"Where are you going," Hermês asked Apóllōn as he changed out of his armor and more into the persona that he wore around the mortals.
"I am fated to gain a new oracle on this day," he smiled brightly though there was a hint of pity in his eyes. The last time had not gone well after all. "I shall accept her pledge."
"I believe I will join you," he murmured, turning to his brother. The two of them smiled before flashing over to the Camp just as Perseus and his blessings alongside Nico di'Angelo arrived on their hippocampi. Drew flew right through the magic boundaries on top of the pegasus that adopted she and Leaneíras. Speaking of Leaneíras, she was holding on tightly to the Protector of Ill-Fated Lovers while cursing enough that Apóllōn covered his ears and clutched the pearls that he summoned to himself.
A jokester that one.
He learned from the best after all.
The two of them watched as the group of them followed Argos up the trail into the main part of the camp. The six of them roamed their eyes around the camp as if it was almost surreal to be there. Hermes did not blame them though he hated it immensely. Everything looked so peaceful: no burning buildings, no wounded fighters. The cabins were bright in the sunshine, and the fields glittered with dew.
But it was empty like a home abandoned frozen in time to be admired for eons to come and yet... his Luke had never seen it as a home in the first place.
He moved his gaze back to Lea, watching as she paused to press a hand against her chest where he knew that her mark was situated. She looked around before following the others to the Big House though her eyes never stopped looking around her.
Green light was shooting out all the windows of the Big House, just like it had been so long along with his May. Mist swirled around the yard.
Kheírōn lay on a horse-size stretcher by the volleyball pit, a bunch of satyrs standing around him. It was so similar to when Hēraklēs accidentally shot him in the hoof it was no wonder that the younger had been ansty during the cleanup. It was probably also why Apóllōn and Artemis had been worried considering that they had raised the kéntauros.
Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood at the bottom of the porch steps. Her arms were raised like she was waiting for someone inside the house to throw her a ball.
"What's she doing?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get past the barriers?"
"She flew," one of the satyrs said, looking accusingly at Perseus' pegasus, Blackjack. "Right past the dragon, right through the magic boundaries."
"Rachel!" Percy called, but the satyrs stopped him when he tried to go any closer.
"Percy, don't," Kheírōn warned. He winced as he tried to move and Apóllōn shifted with the need to go to his surrogate son. The kéntauros's left arm was in a sling, his two back legs were in splints, and his head was wrapped in bandages. "You can't interrupt."
"I thought you explained things to her!"
"I did. And I invited her here."
Percy stared at him in disbelief. "You said you'd never let anyone try again! You said—"
"I know what I said, Percy. But I was wrong. Rachel had a vision about the curse of Háidēs. She believes it may be lifted now. She convinced me she deserves a chance."
"And if the curse isn't lifted? If Hades hasn't gotten to that yet, she'll go crazy!"
The Mist swirled around Rachel. She shivered like she was going into shock.
"Hey!" Percy shouted. "Stop!" He ran toward her, ignoring the satyrs. He got within ten feet before bouncing back and landing in the grass. Of course, the protections would prevent any interruptions. It was a delicate process as the power transferred. The boy should really be thankful that none of its defensive gases attacked him though Hermês suppose most half-bloods wouldn't take them seriously. The mortal were the ones that attributed gases to Pythia's chamber not knowing that it was Delphyne's rotting corpse weaponized to keep would-be thieves of the oracle away.
Rachel opened her eyes and turned. She looked like she was sleepwalking.
"It's all right." Her voice sounded far away. "This is why I've come."
"You'll be destroyed!"
She shook her head. "This is where I belong, Percy. I finally understand why."
Hermês curled his lip as grief pierced his heart anew. It sounded too much like what May had said. And then she was overcome with theia mania that set their son on a path of darkness that he could lead him from. Oh, how he failed his boy so.
The house rumbled. The door flew open and green light poured out. The familiar scent of warm musty smell of snakes pierced the air.
