❝we were together. i forget the rest.❞
⤷ walt whitman
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After the bear traps and pressure-activated explosives, Kira doubted the afternoon could get any worse. Of course, it did.
Once they had told Emmie and Josephine what had happened with Britomartis, their hosts sank into despair. They didn't seem reassured that the griffin quest might lead to Georgina's rescue, or that their little girl would remain alive until the spectacular kill-fest the emperor had planned in three days.
Emmie and Jo were so resentful—not just of Britomartis but also of them—that they assigned them more chores. Kira didn't mind that she had to help out, it only seemed right because they were helping them and giving them somewhere to live, but that didn't stop Apollo from complaining the entire time.
By dinnertime, she was starving. Josephine waved listlessly toward the kitchen. "I think there's some leftover tofu enchiladas in the fridge. Agamethus will show you to your rooms."
She and Emmie left them to fend for themselves.
The glowing orange ghost escorted Calypso to her room first. Agamethus let it be known, via the Magic 8 Ball and lots of gesticulation, that girls and boys always slept in entirely different wings. Kira protested, saying how she was about to leave him for a unknown amount of time on a quest, but the ghost didn't back down.
"It'll be alright," Leo told her, kissing her goodnight. For Kira, she was terrified. She got nightmares whenever she didn't sleep beside him, just like last night.
But the ghost just led Leo and Apollo away.
Calypso didn't complain. Before leaving, she turned to the boys hesitantly and said, "See you in the morning," as if this was a huge concession. As if by talking to Leo and Apollo at all, she was going above and beyond the courtesy they deserved.
She and Kira weren't thrilled to share a room, but they made their way through the doorway. They didn't have a choice. Kira took the bed on the left, and Calypso pushed her bed all the way against the other wall. Kira didn't have the energy to argue, so she just sighed, turning over, and falling asleep.
She was standing in Tartarus. She looked around, trying to get any idea of what part, when she caught sight of herself. She was about a year younger, the time she had fallen into Tartarus. She was standing at the top of a cliff, a monster directly behind her. Kira held her breath when she realized what memory it was. She tried to yell out, but memory-her couldn't hear.
Younger her turned around just in time. To her left, fire billowed out of a lion, and she barely managed to dodge. She pulled her sword out by yanking off her necklace.
The lion had a head of a goat off its back and a snake for a tail. It was tall and threatening, which was always good. She was facing the Chimera.
Younger-her leapt to the side to avoid being burnt alive again.
The Chimera roared loudly. Both Kira's flinched at the loud noise.
She charged the monster, slicing it's leg to throw it off balance. It sliced at her, and she grunted as she was sent skidding across the terrain.
It bellowed again, but she was ready for the burst of flames. She dodged it, and stood directly facing it.
She was egging the Chimera to throw fire at her again, a plan forming in her head. She tried to remember how it was killed last, and it was starting to come back to her.
It huffed, and opened its mouth to kill her, but she threw her sword at it's mouth like a javelin. Kira remembered what happened, it was supposed to get lodged in the Chimera's mouth, and it's fire breath melted in it's mouth, and it would began to choke on the melted sword.
That is not what happened. The Chimera bit down, chopping the sword in half. It roared again, and even younger-Kira looked confused.
"No!" Kira yelled, but she knew nothing could hear her. The Chimera opened it's mouth again, but this time she had nothing to defend herself. Kira watched in horror as memory-her was swallowed whole by the monster. She stumbled back, her heart beating out of control as the monster seemed to notice her for the first time.
It bounded towards her, and she had no time to react before it opened it's nasty mouth to eat her.
She let out a yelp, but the scene swirled away to nothing.
A new scene appeared to her. All around her monsters fought against demigods, Romans and Greeks side-by-side. It was the final battle of The Giant War. Sadly, Kira knew how it ended. She let out a whimper.
In a flash of bronze, Gaea was swept off the hillside, snarled in the claws of a fifty-ton metal dragon.
Festus rose into the sky on gleaming wings, spewing fire from his maw triumphantly. As he ascended, the rider on his back got smaller and more difficult to discern, but Leo's grin was unmistakable.
