(Chapter uploaded: Oct 30, 2021)
Chapter 5: The Young Immortal
(Author's Note)
Hey guys, gals and non-binary pals! Welcome back to chapter 5 of The Daughters of Olympus and the Tablet of Destinies.
Welcome back to chapter 5 of The Daughters of Olympus Book 1! The Jacksons have finally reached New York, but they won't be going to Camp until next time, sorry.
This chapter is a bit shorter than I would have liked, but it serves as a transitional chapter, so I guess it works. Next chapter will be longer, I promise!
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Chapter 5: The Young Immortal
[June 3, 2025, New York City]
[Recap: After years of refusal, Percy has finally allowed his daughters, Astraea and Aurora, to attend Camp Half-Blood for the summer in only a few days' time, and decided to bring them out into the forest to start their training. Astraea was tasked with learning how to control her incredible half-blood strength, while Aurora was taught how to find a connection with the water. But to no avail.
Now, the Jackson family is moving from Forest Glen, Chicago, back to New York, to their new ultra-luxury home in Westchester County. With plans to take the girls to Camp tomorrow, Percy and Annabeth decided to let them spend the day with their grandparents while they got their new house situated.]
It was a few days later when the Jacksons finally moved back to New York, and Astraea could be happier. Chicago never felt like a home to her, despite spending nearly all of her life there. One of the downsides of never being allowed outside, she supposed. She really hoped her dad would let her out of his sight going forward, but she honestly doubted he ever fully would.
Their parents had hired a moving company to pack and send all of their belongings to their new house in Westchester County, New York, the day before, with the four of them arriving via car the next day because his dad worried about taking Aurora in a plane.
The drive was boring and uneventful, but Astraea loved it. She had never been in a car ride for so long before, and while some people may have gotten bored and tired of the long trip, she loved it. She spent the entire time looking out the window, taking in all the sights she could. She had never been on a trip before since she was a little kid and too young to remember it, so she appreciated every second of it. She didn't know what was going to happen at Camp or what to expect, and honestly, that excited her.
How many half-bloods would be there? How many would be her age? Hopefully she'd be able to befriend them all. What would the activities be like? When was the first capture the flag? When would she be able to start training with weapons? What would the counselors be like? Would they be really nice, or really strict? Hopefully they wouldn't forbid her from summoning her wings like her dad. Maybe she'd be allowed to fly as much as she wanted! What was taking so long? Why weren't they there yet? She wanted to get there already.
"Are we there yet?"
Her dad sighed, probably tired of hearing the same thing for the past eleven hours. "Like I said twenty minutes ago, we'll be at your grandparents house in a few minutes. We just have to get through rush hour traffic in New York City."
"Why do we have to go to grandma and grandpas'? Why can't we just go to Camp right now?"
"Because Chiron isn't expecting us until tomorrow. Don't you want to see grandma and grandpa? I thought you'd be excited to visit them again? It'd break your grandma's heart to hear that you don't want to see her."
Astraea felt a little ashamed. "I didn't mean it like that. I just, well… I just want to go to Camp already."
Her mom smiled. "Don't worry, honey, we understand. You just need to be a little patient. Your dad and I need to go over some final paperwork to get our new house today, and the company didn't have any openings tomorrow. So you two will spend the day having fun with grandma and grandpa while we do all the boring paperwork. We'll take you two Camp first thing tomorrow, don't worry."
"Alright." Astraea relented. "I'm just excited."
~Page Break~
"Finally! We're here!" Astraea hadn't even let her dad fully park the car before bursting out of the car and bounding up the steps and practically tackling her grandparents.
"Oof! Well, it's good to see you too, Astraea. My, look how big you've gotten." Her grandpa chuckled, ruffling her hair. "You're almost as tall as me already."
"Astraea, dear! Oh gods, look at you, you look so beautiful." Her grandmother said, making her preen.
"Hey, grandpa, grandma. I missed you guys."
"And we missed you too, kiddo." Her grandpa said before looking back to the car. "Now, if I wasn't mistaken, there were two of you before… Where'd your sister go?"
"Still in the car." Astraea answered. "I don't think she's very excited about going to Camp tomorrow."
"Well I understand that it can be a little unnerving," her grandma said. "But she'll have fun and make plenty of friends. It will just take some time."
"I don't want to wait until tomorrow, but mom and dad say I have to."
"Waiting is boring, everyone hates it." Her grandpa told her with a chuckle.
