Chapter ten

The ghost of girlfriends past

Dylan promptly stalked out of the barrack and into the city, forcing me to accept what he had just said without question. I rolled back onto my bunk and starred at the dismally white ceiling. Without anymore distractions, Rachel's prophecy rang in my ears.

Child of power, make the ground shake.

And to the giant's slumber wake.

To see a friend trapped in his jaws.

War, destruction and chaos cause.

The only line I could figure out was child of power, because shaking the ground? That was undeniably me. From what I had heard, I would wake up one of Gaia's sons, a giant, though we didn't know which one.

To see a friend trapped in his jaws. That one had me. The nearest thing I could figure was that it meant he would kill a friend of mine, probably by eating him. The only true friend I had here was Dylan. I didn't want him to die. I wanted him to live to become praetor. The prophecy had made it clear that I would cause trouble and war. I would ruin lives and cause death, all because I awoke a giant.

In the back of my mind, I couldn't help but wonder what would happen if I died. Maybe the prophecy would reverse itself, and the giant would fall asleep again. In my heart though, I knew that I couldn't be that lucky.

I closed my eyes, knowing that the dreams that came would hardly be a comfort.

I was in a cave, a hollowed out underground space that smelled like dirt and water and mud. It was so overpowering, I gagged and almost threw up. I heard a smashing sound deeper in the cave and the ground rumbled. And no, this time, it wasn't me.

Well, how refreshing.

The sounds continued in an even pattern, moving closer and closer, until my sleep clouded brain realized what was happening. I dove behind the nearest rock and watched as a giant, the size of a small apartment building, stepped into view. He brought with him the smell of salt and fish. His hair was the same shade of green as mine.

Well, that decided it, I'm going back to blonde.

"Awake at last!" He bellowed. The cave shook and I ducked behind my rock again, making sure no stalactites were going to rain down on my head. "Mother, you have been disgraced. I will avenge you!" He punched the cavern wall and small stones and rock coated me in grime. "The Olympians will bow their knees and crown you, starting with Neptune. I will kill them!"

Seemed like the wrong time for a monologue to me, but hey, I don't judge.

Much... Okay, I do. Get over it.

Since we appeared to be on the set for a cheesy Hollywood movie, I debated jumping out from my rock and shouting 'you won't get away with this!'

But I decided the giant would probably just step on me, then shave my hair and use it as extensions.

"Just watch mother! In a week's time, my revenge will be fulfilled!" I squeezed my eyes shut and held my hands over my ears. The last thing I needed now was a blown in eardrum. The echoing roar slowly dissipated into a whole new cacophony.

When I opened my eyes, I saw a raging battle. I was atop a black mountain in the middle of the night. A brilliant light flooded the battle field regardless of the time. It traced back to a glowing humanoid man. The world around me was a blur, but I could make out a few familiar faces.

Reyna was locked in battle with a monster I'd never seen before. Dylan and Mika were on the other side of the mountain, standing back to back, swords drawn. Cassie kneeled on the ground, her bow drawn to her chin. Another girl stood behind her, one I hadn't seen around camp. She held her spear limply, the fear on her face easy to see. I don't know why, but out of all the people in battle, my eyes were drawn to her.

A memory of her tickled the back of my mind. Dylan had pulled out his wallet once, to buy me a soda at Intercity. There had been a picture of her in the spot meant for an ID. She looked vaguely Indian, with long, flowing black hair I would have killed for.

Apparently, I wasn't the only one.

A large dog, black as night, bounded toward the two girls. Cassie let her arrow loose, but the dog jumped with impossibly quick reflexes. It bowled over Cassie, knocking her onto her back. Long strips of her shirt were torn away. Three or four parallel cuts shredded her skin.

The dog continued as if he saw girls bleeding to death on the ground all the time. It howled in triumph as it closed in on the dark haired girl. She screamed in terror, attracting attention from every corner of battle. "Daniella! No!" I turned my head and saw Dylan shoving aside monsters, running to help.

