No Stars - A Nico Di Angelo Love Story

8- The Prophecy

"ARES, ARES, ARES!" They chant.

Clarisse stands as her siblings row. She looks fiercely at me and mouths something I don't catch. She brings two fingers in front of her eyes then points them at me, a silent motion telling she will be watching.

"OH MY GODS!" Christene screams, resurfacing. Her mascara is streaming down her face, making her seem as if she was a raccoon. "That was so not nice!"

Penny is already pulling herself into the canoe, her giant hoodie even bigger and weighing her down. "Here," She says, holding out her hand to Christene. Christene takes it and Penny helps her up, then helps me.

I cough up a handful of water but the tingling is still biting my nose. Christene rings out her hair. "These are new shorts!" She complains. "Now they are ruined!"

Penny rolls her eyes. "Poor daughter of Aphrodite, afraid of water."

Christene snorts. "I like swimming thank you very much. Just when I have my bathing suit on."

"Well, I tried warning you guys the Ares kids were coming, but you two were too busy arguing!"

"Lets just get back to camp," I grab our paddles from the water and hand them to the girls. We silently make our way to shore and across the way, we can see the Hephaestus campers setting up the fireworks for tonight at the beach.

Curiosity over takes me and I crane my neck to get a better view. It's always been my dream to see fireworks. They seem so beautiful. How do they work?

"It's not as complicated as it seems," Penny says, and I realize I said that out loud. "Want to go check it out?"

A part of me just wants to go find Nico. The other part of me can't help but smile and nod excitedly. Penny starts walking and I follow. Christene looks hesitant but decides to come anyway.

As soon as we approach, I find myself bombard by a boy who reminds me of one of those storybook elves I use to read to my brother.

My brother.

I quickly push that memory away and look back at the boy with pointy ears. He grins. "Heard you're new, I'm Leo."

"Mackenzie," I reply, giving a soft smile.

Before Leo can even give another reply, I'm hauled away by Chirstene. "Nope, not him. Beware the campfire," When she see's I'm confused, she explains, "He has the ability to produce flame. Do not go anywhere near him."

I'm not sure where Penny went, but Christene tugs on my wrist, which is really annoying me, and drags me to a boy setting up a firework. He starts to explain how it works, and how they made it. Christene looks instantly bored, though I'm mesmerized.

"Hey, Mackenzie," Penny says, walking up behind me. "This is my friend, aka the Oracle, Rachel."

I turn.

And the whites of Rachel's eyes suddenly disappear and are replaced with green. Fog begins to pure out of her mouth. Frantic campers scream and take a step back. From the crowd, Percy dashes foreword and holds onto Rachel's shoulders as she spurts a prophecy.

As much as I want to move, to hide, my feet are stuck to the sand as if they are waiting. My mind knows this is for me.

"The daughter of Night alive once again

Shall head east to the goddess's den

A deadly fate, a game to fulfill,

Or will kill all against her will.

For a beast is a beast to kill or to heal

Possible to take, for the lost god steals."

Rachel collapses. Campers run towards her.

My head spins. My breathing is rushed. My entire body is shaking and I pray nobody notices. The ground seems to be tilted and I feel as if I'm walking sideways. I'm backing up. I'm moving away from the beating hearts of the oblivious kids.

And I'm running into the woods with speed I wasn't aware I possessed. I'm running far and far away from the people with blood running through their veins. Far from the innocent with a full life ahead of them.

Then I'm suddenly in somebody arms. The impact of my body hitting theirs sends us spiraling to the ground. But they hold me. And I sob for the first time in a very long time.

"It's okay," Nico reassures. "it's okay."

~

Sorry for the wait! The majority of this chapter is a filler but omg da prophecyyyyy!! (I tried my best lol) anyway, thanks for reading!!<33