Hecate's Daughter and the Dissipating Mist

Chapter 3- The Oracle

-Blake Evans POV-

I couldn't believe how stupid a son of Athena could be. Aiden Thorne, the bane of my existence, was quite possibly the most close-minded people I have ever met, yet he was a son of the greatest thinker of all time. One would think he would be a little more accepting of others.

But the same thing could be said for Samson, as well. He was a son of Hephaestus, a god that was not to be trifled with, and hard around the edges. The big guy was decidedly not hard around the edges like his father, nor was he very stern.

These people weren't like their parents at all, yet that's how they define themselves. That's how they define other people, like me.

I was absolutely livid. Who had instilled the power on these two boys to decide what to call me? Who gave them the right to decidedly call me a traitor? To think of me as someone who needs to be fixed?

I do not need to be fixed, thank you very much.

My feet carried me angrily towards the forest, the very place where demigods go and never come back. And apparently the ones who do have either been involved in the quest to stop Gaea, or are insane. But I don't know if there is any difference.

We're all a little bit crazy on the inside.

My head felt as though it was going to explode, and I felt a tug in my belly that was like a tempting itch that needed to be satisfied. Whenever I was angry, my body's desire to preform magic only intensified, and it felt as if I was going through drug withdrawals.

I stumbled through the forest, the fallen branches and logs proving to be hard to avoid when all I could see was red. I knew I needed to calm down or I wasn't going to be able to control what I was going to do next.

My clumsiness crept up to me as my foot met a fallen branch and caused me to go flying and take a hard turn towards the ground.

"Oof!"

I had braced myself with my hands, but my momentum still made me go head-first into the dirt. I laid there, feeling the temptations of magic slowly drift away as I felt the cold earth against my cheek, grounding myself to reality.

I wasn't going to hurt anyone over some stupid son of Hephaestus, or an even stupider son of Athena.

Sighing at my ridiculous rampage I was about to go on, I slowly sat up and leaned against a nearby tree. The sun was starting to go down, and I knew from experience that it was close to 7 o'clock. I had only two more hours of daylight before I would be lost in the darkness.

And gods know how far away from camp I was already.

I got up and started to walk in the direction that I think I came from, but after tripping and falling I don't really know what direction was the right direction. For all I knew, I could be going the opposite way from where camp was.

I guess my fate was now in the hands of the gods.

The maze of trees was daunting, and I felt as though I was walking in circles. I was starting to lose hope in finding my way back to camp when I spotted something behind some thick trees. It was light- there was someone in the forest with me.

Unfortunately I didn't really have a choice in whether or not to approach the person who could very possibly try to kill me. After hearing about the labyrinth fiasco that happened years ago, it was obvious that even in camp borders, no one was really safe.

I decided to take my chances, and I walked towards the light behind the trees. As I got closer, I noticed that it was coming from a cave, which was very strategically hidden amongst bushes.

Walking through the entrance of the cave, I was astounded at what I saw. There were paintings littering the walls and the floors, papers strewn across different tables and desks that made it look like a mad person lived here.

There was blatant style with the décor, as well. There was a couch, two chairs, a bed, and what I think was a place to put food. It was weird, as I never met an evil person who had this good of style.

I slowly walked forward into the living quarters, carefully trying not to step on anything that could be noticed later. If I wanted to try and stay on the good side of whomever lived here, I wasn't going to want to ruin their things.

My foot tapped a painting, and I immediately stilled, and looked down at a painting that I swore wasn't in my way a second ago. Curiously I picked it up, but stiffened as I saw what it entailed.

It was the Battle of Manhattan, and I was standing in the middle of a wreckage that included bodies, buildings, and things that I don't even think I could describe.

My hair was in a disarray, covered in blood spatter and grime. My face was an exact copy of that, but darker with my naturally tanned skin. My clothes were also covered in blood and grime, but they looked to be ripped to pieces. My arms were being held out wide as a purple magic spewed out of my hands, and I knew that it was a killing spell.

It caused people's insides to turn to dust, one of the worst punishments of them all.

But what caused me to tense up was the deadly look that haunted my eyes. My eyes that could be described as bright and even flowing with vibrant energy looked dark, dead, and lifeless. A breath caught in my throat, and tears pricked my eyes.

I was a monster, and whomever painted this knew it.

I lightly placed the painting back where I found it, not being able to bear to look at it any more. I knew there was a reason why I refused to preform magic anymore, and that was exactly it. The power that it gave me had driven me to be a blood-thirsty monster, and I want nothing to do with it.

I continued to look around, seeing different paintings that were mostly about the seven in the great prophecy, or about Grover, Nico Di'Angelo, or other people I don't know.

My eyes scanned over the paintings, newly aware at the scenes that were being portrayed in front of me. I saw Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase clinging to each other, eyes wide in fear. I saw Nico Di'Angelo, his hand stretched out over the trench that I knew to be the brink of Tartarus. There was Piper McLean, looking into her blade, while Jason Grace looked on at her lovingly.

Suddenly I found myself looking at a painting that looked like me, Samson and Aiden. I picked it up, noticing the white of my hair instantly. I was wielding a clear sword, Samson a staff, and Aiden a dagger the three of us were looking up in fear, as if we were staring down an oncoming threat.

