chapter seven
─── the worst bombshell of the day ; the gods make me sacrifice food
𝔅ad news, my entire life was a lie. Good news, my mum dying is now jostling for worst piece of news of the day.
You have to take the small victories.
Luke had swiftly led me onwards, showing me the metalwork shop, the arts and crafts room, the climbing room that looked like a walking health and safety hazard. Finally, he showed me the canoeing lake, talking softly as I just sort of floated along beside him, mind in a haze.
"Look, Sleeping Beauty, I'm sorry about all of this." He nudged me from my thoughts as we turned back towards the cabins. "I know how weird all of this can be and trust me when I say, it does get better. Truly."
I hummed, leaning down to look at the lake again. There were two teenage girls sitting cross-legged at the base of the pier, wearing blue jeans and shimmering T-shirts. They smiled and waved but I turned to see that they were waving at Luke instead of me.
"Does everyone in this place have a crush on you?" My joke was weak, but Luke laughed all the same.
"No." He sent me a half-smile as I cocked an eyebrow. First Annabeth, then there were those campers ogling him as we walked, then there was the boy who ran up to talk to him and was a complete stuttering mess (though that could have been because Luke looked kind of intimidating) and then those girls. "They're naiads anyway. Terrible flirts."
"What? And you're a good flirt?" Luke let out a hearty laugh. "I was being honest."
"If I was flirting with you, Sleeping Beauty, you'd be melted on the floor."
"Do your worst. I'm waiting." Maybe asking the hot guy to flirt with me wouldn't do wonders for my health. The last thing I needed was to go getting a crush on him or something ridiculous. "Anyway, can I go home yet?"
Luke sighed. "You are home now. This is the only safe place on earth for people like us."
"What? One's who are mentally disturbed?" Luke laughed at that, before shaking his head.
"No. Kids who aren't technically human. Well, half-human, half-not so much,"
"Half-human and half-what?"
"I think you know," I racked my brain, before sighing. I had an inkling but admitting it made it more real and I really didn't need the added stress right now. Luke watched me with a raised eyebrow, as I sighed and spoke.
"God," I said. "Half-god."
"Your father isn't dead, Andromeda. He's one of the Olympians."
"That's...not great." I pointed at Luke, who shrugged his shoulders. "It's preposterous."
That was a big word for me.
"Is it? What's the most common thing gods did in the stories? They ran around falling in love with humans and having kids with them. Do you think they've changed their habits in the last few millennia?" He sounded slightly bitter and I really couldn't blame him. I swear that demigods never had that good a life in any myth or legend.
"But those are just—" I almost said myths again, almost. Then I remembered Chiron's warning that in two thousand years, I might be considered a myth, which was existentially weird. "But if all the kids here are half-gods—"
"Demigods," Luke replied. "That's the official term. Or half-bloods."
"So, your dad is Hermes?" Luke's face grew tense, before he nodded. I got the feeling I'd just trespassed on a sensitive subject and that I should probably backtrack fairly quickly. "And my dad?"
"Undetermined," Luke replied, untensing at the change of subject, "like I told you before. Nobody knows."
"Except my mother. She knew."
"Maybe, maybe not. Gods don't always reveal their identities."
"My dad would have. He loved her." Luke shot me a look that I knew all too well. It was the 'I don't want to upset you but you're wrong' look.
"Look, maybe you're right. Maybe he'll send a sign. That's the only way to know for sure: your father has to send you a sign claiming you as his daughter. Sometimes it happens."
"You mean sometimes it doesn't?" I raised an eyebrow. Luke nodded, the bitter look reappearing on his face.
"Eleven is always full. The gods are busy. They have a lot of kids and they don't always...Well, sometimes they don't care about us, Andromeda. They ignore us."
"So, what you're trying to say is that I'm stuck here," I said. "That's it? For the rest of my life?"
"It depends," Luke replied, the grin returning to his face. "Some campers only stay in the summer. If you're deemed good with weapons, and able to handle yourself, then you can get by with only coming to Camp in the summer. But, most are just younger kids. They have to stay, to protect themselves. To learn, and train. The sad truth is, if your mortal parents doesn't realise you're a demigod, you die in the first few months. If your mortal parents knows, and your godly parent is powerful enough, you'll stay alive for a lot longer. You can make it to camp."
"Then why are you here? You're old enough to be in the outside world?"
"Someone has to train the younger ones." Luke shrugged. "I've survived for a long time in the outside world, so I try to pass that knowledge onto others."
"Then how did I make it to 17?"
"It's nothing short of a miracle." Luke replied. "Your mum was truly intelligent if she managed to keep you safe for this long."
I gulped at the sound of my mother's name.
"So then you're a year-rounder?" He nodded, his jaw clenched. Reaching up, he pulled the leather necklace further out from beneath his shirt so that I could see the beads better. "What does each one mean?"
