Equilibrium

Chapter 6: Luka's POV

Reyna's voice rang out through the pavilion. What was she on about? That didn't make any sense, I never knew my dad, and from what my mom had told me about him, their relationship didn't last very long. When he found out she was pregnant, he bolted. Why would a supposed "god" do that? Man, if you're a god, then you should at least have enough money to pay child support, right? After about a minute, when the strange, floaty sign thing had disappeared, everyone rose back to their feet. Among them was Hazel. She made eye contact with Reyna, and they seemed kind of puzzled. "Frank, organize an immediate meeting with the senate. I think it's best that we get him his tattoo as soon as possible." Reyna said all this while looking at me with... Sympathy? Why was she sorry for me? And hold up, a tattoo? It was then that I realized that everyone around me had a tattoo on their forearm. They all said SPQR, and every one had a different number of straight lines on it. There was also a different symbol on each one. Frank's had two spears that were crossed against each other forming an 'x', and Reyna's had a torch and a sword in the same position as Frank's. There was no way in HELL I was getting a tattoo. Nope. I was leaving.

"You can't leave," Hazel murmured softly. "I know that all of this is hard to take in, but you can't run away from it. Just embrace it." Reyna and Frank had left, probably to plan whatever senate meeting they were talking about. "Come on," Hazel said, "I'll show you around. We probably have about half an hour to get to the meeting." I followed her. What else was I supposed to do? I had nowhere to go and I definitely couldn't risk being chased by another one of those things. What did Frank call them? A Dracaena I think. "We'll probably get you into the fifth legion," she said with a little sparkle in her golden eyes. I had no idea what that meant. "You probably have no idea what I'm talking about do you?" She laughed, as if reading my mind. I shook my head and smiled. "Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough." Hazel took me around the small little city called New Rome. It was beautiful, to say the least. We eventually ended up at an older looking building. There were a few people standing outside wearing robe-like things. Hazel took me inside to the very front of the building, which looked a bit like a church from the inside.

"Ok so I know that getting a tattoo is probably the last thing you'd want to do right now but you literally have no choice," Frank said, walking up to Hazel and I. He put his arm around her, I was right, they probably were dating. It was cute, but I got kinda jealous for a minute. I've always wanted to be in love.

"I really don't want a tattoo, thank you very much," I said fiercely. Frank patted my back and walked over to where a few other people were standing. He whispered a few words to them, and then one of them led me over to a separate room.

An hour later I walked out with a tattoo. Great. Just what I needed. There was one line, 'SPQR', and a picture of a sun on it. Not going to lie, it was kind of cool, but I still didn't really want it. Reyna came out of the church or whatever it was called, I still didn't know, and came up beside me. "Come with me, Luka, we have much to talk about." So naturally, I followed her, just like I'd followed Frank and Hazel around. I was getting a bit annoyed by it actually. I hated being ordered around. Within a minute or so Reyna took me inside a different building, but still with the same white marble walls and red tiled roof. She sat at one end of a desk that was in a side room as soon as we entered, and gestured for me to sit on the other side.

"Okay I'm going to be honest with you Luka," she started, "Your arrival here is good, yet bad at that same time." What was she on about? "There is a very important quest that you are going to have to go on. It is necessary. We have been waiting for you to arrive for a rather long time." Waiting for me? They knew I existed before I came to this crazy place? Wow. "You must go on this quest with another demigod from Camp Half-Blood, our Greek camp for demigods. She is ready for you with a prophecy, but you must hurry." Hold up, I was confused (wow no surprise there). I had no idea what all this meant (another surprise). "Alright Reyna, before you say anything else you need to explain EVERYTHING to me because I have literally no clue what anyone is telling me and I'm getting kind of tired of it." I said it firmly, looking her straight in the eyes the whole time, hoping that she would get how in-the-dark I felt. "That's a fair point Luka, I had assumed that Frank had told you everything, but I guess not."

Yeah no shit, Mr. Muscles didn't tell me anything. Reyna started from the very beginning. She told me all about her life, all about what had happened last summer with the earth god Gaia, and all the extra bits and pieces about being a demigod. Do I believe all this? No. Do I have a choice? Again, no. She then proceeded to tell me about the girl who I'm supposed to go on a quest with. Her name is Jackie, and she's a daughter of Hermes, the Greek equivalent to the Roman god Mercury. Ugh. Why did it have to be a girl? I didn't need to have another person falling at my feet, begging to date me. Reyna also told me that this would be the hardest thing I would ever have to do. No way. Nothing could be harder than calculus. "A prophecy has just been given to Jackie, and I figure you should hear it too." Reyna said, snapping me out of my daze. "Prophecy." I repeated. "Alright then, humour me," I said leaning into the back of my chair. She picked up a piece of paper lying on the desk in front of her that I hadn't noticed yet, and began reading:

"Two demigods, to each their own

One of Greece and one of Rome

Reinstating the relics bestowed by the gods

To save their camps against all odds

Beware the one true hero's bane

Or the one who cannot be escaped will reign

The two must find equilibrium or take their final breaths

Their failure would result in immediate deaths"

That sounded like poetry to me. Harsh, low key kind of scary poetry, but still, poetry. I love poetry. I always carry a little book around with me, a gift from my mother on my eighth birthday. What did I have to lose if I believed everything that Reyna was saying? Nothing. I had already lost everything.

"I'll do it. I'll go on the quest," my voice was shaky and I'm sure I looked pretty pale, but she just nodded her head and stood up.

"Come along Luka," she said with a hint of a smile, "We have to send you straight to Camp Half Blood so you can meet Jackie and head off on your quest." I really hope that this Jackie girl isn't annoying, even though I have a sneaking suspicion she will be. "Luka are you coming?" I heard Reyna's voice from outside.

"Coming!" I yelled back. I got up and walked out the door. Into my new life.

Wow.

How exciting.