What's up readers, let's respond to a couple of reviews.
NiHaR OP: "cool nikandreos is actually a greek villager tho"
Response: Yes, but in Apotheon he eventually becomes a god. I'm going to stay true to the story, but I'll change a couple of minor details to fit Son of Hercules. Thanks for reading and reviewing!
thesuperone342:"Awesome. And holy sh, Matt is strong. One hundred thousand tons. Damn. I can only bench 225 lol. Anyway, great chapter, can't wait to see Harper's full backstory. Also, I know you're think that your closing that gap, but oh boy, when you see my next chapter, your jaw is gonna hit the floor. Anyway, I'll be back for chapter eleven."
Response: Thanks man. And I don't doubt that you're widening the gap even more. Just don't make your boy too unbeatable alright? Nah I'm jk. Anyway, I can't wait for your next chapter, hope it's up soon.
Also, last time I maxed out on bench it was 225. So we're in the same boat lol.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters (except the OC's) Percy Jackson & The Olympians, Heroes Of Olympus, or Trials Of Apollo. All of that belongs to Rick Riordan.
Eleventh chapter, here we go!
11. I Sneak A Peek Into The Past
Harper and I stood in front of her old house, everything in color, and us in black and white.
It felt like a dream. Only it wasn't a dream, or a trance. It was more like a vision. A vision that I had full control of my body in, and shared with another person.
Speaking of, Harper stood there, motionless, staring at the farmhouse, her eyes conveyed sadness.
"Harper, we don't have to do this."
She turned, and I felt a small sense of relief, for a second there I thought she had froze, something had went wrong with the shared vision, and I was supposed to fix her. But no, she looked me in the eyes.
"Yes, we do. You deserve to know my history, and what part you play in it."
"But I don't want you to-"
"I'll be okay, Matt. I appreciate the concern, but I want this. I need to relive it, to understand...and to reflect on what I truly want." She said the last part with menace, an underlying tone of death. But it wasn't towards me, it was towards an outside force, a hated force.
I nodded uneasily. Trying to prepare myself for what I would see tonight.
We stood there for a second, and then in an instant, we were pulled into the farmhouse, a force pushing us, a tunnel forming, going straight through the walls like ghosts, and being planted gently on the hardwood floor upstairs.
We were in a hallway, a brown floor beneath us, paintings on the cream colored wall. Beautiful images of nature, streams, towns, people in a meadow. The hall was dimly lit, and I noticed a man coming toward us. The man was average height, pretty good looking, probably in his early thirties, had short brown hair, and a tattoo on his arm that I couldn't make out. He was carrying something in his arms, It looked like...a bundle of cloth, and he was holding it with extreme care, whispering comforting words to it.
The man walked toward us, getting closer and closer, I was panicking a little. What if we were seen? Would it change the course of history? But that would have meant that we had time travelled, and we hadn't done that, right? We were just...observers.
"Uh, Harper..."
"Don't worry, we won't be seen. These are events of the past, we're just watching. Nothing can be changed. Believe me, I wish that weren't true."
I looked down again at my hands, "Is that why we're black and white, and everything else is in color?"
She nodded.
The Man passed through us, like we were vapor, I felt a faint gust, but nothing weird or uncomfortable.
He strolled into the room behind us, which was obviously a room meant for a baby. That was when I realized, that what he was holding...was a baby.
He set the infant down gently in the newly made crib. Cartoonish decorations around the room, toys and all kinds of baby stuff neatly littered the floor. The infant must have been asleep, because it wasn't making any noise. I couldn't see it though. I wanted to get closer, but I was cautious on what to do.
Harper broke my panic, "That's my dad. Arthur Pierce." She sighed, and lightly smiled. A mixture of joy, bitterness, and pain etched on her face. "This must've been back when he was normal, and happy. It's beyond surreal to see him like this."
"Are you the baby?" I asked.
"No, that's Levi. My big brother." She motioned for me to follow her, and she stepped forward until reaching the edge of the crib, looking down fondly at the baby. I crept up and stood beside her, getting a glance at the child myself.
He was...well, a baby. Not much to describe. He was a little chunky, but not too much, and had a little tuft of black hair on his head. His eyes were closed, and his face could only be seen through the swaddled blanket.
Harper smiled, "I've only seen him in pictures like this." Then she reached out and tried to stroke the baby's face, "It's so good to see you again, Levi."
Her hand went through, like a transparent holograph, the baby remained the same, but Harper nearly stumbled, and pulled her hand back.
"Should've known. It's a vision...like I literally said ten seconds ago. It's just...been years since I've seen him."
"I understand. It's the natural thing to do."
She shook her head, "I know, but...I need to control myself."
"I'm not gonna judge you Harper."
She looked at me with intensity, a look that sent a chill down my spine, "Don't say that. Do not say that, Matt. Once you see me later in these visons, I'll be surprised if you still want to be my friend."
Was she crazy? Of course I would be her friend. Nothing in these visions would change that. I don't know what was bothering her so much. She couldn't have done anything that bad, right?
Well, she did mention something about killing a couple of people in a frenzy, so...
I focused on the scene in front of me, Harper's dad staring at baby Levi with pride and love, he smiled a warm smile, and gently said, "My brave boy. You have your mother's hair, but you unfortunately got my looks." He laughed, then stared at the boy for a few more moments, smiling, until eventually kissing him on the forehead, and leaving the room.
Everything faded, and the scene went black. Harper and I stood in a void.
"So...Nemesis fell in love with your dad?"
"Yes. Don't ask me why. If he had some sort of vengeance agenda that she was attracted to, I never knew about it. From what he used to say, they spent a couple of months together, the best of his life, and ended up having Levi. The birth was sped up, due to the mother being a goddess, but Dad didn't care. He loved her so much, and welcomed having a child with her. Only...he didn't know that she wouldn't be around much. At all, really."
"She left him?"
"Well, Dad knew what she was, and that she was busy a lot. But he expected more, and got his hopes up. She never showed up, and from what Levi used to tell me, he was left to raise his son on his own, constantly looking for a sign but never getting one. Dad became depressed, and...didn't exactly spend much time with Levi."
"What happened?"
"Well...nothing, yet. And that was the problem. Levi was neglected, and Dad was sad. Levi had to play on his own, read his own story books, teach himself new things."
"That sucks. I mean, Nemesis should've helped out a little bit. But you're dad also shouldn't have just wallowed in his sorrows!"
She looked down, clenching her fists, "You don't understand. He loved her, and she just left. She had built him up, only to tear him down. Wouldn't you be sad?"
"Well, yeah. But I wouldn't neglect my son."
"I'm not saying what he did was right. I'm just saying that I understand why he did it."
