Andy Jackson: Child of Land & Sea

Bow To The Sea

Act I — Storm At Sea

Part III — A journey to bless, a princess to be. Under the sun, and under the sea...

Anthony, who seemed to be in a better mood, counseled Andy (actually told; he was rather bossy) to talk to the Oracle. Who or what that was, Andy wasn't sure she wanted to find out. "What if I wanted to leave? To go back home?"

He frowned. "Don't you get it? You are home. This is the only safe place on earth for kids like us."

"You mean mentally disturbed kids? Because that's how I'm feeling."

"I mean not human. Not totally human, anyway. Half-human."

"Half-human and half-what?"

"I think you know."

"I certainly do not," she denied. Deep in her heart, she knew what he was going to say. But somehow she needed him to be the one saying it.

"God," said Anthony, "Half-god. Your father isn't dead. He's one of the Olympians."

Andy let out a nervous giggle. Anthony remained serious as stone. "That's crazy," she forced it out.

"Is it though? What's the most common thing gods did in the old stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed in the last few millennia?"

"But..." Andy's heart was beating fast, "if all the kids here are half-gods—"

"Demigods," he said, amused.

"Then who's your dad?"

His left hand tightened into a fist. "Professor Frederick Chase," he said.

"Um. I don't know that god," Andy joked. He didn't like that. "Alright. Who's your mom, then?"

"Cabin six," he said. "Athena. Goddess of wisdom and battle."

Andy had to contain herself. This was going way too deep. "Okay. And... my dad?"

"Undetermined," he said, yet again. "No one knows. The only way to know for sure, is if he sends you a sign claiming you as his daughter. Sometimes it happens."

"You mean, sometimes it doesn't?"

Anthony looked up to the sky. "The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always... Well, sometimes they don't care, really," he said, bitterly.

Andy wondered about all the kids stuck in cabin eleven. "So I'm stuck here. For the rest of my life?"

"It depends. Some campers only stay for the summer. Depends on who your father is. For some of us, it's too dangerous outside. We're year-rounders. In the mortal world, we attract monsters. They sense us."

"But they can't get in here?"

"Not unless they're intentionally summoned by somebody inside."

"Who would do that?"

"Anyone. Good practical jokes."

"Yes. Nice sense of humor. So... you're a year-rounder?"

Anthony nodded. From under the collar of his T-shirt, he pulled a leather necklace with seven clay beads of different colors. It was just like Luke's, except Anthony's also had a big gold ring strung on it, a college ring. "I've been here since I was nine," he said. "Every August, on the last day of summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year. I've been here longer than most of the counselors, and they're all in college."