Chapter Title: I Start To Understand The Prophecy Of A Lost Group Of Books Better
In case you were wondering why exactly I had asked Luke to meet with me, Lavinia, and Kayla to discuss the prophecy involving the three of us, it was quite simple really. More of a hunch if anything, especially when you consider what role Luke played in the last war right up until I took my revenge on the creature that killed my parents and then separated him and Kronos from each other before becoming the Monster King for real for the first time. I knew that the prophecy did concern a child of Hecate, but as far as I knew, the only child of Hecate that I knew of was Lou Ellen, and she was a girl - so the prophecy couldn't be about her.
But I also knew that since Luke had been Kronos' agent, and since dozens if not hundreds of demigods supported Kronos during the last war, I don't think it was unreasonable for me to have a hunch that he might have known a male child of Hecate on his side of things during the war. Because if he did, that would definitely solve the riddle of who the fourth member of this group to fulfill this prophecy would be. At this point though, with Octavian having thrown a wrench into having the Greeks and Romans fight together against Gaea, and the Giants probably starting to move towards Greece, a hunch was better than nothing since once again, I didn't exactly have enough time to take my time and figure things out.
Not when once again, because of dumbass decisions by both gods and demigods alike, the fate of the world mainly rested on my shoulders.. again.
Constantly finding myself in these situations really was starting to get old, honestly. Like, what the fuck did I do to even deserve getting put into these situations again and again?
Either way, I pushed the thoughts to the back of my mind as me, Lavinia, Kayla, and Luke all walked into me and Kayla's room after Hazel departed with the other three to get the supplies to repair the Argo II. Travis, Connor, Sherman, and Alec had went above deck to keep an eye out for any threats while everyone else was either repairing damage as best they could or just chilling. I just sat on our bed, Kayla just cuddling up next to me while Luke and Lavinia just stood nearby, Luke leaning up against the door after he shut it behind him.
Lavinia, as before, just seemed rather happy at the sight of my girlfriend just being around me, even though Kayla definitely still seemed rather needy, which was to be expected because again.. Hera had decided to rip us apart from each other for half of a fucking year. Even so, I don't let the anger and rage I have towards Hera show up now, as I simply just hug Kayla back and cuddle her. "Mmm~ I missed this so much.." she muttered happily, which brought a smile to my face.
Luke just looked a bit unhappy, most likely thinking of Thalia, which made me feel bad for him again. "You really miss her, don't you..?" I asked him, and he nodded.
Lavinia looked confused. "Who exactly is he missing..?" she asked.
"Thalia.." Luke muttered, a bit glumly. Lavinia simply nodded, now also looking a bit sorry for Luke.
"Yeah, I don't imagine that she's exactly taking knowing that the others have finally found me and yet still not being able to see me well.." he added. "But either way.." He cast off the saddened look in favor of something more serious. "Why exactly did you call me up here, Colton..? I'm not exactly involved with this prophecy."
Now it was time to put my suspicions to the test. "True.. but.. given that the only person that I know is a child of Hecate is a girl, that being Lou Ellen, I don't suppose your time as the host of Kronos.." I said to him, and honestly — even though it was over three quarters of a year since the Battle of Manhattan, saying that Titan's name on my lips still felt a bit forced. At least the room wasn't getting colder when I said it. "..brought you into contact with any male children of Hecate, now did it..?"
Luke's eyes simply lit up in recognition, as if he knew someone who fit the bill of what I was looking for. Kayla and Lavinia just looked to me, puzzled and in awe. "How..?" Lavinia asked.
"It's honestly quite simple.." I simply replied. "Luke, being the agent of Kronos, brought a lot of demigods under his wing.." I was interrupted by the sound of Kayla sniffling and her hugging me tighter, due to being reminded of Theo, who we had to kill last August at the Battle of Manhattan. "..so I'm not surprised that he seems to know of someone who fits the bill of what I'm looking for."
"Yeah.. I don't know where exactly he is now, but I do have someone that does fit your bill.. the name is Alabaster Torrington, he was the leader of the demigods in the Titan Army during the war.." Luke says. "..though I'm not exactly sure he'll be willing to help out the Olympians against Gaea. Even after Kronos fell, he still urged his mother Hecate to keep fighting against the Olympians.. so they exiled him. But I wouldn't really be surprised if he's the one the prophecy refers to. Alabaster was by far the strongest mist manipulator I have ever seen."
The way he said that last part, you could tell that Luke was not kidding around at all with it. He was serious.
There was a good bit of silence after that, as I thought about what this information told me. It wasn't much to go on at that, to be honest. So the final one concerning this prophecy happens to be a guy that was basically exiled due to continuing to support Kronos even after I crushed his forces as the Monster King.. great, more headaches for me, I thought to myself. Because seriously, the fates really couldn't even be bothered to make things any easier for me or other demigods. But, either way, this was probably the best lead I've had since getting hit with this stinking prophecy, so it was better than nothing.
I had a bit of an idea as to who exactly "Phobia" concerned, but other than that, the identity of the other three remained a mystery. All I knew right now was the identities of the four demigods in this prophecy and that I had a sneaking suspicion in my gut that it likely tied into the missing Nico De Angelo and the prophecy Ella had uttered back in New Rome.
I didn't let the frustration I had over all of this show right now however, even as I continued to cuddle Kayla. "Well.. that's helpful.." I muttered.
