~ ☼ ~
I don't know what I expected from my first full day at Camp Half-Blood. But it certainly wasn't this.
Alec and I stood in the middle of a strawberry field, the sun brutally beating down on us (this made me mad. If I was a daughter of Apollo, shouldn't I have some immunity to the sun or something?!) as we picked the ripest berries. A few other kids were with us, including Lee Fletcher and one of my other newfound brothers, a curly-haired boy named Will.
Lee, counselor extraordinaire, had given me a schedule earlier that morning. Some of the things scared me - like "Weapon Making" and "Winged Horseback Riding" - but also, some of the things were so mundane, I felt like I was back home. I'd started out the day with a group Greek mythology lesson with a son of Athena named Malcolm, and then I'd come here. To pick strawberries. What. A. Thrill.
"So," I said to Alec as we moved from one row to another. "Where are you from?"
"Brooklyn," he said. "Well, Jersey, originally. But now I live in Brooklyn."
Alec's tone was flat, final. He obviously didn't want to talk about himself, because then he asked, "Where are you from?"
"Highland Falls, New York. It's about an hour north of the city. In the Hudson River Valley." I paused, then, pressing my lips together. "It's a really boring, really small town."
"Sounds fun," Alec said, chuckling. "What do you usually do in the summer?"
"Well..." I trailed off. For most of my childhood, my summers were centered around music, around my violin lessons and recitals. I was obsessed with violin; people told me I was a prodigy, and that I was going to go places. After I... quit, I mostly just sat around, listened to Good Charlotte, and watched re-runs of American Idol. "Nothing, really. Just hung out, watched TV."
He raised his eyebrows, and, trying to change the subject, I said, "Why are we even picking strawberries, anyway?"
"The Camp's cover is a strawberry farm. They actually sell these and make money and stuff. In fa-" Alec paused, looking at something behind me. "Hold on a sec."
I turned to follow his gaze and saw Riley speed-walking towards us. Her coily hair was dipped in gray clay dust, and she was sweating. As she neared us, I could see that there was a hint of worry in her eyes. "Sorry to interrupt," she said when she came to a stop in front of Alec, "but I just saw something down on the beach. You guys might want to see this."
———
We followed my newfound sister down to the shore. Riley wouldn't tell Alec and I what she saw, so we were forced to wonder. And then we saw him...
Standing on the sand, picking his nails, was a boy who looked to be about 25 or so. His skin was tan, his hair was blonde, and his eyes were like sapphires. He was wearing sunglasses up on his head, a red muscle shirt, a gold chain necklace tucked into his collar, and skinny jeans.
He looked up when he saw us rounding the sand dunes and smirked. This was the place I had sent the message to my mom the day before. As I noticed that, Alec gasped.
My brother - it feels weird to write that - glanced at Riley with a "You've got to be kidding me" look. She just replied with a look that read, "I know, right?"
The man looked between them, then at me. A flicker of surprise went through his jewel-colored eyes, but it was gone within a moment, and then he waved his hand. "Go on, children. Bow."
Riley and Alec did as he said, but I just narrowed my eyes. Who was this man? He almost seemed familiar...
"Hey, escapee," Alec hissed to me. "Kneel. This is-"
And then I realized. Why he was glowing like he was. Why my siblings were bowing for him. Why he called us "children".
"Apollo." I finished for Alec. "You're Apollo."
The man barked a laugh. "Of course! Though, technically, it's Lord Apollo, God of the Sun, Poet of the Heavens, Most Handsomest of Everybody Ever." He glanced at Alec and Riley, then said, I suppose you two can get up now."
Alec and Riley both raised themselves from the sand, staring at Apollo as if they were waiting for him to do something. I just stared at him too, until Alec spoke finally. "Father, why are you here?"
"I came to speak to this famous Percy Jackson fellow. But it seems he's not here. If he was, he'd be here, right? Old Fish Face's children always like the beach."
Percy Jackson? Old Fish Face? What?
To me, Alec whispered, "He means Lord Poseidon. Percy is his son." To Apollo, he said, "Percy is missing, Father. Nobody knows where he went."
Apollo rolled his eyes dramatically and sighed. "Why does the world always want to make things hard for me? Ugh, I guess you'll have to do."
I narrowed my eyes. "Do... what?"
"Do me a favor! It'll be easy, don't you worry." Apollo grinned, and his teeth were so white that I felt like I was going to go blind. "Since I'm not very good at prophecies any more, and I'm awesome at haikus, I'll give you the favor in haiku form." He held up his hands and closed his eyes before opening them again and clearing his throat.