Mist curled into a hundred smoky serpents, slithering up the porch columns, curling around the house.
Then the Oracle appeared in the doorway.
The withered mummy shuffled forward in her rainbow dress. She looked even worse than usual, which is saying a lot. Her hair was falling out in clumps. Her leathery skin was cracking like the seat of a worn-out bus. Her glassy eyes stared blankly into space, but the connection drew her towards Rachel.
His Leaneíras looked disgusted and he was abruptly reminded that this was her first time seeing the vessel of Pythia.
Rachel held out her arms. She didn't look scared.
"You've waited too long," Rachel said. "But I'm here now."
The sun blazed more brightly and Apóllōn threw the mystical coat from around her, allowing himself to be seen by the mortals below as he floated in the air in a white toga, with sunglasses and a cocky smile.
"Apollo," Percy and Drew said.
He winked but held up his finger to his lips.
"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," Apóllōn Thearios said. "You have the gift of prophecy. But it is also a curse. Are you sure you want this?"
Rachel nodded. "It's my destiny."
"Do you accept the risks?"
"I do."
"Then proceed," his brother said.
Rachel closed her eyes. "I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollo, God of Oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the Gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate."
The words flew out of her as the Mist thickened, and Hermês huffed. The new shorter oath held less gravitas as the old one though admittedly, Hermês was so used to hearing this version that he forgot the old one.
A little embarrassing for the god of memory, but he was sure that he had it written down somewhere.
And they didn't even get his brother's name right!
A green column of smoke, like a huge python, uncoiled from the mummy's mouth and slithered down the stairs, curling affectionately around Rachel's feet. The Oracle's mummy crumbled, falling away until it was nothing but a pile of dust in an old tie-dyed dress. Mist enveloped Rachel in a column before it cleared.
Rachel collapsed and curled into the fetal position. Annabeth, Nico, and Percy rushed forward, but Apóllōn said, "Stop! This is the most delicate part."
"What's going on?" Percy demanded. "What do you mean?"
Apóllōn studied Rachel with concern. "Either the spirit takes hold, or it doesn't."
"And if it doesn't?" Eliza asked.
She'd end up like his May.
"Five syllables," Apóllōn said, counting them on his fingers. "That would be real bad."
Despite Apóllōn's warning, Percy ran forward and knelt over Rachel. The smell of the attic was gone. The Mist sank into the ground and the green light faded. But Rachel was still pale. She was barely breathing.
Then her eyes fluttered open. She focused on me with difficulty. "Percy."
"Are you okay?"
She tried to sit up. "Ow." She pressed her hands to her temples.
"Rachel," Nico said, "your life aura almost faded completely. I could see you dying."
"I'm all right," she murmured. "Please, help me up. The visions—they're a little disorienting."
"Are you sure you're okay?" Percy asked.
Apóllōn drifted down from the porch. "Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi."
"You're kidding," Annabeth said.
Rachel managed a weak smile. "It's a little surprising to me too, but this is my fate. I saw it when I was in New York. I know why I was born with true sight. I was meant to become the Oracle."
Leaneíras blinked. "You mean you can tell the future now?"
"Not all the time," she said. "But there are visions, images, words in my mind. When someone asks me a question, I . . . Oh no—"
"It's starting," Apóllōn announced before turning to work his magic on Kheírōn.
Rachel doubled over like someone had punched her. Then she stood up straight and her eyes glowed serpent green.
No where near as beautiful as Leaneíras' eyes.
When she spoke, her voice sounded tripled—like three Rachels were talking at once:
"Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
To storm or fire, the world must fall.
An oath to keep with a final breath,
And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."
At the last word, Rachel collapsed. Nico and Percy caught her and helped her to the porch. Her skin was feverish.
"I'm all right," she said, her voice returning to normal.
"What was that?" Percy asked.
She shook her head, confused. "What was what?"
"I believe," Apóllōn said, "that we just heard the next Great Prophecy."
"What does it mean?" Leaneíras demanded, her brow furrowed in confusion.
