"How long should they have to complete this quest?" asked Hermes. The gods seemed calmed down by Dike's presence.
"I'm not sure. A month, possibly?" answer Dike.
"That's not enough time," argued Chiron. "I've tried contacting the headmaster of the school, but nothing would go through. It's as if someone's blocking us out."
"Well," said Dike, thinking, "how about the winter solstice? That should be plenty of time."
"That'll work," answered Chiron.
Zeus thanked Dike for helping solve our problem. "So, demigods and wizard, you have until the winter solstice to retrieve the missing boy. Do you understand me?" he summarized.
The three of us quickly agreed. "Alright then, you are dismissed."
Chiron, Will, Albus, and I walked off, all sighing in relief.
"Thank the gods that's over," I said. "I think if I was up there any longer, I might have actually died."
We walked along a path until we were stopped by a woman. She had black hair, long and flowing. Her eyes were a warm brown, a brown that reminded me of my step-mom. You could tell she was a god by the way she held herself; despite their differences, all gods hold themselves similarly.
"Hannah," she said, her voice light, like wisp of wind, "can I speak to you?"
"Mom," I said lightly, surprised.
I began to bow down, but she stopped me, saying, "There's no time for that." My mother turned to my companions. "Go on," she said. "She'll only be a minute."
Before I could say anything, my mother wrapped me in a hug that mimics one of my own. My mother was always weird about her children; instead of not paying attention to us, like the other gods did with their demigod children, she treats us like an actual mother would treat her children. Sure, we don't she her often, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't appreciate us any less.
She released me eventually, holding my shoulders and smiling proudly. "Oh, look at you," Iris said affectionately. "What a brave girl you've become." My smile grew bigger. "I'm sorry I couldn't come see your trial," she continued. "Believe me, I tried to get in."
"It's fine," I said softly and happily. "No offense, but I think it might have actually gone worse if you were there."
"I probably shouldn't be telling you this," she began, her tone becoming more serious, "but I thought I'd let you know that the force that's messing with your friends, that's not of the Greeks. It's something else entirely. My guess is that it's a wizard's magic, but it's definitely not that boy's magic," she said. "Don't go blaming him if you don't have to."
"Have you ever seen anything like this before?" I asked. "I mean, you have been around for thousands of years. Surely you must have seen something like this before."
She shook her head. "This is a first for everyone."
I sighed. "Well,thanks for telling me what you do know," I said with a smile. "I don't know what I'd do without you, mom."
She smiled and looked over at the group waiting by the elevator. "Don't you have people to be getting back to?"
"Oh!" I said, remembering my friends. "Yeah, I should probably go."
"Remember, this is our little secret," she said with a wink before saying our goodbyes. "Oh, and tell your friend Will that his mother said 'good luck,'" my mom added. As we separated, my mom and I both knew I would tell Will the first chance I got.
The four of us reunited and rode back down to the mortal world together. Chiron had returned to his wheelchair disguise. We rode down in silence, Will and Albus still recovering from the same fear that I had before talking to my mother.
"Four months," Albus said, letting out a shaky sigh.
"We can do that," Will said, not sounding as confident as usual.
"Yeah, definitely," I agreed confidently.
The elevator plunged down back to the mortal world in silence. The doors dinged before opening up, releasing us to the lobby. "Oh," I said quietly, remembering something. "Hey, Will?"
"Hrm?" he replied, walking next to me as we entered the outside world.
"Your mom said 'good luck,'" I replied.
"Really?" His eyes lit up. It wasn't often that Hecate got in contact with her children. She was one of those distant parents.
"I told you she cares," I said with a slight smile. I looked over at my best friend, who looked like he was trying, and failing, to contain his joy.
Everything will be alright, I thought, catching Will's contagious smile. At least, for now.
No way I'm gonna settle with a loss
Start from the beginning
