Daughter of Poseidon

Heart to hearts with Kronos

My dreams were full of things, twisting, turning and the downright strange. But they had a particular theme: Kronos, and I had good reason to believe that this was no coincidence. A deep, dark voice boomed inside my head, shaking the foundations of my mind, and sending them rumbling and scurrying away with fright.

It was an evil voice, one that, at first talked with the slimy, sly charisma of manipulation; reverting to downright force when that didn't work. I stood at the edge of a void, somehow dressed in a pale Greek chiton, my dark hair billowing out in a huge gale.

"Little hero!" It crooned, softly but menacingly. "How you've betrayed us! You really did have all eating out of your palm for a moment, just a moment. You seemed the perfect little, rebellious girl, fantastic for our cause. But now you've turned on us, so there's the little problem of what to do with you. Decisions, decisions . . ."

The voice sighed.

"It's such a shame I haven't resumed my corporal form yet  with the power that comes with that, I could blast your mind to mere cinders within a moment and no-one would ever know. But, circumstances, circumstances . . . if you ever dare display any sign of help towards your goody-good friends, then let's just say that Luke might not be so safe."

"Don't you dare!" I bellowed at him, but I already knew that he'd struck a soft spot, and he knew it.

"That's the shame with you little demi-gods, always scurrying to and fro. Your fatal flaws are, well, fatal, but not just to yourselves. I will rise, and the boy will help me, but is disposable. You make the ultimate choice, Antheia. Does he live or does he die?"

"What do I have to do?" I asked, defeated.

"I believe I've already said so, I do hate repeating myself, but I shall make a small discretion in your case: Distance yourself from the gods, you've already betrayed Olympus, but now do so that your immortal soul will never be at rest."

"-That's blackmail. Pure and simple!"

"I KNOW!" The voice boomed, annoyed and incredibly angry. The gale-force winds picked up, until I was nearly swept away with them. "But only one of you can live - neither can survive while the other lives. I understand your fatal flaw, it's thinking the best of people and altruism; I suspected your façade from the start. You always want to fix the situation, make it good again, no matter the cost. Well, my dear, I can say that the stakes have never been higher. What will you chose? Yourself, or him?"

"Him," I whispered. "And you knew it."

"Well, I make an excellent manipulator, even if I do say so myself. Now, onto the finer details of the plan. You'll escape from Percy, Grover and Annabeth, then go back to the ship, and as far as anyone knows, your resolve has never been higher. You will make the Olympians hate you, then we shall move onto the next stage . . ."

"Tell me what happens next!"

"But you can't demand anything of me anymore, dear Anya. The pledge of allegiance? - Well, let's just say disobeying it will lead to very dire consequences. Permanent ones."

The dream dissolved and I opened my eyes. The sky was dark and I sat in the backseat of a flashy sports-car, which smelt of new-car and lots of ego. I lamented myself for digging myself into another deep hole, eternity in the fields of punishment didn't seem very appealing at the best of times, and now Kronos had me in bondage. I couldn't escape. Turning my attention back to the surroundings, I judged that, from the erratic driving, there was no final destination - one that was clear to me anyway. Grover's driving had always confused me, and at the moment, he sat behind the wheel, goat horns firmly hidden under his rasta cap. Percy sat shotgun, well settled into the comfortable leather seats, leaving me and Annabeth at the back.