When Two Worlds Collide | pjo & fhdw ✔︎

Chapter 13

chapter thirteen - a n n a b e t h

Sunlight filtered through the trees, making the landscape dappled. Everywhere we looked it was red, orange, or yellow, like the warm glow of fire flames. The warmth tickled me, like a comforting hug. The autumn chill swept through the group, the venti's laughter tinkling. It was winter break for the school kids up in New York. Camp Half-blood would be populated with sparse year-rounders.

The crunch of the leaves brought me back to the dilemma at hand. I observed each member of our group. Seth looked excited, like a toddler in Toys R Us. He kept looking everywhere and trying to spot dangerous pastimes. Kendra shivered a bit, but not from the cold. She seemed to be lost in her thoughts, the placid scenery seeming to miff her. Warren seemed to be along the same line of thought, looking tense.

I broke the silence. "What's wrong?"

"Its usually only this calm on the days before the solstices, " Warren answered, only glancing back when he heard my voice. "Something's wrong...but I don't know what."

A beat passed before Warren, the front of the group, came to a sudden stop. Craning my neck, I spotted a tall lady with dark skin and hair with braids of gold glinting like the sea during a sunrise. She wore a loose, glittery pantsuit the color of woven sunlight. Her feet were bare and seemed to sink into the soil. Her eyes were a startling amber. In them, scenes seemed to shift from from a desolate church to a lonely hill to an island with a lighthouse. She took a step forward.

"Well, you've come to the right place, instead of that nasty swamp hag," She nodded to us. "Shadowcharmer. Handmaiden of the Queen. Knight of Dawn. Daughter of Athena. Son of Poseidon. I hold your answers."

k e n d r a

After addressing us by our titles, a crackling, mound of earth took shape of a doorway and swung open. She gestured towards the doorway.

No one made a move.

"What is it?" Percy asked, warily taking a step forward.

She laughed, sounding of promises kept and pure joy. She felt so...happy. She just radiated true bliss. "It's like concentrated shadow travel, but of light." Her eyes twinkled as if she just heard the funniest joke. "A portal, if you must."

Her delight was contagious and soon I saw Warren smiling, too. Percy and Seth looked happy, too. Annabeth looked distrustful and I was being cautious.

The boys started forward, and we have no choice but to follow.

As soon as my foot touched the brilliance, I felt like I was sucked straight into the portal. Positive emotions bombarded me, but they didn't take over since my mind was magically protected.

We were deposited onto a fluffy rug in the middle of a living room. The theme was gold, gold, and more gold. There was a brick fireplace on one end with glowing gold flames. A large, curved sofa adorned with diamonds filled half of the film with a matching one on the other side. The fluffy rug we fell on was in the middle of the two sofas. The whole vibe was a wealthy lounge.

"It looks King Midas had fun here," Percy remarked.

"Where'd you get all the gold? Diamonds?" Seth asked in awe. He probably thought he could steal some and get rich. I hope he really doesn't because we don't want to be on her bad side. She looked really powerful, an aura of influence.

She giggled, sounding like a fairy. "Silly!" She touched his nose lightly and summoned gusts of wind to travel them to the couch. Warren relaxed into it, looking blissful for the first time in days. A churning motion in her stomach warned her to not do the same.

"The diamonds are delivered from Jupiter," She continued.

"The god?"

She giggled again, making me even more annoyed with Miss perfect. "No, the planet."

"The gold, however," She said, her light, high voice undertoned by something deeper, darker. "Well, the pure gold comes from me."

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