I stared at her blankly for a moment, not quite comprehending what I had just heard. Then it hit me. The Greek gods. Suddenly I wished I had read up more about Greek and Roman mythology. As it was, I really only knew the basics.
"They're real? The Greek Gods are real?" I said in shock and disbelief. I had to have heard wrong. There was no way it could be true.
"Yes, the Greek gods exist. The ring your father gave you deterred the monsters that would otherwise have hunted you down. It has other magical properties that Kronos will explain to you, if you will agree to meet him." My mom sounded so calm and sincere I just had to believe her. I mean, she'd never lied to me before. "There is something else."
"What, do the Norse gods exist too?" I asked, actually thinking this might be a logical possibility.
"Of course not," Mom said as if it were totally obvious. "This matter relates directly to your father."
"Oh," I said dully. "Who was he again?"
"Your father was destroyed by the gods long ago. You remember this from Greek Mythology, right?" I shook my head; Greek mythology is not something I had found interesting, and thus not something that I cared to remember. Mom sighed and then smiled knowingly and continued, "before that, before Zeus was born, Kronos ruled. His rule was know as the Golden Age, an age without crime, anger or hatred. Now Kronos is rising again, and he needs your help to do so. Once he overthrows the gods, he will bring about a new Golden Age to man."
I had to admit, that sounded pretty great, especially since my mom was so passionate about it. Randomly I wondered if it would be known as the Diamond Age, or if it would just be called the Second Golden Age. Whatever it would be called, it seemed like something I wanted to be part of. "What can I do?" I inquired without hesitation. After all, this was my dad that needed help. Of course I would help him (If he really existed).
"Kronos is attempting to rise to power again. He has told me his plans, so I know of what I speak. Zeus cares not for humans, but Kronos desires peace and prosperity. Being the God of Time, he learns from the past, looks to the future, and lives in the present. But he must raise an army to defeat the gods."
"But I can't fight," I pointed out, only a little despairingly. Not to mention most of her speech went way over my head.
Mom smiled. "You were born with special abilities because you are a demigod. Your father has training arranged for you, if you will accept it. Nothing will be forced upon you." She paused for a second to let that sink in. "What do you say?"
I didn't even have to really think about it. The answer was so obvious, so clear. "I will go. I will help my father." Wouldn't you have helped your dad?
"Good," Mom said, sounding a tiny bit relieved, though a bit as if she had expected it. "We will leave on Saturday. Pack whatever you think you will need for the trip there, and any other items you would like to have. Your father can provide anything that we lack when we arrive," my mom said lightly.
"I suppose that means I can't go to Jazzel's house this Saturday," I guessed, disappointed.
"Sorry, but you are correct. You can tell her that you are going on a trip. A very long trip," she answered a little ominously.
"To where?" I inquired, hoping to get a better knowledge about the strange world I had found myself in.
"Los Angeles. Your father is waiting there for us," she replied almost wistfully. Then she added in a very motherly voice, "Now go pack."
I nodded in what I hoped looked like confidence and understanding (but probably looked more like reluctance and confusion), and headed down the hall to my room.I half expected to see a monster sitting on my bed but, anticlimactically, there wasn't. I looked under the bed, but there was no monsters there either. Satisfied that my room was at least mostly safe for the moment, I sat on my bed, thinking. I stayed there for several minutes, biting my lip, unable to decide what to bring on the trip. For some reason I had a hard time focusing on packing, and my thoughts kept traveling back to the bright yellow book of Greek Myths at the school library. Also, when everything you could possibly need will be provided for when you get there and you have no idea how long you are going to be there, it's kind of hard to pack.
I'm not that good at packing, anyway, and I can never seem to get all clothes to fit in my duffel bag. After six minutes of sitting on my bed I finally pulled all the clothes out of my dresser and stacked them haphazardly on my bed. I stared at that not exactly inviting sight for a few more minutes, then began to sort through it to find what I may need. Onto a pile on the floor went more than two weeks worth of clothes for any possible weather conditions. I then attempted to fit it all into my one duffel bag, but as you can imagine, I failed miserably. Exasperated that I could not even get all the clothes into the bag, let alone zip it up, I pulled out two of my four jackets, three of my seven T-shirts, and two of my five pairs of jeans and tried again. This time it worked a little better (I got the bag to close), but it looked like it was about to burst. I shrugged at the overly stuffed bag and moved onto the other stuff I would need. I grabbed a bottle of water, a candy bar (yes, I needed it), my pocketknife, my other knife, my small makeup kit, several fantasy and sci-fi books, a calculator (who knows, it may come in handy), several flashlights, a bunch of other junk, and a picture of Jazzel and me.
I glanced hopefully over my bookshelf for something on the Greek gods, but there was nothing on the subject. I set both of my very full bags by my door, then sat down to do my homework. Because of the Math Bee all of the teachers had given less homework than usual, and most of it was really easy. When I had worked through all of my other homework twice (I do that so that I catch some of my mistakes), I reached into my backpack for my math homework, which I always save for last since it is my favorite. To my horror, I could not find the booklet it was in. I desperately dumped out the contents of my backpack, but it was not there. I searched around my room, under the mountain of clothes still looming on my bed, on the floor, under the bed, everywhere I could think of, but it was not there. Then suddenly I remembered that it was back at school on Mrs. Adderson's desk. I groaned in despair. You see, I have this really weird passion for getting assignments in on time. I may not always get homework right, but I get it done on time. It goes along with the whole not being late thing.
