chapter one hundred and two

─── even i could admit that sometimes, i was wrong

          ℌow I managed to stop crying, I'm not sure. Rachel Dare, who had been in an imaginary relationship with my boyfriend, had stolen my horse.

Then, I realised that I was angry. No one stole my horse after I had just gone through one of the most emotionally distressing weeks, no four years of my life, and found out my brother was dead and expected me to be happy about it.

There was no way we were driving, the traffic was horrible, everyone was gawking at the war zone esque damage. Police sirens wailed all around. In fact, there was no way out.

So, I settled on running. Luke and Nico didn't have much choice to follow with a command for Annabeth to stay and look after the others, my parents and the wounded. We pushed through mobs of humans that crowded the sidewalks, staring and muttering in horror about what had happened. They were thinking aliens and I would have laughed if I wasn't still on the verge of tears.

"She'll never get through the defences," Luke pointed out. "Peleus will eat her."

"Good." I hissed in response. I turned to Nico. "I don't suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses."

He wheezed as he ran, glaring at me as we made him do cardio. 

"So tired...couldn't summon a dog bone."

Finally we scrambled over the embankment to the shore, and I let out a loud whistle. I hated doing it. Even with the sand dollar I'd given the East River for cleaning, the water here was pretty polluted. I didn't want to make any animal sick, but they came to my call. Three wake lines appeared in the grey water, and a pod of hippocampi broke the surface. 

They whinnied unhappily, shaking the river muck from their manes. But the thing was it just reminded me of Tyson and before I could cry again, I relayed to them that we needed a ride to Camp Half-Blood. They politely agreed and took us to the shore of Camp Half-Blood, though the trip itself took far longer than I wanted it too.

We thanked the hippocampi and waded ashore, only to find Argus waiting for us. He stood in the sand with his arms crossed, his hundred eyes glaring at us.

"Is she here?" I growled. He nodded grimly.

"Is everything okay?" Luke checked as I hadn't. Argus shook his head. We followed him up the trail. It was surreal being back at camp, because everything looked peaceful: no burning buildings, no wounded fighters, no dead around us. 

Up at the Big House, however, something was definitely wrong. Green light was shooting out all the windows. Mist—the magical kind—swirled around the yard. Chiron lay on a horse-size stretcher by the volleyball pit, a bunch of satyrs standing around him. Blackjack cantered nervously in the grass. 

Before you get angry- She began to bargain as I checked my horse over for injuries, running my hand down her legs to check for hot spots. The weird girl made me do it!

"Yeah and I'll kill her for that later." I hissed, before pulling back. "No injuries?"

Nope. I'm as fit as a fiddle! Blackjack beamed, or as well as a horse can show happiness as I set my sights on Rachel.

She stood at the bottom of the porch steps. Her arms were raised like she was waiting for someone inside the house to throw her a ball.

"What's she doing?" I demanded. "How did she get past the barriers?"

"She flew," one of the satyrs said, looking accusingly at Blackjack. "Right past the dragon, right through the magic boundaries."

"Great." I hissed, beginning to move for Backbiter, which I knew would strike down a human.

"Andromeda!" Chiron warned as I scowled. I just wanted one thing to go my way! One! "You can't interrupt."

"I thought you explained things to her!"

"I did. And I invited her here." I stared at him in disbelief. 

"You said you'd never let anyone try again! You said—" Luke accused, anger on his face. This was what had caused his mother to lose her mind and here Chiron was, allowing it to happen again. What a responsible adult.

"I know what I said, Luke. But I was wrong. Rachel had a vision about the curse of Hades. She believes it may be lifted now. She convinced me she deserves a chance."

"And if the curse isn't lifted? If Hades hasn't gotten to that yet, she'll go crazy!" The Mist swirled around Rachel. She shivered like she was going into shock before open her eyes and turning. It was like she could see us, but only in a dream.

"It's all right." Her voice sounded far away. "This is why I've come."

"You'll be destroyed!" Luke shouted back, anger clear on his face.

She shook her head. 

