I Talk With Old Friends (Part 2)
Percy POV
The encounter has, for a fleeting moment, brought me partially out of the pit. But as soon as Charlie and Silena are gone I feel my guilt rushing back. The absence of a distraction prompts the invasion of my mind by the familiar faces, which come so clearly to me now.
A voice behind me makes me jump. "Percy," it says. I spin around to see Luke. Or at least...a shadow of what Luke should be. He is standing only a few feet away, but his image seems to flicker in and out, as if he is not entirely here. While his clothes remain the same as they were in my dream earlier, he no longer carries a sword. His eyes are fixated on the spot where Charlie and Silena were standing, and he looked exhausted. His shoulders were slumped, and he appeared thoroughly defeated.
"This isn't a dream," he says to me, as if reading my mind. He averts his gaze away from where the ghostly figures disappeared. "Do you mind if I sit?" he asks. I say nothing, so he makes his way over to me. When he sits down, he gives a great sigh of relief, as if this is the first rest he's had in a long time. It reminded me of when I had a talk with Hermes on this same beach when I was 13. The thought made me even more sad. Just another promise I'd failed to keep.
For a while, me and Luke sit in the dunes. The wind is roaring, but the ocean remains smooth, as if it is the middle of winter and it has frozen solid. Not even the smallest ripple disturbs the surface. Finally, my old rival breaks the silence.
"I see them too, you know," he says, staring at the vast blackness of the ocean which lays before us. He seems to almost yearn to enter it, as I had. "The faces," he clarifies, after a lengthy pause.
I stare at him. "But you're just-"
"A ghost, I know," he interrupts. "Don't ask me to explain it. I just do. Charlie, Silena...all the demigods that died because of me. It's a long list, Percy. Much longer than yours."
"It's not a competition, Luke," I begin to growl.
"I know that!" He quickly responds with an angry tone in his voice. "But it's something to think about. In all the quests you've completed, all the battles you've fought...you've been lucky."
"Lucky?!" I stand in rage. "How the hell am I lucky? Those people that are gone, that's because of me. They're dead because I failed! How does that make me lucky? Please, explain, Luke. I'd love to hear your brilliant fucking explanation!"
I'm shaken to my core. I had led myself to believe that Luke was better than this. "What the fuck are you even saying, Luke? My life...it has an acceptable casualty rate? That's fucking evil. That's how a ton of people get killed, unnecessarily."
He looks back at me, lips pressed tightly together. His eyelids are twitching, as if if he is being bathed in lava, but refuses to cry out.
"All I'm trying to say, Percy, is that when Kronos….well, when I attacked Manhattan, there were going to be casualties, no matter what. The only variable was how many. So...if you hold yourself responsible for every death, ok, fine. But by that logic, you're also responsible for every demigod that made it out alive. And that doesn't just apply to New York. It counts for every dangerous situation you've encountered with your friends over the years. When you start to think about it...you've saved a lot of lives Percy. A hell of a lot more than I ever did, that's for sure.
"That doesn't mean I'm innocent Luke. Like you said, I was responsible for those people getting hurt. Just because I saved some...that doesn't help my case. 'One good deed does not wash out the good, nor the bad the good.'
Luke looks at me inquisitively. "Who said that? I've never heard it before."
"It's just from a T.V. show," I reply, feeling too beat-down to explain. Then Luke says something that has never occurred to me.
"Percy...do you ever think that maybe these feelings you've been having...and the dreams...that it's all in your head?"
My eyes narrow looking back at him. "Well of course it's all in my head, they're dreams and emotions. Where else would they come from?"
"Not what I meant," Luke sighs. "These dreams you had tonight...with me, and Bianca. Everyone who's died. The guilt you feel. That's just it. You feel it, because it's coming from within you. Not from everyone else. Bianca and I don't blame you for what happened. No one does. Maybe this guilt...it's just a manifestation of your own feelings, that it's just you. These dreams are just the mind creating visions of how you feel. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's the truth.
Right then, I realized something. Luke was much smarter than he looked. But I was still in an awful mood, and I didn't want to accept what he was saying, so I chose not to respond.
"Maybe I'm wrong," Luke continues. "But what I do know is that I'm happy you're here, now. You'll be able to protect Annabeth, hopefully for the rest of your lives." He smiles down at me as he stands. "Will you keep my promise to her, Percy? About family? If anyone can, it's you."
"I already do that," I grunt back at him "But thanks for the killer life advice. Oh and by the way, I'm pretty sure you're not Bianca, the last time I checked. You never even met her. So don't act like you knew her, or how she feels. Felt."
Luke keeps smiling at me, and it's strange, but it seems genuine. As if it isn't motivated by the success of a Titan Lord, but by Luke actually being happy. I haven't seen it in a long time.
"You don't believe me?" he asks. "Funny...I have a feeling you'll find out pretty soon." As I watch, the shadows seem to embrace him. But it's nothing like the whole son-of-Hades thing Nico does. The darkness wraps itself around him, like a cloak. When it reaches his head, his face disappears. And then he's gone. I was alone once again. But apparently not for long.
From the sky, I notice a dim circular glow. It's the moon trying to penetrate the veil of shadow which covers the sky. The light grows stronger, and eventually reveals a full moon, radiating a silver glow. It illuminates the ground below, exposing the features of my surroundings. It's funny how you begin to notice things, when you can see clearly.
The moon, standing out against the darkness, was for a moment isolated in it's brightness. But as it's light continued to spread, the glow of each individual star was revealed. As the sky became pin-pricked with these jewels of the universe, I began to see with ever-increasing clarity. In only a few moments, the sky reclaimed its natural brilliance
My eyes remained fixated on a specific point. My old friend, Zoe. Upon her brow, a circlet had rested in life, as it had lingered in death. A star set perfectly in the center of the royal band was glowing fiercely, far more than it's neighbours.
In an instant, the star seemed to burst forth, as if it had laboured to imprison a great strength which it could no longer contain. Beautiful white light seemed to tumble outward, nearly matching the luminance of the moon itself. It continued to spread, growing nearer and nearer by the second. Then, it focused itself into a column about 4 feet in diameter, striking the ground like some sort of weird UFO. A figure stepped out. Her eyes and hair were as dark as the depths of the ocean, and her olive-coloured skin reinforced her regal features. A bow was strapped to her back, and a silver circlet rested atop her head.