My heart sped up as I looked on, and saw even more pictures including the three of us. Aiden writing, Samson fighting off what looked like a dog, me hanging off the side of a cliff and someone reaching down towards me…

Normal demigod stuff, I guess.

But there was one that really caught my eye. It was the three of us, standing in what looked to be the underworld in front of Hades' Palace. My breath caught in my throat as I realized that there was only two ways someone could be in the Underworld- dead, or hopelessly stupid.

And believe me, I am not stupid.

"Who the hell are you?"

My head snapped up, and my eyes widened almost comically as I found myself a victim of the glare of Rachel Elizabeth Dare, the oracle.

I carefully set down the painting of me in hell and looked at her cautiously. "I got lost, and wandered here, I'm sorry for startling you," I apologized, trying to make myself seem as non-threatening as possible.

Her green eyes narrowed for a second, then relaxed when she saw the sincerity in my tone. "Well, I'm glad you found your way here, Blake Evans. I have been seeing a lot of you lately."

"That sounds very creepy, but okay."

She smiled at my bluntness and smirked. "You do realize I'm the Oracle of Delphi, right?"

I nodded. "Oracle or not, when you tell a stranger that you have been seeing them lately, it kind of comes across as creepy."

Rachel laughed, "I guess you're right, Blake."

I nodded, and stood there awkwardly for a second as she walked in the cave and made herself at home, plopping down on the couch with her paint-covered jeans and loose T-Shirt.

"Are you going to sit down, or what?"

I quickly took a seat beside her on the couch, and rubbed my neck nervously. It's not every day you meet someone who has seen your future, especially when said future seems pretty bad.

"Look, I know you can see the future, and I know that you can only tell little things about the future, but I'm just going to come out and ask: why the hell am I in hell?"

The red-head looked at the painting that I was pointing to, and her eyes widened a bit when she saw that we were standing in front of Hades' Palace.

"Look, all I can tell you is that you're not dead in this picture. You're searching for something, and you're on a quest."

"Wh-What? Why would someone send me on a quest?"

Rolling her eyes, she continued, "Obviously someone sends you on a quest with these two other guys. Who are both not unattractive if you know what I mean."

"And who happen to be the very two who caused me to get in this mess in the first place," I muttered.

"What was that?"

I smiled, "Nothing that matters. So, why would I need to go on a quest? Is there something that you're not telling me? Because that seems to be happening a lot lately."

Rachel laughed, "Believe me, I get it. But look, something big is going to happen, and you're going to be in the middle of it. You're going to have to make a few choices, and whether or not they're the right ones will determine the fate of mankind."

I let out a low whistle, trying (and failing) to comprehend the intensity of what she told me. "What if I don't want to? I mean, I know there are plenty of other demigods who want to prove themselves. Like Aiden Listner, for instance."

A mischievous glint popped in her eye. "Oh, believe me, Aiden will have his fun, too. But Blake, please listen to me on this. If you are to do anything, it is believe in yourself. Because if you don't believe in yourself and what you are capable of doing for good, then you will find that you can believe in others as well."

"And let me guess, this choice I'm going to have to make- it includes needing to believe in myself?"

The oracle nodded, a grave look coming over her face. "You are going to need to let go, sometime. Once you stop blaming yourself, others will too."

I laughed nervously. "I really hope there are going to be do-overs with this one."

Rachel laughed, and her eyes gleamed with what I think was remembrance. "You remind me of a dear friend of mine, Blake Evans."

I raised an eyebrow in question, and she continued, "I met a boy at the Hoover Dam what seems like ages ago. That same boy grew up, and I fell in love with him. But I wasn't the only one. His best friend, a daughter of Athena who has never left his side, fell for him too."

"So this is a love story?" I asked, looking at her confusedly.

"No," she shook her head. "The boy had to watch as many of his friends died to save him. It was slowly driving him to the brink of madness, but for the good of the demigods that he led- he knew he had to remain strong.

"He had to live with this guilt that he was of fault for their deaths, and he still does. But what happened was that he accepted what happened, he accepted that they sacrificed themselves for a good cause, and he moved on. You need to accept your faults, Blake, or else you will drown in them."

"But the people I killed didn't die to save me… I killed them out of cold blood. I am a monster. The painting that showed me in the middle of a wreckage in Manhattan basically solidifies that fact. What I did to those people is unforgiveable."

Rachel tutted, and held out a finger to shut me up. "Who said anything about the forgiveness of others? You need to accept what you did and move on. It is acting like a chain, holding you back from your true potential."

"And what if I don't?"

She looked at me, her green eyes turning grave and I realized just how old her soul truly was.

"You die."

I gulped, and looked down at my trembling hands. What she was saying was true, but I didn't know how I was supposed to do what she was asking. Accepting something that defined who I was, a monster, seemed to be almost impossible.

"Don't worry, I'm sure you'll figure it out in time. But if you ever need help, just iris message me and we can talk about it."

I nodded. But my mind kept on being dragged back to her story about the boy she had fallen in love with. "Who was that boy?"

