Chapter Text
If I had known this was going to happen, I would've gladly stayed in my country.
I was in the United States, New York, in the middle of a rather violent storm. How did I get there? It's hard to say.
I was getting my ass kicked by some winged woman—bat wings, I think. whatever the hell she was, she looked incredibly happy to see me on the ground panting. My nose was bleeding, my skin was mauled, and i was going dizzy.
Things usually didn't get this bad. I always managed to escape. I'd been running for years. I didn't understand what these things were, or why everything seemed to be trying to kill me, but that was just how my life worked.
I'd been on the run since I was ten. I left my country to escape my first and worst monster. Somehow, I ended up in the United States. They tried to send me back. I escaped again and kept living on the streets.
But hey, Americans throw away amazing things! so it hasn't been that bad.
Except for the tiny little detail that every two weeks some damn monster from fucking hell would appear to try and kill me. I had no idea what they were, and I started to think I was going crazy because no one else seemed to notice them.
"The blood of a demigod... definitely brightens my day." she licked her lips, approaching the corner where I stood, walking calmly, with an cocky grin.
"Lady i think you've mistaken me for somebody else" I blurted out, my voice tinged with panic. The woman smiled broadly.
The alley where we were stood offered no way out, the storm showed no signs of letting up, and I was shivering, my bones aching from the cold. I felt so stupid.
That was it. Dead at 14, an unmarked grave, the grave of someone whose life had been utterly meaningless.
Or so I thought, until something, or rather someone, appeared out of nowhere, giving her a good kick to the head.
Did a goat just fall from the sky?
This was my chance, I needed to run, to escape, but I could barely stay on my feet.
It had to be a hallucination: the woman burst into dust, and a chubby man with goat-like horns turned to look at me.
My eyes struggled to stay open, the adrenaline that had previously kept me standing began to fade, and an unfamiliar tremor made my knees buckle.
The goat-man started to approach me, but before I could say anything, the ground greeted me with a thunderous crash and pain echoed throughout my body, everything went black.
A blinding light woke me up, and pain spread through my body. My eyes opened, expecting to be on the alley floor, assuming it had all been a bad dream, but instead I found myself in a comfortable bed, covered in blankets, and something resembling a medical ward. Where was I?
My head was still fuzzy and drowsy. My eyes scanned every corner; there were medical kits and many beds set up around the round room. Each bed had a bedside table and was surrounded by white curtains, probably for privacy.
I felt a touch on my arm that made me turn around. It was a blond boy who looked about my age. He was bandaging my wounds, unaware that I had woken up. I jumped and jerked away, crawling to the edge of the bed.
"Who are you? What am I doing here?" I wanted to sound more threatening, but my voice came out scared.
He stepped back, not seeming surprised by my reaction.
"Hey, calm down! I promise you're safe." He raised his hands in a gesture of surrender. "I'll explain everything as soon as you let me treat that." He pointed to my arms, I lowered my gaze and... Ouch. It seemed urgent. It felt urgent, and was painful as hell.
Despite being a stranger, there was something about him that inspired confidence in me. Besides, there wasn't much else I could do. That thing had torn my skin, and now I would have lifelong scars. i didn't want to see those again. And i had more important things to focus on, like figuring out where the hell I was.
I moved to sit in the edge of the bed, my legs dangling. I was weak, I didn't question about it, and I didn't need a mirror to know I looked awful. That was nothing new. I was skin and bones from living on the streets. Covered in scars, with sunken eyes and completely unkempt black curls—enough to make me look like I belonged in a psychiatric ward. I was 14 but looked younger, probably due to malnutrition. I usually didn't care about my appearance, but in front of someone my age, it was embarrassing.
The boy gently took my arm, his blue eyes looking at me subtly with a mixture of curiosity and pity; I didn't like it.
"What is this place?" I asked with a weary voice.
"Well... it's like a summer camp, for special kids, like you and me." His voice sounded hesitant, as if he wasn't telling me everything yet.