"Demigods are bored. They will help me fight Python. I'm just really hot." He nodded and waited for applause. I just glanced at Alec and Riley warily. "Ah, c'mon, guys, that was good!" Alec just crossed his arms, but Riley slowly started clapping. Apollo smiled again, this time directed at her, which made her wince. "Thank you. I'm glad somebody has enough common sense to appreciate my talents."
He went on a ramble about how nobody on Olympus valued him or his skills, but I stopped listening. I just stared at him, finally realizing what this meant. This, this... young guy... was my father? I didn't know what to say. All too soon, I was reminded of my conversation with my mother, and her revelation. The thought of this man - God - dating my mom... I shuddered.
"Anyway," Apollo said, coming back to reality. "What I meant by that beautiful haiku was that there's a monster I need you to kill. Its name is Python. It was my enemy back in the good old days, but now it's around again, and I realllly don't want to have to waste the time to kill it..."
Alec rolled his eyes just like Apollo had a few moments ago. Suddenly, Alec's usual chuckling, happy self was gone; in its place was just sheer annoyance. "Where is it?" Alec asked.
Apollo cocked his head, then said, "South Carolina, I believe. Outer Banks?"
I frowned. "That's, like, 10 hours away."
"Exactly!" My father - it feels so weird to type that - exclaimed. "Easy peasy. Just go down there, kill it, and come back. I'll even fly you part way as a head-start."
Riley, Alec, and I looked at each other. Alec looked like he could no longer deal with Apollo's arrogance. Riley just shrugged, seemingly not caring whether we accepted the quest or not.
It was up to me, then. The way Apollo was staring at me was beginning to make me nervous. If I'd said no, I'm sure he'd have just continued asking us. If I said yes, we'd get out of this strange, awkward situation - and perhaps gain the fondness of our godly father.
And besides, what else would I be doing? Picking strawberries all summer, feeling out of place? This was my chance to finally do something... and to really cement my place in this brave new world. Of course, it wasn't like I knew how to properly fight, and I couldn't find my sword anywhere, but it would certainly be an adventure nonetheless.
I stepped forward, facing the god head-on, although my heart was beating a mile a minute. "Uh... I guess I'll go."
Apollo grinned. "Good decision." Then he glanced at Riley and Alec.
Riley did the same as I did, saying, "I'll go too." Apollo nodded, his smile growing.
Finally, Alec groaned. "Fine, I'll go too. If only to stop Miss Escape Artist here-" He gestured to me - "From trying to leave and hurting herself in the process."
Apollo raised his eyebrows, but I just waved my hand dismissively. Yes, I'd tried to escape before, but after everything I'd learned... I didn't feel quite safe trying to escape again. Who knew if that snake woman, or any other monsters, were waiting out there to fight me again?
"Ok. Coolio." Apollo said. Then, he brought out car keys from his pocket and pressed the button, and suddenly, a red Maserati appeared on the beach. Alec's eyes widened and Apollo beamed. "I know, right? Sports car mode is pretty cool."
"Why do you have a sports car?"I asked, frowning. "I thought you were the sun god. Shouldn't you be driving a chariot?"
"This is my chariot, kid," Apollo said. "Do you guys need weapons?"
Riley and Alec nodded.
"Okay, well, go get them! Quickly, please and thanks."
My siblings ran off, then, Alec keeping his gaze on me, as if he was hesitant to leave me alone with Apollo. I watched them go, then turned back to Apollo.
"I... don't have a weapon..." I said, instantly feeling all too vulnerable and all too uncomfortable.
"Yeah, I know that. I know all. I see all." He said this as if he was the Eye of Providence, and then he snapped his fingers. A sword appeared out of mid-air. It was my sword- Liakada, the one I found, sheath in tow. My mouth widened in surprise. "I don't like swords, but somehow I ended up with this. You can have it." He handed it to me, and though I took it, I frowned at the same time.
"You're just going to give this away?"
Apollo rolled his eyes again. "It's a sword. I don't even use swords. It's called λιακάδα, though you already know that."
"Right..." I struggled with hooking the sheath into my shorts. My estranged father just stood there, whistling. This was way too awkward.
"You look like your mother, you know."
I snapped my head up, staring at him. Suddenly, he couldn't meet my eyes. "What?"
"You look like your mother," he repeated. "Which, would've been a damn shame, considering my beauty, but it suits you well."
I stared at him, incredulous. What kind of introduction was that?
".... Thanks?" I said, drawing out the word.
"You're welcome." He said, not catching on to my tone. "I know all this is probably confusing, but you'll get used to it."
He sounded much too similar to Alec. I pursed my lips. "Right. I've heard that a few times, now."
"Well, it's the truth. And I would know - I'm the God of Truth," he said.
"If that's so, then why am I just now finding out about you?" I replied, narrowing my eyes.
