Chapter 5
A thousand pardons, bless my soul... Yes, I'm a slacker. To be fair, my life has been transformed into a whirlwind of crazy lately, so I haven't had a whole lot of time or internet connection to post. However I should give credit where it's due - Stardust1987, thank you for giving me the figurative equivalent of a kick to the behind to get my titanic rear in gear and start posting again. Your awesome review was everything that I needed to get out of my funk and get my head together, so thank you, thank you, thank you!
As I promised, here's the chapter. Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns this lovely playground of a universe... I just get to play on the swing set!
I slowly came awake to the sound of what was either a very excited celebration or an extremely heated argument. Turns out, it was both.
Before I knew it, I was dressed in the camp T-shirt, a pair of jeans, and an old pair of sneakers, hastily tugging my hair into a low ponytail. There were few people left in the cabin by the time I went outside, but as soon as I opened the door, I knew where all of them were.
Almost the entire population of demigods at Camp Half-Blood were crowded in the middle of the green, some arguing furiously with each other, and others (mostly the Hermes cabin) were chattering excitedly as if their best friend just got elected president. In the middle of all of this I could just barely pick out Luke's tall frame and blonde hair, backed closely by the equally tall but lankier form of Chris Rodriguez. Ethan Nakamura was sitting at the bottom of the wooden stairs, standing as soon as he saw me.
"What's going on?" I hissed, eyeing the arguing campers around me. Ethan's eyes flickered over to the big clump of people in the middle.
"Someone's been given a quest," he said under his breath as he looked on, worry etched onto his features.
"A quest?" I replied blankly, "Is this normal?"
The twelve-year-old gave a shrug, "For a bunch of kids whose parents are ancient deities, yeah, I guess this could be normal. The thing is, we haven't had a quest since before Luke and Annabeth got here three years ago, and that one didn't exactly go well. Chiron placed a ban on voluntary quests years ago."
"Voluntary?" I scoffed, "I doubt that a lot of people would actually want to go looking for something out in the monster-infested wilderness."
"You'd be surprised… a lot of people died, though," Ethan replied, sitting back down on the stairs and leaving a bit of space for me to join him. "Now Chiron only authorizes quests granted directly from the gods because it would be a really bad idea to ignore those."
I rolled my eyes, but wisely said nothing. The Olympians conveniently forgot about their kids until they needed them to run their incredibly important mortal errands that they were too proud to do themselves. Even when they disguised their need for help in the form of a quest, the demigods still got screwed over if they survived. The gods were many things, and prideful was one of them. Petty, too. I couldn't count all of the myths that involved them getting into stupid squabbles that ended in a devastating war for the mortals. The Trojan War, the Punic Wars, the American Civil War, and basically every other conflict in the parts of the world that they inhabited.
"So… which lucky demigod gets to be served as monster bait next?" I asked emotionlessly, trying to identify the other people in the middle of the argument. Ethan cringed at the words "monster bait", looking out over the green with a pitying stare.
"Luke, son of Hermes."
I stared at him blankly in shock. When I'd talked to Luke last night on the dock, he'd made no attempt to tell me about what must have been the dream in which he received his quest. I just couldn't fathom that Luke, probably the only person at camp that I could actually call my friend, was now being sent to his death by his godly jerk of a father. Without another word, I stood up sharply and pushed my way through the crowd of yelling demigods. As I neared the center, I could pick out bits and pieces of the conversation.
"It's not like I asked for a quest, Lee!" I could hear Luke's voice directly ahead of me and headed towards it. When I finally reached the source of the noise, I could see Luke, Chris, and Eric standing on one side of the small clearing, standing in solidarity against Lee Fletcher and Michael Yew from Apollo, Katie Gardiner from Demeter, and the rest of the cabin leaders.
"Calm down, Luke," Katie soothed in an attempt to mediate between the two groups. Silena Beauregard of the Aphrodite cabin was trying to do much of the same, placing a graceful hand on the shoulder of Michael Yew.
"How do we even know that you got this dream from Hermes?" Michael sneered, his pointy features narrowing even more than usual, "I mean, all of us would love to dream about our parents, but faking a quest to get attention is just sad!" Chris held Luke back just in time to keep him from tearing Michael's face off. I would done the same thing except for a hand at my elbow that prompted me to turn. Ethan Nakamura had followed me into the fray.
