Alone? Was I always alone? I guess I was, but I never noticed. "I'll see you…I'll see you at dinner." I told Chiron and headed out. My left sleeve was swinging from left to right as I walked out of Chiron's office, reconsider, huh? I'm not sure…I mean, I still have to get back to Artemis, so…I can't.
I'm sorry everyone, but don't depend on me anymore, I can't even use my powers right. I looked at my right hand, I'm so cautious about it, I don't want to use my mouth to open things. I shuddered at the thought. Ok that's enough of that. I walked out of the big house and went to the cabin area, again I stared at the Hades cabin. My mission to get the gods to respect my father, why am I suddenly remembering this? Oh yeah…That isn't exactly complete, is it?
I walked to the cabin, I examined it. Solid obsidian walls with a skull over the door and torches that burned with green fire. A pretty cool design for the cabin of Hades. I hesitated to go inside. I wonder if Nico is here…He probably is. When I walked in, the place was empty, I half expected to find a few kids in here, but there was none, and I was actually surprised to see Nico wasn't here. I looked all over the cabin.
Hmm. Where could he have gone? Oh well…Since I'm already here. I went to the nearest bed, when I sat down I was surprised to see how soft it was, "Wow…What are these made out of? Sheep?" I said to myself and allowed myself to fall asleep. Maybe I'll be up before dinner.
It turns out, I missed dinner…The conch went off and I realized it was the one for the camp fire, I'm so hungry…I reluctantly got out of bed. I stretched my arm and legs and headed out. When I got to the amphitheater, I really thought there was going to be a lot less kids here. But I was mistaken. Fifty or sixty kids filled the rows, clustered into groups under their designated banner.
I saw the Hades banner, but then I looked across from it and noticed the Artemis banner. What shall I do? Or where shall I sit? As I was standing there, a familiar face approached me, "You going to stand there all day?" Neil smiled, I grinned widely, "Still alive and kicking I see?"
Neil laughed and gave me welcome back hug, "Where you've been?" He asked.
I sighed, "I've been asleep."
Neil stared at me skeptically, "Where? With Artemis?"
I chuckled, "If I did, then she would have had to haul me around with her for four months…Well, she probably would have woken me up every time if I did go with her…Yeah, no. I slept somewhere else." I told him.
He seemed interested in where I slept, "Come on man, you can tell me." He's right, I can tell him, since he's my only really good friend that I trust. "Did Percy tell you about Calypso?" I asked, his mouth opened, "You cheating on Artemis?"
I blushed, "What? No! Dammit Neil. Anyway." I said and calmed down, "I occasionally go there to sleep, I have my own bed."
He crossed his arms, "Define occasionally."
I scratched my head and looked away, "Well…Whenever I get tired I go there…Which is when I just suddenly disappear from camp."
Neil sighed, "Which is a lot, because you're almost never here. Are you sure you aren't cheating on Artemis?"
"No!" I exclaimed and felt my cheeks heat up, he's like the annoying brother I never had. "Artemis and I aren't even dating! Plus Calypso is like my big sister. Jeez!"
Neil burst out laughing, "That was awesome! You're still a kid at heart, huh?" He clapped me of the back, "Let's go, the sing-along is almost done."
I walked along side Neil, but I felt a little mad at him, he embarrassed me so easily…Dammit. When we got to the camp fire, everyone was dancing and singing along to a weird song. It was something about how their grandma got dressed for war. Everybody was singing with them and making gestures for the pieces of armor and joking around. Yep, this camp is still fun. As the energy level got higher, the flames did too, turning from red to orange to gold. I forgot how to have fun, so I just waited it out.
Finally the song ended with a lot of rowdy applause. Chiron trotted up to the center. "Very nice! And a special welcome to our new arrivals. I am Chiron, camp activities director, and I'm happy you have all arrived here alive and with most of your limbs attached. In a moment, I promise we'll get to the s'mores, but first—"
"What about capture the flag?" somebody yelled. Grumbling broke out among some kids in armor, sitting under a red banner with the emblem of a boar's head. Ha, typical thing for the children of Ares to complain about.
"Yes," Chiron said. "I know the Ares cabin is anxious to return to the woods for our regular games."
"And kill people!" one of them shouted.
"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is brought under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"
"Dragon?" I repeated, "I can help with that!" I offered. I lifted up my right hand, Chiron looked a little bit happy, so did everyone else. Mostly the Hephaestus cabin, they looked almost relieved, "Although I can't do it all by myself." I added.
They all looked at each other, "We'll figure it out later."
I nodded, "Alright then."
Chiron cleared his throat, "We will have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to discuss."
"Percy?" someone asked. The fire dimmed even further, I wonder if this is how people act when I disappear…I doubt it.