"Yeah.. I'm sorry Colton.. I haven't heard from Alabaster since during the Battle of Manhattan, back when I was the host of.. him.." Luke said, hesitating for a moment when talking about how he used to be Kronos' host. "..if I even knew where he was, I would tell you but I can't."
"It's fine, Luke.." I said back to him. "..as slim as it is to go on, it's a start."
"And if we find this Alabaster.." Lavinia started, obviously not too pleased either with the implication of who the last member of the prophecy involving her, me, and Kayla was. "..how are we supposed to convince him to help us against Gaea? For all we know, he could try to sabotage the quest out of spite for us beating Saturn's forces in the last war."
That was a fair concern, I'll admit. "I don't really know.." Luke responded, scratching the back of his head. "..he might still listen to me if I talk to him, because.. I'm the one who brought him into the Titan Army fold in the first place. Ran into the kid after I left camp all the way back then after the whole Lightning Thief debacle. I wasn't exactly ordered to by Kronos, but when I saw him trying desperately to get away from a few hellhounds outside of Chicago, I just killed them and saved his life. Since then, due to being a runaway orphan, I've been the only one Alabaster will even listen to for the most part."
I had to admit, having Luke along for the ride — at least until we got Alabaster into the fold for the quest — probably couldn't hurt that much. After all, it may be four members in this case for the quest to have a chance of being successfully completed, but they didn't say anything about what methods could be used to perhaps ensure that all four members are accounted for to complete the prophecy. There weren't really any other good ideas I had in my brain right now, and given how this was another one of those "you only get one shot to get it right", I didn't see any downside in stacking the odds in my favor to make sure success happened.
So, honestly I figured — why not? Luke convincing Alabaster to help us and the Olympians was the only thing on the table right now, so for better or worse, it might be the only chance we have — so knowing me, I wasn't going to not take the chance. "Good to know then.. seems like it wouldn't be a bad idea having you try to talk him into this if we found him.." I say back to Luke, who simply just nods.
Kayla just softly mewls, a sound so cute and so adorable that it just melts my heart every time I hear it. She presses herself closer to me, obviously a bit more needy than I had originally thought her to be. It wasn't all that surprising, but I'll admit.. I think I underestimated how much she missed me for 6 months. "So yeah.. thanks.. I'll talk with you and Lavinia later, Luke.." I said to him. "..Kayla and I would like some alone time please."
Luke simply nods and steps out, followed by Lavinia — but not before she stops and turns back for a moment, adoration present in her eyes. "Words just fail me in comprehending how much of a different person you are whenever she's with you.." she says, and to be fair, she really is not wrong here. I have heard that.. many, many times before, when it came to people trying to describe how they feel about me and Kayla's relationship sometimes.
"Believe me.. ," I just say back to her. "..you're not the first and likely not the last person that has said that to me." Lavinia just nods and like Luke, also leaves, gently shutting the door behind her. My gaze now turns to the happy, warm, bundle of light along with red and green hair beside me. I lean back, easing my head back onto the pillow behind me, gently shifting Kayla to where she is now on top of my body, her head just resting close to mine.
"Mmm~ I never grow tired of looking at your face.. all those scars and yet it never diminishes the beauty of the man I love.." she says, making my heart soar. I can hear her heartbeat just steadily being normal against my body, not a sound around us. "Hard to believe that I had to be away from you for 6 months."
"Yeah.. well, we found our way back to each other.." I said back to her. "That's what matters here."
"Indeed.. nothing in the world is worth more to me than you, Colton.." she says, gently kissing my cheek after scooting herself up a little.
I blush.
"Words cannot describe how lucky I feel to have you in my life.." she continues, those lovely eyes of hers gleaming brighter than ever. "..you're like my guardian angel, Colton."
I didn't even know how to respond. I guess, in a way, I kinda was her guardian angel. After all, from the Dixie Queen to Manhattan to the Labyrinth to the Chariot Races, I forget the amount of times that if I hadn't been there, Kayla would have been defiled, broken, killed, or worse. The amount of monsters and people I had killed for her was off the chain, and this quest to stop Gaea would only be making that body count even higher.
I was about to respond to her when Travis' voice rang throughout the boat, "WHOA NELLY! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU..?! I NEED SOME ASSISTANCE GUYS, HOSTILES ARE BOARDING THE BOAT!"
I blinked, and then me and Kayla sprung into action. She got off of me, and then I got up off the bed and we both grabbed our gear and put on armor and such. She looked miffed now. "Why does life always have to interrupt our moments together..?" she complained.
"We're demigods.. until we hit eighteen, which of course since we're semi-immortal will be never.." I reply to her calmly. "..we're always going to be walking targets for monsters. Good thing we're both the most powerful demigods in existence right now."
She nocked an arrow on her bow, which was the same bow she had as the Monster Queen — that she gained the ability to summon with just the thought in her mind like she did here that she unlocked upon becoming the Monster Queen for the first time. "Yeah.. and I fully intend on making whatever interrupted my first cuddle session with you in six months pay.. pieces of dog shit.." she said, clearly starting to take after me with swearing.
I'm a bad boy because I swear, yeah. So what? I'm hers, and I've proven time and time again I can kill enough to back it up. So, basically speaking, whatever has Travis concerned is fucked more or less — because, even as I load the Whitworth, they made the mistake of attacking a ship that currently is the temporary home of some of the most deadliest demigods around including myself, so you know what they say..
..fuck around and find out.
(A/N: And with that, there's another chapter to the story! Hope you all are still enjoying the story even with the time spent between updates because of work and these turbulent times!)
