WORLDS BEYOND ( pjo )

prelude

He had never felt this livid.

Standing there, under the hundreds of gallons of water he'd summoned to hurl at Thalia, the water whirling around angrily in it's place, Percy was ready to bring it down on her equally cross face.

"Percy!" he heard Chiron plead.

But that wasn't what caught his attention. Noticing something creeping in the woods, Percy immediately lost all his concentration, all the water falling back with a 'splash!' Thalia seemed to be equally surprised, whipping around to see what could have possibly made him this speechless.

Someone... something was approaching. Clouded in a murky green mist that made Percy visibly pale given the familiarity, hunters and campers gasped once it came close enough.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. Percy had never heard him sound so nervous. "It... she has never left the attic. Never."

Yet here it was: the poorly bandaged and worn Oracle shuffling through the crowd of people. The hazy green mist veiled the ground, bleeding onto the snow.

No one dared to move a muscle. Suddenly, Percy could hear its voice hissing words in his head and everyone else seemingly could too, some of them going as far as clutching their hands over their heads.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

The Oracle regarded Percy with it's cold, jade eyes, as if staring through his physical form, going right to the pinnacle of his soul. Then, the Oracle turned unmistakably towards Zoë.

Approach, Seeker, and ask.

Zoë swallowed, looking particularly ghostly. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, another heap of green mist pouring out of it. Percy saw a vague vision of a mountain, a familiar auburn-haired girl chained to the rocks. It was Artemis, the chains fettering her down while she kneeled, her hands held out as if fending off an attacker, beads of perspiration and a pained look on her face. The Oracle spoke in a raspy voice:

Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,

One shall be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The girl of visions wakened,

The fate of a star to save or to end,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

As soon as it said the last line, the mist retreated, recoiling like a serpent back into the Oracle's mouth and she turned as stiff as a board, sitting on the rocks as if she'd been there for a thousand comets.

Percy couldn't process anything of what had just happened before he heard Chiron's slightly ragged breathing. Others seemed to take notice as well, turning to look at the centaur, watching with dread as he faltered in place, taking steps back, his eyes as wide as saucers staring at the mummy.

Then, as quick as the lightning, Chiron spun around, dashing toward the Big House. Not knowing what else to do, Percy sprinted after; he suspected others followed suit.

Delving deeper into the usually bright house, it looked more like a haunted house from a creepily realistic horror movie. It seemed to get darker and more eerie as they forged forward; Percy was confused, it didn't seem that big from the outside, despite its name. Percy could feel it growing colder, even though he knew there was no possible reason for the sudden temperature change.