Say You'll Remember Me (Lukercy)

Chapter 7

"What the fuck do you mean I have to go on the quest with them?" Clarisse shouts angrily at Chiron lacing her words with venom; the centaur is out his chair faster than any of them can comprehend.

"Clarisse!" He shouts making the whole room shake, Luke instinctively puts his arm in front of Percy. "I refuse to allow a camper to speak to me like that! You are going on this quest because the Oracle declared it. Go wait on the porch, Luke will inform you of the details when we're finished in here." The girl throws a glare toward the boys that's so menacing it would stop a Titan in it's trail. "Clarisse! I meant immediately." She stomps out of the room, slamming the door.

"Sir, what exactly did the Oracle say," Luke hesitantly asks the ancient centaur. Chiron maintained the respect of the campers in part because of his tendency to suddenly change moods; unfortunately, the shift from furious back to calm was not so sudden. Luke feared that Clarisse's outburst would bring trouble for him and Percy as well.

"It'd be easier for you to go listen to her yourself," the man sighs, "take Percy to the attic, she's expecting you."

~

"Luke," Percy asks softly as he's led up the folding stairs into the attic. The boy had never been given a thorough tour of the Big House, and the thought of some cryptic woman living in the attic gave him a nervous feeling. "Who is the Oracle, and why does she have to stay in the Attic? Isn't there room for here somewhere else?"

"The Oracle of Delphi," Luke explains, "is a mortal woman Apollo trusts to be the bearer of prophecies."

"Delphi?" The younger boy asks, "but isn't that in India?"

"No seaweed brain, that's New Delhi, Delphi is an island in Greece. It was where the first Oracle was from. She was a prophet on the island, favored by Apollo, and the spirit of prophecy has been passed down since. When the Gods moved, the Oracle moved with them. Now, be warned, we haven't gotten a replacement in a while, so she's a little -"

"Holy fuck Luke, why is there a fucking mummy up here!?"

"-old," he sighs. "The woman died a long time ago, but the spirit lives on in her. We desperately need to find a replacement." He walks Percy over to the corpse and makes them both kneel. "Oh spirit of Delphi, please deliver unto us the prophecy."

At first nothing happened, and for a second Percy thought that this whole thing was some macabre prank being pulled on him; some sort of morbid camp initiation. Then an odd humming sound filled the room, coming from everywhere, and yet also nowhere. Green smoke began pouring out of the woman's mouth, Percy tried to get up and move away from it, but Luke grabbed onto his arm, assuring him that it's fine.

She began to speak:
"on this quest, a journey for three

The spawn of war, of theft, and the son of the sea

Across borders they'll chase the moon

Follow the huntress, prevent love's doom

On their path, feel cold betray

The loss of a friend to end the day

Loyalties tested, feelings run deep

To save love's son, knowledge must sleep."

"Well," Percy says, trying to lighten the tension, "it sounds like we're fucked."

Luke wraps his arm around the younger boy, trying not show that he was just as nervous for whatever was on the road ahead. "Yeah Perce, it does, but don't worry, you've got me, and I won't let anything happen to you." He hoped he could keep his promise.