Chapter 4: I Discover the Heart of the Cards

I tried to Dream. Habit, really. I’m asleep, I Dream. 

When you sleep, your soul tends to roam. Usually, it ends up in this particular Dark in-between connected to the various Otherworlds of the pantheons. I vaguely remembered feeling Morpheus, a god of Dreams reach for me, like starbursts on my skin, but I was so out of it, I couldn’t greet him back.

Morpheus loved mortals, always grabbing as many as he could, just like his dad. That’s not a bad thing, he took good care of them. His brother Icelos was a different story. He had a few other Names. Phobetor was one of them, meaning ‘Frightener.’ Otherwise known as Nightmare. Demigods of all kinds could go further in this space in between, but if they don’t learn properly, the best they could do was straddle the borders. Sometimes they Dream like mortals, sometimes they see Beyond into the Crossroads and sometimes they fall into the Dreamlands. 

Like I did, when I was two years old.

It’s basically Narnia. A whole new world under a red sun where Dreams reigned supreme. When night fell here, a shattered golden moon rose in its place. And just like our world, things lived here. Built cities and tamed the wilds. What could be tamed, I mean. There were deserts and oceans and forests. If you were careful and knew what you were doing and when to run, there was a lot to explore. The Spires, the Moon, the Flat, the Crystal Seas. There was the Pit.

You don’t want to go there.

The Old and Elder Gods were known here, even if they weren’t exactly worshiped.

Worship means getting attention. Getting attention was…

Complicated. 

I landed in my home away from home in the Dreamlands like normal, but it was all wrong. It was like I was drunk. The furniture shimmered, stretched, duplicated and moved. The colors were off and the walls were partially see through. The miniature penthouse looked as solid as a soap bubble. There was light coming in through the windows of what I knew should be afternoon sunlight, but it was a ghostly blue color. There was a fire crackling in the hearth, but it was green. If I didn’t know any better, it looked like I was Dreaming. But I did know better. I don’t Dream like this. 

The only thing that looked right was my orange and white pet tabby cat groggily blinking from his bed by the fireplace.

“The fuck -” The cat exclaimed as he looked around. He had an accent, so it sounded more like ‘tha fook,’ but I’ve gotten used to it. I’m sure you’ve heard worse. Don’t cats talk in your Dreams?

Sam and I go way back. I practically fell on him my first time here. I’m still not sure if he’s Dreaming like I am when he’s here, or if he’s awake and his home somewhere in the UK is the Dream. He’s the one I learned the Queen’s English from as a kid as Dad put it. It didn’t do much to improve my vocabulary, but it certainly expanded it.  

“Sam!” I called out and then winced. My voice was all echoes. Everything from his uneven whiskers down to the small crook in his tail was just as it should have been. So what was wrong with me? “What’s going on?”

Sam sounded a bit uncertain as he asked, “Lil' Fucker?"

"Yeah?" I replied.

"What the fuck did you do?”

“Nothing!” I said quickly. “I think. I’m pretty sure. I got jumped by a zombie oracle - “

I was cut off by my entire apartment buckling inwards - a loud bang rumbled through me as something slammed into the front door. I glanced out the window and saw a dense jungle filled with brightly colored flowers and dark, dark shadows. The trees looked like they were moving as shapes flitted above in the canopy. We were nestled in the side of some kind of pyramid made out of stone blocks as big as my body. A staircase for giants led the way down into a wiggling darkness.

I had no idea where we were.

That’s bad.

Sam’s ears folded back on his head as his tail puffed.

“He’s not in!” Sam screamed back at the door. “Fuck off!”

You got visitations here too. Like I said, things lived here. Friendly neighbors with cookies. A bum down on their luck. A few of Sam’s friends for a round of poker. Some gawkers who’d never seen a half-mortal before. Lost wildlife looking for a meal.

Twisted, shrieking cultist abominations.

You know. Missionaries?

I took an unsteady step towards the door. Everything tilted back and forth like I was on a ship. “I can take the call. It’s fine.”

“Uh huh.” Sam looked me up and down. 

I looked down at myself and saw an amorphous blob of gray smoke covered in burning green eyes. Which was not great. Also, weird as hell. This wasn’t something that usually happened to me. At all. I didn’t even know where to begin . I guess that explained my voice? Did Morpheus do something to me when I passed the border? Why? I watched my leg try and fail to form a solid shape as I took another step. I tried to concentrate and a gold-silver rippled sword blinked into existence.

And then fell straight through the blob that was my ‘hand’ to the floor. 

We both stared at it.

“Bullshit,” Sam summed it up.

The apartment shuddered again. Something was yelling, but it sounded like they were garbling golf balls while screaming into a wind tunnel. A trickle of unease jolted down my back. It wasn't going away. Why wasn't it just going away?

“His Royal Highness, the Tail-Puller - “ Sam was never going to let that go. I was two! It’s been a decade! “Is currently fucking indisposed! Come back later!” Whatever was out there didn’t like that answer and the door groaned as another impact crashed. The cat looked up at the ceiling. “I do not get fucking paid enough for this shit.”

“You’re right, you deserve a bonus,” I offered as whatever passed for my stomach now crunched into a little ball. I still don’t know what was out there. If I left, Sam was going to have to deal with it. I shouldn’t be worried about him. Sam lived here. He didn’t need me to look out for him, but I couldn’t help it. “The whole spread, whatever you feel like.”  

“Damn straight.” He stretched along the floor, even as the hairs on his back reached for the ceiling. “So, zombie oracle?”

“Uh, yeah.” My brain flailed for a moment, before my mouth blurted out, “I think I ate her.”

“What the fuck.” The walls shook and Sam groaned, rolling his eyes towards the door. “For the love of - would you kindly go fuck yourself!” There was more yelling from outside. “Ya think I give a fuck mate!?”

