3.

Some woman gives me advice

I think her name was Danvers?

I woke up sprawled across the backseat of a moving car, a woolly blanket draped over my body.

My eyes focused on the sky displayed outside the window, it was still night-time and the moon gleamed proudly, dotted with several twinkling stars. It was a pleasant sight and alongside the continuous thrum of the car engine, it almost lulled me to sleep again.

"Morning Sleeping Beauty," I looked around at Ash who was sat grinning at me from the passenger seat.

Rubbing my eyes, I let out a groan. "Don't call me that you buffoon."

"Actually, I'm a satyr – half goat, half man."

"Nope," I said, shaking my head. "You're a buffoon to me. A satyr to everyone else."

Ash pulled his lips into a pout, though there was amusement mixed with relief sparkling in his dark brown eyes as he watched me. "Rude."

"Deal with it," I shrugged.

"Jokes aside," spoke my mom, turning my focus onto her.

I could briefly see her reflection in the rear mirror of the car, and although her eyes were trained onto the road, her face was lined with concern and worry. "You gave us quite a scare there Clara. I thought..." she drifted off, her voice brittle as if she was trying to stop herself from crying.

After a deep breath, she glanced at Ash. "In my bag by your feet there should be a few squares of ambrosia. Give one to her; she needs it after expelling all that energy."

He nodded and reached into the rucksack tucked underneath his seat. "Getting hit in the stomach made me pass out?" I asked in bemusement. "I only thought that made you have some major stomach pain, not make you feel as though your life just got drained out of you."

"That injury contributed towards it but no, that's not what made you pass out. That teleporting trick you did at the very last minute is what did it," she informed me and my expression formed into a more puzzled one.

"Hold on – you're telling me I teleported?"

Ash leaned over and handed me a piece of the ambrosia Mom was talking about earlier. I stared at the bizarre looking piece of food, wondering what it was made out of. I've never seen it before.

"It won't poison you," Ash chuckled. "Eat it."

I took a bite.

The taste of warm freshly buttered popcorn filled my mouth and a newfound sense of energy flooded through me. "Yes you did, it was quite a surprise – both for us and the giant. His club got stuck in the ground, leaving me an opening to kill him," she explained and I took another bite of the ambrosia as she continued talking. "Do you know how you did it?"

I shook my head, lifting myself into a sitting position.

"I'm not sure. I know I was thinking about being somewhere else and then I was next to Ash. I had my eyes closed," and then a thought occurred to me and I raised an eyebrow. "You owe me an explanation about what the hell that was all about. You said something about demigods? Are they people who are half-human, half-god? Because that's just...that's just impossible. I mean they're just something of myth, right?"

Ash gave me a sympathetic look. "Demigods are no myths and neither are the Greek gods. One of them is your parent after all."

"The Greek gods," I said simply. "You mean like Zeus, Poseidon..."

"That's the ones," Mom chirped. "Though there's a whole lot more gods than just Zeus and Poseidon. Sometimes they fall in love with mortals and the result is well...demigods. Most of the demigods born make it to a place called Camp Half-Blood which is a safe haven from the monsters. That's where we're taking you, if we can make it to the airport in time that is."

It took a while to process this information. "So...Greek mythology is real? They're not just myths?"

"Not in the slightest," Ash said.

"And I'm a demigod? And that's why those things were at our house?"

"That's right."

I turned and looked at Mom again. "And you're one as well? You said something about two demigods being useless against those giants – you meant yourself, right?"

After a moment, she nodded. "My father is Apollo. The god of music, poetry, art, oracles, archery, plague, medicine, sun, light and knowledge," she let out a sigh. "My mother sung for money – sometimes in theatres, restaurants or out on the high street. She caught Apollo's attention and the rest is history. I met him when I was fourteen but that's really it. I don't know whether he's really thought about me since then."

"It's my biological mom that's the god, isn't it? Dad couldn't have been a god because he died and I'm guessing the gods' can't do that."

Ash shrugged. "They can fade from existence but yeah your bio mom is the god."

"Which one?"

"We don't know. You won't know until she claims you, which she'll hopefully do once you get to Camp Half-Blood," Mom explained. "I've had my theories but they're probably way off the mark –"

"Did you know I was a demigod right from the beginning?" I blurted out.

There was silence for a while, as though Mom was pondering on how to answer my question.