Finally, at this, he met my eyes - but he didn't get to give me an answer. Riley and Alec came running down the beach at that moment. Riley had a bow and quiver of arrows with her, while Alec had a curved bronze dirk. He didn't seem as comfortable carrying the weapon as he did when he was working in the infirmary. I made a mental note to ask him about it later.
"All right." Apollo clapped his hands together. "You ready to roll?"
I glanced at Alec and Riley, who had the same wary look in their eyes that I had in my heart.
Apollo must've noticed, because he grinned. "Don't worry, kids. It'll be fun! I'm an amazing driver. That's what you get when you cart the sun around for thousands of years."
———
I've been in a lot of awkward situations before. I've frozen during songs at recitals before, I've walked in on people bathing, I've completely forgotten speeches in the middle of giving them. But somehow, none of those compared to the sheer discomfort of riding in the sports car/sun chariot with my deadbeat, immortal father, and my long lost half siblings.
For one, we were flying. We had to be thousands of feet above the ground, higher than the Empire State Building. If I didn't believe all this god stuff before, I definitely did now. I wasn't scared of heights, but I didn't exactly feel perfectly safe with Apollo at the wheel. He seemed to be careless of anything other than himself. But if the car had some type of incident, he'd survive - and nobody else would.
Secondly, nobody was speaking. It was hard to, since Apollo had rolled the roof down and the wind was so strong I felt like I was in a tornado, but still. Riley rode in the passenger seat, and she spent most of the time picking clay out of her cuticles. She seemed perfectly content with the fact that we were flying near cloud level. Meanwhile, Alec kept glancing over at me, specifically at my right hip, where Liakada was lying haphazardly across the leather seat. But he didn't ask about it, didn't say a single word.
It was bad enough driving in silence. But then... we had an incident.
It started when I looked over the side of the car. We were out of the city perimeters, far from Camp Half-Blood. A forest was below us, but I could barely even see the tips of the trees. I gulped, immediately snapping my head back up. But on my eyes' trip back up to their usual level, I glanced in one of the side mirrors and noticed something weird.
It was a speck on the wind, far, far behind us, but it was big enough to not be a bird. Maybe it was a plane? Turning around in my seat, I saw it better. It wasn't a plane at all. My stomach, already in knots, lurched downwards like it was in free fall.
I nudged Alec, and he turned and followed my gaze. My own gaze followed the figure, who got closer and closer, eventually arching over the Maserati like a rainbow, and landing in front of us.
Apollo threw on the breaks quick enough that we didn't hit it. And by it, I mean him. It was a man, handsome and youthful, with black hair and eyes the color of freshly-tilled soil. The most noticeable thing about him was that he was flying, courtesy of two majestic white wings sprouting out of his back.
When I caught eye contact with him, he gave me a lazy grin.
"Who..." I said to Apollo, "Is that?"
"Zephyros," Apollo snarled, clenching his jaw. "God of the west wind. And my age old enemy."
The man - or God, should I say - laughed. "Apollo. How wonderful it is to see you again!"
"You must have a skewered sense of wonder, Zephyros," Apollo growled. "Because, at least for me, it is not at all wonderful to see you. Now, please move, or else Philadelphia is going to freeze."
Zephyros waved his hand dismissively. "They're fine. I just want to have some fun! And oh, are these some of your many, many children?" He turned his gaze on me again, and I didn't know how to react. "Made from your many, many lovers? Who knew you could move on so easily!"
This was like some kind of fatal blow to Apollo's heart, because he scoffed loudly and said, "I have not moved on!"
"Oh my Gods..." Alec hissed to me. "You know who this is, right?"
"No," I said, crinkling my nose. "I only know the main gods, y'know. Athena, Zeus, that kind. I've never even heard of Zephyros."
Riley turned around in her seat. "He was one of Apollo's enemies in the old myths," she whispered. "They were both in love with the same guy, a mortal named Hyacinth. Hyacinth and Apollo were playing discus once when Zephyros saw. In a jealous rage, he blew the disc off course and it struck and killed Hyacinth-"
"To memorialize him, Apollo turned his love into a flower. The hyacinth flower." Alec finished. "It was millennia ago, but I guess they've never gotten over it."
My eyes, already pretty wide, got bigger. The three of us all sat back in our seats, then, knowing that something bad might happen if things got too heated, and we'd need to hold on.
"Can you let me through?!" Apollo yelled. In reply, a gust of warm wind came at us, pushing the car back. I raised my arm in front of my eyes to block out the heat. "Di immortales," Apollo exclaimed. "You idiot!" He pressed the gas pedal and flew towards Zephyros, but the wind god zipped out of the way at the last moment.
"Now, now" Zephyros waved his finger, repremanding my father. "Don't try to kill me! I may just side with the Titans if you get on my bad side."
