Heaven Burns

The Titans

Thia's POV

Being able to swim and properly wash up was the best thing to come out of our quest so far. Sure, the water was cold, but being able to scrub off any lingering dirt and grime was absolutely amazing. Not to mention, getting to wash our old blood from my clothes. They'd gotten stiff and scratchy with time and I wasn't a fan of it.
"I don't know how to swim!" Jamie protested, hanging onto Luke like his life depended on it, which it did.
"I'll teach you," Luke promised, but Jamie wasn't having it. He trembled from head to toe as they waded into the deeper end of the lake. Jamie had been perfectly fine sitting in the shallow end.
"Ah!" Jamie shrieked as his feet dipped into the water. He scrambled up to Luke's shoulders and dug his hands into blonde hair. Wincing, Luke tried to pry him free but that only made things worse.
"Jamie," I called, trying to get his attention. His wide and terrified eyes met mine. "It's okay. It's important to learn how to swim. I'll help you. Okay?"
"I don't know," Jamie whimpered, his grip loosening on Luke as I carefully took him in my arms. When his legs dipped into the water I worried he might freak out again. Instead, he remained as calm as possible despite his small fingers digging into my arms.
"Do you know how to float?" I asked, positioning him so he was laying on his back. "Just relax and spread out like a starfish. Can you be a good starfish?"
"Y-yeah," Jamie nervously sprawled out his limbs. He looked at me rather concerned but seemed to trust he wasn't in any danger.
"Great! Now, I'm going to let go but I'll keep my hands right under you just in case, alright? I'll be right here," I promised. Jamie frowned in worry but gave a tiny nod. Carefully, I retracted my hands. He remained floating for a moment or two  before panicking. Before he could get too worked up, I scooped him back up out of the water.
"That was ten seconds!" Luke cheered. "Good job!"
Jamie gave a hesitant smile, looking around at everyone who gave him small indications of approval. He turned back to me, newly excited and demanded to float again. After a bit of time he was starting to get really good at it.
"You're a natural!" I smiled. "Now, I'm gonna hold you while you lay out in your stomach. Kick your little legs as best as you can."
Jamie did as he was told, and after about an hour he was able to start swimming in short spurts. It was amazing to see and I couldn't help but celebrate the success with him. He grinned from ear to ear and splashed about excitedly from his accomplishment.
"You're a good teacher," Leah smiled, jumping onto my back and nearly dragging me underneath the water.
"I try my best. He's a good kid. Mom says he spends most of his time alone. This is good for him," I sighed. I couldn't imagine what his life had been like over the past two years. Obviously he had a few friends, but being alone for so long during your formative years had negative effects. It was good to see him branching out.
"He'll appreciate it when he's older," Leah insisted, pressing a light kiss to my cheek. "It's nice to see you having some fun."
"It's a good distraction " I admitted, but I was still incredibly worried. Order had yet to talk to me and I was painfully aware of her silence. As much as she'd annoyed me, it felt strange that she wasn't talking in my head like before.
"Nooo!" Marianna squealed, and I watched as Andy picked her small frame up and effectively tossed her in the air. She crashed into the water with a big splash.
"Hmm," Leah mused, settling her chin on my shoulder.
"What?" I asked, glancing over my shoulder to see her watching them with a small smile.
"What do you mean, what? Can't you see it?" She laughed, giving me an incredulous look.
"Um...I'm not sure what I'm supposed to be seeing," I admitted. She stifled a laugh and rolled her eyes.
"I'll let you figure it out," Leah decided, letting go of me and trudging off to shore.
"Wait, come back!" I protested, chasing after her. The moment she'd left I felt horribly light. It was nice having her literally ground me in the water. Pushing my way through the water, I managed to make it back to the small bank of land. Panting, I took a moment to catch my breathe.
"You suck at chasing people down," Mama snorted, watching as I struggled to recover from my efforts.
"Me? You have one leg right now. I'm still doing better than you," I wheezed. Her expression turned from mild amusement, to great offense, to pride, and back to amusement as she tossed a rock at me. "I'm joking! Don't concuss me!"
"I'd kick your ass if I wasn't relaxing," Mama insisted, pointedly leaning back against Mom who was trying not to laugh. She spared me a small wink and I knew I wasn't actually going to be in trouble for what I'd said.