"What do you mean by special? Does it have to do with the monsters no one else can see? Or that goat? Don't tell me—I'm in a psychiatric hospital, right?" Each word came out louder, my voice filled with curiosity and then a bit of panic.
A laugh snapped me out of my thoughts. He was looking me in the eyes; he was a relaxed guy with messy hair and a calm gaze.
"No—" he said between chuckles-"sorry, sorry—you're not in a psychiatric hospital. the thing that attacked you is real, and you're a demigod."
My head stopped for a moment. Demi... what?
The confusion must have been written all over my face, because he smiled kindly and began to speak as he finished bandaging me, his voice calm and patient.
"Demigods are the children of a Greek god and a mortal. I know it sounds fake, but I recognize a Fury's claws when I see them. What attacked you was a Greek monster; they're attracted to the smell of demigods."
He explained many things to me; I didn't interrupt him, there was nothing I could say. It all sounded very fake, but the claws of what he called a fury were still there, marked like a fresh tattoo on my skin.
Apparently, the Greek gods were real, and I was the daughter of one of them. I didn't feel much like a demigod, to be honest. My body hurt, my head hurt, and I must have looked a mess.
The boy said his name was Will, Will Solace. And that he was a son of Apollo. I tilted my head. All of this sounded so... Crazy. But actually, I could believe him. I had never seen a son of Apollo but if I had to imagine one, he would probably look like this boy.
His hands were magical, literally. When he passed them over my wounds, a green light radiated from them. At first I was very scared. Was it real magic? Then I was very amazed. Was it real magic????
"That's fucking amazing! How do you do that?"
I managed to forget the pain running through me for a second. I had never seen anything so impressive.
"Well, Apollo is the god of many things, medicine being one of them. So his children are born with abilities. It depends on which god is your parent. There's a guy named Percy, son of Poseidon. He controls the ocean. He's cool."
This kid was telling me they had superpowers like it was nothing. I was speechless. It sounded freaking awesome.
"So when am I supposed to find out who my godly parent is?"
"Well, you're supposed to be claimed by thirteen. You don't look very old, so—"
"I'm fourteen."
"Oh."
He shook his head, trying not to let the surprise show on his face.
"It's fine, It's just one year over, nothing to worry about." He smiled, trying to reassure me.
I sank into the bed, the small spark of excitement i'd felt already fading away.
Obviously, he didn't want me.
I mean– I assumed that, they were Greek gods, after all.
But not even claim me? Almost let me die?
Neither of my parents cared about me. Unbelievable.
The boy focused on bandaging me up, making small talk. I didn't really pay attention to him.
Then he offered me a small square of something that looked like a brownie.
"No thanks, I'm not really hungry right now."
"I'll make you feel better, just eat it. Doctor's order." He smiled again. Didn't his cheeks hurt?
I grabbed the <
> with one finger and took a soft bite.
It tasted like warm chicken soup. The kind my uncle used to make every time I got sick.
"how... how did you-?"
I was in shock. He was staring at me, already waiting for my reaction. How the hell was this possible? I already knew this flavor, it was too precise to be a coincidence.
"It's different for every demigod." His blue eyes remained fixed on me.
"It tastes like your best memory, it keeps you tied to life."
I was going to say something, but the words died in my throat, so I just smiled.
That was the memory I needed. Who cared about my stupid parents? Well, I probably shouldn't insult a god, but he certainly wasn't paying attention to me, so...
I realized then that my pain had decrease. I looked at him again in disbelief as I stood up. It still hurt, but it was bearable.
"It's ambrosia, a good portion can save your life. But not too much or you'll explode." he took it and put it in his pocket. I just wanted to know if the 'explode' part was literal or figurative.
"Come on, I'll give you a tour." He stretched out his arms, heading towards the door, where a radiant blue sky awaited us.
"Yeah, that'd be fine." I walked towards him, feeling disoriented. Everything was so... new and weird, hard to believe.
