Rewind

Chapter 11: The Drama Queen Strikes Back!

Campfire was awkward.

Everyone avoided Theo and I as if we had some virus, whispering and glancing in our direction.

The height and heat of the bonfire kept fluctuating with the mood of the campers.

Apollo cabin sang some campfire songs, but they were quiet and toneless. Aries cabin was grinning like a cat that caught a canary, happy to see our misfortune.

Luke and 3 other kids from Hermes cabin were brave enough to sit next to us on a log, ignoring everyone else.

The whole time we were eating s'mores, Luke kept glancing at me with a conflicted look on his face, opening his mouth then shutting it, a lot like a fish.

"Do I need to throw you into the ocean, Luke?" I ask, wiping some marshmallow fluff of off my fingers.

Luke blanched. "What?"

I give Luke the "are you serious?" look. "You've been opening and closing your mouth like a fish for the past 5 minutes. What's up?"

Luke cleared his throat, obviously not expecting for me to say that. "Well, I just wanted to ask what your views were on the gods."

Uh oh. Was he thinking about recruiting me?

Duh! Of course he would! It's not like you're the heir to the universe or anything!

And I strike again.

Percy: 10
Percy: 0

But, that wasn't the only thing that striked.

A bolt of lightning hit the bonfire, sparks flying everywhere and an eagle made out of electricity unfolded in the air above the fire. The whole camp stumbled away from the bonfire, the older kids drawing their weapons.

"Theseus and Perseus Jackson, you are hereby summoned, by the council of 12, to the city of might, Olympus!" The eagle cawed, burning bright enough for everyone to close their eyes.

When I opened my eyes, I was in Olympus, Theo looking around in awe. I kept my eyes on the Olympians, not liking the heavy tension in the room.

The room was completely silent, Zeus' face set in grim anger until he said, "Are you not going to bow?"

Theseus bowed awkwardly, obviously not used to the action, and looked at me in confusion when I only nodded. Not to be cocky, or anything, but did Zeus really expect for someone with a higher ranking to bow to him, who had a lower ranking?

"Where is my master bolt?" Zeus asked, his tone flat as he tried not to rage out. Well, there's one more difference in this universe. Zeus from my timeline had no problem releasing all of his anger. When Zeus was met with more silence, he asked again, his tone much more strained.

"My son is not a thief, brother," Poseidon finally piped in, his voice quiet, but a clear warning underlying his tone.

Zeus snorted, his face growing more red by the minute. "Then who, brother, had the clearance to get into this thrown room and steal my bolt, hmm? Tell me!"

At this, my former father scowled, but didn't reply. What clearance? What does Zeus mean?

Then, Chaos' voice ringed through my head.

"Only one of the 12 Olympians and their children can get into the throne room. Anyone else is blocked by the magic barrier around the doors, and they can only get in with explicit permission from Zeus."

Well, looks like Theo and I are in some pretty deep schist.

"You have one week to return my master bolt, Theseus. If I do not have my bolt in my hand by noon, your head will be in it's place." Zeus hissed, his eyes gaining a murderous glint.

What the heck?! The gods aren't supposed to behave like this!

"As for you, Perseus. . ." Zeus continued, sitting back in his seat. "You will restore the camp barriers as proof that you are willing to serve Olympus. For all I know, your father could have sent you to spy on m-- us." Zeus said, stumbling over the last bit of where he was going to say "me".

This Zeus was so much worse than the Zeus from my timeline!

If I said something like "my father has no interest taking over Olympus" then the gods would know that I had contact with my father and would try to exploit me further. It was better to just remain silent.

"Good," Zeus snapped curtly, a small, cocky smirk playing at his lips. The blinding light came back and me and Theo were back at the campfire, everyone looking at us in shock.

And just like that, my free time is over.

Sigh.