"Pipes! Ki! Jason!" he shouted down. "You coming? The fight is up here!"
Memory-Kira's sword dropped to her side, a tired smile creeping on her lips.
Demigods stopped sinking, though many were still buried up to their waists. Sadly, the monsters seemed to be digging themselves out more quickly. They charged the Greek and Roman ranks, taking advantage of the demigods' disorganization.
"I've got the fight handled from down here!" She yelled to Jason and Piper. "Tell him I love him. Keep him alive for me so I can punch him, yeah?"
They nodded, taking off towards Festus. Leo gave Kira a smile, a mock salute before he took off again.
Memory-Kira turned back to the crowd. She jabbed her sword into the nearest monster. She charged once more in the battle. Twirling her sword, she took out heaps of monsters.
An explosion shook the sky, turning the entire dome gold.
Kira watched as the memory haunted her, replaying and replaying the horrible moment as she watched the love of her life die before her own eyes. She fell down to the dirt-ground, letting out a choked sob.
"Stop, please," She begged her dreams, but no one was listening. The moment just kept repeating itself, as if it was enjoying watching her pain.
Then, a voice came from behind her. "You want it to stop?"
She turned frantically. It was Leo. A little dirty and bruised, but definitely was her boyfriend.
"Yes," She whimpered. "Please."
"You know," He drawled, his voice deeper then usual. "I don't think you deserve it."
"What?" She asked, her voice cracking. "Deserve what?"
"To be happy."
"Why?"
Leo laughed. "I mean," he smirked. "It's your fault that I died."
Kira didn't answer, her eyes watering up. "I'm sorry. I know it is. I should have been up there."
Leo didn't like that answer. "You're going to suffer, just like I did."
Kira's lip trembled. She felt her hands begin to shake, just as they always did when she got stressed.
"Do it, then," Kira said softly. Leo smirked again, raising his hand. As soon as he did, her lungs constricted and her heart felt like it was being squeezed. She fell to her knees, coughing and gasping.
Leo stood over her struggling body, watching amusedly. She gasped for air again, and she felt like her rib snapped.
"Please," She croaked, but she wasn't sure what she was asking for. He was right, she deserved this. Leo was dead because of her.
"Kira!" The voice was definitely not Leo's.
"Kira, c'mon, get up!"
"KIRA!"
She gasped, sitting up. Tears were spilling down her cheeks, clutching her stomach for an injury that wasn't there. Calypso was standing over her, looking scared and confused.
"What's wrong with you?" She asked, but her tone was concerned.
"Sorry," Kira muttered. "Did I wake you up?"
"Yeah, but it's light out anyway." Calypso hesitated. "What did you dream of?"
Kira hesitated as well, debating whether to tell the girl. She didn't want to, but she didn't see why not. "Tartarus. And watching Leo die."
"Oh."
"Yeah, good stuff." Kira said, sitting up.
"Sorry," Kira turned to her, not expecting that answer.
"For what?"
"I know I haven't made your life easy since I came to Camp Half Blood. I had no idea that you went to Tartarus."
Kira shrugged. "I didn't tell you."
"Still," Calypso argued. "I'm sorry."
Kira glanced at her, for once the girl didn't look like she wanted to stab her in the eye.
"Don't worry 'bout it." Kira said, managing a smile.
Calypso nodded. "I'll wake up Apollo." She left without another word, closing the door behind her. Kira took her book bag, a simple black backpack with all of her emergency supplies. She stuffed ambrosia in her pocket and changed into one of Leo's shirts and leggings.
After she was sure she was ready, she made her way to Calypso and Apollo.
They walked the dark streets in the cold early morning, keeping an eye out for polite mobs of killer blemmyae, but no one bothered them. She was more nervous then usual since she left Leo's side, but she didn't show it, with a guarded expression and a sword at her side that her companions didn't ask.
Along the way, Apollo explained his nightmares to Calypso and Kira.
