I do not own PJO/HOO
…..
Anathema a formal ban, curse or excommunication. It can also refer to someone or something extremely negative, disliked or damned.
…
The waiting was excruciatingly boring, and I felt somewhat disrespected.
After having been initially found by the Hunters, they had been quick to set up camp, their tents being set up in no less than a couple of minutes. Afterwards, the four of us were shoved into the large central tent, and told to wait there, and not move.
Did I like being bossed around by girls who appeared significantly younger than me- not exactly. But after seeing the way they picked off the last of those gryphons, I thought better of defying them. At least they went so far as to supply me with some nectar and ambrosia, so as to start healing my shoulder, which had almost been chewed off not much earlier.
"We should leave," Alek suddenly said, breaking the silence. "There's no reason we should be wasting our time with the Hunters."
"Are you crazy?" Erica replied, "They've already helped us, and undoubtedly they can help us further. We are demigods after all."
"Easy for you to say. The Hunters aren't exactly the biggest fans of my gender."
"You're still alive, aren't you? Just don't say anything stupid. Besides- " Erica gave me a sideways glance, "We've got a pretty good card to play."
"What's that?" Alek said skeptically, following her gaze. "Luke?"
The daughter of Hermes nodded, before nudging me a little. She started to say something, but was interrupted by the entrance to the tent being pulled open.
Artemis, still in her twelve-year-old girl form, stepped into the tent, followed by a couple of random girls stoically placed on either side. She gave each of us a once-over, showing hardly any emotion or sentiment as she did so. The goddess then approached, and sat herself down across from us. The other two girls remained at the entrance.
"First things first," Artemis spoke, "Tell me who you are, what are you are doing here, and why you're traveling with a mortal of all people."
Erica was the first to respond, to no surprise. "My name is Erica Reed, daughter of Hermes. We're on our way to Alaska- a quest, of course." She decided not to mention exactly what our mission was, interestingly enough.
Artemis nodded accordingly, before turning to Alek.
"I'm Alek, son of Ares." His response was short, curt, and laced with a tone of disregard. It was fairly obvious to Erica and myself why he might've felt some resentfulness towards the Hunters of Artemis, but I had been really hoping he would put that behind him, for the sake of our survival.
Whether she noticed his disrespectfulness or not, or whether she knew the reasons behind it, I couldn't tell. I was just thankful that even if she did, the goddess chose not to retaliate by shoving arrows up our… you know.
Carolyn was the next person to receive her attention. Being in the presence of an Olympian for the first time, she was understandably nervous. She also appeared to be a bit confused as well, probably something to do with the fact that Artemis looked to be about four years younger than her.
"Um- yeah, hey. I'm Carolyn- the mortal, of course."
"And why are you here specifically?" Artemis questioned sharply.
"Oh… um, right- "
"She's a vital part of our quest," Erica filled in for the bumbling Carolyn, who sighed with relief.
"How so?"
"Uh, we're not quite sure yet."
Artemis gave us all a strange look, her eyes narrowed with suspicion.
Carolyn gulped, and croaked out, "I have a… special talent, you might say. A curse more like."
That seemed to grab the goddess' attention. "What sort of curse?"
"Um, it's hard to explain kind of. I guess I just randomly have these- episodes, where I predict something that seems impossible, and it inevitably comes true."
Artemis was silent for period, which gave the rest of us time to become even more and more unnerved. What was she thinking? Did she know what was going on? Did she know more about Carolyn's curse?
Finally, the Huntress fixed her attention on me. She said one word. "You." It sounded accusatory, and like she already knew more about me than I did myself.
"Uh, right. My name's Luke- "
"I already know who you are," Artemis interrupted, confirming my suspicions. "I swear every time I've gone to Olympus in the past week, all I've heard is the other gods whispering your name."
"Um, thanks… I guess?"
"Oh, I wouldn't thank me just yet." She looked down at the ground between us, studying it with her silver, moon-like eyes. "You've got some big shoes to fill, you know? It's obvious the gods have high expectations for you."
"Of course they do," I replied facetiously.
She looked at me with a bit more pitying expression, though I couldn't be sure why exactly. Was it genuinely because of the expectancy thrust upon me because of my parents, or was it simply because I was a boy? I almost wished for the latter.
Rising to her feet, Artemis brushed herself off, and then turned to her companions. "Is my lieutenant returned yet, Mariah?"
One of the girls, Mariah presumedly, stepped forward and replied, "She just completed her scouting and securing of the area."
"Good," Artemis said, "Summon her here."
Mariah nodded, and then disappeared through the tent entrance. Artemis looked as though she was about to leave as well, but I quickly stood up, and asked demandingly, "Carolyn's curse- do you know anything about it?"
"Like what?" She returned.
"Anything," I repeated, "Why she got it? How to get rid of it after the quest?"