I wasn't sure. I mean, If you loved her that much, wouldn't you want to spend as much time as possible with your child, because he reminded you of her? It just didn't make sense as to why her father did that.
I tried to change the subject. "Well, she had to come back, because you're here."
She nodded, "Yeah. And that only made things so much worse."
"What do you mean?"
"You'll see."
The moment she said that, a new scene emerged from the void, engulfing it until it was fully around us. We were now outside of the farmhouse. It was a sunny day, a cool breeze echoing in the air, birds singing, trees offering a cool shade in the front yard, a small boy with black hair was playing under one of the trees, doing something to the ground with a stick. He looked determined and focused. I knew that had to be Levi. He was probably four years old here, much larger and more active than the baby we saw a minute ago.
On the front porch steps of the farmhouse sat two people, one was Harper's father. He looked worse than he did in the first vision. His hair was slightly longer and unkempt, he hadn't shaved in a couple of days, his eyes had bags under them. But he looked happy, like the recent weeks had been incredible.
Next to him, leaning into his shoulder was a dark haired woman that looked exactly like Harper, except twenty years older. She wore dark clothing, and had on the same kind of makeup as the girl standing next to me. I knew right away that the woman was Nemesis. Harper's mother and the goddess of revenge.
Harper's dad smiled fondly at Levi playing in the yard. Nemesis however looked uneasy, a little guilty even.
"Just look at him. He's growing up so fast, soon he'll be as tall as me!"
Nemesis only nodded.
He looked at her and his eyes twinkled, "And another on the way! A girl too! It'll be amazing, how great they'll get along!"
Nemesis tried to look enthused, but I could tell that she was holding back something that would hurt him. It was unreal, seeing a deity act this way, acting...somewhat intimate and normal. I mean, I had seen only one goddess, and that was Hera. She gave the vibe of what I always imagined a god or goddess would give off, but this was different. The revenge goddess...seemed to care what happened to Harper's father.
He seemed to finally notice it, and said, "What's wrong?"
She spoke, "Arthur, you know what I am. You know that I won't be around to see that."
His smile faltered, "I know that you're busy, but two children? You'll stay some, won't you?"
She shook her head, "I cannot. It is against the ancient laws for a god or goddess to interact with their children directly." Then she added quickly, "But I'll help them in whatever way I can. I'll help you too. You won't be alone, I just...won't be able to see you physically."
I could practically see his heart splitting, "But you're here now, you came back! I don't know about the other gods, but they don't often have two children with the same mortal, do they? I figured since you came back...you would stay longer this time." He said the last part with such hope I felt sorry for him.
She touched his arm, "I wish I could. And you are right, it is rare for a god or goddess to do that. I came back because I do care about you...too much, in fact."
"What do you mean?"
She sighed, "I saw the way you were when I left. You were a mess, Arthur. You didn't spend much time with Levi, you became an alcoholic, you were depressed!"
"Can you blame me? I fell in love with you, we had an amazing few weeks together, we had a baby, and then you just leave, never to return! What am I supposed to feel, happiness?"
He was right. It was a sucky situation. But that still didn't excuse the fact that he neglected Levi and apparently started heavily drinking. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Harper's fists were clenched, she was glaring at the goddess, like she wanted to kill her.
"I understand, and I am sorry. But you knew what I was. You knew the deal, and I thought you would understand my duties."
"I do understand! I just expected a couple of visits every now and then, nothing major."
"You did expect major things Arthur, don't lie. I could feel it in your heart. You expected a full life with me, you expected me to stay here."
He shook his head and lowered it, "That's what I wanted, but I never expected it."
She sighed again, "I should not have come back. I've only made things worse. I've gotten your hopes up again, and burdened you with another child."
He looked at her incredulously, "Burden? You'd call our daughter a burden?"
"It's the truth. And I am sorry for it, Arthur. I cannot help you directly, so the child will fall into your hands, same as our son's. I only hope that when you look at them, you see me. And then you'll have motivation to spend time with them, and teach them."
He looked so hurt, so angry too. He turned his head and moved away from her, "Well, then. I guess you can just drop her off when you feel like it. If you're going to leave Nemesis, then do it."
She tried to touch his face, "Arthur-"
"Please. Don't make this harder than it has to be."
She hesitated, and closed her eyes with sorrow. She nodded and got up, looking at Levi in the yard, and wincing, as if she knew something was going to happen to him. She then began to glow, turned into her true form, and disappeared in the air with a crash.
Levi noticed, put down his stick and walked over to his father, who had his head down in defeat. Levi poked him on the knee, a confused look on his face.
"What's wrong, daddy?"
His father looked up at him, a tear streaking down his face. He said, "Nothing, Levi. Nothing at all. Go back to playing."
Levi looked at him for a moment in confusion, then shrugged and walked back to his playing spot.
Arthur looked in the distance, and after a few seconds muttered, "I love you, Nemesis."
The scene faded, everything turning to black, and I was left in the void with Harper again. Who was now gritting her teeth in anger.
"You see." She snarled, "She came back, got his hopes up, only to rip out his heart again."
"I know Harper, but-"
"I hate her." She interrupted, more to herself than me.
"I get that you're angry. But your dad...he became a drunk?"
She looked at me, for the first time in what felt like a while, her look wasn't one of enjoyment, it was anger. I was a little taken back, because lately our interactions had been only positive, but now...she looked like she wanted to punch me.
"Yeah, and he hit us a few times...so what?"
I was horrified, "I mean...that couldn't have been easy on Levi, or you."
"It wasn't. But I never resented him for it. He was trying to forget his memories with her, so that he could move on!"
"He should have focused on the two of you."
"How do you even know he didn't? What if in these next visions, you see the three of us having fun, being a normal family?!" She said it uncertainly, like it was a dream she wished were true.
"Is that what I'm gonna see?"
She looked down, her fists still clenched. "No."
"Look, I get your dad loved her. But if he knew what she was, he shouldn't have gotten involved with her in the first place. I mean, it always ends the same. Gods and goddesses never stick around, and the mortal is left to raise a kid on their own, heartbroken. I get it, Harper."
"Yeah, you should. You said you were alone a lot. I doubt Hercules stuck around to be an ideal father."
"You're right. He didn't. And I don't have any respect for the gods, I don't have any for my father. I hate what happened to my mother. But I also wish that she never got with him in the first place. I just don't understand the appeal."
She chuckled humorlessly, "Same here. I guess it's because their so powerful and ancient, the fact that they choose you, must get to the mortal's head, make them feel special." Then she actually spat into the void, "If anything it should make them feel unlucky. Like oh gods! I'm gonna be stuck with a kid in the next month! A kid that'll attract super deadly monsters and have no friends!" She threw her hands up angrily, "I hate them. Why do they do this to us?"
