Aetophobia: Fear of Eagles
Aurelia has never hated birds before.
When she was a kid she used to watch the birds outside her window perch themselves on the surrounding trees, singing and chirping to each other and flying away. Birds to her were free animals. She envied their freedom—their ability to fly into the night sky and never look back.
Well, that was a load of bullshit, she was now realizing as the ground beneath her feet disappeared and pain seared her body.
Aurelia's vision blurred slightly amidst the chaos. Claws grabbed her arms and lifted her into the air. Below, the train wheels squealed and metal crashed. Glass shattered. Passengers screamed.
When her eyesight cleared, she saw the beast that was carrying aloft. It had the body of a panther—sleek, black and feline—with the wings and head of an eagle. Its eyes glowed blood red.
She didn't try squirming, instead calming her mind to try and think clearly. The monster's front talons were wrapped around her arms like steel hands. She couldn't free herself or reach her necklace. She rose higher and higher, the cold winds now slapping her in the face (and probably ruining her hair).
Aurelia didn't scream. She didn't yell. She didn't even wince from the pain in her arms. She just allowed her body to grow limp in the monster's grasp.
Aurelia wasn't suicidal. Not by any means. Most of the time she was just ... tired. Tired was definitely the best word to describe it. Death was inevitable. Aurelia never tried to deny it. She has fought her entire life for her family and friends. And she fights for herself.
But she always knew that whenever the time came, whenever she couldn't physically fight anymore, she would embrace Death.
Although it seemed Death didn't really feel like embracing her.
Something whistled by Aurelia's ear. An arrow sprouted from the monster's neck. The creature shrieked and let go.
Aurelia, her mind clear and body ready to work, twisted herself in the air, grabbing her necklace and sprouting her sword. She could see a large pine tree beneath her, ready to catch her. She slammed her sword into the trunk and her fall slowed, coming to a complete stop at the base of the tree. She landed on her feet with a deep breath, the cold air burning their way through her lungs into the pit of her stomach as she realized how close she was to dying.
"You okay?" Hazel asked. The daughter of Pluto had stood nearby, swinging her sword at any monster that came close, while Frank continued to shoot them down as fast as he could.
Aurelia was about to ask where Percy was, but the branches overhead began to snap as Percy crashed through pine tree's branches and landed on the snowbank, not nearly as graceful as Aurelia did.
"I am doing better than him," Aurelia nodded at Percy, pulling out her sword. She sliced through the wings of one of the monsters and sent it spiraling into a nearby tree. But the defeated ones began to reform immediately.
"What are these things?" Percy yelled as he rose with Riptide in hand.
"Gryphons!" Hazel said. "We have to get them away from the train!"
Aurelia saw what she meant. The train cars had fallen over and their roofs had shattered. Tourists were stumbling in shock. It didn't seem like anyone was seriously injured, but the gryphons were swooping toward anything that moved. The only thing that kept the mortals from being snatched up was a flowing gray warrior in camouflage—Frank's pet spartus.
"Used your last charge?" Percy asked. He had stood back to back with Aurelia both of them, attacking any monsters that came too close.
"Yeah." Frank shot another gryphon out of the sky. "I had to help the mortals. The spear just dissolved."
"Let's move the fight!" Percy said. "Away from the tracks!"
They stumbled through the snow, smacking and slicing gryphons that re-formed from dust every time they were killed. Aurelia had no experience with gryphons but she still continued to fight beside her friends, killing as quickly as she could, as many as she could.
About fifty yards from the tracks, the trees gave way to an open marsh. The ground was so spongy and icy, it felt like walking across Bubble wrap. Frank was running out of arrows. Hazel was breathing hard. Percy's sword swings were getting slower. Aurelia's feet were completely numb from the cold and it hurt to keep going. The only reason they were alive was because the gryphons weren't trying to kill them. They wanted to pick them up and carry them off somewhere.
Probably their nests, Aurelia thought as she stabbed one to keep it from latching onto Frank's arm.
"Dios mio," Aurelia hissed as she tripped.
