<>------<>Arrow<>------<>

Aeras and I sat silently in the grass, back to back, the sweet smell of strawberries wafting across the fields.

The sun was sinking in the sky like a stone in water. As it touched the horizon and turned the sky a brilliant tangerine, three strange shapes became visible, appearing black against the pale orange and blue backdrop.

‘Aeras,’ I whispered. ‘Look.’

He glanced up as the shapes grew closer and closer. A glint of gold flashed in the light of the setting sun and we stood, recognizing Destiny’s golden wings. Three people were visible in the clutches of our brothers and sister, but they were still too far to see who they were.

Finally, Nero, Midnight and Destiny hovered before us, setting Annabeth, Leo and Calypso gently down in the long grass. Calypso hugged her stomach, looking a little green. Leo sprinted for the nearest strawberry bush and threw up in it.

‘I feel nearly as sick as the gods,’ Annabeth managed, wobbling a little.

‘What was wrong with the gods?’ Aeras asked Destiny. ‘Did you find out?’

The demigods, Aeras and I fell silent. Nero and Midnight shifted anxiously.

‘No,’ Destiny admitted. ‘Whatever’s wrong with the gods, it’s not fate. Something more powerful is at work. I’m not even sure Ewan-’

She trailed off and I bit my lip. Aeras drew his wings in tighter and gazed out across the fields as night slowly descended on the valley.

‘Ewan?’ Leo asked. ‘Who’s that?’

‘Our brother,’ Nero said, a small smile visible on the lower half of his face. ‘Him and his twin Aaron, quite the double act they are; a pair of pranksters if I ever saw one. They both have rather unique powers, Ewan with the ability to heal any injury.’

‘Oh,’ Calypso squeaked in a small voice. ‘Any injury?’

‘Any injury,’ Midnight confirmed. ‘But he’s not so good with diseases. It works best with physical wounds. I’m not sure if it would work on the gods since they’re sick not injured.’

‘Then we need to find out what’s wrong with the gods, ‘Nero declared. ‘Before the others get here.’

‘How long do we have?’ Annabeth asked.

‘A week,’ I muttered nervously. ‘We have a week until Father sends the Sorrows. We need to find out what to do before then, or we’ll end up wasting time.’

‘What will happen to the gods?’ Calypso whispered. ‘If they don’t get better, will they die?’

‘But gods can’t die,’ Leo pointed out. But he didn’t seem sure.

‘They can fade,’ Midnight said seriously. ‘Destiny, you’re our future expert. What do the fates say?’

Destiny’s wings fluttered timidly, her gold wings reflecting the luminosity of the moon as our only source of light. She folded her arms, pulling her cloak around her as the wind grew harder and chillier.

‘Something is cutting my connection with the fates,’ Destiny murmured with a quaver in her voice. ‘I tried to connect on the way here. I got a kind of fuzzy reception, like something is preventing me from talking to the fates.’

‘You need to talk to them,’ Nero said. ‘We have to find them.’

‘Find the fates?’ Annabeth repeated in disbelief. ‘But that’s impossible, isn’t it? The fates only appear to those destined to die, right?’

‘Maybe impossible for you, mere human,’ Aeras spat angrily, a hand on his sword hilt. ‘But Destiny is the closest thing the fates have to a friend. She’s visited them on several occasions.’

‘Aeras,’ Nero said. ‘Stand down, brother. Destiny, could you find the fates?’

Destiny nodded uncertainly, ‘Usually they could be found in cave on an island only accessible through Olympus. But I don’t think they’re there now.’

‘Why not?’ Leo asked.

Destiny shrugged, ‘I’m the Archangel of Fate; I know stuff.’

‘Fair enough.’

‘Okay,’ I said. ‘So we need to find the fates and figure out what’s going on with the gods before the Sorrow get here.’

‘What if we contact the Sorrows and get them to come earlier?’ Midnight suggested. ‘We could get things done a lot faster.’

‘That’s a great idea,’ Aeras agreed. ‘If we tell them we need help, they’ll be here in a matter of hours.’

‘A lot of them would still be training,’ Destiny pointed out. ‘And they would need to pack, so a little longer than that. Other than that, it’s great.’

‘Yeah, perfect,’ Nero said sarcastically with a ghost of his old self. ‘Not like we had any other plan.’

I rolled my eyes, ‘Okay, Nero; what do you suppose we do?’

‘Split up,’ he tried to actnonchalant.

