Rewind

Chapter 6: A Dream Come True

Sometime after I established that Thalia's tree had been poisoned, I had fallen asleep, because right now, I was having a dream. A demigod dream.

I saw a young girl with long black hair. She wasn't facing me, but the 3-year-old toddler in from of her. The toddler looked achingly familiar, but I couldn't connect the dots.

The toddler giggled and ran away from the girl, smiling goofily. The girl, around 10 years old, stomped after him in slow motion, her hands raised in claw impersonations.

A beautiful woman came into the room a moment later, under the arm of Jupiter. No, Zeus. Wait. . . Jupiter?

His image kept flickering from his Roman form to his Greek form.

Then, I realized that the children were Thalia and Jason. It was freaky to see Thalia with long hair and baby fat.

Ms. Grace was looking at Jason with guilt and sadness. "Do I really have to give him up?" She whispered, small tears running down her face.

"I'm sorry, but Hera demands it," Jupiter says matter of factly, poster stiff.

Ms. Grace nodded and wiped away her tears, picking up her blonde toddler. "Pack your stuff for the night, Thalia. We're going somewhere."

I purse my lips, wincing. What kind of mother gives up their kid just like that?

I watch the dysfunctional family walk out of the apartment door and the scene faded into a new one.

I saw a boy, around age 18, laying on a white sheet, his skin a sickly shade of grey. The boy turned to the side and heaved. On the floor was blood, red and gold, more flowing out of his mouth.

There was more red than gold.

"My son, I'm so sorry," someone said. His hair was white and fluffy, like clouds. His eyes were the color of the sky on a cloudless day. Somehow, I knew exactly who this was. Ouranus, Primortal of the sky, ex-husband of Gaea.

I realized that the son was like me, half mortal, half Primortal. The son just smiled at his father before going still, eyes dimming and not looking at anything in particular, his chest no longer rising in breath.

Ouranus reached out with a shaky hand, closing his son's eyes, tears leaking out of his eyes.

Below the castle of clouds, it started to rain.

¤¤¤¤¤

I gasped and sat straight up. That was going to happen to me!

"Hello sleeping beauty."

My head snapped to the right, and there I saw Theo, dark circles under his eyes.

"How long have I been out?" I ask, looking around the infirmary tent. Someone had moved me out of the Big House, where I had fallen asleep

Theo handed me some nectar, which I quickly downed, pretending to be surprised at the flavor.

"That's nectar, it's like ambrosia. It helps heal you. You've been out for around four days. All your wounds are healed, but you'll feel sore since you were walking when you weren't supposed to and tore a third of your stitches," Theo ranted, worry seeping into his tone.

I looked closely at Theo. He was stressed, and he was having trouble sleeping judging from those dark circles under his eyes. I then remembered that he was only twelve, he's never dealt with death or grief before.

"Come here," I say, scooting over on my bed, patting the space next to me. Theo obediently sat down, his lips twitching in a way that told me he was barely keeping it together.

I twisted to face Theo, dragging my brother to me, holding him close as he started crying.

Theo nuzzled his face into my neck, hands fisted into the shirt that someone put on me while I was sleeping, letting out anguished, hard sobs. I run a comforting hand up and down his back. It must have been a good 10 minutes until Theo's tears started to slow, voice raspy and horse from his sobs.

"Do you remember the stories Mom used to tell us? The ones about heroes and where they go when they die?"

Theo nodded, sniffing up the mucus that started to leak out of his nose. I reach to my left and hand Theo the tissue box next to my cot, waiting for him to blow his nose before continuing.

"Mom's going to the same place, Elysium. She died protecting us, and she was our hero. She wouldn't want us to be sad; she's in a place where everything is calm and happy, where there's no pollution or bad people. And if we work hard enough, we'll be going to that same place, so no more crying, okay?" I say quietly, wiping away my little brothers tears and smiling softly.

Theo nodded slowly, eyes red an puffy, fidgeting with his hands. I pull him in for one more long hug, rocking us softly from side to side, laying my cheek on his head. I take a deep breath a wince, almost gagging. It smelled like he rolled around in a garbage dump and decided to visit me before hitting the showers.

"Dude," I say, pulling away from the hug, "you smell, go take a shower."

Theo stared up at me with wide owl eyes before bursting out in laughter, cheeks turning red. I laugh with him, pushing him off my bed and pointing him over to the exit of the healer's tent.

Once Theo was out, flashing me one quick smile before he left, I slumped down in my cot, sighing, letting my mind be dragged under unconsciousness once more.