A small smile played on her lips. "That boy is now a man named Percy Jackson. You've probably heard of him. And his best friend? Her name is Annabeth Chase."

I laughed, glad that she saw I needed a quick change of subject. Impending death didn't really sit too well with me. "So because you're friends with them… do you know where they disappeared off to? Or why they disappeared?"

Rachel nodded. "As you can imagine, being a part of two prophecies can really take a toll on a person. The seven demigods who took place in the great prophecy didn't just decide to take a break or a vacation from their demigod duties, like what everyone has been led to believe."

I leaned back in the couch, my tension from the earlier conversation starting to ease off of my shoulders at the familiar gossip. "Why did they leave, then?"

"Well, there is a new prophecy, and none of them wanted anything to do with it, I guess."

"So they decided to just leave? They're some of the best leaders we have! If there is an oncoming threat, we're going to need all the help we can get!"

Rachel nodded in agreement, "Which is why Chiron knows their location in case we need them to help us in time of a crisis."

"I just can't believe that they would let us deal with a prophecy on our own. I mean, it would be great to have them here to guide us."

"But just imagine what they have gone through, Blake. Percy and Annabeth went to the deepest, darkest place in hell, and are the only demigods to be lucid enough to escape alive. As for the others? They went through some pretty messed up shit over the years as well."

I shook my head, as the revelation of this conversation started to dawn on me. "Is that what it is? Am I going to be a part of some prophecy?"

The oracle's eyes widened, and she took a deep breath. "I'm afraid that's something I cannot answer." She looked out of the entrance of the cave. "And it's getting dark. You'll be needing to get back to camp before the harpies start lurking around camp."

I nodded, and felt a sickening feeling fall in my stomach. All I know is that whatever was about to happen is not going to be pretty, especially if an oracle wasn't allowed to tell someone about it.

She told me to follow the rock back to camp as the cliff the cave was in reached the edge of the forest and into the main camp borders. "It should only take you ten minutes, tops, to reach camp. If you find yourself in any danger, use this," she handed me a drachma. "And iris message me or someone else to come and get you. It was a pleasure finally meeting you."

I nodded and took the drachma appreciatively, then quickly walked out of the cave and into the darkening woods with the rock to guide my way.

Little did I know, a satyr with a Rasta cap walked out of the shadows of the cave and spoke to the oracle with a grave tone. "Why didn't you tell her the truth?"

The red-head shrugged. "She wasn't ready. She will know when she is ready."

The satyr groaned. "Just because you're an oracle doesn't mean you need to speak all cryptically."

"Even though she's not ready to hear the truth, she will learn of the quest tomorrow. Make sure Chiron is ready and prepare the campers."

The satyr simply nodded and disappeared back into the forest, a cold feeling of dread washing over the both of them.

"Be safe, Blake," the oracle mumbled. "Be safe."

oOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

"Oh gods, you're alive!"

I heard Samson before I could see him as I burst through the opening in the forest. His tall, lean frame stood out in the darkness with a torch illuminating his features. The sun had gone down on my way back, so I understood the panic.

I didn't have any time to react before he took me in for a hug and squeezing tight. He quickly pulled away and looked over me with worry covering all of his features. "Are you okay? I swear, if you ever run off into the forest again I'll-"

I raised an eyebrow at his scolding. "You'll what? As far as I'm concerned, you don't own me."

He scoffed, throwing his hands up in the air. "I'm never going to win, am I?"

Smirking, I replied, "I don't see why you even try."

"Sorry for interrupting this little moment here, but Sam we need to get back before the harpies eat us," a voice spoke from my right.

I turned to see a shadowed Aiden Thorne standing there, his arms crossed impatiently. "But not you, traitor. I think you can stay right where you are."

Samson tensed, and glared at his friend. "Aiden, quit being an ass. You don't even know Blake."

The son of Athena rolled his eyes meticulously. "I know enough to see that she is a traitor and who shouldn't even be allowed at camp," he paused, and looked around as if searching for something. "But seriously we should be getting back."

"It's okay, Samson. Aiden obviously doesn't understand how to talk to others. Or share with others, for that matter."

Aiden's face went noticeably red, even in the dark. "Why you-"

Samson cut him off, "Okay, the both of you, shut up," he turned to the brunet. "Aiden, can you grow up?" he turned towards me. "And Blake, will you stop egging him on?"

Looking at him sheepishly, I nodded and felt stupid that I was being scolded by him, especially in front of the very reason for my residual anger. But, I had to make Samson believe I was the bigger person, here.

When neither of us said anything, Samson simply nodded at the tense peace that had been made. "Good. I swear, the two of you could not be any more different."

Aiden simply rolled his eyes. "C'mon Sam. Let's go." He grabbed hold of Samson and walked towards their cabins with a vicious glare that had gone unnoticed by our tall friend.

I glared right back at him until he was forced to turn away and continue on with Sam. And suddenly, I was left alone in the darkness. For once in my life, I decided that I would do the smart thing and head back to my cabin, too tired to really bother to think about all that I had learned in the past few hours.

All that crossed my mind before I collapsed from exhaustion was that I had made a best friend, but also a worst enemy.