Rachel frowned. "I don't even remember what I said."
"No," Apóllōn mused. "The spirit will only speak through you occasionally. The rest of the time, our Rachel will be much as she's always been. There's no point in grilling her, even if she has just issued the next big prediction for the future of the world."
"What?" Percy said. "But—"
"Percy," Apóllōn said, "I wouldn't worry too much. The last Great Prophecy about you took almost seventy years to complete. This one may not even happen in your lifetime."
"Maybe," Drew said wryly, "but it didn't sound so good."
"No," said Apóllōn cheerfully. "It certainly didn't. She's going to make a wonderful Oracle!"
Leaneíras and Drew left after Apóllōn insisted that Rachel needed to rest, and well, she did look pretty disoriented though mortals always looked like that in comparison to gods.
"I'm sorry, Percy," she said. "Back on Olympos, I didn't explain everything to you, but the calling frightened me. I didn't think you'd understand."
"I still don't," Percy admitted. "But I guess I'm happy for you."
Rachel smiled. "Happy probably isn't the right word. Seeing the future isn't going to be easy, but it's my destiny. I only hope my family . . ."
She didn't finish her thought.
"Will you still go to Clarion Academy?" Percy asked.
"I made a promise to my father. I guess I'll try to be a normal kid during the school year, but—"
"But right now you need sleep," Apóllōn scolded. "Kheírōn, I don't think the attic is the proper place for our new Oracle, do you?"
"No, indeed." Kheírōn looked a lot better now that Apóllōn had worked some medical magic on him.
"Rachel may use a guest room in the Big House for now, until we give the matter more thought."
"I'm thinking a cave in the hills," Apóllōn mused. "With torches and a big purple curtain over the entrance . . . really mysterious. But inside, a totally decked-out pad with a game room and one of those home theater systems."
Kheírōn cleared his throat loudly.
"What?" Apóllōn demanded.
Rachel kissed the halfblood on the cheek. "Good-bye, Percy," she whispered. "And I don't have to see the future to tell you what to do now, do I?"
Her eyes seemed more piercing than before.
Perseus blushed while his blessings shared smiles. "No."
"Good," she said. Then she turned and followed his brother into the Big House.
Hermês sighed, making himself just the bit visible to his Leaneíras as he situated himself by the hearth.
It took awhile but then her eyes met his like green lightning—they are green, those eyes eyes of hers, whose power was so indescribable—green, but as were precious stones, or deep unfathomable mountain lakes.
The rest of the day was as strange as the beginning. Campers trickled in from New York by car, pegasus, and chariot. The wounded were cared for. The dead were given proper funeral rites at the campfire.
Silena's shroud was hot pink, but embroidered with an electric spear. The Fifth and Tenth cabins both claimed her as a hero, and lit the shroud together. No one mentioned the word spy. That secret burned to ashes as the designer perfume smoke drifted into the sky.
Dinner at the pavilion was low-key. The only highlight was Juniper the tree nymph, who screamed, "Grover!" and gave her boyfriend a flying tackle hug, making everybody cheer. They went down to the beach to take a moonlit walk, and Leaneíras was happy for them, though the scene reminded her of Silena and Beckendorf.
Mrs. O'Leary romped around happily, eating everybody's table scraps. Nico sat at the main table with Chiron and Mr. D, and nobody seemed to think this was out of place. Everybody was patting Nico on the back, complimenting him on his fighting. Even the Ares kids seemed to think he was pretty cool. Hey, show up with an army of undead warriors to save the day, and suddenly you're everybody's best friend. Lea wished she had a chance to see that.
Slowly, the dinner crowd trickled away. Some went to the campfire for a sing-along. Others went to bed though Drew had been the first one to leave. She looked at her Brother, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he made no move to leave, but she wanted to get just a bit of rest. Her mark burned on her skin, and she felt a bit of giddiness to her that she would otherwise ignore but as her gaze looked over the moonlight on Long Island Sound, she found that it was a wonderful and peaceful feeling.