Since all my stuff was at least close to packed, I left the scary-looking pile of clothes on my bed and headed to the kitchen for some supper. Usually I have to fend for myself and dig through the fridge, but tonight the table was set and there was roast and mashed potatoes on the counter.
"Hey, Mom," I said as I entered. "I'm all ready to go."
She smiled proudly at the prepared meal. "Good. We'll leave in two days. However, we will eat a real meal tonight."
"Two days? Why not right away?" I asked. For some reason I had thought that this was an urgent matter. Almost being attacked by my math teacher didn't do much to deter that feeling.
"It's not that simple. You see, I have to make sure that the monsters don't already know what we are planning, and I need to clear the area of them. When they can't find you, there will be nothing to stop them from attacking regular people."
"Oh," I said numbly. I hadn't even thought of that. How could I have been so self-centered about this when hundreds of people could die? My face must have given away what I was thinking, because Mom smiled knowingly.
"It's all right, Kira," she soothed. "You're still very new at this. Every Half-Blood is the same way at first, but as you learn you will grow out of it."
I nodded, hoping she was right. But the smell of the roast was just so good that I decided to save the worrying for later and eat now.
"Let's eat," I suggested, sitting down in front of plate. Mom sat down across from me.
"To Kronos," she said, lifting her plastic orange juice glass.
I smiled and raised my glass as well. "To Kronos," I repeated, clinking my cup against hers. We drank our juice, then attempted at regular dinner conversation.
"So, Kira, how was school?" Mom asked, trying to sound as if everything was normal and I hadn't almost been attacked by a psycho teacher.
"Um, pretty good, I guess," I replied uncertainly. "I got second place in the Math Bee."
"Very good, Kira! You have improved so much this year. I think sending you to that school was the right decision," she praised, seeming almost genuinely happy.
"Really?" I asked incredulously, thinking of Mrs. Adderson.
"Well, aside from what happened today," Mom amended. "But just think how much you have learned."
She was right; in the past day or so I had learned that the Greek gods were real and that I was the daughter of one of the Titans. You could say I had learned a lot recently. I couldn't think of anything to add to what she had said, so I didn't say anything. We fell into an awkward silence as we ate. You would think that I would barely be able to eat anything after my somewhat traumatizing experience earlier, but my appetite had not suffered at all. I generously covered my mashed potatoes with butter, salt and pepper. Mom did not seem so hungry; she barely touched her food. Finally she broke the silence.
"Kira, there is something you need to know. Your father can be rather intimidating because he is in Tartarus. I don't want you to be frightened."
"I won't," I replied confidently through a mouthful of potatoes, though secretly I was terrified at the very sound of it.
"Good," she said simply, then she got a fare-away look in her eyes and said no more. I finished up my roast and potatoes, then put my dishes in the dishwasher and headed to bed. Unfortunately the massive pile of clothes on my bed was still there, so I just moved them to the floor, changed into my Pj's, brushed my teeth and went to bed. I hoped I would find some peace in my sleep.
I was in a cave far underground. It was a dark, eerie place with a huge, scary looking pit with a tall creepy guy standing next to it.
"How fares my daughter?" a deep voice from the pit inquired, making me jump. Somehow, as is often the way of dreams, I knew it was the voice of Kronos.
The weird man replied, "Mrs. Sorrel contacted me and informed me that she is doing well. She received a second place ribbon in her school's Math Bee, after which she was attacked by her teacher. We do not know for sure who sent the monster, but right now it seems like it was Zeus."
"That is not good news," Kronos said, his voice betraying his worry. "Is she coming here? She is my daughter and no harm must come to her."
"Mrs. Sorrel told me that they would be leaving Saturday."
"Good, good. Make sure they arrive safely. Long I have wished to meet my beloved daughter."
The cave faded away and I found myself in a cloudy place high in the sky. A bunch of richly dressed, important-looking people sat in a semi-circle on intricately carved chairs. I recognized Mount Olympus from the pictures I had seen in my Greek Mythology book. The gods were arguing about all sorts of things, from a new sculpture that was going to go in the throne room to the fate of mankind. None of them seemed to agree on anything and it was obvious that no one was going to compromise. It seemed rather useless, and I wondered why these petty arguing gods were in charge of the world.
Mount Olympus disappeared, and I was in a forest. A group of tough-looking kids in full battle armor who bore a banner that had a symbol I somehow knew to be Ares' picked on a scrawny kid who had a bandana that read 'Hermes Rocks'. He didn't beg for mercy and he didn't fight back (his only weapons were his fists, feet and a bow), the only sign he cared about what was happening to him was the proud, determined look on his face. The Ares kids spat insults that I couldn't quite hear at him, which he did not reply to. This enraged the Ares kids even more, and they quickly beat him to a pulp. I wanted to help him, but it was as if I could only see and not act in this dream.
The scene faded into nothing, and I slept peacefully for the rest of the night. I had no more dreams, which I was very grateful for.