I could see in the goddess' eyes that she did indeed know something. Unfortunately, all she said was, "Wait here. Thalia will be with you soon." She then walked out of the tent, the other huntress following closely behind.
I remained standing, just glaring at the entrance to the tent, where they had disappeared through. No one said anything; there was nothing to be said really. At one point, I felt a hand on my arm, and looked down to see Carolyn staring up at me, a grateful smile on her face.
She mouthed two words. Thank you.
Though I'm sure she really did appreciate it, I also couldn't help but feel like I failed her for not figuring anything out.
We stayed like that for probably five minutes, waiting for somebody else to show up and hopefully let us go. As it would seem however, when somebody finally did show, they appeared to have no intention of just letting us go.
"Well, if it isn't baby kelp-head."
Those were the words I was greeted by, as the latest arrival let herself into the tent. I wasn't sure how I knew, but I mostly definitely could tell that the name was directed at me.
A tall girl, probably around fifteen years old, with spiky black hair, appeared inside the tent suddenly. She was dressed like the other hunters mostly, but on top of her silver and black camouflage, she wore a black leather jacket, with small spiky things on her shoulders. It was quite a goth look.
Beside me, I could feel Erica shift, and Alek tense. I began to wonder why, until I finally took a closer look at the girl's face. More specifically, her eyes- sky blue, full of electricity, and easily recognizable. Also, the exact same eyes I had seen in my fellow legacy, Thomas Grace.
I put two and two together pretty quickly after that, recalling something Alek had said about Silena Grace having an aunt in the Hunters who had been recruiting her pretty hard. All of a sudden, Alek's disregard for them, and his tenseness around this girl, all made sense.
"Don't bother introducing yourselves," She said loudly, "I already know who you all are, and I know why you're going to Alaska." Much like her goddess leader, she gave each of us a once-over, saving me for last. When her electric blue eyes met my green and grey ones, they paused, and remained there indefinitely.
I wasn't sure what to expect, as this girl had not come off as very emotional so far, what with the goth look and all. So you can imagine my shock when I suddenly found myself suddenly caught in an embrace from the girl. I reeled back instinctively.
The gesture was one I had rarely experienced personally. Though the girl appeared to younger than me, the feeling I got from her hug was one that was a bit more familiar, almost motherly.
"I never thought this day would come," She said, finally freeing me from her inexplicably strong grip.
It was at that moment that she must have seen the lack of recognition in my face, and instead the utter confusion and surprise.
"You don't remember me, do you?"
Why did I feel bad? It wasn't my fault technically that I couldn't remember anything from my early years. I shook my head despairingly.
Discouragement overcame the girl's face, and she took a couple steps back. "Well, isn't that awkward, huh?" She chuckled to herself a little bit. "I guess I should introduce myself then. You can call me- "
"Thalia," I said, filling in for her. "Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."
She gave me a wary look. "So… you do know me? You do recognize me?"
I shrugged. "I'm afraid that's just about all I know about you. I can't remember anything from before I was six years old."
Thalia pursed her lips, and tilted her head slightly to the side, as if in deep thought. I felt like I had inexplicably become very puny under her electrifying gaze. A deep solemnness seemed to fill the air between her and I, though it was probably mostly on her account. To her credit, she quickly expunged the sentimental aura, and put on a strong front.
"Of course, why should I expect my own godson to recognize me? His own, though not exactly official, aunt."
The question was rhetorical, thank goodness, because I had absolutely no answer. Thalia beckoned for me to sit, as she did so herself.
"I hear one of you has a special curse."
At those words, my mood picked up immensely, as did all of ours. Carolyn slowly raised her hand.
Thalia gave her an encouraging, but also scary, grin. "Tell me about it."
After Carolyn gave her the basic rundown of everything she had already told us, the huntress sat there in silence for a moment, staring at the ground we encircled. As she had listened, Thalia had gone deeper and deeper into thought, still taking great care to listen fully to what Carolyn was saying.
It was several minutes before she spoke.
"When did this curse begin?" She asked.
"A little over a year ago maybe," Carolyn replied.
Thalia nodded, but said nothing further.
"Do you know what's going on?" I ventured to ask.
"We've seen this a few times. Artemis and I had our suspicions, and I think they've been confirmed."
"So what is it?"
Thalia shifted her position, and stared us all down, straight in our eyes. "It's called the Curse of Cassandra."
"Cassandra?" All four of us repeated back to her.
"Wasn't she the daughter of King Priam of Troy?" Erica asked.
Thalia nodded her head. "She was given the gift of prophecy by Apollo, my lady's brother. Afterwards, he tried to get her to sleep with him, but she refused. And so, in retaliation, Apollo cursed her, such that no one would ever believe her prophecies."