Crickets and monsters were making noise in the woods, but otherwise it was quiet.
"I hope you're happy," Leaneíras heard coming from behind her, ignoring the loud cheers that was coming from the pavilion. She turned to see her face not on her own body once again. "You will never understand it. How nothing is more tragic than loving someone to the depths of your soul and knowing they cannot and will not ever love you back."
It was the Pterodactyl.
She was continuously pouring her heart out to Leaneíras about Hermes and her marriage to him. And if this was anyone else, Leaneíras may have felt some pity. Maybe. Alas, she didn't feel anything except some minor annoyance. She fought to keep the sneer from her face especially as she saw the attention that was slowly beginning to focus on them. But truthfully, Leaneíras could only look at her and think that her spiel should really be titled the Diary of A Wimpy Ass Bitch.
"You know, you're hilarious," she cut in on the rant. "You have been picking with me and sneaking dissing for days, months, and the last few years. And now, the fact that I'm stepping up to get what's rightfully mine, you want to play victim and act like you're just so innocent? What you really want is a reason to go back and forth with me. You want a reaction. You need that reaction so that you don't look sad, miserable, and obsessed for continuously speaking on me and not getting the response that you want." Leaneíras inwardly said fuck it and sneered as she did her best to look down her nose at someone that was an entire foot taller than her. "Listen here birdbrain, you can be clown all by yourself. I have better than things to do."
"What's yours?" Peitho scoffed. "You think he belongs to you? You think that you love him? After knowing all the things that he has ever done and will do? You truthfully think that he would not step out on you? Only the demidivine can be matched with gods and one day, someone's blessing is going to come from him. So, tell me. You love him knowing that?"
"That's my choice. I love him, with all that, because of all that. On purpose. I love him on purpose. All of that made him into the person that I know today and all of that will make him into the person that I will know then. And that person is who I love." She looked the goddess up and down. "Seek help."
With those words, she pushed past the goddess and continued onwards to the hearth in the center of camp where she could see Hermes watching as she approached.
"So," she drawled as she got closer. "Mother of Witchcraft?"
"Father was most displeased with the actions of Hekátē and very impressed with your defeat of she and Aeëtes. He and the council decided that it was enough to place you upon the same standing."
"I'm humbled by the trust, and what does 'your worship moves throughout time' mean?"
"You're a bit too liberal about your time displacement spell," he smiled wryly. "There's apparently a new pantheon that would soon be discovered by Saliria Archaeology. It will then appear in history books called Jaxson. That is the name given to a set of religious beliefs and practices originating in the ancient Greek and Hellenistic world and found within the Early Medieval England which was also around the time of Anglo-Saxon pre-Christian religion, or well Anglo-Saxon traditional religion. When the Norse pantheon was widely worshipped, so to speak."
"I heard that was a drunk tale that you, Apóllōn, and Mr. D did."
Hermes laughed lightly and joyously. "It was and it was a glorious time. I almost wished there really was a Loki. He would have been a fun friend to have."
"We can get one," she said.
He blinked and stared her before she blinked as she realized how her words sounded.
"Not like that," Leaneíras spluttered. She was not ready to be a mother. Her cheeks burned red but she stubbornly held his gaze. "The whole world walker thing and that spell you said about going to get Tony Stark's autograph. We can do that and take Loki back with us."
"Loki is a villain in the comics."
"Loki is a victim of child abuse and neglect with an inferiority complex that deeper than the Grand Canon."
"I don't think the world would survive the two of you teaming up," he smiled. "Though I am glad you would include me in your mischief."
"Of course, I would." Here it goes. "I always want to have fun with the people that I love."
There. It was out there.
He blinked, eyes a bit wide as he looked at her. "You love me?"
"I just said that."
Hermes shook his head, huffing lightly. "I suppose that is why you gave me your first kiss."
"I did not!"
"You kissed the corner of my mouth!"
"But it was not completely on your lips!"