The sun hit me directly in the face, blinding me. I covered my eyes with my hand
We walked a bit, he showed me the surroundings. I could feel eyes watching me as I walked. Everyone, including Will, was wearing an orange t-shirt. I guess that's why I stood out so much: a Spider-Man T-shirt, tiny shorts, and zero tactical sense. Not stylish, not useful. but it was the only thing I managed to steal.
He showed me the cabins, each one was unique, representing a God. Almost all of them were full of kids. it was easy to know who was who, Aphrodite's children were ridiculously good-looking and chatted without worrying about a thing. Hermes kids.. They were total chaos. They looked like pure fun. I smiled.
"You'll stay there! until you are claimed of course. Hermes is the God of travelers." Will seemed happy to see me smile.
We then passed by the dining hall pavilion, through the archery fields, a lava mountain or something like that? The pegasus stables... It was all so incredible, I was in awe.
After a wile, he dropped me off at the Hermes cabin and left in a rush, apparently more people had arrived?? Maybe it was common, what did I know.
Some kids came over to talk to me, they were friendly so I allowed myself to relax a little. I put a sleeping bag in a corner and sat down. I didn't have anything that belonged to me, so I didn't have to unpack anything. It was useful for when I had to flee.
After a wile I left the cabin, hoping to explore more things or something. I did't know. I had to clear my mind.
I ended up at the lake, I dipped my feet in and closed my eyes, allowing myself to think.
This seemed like a dream, so unbelievable... Could I really stay here? I didn't know how to feel. For years, I hadn't had a place to belong, somewhere to call home, or even just a place to sleep.
I quickly came to the conclusion that I had no other options. I had no desire to return to the streets to be hunted down and starve. The people seemed friendly and I would have a roof and food, what more could I ask for?
I stayed there for a while, meditating on my life, on today.
Without realizing when or how, I fell asleep. A conch shell woke me up.
I got up quickly and abruptly, then the day's events came back to my mind. I was still at the lake and my feet were freezing, did all that really happen?
I let out a lazy yawn, got up, and dusted myself off. Night had already fallen. I returned to camp feeling a little lost. I followed the sounds of the campers singing. Was it dinner time? I headed to the dinner pavilion, but it was empty, which made me regret going to sleep because I was starving.
I walked a little further across camp following the cheerful voices of kids singing silly songs.
i ended up in place I'd never seen before, bur probably was the right place cause it was crouded. It looked like an open-air theater, or at least that's what I guessed; I'd never actually been to a theater.
I walked in just in time to interrupt a man—or was it a horse? A centaur. who was about to say something. I felt the eyes of the crowd turn to me, so I sat down quickly in the first place I saw, a lonely corner. Wow, could I embarrass myself any more?
"Very well! Now that we're all here, a special welcome for our new guests. I'm Chiron, the camp activities director. I'm glad you all arrived alive and with most of your limbs intact. I promise we'll have chocolate chip cookies and marshmallows in a little while, but first..."
"What about the capture the flag game?" someone yelled. Grunts rose from some armored kids sitting under a red flag with a boar's head emblem.
"Yes," the centaur replied. "I know the ones in Ares' cabin are itching to get back into the woods to play."
"And kill people!" one of them shouted.
"However," Chiron said, "until the dragon is under control, that won't be possible. Cabin Nine, anything to report on that?"
A girl in a military jacket and red bandana stood up, looking nervous.
"We're working on it."
More grunts.
"How, Nyssa?" asked a boy from Ares's cabin.
"Very hard," the girl replied.
Nyssa sat down amidst a flurry of shouts and complaints, which made the fire crackle chaotically. I stared into the fire, mesmerized. So it responded to the group's emotions?
Chiron stamped his hooves on the stones of the campfire pit—clack, clack, clack—and the campers fell silent.
"We'll have to be patient," Chiron said. "In the meantime, we have more pressing matters to attend to."
