The Forest Gods' Reign [Published]

Chapter 23: The Oracle and I Explain

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Sleep did not come easily that night. My head was pounding with a thousand thoughts and theories at once, the world seeming to spin faster and faster around me...

Hades had the helm of invisibility. He had the helm, and I should have seen it coming. At that exact moment, Hades could have been in a million places, even in my dark and lonely room, but he was only in one. Which one? I tried to tell myself that Hades wouldn't be in my room waiting to kill me, that it was illogical. After all, why would he be there in my room, when he could be stalking around in the forest, listening to the troops' conversations to gain even the slightest knowledge of our battle plans? 

The troops. That thought alone sent me bolting upright in my bed, then turning to face the alarm clock to check what time it was, still hoping that Alec wasn't angry with me for going on the date with Cole. 12:05 AM. Alec and the Knowing should have been here by now, I thought to myself. But they obviously weren't, so I was beginning to worry, of course. Who wouldn't be? Before I had gone to bed, I had put my walkie-talkie volume on the loudest setting possible, just in case something happened and I could be woken up. I had not foreseen that I would be getting so little sleep in the first place.

Rubbing my forehead in anguish, I rolled out of bed, knowing that I would probably not be getting any more sleep that night. The first thing I did was grab my walkie-talkie and pocketknife from the nightstand, as well as the rock/sword that I had apparently knocked to the floor in my restless sleep. Holding onto them tightly, I opened my balcony doors and took a quick glance over towards Zeus and Poseidon's house, silently hoping one of them would be awake to talk to (preferably Zeus). But I was disappointed to find that it was dark and cold. I knew that Artemis, being the goddess of the moon and the stars, would probably be up and awake at her house, but I was feeling too lazy to walk all the way over there.

Sighing, I climbed up to my roof, where I sat down on the rough surface to stare out at the night sky alone, wishing Alec was there like he used to be. For hours on end, I glared at the twinkling stars that shined through the silent night as if nothing were wrong, as if there were no wars going on. There wasn't even a cloud in the sky. Yes, it was a peaceful sky, but only because Zeus was sleeping. Speaking of sleep, I really didn't understand how he or any of the other gods had managed to fall asleep with all that was going on around us...

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"This is Pan, calling in a happy situation. Wake up. Repeat, wake up," Pan's gravelly voice floated its way to my brain, and I opened my eyes abruptly, surprised to find that I had fallen asleep on the roof. I blinked my eyes against the dim light of the morning sun shining through the thick cloud cover, and I knew that it had to be very early, since everything was covered with a fine layer of dew. Reluctantly, I sat up with a groan, rubbing my eyes.

"Happy situation, people. Wake up!" Pan's voice demanded in Greek yet again, and again it received no response via walkie-talkie. I frowned, wondering what in the world was a "happy situation." We had no protocol for happiness, only emergencies. "WAKE UP, I tell you! Alec is here with the troops." I almost fell off the roof, knowing that last bit had probably woken everyone else up, too. Finally.

Sure enough, Zeus ordered right away, "Everyone, meet at my house in thirty minutes. Pan, we'll be there soon."

I quickly jumped down onto my tiny balcony and ran back into my quiet room. I then grabbed a pair of skinny jeans and a random tank top from my dresser, throwing them on as I raced wildly around my room. I carefully slipped on my black leather jacket as I glanced over at the clock, which read 5:30 AM. Next, I clipped my walkie-talkie onto a belt loop, stuffing my pocketknife and rock/sword into my pockets before I climbed down to the ground from my balcony. I hadn't even bothered to change the old bandage on my wounded shoulder, even though I didn't have to rush. Zeus was right next door, after all.