So You Wanna Be A Demigod: Book 1 - What Lies Beneath The Seabed

Chapter 11: Blueberries

Chapter 11! Hooray! There isn't really too much to say, so please enjoy this chapter!

~R E B E C C A   S T A R F L Y~

I fell asleep on the way, something that really terrifies me.

I’m not afraid of heights so much as falling thousands of feet to my death. And we were at aeroplane height, which didn't help at all.

We started off okay. The pegasi glided smoothly, and they seemed to know where they were going. Candy’s legs moved into a familiar rhythm, sweeping back and forth, coaxing me to take a little nap.

The ground disagreed. It stared up at me, the hard mountain roads and rock formations forming dark shapes in my overactive imagination.

‘Are you alright?’ Percy yelled, looking back from where Blackjack flew in front.

I nodded, any sound pulled from my throat as the wind whipped my voice to shreds.

Percy laughed, ‘You get used to the rushing sensation.’

This time, I managed to shout, ‘Really?’

My voice was hollow and distant, even to my own ears. The air had already carried the word back a hundred feet. It reminded me eerily of the eidolon possessing me not long enough ago. The only response I received was a laugh that was quickly drowned out by the wind.

By tomorrow, my family would either be safe with me, or dead. If we didn’t reach LA in time, tough luck. I would never see my mother, my step-father or my half-sisters again. It would be my fault.

‘They’ll be fine.’

Percy’s voice made me glance up. He was looking back at me, and even from this distance, I saw the confidence and reassurance filtering through the sea green eyes we shared. He must’ve read my expression, though I had no idea I was that easy to read. He smiled at me, and I felt that warmth spread through me, convincing me that it would be okay.

‘How do you know?’ my mouth asked before my brain could process, leaving me mentally kicking myself.

‘Because I do,’ he responded. Annabeth watched him carefully, but didn’t interrupt, as if eager to listen. ‘We’re demigods and this stuff will happen. But as long as we stick together, we’ll be alright. Don’t worry, Bec.’

I lowered my head and let the wind lash my long loose ponytail into my face, obscuring my expression from view. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Percy turn back to the front, but Annabeth continued to watch me.

I didn’t know what to think about the new nickname Percy had given me. There had only been two people call me Bec before; my father-or my stepfather-and my old friend Keziah.

Keziah. I hadn’t thought about her in years, though I never took off the identical bracelets we wore. Nearly eight years ago, her dad and foster brother died in a freak fire. The government had somewhat decided that she belonged in America, and she moved. I hadn’t heard from her since, but I never forgot her.

I fingered the silver charm bracelet under my jacket. We’d picket the charms together. There were six, one for each year we’d known each other, which was since birth; a circle, a heart, a flower, a music note, a moon and a real, small diamond. It, along with my necklace, was my most treasured possession.

Too soon, my eyelids grew heavy and my head leaned forward until rested against Candy’s majestic neck, my head nodding to the beat of her galloping legs.

In my dream, I saw my family. They no longer hung from the ceiling like lumps of meat, but instead where crowded into a tight cell where they huddled together in fear. The walls were made of rough stone that scrapped their skin whenever they brushed against it, and the door was thick metal with a tiny barred window.