Act I Chapter XIX: The Demigods Get a Prophecy

"You're not eating, Percy. Something wrong?" Luke questioned. Percy slowly looked up from his plate of food. The burger did look delicious, and he didn't have anything like this during training. Nothing this greasy anyway. "Did the Oracle freak you out that much?"

"Kind of," Percy admitted. He sighed and rested back against the booth. Reyna was sitting next to him and looking out the window. Her food was mostly untouched, but she was constantly sipping away at her milkshake. Annabeth moved her gaze to Percy.

"It freaked me out too," Luke agreed. He took a sip of his soda and seemed to chew on the straw out of agitation. "I guess we should all talk about what we saw."

Annabeth ducked her head to peck at her fries. Reyna slowly looked back at them and put her milkshake down. Percy nodded his agreement and forced himself to grab a fry. He took a sip of his soda to help wash it down.

After leaving the cave, they made it out of Camp Half-Blood as quickly as they possibly could without admitting that they were trying to get out of there. They made it back to the car and found the first diner that they could. A quietness had settled over the table ever since they ordered.

"I'll go first," Luke started as he seemed to straight up. "I saw two of these images. I can recall them perfectly. One was a golden drachmae."

"The same thing they used to use for Iris messages," Annabeth clarified as she nodded her head. "Why would you see that? Was the Oracle saying she wanted payment? Did it have something to do with Iris messages? Or the goddess herself?"

"I don't know," Luke answered with a shake of his head. "The other image, it was this golden belt. It had these interlocking chains."

"Golden belt?" Annabeth repeated. She looked at her food and seemed to fall deep into thought. "I can't think of any golden belts in mythology. Maybe a girdle."

"Girdle?" Percy questioned.

"An old time belt," Luke revealed with a shrug. "It's not a belt like you're thinking off. It covers everything from the stomach down below. This belt looked more modern. We could find it at a store, but I don't think there is a godly store selling belts anywhere."

"What bothers me most is the line that she told me," Luke continued. He closed his eyes. "And one shall perish by a parent's hand."

The mood was sucked out of the table just like that. Percy lowered the fry that he was about to eat. By a parent's hand. He knew that his mother wouldn't do anything to harm him, but there was his father. Percy didn't know anything about Poseidon, but the possibility was already out there.

"Chiron said that prophecies have double meanings," Annabeth began.

"Perish and parent's hand sounds pretty straightforward," Reyna muttered. Her jaw was clenched tightly.

"The word one is ambiguous. It could mean one of us, or it could mean someone else. We are not going to worry about it," Luke stated. "The prophecy can help guide us, but it's not going to hang over our head like a dark cloud. Percy, what did the Oracle show you?"

"This necklace," Percy began. Reyna looked at him and studied him closely. Annabeth tilted her head.

"A necklace, a belt, and a coin. What's the correlation?" Annabeth asked herself.

"It was a beaded necklace and had a leather pouch," Percy described. "And the line: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend."

"At least my line wasn't that bad," Annabeth grumbled.

"Double meanings, remember?" Luke reminded. He took a sip of his drink and a bite of his fish. "I don't care what happens. I'm not betraying Percy."

"I won't betray him either," Annabeth promised. "Even if he does have seaweed in his brain."

"I don't have seaweed in my brain," Percy complained.

"Don't worry, Jackson. No one is going to stick a knife into your back," Reyna assured.

Or a sword through his heart.

Percy almost shivered as the thought ran through his head. He lowered his eyes and focused on trying to choke down a few more fries. Luke studied him and spoke, "You can't let it freak you out, Percy. We have to trust each other on this quest."

"I know," Percy said softly. He sighed and looked at Annabeth. "What was said to you?"

"You shall find what you seek and make it your own," Annabeth recalled.

"That's good news, right?" Percy asked. Luke nodded his agreement.

"Double meaning," Reyna reminded them. Luke gave her a look, and Reyna shrugged. "It does work both ways. A line that sounds harmless could be dangerous."

"Well, I'm looking on the bright side," Luke said. Reyna nodded and grabbed her milkshake again. "What did you see, Annabeth?"