"This is where I belong, Luke. I finally understand why." The house rumbled. The door flew open and green light poured out. I recognized the smell of snakes. Mist curled into a hundred smoky serpents, slithering up the porch columns, curling around the house as I immediately took five large steps back with Blackjack. 

Then the Oracle appeared in the doorway. The withered mummy shuffled forward in her rainbow dress. She looked even worse than usual, which is saying a lot. Her hair was falling out in clumps. Her leathery skin was cracking like the seat of a worn-out bus. Her glassy eyes stared blankly into space, but I got the creepiest feeling she was being drawn straight toward Rachel.

Rachel held out her arms. She didn't look scared.

"You've waited too long," Rachel said. "But I'm here now."

The sun blazed more brightly. A man appeared above the porch, floating in the air and I heard Luke's audible groan of  disappointment.

"Apollo." He winked at us but held a finger to his lips.

"Rachel Elizabeth Dare," he said. "You have the gift of prophecy. But it is also a curse. Are you sure you want this?" 

Rachel nodded. "It's my destiny."

"Do you accept the risks?"

"I do."

"Then proceed," the god said.

Rachel closed her eyes. "I accept this role. I pledge myself to Apollo, God of Oracles. I open my eyes to the future and embrace the past. I accept the spirit of Delphi, Voice of the Gods, Speaker of Riddles, Seer of Fate."

I didn't know where she was getting the words, but they flowed out of her as the Mist thickened. A green column of smoke, like a huge python, uncoiled from the mummy's mouth and slithered down the stairs, curling affectionately around Rachel's feet. The Oracle's mummy crumbled, falling away until it was nothing but a pile of dust in an old tie-dyed dress. Mist enveloped Rachel in a column. For a moment I couldn't see her at all. Then the smoke cleared and Rachel collapsed and curled into the foetal position. 

I scowled, standing still as Nico rushed forward to help. She stole my horse so I still wasn't feeling in a very charitable or helping mood.

"Stop! This is the most delicate part."

"What's going on?" Luke demanded. "What do you mean?"

Apollo studied Rachel with concern. "Either the spirit takes hold, or it doesn't."

"And if it doesn't?" I asked.

"Five syllables," Apollo said, counting them on his fingers. "That would be real bad."

Reluctantly, I approached Rachel, flipping her over and hovering above her. The Mist sank into the ground and the green light faded. But Rachel was still pale. She was barely breathing. Then her eyes fluttered open. She focused on me with difficulty. 

"Luke?"

"No Andromeda." I corrected, rolling my eyes and sighing. I wasn't in a good enough mood to make a joke at Luke yet and technically, I wasn't in a good enough mood to realise that it was immature to be annoyed at a child. "Are you okay?"

She tried to sit up. "Ow." She pressed her hands to her temples.

"Rachel," Nico said, "your life aura almost faded completely. I could see you dying."

"I'm all right," she murmured. "Please, help me up. The visions—they're a little disorienting."

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked. Apollo drifted down from the porch. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce the new Oracle of Delphi."

"You're kidding," Luke deadpanned.

Rachel managed a weak smile. "It's a little surprising to me too, but this is my fate. I saw it when I was in New York. I know why I was born with true sight. I was meant to become the Oracle."

I blinked. "You mean you can tell the future now?"

"Not all the time," she said. "But there are visions, images, words in my mind. When someone asks me a question, I...Oh no—"

"It's starting," Apollo announced. Rachel doubled over like someone had punched her. Then she stood up straight and her eyes glowed serpent green. When she spoke, her voice sounded tripled—like three Rachels were talking at once: 

"Nine half-bloods shall answer the call. To storm or fire, the world must fall. An oath to keep with a final breath, And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death."

At the last word, Rachel collapsed. Nico and I caught her and helped her to the porch. Her skin was feverish.

"I'm all right," she said, her voice returning to normal. 

"That better not have been another prophecy." I turned to Apollo.

"I believe," Apollo said, "that we just heard the next Great Prophecy."