Chiron gestured to Annabeth. She took a deep breath and stood.
"I didn't find Percy," she announced. Her voice caught a little when she said his name. "He wasn't at the Grand Canyon like I thought. But we're not giving up. We've got teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis —everyone's out looking. We will find him. Chiron's talking about something different. A new quest."
"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl called out.
Everyone turned. The voice had come from a group in back, sitting under a rose-colored banner with a dove emblem. They'd been chatting among themselves and not paying much attention until their leader stood up: Drew.
Everyone else looked surprised. Apparently Drew didn't address the crowd very often.
"Drew?" Annabeth said. "What do you mean?"
"Well, come on." Drew spread her hands like the truth was obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy's disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three new demigods in one day. I mean, something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has started, right?"
The great Prophecy? Wait…I thought that ended? "What are you talking about?" I asked. They all turned to me, for some reason they all had saw me in a new light, "Could he be one of them?" Someone said. Murmuring broke through all the campers. One of what? "Yes," Rachel said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."
Rachel took another step toward the audience, and fifty-plus demigods leaned away from her, as if one skinny redheaded mortal was more intimidating than all of them put together. I stepped forward as well. "Am I somehow involved in this great prophecy?" I asked.
"That's for you to decide, isn't it?" She smiled and continued, "For those of you who have not heard it, the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It arrived in August. It goes like this:
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire the world must fall—"
Jason shot to his feet. His eyes looked wild, like he'd just been tasered.
Even Rachel seemed caught off guard. "J-Jason?" she said. "What's—"
"Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus," he chanted. "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
An uneasy silence settled on the group. I could see from their faces that several of them were trying to translate the lines. I could tell it was Latin, but I'm not sure why he was suddenly chanting like a Catholic priest.
"You just … finished the prophecy," Rachel stammered. "—An oath to keep with a final breath/And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death. How did you—"
"I know those lines." Jason winced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I know that prophecy."
"In Latin, no less," Drew called out. "Handsome and smart."
There was some giggling from the Aphrodite cabin. Jason sat down, looking embarrassed, but Annabeth put a hand on his shoulder and muttered something reassuring.
Rachel Dare still looked a little shaken. She glanced back at Chiron for guidance, but the centaur stood grim and silent, as if he were watching a play he couldn't interrupt—a tragedy that ended with a lot of people dead onstage.
"Well," Rachel said, trying to regain her composure. "So, yeah, that's the Great Prophecy. We hoped it might not happen for years, but I fear it's starting now. I can't give you proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, some weird stuff is happening. The seven demigods, whoever they are, have not been gathered yet. I get the feeling some are here tonight. Some are not here."
About half the camp looked at me and Jason, "I don't think I'm one of them…I'm sorry, but I can't be one of the seven who are going on this quest." I said to everyone. The campers began to stir and mutter, looking at each other nervously, until a drowsy voice in the crowd called out, "I'm here! Oh … were you calling roll?"
"Go back to sleep, Clovis," someone yelled, and a lot of people laughed.
"Anyway," Rachel continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but since the first Great Prophecy predicted the Titan War, we can guess the second Great Prophecy will predict something at least that bad."
"Or worse," Chiron murmured.
Maybe he didn't mean everyone to overhear, but they did. The campfire immediately turned dark purple, "If only they knew…" I whispered to myself.
"What we do know," Rachel said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need a quest to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been taken."
Shocked silence. Then fifty demigods started talking at once.
Chiron pounded his hoof again, but Rachel still had to wait before she could get back their attention.
She told them about the incident on the Grand Canyon skywalk—how Gleeson Hedge had sacrificed himself when the storm spirits attacked, and the spirits had warned it was only the beginning. They apparently served some great mistress who would destroy all demigods.
"Jason," Rachel said. "Um … do you remember your last name?"
He looked self-conscious, but he shook his head.
"We'll just call you Jason, then," Rachel said. "It's clear Hera herself has issued you a quest."
Rachel paused, as if giving Jason a chance to protest his destiny. Everyone's eyes were on him; there was so much pressure, Piper thought she would've buckled in his position. Yet he looked brave and determined. He set his jaw and nodded. "I agree."
"You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," Rachel continued. "Some sort of king from rising. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen by the winter solstice, only four days from now."
"That's the council day of the gods," Annabeth said. "If the gods don't already know Hera's gone, they will definitely notice her absence by then. They'll probably break out fighting, accusing each other of taking her. That's what they usually do."
"The winter solstice," Chiron spoke up, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things … stir."
The way he said it, stirring sounded absolutely sinister—like it should be a first-degree felony, not something you did to cookie dough.
