Day's blurred since the dream with his uncle. His vacation in Montauk has come and passed without many issues. His mother and him managed to get a calm vacation as they were hoping.
He stretched as he sat at the fire escape. His sword was lying next to him, comforting weight pressing into his left thigh. He could hear television working in a living room, crying of a baby the floor below his apartment, laughter from above and undetectable speaking from the street below. Even though his day went pretty uneventfully, he felt exhausted. He looked toward the sky, sighing. Olympus was still quiet and summer was approaching. Summer solstice was only ten days away and Percy was hoping to see his immortal family by then, in whatever circumstances.
He sighed as he climbed back in his room. He placed his sword on his table and went for is bed. He lied down feeling soft fabric beneath him. He yawned as he turned around. Only disturbance that had broken the tranquillity were dreams that were showing to Percy. They were mostly unrelated and unclear. Glimpses of unrelated people. The talk was usually muffled along with a faces only allowing him to feel a tension that was present among them.
His nights were restless. After every dream, he found himself unable to fall asleep leaving him tired the entire upcoming day. As the night came, the cycle continued. The same scenario was playing at the moment.
Percy was rolling around the bed. Even though he felt that the sleep was trying to overcome him, he felt himself battling it. With sleep came rest, but also dreams, something he could not deal with, not anymore. He tried to keep his eyes open, but he felt as heavy eyelids closed, completely enveloping him in a dreamland.
Three kids usually showed up in his dreams. Even with their faces blurred, he could pinpoint their age. If he had to guess he would think of them as teenagers, but he could also be wrong. He could only presume that those were demigods that his uncle was referring to when he spoke to him in dream. He had been receiving flashes of different places through his life, but they were never this clear. His father once explained to him that it was because of his status as a half-blood. Up until this moment they were not any bother, they were mostly looking behind a curtain that his immortal family placed but he got a feeling that it has changed.
Since his uncle asked for a mission for him, he placed a quest on Percy's shoulders without anyone knowing. He still felt intense anger toward him, burning inside of him urging him to refuse a quest just to spite him. He loved his immortal family. As dysfunctional as they are, Percy could always find it hard to dislike them. They all had some part in his upbringing with a few exceptions. One of them being a person that was a reason for his quest, Zeus.
Despite his reluctance for a quest, part of Percy was thrilled. This was the first time he was allowed one. Even though he didn't have a prophecy, it still felt as if a part of him was finally fulfilled. It allowed him a rebellion. Percy knew that when it comes to the light, it will be a big issue, but he could only hope that it will happen after everything is over.
Dream this time started differently. He found himself in an open field. Grass was completely covering space around him, no trees were allowing anyone to sneak up or even take cover. He felt the familiar weight of his sword in his hand. He squeezed it trying to calm his nerves. He suddenly turned as he heard a sound behind him. He automatically raised his hand to attack the person behind him. His long sword was met with a dagger. He tried to see the person that was fighting him, but he could only see a blur of colour that was swirling around him.
He didn't feel in control, it felt as if his body was naturally responding to attack. He dodged, swung his sword, rolled around in the grass. It all felt like one well choreographed dance. Person and him were circling around each other. If anyone would look at it from the side, they could describe it as if prey was playing with its food. He swung his sword one more time before he suddenly fell down.
He quickly stood up as he looked around him. There was no indication about a person that attacked him, but he still held his guard. Thumping of his bearing heart reached his ears. It felt as if drums were playing right next to him. He was on a cliff. It wasn't like the one where his uncle brought him when he was in Montauk. The space around him was dark, hostile. His heart was beating louder and louder. His breath was combining with a drumming sound in his mind. He stepped closer to the cavern. He felt as if he should get as far away from it, but he still was moving steadily towards it.
He stopped as he reached the end of a cliff. The space in front of him was completely covered in darkness. He tried to move away, to react in any sort of way, but the only thing he could do was stay and watch an empty space in front of him. Suddenly, a cold laugh engulfed him. He tried to move, to open his mouth, to scream, but he felt as if terror took over his body. Before he could react, he felt arms on his back, as if someone was pushing him. Soon after, he lost his footing and fell into the abyss below him.