"And Percy?" someone asked.
The campers' faces fell, the fire dimmed even more.
Chiron gestured toward a blonde girl. The girl took a deep breath and stood up.
"I haven't found Percy," she announced. Her voice faltered slightly as she said his name.
"He wasn't in the Grand Canyon, like I thought. But we're not giving up. We have teams everywhere. Grover, Tyson, Nico, the Hunters of Artemis—everyone is looking for him. We'll find him. Chiron has proposed something else. A new mission."
"It's the Great Prophecy, isn't it?" a girl shouted.
Everyone turned at once. The voice came from a group of kids sitting in the back, under a pink flag with a dove emblem.
They had been chatting amongst themselves, not paying much attention, until she stood up. Tall, Asian, with curly brown hair, covered in jewelry and with a perfect makeup
The rest of the group was surprised. Apparently, she didn't address the crowd very often. "Drew?" the blonde girl said. "What do you mean?"
"Come on," Drew held out her hands as if the truth were obvious. "Olympus is closed. Percy has disappeared. Hera sends you a vision and you come back with three—" She looked at me with something that seemed like a mixture of disgust and indifference. "—four new demigods in one day. Something weird is going on. The Great Prophecy has begun, hasn't it?"
What mess have I gotten myself into? Prophecies? Lost kids? Everyone was now staring at a redhead girl, I couldn't have been more lost.
"Well?" Drew shouted. "You're the oracle. Has it started or not?"
Oracle? What was all this?
The redhead stood up.
"Yes," she said. "The Great Prophecy has begun."
Everyone went crazy. There were so many voices talking at once, I couldn't think straight. A prophecy? didn't sound very cheerful
"For those of you who haven't heard it," said the redhead, "the Great Prophecy was my first prediction. It came in August. It goes like this: eight half-bloods shall answer the call, to storm or fire the world must fall.."
A tall, muscular boy with close-cropped blond hair suddenly stood up; he had electric blue eyes and a crazy look.
"J...Jason?" said the redhead. what...?"
"Ut cum spiritu postrema sacramentum dejuremus" he recited "Et hostes ornamenta addent ad ianuam necem."
What the hell was that?
An awkward silence fell over the group. Somehow I knew it was Latin, but I didn't understand a thing.
"You just... uttered the prophecy," the redhead said, stuttering. "«...An oath to keep with a final breath, and foes bear arms to the Doors of Death». How did you...?"
"I know those verses," the boy grimaced and put his hands to his temples. "I don't know how, but I know the prophecy."
"In Latin, no less," Drew shouted. "Handsome and clever." Giggles drifted from Aphrodite's hut. But that did nothing to ease the tension. The campfire emitted a nervous, chaotic green glow.
An uneasy feeling washed over me, a bad premonition. I resisted the urge to run away, I began to feel anxious for no apparent reason. Well, perhaps a prophecy of death's gates and a final breath were good reasons indeed.
My leg started bouncing, that stupid anxious habit I couldn't control.
"Well," said the redhead, trying to regain her composure. "So that's the Great Prophecy. I expected it to take years to come true, but I'm afraid it's starting. I can't give you any proof. It's just a feeling. And like Drew said, something strange is going on. The eight demigods, whoever they are, still haven't gathered. I have a feeling some are here tonight and some aren't."
The campers began to stir and murmur, glancing nervously at each other, until a sleepy voice called out from the crowd: "I'm here! Oh... were you taking roll call?"
"Go back to sleep, Clovis" someone yelled, and many people burst into laughter.
"Anyway," the redhead continued, "we don't know what the Great Prophecy means. We don't know what challenge the demigods will face, but, since the first Great Prophecy foretold the war of the Titans, we can assume the second will predict something at least as bad."
A war of titans? Was it too late to turn around and go back the way I came?
"Or worse," Chiron murmured. Perhaps he didn't mean for everyone to hear him, but that's exactly what happened. Immediately, the campfire turned a dark purple.