"Your parents tell me they'll be letting you go to school this year, are you excited?"
"I can't wait!" Astraea cheered. "I'll finally be able to do sports and clubs, and have friends."
Her grandma looked a little sad at her words, but quickly hid it. "Well, then we should celebrate, shouldn't we? How about the four of us go see a movie, then get some ice cream afterwards? Sound fun?"
"It sounds awesome!" Astraea had never gone to the movies before, and she hadn't gone out for ice cream since she last stayed with her grandparents seven years ago. She was practically bouncing with excitement. "Let's go right now!"
"Hold on one moment, I want to say hello to your parents first. I haven't seen them in years. We'll go in a bit."
Her sister came up the stairs next, giving their grandparents hugs. Astraea looked over to the truck, where her parents were still sitting inside, talking. They sat talking for a minute or two, before getting out and making their way towards them. Her dad helped her mom out of the car, which wasn't very common. In fact, if Astraea thought about it, her dad had been practically hovering around her mom the last few days. So much that he hadn't been spending as much time with her and Aurora. Her mom had kept a straight, calm face the last few days, but their dad was a ball of nerves.
It made Astraea concerned, but she hadn't figured out how to bring it up.
"Percy, Annabeth! How are you?" Her grandma engulfed the two of them in a massive hug, not letting go until they begged to be released. "How have you two been?"
"Let's head inside, girls." Her grandpa told them, leading them in the door. "I think your grandma is going to be awhile. You two had a long trip here, you must be thirsty. Want something to drink? Or eat?"
~Page Break~
After taking half an hour, Astraea's parents were finally done talking to her grandma and they left to go meet with the realtors. Astraea noticed that her grandma looked a little shaken when she came back inside, but she quickly put on a smile and said it was time for them to go.
"Sorry that took so long, girls. Let's go see a movie, shall we? There are a few showing, which do you want to see?"
"Oh! The new Star Wars one with Delilah Keres!" Astraea was quick to suggest.
Her grandpa smiled. "I'm interested in seeing that one too. I'm a sucker for anything Star Wars. Even if they aren't as good as they used to be.."
"Isn't Delilah that famous half-blood actress?" Grandma Sally asked. "The one with the red skin and horns that can shapeshift?"
"Yeah! She's so cool." Astraea said. "She's the first half-blood actress and model. She can change her appearance to look like anyone and play any role."
"But she always keeps her horns, doesn't she?" Grandpa Paul asked.
"She does. I saw an interview with her where she said she does that because she's proud of her appearance. And that she can look like a normal person, but chooses not to because she shouldn't have to."
"Huh, that's interesting. She does talk about half-blood rights on TV a lot, so that makes sense."
"Is she a demigod?" Her grandma asked. "Or is she a type of Monster?"
"She's a Lilith." Aurora answered. "They're D-Demons from the Underworld. They're an extremely rare race of all female demons. Uncle Nico told me about them. He's never actually met one before, just heard of them."
"The Greek Underworld?" Grandpa Paul asked.
"No, they're from another one altogether. I don't know much about them other than they're said to be immortal."
"Come to think of it," Grandma Sally said. "Doesn't she work for the Half-Blood Fellowship?"
"Yeah, she does a lot of interviews for them I think." Astraea replied. "She's my favorite celebrity. A publicly known Monster that's an actress, model and celebrity? That's never happened before! And she's so beautiful too!"
"It's very impressive that she's able to do any of that at all. Most half-bloods can never have their godly heritage revealed because it's too risky."
"I wish I could do that." Astraea said, mostly to herself. "Walk around with my wings out, be who I really am. That'd be cool."
Her grandma gave her a small hug, "I know what you mean, Astraea. But right now, it's too dangerous to tell anyone that you're a half-blood. Not with those Zealots out there hunting down half-bloods."
Just hearing that name made Astraea's blood boil. It wasn't hard to hear about the people who hunted children for sport on the news or online. If Astraea ever met them, she'd send them to Hades herself. "It's not fair that I have to hide them."
Her grandparents shared a look, but didn't say anything about it, instead her grandpa led them to the car, saying he was excited to see "a decent-looking Star Wars movie".
The four of them climbed into her grandpa's newly rebuilt 1955 Chevy Bel Air Convertible and headed to the movie theater. On the way, Astraea didn't stop talking about Delilah Keres, which led to her employer, and leader of the Half-Blood Fellowship and richest man in the world. Who just so happened to own the tallest building in the area.
