Second Chances: Another Wrong Move

Chapter Eight

Luke Castellan

Hermes, who'd claimed to be my father, seemed to be ignoring everyone that wasn't me. He'd shaken his head with an annoyed huff before gently pushing me out of the room. He kept his right hand on my shoulder, loosely, but he let me lead the way.

"I suppose you can't remember anything about Greek or Roman mythology. Am I correct in that assumption?"

Hermes stopped me at a small restaurant before I could answer out loud, so I nodded instead. I couldn't tell if he'd seen my reply. He looked focused on finding us a good place to sit. He eventually settled down somewhere, and I followed suit, sitting down across from him.

"You are on-" he was interrupted by a waitress, and he angrily waved her away. "Anyways... you are on Olympus, the home of the Greek and Roman gods. I'm the messenger god which makes you a demigod. You're also Greek. If I'd gotten with your mother when I was Mercury, you'd have been a Roman demigod instead."

"That's why the boy and girl called him Jupiter. They're Roman?"

"You're taking this better than I expected you to," he gave a slow nod. "Are you sure you don't remember anything?"

"I promise," I hummed softly. "That just explains all the teleporting everyone did."

"You took this so much better than Percy did," Hermes laughed.

The name didn't necessarily make any new memories appear, but the name did sound familiar. It took me a second to realize that 'Perseus' and 'Percy' were probably the same person. I blinked at him.

"You guys mentioned him earlier..." I said slowly. "Who is he?"

I could see the hesitation on his face, but it didn't last long. He quietly explained who he was and the things he'd done to Olympus. As soon as Hermes explained that I was the reason he had, I visibly winced.

"You tortured him until he obliged," he sighed. "Once he had Kronos threatening him, he was a dangerous person. We have not told him anything about his involvement in the war."

"Why are you telling me?"

The shrug I got in response to my question left me curious and confused. I decided to not press my luck and ask him about it. It seemed like they trusted me a bit more than they trusted him. That idea made me even more confused. Why would they trust the person that caused a war so much?

Hermes suddenly stood up, and I turned to look up at the person he was staring at. Zeus was walking in with someone I didn't know. They glanced between the two of us.

"Luke, we're going to take you to the camp we have for Greek demigods..." Zeus explained. "I know you've been talking about the things you've forgotten. If you meet Percy again, you need to let us explain the Titan War."

Before I could reply, I felt a hand on my shoulder and I was once again somewhere new.

Travis Stoll

"Poseidon, you guys are letting Luke stay here, too? I raised an eyebrow as the two people randomly appeared in my cabin.

The god simply nodded before disappearing, leaving a curious looking Luke. He was looking around our cabin. I stared at him.

"I'm guessing you don't remember anything either?"

"It's all gone," I confirmed. "Would you hate me if I asked how we met?"

I decided I wasn't going to tell him I already hated him. He was one of the reasons my brother, Connor, was dead. Instead, I faked a smile and shook my head.

"We're half brothers," I said. "Lord Poseidon brought you here because this cabin belongs to Hermes' children. If someone is unclaimed or without a cabin, they stay here, too."

He looked a bit confused, but he didn't ask me to elaborate. It would have taken too long to really make him understand, anyway. I just motioned for him to follow me.

There was a part of me that was expecting him to be attacked the second we left the building. I was surprised the only reaction he got was a few gasps. The appearance of Percy probably made it a bit less shocking - or more so. I glanced back at Luke to make sure he was still nearby.

"Where are we going?" he asked quietly, letting his eyebrows furrow.

"I'm taking you to The Big House to meet - remeet, I guess - Chiron. He's the activities director," I hummed. "He's a centaur, so don't stare at his horse body longer than you have to."

I tried not to laugh at his alarmed expression, but he made it difficult when he actually gaped at Chiron. The centaur was also just as alarmed to see the boy beside me. I waved at him as a chuckle escaped my lips.

"Percy's dad dropped him off in our cabin," I shrugged. "I'm guessing one of them followed the other one out of the Underworld."

"What the hell would I be doing in an... Underworld, and why would someone follow me out of it?" Luke made a face.

Chiron and I looked at one another, silently debating how we were gonna break the news of his death to him. It shouldn't have been that difficult to do. We'd both spoken to Percy since he'd arrived. The other man sighed and opened his mouth to speak.

"Mr. Castellan," he started "I'm afraid you aren't supposed to be here. The majority of camp watched you stab yourself to defeat Kronos."

"You're telling me that I died...?"

We both gave him a somber look. I took a deep breath.

"Yeah, Luke. You died, and now you're alive."

8/26/19