Earth~Today
Percy was thrown into mourning. The next day, he met Poseidon on the beach. Poseidon had a fishing pole; the line was out to sea.
"Dad," he acknowledged.
"Hello my son." Poseidon's voice was solemn. He reeled the line in a couple times.
Not quite knowing what to say, Percy kicked at the sand. "So, uh, did you hear about Nina's death?"
"Yes." Poseidon looked at his son. "I came to give my condolences."
Percy watched the line. The awkwardness of the situation hung in the air.
"It has been so long since I have had to mourn for one of my children, forgive me if I sound indifferent," Poseidon said. Percy nodded.
"Yeah. Things'll get better," he muttered to himself, as a reassurance for himself. To Poseidon, Percy asked, "Are you coming to her burial ceremony tomorrow?" Asking Poseidon was a gamble; most gods wouldn't come, but Poseidon was a wild card. He could have come or have not come.
Poseidon reeled in his empty line and sighed. "I would, but gods are not supposed to show up to these things. And Zeus is still in the worst of moods over last summer, and the summer before that. Too risky, unless I want to be dangled over Chaos's pit." Percy nodded, He understood what Poseidon was saying, but it hurt to much to accept it.
"Hey, Perseus!" Arcanus walked across the beach to where they stood. He waved to Poseidon.
"Who's this?" Poseidon asked.
"Your son, Arcanus I-don't-know-his-last-name," Percy said.
Poseidon eyed Arcanus curiously. "Are you sure—" Arcanus glared at Poseidon, interrupting his train of thought. Percy was about to ask Poseidon how he could forget breaking the oath to not have more children not once, but twice. "Oh, no, no, no, I remember now," Poseidon said. He held a staring contest with Arcanus.
"Um...didn't you claim him?" Percy asked. "Yesterday, I assume?"
Poseidon didn't look away from Arcanus. "Yes…"
"So—"
"Perseus, can I talk to Arcanus? Alone?" Poseidon interrupted.
Arcanus grinned smugly. "Go on."
Percy repressed the urge to punch him in the face. Arcanus didn't even seem like a son of Poseidon. Up until now, he was much too respectful to be a son of Poseidon. Neither Percy, Nina, nor Poseidon liked to follow rules or plans. Arcanus didn't fit the mold aesthetically, either. His blonde hair was neatly combed to the side—much too neat for a child of the sea god. Almost every brother and sister that Percy had met had green eyes, unlike Arcanus's, which were a plain brown. For some odd reason, although he had arrived with no luggage whatsoever, Arcanus still wore the red t-shirt and denim jeans that he had shown up in. He must have been a fake.
Arcanus waved his hand condescendingly. "Go on," he repeated in a matching tone.
Poseidon interrupted Percy's winding up his punch by saying, "Now, Perseus." Percy growled at Arcanus before turning on his heel and retreating to his cabin.
Annabeth visited him. They talked and went over to the Demeter cabin, who had offered to help him with Nina's was horrible at sewing, and, although Tyson had offered, sewing proved not to be his forte either. Arcanus also offered, but after that morning, Percy slapped him.
The finished shroud was green, with horses and assorted sea life running around the border.
For Percy, the next day was dreadfully slow. With the prospect of Nina's funeral, he felt like he was cradling her corpse in his arms all over again.
Percy watched, an hour before the burial, as Nico built up the fire. Percy was sitting in the last row of the amphitheater. Nico kept glancing up at him, or rather, two feet to his right. He climbed up to Percy.
"Hello."
"Hey, Nico."
Nico stared past Percy. Percy checked to see if anyone was behind him. "Um, what are you looking at?"
Nico turned his attention to Percy. "Sorry, it's just, there's a ghost next to you."
Percy looked to his right. "Is it NIna?
Nico pointed at the ghost. "Show yourself!"
It was not Nina. The ghost was a strong, middle-aged man. His ghostly, thinning, graying hair was neatly combed aside from a bad cowlick in the back. Worry lines lined his brown eyes, which peered at Percy pityingly. He wore a white pirate-style shirt under a fraying, brown vest with colorful stitches and bulges where pockets probably lined the inside, pants of a familiar material to the vest with several colorful patches, and black leather boots that were well-worn and dull. He wore a sword on his back.
