The Rise of the Earth by Jeanette and Myrna (good books to read for teens txt) 📖

time. Lux was laughing with her friends and everyone seemed to love her. Caliga just sat in the nearby tree and watched her sister enjoying herself. It was about half way through, almost midnight when Caliga heard Lux walking out with some boy from the town to the back garden. She slipped in and out of the trees, keeping a close eye on them. They walked around the garden, just talking and laughing.

‘Were you two dating?’ Ryan asked.
‘No!’ Lux yelled. ‘He’s just one of my guy friends!’
‘Right...’ Ryan said, not believing her. ‘I believe you.’

But something in the bushes to the far left caught Caliga’s watchful eye. It was someone sitting in the bushes…Caliga quickly and quietly snuck over and behind the hiding person. But before she could get there, the guy who looked like he was in his early 20’s jumped out and grabbed Lux while holding a knife to her neck.

‘Why is someone threatening you?’ Annabeth asked.
Lux shrugged. ‘Maybe he knew who I was.’

‘Now don’t you move, or I will kill her in the name of Mars.’ He shouted.

‘Why does it have to be my name?’ Ares asked. ‘Couldn’t it be in Athena’s name?’
‘I wouldn’t be in my name, idiot,’ Athena said. ‘I am the goddess of wisdom, why would they sacrifice to the goddess of wisdom?’

Everyone from the party turned to look at the kidnapper. Most of the girls screamed and ran to hide. The men were hesitant to help because the man might kill Lux. Caliga quickly scanned around for something to help her attack. She saw a broken wooden bar hidden under leaves and dirt by the tree next to her.

‘Are you going to do what I think you’re going to do?’ Thalia asked.

She pulled it out of the ground, snuck behind the kidnapper and hit him with all her strength on the head.

The Demigods and Mortals cheered.
‘Go Caliga!’ Dakota yelled.

He instantly dropped the knife and fell to his knees. Caliga grabbed the knife and put it safely away. She walked over to Lux and asked someone to take her inside. But Caliga was so busy with Lux and she didn’t realize that the guy behind them had gotten up and was about to grab her. She realized a little too late, the man had pulled off her hood.

‘You are always in a dramatic situation, aren’t you?’ Ryan asked Caliga and she shrugged.

The mark on her forehead glowed in the lights of the torches all around the garden. Everyone backed away; someone grabbed Lux away from her. There were shrikes and screams as everyone started to run. Some men took out their sword and shouted, ‘Demon! Be gone from here.’ They spat on her then left to get their weapons from inside.

‘Wow, your time is very rude and racist.’ Rachel said.
‘I prefer your time,’ Caliga said. ‘Even though there are some who are still racist.’

Caliga put back on her hood and quickly disappeared. She ran as far all the way back to her house, but before entering, she looked around to make sure no one had followed her.
Caliga ran into the house panting and tired from having to run so far and so fast. She grabbed her bag which she had packed, while quickly stuffing a few things in for her sister. She wrote a note to her aunt saying sorry but people found out about her; also that Caliga and Lux had to leave the night before they found out where they were hiding. Laying the note down next to the sleeping lady she snuck out and waited for her sister to come home. Half an hour later her sister arrived. Caliga jumped down from the tree and told her that they were leaving.
"Why? I want to stay here. They will understand if you explain it to them....." Lux complained.
Caliga took of her hood and looks directly into Lux's eyes and said
"No. We are leaving now. If they find out that I am hiding here they will burn this whole place down. It will ruin Aunt's life forever. I've already gotten a servant to alarm everyone to meet us there so don't worry."
She grabbed her sister's arm and they both quietly ran for their lives.

Caliga and Lux ran straight through town to the other side. The walls were large and were impossible to climb over without professional gear but that didn’t stop Caliga. She raised her hand and concentrated, and just as she did, a hole just big enough for them to fit through crumbled away from the wall and put itself back together when they had both gotten through. Outside the walls was a huge forest, but the girls just ran straight into it.
It was a good ten minutes of running as fast as they could before they reached the meeting spot. Already waiting there were 5 people, all had huge backpacks on their backs and hoods over their faces.
‘Is everyone here?’ Caliga asked while turning around counting everyone.
When she had made sure that they were all there she took a stick and draw some very large markings on the ground, and in the middle, a small circle to fit them all inside. When she was finished drawing it everyone stood in the circle and Caliga did a very fast hand motion and chanted something in Latin. Everything was quite for a second but then the markings on the floor and on her started to glow. Everyone held their breath as the lights came closer to them and finally, the circle started to glow very brightly. A few trees caught on fire from the small sparks that were flying everywhere. The ground where the circle was caved in and everyone fell down through the hole.

