chapter five
drop dead prophet

DINNER WAS LIKE IT TYPICALLY WAS. That night's debate was on the best song of the 70s, which Lennon thought was a pretty broad topic. It got pretty heated when Michael stated that ABBA was most definitely on the bottom of the list. Julian was quick to argue with that (Lennon would have been too, had she not been so down about Annabeth's disappearance). Their arguing even stretched to their walk back to the cabin.

It was a nice distraction though. She had told her siblings about the events that occurred on the extraction before dinner and they seemed to be doing their best to take her mind off of it.

Nico seemed to fit well with the Hermes cabin and the Hunters looked like they had the most fun that night. Lennon had also noticed Percy looking quite miserable at his table alone. Not that she was worried or cared about him, she was still mad about what he'd said earlier.

However, now Lennon is back in her bunk and pretty much passed out (the exhaustion had finally hit her). She didn't really get demigod dreams— not included the dreams as a result f her partial prophecy— but tonight seemed to be the exception.

What she saw was a dark hillside shrouded by fog. Lennon had half the mind to ignite the light in her hands but she remembered this was a dream. Odd how you could have conscious thoughts within a dream. She could see Annabeth struggling up the hill. There seemed to be ruins because broken columns of black marble were scattered across the terrain.

"Thorn!" the blonde cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill. She gasped and Lennon probably would have too, if she could.

There was Luke in pain. He was crumpled on the ground, trying to rise. The dark fog was swirling around him and it seemed to be thicker. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched, drenched in sweat.

"Annabeth! Help me, please!" He called out.

Lennon felt no remorse for him but Annabeth didn't seem to share that sentiment, she ran forward, towards him. It physically pained Lennon to watch Annabeth run to him.

Luke had been the big brother of the camp and Lennon had even confided in him from time to time. But he had betrayed camp. Betrayed Lennon's trust and, frankly, he was dead to her.

There were tears in Annabeth's eyes and she looked like she was going to reach for his face but thought better of it. Instead, she asked, "what happened?"

"They left me here," Luke groaned. "Please, it's killing me,"

(Lennon couldn't see what was hurting him so she liked to imagine it was the weight of the many insults she would hurl at him)

"Why should I trust you?"

"You shouldn't, I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die,"

Seems like a pretty good deal.

The roof of darkness above crumbled onto Luke, huge black rocks falling. Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. Somehow she held it all, keeping it from collapsing on her and Luke just with her own strength. Tons of rock, held up by her. It should've been impossible.

Luke rolled free, gasping. "Thanks,"

Annabeth groaned under the weight, "Help me hold it,"

Luke rose unsteadily, catching his breath. His face was coated in grime and sweat. "I knew I could count on you," He began to walk away as the darkness threatened to crush her.

"Help me!" Annabeth pleaded. Lennon could feel the hurt in her voice.

"Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die."

The darkness began to crumble again and pushed Annabeth to the ground. Lennon didn't get to see what happened next because the dream changed.

She sees an expanse of land, illuminated by the dying light of sunset, she can see sand. It's a sandy wasteland with hunks of metal sticking out. Lennon can't tell the specifics because it's fuzzy. The sun's light fades out and it's dark. Behind her, Lennon can hear the creaks of metal and muffled shouts. A figure runs past her and she squints her eyes to see their face but she just can't.

She turns just in time to see a huge hunk of metal clamber forward and stagger before falling to the ground. It's in slow motion for Lennon and when it finally hits the ground, it causes a large cloud of sand to go up. Immediately, Lennon covers her eyes to prevent sand from getting into her eyes.

When she removes her arm, she's shrouded in darkness. She hears voices a bit clearer but it's jumbled up.

"...sky... to me,"

It all collides at once, there are various muffled shouts, thumbs, and clangs. She clamps her hands over her ears but she still hears everything clearly. Then one last thing,

"The stars..."

Then she's kicked out her dream, shooting upright from her bed and hyperventilating.

Lennon had quickly caught her breath, taking slow, deep exhales to calm herself. She didn't want to wake her siblings. Knowing that she couldn't play her guitar (though it was her usual way to relieve stress, it was the middle of the night) she got her songbook from under her pillow and tiptoed to the little hallway leading to the bathroom.

She slid down against the floor, breath still heavy, as she opened the journal. A tiny ball of light flickered in her hand as she read through old lyrics. Hopefully, this would relax her.

The song she's currently reading is one she had written a few weeks ago. It was during one of those times when she woke up in the middle of the night with an urge to write. But there's one line that sticks out to her, though it rhymes with the previous line, it doesn't connect to the song in any way.

And when one perishes by a parent's hand.