I understood her frustration. But then I registered the fact that she just said she hated the gods. I remembered my dream, with the Man in the Cloak and Malachi, or well, Ouranos. They obviously hated the gods.
But I thought about what the Man said, that Harper's heart was swaying. I realized now, that she was probably questioning her loyalty to them, and that if all of this was worth it. It frightened me. If she were confronted by that guy, and offered a spot on their side, persuaded a bit. I wasn't sure she would say no.
Before I could respond, another scene came into view. This time the farm was foggy and damp. A drizzle of rain coming down, the pond emitting mist, the clouds in the sky an overwhelming gray. It was nothing like the previous vision.
No one was in the yard or on the porch, but there was a pickup truck parked next to the farmhouse, so I guessed that people were here.
Harper had now turned away from me to look at the scene. She was still angry, and probably had a lot to say. I was a little relieved the scene had interrupted us. I didn't want to argue with her.
I heard a cawing noise come from the sky to my right, I turned and saw a large buzzard swoop down, carrying something in it's beak. Like a bag, or a blanket or something.
"That's me." Harper said.
At first I thought she had gone nuts, because I thought she was referring to the buzzard, but then I registered the bag, and knew she was talking about that instead. She was in that bag blanket thing, she had just been born in this vision.
The buzzard flapped it's wings in great stride until landing on the front porch, making a gravelly caw, and poking at the door with it's beak.
A few seconds passed before someone opened it, and when it did, a small boy stood there, medium length black hair, normal shirt and shorts, a little taller than the last time I saw him, It was Levi. This was maybe a few months after the previous vision.
He looked at the buzzard with confusion, then spotted the baby in the blanket, and his eyes widened. "Daddy!" He called.
His father came quickly, "Levi, what's-" He spotted the baby and the buzzard.
His eyes widened in shock, then he lowered his head and muttered, "You couldn't have brought her yourself, huh Nemesis?"
Levi took the blanket bundle from the buzzard, and held it gently, looking at it with wonder. Harper herself looked just like any other baby, asleep and healthy, wrapped up in the swaddle.
"Daddy, what's this?"
His father reached in his pocket, fishing for something, and finally pulling it out. It was a single golden drachma. He flipped it from his finger, the coin soared directly into the buzzard's beak. It held it tightly, cawed lightly, and flew off in the direction that it came.
Arthur didn't look very happy, he didn't keep his eye off the buzzard, and said to his son, "That...is your new sister."
He turned and walked into the house, leaving the door open.
Levi looked at baby Harper, and smiled. He took her inside, closing the door with his foot.
The scene faded, and the void appeared again.
I didn't know what to say, I could practically feel Harper's hatred.
"She couldn't even give me to him herself. She had to put me in the mouth of a scavenger!"
I said nothing. I couldn't think of anything, I didn't want to make her mad at me.
We stood in silence for a minute, until she finally said, "Whatever, next part."
Yet again, the scene changed, the void disappearing, running away until I saw a meadow. It was a beautiful sight. Flowers of all kinds bloomed from the ground in huge quantities. Purple, white and yellow littered the soil, swaying gently with the breeze. The sun was shining, a few streaks of white across the blue sky, a pond glimmered a little in the distance. It wasn't very large, but it looked great with the surrounding nature.
I was in awe. I had always been in the city, where the sounds of vehicles never left, people bustling and talking, buildings surrounding the area, smoke and other fossil fuels billowing into the sky. I never minded it, but seeing all of this for the first time, a real countryside...kinda made me wish I had grown up out here instead.
Two children came into view, walking along a dirt path seemingly made for them. Flowers and grass on either side, the two kids strolled happily along, a boy and a girl. The boy was about ten years old, he had medium length black hair that came down on his forehead due to the breeze. He wore a regular t-shirt and cargo shorts, he was carrying a fishing pole and a tackle box in his left hand, his right hand was holding onto a smaller one, the girl's.
She was half his size and age, definitely five years old. She had beautiful black hair that came down to her back, she wore a little blouse with flowers on them, jean shorts, and flip flops. She too was carrying a fishing rod, only hers was smaller. I then looked at her face, and saw no makeup, which was only normal. I mean, who would put makeup on a five year old? It would've been strange in my opinion.
She looked so happy. She was holding her brother's hand and swinging it with joy. Her icy blue eyes twinkled as they walked.
I looked over and saw the same girl, only older, but the same smile etched on her face.
"I remember this." She said fondly, "It was when I learned to fish." Then she laughed, "Levi always regretted teaching me, because after this day I kept catching more than him."
I looked back at the little girl, and sure enough, it was Harper. It was so strange, yet familiar. She looked the same, but she didn't have on the goth clothing, the black lipstick and eyeliner, the two knives, and most strikingly, she had both of her eyes. I looked back and forth between them, contrasting the white orb to the perfect icy blue one in the meadow.
Harper became aware and touched her left eye, "I know. It's so strange to see it. It...feels like I've always been like this."
I wanted to say something comforting, but I was interrupted by the little Harper on the dirt path.
"C'mon, Lee! The fish might swim away!" She said excitedly, tugging on Levi's arm.
The boy only laughed. He looked very mature for only being ten years old. Like he had already experienced everything the world could throw at him.
"Calm down, kiddo. It's a pond, the fish aren't going anywhere."
The girl pouted, looking away from him. His smile turned to a frown, but then in an instant, he got a mischievous look in his eye.
"Well, if you say so." Then he quickly let go of her hand and picked her up by the waist, holding her like a heavy bag at his side, and began running down the dirt path.
"Stop, Lee! I-I'm gonna fall!"
"Don't worry! I got you!" He was strong for his age. He held her perfectly in place, not fumbling once.
He ran the rest of the way down like that, and soon Harper's whimpers became cries of joy, and then laughter. Levi laughed too, and when he made it to the bank of the pond, he set her down on her back, her still giggling like crazy.
The Harper next to me chuckled, "I couldn't pronounce Levi when I was little, so I just called him Lee. I guess that's where my liking for nicknames came from."
"You guys seemed pretty close."
Her look became wistful, "We were. He was my hero, my best friend." Then she looked down, "I had some other friends at school, but they were nothing compared to him. He knew how to make everything fun."
I always thought having a sibling would suck. Constantly fighting and getting in the way. But seeing Harper and Levi laughing together, changed my mind a little.
Next to the pond, the laughter died down, and Harper got up, some dirt on her clothes, but she didn't seem to care. Levi picked up the fishing rod, and said, "Alright, like I told you earlier, you use this to catch the fish, okay?"
She nodded.
