MAIN TITLE: The Keeper of Fate
WARNINGS: See first chapter for warnings.
NOTES: Thanks to Queen Alexandera's Birdwing and MeganLeBlanc for reviewing this chapter!
DISCLAIMER: I don't own the PJO series. Rick Riordan does.
Chapter 7: I Witness an Explosion and a Trial
Right, so now that you're all caught up to speed, I can get back to what I was just doing: praying to Hades that my death will be quick and painless and that I won't be chucked straight into Tartarus. Not that I've done anything to deserve being thrown into the nightmare that is the prison in the Underworld–or at least, I don't think I have.
This really, really sucks. I'm nineteen years old and I'm going to die. Man, I never even got to see the look on Cheryl's face when she realizes that I emptied her hand sanitizer (she carries the stuff around 24/7, just in case she accidently engages in physical contact with the rest of us lowly folk) and replaced it with a mixture of gasoline and Vaseline. I don't even know if that's a gross combo or not. I just mixed them together 'cause they rhyme.
While I'm lying here pondering my own death, the giant eagle soars upwards. Maybe it's going to just fly away? No, it's still hovering there, obviously seconds away from swooping down to finish me off.
My arm is bleeding heavily now. I still can't see, but I somehow struggle to my feet because my pride insists that I die standing tall (well, more like standing hunched over because my arm really, really hurts). I hear a loud sound like a gunshot. What the heck is that? I try to see through the fog of pain, but I can't.
I close my eyes, just as something–a person, I think–crashes into me. The force of the collision sends us both flying backward, away from the eagle. It's a good thing I don't have my sword in my hand, or I'm sure it would've stabbed both myself and whoever ran into me several times. As it is, an extremely hard object–definitely metal–slams into my ribs.
Momentum carries us a good distance away from the eagle. I open my eyes and focus as hard as I can on the boy who is raising a shield (so that's what nearly broke my rib) over the two of us. His skin reminds me of dark chocolate. His hands are huge and calloused.
I try to sit up but the boy–Beckendorf?–pushes me back down. "Close your eyes." Yeah, it's definitely Beckendorf, and so I obey his order.
It's hard to describe what happens next, but I'll try. There's a deafening explosion, and light flashes against my eyelids. I turn my face to the ground and taste dirt (well, not really, I just like to complain). Heat rolls over me and I can feel Beckendorf bring the shield closer to us.
I know it's over when Beckendorf pushes the shield away and gets up. I can feel him trembling like crazy as he turns me over. Yay. No more dirt. "Dess…are–are you all right?" he asks, his voice shaking. My response is something like, "Umph." I don't open my eyes.
I can hear someone running over to us, and then Jake's frantic voice shouting, "Beckendorf? Are you guys okay? Is Dess okay? Beckendorf, tell me she's okay!"
"I don't know, man, she won't open her eyes. Toss me the nectar, her arm is all messed up."
The next second I feel liquid trickling across my right arm, and the pain starts to fade. The wound is still bleeding, but I think I'll live. Well, okay, I know I'll live; it's just more fun to be overdramatic.
"DESS! For the love of Hephaestus, open your eyes!" Jake's angry voice is right next to my ear.
And at last, I do. I wrench my eyelids apart–the pain is gone, so it's much easier to see–and take in my surrounding. Holy Styx. The giant bird demon is gone, but I don't see any gold dust. Was the explosion really that powerful? I look around at the charred grass, and I realize that yes, the explosion really was that powerful.
"Finally! Say something, will you? So we know you're all right." My brothers still look anxious.
"I cannot believe," I begin, my voice hoarse, "that you idiots fired the cannon. Do you have any idea how much damage you could've done?"
Beckendorf lets out a sigh a relief, turns to a now grinning Jake, and says, "Well, she did just insult us, so she's definitely all right."
"Oh, shut up," I say, but I'm smiling all the same.
Later, after Will Solace (from the Apollo cabin) healed my arm, my brothers and I meet with all of the head counsellors in secret to discuss the creation of the cannon and to determine if Beckendorf and Jake should be punished for the risks they took when they fired it.
