Chapter 11: Oracles are Optimistic; Their Prophecies Aren't

"I don't feel comfortable going in there." That was me, at the gate of Clarion Ladies Academy. Beyond the fancy gate was an assortment of elegant buildings. Girls wandered about, dressed in preppy, rich clothing. I felt like the lone cavity in a set of perfect teeth. Looking down, I see my orange camp shirt and jeans. Not exactly designer. Boy, I was finding that out pretty quickly.

I turned to Lydia, and blinked in surprise. She was wearing one of the same uniforms as the other students. Argus had a formal suit on, and it covered his body eyes completely. "How did you guys do that?"

"Mist manipulation," said Lydia. One of the many things that I didn't learn at camp. Like how to not kill a person. Many students were looking at me strangely, and I felt flushed with awkward embarrassment. But now was not the time to worry about things like that.

"How do we find the Oracle now?" I asked.

"We ask the headmaster," said Lydia. "Though he might not be impressed with your clothing." Did I detect a sullenness in her voice?

"Hey," I said, "why did you need that attendance sheet anyways-,"

"Argus?" A red haired girl had spotted us and was now running toward us. Lydia muttered a thank you to Tyche, Goddess of Fortune.

"Let's move away from here," she said. The red haired girl nodded and we relocated to the auditorium. It was huge, and affordable by the school's obviously large budget.

"I'm Rachel Dare," said the girl. "The Oracle. I've gotten quite a few people coming to me during the middle of the day. What do you guys need?"

She frowned when we finished the story. "Well…that's troubling. On the bright side, the gods haven't utterly destroyed you for your crime. Yet."

I hesitated. "Is that…a problem?"

"Relax," she said reassuringly. "They've let off Hercules, Jason, Medea, and a few others before."

"And they've all had happy endings after their crimes were reprieved?"

She hesitates. "…yes," she said unconvincingly. The karma gods are going to kill me. Great.

She looks at me. "Ask the question. I'm ready when you are."

I'm not ready. "Okay," I say, "I'm ready." I take a breath and say, "Oracle, what must I do to reprieve my crime?"

Rachel's eyes glow green and green smoke starts to trail out of her mouth. "Breath mints," I mumble. "Would be very useful."

Her voice is tripled, and it rings across the auditorium.

Daughter of Arrow, Son of Vine

One uses the father's symbol of pine.

Beware the Chimera,

Child of Wine's bane.

But gods' wrath you bear, unless it is slain.

Stop at last young hero

Triumph and pay Death's dues

And yet in the end, still Madness Ensues.

Her booming voice echoes, and at last the thundering sound fades away. No one says anything for a second. "Nice acoustics," muttered Lydia.

Rachel nodded, back to normal. "Everyone says that. So, what did the prophecy say?"

I stare. "Oh," I said, feeling embarrassed. "I thought you might know." Lydia stares at me.

"You forgot? How can you forget? It's one of the single most important things you'll ever need to know!"

"Sorry, but she spoke way too fast. I was going to ask her to slow down, but her voice went all creepy."

"But it's your prophecy!"

"Oh, come on! I have ADHD. Let's be honest, who really commits it to memory in two seconds? Not Theseus, not Hercules, not Percy Jackson."

Argus rolled his eyes and handed me a sheet with the prophecy on it. "Oh," I said, "Thanks Argus."

"What does it say?" asked Rachel. I read the paper, and they look over my shoulder.

"Hm," said Rachel, scrunching her eyebrows together. "The first line obviously alludes to you guys. But what about the pine?"

Argus pointed at the pine cone on my neck. Rachel nodded, not questioning it any further. "It says to watch out for the Chimera," she continued.

"No," says Lydia, "it also says that god's wrath will befall Glen if he doesn't kill it. I think that's the quest."

"Alright then," I said. "We go on our merry adventure, kill it, and start breaking out into song as we go back home."

Lydia frowned. "What?"

"That's what 'triumph' means, right?"

"But no one sings. You're thinking about popular animated movies there."

"Oh." She rolled her eyes at me. "But we win, right?" I ask.

"Not so fast," said Rachel. "It also says that the Chimera is your bane. Which means it'll kill you if you fight it."

"And that's better than the wrath of the gods."

"Hey," said Rachel shrugging. "Once you're dead, you're dead. No gods torturing you in Hades."

"But I killed someone. Doesn't that crime give me a punishment in the afterlife?"

"Oh yeah," said Rachel, which annoyed me a little. I guess dealing out death omens all the time put her a little on the aloof side. "But, hey," she added. "It says that you don't have to kill it. Maybe Lydia or Argus can."

I remember Argus and Lydia defeating Lamia without me being able to do anything. The thought doesn't really fill me up with joy.

"And the last line," said Rachel, "well…I don't exactly have a clue about what it means."

And that is the Oracle's final interpretation. We say goodbye and walk to the car. Argus starts driving, but where to? We went to the oracle for instruction. We didn't get much help. The feeling is like a math teacher telling you to solve a problem and then giving you something you've never learned about.

The feeling is one of being lost, and feeling the despair of uncertainty slow needles into you. I hate prophecies. And math.