Well, more like Percy tripped over something in the tall frozen grass, which sent him falling into her as well. She quickly recovered, covering Percy as he revealed what had caused their fall. They stood right by a massive bird's nest—a gryphon's nest—the bottom littered with old pieces of jewelry, an Imperial gold dagger, a dented centurion's badge, and two pumpkin sized eggs that looked like real gold.
Percy jumped into the nest. He pressed his sword tip against one of the eggs. "Back off, or I break it!"
The gryphons squawked angrily. They buzzed around the nest and snapped their beaks, but they didn't attack. Aurelia, Frank and Hazel all stood back to back with Percy, their weapons ready.
"Gryphons collect gold," Hazel said. "They're crazy for it. Look—more nests over there."
Frank nocked his last arrows. "So if these are their nests, where were they trying to take you guys? Those things were flying away with the two of you."
Aurelia's arms throbbed from where the gryphons had grabbed her.
"Alcyoneus," Percy guessed. "Maybe they're working for him. Are these things smart enough to take over?"
"No clue," Hazel said. "I never fought them when I lived here. I just read about them at camp."
"Weaknesses?" Frank asked, "Please tell me they have weaknesses."
"Horses," Aurelia remembered. "How ironic."
Hazel scowled. "Gods, I wish Arion was here!"
The gryphons shrieked. They swirled around the nest with their red eyes glowing.
"Guys," Frank said nervously, "I see legion relics in this nest."
Aurelia felt sick.
"I know," Percy said.
Goosebumps formed on her sleeve covered arms. She wanted to throw up.
"That means the other demigods died here, or—"
"Frank, it'll be okay," Percy promised.
One of the gryphons dived in. Percy raised his sword, ready to stab the egg and Aurelia raised Ferrum Temoris, ready to slice any wings. The monster veered off, but the other gryphons were losing their patience. This standoff was not going to last much longer.
"You better have a plan," Aurelia murmured. Whatever he came up with would be stupid, and sound absolutely ridiculous, but they needed to escape.
"I think I do," Percy said. "Hazel—all the gold in these nests. Do you think you can use it to cause a distraction?"
"I—I guess."
"Just give us enough time for a head start. When I say go, run for the giant."
Frank gaped at him. "You want us to run toward a giant?"
"Trust me," Percy said. "Ready? Go!"
Hazel thrust her hand upward. From a dozen nests across the marsh, golden objects shot into the air—jewelry, weapons, coins, gold nuggets, and most importantly, gryphon eggs. The monsters shrieked and flew after their eggs, frantic to save them.
They ran. Their feet splashed and crunched through the frozen marsh. They sped up, going as fast as they could, but they could hear the gryphons closing behind them, and now the monsters were really angry.
The giant hadn't noticed the commotion yet. He was inspecting his toes for mud, his face sleepy and peaceful, his white whiskers glistening with ice crystals. Around his neck was a necklace of found objects—garbage cans, car doors, moose antlers, camping equipment, even a toilet. Apparently he'd been cleaning up the wilderness.
"Under!" Percy yelled. "Crawl under!"
Aurelia didn't have enough to voice or show her disgust. They scrambled between the massive blue legs and flattened themselves in the mud, crawling as close as they could to his loincloth. Aurelia was forced to breathe her mouth, and it took all her willpower to keep from gagging.
"What's the plan?" Frank hissed. "Get flattened by a blue rump?"
"Lay low," Percy said. "Only move if you have to."
"If these gryphons do not kill you," Aurelia muttered, "and we do not get squished by this giant's ass, I am going to strangle you."
"Good to know."
The gryphons arrived in a wave of angry beaks, talons and wings, swarming around the giant, trying to get under his legs.
The giant rumbled in surprise. He shifted. Aurelia and Percy had to roll to avoid getting crushed by his large hairy rear. The Hyperborean grunted, a little more irritated. He swatted at the gryphons, but they squawked in outrage and began pecking at his legs and hands.
"Ruh?" the giant bellowed. "Ruh!"
