The Child of Hecate

Chapter Ten - The Protector of Demigods

Leo Valdez

She died the next morning.

Lou Ellen woke me up and told me I had to let her go, I realized that I still had my arms around her. Hecate was standing by the altar, ready to take Angela's body to the Underworld to prepare her for godhood.

I got out of her bed and watched as the goddess picked up her daughter and carried her in her arms making it look like she was light as a feather, and then she walked back to the altar, "Thank you for your efforts, Leo Valdez." Hecate said, I was surprised she even knows my name, "Lou, thank you for welcoming your sister back home." With her last words, Hecate and Angela vanished.

I'd be lying if I didn't cry, my girlfriend did just die. She didn't even have a funeral... How will I explain this to Chiron? To the other campers? Lou Ellen calmed me down using this weird magic she did – then I realized she just gave me hot cocoa.

I sat down Angela's bed and took the music box I made her and held it. She had taped the Polaroid she took of me before I left for the quest. I remembered her Polaroid in my jacket pocket and took it out. She was beautiful even in monkey pyjamas.

"Keep it." Lou Ellen said, squeezing my shoulder, "She really loved that thing, you know? Always kept it open."

So, I took it with me to my bunker in cabin 9. Lou Ellen told me that she'd be the one informing the camp of cabin 20's recent passing; I thanked her before I went back to my cabin. I stayed in my bunker's private room and fussed over project after project, I wanted something to keep me going. Something to keep me sane

~

"Leo, get out of there!"

"I'm busy!"

"You've been there for days, you need sunlight!"

"What is it with you and the sun, Solace? Leave me alone! I'm working."

Will has been up my business for the past week, he feels the need to watch over me ever since Angela's death. It has been a week and there's no sign of her, did Hecate succeed in turning her into a goddess? Did she survive the process? What is the process anyway?

Finally, the knocking and annoying shouts from the Apollo kid stopped. I finally had my silence. But of course, it was too good to be true. Will Solace had broke down my bunker's door with a battering ram with the help of my half-sisters and brothers. Traitors.

Christopher pulled me up from my chair and dragged me out of the cabin. They all locked me out of cabin 9 without any explanation at all. They didn't even give me a chance to get my shoes, I was only wearing my socks with robots on them.

I realized something creepy. The entire camp was all Silent Hill-esque. Not one camper (except yours truly) was outside. I couldn't argue with Will thought (mainly because he's locked me out of my own cabin), it really was a beautiful day.

For some reason I found explicably unexplainable, I was drawn to the lake. So, I walked there. I took off my socks and strolled on the sandy shore. The sun was about to set on the horizon, the clouds were puffy and pink like cotton candy, and the water waved at a pace that an ocean should before a storm comes.

And then, I found the reason why the lake was rogue. She was there.

She stood there facing in my direction. Her hair was still the same dark curls that brushed past her arms but now a few locks of her hair had silver thread braided into them. She wore a long dress that brought out the green in her eyes. Her biceps had silver bands attached to them, and it made her look like Wonder Woman 2.0 to be honest. She even had this tiara of moonstones around her head. The aura around her was pure silver, she glowed like the moon.

"Did you miss me?"

I dropped my socks in the sand and ran towards her. I wasn't even sure if demigods were allowed to hug goddesses, but I didn't care. I hugged her and we both fell into the sand, she laughed and kissed me. It caught me by surprise and it was a very good surprise. Angela then stood up and pulled me on my feet, "I'm so happy to see you."

We talked at the beach for awhile. She told me how Hecate and Hades helped her become a minor goddess. Angela also told me that was officially the goddess protector of demigods and children alike, "Mom even gave me a share of the sea and the moon followed by Hades who gave me a share of the Underworld." She said excitedly, "I'm staying in Olympus for a few months. Hecate's going to teach me how to master Necromancy and after that Apollo wants to teach me all about the spirit of Delphi and – I don't actually know, he said a lot of things and then he said a lot of haikus that totally didn't go that well."

It physically pained me to be with her right now. Mostly because I knew it wasn't going to last, it'll never last. I missed her so much and now here she is right in front of me. "After Olympus, you're not coming back to Camp Half-Blood, are you?"

Her smile slowly faded, the aura around her diminished, "No. I'm going to stay in the Underworld, Hades asked me to temporarily fill in for one of the judges." Angela explained. She reached out to my hand and held it within hers, "I'll always be with you, Leo."

"Yeah, but not really." I said. It was the bitter truth and it needed to be said. I knew that she was thinking the same thing, but chose not to say it out loud. I forced a smile, releasing my hand from hers, "It is OK. You can go, go and save the world." Angela laughed, rubbing a few tears away from her eyes, "I'm sorry." She leaned in and gave me one last kiss, "Keep the music box with you, Valdez. Promise me?"

And then, she vanished. The sun had sunk low and the moon appeared in the sky above. I smiled to myself and walked back to the camp, picking up the socks that I had dropped before, "I promise on the River Styx, Marquez."