Another bang rattled the walls. There was a loud roaring sound, like somebody was trying to out-compete a drunken rock concert in the distance, with the sound suddenly echoing off like it had other things to do. 

I tried to bite my lip and felt my ‘face’ wiggle as I willed one of the windows open. I let out a small laugh of relief when it worked and Sam’s ears relaxed. “Can you make the jump?”

The orange tabby's tail flicked towards himself. “Fucking cat.”

“Sorry.” I watched him jump up on the window sill and peer out. “Talk later?”

“Sure. We’ll chew the cud, kill some things, whatever.” Sam looked back at me and his cat green right eye swirled into a burning orange matching the now molten stripes on his fur. I felt a phantom hook drag itself through my insides, pulling me out and away. The apartment began to fade away, leaving just the walls and the window.  “Zombie oracles - the things that fuck puts in his fucking mouth, I swear...”

He was never going to let that go either.

The walls imploded as something broke through and the last I saw of Sam was his crooked tail as he jumped. I think I saw what came in, but I couldn’t be sure. It did something funny to my eyes as I was tossed out of the Dreamlands. 

Morpheus caught me on the slingshot. Maybe he said something. Maybe he laughed. I burbled back a thanks as best I could as he passed me back into his father’s realm. Hypnos, the god in charge of Sleep’s ever grasping presence found me immediately and pulled me close. 

Usually people don’t really remember being asleep. You are aware of it, trust me. It’s just a hard feeling to hold on to. I guess it was like floating in still water. There was nothing to hear, or see, or taste. I drifted. What little I could feel was Hypnos’ grip, like a reflection on glass. You know what that's like, right? Ever feel like you woke up from a Dream and you get up to go about your day, but then you wake up from a Dream? 

Don’t worry. That just means you were interesting.

There was a moment when I thought - maybe I imagined - something or someone else noticed me? 

I don’t know why a Primordial would ever bother with me.

Uh, Hypnos? Hyp - buddy, I think we’ve got a visitor - !

Hypnos grip went from gentle to restraining, dragging me further down into Sleep. Concepts wormed into my mind as the god approached. Hypnos’ pride and congratulations was more comforting than it should have been. The logical part of my brain was screaming its little heart out, reminding me that not all of Mom’s Names were safe for mortals, but I was asleep. The logical mind did not rule here.   

Oh.

Hypnos sent me a vision of a planet cracking open, releasing a creature that reached into space with a lot of reaching claws and ten heads screaming a note that killed the sun.

So...like your mom? I get it.

I could feel his pride.

The star was close enough to see. It was in the shape of a dark haired woman in a star studded black dress, but her shadow loomed behind her as a massive, reaching shape. With every step she took, the shadow gained more definition, more mass. Vague shapes were birthed from her shadow, vanishing into the aether or being consumed. One escaped towards me and it was a deformed thing. Lopsided almost, with too many limbs on one side, eyes all over and its mouths eating its own face. Hypnos crushed it with a thought and its blood was green slime.

Something told me I didn’t really want to see his mother up close.

But that wasn’t a reason to be rude.

Hi, Hypnos’ mom!

The woman smiled as she came to a stop a safe distance away, her shadow’s form hazy to my eyes. She was close enough for her shadow to dwarf her son, like a writhing cage. Her head tilted like a curious dog as she looked me up and down. She asked a question.

I’m Percy, uh - ma’am...?

I know, I know! Ma’am? But I’m really not a ‘My Lady’ kind of guy. ‘Aunt’ was technically not true? I could name her as Nyx, but Names to an Elder God were avatars. They were always there. The only difference is by how much and the god behind the Night was very much there. I could see it in her eyes. 

A dark star looking back.

Your son’s awesome. Sleep is great.

She agreed with me, obviously. And I got a compliment! That...didn’t make any sense to me whatsoever.

Um, thank you?

Her smile widened. I got the sense of amusement/curiosity/adventure. And - a gift? 

Oh shit.

Wha - no, no, no, no that’s okay - !

OGTHROD AI'F GEB'L-EE'H VEEM’ARFH 'NGAH'NG AI'Y ZHRO!

…

...

I’m just a demigod? So it was probably some weird thing that my ADHD brain did sometimes.

All too soon, I woke up.

I regretted it.

My body felt like there was a millipede in stilettos tap dancing on my every nerve and a scorpion made a nest in my mouth. My tongue was dry and nasty and every one of my teeth hurt. My nose had that ache that told me I slept with my sunglasses on. I felt like I was swollen, like my skin was pulled a bit too tight. My brain might have been dribbling out of my ears. I groaned out loud and went to pull my blanket over my head.

“Don’t move.”

I froze in place, caught mid-blink. My hands hung in the air with one leg twisted over the other as I obeyed the voice. Which - I don’t - the hell? There’s no way that came from a human. Whoever they were, they sounded like how I imagined an octopus sounded speaking English underwater.

Just bizarre.

“Wait, I think he’s actually awake this time,” said a voice I definitely recognized. Whatever force was holding me disappeared and I collapsed back into my -

Chair?

I pried my eyes all the way open.

I was in one of the lawn chairs on the porch around the Big House in front of a card table with a blanket over my body and a pillow under my head. The first thing I saw was the valley running all the way up to the water which glittered like sapphires about a mile in the distance. Were we on Long Island? Yesterday, the setting sun had given everything a surreal look, but now the marble columns of ancient Greek architecture shone proudly in the afternoon sun. Kids were everywhere I looked. Playing volleyball in a nearby sandpit with satyrs, shooting arrows at targets in an archery range, milling around the cabins, riding horses with wings. 

