Even with the headache, I fell asleep easily. I was used to wacky dreams, but I think this is the craziest.
I was in a dark cave, only a few torches lit the way. It was warm and damp, but not uncomfortable. I knew instantly I was dreaming.
"Hello?" I called out into the void.
With no answer, I decided to walk around for a bit. I'd never had a lucid dream before. I was wearing some weird long dress that was tied with a rope, and I had a weird leaf crown on. Not very comfortable.
I looked at some carvings on the walls. Lots of dogs and daggers. There was also a weird circle that looked like a maze, and in the center was a star. I looked closer at the circle. I swear I've seen it somewhere.
"See anything interesting?" someone said.
"Um... no. I just thought I'd seen this before..."
"I'm sure you have."
A woman with dark black hair all the way down to her waist walked out from behind the tunnel. A long, flowy bronze dress swirled around her, and she held a golden torch that lit up every bit of her rosy lips and smooth, pale skin. A little like mine. She was absolutely beautiful.
I'd never seen her before, but somehow, a voice in my head told me who she was.
"Are you... Hecate?"
She smiled all the way into her golden eyes.
"Yes, mortal."
Mortal? It sounded like she was belittling me, but I felt like I shouldn't talk back to a goddess.
"That mouth doesn't stay quiet naturally, does it?" she sat down on the rocky floor. "I can understand that."
I sat down too, not quite sure what to do. How do you talk to a god?
"Do you... know my mom?" I asked, trying not to get my hopes up.
She looked up and opened her mouth, but nothing came out.
"No," she finally said.
"Oh." An obvious lie. She clearly knew something.
She smiled again, and I wondered how such a powerful goddess could smile so sweetly. I bet she could squish me with her pinky if she wanted.
"Yes, I don't know your mother. I was, however, informed of your birth. You are my first half-mortal... er, grandchild, I suppose."
I didn't know how to take that. I'd been by myself in those stupid boarding schools for so long, it was hard to think that there was someone else out there who knew me. Or wanted to, anyway. She was a goddess, though. There was no way she'd have time for me. It still stung.
"Oh," was all I said again.
"You are very pretty," she said, smiling. "I'm sure your mother would be proud, especially with those big eyes! But alas, that's not why I've revealed myself to you."
Revealed herself?
"You are... a complex case. My empousai are nowhere near as powerful as I, and despite you... being one of their offspring, you have managed..." she hesitated, looking for the right words.
"You have managed to get my attention."
"What does that mean?"
She pushed a thick lock of dark hair behind her ear. "It means, I want to make sure you fall into the right hands. My hands, preferably. I have a gift for you. Do not take it lightly, as I don't often assist mortals. They are quite annoying." I think she muttered it to herself, but I still heard.
"Um, okay."
"Oh, do not take offense," she almost laughed. Her smile illuminated the whole cave. "You are my blood, one way or another, so perhaps I will find you... less annoying. Here,"
She waved her hand, a huge wolf appearing from the smoke of her torch.
"This is Kalos. He will help you find your way."
"Um..."
I don't know if you've ever seen a wolf, but they're pretty much the size of a teenage human. This one was even bigger, towering way above my head with huge, sharp teeth and dark, rough fur.
"I get that it might be rude to not accept a gift from you, but I don't think I can have this... thing." I tried to say politely.
Hecate looked at me, then at the wolf.
"Ah. I see."
She waved her hand again, and in a swirl of black smoke, there was a small black fox with startling orange eyes that took the wolf's place.
"A black stream carried by the wind will help you when you need it most, and together your eyes will glow."
"Uh, thanks..." Was that a riddle or something?
Kalos sneezed. He was a lot less majestic now.
"You have a question. Very well, I will answer one to the best of my ability."
Actually, I have a lot of questions, I thought, but I knew what I needed to ask.
"The people at Camp Half-Blood... can they hurt me?"
Hecate looked me in the eyes. Her's glittered gold like a starry night sky.
"Demi-gods are good for nothing, and their godly parents are even worse," she said harshly. "Everything can be hurt, in one way or another. See to it that you don't die. You are my most intricate creation."
She smiled one last time, and then I woke up.
You are my most intricate creation.
I laid there for a while.
"Just a dream," I reminded myself.
I got up and had a shower to shake off the feeling weird that the dream left, and threw on some shorts and a black and white sweater, as well as some black knee-high socks. My hair was still wet, so I put it up in a messy bun. Then, I nearly tripped over a ball of dark fur.
Oh no.
I looked down to see a little fox, yawning without a care in the world.
"Oh, crap," I whispered, frozen for a minute. This was not happening.
It -I mean Kalos- was running around, happily bouncing on everything. My dad was not going to like this.
"Okay, um, Kalos?" I snapped my fingers in front of him. "I need you to be quiet, okay?" So it wasn't a dream? This was terrifying.
Kalos decided he had better things to be doing, like burrowing in my bedsheets.
"No, Kalos!" I half-whispered. "Here, do you want some food?"
Kalos' head snapped to attention at the word 'food'.
"Yeah, I'll get you some... um... whatever you eat. Just stay here."
He sat obediently on my bed, and I ran down the stairs as quickly as possible.
I put some leftover bacon and eggs on a tray and carried it towards the stairs.
"Good morning, Bella," I froze as I noticed my dad, who was sitting at the dining room table, coffee in one hand and book in the other.
"Hi...dad..." I said slowly. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you mean?"
Oh, you know, usually you're in your office pretending I don't exist or yelling at me
for no reason.
"Um, usually you're in your study," I said cautiously.
"Yes, that's true. I just wanted to... keep an eye on you."
My eyes narrowed.
"Oh, because I said I was going to Camp Half-Blood?"
He sighed. "Yes... and no. You can't go there, Bella. I promise you won't get any more answers there than here."
I should have just kept quiet, but I didn't.
"Well, it's a good thing I talked to someone who did give me some answers." I tucked the tray behind my back as unsuspiciously as possible.
"What are you talking about?" he said sharply.
"It's a matter we'll deal with later, right?" I said sarcastically.
"Bella."
Just tell him, a tiny voice in my head said.
"Fine, I think I talked with Hecate last night."
"You... what?" he looked at me. "You don't even know what Hecate looks like," he said harshly. "And there's no way she'd show herself to you."
"Yeah, and why not?"
"Because you're immature and a know-it-all, qualities Hecate hates most in mortals."
"Well, Hecate said herself that she didn't find me annoying!"
"Oh, did she? And I'm sure she told you she cares about you more than anything in the world."
"Why would you say that?!"
"Because Hecate doesn't care about you, Bella!" he raised his voice. "She barely even cared about her own daughters! Why do you think your mother isn't here now?"
His voice resonated through the room.
I wanted to say something. Anything. To show I wasn't scared.
"Look, I can handle myself like I have been for the past three years. I just need to
know what's going on." I muttered, leaving before he could say anything else.
Did Hecate really let my mom die? That couldn't be right. It wasn't right.
ns 18.68.41.175da2
