OPAL SPARKS, percy jackson

iv. silent voices always shine the brightest

sometimes, arcana forgot they were kids. they were all just kids, they didn't deserve to be this sad during what was supposed to be the best years of their lives. they were all just kids.

"leo?" hazel asked gently. "you can't take what nemesis said to heart."

he frowned. "what if it's true?"

"she's the goddess of revenge," arcana reminded him. "she lives to stir up resentment, no matter the sides she's on. that's what she does."

"we should keep going," leo said after a moment of silence. "i wonder what nemesis meant about finishing before dark."

hazel glanced at the sun, which was just touching the horizon. "and who is the cursed boy she mentioned?"

below them, a voice said, "cursed boy she mentioned."

arcana jumped out of her skin, and hazel caught her before she could fall. she motioned towards the origin of the voice, and arcana was able to get a good look at the source. she was a young woman, standing about ten feet from the base of the boulder. her face was pretty, yet unmemorable. her dress was the color of the rocks. her wispy hair blended in with the dry grass. it was like she was invisible, or just perfectly camouflaged until she moved.

"hello," hazel said. "who are you?"

"who are you?" the girl answered. her voice sounded weary, like she was tired of asking questions.

the three of them exchanged looks. with the demigod gig, you never knew what you'd run into. nine times out of ten, it wasn't good. a ninja girl camouflaged in earth tones didn't strike leo as something he wanted to deal with just then.

"are you the cursed kid nemesis mentioned?" leo asked. "but you're a girl."

"you're a girl," said the girl.

"excuse me?" leo said.

"excuse me," the girl said miserably.

"you're repeating.." leo stopped. "oh. hold it. guys, wasn't there some myth about a girl who repeated everything—?"

"echo," they said in unison.

"echo," the girl agreed. she shifted, her dress changing with the landscape. her eyes were the color of salt water. arcana tried to home in on her features, but she couldn't.

"i don't really remember the myth," arcana admitted, fiddling with her bracelet, "but you were cursed to repeat the last thing you heard, right?"

"you heard, right," echo said.

"poor thing," hazel said. "if i remember right, a goddess did this?"

"a goddess did this," echo confirmed.

leo scratched his head. "but wasn't that thousands of years.. oh. you're one of the mortals who came back through the doors of death. i really wish we could stop running into dead people."

"dead people," echo scolded like she was gonna hit him.

"uh.. sorry," he muttered. "i didn't mean it that way."

"that way." echo pointed toward the far shore of the island.

"you want to show us something?" hazel asked. she climbed down the boulder, arcana and leo following.

even up close, echo was hard to see. in fact, she seemed to get more invisible the longer he looked at her.

"you sure you're real?" leo asked. "i mean.. flesh and blood?"

"flesh and blood." she touched leo's face, and he flinched.

"so.. you have to repeat everything?" he asked.