and Annabeth had decided to stay at camp that year, welcoming new demigods, and making their introductions into the world of Greek mythology a little smoother.
Will had watched as newer demigods looked up to Percy, viewing him as a leader of the camp due to his honest and caring nature when it came to the younger campers. Will had stayed partly because it was less chaotic than joining his mom on tour—which was really saying something, considering the usual chaos of camp—and partly because he was the most skilled at medicine. Which would probably come in very useful right about now.
Will immediately ran through everything he knew about burn victims—mentally taking stock of his ambrosia and nectar, considering what painkillers were best with different levels of pain—but his brain simply stopped when he reached the scene in front of him.
A little boy was curled up in the center of the ashes, his caramel skin coated in cinders, cuts, and bruises, his brown curly hair caked with fine embers. His clothes were ripped, his body smoking, and yet there wasn't a burn on him.
Three feet away sat the singed head of a hydra, the stump of the neck cauterized by the sweltering flames that had risen to the clouds and then died again in less than a minute.
Percy and Will immediately dropped to their knees beside the boy, Will checking him over for injuries, and Percy worriedly examining his face, his hands hovering like he wanted to help, but was clueless about what to do.
Chiron and Annabeth stood a few feet back, conversing rapidly under their breaths, and Nico approached the kneeling pair, his stygian iron sword resting limply in his left hand.
"His life force is still strong," the son of Hades said, his expression unreadable as he examined the scene in front of him.
"H-he isn't burned, his clothes aren't even smoking anymore. How is he not burned?" Percy questioned, running a hand through his hair, and only succeeding in messing it up further.
"Maybe because he's the one who started the fire in the first place," Annabeth said grimly, glancing at the hydra's head, her fingers running along the hilt of her sheathed dagger.
"That doesn't make any sense, he would still be burned," Will said, not looking up from where he was bandaging a cut on the boy's shoulder, staunching the bleeding until the group could get him to the infirmary.
"Not necessarily," Chiron interjected, his voice distant, as if deep in thought. "There have been demigods with pyrokinesis in the past, although we have not had one in centuries."
" To storm or fire, the world must fall ," Annabeth whispered. Despite the lingering heat, Will felt a chill run from his head to his toes, and his hands froze in their work. The others looked much the same, until Percy snapped them out of it.
"None of that matters right now, we have to get him to the infirmary," Percy said firmly, his eyes betraying his concern, whether that was for the boy, or for the prophecy, Will wasn't sure.
"Right," Will stepped in, forcing the impending prophecy to the back of his mind, and focused on what he could worry about right now. "I've done what I can do here. Percy, you carry him so that I can keep an eye on the bleeding. He shouldn't be too heavy."
Percy slid one hand under the boy's knees and one under his arms, lifting him up easily. The boy didn't even stir, and Percy frowned, his expression worried. "He shouldn't be this light either," he murmured, and Will couldn't help but agree, noting the way that the boy's clothes pooled around his thin frame.
Nico paused beside the hydra's head, and Will chewed his bottom lip, wondering how a person so small could have possibly defeated one of the scariest creatures in Greek mythology.
The son of Hades scooped up the hydra's head, his expression twisted in thought, and the group made their way back up the hill.
It had been nearly two days since everything had happened, and Will was making his way from the infirmary to the Big House. Night was setting, the September air cold but not freezing, and he had just come from his conversation with Leo.
The boy had not been what Will was expecting.
Normally, new demigods would be panicked or overwhelmed, but Leo had listened carefully, made a few jokes with a crooked grin on his face, and accepted everything that Will told him with minimal questions. Will had seen that Leo was still exhausted despite his cheery demeanor, and had left him to rest before getting all the information that was routine to ask for—like his age, emergency contacts, or past prescriptions.
Will had left Kayla to watch him, with instructions to come get Will should Leo wake, and then left to join a discussion that was bound to melt down into a massive argument—as they usually did. This time, every camp counselor would be present, not wanting to miss the discussion, which simply meant more willful opinions. Will pushed open the doors and was immediately approached by Percy, the son of Poseidon's hair unkempt, and his orange camp T-shirt rumpled.
"How is he?" Percy asked, his tone imploring. The older teenager had been concerned with the boy from the start, and Will remembered that Percy had been a similar age when he first came to camp. Maybe Percy saw a little bit of himself in Leo.
"He woke up for a bit, and I was able to get a little more information before he went back to sleep," Will answered gently.
"Everyone sit down, and Will can tell us all what he's learned," Chiron commanded, as everyone settled in.
