𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄! percy jackson¹

vi. Fury On A Greyhound

      It wasn't until I reached the edge that I realised I forgot my bow and my dagger.

      "Oh, Styx," I swore quietly, and thunder crashed overhead and the rain poured down even harder.

      "Didn't your mother tell you not to swear, Claire?"

      I froze. The voice, it was so familiar. It made my body grow warm and my heart and stomach clench. I slowly turned around to see a handsome man leaning against a tree trunk. In the dark storm, his body seemed to radiate a light across the damp grass and bark. He had tousled golden blond hair and black sunglasses. He gave me a smile.

      It was Apollo. My father.

      "Dad." I could just say. "... hi?"

      His smile turned into a grin. "Why hello, my daughter."

      I then frowned, and my anger grew. "What are you doing here," I said harshly. "You're meant to be at a meeting up in Olympus."

      He either didn't realise my harsh tone or decided to ignore it. Apollo shrugged. "I was there for the main stuff, now it's just Zeus and Poseidon bickering non-stop."

      Thunder and lightning clashed up above, and Apollo looked to the sky. "You know it's true!" He called up. He then turned his attention back to me. "Now, how are you feeling? Your first quest, ooh, how exciting!"

      I didn't smile, eying my father with an unimpressed glare, and Apollo sighed.

      "Look, I understand why you're mad at me, and believe me when I say I couldn't intervene with your powers until this morning, the Fates were always strict on me. God of prophecies and such ... anyway!" He took a step towards me. "This quest will help you more than anything, Claire, and Percy will, no matter how much to don't like it, aid you in finding its purpose. The both of your destinies are tied together. What's that saying? You know, the one a son of Hecate was told all those years ago?" I shook my head, frowning. "Ah! That's it! You and Percy are like two sides of the same coin, and no matter how you wish it not so, it is true."

      I scrunched my nose up. I didn't say anything, but by the looks of my father's amused expression, he understood anyway.

      "I'm afraid, Claire, that that is all the Fates allow me to say about your future." Apollo sighed. "But I will say this: This is only the beginning, my daughter, only the beginning."

      My frown, if possible, deepened. "What do you mean, 'the beginning'?"

      Apollo had a strained face, but he didn't answer my question, instead, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a golden, old fashioned key that was attached to a piece of string. He held it out to me, and I cautiously took it, turning it in my fingers.

      "It's a spare key to my Sun Chariot, in case you will – might use it." He coughed up his mistake. "It's also a weapon. Spin it in your hands."

      And so I did, and I gasped when I saw the very light around me bend into a magnificent recurve bow, while I felt the weight of a quiver on my back. Gold vines encircled the bow from the lower limp to the upper limp. An engraving was carved into the grip: Ήλιος-κομιστής.

      "Ílios-komistís." I muttered. "Sun-bearer."

      "Indeed." Apollo nodded. "The bow string will never break, and your quiver of arrows will never run out. Just think of what arrow you need and it will be there. To turn it back, just tap it against your quiver strap. And as you forgot your dagger ..." he once again slipped his hand into his pocket and pulled out a leaf-shaped, nine inch, celestial bronze knife. I stared at it with wide eyes as I took it from my father's hands.