"Alright. And this little thing on the end is the hook. That's where you put your bait. And our bait for today is gonna be..." He then reached in the tackle box and pulled out a canister, it was white and had something written across the top of it, like it came from a store.
He pulled the lid off, revealing a dozen slimy earthworms.
"Worms!" He exclaimed.
Young Harper yelped in disgust and backed away, her hands over her eyes.
"Ewww!" She said.
"Oh come on, kiddo. Fish love worms, and you promised me you were gonna catch a fish today, right?"
She nodded, peeking through her fingers. It was adorable.
Adorable? Wow, Matt. I don't think I've ever used that word in my life. I was really getting soft. I would have to rip the head off a Laestrygonian again to get my manliness back.
"Well, you gotta use a worm to catch one." He continued, "I'll tell you what. I'll put the worm on there, and cast the line for you, then you can catch the fish. You won't have to see the worm. Will that be okay?"
She nodded, "Yeah."
He smiled, "Alright."
Harper put her hands over her eyes again, Levi put a worm on the hook. He reared back the rod and cast it in the water, about twelve feet from the bank.
"You can open your eyes now."
She did, and saw him holding the rod out to her. She smiled and grabbed it, he helped her hold it correctly, and put the lid back on the worm container.
"Alright, now all you gotta do is wait. The fish will see the worm, and bite it. Once you feel like he's biting, you pull the rod as hard as you can! Then start reeling!"
She nodded, full of concentration, "Okay!"
A minute or two went by, before young Harper spoke again, "Hey, Lee. How do you know how to fish?"
He looked at her, "My friend from school taught me."
She looked puzzled, "Not daddy?"
His face darkened. I had never seen a ten year old look so...angry.
"No. He didn't."
"Why does he get angry all the time? Why doesn't he ever play with us?" She asked innocently.
He leaned down to her level, and grabbed her shoulder gently, "Listen, Harper. Daddy's not someone you should look up to. He...doesn't really care about us."
I thought that was a little harsh to tell a little girl, but she only looked more confused.
"He doesn't?"
"No. He got his heart broken when our mom left. He just gave up, and became sad."
"Who was mommy?"
"No one you need to worry about. She's a bad woman, and she's not gonna bother you."
Harper's face sunk a little, and Levi noticed, he cringed and then forced a smile.
"Listen, Kiddo. I'm always here for you, no matter what. As long as you stick with me, everything will be fine."
She smiled again, "Okay!"
Levi smiled for real, and let go of her shoulder, standing back up.
The older Harper next to me muttered, "He was wrong about that."
"Huh?"
"Levi was wrong about Dad not caring about us. He did."
"I mean-"
"He loved us. He was just...depressed. He never meant to get mad, he was just drunk."
I couldn't understand why she was defending her father. Maybe she wanted to convince herself that things were better than what she remembered.
I turned my head, not saying anything.
The two kids stood for a few minutes, waiting for a fish to bite. I expected Harper to whine and complain about it taking too long, but she didn't. She just waited patiently, her face expressing that she was ready for a huge bite.
Eventually, the tip of the rod bent down a little, twitching.
Levi noticed, "Harper, you've got one. But don't pull it yet. Only do it when I tell you."
She nodded, clenching the fishing pole.
After a second of the line twitching, Levi whisper yelled, "NOW!"
She jerked the rod back, and the fish came flying out of the water, splashing back down and fighting.
"It's a bluegill!" Levi said, "And a good size too! Reel him in Harper!"
Harper reeled like her life depended on it. The fish fought in the water, Levi instructed Harper on which way to hold the rod while the fish was struggling.
Finally, the line got to the bank, Levi grabbed it and pulled the fish up, taking the hook out of it's mouth, the worm was gone.
Harper beamed and touched the fish nervously, once she made contact, she pulled her finger away, "It's slimy!"
Levi laughed, "Oh yeah." He held it up proudly at her, "I knew you would do it! And your first cast too! You're a natural, Harper!"
She blushed and looked down smiling.
"Let's see if we can catch some more. I'm gonna throw our little friend back."
"Wait. C-can I do it?"
He held it to her, and gently set the fish in her hands, "Go for it."
She laughed and tossed the bluegill back in the water, it swam away, disappearing in the pond.
"I wanna do that again!" She said excitedly.
Levi patted her head, "Alright. Now that you know what to do, I'll fish some myself. And see if I can catch more than you."
Harper laughed, and the scene faded, everything turning to black, the void reappearing.
Before either of us could say anything, the void faded almost as quickly as it came, revealing a new vision.
It was night time, the windows revealed that much. We were inside the farmhouse, in what I guessed to be Harper's room. It was a typical room, only there were a few toys on the floor and a couple of rock band posters on the wall, the names I couldn't make out. Only silhouettes with guitars and drum sets.
Harper herself was asleep in her bed. Only a mound of raven black hair and a fraction of her face could be seen, as she had the covers over everything else. I couldn't make out her age, due to this.
The Harper next to me shuddered, and said, "I remember this. Oh man, this was awful. I was only eight."
So three years after the meadow vision. That must've meant that Levi was thirteen or so.
"Why's it awful?"
She didn't break contact with her younger self, "You'll see."
I didn't like the sound of that.
The young Harper began tossing and turning in her sleep, face contorted in fear, but her eyes remaining closed. She whimpered and yelped a couple of times. I knew this anywhere, it was a problem all demigods had, nightmares.
"What were you dreaming about?"
She shrugged, "Not sure, I can't remember. But that's not the awful part."
I turned back to hear footsteps rushing nearby. Soon, the door burst open and Levi stumbled in, his eyes wide and breathing heavy. He had dirt in his black hair and on his clothes, a couple of scrapes on his arm.
He saw Harper and quickly went to her, shaking her to wake up.
She immediately did and screamed, Levi shushed her urgently.
"L-Lee?" She had a couple of tears on her cheeks.
"Yeah, kiddo. You alright?"
She sobbed and threw herself at him. He quickly hugged her, but his face read that he needed to go now.
"I-It was horrible! I had a nightmare!"
"I know, it's okay, it's okay." He said soothingly. I guessed that Harper already knew about our world at this point and the crazy things happening in it.
He held her for a minute, then pulled away quickly, still grasping her shoulders, "Listen. I need you to listen carefully, can you do that?"
She nodded.
"Okay. There's been a monster attack, and I've gotta help my friend. I need you to stay here, and if Dad or anybody you don't know comes in, hide under the bed, alright?"
"B-But-"
"Promise me."
She hesitated, then finally said, "Okay, I promise."
He nodded, leaving quickly. But in the doorway he said, "Just stay here, I'll be back soon." He disappeared from the doorway.