Katie looked livid at her fellow head counselor. "Michael!" she shrieked, glaring at him ferociously. The son of Apollo had the good sense to back off, and with good reason – the Demeter kids didn't fight often, but when they did they were a force to be reckoned with. Lee Fletcher backed up his half-brother as they retreated to the back of the pack.
"Luke, tell us what happened," Silena prompted once those on both sides had cooled down, although Luke and Michael were still exchanging glares. I could tell that even at the best of times those two didn't get along.
Luke took a deep breath and stepped forwards a little bit. It was then that I realized that most of the people around us had fallen silent, straining to hear the story straight from the source. Others were whispering conspicuously while training their attention on Luke. "I dreamed that I was at a park, and my dad showed up. He told me that I had been granted a quest to retrieve a golden apple and an audience with the Oracle." He didn't elaborate any more than that. "I know this wasn't just a regular dream, I know it!"
Something in his voice pulled at me, and somehow I knew that there was something that he wasn't telling us. Something else happened that was making him afraid… and resentful. I could sense a little bit of the bitterness he harbored seeping through him when he talked about his father, but this was far beyond that. I had been about to open my mouth to speak when Chiron galloped down the green, parting the sea of demigods like a taller, horsey Moses.
"Luke Castellan!" he called, searching wildly for the tell-tale head of blonde hair among the mass of campers on the green. Luke paled as the centaur rode up to him, solemn as the Styx. Everyone was silent for what seemed like an eternity until Chiron spoke. "The gods have granted a quest… and it is not our place to judge it." Several campers (Lee and Michael included) stifled groans as Chiron fixed them with his intense gaze. "Come with me," the centaur ordered, quickly turning towards the Big House. Luke followed behind, with the rest of us trailing along.
As soon as Chiron reached the white-painted porch of the Big House, he said something to Luke under his breath that the rest of us strained to hear, but to no avail. Luke gave a single solemn nod, then entered the house alone.
"What's he doing?" I hissed under my breath to Ethan as the chattering of the campers around me grew louder. Ethan's dark eyes flickered up to the sole, circular window of the Big House's attic.
"Well… since Luke got a quest, he gets to speak to the Oracle," he answered nervously.
My eyes widened. "The Oracle?" I asked incredulously, "As in "Priestess of Apollo from Delphi", that Oracle? And she lives in the attic?"
Ethan nodded uneasily, "I'm not so sure about lives," he shuddered, "There hasn't been a living host since the nineteen-forties. I've never been up there, but the stories are enough to make you wish all three Kindly Ones were after you instead of that…" I felt a little chill crawl up my spine. I'd seen a lot of weird things over the course of my life – I mean, I was the child of an ancient deity that had influenced countless civilizations, for the gods' sake – but this was beyond weird even for me. Like Ethan said, I'd rather have all three Hell bats that were the Furies after me than have an audience with whatever occupied the attic. Hands down, no contest.
We sat down on the benches in front of the Big House for what felt like hours until Chiron herded us towards the amphitheater to sit with the rest of our cabin mates. Chris Rodriguez waved us over, sitting apart from the main group of campers.
It was nearly dark when Luke emerged from the Big House, looking unsettled, but physically fine. Chiron quickly escorted him over to the center of the amphitheater, where we all stared at him in expectation. Now that he was closer, I could see that his shoulders were bent as if they were carrying a heavy weight, and his normally bright blue eyes were now haunted and dull. He seemed years older than his seventeen years, aged by whatever visions the Oracle gave to him.
"Tell us the prophecy, Luke," Chiron prodded, gazing out over the assembled campers.
Luke took in a shuddering breath, and hesitantly began, "You will go west to the daughters of Night, their garden safeguarding the god's delight. A choice at the crossroads will seal your fate, the entrance to find before it's too late. A pact-"
I don't know how it happened, but I stood up before he could finish the prophecy, my mouth forming the words that were etched into my brain. "A pact in revenge, unbalance will cease, and…" I trailed off once I realized what had happened, blushing furiously. The sea of faces around me were shocked and amazed with one exception – Chiron raised an eye curiously at my outburst.
"Go on, Miss Black," the centaur said flatly, his scrutinizing stare boring into my soul. My sight flickered over to Luke, his face pale with recognition.
"…And blinded by love will choose war over peace," I finished, my heart sinking at the murmurs growing around me. My brain told my body to stop standing up like an idiot and sit back down, but something was blocking the connection. I kept standing rigidly as I tried to drown out the whispers around me.
Chiron cleared his throat noisily. "And how do you know that, Arian?" he asked, his voice rising above the whispers and culling them completely.