It seemed like they were falling for a few hours, but in reality there were just going down for a minute or two. And when they landed, I think everyone of them still wished that they were falling. Because they had landed on some very annoyed Hyperborean Giant. It wasn’t the best of places to land.
The Hyperborean Giants started to attack the small group, and most of them being normal humans, of course couldn’t defeat the giants, so Caliga summoned up the last of her energy and sent everyone except for her and Lux back home. It was just then when one of the Giants touched Caliga and she completely froze. Lux screamed but just after that there was a very loud sound of thunder and the giants just fell to the ground.
Caliga unfroze herself and ran to Lux,
‘Are you okay?’ Caliga asked
‘I’m fine. What about you? You were frozen...and do you have any idea where that lightning came from?’
‘It’s fine, I’m just a bit cold. And I think I saw someone right over there, let me go and check. Stay right there, don’t move.’ Caliga’s voice was stern.
When Caliga had finally arrived at the place where Ryan was laying he was just about to pass out, the only thing he saw her take of her hood. Caliga called for her sister telling her it was safe, that it was just some dumb boy who attempted to be hero for one day.
‘HEY!’ Ryan yelled, ‘Is that really what you thought that I was trying to do?’ ‘Never mind just keep on reading.’ Caliga complained
Caliga was about to leave him there when Lux begged her to bring him back with us and just watch him until he woke up. Grumbling Caliga agreed and carried Ryan on her back, the whole time while the twins searched for a safe place to camp.

‘And you were freaking heavy as well Ryan.’ Caliga slapped Ryan on the back.
‘What was that for?’ Ryan asked.
‘I just felt like hitting you then.’ Caliga gave him a cheeky smile as he rolled his eyes and told her to continue
‘Chapter’s finished now. Finally.’ Caliga was relieved.
‘Who’s turn is it to read next?’ Annabeth asked,
‘Let Ryan read again, since it’s his part now.’ Caliga replied while dropping the book into Ryan’s hands.
‘Fine I’ll read.’ He complained

The morning after Ryan had save Lux and Caliga, when Ryan woke up, he was laying inside a tent. It was a very small tent, just big enough to sit up in and lie down. He turned over and thought about where he was. He suddenly remembered about the giants, the girl, and everything else. He sat up as fast as he could and walked out of the tent.
‘Oh you’re awake now?’ Ryan saw the blonde girl from last night was sitting near the tent, eating some fish.
‘Who are you again?’ Ryan asked,
‘Oh my name is Lux. What’s yours?’
‘Ryan. But wasn’t there another person with you? One that was frozen or something...?’ Ryan was cut off by someone behind him saying,
‘You mean me?’
He turned around and saw the hooded girl again, but this time her hood was down and her hair put back in a pony tail, showing her markings on her forehead and neck.
‘I swear you were frozen last night?’ Ryan asked.
‘Pah, you think something as little as that would kill me? You’ve got to learn a few things about someone before you judge them idiot.’ She walked over to Lux and sat down next to her, resting her head on a tree.
‘Sister be nice. Ryan this is my sister Ca...’ Lux started,
‘My name is Acario.’ Caliga covered up.
‘Oh ya. Acario this is Ryan he’s the one who saved us last night.’ Lux introduced Ryan to her sister.
‘Ya, ya I know. I was the one who had to carry that heavy dork all the way back here from the hill.’
‘Nice to meet you too.’ Ryan complained.
‘You must excuse my sister. She’s not in the best of moods today because she’s annoyed because she almost lost last night.’ Lux turned to her sister, ‘I’m thirsty, do we have any water?’
‘I think there’s some still some fresh dew, let me check and see how much.’
Ryan had a puzzled look on his face as Caliga jumped up and stood still a few inches away from the tree she had been leaning on. She took a deep breath in, closed her eyes and started to move her hands. Then it happened. All of the leaves started to move, there was a slight breeze of wind started blow. Ryan felt some drips of water but when he looked up to the sky, there weren’t any rain clouds. But what surprised him was that there were millions of little droplets all falling off of the leaves and collecting into huge bunches of water. Caliga twisted her right hand a bit and gracefully moved her left hand around as if she was tracing some pattern in her head. All the water slowly moved down to the ground and straight into a small water container that Caliga had brought from her Aunt’s house.
‘Thanks.’ Lux said as if it was the most normal thing to see that happen. All Ryan did was just stare at Caliga in amazement.
‘Is your face broken or something?’ Caliga rudely said while walking off to go find some more food.
‘Is she always like this?’ Ryan asked Lux,
‘Oh this is her on a good day. You got lucky. But I guess she is a bit down because she couldn’t save the rest of our group yesterday, she used too much energy sending them back to