He took a deep breath and blew out a wave of cold air. Even under the protection of the giant's legs, Aurelia could feel the drop in temperature. The gryphons stopped shrieking abruptly, and the replacing sound was a thunk, thunk, thunk of heavy objects hitting the mud.
"Come on," Percy urged his friends. "Carefully."
The shock was real as they squirmed out from under the giant. All around the marsh, trees were glazed with frost. A huge swath of bog was covered in fresh snow. Frozen gryphons stuck out of the ground like feathery Popsicle sticks, their wings still spread, beaks open, eyes wide with surprise.
Aurelia and her friends scrambled away, trying to keep out of the giant's vision, but the big guy was too busy to notice them. He was trying to figure out how to string a frozen gryphon onto his necklace.
"Percy ..." Hazel wiped the ice and mud from her face. "How did you know the giant could do that?"
"I almost got hit by Hyperborean breath once," Percy admitted. "We'd better move. The gryphons won't stay frozen forever." He turned to Aurelia with a small smirk. "Still wanna kill me?"
Aurelia was freezing and her dress felt heavy and stiff with ice and mud. She didn't even want to look at the damage to her face. "As long as no one puts a mirror in front of me, I will not kill you."
"You don't look that bad," Percy tried.
The monsters in Aurelia's eyes were screaming at him. "Do not lie to me Perseus. No matter my appearance, my powers are still intact. And I do not appreciate you lying to me."
"Okay," Percy nodded. "Then you look and smell like shit."
"Thank you."
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
They walked for about an hour, keeping train tracks in sight but staying in the cover of the trees as much as possible. Once they heard a helicopter flying in the direction of the train wreck. Twice they heard the screech of gryphons, but they sounded a long way off.
Aurelia stared at the sky above. It was about midnight when the sun finally set. It got even colder, if that was possible. The stars were thick and eventually the northern light began to dance across the sky.
"That's amazing," Frank said.
Aurelia's steps paused, making Hazel and Percy almost stumble behind her. "Bears," she pointed.
Sure enough, a couple of brown bears were lumbering in the meadow a few hundred feet away, their costs gleaming in the starlight. "They won't bother us," Hazel promised. "Just give them a wide berth."
No one argued with her.
As they trudged on, Aurelia thought of all the places she had lived. From Puerto Rico, to Circe's Island, to the beautiful California, Aurelia had her fair share of terrifying experiences and places. None of them had ever unsettled her the way Alaska did.
She understood why it was the land beyond the gods. Everything here was rough and untamed. There were no rules, no prophecies, no destinies—just the harsh wilderness and a bunch of animals and monsters. Mortals and demigods came here at their own risk.
Was this what Gaea wanted—for the whole world to be like this? Just untamable chaos. Somehow the idea sounded kind of appealing.
When they had been in Seattle, and Aurelia had listened to Kinzie speak of revolution, Aurelia remembered feeling exhilarated. Change. Revolution. Was Gaea's plan such a bad thing?
Aurelia snapped her band on her wrist. No, it was a bad idea. Gaea's plan was nothing like the Amazon's. Gaea wasn't a gentle goddess, or someone who deserved retribution for some wronged past. She wasn't like the Mother Earth you might read about in a children's fairy tale. She was vengeful and violent. If she ever woke up fully she'd destroy human civilization.
There was nothing appealing about that.
After another couple of hours, they stumbled across a tiny village between the railroad tracks and a two-laned road. The city limit sign said: MOOSE PASS. Standing next to the sign was an actual moose. If it wasn't for her powers, Aurelia might have actually believed it was some sort of statue for advertising. The animal bounded into the woods.
They passed a couple of houses, a post office, and some trailers. Everything was dark and closed up. One the other end of town was a store with a picnic table and an old rusted petrol pump in front. The store had a hand-painted sign that read: MOOSE PASS GAS.
"That's just wrong," Frank said.