I leant closer to look at the beads, and then fought a blush down. Was it weird that he smelled good as well? I needed to get it together. Shaking my head, I looked at all the beads before stepping out of Luke's personal space and rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly.
"Every August, on the last day of the summer session, you get a bead for surviving another year," He replied, a small smirk on his face as well. "I've been here for nearly six years, since I was twelve, so five beads."
I decided that it might not be my smartest idea to press the issue further, so again changed the subject.
"So, does that mean, technically and hypothetically, I could just walk out right now?" Luke shook his head.
"It would be like committing suicide. The only way Mr. D and Chiron would give you permission to leave is if it's the end of the summer or a quest."
"A quest? Let me guess, you have prophecies as well?" He nodded.
"Spot on, Sleeping Beauty," I rolled my eyes. "But quests are not that regular an occurrence. Not after last time."
Well, that sounded ominous.
"Great, moving on," I replied. "What's the deal with the Summer Solstice?"
Luke stopped, turning to look at me with narrowed eyes.
"What? Why are you asking about that?"
"Cause Chiron was talking to Grover about it and then something about me not being mature enough and I thought they were plotting to kill me and then they weren't. Long story short, I want to know."
"Right." He chuckled, before rolling his eyes and shrugging. "Look, all I know, is that after the Winter Solstice, something went wrong and the gods got all cranky. Something happened in the New York conference, I don't know any more than that."
"Right," We reached Eleven, and Luke held the door open for me to enter. I grinned at him, before stepping in and walking over to my spot on the floor. Luke followed, picking things up from the end of one of the beds to place down beside me.
"Some of the others found you a sleeping bag," I hummed, taking the bag from him. "The girls stole some toiletries for you, and Puck has your horn."
"Thanks," He reached up, taking the Minotaur horn from the tall, curly haired boy and sitting back down next to me. "and thanks for the tour and everything."
"Hey, don't mention it, Sleeping Beauty," I snorted at the fact that he was still calling me that.
"You could call me by my name,"
"I could," He grinned and shook his head. "There's no fun in that though."
"So your dad is Hermes?" I asked.
He pulled a switchblade out of his back pocket, twirling it around his fingers as he nodded along to my question. "Yeah. Hermes."
"The wing-footed messenger guy?"
"That's him. Messengers. Medicine. Travellers, merchants, thieves. Anybody who uses the roads. That's why you're here, enjoying Eleven's famed hospitality. Hermes isn't picky about who he sponsors."
"That just called me a nobody in about twelve different ways," He shot me a sheepish grin. "You ever met him?"
"Once."
He didn't elaborate and I wondered if the story had any-thing to do with how he got his hot scar.
Luke looked up and managed a smile. "Don't worry about it, Sleeping Beauty. The campers here, they're mostly good people. After all, we're an extended family, right? We take care of each other."
"Extended family?"
"Kind of," He rolled his eyes at the thought. "Technically, the only people you're related to are your siblings in your cabin, otherwise you ignore the godly DNA and do what you want."
"I'll take note of that," He shot me a look, as I winked. "Also, I don't know if she remembers it, but Annabeth has talked about me being 'The One'. Any clue what that means?"
Luke put the knife away and sighed. "I hate prophecies."
"Cryptic. Just like everything else in this place!" He snorted, the grim look disappearing off his face.
"No, nothing like that," He shook his head, as people hovered around or near to us. "Let's just say I messed things up for everybody else. The last two years, ever since my trip to the Garden of the Hesperides went sour, Chiron hasn't allowed any more quests. Annabeth's been dying to get out into the world. She pestered Chiron so much he finally told her he already knew her fate. He'd had a prophecy from the Oracle. He wouldn't tell her the whole thing, but he said Annabeth wasn't destined to go on a quest yet. She had to wait until...somebody special came to the camp."
"Sounds vaguely ominous," He nodded. "What's that got to do with me?"
"I wouldn't worry about it," I hummed in agreement. "Annabeth wants to think every new camper who comes through here is the omen she's been waiting for. Now, come on, it's dinnertime."
"Luke, you know the way to my heart," He laughed at that, as a conch horn sounded in the distance. Don't ask how I can differentiate shells, I have no clue either.
Luke yelled, "Eleven, fall in!"
The whole cabin, about forty of us, filed into the commons yard. We lined up in order of seniority, so of course I was dead last. Campers came from the other cabins, too, except for the three empty cabins at the end, and Eight, which had looked normal in the daytime, but was now starting to glow silver as the sun went down.
We marched up the hill to the pavilion. Satyrs joined us from the meadow. Naiads emerged from the canoeing lake. A few other girls came out of the woods— and when I say out of the woods, I mean straight out of the woods. I saw one girl, about nine or ten years old, melt from the side of a maple tree and come skipping up the hill.
In all, there were maybe 150 to 200 campers, a few dozen satyrs, and a dozen assorted wood nymphs and naiads.