"Fuck this." I cussed, heading down the steps and towards Luke who was also looking annoyed. "No, no more, I'm not doing this again. I'm not!"

"Andromeda, I wouldn't worry too much. The last Great Prophecy about you took almost seventy years to complete." Apollo pointed out. "This one may not even happen in your life."

"I'm not being a part of this!" I hissed back before disappearing. "Come and get me when we burn the shrouds."

The rest of the day was as depressing as the beginning. Campers trickled in from New York by car, pegasus, and chariot. The wounded were cared for. The dead were given proper funeral rites at the campfire though it would take at least three days to burn them all.

Silena's shroud was hot pink, but embroidered with an electric spear. The Ares and Aphrodite cabins both claimed her as a hero, and lit the shroud together. No one mentioned the word spy. That secret burned to ashes. Even Ethan Nakamura was given a shroud—black silk with a logo of swords crossed under a set of scales. 

As his shroud went up in flames, I hoped Ethan knew he had made a difference in the end. He'd paid a lot more than an eye, but the minor gods would finally get the respect they deserved. I knew that I had taunted him that he would never make a change and I was annoyed at him for harming Annabeth, but I couldn't fault the boy. He had the right idea.

Dinner at the pavilion was low-key. The only highlight was Juniper the tree nymph, who screamed, "Grover!" and gave her boyfriend a flying tackle hug, making everybody cheer. They went down to the beach to take a moonlit walk, and I was happy for them, though the scene reminded me of Silena and Beckendorf, which made me sad.

Mrs. O'Leary romped around happily, eating everybody's table scraps. Nico sat at the main table with Chiron and Mr. D, and nobody seemed to think this was out of place. Everybody was patting Nico on the back, complimenting him on his fighting. Even Five seemed to think he was pretty cool. 

Slowly, the dinner crowd trickled away. Some went to the campfire for a sing-along. Others went to bed. I sat at the Poseidon table by myself and watched the moonlight on Long Island Sound. I could see Grover and Juniper at the beach, holding hands and talking. It was peaceful.

"Andi..." I turned, finding Luke walking towards me. He sat down beside me, nudging my side as he placed something next to me.

"What?" It was a doughnut, blue and sparkly.

"Happy Birthday, Sleeping Beauty. Blackjack and I picked it out. Only thing we agreed on." Luke muttered, as I looked at it with a sad grin. "August 18th."

"Yeah, what a shit day to be twenty-one." I split it in half, both of us eating it before he placed another thing on the table. A blue shroud, the symbol of a trident in the middle. "Thought I was supposed to make this."

"Thought you might need some help." Luke squeezed my hand. I smiled, leaning into his side as he kissed my head. "We'll get through this."

"I hope so." I whispered, leaning into his touch as he waited. He knew that there was something on my mind and it only took a minute for me to break. Finally, my anger exploded and I began to ramble, telling him everything; about what Clarrise had told me of Aphrodite and Silena's death, the fact that Poseidon hadn't told me that Tyson had died, that Amphitrite had told me Tyson died, all of the things that she had said. He just listened, letting me speak as my head fell into my hands. Finally, I began to finish up. "I'm just pissed now. Tyson is dead, Puck is dead, Ethan, Silena, Beckendorf, all the other children that died and they were annoyed when I asked them to claim their children? Like what? And then another prophecy? It's like they want all of this to happen again, all of the death and the gore and the bloodshed that thirteen year olds had to see. They watched their siblings die and we're always going to need help for that, some form of psychiatric help. Then a prophecy and I bet, I bet that I'll be involved. I just know it. I did everything for them, I killed people for them and yet still, they'll say that it wasn't enough, that I owe them a debt for just existing and reaching twenty-one!"

I take a breath.

"I just want to live normally. Quietly. Without having to pick up a sword and knowing that someone's death will be on my hands." I shake my head. "I just want the gods to be good for once instead of borderlining the morally grey, let me use child soldiers type of gods. It's not that hard to claim your children."