His screams were muffled as he felt hard ground below him. Percy coughed as dust settled around him. He turned around finally looking at a place that he was in. It appeared to be an attic. Old dusty shelves were covered in different things. Armour stands covered in cobwebs, shields covered with rust. Percy narrowed his eyes as he saw a long table that had been stacked with glass jars filled with pickled things. Among many, severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters stood in their chosen jars. He quickly turned his head away from his sight. His eyes found another trophy, severed head of hydra underneath which stood inscription: HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N.Y., 1969.
He wanted to look around but he stopped as he saw what was in front of him. He opened his mouth in silent scream as he saw the thing in front of him. The human figure was sitting on a wooden tripod stool. Percy tried to move away from it, but his feet were stuck to the wooden surface. Female figure was dressed in a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces were placed on top of a dress and a headband held long black hair. As if that was not enough, the skin was thin and leathery all over her body but it was mostly pronounced over her skull. Her eyes were glassy white slits that were looking straight into Percy's direction. He wanted to turn around to run, he wanted his dream to stop, but he couldn't move a muscle.
Suddenly, green smoke covered his vision. He felt his body tremble as he heard a voice inside of his hear.
"I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python."
Percy wanted to do anything, to utter a single word but it seemed in vain. It had been his uncle's prophet, the spirit of Delphi. Even though Apollo spent a lot of time with him, he didn't often mention his oracle, but he knew enough to know the basics.
He knew he should answer, seek answers, but paralysis was still present in his body. He could only stand and look at the mummy. He tried to move, to do anything, but his thinking was interrupted by a voice of a priest inside his head.
"You shall go west, and face the one who has turned"
Dizziness seeped in Percy's body. He felt like swaying but his feet wouldn't budge. His mind was fogged, barely registering that he was receiving a prophecy. Hoarse voice was seeping into his consciousness. In the back of his mind, he was reminded of his uncle Apollo, but the other part of him was completely detached from that idea. How could something like that mummy be connected to the god of prophecies?
"You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned"
The bolt and the helm. The objects immediately came to Percy's mind as he listened. Even though he didn't know anything about their whereabouts, the prophecy said that he will have them returned. That gave him a little spark of hope. Even though it all seemed impossible, he would succeed. The only other thing that stood in his way was the journey before him.
"You shall be put to a trial by the one who calls you family.
And you shall fail to hide what was hidden before."
Before Percy could react, his body fell through the floor and he found himself back in his apartment. His hands were trembling; his breath was coming out in a ragged way. He looked outside to see sunlight shining through the curtains. It was a sunrise. He looked around the room looking for anything to ground him. He suddenly stopped as he looked at the piece of paper that was placed on the cupboard next to his bed. simple words were written on it.
Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium.
Percy quickly read through the information that was set on the paper. He knew only one person who would send him an address in ancient Greek at the moment, his uncle. The quest was starting now. He shoot out of his bed quietly moving around his room. Words of a priest were still moving around his head. He still couldn't comprehend that it was happening, it was starting now. He grabbed his sword, backpack with emergency stuff in it.
The prophecy still rang through his mind, words melting into his subconscious. They would be his pointers through the entire time of a quest. West. That was the first clue. Maybe if he went now, he could come to the location before the quest group. At least, he hoped for that. He threw all of the necessities in a rucksack nearby. He stopped looking at the sword that sat on his table. His hands reached for it. Cold hilt laid comfortably in his hand as he continued to move around his room.
Not even ten minutes later, Percy was all ready to go. He looked back to his room one more time. He knew he should have said something to his mother, to leave a note at least. But there was no time for that, and also, if his mom knew about his plan, he would never be allowed to go. As he set his foot on the fire escape, adrenalin surged through him.
He quickly found himself on the streets of New York. He looked at the dracha in his hand. He knew exactly what he had to do.
"Stêthi, Ô hárma diabolês!" he said as he threw a drachma in the air.
Stop, Chariot of Damnation! Those words were enough to make everyone rethink their moves, but Percy was aware this was his only chance to move to his location. He followed the coin with his eyes until it touched the ground.
I know it has been a long time, but I have a good excuse to be absent! I had my finals through entire June, and July was full with college applications and other college things. Then I went to a vacation and…. I think you got a point. However, I'm back now! I will continue with a regular updates. The story is starting now so buckle up! I hope you liked the chapter. I know it's a bit all over the place, but as I said, the story is ready to begin. As I said, English is my second language and I'm still searching for a beta, so if you could help me in any way I would really appreciate it. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you soon!
