PART III

Percy

I leave the stables, heading towards the Dining Pavilion. I hope I didn't hurt Lassa's and Annabeth's feelings. Great for them. I'm glad they're following something that will give them peace. And not going to lie, I want that peace too. Desperately. But I'm not willing to worship a deity to get it.

Annabeth skips dinner to hang out in the stables the rest of the night with Jesse and Lassa until it's time for the bonfire. Them plus Jesse show up when the sing along starts, Jesse holding my sister's hand until he sees me glaring at him and he drops it. Lassa rolls her eyes but doesn't say anything to me.

I try to focus on the bonfire and sing along, but I just keep thinking about Annabeth deciding to be a Christian. How's that going to affect our marriage? Her relationship with me? Is she even going to want to have sex anymore? Is she still going to want to be an architect, or is she going to join a convent or something? Can you join a convent if you're married? If she does still become an architect, can we save our money or is she going to want to donate everything and we live in the basement of a church? I meant it when I said I support her, but this honestly scares me a bit.

We head back to the cabins afterwards for curfew, me holding Annabeth's hand but us not speaking. It already feels like there's a wall there going up. I don't like it.

Aphrodite, Please don't let me lose her. I reluctantly pray to the goddess.

The silence between us is awkward when we get back to the cabin. I try to ignore it as I shower and change into some sweatpants and climb into bed.

"Percy?" Annabeth asks, coming out of the bathroom after me. I look over, and I see Lassa's already asleep.

"Yeah, Wise Girl?" I ask. She gives me a soft smile. I look up and down her body. She's just wearing one of my shirts, with her hair damp and curly from her shower over her shoulders. She looks really good.

"I think we need some alone time tonight. Can you call Blackjack and we go to our apartment tonight?"

"Alone time? That doesn't go against your new beliefs?" I ask.

"Christians aren't celibate, Seaweed Brain." She rolls her eyes. "It teaches you to wait for marriage. Which we did anyway. I wouldn't do something that meant we don't get to have sex anymore." She tells me.

Thank you, Aphrodite. I pray in relief. That's one worry addressed, I smile at her.

"I'll call Blackjack."

…..

As I wake up I stretch, reaching out for Annabeth next to me. I frown when I don't feel her but Instead feel sand. I hear waves and I smell smoke. We went to sleep in bed, not on the beach. I open my eyes, and adjust to the light as I blink. Where am I?

"Good. You're awake." I hear a voice next to me. It's a man I've never seen before tending a charcoal fire. Looking around, I see I'm on a beach somewhere but not anywhere I recognize. I'm not naked like I was when I went to sleep, thank the gods, but I'm not in my own clothes either. I'm in a Greek style tunic. No pockets, so no Riptide. At least I'm near the ocean.

I look closer at the man. No, not a man. An immortal of some kind, whether it be Olympian or minor god. He's got one of those faces that can't be described by handsome, hot, gorgeous, cute, or anything like that. Simply Beautiful. He's timeless, could be anywhere from twenty to fifty. He almost seems to glow, and his tunic is the brightest white I've ever seen.

"Gods of Olympus, I'm not in the mood." I say, wishing I could just pull the covers up over my head. I gather my feet under me and stand up. "Alright what god are you and what do you want so I can go home?"

"You're mistaken, Perseus Jackson. I'm not a god, but an angel of the Lord. My name is Castiel."

"Angel? The Lord?" I ask, shaking my head, hoping to wake up a little more.

"Yes. I'm an angel, a servant of the most high God. The same god that your little sister and now your wife Annabeth serves."

"Okay…and so why am I here? And where is here? Most importantly, what do I have to do to get home?"

"Let's take a walk." He says and gets up. I shrug, guessing I have no choice but to follow him. "The answer to your first question: You said to your sister and wife you wouldn't give your life to the Lord unless you saw what truly makes him different from every other god you've come into contact with, right?"

"Yeah…Oh c'mon, please tell me he didn't hear that and get all offended and now I have to do some kind of quest or labors to go home." I say. Castiel throws his head back and laughs.

"The Lord is not so easily affronted. But he does care deeply about you, Percy, and would like for you to come to know him. As far as where we are, nowhere really. It's a place that exists but doesn't exist,and appears different to every person who visits. It's a starting point. The question isn't where are you, but where are you going to go?" He says. I sigh. Home, I hope. "I know you're anxious to return to your wife." He tells me. Can he read my mind, or is it just pretty obvious? "Your last question, what do you have to do to get there? It's simple. Wait. I understand that's not the answer you want, but you're being given an incredibly rare gift."

"Gift? What gift?"

"I know it's in your nature to question anything that comes from a deity. I understand your trepidation. But the Lord God is not like the Olympians or any other. You're being given the gift of time."

"Time?"

"Time and experience. You'll be sent through different moments of history to witness things people born in your era can only read about. You will not age in this time, and the almighty has also assured you will not die. You will simply be along for the ride. You'll speak whatever the language is of where you are. When you've seen all you need to see, you'll be returned to the exact moment you left, asleep in bed with your wife. She'll never get the chance to miss you, because you'll never be gone. At the end of all this, you can make your choice about following The Lord or not. You can decide for yourself if he's different from the others."

"Okay…how long is this journey supposed to take?"

"Time's hard to measure when you're jumping through it." He smiles at me.

"Time Travel. Okay. So what happens if I like, Change History? No chance of me preventing the invention of Pizza, right?" I say. Castiel laughs. I wish he wouldn't. I'm serious.

"No, you have no chance of changing anything. Everything will be as it's always been. You'll be there to observe, and can interact with those around you, but will be forgotten by all the moment you move on."

"And if I were to say I didn't want to do this?" I ask, hoping there's a chance. Castiel stops walking and looks at me.

"Perseus Jackson, The Lord God never forces anyone to do anything. He has given the human race free will no matter how they choose to abuse it. But that doesn't mean actions are without consequences. I can't say what those will be in your life."

"Is there anything good about this?" I ask. He shrugs.

"I know you don't share Annabeth's curiosity. For her, the experience alone would be enough. Especially since it's risk free. But for you, I guess it will give you, for a time, one thing you've always wanted."

"What's that?"

"In this time, you'll be completely mortal. No monsters will catch your scent. You won't be responsible for cleaning up the Olympian's messes. They won't even know you exist. On the other hand, you won't have your powers, and if you decide to start the journey you must see it through to its completion. You can't back out." He says. I try to take in his words. Completely mortal? "So what do you decide? Shall I take you back home now? Or will you take the journey?" He asks. I think for a second. Completely mortal. No monsters. No quests. No cleaning up for the assholes in the sky. I'm going to miss Annabeth for an undisclosed amount of time, but I won't lose any time with her. More importantly, she won't miss me. I won't age. I won't die. And I'll be completely mortal the whole time.

"Will you swear on the Styx that what you're saying is true? No aging. No dying. I'll go home the exact moment I left. And completely mortal the whole time?" I ask. He chuckles.

"So distrusting. I give you my word."

"That's not good enough." I say.

"Normally I try not to swear by anything. But I accept your terms. I swear by the River Styx all I have told you and you've said is true." He says. Thunder claps above us.

"Okay. I guess I'll take the journey." He smiles and sticks his hand out to shake. I clasp it, and everything goes white.