A strong breeze blew through, drawing my attention to an unclaimed glass of iced apple juice in front of me, complete with the fluttering little pink paper parasol I had noticed and a slice of lime on the rim. A teenaged boy about sixteen years old with hair of spun gold and the sun in his blue eyes was sitting next to me on a wooden stool. He had on a bright orange T-shirt like most of the kids running around the Camp and ratty jeans with flip flops. He finished shuffling his deck of cards and held a hand up in my face.

“Paladad,” my Dungeons and Dragons Bardson said with the perfect grin I was still jealous of. “Do you feel better after seeing my gorgeous face? Do I brighten your day? Are you basking in my glory?”

I stared at him.

He sighed. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Three,” I croaked back. My voice was hoarse, but at least it didn’t echo.

“English!” He exclaimed. “He’s good.” The man, the myth, the legend of literally cursed dice because he won’t apologize to Tyche for being an idiot, the Disaster Bard Phoebus Apollon himself squinted at me. “You are good, right?”

"Why are you asking me?" I rasped. "God of Medicine?"

Talking back to a Greek god? Leave it to a professional, don't try this at home, kids. Don't say I didn't warn you.

"Because I can never tell with you." Apollo frowned at me. "Smartass."

"What kind of doctor are you?"

"There is no medical certification for demigod bullshit."

Like I told Athena, Apollo found me when I was five years old. What I didn't tell her was that he never left. It was too far to say he raised me. But he helped. I loved my parents, but I knew they weren’t perfect. Grandpa loved telling me that my birthday present when I was two years old was a stuffed animal and learning that my father was being discharged from the psychiatric hospital. 

And I was Mom’s first demigod.

Seven years ago, Mom still had a bit of trouble being human all the time. Sometimes the Elder God bled through. She had pushed a little too hard and I saw too much. It was the start of the major visions that made me seize up, just like Dad told Trinity. I was five years old. Young children break easily. Being a demigod, I was sturdier than most, so I bounced back. What I did remember from that event was feeling Mom’s raw regret. I went outside - or was led outside? Left outside? - and Apollo then face planted on our balcony in front of me wearing a white blazer and missing a shoe. I thought he was an angel, like the ones my grandmother told me about. Just very clumsy. He’d reached for me with a drop or two of golden blood dripping out of his broken nose, awe and fear on his face.

‘Found you!’ Were his first words to me as he picked me up.

‘You die sad,’ were mine to him. His ghost was the first one I saw. Mom - Ananke - made her presence known then. Apollo had very slowly, very gently put me back down and then scrambled back, accidentally launching himself into the pool. I threw him a floatie, as the angel was too busy freaking out at the attention of the Primordial of Fate to remember how not to drown. 

After he pulled himself out, dried himself off and straightened his nose, Mom shaped thin sunglasses out of thin air in front of us. They deposited themselves in Apollo’s hands as he gaped.

‘These...I think these are yours.’

‘Cool!’

‘You got a name, kid?’

‘Perseus, you?’

‘Apollo! The Greek god of the sun!’

‘Cooool!’

I got the whole story later. Apollo had been looking for a ‘Disturbance in the Force’ for years when he spotted me on that balcony. He tried to teleport, couldn’t because Mom warded our home and instead of memorizing the location for later like a normal person, decided to blind jump off the fucking sun chariot.

Like a moron.

He didn’t stop to think that maybe something that could stop his teleport could maybe flay him alive.

Which she could.

"Since when did you need certs, god of Healing?" I pointed out. "Don't you have thousands of years of experience?"

"Look, you little shit," Apollo sighed as he turned back to his cards. "Are you good or not?"

There was a snort and I realized that Apollo wasn’t the only god at the table. Across from me on the other side, Athena and Mr. D sat in their own chairs watching the sun god deal the cards. Athena had a half and half blouse on, one side plain white and the other covered in blue and red geometric patterns. Mr. D's Hawaiian shirt was covered in coconuts with red and white straws sticking out of them. 

I had no idea why three Olympians were here. 

No. Wait.

Zombie oracle.

“He better be,” a girl huffed and I swung my aching eyes around to my other side. “Aren’t you supposed to be some super demigod and not some weirdo?”

“Weirdo,” I repeated. 

Like she was one to talk.

“That’s Drew,” Apollo jumped back in, leaning into my line of sight. He was grinning, but his eyes were warning me. “Drew Tanaka, newly claimed Daughter of Aphrodite.”

Weird Girl was a little younger than me, maybe? But she couldn’t seem to decide what she looked like. It was like she was two different girls and was constantly shifting features between them. One girl had pale skin, almond shaped brown eyes, a small mouth and short straight black hair. The other had a mocha skin tone, large hazel eyes, a pouty mouth and red-brown wavy hair. Every time she moved, or even just breathed, her form changed. Borrowing noses, swapping chins, altering ears. 

Wait. 

I’m not sure it was a blink-and-you-miss-it kind of thing. It might have been an attune-to-the-right-frequency kind of thing. The girl had a third form, I think. 

And it didn’t look human at all.

“Aphrodite, huh?” I said slowly. Not what I expected. Not gonna lie. “That’s cool.”

She scowled at me and crossed her arms. There was a - was that seaweed? - bracelet on her right wrist with a large pearl shimmering with all the colors of a rainbow woven into it. It was faint, but I think I could feel divine energy coming from it. 

“What do you mean by that?”

“Uh, nothing?” I said blankly. Why was I getting the feeling nothing I ever did was going to be the right thing with this girl? “Daughter of Sea and Sky, one of the Olympians…” I gingerly sat up in my chair, feeling everything scream. “Love is cool.”

She stared at me like she was trying to catch me out on a lie. The hazel of her eyes seemed to shatter into a kaleidoscope of colors for a second. I felt something. Maybe a pull? And I pushed back?

Her eyes were brown as she looked away. “Whatever.”

I tried.

“Okay. Who pissed in your Cheerios?”

Honest question.

Annoying Girl just sneered at me and turned towards Athena. “Am I free to go, my Lady?”

The goddess glanced towards Apollo who nodded as he bid his cards. Athena gave the girl a small smile. “Continue to learn as quickly as you did today, and you will go far. Thank you for your assistance.”

“Your welcome, my Lady!”

I watched her flounce off, confused. “ Assistance?”

Apollo passed me the glass of apple juice, making sure not to let go until I had a good drip on it. I took a sip and even knowing it probably wasn’t apple juice, it still took me by surprise. It tasted exactly like Mom’s honey mead. It was rich, sweet and it even burned a little on the way down. The pain slowly began to drain away as I drank what I now knew to be nectar. Drink of the gods. It would always take on the flavor of what you liked most. Chouchen, I think Mom’s mead was called. I was allowed one small glass every New Year and tasting it now, I could almost pretend nothing was wrong.

Almost.

“Assistance with what?” I asked as I took a sip.

“Stopping you from tearing off your arms and beating everyone to death with them,” Mr. D grunted as he picked up some cards, discarding others.

I spat out my drink.

“Ignore him,” Apollo said, rolling his eyes. He cleaned me up with a flick of his fingers. “It wasn’t that bad. You had some seizures in your sleep.” Oh, visions. That’s weird. I’ve never had a vision in my sleep before. Or, maybe I did and just didn’t remember it? “Like the ones you had when you were five.”

So. Bad.  

Like the one I had at school yesterday. 

“And we have got to work on your lines, man. Asking a girl who pissed in her Cheerios is not a winning strategy. Take it from me.”

“I don’t understand how she helped,” I ignored him, like usual. “She’s like nine. And rude.”

Athena played her turn. What game are they even playing? Rummy? Poker?

“Rarely, a child of Aphrodite inherits more from the Sea than others.” The goddess raised a slight eyebrow at me as her eyes shone. I understood. That was the cover story, and probably the reason Drew Tanaka had a pearl bracelet that screamed divine gift on her wrist. A Mist cloak, maybe? 

She was one of the goddess’ defects. 

Demigods inherited from the Names the godparent had them in. That’s how you could get this kid of Zeus throwing around lightning bolts, this one with super strength, that one was pretty and none ever with the divine ability to enforce Laws.

Not even Zeus was that stupid.

As far as I knew, it worked the same way for the Old and Elder Gods.

It’s just that Aphrodite was a special case.

She was broken.

Athena studied her cards. “They have an ability similar to Siren Song and you needed to be restrained.”

So the octopus command voice had been Love Brat.

I crunched on my ice. “Restrained?”

“You were hurting yourself - “ Apollo started.

“On the anti ‘get fucked’ measures.” Mr. D finished. Both of his siblings glared at him. “Just saying,” he waved his Diet Coke around. “I was this close to popping you like a pimple and letting Father sort it out.”

I crunched on my second ice cube. “That wouldn’t have ended well.”

“We know,” all three gods replied.

I smiled innocently. “Just saying.”

Mr. D glared at me.

“So, you got a Camper from Aphro - “ I paused. Drew Tanaka, newly claimed , Apollo had said. “You brought someone to Camp to help me?”

“To help me,” the God of Wine, Mr. D corrected before bidding. “What, you thought the bronze on the walls was for decoration?”

“Uh, yeah, actually,” I said.

Guess it wasn’t a fancy night light.

It was a cage.

Figures.

“Suppressors?” I asked quietly. If you needed to bind something with divinity, Celestial Bronze and Adamantine. Stygian Iron technically works, I guess. If you are mostly-dead, you are automatically not a problem. “I’m not dangerous.”

I’m not!

My gut clenched as I looked towards the sun god. He knew me almost as well as my parents did. He knew me.

I’m not.

Apollo winced. I could see him searching for the words. “Percy…”

“It was an emergency measure only to be used as needed.” Athena said calmly. “Are you able to tell me truthfully that you were absolutely of no danger to anyone last night?”

I cringed. My chest felt tight. She didn’t even look at me, setting aside a pair of her cards as I thought back. I remembered the high I had been riding before the light of the Celestial Bronze hit me. I could almost still feel it. The sensation of flying, like I didn’t have a body weighing me down. I should have felt horrified, I realized. Not free.

Congratulations to me.

I tapped into my inherited divinity, like I’ve been trying for years.

I ate the Oracle of Delphi.

And I had wanted more.

“As I said, we are unfamiliar with your caliber of demigod.” Athena reminded me. “We developed a means of rudimentary control for the son of Night. He was blind. Lethargic during the day, but under his mother’s influence - “

“Good kid, Chiron said. Hard working, he said. Means well, he fucking said.” Mr. D grumbled. “He’s just fucking batshit, no big deal.”

Athena smiled thinly over her cards. “And the Pit’s daughter was... difficult to put down.”

I swallowed hard.

“Sorry,” I whispered. I didn’t know what else to say. I felt like Athena lanced a boil I didn’t know I had.

All demigods could be dangerous.

The Goddess of Wisdom inclined her head as she drew cards. “Training demigods is the purpose of this Camp. If we can avoid a repeat?”

“Yeah,” I replied, staring down into my empty glass. No more eating oracles. Easy. “That sounds like a plan.” Apollo clicked his fingers, refilling my glass with more nectar. Athena’s eyes narrowed, studying me as I started drinking. Halfway through the glass, my pain was down to ‘mildly sunburned with some cavities,’ which was a huge step up from before. The taste of Chouchen reminded me. “‘Pol’, my dad?”

“I’m with him,” he reassured me as he played his turn. “He’s a bit hungover, but okay.”

“He was...a little confused,” I admitted. In my peripheral vision, I saw Mr. D go to say something, only for Athena to stop him with a shake of her head.

“He was rattled a bit.” They played a few rounds before Athena claimed victory with a short ‘royal marriage’ and her brothers groaned. “From his point of view,” Apollo continued. “He just got told his wife got in trouble with Olympus and possibly her own pantheon for raising you. For all he knows, we can’t send you home until she divorces him.”

I bit my tongue until I tasted blood.

Apollo nudged me with his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay,” He said quietly. “Your mom’s almost as awesome as I am. Trust me.”

I did trust him.

He was basically my big brother.

I know it's a bit unusual for a demigod to claim that of an Olympian, but in my defense, he grows on you. 

You are reading story An Undertow of Sand at novel35.com

Like mold.

“So Percy,” Apollo pointed a finger gun at me. “We need to talk.”

I was suddenly filled with dread. “Yeah?”

“Starting with the quality of women you let in your bed.”

Mr. D snorted into his soda.

“I did not let - “ Like my mother, Apollo thinks he’s funny. He’s not. “Do you have to say it like that?” I handed him my glass when he opened his mouth. “No, don’t - I’m not - it was your zombie oracle!”

“And she was a damn fine one!” Apollo said indignantly, tossing the glass over his shoulder. It hit the porch and vanished. “Eighty years ago.” 

I was not doing this.

I threw up my hands. “Why was she even in my room?”

The sun god immediately pointed accusing fingers towards his half-sister.

“Ask her,” he nearly snarled.

Athena’s thin eyebrows rose. “I had nothing to do with - “

“You grilled me for hours.” He held out his hand and all the playing cards fluttered into it, like animated paper birds. He was still frowning as he shuffled. “Hours. On the stupidest shit . You dragged Father into it!”

“You were being unreasonable.”

“Does Eater of the Bloody Tongues ring a bell?”

“That does not excuse keeping us completely ignorant. ” Athena caught herself getting heated, leaning back into her chair with a small frown. She carefully spoke. “A Protogenoi had a child would have sufficed. You did not need to tell us which one.”

“Prophecy,” Apollo countered flatly. “As if we would have voted to leave it at that with Olympus on the line. Can you imagine if the Child of Prophecy was of the Pit? What happens? Of Earth? Even Night, Father would risk it.”

“He would not,” Athena protested.

Her brothers just looked at her.

The only sound between the three Olympians was the shuffling of cards. After a bit, Apollo began to deal them out, including me.

“I wanted some good news,” he said quietly. “I thought someone had qualified for a Quest and it would change the subject from you, Perce. So I signed off on it.” He shrugged and smiled, but it looked a little brittle. “God of Prophecy, single handedly stops war, because he’s that cool.”

Mr. D rolled his eyes at the sudden haiku (I can recognize haikus. Apollo has ruined me) and I would have too, if not for one word.

“War?”

My D&D party member god waved a careless hand. “Dad’s Bolt was stolen months ago.”

"Apollo.” Athena said sharply.

“No,” was all he said, but it had the same energy as ‘fuck you.’ He turned to me. “Remember the rules for pinochle?”

My mind was spinning. Zeus’ Master Bolt had been stolen? Months ago? That was actually pretty big. I could care less what it meant to Zeus' ego, anyone smart would be more worried about a god level WMD floating around who knows where. When I say god-level, think nuclear bomb aimed at Oklahoma, but capable of making Texas into something it would never accomplish on its own: being its own country. 

Moat and everything.

What did - well it was Zeus so that meant he spent those months blaming people. Or a person, I guess. I would bet this month’s allowance that it was Poseidon. Either him or Hades, depends on who he argued with last, but it was the Sea God. And I could not think of a single reason for Poseidon to do that? So he probably didn’t have his brother’s oversized sparkler and to say Zeus was stubborn would be an understatement. 

Ugh.

Might explain those freak storms we had this winter. Did someone really swipe the Master Firecracker during Winter Solstice?

And they hadn’t used it yet. It would be really obvious if they did. What were they waiting for? 

I grabbed my cards. “I thought you said pinochle was a shit game.”

Mr. D gasped. “How dare you.”

Apollo wagged a finger at him. “God of Truth!”

“So your oracle...lied to you?” I asked and Apollo paused. His face scrunched into a thoughtful frown as he set his cards down. He was quiet as Mr. D and Athena played their turns in silence. The Greek god of the sun was actually thinking. It was a rare occurrence and none of us wanted to fuck it up for him. 

I hesitantly bid under Apollo’s considering look.

“Maybe she didn’t?” He finally said as he drew cards.

“I didn’t get a Quest.” I felt compelled to point out. I didn’t get a Prophecy either. Just nonsense. Apollo would know the moment a real Prophecy got made. That was his thing. It didn’t mean anything. 

“I got a murder attempt.”

“I’m the god of Truth, not Facts.” He defended himself. “Maybe it was true, from a certain point of view.”

“Not the Star Wars quotes.”

“Wait a minute,” Athena cut in, sounding strangely thrilled. “You think he might - “

“I lost it, yeah,” Apollo said, still looking at me. “That doesn’t exactly mean it's gone.”

I froze mid-draw as what they were implying hit me. They think I might have taken the oracle spirit when I ate her. “You mean -”

“Maybe.”

“No.”

“I said maybe.”

“There must be some tests we could conduct.” Athena said the word ‘tests’ like she meant ‘dissect’ which was not filling me with confidence. “Perhaps a resonance sampling against the Grove of Dodona, or one of the other oracles you’ve been neglecting.” 

“I haven’t been neglecting - “ Athena gave him an incredulous look and Apollo corrected himself. “I got better!”

She didn’t bother responding to him. “As the son of Fate, you do have some prophetic talents, don’t you?”

I felt trapped. “But. Mom said - “

“That she wouldn’t let you hold an Oracle.” Apollo rubbed his chin. “ Technically, you aren’t holding it. You’re not a girl which is important. You didn’t swear to me which is necessary. Your mother out ranks whatever blessing the Fates would have given you and it's not possessing you because of...whatever it was you did to it.” He tilted his head. “Just to be thorough, what did you do to it?”

“I ate it,” I said numbly. I wondered if I could throw it up.

“You - “ he stopped. “Right. Okay.” He breathed in through his nose heavily, making his nostrils flare. “Percy. Get your cards.”

I opened my mouth to ask if he was serious, but I couldn’t get the words out. He was serious. I bit my lip and reached down to the left of my chair for my canvas backpack. As I pulled it up into my lap, Mr. D’s blood shot eyes widened as he tried to understand where it came from.

“What the - “

“A gift. From my mother.” I opened one of the pouches on the front and pulled out the aluminum tin case holding my deck. I rubbed my thumb over the etching of Mt. Olympus on the front before opening the latch. The sound was unexpectedly loud, making me flinch. 

“Okay,” I muttered as I dug out my cards. 

The thin geometric patterns of black and silver that decorated the back of every Mythomagic card was intimidating. If you’ve never heard of Mythomagic, it’s a modern take on Magic: The Gathering. Collectible cards with the theme of Greek mythology. You had character cards like Apollo and Athena, hero cards like Hercules, monster cards like the Hydra, item cards like Vial of Centaur Blood, etc. I knew how to play and it was fun, but I also knew how to read them like they were Greek tarot.

Nothing fancy or anything. Vague warnings or foretelling. 

I shuffled my cards. I placed the deck on the table and drew the first card. 

Zeus, King of Olympus.

Fuck.

“It doesn’t mean anything,” I said before anyone could say anything.

It didn’t mean anything at all.

I drew the next card and the next until I had my usual four cards in a line on the table. I took a breath and stopped my drifting hand from picking a fifth card.

“Percy…” Apollo said slowly.

I gritted my teeth, clenching my traitorous hand in my lap and trapping it with my other one. I stared down at my four cards and knew they made no sense. I had years of practice at this sort of thing. I could feel it down to my bones. That feeling pooled in my gut like I had swallowed a jar of tadpoles. As I stared down at my cards, I felt like I was looking at my Latin exam all over again and the letters were playing musical chairs.

The reading was incomplete.

Finish it.

My fingers uncurled. My body relaxed. I drew a fifth card. And then a sixth. I kept drawing, carefully placing each card at equal distance from the previous until I had two even rows of six. Twelve cards. I felt the soft click in my brain and knew I was done. My dyslexia took a back seat, allowing me to read them. Or maybe I wasn’t reading them with my brain. I was aware I was shaking as I reached out and picked up one of the cards in the first row. 

I buy packs of Mythomagic cards sometimes. Just to get new cards, it was a collectible game after all. Just like Pokémon, Magic: The Gathering or even baseball cards. The more unique cards I had, the more I could refine my readings. When you could only read four cards, every little bit helps. 

It got real old, real quick drawing Thanatos, the God of Death card only to figure out later it meant I was going to stub my toe. Now I got bad news in the form of Moros, the God of Doom and annoying things were Koalemos, the God of Stupidity. I kept an eye out for what I was still missing from the collection. It wasn’t a perfect system, but it worked out alright.

I flipped the card in my hand around, showing Apollo The Oracle of Trophonius card.

He blinked and then smiled. “Oh yeah! That - “

“I don’t have this card,” I whispered and the god’s mouth shut with a click. “I don’t know where it came from.” I swallowed. “‘Pol’. I don’t have this card.”

He took it from me. “Breathe, kid.”

I tried to.

I don’t want to be an oracle. I can’t be an oracle. I just wanted to be a normal Camper. Make friends. Have fun.

Go home.

Mom, I prayed, Tell me this is a joke. You didn’t mean it.

“You’re not my oracle,” Apollo said, as if he had read my mind. “You didn’t swear anything to anyone. You’re not mine.”

I don’t know what I felt from my mother in response to my prayer. It was alien. Like she jumbled several concepts together and the translation just tickled my brain. I almost understood. It was like I just tried to read a message in the reflection of a funhouse mirror. 

And I’m dyslexic.

What? Mom?

I understood the next message. 

Patience. 

This was -

This was actually happening.

As Apollo placed the Oracle of Trophonius back into its place between the cards of Hermes, God of Thieves and Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt, Athena abandoned her seat in favor of the empty chair next to me.

“Fascinating,” she breathed and I fought the urge to hit her. That would not help. “Card reading as a means of divination is a more chthonic tradition.” 

Chthonic means Underworld, more or less. It's the realm of the dead and the home of Elder Gods like Nyx and Tartarus which means the usual translation is ‘Bad Juju.’ 

“But this is undoubtedly a Prophecy,” Athena finished.

Her eyes shone as she traced the cards with her fingertips. She probably had a dozen potential meanings already bouncing around her skull. 

“Better than that!” Apollo laid a very warm hand on my shoulder and squeezed gently as he picked up an item card from the line up. Zeus’ Lightning Bolt. “It’s a Quest!”

“Yay.” Mr. D deadpanned. “Are we going to make the little shits draw lots then? Rock Paper Scissors? Sudden death match!”

“I’ve never…” I swallowed. “I’ve never read for other people. Just myself.”

Athena made a considering sound. I could almost see the puzzle pieces being put together in her head. “You issued a Quest for yourself?”

Please no.

“Secondaries were two out of the four if not negated by three, right?” Apollo mused, remembering the rules for how I read my cards. He was the one who helped me figure it out. He hovered over the card of Boreas, God of the North Wind. His brow furrowed. “Which means assuming it's not you, and expanding for the number, it’s…”

He picked up the sixth card. It was of his twin sister Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt. 

Athena scoffed. “It is likely an allusion to her domain as a literal interpretation of the task required.”

Apollo glanced at her, but pinned me with burning blue eyes. “Percy?”

“Uh.” My mouth was dry. There were protective older brothers and then there was Apollo.  

He wasn’t older, but don’t try to tell him that. 

“She...literally goes on Quests all the time for Olympus?” My mouth said without the thumbs up from my brain.

It was just so obvious?

Killing monsters was her job which I was led to believe was at least 80% of demigod Quests. The other 20% was a scavenger hunt. 

“Her Domain allows for tracking objects or people.” I began to list off. “She’s practiced at moving among mortals. She can kill monsters and mortals without breaking any rules and has almost as much leeway for travel through godly Domains as Hermes.”

If I was Zeus trying to find my OverCompensator Plus Ultra, my first pick would be Artemis. That’s because something like the Master Bolt flat out can’t be directly stolen by another god. It would just return to its true owner. However, it can be stolen by a mortal or a monster. Something funky with the metaphysics of Domains. A god like Hades could challenge Zeus and take the Bolt after beating his ass into the ground, but he can’t steal it. He would need a mortal Champion to do that. And when it comes to mortals, there are Ancient Laws against just smiting every annoyance. 

That doesn’t mean they can’t kill you, because they very much can. They just can’t do it directly. Even indirect smitings still have to work within their Domains. If a god wants you to not be a thing, they have to get you to Challenge them somehow. That way they can do whatever they want to you. If you didn't Challenge them, their hands were tied.

Unless that god is Artemis.

Hunt was an exception. Always has been. 

“And she already failed once finding Father’s Bolt!” Mr. D crowed. Athena grimaced as Apollo gritted his teeth. “Brat’s got a point.” 

Athena took Artemis’ card from Apollo before he set it on fire. She studied it as if she wasn’t sure it should even exist.

“There is a card for her Name as Goddess of the Moon, isn’t there?” She asked suddenly.

“Yeah.” I offered a smile that probably looked like a grimace. “All of the Dodekatheon get multiple versions of their cards.”

'Dodekatheon' was the Greek term for the Twelve Thrones of the Olympic Assembly, the highest level of government in the Greek pantheon. Which meant Apollo was basically a senator.

Weird, right?

Athena's eyes darted back to the card table. “King of Olympus. God of Thieves,” she said thoughtfully. The puzzle pieces were shifting around in her head again. “What can you tell us about this card?”

She picked up the tenth card. The Right Hand of Kronos, the Titan Lord.

Fuck if I know. 

I said the first thing that came to mind. “It’s banned in tournaments.”

Athena rolled her eyes and Apollo cracked a small smile. 

“Uh, there are five cards in total?” I kept talking. I don’t know why. Did I even have that card? I can’t remember if I had that card. “Right and Left Hand, Right and Left Leg and Head. If you assemble all the pieces of the Titan Lord in your hand, you automatically win. It’s game over.”

Apollo wasn’t smiling anymore.

Athena dropped the card back onto the table as if it had burned her. I knew why. You know the story, right? It was my bonus question on my Latin exam from Mr. Brunner. The myth goes like this: Kronos got a Prophecy saying he was going to be overthrown, so the paranoid asshat decided to eat all his children so that they couldn’t do the overthrowing. They got free and went to war with the Titans for ten years. And when they won, they cut their immortal father up into a thousand pieces and threw him into the Pit.

They were still a little angry. 

The victors established Mt. Olympus and the rest was history.

Kronos is not dead, though.

Mr. D sighed like Christmas had been canceled. He got up from his chair. He pointed to me with his Diet Coke can. 

“I hate you.”

Then he walked away.

“Fuck you too, buddy,” I muttered.

I did not ask for this.

“What else?” Athena demanded sharply.

I looked over the cards wildly. “I don’t - I don’t know! We - she - needs to go north maybe? Moros and Despoina together is probably bad? I - “ My eyes caught on the Oracle of Trophonius card. Something in my mind was pulling at me. Oracle of Trophonius and Despoina, Goddess of Mystery. Connected? Then wouldn’t it be better to put them...like this? Moros, God of Doom and Geras, God of Old Age were...beside? Boreas, God of the North Wind…

I started to arrange the cards. Some invisible counter in my mind kept track of the draw order. Four, four, four, it whispered as I moved Hermes, God of Thieves to the right. Eight, eight, eight. The Cydonian Cincture. Twelve, twelve, twelve. A Harpe Sword. When I was done, there was a circular pattern on the card table that looked like a wheel. Or maybe some kind of star? There was space for a thirteenth card in the upper left ‘corner.’

And I was exhausted.

I slumped back into my chair, head on the pillow and stared up at the fluffy white clouds in the sky.

“Time-gated,” I said. Even my voice sounded weak. “It’s not active yet.”

I was too tired to feel relieved.

“You did good, kid,” Apollo murmured. “First times can be a little rough, and messy and unsatisfying, but practice makes perfect!”

I rolled my eyes. “Dude.”

“What?” I could hear the smile in his voice. “I’m talking about Prophecies , obviously. Get your mind out of the gutter.”

I groaned.

I heard the chair creak as Athena stood up. “This may not be what you want, Percy, but remember that should the Lords of Sea and Sky go to war, millions will be collateral damage.” 

I grimaced. I guess. I was being selfish. I wanted friends, but not at the cost of putting my Dad in danger. Not if I could help it. 

