Death's Daughter

Chapter 5

I blinked at her. "'A quest'? What do you mean 'a quest'?"

Nico was the one who answered me. "Demigods have to go on quests every once in a while. They go to our oracle," he said, indicating to a beaming Rachel, "pick companions to join them, usually two, and go to wherever they need to go. They do what they need to do and come back. Well... most of them do."

I choked on my lemonade tea. "'Most of them do'? What happens to the other ones? Do they die?"

Annabeth smiled at me. "Don't worry, Frankie. We've been on tons of quests before and we're still here. It's very rare for a demigod not to return."

They all went quiet as if remembering a friend lost on a quest, though, I didn't know who. Then, Rachel stood up abruptly. "Frankie, let's go."

"Go? Oh." I had almost forgotten. "So, where are we going?" I asked her once we were away from the bulk of demigods.

"To my cave."

My eyes widened. Rachel noticed me out of the corner of her eye and smirked.

These people were nuts.

•••

We started walking up Camp Half-Blood Hill and, sure enough, there was a cave. The entrance was covered by a curtain of beads that glowed a luminescent green. I followed Rachel inside to find the room filled with bright lights and electronics. What kind of cave has electricity? Rachel's cave had all these rooms that broke off from the main one, including an art room and her bedroom. She led me down a hallway and into a dimly lit room. The walls were bare and the only decoration was the naked lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. It was so different from the other rooms.

Rachel sat cross legged on a dark rug I didn't notice before. She patted the space in front of her. I obeyed. "Why is it so dark in here?"

Rachel smiled; it was so dark, I only saw white appear. "I love the effect it gives." And before I could ask what she meant by that, she said, "Let's get started."

Rachel closed her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened her eyes, they were green. And not her normal green, but a bright, glowing green. Then, she opened her mouth. A thick green cloud of vapor poured out of it and circled the room. Now, I could see what she meant about the effect; it was amazing. When she started talking, her voice sounded off. It was as if she was talking into one of those voice modifiers that make your voice sound like its in three different pitches at the same time.

"You must descend to the land below,
At your side, a friend and foe,
Help you shall recieve when they are near,
As you conquer your greatest fear,
The answers you seek will be yours to hold,
With companions hot and cold."