Titans. I blinked. Just like the woman had talked about in my dream, and just like the snake monster had said before she tried to kill me. I had a feeling these titan people weren't good.
"Just. Let. Me. Through!" Apollo exclaimed. He looked down worriedly at the ground, which was looking frosty (of course, that could've just been my imagination), then up at Zephyros. "You know what, I can deal with you later." He floored the gas pedal and the Maserati flew forward. Zephyros waved his hand and a gust of wind flew us to the right. Apollo huffed and tried to go again, but we pitched to the right and the Maserati almost flipped over. As the car went vertical, I slipped out of my loose seat belt.
"ALEC!" I yelled. Alec quickly grabbed my hand before I could fall.
"I got you! I got you!" Alec reasurred. "But I don't know if Apollo got us." The car lurched again, a sign of the over head battle that was blocked from my view by Apollo's seat. "APOLLO!" Alec yelled.
Apollo ignored him, and instead floored the gas. The car finally got by Zephyros, but in the process, the Maserati flipped. Alec partially fell out of the car, and Riley slipped out, tumbling into Apollo. Apollo swore in ancient Greek under his breath, then pressed a button on the dashboard. The car turned into a motorcycle, and then Riley, Alec, and I were tumbling through the air.
What a great dad! I thought to myself.
Our father just zoomed off after Zephyros, who was trying to escape Apollo's wrath. Suddenly, they were gone, but we had worse things to worry about. The ground was quickly approaching, and the three of us all screamed at the top of our lungs.
"We're gonna die!" I exclaimed over the wind, though I don't know if my siblings could hear me. I grabbed one of Riley's arms and one of Alec's arms, and we all fell into eachother. I held back a sob. We were gonna die. Just like that. One day, I was camping, and now, I was plummeting with two people I had only known for a weekend. My life flashed past my eyes. This was the end. I was going hit the ground, go splat, and nobody would even know! My mom would think I was perfectly safe at camp, but nobody at camp would even realize I was missing!
I felt like I was going to throw up. But then...
We had just barely reached the treetops when Alec's hand started getting warm - really warm. Riley and I let go, quickly, and suddenly a sphere of golden light formed around us.
"What the hell..." I said, turning my head to try to see what had just happened. It had something to do with Alec - his hands were glowing - but he was just as surprised as I was. We were floating downwards slowly now, like we were in a giant balloon.
"How in the world..." Riley trailed off. "This is amazing. This is like... photokinesis, or something. But there hasn't been a child of Apollo with that power since the 1400s."
"I... I don't know how that happened." Alec said. "I don't know at all."
It was only a second, then, before the ball hit the ground and burst. We all fell backwards, and I hit my head on the soft soil, but that was it. No pain, no dying, nothing. The force field had protected us. I slowly sat up, rubbing my head, and glanced at Alec, who glanced at Riley, who glanced at me.
After a moment, Alec repeated, "I don't know how that happened. I guess I have... powers."
Riley, who seemed to me like she could never be shaken, just grinned. "Nice!" she said, giving Alec a high-five. "That was amazing. Really. If it weren't for you, we'd be dead."
"Yeah," I said, before adding, "I can't believe Apollo ditched us like that."
"I know." Alec shook his head, scowling. "But I'm not surprised. Gods can be cruel."
I raised an eyebrow, but Riley just nodded in agreement. For a moment, we sat there, catching our breaths. Then Riley ran a hand through her loose afro and said, "Where should we go from here?"
"We gotta keep going," Alec said. "It's bad luck to not continue a quest. Even if your quest giver is a prick."
"That's true," Riley replied. "So..."
Alec looked up at the sky. "If Apollo was going this way, then," he turned counterclockwise. "This way is south. So... I guess we need to just walk."
"Fun!" I said. "We'll just wander around the woods until we find civilization, then?"
Alec chuckled. "I guess so."
Brushing the dirt off of his knees, he stood up, reaching out a hand each to Riley and I. Reluctantly, I took it, trying not to flinch when I noticed it was still warm.
"Wait!" I exclaimed, suddenly drawing back. "How can we go into town with our weapons and everything? People will think we're killers or something."
"They won't see them, don't worry. They'll just see them as like, lacrosse sticks or something," Riley explained. "There's this invisible thing called The Mist that spares mortals from the fear of seeing our weapons or our fights or monsters."
"Oh. How convenient." It made sense, and though it seemed impossible, I was becoming used to the impossible becoming possible.
"Yep," Alec said. "Now, shall we go into the unknown?"
I snorted. "We're probably not even out of Jersey yet. The mid-Atlantic can't be that scary."
Little did I know...
~ ☼ ~
Oh, Apollo... I love you, but you're a bit self-centered. Let's hope we see some character development!
Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to vote and comment!