"Oh! Look, look! There's Tyche Industries." Astraea pointed out the window as they were stopped at a light, her full attention on the shimmering building. "Delilah works there for Alexander Lieber. The building is so cool."
"It's k-kind of unusual that he can be so famous and w-wealthy despite being publicly known as a half-blood." Aurora said. "Mom says she keeps being a half-blood secret at work so her company doesn't lose business. But Alexander told the whole world he's a half-blood."
"He's even popular with mortals." Her grandma said carefully. "Though he seems a little eccentric."
"I heard he has a dragon in his building that guards his money."
"I wouldn't doubt it," Grandpa Paul said from the driver's seat. "You don't get to be the richest man in history without being cautious."
"Being a son of the Goddess of Fortune doesn't hurt either." Her grandma said. "Or coming from a rich family in Italy."
"Did you see what he did online yesterday?" Astraea asked, watching the building fade into the distance as they drove off. "He walked into a pizza place and gave every employee there a ten thousand dollar tip."
"I wouldn't say no to ten thousand dollars." Grandpa Paul muttered.
Her grandma turned around in her seat, her voice level and measured. "Don't let his apparent generosity fool you, Astraea. Someone can't get that rich by always giving away their money. Besides, I don't fully believe his billionaire philanthropist persona, he may help half-bloods that get into legal trouble and fight for half-blood rights, but he still has his own agenda. People like him always do."
~Page Break~
"That movie was awesome!" Astraea nearly shouted as they were walking out of the theater. "The way Delilah jumped around and spun with her lightsaber, cutting that big aliens' head off! She was so cool! I didn't know she could do her own stunts like that."
"I guess b-being a Lilith has its advantages. They're stronger and m-more nimble than mortals and most half-bloods."
"I have to admit, that movie was pretty good. It didn't have anything on the originals, mind you, but—."
"You think the original trilogy was peak cinema, honey. Admit it, this one was really good."
"...Fine. It was good from a story perspective, the way she rebelled from her Sith master, killed him and became Empress over her arm of the galaxy, but it doesn't come close to the originals—."
"You are hopeless. The original trilogy wasn't even that good."
Her grandpa looked appalled, his eyes like dinner plates and jaw on the floor. "H- How can you say such sacrilege?"
Grandma Sally rolled her eyes but hid a smile behind her hand. "Come on, girls, who's hungry? I know the best place to get ice cream in the city."
The ice cream shop was packed, but they managed to get a seat at the far corner of the pavilion. Which Astraea was happy for, this way they could talk about Camp without being overheard.
"Are you two excited to go to Camp tomorrow?" Grandma Sally asked as ate.
Astraea paused devouring her ice cream to answer, some food still in her mouth. "I can't wait. I've been dreaming about going there since I was little, but I never thought I'd be able to go!"
"Finish chewing before you talk, Astraea." Her grandma told her. "Didn't your parents teach you table manners?"
"Mom says she has the table manners of a Cyclops." Aurora said helpfully.
Astraea stuck her tongue out at her little sister.
"Rude. And childish."
Astraea was about to flick some ice cream at her sister. "I'll show you childish—."
"Okay, girls. That's enough." Grandma Sally said, taking the spoon out of her hands and putting it on the table. "Aurora, what about you? How do you feel about going to Camp tomorrow?"
Aurora looked like she wanted to turn invisible. "...I- I um, c-can I be honest with you, grandma Sally?"
Her grandma gave her a comforting smile, "Of course, dear. You can tell me anything."
"A-and can you p-promise not t-to tell my d-dad?"
"...If it's not something he needs to know."
Aurora shrunk in her seat, her voice like a mouse. "...I don't w-want to g-go to C-Camp."
"Why not?" Astraea nearly demanded. "Camp sounds so cool! We'll get to fight, make friends, do cool activities, go on Quests—."
"Hold on, Astraea. Let your sister speak."
"...Sorry."
Aurora watched Astraea carefully, nervously fidgeting in her seat. "...I-I, I just d-don't want to go."
"And why not, dear?"
"...B-because I-I'll have to fight p-people…, and use my abilities…."
"...Still no luck discovering your half-blood abilities, huh? We'll don't worry about it, Aurora. Being able to control water or fire or be really fast or fly doesn't make you a half-blood. Your mother can't do anything like that, but she's incredibly smart. The smartest half-blood I know."
Aurora still didn't look comforted, so Astraea put a hand on her shoulder, engulfing it. "Don't worry, sis, you'll figure it out once we get to Camp, I know it."