At the pavilion, torches blazed around the marble columns. A central fire burned in a bronze brazier the size of a bathtub. Each cabin had its own table, covered in white cloth trimmed in purple. Four of the tables were empty, but Eleven's was way overcrowded.
"You're going to fall off," Luke grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back onto the bench, switching seats with me so that he sat at the end. "Can't have that."
I saw Grover sitting at table twelve with Mr. D, a few satyrs, and a couple of plump blond boys who looked just like Mr. D. Chiron stood to one side, the picnic table being way too small for a centaur.
Annabeth sat at table six with a bunch of serious-looking athletic kids, who all shared the same calculating looks in their eyes and a coldness that I had never noticed before. She was shooting me a look and I narrowed my eyebrows.
Jealousy was not a good look on her.
Finally, Chiron pounded his hoof against the marble floor of the pavilion, and everybody fell silent. He raised a glass. "To the gods!"
Everybody else raised their glasses. "To the gods!" though I could definitely hear a lot of bitterness in Luke's tone. I'd ask him about that at some point.
Wood nymphs came forward with platters of food: grapes, apples, strawberries, cheese, fresh bread, and yes, barbecue! My glass was empty, but Luke said, "Speak to it. Whatever you want—nonalcoholic, of course."
"Why do I feel like you're lying to me?"
"I'm not," He rolled his eyes, before I decided to test his theory.
"Diet Coke?" The glass filled with sparkling liquid, and Luke shot me a look to show that he wasn't lying. Suddenly, I had an idea. "Blue Diet Coke."
My drink turned blue and I drank a toast to my mum. I was still holding out hope that she wasn't gone, but I didn't know for sure.
"Here you go, Sleeping Beauty," Luke said, handing me a platter of smoked brisket. I took some off and onto my plate, before passing it along to the one that Luke had called Ethan.
"Thanks," Ethan nodded, taking some of the food.
"You're welcome," I went to take a bite, but Luke removed my fork from my hand before I could. "Luke, you're getting in the way of me and my food. I've had a very long day. Don't tempt me."
"I know, but we have to do something else first," He replied, helping me off of the bench and leading me towards the fire in the centre of the pavilion.
As I got closer, I saw that everyone was taking a portion of their meal and dropping it into the fire, the ripest strawberry, the juiciest slice of beef, the warmest, most buttery roll. I shivered in repulsion. We were wasting good food?
Luke murmured in my ear, "Burnt offerings for the gods. They like the smell."
I shivered at the feeling of his breath on the shell of my ear, before trying to pull myself together. Focus on the loss of good food, I told myself.
"You're kidding?"
"Nope," He went first, bowing his head and tossing in a cluster of red grapes. "Hermes."
I was next and my brain drew a complete blank. Who was I supposed to thank? Dear Anonymous father, thanks for nothing, claim me soon, love Andromeda (a possible daughter of yours?).
I scraped a big slice of brisket into the flames and grinned, hoping that was good enough for my dad.
When everybody had returned to their seats and finished eating their meals, Chiron pounded his hoof again for our attention.
Mr. D got up with a huge sigh. "Yes, I suppose I'd better say hello to all you brats. Well, hello. Our activities director, Chiron, says the next capture the flag is Friday.Five presently holds the laurels."
"He seems cheerful," I murmured, as Luke nudged me in the side to get me to shut up again.
"Personally," Mr. D continued, "I couldn't care less, but congratulations. Also, I should tell you that we have a new camper today. Annabella Johnson."
Chiron murmured something.
"Er, Andromeda Jackson," Mr. D corrected. "That's right. Hurrah, and all that. Now run along to your silly campfire. Go on."
"That was nowhere close to my name," I murmured, turning to look at Luke who was holding back laughter.
"He does it to everyone," Luke replied, getting up from the table once more as the Hermes cabin took off towards the amphitheatre. "Calls me Lucas Costello."
I laughed at that, following him, and the rest of his cabin, down to the amphitheatre, where the Apollo cabin led us in a sing along of some really weird songs. It sort of started to feel like I was home, but there was something missing.
Later in the evening, when the sparks from the campfire were curling into a starry sky, the conch horn blew again, and we all filed back to our cabins. I didn't realise how exhausted I was until I collapsed on my borrowed sleeping bag.
Luke's bunk bed was next to my sleeping bag, and he had also collapsed but whilst he fell asleep straight away, my mind drifted to my mother and I let the facade that I put up fall away. I could put on a strong front easily, but left alone to my own thoughts and that didn't go as well.
My mum was gone. She wasn't with me, and now I was at some place that she hadn't even wanted to send me about to learn how to fight and do all sorts of 'demigod' things. Everything was strange, and I just wanted to go home.
I wanted to go back to when times were simpler.
∘☽༓☾∘
Hiya,
Dree and Luke are adorably cute and I love them already. Also, everyone has a crush on Luke (what's new) and Annie doesn't particularly like Dree cause she's jealous. Ethan's here!
Let me know what you think,
Love Li xx