Well... I think I'm starting to lose my groove again. Hope you like this chapter anyway.
Chapter 18:
Of Lightning Birds And Aggressive Uncles
A clatter of bones was the only notification to what Buddy had done. How he had gotten into the fort that Jaden had created around the rocking chair, the boy couldn't tell. All he knew was that it had taken him ages to build the fort and it had taken him ages to knock it all down again just to assess the damage Buddy had done.
Now he was playing Connect-a-bone with the skeleton.
It was his fifth time building the skeleton back together. The past four times he had 'lost' one of the bones courtesy of Buddy. Now the poor dog was tied up to the stove, drooling as he watched his master rebuild the skeleton. And Jaden had a sneaky suspicion that Buddy had already eaten one of the man's fingers.
That's when Jaden noticed something that he hadn't been able to notice before because of Buddy; the skeleton's sternum had changed into something that looked like a wonky pyramid (or maybe it was a shark fin? Jaden couldn't tell.) Either way, something very strange was going on with the skeleton and Buddy was sensing it. Jaden was beginning to wonder if the dog was going to destroy the stove as he jumped up and down in an attempt to get back to the skeleton.
" Buddy, sit down!" the boy growled back at the dog.
With a whimper, Buddy obeyed. Unfortunately, that didn't stop him from trying to dig a hole through the wooden floorboards of the cabin. Jaden, fed up with the dog's antics, was about to scold him once more when he noticed two of the man's ribs meld themselves together into a bird's wishbone. Cursing his life as a demigod, he moved the two transformed pieces of bone.
" And here I thought I was only going to have to play connect a bone with a human skeleton." He sighed, eyeing the human bones to see which ones were going to change next.
Finally Buddy managed to bite through the rope that kept him tied to the stove.
" Buddy! How'd you… no don't! Oh, man!"
He couldn't look. Buddy, the wonderful thing that he was, had decided to jump all over the remaining human bones. That was when Jaden decided that he had to close his eyes. What he did know was that there was a lot of barking and bones clacking. After a good fifteen minutes, and a face wash from Buddy, the boy finally decided to open his eyes.
What he saw, amazingly, were two piles of bones. The first pile was on top of where he had placed the first two bird bones that he had seen. The other pile was where the human skeleton had once been… and that Buddy was sitting on top of. Next to that, buddy was being extra protective of his pile of bones.
" What do you want me to do? Play build-a-bird?" Jaden asked his dog. To his surprise, Buddy rolled his tongue out of his mouth and looked at Jaden as if he was smiling. " I swear, my life just gets weirder and weirder by the day."
With a sigh escaping his lips, Jaden turned to the pile of bird bones.
It was morning when Jaden finally sat back and looked at what he had recreated. He had never pieced together a bird skeleton before but it was thanks to Buddy that he had been able to do it in the first place. Every time he had made a mistake, Buddy had growled at him from his pile of bones… and there were a lot of mistakes made. Buddy even growled at him when he made the bird look like it was flying.
Now, the skeleton looked like it was perched on the ground. But there was something missing from it. Buddy was no longer in the helping mood - instead he was enjoying one of the remaining bones from his pile. That left Jaden alone to figure out what it was the skeleton was missing. And for the life of him, he couldn't put his finger on it.
Deciding to sleep on it, Jaden curled up and closed his eyes. What he didn't expect was to get a visit from a rather large eagle. The first thing he noticed was that it was diving straight at him from a white hole in the grey clouds that surrounded him. Then he noticed that its wingspan was at least fifteen feet long. At the very sight of it, ancient instincts kicked in.
Jaden ran.
I should have known that you would be the one.
The voice made Jaden stop. He wasn't far from where he had seen the giant eagle… or at least, he thought he wasn't that far. But even so, he was panting heavily and sweat was running down the side of his face.
Apparently, you have the same cowardice as your mother.
" My mother was not a coward!" Jaden growled, finally turning to face the giant bird.
