Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
( Chapter Five ━━━ In A Veil Of Great Surprises ! )
Percy and I climbed four flights of stairs and stopped under a green trap-door. I pulled the cord down to open the door, a wooden ladder fell into place.
Immediately, the smell of rotting wood and mildew hit me in the face. The smell of snakes as well... weird. Percy and I both held our breaths as we climbed the ladder into the attic. It was warm and filled with hero junk, quest mementos.
Percy jumped in front of me as his eyes landed on a mummy. Not a mummy. I thought he was going to jump into my arms for a few moments, but he bumped into me. "Gruesome memento."
"Not a memento, Percy," I told him and he furrowed his brows.
The Oracle sat on a tripod stool, her body shriveled. She wore many beaded necklaces, a tie-dyed sundress, and a headband over her black hair. Her skin was thin and her bones stuck out like sticks. All of the hair on my body stood up as she sat up, opening her mouth as green mist fell from it. It layered over the floor.
Percy grabbed my hand as the trap-door slammed shut. Im my head, a voice filled one ear and wrapped around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.
My breath caught in my throat and I felt Percy squeeze my hand. He must've worked up the courage because he stepped forward just a bit, dropping my hand. Yeah, I decided to just stay planted where I was. That was until Percy looked back at me and grabbed my wrist, pulling me forward to stand beside him.
"What is our destiny?" Percy asked.
The mist began to grow thicker, collecting in front of Percy and I. Two people appeared in the mist, a woman and a man. One of them I recognized as my mother, Elizabeth, but the man, I assumed, was someone Percy knew because he clenched his fists next to me.
They both turned to us, but the man spoke first, his voice the same as the rasping Oracle: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.
My mother nodded toward me, but I knew it couldn't be real. It was an illusion. In the same voice, she said: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.
At the same time, they spoke the last lines to us: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
They dissolved as the mist retreated. I had been frozen for the whole prophecy that I didn't even noticed the tears on my cheeks. Seeing my mother after so long—even if she wasn't real—must have done it to me.
