Claudia managed to convince me to walk over to her friend Laura's house, which was just down the street.
"She runs a crystal shop just a few blocks from here," Claudia said.
We crept down the streets of New Orleans. It was raining, and there were warnings of big storms, but that didn't stop the massive parties from happening. There was overlapping electronic dance music coming from all venues around the block, and strobe lights animated our shadows on the walls.
"Here, watch your step."
She led me into a dark alleyway, where even the rainbow string lights from a neighboring party couldn't illuminate.
"This looks sketchy. Are you sure about this?"
"Yeah, I've been back here a thousand times! Just go through this door."
I slowly pushed open a grimy grey door. I walked into a dark room that smelled a little like weed, and once my eyes adjusted, I noticed we were in the back of a very nice storefront. I felt my way around tables with crystals glittering in the moonlight.
"They're so pretty," I said.
"They're recharging."
"Recharging?"
"Yeah, the moon recharges them and the sage cleans them of any energy."
"Sage... is that the nasty weed smell?"
She sniffed the air. "Yep."
We felt our way around the room until we found some stairs.
"Wait," Claudia said. I turned back to see her take out a lighter and then light an incense stick on a nearby table.
I looked at her confused.
"To let her know we're here. She's been teaching me a thing or two."
I raised my eyebrows but followed her up the stairs. A yellowish light peaked through the crack of an open door. 385Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwozlMx6CRS
"Don't you think we'll scare her? We might be two strangers just waltzing into her house at night!"
"No, we lit the incense. She knows we're here."
"How would she-"
"Claudia?" A girl from behind the door called.
"Hi Laura," Claudia said, smiling as if to say I told you so. "I brought a friend. Are you busy?"
"Yeah, but I could use a break," she smiled. "Everything around here has been so upside down."
"Yeah, I think we can help with that. This is Bella. She's a daughter of Hecate." she smiled proudly.
Laura gasped. "Really?!"
"No, no. I'm the daughter of an empousa."
"Yeah, but she's got all the powers of Hecate."
"This is absolutely amazing!" Laura's eyes sparkled as she quickly shook my hand. "I'm Laura. I'm the hedge witch in our coven."
"Right," I said. I knew a little about witchcraft, but not a lot. I was pretty drawn to it when I was younger, but my dad always prevented me from getting very far. I guess that made sense now.
"So why don't you explain everything to Bella?" Claudia said, twirling on a spinning stool.
"Well, it's a bit of a weird story. Our coven meets up every Wednesday and on special holidays. A few weeks ago, everything started to get weird. Our spell work was weak even with spell amplifiers, and we can't manifest anything anymore. Even simple candle work isn't working for us. We all feel so weak, like the energy is off. On top of that, the moon cycles have changed."
"The moon cycles can change?" I asked. That was kind of a big deal, and I wonder why I hadn't noticed it before. "Has anyone found out?"
"I'm not sure. Another thing is that mercury has begun retrograde, even though that's not supposed to happen for a few more weeks."
"Huh," I said quietly. "That's a lot of paranormal stuff."
"Any ideas?" Laura sighed.
"Well, I had a dream that Hecate was being attacked by her father, Perses."
"That doesn't sound good," Laura said. "Do you know why?"
"We think it's because Perses wants revenge on Zeus for killing his wife."
"Asteria," Laura nodded. "Sounds about right."
I thought about it for a minute. "Hey Laura, do the witches draw energy from Hecate?"
"Witches are free to work with a lot of deities, so they might draw power from Aphrodite or Isis. Most of our magic does come from Hecate, though. The deities we work with help us specialize in their element."
"Okay, then what if Perses is trying to draw power from Hecate, and that's why none of you can cast spells?" I looked at Claudia. "Annabeth said that Perses is weak on his own, so he needs to draw power from other beings."
"I... guess that would make sense." Claudia nodded slowly. "So we just need to get Perses to calm down, right?"
"It's probably not going to be as easy as that," I sighed. "In my dream, Hecate asked me to find Perses' 'other half', whatever that means."385Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMiYFwvR8cE
"Hecate spoke to you in your dream," Laura whispered to herself, then shook her head. "Like a seance!"
