When MYTHS Become Real
Memory Bites
When I got back to our apartment, the party or whatever was going on there had gotten bigger. I was already in a bit of a mood when I walked in and I'd been hoping that I'd be able to just go in my room and sulk. That wasn't the case.
“Well, that must've been some date if you're already back.”
“Shut up, Percy,” I snapped.
I turned to the newcomer, Grover Underwood. Grover was Percy's best friend, a lanky kid with curly brown hair and a goatee, brown eyes and kind of a long face. He didn't have his usual crutches or his red ball cap. He didn't have shoes or pants, either. Without his usual props, Grover didn't look much like a normal teenager. He had horns poking above his hair and instead of normal legs his were covered with thick fur and he had hooves instead of feet. Grover was a satyr, a protector of half-bloods. “What's up, Grover? I didn't realize my mom was inviting everyone to dinner.”
Mom blushed, her entire face turning red and making all of her freckles disappear. “I really wasn't planning on having everyone here. I thought you'd already told Annabeth when I talked to her earlier today.”
“I came to see you,” Grover answered. “I've tried to get a hold of you all day but it looks like you're ignoring everyone. Chiron finally just sent me to come get you.”
I locked my jaw and rolled my eyes. “What exactly do you need me for?”
“Rachel called camp this morning. Apparently she's been getting this weird feeling about you for a few days and had a prophecy earlier. She's coming to Camp to talk to you so I need to get you there.”
I groaned and smacked the back of my head against the wall. “This sucks.”
Annabeth sat next to me on the couch and squeezed my hand. “We'll figure it out,” she promised.
I met her grey eyes steadily. Annabeth wasn't the type of girl to mess with but I didn't care if I pissed her off right now. “Well I don't want to figure it out. You're the smart one, you do it.”
She looked shocked, as if I'd just slapped her, and Percy shot me a murderous look. “Naida,” he started but got cut off by the shrill ringing of a phone.
I jumped and it took me a minute to realize that the ringing was coming from my vibrating back pocket.
I fished it out and flipped it open despite my mom's horrified look. “Naida, where did you get a cell phone?” she demanded.
“I bought it a couple of days ago. Don't worry, I used my own money.”
“You know that's not a good idea,” Percy said in a tone that was too big brotherly for my taste at the moment.
I rolled my eyes at him as I pressed the talk button. “Hello?” I asked hunching my shoulders over to get a little privacy.
“Naida? Did you get home okay?”
“Glen? Oh, hey. Yeah, I'm home. I'm so sorry about running out on you.”
I ignored the looks I was getting and hauled myself up and went into the kitchen as he kept talking. “Yeah, it was kinda weird. What happened?”
“I'm scared of dogs,” I said quickly even if that pretty much guaranteed he'd never go out with me again. “I freaked out and ran.”
Glen laughed from the other end of the phone. “Hey, no problem. You could've just told me, you know. I doubt that stray dog would've ran after you if you'd stayed calm.”
I wanted to snort. The whole reason that “stray dog” was there was to torment me. Glen was blissfully ignorant. “Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.”
“We should do this again sometime. I really like you, Naida, and I think you're really fun.”
I stopped my random pacing. What the hell was I supposed to say to that? I'd known Glen for almost a year, since I started at Goode High School, and he was suddenly taking an interest in me. The last couple of guys that I got into a quick relationship with hadn't turned out so great.
“Good night, Glen. I'll see you at school on Monday.”
As I said that, I meant it. I just didn't realize that the life I was so desperately trying to avoid was about to barge into my kitchen with a vengeance.
I turned to go back into the living room and face whatever punishment or lecture I had coming to me but froze in my tracks. I wasn't alone. The woman standing against the doorway was gorgeous with light brown hair done in a soft bun with a few curls framing around her heart-shaped face. She had dark eyes shaped almost like a cat's and pink lips. The black pantsuit hugged her tall, hourglass frame perfectly and her heels clicked on the tile as she tapped her foot. I felt my heart stop for a second.
“Hello, dear,” she said pleasantly enough but I could feel the undercurrent of hatred in her words.
“Mnemosyne, what are you doing here?” I asked the Titan of memory, glad that my voice didn't crack.
She grinned evilly. “You are a problem, Naida Hale. I'm here to rectify that.”
I swallowed back the lump clogging my throat. “Trevor's gone. I can't be a problem to someone that's dead.” Trevor was my mom's ex-boyfriend, a Titan that had wanted to get rid of all demigods so that the gods of Olympus would be weak and wouldn't have heroes to fight their battles.
Mnemosyne frowned. “I know. Trevor isn't important, but he did have a splendid idea for getting rid of the gods. And you ruined it. Besides, you humiliated me. I've come to repay that debt.”
“How?' I challenged. I knew it was stupid to make her mad but I was just stalling. “You've already tried getting into my head and messing up my memory. I've already proven myself against you.”
She giggled and for a moment she looked like one of the good guys, like her daughters, the Muses. “Yes, you did prove yourself against my power. But it's not you whose memories I'm controlling. Plus, I've brought back up.”
I didn't have time to figure out what she meant about controlling someone else's memories because her back up appeared. The girl couldn't have been much older than me but her face was haggard, like shed seen too much wickedness in too short a time. Her solid black eyes were emotionless and her greasy hair hung down around her in a weird color like dirt. She wore a black band tee that had been cut at the neck to hang off of her shoulders and a short skirt that looked a lot like a tu-tu and she had a pair of brown knee-high boots. The thing that I found most odd about her was what I'd thought was a belt at first but it definitely wasn't. Around her waist a green and black-striped snake coiled and slithered and it took me a minute to realize that the thing's tail went straight into her stomach where her bellybutton should have been.