I examine all of the faces as we sit in a skewed circle in the woods, far from prying eyes. I think about how much this circle has changed in the three years I've been here. Obviously, there's no one here from Zeus', Hera's, and Artemis' cabins because said cabins are currently empty. Since Percy's out searching for the Fleece, there's no representative for Poseidon, either.
The rest of the cabins are a different story. Katie Gardner from Demeter is here, having replaced her older brother who used to be head counselor back when I first came to camp. Poor guy was in his last year of university, engaged to a pretty, mortal girl–and then he was hit by a car.
Elliot, the computer geek from the Ares cabin, decided to retire and let Clarisse take over after the incident. And no, I'm not going to tell you what the incident was. You're better off not knowing, trust me. Since Clarisse is on her quest, the Ares cabin sent Mark instead. Technically Sherman should be second-in-command because he's been here longer, but no one is going to put him in a position of authority after what happened… Sorry, I should stop mentioning it since I'm not going to tell you about it.
Anyways, lots of the previous head counselors have passed the torch on to the next camper even though they're still at camp. Xavier, son of Athena, is still around but he handed leadership of his cabin to Annabeth. Obviously, Annabeth isn't here either, which means her second, Fiona, is taking her place in this meeting. To be honest, though, I think Fiona is getting tired of going to meetings. She's been training Malcolm, so I'm sure he'll be replacing her any day now.
Lee Fletcher is now head counsellor for Apollo, because his half-sister just moved in with her boyfriend and Lee's been at camp the longest out of all the Apollo kids. We're all hoping his sister won't join the list of dead half-bloods anytime soon.
Since Pollux and Castor are the only children of Dionysus at camp (that we know of), they take turns going to meetings. Sometimes they both go, if the issue being discussed is really important. Today, though, only Pollux shows, which seems to disappoint Fiona.
Meanwhile, Cheryl is here with her protégé, Silena Beauregard. Silena is actually very nice compared to the other children of Aphrodite. Cheryl surprised everyone last week by announcing that the younger girl will be taking over the Aphrodite cabin in a few months. Cheryl hasn't been head counsellor for very long at all. I can tell she likes the power; she just doesn't like the responsibility that comes with it. Oh well. The Aphrodite cabin will be in good hands soon.
Like Mr. D's twins, Connor and Travis Stoll take turns going to the meetings (unless, as I said before, the meeting is really important). Today Connor is the one sitting beside Gardner and making rabbit ears behind her head while she's not looking. When she does look, he quickly removes his hands and whistles innocently.
If you're wondering why Luke isn't the Hermes representative, than too bad, you're going to be wondering for a while. Where is Luke? Gods, that's none of your business, stop asking me that! Can't you tell it's a touchy subject?
Finally, from the Hephaestus cabin (saving the best for last) we have: me, Beckendorf, Jake, Zeth, and Gareth. I told you earlier that all of us we're going to the meeting, didn't I? Don't you ever pay attention to anything I say? Gods, you can be so rude sometimes… Well, okay, you're not rude. I'm sorry if I offended you; it's just that thinking about Luke always puts me on edge.
But anyways, if this was a normal meeting than only Gareth and Beckendorf would be here. See, most of the campers think that Beckendorf is head counsellor and that Gareth is gone, but the year rounders know that Gareth is only showing Beckendorf the ropes right now.
Gareth's been here a long time, you know–approximately ten years, he's twenty-one–, and I don't blame him for wanting to leave. I'll never admit it, of course, but I'm really, really going to miss him. He's closest to me in age, so there are a lot of times when we're the only ones in our cabin who understand each other.
So now that I've given you a long and pointless description of how the identities of the head counsellors have changed throughout the years, we can get to the important stuff: what actually takes place in the meeting.
Because Chiron's not here, it takes a while to get down to business. Everyone's talking all at once, until Katie gets fed up with the chaos and shouts, "Oh, would you all just be quiet?"
Silence steals over the circle almost immediately.