‘No,’ Destiny said bluntly. ‘For a quick trip to Olympus, I’m okay. But for a whole quest to find the fates? No!’

‘Destiny,’ Aeras sighed. ‘At least listen to Nero.’

‘No,’ she protested. ‘Splitting up has never worked before.’

Nero shrugged, ‘Three millionth time lucky?’

Leo snorted.

‘Look,’ Nero started. ‘We’re powerful. We can handle a little adventure on earth. Three of us go off to find the fates while two of us stay here to defend the camp.’

‘Defend the camp against what?’ Annabeth interrupted.

‘Possible enemy attacks,’ Midnight stated.

‘What enemy?’ Calypso sighed.

‘Something has to behind the gods’ sickness,’ Nero pointed out. ‘And I don’t think its Mary Poppins.’

I had trouble hiding my laughs. Nero appeared more relaxed than he had when we first arrived; more like his old cheery self instead of the hardened warrior he’d been since the betrayal. I wondered if something had changed inside him for the better.

Midnight, Destiny and Aeras sensed the difference too, the suggestion of a smile flickering across the bottom half of their faces.

‘Mary Poppins?’ Leo asked with raised eyebrows. ‘Wow. That digs up memories for a long time ago.’

‘You’re not young then?’ Annabeth asked dryly.

‘Consider us history,’ Midnight remarked. ‘Nero, who do you have in mind going where?’

Nero breathed deep and I instantly knew someone was not going to like what he had to say.

‘Destiny, Arrow and I to find the fates, Aeras and Midnight stay behind.’

My brothers pretty much blew up.

‘What?’ Midnight demanded in outrage. ‘Why are we staying behind?’

‘We’re the best fighters!’ Aeras protested. ‘We should be coming with you!’

‘You are great fighters,’ Nero agreed, ‘which is why you stay behind to protect the camp. As for being the best, I think the girls might oppose that statement.’

Destiny stopped their feet with her time power and I notched two arrows at once. Letting them fly, I pinned their coats to the ground, them bending over backwards just to keep from falling on their butts.

‘And that’s why I’m Arrow,’ I said with a smirk, giving Destiny a high five.

Nero shook his head and I got the feeling he was rolling his eyes, ‘Okay, now we’re all on the same page, we should get going soon.’

‘Wait,’ Annabeth protested. ‘If this is a quest, you need a prophecy.’

Nero pointed at Destiny who waved.

‘Archangel of Fate,’ he reminded her with a sideways smile. ‘We don’t need a prophecy.’

He turned away and it was clear he thought we would follow. But one glance with Midnight, Aeras and Destiny, even with hoods on, told me that they expected me to tell him. Great, I just love my siblings.

‘Nero,’ I warned. ‘We’re back on earth now. You know how Father feels about following the customs of the planet.’

I can quite honestly say I expected him to explode. I shot a sidelong look at the rolling fields, scented with strawberries and wondered if the whole place was about to become a smoking creator.

Instead, Nero simply sighed.

‘Okay,’ he relented. ‘Prophecy it is.’

Annabeth seemed nervous when she said, ‘This way.’

I couldn’t blame her. Nero was acting strangely. First he wanted nothing to do with earth, then he was reverting to his old self, and now he was fine with earth traditions; I would be surprised if Destiny could decipher his more than abnormal mood.

We followed Annabeth, Leo and Calypso away from our ship and up a small hill. I vaguely recognized it, not having been there myself, as the cave where the Oracle dwelt.

‘Jezzie,’ Annabeth called lightly as she peeked inside the cave. ‘Are you in here?’

‘Jezzie?’ Nero asked, puzzled. ‘I was under the impression that the Oracle of Delphi inhabited a young girl named Rachel.’

‘It did,’ Leo said sadly. ‘But the gods wouldn’t grant Rachel immortality. They said they would never give a mortal such power. The spirit of Delphi was passed down through dozens of girls. After Rachel came Anne, and Georgina, and then Lucy, Sam, Yvonne, Isa-’

‘I’ll stop you right there,’ Calypso smiled. ‘Point being, Jezzie is the current Oracle.’

‘Certainly am.’

We all jumped. Annabeth jerked and hit her head on the top of the cave door.

‘Oops,’ the newcomer winced. ‘Sorry, Annabeth.’

