First Lie || Deception Book I ||

Awakening Pt. I

I hurried through the halls of Olympus towards the throne room. I had been summoned by my mother and Zeus himself, and it was never a good idea to make the lord of the skies wait. I looked at the sun worriedly and broke into a full sprint towards the end of the hall. Something brushed against my leg and I smiled, slowing down. "Avalanche, you're not allowed to come to the gatherings," I said, looking at my wolf.

She yipped and circled around my feet. "Just this once, please?"

"Nope. Not happening. Go chase Blackfire."

Avalanche growled in annoyance but stalked off towards the gardens, where my pegasus was no doubt bugging the nymphs for apples.

"You know, that wolf will be the end of me one day," Apollo said, falling into step beside me as I ran towards the throne room.

"Lord Apollo," I gasped out through the stitch in my side. "Shouldn't you be there already?"

"Pfft," he said, waving his hand. "When am I ever on time to boring council gatherings?"

"That's why Father always likes me better," Artemis said as she joined me on my other side.

"Yeah, which is why you're also late today sister," Apollo sniped.

"Why are you late too?" I said, skidding to a halt outside the bronze doors, catching my breath.

Artemis shrugged. "I was out."

"Are you ready?" Apollo asked his hand on the handle.

I nodded. "Let's go."

Apollo pushed open the doors, which groaned and squeaked as they cracked open to reveal all the Olympians plus my mother and Hades waiting inside. I gulped. Great. Everything I had to say today would be witnessed by everyone. Oh, well, it was now or never.

"You'll be fine," Artemis murmured, guiding me forward.

"Clarianna Sinclair," Zeus boomed when I walked into the room. I walked up to him and knelt.

"My lord."

"After all this time, I would have thought that we were past these formalities," Zeus said gruffly, though when I looked up, I could see a glimmer of amusement in his eyes.

"Apologies my-sir," I said, rising to my feet. "Hello, mother."

"Clari," Hecate said, smiling at me.

"We have gathered here today for a very important matter," Zeus stated. "A week ago, Hecate came barging into my private quarters, alerting everyone, saying that her daughter had had a visit to the dream world and witnessed a terrible exchange between two powers. I'll let her do the talking. Go on," he nodded to me.

I gulped. "Um, well, last week, I sensed a malevolent presence while I was sleeping through my shadows. I thought it might be simply a demigod being hunted again, but it didn't seem like a simple monster and there was no fear involved from the demigod, only curiosity. So I followed it and arrived at a pit."

"A pit?" Poseidon asked, leaning forwards.

I nodded. "Anyways, it was in a dark cavern, and I couldn't see, which is something that has never happened before. Only when I summoned my shadows did my visibility improve somewhat. That was when I saw a pit yawning so wide and was so completely black. It looked bottomless, but I could tell something was trying to rise from it, something huge and evil. Then, I heard a voice. It was cold and dark and chilling and so, so, so evil."

I paused, looking around. All the gods were staring at me, wide-eyed, except Athena, Hecate, and the big three, who looked grim. I continued, "The voice was speaking to someone but I couldn't see who it was. It was offering this person something but I only caught the end. It said, 'tear them down. To bring them to their rightful place and show them the pain and suffering and helplessness that all of us have felt.' There was a pause here, and another voice - mortal, that is; it sounded like a demigod - said, 'What do you mean?' and the voice responded, 'I want to overthrow them. Help me cast them off Olympus and tear it down, so I can turn the world into a new age, a golden age.' And that was all I heard for I felt the thing in the pit turn towards me. It said, 'What do we have here hmm? A little eavesdropper? Little demigod.' Suffice to say, I was terrified, so I fled the dream, waking up, where I immediately went to my mother." I glanced at Hecate. "She told me that that was the entrance to Tartarus and it was Kronos who was speaking."

Silence met my words.

Then, Hades spoke. "After Hecate told Zeus, he came to me and asked me to check on the pit, which I did. I sent five skeleton warriors down to the cavern, just to see if anything was amiss. None returned. The only thing that could have happened was that they were dragged into it."

"But it doesn't mean anything," Dionysus said. "Kronos has tried to rise again and again ever since he was thrown into Tartarus. Why should this time be any different?"

"You're right," Athena said. "Which is why Zeus and I wish to send Clarianna down to the mortal world and have her go undercover at Camp Halfblood. Right after the Winter Solstice."

"Yes," Hecate said, glaring at Athena. "But, it is too risky."

The two goddesses glared at each other.

"Wait," I said, stepping forward. "That's tomorrow. And you didn't mention anything about this."

"No, they didn't," Artemis agreed, glaring at her father. "We should get a say. Especially Clari. It's her life we're risking after all."

"I don't see a problem," Dionysus yawned. "We risk her life for a greater cause. I see no issue with that."

"Well," Hecate said, her voice taking on a deadly edge. "I have a problem with that." She glared at Dionysus.

Dionysus's words reached me. He was right, in a way. If Kronos were to rise, a lot would be at stake. Try the whole world. However, if the half-blood of the eldest gods could stop him, then the world would be saved. But it was a great burden for someone of sixteen, and even though I was only one year older than that, I'd been on Olympus, training with my mother and the rest of the gods, even Hades, to help me prepare for this. I was skilled in pretty much every weapon, knew battlefield healing, and most importantly, knew how to use my shadow-walker powers to great effect. As a child of Hecate, I could also manipulate the mist and had a small amount of magic. Artemis had helped me learn stealth, tracking, and infiltration, knowledge that would be incredibly useful as an undercover agent. I was ready to be out there. "Mother," I said. "I'm okay with it."

She glanced at me. "Are you sure about this?"

I nodded. "I'll be fine. After all, it's been eleven years of training, and for what? Let me have the chance to do something for once."

Hecate sighed. "If you wish."

"It will not be easy," Athena warned me. "You will have to infiltrate Kronos' army and find out who was the one speaking to him. I'm sure that more half-bloods will turn. You must find all of them. Rise within the ranks, hopefully to a position where you have power. All at once, you must make sure that no one doubts your loyalty. In the end, though, you are our spy and source of information. Most importantly, don't get caught. If you are ever suspected of anything, you will be killed. Are you sure about your decision?"

I glanced at my mother, then everyone around the room. I swallowed, daunted by the task ahead of me. It was a huge task, but this infiltration would be vital and I wanted to do something for once instead of sitting around on my butt. This would be my chance to go out into the real world. I would take it, no matter how dangerous.

"Yes. I'm sure."

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