We all sat there, absorbing this information.
"Wait," Carolyn said abruptly, "You're saying Apollo cursed me? Why would he do that?"
Thalia looked at her sympathetically. "Think back to the time just before you got the curse. Did anyone make a move on you- try to get you to sleep with them?"
I watched as my mortal companion sat there stunned, until realization came over her face, as well as a deep red blush. I knew this was probably going to get really awkward for everyone, especially Carolyn.
"There was this one time- " She whispered, almost ashamedly. "His name was Justin… Justin Pollard."
Why did Justin all of a sudden sound like a name for an extra annoying jerk?
"What happened?" Thalia prodded further.
"Well, I mean," Carolyn twiddled her thumbs together. It was probably the first time I had ever seen her truly nervous. "I had kind of had a big crush on him for a couple years, and well- one day, out of the blue, he came up to me, and straight up asked if I wanted to meet him at his place after school for some… fun times."
Wow, for some unknown, inexplicable reason, I really hated the nerve of this guy.
"And you said no?" Thalia questioned.
"Of course! Even if I did have a crush on him, I wasn't going to… you know, sleep with him."
"Why not?"
I gave Thalia a glare that said, are you serious? She ignored me.
"What do you mean 'why not'?" Carolyn said, "I was fifteen years old, and I'm not that sort of girl."
The huntress raised her hands defensively. "Okay, okay. I was just asking. It's not everyday you meet a girl who has resisted the advances of the god Apollo."
Carolyn's eyes went wide. "Wait… what?"
Thalia quirked an eyebrow. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet? You weren't hit on by your boy crush at all. No, you managed to draw the attentions of the sun god himself."
"But… but Justin- "
"It wasn't Justin, sweetie. Apollo likes to take on forms that he thinks will give him the best chance at success. Of course, this Justin must have been quite the looker, otherwise Apollo wouldn't stoop to such a level."
The way Carolyn shifted her mouth was a sign that confirmed that yes, he indeed was as Thalia said. I felt a little bit of my blood starting to get hot.
"I can see you're surprised," Thalia spoke up again, "Probably at the idea that a god took interest in you, but you shouldn't be."
She had a point. Now, when I looked at Carolyn, I could see why Apollo, as creepy as it was though, would have taken interest in her. Smart, athletic, gorgeous… incredibly frustrating at times. Pretty much the mortal female equivalent of the sun god, I imagined. Was Apollo smart?
"So after the quest," I then asked, "How do we get rid of it?"
"You'll have to convince Apollo himself," Thalia informed, "Though I should warn you, it's not an easy task to do so."
"We'll make it happen," Erica said confidently.
Carolyn looked like she had nothing else to say. Her mind was too preoccupied I figured, what with the new plethora of information she had just received. If I had been in her shoes, I probably would have just stared down at the ground as well.
"I'm sure Artemis would wish to apologize on behalf of her brother's actions," Thalia said to the distracted girl, "Though she knows it means practically nothing." She then turned to her side, and reached behind her into a small bag by her quiver. "I do have something that might help you though."
We all watched as she produced a couple pieces of paper, and held one out towards Carolyn. "Something to consider," Thalia remarked, passing off one paper to Erica as well.
I looked over Carolyn's shoulder to see what she held. It looked like some sort of flyer, but a flyer unlike any I had ever seen. Across the top of it, in large letters, was written, JOIN THE HUNTERS OF ARTEMIS: AN EXPERIENCE UNLIKE ANY. The pictures on the flyer were actually like videos, as they showed scenes of girls, with quivers full of arrows, and bows in hand, running at incredible speeds, fighting monsters, and laughing as they sharpened their shives and arrows.
It reminded me of those horrible college sorority recruitment videos I used to see on YouTube, except with a lot less pink and glitter, and lot more blood and boy-hating.
"Think about it," Thalia said, as she suddenly rose to her feet. "In the meantime, you four must be on your way, as must I."
"Where are you going?" I asked, not ready to depart just yet, as I wanted to learn more about this girl who was supposedly my godmother.
"To camp, actually," Thalia said with a smirk. "I've got a niece to talk to."
Though I didn't see it, I knew Alek was visibly stiffening, and probably wanting to ring the huntress' neck, though I wasn't how well that would turn out for him if he tried.
"There's a town, about five miles west of here, along the road you guys were traveling on earlier. The bus stops there for fuel. There'll be another one coming along sometime later in the day, but you need to hurry."
Thalia turned to move towards the exit, but stopped before she took a step. Turning back to face me of all people, she stared with a reminiscing look on her face.
"Do me favor?" She may have asked, but it sounded more like a demand. "Bring them back. That way I can kill them myself."
I got the feeling the threat was probably her way of being affectionate, both to me, and my long-lost parents.
And then just like that, Thalia Grace was gone.