A Dishonored Demigod

Of Demons and Angels- Prelude

Zeus slams his hand down on the arm of his throne,"Where is he?! We called for him ten minutes ago!"
"Please calm down Lord Zeus," June spoke calmly,"He went to retrieve one more person to accompany us, a tracker as good as he is."
As soon as she finishes speaking the shadows in the room shiver and are pulled into the center of the throne room to make a pool of darkness. A chuckle echoes from inside the blackness and Perseus steps out of it with his mask on,"Good evening Olympians."
****
I barely restrain a laugh when Zoë comes up behind me and whispers in my ear,"I think you broke them."
Alex's ears twitch and he snorts, breaking the Olympians out of their trance,"Perseus."
Zeus eyes me warily and I answer,"Yes?"
His hand edges towards his bolt and I throw my hand out,"Pull," and the bolt flies into my hands with a shower of sparks.
Instantly all the gods point their weapons at me with June, Hetalia, and Zoë returning the gesture while Alex bares his metal claws. I pretend I don't notice tension in the room,"Hm," and let a small amount of the electricity in it arc over my body,"An exceptional weapon, but still limited in its uses. It used to be a spear before you molded it into just a collection of solid electricity. Pathetic."
Zeus's face reddens with fury and I grin under my helmet before tossing the bolt back. He fumbles with it as it grows to its true size,"As much as I enjoy provoking you all, I do have a job to do. Who is going to be accompanying my team?"
Zeus looks to Dionysus and the wine god snaps his fingers with a bored expression on his face. A group of five familiar faces appears in a flash of light and I feel a growl build up in the back of my throat. Annabeth looks around and her eyes land on June before they widen with surprise,"June?"
Said girl returns with her own icy gaze,"Hello there sister."
Annabeth steps forward and I move in between the two,"Do not approach my apprentice, godling."
Annabeth falters and Jason stands on one side of her with his coin in spear form,"Don't talk to her that way," and Piper has Katoptris drawn,"Like my boyfriend said, leave her alone. She never did anything to you."
I laugh and raise a hand to my forehead and slowly pull down,"Oh really? I will admit it has been a long time since we last saw each other. But how can you forget," and I grin,"this face?"
My eyes turn green and my grin turns feral,"Hello Jason. Piper. Annabeth. How's camp?"
Piper pales while Jason's face turns red and he starts towards me,"You!"
Alex darts in front of him with his lips curled back in a growl and his claws bared,"I'd stay back if I were you. Besides, I hate to carve up meat I don't eat."
The tension in the throne room is ready to explode and my grin turns maniacal until I feel a hand on my shoulder. I relax as Hestia's power fills the room and scoff at Jason,"That's enough Alex. It's not like his spear would break my skin anyways."
Alex darts back to June's side while I regard the last two members of the group,"Frank. Hazel. How's the side doing?"
She flinches and Frank bristles with anger as I turn to the gods,"Aunty told me you want me to do a job. Details and payment will come before I decide to accept."
Zeus's face turns red and I can tell he wants to yell at me,"Any rude comments to my group and myself will result in us leaving immediately."
Hephaestus grunts and tosses me a pane of glass that the wind catches and brings over to my waiting hands. As soon as my hands touch the surface of the glass words appear for me to read. I can feel Annabeth staring at me and glance up from the tablet to meet her with my eyes back to their red coloration. She flinches and I go back to reading with a small smile on my face,"So far everything is acceptable. However," and I glare at Zeus,"I refuse to accept future jobs at a cut rate."
Hestia's leans over to look at the details and I put my finger for her to start reading,"Upon completion of this request I, Perseus Jackson, agree to fulfill future requests at a discounted rate."
Her eyes light up in flames and Zeus pales when a ball of heat forms in her hand. I restrain the laughter I feel building up in favor of the potential gain from Zeus's error,"There there Aunt Hestia," and I place a hand on her smoldering shoulder,"I'll do the job, minus the terms for future requests. However," and my eyes gleam,"I will need additional compensation for your attempted trickery."
Athena sits straight up,"What?! Father put that condition in after we all agreed on the terms!"
I shake my head with my weight shifting from foot to foot,"I really can't believe you since my past experiences have proven you Olympians are not always honest, and sometimes downright greedy."
"Name one time that happened!" Athena snarls.
I give her a blank stare,"Ares. Lightning bolt. Need I say more?"
