Equilibrium

Chapter 31: Jackie's POV

I feel like I'm on top of the world right now! I can't remember the last time I actually felt this genuinely happy. We walk up the steps of the library and I try to focus on finding Athena's relic, but my head is reeling. I just keep thinking about last night. Luka kissed me. Actually kissed me. More than once. All my fears of unrequited feelings have washed away. As we walk through the doors of the library, I smile to myself. It's funny how I had convinced myself that I hated this kid. I mean sure, sometimes he is seriously annoying, but I like him. And he likes me back. Now I'm grinning, and Leo looks over at me curiously.
"What's up with you, Jack Jack?" He raises an eyebrow.
"Oh, nothing," I blush and look away, "Let's start searching for the relic."
"Sounds like a plan!" Luka agrees, and we split up, each going to different sections in the library. I take the young adult section, Luka goes to the children's, while Leo heads towards the nonfiction and history section in the back. I run my fingers over the spines of the books, hoping to find something magical or out of the ordinary, but everything looks normal. "Uuuuggghhh. This is going to take forever." I groan, pacing up and down the isles of books.
Suddenly I hear Leo shout.
"Hey! Over here guys! I-"
"SHHHH!" The librarian sitting at the desk glares daggers at the boy and he rolls his eyes, then beckons me over. Luka and I meet up with Leo in the very back of the library, the last row of shelves, and in the darkest corner, where Leo is pointing at an ancient book with crumbly yellowing pages and a leather cover. Carved into the spine are symbols and words written in Ancient Greek.
"This has got to be it!" I whisper excitedly, reaching out to grab for the book.
"Jackie, wait!" Luka swats my hand away before I can grab the book off the shelf. "Remember what happened the last time you touched a relic? Oh that's right, you got cursed." I roll my eyes, but I know he has a point.
"Ok, so what's your plan then, genius?" I ask, but Luka just shrugs.
"I don't know, but don't go touching-"
"I got this guys!" Leo grins, pulling a pair of gloves out of his tool belt and pulling them on.
"Smart." I shoot Leo a smile and he slides the book off the shelf carefully. He opens it and flips through the pages. To my surprise, they're all blank.
"Why are they all blank?" Luka asks, mirroring what I was wondering.
"I dunno..." Leo looks puzzled, then turns to me, "Jackie, you got any ideas?"
I think hard for a second and then pull out the list of the relics and their basic descriptions and locations. According to Chiron, Athena's relic holds history and facts. Supposedly, it can answer any question that has an answer based on factual evidence. Kind of like Wikipedia, but in book form. But if the pages are blank...
"OH, I got it!" I stuff the paper back into my pocket, "Just ask the book a question!"
Leo looks at me in a skeptical way, but he says, "Alright. Got any questions?"
Luka beats me to it.
"Yeah. Ask it who Adrestia is."
"Ok, well, here goes..." Leo flips to a random page and clearly asks, "Who is Adrestia?"
To my delight, glowing green words etch themselves onto the page as if a ghost is hovering over us, writing them. Kinda spooky, but definitely cool. I wonder what Annabeth would think of this. If we manage to survive this quest then I'll have to show it to her sometime. She'd totally geek out.
"Adrestia, child of Ares and Aphrodite, goddess of Equilibrium and the balance between forces of good and evil. Otherwise known as 'the one who cannot be escaped.'" Leo reads aloud, and then the glowing ink fades and the words vanish from the page.
"Oh my gods, that's what the prophecy meant! Equilibrium! It was talking about the goddess of Equilibrium, Adrestia! 'The one who cannot be escaped!' It makes so much more sense now!" I gasp, turning to grin at Luka with our newfound discovery. For some reason though, he's frowning. "Uh... You alright?"
"Yeah, yeah- I'm... I'm fine." He doesn't look fine, but I decide not to push it. Leo gives me a curious look as if to ask what's going on with Luka, but I just shrug. I have no idea what's up with him.
"Why would Adrestia be after you two?" Leo questions aloud. Luka and I just shrug, clearly puzzled. I guess we'll find out in due time.
"So... What does this mean? For us?" I ask. Luka takes a sharp inhale of breath and I turn to him, concerned. "What's going on with you?" I grab his hand and try to get him to look at me, but he avoids my gaze. He just stares down at my fingers intertwined with his like he's trying to figure something out, and then he blinks and shakes his head, giving my hand a little squeeze. "Nothing. It's nothing. Let's just make a plan, okay?"
"Right. Yeah."
I glance back over to Leo who has started pulling little wires and gears out of his tool belt and is fiddling with them absentmindedly, apparently lost in thought. The book is lying open on the shelf. I reach snatch one of Leo's gloves off of his hand and he jumps, surprised, but I just pick up the book in my now gloved hand and ask.
"Are you cursed?"
Luka and Leo peer over my shoulders and watch as the glowing green letters sprawl onto the page once more.
No.
I raise my eyebrows, still cautious.
"So are you safe to touch with my bare hands?"
Yes.
"Sick! Guess we won't be needing these!" I toss Leo his glove back and hand Luka the book. "Got any questions, my dude?" Luka ponders this for a second, then replies.
"Yeah, actually. Where is the nearest relic, and to which god or goddess does it belong to?"
Hera's relic, an eternal Lily, represents purity. It holds the power to create peace in a stressful environment. It is located on the banks of the Wabash River.
"Hey! That river isn't too far away! It's not more than half an hour's walk from the library," Leo smiles, "I can lead the way if you guys are up for it?"
"Of course!" I exclaim, "Two relics in one day! We're on a roll!" Leo pumps his fist in the air and starts towards the door. I smile at Luka and grab his hand, and he smiles and lets me drag him along. His face looks a little pained, but I ignore it for now. He acted like he didn't want to talk about it, so I'm not going to push it. For now.
We follow Leo out into the sunlight and start walking along a sidewalk that supposedly leads towards the river. Leo rambles on and on about some new invention he's thinking about making, him and I cracking jokes here and there, and Luka just laughs, making a sarcastic comment every once in a while. As we walk, Luka intertwines his fingers with mine, and for the millionth time today, I smile to myself, finally confident in succeeding on this quest.