Chapter Twenty-Eight
Disclaimer: I do not own the PJO or HoO series by Rick Riodan.
James' POV
"Gods, I thought monsters were bad. These mosquitoes are awful." Adrienne complains, slapping her arm for the tenth time in fifteen minutes.
"I really wish that guy had told you where to go. I'm getting really sick of tromping through the woods when it's getting darker by the minute." she says.
"Hang on. Do you hear that?" I ask, holding an arm out and stopping her.
She listens and then looks back at me, shaking her head. "What are you talking about, James? I don't hear anything." she says.
"There's like a—song or something playing. It sounds like a music box tune almost. It's distorted though." I say, looking around and trying to locate the music.
"Well, either your hearing is in the most superb shape, and I highly doubt that with how loudly you play your music, or you're going insane. I'm gonna go with insane." she says, crossing her arms.
"No, it's there. You just can't hear it. It sounds like—like a song mom used to sing to me when I was little." I say, turning in the direction I thought it was coming from.
I start walking that way and Adrienne quickly catches up to me. The farther we walked, the louder the melody rang in my ears. How Adrienne couldn't hear it, I don't know.
We finally made it past the trees and came upon a small circle inside the trees. There was a large, flat rock with moss growing all over it and a stream trickling along beside it.
The song was at a nice volume now, and perfectly balanced throughout the little circle of trees. It wasn't choppy or staticky like it had been earlier when I was searching for the source of it. Now that I could see where it was coming from, I didn't see where it was coming from. It was almost like it was seeping out of the trees.
"Your mother used to sing this song to you when you were a child, am I correct?" a man says.
Adrienne and I wheel around to see the man who had visited me in the infirmary this morning.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Adrienne. Of course, I've been watching over your family for quite a while, but I haven't talked to any of them in quite some time. I must say, you bear a striking resemblance to your father." he says.
"Uh—" Adrienne gives me an uncertain look and then glances back at the man.
"Now that you're both here, let me introduce myself. I am Leonas, Greek and Roman god of imagination. Though I only use that name while on Olympus. While on Earth, I go by Walker." he says.
"James said you know where our parents are, is that true?" Adrienne asks.
Walker nods. "I do."
"Well? Aren't you going to tell us?" she asks.
"In time, yes. Right now, no." he says.
"Why not?!" she practically shouts.
I sigh. This was exactly why I hadn't wanted to tell her. She would get extremely emotional, as one would be expected to, and demand to know where they are and how soon we could leave to rescue them. What didn't register to her mind right now is that we're just two kids, we can't possibly do this alone.
"We have to take the right steps if we want to succeed in rescuing your parents and little brother. Otherwise, we might be captured as well, and that would be something we definitely wouldn't want." he says.
"Uh, Walker? Can you tell me something?" I ask.
"Yes, James?" he asks, turning to me.
"You can hear the music too, right? I mean, you basically said so a few minutes ago." I say.
"I can. You mother, this was one of her favorite spots to just be. She came here a lot when she wanted to be alone, and often she sang. The song you hear now, the one she used to sing to you, was one of her favorites to sing. "Dust in the Wind," quite an accurate description of demigods and mortals alike. Anyway, she sang this song so much that the trees actually absorbed it and its power. They now carry on the tune." he explains.
"But why can't Adrienne hear it?" I ask.
"Because your mother didn't sing it to her when she was young. Think of it like this, it's almost like Adrienne is a mortal and you're just you, a demigod. You can see through the Mist, but she can't." he says.
"So there's like a sound barrier between Adrienne and the song. Why can you hear it then?" I ask.
"Gods can hear everything, same as we can see everything. It does not effect us." he says.
"Oh." I say.
"So, now that we've gotten that cleared up, I'll tell you two a little about who we're dealing with." he says. He gestures for us to sit down on the rock and I oblige, dragging Adrienne with me.
"The man who took your family, from what I can tell, he's been planning this for a long time now. He wants revenge on your mother." he says.
"Why? What did she do to him?" Adrienne asks.
"She killed someone dear to him, a monster actually." he says.
"Well who was it? Maybe mom or dad has told us about this monster at one point or another." I say.
He shakes his head and leans against one of the trees. "They wouldn't have. It scarred your mother deeply, and your father wouldn't have wanted to bring it up considering what all occurred to her during the time she was battling this monster."
"Well can you tell us what happened and who this monster was?" Adrienne asks.
"I suppose you do need to know the details." he says, "You have to understand that the story I'm about to tell you, the monster in it, they did such horrific things and ordered such awful things to happen, it might twist your stomach."
"I'm game, what about you Addie?" I ask, turning to look at her.
She looks back at me and tentatively nods her head. "Alright, go ahead." I say.
A/N:
A bit of a short chapter, but the next two chapters are a little bit longer.
So, what monster do you think Walker was talking about? I honestly think it's pretty obvious, but that might just be me.
Oh, and by the way, the song that James was hearing was Dust In the Wind by Kansas. I thought it was actually a pretty fitting song, considering mortals and demigods only live such short lives compared the gods and monsters.
Guys, guess what! It occurred to me a couple of days ago that I'll be sixteen in a few months, and that I'll be getting a job this year. Kind of a scary thought actually, I've never worked anywhere before. The closest thing was that snow cone stand this past fall, and that was just for an afternoon.
Anyway, so I was telling my teacher about that today in class, and also that I was really excited about getting my license.
She then asked me if I knew where I wanted to apply to and I told her I didn't have a clue, just that I knew I didn't want to work with food. Then she said, "Well, do you want to work for me?"
I probably would of squealed if I hadn't of been so shocked. I hadn't even considered asking her if I could work for her, I didn't even know she hired people to work for her. She just wants to talk to my mom to clarify some things I guess, and then I suppose I'll start this summer!
So, my first job will be doing stuff I actually enjoy with people I actually like. I'm so excited about this, like it's that sorta nervous excitement, but also incredibly overjoyed excitement. Y'know, the really awesome kind that makes you feel incredible?
Overall, this week has been pretty awesome. I still have to talk to that friend, I have no clue what I'm gonna say though. What will most likely happen is I'll rehearse a speech and then when the time comes around to talk to her, I'll completely forget the speech and just let the words flow out. That could be very good or very bad...I know it's going to be hard though, considering that we've been friends for so long and, at one point, like sisters. But I really just don't want or need someone like her in my life. I always feel like I have to impress her or be up to her standards, and I don't think anyone should have to do that to have someone to like them. They should like you for you and that should be the end of it.
M/A:
"'Where are you now?
As I'm swimming through the stereo
I'm writing you a symphony of sound
Where are you now?
As I rearrange the songs again
This mix could burn a hole in anyone
But it was you I was thinking of'"
The Mixed Tape by Jack's Mannequin.
(My brother told me about this band a few days ago and gave me a couple of their CDs and I'm absolutely in love with them. Definitely worth checking out.)
XOXO,
Mrs-diAngelo25