He spelled out the name C-O-M-M-O-D-U-S, in case saying it aloud might attract the god-emperor's attention. Calypso had ever heard of him, but Kira remembered Annabeth briefly telling her that story. Of course, she'd been stuck on her island for the last few millennia.
"You know this emperor personally?" she asked.
Apollo blushed. "We met when he was younger. We had a surprising amount in common. Once he became emperor..." Apollo sighed. "You know how it is. He got too much power and fame at a tender age. It messed with his head. Like Justin, Britney, Lindsay, Amanda, Amadeus—"
"I don't know any of those people."
"We need to spend more time on your pop culture lessons."
"No, please." Calypso struggled with the zipper of her coat.
Kira glanced at the girl, expecting her moment of niceness to fade, but it didn't. She shot Kira a small smile, and she returned it.
"What about the sword-wielding Cornhusker?" Calypso asked.
"Lityerses, son of King Midas. I don't know much about him, or why he is serving the emperor. We can only hope to get in and out of the zoo before he shows up. I don't relish the idea of meeting him in combat."
Kira shivered. "King Midas and his stupid son don't have the best history. I'd love to fight that guy again."
The two stared at her, waiting for her to explain. "Oh, he tried to turn Leo, Piper, Jason, and I to gold."
"So, you won?" Apollo asked with hopeful eyes.
Kira shrugged. "Kinda. And I had Jason's help. No offense, but you guys don't even have swords."
Calypso flexed her fingers, perhaps remembering what happened the last time she punched someone. "At least your friend Meg escaped her escorts," she noted. "That's good news."
"Perhaps." Kira desperately wanted to believe Meg was rebelling against Nero, but it seemed unlikely.
"And Trophonius?" asked Calypso. "Do you often forget when someone is your child?"
"You wouldn't understand."
Kira frowned. "What about the promise you made to Percy?"
"That was recent. This dude was a while ago," Apollo shrugged, as if made it okay to forget having a child.
"We're looking for a dangerous Oracle that drives people insane. The spirit of this Oracle happens to be your son, who just might hold a grudge against you because you didn't answer his prayers, thus forcing him to cut off his own brother's head. Those facts would have been good to know." Calypso said.
"I've had a lot on my mind! It's a very small mortal mind."
"At least we agree on the size of your brain." Calypso said, and Kira laughed softly, fist-bumping the girl.
"Oh, stick a brick in it," Apollo muttered. "I was hoping for advice on how to proceed. You're useless."
"My advice is to stop being such a gloutos."
Calypso ruffled the fletching in his quiver. "If you want advice, why not ask your arrow? Perhaps he knows how to rescue griffins."
"Humph." He pulled out the Arrow of Dodona.
"I've missed you, too," Apollo said.
"It's talking?" Calypso asked.
"Unfortunately, yes. O, Arrow of Dodona, I have a question for you."
He explained about his visions. He looked ridiculous, talking to an arrow as they strolled along West Maryland Street. Outside the Indiana Convention Center, he tripped and nearly impaled himself through the eye, but Calypso didn't even bother to laugh. Kira did, however. She always found it amusing.
"Very well," Apollo said. "How can we find the griffins? Where is Meg McCaffrey? How can we defeat the local emperor, free his prisoners, and take back control of the Oracle of Trophonius?"
"Let's start simply, then," He said. "How do we free the griffins?"
"We're already doing that."
"Yes, but where? And don't tell me at the zoo. Where exactly in the Indianapolis Zoo are the griffins being kept?"
"The choo-choo."
"Fine! We look for a choo—a train. Once we locate the griffins, how do we free them?"
"Tater Tots?"
With a snort of disgust, he returned it to his quiver.
"You know," Calypso said, "hearing only one side of that conversation was very confusing."
"Yeah," Kira agreed. "Are we getting tater tots? 'Cause I'm hungry."
"'Twas not much better hearing both sides," he assured them. "Something about a train. And children made of potatoes."
"Tater Tots are food. Leo likes them." Kira said wistfully, ignoring Calypso's glare. The two girls definitely had a weird relationship.