"A display case. Like one in a museum. But, there was nothing around it. I don't think it was a specific museum, so maybe we're looking for an old Greek belt in a museum. With the drachmae, it could be a godly museum. Or a collection that a god has."

"There was a second image as well. A prison of some sort. I swear I've seen it before, but I can't place it," Annabeth continued. She shook her head as a frown came to her face. Along with a look of strain like she was overworking her brain.

"I saw an image of a statue," Reyna dropped as she stared down at her milkshake. "More like a bust. It didn't have any arms or a head. I think I know what it might be. Lupa told me about a god that protected Camp Jupiter and New Rome. He was a bust, but he had his head back then."

"As for the line," Reyna muttered. Her eyes grew distant. "The dead, the traitor, the lost one raise."

"Does that mean we're going to bring a dead person back? Along with a traitor and someone who is... lost?" Percy asked confused.

"It could be the description of one person," Annabeth argued. "A traitor who lost their way and then died? Or died and lost themselves in the place down there?"

"Well, no one at this table is dead, are they?" Percy joked.

No one laughed at his joke.

"We have the whole prophecy," Luke said after a few moments. "And one shall perish by a parent's hand. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. You shall find what you seek and make it your own. The dead, the traitor, the lost one raise."

"I don't think it's in the right order, but I'm not sure if the order really matters," Luke continued. He sat back and seemed to think. Annabeth looked at the ceiling with a look on her face, as if the skies would part and give her an answer. Reyna was staring down at her food.

Percy took a bite of his food. He would need energy for this quest, and it sounded like it would be a long one. Annabeth spoke, "What do we think about Camp Half-Blood? Would it be a safe place?"

"It was a huge space, but we would have to find help to clean it up and build a shelter. The hill concerns me. I don't know why they kept that there, but it seems like any monsters that came up the hill could just attack down on the camp. High ground and all," Luke explained.

"You're thinking like a demigod," Reyna interrupted. "A monster is going to make it to the top of the hill and see a camp of fresh meat. It's not a strategic advantage for them. It's a gateway to their paradise, with tasty treats just down below."

Luke nodded and rubbed his chin. He continued, "On top of cleaning up the camp and rebuilding it, we would have to find demigods to protect the borders. Which we could do ourselves. But, it would be nice to have something permanent."

"You said that Lupa mentioned a god that protected Camp Jupiter, right?" Annabeth asked. Reyna nodded. "Do you know how he protected the camp? Would he be able to do the same for Camp Half-Blood?"

"I don't know," Reyna replied.

"Is he still there? Do you know what happened to him?" Annabeth wondered.

"I think he disappeared when Camp Jupiter was... destroyed," Reyna said. She interlocked her fingers and rested her chin on them. Her eyes seemed a million miles away. "I'm convinced that he is what the Oracle showed me."

"Does this god have anything to do with the belt or the drachmae?" Percy questioned. "How does all of this connect?"

"It is a hint of what we have to do next," Luke guessed. "The only problem is that this doesn't really help us. We could go back to Lupa and Chiron and tell them that we found Camp Half-Blood. That we have a prophecy."

"What if they make us stay?" Annabeth asked softly.

"They won't," Reyna promised. "I know that Lupa seems like she's cold and heartless, but she does care for us. In her own wolfish way. I think going back can help us too. Chiron can help us make sense of everything that we saw and the prophecy."

"What do you think, Percy?" Luke wondered as he turned his head.

"I think it's a good idea," Percy agreed. "Chiron has only wanted to help us. He pretty much told us where to go for the Oracle, and we can also tell him we found Camp Half-Blood. He might be able to do something with it while we're gone."

"It's settled then," Luke decided. He looked out the window, and a frown touched his lips. "One more issue. That."

Luke pointed out the window. Percy followed the point and saw that Luke was indicating to the car that they had borrowed. A fry fell out of his mouth as he saw the thing that was near their car. It was far too large and too furry to be a man, but it stood on two feet as it ripped the front door off.

"Well, I guess we'll get the food to go," Annabeth commented. She tensed as the monster turned towards them. "And figure out how to get out of here without destroying the restaurant."