"What we do know," she said, "is that the first phase has begun. A major problem has arisen, and we need to undertake a mission to solve it. Hera, the queen of the gods, has been captured." A stunned silence fell. The fifty demigods began to speak in unison.
I stayed there, wondering, how do you capture a goddess? And worse, how do you capture the queen of the gods? I imagined a thief putting her in a bag or something.
After a while, when everyone had quieted down, the oracle girl told us a lot of things. Something about the Grand Canyon, wind spirits—she'd called them Venti—a man named Hedge, no, a satyr named Hedge. I figured I'd learn the difference later. A warning that things were going to get worse, yay! that a girl named Piper fainted—that idiot Drew made fun of her, and I wanted to punch her in the face.—Some visions the blue-eyed boy had. None of it sounded very positive.
It reminded me of some nightmares I had been having lately, where a sleepy, deep voice spoke to me. It drew me into a trance, guiding me through a forest. I couldn't help but listen to it, and in the end, the earth opened up and swallowed me.
It was stupid, maybe it had nothing to do with anything.
Or so I wanted to believe.
A chill ran down my spine. I took a deep breath and told myself that I had nothing to do with any of it.
"Jason," the oracle said, "um... do you remember your last name?" He seemed self-conscious, but shook his head. "Then we'll just call you Jason," she said. "It's clear Hera has entrusted you with a mission." "I agree." "You must save Hera to prevent a great evil," she continued.
"That some kind of king will rise. For reasons we don't yet understand, it must happen on the winter solstice, just four days from today."
"That's the day of the council of the gods," the blonde pointed out. "If the gods don't yet know that Hera has disappeared, they will certainly notice her absence by then. They'll probably start fighting, accusing each other of having captured her. That's what they usually do."
"The winter solstice," Chiron said, "is also the time of greatest darkness. The gods gather on that day, as mortals always have, because there is strength in numbers. The solstice is a day when evil magic is very strong. Ancient magic, older than the gods. It is a day when things are stirred." He said it as if stirring were something utterly sinister: as if it were a first-degree crime, not something you did to bottled juice before drinking it.
"Okay," the blonde said, glaring at the centaur. "Thank you, Captain Sunshine. Whatever's going on, I agree with Rachel. Jason has been chosen to lead this mission, so..."
"Why hasn't he been recognized?" someone shouted from Ares's cabin. "If he's so important..."
"He was summoned," Chiron announced. "A long time ago. Jason, give them a demonstration."
At first, Jason didn't seem to understand. He took a nervous step forward, then looked at a really cute girl with brown hair—I guessed Piper—who was miming flipping a coin. Why the hell would she-? Ohh.
Jason reached into his pocket. The coin flashed in the air, and
when he caught it, he was holding a lance—a rod of gold about seven feet long, with a spear tip at one end.
I was just as speechless as the other demigods. Did everyone here have such cool weapons?
"Wasn't it...?" the blonde girl hesitated. "I thought you had a sword."
¨Um, it came up tails, I think," Jason said. "Same coin, long-range weapon form."
"Dude, I want one!" someone shouted from Ares's cabin.
"It's better than Clarisse's electric spear, Lamer!" one of her brothers agreed.
"Electric," Jason muttered, as if it were a good idea. "back away"
Both girls got the message. Jason raised the javelin, and thunder broke open the sky. The lightning descended through the golden tip of the spear and struck the campfire with the force of a shell.
When the smoke cleared and the buzzing in my ears subsided, I saw that the entire camp stood frozen in astonishment, half-blind, covered inashes, staring at the spot where the fire had been. Ashes rained down everywhere. A burning log had lodged itself just inches from the sleeping boy, Clovis, who hadn't even flinched.
Jason lowered his lance.
"Um... sorry." Chiron brushed some burning embers from his beard. He grimaced as if his worst fears had been confirmed.