"..."
Here was an awkward silence at the table for a minute before her grandpa suddenly spoke up. "So, have either of you two met any cute boys lately? I won't tell your dad."
Aurora stuttered out an incoherent noise, turning bright red. "I-I'm t-too young!"
Astraea on the other hand 'hmphed'. "I'm a prisoner in my own home, so how can I meet anyone? I don't even have any friends. But once I get to Camp, I'm going to change that."
"Not everyone at Camp will be nice to you right off the bat," grandma Shall warned them. "Your dad told me a few stories of when he first went to Camp. But, overtime, you'll make a lot of friends. Just make sure you pick them carefully, okay?"
"Maybe you'll meet some cute boys there." Grandpa Paul teased, a massive grin on his face.
Astraea threw her plastic spoon at him, making him laugh. Grandma Sally didn't approve, but she still let herself laugh at her husband's expense.
~Page Break~
[Olympian Throne Room, Olympus]
Getting summoned to the Olympian Throne Room was always a big thing, even if he had been here numerous times. He was always nervous coming here, even now after Zeus and Ares were dead despite the new Olympians being kind to him. What could he say, he was a nervous person.
Or goat, to be exact.
"Thank you for coming, Grover." Lady Artemis said from beside her old throne, looking both imposing and kind at the same time.
"Lady Artemis, it's my pleasure to work on behalf of the gods." Grover said somewhat nervously, giving her a bow. He then looked to the goddess on the throne, giving her a slight bow out of respect, though he knew she hated it. "Lady Thalia, it is good to see you again."
The Goddess of Lightning rolled her eyes. "Call me 'lady' one more time, Grover, and I'm gonna zap you. We're friends and equals here."
Grover chuckled despite the tense atmosphere in the room. "What can I do for you, Thalia? Artemis? Is there something wrong with The Wilds?"
"No, nothing like that." Lady Artemis said, her tone level. "Though we have some troubling news, my noble Satyr, news we are hesitant to let be made public. So I must ask that what is said here today stays between the three of us."
Grover gulped, this sounded really serious. "Of course, Lady Artemis. You have my word as a Satyr."
Thalia spoke up this time. "We have received troubling reports from Hecate. As you know, she and her godly children keep an eye on the Mist to watch for new unclaimed half-bloods, and she has detected a new one in New York City. And you, Grover, have been selected by me, Artemis, Chiron and my brother to track down this new half-blood and bring them to Chiron at Camp Half-Blood."
Grover let himself relax slightly. He had brought countless half-bloods to Camp the last several years. This wasn't anything unusual. "Understood. I won't let you down—."
"A word of warning, honored Satyr, Hecate reports that this particular half-blood has a… dangerous aura around them. One even her magical eye cannot penetrate. It is almost like her vision is being blocked. We do not know if this is simply an ability of the half-blood in question, or if it is the work of another."
"Even Lady Hecate can't break through it? I didn't think that was possible."
"Neither did we, and that is what concerns us. So take heed, noble Satyr, proceed with caution and subtlety as you search for this half-blood. And let no one know of your mission."
Grover gulped. "I understand. I will leave immediately. Do we have any other information on this half-blood? Are they a boy or a girl? Do we know the age? Or have any idea of their godly heritage?"
"I am afraid not. Hecate says that she can only sense the powerful aura around them, and that it is incredibly old. Ancient, even by our godly standards. It is possible that this half-blood is a child of something older than Greece… older than the Greek pantheon itself."
~Page Break~
[New York City, same time]
A young man stumbled down an alleyway at full speed, crashing into garbage cans and over trash like a steamroller, barely even noticing them. He was around seventeen or eighteen, incredibly tall and large, with a tanned complexion and long black hair that looked like it hadn't been washed in weeks.
His breathing was frantic, his footwork clumsy. His clothes unwashed and dirty, his shoes tattered and possibly as old as he was. He was bundled up warmly despite the summer air, he could never get the cold New York winter chills out of his bones. If you ever had to sleep on the streets in a New York winter, you would too.
He didn't look any different than the other countless homeless in the city, other than he was still in high school. But his height and short beard made him look older than he was. It kept the police from questioning why he wasn't at school. And kept people from taking pity on a homeless teenager and giving him some food.
If only the school year didn't end, he'd get to eat every day. The summers were hard, especially when he didn't have a couch to crash on.
The young man tripped over a pile of trash and crashed into a grimy wall. It didn't hurt, but it probably wasn't good for his head either.