"Not to get back to business when you're having a good time, but I had an idea," Leah interjected, tapping me on the shoulder.
"What up?" I asked.
"Maybe you can't exactly talk to Order at the moment but what if Jamie can? It might be nice for him to talk to someone other than the big K," Leah suggested. I hadn't thought about that before. Was it even possible for Jamie to see through other beings besides Kronos? Was he specifically tied to the Titan Lord?
"It might be worth a shot," I nodded. I wasn't sure how to approach the topic. It seemed almost cruel to try and force Jamie to communicate with someone when he very clearly didn't want to be doing it in the first place. At least not with Kronos.
Turning about, I scanned the area for the small blonde boy. The others were starting to move out of the water to dry off. At first I didn't know where Jamie was in the water until I saw him splashing about. At first I thought he was practicing his swimming but something was off. There was too much foam and too many bubbles. His head dipped under the surface before he popped back up again. A single word tore its way from his throat. "DADDY!"
In a heart beat I was back in the water, racing towards him. He thrashed about frantically before dipping under once more. He didn't resurface. Sucking in a sharp breath, I dove after him. The water was too dark for me to see. Instead, I felt around aimlessly until my hands brushed against something. Hooking my fingers into water logged fabric, I kicked back up to the surface.
Blinking water from my eyes I looked down to see that Jamie was out cold. His lips were beginning to turn blue. Keeping his head up and back, I swam as fast as possible back to the small bank of land. Placing him gently on the ground I did my best to do chest compressions. Part of me was terrified that I'd end up hurting him more but I also knew I couldn't think about that at the moment.
Giving two short breaths I waited impatiently wanting him to respond more than anything else. For a brief moment his small fingers curled but that was it.
"What happened?" Luke asked.
"I don't know," Andy stammered, having been the last one to leave the water. "He got a far off look in his eyes. I didn't think anything of it at the time but-"
"Come on!" I growled, praying to everyone I knew that poor Jamie wasn't going to die. A minute passed before all at once his eyes opened. Turning him on his side, I rubbed his back as he vomited the water in his lungs. He shook from head to toe as he wretched until nothing else came out. Violent sobs soon wracked him.
"Daddy! Daddy!" He cried, flailing about frantically. Managing to catch his arms I pulled him close trying to reassure him that he was safe. His hands grilled my shirt until his knuckles were white. "They got Daddy!"
"Apollo?" Marianna worried.
"I saw!" Jamie shrieked, wailing in horror. "They got Daddy! His eyes! His ey-"
"It's okay." I tried to soothe him as best as I could but his wailing only worsened. I could only imagine what he'd seen to upset him so much. The others watched unsure of what to do. My parents gave me sympathetic looks but there was little to be done. Whatever had happened Jamie needed to process it no matter how painful it was. "Jamie it's okay. We'll find your Daddy. We'll find him."
"Thia we aren't looking for hi-" Andy started. He quickly silenced himself as I shot him a glare.
"Where was he? How can we help him?" I questioned carefully. Jamie was too shaken to respond. He kept rubbing at his and whimpering. "Jamie..."
"Him is home!" Jamie insisted at last.
"What do you mean at home?" Leah asked.
"Where he came out!" Jamie yelled. "He was baby. He came out."
"Where he was born?" My question sat unanswered for a moment before Jamie gave a small confirmatory nod. "What was he there?"
"Mama," Jamie sniffled, blinking slowly. He was growing tired. I supposed nearly drowning would do that to you.
"His mama? He was looking for her?" Leah pressed.
"My Grammy," Jamie nodded. Closing his eyes, he hid his face in my neck and refused to acknowledge anymore questions.
"Okay. Okay, Jamie. You did good. Thank you." I moved to set him down but her clung to me tighter. So tight, that his nails bit into my skin. "Do you want me to stay with you?"
"Please," he cried. Nodding, I did my best to reposition him so that we'd both be more comfortable. He was fast asleep in a handful of seconds.
"Where were Artemis and Apollo born?" Leah asked, turning her attention to Mama.
"Uhm, the Isle of Delos I believe." Mama frowned in thought. "Yeah, that sounds right."
"It's worth a shot to go there," Luke suggested. "Apollo was there for a reason. Perhaps he got wind of our plan. Leto would help us. She's a titan too."