She covered herself again, fiddling and worrying. Until finally leaving the bed, putting on some fluffy slippers, and tiptoeing out in the hall, following Levi.
She was quick and stealthy, he didn't notice her. She kept her distance and followed him until he stopped at another doorway, seemingly glowing orange. From a hearth fire I guessed.
He breathed in and out, and entered the room. Harper hid next to the doorway, behind the wall.
She peeked in, and we all saw Levi sneaking past another figure.
It was their father.
He was passed out in a chair, snoring, a bottle of whiskey in his hand, nearly empty. He looked awful. He had a beard now, and had gained weight, his clothes were stained and he smelled like alcohol and smoke. For some reason, I could smell things in this vision, which sucked, because this guy reeked of booze.
Levi quietly made his way to the hearth, and I saw what he was going for. Above the fire, sat a four foot long sword. It didn't look like an antique, it looked like it was for monster purposes.
Levi grabbed at it but kept coming short. He glanced anxiously at their father, who was still snoring. Levi made a big grab this time, but ended up knocking the sword from his place, and it clattered loudly on the ground.
The snore broke, and their father woke up, annoyed. Levi grimaced.
He noticed his son, "What the hell are you doing up?"
Levi turned and glared, "None of your business."
"It is my damn business. Now what are you doing up, trying to take my sword?"
"I was just gonna practice with it." He lied.
Their father snorted, "Hah! At midnight? Nah, you were probably gonna try to kill me."
I was shocked. This had escalated to another level. What kind of idiot would blame his own son of that?
Then Levi scowled, "I would never do that. Even if you are a lazy, no good bastard."
"You even know what that word means boy?"
"I'm leaving."
Their father got up surprisingly quickly, and held up his hand, as if to hit him. "You ain't going nowhere boy, until you tell me why the hell you're in here."
Levi picked up the sword and pointed it at him, "I don't have to tell you anything. You wouldn't even care."
Their dad stayed like that, and Levi inched his way over to the doorway, before finally making it, and running out of sight.
Their dad burped and stumbled, before closing his eyes and falling on the floor like a sack of potatoes, the whiskey bottle smashing into pieces, and him resuming his snoring.
The young Harper looked at him with sadness, then followed Levi out the door.
She was a good distance behind him, but he was still in sight, sprinting ahead.
It wasn't pitch black. A near full moon was displayed in the sky, lighting up the night. The two siblings ran and ran, before eventually ending up in the middle of the forest, a crackle and a scream could be heard ahead.
They both emerged into an opening from the trees, Harper a few feet behind Levi, who was transfixed on the horrifying scene before him.
A kid about Levi's age was propped on a tree, and a wolf made of lightning was gnawing at him.
Levi yelled, "NO!"
Harper screamed too, and before Levi could register fully that she was there, he charged at the wolf, yelling in anger. The wolf noticed and dove at him, but the young demigod was ready. He sidestepped quickly and jabbed the wolf in the side, causing it to howl and erupt in a flash of bolts.
Harper stood in shock, Levi turned to her, about to scold, but saw the fear in her eyes, and decided to say, "Just...get back to the house, please."
She didn't nod.
Levi had already turned around and was going to the kid, he was wincing and crying in pain, blood all over him.
"You're gonna be alright, just-"
"It hurts man, please, make it stop."
"What? Don't be crazy, just let me-"
The kid screamed in agony, and said urgently, "I ain't gonna make it. Just please, help me."
"I am not giving up-"
"Please! Show mercy! I need it to stop!"
Levi winced, and closed his eyes. He knew it was fatal. Heck, even I knew that the kid's wound was fatal, he wasn't gonna make it.
Levi stood up, shaking.
The kid closed his eyes, waiting.
Levi clenched the sword, still shaking, a tear dripped from his chin.
"I'm sorry" He said.
And in one quick swipe, it was over, and the pain stopped.
Levi immediately dropped the sword and fell to his knees, sobbing.
His cries were awful, like a wounded animal, it made me want to turn away, but I couldn't. I had witnessed something so horrific, I couldn't move.
Harper was motionless, in disbelief.
After a moment, Levi got up, wiping his face. He didn't scold Harper, he only looked at her with sadness. He grabbed her hand and said, "C'mon. Let's get you back to bed."
Harper took one last look at the kid on the tree, and the scene faded, the void reappearing.
Both of us were speechless.
After a minute or two of silence, I finally broke it.
"That was...horrible."
"Yeah. We should move on."
Then at that command the void disappeared in an instant, and was replaced by a new vision.
Levi was in the backyard, swinging a sword around, the same sword as before. He hadn't aged physically, but you could see in his eyes he had matured mentally, after seeing and doing something like that.
Harper emerged from the back door. She made her way to Levi smiling, despite what had happened.
"Hey." She said.
He noticed her and grinned, "Oh, hey. I was hoping you would come out here."
"Why?"
He chuckled, and walked over to the nearest tree, reaching in a hole near the bottom and pulling out two familiar knives.
They were the ones that Harper wielded to this day.
He held them by the grips, and handed them to her.
She beamed, "Whoa! These are cool!" She tried swinging them around.
"Careful there, kiddo. A warrior that uses a knife has to be smart and precise."
She nodded, and then furrowed her eyebrows, "Where did you get them?"
"I found them. After um...last night, they were on my bed in my room. I don't know how they got there. But I already have this sword, so I wanted to give them to you. There might be more monster attacks, so you need to learn how to defend yourself."
She nodded, smiling, "Alright. Thanks!"
"No problem, now the first thing..." The scene faded, cutting his voice off, before just as quickly changing to another scene.
It was like the beginning of the one before the last, Harper was asleep in her bed, only she was older, taller, and there were a few more posters on the wall, no toys on the floor.
Harper next to me seemed to recognize this night immediately, and she started shaking, I could practically feel her fear and uneasiness.
"Oh no. N-not this. I don't think...I don't think I can watch this." She said, her voice trembling.
"Harper, what's wrong?"
She didn't respond.
I turned back to her past self asleep. Worried about what was about to happen.
It stayed like that for a minute, so quiet you could hear a pen drop, it was almost eerie, like the calm before the storm.
Then out of nowhere I heard a bloodcurdling scream, a boy's yell, echoing throughout the house. It startled me, and I noticed Harper flinch in my peripheral vision.
The Harper in the bed immediately shot up and ran toward the source of the noise. Swinging her door open and running through the hall, we were swept in her direction like we were on a tour bus or something. We ended up in another room, Levi's room I guessed, Harper was standing there in disbelief.
Levi's wall had been completely shattered. A gaping hole led to the night outside, and Levi himself was being dragged from his room by two storm spirits, barely holding on to the foot of his bed for dear life.