"Whatever ist the case, I knowest not—I don't know what the arrow's advice means. Perhaps when we get to the zoo, it will make sense."
"Because that happens so often when we arrive in new places," Calypso said. "Suddenly everything makes sense."
"You have a point." He sighed. "But much like the point on my talking arrow, it does us no good. Shall we continue?"
They used the Washington Street Bridge to cross the White River, which was not at all white. It flowed wide, sluggish, and brown between cement retaining walls, the water breaking around islands of scrubby bushes like acne patches.
The Indianapolis Zoo was tucked away in a park just off West Washington. They crossed an empty parking lot, heading toward the turquoise marquee of the main entrance. A banner out front read WILDLY CUTE!, but with Kira's dyslexia, she had to read it three times to understand.
Calypso frowned at the shuttered ticket booths. "Nobody here. The place is locked up tight."
"That was the idea," Apollo reminded her. "The fewer mortals around, the better."
"But how do we get in?"
"If only someone could control wind spirits and carry us over the fence."
"If only some god could teleport us," she countered. "Or snap his fingers and bring the griffins to us."
He folded his arms. "I'm beginning to remember why we exiled you on that island for three thousand years."
Three thousand five hundred and sixty-eight. It would have been longer if you'd had your way."
"You were on a tropical island with pristine beaches, aerial servants, and a lavishly appointed cave."
"Which made Ogygia not a prison?"
"You don't miss your island, then?"
She blinked as if he'd thrown sand in her face. "I—no. That's not the point. I was kept in exile. I had no one—"
"Oh, please. You want to know what real exile feels like? This is my third time as a mortal. Stripped of my powers. Stripped of immortality. I can die, Calypso."
"Me too," she snapped.
"Yes, but you chose to go with Leo. You gave up your immortality for love! You're as bad as Hemithea!"
"I didn't even get Leo in the end!" Calypso's expression hardened. "Right."
Kira gulped nervously. "Guys?"
"I only meant—"
"Save it." She gazed down the perimeter of the fence. "Shall we find a place to climb over?"
They found a breaching point where the fence was slightly lower. The two girls made it over the top with no problem, while Apollo snagged his shoe on barbed wire and found himself hanging upside down.
"Shut up," He told Kira when she pulled him free.
"I didn't say anything!"
Kira snorted. "I should have brought a camera."
"Shut up!" Apollo said again.
Calypso, Kira, and Apollo crept through the zoo, keeping a lookout for mortals or imperial guards. Except for a zookeeper hosing down the lemur display, they saw no one.
They stopped in an area that seemed to be the park's main crossroads. To the left stood a carousel. To the right, orangutans lounged in the trees of a large netted compound. Strategically placed around the plaza were several gift shops and cafés, all closed. Signs pointed toward various attractions: OCEAN, PLAINS, JUNGLE, FLIGHTS OF FANCY. Kira squinted, trying to read the signs.
"'Flights of fancy,'" Apollo read for her when he realized she was struggling. "Surely they would file griffins under fanciful flights."
Kira scanned their surroundings on edge, missing Leo's presence.
"Your arrow mentioned a train," Calypso said. "There's a sign for a train ride."
"Yes, but my arrow also said something about Tater Tots. I think it's getting a bit warped."
Calypso pointed. "There."
At the nearest outdoor café, next to a shuttered serving window, a lunch menu was posted on the wall. Kira scanned the selections.
"Four different kinds of Tater Tots? Why would anyone need so many? Chili. Sweet potato. Blue? How can a Tot be—?" He froze.
"What is it?" Calypso asked.
"Shh."
Calypso glanced to Kira, but she just shrugged, getting her sword out to protect her friends.
A voice spoke. "You three, that way. You two, with me."
Apollo touched Calypso's jacket sleeve. "It's Lityerses, the Cornhusker."
"We need to hide." Calypso cursed in a language Kira didn't understand.
"When in doubt," Kira said, "Tater Tots."
She grabbed the two's hands and pulled them around the back of the café.
After this chapter, there are seventeen chapters left. I'm upset, I really don't want this book to end.