"Not at first," she said eventually, her finger tapping against the steering wheel. "I did eventually realise once I had more monsters than usual swarming at me. Then Ash arrived home with you one day and that's when I knew for sure. I had just hoped I was wrong."

This confused me. "Why?"

She sighed again.

"Being a demigod...well sometimes most demigods don't live to reach adulthood. Most of the time they don't even reach Camp Half-Blood before they're slaughtered..." Mom shivered in her seat. "I was among the rare lucky ones. I want you to be one of those lucky ones too. I want you to live until your old and grey instead of killed in a time where you haven't even properly seen the world yet. When I was younger I had a friend...Billy his name was – a child of Hermes. He was killed by monsters on a quest."

I watched as Mom blinked a few stray traitorous tears away.

"He was at your age – fifteen and he just died in such a horrific way...I couldn't really bear the thought of that happening to you. You're my child and mothers are meant to protect their children but that's rather difficult to do when the things that want to do you harm are supernatural creatures from myth," she chuckled dryly to herself. "It's why you have to go to Camp Half-Blood. That way you won't get hurt or killed and that's the place I should've put you ages ago before those giants attacked us."

"I don't want to be away from you," I insisted, grasping the edges of my mom's seat. "I want to stay with you here. Who's going to keep you safe as well?"

"I'll be fine," she gave me a watery smile. "I survived well on my own until I adopted you. I'm sure I'll be able to do it again. At least I'll have the knowledge that you won't be harmed again like before. You'll have plenty of people like you to talk to. They'll understand just as well as me."

*~PJ~*

When we arrived at the San Diego International Airport, Mom informed me that she had booked seats for only me and Ash on a five-hour and twenty minute non-stop flight to JFK Airport in New York City. Ash had arranged for someone to pick us up and to take us to this Camp Half-Blood when we got there.

Our teary goodbye reminded me why I always hated doing them.

They always seemed so final and you never know whether you'll actually see that person again. Mom pulled me into a bone-crushing hug, her tears soaking my jacket and mine doing the same to hers. I was reluctant to let go of her when the hug ended, but I finally released her.

She placed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "You'll always be able to come back here for holidays, they always allow that," she told me softly. "This won't be the last time you see me."

"I don't understand why you can't come with us. You're a demigod, which means you can walk over the barrier and stay in the camp. You'll be safe too," I pleaded, praying to whatever deity that would be willing to listen that she would say yes. Alas, my prayers were apparently not heard."

"I think I'm a bit too old for that camp now, my dear. I promise you I'll be fine. I'll write to you at every chance I get and maybe even a few Iris messages."

"Iris messages?"

She waved off my question, dismissively. "Ash will explain that all to you I'm sure. You're going to be late for your flight and it definitely wasn't cheap to get these last minute tickets," she gave me a gentle nudge. "Go on. I'll be fine – daughter of Apollo, remember?"

Everything seemed as though they'd never get better when I sat myself down in the waiting lounge, my rucksack placed on my lap. Ash sat down beside me, and glanced at my sombre expression.

"This is for the best Clara," he placed a hand on my shoulder. "And your mom's the craziest fighter I've ever known. She'll be fine, really – now that she knows you'll be safe anyhow."

"I know," I told him, but it didn't make me feel any better.

"Here," he picked up something that was leant against his seat; the sword that Mom had given me gleamed under the fluorescent lights of the airport. The bronze looked as though it'd been freshly cleaned with no signs of tonight's battle tainted on its blade. "This belongs to you."

My eyes darted around the waiting area in a panic; I grasped the handle of the sword and quickly tucked it underneath my chair. "What are you doing? They might see it."

"Nah," Ash said, without a shred of worry in his voice. Now that I was looking, it appeared as though the other passengers had not noticed the sword at all. "The Mist obscures its true form from mortals. How did you think I got it through security?"

Carefully, as if the weapon as made of glass, I lifted the sword back up into the light and examined it and still none of the other passengers paid even the slightest attention. They either continued reading their magazines or tapped away at their laptops with a look of concentration on their faces.

"See," Ash smirked. "They can't see anything."

"What is this?"

"It's a sword."

I rolled my eyes. "I think I've realised that Captain Obvious. I meant what type of sword is it? What's it made out of?"

He shrugged.

