Daughter of Poseidon

Fights and Food

The stateroom was beautiful: huge windows curved along the back wall, looking out over the stern of the ship. Green sea and blue sky stretched all the way to the horizon. A Persian rug covered the floor. Three plush sofas occupied the middle of the room, with a canopied bed in one corner and a mahogany dining table in the other. The table was loaded with food - pizza boxes, bottles of coke, and a stack of roast beef sandwiches on a silver platter. On a velvet dais at the back of the room lay a ten-foot-long golden casket. A sarcophagus, engraved with Ancient Greek scenes of cities in flames and heroes dying grisly deaths. Despite the sunlight streaming through the windows, the casket made the whole room feel cold. I didn't need a sign to confirm my worst fears for what was inside the casket.

Luke collapsed on a heavy velvet sofa and spreadeagled his legs. Nico chose the cushy leather sofa and sat down, looking similarly tired. I'd just noticed the dark circles that seemed to be etched into Luke's face - invisible in the dark of the underworld and the half-light of the forest. He looked pale and drawn - I could almost imagine him dead.

I sat down at the third sofa and closed my eyes. Getting about eleven hours of sleep over three days isn't something that I'd recommend . . . believe me. It was some time later when I opened my eyes, the sky was now darkening.

"I was wondering when you'd wake up." Said Luke's voice from one of the great glass windows. It reminded me of a similar encounter back at camp half-blood after the events on half-blood hill. Those events seemed eons ago.

"Well," I said, my voice coming out croaky after being asleep for so long. "I haven't exactly had much sleep since . . . well I can't really remember."

"It's fine. Now, I  bet you have a lot of questions."

"You don't say . . "

"Ok, fire away," Said Luke, walking over to the plush velvet sofa. "But let me sit down first, it might take a while."

He smiled. It wasn't a fake smile, or a slightly evil-looking grin that he'd give his cronies. It was a proper, teeth-baring one. This was the Luke that I knew and loved, not the slightly mad version of him that I'd seen occasionally in the past few days.

"How many recruits do you have? To fill a ship this big . . ."

"I have about two hundred demigods at the moment . . .add all the assorted monsters - about a thousand."

I let out a low whistle. "Sheesh, that's a lot. Now, before anything else - what's the whole thing with the prophecy?"

Luke sighed, but looked determined. "I think it was wrong for the Olympians to not tell you. But, Anya . . . are you sure you want to hear this prophecy? It's not particularly pleasant . . ."

"What do you mean?"

"Like dying, razing and general unplesantness."

"Well, it's time I heard it. Geez Luke, of all things . . ." I said, naively thinking that it would all be fine.

"I just wanted to prepare you. It's not nice at all." He took a deep breath:

"A half-blood of the eldest gods,

Shall reach sixteen against all odds.

And see the world in endless sleep,

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.

A single choice shall end her days,

Olympus to preserve or raze."

There was a moment of silence.

"So, does that mean I'm going to die?" I asked in a small voice.

"-Y-Yeah." Luke choked.

"THEN WHY DID NO-ONE EVER TELL ME?!" I screamed. Nico stirred in his sleep.