That’s her. The woman that waved to me before school that day. She walked out of the shadows with a man that had black wings. The two of them stood in front of Chiron.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAv6sUPUxYuv
“Hello campers,” the woman said, “Some of you may know me, some may not. Thanatos and I have traveled down from Olympus to share with you,” she paused for a moment, “a new prophecy.” There was a collective gasp from around the pavilion as kids started whispering. I looked over to Evelyn and she looked like she had just seen a ghost. I realized that this was probably the first time she had ever seen her dad. Cathrine elbowed me in the arm.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAltRCIUHolz
“Willow!” She said “Do you know who that is?” I thought about it for a second, why she looked so familiar.
285Please respect copyright.PENANADnyhWmVC1r
“I feel like I know her,” I replied, “but I just can’t put my finger on it.”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAQRRdcCo9we
She looked me dead in the eyes and said, “That’s Demeter. MOM.” Oh. OH. My mother was standing fifty feet from me and I didn’t even know it was her. The same mother that left my dad to raise me himself. The same mother that gave me these powers. The same mother that put me in this wonderful camp. Realization hit me like a train. It made my heart ache for something I know I could never have. Demeter raised her hand for silence and nodded at Thanatos. I have never heard someone speak like that. It made me calm but energetic, happy but angry. His voice was so rich and melodious it made me want to cry.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAdNsYAiW8cM
Roses and skulls
285Please respect copyright.PENANAxOd763wLRo
Wings of gold
285Please respect copyright.PENANANCXuhG0Pr6
Shall travel to meet the gods of old
285Please respect copyright.PENANAV90WS7DhwM
One will turn
285Please respect copyright.PENANAH8t5XQxZPv
One will die
285Please respect copyright.PENANAUclt3EUMec
One will stop to mourn and cry
285Please respect copyright.PENANADneLQzyhLE
The light will shine
285Please respect copyright.PENANAjb5zUqSRxI
The dark will align
285Please respect copyright.PENANAWiOxzfTkni
Pray to the gods to give you a sign
285Please respect copyright.PENANA1i5O5eY8OS
Everything and everyone went still. The first person to speak was Chiron.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAHApYxll5gj
“Now I understand that this is overwhelming,” he said, “but Demeter and Thanatos have answers to many of your questions.” That’s when people started yelling.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAtnaGBcmSo3
“Wings of gold!?”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAxBMXljS7Ij
“Who’s going to go!?”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAboNLEfwj7U
“What does this mean for Olympus!?”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAcLlvaLSSnj
The ground shook and Nico appeared in the middle of the room.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAfM3RL2AWxV
“Sorry,” he said, “I had to escape from Persephone. The spirits in the underworld are going mad, Chiron, unlike what I’ve ever seen before.”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAGv8yS5zLBD
Chiron looked startled and motioned for Nico to come to the side with him. The shouting continued through the crowd.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAIdtwj2DkBT
“Quiet down everyone,” Thanatos called, “as Chiron said, we have answers. I am more than happy to announce that my own daughter will be one of the three continuing in this quest.” I looked over to Evelyn once more, and she looked worse than ever. Her face slowly transitioned from pale white to bright pink as she processed what he had said. I wanted to walk over to her but Demeter addressed more pressing matters.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAoYSr4wcHeK
“The second demigod, accompanying Ms. Chiva will be my newly claimed daughter. Willow Rose.” As she said this Demeter was beaming with pride. Before I knew what was happening there was another flower crown resting on my head. I wanted to object. To tell her that I shouldn’t go, But before I could she had moved on.
285Please respect copyright.PENANASG5WLXqNav
“Sadly we do not know who the third demigod is, but we are sure that they will appear in due time!” Questions continued but at a slower rate. Demeter and Thanatos reassured everyone that this didn’t mean much and that everything was going to be ok. Soon enough they had disappeared back into the shadows and Chiron quickly dismissed us. On our way back to the cabins I pulled Evelyn over to the side.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAl7UAX77DYc
“Hey,” I said “so… that was a lot.”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAYBdHmh2KzS
“Yeah, tell me about it” She said sarcastically.