Gardner takes a deep breath. "Good. Now we can start, then." She turns to Lee Fletcher, who is a year younger than Cheryl and I, and says, "You want to lead the meeting?" Her tone makes it clear that he doesn't really have a choice.
Fletcher shifts uncomfortably and clears his throat. "Sure. Well, you all know why were here," he starts. "The Hephaestus cabin built a cannon which relies on Greek fire. And we all know how dangerous Greek fire is."
There's a murmur of agreement which seems to give Lee more confidence. "So they had an idea which might decrease the risk, but it hasn't been tested yet. But those two–" he gestures at Beckendorf and Jake "–decided they would fire the cannon anyway. By doing that, they put the entire camp in danger."
"Yeah, they could have killed us–" Of course Cheryl is the first one to comment.
"It was super dangerous, how dare they–" That's Mark.
"Can't believe they would do something like that; even I'm not that stupid–" Connor chimes in.
It seems like everyone disapproves of their actions. I would too, except that they sort of saved my life.
"Now just hang on a second." Silena frowns. "We should hear their side of the story. Charlie, why don't you tell us what happened?" She smiles at the dark-skinned boy.
Charlie? No one ever calls Beckendorf by his first name, or a variation of it. I figure that Beckendorf is going to tell her off, but he just blushes and stammers, "Um, uh, I–well–"
Oh my gods. Oh my gods. I exchange a startled glance with Zeth and Gareth, and then catch Jake grinning wickedly like he's already noting this moment in his blackmail material folder for siblings (apparently he has an entire department in his brain dedicated to blackmail material).
This certainly explains a lot. Now I know why Beckendorf is always hanging around the stables these days (he hates Pegasus', most children of Hephaestus do, including me), he's been spying on Silena! Well, maybe spying is too strong a word. Stalking is more appropriate. …Okay, fine, he's not stalking her; I'm just exaggerating like I always do.
Aww, I can't believe my little brother has a crush on a daughter of Aphrodite–thank the gods it's not Cheryl. I decide that Jake has the right idea; I'm going to tease Beckendorf mercilessly. Or at least I will after this meeting is done.
Anyways, Beckendorf doesn't look like he's going to be much help on the explain-what-happened front. Jake casts a pleading glance at Fiona, who admits that she was the one who had them bring the cannon to the border. She describes the situation, and insists that it was the right thing to do as there were so many hellhounds and she didn't know if reinforcements would get there in time.
"You know, I think she's right," Pollux agrees. "There were a heck of a lot of drooling dogs out there and only four of us fighting; we would've been creamed if the rest of the campers hadn't stepped in."
"That's all well and good," Gardner says. "But they fired the cannon after the hellhounds were destroyed."
"That's a good point," Gareth admits. "What made you guys take that chance?"
"It was my fault," I confess. Jake and Beckendorf open their mouths to protest, but I can't let them take the blame for this. If it was for something stupid like putting whipped cream on everything Tantalus owns so that all of his stuff runs away from him, then sure, why not? But they could get into serious trouble for this, and I'm not about to let that happen.
"I did something really stupid that could've gotten me killed. They thought that firing the cannon would be the best way to save me."
"Hey," Jake says angrily, "I'm the one who needed saving. That giant eagle was about to swoop down and rip out my organs. If Dess hadn't charged it, I would've died."
Fiona's eyes widen. "Giant eagle? You don't mean–you can't possibly mean–the Aetos Kaukasios?"
She's clearly expecting gasps of horror, but the only reactions she gets are blank stares.
"The what?" I ask, totally bemused.
She rolls her eyes. "The Aetos Kaukasios. The Caucasian Eagle. As in the giant eagle that picked out the Titan Prometheus' liver every morning."
"Every morning?" Connor looks perplexed. "But I thought even Titans only had one liver each."
"Idiot. His liver grew back every night, so when morning came the eagle just ripped it out again," Cheryl explains.
We all stare at her. "What?" she snaps, her tone defensive. "I don't spend all of my time on fashion and make-up. I do pick up a book occasionally."