"A little overkill, perhaps, but you've made your point. And I believe we know who your father is.¨
"Jupiter," Jason said. "I mean, Zeus. The lord of the sky."
holly shit!
Chaos erupted, with dozens of people asking questions, until the blonde girl raised her arms.
"Wait a minute!" she said. "How is it possible that he's the son of Zeus? The Big Three... Their pact not to have mortal children... How is it possible that we didn't know about him before?"
"The important thing is that Jason is here now," Rachel said. "He has a mission to fulfill, which means he'll need his own prophecy."
She closed her eyes and fainted. Two campers rushed forward to catch her. A third ran to the side of the amphitheater and grabbed a bronze stool with three legs, as if they had been trained for that purpose. They carefully sat the girl on the stool in front of the shattered campfire. Without the fire, the night was dark, but a greenish mist began to swirl around the girl's feet. When she opened her eyes, they were bright. Emerald-colored smoke billowed from her mouth.
I couldn't believe it. Maybe I was high, that's why I was dreaming about strange prophecies. The others didn't seem as surprised as I was, so I tried to hide it.
The voice that came from her was harsh and ancient: the sound a snake would make if it could speak.
Child of lightning, beware the earth,
The sun-born child who stands with you
Shall tip the balance, false or true.
The giants' revenge, the eight shall birth,
The forge and dove shall break the cage,
And death unleash through Hera's rage
As she uttered the last word, the redhead collapsed, but her helpers were waiting to catch her. They lifted her from the fire and placed her in the corner to rest.
"Is this normal?" Piper asked. And she immediately realized she had broken the silence and everyone was staring at her. "I mean... does she often emit green smoke?"
"Oh, gods, you're so dense!" Drew said dismissively. "She just uttered a prophecy: Jason's prophecy to save Hera! Why don't you...?"
"Drew," the blonde girl snapped, "Piper asked a fair question. Something about that prophecy definitely isn't normal. If breaking Hera's cage unleashes her rage and causes a bunch of death... why would we free her? It might be a trap, or—or maybe Hera will turn on her rescuers. She's never been kind to heroes."
Jason stood up.
"I don't have many options. Hera has stolen my memory. I need to get it back. Besides, we can't not help the Queen of Heaven if she's in trouble."
A girl from the Hephaestus cabin stood up: Nyssa, the one with the red headscarf. "Maybe. But you should listen to Annabeth." so thaats her name. "Hera can be vengeful. She threw her own son, our father, off a mountain just because he was ugly."
"Very ugly," someone from the Aphrodite cabin added mockingly.
"Shut up!" Nyssa snapped. "We also need to figure out why we have to beware of the earth. And what is the giants' revenge? What are we facing that's powerful enough to kidnap the Queen of Heaven?"
I was cowering in my seat, having some not-so-positive thoughts. Giants? Death? Kidnapping? Well, wow, at least it's not my prophecy.
Annabeth took a deep breath.
"It's Jason's quest" she announced, "so the decision is his. Of course, he's the son of lightning. According to tradition, he gets to choose two companions." Someone from the Hermes cabin squealed, "Then he should choose you, Annabeth. You're the one with the most experience."
"No, Travis," Annabeth said. "First off, I'm not helping Hera. Every time I've tried, she's deceived me, or it's come back to bite me later. Forget it. No way. Secondly, I'm leaving first thing in the morning to find Percy."
"It's connected," Piper blurted out, not sure how she got the courage. "You know that's true, don't you? This whole business, your boyfriend's disappearance—it's all connected."
"How?" demanded Drew. "If you're so smart, how?"
Annabeth spoke up. "You may be right, Piper. If this is connected, I'll find out from the other end, by searching for Percy. As I said, I'm not about to rush off to rescue Hera, even if her disappearance sets the rest of the Olympians fighting again. But there's another reason I can't go. The prophecy says otherwise."
"It says who I pick," Jason agreed. "The forge and dove shall break the cage. The forge is the symbol of Vul—Hephaestus."