"Okay," Annabeth said, glaring at the Chiron. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this quest, so—"
"Why hasn't he been claimed?" somebody yelled from the Ares cabin. "If he's so important—"
"He has been claimed," Chiron announced. "Long ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."
At first, Jason didn't seem to understand. But then he stepped forward nervously and reached into his pocket. He flipped it up and then his coin flashed in the air, and when he caught it in his hand, he was holding a lance—a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.
The other demigods gasped. Rachel and Annabeth stepped back to avoid the point, which looked sharp as an ice pick.
"Wasn't that …" Annabeth hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."
"Um, it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."
"Dude, I want one!" yelled somebody from Ares cabin.
"Better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of his brothers agreed.
"Electric," Jason murmured, like that was a good idea. "Back away."
Annabeth and Rachel got the message. Jason raised his javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. Lightning arced down through the golden spear point and hit the campfire with the force of an artillery shell. Impressive, so he's a son of Zeus, lord of the sky.
When the smoke cleared, the entire camp sat frozen in shock, half blind, covered in ashes, staring at the place where the fire had been. Cinders rained down everywhere. A burning log had impaled itself a few inches from the sleeping kid Clovis, who hadn't even stirred.
Jason lowered his lance. "Um … sorry."
Chiron brushed some burning coals out of his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed. "A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is."
"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean Zeus. Lord of the Sky."
Everything broke into chaos, with dozens of people asking questions until Annabeth raised her arms.
"Hold it!" she said. "How can he be the son of Zeus? The Big Three … their pact not to have mortal kids … how could we not have known about him sooner?"
"Do you know why Jason always names the gods and goddess's by their roman name?" I asked them. Annabeth shook her head, I sighed, "All I can do is give you guys a clue. It obviously has to do with the roman side of the god's and goddess's. That's all I can say."
Annabeth didn't answer me back, I guess she knows she has to figure it out on her own. "The important thing," Rachel said, "is that Jason's here now. He has a quest to fulfill, which means he will need his own prophecy."
She closed her eyes and swooned. Two campers rushed forward and caught her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze three-legged stool, like they'd been trained for this duty. They eased Rachel onto the stool in front of the ruined hearth. Without the fire, the night was dark, but green mist started swirling around Rachel's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing. Emerald smoke issued from her mouth. The voice that came out was raspy and ancient—the sound a snake would make if it could talk:
"Child of lightning, beware the earth, the giants' revenge the seven shall birth, the forge and dove shall break the cage, And death unleash through Hera's rage."
On the last word, Rachel collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They carried her away from the hearth and laid her in the corner to rest. Beware the Earth…The giants…The forge and Dove shall break the cage, and death unleashed through Hera's rage…I know bits of the Prophecy. The Earth is obviously Gaia…But, she can't be rising…Right?
The giants are her children…But the forge and dove? I have no idea who they are. That last line…It disturbs me. Annabeth stepped forward and asked what I was thinking, "Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death … why would we free her? It might be a trap, or—or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."
Jason rose. "I don't have much choice. Hera took my memory. I need it back. Besides, we can't just not help the queen of the heavens if she's in trouble."
A girl from Hephaestus cabin stood up—she had a red bandanna on. "Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth. Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son—our dad—down a mountain just because he was ugly."
"Real ugly," snickered someone from Aphrodite.
"Shut up!" The girl yelled. "Anyway, we've also got to think —why beware the earth? And what's the giants' revenge? What are we dealing with here that's powerful enough to kidnap the queen of the heavens?"
No one answered, I…Can't tell them, they'll be too scared to do it if I speak up.
Annabeth took a deep breath. "It's Jason's quest," she announced, "so it's Jason's choice. Obviously, he's the child of lightning. According to tradition, he may choose any two companions."
Someone from the Hermes cabin yelled, "Well, you, obviously, Annabeth. You've got the most experience."
"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."
"It's connected," Piper blurted out, "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance—it's all connected."
"How?" demanded Drew. "If you're so smart, how?"
Piper tried to form an answer, but she couldn't.
Annabeth saved her. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end—by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."
"It says who I pick," Jason agreed. "The forge and dove shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul—Hephaestus."
Under the Cabin Nine banner, the girls shoulder slumped, like she'd just been given a heavy anvil to carry. "If you have to beware the earth," she said, "you should avoid traveling overland. You'll need air transport."
Suddenly everyone looked at me, "I don't think so. I can't just fly them wherever they want, especially for four days, sorry you have to find another way to do that." I said.
Jason looked confused, "You can fly? But I thought you were a child of Hades?"
Did he forget I can fly? "Wait, weren't you there when I was flying? I'm sure you saw me."
If I got something wrong, I'm sorry. Anyway this is all today.
Thanks for reading!
Rilurz~