Chapter 16 Harper Eats a Rock #2
Olympia circled me. “Dutch braids have both elegance and a structure that allows for concealment of bigger weapons.” She reached into her bag again and pulled out a card-size plastic case filled with miniature darts, which, again, she handed to me.
“You want me to throw hair darts at people?” I asked.
“I tipped them with manticore venom.” She blinked at me, flashing her eyelid bling. “Rumor has it you have excellent throwing skills. What part of that stumps you?”
I opened my mouth, and Olympia tapped it shut.
“No sooty eyeshadow,” she said. “It would block glare from the sun, but it doesn’t create glare, and that’s what you need in combat, to blind your enemies.” She held out a hand toward Silena. “I’d like my prototypes back, please.”
Silena sighed and slid her the box of rhinestones and glue.
“Whoa, whoa, whoa.” I backed away. “I just saw you accidentally glue your own eye shut!”
Olympia smiled. “I did use too much starch in the hydrolyzation process, but after I tweak my formula, it should work perfectly.” She slipped the packet of rhinestones into my free hand.
“Just hold on to them for now. I’ll bring you the better glue later,” she promised.
“As for your scythe…” She reached into her bag one last time and pulled out a compact.
I took it from her and read the label on the back. “Celestial bronzer?”
“A thin coat on the weapon should do it,” Olympia said. “Just don’t use too much, or it’ll look gauche.”
The other Aphrodite kids wrinkled their noses.
I goggled at Olympia. “Are you some sort of secret genius?”
She smiled again. “Oh, my genius aren’t a secret…geniuses isn’t? Anyway, I’ll come find you later to see if you have any questions about application.”
That sounded more like a threat than a promise. Before I could protest that it wasn’t necessary, Silena cupped her hands around her mouth. “All right, Cabin Ten! It’s time to head to the next activity!”
As the Aphrodite kids scattered to clean up their materials, I made my way over to Harper, my arms now full of combat-friendly beauty products. Silena was just telling him in a quiet voice, “You can sit this one out if you want. It’s more obstacles.”
Harper gave her a curious look. “So?”
“Well, you kind of froze on the obstacle course the other day,” Silena said. “I can’t have you freezing on the lava wall.” She paused a beat. “Plus, we’ll be up against the Hephaestus kids.”
Harper’s eyes lit up. Then he tried to hide it with a casual shrug. “I can climb, no problem.”
Silena looked dubious, but she started lining up her campers to head for the climbing wall. Since I wasn’t quite sure where to go next, and I’d promised Argus I’d try to have a “normal day” at camp, I fell into step beside Harper.
“I think I underestimated your cabinmates,” I said. “Olympia’s a force to be reckoned with.”
Harper smiled. “We might be vain, but we’ve all got a brain.” He leaned in closer. “So why do you really want your scythe to look like it’s Celestial bronze?”
I didn’t answer right away. “If I can make people think I have a Celestial bronze scythe, it’ll show them I’ve got something special.”
“You don’t need a special weapon to be special, Katie,” Harper assured me. “As Olympia might say, you already am.”
We both laughed.
As we strolled across the fields, I could imagine what life at Camp Half-Blood might be like if I didn’t have so many problems looming over me—Grant, Silas, my mom, and Olivia all missing, a cursed ring in my pocket, some kind of monster in the woods, weird scrolls giving me orders, and secrets to juggle…
so many secrets. In the morning sunlight on a crisp fall day, chatting with a friend, I felt almost happy.
When we reached the climbing wall, though, Harper’s smile wobbled.
He stared at the top, where Shane sat like the king of the mountain, his legs dangling over the side between two miniature waterfalls of molten lava.
Shane’s climbing harness accentuated his muscular chest and arms. The glow of the lava made red highlights in his hair.
I guessed he was stationed at the top to spot the climbers, because every once in a while he’d shout encouragement at them, or clap, or raise a triumphant fist.
“Now’s your time to shine,” I told Harper.
“Yep,” he said, but didn’t move a muscle.
“Oh, come on,” I told him. “It’s not that high. You’ve got this, easy.”
“Next round!” Shane shouted from above. “Aphrodite versus Hephaestus! Who’s first?”
Everyone from the Aphrodite cabin raised their hands, except for Harper. They apparently all wanted the glory of climbing first and looking fabulous while doing it.
I cringed and whispered to Harper, “I’m so sorry for this.”
Then I gave him a Katie-class shove. I’d only meant to bring him even with his cabinmates, but I guess I put more oomph behind it than I thought.
Harper stumble-ran ahead of everyone else and stopped at the base of the climbing wall next to Nyssa Barrera, my scythe instructor from the Hephaestus cabin.
“Yeah, Harper!” Silena called, and the rest of the Aphrodite kids dutifully clapped and cheered.
Once Harper and Nyssa were strapped into their harnesses and fitted with fireproof climbing gloves and shoes, Shane raised his stopwatch. “And…climb!”
Harper moved like a spider monkey. Or Spider-Man. Or both.
Nyssa was only halfway up the wall by the time Harper reached the top.
“Wow!” Shane gave him a high five, even though Harper was competing against his cabin. “That’s a new record, Harper. You’ve got skills!”
Harper practically floated all the way back down as his cabinmates hooted and chanted his name.
Once he was out of his climbing gear, Harper made his way toward me with a dreamy smile on his face.
“Shane remembered my name,” he said.
A few feet away from us, Silena smirked. “You don’t have time for romance, huh?”
Harper marched toward her like he wanted to glue her mouth shut with rhinestones, but he was so distracted he tripped over a coil of climbing rope. Silena tried to catch him, but he pitched forward and cut his lip on a rock.
“Ow,” he groaned as he sat up, covering his bloody mouth. “So much for my time to shine.”
“It’s okay,” I said, as Silena and I helped him to his feet. “Shane didn’t see.”
I grimaced at the ugly new gash on Harper’s upper lip, dribbling blood that stained his teeth. “But he might notice that.”
“Oof,” said Silena. “Katie, could you help him to the infirmary?”
“Sure,” I said, draping Harper’s arm over my shoulders. “Let’s get you fixed up, hero.”