She had no idea what that meant, and frankly, she had no memory of writing it. Lennon wondered what could have made her write that exact line. She flipped through another page prepared to read until she heard footsteps next to her.

She looks over to see Julian slide down to the floor next to her.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, just a bad dream. What about you?"

"Same, just thinking about my mom and aunt again. Worrying like usual,"

"You wanna talk about it?" Lennon asked in a quiet voice.

Julian shook his head. His dark hair, mussed from sleep, dropped in his face. He sighed, pushing his hair back. "It's just the same thing as usual. Nothing to talk about,"

"You know, you can still talk about it. I'll listen all the same,"

He shrugged. "No, I'm fine. Just talking to you makes me feel better."

Instead of saying anything, Lennon just nodded, pulling him into a hug. She knew more than anything, that's what he needed.

Before breakfast, Lennon tells Chiron about her dream. Only the dream about Annabeth, not her other dream. She was even sure she could find coherent words to describe it. When she told him, his mouth deepened into a frown and he got the usual shadowed look in his eyes that meant whatever she had told him was not good for the future. The look kinda worried her.

"Is that bad?" she'd asked. "I mean, obviously it's bad because Beth is in danger but it looks like it's something worse."

He shook his head. "No, but Zoë had a similar dream," he shook his head once more before giving her a small smile. "It's nothing to worry about Lennon. You go on and get to breakfast,"

Her reaction time was slow but she nodded, "Oh, breakfast. Yeah, um, I'll go to breakfast now,"

The last she saw of him was his usual kind smile as she gave a small wave goodbye.

Dinner had finished and the Capture the Flag game was beginning. Their team was smaller compared to the Hunters. Lennon's siblings had all joined in to play— Gemma had stayed behind to observe how the Hunters played, apparently, it was a perfect learning experience. Lennon could tell it wasn't going to go well by the way Percy and Thalia were interacting.

Silena Beauregard was enthusiastic to play against them. If she was being honest, Lennon loved it when Aphrodite Cabin joined in on more... active camp activities. Though common stereotypes thought them vain, they were really good fighters. Their persistence and passion were truly admirable.

Lennon was strapping up her armor, talking with her siblings. She glanced over at Thalia and Percy.

"I'll take offense, you take defense." The girl spoke to Percy.

"Oh," he hesitated. "Don't you think with your shield and all, you'd be better defense?"

Thalia did indeed have the shield on her arm, Lennon was very strongly avoiding the sight of it. "Well, I was thinking it would make better offense. Besides, you've had more practice at defense,"

Lennon knew what she was referring to. Though she hadn't played in the particular game of Capture the Flag (she had twisted her ankle in an accident including the lava wall), Annabeth had enthusiastically told Lennon her strategy for the game. A strategy that had included Percy as bait.

"Yeah, no problem."

"Cool," And with that Thalia had left, off to help some Aphrodite kids who needed help putting on their armor, careful not to break a nail.

Lennon didn't need her curse of prophecy to know things would not end well.

It wasn't a surprise when they lost. The Hunters truly were a formidable opponent.

"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia yelled. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've won."

"You had too many on you!" Percy argued back.

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"I didn't say that,"

"Argh!" Thalia pushed him, sending Percy backward ten feet into the water.

Lennon gasped at the scene. Micheal, his elbow leaning on Lennon's shoulder, hummed. "Intense,"

"Shh, Micheal," Julian elbowed him lightly to which Micheal returned with a scowl.

Thalia turned pale. "Sorry! I didn't mean to—"

A wave erupted from the creek and blasted into Thalia's face, dousing her from head to toe. Percy stood up. "Yeah, I didn't mean to either,"

Next to Lennon, Micheal snickered at his words.

"This isn't funny," she hissed.

He suppressed a smile. "It is a little, yeah,"

"Enough!" Chiron ordered.

Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?" Lennon recognized that, it was Annabeth's nickname for Percy.

"Bring it on Pinecone Face!" Percy yelled at her.

Lennon suppressed a laugh but she could hear Micheal full-on snickering next to her. She also heard the smack when Lee hit the back of Micheal's head. He shut up pretty quickly after that.

Percy raised his sword but before he could even use it, Thalia yelled and a blast of lightning came down from the sky and hit her spear like a lightning rod. It slammed into Percy's chest. He sat down hard and Lennon could see his clothes smoldering.

"Thalia!" Chiron said. "That is enough!"

Percy got up and raised his hands, the creek rose, swirling in a massive icy funnel cloud.

"Percy!"

He looked like he was about to hurl the water at Thalia when he paused, the water splashing back into the creekbed. Lennon followed the direction his eyes went and was surprised by the sight she saw.