By silent agreement they collapsed on the picnic table. Aurelia's feet felt like blocks of ice—very sore blocks of ice. She was freezing. Tired. Sleep deprived. Her effects of her morning coffee gas passed through her system. Basically none of the things you want when you are in the middle of nowhere (Moose Pass counts as the middle of nowhere) and during an possible end-of-the-world quest.
Aurelia zipped her jacket all the way up and propped up her hood. She tucked her legs underneath her body, curling herself into a small ball and resting her head on the table. Out of all her friends, she fell asleep the fastest.
She may have hated sleep. She may have hated nightmares. She may have been scared of exploding in her dreamscapes and reliving her worst experiences. But she was exhausted.
And she was out like a light.
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
Martina was hardly ever lucid. It happened maybe once in a blue moon. But the few times she was awake, conciscous of her words and actions, she was a good mother.
When Aurelia was seven, she remembered her mother had cooked her empanadas, enough to last for a week. They were delicious, pork, cheese and vegetable filled turnover pastries, cooked to a slight crisp with a soft, salty middle. It had been the most amazing meal Aurelia ever had, not just because of the food but because Martina actually spoke to her.
"What is your favorite color?" Martina asked. "I find it so strange that I don't know the answer to that question."
"Purple is pretty," Aurelia murmured, "So is pink, but not the bright pink. The pinkish orange the clouds make when the sun is setting. It's really relaxing."
Martina's eyes softened. "I am a bit surprised it isn't gold."
Aurelia glanced down at her dress. This one was a simple white fabric, loose around her shoulders but tight around her waist with a gold leather belt. Her long hair had been placed in two long braids, tied off with golden ribbons. She had a pair of fake gold hoops that Aurelia had found in her mother's old jewelry box from before the war, and had put them on.
"My earrings suit you though," Martina said. "Shame they're not real."
"Still, they're very pretty," Aurelia said.
"Especially on you, cariño." Martina admired her daughter's face. "My beautiful golden girl. So strong and reliable. I'm sorry that you have to be. That I can't be those things for you the way it is supposed to be."
"It's not your fault," Aurelia whispered.
Martina's soft, gentle eyes became unfocused. Her face hardened. Her quiet, lulling voice turned dark. "You're right, cariño. It's Pavor's. He left me like this. An absolute mess. Incapable of even being able to interact with my family or take care of my daughter long enough to even know her favorite color. It's all his fault."
Yeah it is, Aurelia agreed.
"I am so grateful for you, cariño," Martina murmured. "You are so strong. But you know what they say. The gods give their hardest battles ..."
" ... to their strongest soldiers," Circe said. "As much as I admire and appreciate your work ethic towards our new guest, I find disrespect in the fact that you weren't at your practice on time."
Aurelia was back on Circe's Island. She stood in her beautiful dress that Circe had gifted her throughout her time there. It was her favorite. It was a mixture of her favorite pink and orange, although a bit more on the orange side—kinda like the color of clouds during a sunset, with gold stitching. Her hair was placed in a long single dutch braid down her back, with golden ribbons woven throughout them. Her face had light makeup. Winged eyeliner, bronze eyeshadow, rose colored cheeks, and pink colored lips. A doll. A pretty one, too.
"Of course, Circe," Aurelia said softly. "I meant no disrespect. Nor excuses. I just got caught up with the new girl. Her hair needed a lot of work. I will continue my practice once I have finished."
"Alright," Circe said, her lips forming a small smile. "By the way, we have a new little inmate. Some boy who washed up with your little project. Give him a warm welcome. I will see you in a bit." Circe touched Aurelia's chin, raising it up slightly. "And smile my dear. We want to dazzle our client, not scare her away."
"Yes. Circe," Aurelia bowed and went back to her client.
"Sorry about that," Aurelia apologized as she came back into the hair salon. The blonde girl sitting in the chair glanced at her in the mirror. Her gray eyes were foggy from amazement and Aurelia flashed an award-winning smile that made the client smile as well. "Now let me finish my masterpiece. All this work cannot be for nothing."
"I never got your name," the blonde girl said.
"Ari," Aurelia said softly. "Yours?"