Her cheeks were a bright red, but at least the light in his eyes shone like the stars. He brushed the hair out of her eyes as he tilted her head towards him. "You deserve better than an old man that allowed his son to walk such a dark path," he murmured. She only shrugged in response. "Then become better because I only want you."
She smiled a soft smile. "I love you. I knew it the minute that I met you."
And his eyes lit up in delight and mischief. "Really?" Leaneíras laughed lightly as she nodded. He smiled brightly, grasping her hand to place under the cloth thing that he wore. She shuddered, the electrifying feeling that came from touching their khaos mark moved through her. His eyes never left hers, "I know that even without the markings upon our soul that the two of us were destined to be soulmates. Even if the only thing that stands between us now are my wives, you are—" He cut himself off, tongue darting out across his lips as he seemingly searched for words.
She laughed. "I still find it hilarious that you're married and looking for a relationship with me. I never thought I'd be a homewrecker."
Hermes scoffed, "Do you shop for shoes barefooted?" He shook his head. "You are not homewrecker, my love. It is true that I love them, but my heart belonged to you long before I even knew you. Long before I knew either of them. And you? I love you, everything about you." The green-eyed god pressed his forehead to hers. "Eshghe mani."
Well, that was new.
"What does that mean?"
"You are my love. And this one: Fadat besham, means I am willing to sacrifice myself for you."
"No, don't do that." she laughed.
"Ahh, I suppose not. I shall live for you then because... and this is my favorite one. Asheghetam."
"And that means?"
"I'm in love with you."
Leaneíras smiled with all teeth, wrapping her arms around his neck. "And I love you. I love you more than there are stars in the sky. I love you deeper than the depths of the ocean. They ask how did I know I love you and I can tell them that I have always known. From the very first seconds of time and until the seconds end, I have and I do and I will love you. I shall love you until the sea swallows the sun. I love you and I will love you until I die and if there's life after that, I love you then."
"It is that simple?"
"It is."
"My Leaneíras, you make the world a better place. And I am so thankful to be your soulmate even if you do not believe in them."
She shook her head, tilting her head to press a kiss to his cheek. "I do not believe in soulmates, but I do believe in you."
WORD COUNT: 3836
WORDS TO KNOW:
1) Apóllōn Thearios - Apóllōn Of the Oracle
THINGS TO KNOW:
1) Delphyne is the name given to the monstrous serpent killed by Apóllōn at Delphi. Although, in Hellenistic and later accounts, the Delphic monster slain by Apóllōn is usually said to be the male serpent Python, in the earliest known account of this story, the Homeric Hymn to Apóllōn (6th century BC), the god kills a nameless she-serpent, subsequently called Delphyne.
1A) Here, Delphyne/Python are genderfluid.
2) theia mania - Divine madness refers to unconventional, outrageous, unexpected, or unpredictable behavior linked to religious or spiritual pursuits. A form of religious ecstasy. Aka: catching the Holy Ghost
3) Socrates argues that madness is not necessarily an evil, claiming that "the greatest of blessings come to us through madness, when it is sent as a gift of the gods".
COMMENTS FROM AUTHOR:
1) And thus, my dear readers: The Official Ending of the PJO arc.
2) Fun Fact: I read that Argos' death was the first stain of bloodshed among the new generation of gods.
2A) Hermês, the first killer of the Olympians. I dig it.
3) We've come full circle.
3A) Lea: "I don't even believe in God."
3B) Hermês: "You will and I am your God."
3C) Lea: "I do not believe in soulmates, but I do believe in you."
4) It's not all peaches and cream though. Lea also just saw what three matches: Drew&Ethan, Silena&Beckendorf, Luke&Thalia all not end up like a fairytale.
4A) A real relationship takes work!
5) I'm gonna be honest. This would have been a good place to end the entire thing. The rewarding chapter would have been good too if she was the last to be reward and she'd been ascended.
QUOTES:
1) "Nothing is more tragic than loving someone to the depths of your soul and knowing they cannot and will not ever love you back." ― Rick Riordan, The Hidden Oracle