Page 51 of The Wild Zone

I couldn’t help noticing that, this time, she didn’t make any excuses about Grant lounging back at his mansion. Had she called his parents and been told he wasn’t there? Was that what her mood had been about this morning?

“Grant’s alive,” I said with a lift of my chin. “He’s a champion, right? A child of Ares.”

One corner of Clarisse’s mouth lifted. “True. Although why the rest of you could make it out of the Zone and he couldn’t is beyond me.”

I shoved my hand into my pocket, fingers grazing the ring nestled at the bottom. “Maybe he found something out there.”

Clarisse barked a laugh. “That’s an understatement.”

“I don’t mean a monster. Maybe he found some…I don’t know, ancient Greek artifact.” I prayed my tone was casual enough. “Connor Stoll was telling me rumors—”

“Connor Stoll.” Clarisse muttered his name like a curse. “That guy says a lot of things.” Then she narrowed her eyes, obviously thinking.

Shoot. She was onto me.

“Although…” she said, “that might be possible.”

I balked. “Really?”

“I’ve heard those rumors too—ghost stories around the campfire, really—about magic items left in the Wild Zone. Maybe as offerings. Or sacrifices.”

My blood chilled at the last word. “Sacrifices to what?”

“Yeah, well, that’s the question. But if Grant picked up something he shouldn’t have…”

I narrowed my eyes. Clarisse’s voice had a strange undertone…like hunger. “Is that why you sent us through there? Hoping we’d find artifacts?”

Clarisse shot me a withering look. “I never for a second thought those stories were true. I was just trying to scare all of you, and maybe…” She stopped herself, but her guilty expression helped me put together the pieces.

“Clarisse,” I said sternly, “where is Zeus’s Fist?”

Her grip tightened on her javelin. “In the western part of the woods.”

“The race starts there, and finishes at the dining pavilion….” I summoned my mental grid of the camp. There were a lot of blank areas I’d never explored, but one thing was clear. “So if you made a beeline from starting point to finish line, you’d have to run straight through the Wild Zone.”

Clarisse tried to feign shock, but she was a really bad actor. “Obviously the course goes around the Zone!”

“But you walked us to the far end and forced us to run through the Zone,” I said. “You were hoping we might find an illegal shortcut that could help Ares cabin win the baton race, weren’t you?”

She wouldn’t meet my eyes.

“YOU WERE!” My own ears rang from the roar of my voice.

Everyone on the javelin range looked at us.

Clarisse retreated a step. Zuri frowned at me, silently asking if I needed backing, but I held up a hand to keep her at bay.

“Clarisse.” I dropped my voice to a dangerous growl. “You are the most selfish, greedy, heartless person I have ever met. Grant is missing—probably in danger—and for what? So we can cheat in a race?”

Clarisse swallowed hard. “You’d better watch yourself, newbie. I’m the head counselor here.”

“You don’t act like it,” I shot back. “A good head counselor wouldn’t rest until all her campers were safe.” I pointed at her. “And a good Ares leader wouldn’t send unseasoned troops into danger for personal glory. You know Dad would agree with me.”

Clarisse’s mouth worked from side to side. “I do care what happened to Grant,” she said in a soft voice. “I’m not done looking for him.”

I crossed my arms. “Good. So tonight, let’s—”

“Not tonight,” Clarisse insisted. “We need time to formulate a plan.”