"What?" I asked.
"I could try to help you contact Perses! Maybe then you could talk to him."
I won't lie, that idea scared me a lot. This guy was massive and seething with anger, and to try and talk to him...
"Right..." I said quietly.
"Well... how do we know he's going to listen?" Claudia asked, looking at me with concern. I tried to look fine.
"We don't. But that's all I can think of." Laura turned her back on us, pulling things out of drawers and gabbing books and candles.
I avoided Claudia's gaze. I needed to do this, for everyone. "Okay, let's try."
"Alright. We have to do it tonight though. My magic is stronger at night, and it being so weak right now, I'm not sure if it'll work during the day."
I swallowed hard. "Right. Claudia, you should probably get Percy and Annabeth, just in case."
She still looked at me. "Okay, but can I talk to you for a moment?"
Confused, I followed her outside of Laura's room.
"You don't have to do this, y'know," she said softly.
"What do you mean?"
"We can find a different way, I'm sure!" She held both my hands.
"Do I really look that scared?" I sighed. She just smiled.
"I just want to make sure you're okay with this."
"Why? Why do you care? We barely know each other." I truly didn't understand her at all.
Claudia frowned, then smiled.
"You clearly haven't had any good friends. I care because I like you!" she stood on her tiptoes so she was just barely my height, kissed me on the cheek, then bounced off like nothing happened.
My hand flew to my face, which was burning hot.
"Bella, are you ready?" Laura called.
"Y-yes, coming!"
"Alright, how do we do this?" I asked Laura once I had made sure my face was back to normal. I was really overwhelmed now.
"Contacting a titan will be hard, and it'll require a lot of meditation and time. Hedge witches can walk the metaphorical 'hedge' between our world and the celestial one, so I'll try and clear a path for you."
"Okay. So I sit here and meditate about what?"
"Just think of talking to Perses. What he looks like, where he might be, all those things. I'll do the rest." Laura smiled reassuringly. "You got this."
"Right."
I closed my eyes and tried to think about Perses. He was in the middle of a storm. He was the symbol of destruction and peace. I need to find 'his other half'. Hecate was probably talking about the side of him that's peaceful. Where could it be? How do you lose a piece of yourself?
I couldn't hear Laura anymore but heard the familiar sound of crashing waves. Hecate wasn't there anymore, it was just Perses.
I hesitated, watching him sitting there, back turned. What was he doing?
"Um,"
How do you address titans?
"Perses?"
No answer.
A little louder, the voices said. I took a deep breath.
"Um, hello?"
Still no answer.
"Hey! I'm talking to you!"
He whipped around, sending a wave of water onto the little island. The water was ice cold.
Perses squinted at me. I've never felt so small.
"Who are you?" he boomed.
"I'm Bella. I'm the daughter of-"
No, the voices whispered.
"-Granddaughter of Hecate."
"Hecate does not have any grandchildren," His words were sharp as a blade.
"How would you know?"
"Her daughters merely use mortal men."385Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgk7vhe2Ynb
"I don't think all of them do."385Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6maTcNJVpG
He growled. "Why are you here?"
"To talk to you." I tried to keep my voice level and strong.
He stared at me, fire in his eyes.
"And what makes you think that you are worthy of talking to me?" he laughed coldly. I was getting frustrated. Why is this guy so... annoying? Didn't he realize what mess he was in?
"Listen, buddy, you're not really in a position to say stuff like that. Zeus is on his way to banish you forever, so unless you want to live you'd better talk to me!" I was out of breath by the end of my sentence.
"Let him come," he snarled. "I have waited for this moment for a long time."
"Yeah? Why?"
"It does not matter why."
"Sure. I bet Hecate just loves being drained of her energy just for your selfish reasons."
Bad idea.
Perses threw his hands up in the air and brought them down full force, sending the biggest wave I'd ever seen right toward me. I braced and was snapped out of the ritual, gasping for air.
"Bella!" Laura got up, and the candles around me were put out. I could still smell saltwater in the air.
"Wow, he really does not want to talk," I groaned as I got up.
"Yeah, we have bigger problems."
ns 15.158.61.17da2
