Chapter ten: The Fire Dream

The news of Rachel Dare's coma travelled around camp faster than Greek fire.
By the time I got back to the Jacksons' house, I'd heard at least a dozen people talk about it on the streets.

I felt some trepidation as I walked up to knock on the door.

Either Percy or Annabeth must have found my note by now, and I squirmed at the thought of facing either of them.
But I couldn't leave. Not now.

I didn't know why exactly - after all I'd only met Rachel twice - but for some reason, I felt responsible for what had happened to her.
It just seemed like too much of a coincidence to me: Mr D telling me I was dangerous, Annabeth Jackson confirming this by wanting me out of her house and now Rachel Dare, found lying like a corpse in front of her cave. By me, one might add.

Maybe I wasn't a demigod, but I sure wasn't a stupid coward either. If people were getting hurt, I had to find out if I was the cause of it.

And if I wasn't, well, there would be more trains to Kerritville than today's.

So there I stood, steeling myself to knock on the Jacksons' front door, which had been regularly locked ever since Annabeth had come back from Camp Jupiter.
I hesitated, debating over whether to ask Jake for help instead, when a voice spoke from behind me.

"Are you going to move or not?"
It was Annabeth, and I hastily dodged out of the way so she could unlock the door.
"Have you been away all day?" I asked, trying hard to keep the hope out of my voice.
Maybe, just maybe, my note hadn't been found.
"No, I only went to see Will Solace." Annabeth replied and my heart sank as she looked at me with those piercingly intelligent eyes.
She'd read the letter, there was no mistake about it.

In silence, we both went inside.
I was way too embarrassed to say anything to her, though. What would that conversation look like?
"Hey Mrs Jackson, I know I said I was leaving but could you maybe let me move back in as I haven't got a place to stay and might be potentially dangerous though I need to find out for sure? Thanks!"
Yeah, that would go well.

I stayed silent while Annabeth unpacked the sleek black laptop she always carried with her and booted it up. Jake had told me that as Annabeth was the architect of Little Athens and Olympus, and had lost her old laptop, her mother, Athena, had given her a new one herself.
I was unsure of what to do. Would it be rude to pretend nothing had happened? Not as much as simply leaving would be, I supposed.

When Annabeth still hadn't said anything a few minutes later, I decided it would be best if I left.
It was obvious she didn't want me around, and I could always ask Chiron for help in finding a new place to stay.

However, just as I turned to leave, I thought I heard a low voice: "I didn't take you for a quitter."
I whirled around. "Excuse me?"
Annabeth looked up from her screen, her face a perfectly controlled mask. "I said, will you be here for dinner?"
I stared at her. "That's not what I-"
She raised an eyebrow. I shut my mouth, and cleared my throat.
"Er… yes, I think so." I mumbled, and Annabeth nodded, returning her gaze to her laptop.

Dumbfounded, I stood there, wondering about what had just happened. Had Annabeth Jackson really allowed me to stay? It seemed so, at least indirectly.
Well, if she had, it would not do to wait around for her to change her mind.
Quickly, I walked up to my room, feeling a little warmer inside than before.

That evening after Percy came home, the three of us had dinner together in the kitchen.
At first, it was a little awkward, at least for me. I had no idea if Percy knew about my earlier intentions of leaving, but somehow, I didn't think so.

The curry we had was delicious, yet I couldn't quite enjoy it, as I was thinking of Rachel in her coma and waiting for Annabeth to mention my goodbye note.
She didn't, though, and I got the feeling she was offering to simply overlook it.
I couldn't deny I was relieved.

Instead, the talk soon turned to Rachel. Percy told Annabeth and me that he'd gone to see her on his way home, at Beauregard Hospital, where they'd moved her to.

"She looks like Thanatos himself," Percy said darkly.
I had no idea who Thanatos was, though I guessed he was some god or other.
"Well, not really," Percy corrected himself. "Thanatos looks a lot healthier."
Annabeth gave her husband a wan smile and patted his hand.
I didn't say anything.
Percy put his fork down. "I just don't get what could have happened to her!" he exclaimed, sounding extremely frustrated.
"Maybe a vision?" Annabeth suggested. "She's fainted before."
"No" Percy shook his head. "This is something different. There's something wrong."

I focused on my plate, trying hard to avoid being asked any questions.
Alas, I had no such luck.