The twelve foot tall bird was now resting where he was once standing… in the same position as the skeleton that he had rebuilt not long before he closed his eyes. Its body was a greyish white colour while its wings and tail were a brilliant golden colour. Even the bird's talons and beak were golden. On the top of its head was a flowing crest that ran down to the base of its skull and reminded Jaden of a Mohawk. Unlike the rest of the bird, the crest was a stormy grey colour. With a sharp turn of its head, the bird laid its giant bronze coloured eyes on the boy before it.
Amuse me, child. What is it that your mother did that did not portray cowardice? The voice asked with a boom similar to Zeus'. Jaden got the feeling that it was the bird that was speaking despite its beak not moving.
" She…" At first Jaden wasn't sure what his mother had done then he realised, " she raised me."
Yes, I suppose that does deserve credit of bravery.
" What do you want with me?"
What do I want? I want to be returned to my rightful place by my Lord's side. I belong on the shoulder of Lord Zeus himself. Do you know how long it has been since I have seen my lord and master? One hundred and fifty seven long years of solitude, hidden under the earth like a measly worm, unable to see the sky let alone feel the wind beneath my wings.
" Maybe that's what the prophecy means."
Prophecy? What prophecy? Speak it to me.
" I… I don't really remember it."
Then speak what you do remember.
The order made Jaden step back, but he did what the bird wanted and closed his eyes tightly in thought. He remembered being in the amphitheatre back at Camp Half-Blood and the Oracle standing up like she had been electrocuted. And he remembered the shocked look on everyone's faces when they had received an unexpected prophecy. But for the life of him, he couldn't remember the lines to the prophecy.
Well?
" I don't remember the first two lines…"
Were you not listening to me?
" But the rest went something like - The white emperor grows wary of those he hath bore/ And only his brother can calm the mighty roar/ But to quell the wrath that doth burn/ The exiled one must return."
The eagle was silent for a few intense minutes. In fact, it began preening itself in thought. Jaden began worrying that the eagle was going to strike at him for some reason he had yet to make up and backed away a couple more steps. Unfortunately, his movement cause the giant bird to focus once more on him.
I have been missing for over a hundred years. The bird said. It seems that Lord Zeus has forgotten me during my disappearance and has only now remembered that I am missing. But I would never have thought that you could be his brother.
" Does everyone know about my exile?" Jaden sighed.
Child. You bear the mark of one exiled by the Big Three. Do you not remember what it was that Lord Zeus said to you when you were exiled?
Jaden remembered all too well. " He said that no one was to help me."
No one?
" No immortals or demigods." The boy corrected.
What I see is that though we cannot help you, you can help us. What is your greatest wish?
" I just want to be accepted for who I am, not for who my fathers were. So what if I'm the son of one of the meanest Titans in history? Time isn't always a curse. So what if I'm the son of one of the most infamous sons of Hermes? Even if I wanted to, I will never be exactly like Luke Castellan. I may have gained my looks and my powers from both of my fathers, but I gained my personality from my mother… and my mother was a nice person."
I see. And I think I know what you can do. Zeus' Eagle sighed, lowering its head slightly. Return me to my Master and you may be pardoned.
" How do I do that?"
First you must understand how I got into that cabin that you found me in. Back in 1864, a son of Hermes – one of your older uncles – was determined that I was the cause of the Romans attacking. Yes he did fight for the Greeks during the Civil War, but he also fought against his brethren. To be completely honest, he had a reputation throughout camp to match that of an Ares child.
But one night, things got out of hand. The disrespectful worm snuck into the Zeus Cabin while Silas Clark and his brother Morgan Haroldson were asleep and somehow managed to remove me from my place on Zeus' shoulder. Then he fled with me to the place. Unfortunately for the eighteen year old, Romans had followed him. Theodore was slain by the Romans while he slept in his rocking chair.
I, on the other hand, saw the safety his body provided whilst surrounded by the enemy. I merged with him in order to protect myself and stop yet another theft happening. Unfortunately, that also meant that my body decayed at the same time as Theodore's did. You, son of Luke Castellan, saved me from that prison… but you must complete me before I can leave the cabin.
" How do I do that?" Jaden wondered, his mind still lost in the story he had just been told.
What makes a bird?
With that, the eagle let out an ear-piercing shriek, forcing Jaden to cower under its might.