Rising Heroes Book One: When Angels Met Gods

Chapter Five: Spilled Secrets

Disclaimer: I don't own Violet Eden or Heroes of Olympus

Chapter Five: Spilled Secrets

Violet tried not to twitch as Piper braided the golden griffin feather into her choppy black hair. The two of them had decided to have a "girl's night" while Jason and Lincoln made a plan for how to get to Tiresias. For once, Violet was happy to let Lincoln take the reins. Her and Piper were exhausted.

"Ta-da!" Piper announced as she finished. "I can't believe our hairstyles are nearly the exact same," she said as she started to braid a silver feather into her own choppy caramel locks.

Violet grinned. "Ditto. But I didn't get this hairstyle by choice- a psycho exile with a huge sword chopped it off while trying to decapitate me and destroy a warrior angel."

Piper nodded. "Respect. I just cut my hair because I didn't want to look pretty. I did have to face a giant metal hygiene statue with a acid-spitting snake."

The two girls swapped stories for another hour as they braided more feathers into their hair.

"So," Violet said, prodding Piper's belly, "have you two thought of names?"

Piper swatted her hand away. Now that the secret was out, she had switched from baggy clothing to demigod-friendly maternity outfits, meaning her bump was a lot more visible.

"Yes," Piper said. "If it's a boy, we're going to name him Lincoln. If it's a girl, she'll be Violet."

Violet rolled her eyes. "Ha ha. Actually, what are the names?"

Piper just grinned mysteriously. "You'll have to wait."

Violet sighed and rubbed her own stomach. "Well, when this little guys comes, I'm sure they'll be great friends."

"Wait!" Piper gaped at her. "You're pregnant?!"

Violet palmed her forehead. "Oops. I'm terrible with secrets."

Piper smiled. "So the prophecy... I might not be about me! You could be having twins!"

Violet shook her head. "I'm not. Lincoln and I have already made sure."

Piper nodded. "Good. Lincoln should know. Obviously I made the mistake of not telling Jason- I'm so lucky that he forgave me."

The girls sat in silence for a couple minutes, each of them unconsciously touching their stomachs.

"So," Piper said after a moment, "how far along are you?"

"Almost six months." Violet answered as she finished her hair. "I'm hoping we'll finish this quest before I give birth, though."

"Can I tell Jason?" Piper asked. "I promised him no more secrets."

"Of course," Violet answered. "I don't want to come between you guys."

Piper nodded. "Thanks, Vi. You know... I'm glad we met. Even if it is under such dire circumstances."

Violet smiled. "Me too. And I'm sure we'll defeat this exile-monster combo."

"I wonder what the boys are up to?" Piper asked as she started to put the extra feathers away.

Violet sighed. "I can only imagine."

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

In the other room...

"So Tiresias is said to live near the entrance to the Underworld," Jason said. "According to Percy and Annabeth, that's DOA Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California."

"And if course, that shop isn't showing up anywhere on the internet," Lincoln said, frustrated as he typed on his computer. "Los Angeles is a big city- how are we going to find one store?"

Jason closed the lid of the computer. "Let's steer away from technology. It's kind of a homing beacon for monsters."

"Sorry," Lincoln ran a hand through his hair. "We'll just have to search the whole city and hope for the best."

"We might not have that kind of time," Jason said. "We need to find this stone before the winter solstice. It's the time when monsters start to stir, and the natural defenses the gods built around the stone will be easier to break through."

"So the exiles and monsters won't have a hard time using it." Lincoln sighed. "What damage could the stone of a wine god do, really? I mean, the sea god I could understand, but... wine?"

"Dionysus isn't just the wine god," Jason said. "He's also the god of madness, so the stone could cause everyone to go psycho."

"That would be bad," Lincoln agreed. "We need to find this prophet. How did Percy and Annabeth find the entrance the first time?"

Jason frowned. "I'm not sure. We can IM them."

Lincoln nodded and grabbed a drachma from Jason's bag while Jason turned on the faucet, causing a spray of water to create a small rainbow.

Jason threw the drachma into the spray. "Oh Fleecy, do me a solid. Show me Annabeth and Percy Jackson at Camp Half-Blood."

The mist shimmered before showing Annabeth and Percy sitting at the dining pavilion, feeding Adrian.

"Jason!" Annabeth looked  at them in surprise. "And I assume you're Lincoln?"

Lincoln nodded. "We were wondering if you could tell us how you found DOA Recording Studios, since Los Angeles is such a big city."

"Sure!" Percy wiped barbecue sauce off his mouth. "I think I still have the address written down somewhere from Crusty's shop."

"Crusty?"  Lincoln asked, confused.

Percy waved his hand nonchalantly. "Long story. Anyway, the address is 123 Darking Street, West Hollywood, Los Angeles."

"Thanks, Percy!" Jason scribbled the address down onto a piece of paper, which he tucked in his pocket. "We really appreciate it."

"No problem. Good luck on your quest." Percy said as the IM ended.

"Knock knock," Piper said as she entered the room. "It's almost midnight, and we need to get up early. We should probably head to bed."

Lincoln nodded. "Violet's probably wondering what's taking so long, anyway. Goodnight you guys."

"Love the feathers, Pipes," Jason said once Lincoln had left the room.

Piper smiled. "Good. The one good thing about griffins are their metallic feathers."

Jason pulled her in for a kiss. "Well, you look very beautiful."

"Guess what," Piper said once she pulled away. "Violet's pregnant!"

"Really?" Jason looked at her in surprise. "Could the prophecy be about her?"

"No, her and Lincoln already checked," Piper answered. "This prophecy's got me spooked, though. I mean, it says a child has to die. Is it our child?"

Jason shook his head. "No. It's probably a riddle."

"I guess," Piper said. "Did you find out where we need to go?"

Jason nodded. "Yup. Thanks to Percy."

Piper smiled. "Well, we should head to bed. We have a long day ahead of us."

Jason turned off the lights, plunging them into darkness. But even as he fell asleep, Piper found that she couldn't close her eyes without opening them back up a few seconds later. Sliding out of bed, she tiptoed over to her knife, Katropis.

"Show me what will happen to the child in the prophecy," she whispered.

The knife's reflection wavered for a bit before shaping into a scene- a baby, lying on the ground, blood pooling behind their head.