Madness's Melody | Apollo / Lester Papadopoulos

Chapter Eight

THE HELICOPTER LANDED JUST BEYOND THE EASTERN HILLS, OUTSIDE THE CAMP’S BOUNDARY. Cassidy wondered what Rachel had said that managed to convince her father to lend her a helicopter. They knew Mr Dare was a pain in the ass and his relationship with his daughter wasn't great. Apollo looked eager to see his oracle again. He jogged across the camp with Meg in tow. Cassidy followed more slowly, they could still feel small remnants of the poison. They found themselves involuntarily wincing every few steps. Fluffy stuck next to them incase they needed support.

Rachel met them on the hill near the entrance to her cave. Cassidy couldn't help but notice that Millard and Herbert weren't with her. She looked older and exhausted. Cassidy realised that Python reclaiming Delphi must have been taking a toll on her. "Rachel?" Apollo asked. He seemed to notice the change in her demeanour as well. "So it's true" Rachel said, her shoulders slumping as she studied Apollo. Understandable, he was rather disappointeing. Below, the camp was starting to wake, likely due to the noise made by the helicopter. The helicopter in question rose back up over the hills and flew over the camp.

Apollo turned to Meg. "Would you tell the others that Rachel needs some space? Fetch Chiron. He should come up. The rest should wait" he said. Cassidy didn't expect Meg to listen, if anything they expected her to kick Apollo but instead, she glanced nervously at Rachel, turned, and trudged down the hill.

"A friend of yours?" Rachel asked. "Sort of, she's kind of his master now" Cassidy said. "Long story" Apollo added. "Yes, I have a story like that, too" Rachel said. "Shall we talk in your cave?" Lester suggested. Rachel pursed her lips. "You won’t like it. But yes, that’s probably the safest place"

Cassidy hadn't entered the cave since they'd left for Camp Jupiter on the Argo II. Remnants of Rachel's frustration lay strewn across it. The sofas were overturned. The coffee table had a broken leg. The floor was strewn with easels and canvases. Even Rachel’s tripod stool, the throne of prophecy itself, lay on its side on a pile of paint-splattered drop cloths. Rachel's art which once decorated the walls had been blotted out with a sloppy coat of white paint. Nearby, a roller was stuck in an encrusted tray.

"I got frustrated" She waved listlessly at the wreckage. "Your art…" Apollo gaped at the field of white. "There was a lovely portrait of me right there" Cassidy rolled their eyes. Rachel looked ashamed. "I- I thought a blank canvas might help me think" she explained.

The three did their best to clean up. Fluffy just watched. They hauled the sofas back into place to form a sitting area. Rachel left the tripod stool where it lay. A few minutes later, Meg returned. Chiron followed, ducking his head to fit through the entrance. Cassidy, Rachel and Apollo sat at the wobbly coffee table while Fluffy sat at Cassidy's feet. Rachel and Apollo were sharing lukewarm Arizona tea with stale crackers. Cassidy had passed on the tea but they didn't have anything against the crackers. Especially not when the taste was washed down with a little soda.

"Rachel" Chiron sighed with relief. "Where are Millard and Herbert?" He asked. Rachel bowed her head. "They arrived at my house badly wounded. They… they didn’t make it" The centaur trotted over and lowered himself to the ground, folding his legs underneath himself. Cassidy could have sworn they saw new grey hairs in his beard. Meg joined them on the couch. Rachel leaned forward "You first, tell me what’s been going on here" She said.

Cassidy brought her up to speed on the disappearances while Apollo added his input now and again. He explained about the three-legged race and the side trip to Delphi.
Chiron blanched. "I did not know this. You went to Delphi?" Cassidy shrugged "Well it's not like we did it on purpose"

Rachel stared at Apollo in disbelief. "The Delphi. You saw Python and you…" Cassidy got the feeling she wanted to say 'and you didn’t kill him?' "At present, I cannot defeat Python. I am much too weak. And… well, the Catch-88" Apollo explained. "The catch what?" The child of Dionysus asked. Chiron sipped his Arizona tea. "Apollo means that we cannot send a quest without a prophecy, and we cannot get a prophecy without an Oracle" Rachel stared at her overturned tripod stool. "And this man…the Beast.
What do you know about him?" She asked.