When Flames Go Dark [A Leo Valdez Fanfiction]

Chapter 3

A horrified scream interrupted the game of Capture the Flag that morning.

The campers ran in the direction of the sound, and they found Lou Ellen crouched over Frank Zhang's body in the forest. Will Solace, one of the first to reach them, knelt down to survey him. He found no heartbeat. "He's... no longer alive."

At that moment, Percy, Jason and Annabeth all sprinted over and pushed through the crowd. They saw Frank sprawled on the ground, and the pile of ashes next to him.

"Oh my gods... his lifeline stick..." Annabeth very quickly pieced two and two together.

"But who? How? Why?" Percy asked, unable to look away from his half-brother.

Annabeth froze as a thought strikes her. "Wait... Where's Leo? I didn't see him at all this morning..."

"Well I had a couple of visions." The oracle of the camp had arrived. Rachel Elizabeth Dare.

"And..." She hadn't finished speaking when her eyes turned a glowing green, and her mouth issued smoke before she started speaking again, her voice sounding like it was layered thrice.

"The flamethrower turns on the gods for love,

He joins the next big enemy - the self-proclaimed ghost king.

By the end of the war, the seven will be down to two,

And two sons of the eldest gods will defeat the enemy once and for all."

Rachel's eyes returned to their normal emerald, and she collapsed.

"Dude, was that a prophecy? It didn't even rhyme." Percy commented.

"It didn't? Well shit. I'm trash at poetry. I haven't managed to pass Lit in school yet." Rachel managed to get back up on her feet. "Still working on it. Maybe I'll manage to once I get better at spewing prophecies that actually rhyme."

"Another Great Prophecy?"

"What the Hades? The other one just ended! Gimme a break!"

"I swear if I'm in another Great Prophecy again, I'm gonna kill mysel-"

"I think we all know what the first line means." Annabeth interrupted, bringing the conversation back on topic. "Anyway, Leo joins the 'self proclaimed ghost king'-"

"Minos." Nico announced, stepping out of the shadows. Nico liked to stay low-key unless he has something important to say. Whispering among the campers commenced.

"Minos? That touch-stuff-and-turn-it-into-gold dude?"

"No, you idiot. That's King Midas."

"King Minos is a judge of the dead, son of Zeus. He used to rule Crete. Percy, Rachel, Nico and I had a run-in with him. Not pleasant." Annabeth explained.

"'The seven will be down to two.'" Percy repeated, catching Annabeth and Jason's eyes before looking at his feet. "This probably refers to the seven in the previous great prophecy."

"'And a son of the eldest gods will defeat the traitor and destroy the gods' enemy.' It's you and me bro." Jason said. Percy groaned.

"Or me." Nico stated dryly. Jason opened his mouth to apologise, but was waved off by Nico, who didn't have any hard feelings.

"I guess better start killing myself then." Percy grumbled. Can't the Fates just give me a dam break from freaking prophecies?

Annabeth shot him a sympathetic look and continued,"Well, if there's a war coming, we better get prepared. We need to stock up on supplies, and need to be ready as well. We're going to need to train harder than ever."