Harper ran over and grabbed his arm, trying desperately to pull him in and keep them from taking him. But the storm spirits were strong, and since Levi was missing to this day, I had a pretty good idea of what happened, and my stomach dropped.
The storm spirits were like humans made of smoke, silhouettes of gray people, a few small bolts of electricity coming off of them, pulling Levi by his legs.
"HOLD ON!" Harper shouted.
"JUST LET GO, I'LL BE FINE!"
Harper strained and pulled, tears in her eyes, she yelled in the other direction, "DAD! DAD GET IN HERE!"
Nothing happened for a moment, then another figure emerged in the doorway, it was their father, and he seemed somewhat sober, because his eyes lit up in worry.
"What the hell!"
"GET OVER HERE!"
He immediately rushed over and grabbed Levi's other arm, trying to help Harper pull him in. Say what you want about the guy, but at least he tried to save his son.
They pulled and pulled, but the storm spirits were too strong, they dragged the three of them closer to the hole, Levi seemed to know this wouldn't work out.
He looked at Harper, "I'm sorry. You'll have to be without me for a little while, but you're strong. I know you'll be alright."
"DON"T SAY THAT! PULL HARDER DAD!"
Levi looked at her more intensely and she focused, "I love you, kiddo." He said, and then the storm spirits yanked on his legs, and he fell out of Harper and Arthur's grip, falling out of the hole, and being carried away into the night.
Harper screamed and fought to get out of her dad's hold. He was holding her back because he knew that she would jump through that window and chase after him if needed.
"NO! LET GO OF ME! LET GO!"
"I'm so sorry, b-but, he's gone honey. He's gone." Her father said, holding her tight.
She broke down and sobbed, her cries echoing through the night, it was painful to witness, and I couldn't imagine what the real girl was thinking next to me.
The scene faded, the void reappeared.
I turned and saw her head down, no tears, because none were left. Only the acceptance and sadness of what had happened.
I realized comforting her would only make her feel worse, so I let her be.
But I did say, "So that's how he went missing."
She muttered, "Yeah."
"That's...awful."
"Yeah. I haven't seen him since. The only person I could talk to was dad. He really began to change after Levi got kidnapped, he started spending more time with me, he stopped drinking and smoking, he was a little happier." Then she scowled, "Only for that to be taken away too."
"What do you...oh yeah, he um..."
"Yeah. You'll see." She gestured, and a new scene displayed before me, it was Harper and her father in the pickup truck, driving on the road. I guessed this would be the vision where he got killed.
"Harper, I've seen enough. You don't have to show me this."
"It's not just for you. I need to see this. I need to remember what my goal is, who I need to go after, and why I have to kill him."
Harper's father broke the silence.
"Y'know, I just want to say...I'm sorry."
She looked at him puzzled, "What for?"
"C'mon Harper. I ain't exactly been the best father."
She nodded, a little bitter.
"I know that I let you guys down, I didn't spend enough time with you guys, and I got angry, and drank a lot...I wish I could go back and do better. I wish I could go back to last year and save Levi."
"Me too." She muttered, barely a whisper.
"Moving forward...I'm gonna do right by you. I know I can't change the past, but I'll do better in the future. I hope you can forgive me."
She looked at him, "You're already forgiven. I never blamed you, you were sad. It's my mother that should take the blame."
"She's a good woman, er, goddess. I know what she's got to do and got so caught up in my own sorrows that I ignored you. I'm sorry."
She took his hand, "It's okay."
He smiled, and drove into the driveway.
The truck parked, both of them stepping out, laughing about something said that I didn't catch, and walked up on the porch. I noticed the Harper next to me focusing intently on this part.
Harper was carrying groceries. The evening sky was gray, and the wind was blowing wildly, causing the bags to flap in her hands, and her hair to get in her face.
"Could you hurry please?"
"I'm trying, these keys are so...oh, got em." He put the key in the lock and turned it, opening the door, and walking inside.
As soon as Harper stepped in, we were moved forward along with her, to see in full view what happened.
What happened was a Man in a Cloak was hiding next to the door, waiting for them to come inside. His face was hidden by the hood, the rest of his body enveloped in the black cloak as well. It was him. The cloaked guy from my visions, the guy on the island working for Ouranos.
Harper screamed, but it was too late.
The Man stepped forward quickly and stabbed Harper's father through the chest with the giant buster sword...also spot on. Her father's eyes widened and blood tricked from his mouth, more pouring from his chest.
The Man pulled the sword out and kicked Harper's father to the ground with a thud. He lay there, choking and wheezing, a puddle of red slowly surrounding him.
Harper yelled in anger and brought out her two knives, hidden in her pockets I guessed. She swung them at him, but she was no match. She had to be eleven years old here, and the guy was average male height, he towered over her.
He swatted them out of her hands and pushed her to the ground, turning and stopping in the doorway, giving her one last look, and exiting the house, turning into a large crow and flying off into the distance.
The Harper in the vision rebounded and went to her father, trying to put pressure on the wound, but it was too wide and deep. He wasn't gonna make it.
She cried and desperately held her hands against his chest.
"NO! No, I can't lose you too." She said.
He choked and coughed up blood, trying to speak.
Harper kept trying, "Just hang on! I-I'll get an ambulance!"
He stopped her, and managed to croak, "I...will always...love you...don't forget...that." After a few moments, he cracked a smile, and his head and arm fell limp, his last breath leaving him.
Harper didn't believe it, she kept trying desperately to wake him up, only for nothing to happen. She realized that it was pointless, and leaned up against the wall, her head in her hands.
She shook violently and sobbed, yelling in anger and bitterness. An eleven year old girl, witnessing her father's murder. I could see her innocence break right then. Any amount of normalcy left her life.
She got up, tear stricken, her eyes full of hate and malice, she glared in the distance, in the direction at which the Man had went. I sensed it. She wanted revenge, she wanted to train herself, and one day find him, and kill him.
A daughter of Nemesis, goddess of revenge. She had found her target of vengeance.
The scene finally faded, the very last image I saw, was Harper, seemingly staring through my soul. The amount of bloodlust on her face, would make even Talon impressed.
The void reappeared, then faded as quick as it came.
Another memory was displayed.
Harper was the same age, eleven. She was in an alleyway, and she didn't look good. Which is something I never thought I would say, but it was the truth. She was skinnier, and her hair was slightly matted, like she had been living on the streets.
She was waiting for someone, her knives were behind her in concealment.
Finally a guy came out. He looked like if a frog turned into a human. The guy did drugs, even I could tell that much. In fact, he was holding a bag of crystal in his hand.
Harper grabbed him by the mouth and dragged him into the alley. The guy was short, so it wasn't that hard for her to do so, considering she was eleven, and probably hadn't eaten in days.
