young god • percy jackson

01: Earth Air Sucks!

xx

     I SAT UP fast, tumbling down a small flight of stairs. I sat up, scratching the back of my head. The wet grass soaked my jeans, the sun blinded me. Grass? Sun? Holy Hades! This wasn't the Underworld.

The door that I'd just fallen away from opened up. A dark-haired girl stood at the top, staring down at me. "Can I help you?" she asked, confused.

"Uh, maybe? I'm not sure where I am, exactly," I said, standing up. The sun was so bright. I squinted up at it, spots filling my vision. Screw you, Apollo.

"Camp Half Blood," she said calmly. "Who are you?"

"Phoenix," I said, looking back at her. "This is that Camp mom always talked about isn't it?"

"Your mother told you about this camp?"

I nodded, looking around. The rows of cabins, the rock wall. I could see the dining pavilion. This was the place where heroes were trained.

"Well, in that case your father should claim you soon. You look...unhurt. Maybe Apollo then. He could have healed you," she said simply.

I scoffed. She thought I was weak enough to Apollo spawn. (Full offense, Apollo!)

"Oh! No, no. My father was a mortal. Wiccan. Hecate worshipper. Mom loved him," I said. "He died when I was little. She raised me in the Underworld—"

"Hecate is your mom? And she raised you?"

I hesitated for a moment but nodded. I gave her a moment to process that. It seemed to shock her. I knew that wasn't the norm, but how odd was it really? I hadn't ever been in the mortal world except for the war.

I stood up. It was early in the morning, the camp was quiet. The girl and I watched as a boy with blonde hair stepped out of the darkest cabin. He smoothed down his hair, rushing toward another cabin. He froze when he saw us.

I looked back up toward the cabin he came from. It took me a minute, but I recognize the boy who stood in the door frame.

"Nico?" I asked, stepping forward.

The boy in question pushed the door all the way open. He stared at me, first confused, then surprised. I squinted, the sun was too bright. My head ached, I was seeing spots still. Was that normal? This didn't happen last time...

"Nix? I—Hades said you've been missing since before the war..."

"With Kronos? Nico, I was there," I said, confused. My chest felt heavy now. What the hell? I needed answered, so I ignored it. I was there. I killed some of your friends! I thought, but didn't remind him.

"Nico you know him?" the blonde boy asked. "Are you okay?" he asked me.

I ignored him. We both did.

"No, since before the giants," Nico said, looking over to the other boy.

I felt like I couldn't breath. Giants? What happened? Last I knew I was Luke Castellan surrendered like the weak son of bitch he was and destroyed Kronos. And Percy Jackson...a hero... I offered my body to Kronos—I was stronger than Luke. Kronos disagreed and look where that got him.

"Giants...? Dammit...Hecate..." I muttered under my breath. "Hey, um. Is the air different up here?"

"The air—"

Fade to black.

xx

When I woke up again, I was in a small cot. There was a cool cloth on my forehead. The blond from earlier was practically forcing a straw into my mouth. I nearly choked on it.

"Drink," he said.

I sipped on what could have only been nectar until he pulled it away. I felt instant relief, the pain inside me vanished. He sat back, taking the cloth off my forehead.

The spots in my vision were gone and my chest didn't feel so tight. Apollo's kid, I assumed. He looked a lot like the sun god.

"What's your name?" I asked, sitting up a bit.

"Will Solace," he said, handing me a cup of water.

"Nice to meet you. You are being nice to Nico, right?" I hummed, bringing the cup to my lips. I sipped on it to appease him.

Will blushed darkly. "Yes. And listen, about this morning—"

"I won't tell. Don't worry about it. And if anyone says they saw anything, I can make them forget," I said with a wicked grin. I waggled my fingers, purple magic sparking. I frowned. No flame?

Will looked hesitant, like he didn't want to know how. He didn't looked scared of the sparks though, as if that were totally normal. He took the cup back and set it aside. He felt my forehead, studying me for a moment. I glared up at him until he pulled away.

I didn't mean any threat, really but I wanted this kid away from me. I didn't like being touched, certainly not when I don't know where I am or why I'm here.

"Chiron wanted to talk to you. I can go get him if you're feeling up to it," he said.

I nodded, sitting up even more. He left, telling me to drink more water. I didn't want to talk to Chiron. wanted to talk to my mom, ask her what was going on. I'd never been apart from her, really. Not like this.