So hi guys! Long time, no Hel! But this she, and the whole story, are getting a major revamp. In that it's barely the same story anymore. But I felt unable to continue the original, which I will leave up for anyone who hates this new version so much they feel nostalgic for a bit of Norman the Squid!
I'm planning on updating this every Friday - barring the 16th November - so regular updates coming your way! Anyway, hope you enjoy, let me know what you think; review away!
Chapter One
It took Mum three weeks after my dad's death to contact me. Don't get me wrong, I was hardly a crying mess on the floor. Not by that point, anyway. But still, it stung a little that it took her sudden change in status to my Only Parental Body, god help me, three weeks to sink through that thick skull of hers.
"Darling! How are you?" She gushed, her fake sympathy grating even through the shimmer of an Iris message.
"Just peachy, ta for asking." She smiled happily, as always, at my accent, no doubt remembering how pleased she was at picking a well-bred Englishman on business to New York to indulge in a spot of unprotected sex.
"But how are you feeling, Helena? Do you need me to comfort you?"
I set her worries at ease. "No."
She sighed. "Well there is one other matter we need to discuss, darling."
Of course, she wouldn't have bothered just for condolences. I tried not to feel bitter about that, reminding myself I was, after all, used to her.
"You turn eighteen next month." I stared, unable to hide my shock that she remembered. "It's too dangerous for you to ignore your heritage any longer. Monsters will be drawn in hoards to you if you insist on staying out in the open and unprotected like this. I've contacted some people in America who can help. They're on their way to collect you; they'll teach you all you need to know."
I was furious. "Like hell I'm going to America with total strangers! I can take care of myself – I've managed all these years without any help, what makes you think I can't any longer? Besides, I'm going to uni in October – that's only five months away! No. I'm not going."
"Helena. This is not a request."
I end the message instantly and sank back down on my bed where I'd been asleep when she'd woken me up with her standard lack of respect for different time zones.
If my mother thought for one second that I was going to uproot myself and travel halfway around the globe to pacify her sudden fad for being a caring mother, she had another thing coming. I hate flying, I hate other demigods and I hate Americans.
I woke up to the blissful sounds of my brother's band slamming through a particularly hideous rendition of 'Stairway to Heaven'. I rolled over, pulling my duvet tight over my head.
"Shut the fuck up, you freak!"
When he didn't, I took it as a sign and stumbled out of bed, pounding down the corridor to his room. "Open the door!" I yelled over the truly horrific guitar solo. The noise whined and died before he wrenched the door open, glaring at me.
"What?"
"You loser, I was asleep!"
"It's two in the afternoon! Not even you need that much beauty sleep!" We descended into our usual bickering, but neither put much heat into it. His eyes were still red and he looked younger than his fourteen years, his long skinny frame accentuated by his baggy t-shirt and sweatbands, his red hair curling around his temples. He was clutching Dad's old guitar.
I paused and asked softly, too low for his other gawky friends in the room to hear, "Have you eaten yet today?" He shrugged. "Alex, please. I know that Domica has left some soup in the fridge. Just heat a little in the microwave. For me?"
He gave a small nod and an even smaller smile before shutting the door in my face. The travesty to all that Zeppelin created started up again a moment later.
My older brother was in the kitchen when I traipsed downstairs, my caffeine craving kicking in. He was powering his way through three bacon sandwiches whilst skyping his girlfriend. He grinned at me when I entered; we were always close, seeing as he was only a year older than me. Despite all three of us having different mothers, we'd always been there for one another. Even more so, now.
I retrieved my token Lucozade from the fridge and sat on the counter to drink it, waiting for John to finish. He was always devoted to his girlfriend of the month, but this one seemed special. They met at uni in freshers week and had been together ever since. He eventually signed off with his usual reassurances of love and forever.
"Hey, brat." He said affectionately, standing and ruffling my hair as he reached past me to get ketchup from the cupboard. He was a dedicated rugby player and built like one, six foot three of wide, solid muscle with floppy blonde hair and soft, laughing eyes.
"How's the other half?"
His grin widened, "The theatre group like her play! They're putting it on in a couple of months."
"That's really good, say congrats from me."
"I will. How's Alex?"
I pulled a face. "Not good. He's still not eating."
"I'll have a word with him." John looked unhappy.
"No, don't. I'll handle it."
"You sure?" I nodded, already pouring the soup into a bowl. "Thanks, brat. Hey, did I hear you talking in your sleep last night?"
I busied myself with the microwave. "Doubtful. You know I sleep like a log."
He laughed, "That's what woke me; the break from the snoring."
I smacked him lightly and he pretended to retaliate, grabbing my hand and twisting. It'd been a long time since we'd mock-fought like this and I threw myself into it, sending my free fist at his head before feinting right, dodging left and pulling free of his hold. We grinned at one another, then he lunged for me and I ran, darting around the kitchen table and island counter. I stopped suddenly, startling him enough for me hook a leg around the back of his knees and send him crashing to the ground. I instantly began my victory dance; it'd been a long time since I'd been able to floor John.
He sat up, groaning and rubbing his head. "Alright, alright, you win."