"Anywayssssss," Connor starts again. "Why do they call it the Caucasian eagle? Is it like, super pale?"
"Connor," Gardner lets out an aggravated sigh. "You are such an idiot."
"Hey, it's a fair question!" Connor protests, and Mark, Jake, Pollux, and I all nod.
Fiona and Katie exchange an exasperated glance. Fiona sighs and answers, "Okay, first of all, Caucasians don't necessarily have pale skin. The Caucasian race just refers to people indigenous to certain areas around the globe. Second of all, it's called the Caucasian Eagle because it most likely originated from the Caucasus Mountains."
"Right." I ask uncertainly, "And the Caucasus Mountains are where, exactly?"
"They're spread throughout several European and Asian countries. Between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea," Zeth replies before Cheryl can retort with a scathing remark about my intelligence.
"Okay. Glad we sorted that out. So just to be sure, the eagle isn't pale, right?" Connor checks.
"As far as I've heard, it's gold," Fiona states.
"Gold?" Jake is startled. "No way, that thing was black as night with blood all over it."
"Oh. Well maybe it changed colour when it reformed in the Underworld." Fiona shrugs, unconcerned.
"The Underworld? But who destroyed–"
"Hercules did. Now can we please get back to point of this meeting? I really want to get back to my cabin." Fiona is so impatient that she interrupts Pollux. I bet she wouldn't have interrupted Castor.
"She's right." Lee takes charge again. "Okay, so Jake was in danger and Dess intervened, and then Dess was in danger so you guys fired the cannon. Have I got it right?"
Jake and I nod.
Silena starts to fidget. She takes a deep breath and then says, "Now, please don't take this the wrong way. I'm very glad that Dess is okay. But lots of people could have died or gotten hurt. Was it really worth it?"
Zeth clenches his fists, Gareth turns a strange shade of purple-red, and Jake glares murderously at the younger daughter of Aphrodite. But it's Beckendorf who answers.
"Yes. I know it was dangerous. I know it was stupid. But," he looks her straight in the eye, "if I could go back in time to before that cannon was fired, I would do it all over again. Dess is my sister. Of course she's worth it."
There's a moment of silence. Slowly, Silena smiles at Beckendorf, and I realize that despite her words, this was the response she wanted from him. I look down because my eyes are starting to water. I don't normally cry, but… I can't help it. It's sappy, it's cliché, but I didn't realize that he cares that much. To be honest, I'm not used to meaning that much to, well, anyone. There was a time where I thought I did, but that was just an illusion.
My own mother never really gave a damn about me. She wouldn't even throw away her self-destructive ideals for her only daughter, and here's Beckendorf, announcing in front of the head counsellors that he would gamble the lives of everyone at camp if there was even the slimmest chance that it would save me. And not only did he say it, he actually went through with it. Trust me, if your half-sibling did that for you, you would be moved to the point of tears, too.
"So, you guys have had your say. Anyone think we should punish them?" Lee asks, but as no one suggests any horrible forms of torture, he continues, "All right then, no punishment. You can all go back to your cabins now."
The various counsellors drift off to do their own thing, and soon the only people left are me, my siblings, and–Mark?
The son of Ares is staring at me intently, like he has something to say but he doesn't really want to say it.
I let out an exasperated sigh. "Just spit it out, will you?"
"Okay. I just wanted to–to–to thank you," he makes a face, "for-saving-my-life." He says the last part in a rush, like he's hoping I won't hear.
"So that's why you didn't vote for them to be punished," Gareth realizes. "You owe her."
"Well, yeah, that's part of it," he admits.
"And the other part?" I question.
A smirk slides onto his face. "I'm the son of the war god. I live for chaos, for bloodshed, for destruction. And that cannon did some massive damage. So yeah, I'm a little pissed because I could've died, but now that we know that that cannon is 'safe', we can use it to cause even more damage–to the enemy."
He walks off, laughing to himself. My siblings and I exchange uneasy looks. I can tell we're all thinking the same thing: none of us are sure if we really like his answer.
Author's Note: As always, eviews are appreciated.