"Maybe," Mom nodded, pursing her lips. "It's a good ways away though."
"If we can get word back to someone closer we can send them instead. Maybe Nico or-" Andy started.
"No, we can't trust the shadows," Mama frowned. "We can't trust anything right now. As much as I would love to know the rest of our friends and family are okay, we can't risk it."
"She's right," Marianna nodded solemnly. "It's up to us and us alone."
"I can light travel," I suggested. Immediately I was met by a handful of cross looks. "What?"
"You don't have the strength to do that at the moment even if you feel fine. You need to start resting and lay off your powers as much as possible. You're still thin as a rail," Mom explained.
"Fine." Sighing, I sat down. "Can we at least get a fire going?"
— — —
Jamie remained snuggled up in my arms through the night. I sat awake by the fire contemplating our plan, however half baked it was. While I knew it would be beneficial getting the Titaness on our side, I worried she might refuse. Not to fight for Kronos but to stay neutral. That was the safest option for anyone.
Then again, if she knew how horribly Kronos had hurt her children, she might be moved to act. There was nothing more terrifying than a mother's wrath. I'd seen it in action first hand. My next fear was wether or not the Gods would be willing to work alongside their Titan counterparts. Surely, they would understand the tactical advantage. They ought to be able to put their differences aside for the time being. If they didn't, then no one would be surviving in the near future.
Sighing, I tried to determine who all we could sway to our side. There was Leto and Rhea, a good start, but Kronos would lean heavily on his brothers for support. Perhaps his sisters would side with us in turn.
"You thinkin'?" Jamie yawned, taking a moment to stand up and stretch. Her rubbed at his chest which was no doubt still sore.
"Yeah," I nodded, watching as Jamie moved to snuggle underneath Leah's praetor cape. He made himself at home right beside her as she slept. If she noticed, she didn't seem to mind.
"Go sleepy night night," Jamie insisted, patting the spot next to him on the ground. He even held up a corner of the cape for me.
"I have to stay awake Jamie. If I fall asleep-"
"The blood comes," Jamie nodded in understanding. He was far more perceptive than I gave him credit for. "I can keep it away."
"That's very sweet of you but I don't think you can." Sighing, I laid down beside him to keep him from getting too upset. Tucking my arms underneath my head I stared up at the sky. It was hard to see the stars amongst the trees. It didn't help that the moon was impossibly dim.
"I can try." Jamie's silver eyes shone brightly, an earnest gaze so intense it made me shiver.
"Jamie," Leah groaned, opening her eyes ever so slightly, "it's not something anyone can fix. It's a problem for big people okay? Not something for little people like you to worry about."
"I'm big!" Jamie protested, stuffing upright.
"Jamie, go to sleep!" Andy yawned.
"But I'm big! Jamie frowned.
"Even big people need sleep. Right?" Mama looked at me pointedly from where she was busy writing names in the dirt. I suppose she was trying to recall as much as possible about Titan lineage. On occasion, Mom would correct her spelling with a tiny smile.
"Right. Big people need sleep too." I did my best to sell my point but Jamie wasn't buying it. He looked at me skeptically before finally settling back down. Once certain his little outburst was contained, I let him use my arm as a pillow.
With a big yawn, he fell silent. For a moment I thought he was asleep when a rather unexpected question tumbled from his mouth. "Will you be my mom?"
It caught me so off guard I forgot what the English language was. Leah arched a brow shooting me a concerned look. Jamie didn't know his mother. He'd arrived at New Athens under the care of another demigod and satyr. Luke had always suspected that Jamie was abandoned as a toddler due to his abilities.
"Jamie..." I didn't know what to say. I didn't want to break his heart but I wasn't exactly parent material. At least, not at the moment. I was barely keeping myself together let alone a five year old.
"It's okay. You don't have to answer now. I can wait," he decided. Without saying another word he fell fast asleep. Sighing, I did my best to sleep as well, but it was hard after receiving that bombshell of a question. I wondered what had made him ask it in the first place.
After staring at the stars intently for some time, I fell asleep. My dreams were the same horrific ones as before, but they weren't quite as scary this time. That was good, but even still, Jamie's question hung in the air. I had no idea how to answer it. And I had no idea how to find the titans that we needed. The next couple of days we're going to be full of trial and error. I just holed that we would inevitably reach success.