A/N: Woo! On a roll here!
Percy stared down at me. It unnerved me a little, so I fidgeted a bit. 'When had he grown so tall?' she asked herself. Odd, that being this close to a boy didnt affect her. 'But,' she thought, 'if my plan goes well, I definately wont have to worry about boys.'
Percy spoke first, breaking the heavy silence that had descended after she had said her part. "How?" he asked.
I sighed, then tried to make it a little clearer. "I can't tell you," I explained. "Im just hoping for you to trust me and go along with it." I could see the distrust in his eyes, so I quickly said "Have I ever given you a reason not to trust me?"
Percy grinned at this, saying "No, but you've never given me a reason to trust you either. Ill go along, as long as I see a point to it."
I could hear the smirk in his tone, condescending to a Daughter of Aphrodite. It inflammed my temper, and I sprung at him with a dagger in my hand. Before he knew what happened, I had him pinned to the ground, with a knife at his throat. His eyes wide as he looked at me, and his hand twitched toward his pocket, where I knew he had his sword Riptide. But the oddest thing was, that there wasn't a hint of lust in his eyes. If I had tackled any other guy, they would've been so filled with longing they would've been incoherent. My mom must really want him with that Athena girl. So I rolled off before he could make up his mind on whether I was going to harm him or not.
As I stood up and brushed myself off, I spoke. "Don't look at me as if im a little girl, playing war. This is serious. Lives depend on it. Now, im going to talk to the Oracle. People do that before quests, right?" He just nodded. "Okay, go pack a bag, and meet me at the beach. And dont tell anyone!" I strode out of the forest as I said the last words, glancing at the setting sun. I couldn't remember whether I had heard the counch horn blow or not, but it wouldn't hurt to slink by the dining pavilion and check.
I mainly stuck to the forest, conceling myself behind bushes and trees whenever I heard voices. I did not want to be caught and sent to my cabin. When I heard a babble of voices at the dining pavilion, I deemed it safe to go to the big house. Chiron and Mr. D where at dinner, but id have to hurry to consult the Oracle. The creek of the stairs as I slipped up to the attic seemed ominous. So when I finally pushed the attic door aside, it was hard not to bolt downstairs to safety. Heavy darkness pressed in from all of my sides, but a tiny shaft of moonlight lit the way to where the mummified thing sat.
It's cold eyes seemed to appraise me as I stepped closer. A cold draft came out of nowhere and made my skin crawl. I didn't notice, but the mummys mouth had opened and thick, green fog had rolled in, making it all the more difficult to see. I felt another conciousness slip into my head, and a chilly voice spoke.
"I am the spirit of Delphi," it said, "speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask." I recoiled from the mummy, terrified. It was all the more real what I was doing. Then multiple faces flashed in my mind, Ana, Thaila, Darren, April. All of the people hurt because of me. This was the least I could do to repay them. So I steeled myself and faced the mummy, then inquired "What is my fate?"
A picture framed itself in my mind. It was my mother, Aphrodite, sitting on a beach. Her hair was sparkling, beautiful as ever. Then she spoke.
Two shall go to the fortress of dark
and attempt to make their mark.
Aphrodites eyes sank into her head, leaving sockets with gaunt shadows underneath.
A desperate girl will follow
in loves dangerous sorrow.
Her hair shrivled until it was limp and coarse.
One will make the ultimate betrayal
while the other is doomed to fail
without their lovers avail.
Her skin grew bumpy and scarred. Her nose protruded and had a hawk-like curve.
In the end true beauty will be bourn
with plenty left to mourn.
The picture was complete. In my mind there was a hideous being, unmistakeably my mother. I stumbled back, the door flying open and the sound of cackling following me. I flew down the stairs, stopping only when I was sure at least a level seperated me from the attic. I also stopped to look out of the nearest window. It was dark outside, no torches burning or lights on in the cabins. That meant that I had spent more than neccesary time upstairs. Thats when I heard the voices and the sound of feet clumping up stairs.
I immediately gropped for a door and squeezed myself into the closet. It held extra stores of Ambrosia and Nectar. But I wasn't focusing on that, more on the voices getting nearer.
"Where do you think she is?" asked a wise, calm voice.
"What do I look like, Apollo? I don't have a clue." The other, whiny sounding voice responded.
"Zeus is not happy. None of them are. They want her found. They think shes a liability." Calm voice said.
"Which she is. Artemis described what she was acting like, and Aphrodite told us about the charge on her credit card. She could be anywhere, and shes dangerously unhinged." Whiny voice curtly said.
"But I just don't think Nicole would do that. She seemed like a nice girl." I stifled a gasp when I realized they were talking about me.
"Yeah, right. You don't make Aphrodite mad unless your crazy. Why would that Cole kid give up everything she had, and make about 6 of the Olympians eternally angry at her." Whiny voice said. I was really beggining not to like them.
"Oh come on. Theres not that many mad at her." Calm voice said, sounding agitated.
"Aphrodite, for obvious reasons. Apollo, because she helped kill his son. Hades doesn't like heros. Artemis, because she deserted. Zeus, because she flew right beneath his nose. Poseidon, but he won't say why yet. And I was never a big fan of the girl."
Calm voice sighed, then said "Dionysous, she did nothing to you. But lets discuss this in the morning. Its late."
I heard Mr.D murmur an agreement, then say "Night Chiron."
I made sure to hear their doors shut, then quietly let myself out of the closet, taking some ambrosia and nectar, just in case. Then I ran to meet Percy, pondering what I had just heard, and my destiny.
A/N: Wheww, that was long. Ohk, I have finally decided on an ending. Ill try and speed up the writing. Expect another chapter tonight. Thank you(:
Song- All We Are by Matt Nathanson