The girl was a lot like Rachel, I thought. She had marker covered jeans with pictures and words in both Latin and Greek. She wore a green “save the planet” t-shirt and sneakers that I supposed use to be white, but were now covered in a variety of colours and drawings. Her hair, though, was straight pale brown, like the colour of tea. Her eyes were a strange but pretty purple colour, like that of a plum. Her smile was unrivalled in size and genuineness.

‘Hi,’ she grinned, seemingly unfazed by our wings and black cloaks. ‘I’m Jezmina Lai, host of the spirit of Delphi, how may I be of service?’

‘Uh,’ Annabeth looked uncertain. ‘These guys need a quest to find the fates and ask them for help. Could you, you know, give them a prophecy?’

Jezzie nodded, ‘Sure thing.’

She closed her in a gesture of concentration. Taking a deep breath, wispy green smoke poured out her mouth, curling around her like a snake wrapping around its prey. She spoke in the raspy voice of the Oracle.

“By shadow of the angel’s light, fate walks its path in the cover of darkness.
The spirit of ancients old seeks its homecoming on the wings of illness.
Angels and campers combined pursue the one with the able and all wellness.
The end of the beginning come back to haunt him in the horror of its mercilessness.”

Jezzie collapsed silently into the arms of a waiting Leo who put his arm around her waist and pulled hers around his shoulder. He helped her into her cave while Annabeth pondered the meaning of the prophecy.

‘Angels and campers combined,’ she muttered. ‘I take it you guys are smart enough to work out what that means.’

‘We’re not stupid,’ Aeras snapped. ‘You don’t have to be an Athena child to work out a riddle.’

‘But this isn’t any old riddle, is it? Calypso asked. ‘I’ve heard prophecies before. They’re not usually this cryptic are they?’

Nero shook his head, ‘They aren’t, and I should know; I’ve been the subject of several.’

Midnight elbowed him in the ribs and he bent double, groaning.

‘What he means is that this is unusually puzzling for a prophecy,’ Midnight amended. ‘Does anyone know what the spirit of the ancients old is?’

Everyone shook their heads sadly. Leo popped out of the cave having successfully stowed Jezzie away.

‘Well, we know one thing for sure,’ I sighed. ‘Angels and campers must both be on this quest.’

‘I’d say five is the prime number,’ Destiny said confidently. ‘This is only a small quest to find the fates, so it’s probably best we keep as many people here as possible.’

‘Nero, Destiny and Arrow,’ Aeras counted. ‘So that leaves two campers.’

‘I’ll go,’ Annabeth said. ‘But to decide the other-’

‘Me,’ Leo declared. ‘I’ll go. Don’t want to leave Nero as the only boy now.’

Nero chuckled, ‘I’ll be glad of the company. Any objections?’

Midnight and Aeras both raised their hands so Nero amended.

‘Any objects apart from Midnight and Aeras wanting to come to?’

They both lowered the hands.

Nero smirked, ‘Didn’t think so.’

‘So where do we start?’ Destiny said. ‘We came to find out where we go, and all we got was an overly cryptic riddle about things we know nothing about.’

Nero stroked his non-existent beard. It was good to see some of the humour back in him. He was a more perplexing puzzle than the prophecy.

‘Well,’ he said slowly. ‘I would say we start back on Olympus where you usually access the fates island.’

We fell silent. I gazed across the valley. You could see everything from the hill; the green Big House, the endless strawberry fields, the odd collection of cabins nestled at the base of Half-Blood Hill in the distance. The camp looked so peacefully blissful. They had no idea that there was an unknown enemy striking illness in the hearts of the gods, and that they themselves may be attacked at any moment.

‘Aeras, Midnight; when the campers wake tomorrow, train them,’ I commanded. ‘They’ll need enhanced fighting skills to match whatever enemy we’ll face. Coach them in swords, spears, arrows, daggers; everything.’

My brothers nodded in determination.

‘Destiny, Arrow, Annabeth, Leo and I will leave first thing,’ Nero declared. ‘We’ll return to Olympus and find the fates. Hopefully we can find the cure to all this before the Sorrows arrive.’

Destiny bit her lip. Even without seeing her face, the uncertainty, doubt and fear radiating off her was clearly noticeable. Even the demigods and Calypso seemed to feel it; moving closer together, anxiety showing clearly in their eyes.

‘I don’t think that’ll happen,’ Midnight muttered.

‘Guys,’ Destiny said. ‘What if-what if this thing is ever older than Father?’

Nero, Midnight, Aeras and I looked at her like she was insane. Leo, Calypso and Annabeth wisely took a step back.