Athena's cheeks turn red in embarrassment and Ares shifts in his throne from the stares he's receiving while I continue talking,"There will be an additional payment. It isn't even hard if that's what you're worried about. I want," cue my turning to Poseidon,"my powers to manipulate the seas restored to what it was when I was," and shudder,"human."
The throne room goes nuts at my request until Poseidon slams his trident on the ground, cracking the marble from the force. When all is quiet he looks at me,"What happened to your old powers?"
I motion to Zoë and she pulls small clip from her hair that becomes Riptide,"When I pulled Zoë's soul from the sky there wasn't enough of her power still lingering in the garden. I substituted my own for hers to make up the difference. I still have the ability to create earthquakes though."
My grin makes some of the gods pale before I get serious,"That is what I want. Not too much compared to what I could ask for."
The gods go quiet for a minute while the demigods fidget and my group stares them down. Hades is first to speak,"Fine," he forces out,"after you've completed the job your control over the seas will be restored."
I nod and get serious,"Now that that's out of the way we can get down to business. You've obviously tried to find Leo multiple times before asking for my help. What shape did the others come back in?"
Athena's grey eyes widen slightly,"How did you know about the other teams? None of them ever went near Alaska."
I grin,"We have a mutual hatred of each other. Thus, it makes sense I'd be your last resort. Now please answer my question."
Apollo is the one to speak now,"Each team we sent came back covered in what seems to be sword slashes, and a demigod on the latest team came back with a white feather stuck in his back."
My heart stops and my shadow writhes,"That feather....I need to see it."
Apollo seems confused at my request but summons a glass egg with a white feather as long as the ones that come off my wings. My hands tremble and the glass container shatters to let me come into contact with the feather. My hands steam when the feather touches the skin of my palms and I instantly let go. I use the tips of my claws to pick it up from where it fell on the floor and address my shadow,"Is this what I think it is? Please tell me I'm wrong."
I drop the feather and a creeper snaps up from my shadow to devour it. The feather travels through its throats and it screeches. My face contorts into a grimace and face the Olympians,"Its a good thing you asked for my help, nothing you've got could damage the creature keeping you from finding Leo."
Ares perks up,"It's a strong monster then?"
I shake my head,"Its not as much a monster than it is a sentient weapon. It's called The Angelus, the being born from the light of creation. Only its counterpart, The Darkness, can hurt it. Luckily the power you saw me use was The Darkness."
I turn and prepare to leave but get in one final word,"Get ready because tomorrow we leave to track down The Angelus, and Leo."
My group is swallowed up in my shadow and I follow a moment after.
****
The throne room is silent as the former Defender of Olympus vanishes in his own shadow and a lone creeper slithers towards Hestia with a note in its mouth. The goddess grabs the edge of the paper and the creeper lets go before growling softly. Hestia runs a hand over its spines and the creeper purrs like a giant cat before slithering into the shadows of the hearth and vanishing. Athena is first to speak,"What is that?"
Hestia reads the note and her lips curl into a gentle smile,"He just invited me to his home to meet some of the newest rescues. Most are orphans, poor things."
Artemis scoffs,"They're just monsters, no different than the one I hunt."
The hearth flares to life as Hestia's eyes change from their normal warm embers to two infernos while her voice turns deadly,"I'd watch my words Artemis. I've met most of the monsters he's taken in and given homes to. You'd be amazed how kind they can be, and how sweet some of the children can be."
Artemis laughs,"Monsters being kind? There's no such thing!"
By now the fire in the hearth is threatening to spill over the edge of the brazier and Hestia's hands smolder,"Those monsters he lives with are some of the best sort of company I've ever had the pleasure of meeting."
Artemis sneers,"Please. They're probably just putting on a show for you. I'd be willing to bet that if given a chance they'd attack demigods!"
Hestia's eyes glimmer at the challenge,"I'll take that bet. Choose any demigods you want and I will take them with me when I travel to Alaska."
Artemis is taken aback by the declaration,"You're serious? Any demigod?"
Hestia nods and nods Artemis grins,"Annabeth Chase, Reyna Alveraz, Thalia, Jason, and Phoebe."
While this is all going on Percy watches from a corner of the throne room with the shadows covering him and Hestia's eyes flicker over to him before he truly leaves to go home.
****
As I'm finishing this chapter I'm currently on a bus on the way to New York to participate in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. This has been a great year and I'm so thankful that you all have continued to enjoy these little projects of mine. Thank you all so, so much for the great support and I wish you all the best during the holidays!