"Annabeth," she said, admiring the work Aurelia did with her hair. It had just been washed and conditioned, and now Aurelia was weaving it into a clean braid with gold ribbons just like she had in her own dark hair.
"All done," Aurelia murmured. "You look very beautiful. Do you like your makeup, or do you want me to add some more?"
"I've never really used makeup before," Annabeth admitted. "I feel as though it looks strange on me."
"I promise you, you look lovely," Aurelia assured her, going over to the clipboard Hylla left her. "Let us see. Tour, check. Spa treatment, check. Wardrobe change, check. Now finally hair and makeup, double check." She finished filling the sheet on the clipboard. "I hope to see you soon Annabeth. CC should be in the main room, right down the hall."
"Thank you. Bye, Ari." Annabeth went down the hall to go find Circe and Aurelia began to tidy up the dresser she had sat at for the next guest who would come.
She wasn't doing it for long when she heard yelling.
"Circe?" She called. "Hylla? Reyna?"
"Run, Ari," a frantic voice told her. Hylla had found her. Fear was increasing around her and Aurelia placed her hand on her necklace. Hylla grabbed Aurelia's free hand and pulled her along with her as she ran. "That blasted girl! She turned all the guinea pigs back into humans! We need to hurry. Circe's magic has been rendered useless against them! Gods, where is Reyna?"
"There's the little witch in training!" This was a voice that Aurelia had never heard before. The gruff, male voice came from a rather large man with a long tangled pitch-black beard and teeth the same color. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat.
His appearance wasn't that threatening but the way stared at Aurelia, with such a burning hatred, made Hylla speed up, pulling her young cousin even faster.
"Get the little witch!" the man yelled. Aurelia ran faster. There were screams and yells coming from all around. Dark shadows were hurting Aurelia's arm.
"That's them," Hylla explained. "That idiot girl turned them back into humans!"
Dread filled Aurelia as she realized why that man had stared at her with such anger and hostility. He was one of the former guinea pigs. One of the former guinea pigs Aurelia practiced her powers on.
Circe had Aurelia practice her powers daily. On the little test subjects in cages. On the guinea pigs. Every. Single. Day.
And it seemed the pirates had remembered her, for they chased after her specifically. The mass panic was real. Girls were pushing past each other, trying to run faster than the others. Hylla and Aurelia stayed together. They ran past screaming spa workers as they dodged the pirates that ransacked the resort.
Hylla pulled Aurelia outside. "Reyna! Reyna! Where are you?"
"Hylla! Aurelia!" Reyna ran to her family's side. "I'm here! I'm here!"
Hylla took Reyna's wrist in her other hand, quickly assessing if her sister was okay. There was a ship in the harbor. The sails were unfurling themselves, ropes being thrown around by magic as the ship got ready to take sail.
"Wait!" Aurelia yelled at the people aboard the ship. "Do not leave us here!"
For a split second the two people aboard the ship heard her. The blonde girl Annabeth glanced at her. Although her makeup was still intact, all the work Aurelia had put into her hair had been taken apart, for Annabeth's blonde curls ruffled in the wind. The boy standing next to her glanced at Aurelia as well. His sea green eyes were the last thing Aurelia saw before someone had grabbed her.
"I've got the little witch!" the pirate shouted gleefully. Two more pirates were there, one holding a knife to Hylla's throat and the other holding Reyna in an arm lock.
"Help!" Aurelia screamed at the two on the ship, but pirates ran towards their ship. The sea green eyed boy and the blonde girl tore their eyes away from the struggling girl, who was possibly their age, maybe younger. The ship took off into the water, sailing into the Sea of Monsters.
"Ari!" Reyna shrieked as more pirates swarmed around the daughter of Pavor.
Aurelia didn't struggle as they grabbed her. She felt the ropes tie around her wrists. She felt her circulation slowly get cut off as they tied her beneath another ship. She lost sight of her cousins and pain was everywhere around her. From the pain on her wrists, to the painful shadows that danced across her skin.