"That's what I've always said, Andi." Luke points out, one leg being pulled to his chest as he watches me. "The gods have never seemingly cared about us. I would have joined the other side but you kept me here."

"The Titans were not the right way to go about it."

"Then what is?" Luke pointed out. "What's the right way?"

"I don't know. Maybe we'll see after all of this is over. See what happens in a couple of months, if they're continuing to uphold their end of the bargain." I sigh, both of us feeling a little drained after that conversation. "I wish I could go back and knock the optimism out of seventeen year old me."

"Think that's a bit harsh. The optimism was kind of funny." Luke smiled. "One of your many charms."

I hum in agreement, leaning back to kiss him softly as he smiles into the kiss.

"Think, one more year of college and then, think about what to do next."

"Marine Biology conservation." I muttered against his lips, kissing him once more as he smiled. "Job, marry, move out."

"Me or someone else?"

"Who else is putting up with me?"

"Such a good question." Luke yanked me closer as I laughed. "That boy on your course still fancy you?"

"No." I laughed before settling down. "Marry you, get jobs, move."

"Okay, sounds like a plan." Luke agreed. "You proposing or am I proposing?"

"Don't know. See which one can do it in the best way."

"Alright." I'd pulled his competitive side out now, and I could feel him grinning. "I'll win."

"You wish." I stood up, patting his cheek and kissing him one last time before stretching. "Bed time."

"Don't continue thinking about the other thing, Andi." Luke advised, stretching as I picked Tyson's shroud up gently, smoothing it over and knowing that I'd have to properly say goodbye to him tomorrow when we burnt the shroud with the next set of funeral pyres. That alone makes me angry once more. "It'll grow into something worse."

"I know but I just-I-" I stumble over my words before cutting myself off.

"Now you see where I was coming from." Luke yawns, ready for bed as he ruffles his hair.

"Maybe I do." 

∘☽༓☾∘

Luke and I go back to New York after Tyson's funeral. I need some time away, with a therapist, processing the grief in a healthy way before I have to go back to Camp, to the cabin that Tyson had decorated. Luke had taken the hippocampus mobile down, and it was now running along our hall in a constant reminder that my brother was with me.

He'd often find me sitting beneath it, watching it.

Annabeth visited a lot, telling me about everything that happened at camp, what they were doing, what they were creating and her plans for the area above Manhattan. It sounded great, but far more complicated than Luke or I could comprehend. I saw Nico. I walked Cerberus and Mrs O'Leary in the parks, and spent time with my mom before college started again.

The only time I turned back up to camp was the last evening, the bead ceremony.

The Hephaestus cabin had designed the bead this year. It showed the Empire State Building, and etched in tiny Greek letters, spiralling around the image, were the names of all the heroes who had died defending Olympus. There were too many names, but I was proud to wear the bead. 

I put it on my camp necklace making four beads now. I almost felt old and then I saw Luke's and felt a lot younger. 

"Never forget this summer!" Chiron told us. He had healed remarkably well, but he still trotted in front of the fire with a slight limp. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honour of the camp."

He smiled at me, and everybody cheered. As I looked at the fire, I saw a little girl in a brown dress tending the flames. She winked at me with red glowing eyes. No one else seemed to notice her, but I realized maybe she preferred it that way.

"And now," Chiron said, "early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stragglers, and I'd hate to end the summer on a sour note!"

I turned back to the fire, watching it flicker, before forcing a smile and laughing with the others in camp, trying to reassure them. When we left the campfire, one part of me wondered whether I'd ever come back again or if I would stay in the human world for the foreseeable future.

I could only hope that was the case.

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

So, the sum total of this is we're getting Andi's villain arc, or parts of it, over the course of Heroes of Olympus so she's gonna be having so much fun. Also, her and Luke chatting and they want to marry each other, and also him saying now you see where I'm coming from. The prophecy has changed, 9 is still a sacred number in Greek so have no fear. Also, I'm kind of tempted to put a book out for Charlie Bushnell's Luke when I watch the show, but I don't know.

A bonus chapter to go, let me know what you think,

Love Li xx