285Please respect copyright.PENANATATD2iZB8c
“I heard that we’re leaving in two days. Not a ton of time to prepare.”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAxIjvzilsiv
“Seriously? I-”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAQsUkDG2Uic
“I know right! We just got here like five days ago!”
285Please respect copyright.PENANA9MkUgvZl9Z
“So…um. I may have sneaked away while Demeter was talking cause I saw Chiron pull Nico aside. And well Nico said that this person named Rachel is missing and that the spirits of the underworld are going crazy.” She shrugged.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAJrP2zaL3ty
“Spirits… I wouldn’t know, that’s not really my kind of thing.”
285Please respect copyright.PENANATX52bU7xiV
“Yeah well it's apparently my type of thing and I don't even know about it.” she said, rolling her eyes, "Maybe we should go asleep. I need to process this"
285Please respect copyright.PENANABc1k1VmyzP
“You're right, we should get to bed, big day of training tomorrow. Night.”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAThIx0MN8GB
“Night”
285Please respect copyright.PENANAUJtpl3sHrt
We went our separate ways and I walked into my cabin. The girls were getting ready for bed. I had just realized that there was a wooden chest at the foot of each bed, engraved with someone’s name. The chest next to my bed was open. I walked over to it and looked inside. There was an envelope sitting there with my name written in cursive. I picked up the letter and opened it. It read,
285Please respect copyright.PENANAFFmcyAvcuE
Dear Willow,
285Please respect copyright.PENANAyVm1uKIAk7
You’ve just been here for a few days and I can already tell what an amazing person you are going to be. I would like to give you something to remember me by.
285Please respect copyright.PENANASD2CHjthBQ
Remember me?
285Please respect copyright.PENANAFRZ8qlFn3v
I would like to give you my knowledge, so whenever you feel trapped you can find a way out.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAf2fHLv29TT
I would like to give you my power, so that whenever you feel helpless I will be there to guide you.
285Please respect copyright.PENANA3x8Vo9l0aM
And I would like to give you my Love, so if you ever feel heartbroken, my heart will be there for you to take.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAbJAcXOA92L
Why was she saying this?
285Please respect copyright.PENANAHVriYZcztS
I might not make it out of this,
285Please respect copyright.PENANAm25QB1bFoN
What?
285Please respect copyright.PENANAc0kUk1WBCl
But I know that you have the power within you to save the others.
285Please respect copyright.PENANA6hSRlsTsLf
P.s.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAKiTiMNViK7
I know about the stucco accident
285Please respect copyright.PENANA5ZvUrWZE7J
Love,
285Please respect copyright.PENANA4wPeLVnSdN
Cathrine
285Please respect copyright.PENANASLrZcg1Tws
I was breathing heavily. I dropped to my knees and Lily, one of my sisters, came to my side.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAKwajGmHuvY
“Everything okay?” She asked.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAE1zOWOWTbk
I didn’t respond. I simply ran out of the cabin and sprinted to the big house.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAg5E84mbTjl
I didn’t care how startled Chiron and Nico were when I flung the door open.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAztp7BLJGDi
“What’s happened?” Chiron insisted
285Please respect copyright.PENANAmzP4Qgw0mL
I was surprised that I didn’t burst into tears when I handed him the letter.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAB7oKwOfDJZ
Once he was done reading he handed the letter to Nico. They gave each other a concerned look.
285Please respect copyright.PENANAbO1AYK76Wj
“Willow,” Nico said, “I want you to go back to your cabin. If anyone asked you why you left, tell them that you felt sick. Get some sleep. We will discuss this more tomorrow.”
285Please respect copyright.PENANALenaKwOB1a
I nodded my head and walked back to my cabin. A few of the girls came up to me and I told them exactly what Nico told me to. I tossed and turned all night before I decided to climb up the large tree growing out of the middle of the room. It created a perfect place to look at the stars. While I traced the constellations I had memorized, I thought about Cat. Was she looking at the same sky? Was she even still alive?
285Please respect copyright.PENANAtlftBHwjQK
285Please respect copyright.PENANAgwSp6nDNij