Will sat with Percy on his right, and Nico on his left. Will had only just been getting to know Nico, but the son of Hades seemed like he could use more friends, and Will wanted to try and be one of them. Annabeth sat next to Percy, and Butch—the Head Camper of the new Iris cabin—was in the chair next to her. Travis and Connor Stoll were teasing Kate Gardner as Clovis drooled on her shoulder, his soft snores filling the spaces between words. Lou Ellen Blackstone and the Victor siblings, Holly and Laurel, were arguing about whether or not using magic in a card game was cheating.
Jake Mason and Nyssa Barrera were sitting beside Chiron, the centaur having wanted both of the Hephaestus Cabin's oldest campers to partake in the conversation. The only one missing was Clarisse, as she and Chris were attending their senior year of school.
"I still don't understand why we're having this meeting in the first place," Percy stated agitatedly. "It feels wrong that we're discussing him behind his back. He's just a normal camper."
"No, he's not," Nyssa argued back, her eyes stony. "Pyrokinesis is a curse. A half-blood with that power only appears when something terrible is going to happen."
"I don't believe that," Percy declared, spinning his ball point pen between his fingers. Will really hoped he wouldn't accidentally activate Riptide and chop his own fingers off. "A power shouldn't decide his future, or his actions."
Will couldn't help but agree with Percy. Leo didn't seem like a curse. Will remembered his watery expression when Will directed him to rest, the way his humorous facade had grown the tiniest crack. Leo had looked like a little boy who was scared of the world he found himself in, just like any other half-blood.
"I talked to him. His name is Leo Valdez, and I don't think he's dangerous at all," Will added, hoping to soothe the rising tempers. Percy nodded as if that was enough to end the discussion, but the others continued nonetheless.
"Nyssa, you said that pyrokinesis precedes terrible events?" Annabeth inquired, her tone serious and calculating, her words always precise and to the point.
"Yes," Nyssa agreed. "The last person who had it was Thomas Faynor in 1666. He lost control and started the Great Fire of London."
"But that doesn't mean anything!" Percy said, his voice rising slightly. "That was one person. We can't judge Leo because of something a different person did!" Will immediately thought of the children of the Big Three, outlawed because of powers that had been destructive in the past.
"Yeah! I shouldn't be punished with dish duty just because Connor hot-wired the van and I happened to be in it too!" Travis butted in, only to be harshly elbowed by Katie, causing Clovis to let out a long groan and rest his head on the table instead of her shoulder.
Determinedly ignoring Travis, Annabeth said, "you're right Percy, but we can't completely disregard the facts. Leo showed up barely a month after the Prophecy of Seven was delivered, and his fire powers match the line of the prophecy."
"Okay, but what are we supposed to do?" Percy sighed. "The last Great Prophecy took years to begin, what if this one takes just as long?"
"At this point, all we can do is wait," Chiron replied patiently. "Leo has not been claimed yet—"
"Why though? The gods promised to claim their kids!" Percy interrupted angrily.
"Technically, they promised to claim their kids by the time they turn thirteen. Leo barely looks over eleven," Will responded hesitantly, not wanting to involve himself in the argument.
"That is true. But we still must teach him to control his fire powers to prevent disasters from occurring in the first place," Chiron said. "And there is only one demigod here who can control the elements to the extent that Leo can, and counteract possible accidents."
Everyone shifted their eyes to Percy, even the Stolls pausing their argument long enough to stare pointedly.
"Me?" Percy asked in surprise, as if not quite understanding that a child of Poseidon would be perfect for training a fire-wielding half-blood.
"Of course you, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth said, playfully punching him in the shoulder.
"Will, how long will it be before Leo Valdez is ready to begin training?" Chiron questioned.
"His wounds aren't bad, but he is severely malnourished. Maybe a week, and then you can start off with easy things that involve small amounts of his power only, nothing physically demanding."
"Alright, then it's settled. Percy will train Leo when he is recovered, and Leo will stay in the Hermes cabin until he is claimed," Chiron said, signaling the end of the meeting.
"A fire-breathing cabinmate, let's go!" Connor exclaimed, grinning crookedly, and wrapping an arm around his brother's shoulder.
"Think of all the potential pranks," Travis said dreamily.
"No!" Katie cut in firmly. "Absolutely not! Do not get the poor boy wrapped up in your schemes!"
The trio walked out the door, still bickering between themselves, as everyone else filed out slowly in groups of two or three. Will could already feel stormy blue-green eyes staring a hole in his head, and he turned to face Percy, the son of the Sea God's expression a mix of mild anxiety and anticipation.
"When can I meet him?"