Once he rose to his feet, he tried to catch his breath, his fingers drumming against the dirty brick wall frantically. He had no idea how long he had been running, but it felt like he couldn't run a step more. His feet quaked, but he couldn't stop his left foot from tapping.
His right arm lashed out suddenly, gripping at nothing but air. After a few seconds he managed to subdue his rogue limb and forced it into his tattered jeans.
"...Stop that." He ordered breathlessly. "Stop moving."
A ghostly whisper echoed in his head. {...Hunger… dying… We-must-eat…}
"Shut up!" The young man yelled, clutching his head, as if to prevent the voice from escaping his ears. "Get out of my head!"
{...You are… weak… We… need to take… it…}
"SHUT UP!"
{...immortality…. We shall… gain it. All you… need to do… is take it…}
"No!" The young man roared, clawing at his ears. "Never again! Get out of my head!"
{We… will not last much… longer… I cannot… allow you to… kill me…}
The pressure in his head was blinding. "NO! GET OUT OF MY- AH!" He fell to his knees, the pain unbearable as he screamed. "LEAVE ME ALONE!"
{Foolish child… you cannot stop… me…}
"Hey, bub, you okay?" A homeless man came out of nowhere. He reached out to put a hand on his shoulder. "D'ya need some help—? AHH!"
The teenager lashed out at the man like a cobra, his gloved fingers digging into his skin with a vice-like grip. In an instant the young man forced off the glove on his other hand with his teeth and grabbed the man by his face with his massive, glowing hands, lifting him off the ground.
The homeless man screamed and kicked and punched and cursed, but the young man didn't react, even as blood dripped down his face.
"Lemme go, man, I'll give ya my smokes—."
"Stop! You're hurting him!" The teenager begged. "Let him go!"
{I will not… allow you to kill me…} The whisper said in his head. {If you will not… let me feed… then I shall… do it myself…}
Suddenly the ghostly voice erupted from the young man's lips. "HUNGER!" He gripped the homeless man's face tighter, causing him to scream and lash out in pain, but it was to no avail. The young man wouldn't let go.
The man flailed out for half a minute, his body slowing and weakening with every second that passed. Finally, he stopped moving and was ceremoniously dropped on the ground.
The young man stumbled back, falling against the wall, shaking his head like he had come out of a trance, his bright hazel eyes clouded. He spotted the dead man before him as he came to.
"No…!" He wheezed, "Not again… not again."
Tears fell from his eyes as he curled up on the ground beside the man. "No no no no, I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to- I tried to stop him, I promise… I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry."
The teenager laid there on the ground for several hours as night fell around him, completely deaf to the sounds of the city that never sleeps as he cried over his latest victim. And soon, darkness engulfed his mind and he fell asleep.
To be continued
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(Author's Note:)
Well, there was chapter 5. Very short, I know, but it's more of a transitional chapter that introduces three new characters. Two of which are tied for my favorite, actually. The third, Delilah, is a favorite too, but she won't be around much for the time being. This chapter was supposed to be a name drop for her.
I hope you all liked this chapter regardless of its length. I'm sorry, but I didn't have much time to write this week, and I wrote 99% of this in one sitting right before uploading it. I'm gonna start working on chapter 6 right after. Astraea and Aurora will finally be going to Camp, so it'll be fun. I can't wait to show all of you my ideas and changes to Camp, how it's progressed from canon and even Champion of Olympus. It will be different, and I know not everyone likes change, especially with things they love, but I think you'll all like what I've done. At least I hope.
Until next time,
Hephaestus
Hoi Helena, bedankt voor je review in het Nederlands! Je bent bang voor duiven, waarom? Waar kom je vandaan? Nederland? Ik vind Nederlands heel interessant. Ik ben net begonnen met het leren van Nederlands, sorry als wat ik schreef onjuist is.
Fun Fact: A few of the alternate/ideas for the title for this chapter are:
~"Who's that really rich guy?"
~"Billionaires get the best real-estate"
~"Keep your hands to yourself, please!"
The last one is my favorite, and it fits into the Percy Jackson chapter title theme, so it was a tough choice to change it to "The Young Immortal." Let me know which one you liked best.
Question of the Day: 'Where do you live? And do you speak any languages other than English?' I see that I have readers from all over the world, and I think that's amazing. If you speak another language, please leave a review in that language and say hello. I will try to reply even if I have to put it into Google Translate.
Next time: "When your parents are more popular than you"