He was too late. The dog had Daniella in his jaws, biting down like she was a chew toy. It tossed her hard and she careened limply into the side of the mountain. Rocks and dust skittered into the air when she hit and I could tell from the way her neck snapped on impact that she was already dead.

I woke up to a hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake. Dylan stared at me, concern on his face. Daylight streamed in through the windows. "Leila, they're serving breakfast." I looked up. The barrack was dead empty. I had slept in again.

Some things never change.

I pulled myself into sitting position, still imagining a black dog lunging for Daniella's chest. There was no question in my mind as to who Daniella was. Dylan's ex-girlfriend, though not an ex by choice. Heat boiled in my throat as I wondered if they would still be together if she hadn't bit the dust early.

'Demigods die young,' Dylan had said. Now I knew why it was so personal. I pulled a spare shirt left on the corner of my bed on and jogged back up to the dinning pavilion.

Cassie had saved a seat for me, moving her violin from the couch when I approached. Her smile was genuine and she radiated happiness. It was hard to believe she was the same girl who had been lying on the ground, bleeding out in my dream.

I was served a steaming plate of M&M pancakes and water. I didn't have much of an appetite, but out of respect to to the chef, I managed a few meager bites. I noticed a tired look in Dylan's eyes. He must've had nightmares too. Maybe he had stayed up all night, thinking about the life he might have known with Daniella.

My stomach turned at the thought and I shoved my plate away. Cassie looked up at me, startled. "You okay?"

"I need to talk to you." I said slowly. Cassie looked at Mika, who shrugged, as if dismissing her from the conversation. Cassie stood, and Mika redirected her chattering to Dylan. They were probably talking about the best way to impale someone, or the pros and cons of every tank in the book.

Cassie led me behind the dinning pavilion, where a brick wall would hide our words. "What's wrong?" She looked at me with wide eyes.

"Dylan. His ex- the one who died-" my mouth twisted at the prospect of more than one. "What was her name?"

Cassie hesitated, like this wasn't the conversation she had anticipated. Granted, it probably hadn't been. "Daniella." She said finally.

Someone had pulled the rug out from under my feet. The world spun beneath me and I grabbed the brick wall for support. "How did...how did she die?" Despite the stories I heard, I refused to believe my dreams could be true.

"A hellhound." Cassie chewed her lip. "During battle on Mount Tam, it attacked her. I tried to stop it and-" Cassie trailed off, and after a moments hesitation, hiked up the corner of her shirt.

Four long, parallel, angry pink scars trailed from her collarbone to her hip. "I only survived because my granddad is Apollo. As the god of healing, he passes on the trait of quicker repair and regeneration to his offspring. It's only a little more than an average demigod, but it made the difference." Cassie pulled her shirt back down, hiding her scars. "A half inch to the left, and the hellhound's claws would have shredded my heart. Daniella didn't get so lucky."

I was silent. Cassie shuffled on her feet, shifting her weight uncomfortably. "They tell us to be proud of our scars." She blurted out. I looked up, silently encouraging her to continue. "They say we should see them as badges of honor, medals of bravery. But that's not how I see mine. They aren't badges of honor, they're marks of failure. A constant reminder of a friend I couldn't save."

"Everyday, they're there, staring back at me in the mirror, waiting for me to change my clothes, so the guilt can haunt me while I sleep. It should have been me the hellhound killed. I was the first it attacked, but it could smell Daniella's fear. It's over a year later, and I still cry myself to sleep." Cassie closed her eyes.

"A word from the wise, Leila. You're going to go on a quest soon, everyone knows it. You'll take part in battles, do heroic deeds. But be careful not to collect scars." Cassie opened her eyes and I saw tears glint behind her iris's.

"I promise." I told her. Cassie nodded, and before I could ask her more about dreams, she turned and ran down the hill, as if running from her past. I looked up and saw why. Dylan and Mika were walking toward me, laughing and joking. My mind was still reeling from Cassie's retelling of my dream, along with they fact that, HEY, my dreams are real!

Which meant the giant I saw wasn't waking. He was already awake.