She pushed him against the brick wall, a knife pointed to his neck.
"I know you have information. Where is he?"
"Wh-where's who?"
She quickly swiped at his shirt, and it ripped open, "You know damn well who, my brother! Now tell me!"
I was taken back, I don't think I've ever heard Harper curse before, especially at eleven.
"Look girl. I don't know you, or your stupid brother."
Her look became deadly, "What did you say?"
"I said to hell with you!"
Then she did something I completely didn't expect, she stabbed him through the chest. His eyes wide in shock.
"If you're gonna lie to me, then you're worthless." She spat, and he fell on the asphalt, dead.
She quickly registered what she had done, looked around, and dipped out of sight.
A few more memories like this played. Her doing pretty much the same thing. Asking for information, sometimes getting a small detail, sometimes getting nothing. She killed a couple of more guys that were really unpleasant, and injured the rest.
I couldn't believe it. Harper was like an animal. She was roughing up guys and even killing some, at eleven years old! She was right, she had done some pretty rough stuff to find her brother. It shocked me. She mentioned it, but seeing it...was disturbing.
The scene shifted instead of fading and reappearing again. This was more like a slideshow.
The new scene displayed Harper walking in a forest, the same age, eleven. It was night time, a crescent moon in the sky.
She walked along until she spotted an older woman, a woman that looked exactly like her, only taller and older.
It was Nemesis, her mother.
Harper walked until she stood fifteen feet from her. She was glaring at the goddess.
Nemesis glowed slightly, allowing the area to illuminate and both of their faces to be seen.
"Hello, daughter."
"Hello, Nemesis." Harper said with distaste.
"I know you are angry with me. I am so sorry about your father."
"Yeah. Maybe if you hadn't left...maybe if you had been there, things would be different."
"You know I wanted to. I couldn't, child. I-"
Harper shook her head, "Forget it. That's not why I'm here."
"Oh? Well then why are you here? Why did you desperately call out to me to meet you in this place?"
"Because you're the only goddess that specializes in fortune telling."
"It's not so much fortune telling, but it is similar, yes."
"Call it a trade then. I heard that you can give something in return to sacrifices."
I didn't know what she was talking about, but Nemesis did, "No, Child. That is too-"
"You don't tell me what to do. You can't refuse this either. It's an ancient law."
Nemesis' head dropped a little, "Yes, it is. Although I highly suggest you do not do this."
Harper ignored her, "I want to sacrifice something for information."
Nemesis shook her head sadly, "Harper, please don't-"
"I don't listen to you. I've thought about this a lot, and I'm going through with it, you can't stop me."
Nemesis hesitated, then sighed. "Okay then. But don't say I didn't warn you. What would you like to know?"
"Two things. Who killed my father, And the location of my brother."
"You can only sacrifice one thing for one piece of information. I cannot give you both."
Harper's eyes widened, "B-but, that can't be-"
"It's true, child. You'll have to make a choice."
Harper thought for a few minutes, struggling internally, her fists clenched, her teeth gritted.
After a while, she finally threw her hands up in frustration and said, "Fine! I choose to know the location of my brother."
"And what will you sacrifice for this?"
Harper thought for a moment, then asked, "What can I give up?"
"Anything that is attached to you. Physically and emotionally."
Harper contemplated for a second, then decided, "My left eye then. Or the vision in my left eye. Yeah, that's what I want to give up."
Nemesis sighed, "It will hinder you. Are you sure?"
"Yes! Now tell me where Levi is!"
Nemesis closed her eyes, and stuck out her hands. Mist emerged from the ground, swirling around Harper's face, it got thicker and thicker before eventually dissipating and revealing her again.
Sure enough, her left eye had been capped over, the iris and pupil gone. It was like the mist had entered the eyeball and replaced everything.
She yelped, "Everything's black on this side!"
"That is what you wanted child. You will never get it back. The only way to reverse this effect, is if you fulfill the deal, and find your brother."
"Which won't be long, cause your gonna tell me where he is!"
Nemesis nodded, and thought deeply for a minute, as if seeing some crazy vision of her own. She opened her eyes again, and said in a different voice, "A boy will find you. He will have a monster necklace with him. He will lead you to your brother. Your fates will be intertwined together."
The mist faded, and Nemesis went back to normal.
Harper looked at her in disbelief.
"THAT'S IT!" She yelled angrily, "I JUST BECAME BLIND IN MY LEFT EYE FOR THAT CRAP! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BOY WITH A MONSTER NECKLACE?!"
I felt a chill run down my spine. It was me, I was the boy with the necklace. No wonder she had been staring at it. She had been told that I would lead her to her brother.
"I am sorry, Harper. But that is the information I have."
"Why you no good, worthless-"
"I must go now. I wish you luck in your search." Then she glowed, taking her true form, and disappeared with a shockwave.
Harper threw her knife where the goddess stood, and yelled in anger, "NO! NO! THAT CAN'T BE IT!"
The scene began to fade, the last thing I saw was Harper picking up her knife angrily, and trudging off from the forest.
Instead of the void reappearing, I felt like I was being thrown through a tunnel. I flashed forward through a white light and eventually crashed onto something soft and fluffy.
I found myself face down on the hotel bed.
I groaned and pushed myself up, I heard Harper groan as well.
We both sat up with some struggle, and eventually faced each other.
It was so surreal to be back here. It felt like I'd spent hours in those visions, seeing Harper's past. Everything...made sense now, and questions were answered. Although it didn't make me feel any better. If anything it made me feel worse.
I finally broke the silence, "So...that's it then?"
She nodded, "Pretty much. Shortly after that, a satyr found me and took me to Camp Half-Blood. You know the rest."
"Yeah. Harper...I'm really sorry. You didn't deserve any of that."
She wouldn't meet my eyes, "I don't know. But now you know. You've seen my past, and you know why I was staring at your necklace."
"Yeah, and about that. I wish I knew where your brother was, but I don't. I'm sorry."
She sighed, "It's okay. I expected too much, it's not your fault."
Part of my heart slumped. I mean, maybe that was why she had taken an interest in me, and became my friend. Only because of the necklace.
I took a bold move and just asked her, "So is that why you took an interest in me at Camp. Because of the whole necklace thing?"
She looked stunned, "No! No, of course not." I could tell when she was lying, and she saw my face. Her shoulders sagged, "Okay fine, yeah. That and well...you were really cute."
I should have been blushing like crazy, stammering and running from the room in nervousness at what she just said, but I only felt worse. "Yeah. Necklace and good looks. That's me."
"No it's not! After I got to know you, it became so much more! You are my friend, I'm serious about that. And if you don't know where Levi is, it doesn't matter. That doesn't change the way I think about you."
