Chapter 5: Yet another prophecy

"THERE'S A GODDAMN DRAGON!"

"Hey, calm down HaxE, it's just Festus" Rachel tried calming it down but my adrenaline was still up. "That dragon belongs to Leo Valdez, and he protects camp from danger if needed."

"Wait, is he made of metal?"

"Of course he is, isn't he a beauty?"

I heard a voice behind me call out to the both of us and I find a scrawny looking Hispanic boy running towards us. His grin was wide and mischievous and he had so much nervous energy that I wandered why he hadn't exploded yet; I definitely didn't want to give him coffee. He wore a tool belt around his waist and he was carrying a screwdriver in his right hand, twiddling it around his fingers.

"Oh hey Leo, how you been? Haven't seen you all week."

"Yeah, we've been out getting more bronze sheets we need, but then Festus' leg fell off so I had to stop off in Minnesota for a few days to try and find it. Then Calypso decided to look for somewhere nice to stay for a holiday, and we spent like so many dollars just booking a hotel room. No offence, but you women need to sort out your priorities."

Rachel smiled at this but I knew she was going make him pay for that comment just by looking at her eyes.

"We need to get our priorities straight? I doubt that very much. You boys are so full of yourselfー"

Festus Roared (sort of) and Rachel's remark was cut off, because at that point a gleaming chariot descended from the sky.

"HELLO CAMP HALF BLOOD!"

"Oh great, it's Apollo again. He got his sun chariot back and he's been coming back here almost everyday for the past week. It's almost a shame he's a god again now." She sighed when she said that, but I was instantly confused.

"Hey, I thought Apollo was a god anyway, what do you mean by he's a god again?"

"Oh right, didn't explain that part. Yeah, he's a god, but he lost his powers after the Giants, so he had to redeem himself by going on quests and stuff. That's why he ended up fixing the oracle problem."

But now Leo was confused

"Hey HaxE, you were here for pretty much the entire summer, you should know about Apollo and stuff, you can't have forgotten that quickly could you?"

Rachel and I looked to each other and back to Leo.

"Uh, Apparently I had a bit of an accident in the underworld. I don't actually remember anything about myself apart from the last day or so."

His face suddenly changed into an almost slight panicked expression.

"Not even more memory loss, we can be going through that again!"

"Leo, it's not like before. He fell into the Lethe, his memories weren't stolen."

His expression calmed a bit, he was evidently relieved at the news, but then another realisation hit him.

"Wait...say what? The Lethe?"

"Oh you are so slow Valdez, yes it was the Lethe."

At the point Apollo came over after spotting Rachel and Leo from his chariot.

"So, how's my favourite oracle? Got anything going on?"

"I thought your stint as a mortal would make you slightly more modest, but I guess you're still as brash as ever."

"Hey, don't forget I'm a god, I could punish you for that." He spots me and tilts his head quizzically.

"Well, I wasn't expecting you to be out and about, I thought you had a dip in the Lethe."

"How come everyone has to mention the Lethe? I lost my memories, so what? I just want to live as much of a normal life as possible. Why do people have to confront me about it?" I was pretty annoyed at this point. How come I was tormented by such a misfortune?

But everyone else was ignoring my complaint, because Rachel had just collapsed, and began spewing green mist. But that wasn't the worst part. Her voice went all raspy and I was so weirded out by what she began to say:

"Child of the first ones finds his way,

Through trial and torment, death and dismay.

Foes be friends, friends be foes,

Darkness reigns, but darkness falls.

His quest for peace, may never find,

Until at last, the end of time."

Silence.

No one understood the meaning of the omen, even Apollo look dumbfounded. As for Leo, who was holding Rachel and helping her up, he was speechless.

"We should get her to the medical wing, Leo do you think you can help me?"

"Wait, aren't you the god of healers?"

"I may be a god again but I still don't have all my powers back you know."

So we hefted Rachel onto our shoulders and carried her all the way to the big house. Now, I didn't know it at the time, but what we had just heard was really dangerous for all of us. A prophecy, and it was a big one.

"Another Great prophecy?" I hear you ask. So cryptic, and yet so revealing to what is up and coming. I wonder whether you can guess any part of it. If you do I'll give you a special mention at the end of the novel (or even before!), because I'm a reasonably nice person.

Anywho, it was so difficult to come up with the prophecy because:

* I haven't fully planned all the events for the story yet, they're all vague impressions really.

* Have you ever tried to come up with a series of couplets that fit the message you're trying to get across? It's difficult believe me.

Thanks again for reading, see you next time!