"I am the champion! You suck, I rule; you suck, I rule! Say it!"
He rolled his eyes, "You are such a child."
"Am not! Now say. It."
He stood, "Or what?" He challenged, looking amused.
"Or I tell everyone how you got beaten by a girl." An old trick, but a classic.
He moved again, slower than I did; he had strength on his side, but I had semi-divine reflexes. Not that he knew where my skills came from, though they had been honed by my growing up in a house with two boys, they were primarily due to my parentage, loathe as I am to admit it. I sometimes wish that John and Alex knew about gods and monsters and all the Greek mythology bullshit I had to put up with on a daily basis, but I also know I could never tell them. I wouldn't inflict this knowledge on anyone.
My depressing thoughts distracted me for the split second it took for John to land a brutal blow to my jaw. My head cracked back and I staggered, grasping for something hold onto. He grabbed my hands, pulling me back towards him so he could inspect the damage with horror.
"Jesus Christ, Hel! Why didn't you fucking move? Oh my god! Are you alright? I am so, so sorry! Oh my god!"
"John, John, I'm fine, it's ok. I spaced out for a second, I'm sorry." My jaw hurt like hell; I was going to have a serious bruise in a couple of hours, but it was nothing some ice wouldn't numb. "Peas?"
"Yeah, right, of course." He scrambled to the freezer and returned with a bag of frozen bean sprouts which he let me press gingerly to my jaw. I managed to supress the wince to save him feeling even guiltier. For such a tough rugby player John was a major softie.
Alex chose this moment to enter, looking as pained and shy as he had since we had first heard the news. Not that he used to an extrovert, but he was always full of quiet laughter and sparkling mischief. Now his eyes were empty and bloodshot. I remembered his soup and quickly pressed 'Start' on the microwave.
"Have your friends left?"
He nodded, gaze darting between the bean sprouts, John's guilty expression and the chairs we'd knocked over during the chase.
"What did you do?" He asked me.
"I'm the one with the ice pack! Why aren't you asking John that?"
Alex shrugged. "You always start the fights. So what did you do?"
John's guilt quickly gone, he looked smug and amused. "She hit me."
"It was a playful tap!" I gasped in outrage. "To which you start wrestling with me over!"
John scoffed.
"You punched me." And there, the guilt was back in a second and I instantly felt like the worst person on the planet. "Shit, I'm sorry, John. It was my fault, really, I wasn't thinking-"
"See. Your fault." Alex granted us a rare smile. And I smiled back, the petty fight forgotten in a second. The microwave dinged.
"Your soup's ready." I said, moving to get it for him, but he got there first and actually moved to sit down and eat it. I couldn't stop the smile that spread over my face at the sight and I shared a happy glance with John.
"So what are you plans for the day?" John asked as we puttered around the kitchen, me fixing myself some food, John filching the posh crisps when he thought I wasn't looking.
"Not much, might go see Tam later, she says she's got some new skateboarding tricks to show me."
"Don't go injuring yourself further, alright?" John mussed my hair again, as he always did when he was feeling affectionate. He'd been doing it a lot in the last few weeks. We'd all needed more affection from one another.
I laughed, "I remember a time when it was you putting me on the board and pushing me off the highest ramp!"
He was saved from replying by the doorbell ringing.
"One of your friends forgotten something?" I asked Alex as John went to answer. He shrugged. I swapped my ice pack to the other hand.
"Hel? It's for you." He sounded unsure and I exchanged glances with Alex before going into the hallway to investigate.
Standing on the doorstep were a boy and a girl. The boy looked uncomfortable and edgy; he was twitching and his gaze never rested on one thing for more than a few seconds, like he was expecting unseen enemies to attack him from all angles at any moment. The girl was more controlled, but radiated determination, as if she'd been forced into a particularly nasty task she was set on completing no matter what.
"Helena Rosaline Wing?" She addressed me, her grey-eyed gaze direct. American. Oh, shit. These were my escorts to 'safety'? Two teenagers? I knew they were demigods like me, but neither looked experienced enough to protect themselves let alone me. There was no way in hell I was going with them.
"That's what's on my passport. You can call me Hel." I gave her my wildest, most dangerous grin. She didn't blink.
"I'm Annabeth Chase, this is Percy Jackson and you're going to come with us now."
John intervened then, folding his arms and towering over them both, "I don't know who you think you are, but either explain yourselves or get the fuck out. And if you think you're taking Hel without her permission you've got another thing coming."
"John," I said quietly, "Go back into the kitchen. This is to do with my mum, I can handle it." His eyes went wide. He thought my mum was some kind of American celebrity who visited once or twice a lifetime and paid for my school but otherwise left me alone. "I'll call you if I need help."
He gave them one last look before vanishing back into the kitchen.
I turned back Annabeth and Percy, "Now, I don't know what she said to convince you to come all this way for little old me, but it was misinformation. I am doing just fine on my own; I can deal with any monster that tries anything, so turn around, hop on your plane back to Olympus and convey my deepest regrets to Aphrodite that I'm going to have to turn reject her offer of playing the perfect mother just this once, ok?" I slammed the door shut.