"Hi…" Percy muttered.
"Hello, Percy. I am sincerely sorry for what has happened to your sister," the ghost said. His voice sounded not a day over thirty, although he had to be in his forties, at the youngest.
"How—how do you know my name?" Percy asked. "You're not a monster are you?" The ghost grimaced.
"He's been here. I first saw him yesterday. He probably heard someone call you Percy," Nico answered.
The ghost nodded. "I always try to warn my victims, but they never heed my warnings."
"Your victims? Who are—who were you?"
The ghost looked at him. "My name is Arcanus." He pronounced his name differently than Camper Arcanus did. Instead of putting the emphasis on the Ar, he put emphasis on the can. "I sensed his presence here, Arcanus. He's why I came. He's trying to hijack you."
"Okay, look, Arcanus. I've been hijacked before, and the way Arcanus is doing it isn't the way it's done. Got it?" Percy tried to poke the ghost in the chest.
Ghost Arcanus looked confused. "I promise, the spell is in motion. Your denial just proves it so."
"What spell?" asked Percy.
"My greatest mistake. In my youth I got a shop from my parents. In this shop, I made and sold spells." Looking at Percy and Nico's looks of confusion, he continued. "This was not on Earth. Anyway, one day, the creator of the universe, someone I didn't even think existed, sauntered into my shop and demanded a spell. The very spell that's being used to hijack you, Percy."
"So, you struck a deal with Chaos," Nico summed up. "What's the spell do?"
"Hey, if I was under this spell, then why aren't I gone already?" asked Percy.
Ghost Arcanus shook his head. "It doesn't happen immediately. In the next three weeks you're going to out of here, cursing this whole place to hell. That's the nature of my spell. It gives you magical abilities: enhanced stamina, strength, and strategy and limited immortality, meaning you'll not get sick or age, but you can be injured and/or die in battle. But all these powers come at a price: your familial ties. Your friends, your family, they'll all be used against you."
"Why?" Nico asked, intrigued.
Percy scoffed. "You don't actually believe this bullshit, do you?"
"Well...he's not asking for anything in return for telling us. He doesn't seem like he wants anything in return, so, it doesn't seem like he's lying."
"All I want is for this entire mess to be undone," Arcanus said. " I want to have not done business with Chaos, to have died of old age on my planet, with my family, maybe even married. I want to not have been the cause of my planet's destruction, my sister's death, or the cause of the loss of many family members who had a lot going for them, all throughout the universe. But that's impossible. I'm not lying to you. I don't have a reason to."
Percy rolled his eyes. "Sorry, but I still don't believe you. You could just be pranking me."
Arcanus balled his fists. He lacked the courage to yell at Percy to cut his attitude and just believe him.
"I mean, I know that after finding out that Greek gods and even Egyptian gods are real, I should be able to believe you, but...I just can't. I just can't believe that someone would go to all the trouble of doing this when they could just kidnap me and take me right then and there," Percy continued.
Arcanus knew exactly why Percy didn't believe him. "The spell is already affecting you."
Percy shook his head.
Arcanus pursed his lips. "At the very least, watch out for Arcanus, the camper. He is trying to ruin your life."
"Yeah, no kidding."
Camper Arcanus came running from the direction of the dining pavilion. "Hey, Perseus!"
Ghost Arcanus flickered out of sight.
"What do you want?" Percy asked.
Camper Arcanus faltered at Percy's coldness. Somehow, today he seemed much older than he had yesterday. "I-I wanted to tell you that I convinced Poseidon to come to your sister's funeral!" He thought for a second. "Well, our sister's funeral, but you've known her longer."
"Really?" Percy asked skeptically. Arcanus must have done a lot of begging.
"Yup. He said he'd do it for his favorite son." Arcancus smirked.
"You mean daughter?"
"Yeah,and-and daughter, I suppose."
Percy smiled. Maybe Arcanus wasn't all bad.
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