Someone was approaching, shrouded in a murky green mist. The closer it got, Lennon realized what— who— it was. Lennon had never set her eyes on her before but Annabeth had seen her once and described her to Lennon.

"This is impossible," Chiron said, his voice sounding... nervous? "It... she has never left the attic. Never,"

There was the Oracle, in all of her mummified, corpse glory. Lennon was sure there was a perfect musical-related joke she could make but she was too busy staring in shock.

The Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. A sickly shade of green mist curled around everyone's feet. No one dared to move. Then Lennon could hear her voice hissing inside her head. A chill went down her spine as she covered her ears instinctively.

I am the spirit of Delphi, the voice said. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

The Oracle turned to Zoë. Approach, Seeker, and ask.

The girl in question swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened and green mist poured out. Lennon could see the vague image of a mountain, and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as if to fend off an attacker and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,
One shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
Daughter of the sun shall find her light,
Or all will fail without the sight,
The Titan's curse must one withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

When she finished, the mist swirled and retreated into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as a statue.

In the daze of her shock, Lennon realized that one of the lines of the prophecy sounded familiar.

After Percy and Grover had been elected to carry the Oracle back to the attic, Lennon had followed after Chiron on his walk back to the Big house. She told him about her dream and the lyric in her book.

Chiron had frowned when she finished. "You foresaw the prophecy line?"

She nodded and his frown deepened.

"And the dream... That sounds a lot like—"

"Curse of Partial Prophecy?"

Chiron nodded then asked, "Yes, how do you know of the curse?"

She grimaced at the word curse. "My father— Apollo told me."

Chiron's face morphed into a look of sympathy. "My dear, I'm so sorry,"

Lennon didn't respond. She wasn't exactly keen on acknowledging she was cursed to a life of tragedy.

"We'll be having a council meeting soon, you should be there,"

She nodded.

Lennon had never been to a council meeting before (which was a given since she wasn't a head counselor). Though, she's not surprised by how casual the meeting is.

They're seated around the Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and various snacks appeared, including several bottles of red wine. Chiron reminded him that they were all underage and the wine turned into diet coke with a snap of his fingers.

The other head counselors were there, with the addition of Grover, Percy, and Thalia. When Lennon had met back up with her siblings, Lee had immediately told her that he wanted her to come to the council meeting. Something she had obviously agreed to since Chiron had told her the same thing.

Zoë started the meeting by saying, "This is pointless,"

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped, scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time for talk," Zoë continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said. In her short time with the Hunters, she barely resembled the young girl Lennon had first seen at Westover Hall. Her skin glowed faintly and truly looked like she exuded confidence. "You heard the prophecy. Six shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get six hunters and go."

Lennon frowned at that. She recalled that the prophecy stated that Campers and Hunters would work together.

"Yes," Zoë agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something as usual," Thalia started. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."

"No! The Hunters do not need thy help."

"Your," Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times,"

Zoë hesitated as if she was trying to form the word correctly. "Yerr. We do not yerr help."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it,"

"I fear the prophecy says you do need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

Lennon's frown deepened at his words.

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed. "With all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his brow. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoë, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoë grimaced but Lennon could tell that she agreed.

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December 21st, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoë said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus,"

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoë," Chiron said. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and three," Percy said.

Everyone, including Lennon, looked to Percy.

"We're supposed to have six," he started slowly. "Three Hunters, three from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."

Thalia and Zoë exchanged looks.

"Well, it does make sense," Thalia was the first to speak.

Zoë grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoë picked up the Ping Pong paddle and studied as if she was decided who to hit first. "This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

They all looked at Dionysus expectantly. He was the only god there, after all.

He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when it got silent he glanced up. "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," Percy asked. "You don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. "It sounds like at least two of the six are going to die,"

At his words, Lennon was suddenly reminded of the prophecy line she had foreseen. One shall perish by a parent's hand.

"One shall be lost in the land without rain," Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was muttering in agreement but Lennon wasn't paying attention. The desert. Why did that little clue stick out to her so much?

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand," Silena said. "What could that mean?"

Chiron and Zoë exchanged a nervous look, though whatever it was, they didn't share it.

"One shall perish by a parent's hand." Lennon spoke up quietly before clarifying with, "That's another line to consider,"

Chiron glanced at her but he didn't seem to have any intention of telling the others of how she foresaw the prophecy's line.

Grover finished a bite of Cheez Wiz and Ping Pong balls, saying, " How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?" With his words followed a heavy silence around the table.

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said.

Everyone looked at him and he glance up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback, don't mind me."