I didn't know it was possible, but I felt my cheeks get warmer as my blush returned with a vengeance. "A dream," I whispered, just loud enough to be heard. A trip to the Fields of Punishment in the Underworld would have been preferable to this embarrassment in my mind.
"A dream," Chiron echoed, letting out a deep sigh as if the words pained him. He turned towards Luke and I released a breath I didn't know that I was holding, "The prophecy says nothing about your companions, if you are to have any… I suggest you pick them wisely." Luke nodded weakly as he scanned the amphitheater. Once again, I tried to force myself to sit back down, but something kept my body standing upright.
Luke's gaze eventually found me, standing alone amidst the sea of faces. "Arian," he pronounced softly, "Will you come with me?" Every instinct in my head was screaming at me to just say no, to take the chance of living a little bit longer instead of becoming monster food. I tried to shake my head, to try and convey in some way that I thought that this quest was suicide, but once again I found myself unable to move. Finally, I managed a weak nod.
As soon as I moved, a flash of green light flickered in my peripheral vision. A new wave of murmurs erupted around me as I looked up to see a flaming emblem directly over my head: two crossed torches, the symbol of Hecate. I was too shocked to do anything more than curse the gods under my breath until the fiery cross faded out of existence.
Chiron cleared his throat, catching the attention of all in the amphitheater. He looked at me mournfully, as if he had just seen my epitaph carved into stone, and proclaimed, "Hail, Arian Black, daughter of Hecate, the Queen of Magic."
Needless to say, my return trip back to Cabin Eleven was a quiet one. All of the other campers seemed determined to avoid all contact with me at whatever cost – even my new friends in the Ares cabin were now going out of their way to evade me. I guess that the children of Hecate's reputation was alive and well here at Camp Half-Blood. I packed quickly and quietly, trying to ignore the whispers coming from my former cabin mates. Somehow, I got the feeling that I wouldn't be coming back here for a while.
"Luke better watch his back with that one," a girl whispered, trying to be discreet but failing miserably, "He should've picked someone else that he can trust." I suppressed a snort – trust went a long ways with the children of Hermes, god of thieves.
"She's probably already cast a spell on him – that's why he picked her!" another girl chimed in. This time I didn't bother hiding the eye roll. If these two idiots knew anything about magic, they'd know that it would take an extremely powerful caster to change the will of the intended victim. It was far easier to make an enchantment feed off of emotions or intentions that were already there, meaning that I couldn't have made Luke choose me unless he was already intending to do it anyway. That thought made me feel a little better as I stuffed my belongings into my bag carelessly, intending to organize it later.
I shouldered my blue bag, now full of my possessions, and checked that all of my charms were secure around my wrist. The gossiping campers shot me dirty looks as I passed, but I ignored those as well. If there was one thing that every magic user learned early on, it was that you can't change a person's deepest feelings in their soul. That was probably why most of Hecate's children, myself included, didn't give our trust easily – we had been betrayed too many times.
When I left the Hermes cabin, Luke was nowhere to be found, so I headed in the direction of the Big House. Hopefully Chiron would have some sage words of wisdom that he could impart to guide us in the right direction. The old centaur didn't seem to be too pleased at the moment… I wonder why.
I made it as far as the volleyball courts when I was bowled over by two speedy flashes of fur, knocking me into the sandy ground. When I opened my eyes, it was to a very smelly polecat chittering angrily in my face.
"Ew, Gale, get off!" I grumbled, sitting up and taking stock of my injuries. I might have a goose egg on the back of my head, but nothing that wouldn't heal quickly. My eye was still bruised from the black eye I had the day before, making me wince when I touched it.
Hecuba, the main culprit in knocking me over, sat impatiently beside me and nudged me with her nose. "What do you want?" I asked crossly, not completely willing to forgive her for taking me down. Whoever said that dogs are innocent creatures flat-out lied. Hecuba let out a short bark, then dashed off in the direction of Thalia's pine on Half-Blood Hill. Gale nipped at my heels, probably saying something that wasn't very nice in polecat. I could rarely understand her, but it was generally safe to assume that the former witch was spewing something nasty at you.
"Fine, I'll follow you," I griped, shouldering my bag as I righted myself, "Just stop biting already." Satisfied with her efforts, Gale ran off after Hecuba, disappearing over the hillcrest. I trailed behind them, tamping down the unease and uncertainty building in my stomach.
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