Second Chances: Another Wrong Move

Chapter Seven

Percy Jackson

The call between my mother and I lasted almost two hours as she tried to help me remember more about our small little family. She started with my early life. While I couldn't specifically remember the things she told me, I trusted them. With a memory of her, I could picture me doing the things she said.

When I mentioned Gabe, she made a face and told me the same thing Chiron had told me. My trust for him increased a little when her story matched his. I was introduced to her new husband, Paul, too.

"I don't remember you," I admitted slowly.

To my relief, he told me that the two of us had never met. Not long after that, I ended the call to let my mom sleep. I plopped onto the small cot that was there and stared up at the ceiling. If not for a loud pounding on the door, I might have fallen asleep.

"Who's there...?" I called out sleepily.

"It's Will," the voice replied. "I'm just checking on you. How are you doing? Does your chest hurt at all?"

"'m fine," I yawned. "I just want to sleep."

"Okay. You can sleep in there," he chuckled. "It's your cabin."

I didn't wait for any further instruction. I let my eyes close and fell asleep. I dreamt of all the things my mother told me.

Luke Castellan

The sound of swords clashing a couple feet away woke me up. I couldn't remember falling asleep, and to be honest, wasn't really able to recall anything at all. I dismissed that thought for the time being and took in my surroundings.

The people fighting seemed to be doing it good naturedly. I could easily see the challenging grins on each of their faces. I was hidden by bushes, so I knew they couldn't see me. My body sat itself up and soon I was attempting to sneak away.

"Lord Jupter!" the two people behind me gasped, and somewhere in the back of my head was a voice telling me I needed to run. "What can we do for you?"

I didn't get a chance to hear the random person's reply. There was someone blocking my path. The stranger grabbed my wrist, and I found myself trapped. Panic gripped me tighter than whoever was holding onto me, and I screamed.

The two people that had been using the weapons sprinted over to me. I was too focused on trying to get away to really take in their appearance. The man they were with glared at me angrily.

"Luke Castellan, what do you think you are doing here?"

"I-I don't know!" I wanted to pull away, but I had a feeling it would make things worse. "I just woke up here."

"Lord Jupiter, he's telling the truth." I glanced at the boy standing beside the older man and a girl that was more than likely latina.

"Did I ask you, augur?" Jupiter hissed.

"He's about to have a panic attack," the girl drawled, obviously unimpressed with the adults around us. "I think it would be best if you listened to Octavian."

"He knows he's in trouble," the person restraining me finally spoke. "We need to bring him to Olympus."

"Who the hell are you people?" I finally managed to ask, and with that, my surroundings changed.

I didn't think I'd ever been in a room that looked like the room we'd appeared in. I surely would have remembered being somewhere this fancy. This looked like it could be a throne room meant for a large collection of kings.

"Can... can you please let me go...?" I asked weakly once my awe was depleted by my fear.

"You're much too dangerous to leave," a new voice said. "We'd love to trust you to stand by

yourself, but you lost our trust years ago."

"How'd I do that...?" I asked the woman now standing in front of me.

"You tried to kill us and our children," she deadpanned.

"Oh..."

I jumped a little as the amount of people in the room spiked from four to thirteen. I felt my eyes

widen as I tried to figure out how they'd gotten in here. I still managed to figure out how I'd gotten where I was. There hadn't been a single person that had gone through a door.

"You found Castellan!" a rough looking man smirked, cracking his fists. "May I?"

"No, Ares," the person holding me huffed as I attempted to take a step back. "Athena is going to question him."

"I'm... afraid you won't get any answers out of me. I can't remember anything."

Throughout the room, it was silent except for small, quiet sighs coming from many of the people there. I could hear the annoyance in some, but it was also easy to hear the relief in others. The way they were acting made me a little curious. I ignored the urge to ask about it, though.

"Can we trust him at Camp Jupiter or Camp Half-Blood?" the person behind me asked softly. "Perseus hasn't done anything. I doubt my son will."

"Your... son...?" I asked quietly.

"Yes, Luke," he confirmed softly, a sad smile resting on his lips. "I know you don't remember me, but I'd love to-"

"Hermes, enough! You-"

"Zeus, did you forgot why Luke betrayed Olympus in the first place?" a woman's voice hissed somewhere in the room.

I felt myself grow confused. "I thought his name was Jupiter?"

8/24/19