Chapter Five

We (Try) to Decipher the Prophecy

The meeting was underway. We were going to attempt to guess the Prophecy's meaning, even though we had never guessed correctly in the past. I mean, sure, we got one or two things right, but Prophecies always had some sort of a trick. They're mean. Oh, also, don't think we forgot about Grendel. I had a feeling he was going to come into play somehow. At least I hoped so. I didn't want to have to deal this Prophecy and Grendel. That would be a pain in the butt. I found myself fidgeting. We had already caught the others up on the whole Grendel situation. We had decided, as a group, that we were going to deal with that problem first. And, hopefully, it ended up being part of the prophecy.

"Okay," Annabeth started. "We've got ourselves a Prophecy."

Annabeth hated stating the obvious if she could. She was flustered.

"Okay, let's see. The Son of Ran, dead will be, When travelers descend on the fiery tree. The Prophet's Son shall break the curse, that binds the giantess of the first. Only Magic and gods prevail, Lest Wisdom sever the mortal veil. Magnus, Ran is the god of the Ocean, right? Similar to Poseidon?"

Magnus nodded. "Yeah, but I don't know any children of Ran. Very hard to come by."

Annabeth chewed her lip. I had no idea where she stored all of her knowledge. I barely knew half of the Greek gods, much less the Norse

"Well, what if it's a twist?" she asked. "This is a quest for the Norse and the Greeks, right? Maybe it actually means Percy. . . "

She trailed off, looking somberly at me. Good. I sure was looking for some more death in my life.

She quickly picked back up. "But, of course, we've never known Prophecies to do anything like that, so let's just take it at face value for now. The fiery tree. Magnus, know anything about a fiery tree?"

He and Alex shared a look with each other. A look similar to one that Annabeth and I had shared for years. They had an idea, but they didn't like it.

"Well," Alex said. "There might be a fiery tree in Muspelheim."

"And?" I prodded.

"Surtur lives in Muspelheim."

I just love when people give answers that don't answer my question.

"And that's bad, because. . ."

"Because Surtur is an evil deity that wants to cause Ragnorak, the end of the Universe."

That sounded about right. I surveyed the room. There were a few new faces. Mandy Tidmore, daughter of Aphrodite. Lester Chance, son of Hephaestus. Those were the only names I caught, but everyone wore an expression of fear.

"Okay, well we will assume we need to travel there." Annabeth said. "What about Prophet's son? Does that mean one of Apollo's kids?"

Blitz interjected. "Well, why that's a fine guess, I must also inform you that Freya is the god of Prophecy as well. And, as you know, Magnus here is a son of Freya. I believe the Prophecy may be directed towards him."

Annabeth nodded. "That would make sense. I've got absolutely no idea about the giantess of the first. Of the first is just such a weird phrasing for a Prophecy. It doesn't say the First Giantess, so It could mean a few different things."

Magnus shook his head. "I've got no idea either."

Sophia tugged on my hand. I looked down at her. She had been on the floor coloring. Now, she held her arms out, indicating that she wanted to be picked up. I brought her into my lap, keeping my arms around her.

"I don't want you to die, Daddy."

Of course, everyone in the room went silent, eyes on me.

"It's okay, Baby. I'm not going to die."

This was one of the reasons I hadn't wanted Sophia to be here while we discussed things. But after the attack yesterday, she didn't want to leave my side. I brushed her blonde curls away from her face. She was ready to cry. I kissed her forehead. I knew my face was turning red from everyone staring at me.

"Sophia, I have been offered many opportunities to die over the past decade. I have politely declined every single on of them. You've got me forever."

I didn't even have to lie about that. Monsters were practically begging be to die every day. Sophia's green irises sparkled with hope.

"Pwomise? Forever?" She asked.

"Forever." I assured her.

"I love you, Daddy."

I heard Mandy swoon.

"I love you." I kissed her again, and finally looked up at my audience. I saw Connor Stoll in the back, snickering.

"This is a private conversation, guys, you can keep talking!" I said, my cheeks warming up. Annabeth smiled broadly at me. She wore a proud expression. I just blushed harder. Sophia suddenly became aware of the other people. She blushed, too. I wasn't afraid to show my love for Sophia publicly, it just made me uncomfortable. Gods, I loved her though.

"Let's just figure out this final line," I said. "We've got to use the gods, like we did against the Giants in the second Great Prophecy, right?. And it says something about Wisdom severing the mortal veil? What the Hades does that mean?"

Annabeth sobered up, her smile disappearing. "I think it's talking about the Mist, Percy. The mortal veil. If we fail, the Mist will be destroyed, and mortals can see what's really happening. They won't be able to handle it. They may go into shock, and even die. It would be utter chaos, Percy"

That was a joyous thought. I sighed.

"Well, let's not waste anymore time. We've got to get going."

I didn't want to leave, though. Chills traveled my entire body. I felt as though I were signing my death certificate by going. Annabeth nodded. She was stunning when she was in charge. She seemed to glow with a different sort of light. Okay, this might be too much, but honestly, it was a turn on. Hey, I'm a guy with feelings, I can't help it.

"Okay, Percy, Magnus, Alex and I will go."

It took me a moment to register that something wasn't right.

"Woah, woah, woah, Annabeth, slow down. We can't all go. Someone's got to stay behind and take care of Sophia."

Annabeth was conflicted.

"But-"

"No, Annabeth," I tried to keep an even tone. "Look, I'll stay behind, but we can't all go."

She shook her head. I wanted to hold her tight and never leave.

"No, Percy. This Prophecy is about you, we know it is. Rachel mentioned you by name and looked right at you. I'll stay behind. Plus, I just got elected as leader last night. I suppose I can't just up and leave."

"Daddy, I don't want you to go!" Sophia cried.

"I know, but I'll be back before you know. These Quests hardly ever last that long," I told her.

I hugged her tight.

"Just give me and Mommy a moment alone. Wait here with these guys. They're nice. You don't have to worry about them. Okay?"

She nodded. I set her down and motioned for Annabeth to follow me. I led her to Cabin three.

"Percy, what did you want-"

I cut her off with a kiss, closing the door behind us. Momentarily, she returned it. She relaxed in my arms. I took in a deep breath

"Gods, Percy. It's been so long. We haven't had a peaceful moment since Sophia was born."

"I know, but let's just enjoy ourselves for a moment."

I kissed her again. She pulled back.

"Percy, you can't be serious? We've got a quest! You've got to go."

I leaned in for another kiss. She put a finger to my lips, pushing me away. Gods, I hated talking about my emotions, but I needed her to understand. If I'm being honest, I was scared. I've done quests before, but this was different. I had a family now, a daughter who loved me. I couldn't die. Rachel had looked right at me and told met his was my final Quest. It bothered me.

"Look, Annabeth. . ." I sighed. "I'm scared." I told her everything about how I felt. It pained me, but somehow, Annabeth always made it easier. It didn't seem so hard. But I wasn't going to tell her about the dream I had last week. I wasn't ready.

"I just. I might not make it back, Annabeth. I haven't felt as close to you as I used to. I love you. I need to be here for you and Sophie. Plus, it's just really hot when you take command."

Annabeth gazed at me with her stormy eyes.

"Percy, you're going to make it back. You always have. Sophia and I both love you, and you know I'm always here for you. You've just been pushing yourself too hard to be the perfect Daddy. You already are. You're distancing yourself."

She wrapped her arms around me, planting her lips onto mine. She tasted sweet. Not any particular flavor or anything, just herself. She stepped back, removing her shirt.

"We've already wasted this much time. What's a few more minutes?"

With that, she tackled me onto the bed, her hands reaching under my shirt.