The Missing Gods

Chapter 18 - A Postcard from Heaven

After what felt like twelve hours of dead sleep, we woke to the sound of the doorbell ringing, which I wasn't expecting since we were sleeping in a palace in the sky. Does Pizza Hut even deliver this far?

Annabeth woke up beside me, shoving her hair out of her face and getting out of bed with lightning speed.

"Percy get up," Annabeth said with quiet urgency, shoving her knife back into place and ushering me out of the door. I stifled a yawn and grabbed Riptide, and after a brief second of thought, also grabbed Aegipan's scale, which I had thrown haphazardly on the ornate nightstand the night before. We walked quickly to the marble staircase overlooking the ornate front door.

"I wonder if Ganymede had any more friends he wasn't telling us about," I muttered, instantly distrusting everything he had told us. Ganymede appeared from a large door on the opposite side of the hall, his eyes meeting mine as if he could hear exactly what I said. He walked to the giant front door, crossing the grand entryway as if he were gliding, and threw open one of the doors with a little less caution than I would've liked.

"Hello sweet Ganymede," a women's voice echoed, sounding shrill and tinny. I glanced at Annabeth and she looked just as lost as I was for a change.

"Oh. Hello Arce. What do you want?" I couldn't hear whether or not Ganymede sighed, but I swear he did. His tone kinda sounded like Chiron after I'd accidentally burned down half the archery range.

Arce moved closer to Ganymede, stepping into the threshold and handing him a small object. She was tall and willowy, long black hair flowing down her shoulders, with olive-colored skin and cold, brown eyes—I realized with a start that she was vaguely familiar.

Annabeth started slowly down the staircase with me not far behind her, the wheels turning in my head as I tried to figure out who she was. Ganymede snatched the object out of Arce's hand with a graceful disdain, one perfect eyebrow arching as he read the front of what looked like a letter. As Annabeth and I reached the door, he handed the letter to me, not taking his eyes off Arce.

"What is this about?" Ganymede asked Arce. She stared hard into his eyes without answering and then shifted her gaze to me, her eyes boring into mine as I realized who she reminded me of.

"You're related to Iris, aren't you?" I asked her, holding the letter between my fingers like it was going to explode.

"So you've met my sister then, Jackson," Arce said, turning up her nose, "though there are few that haven't I suppose." She scoffed and shifted her gaze to Annabeth, as if daring her to speak.

"I've never heard of you," Annabeth challenged her, which is honestly a first on the list of things-I've-never-heard-Annabeth-say. Arce's eyes flashed with anger, taking a step back outside.

"You stupid Demigods never knew anything. It was always Iris this and Iris that. I am the messenger of the Titans you foolish girl! I was always much more important than my impudent sister, with her shameless bohemian ways. She followed the gods because she was a fool, an idiot who thought freedom and change was more important than the ways of the Titans! And yet I was the one punished, I was the one cast into Tartarus for doing my duty!" Arce huffed, her face was red from her rant and there was sweat beading on her forehead. I just smiled, thinking of the Iris we met in the store, urging Frank to follow his dreams. My smile seemed to piss Arce off more, because she stuck her bony finger in my face and started yelling, her body starting to vibrate and glow.

"You smile now Jackson but we have your weak father, the insolent god of the sea, and you will not be laughing when we cast him into Tartarus just as the gods did to me! Zeus will pay for this! No longer will I be in my sister's shadow, chained like a monster and forgotten by those who once feared me!" With these last words, Arce glowed so bright that we all looked quickly away, and then as she disappeared, gathered around the letter in my hand. I felt sick to my stomach at Arce's words. I knew what she said wasn't just an idle threat. A chill went through me and Annabeth put her arm around my waist, creating the anchor of comfort I needed to open the letter. I looked up at Annabeth and Ganymede and they both nodded back at me, their faces showing anticipation.

My fingers slid under the seal and broke it, sliding out a thick piece of paper that resembled a postcard. It read:

"Perseus Jackson, I look forward to meeting you. Come alone to my palace in the sky or face the consequences of your absence. Your father sends his greetings."

There was a smudge of sand at the bottom of the card, signed "Aether" in large calligraphy script. I tried to force out a joke, but all that came out was a weak cough. Ganymede was the one that finally broke the silence.

"Well Aether has always been more flash than substance. Though I suppose this is an invitation we cannot decline."