"You are getting everything you deserve," the pirates said. Many crowded around the small dark room where Aurelia had been tied up. They laughed as the pirate in charge ran a knife down Aurelia's legs. She screamed in pain.
No, this is wrong, Aurelia thought. It isn't supposed to hurt that much. She didn't scream.
"Please, please stop," Aurelia sobbed. The pain was burning. The blood was everywhere. "No!" The knife was down her thighs again.
"The gods give their hardest battles to the strongest soldiers." Her mother once told Aurelia that. Circe had told her that. And at the time Aurelia had believed it. But as she truly felt the pain of the knives against her skin, all Aurelia wanted to was sob and beg to be let go.
There was no numbness in her legs. No panic room for her to go into to separate her mind from the pain. She was stuck in this memory. She was stuck in this nightmare. She was stuck in her eleven year old body, feeling the pain she had managed to block out so long ago.
Wake up, Aurelia! Her inner voice was screaming at her. Wake up! "Wake up!"
Aurelia let out a primal scream. The pirate's laughter rang in her ears. Her veins were turning black. Shadows danced on her arms. Blood dripped down her legs and on her ruined beautiful, orange dress.
Fear coursed through Aurelia as she kept screaming. Her lungs felt like they were collapsing. Like she was drowning. She was choking on her own blood.
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
When she awoke, Aurelia still felt as though she was choking.
Trying not to shake the table or wake her friends, Aurelia stumbled away from the picnic table and into the snow. She coughed the blood out of her mouth and onto the snow. Her entire body trembled from pain. She was on her knees, her hands freezing from the snow underneath her palms.
Aurelia's were shut. Her eyes were wet from tears, but they refused to stream down her cheeks. Her legs felt like they had been stabbed all over, but there was no blood there.
Finally she opened her eyes.
Aurelia's veins had turned black. She brought her little compact mirror. Her eyes were pure black and shadows were creeping up her neck. Her necklace was glowing darkly. Blood stained her mouth and dripped down her chin.
Aurelia slowed her breathing. She focused on the emotions of her friends, who were all still sleeping peacefully on the bench. She placed her hand on her jewel and felt the power and fear slowly leech out of her body.
She took some of the snow, a clean patch, and used it to wipe the blood off her mouth. Thank the gods it hadn't gotten on her dress. Thank the gods her friends hadn't woken up.
Aurelia kicked the snow around, hiding the blood.
She walked back over to the picnic table and sat back on her spot next to Percy. She looked at the store, squinting to look through the windows. It was nearly three AM. She had been asleep for maybe two hours. If you could even call those nightmares sleep.
That was torture. That was hell.
And it had never happened before.
She has had awful nightmares before but never before had that pain ever appeared in the real world. She has exploded so many times in her dreamscape, but never before had her dreams made her act up like that when she woke up.
And it terrified her.
Aurelia crossed her legs and listened to the whistling wind. She could hear animals chittering nearby. It was nature's song. A song of peace.
"The gods give their hardest battles to their strongest soldiers."
But when did Aurelia sign up for the war? When did she sign up for all this absolute bullshit? She didn't deserve any of it.
The sixth time. This was the sixth time in Aurelia's life she truly wanted to die.
But she listened to the soft, even breathing of her friends and allowed their peaceful state to go through her. She allowed nature's song of peace to calm her.
She thought of Reyna. Her cousin needed her. She wasn't going to fall now. She had too much pain, too much trauma and too much suffering to die now. She thought of Jason, who was out in the world somewhere with the Greek camp, hopefully waiting for her.
Aurelia touched the bands on her wrist. She slipped them off and touched her scarred wrists.
You are not your mom, Aurelia told herself. You aren't Martina. You didn't sign up for battle, like she did. She signed up for the war and it was too much for her. It's not too much for you. People need you. You are a strong soldier. You aren't Martina.
And she kept repeating that sentence to herself until the sun rose.
A/N: thank you all for the thousand of reads, I appreciate every single one of you!
I've got less than a week until I'm out of school, and hopefully my writing time will just triple.