The Other Prophecy Child

Half-Blood Hill

We must have looked like we had seen a ghost as we ran through the city. I mean, I'm used to getting awkward looks from mortals, it's all part of being a demigod, but the stares that we got in Los Angeles as we ran through the streets running from something that wasn't there and looking like we might die at any second were enough to beat any other I had gotten before. It was only made even worse by the fact that I still wasn't wearing a shirt and that Justin looked like he had just been through a wrestling match with a lion.

Because of that, our first stop, before we went to the airport, was at a rather trendy department store where Justin and I were able to get a change of clothes and Sarah, in her usual fashion, wasted a whole lot of time that didn't need to be wasted. She was only willing to leave when I reminded her that a giant flying lizard that could incinerate us just by breathing was hot on our trail. We were out of the store pretty fast once that was mentioned.

From there, we made our way to Los Angeles International Airport where we ran into a whole new mess of trouble. Of course, anyone would question why three teenagers were trying to board a plane with no identification, no parents, and basically no way of proving that we legitimately needed to get to New York as soon as possible. Lucky for us, Sarah was still a master of persuasion and she...convinced the staff at the airport to look the other way. With her doing all of the talking, we were through security and sitting on our plane within an hour, which was pretty good considering what we had to go through, but was still longer than I had hoped for.

As the plane took off, I started imagining everything that might go wrong. On top of the fact that there was a dragon still after us, not to mention that he could catch up to us at any moment, there was also the fact that I had never flown before, which caused me to do more than just freak out. Seriously, the moment we were in the air, a million different scenarios ran through my head, all of them ending with the plane burning up in a fiery inferno and no one surviving the ordeal. How Justin and Sarah were remaining calm was beyond me.

That wasn't even my worst fear though. As I realized that we were in the sky, it also occurred to me that I was still, despite how much I wished it weren't so, a son of Hades. That meant that the child of the most hated god was currently within the realm of Zeus, the most powerful god, who was surely very aware of who I was by that point and was probably thinking up all kinds of different ways that he could kill me. Yeah, that didn't make me feel any better about flying. I just had to hope that Apollo and Aphrodite would keep Zeus from incinerating their children.

The plane finally leveled out, after what felt like forever, and the trip became smooth, which put me a bit at ease, but not entirely. I managed to distract myself by talking to Sarah and Justin, who were both more than eager to hear about my latest dream, despite the fact that I was less than eager to talk about it. After I told them about my dream, we talked over it for a bit.

"So this Kronos guy," Justin said, "He sent that dragon? He's the one trying to kill us?"

I nodded. "That's what I think," I said, "He wants me to help him break free of his prison or something."

"And how does he expect you to do that," Justin asked, "Just go down to Tartarus and bust the top of the sarcophagus open?"

I stared at the seat in front of me as I thought about it. "I don't think so," I said, "I think he wants me to become a vessel for him. He needs some way to move around and face the gods while he recovers his full power."

"That doesn't make sense," Sarah said, "Why would he need you?"

We all fell silent as the question lingered in the air. None of us spoke the answer out loud, but we all knew what it was. The prophecy. Whatever it said, it must have had something to do with me either releasing Kronos and helping him to destroy Olympus, or stopping him from rising somehow. As far as I was concerned, that would be the easiest choice of my life.