Demigod Tales

Chapter Five

The first thing I see when I open my eyes is the wooden ceiling of my home. I'm staring up, from the bed on which I'm lying on my back. All I remember from last night is really complex; it had something to do with gods and missions and the undeniable risk of death at any moment. But I remember exactly every single event that had led to yesterday's events, and I fear I will never be able to forget. Alec is already up, he looks healthier than before, stronger, and filled with life again. I'm happy to see he's okay after all, even if what we chose to do yesterday might lead us to a certain death.
Anyway. I need to get these thoughts out of my head. I look back at Alec; he has already sympathized with Excieo, feeding him from his hand, smiling, peaceful. I stand up and wave at him. We didn't talk much after what happened yesterday. I know what he wants is to be there and fight by my side, to protect me and make sure I'll be fine. But now not only do I need to worry about myself but about him too, and that's the last thing I needed. I'm angry now, so I take my bow and a couple of arrows and leave home.

I don't go to the training section; I want to be as far from people as possible. I go to the forest instead, delving deeper and deeper till I'm sure someone who didn't spend most of his time here would have declared himself lost. I've never walked that far into the forest but my sense of orientation doesn't betray me. I'm surrounded mainly by trees and bushes that'd block my view if I'd look farther than one meter. I'm now standing in a heavenly perimeter: a small circle of greenery, empty on the inside except for a tall, large rock polished by rain. I rest my bow against it, and start exploring the place around, looking for some straight tall wooden branches laying on the ground. I find a couple of good ones, go back to the rock which I climb and sit on.Then I take my pocket knife and start cutting in the wood, to make perfectly balanced, sharp shifted arrows. I often do this when I need to stress out; and most of the time I end up cutting myself. But it doesn't matter now.
I can hear small noises of tiny animals running here and there, the flapping sounds and singing of birds of all kinds. I find peace in nature. Everything is just in a perfect harmony and that's all I need to escape from my present. The sky is barely visible from here, but the sun must be high, for the heat is starting to catch up to me. Yet the soft breeze is enough to freshen my face and fill my lungs with pure cold air.

I sit there for what feels like a couple of hours now, until something weird happens. At first, I don't feel a thing. I only hear my bow dropping to the ground. I look around and tell myself it must be the wind, or whatever. But then the arrows on my knees start to tremble. And now I'm shaking from head to toe, yet everything outside the diameter of the circle I'm in is perfectly still. This is weird. I jump to the ground, hold my bow, nock my arrow, and take a few steps backwards, till I'm out of the circle. Now I don't feel a thing, I don't hear a thing. Solemn silence, heartwarming peace.
To the list of unanswered questions I have, a bunch of new questions are added: for instance, WHY IS THE STONE MOVING?
But it is. It is moving slowly, to the right, pushing aside all the fallen leaves to the ground as it makes its way through the mud. Then, just as quickly as it had happened, everything stops.
I take a few steps towards the center of the action, and realize that under the stone, there is a trapdoor. I don't let go of the arrow, actually I tighten my grip, but I'm startled when the trapdoor suddenly opens. I fall back, letting the arrow fly, and I hear its thud against the trunk of a tree nearby. Wow. This is happening so fast.
The first thing I see is the top of a reddish brown haired head. Then out of nowhere the sun shines in my eyes, and I'm blinded. I take one hand to my eyes, the other reaching out to my bow.
When I look again, I find myself staring right at the end of an arrow, held by a stunning, sizzling girl. I try not to focus at her now, only on the shiny, pointy edge of the arrow. "Don't move", she tells me. Her voice echoes in my head, like it's being repeated by every aspect of nature around me. And I don't move.
I look down, and what surprises me isn't what I see, but the fact that I hadn't seen it a few minutes earlier. She's surrounded by all kinds of animals, who, patiently, are staring at me. Rabbits, squirrels, foxes. Birds of all colors and sizes are perched on her shoulder, and a couple of wolves are standing beside her, one wolf on each side. There's still movement around her, so I'm guessing even more animals are coming to her. Should I speak now, or wait a few more minutes?
-"Who are you?" She asks me, in a loud but clear voice.
-"My name is Priam Greywolf."
-"I've heard of you."
-"That's great, what did you hear?"
-"I'll be doing the questioning."
She looks around.
The ruffling sound of tree leaves is growing more and more intense and clear, till I notice it is neither the wind nor animals rushing forward, but the steps of a human being. I can't see anything other than the girl standing in front of me. It's like she's standing in a circle of light that is blinding me and stopping me from seeing anything else, like a barrier, then the sound slowly fades away. I close my eyes tight and look again. Now a guy is also standing in front of me - but a guy I know. "LUX?"
-"Priam! Umbra? What's happening?"
-"You know this guy?"
-"Yes. He's a son of Athena. We used to train together." He takes out his arm, holds my hand and helps me stand up. I shuffle my hair and remove the dead leaves from my clothes, then look at Umbra. "Hey", I try and manage a smile that she doesn't return.
-"Priam, this is my cousin. Umbra. She's the daughter of Artemis, goddess of the hunt and the moon and wild animals."
-"I thought Artemis vowed never to get married, lest have children of her own."
-"You WILL NOT think of this, and you will not speak before you are certain that what comes out of your mouth is the truth."