"What do you think about me?" Crap. I hadn't meant to say that out loud, I had only meant to think it in my head. Oh well, too late.
Her ears turned a little red, probably because of the temperature. "Do I really need to answer that, Shark Boy? You're awesome. That's what I think of you."
"And cute?" I teased.
She laughed, "Yeah, that too."
When the laughter died down, I became serious. "Harper, I'm gonna say something that...might piss you off. But don't take it the wrong way."
"Hit me with it."
"The only person I can think of with motivation to kill your father...would be Levi." I put my hands up, "I know it sounds crazy, but I'm just throwing that out there. You don't think he could've been working with this cloaked guy, do you? Like, sent him as an assassin or something?" I covered up my real suspicion with that coating, because I actually wanted to say that Levi himself could be the cloaked guy, but I was afraid that would set Harper off on a rampage.
I expected an angry reaction either way, but surprisingly, she just cocked her head, "Yeah, it seems like that could be the case, but Levi...he wouldn't kill for the wrong reasons. He hated dad, but I can't see him doing that." She followed up with, "And I know what you're also thinking, that he might be the cloaked man himself."
I looked at her, a deer in headlights.
She waved me off dismissively, "It's okay, Matt. I'm not gonna freak out on you or anything for suggesting that. You're just trying to help. But the answer is no, it can't be Levi. Levi never had those scars on his face, and he never carried around a sword that big. It just wasn't his style."
I wanted to say that those two things could be picked up along the way...but I held my tongue. It was probably unlikely anyway.
"Not to mention that guy said he was being held prisoner earlier." I said, actually arguing against my theory, "the cloaked guy's roaming free."
"Exactly."
"So...are you ready to face him? The cloaked guy. We'll be dealing with him at some point."
She nodded, "And when that time comes, you let me handle him. You worry about Malachi and the others can free Hera. I'm gonna have a chat with Crow boy."
"Alright."
She smirked, "Some night, huh?"
Speaking of, I pointed out the window at the morning light. We had been in the vision world for hours, throughout the night. I felt well rested though, like I'd gotten a good rest, so I didn't mind.
"We'd better go get some breakfast at the dining area. Don't want Talon to leave us behind."
She snickered, "You know, I forgot all about the assassin, he hasn't been around in a while it seems."
"Let's enjoy the silence while we can."
She laughed, and we both changed out of our pajamas and into our regular clothes. In separate rooms of course.
We got ready and walked out of our door into the hallway. It wasn't busy, nobody walking around or anything. It must still be pretty early in the morning.
We reached the door next to us and I knocked lightly, figuring that Annabeth was up and ready, while Percy was still fast asleep. Nobody answered though, which I thought was odd.
I looked at Harper questioningly, she just shrugged.
I knocked again and waited a few seconds...nothing.
"Maybe they left before us and their already down there?" She suggested.
"I doubt it. Percy up this early?" I didn't even know what time it was, but judging by the faint light outside, it was pretty early.
I knocked a third time, a little louder. Finally, we heard a response this time, but it wasn't what we expected.
Percy's snore came through the other side of the door, a loud, grinding noise, like a pig.
Harper and I clamped our hands over our mouths to stifle the giggles. I grabbed her wrist and tugged her down the hallway to the elevator.
With nobody else on it, Harper took the opportunity to theorize on Percy and Annabeth's living situation. "They totally slept in the same bed."
"Yeah, they only had one."
She looked at me, an eyebrow raised suggestively, "Yeah, but I bet they did stuff too. Know what I mean?"
I gasped, my face heating up a little, "Harper!"
"What? It's probably true."
For the rest of the ride, I just muttered at how nuts she could be sometimes, she only smiled.
We had finally made it to the dining area after getting lost twice. The room was enormous, just like everything at this hotel. It looked like a fine dining restaurant, only no one wore a suit or dress. I guess it was just always like this.
We spotted the assassin at a large table, he waved us over, and we went to him.
Once we sat down, he said, "Well then, looks like my vacation is over, I have to converse with you guys again."
"Good to see you too, Talon."
He chuckled, "Where's the other two?"
Harper smirked, "Oh, there just...finishing up."
He got the message right away, "Ah, Nicely done. Hell, if I were in a nice place like this on a deadly quest I'd get one in too."
I groaned and held my hand up, "Can we please just talk about where the next monster is?"
He nodded, "Alright. I did some tracking last night, some calling around, and I found the Cretan Bull."
"Well, where is it?"
"Texas."
My mouth along with Harper's fell to the floor. "Texas?! That's like, the other end of the country!"
He shrugged, "Sorry kid. But that's where it is. We can get a ride, don't worry about it."
"You know the area?"
"Oh yeah. I grew up there. It's where my Master raised and trained me. Before I broke things off with him."
"Why?" Harper asked.
"I keep saying this, but it's none of your beezwhacks."
I intervened, "So, we go to Texas, and find the Cretan Bull. Then all we've got are the Cerynian Hind, and Cerberus."
He nodded, "Pretty much covers it."
Harper raised an eyebrow, "Don't forget about the Island. Definitely don't forget about that, Matt." She gave me a knowing look.
I knew what that meant, and I nodded at her.
Talon just shrugged, "Whatever. For once, I ain't interested in talking about business, I want some food!"
I looked around and noticed that there was a huge buffet line. All kinds of delicious looking foods filled the trays, waiting to be collected.
"Just go grab some then."
His ears turned a little red, and he muttered, "Well, I was gonna wait for you guys..."
Harper awed in a mock cooing voice, making Talon grumble and wave her off.
Eventually, Percy and Annabeth came down, both blushing and wouldn't directly meet our eyes. Harper giving them a knowing smirk, despite my protests.
We filled them in on the plan, and agreed. Not saying much, due to them filling up on the food.
I couldn't blame them, I was starving as well, and I wolfed down my pancakes.
We all sat there in silence for a minute, then things became casual, eventually talking and laughing. Even Talon was joining in, and I know he would never admit it, but he was having a decent time.
Despite all of the tragic stuff I had seen in Harper's memories, despite the looming presence of Ouranos and his forces, the uneasiness of what was to come. I felt at peace, and happy. I finally had friends I could count on, a complete one eighty from before Camp.
So we ate heartily, and when we were finished, we got ready, and said goodbye to Paradus.
We walked out of the Paradise Inn, and into the new day, hoping to find a ride to Texas.
But if we were gonna go further on this quest, if we were gonna leave New York, there was something I had to do.
I had to visit my mom.
(000)
Chapter Eleven in the books, hope you found Harper's backstory interesting.
Thanks for reading! And stay tuned for Chapter Twelve!
Until Next Time.