"Miss Gilley told me that it was recently made, a broadsword to be exact. It was used in early modern military times, not in ancient. She called it Augury," Ash said, his eyes fixated on the said-sword with interest. "And as its metal, it's made out of celestial bronze mined by Cyclops on Mount Olympus. Then it's shaped in Mount Etna and cooled in the River Lethe. It's the only metal that can harm demigods, gods and monsters but it can't hurt mortals."

I blinked. "I only understood half of what you just said."

"Yeah you'll understand it all eventually," he informed me, leaning back against the chair, brushing a hand through his blond fringe. "It takes a lot getting used to."

"No kidding," I replied dryly.

Ash's eyes softened, sitting upright again. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing it's just..." I released a sigh. "I don't understand why you and Mom couldn't have told me all this way before we were attacked by those giant things. I could've been more cautious and then we might've been able to actually stay in National City with her."

"It's because she wanted you to have the most normal childhood possible. Usually when demigods know that they're what they are, it makes it a whole lot more dangerous which is why most of them are sent straight to Camp Half-Blood after finding out," he explained. "Believe me it will be a lot safer for you there then in National City Clara. And once you're old enough, you'll be able to go straight back."

I remained silent for a moment before standing up.

"I'm going to the bathroom," I informed him, leaning the sword against my chair. He looked up at me sceptically. "Don't worry I'm not going to try and do a runner."

"You better not," Ash scoffed. "Cause I'll drag your butt right back."

I raised an eyebrow. "Yeah right. I'm pretty sure I'm stronger than you."

"I wouldn't bet on that sunshine."

"I would actually," I gave him a gentle whack around the head.

"Ow," he moaned, rubbing his beanie-clad head that concealed his horns from mortals. That would be a difficult one to explain if they ever saw them.

"And do not call me sunshine."

"Meanie."

I waited until the ladies' bathroom was empty until I summoned him, closing my eyes and humming his name under my breath. Mist began to gather around from each corners of the room. It flooded into one particular spot, forming into one shape. Slowly, it grew larger and larger, solidifying into a humanoid shape until a pair of blue eyes blinked at me.

"Clara," my dad's voice was its usual echoed self. His eyes looked around the several empty stalls and then back at me again. "What's going on – are you at an airport?"

"We were attacked – Mom, me and Ash."

I searched his eyes as I said this, trying to see if he somehow knew anything about who I truly was. His eyes briefly flickered to the side. "W-What do you mean attacked? Was it a robbery –"

"Stop it," I said firmly. "I know you know. You knew who my bio mom really was, didn't you?"

Dad seemed to swallow a lump in his throat. It took a while for him to form some kind of response for me. "I knew she was a god," he said eventually, his words slow. "She told me all about the Greek myths and how the tales were all real. At first I never believed her but then she showed me what she could do...and then by that time you were born and she had to leave."

"What was her real name? What is she the god of?"

He shook his head. "She never told me her true name. I never wanted to ask –"

"Then she's the reason I can do this," I gestured to his misty form. "She's the reason I can speak to spirits like you, right? It must be."

"Y-Yes she's the reason why."

"And yet not once in all those times I summoned you did you tell me the truth," my fists clenched by my side, grinding my teeth. "That information would've been quite helpful Dad."

"You have to understand Clara," he pleaded with me. "I wanted you to have a normal life –"

"Yes," I interrupted him bitterly. "Because talking to my father who's been dead for almost ten years is completely normal. I already knew something was up – I just wanted to know why. And you knew why, this whole time. You knew the reason!"

"Poppet –"

"Don't."

The door to the bathrooms opened and I quickly sent him away, his form dispersing into mist once again.

An elderly lady shuffled into the room, scowling at me as I pretended to wash my hands in the sink. "Lovely morning, isn't it?" I smiled, nodding my head in greeting and hoping that she hadn't heard any of the conversation that just took place.

"Its night time," the lady grumped in response, looking as though she was trying to suss out my secrets.

"Is it really?" I queried nonchalantly with a shrug, I headed past her towards the door. "Whoops – my bad. It's the jet lag probably; it's doing things to my brain."

I didn't completely know what jet lag was, but it seemed to be the right thing to say as the lady gave up after a while. Toddling towards one of the stalls by the far end of the bathroom and for a moment, I stared at the once again vacant space where my dad had just been, feeling an inkling of guilt start to gnaw at my stomach.

