Reincarnation in the PJO verse: Volume 1

『To All The Authors I Trusted Before, I Hate You Now』

Diedre often drifts into a peaceful sleep amidst all the troubles nowadays. The sign that hopelessness, inner and past death was finally catching up to him.

Which wasn't really what he needed or wanted because he woke up to only bits and pieces of Annabeth and Percy's conversation

"Did the prophecy give any hints?" Diedre heard.

    Annabeth hesitated. And Diedre woke up and acted like an honest, clueless, innocent child when in reality he was the complete opposite and asked, "What prophecy?"

A seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on their makeshift mast. Annabeth looked startled as the bird dropped a small cluster of leaves into her lap.

    "Land," she said. "There's land nearby!"

Both of them sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and Diedre could make out an island with a small mountain in the centre, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbour filled with a strange assortment of boats.

    The current was pulling their rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise. Circe's tropical paradise.

    "Welcome!" said the lady with the clipboard.

"Hylla," Diedre murmured under his breath. He had another thing to do here so that the future is safer for Percy.

    She looked like a flight attendant-blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook their hands as we stepped onto the dock. With her dazzling smile, anyone would've thought they'd just gotten off Princess Andromeda rather than a banged-up rowboat.

"Is this your first time with us?" the clipboard lady inquired.

    Annabeth, Diedre and Percy exchanged looks. Annabeth said, "Umm ..."

    "First-time-at-spa," the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard. "Let's see ..."

    She looked us up and down critically. "Mmm. A herbal wrap to start for the young lady. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentlemen."

    "A what?" Percy asked.

    She was too busy jotting down notes to answer.

"Right!" She said with a breezy smile. "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

    Now here's the thing. Annabeth, Diedre and Percy were used to traps, and usually, those traps looked good at first.

    "I guess it couldn't hurt," Annabeth muttered.

    Of course, it could, but they followed the lady anyway.

Diedre vibrated with nervous energy. Not only were they being led deeper in the 'spa' but also now Percy and Annabeth were slowly losing their awareness of the surroundings and the only reason he was able to. He knew exactly what would happen.

"You okay?" Annabeth asked Percy, "You look pale."

    "I'm okay," Percy lied. "Just ... let's keep walking."

    They passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests-only young women, as far as they could see-lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

    As they headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, Diedre heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old-Minoan, maybe, or something like that. Diedre could understand what she sang about moonlight in the olive groves, the colours of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic.