Chapter 5: Chp 5 – Knitting the Mortal Coil

Chapter 5 - Knitting the Mortal Coil

Nancy decided to nurse her headache as far away from me as possible. My only contact with her was when I caught her staring, or her glare when I tried to leave her clothes with one of her friends. Nobody could remember Ms. Dodds except for Percy, Grover, and Mr.Brunner. Perhaps Nancy could remember her later. Grover and Mr. Brunner both tried to pretend like Ms.Dodds never existed, but the latter was far worse at hiding it. Percy kept springing questions on people, and he especially wanted to talk to me, but Mr. Brunner made sure that we were kept apart.

But eventually, fate would win out like it always does.

I had defeated Ms. Dodds, one of the minions owned by Percy's mysterious enemy. I hadn't killed her. Killing someone I don't know, especially an incarnation of curses, is just dumb. Monsters and other beings are revived after a time and Gods can do the same with extra effort Mithras and Theandrios made me memorize a long list of heroes that found that out the hard way. I put her in the strange domain so future me could deal with her.

Someone thinks Percy did something that he clearly has no idea about. And now I was in the thick of it.

The rest of the school year was thankfully free of mythological influences. But it wasn't very pleasant.

Percy gave up trying to talk to me after Grover and Mr.Brunner's machinations. He couldn't approach me in class, between classes, or at night. Grover and Mr. Brunner's attitude towards me had changed to weariness. It still was more attention than they gave me before.

I might've preferred being ignored.

Nancy also changed. She stopped seeing Percy and Grover as weirdo and disabled weirdo with crutches. She stayed clear of them and pestered me more, which eased my nerves somewhat as Percy had gotten moodier and I didn't want her to get slapboxed by a water fountain.

The angry weather only got more destructive. The lights were frequently out from lightning strikes. One night, the windows of the boy's dorm were blown out by a thunderstorm. And a few days later, several record-breaking tornadoes dropped down in the surrounding countryside.

Eris and Harmonia stopped sending letters back to me.

Exam week was arriving soon, and so too was the end of the semester. I would get to go back and see Eris and Harmonia and live in relative peace until next year. But I knew that wouldn't happen.

I could feel my Greek powers growing stronger, even if I never used them. Reading anything except Greek or Latin in Mr. Brunner's class was a chore. I was being dragged into something and I knew nothing. I hated ignorance.

I gave up on classwork and pretending to socialize with my classmates.

I instead barricaded myself in the dorms, trying to piece together a puzzle without any pieces. I came up short. My only lead was that some powerful being was angry at Percy for some reason, but I didn't know why.

But I knew someone who would.

I focused on the domain I had appeared in after absorbing Mithras and Theandrios. And I thought about Ms. Dodds.

I appeared in a single cavernous room. The cave walls were made from black marble with pulsating red cracks. The only source of light was a hole in the ceiling that seemed to lead out to the same plains I had appeared in before. In the middle of the room, sat a kneeling Ms. Dodds in her true form. Four carved stalagmite pillars held her chained in between them.

I stepped lightly to her, sat down at her level, and picked up her butchered wing that sat between us.

"Ms. Dodds."

She jumped at my throat with bared fangs but was yanked back by the stone chains.

"Release me!" She hissed.

"I can remove your chains if you're nice."

"From this place, boy. I do not belong here."

"No. You belong here as long as I say you do. If I let you go now, I might have Percy's blood on my hands."

"He cannot escape pain and neither can you. As long as you don't interfere any longer, you might experience less of it."

"You're not improving your situation, Ms. Dodds."

"Do not call me that, Boy."

"Then what would you like me to call you?"

She stared at me with bloodshot eyes and cold black irises.

"Let me break your situation down for you, lady. You have nothing. You're chained, can't move. And you have absolutely no idea where you are."

"I am older than you can imagine."

"You look good for your age."

"What?"

"Though, your personality also has some unpleasant correlations with your appearance. You've got a heart made of sharp, cold stone. Like a gargoyle."

"Do you intend to just antagonize me?

"No. You were a pretty good teacher. A horrible person, sure. But I have no hate for you."

"Then what do you want?!"

"Information. I didn't know you'd show up here in chains, and I imagine it's been a horrible few months for you. So I'll let you out of these chains, heal your wing, and provide you with whatever clothing and food I can reasonably muster. And you will tell me why you tried to kill Percy."

"Counteroffer. You let me go now, and I go nice on your family when I torture them in hell." She hissed.

"Well, aren't we being unproductive? Maybe a few more months here will change your mind." I got up and walked towards the hole in the ceiling.

"Percy Jackson will die before the summer solstice. He has started a war among the gods and is destined to die. I simply did what my master ordered." She screamed.

I turned back to her, surprising her. It wasn't meant to be helpful, but it will do. I looked at her shackles and they released her neck, hands, and feet.

"Will you permit me to call you Alecto?" I asked.

"My name is not something to be casually said." She sneered.

"I'll take it as a yes." I grabbed her dismembered shoulder and came around to reattach it.

Upon putting it in place, I focused on the Greek divine powers of healing and medicine. Fibers of yellowish muscle grew and joined her to her piece of flesh. Then it was covered by her onyx skin.

As expected, she spun around to slash at me with her claws, but she paused before her claws could puncture my neck.

"For a math teacher, you aren't that smart, Alecto. Even as the incarnation of endless anger, you should know when and when not to strike."

" You can't blame me for trying." She smirked.

"No, but I can blame you for being stupid about it." I returned a smile, and she scowled. I released the invisible hold on her and she fell to the ground.

"Watch your tongue."

"Yes ma'am. Would you like for me to give you clothes, or is your naked body punishment for me?" I said sarcastically.

She quickly covered her privates and glared. "Give me a golden peplos, enough pins for one sleeve, and a leather strap for my torso. You do know what those are?"

I made a large black piece of linen, several bronze pins and buckles, and a long leather strap fell at her knees.

"If you want better, behave," I said. But the truth was that I didn't have the energy to make it. Creating things from thin air was hard, the domain made it easier, but not easy enough. I could maybe make a plate of food before passing out.

She folded the linen in half around her side and used the buckle to pin the two top corners over her shoulder. She used the other buckle for her other shoulder and the pins secured the underside of the extra linen around her arm and wing, forming sleeves. And the leather strap was twisted to form a sort of bra that crossed her shoulders, breasts, and waist, keeping the cloth secured around her. The fabric was pulled up to make two pockets at the head, one in the back for a hood, and one in the front for some reason. It stopped at her thigh and left one side mostly exposed. It was casually immodest for a greek, unless that greek was a spartan, though she had been depicted in art with far less.

"Help me with my hair." She demanded, turning around and showing her long curly black hair that had gotten stuck in the process.

"No."

"Please." She said in the same tone.

It was a trap, she could have done it before the process was finished. But I felt confident.

I came up behind her and started pulling at her hair to remove it from the folds of linen. I let out a false sigh of relief and a green snake shot out, swallowing two of my fingers. Its outer fangs tried to puncture my hand, and its inner ones tried the same, but it only tickled a little.

"That was better. Still obvious, but better." I finished her hair and petted a few other snakes buried in her mop of hair. They had some minds of their own and really liked their snouts rubbed. She smacked my hand away at the end.

I grabbed her other hand and forearm and twisted them.

Her screams were amplified by the cavern as she held her deformed and limp hand.

She glared at me with seething hatred. I put down a plate of bread, olives, and cheese.

It wasn't anything a monster like her wouldn't recover from soon.

"I'll gladly turn my cheek if you strike me. But you made a mistake when you threatened my family. Make it again, and I will torture you far more creatively than anything you ever did as hell's torturer."

I appeared back in my dorm and hit the bed like a bag of stones.

The next morning, I was awoken by the knocking on my door. I dragged myself out of bed to answer it, head pounding to the beat of my heart.

It was Mr. Brunner. He looked like he stayed up all night.

"Are you alright, Sem?" He asked.

I looked down at my chest and noticed the caked and fresh blood on it from my nose. I had trailed it from my bloodbath of a bed across the floor as well.

"It's just the weather," I answered.

"You should get it checked in the infirmary before exams."

"I'll do that."

"Well, your parents asked me to give you a letter. I have to leave campus directly after the end of exams, So that's why I woke you up." He handed me a white envelope with gold trim on it.

It wasn't mortal mail. I sat on my bed and pulled out a folded letter with purple lipstick marks all over it. Eris.

______________________________________________________________________________

To our little Stud Muffin,

I'm so sorry. I miss you.
We've been busy with things lately, but we've been watching.
You've been very handsome and Harmonia is very happy about your grades.

We probably won't be able to see you this summer. We know you can take care of yourself, but please stay safe and don't start any fights.
But cause lots of chaos.

XOXOXOXXXXXXXX

Love, HARMONIA and ERIS.

P.S. ♥ Harmonia doesn't wear lipstick, but I made her put lip gloss on and kiss the letter too ♥

______________________________________________________________________________

On closer inspection, there were indeed lip gloss marks.

"Is this all?" I asked.

He hesitated for a moment.

"Have a good summer, Sem." He spun around and wheeled off.

He dropped a card in his wake.

You are reading story Semideus at novel35.com

The card was black except for a location name, and an image of a hill with a tree on it. A barn and a body of water were off in the distance.

Half-Blood Hill

Long Island, New York

I sat back down on my bed and held the letter again.

I knew they were safe. Uncomfortable definitely, but safe. They said they had been watching me, but whether they knew about the fiasco at the museum. I hoped not.

My exams went fine. I tried for perfect scores since I knew Eris and Harmonia would see them. And on the final day of the term, I packed my spare clothes into a small suitcase.

The other students were talking about their vacation plans. Some of the richer students had exotic plans around the globe. Others were going on road trips.

Nancy swished her ponytail in my face.

"What are your plans over the summer?" She asked, chewing some gum.

"Why do you ask?"

"Because we're friends!" She frowned.

I almost acted surprised. I never had friends, but I knew that I shouldn't do that.

"Sorry. My parents are away, so I don't know what I'm going to do."

"You can hang out with me. I don't have any plans either."

I looked into her eyes and saw a hard no was not an option. I thought back to the card in my pocket.

"I'm thinking about exploring some of the Long Island countryside."

"We can go together. And you can stay over at my house so you don't have to be alone. I'm a great friend."

"But what about-"

"My mom will love to see you." She grabbed my arm.

Nancy dragged me around as she said goodbye to her friends and we made it to the last Greyhound bus to Manhattan. The bus driver asked us for tickets, and Nancy stared at me, expecting something.

I sighed and put my hand on the bus driver's shoulder. "Thank you for letting us ride without tickets, Brennard."

"My pleasure, Sir. Let me get your luggage. Sit wherever you like." He smiled.

We found three seats to ourselves in the back. There weren't many riders, but among them were Percy and Grover. Same people, different bus.

I sat next to the window and Nancy took up the rest of the row, using my lap as a pillow. She hummed cheerily through the whole ride. I felt her grab my hand and she used it to scratch her head until I started doing it willingly.

"Nancy, Is there anything you want to talk about?"

"Yeah, what's Half-Blood Hill? Is it the place you're trying to find?" She had nicked the card from my pocket and was reading it.

I snatched it back. "I don't know. I just thought an adventure might be fun."

"Does it have anything to do with Ms. Dodds?"

"Who?"

"Don't make me crush your balls." She glared up at me.

I pinched her red nose. "I don't know."

"What do you know?"

"That your head is heavy."

She huffed and flipped over a few times angrily before resting towards me.

She fell asleep making angry and happy murmuring sounds. After failing to eavesdrop on Percy and Grover at the front without anyone near them, I too fell asleep against the glass.

A pipe in the bus's main engine exploded. Black smoke burst out of the dashboard and filled the bus in a rotting haze. Brennard slammed his fist against the wheel and hobbled the Greyhound over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, He announced that all the passengers would have to get off. I nudged Nancy off and we filed outside next to Percy and Grover.

"Sup?" Nancy yawned.

"Nothing," Percy said defensively.

I told Nancy to stay with them and asked Brennard if he needed help. I didn't want everyone out here to bake in the afternoon heat.

"No, I got it." He said proudly.

There weren't any cars nearby, or anything, really. Just maple trees, grass, litter, and blue skies. It would be a good place for a nap. Or a horror movie. Nancy tried to get cell service. Percy and Grover were staring at an old-fashioned fruit stand on the other side of the four-lane mirror.

An assortment of goods was on sale: crates of vibrant cherries and apples, olives, walnuts, jugs of cider in a horse bathtub of ice. There were no customers, no merchandise missing from being sold earlier, just three women sitting under the shade of a tree, knitting socks the size of body bags.

They looked to be twins, all sporting the same dark brown hair tied into buns and pale skin, but they were very different ages.

The lady on the left, who looked to maybe be Nancy's age, sifted through an enormous basket of gold and silver yarn. The lady in the middle, somewhere in her 30s, knit the socks. The lady on the right cut the excess. She was maybe in her 40s.

They moved quickly, but they didn't look at their work, rather at Percy. The color drained from Grover's face. I walked in between them.

"Those are some weird-looking socks, huh?" I said.

"You think they'll fit me?" Percy asked.

"Not funny, Percy. Not funny at all." Grover said.

"No, those socks are a little too big for you. I'd say they're for somebody six inches taller, maybe a bit more muscular."

The lady weaving the socks hit a knot and they all frowned at it before continuing their work. The lady with the scissors took out a huge pair of scissors-gold and silver, long like shears. Grover stopped and caught his breath.

"We're getting on the bus," he said. "Come on."

"No, it's boiling in there," Percy said.

I looked at the stand.

"Might as well make the most of it." I sighted and walked to the other side, a stray car stopping patiently for me.

I perused the selection of goods under the women's watchful gaze before landing on the pair of socks they just made. I put my finger on the knot in the fabric.

"Those aren't for sale." The middle one said.

"Bella Borisovich. Age 25. She's wanted to be a model all her life. Now she's not so sure. But I'm sure she'll find her way." I removed my finger and the knot was gone. Humans are fickle beings, it doesn't take too much effort to change one aspect of their lives, even at this distance. Full control is a nother matter.

I walked back towards them.

"How are you lovely ladies doing this fine evening?"

"Busy." The oldest said.

"I'm sorry for disturbing you, then. I just wanted to commission you for a bit of your beautiful work."

The youngest looked attentively.

"That lady behind me, Nancy Bobofit-"

"What about her?"

"We can only make clothes."

"And they're quite expensive."

"She's my friend. Make her a pretty dress she'll like. Something comfortable and unrestrictive. I want it delivered to her in two weeks. In return, I'll solve 100 human knots. 100 knots after the summer solstice."

They frowned at the last bit.

"No d-"

"100 knots more, and we'll make her a whole wardrobe out of silk. Comfortable, pretty, and unrestrictive." The youngest said, cutting off the oldest.

"Deal." I reached across and kissed her hand before doing the same to the others. "Pleasure doing business with you."

"How will we get hold of you to untie the knots?"

"Simply ask the knots to unravel and they will do so." I put some money down and grabbed a few things for the passengers. "I do hope we stay on friendly terms, I can get quite…knotty."

I chuckled back to the bus as Brennard yanked out a big chunk of smoking metal from the engine compartment. The bus shuddered and roared back to life.

The passengers cheered.

"Damn right!" yelled Brennard. He slapped the bus. "Everyone back on board!"

I passed out a few snacks to everyone and sat back down with Nancy.

She force-fed me cherries and ate some herself, using a water bottle to hold spit out the seeds.

"What were you talking to them about?" She asked.

"You saw them?"

"Of course." She paused. "So they're like Ms. Dodds then."

"Far worse. I asked them to make something."

"What is it?"

"Secret."

I battered her hands away in defense and countered with tickling.

=<=>=

 

Hopefully I can give an update on chp 13 next week.

You can find story with these keywords: Semideus, Read Semideus, Semideus novel, Semideus book, Semideus story, Semideus full, Semideus Latest Chapter