I had been a bit harsh, but I was just so annoyed.

Shouldn't I have had the right to know who my mom really was? I was the one with her blood running through my veins after all. I felt even worse than before when I sat back down next to Ash who was impressively working his way through an apple.

"You took a long time," he stated with a raised eyebrow.

I shrugged. "Yeah there was a long queue. Some old lady was holding most of it up."

*~PJ~*

I truly hated flying.

The five hour flight from San Diego to New York did not change my perspective in anyway. It was infuriating not being able to do anything – I needed to be up and about, not sitting around doing nothing. I caught my knee bobbing up and down from repeatedly tapping my foot on the floor, my nails drumming into the armrest of the chair.

"Can you quit it?" a young woman with short auburn hair and dark brown eyes snapped impatiently from beside me. I had obviously been distracting her from whatever was contained in the stack of files in her hands.

"Sorry," I mumbled and rested my hands on my lap.

My eyes drifted upwards to the overhead compartment where my rucksack and sword were safely tucked away. I imagined if the flight attendants knew what it really was they'd probably have a melt-down.

Then there was Ash (I envied him) who had fallen asleep as soon as the plane took off. His head rested against the window, mouth wide open and loud snores echoed out. Sometimes he would mutter something about 'juicy grass' or 'hot naiads', leaving me to awkwardly come up with some reasonable explanation for our neighbours who would shoot odd looks in our direction.

I myself couldn't sleep, not mainly because of Ash (that dude had problems) but because my mind was still racing from everything that had happened. I was half expecting to wake up at any moment and be back at home, the morning sun streaming through my bedroom window. But alas this was the reality, I was really what they call a demigod – my bio mom was a freaking Greek god. I don't think I was ever going to get used to that. Everything about my life had just been turned upside down and I doubted it was ever going to resemble anything normal again.

"Alright," I jumped as the woman let out a sigh, shutting the file at the top of the pile. I briefly saw the name Danvers scrawled at the top of the paper but it was quickly moved aside. "What's up with you? I could hear you thinking from a mile away."

I knitted my brows. "Nothing."

"Really?" the woman arched an eyebrow at the movement. "You're doing the same thing my sister does when she's lying. You can tell me you know, I'm not going to bite."

"I don't know you."

She shrugged. "Shouldn't make a difference. You'll never see me again after this flight so whatever you tell me I won't tell anyone else. I have no need too," then her expression softened. "It just looks like you could use someone to talk to."

I found myself rubbing the tiredness out of my eyes, my shoulders in resignation. "It's just something happened, everything I knew has changed and now I don't even know what to think," I told the woman, being careful not to reveal too much information. "I have to go to this strange place because of it and I have no idea whether I'm going to actually fit in or not."

There was silence for a while, the woman obviously taking careful consideration of this information. "Oh I totally know the feeling," she said eventually, causing me to look up at her. She continued with a smile. "There were a few major changes in my life when I was younger too, I didn't like the change at first."

"How did you get over it?"

"Well...I kind of had no choice other than to accept it but y'know what – I'm glad that I did," the woman leant backwards in her chair, still peering at me. "The change was for the better and I definitely wouldn't have it any other way if I was to choose. It just takes time and eventually you'll understand why everything that happened did, I promise you."

I chewed on this bit of information, staring at the back of the seat in front of me. "I just hope that's true."

"It is," the woman insisted, her hands reached for the files again, placing them back on her lap. "Now, are you gonna sit still so I can get on with this?"

I nodded and her smile widened.

"Good," she said, and then she gestured towards Ash. "You should get some sleep like he's doing – a kid like you shouldn't be awake at this time. You'll need the strength when you get to New York."

And surprisingly, that's what I ended up doing and I was claimed by sleep for the rest of the journey.

I dreamt of a dark-haired woman I didn't recognise, her mouth twisted into a cruel smirk only for the scene to change. My mom was at up alone in her bed, the lamp light switched on but her book was discarded on the bedside table. Her hands grasped the edges of a wooden framed photograph; I recognised the picture of myself and her when we travelled to a beach one day.

I must've been at least seven at the time but I remember the day just as clearly as if it had happened yesterday. Eventually, after a while, she placed the photo-frame back on the table, switched off the light and went to sleep.