Celestial Flames (Percy Jackson Universe)

The Explanation

In grade eight, my last year of my seventh public school across St Louis, we were told to plan our high school classes based on what we wanted to do in the future. I felt like throwing up each time I heard those words. I didn't know what I wanted to do and it felt like a thousand pounds on my head each time I did. I asked Jordan what he wanted to do, he said he wanted to be a police officer. I asked Erik, he said he didn't know yet either.

One thing I did know was I wanted to get out of St Louis. It was a good city, but it always felt like there was something in the world I hadn't seen yet.

I was getting my wish in the worst way possible.

Forest didn't relax until we were over the Mississippi and well into Illinois. He stared out the window as we drove through the countryside. He looked back to me to be met with my stare. "You have questions," he stated.

"About a hundred," I confirmed.

He sighed and leaned his elbows on the table. "What do you know of Greek mythology?"

I blinked, taken back. "Not too much. I know that there were twelve major gods, the Olympians. But what does that have to do-"

"It has everything to do with everything," he interrupted. He looked up and down the bus aisle. There weren't many people on the bus. The driver, about a dozen tourists at the front of the bus, and a couple at the back, right beside the bathroom. Still, Forest kept his voice low. "Elizabeth, those gods, those stories, they were real. And in mythology the gods ran around and had kids. Half-bloods."

Half-blood. There was that word again. I must have had disbelief on my face because Forest started taking off his shoes. He pulled his feet out only they weren't feet. They were...hooves? They looked like goat hooves. I edged away from him a little.

"What are you?" I whispered.

Forest slid his shoes back on. "I'm a satyr, half man, half goat. Satyrs go out into the world and try to find half-bloods. They're half human, half god."

I swallowed. "So you think that I'm..."

"I know you are," he replied. "ADHD? Those are your battle instincts. Your dyslexia? Your brain is hardwired for Ancient Greek, not English."

I sat back in my seat, trying to process it. I had a feeling he wasn't done either. "So, the gods... they're still in Greece or are they somewhere else?"

"They're actually in America right now," he told me. "They follow western civilization. At first it was Greece, then Rome, and now it's America."

"This camp we're going to, what is it?"

"It's the only safe place for demigods. You can train to survive in the world and hone your abilities. Most demigods have abilities handed down from their godly parent. It could be almost anything."

My mind went to the boy that came out of the river. Was he a demigod? He had to be. It made sense he would be. "Why have I not heard about this before?"

Forest sighed. "Most half-bloods have a kind of... scent. Their godly blood makes them smell like food. And when you learn about what you are... the scent gets stronger and it's easier for monsters to track you down."

Monsters. "Ms S, she called herself a dracaena."

Forest sighed. "Dracaenas are half-snake women. They're monsters. Most monsters are disguised as regular mortals to try and kill half-bloods."

Three new questions popped up. "Okay, three questions," I said. "One: what are mortals? Two: how do they disguise themselves? And three: why do they want to kill us?"

"One: mortals are humans. It's just what we call them. Two: there's a magical veil called the Mist that hides the supernatural from the eyes of mortals. It's better if they don't know everything.

"Three: monsters actually want to kill the gods. But they're immortal so they go after their very killable children."

I sat back in my seat. Monsters. That explained the man with one eye. And the dogs in the Mississippi with seal flippers. And the spiders...

I shivered. I was always afraid of spiders. It was just something coded in my DNA. I always made Jordan kill them in the apartment. When I was little sometimes they would crawl under my covers and bite at me. I told Jordan and he started spraying lemon air freshener around the room. He said spiders hated the smell. I've been using it ever since.

I took a breath. I sat up straight in my seat. "How were you able to tell I was a demigod?" I asked. "Could you smell me? Like the monsters?"

Forest nodded slowly.

"Was there anyone else that smelled like a demigod?"

Forest seemed to understand what I was saying. "Elizabeth, Erik isn't a demigod. Trust me okay. He's just a mortal."

"But he could see through the Mist like you said I could," I protested. "What if he's in trouble?"

Forest held his hands up in surrender. "Some mortals are like that. No one knows why. If he was a demigod he would've died by now. Not a lot of half-bloods make it to 18 because of monsters. Is there anything that Ms S said to you that seemed strange?"

"Besides everything?" At Forest's glare, I sat back in my seat. I ran over everything that Ms S said in that room. "She said... she called herself the dracaena queen."

Forest looked at me in shock. "Are you sure?"

I nodded. "Very sure."

Forest swore in that other language again. Somehow I was able to understand a few words that I will not be repeating. "This is bad."

"Why is it bad?"

"The dracaena queen hasn't been seen in centuries," he elaborated. "I'm not sure what that means."

"She said something about a Titan Lord. And feasting on half-bloods."

Forest's fist clenched. He swore again. "This is bad."

"Who's the Titan Lord?" I asked tentatively.

Forest glared at the back of the seat. "The father of the oldest gods. He was a bad guy. He ate his kids because he thought they would overthrow him."

Something about this sounded familiar. "But... didn't they eventually overthrow him because he ate them?"

Forest nodded.

"And now he's risen again?" I guessed.

Forest nodded. "He possessed the body of a half-blood. Luke. A son of Hermes, the god of travel and thievery. He... he isn't a good guy."

I licked my lips. "So now what? What's the situation?"

Forest sighed. "The Titan army is preparing to take down the gods. They've got monsters, half-bloods angry at the gods, mortals they've manipulated. They've got a big army. The forces at Camp Half-Blood are hoping to stop them but... like I said, it's a big army.

"But our situation? Right now, we just need to focus on getting to Camp."

I nodded and looked out the window and saw a sign pass by.

We were entering Chicago.

We both stayed on the bus while it fuelled up.

Not much else to say here. It's between BotL and TLO. We might get a few canon characters soon, but I honestly doubt it.

Okay yeah, that's it. Until next time demigods.