"Percy is right," Silena Beauregard said, Lee nodding in agreement. "Three campers should go,"

"Oh, I see," Zoë said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite who does not wish to be looked at," Zoë scoffed. "What would thy mother say?"

Silena started to get out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back. Lennon grimaced at Zoë's words and considered saying something but Beckendorf spoke first.

"Stop it," He said. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoë stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis Stoll asked cautiously.

Zoë nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" Connor added.

"Yes," Zoë snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a big silver T-shirt that said ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002, with a huge list of national parks and stuff underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

Lennon narrowed her eyes at the brothers. She'd been roped into enough of their pranks to know their scheming face. They were up to something.

However, Zoë didn't know them as well. She just sighed and took the T-shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."

Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But... I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You will do fine," Zoë insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself." Bianca closed her mouth.

"And for Campers?" Chiron asked.

"Lennon should go," Lee said abruptly, causing Lennon to look over at him in confusion. Why her of all people? At the questioning look on her face, Lee continued. "You heard the prophecy. Daughter of the sun shall find her light. That's referring to a daughter of Apollo. And the light..." He paused looking over at Lennon.

"But, shall find her light. How exactly do you find light?" Connor asked.

Lee looked at Lennon once more and she sighed. There was no point in hiding it now. She extended her hands on the table, cupping them. She let the light ignite in her hands, willing it to expand and spiral higher into a short beam of light. There were collective gasps around the table.

"Lenny, you've been holding out on us!" Travis said. "The number of pranks we could've pulled off with your help,"

Lennon smiled apologetically. She closed her hands and let the light fade away. In the silence of the room, she said awkwardly, "Well, there's the light,"

She looked around the table to see everybody's reactions. Chiron had already known of her power, so there was no surprise on her face. Lee looked at her with pride. Mr. D had momentarily glanced up to see her light display but was already looking down at his magazine. Everybody had looks of astonishment on their faces, even Zoë.

Lennon shook her head, "It's nothing really. Just good for a party trick,"

"It looked pretty amazing to me," Percy said, his voice in awe. In return, Lennon blinked at him. She turned away, ignoring the heat in her face and, instead, remembering the little grudge she had against him.

"Well, that's settled," Chiron said. He glanced at Zoë to make sure she approved, to which she shrugged her shoulders.

"I have nothing against thee, Lennon Hart. And as the boy has shown," she scowled at Lee. "she seems to fit the prophecy perfectly."

Lennon nodded slowly as if just taking in that she would be going on the quest. "Okay,"

"And who else?" Chiron asked.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. He brushed cracker crumbs and Ping-Pong ball scraps off his lap. "Anything to help Artemis!"

Zoë wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."

"But he is a camper," Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely!"

Zoë wavered. Lennon had no idea what a tracker's song was, but apparently, Zoë thought it was a good thing.

"Very well," Zoë said. "And the second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her.

Lennon glanced at Percy to see the cogs in his mind turning. If there were already three people on the quest, that meant—

"Whoa, wait a sec," Percy said. "I want to go too,"

Thalia said nothing and Lennon looked down to fiddle with her hands.

"Oh," Grover said, suddenly aware of the problem. "Woah, yeah, I forgot! Percy has to go. I didn't mean... I'll stay. Percy should go in my place."

"He cannot," Zoë said. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."

"You traveled here with me," Percy reminded her.

"That was a short-term emergency, and it was ordered by the goddess. I will not go across country and fight many dangers in the company of a boy."

"What about Grover?" He demanded.

Zoë shook her head. "He does not count. He's a satyr. He is not technically a boy."

"Hey!" Grover protested.

"I have to go," Percy said. "I need to be on this quest."

"Why?" Zoë asked. "Because of thy friend Annabeth?"

"No! I mean, yes, partly. I just feel like I'm supposed to go!"

Lennon watched the exchange in pity. Though she currently disliked the boy, she knew that Annabeth was his best friend as much as she was hers. She'd probably react the same way if she was being prevented from saving Annabeth. But Lennon also knew that this was Zoë's quest and she couldn't change her mind.

"No," Zoë said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male hero."

Chiron sighed. "The quest is for Artemis. The Hunters should be allowed to approve their companions,"

Percy sat down in stunned silence, not meeting anyone's eyes.

"So be it," he said. "Thalia, Lennon, and Grover will accompany Zoë, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"—he glanced at Dionysus— "present company included, we hope—be with you."

AUTHORS NOTE:
children of apollo>>>> i love all of them so much, michael is the best.
this chapter got kinda long (or at least longer than my usual chapter length) and i'm not mad abt it.
anyways, the quest will be starting in the next chapter which is exciting