Nyssa let her shoulders slump beneath the flag of Cabin Nine, as if she'd been given a heavy anvil to carry. "If you have to beware of the ground," she said, "you should avoid traveling by land. You'll need air transport. The flying chariot is broken," Nyssa continued, "and we're using the pegasi to look for Percy. But maybe from Hephaestus's cabin we can come up with something else to help. Now that Jake's incapacitated, I'm the oldest camper. I can volunteer for the mission." She didn't sound enthusiastic. Then a scrawny, dark-skinned boy stood up. I stared at him; his face seemed familiar.
"It's me," he said.
His cabinmates stirred. Several tried to pull him back to his seat, but he resisted.
"No, it's me. I know it is. I've got an idea for the transportation problem. Let me try. I can fix this!"
Jason studied him for a moment. Then he smiled. "We started this together, Leo. Seems only right you come along. You find us a ride, you're in."
"Yes!" Leo pumped his fist.
"It'll be dangerous," Nyssa warned him. "Hardship, monsters, terrible suffering. Possibly none of you will come back alive."
"Oh." Suddenly Leo didn't look so excited. Then he remembered everyone was watching. "I mean ... Oh, cool! Suffering? I love suffering! Let's do this."
I wanted to giggle; he looked like a sweet boy. Then a chill ran down my spine. I felt uneasy, and only bad thoughts raced through my mind.
I hope he doesn't die.
"Now all you have to do is choose the third member of the mission, Jason." annabeth said "The dove..."
"Oh, of course!" Drew was standing there, grinning at Jason. "The dove is Aphrodite. Everyone knows it. I'm all yours."
Piper clenched her fists. She took a step forward.
"No."
Drew rolled his eyes.
"Oh, please, Dumpster girl. Back off."
"I had Hera's vision, not you. I have to do it."
"Anyone can have a vision," Drew said. "You were just at the right place at the right time." She turned to Jason. "Look, fighting is all fine, I suppose. And people who build things..." She looked at Leo in disdain. "Well, I suppose someone has to get their hands dirty. But you need charm on your side. I can be very persuasive. I could help a lot."
The campers started murmuring about how persuasive Drew could be. It seemed like the most logical option to me too. Even Chiron was scratching his beard, as if Drew participation suddenly made sense to him.
"Well..." Annabeth said. "Given the wording of the prophecy—"
"No!" Piper's voice sounded more insistent, richer in tone. "I'm supposed to go." I nodded. Piper had to go, there was no other way.
Everyone started nodding, muttering that hmm, Piper's point of view made sense too. Drew looked around, incredulous. Even some of her own campers were nodding
"Get over it!" Drew snapped at the crowd. "What can Piper do?"
Piper remained silent, her confidence wavering.
"Well," Drew said smugly, "I guess that settles it."
Suddenly there was a collective gasp, my jaw dropped. If Piper was beautiful before, now she was stunning. She was wearing a gorgeous dress and matching jewelry. Any guy would fall for her, gods, even I would.
"Oh, god," she said. "What's happened?"
Her hair was perfect: lush and long and chocolate brown, braided with gold ribbons down one side so it fell across her shoulder
She was...she was...
"Beautiful," Jason exclaimed. "Piper, you ... you're a knockout."
Drew's face was full of horror and revulsion.
"This isn't me," Piper protested. "I—don't understand."
Chiron the centaur folded his front legs and bowed to her, and all the campers followed his example, i did the same
"Hail, Piper McLean," Chiron announced gravely, as if he were speaking at her funeral. "Daughter of Aphrodite, lady of the doves, goddess of love."
"Well, you've got the dove now." Annabeth said to Jason, still as surprised as everyone else. Piper was obviously uncomfortable with the attention; she sat and didn't say much more.
"Hey, and who's the sun-born?" someone shouted. Eyes turned back to Jason—I saw Piper let out a sigh of relief—And then shifted to the children under the yellow flag. I guessed Apollo's children. My guess was correct, because I saw Will sitting there.
