The rock hit me in the back of the head, sending me flying into the wall. I glared up at the titan, Themis. Her golden eyes glared down at me.
"Please stop." I said, looking to my left. Nico and Moira were slumped against the wall too, both of them out cold.
"I'm sorry Camilla, but I do not have any other choice. You should not have been born, and I must set the scales right." She said, raising her sword. I scrambled for my backpack, cutting open the zipper. The dust was right where I had left it.
"I'm sorry too." I said, opening the box and throwing the contents all over her.
She opened her mouth to speak, but instead she fell over backwards.
I crawled over to Nico and Moira, laying down next to them. I closed my eyes, trying to ignore the pain in between my eyes.
I thought back over the past two days, my mother, how we had rushed and rushed to get here. Here being the subway system underneath New York. It was cold and wet, and I watched as I rat rushed up a wall and into a pipe.
I felt a tear trace down my cheek as I thought about what the titaness had said.
"You should not have been born…"
I pulled off the necklace that I had been wearing for the past three days. I glimmered, even in the darkness of the tunnel I was in.
I don't really know why, but I pressed my lips to the cool metal. It heated quickly in the palm of my hand, burning my skin. I dropped it on the cement floor.
There was a flash above me, and I curled into myself.
"It's alright." Said a soothing voice, brushing my hair behind my ear. I peeked out from underneath my lashes, unsure.
The face above me smiled, her cheeks rosy. She was wearing golden Greek battle armor.
"Mom?" I asked, pressing the heels of my hands into my temples. My head was pounding, but I couldn't look away from her.
"Hello Camilla." She said, resting her hand over mine. She glanced at Nico and Moi, bending down next to them. She pressed a finger to each of their foreheads, and I watched as their cuts and bruises healed before my eyes.
"Um…" I said, leaning away from her. I wanted more than anything to reach out and hug her, but she was the most intimidating thing I had ever seen.
"I know dear, I know." She said, rocking back on her heels. "But I need you to listen, do you understand?"
I nodded, and she continued. "Most of the Olympians want you dead. Ares is screaming for blood, Aphrodite is sighing all the time, Zeus is in a particularly foul mood. All because of you."
"Sorry." I muttered, not looking at her.
"There is no reason to be sorry, but you need to understand what I am saying. Your prophecy is one of the most powerful since the great prophecy was issued years ago. You are the most powerful demi god of your era. A modern day Hercules, if you will.
"That being said, you have a place on Olympus, which no god or titan can take away from you." She glared at the form laying on the floor. "But first, you must accept your post, and there will be no going back afterwards." She looked at me with pity, her blue eyes warm.
"What post?" I asked, my voice cracking.
"You would be the Centurion of the Dawn. A post that has not been filled since your first brother, born in the beginning of the Greek's strongest years, resigned. With the post left open, spirits escape from the underworld every dawn. No one knows how or why, but they do." She shook her head disapprovingly, clearly upset over the matter.
"What does it have to do with our prophecy?" I said, looking over at Nico.
"Everything, Darling." I wanted to cry. I hadn't heard so much love in someone's voice in years.
I looked over at Nico and Moira again, wishing I could curl up next to them and sleep. I wanted to forget what was happening. I wanted to be free of this.
"Take me to Olympus." I said, standing.
"So," Said Zeus, his voice booming in the cavernous room. "You know the conditions?"
"I do." I said, looking down at my new armor. The same as the one Leo made me, but this time, solid gold.
"And you understand what will happen after you have accepted?" Zeus said, eyes flashing.
"I do." I clasped my hands behind my back. "But I want to say goodbye to someone first." I said, and all of the Olympians in the room stared at me. I saw Aphrodite smile.
"Then you had better do so quickly." Zeus said, motioning to the door.
"Hi there." I said quietly as I pushed the door open. Nico and Moira were sitting on the couch ing the center of the Big House.
They both turned and stared at me, their eyes full of shock. I smiled at them as they rushed forward and pulled me into a huge group hug.
"Cam!" Moira yelled, her eyes huge as she pulled away. "You look amazebeans!"
"Thanks," I said, looking down. "I can't stay very long, there's somewhere I have to be."
Her face fell, but she nodded. As far as I had heard, Hermes had sent out the notice to camp during my past week on Olympus.
"I'm gonna go outside." She said, brushing past me, her eyes shining. I watched as she slipped open the sliding glass doors, her hand shaking.
"Bye Moira." I said, smiling. I turned back to Nico, who was standing with his arms folded.
"I take it you know?" I asked, shifting my weight from one foot to the other.
He nodded, looking me in the eyes for the first time since I had walked through the door.
"I wanted to say goodbye. After everything, I don't know, it just felt right to…" I ran out of words, my voice catching.
"And you always do what's right." He said, smiling sadly. Tears sprang into my eyes, and he pulled me to his chest.
"I'm sorry." I mumbled into his t-shirt, wrapping my arms around him.
"I know." He said, kissing the top of my head. I tried to memorize everything about him, his scent, his voice, his eyes. I knew it would fade eventually, but I needed to remember as much as I possibly could.
The amulet underneath my armor had started to heat up, and I knew I was supposed to be back on Olympus soon.
"You have to let me go." I said quietly, more tears spilling over my cheeks again.
He shook his head no, holding me tighter. I felt him take one deep breath, and felt his arms loosen.
"I love you." He whispered. He leaned down and kissed me, and I tried to keep yet more tears from falling, but I failed. I tried to ignore the sparks in my stomach as his lips pressed against mine.
"I love you too." I said after we pulled apart.
"Still mad at me?" He asked, his eyes watering.
"Always." I laughed. "Always."
He smiled at me sadly, but took a step back.
"Goodbye Nico, it was nice meeting you." I said, closing my eyes and pulling on the necklace my mother had given me. It brought me back to Olympus.
After I agreed, things were different. It was hard at first, being powerful. I hated to looks I got from the nymphs and spirits. But it got easier.
I watched as Nico and Moira grew closer. I watched as their little black haired son grew up to love Halloween and bows and arrows. I watched as Percy and Annabeth fell even more in love. I watched. And I watched.
Sometimes, I still think back to the prophecy, recalling the words and their meanings.
A daughter of dawn ushers in a new morning,
Me, and the new era of peace me, Apollo, and the other Olympians had brought about.
The goddess of love gave to all a fair warning.
This line always makes me smile. Boy, did she ever warn me.
The touch of a brother to sooth all your ails,
Moira, and how she had healed me by loving Nico when I couldn't. How she had been with him.
When all others have forsaken your cursed wails,
For when Moi heard him, when no one else, not even I, could.
For sinners and saints must all fall,
The spirits escaping from the Underworld.
If the dark before the dawn does not save them all.
When Nico had to let me go.
I sighed again, looking down. There he was, his green eyes still the same. He was next to Moira, holding her hand. Their son was splashing in to ocean water. They were happy. I was happy.
-End-