Miss Quinn

58 ~ The Secret is Out

"Luke?"

Emma was dreaming, she knew that. It had been a wonderful dream. She was doing normal, muggle things with Venus and Annabeth, and the three of them were having a splendid time.

Then Luke had to ruin it by appearing in her dream. Venus and Annabeth vanished, and so did the park they were in. It was just Emma and Luke, amidst a cloud of darkness. Yet, there was still light, and Emma could see the pale scar that ran down Luke's face. She had never been bothered by it before, but now it made him look even more intimidating than usual. It didn't help at all that Emma knew exactly why he was there: her time was up.

Luke had given Emma till the end of the summer to decide if she was going to join him or not. It had been a hard decision. If she joined Luke, all her friends would hate her, and she'd be doing evil things. But if she said no, if she didn't join him, he was going to tell everyone at camp her secret. That she wasn't just a demigod; she was a witch, too.

The thought scared her more than anything ever had. Emma's father, Apollo, had warned her about letting her secret loose. If the demigods and the Wizards knew about one another, who knows what would happen? The most likely outcome would be a full-blown war. And Camp Half-Blood really couldn't take that. They were already knee-deep in an oncoming war against Luke. They couldn't afford another.

"Emma," Luke said, jarring her from her thoughts. "It is time to make your decision."

This was it. The moment she had been dreading ever since Luke had given her a deadline on the Princess Andromeda. This was life or death, the moment of truth. Emma took a deep breath.

"No."

"No?" Luke's eyes narrowed.

"I can't join you, Luke."

"You do realize what the consequences are, don't you?" Luke asked, stepping forward.

"I do. And I am prepared to make that sacrifice. However, I will not lose my friends."

Luke laughed. "Your friends will hate you anyway, Emma. When I reveal your secret, they will be so displeased with you that you will have no friends left."

"That's a lie. My siblings --"

"-- will be ashamed of you." Luke cut in.

"No!"

"They will, Emma. You watch."

Then he dissolved into the darkness, leaving Emma alone.

Her dream did not return. Instead, she was left in her mind, thinking about what Luke had said. It couldn't be true, could it?

Sunlight was streaming through the open windows of the Apollo Cabin. Emma sat up on her bed, and saw her favorite sibling, Will Solace, standing before her. His bright blue eyes held worry in them.

"Will? Will, what is it?"

"You'd better come quick, Emma."

Emma threw her blanket off, pulled on a pair of jeans over her pajama shorts, shoved her feet into a pair of shoes, and ran out the door. Will was outside with her other siblings. Sadie glanced at her as she walked by. There was a large crowd of campers on the basketball court. They formed a circle around something Emma couldn't see, but could guess what it was. She pushed through the crowd, and came face-to-face with Luke Castellan himself. Then she realized he wasn't there in person, it was an Iris Message.

"Ah, there she is," Luke said when he saw Emma.

"What do you want, Luke?" Emma seethed.