Memory 6: Love Magic

Annabeth shuffled slowly up the Big House stairs. She mentally braced herself as she pulled down the attic stairs. Stepping up through the cloud of dust she sneezed, the sound bouncing off the abandoned artifacts.

Walking over to the tables, she was careful not to glance at the Oracle; the old mummy gave her the creeps. She rubbed Aphrodite's silky scarf between her fingers and found herself wishing for the days of her first quest; plenty dangerous, but at least the fate of the camp wasn't at stake then.

A large object caught her eye, and she turned to inspect it. It was a long, calf-brown claw, curled inward with a vicious serrated edge. She picked it up and ran her fingers over its tag. She squinted at the block letters and tried to read them:

Claw of the Dragon Ladon

Retrieved by Luke Castellan

Annabeth remembered the day the claw was inducted into the little museum. She had been ten years old. When Chiron told her Luke was coming back from his quest, she was overjoyed. She missed her friend and was excited to hear about his adventures.

She was in for a nasty shock when Luke returned, his face bandaged and not speaking to anyone. She'd followed him up to the attic.

"What's wrong, Luke?" Annabeth asked, her eyebrows scrunching together as she looked up at Luke. His one visible eye was ringed red, and his mouth was twisted into a tight grimace.

Sitting on the floor, he didn't meet her eyes. "I failed."

Annabeth huffed. "You came back, didn't you? And you brought a claw from the dragon. You must have done good."

Luke gritted his teeth. "I didn't get the apple. The dragon stopped me. I failed," he muttered.

Annabeth chewed her lip, not sure if she should say what she was thinking "Your dad would be proud, Luke," she whispered.

Luke snapped his head up. His eye smoldered with anger. He reached his hand up and ripped off his bandages. "He would be proud of this? Turns out I'm a failure of a hero, just like he's a failure of a father." He growled, gesturing violently at the red, puckered cut running along his jaw. Annabeth gasped, back peddling quickly-

Annabeth shook herself out of the memory. She grasped the claw tightly in her fingers, blinking rapidly.

She would have left, right then, but the Oracle shifted on its stool. She turned to see the green mist trickle from the mummy's mouth. Annabeth watched, frozen to the spot, as the snake-like tendrils coiled around her wrists, slithered up her arms, and emitted a terrified squeal when she felt the slippery, almost-solid fog wraps once, twice, three times around her neck, resting loosely at the base of her throat.

A raspy, toneless voice filled her ears.

You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise

You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand

The child of Athena's final stand

Destroy with a hero's final breath

And lose a love to worse than death.

The tendrils tightened on the last line, cutting off Annabeth's breathing for a moment before receding into the mummy's body. Even when the presence of the Oracle of Delphi was gone, her body was still rigid with dread. Annabeth looked down at the two objects she held.

And lose a love to worse than death. Annabeth shuddered violently, alarmed by the fact that she couldn't decide who she would be losing.