Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO series. I only own my own ideas, and the materials, weapons, and characters that I put into my stories.
Author's Note: If you haven't already, you definitely should read my other story, Forgotten, before reading this story. If you do not, you shall be utterly lost in everything that I write. So either read Forgotten, or do not read this story. Your choice.
There are three OCs in this story: Soaron, a 14-year-old son of Hekate; Cassandra, a 12-year-old unclaimed child, and little Nick, a 6-year-old son of Apollo. If you utterly hate OCs and refuse to read them, I wouldn't read this story.
Note: Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of them are still the main characters. Just check the POV before you read. This chapter is Percy's. If I do not put a POV, assume it is Percy's POV. Understood?
This story takes place right after BOTL.
Eerie singing filtered into my ears, finding its way into my dreams. I hate dreams; I have never, ever had a good dream. Always bad dreams or prophetic dreams. Sometimes I actually get some sleep, too.
I woke up instantly. The funny thing was, the singing didn't stop after I woke. It continued, haunting, beautiful, and terrifying. I recognized the song of the Hesperids, from the Garden. But what was it doing here? The Hesperids lived in San Francisco. I was in New York.
It continued, growing louder and louder. It was coming from my dresser, too. That would be an odd place for an ambush, so I slipped out of bed and crept over.
I opened a drawer, and Anaklusmos sat on top, pulsing with light. The otherworldly voices were coming out of it. I picked it up, and took of the pen cap, wondering what on earth was going on.
Silver light blasted out of the pen, sending me staggering backwards. The voices increased in volume, growing louder and louder. I stuffed cap on, then threw it into the dresser.
The singing continued, albeit muffled. I frowned at the dresser, while puzzling over what this might mean. I decided to call Annabeth in the morning. If anyone could figure out this new development, it was her. At least, if she was willing to talk to me. She had become very withdrawn after the Labyrinth quest.
I shrugged, turned over, and went back to sleep.
But it seemed that the Fates had other ideas. As I slept, I dreamed.
I was standing at the edge of the pit of Tartarus. But the dark presence that had been haunting me for five years was gone.
But that didn't mean that it was empty. There was noise, and the all-consuming darkness that normally hung around the pit was gone. Instead, flickering torchlight was lighting the place from inside the pit.
I peered down into the depths of Tartarus, and was greeted by the sight of monsters. Thousands of monsters were visible in the deeps, and of all kinds; hellhounds, dracanae, Tartarian spawn, Laistragonians, and Echnida's children.
Suddenly, I became aware that I was not the only silent observer. There was another boy, standing right next to the Pit, gazing into its depths. He looked up and saw me. He frowned, then moved fingers like they were claws, and drew them over my face, ripping through my dream like the emposai had.
I awoke yet again, wondering what I had ever done to provoke the Fates.
After I had calmed down a bit, I started to think more about what the dream meant. I wondered who the boy had been. He reminded me of the emposai, Kelli, but, strangely, he also reminded me of Nico. It was something in the air about him, I guess, and the feeling of being outcast.
I went back to sleep, and this time, I slept the night through.
Sorry, that was really short… I should write more, but this is a good stopping point. Note: If you are reading this, and you have not read Forgotten, read it. You will be lost later on.
Next chapter may be a while in forthcoming. Schoolwork is taking over.
Sa Rart
