✓ | The Crown of the Dead

The Official Questing Crew

Sometimes I wished my first visit inside of the Big House had been under better circumstances. It was a nice building, as I learned quickly. There was a large meeting room for camp counselors right when you walked through the front door, as well as a connecting infirmary and an entire upstairs living place where Ms. Dare and Annie resided.

Currently, I was seated in the Hades chair in the counselor meeting room. All three camp supervisors as well as Annie, Silena, Luke, Charlie, Essie, and Kinsey were present. It was an odd bunch, but it was ordered by Mr. D, and no one thought it seemed like it was a good idea to disobey him.

Silena had a piece of paper in front of her, which I was ninety percent sure had the prophecy written down on it. She was talking to Annie in quiet tones.

Charlie kept sneaking me worried glances whenever she wasn't slapping Luke's hand away from the plate of chocolate chip cookies that sat on the table in front of us. Essie had sprung up a conversation with Kinsey about Tom Holland, and I sat there, feeling out of place.

Finally, Mr. D cleared his throat. Everyone looked up at him, where he sat in the head chair. "Alright brats, time to discuss what occurred on the dining pavilion approximately eight minutes ago."

Chiron coughed. "Well... I don't believe it's that hard to explain. Kinsey's powers seemed to have mixed with Miss Solace-di Angelo's, creating a... dangerous mixture."

"Light and dark don't go well together," Silena chimed, folding up the paper in front of her.

I wrinkled my nose. "But... I have both light and dark ties..." my voice died in my throat.

"Well, yes," Chiron said.

"I know I'm kinda shooting myself down here..." I said carefully, "but can't I create some sort of crazy explosion like that without help from an Apollo kid? Shouldn't I be contained or something?"

Mr. D and Chiron exchanged worried glances. "That won't be necessary," Chiron answered quickly, turning back to the table. "Now Kinsey, I'm afraid you will be facing some punishments for your actions."

Kinsey groaned, leaning back against her seat. "It wasn't that bad."

"It was," Mr. D corrected. "And because of it, you will have dishwasher duty for the next week."

Kinsey opened her mouth to counter, but Mr. D stopped her, causing her to promptly shut it.

"If you argue and inevitably lose, I will make it two weeks."

She frowned, crossed her arms, and moved her blonde hair so that her face was hidden behind it.

"Excused," Mr. D said. With a wave of his hand Kinsey disappeared into thin air. My jaw fell open in surprise.

"Close your mouth, child," he said. "I'm a god. Don't work yourself up over it."

"Moving on!" Ms. Dare interrupted, snapping me out of my daze. "Let's talk about this prophecy, shall we?"

Mr. D was a god. A real life, actual god. All this time I'd been talking to one in the flesh, yet had strictly denied the existence of them. I think that's what sealed the deal for me. There was no way that the Oreo explosion, Ms. Dare's prophecy, or Kinsey disappearing in midair were parlor tricks.

"Silena?"

Silena cleared her throat, quickly unfolding the paper that she'd been making smaller and smaller. It must have been some sort of nervous tic. Then, she read.

"Five legacies will venture out to find;

The one who's kinsman was left behind;