The Daughter of the Sky // Wattys 2016

Chapter 29

       I was no stranger to delivering bad news. In fact, I had a plan specifically made for when I needed to deliver bad news. Normally, I'd always ask the recipient of the bad news to take a seat. Yeah, it was kind of cliche but believe me, you want to have a head start on your feet in case the person sitting down wants to leap up and possibly wring your neck. It works wonders on parents, but it wasn't really an option for Chiron in this case. He just stood in front of the fireplace and watched me frantically try to explain the entirety of our quest to Mr. D, who apparently had a very short attention span. It was like talking to a very powerful, very grumpy, squirrel. 

       When I was finally finished talking I couldn't tell if Mr. D hadn't understood a word I had just said or was passing gas. Maybe both. The expression on his face was completely blank. Not a hint of emotion had even crept upon his face. I didn't blame him. With a personality like his he was probably used to supernatural entities wanting to destroy the gods and everything they've created on a daily basis. I, on the other hand, couldn't relate. 

    "So," Mr. D sighed before taking a seat in his plush wine colored chair. He pressed his hand firmly to the bridge of his nose as if my presence gave him an instant migraine. "Let me get this straight. The former counselor of cabin six, Annie-Belle–"

    "Annabeth," Percy corrected. "Her name is Annabeth. She's been a camper for eleven years, Mr. D." 

    "Whatever!" Mr. D waved him off, "You're telling me an eighteen year old girl is working with Hecate, the goddess of magic, to bring back...Chaos and the titan Kronos? And that she used the daughter of Zeus to create a distraction for her to then steal the Apple of Discord in order to give her the power to bring back Chaos and Kronos? Did I miss anything here?"

     "No, you've pretty much covered everything," Paris shrugged.

     Mr. D looked back and forth between the five exasperated teenagers in the room and Chiron. He cleared his throat and stared at his lap pensively. Then he burst into a fit of laughter. Little tiny tears began to brim in the sockets of his intense violet eyes. He tried to get a hold of himself, but every time he'd try to be serious he would just erupt into another fit of laughter.

     "Zeus alrighty. Forgive me but this is too rich, even for me! Can you actually believe this, Chiron?" It had been a good and steady five minutes before Mr. D was able to speak with a straight face.

     "It's true! We all saw it!" I couldn't believe Mr. D wasn't taking us seriously. A wave of anger swept through me like an ocean current. How could he be so careless, so insensitive? Annabeth Chase was single handedly trying to wipe out the gods and he thought this was a joke? Olympians must have a really warped sense of humor. 

     "Child, Kronos was destroyed only two years ago. It will be eons before we ever see him again. Save yourself the theatrics."

     Nico shook his head. "She's right. There's something powerful stirring in Tartarus. I've been having nightmares about it for a few months now...but I can really feel it happening."

    During our back and forth bickering with Mr. D, Chiron had remained silent and still in front of the crackling fireplace. He was studying the flames closely, or perhaps just lost in deep thought. I'd never seen him so quiet before. Usually the guy was bursting with knowledge. 

     "I've heard just about enough," Mr. D pulled a bottle of wine out of thin air. He began to pour it into a medieval style bronze chalice on his desk. I watched in amusement as the rose colored liquid began to turn into a frothy brown substance. Diet Coke. He sucked in a deep breath and shut his eyes as if he were counting to ten to try to cool off. 

    "Annabeth is going to use her body as a vessel for Chaos and Luke Castellan's body for Kronos."

    "That's not possible. Luke's body was burnt at Camp Half-Blood," Chiron murmured. It was the first time he had spoken since we had walked into the office.

    "Sir, I saw it too. She preserved his body somehow," Percy came to my rescue. 

    All of a sudden the giant wooden doors to Mr. D's office swung open. Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood in the doorway. Her face was white as snow. 

     "What is it, my dear?" Chiron trotted over to her. "What's wrong?"

      "They're right," Rachel whispered so quietly you'd have to hold your breath to hear her clearly. "But it's not Annabeth. It's him. It's Kronos. He's in her body."

      "Kronos called me my love?" Percy shuddered. "Ugh. Gross!"      

       Chiron rolled his eyes at his favorite student. "Rachel, how do you know? Who told you?" 

       Rachel gulped down a shaky breath. She shook her head viciously as if she had no idea where to begin. "She did. Annabeth spoke to me herself. She's alive, Percy. Somewhere deep down, Annabeth is still in that body. We have a chance to save her."

       I looked to Percy, half expecting him to fly right out of his pants. Oddly enough, he didn't even flinch. The look on his face was grim. He no longer wore the youthful, rebellious expression I was so accustomed to seeing; he looked as if he'd aged five years in only five seconds. 

      "Kronos can kill Annabeth at any second and take another willing demigod's body. There are still children of the gods who are angry at their parents. They'd devote themselves to Kronos and Chaos's cause. We'll save her someday."

       Everyone in the room remained silent. No one flinched or even batted an eye at his harsh words. It was in that moment that I knew wholeheartedly and undoubtedly that Perseus Jackson was not only a hero to everyone at Camp Half Blood, but he was becoming mine too. 

       We walked out of the Big House in a comfortable silence. Paris parted ways with us to go teach sword fighting classes, while Nico Di Angelo went to visit Will Solace, who was waiting for him near, the always isolated, cabin thirteen.  Percy and I watched as David joined them before disappearing into the woods to the left of the giant lake. 

      "Looks like it's just us," I sighed and pursed my lips, unsure of what to say next. 

      "It always is," Percy smirked and looked over at me. There was a faint mischievous glimmer in his green eyes; he looked at me as if we had a long running inside joke. Just us. He looked a lot like his father, sure, but Percy was handsome all on his own. It was hard to believe I had come to care so much for my once annoying trainer at camp. "Better get used to it."

      Before I could even reply, or take into account what he had said, Percy elbowed me in the ribs. "Race you to the lake!"

     Without thinking, I kicked my shoes straight off of my feet and began to fly down the hill leading to the glistening water. Sure, the world was potentially coming to an end, I had made a couple of mortal enemies, and my best friend was half goat, but I didn't care. The fresh smell of pine trees filled my nose and a warm summer breeze ran gently along my skin and through my hair. I had never felt so free in my life. I had never been so sure of who I was in my entire life.

      So, as it turns out. My name isn't Orion Carter. I don't fall into a normal category. I don't have a solid reality, or any expectations anymore. What happened to me wasn't fair, and I really wouldn't wish it upon anyone, but I'm not cursed. I'm not unlucky. I'm Orion Vera, daughter of Zeus. Daughter of the sky. I'm a demigod, and that's pretty cool. At least when I'm not too busy dying or trying to save the world. 

     Percy and I leapt into the water at the same time, shattering its smooth surface in a second. Then everything went black and absolutely still.