"Erin, you found her," Percy said to me and, reluctantly, I looked up and met his gaze.
"Was there something lying near her? A note or something?" he asked.
I shrugged helplessly.
"To be honest I didn't check, I was more focused on getting help."
Guilt crept up again inside me; should I have acted differently?
"I'll go check tomorrow." Percy muttered, and I wasn't quite sure whether he was talking to us or to himself. "She often writes stuff down when she sees things."
"That's a good idea." Annabeth said firmly, obviously trying to lighten up her husband's mood.

As soon as we'd finished, Percy excused himself, "I think I'll go to bed. 'Night, you two."
I noticed Annabeth's eyes following her husband as he left, a worried expression on her face.

I helped put the dishes away and was just about to go upstairs myself when Annabeth spoke,
"He's very loyal, you know. He blames himself."
It was obvious that she meant Percy, and I nodded, unsure of what to say. Percy did seem like the sort of guy who would always have his friends' backs, not matter what.
But Annabeth's voice had sounded more melancholic than anything else, and I couldn't help but wonder what else Percy Jackson blamed himself for.
Whom they'd lost.

"Rachel will be okay." I found myself saying, trying to sound confident. "She seems like a tough cookie."

"It's good that you're so sure." Annabeth replied, but she didn't sound mean, only tired.
With a sigh, she stood up. "Well, good night, Erin."
"Good night."

Later, as I lay in bed, I couldn't help but worry about the events of the day. Even the fact that Annabeth had been nicer to me today than she had been all week couldn't cheer me up.
Oh well, I thought. At least I can get a couple of hours of sleep now.
I always slept like a rock, no matter what happened, and so I was pretty convinced I was about to get some rest, finally.

I closed my eyes, waiting for nice, peaceful dreams to come and take me away.

And come they did - but they were as far from nice and peaceful as you could possibly imagine.

A dark room.
Black, high walls and a ceiling so far up it was lost in the sheer gloom of the place.
The only source of light was a basin, standing in the middle of the circular chamber, filled with flickering flames.
The fire beckoned to me, its hundred tendrils urging me to come forward like hands reaching out.
I obeyed.
My steps echoed around the room, and my eyes remained fixed, fixed on the fire.
Once I was in front of the basin, I looked down, gazing into its depths, which were like a fiery hell.
The longer I looked, the more it seemed that the flames were actually images, dancing before my eyes.
A tall building, an army gathered at its base.
A tree that turned into a girl.
A flying ship, sailing through the sea of flames before being engulfed again.
And, briefly, a face. It flashed by so quickly I had no time to see whether it was a boy or a girl, but I felt a fleeting sense of longing so intense I had to grip the side of the basin to keep myself from falling forwards into the heat.

"Is it there?" a voice suddenly spoke and I whirled around.
Rachel Elizabeth Dare was standing in front of me, wearing a simple white dress, her red hair tumbling over her shoulders, a mirror of the flames that continued to play behind me.
"No," I told her, and she nodded, unsurprised by my answer.
I wasn't sure why I said no. I didn't know what was not there.

"Erin." Rachel spoke my name like an incantation, and I held her gaze.
"Erin. You have to find it. It's gone, and it's my fault."
My voice sounded hoarse "What's gone?"
"The spirit. It's gone and I can't see." She put her hands up to her eyes, covering them.
"I can't see, Erin!" she suddenly cried out, and when she brought her hands away, there were only black holes where her eyes were supposed to be.
I gasped, unable to respond.
"You can find it. I know you can! You have to follow the trail. You have to travel!" Rachel was now shouting at me, moving forward with her arms stretched out blindly in front of her, grasping at thin air.
"I...I don't understand" I whispered, terrified.
"You have to help me get it back! It's the only way, only you can follow the trail! You have to Erin, you have to. I made it go away and you have to get it back!"
"I don't know how!" I yelled, trying to tell her that I was the wrong person, that I didn't know how to help.
"You do! You do, you do, you do, you do." Rachel repeated, and her voice echoed around the room, again and again, getting louder and louder until it was painfully loud and I had to cover my ears with my hands.
"Help me Erin! Follow the trail and help me! Do it, or we'll all suffer. The town will burn! Help, Erin, help!"
Rachel was advancing and suddenly her hands transformed into claws and her face elongated until it was no longer hers but that of a monstrous creature, screeching my name over and over again.
I cried out and stumbled backwards, trying to get away from the monster, but the basin of fire was still standing behind me.
It went crashing to the floor and the fire, instead of going out, started to spread around the room, racing along the dark walls, turning them red.
The heat grew so intense I could feel my skin starting to blister and I yelled out in pain, still backing away from the creature, until a wall of fire suddenly came flying toward me.
"No!" I screamed.
But it was too late.

Hehe, things are heating up. Literally!
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