Wow. I will ignore that.

I look at Lux. He doesn't seem surprised, he just nods at me, with an expression saying "get used to this." He's three years older than me, and at some point in my life he'd been nearly as close to me as Alec is. But then he disappeared, and I never heard of him again until this summer. Now that I am studying all the details of his face, I realize that he really looks a lot like Apollo, his father, handsome god of light, sun and music. He gives away light himself, shining bright, and he has the power to block the view or to temporarily blind someone. As for Artemis' daughter, her character really reflects on her mother's, but that's all I know. And I guess that's all I'm going to know, because she storms past the both of us, out of our view, followed by a couple of animals. The couple of wolves stay a little bit behind. They're hanging around Lux, swaying their tails happily as they dash through the orange leaves. Then there's the sound of fingers snapping, apparently Umbra's, and the wolves leave us, running, chasing each other towards the source of the sound.
-"So, tell me, what are you doing here?"
He speaks with a calm but clear and sounding voice; for a guy like him it seems full of arrogance. Yet I know he means to show none, it's just natural in him.
-"Trying to find an escape."
-"You're not walking around killing animals, are you?"
-"Hell, no, I'm just here to chill."
-"Okay. I'll leave you be, then."
He turns around, and now I'm staring at him from behind. He starts walking.
-"Lux, should I consider you a friend I can trust?"
He turns around, surprised. He looks at me for a second, then he says, "Well, at least I do. What is this about?"
-"I need to train. Intensely. And you're the best at killing and fighting in nature."
-"You should've gone to sons of Ares. They're way mightier."
-"They only know how to shed blood in public, with what they have. I have the fists, but I won't find axes and blades where I'm going." He looks startled. I take a deep breath, while he lifts his hands, gesturing to me. But I continue. "I want you to teach me how to survive in a crucial environment. In a nature that wants nothing more than to cause my death." Then I add, "I guess."
It takes him a little while to stomach everything I just said, and I totally understand, but then he asks me a question that I've seen coming right from the beginning.
-"What is it you're getting ready for?"
-"I really shouldn't tell you."
-"Yes. But you're breaking. You need to tell someone."
He's right. I'm going to burst.
Here it is.
-"Fine. Hera is sending Alec and I on a mission to find our mother because all the gods are locked away in cages except her and I am worried that something's happened to her. And the thing is, I don't trust Hera and I know that there's one chance on a thousand that we will both make it and come back - if we ever will - and I need to protect my brother and -" and I'm breaking down. All the rage and fear I've been stuffing inside my head are storming out of it, and while Lux runs towards me and takes hold of me, trying to immobilize me, all I do is kick and punch and scream. And I never thought I'd be able to stop; but what happens next doesn't only freeze my body. It also freezes my blood. Darkness catches up to me, and now I'm all alone, kneeling, with no power over my muscles or thoughts. I'm here, on the floor, freezing, looking up at a face that is now familiar to me. Hera.
Then darkness fades away. And she's standing in front of Lux and I. He flinches, but doesn't show any sign of respect nor admiration. He stands still, his back perfectly straight.
Then Hera speaks, and her words fall on me like a thunderstorm. I cannot hide, I cannot run.
"I warned you. I told you to keep it between us and yet you didn't. Such a pity. Not only have you risked your brother's life, but this demigod's too."
-"Wait, WHAT DO YOU MEAN?"
-"Oh, but you did understand what I meant, you fool. He can't stay here, since he knows what plans are in motions."
-"I don't even know what plans you're talking about. I only told him of the gods-
-"That's enough."
-"Can't you make him forget? Don't you have all the gods and titans in the palm of your hand?"
-"Oh, I could. But you could also have kept your mouth shut, only you didn't."

I can't get myself to look at Lux. I only wanted his help, and now I've doomed him.

-"Oh, and, by the way, I changed my mind. You leave in an hour. Wait in front of the archway to Section 4. And if one of you three is late, none of you will live to see the setting sun."

She disappears as quickly as she had appeared, and I drop to the ground, shaking, knowing by now that Hera makes no empty threats.