Mana
*******

I didn't get a wink of sleep. Part of me wished to shadow travel somewhere so I could be occupied and not spend the rest of the night staring at the ceiling, but two things stopped me. One, I was leaving in the morning and couldn't afford being stuck somewhere on the other side of the country. Two, Mattias would kill me, followed by Chiron. So I stayed put.

When dawn finally came and I was able to leave my cabin without the fear of being harpy food, I walked down to the water and just sat on the beach with my feet in the water. I thought about going for a quick swim, but quickly banished the thought. I was taking one of Poseidon's kids on a dangerous quest where someone was guaranteed to die. I doubted that he would be very happy with me. Besides, he didn't like me in his territory on the best of days.

Travelling with Glynn worried me and not just because I'd learned over the past two weeks that she is a complete pain, and incapable of any form of fighting. Every time I step outside the camp boundaries, I get attacked. That's what happens when you're a child of one of the Big Three. This time, Glynn would be with me, and our combined auras would attract every monster in the state. Even having JJ would make things more dangerous. Normally, an Aphrodite kid isn't strong enough to have a powerful aura, but only a powerful demigod would be able to charm speak.

I wasn't all that surprised to see Devin outside. She's an early riser. It's annoying.

"Wow, look who managed to frag their butt out of bed before breakfast," she teased. The smile on her face didn't quite reach her eyes.

"Yeah, well, dangerous quests can do that to a person," I replied. She frowned. Glynn and her big mouth had blabbed to the others about the prophecy. Needless to say, the other girls weren't very happy with me. At least they didn't know about my gut feeling. Only Mattias and Chiron knew.

"Anyway, I'm just going to get some food then I'm waking the girls. We need to leave soon. I'd rather not have to sleep outside at night so I want to get moving as quickly as possible."

"Where are you guys going anyway?"

'Well, JJ was telling me that they were getting attacked mostly near the US/Canada border. We'll head that way."

"You're seriously going back to Canada? So you really think you're ready for that?"

"Devin, that was years ago. Besides, I shouldn't even end up near there again. We're going to be generally southern British Columbia. I was from Northern Alberta."

"The provinces are right beside each other. I don't like it."

"You don't like anything that has to do with this quest."

"No, I don't. And you know perfectly well why."

"What do you expect me to do? Call off the quest? Whatever this demigod is planning, its bad news. We have no idea what they are capable of. Besides, maybe the demigod just needs any three half-bloods. We can't just sit around and let unknowing half-bloods get snatched."

She frowned and grabbed a rock from the ground, skipping it across the water. "I hate it when you use logic."

I glanced at the sky. It was almost light out "I'll go wake the girls. Could you grab some breakfast for us?"

"What am I, your servant?" she grumbled. But she ran off anyway, which told me that she was convinced this was the last day she would see me alive. Why else would she actually listen to me and do what I asked?

Glynn's cabin was closest, she I went to the door and knocked loudly. "Glynn! Get up! We're heading out right away!'

From outside, I couldn't hear exactly what was said, but I could pick out Rapheal complaining about being woken up so early.

A few minutes later, Glynn emerged from the cabin. Her normally poofy hair was even messier than normal. She had an elastic around her wrist though, so she used that to tie her hair back in a ponytail, which was slightly less horrifying to look at.

"Took you long enough, Come on, we need to wake JJ."

Glynn snickered. "Good luck dragging her out of bed."

Surprisingly enough, the second I knocked on the door, JJ came outside. "How the heck are you awake already?" Glynn asked.

She shrugged. "Couldn't sleep. Duh."

"Come on, Devin, Lexis and Chiron should be waiting for us at the camp entrance."

"Not Mattias or Aisha?" JJ asked.

"Nah, I don't think Aisha could wake up this early. And I'm pretty sure Hades will start letting soul's return to the surface before Mattias would get up before the bell rings."

I was surprised, however, to Mattias with the other three at the entrance. Argon, our head of security, was also with them. Glynn nudged me. "Guess Hades will be letting some soul's go then."

I ignored her. It really isn't hard. "Matt? What are you doing here? I thought you'd be sleeping in. As always."

He pretended to loom innocent. "What? And not say goodbye to my sister as she embarks on a dangerous quest? What kind of brother do you think I am?"

"We woke him up," Lexis informed me.

"Makes sense."

JJ looked around. "No Aisha?"

Devin looked slightly guilty, but I wasn't sure why. "No. We, uh, let her sleep in. She probably wouldn't even wake up if we knocked on her door."

Chiron stepped forward. "Argon will drive you three to New York City. From there you can take a train to Montreal. Once you're in Canada…"

"No!" Glynn yelled. "No planes! Not happening. I choose life."

"He wasn't going to say fly, idiot. I'm a child of Hades, flying is a big no no for me too."

"Yes. I was going to say that once you're in Canada, you should be able to find some sort of ride across the country. Where exactly did you say you were heading?"

"One of the monsters I talked to mentioned Vancouver, so we're going to head there," JJ explained.

"That on the other side of the country," Devin groaned. I didn't see what her problem was, not like she was the one crossing Canada.

"Yes it is. I fear all three of you will have a hard journey ahead of you."

"Great. Thanks a lot," Glynn grumbled.

Lexis stepped forward and gave both girls a hug (even Glynn, oddly enough). I gave Mattias a tight hug. I couldn't shake the feeling that this would be the last time I would see him, Chiron, or the twins.

Chiron gave me a sad look. "Remember, prophecies often have more than one meaning."

"Yeah, I know. I'll try to come back, I promise. But if it is between me and the girls, I'll pick them every time. You know that." I glanced at the two. "Well, maybe not if it's Glynn."

Lexis gave me a hug like the other two, and Devin lightly punched me in the shoulder. "You're coming back alive, you hear me? We know where the entrance to the Underworld is, don't think we won't hunt you down if you die."

I laughed. "Yeah, yeah." Maybe if this was a movie, we'd say a bunch of sappy crap about how important our friendship was and how we'll always remember each other and all that other chick-flick stuff. Instead, I just gave them a smile that looked as genuine as I could make it, and followed Argon out of the camp borders.

The ride to New York was long, but that was nothing compared to the waiting for a train. We sat at the station, bored out of our minds, for what seemed like hours. Of course, that could just be my ADHD mind going crazy. It didn't help the Glynn would not shut up the entire time.

Finally, I'd had enough. "Will you shut up already! Did you hit your head this morning?"

She glared at me. "I did not!"

"Could have fooled me. You're just normally this stupid then."

"Yeah, well, uh…" she looked at my face and noticed the deep circles under my eyes. "I bet I got more sleep than you did!"

JJ snorted. She slapped one hand over her mouth and the other was wrapped around her waist. Her attempts at not laughing loudly were failing badly.

As for me, my glare disappeared. I stared at her incredulously. "Seriously? You call that a comeback?" I asked.

"Well, did I?"

"Not the point!"

"See, I win."

"I'm pretty sure that is the dumbest thing I have ever heard."

"It was genius and you know it."

"Oh my god, Glynn!" JJ laughed. She was dying slightly beside me.

"You good?" I asked.

"Give me a minute."

Glynn gave me a proud smirk. Before either of us could say anything else, the train finally arrived.

JJ, who had finally calmed down, leaped to her feet. "It's about time. Come on, let's see if what people say about New York trains is true."