And. 

Saving everyone else would be great too.

She leaned over the table, examining the cards. “And your ability is remarkable. No petitioners or requests required. You simply tire rather than losing consciousness and memory. A time-gated Prophecy. ” She straightened, tapped the table and turned to go. “If there are any more developments from the Oracle of Chthon, inform me.”

Apollo gave a low whistle. “Chthon?”

She gave her half-brother a superior look over her shoulder. “Do you have a better idea?”

She turned the corner of the Big House and I knew she was gone. 

My Disaster Bard grinned. “Sun god’s protégé, growing into his awesome, credit to the team!”

We never should have let Apollo go to Japan. His haikus were garbage.

“Your oracle still tried to kill me,” I said, tired. My eyelids were starting to get heavy.

“But didn’t!” He said as if that excused everything. “I’ve been trying to do something about her for decades. Not the solution I would have picked, but your mom plans ahead. I have faith in you.”

I think my heart grew three sizes. I couldn’t help my pleased smile. “Thanks, Bardson.”

“Anytime, Paladad!” He fluffed my pillow with a wave of a finger. “Take a nap. Eat something later.” His voice lowered a bit. “And about my sister - never mind. Maybe it just means one of her Hunters, or something.”

“Yeah,” I lied. 

Hunter of Artemis was its own card.

The sun in his eyes flared and I knew he heard the lie. 

“It’ll be fine,” I said ahead of him. “She’s almost as awesome as you are.”

“True,” Apollo allowed himself to be defused, striking a pose. “If anything happens, shoot me a rhyme!” 

After the last Olympian left, I took that badly needed nap. I didn’t dare try to Dream. Sam would be okay. He had to be.

I woke up to the sound of people talking. The sun was just touching the horizon over the water, painting the sky in various shades of pink and purple. Camp activities were winding down with people putting away the canoes, abandoning the volleyball game and stabling the winged horses. I turned my head and saw a bunch of older teenagers leaving the Big House. One of them looked over at me. His blue eyes widened, before he smiled and walked over.

“Hey! Perseus Stele, that right?”

“Percy,” I corrected, trying to match his smile. I sat up and aside from a twinge in my stomach, I was good as new. I threw my blanket off and saw my black slacks from yesterday and bare feet. Someone had cleared the card table, leaving just an aluminum tin with the Mythomagic logo etched into it lying there as if nothing had happened. 

“You?”

“Luke Castellan, son of Hermes. Counselor of Cabin 11.” He had an easy grin that softened the scar running down the side of his face from his eye to his chin. He had thick blond hair and he’d torn the sleeves off his orange Camp Half-Blood T-Shirt to better show off muscular arms. “So...from what I understand, you aren’t actually in a Cabin, but you’re still a Camper, yeah?”

I nodded. 

“Mr. D had all Counselors draw lots for, uh, ‘adopting’ you. Show you around, make your schedule, settle you in.”

My chest tightened. “And I’m speaking to the loser?”

Luke blinked. He studied me quietly for a moment. 

“The winner.” Luke said firmly. He offered me a hand and hauled me out of my chair. “No one’s given you the tour, right? We’ve got some time before dinner, go get some shoes on.”

I stared at him like an idiot for a few seconds, then rushed back inside the Big House. I was smiling as I found my shoes and dug out fresh socks from my bag. I faltered a little when I got back to him as he was talking to a vaguely familiar blonde girl with princess curls and storm gray eyes.

“Percy!” Luke nodded. “This is one of my friends, Annabeth Chase, Daughter of Athena. Cabin 6.”

I immediately saw what Athena had meant about demigod eyes. Annabeth’s eyes studied me, much like her mother, as if she could see down to my bones. But the only color in her eyes was gray.

“Hi,” I offered her a smile and a wave. “Percy Stele, uh,” I probably shouldn’t draw my mother’s attention here. Not after how the Campers reacted. “Son of Fate.” 

She smiled back, nodding her head. 

“I looked up everything we had on your god parent.” She dove in immediately. “I’ve got a list of books that mention her, a few poems but they link her to Aphrodite which is ridiculous, but a few highlight connections to Night and - “

“Annabeth!” Luke laughed. “Let’s start with the Camp first, eh? Giving him a tour, coming with?”

She blushed, mumbling under her breath.

“Uh, thanks.” I replied. I was a bit confused. Why would she offer to tell me about my own mother? 

“Alright, that sandpit is the volleyball court.” Luke pointed as he led the way off the porch. “Sometimes badminton.” It didn’t take long for Luke to start grabbing other kids milling around, introducing me to them and coaxing them to pitch in telling me about the canoe races, the contests, the Climbing Wall…

My face was starting to hurt from my smile when a strange horn sound signaled that dinner was starting. My unease had all but disappeared. I was still a little homesick, but it wasn’t crippling anymore. Mr. D’s kids, Castor and Pollux pulled me over to their Table 12, telling me how it all worked. Non-alcoholic drinks for the enchanted goblet so chouchen was out, but apple cider was in! Apparently they gave burnt offerings here. Guess it was a Young God thing. 

I chose a portion of my barbeque, some grapes and bread to chuck into the fire.

To Hestia Prytaneia and Hestia Potheinotáti, I prayed.

The smoke didn’t smell like burned meat, burned bread or burned grapes. It smelled like Dad’s hot chocolate. A hint of spice and vanilla. And underneath, it smelled like fresh grass and spring water, the scent I associated with Mom. It smelled like home.

Thanks. You’re the best.

Mom plans ahead, I remembered as I sat back down and dug in, fielding questions from curious satyrs. 

Apparently, I smelled like the stars.

Mom plans ahead.

Everything was going to be fine.

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