Blade's Edge || Deception Book II ||

Chapter 8: The Quest Begins

"They're sending a quest for the fleece," Silena confirmed, her eyes darting around the clearing she was standing in in the Iris message. "Tantalus just sent Clarisse up to the big house." 

"Clarisse?" Luke asked in disbelief, as my eyes widened in similar shock. "Her? To go get the fleece?"

"Yeah," Silena said, shrugging. "Tantalus favours her. So she got picked, even though it was Percy and Annabeth who demanded it." 

"No surprise there," Luke said, scowling, and a shadow passed over his face. "It's always gotta be Percy." 

"Well, there's no way Clarisse is going to be able to escape us," Nicole pointed out from where she stood on the deck, her arms crossed over her chest as she leaned against the railing of the ship. "I mean, it's like what they always say. All brawn, no brains."

"Better for us," Alabaster agreed. "So, when is she leaving?" 

"Today," Silena replied. "We-They- can't waste any more time." 

"So we set sail tonight," Luke said. "Good."

"Anything else?" I asked, meeting Silena's gaze through the mist. 

"Oh, yeah. Uh, well, first, Percy told the camp the coordinates, which were 30, 31, 75, 12."

"30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west," I supplied to Nicole, who was staring at Silena like she'd grown a pair of horns. 

"Ah, yes, I totally knew that," Nicole replied. "Please, continue." 

"Um, and," Silena added, looking uncomfortable. "Percy got a . . . sibling." 

"What?" Luke asked, his eyebrows shooting up. "Say that again?" 

"A . . . cyclops. . . .brother," Silena added awkwardly, looking deeply unsettled. "His name is Tyson." 

It was so quiet that you could hear the fish talking in the ocean beneath us. 

"Well, I mean, it's not a surprise?" Alabaster finally said, his face betraying his words. "Cyclops are usually children of Poseidon." 

"Yeah, but. . . " Nicole trailed off, shaking her head. "Forget it. I don't wanna think about that."

"This. . .doesn't change anything, right?" Silena asked, her blue eyes worried. "I mean. . ."

"No," Luke replied, his shock rapidly fading to amusement. "No, it doesn't." 

"That's good," Silena murmured. 

"Anything else?" I said. "If there isn't, you should go. It's probably almost curfew, isn't it?" 

"Nothing else," Silena confirmed. "And yeah, I should."

"Alright, keep us updated," Luke said, and swiped his hand through the mist, ending the Iris message. 

Luke turned to the rest of us; me, Alabaster, and Nicole, and snorted. "Cyclops brother. Well, isn't that fantastic."

Shoving down the guilt, I forced myself to shake my head in mock sympathy, smirk, and say, "Yeah. Can't imagine how Percy must feel right now."

Nicole made a face. "I don't really find it funny. We're all related to weird stuff through our godly parents. I just don't wanna think about . . . . that. It's messed up." 

"You think?" Alabaster muttered. 

Luke sighed, shaking his head. "As if we need another reason to remember that the gods are just making a mockery of us." 

Silence. 

"Isn't it a mockery though?" a voice in my head whispered. "Claiming both a demigod and a monster? How can a parent care for both, when the two are natural enemies?"