"But aren't only three demigods supposed to go on a quest?" Nyssa asked.
The others seemed to be thinking about it. How did that make sense?
"The prophecy mentions a son of Apollo, that's obvious—" Annabeth was speaking, but she stopped, speechless, because in the darkness of the night, illuminated only by the campfire and a few other lights, the sunlight appeared, a beam of light shining directly in my face.
Tell me that what was happening wasn't what I thought was happening.
I was shrouded in sunlight, which had filtered through a cloud or something, because the rest of the sky was completely black and starry.
I felt embarrassed. I was sitting alone at the end of the amphitheater, still wearing my shorts and T-shirt—a Spiderman one, to top it off.—My brown, freckled face was now also tinged red, I felt like a spotlight was shining on me.
I looked up, on top of my head there was a lyre. i was probably high, i wanted to be high.
Annabeth regained her composure and approached me. "What's your name?"
"Aurora... Aurora Soler" I murmured.
God, why me? And right after they claim Aphrodite's daughter! It had to be a bad joke.
"Hail, Aurora Soler" announced Chiron again, in the same funereal voice. "Daughter of Apollo, lord of prophecy, God of the sun."
I swallowed hard. There were too many eyes on me.
Being shy didn't help, but apart from that I knew they were judging me. A voice whispered in my ear again, the same sleepy voice I'd been hearing for the past month. 'You don't belong here...'
and I couldn't help but agree with her.
I looked like some kind of freak: even smaller under so much light, curled up in a corner and terrified, like some half-feral circus rat.
The flames flickered again, but they were a dull, mossy green. No further words were needed.
Jason approached me, his face sympathetic. "You arrived today too, right?" I nodded, still obviously uncomfortable. I saw Drew and his group laughing their heads off. I really tried to convince myself it wasn't because of me, but...
"The sun-born child who stands with you, Shall tip the balance, false or true." Rachel recited from her corner, her eyes stared at me, glowing green.
Oh God. No, there's no way it's about me—
There was a moment of silence, then everyone went haywire.
"Isn't it dangerous to go with a 4th person?!" someone yelled from the crowd. I didn't notice who it was. I was too busy freaking out.
Quiron kicked the floor and everyone fell silent.
He came over to where I was, his face dark. I felt like he knew everything about me, but that wasn't possible because I had first met him that night.
I tried to calm down, taking a deep breath and ignoring the knot in my stomach and the sudden urge to cry.
"The truth and nothing but the truth, daughter of the sun. How do you relate to the prophecy?"
My throat went dry. I didn't know how to respond. I didn't want to be involved in any of this, but his expression was implacable, and I didn't want to lie
"I... I've been having strange dreams..." I hesitated for a moment, feeling everyone's gaze on me. I was expecting them to laugh at me, to say that dreams didn't mean anything, but everyone looked serious and was silent. All you could hear was the crackling of the flames.
"Um... well... I've been dreaming about a woman—well, more like a voice, she leads me to.. well, its kinda like a forest, there are the ruins of a house there; that place feels important. I remember a pool, and the voice came from..." 'from the very ground where we all stand now.'
that's what I wanted to say, but before I could, something else happend.
The same sleepy voice whispered in my ear what I had to say.
"...It came from a woman trapped in something like a spiral, asking me to free her." It was a lie. I had never seen such a woman, much less had she ever said such a thing to me, but it was too late. I had said it in front of the whole camp. Why had I done that? Maybe I should tell them about that voice.
That idea vanished as quickly as it had arrived. Hearing voices was probably not a good thing, either for the Greeks or for anyone else.
Quiron looked at me and I knew right then that he didn't believe a word I said. I thought he would kick me out or punish me or something like that, but he didn't say anything, he just gave me a stern look.
"I suppose that settles it, she must go, for it is part of the prophecy."