‘Older than Father?’ Midnight repeated. ‘Older than Chaos? How is that possible?’

‘It’s not,’ Aeras said.

‘You’re talking nonsense, Destiny,’ I scolded.

‘Guys,’ she shouted. ‘Calm it down. Archangel of Fate; I know stuff. Something inside me says I’m right. The spirit of ancients old; what if ancient means really ancient.’

Midnight and Aeras looked ready to continue arguing, but I pondered that for a moment. She was right about one thing at least; she was the Archangel of Fate, and she did have weird intuition moments.

Nero shook himself out of a weird trance like state. ‘We’ll ask the fates when we find them. If the others arrive first, ask Eden.’

‘Eden?’ Calypso asked warily.

‘Our sister,’ I explained. ‘She can sometimes see the future. She may be able to see what Destiny cannot.’

‘Helpful,’ Annabeth stated.

‘Return to your cabins,’ Nero commanded. ‘Get some rest. Leo, Annabeth; we’ll meet you atop Half-Blood Hill at dawn tomorrow. Tell Frank, Piper and Reyna.’

Annabeth nodded and stood straighter like a soldier in an army. Leo gave a funny little salute, slung his arm around Calypso and they walked down the hill together.

‘I’ll just check on Jezzie,’ Annabeth said awkwardly.

‘You mean see if she knows anything about the prophecy,’ Midnight said dryly.

Annabeth nodded as pink crept up her cheeks. She ducked inside the cave leaving the five of us alone on the hill. Silence reigned supreme for the space of ten heartbeats.

‘I don’t know how much longer I can hold out,’ Aeras whispered. ‘It’s driving me crazy, being here.’

‘We have to help them,’ Destiny said.

‘You always were the good girl,’ Midnight remarked with sarcastic deprecation.

‘Got a problem with that,’ Destiny smirked.

‘No, no,’ Midnight shook his head and returned the smirk. ‘Please go ahead getting us killed while we help people.’

‘You know once you’re dead, you’re dead, right?’ Aeras said innocently.

‘Guys,’ I rolled my eyes. ‘Lay off her.’

‘You’re being strangely silent, Nero,’ Destiny pointed out. ‘Is anything wrong?’

Nero stood gazing across the camp, with longing, distaste or regret, I couldn’t tell. His wings drooped and his shoulders slumped.

‘Nero,’ I said gently, laying a hand on his shoulder.

He lowered his head at first contact.

‘I’m fine,’ he said. ‘I’m just getting use to it all.’

I tried for a smile, ‘You seemed like your old self earlier. You made a few jokes.’

He shook his head, ‘That’s not me, not anymore.’

‘Nero,’ I said, more sternly this time, ‘that was you. It was always you, and will always be you. I wish you’d let that part show more often.’

‘No, that’s not me, that’s not me!’ he yelped, covering his ears like that would make it all go away.

I hesitated for a moment, wary, ‘Per-’

‘No,’ he spun around and faced me. ‘He’s dead, he’s gone.’

Wind buffeted the air around us and I knew that the others had taken flight. Sure enough, a quick glance behind me said that they had flown off to the ship.

I sighed, ‘If that’s how you want to be. But I think he can come back.’

Nero shook his head in defeat, anger draining away, ‘Like Aeras said, once you’re dead, you’re dead.’

‘I think you’ll find this is a special case,’ I took a step back. ‘Because I’m pretty sure I saw his ghost earlier. He smiled through your face.’

Nero turned to look at me. In the light of the moon that reflect brilliantly off my silver wings, a single shinning tear slipped down his face. I thought that maybe, with a little coaxing and a little convincing, I could bring the old him out.

I smiled and walked away, leaving my brother slumped wearily beside the Oracle’s cave. I glanced back at him, looking over the valley once more, and I hardly failed to notice the blonde hair that quickly disappeared back into the cave.

~*~

I'm sorry for the lack of action so far, but they're going on a quest, so I can promise interesting times ahead. And sorry for the shorter chapter, this was kind of rushed. This weeks dedication goes to Br1dgette00 for her constant support and for motivating me to finish this chapter instead of watching TV. Thanks Br1dgette00! So remember, dedication to a commenter. Please vote, comment and follow. Spread the word, eat blue food and love my dog. Seriously, he's adorable. I wonder if I can post a photo somehow, because he's so- um ... never mind me. Thanks for reading!
~TripleM