Chapter 1: Hero
The day my mom took me to San Fransico, half of me wanted to be there, the other half wanted me to get the hell out of there.
"Hero? Do you have everything?" My mom asked me. Her name is Isabelle Grace.
Yeah, my name is Hero Grace. My mom named me after a Greek priestess. Go Google it if you don't trust me. Yes, she's a figure in Greek history.
"Yes, Mom. My shield and sword and backpack. Like I would leave anything behind. Can you please tell me about my dad and why I'm going to this 'camp'?" I asked her. I always attempted to ask her about my dad.
She got this faraway look in her eyes as she gazed out the windshield, like she was diving into her past and my origin. " Your father was the best man I ever met. I loved him and I still do now." Lie. "The funny part about him was his name: Jupiter. It was as if his mom had been obsessed with the Roman gods." That reason explained a few of my expulsions. " And you look a lot like him. You have his hair and one of your eyes matches his."
My hair was black and it stuck up in spikes naturally and I had one electric blue eye, the other one was chocolate brown. My mom didn't have brown eyes, she had green. Weird.
"And the camp?" I prompted.
"Your father wished that you'd go once you were older. For training."
I tightened my grip so that it was like a steel grip around the gold coin my mom had given me for my thirteenth birthday. It was a gift from Dad, she had said. It was my sword and my shield was a silver charm bracelet that was on my left wrist. I really wanted to give it an energetic tap. But the sane part of me said No. You are in a car. Not a great place to tap a shield unless utterly nessesary.
My mom pulled into a park. There were the broken ruins of a mansion and reflecting pool that was drained.
"This is where I say good-bye." My mom told me. " Promise to write."
"I will. Love you." I replied. A tear trickled down her cheek.
She got back in the car and left.
Once the car had disapeared from my view, I felt uneasy. I tapped my bracelet and the charms spiraled out into a silver and gold shield. I flipped the coin in the air like I had done with normal coins and it came up tails. When I caught it, it was my sword, Lightning's Bite. There was an uncomfortable tug in my gut and a bolt of lightning came down and my blade absorbed the shock.
I felt ready for anything. Except a pack of wolves.
A gray she-wolf came out from the bushes followed by several other wolves.
Do not be afraid. I am Lupa, the Mother Wolf. She said in some language. Probably Latin. You must show no weakness or you will become my food, not a pup.
OKAY... Wolves don't talk. I must be going crazy. I thought as I followed Lupa. It was just common sense and I felt it was nessesary.
The woods folded around the clearing and blocking me from my escape.
This was the start of a new life.