“Naida, meet Kaya, an Erinyes. She's going to punish you for me.”
The snake at Kaya's belly hissed and snapped at me, venom dripping from its curved fangs. Those pitch black eyes were locked on me like it was ready to swallow me whole.
“Shit,” I muttered before Kaya advanced toward me.
“Well, that must've been some date if you're already back.”
“Shut up, Percy,” I snapped.
I turned to the newcomer, Grover Underwood. Grover was Percy's best friend, a lanky kid with curly brown hair and a goatee, brown eyes and kind of a long face. He didn't have his usual crutches or his red ball cap. He didn't have shoes or pants, either. Without his usual props, Grover didn't look much like a normal teenager. He had horns poking above his hair and instead of normal legs his were covered with thick fur and he had hooves instead of feet. Grover was a satyr, a protector of half-bloods. “What's up, Grover? I didn't realize my mom was inviting everyone to dinner.”
Mom blushed, her entire face turning red and making all of her freckles disappear. “I really wasn't planning on having everyone here. I thought you'd already told Annabeth when I talked to her earlier today.”
“I came to see you,” Grover answered. “I've tried to get a hold of you all day but it looks like you're ignoring everyone. Chiron finally just sent me to come get you.”
I locked my jaw and rolled my eyes. “What exactly do you need me for?”
“Rachel called camp this morning. Apparently she's been getting this weird feeling about you for a few days and had a prophecy earlier. She's coming to Camp to talk to you so I need to get you there.”
I groaned and smacked the back of my head against the wall. “This sucks.”
Annabeth sat next to me on the couch and squeezed my hand. “We'll figure it out,” she promised.
I met her grey eyes steadily. Annabeth wasn't the type of girl to mess with but I didn't care if I pissed her off right now. “Well I don't want to figure it out. You're the smart one, you do it.”
She looked shocked, as if I'd just slapped her, and Percy shot me a murderous look. “Naida,” he started but got cut off by the shrill ringing of a phone.
I jumped and it took me a minute to realize that the ringing was coming from my vibrating back pocket.
I fished it out and flipped it open despite my mom's horrified look. “Naida, where did you get a cell phone?” she demanded.
“I bought it a couple of days ago. Don't worry, I used my own money.”
“You know that's not a good idea,” Percy said in a tone that was too big brotherly for my taste at the moment.
I rolled my eyes at him as I pressed the talk button. “Hello?” I asked hunching my shoulders over to get a little privacy.
“Naida? Did you get home okay?”
“Glen? Oh, hey. Yeah, I'm home. I'm so sorry about running out on you.”
I ignored the looks I was getting and hauled myself up and went into the kitchen as he kept talking. “Yeah, it was kinda weird. What happened?”
“I'm scared of dogs,” I said quickly even if that pretty much guaranteed he'd never go out with me again. “I freaked out and ran.”
Glen laughed from the other end of the phone. “Hey, no problem. You could've just told me, you know. I doubt that stray dog would've ran after you if you'd stayed calm.”
I wanted to snort. The whole reason that “stray dog” was there was to torment me. Glen was blissfully ignorant. “Thanks. I'll keep that in mind.”
“We should do this again sometime. I really like you, Naida, and I think you're really fun.”
I stopped my random pacing. What the hell was I supposed to say to that? I'd known Glen for almost a year, since I started at Goode High School, and he was suddenly taking an interest in me. The last couple of guys that I got into a quick relationship with hadn't turned out so great.
“Good night, Glen. I'll see you at school on Monday.”
As I said that, I meant it. I just didn't realize that the life I was so desperately trying to avoid was about to barge into my kitchen with a vengeance.
I turned to go back into the living room and face whatever punishment or lecture I had coming to me but froze in my tracks. I wasn't alone. The woman standing against the doorway was gorgeous with light brown hair done in a soft bun with a few curls framing around her heart-shaped face. She had dark eyes shaped almost like a cat's and pink lips. The black pantsuit hugged her tall, hourglass frame perfectly and her heels clicked on the tile as she tapped her foot. I felt my heart stop for a second.
“Hello, dear,” she said pleasantly enough but I could feel the undercurrent of hatred in her words.
“Mnemosyne, what are you doing here?” I asked the Titan of memory, glad that my voice didn't crack.
She grinned evilly. “You are a problem, Naida Hale. I'm here to rectify that.”
I swallowed back the lump clogging my throat. “Trevor's gone. I can't be a problem to someone that's dead.” Trevor was my mom's ex-boyfriend, a Titan that had wanted to get rid of all demigods so that the gods of Olympus would be weak and wouldn't have heroes to fight their battles.
Mnemosyne frowned. “I know. Trevor isn't important, but he did have a splendid idea for getting rid of the gods. And you ruined it. Besides, you humiliated me. I've come to repay that debt.”
“How?' I challenged. I knew it was stupid to make her mad but I was just stalling. “You've already tried getting into my head and messing up my memory. I've already proven myself against you.”
She giggled and for a moment she looked like one of the good guys, like her daughters, the Muses. “Yes, you did prove yourself against my power. But it's not you whose memories I'm controlling. Plus, I've brought back up.”
I didn't have time to figure out what she meant about controlling someone else's memories because her back up appeared. The girl couldn't have been much older than me but her face was haggard, like shed seen too much wickedness in too short a time. Her solid black eyes were emotionless and her greasy hair hung down around her in a weird color like dirt. She wore a black band tee that had been cut at the neck to hang off of her shoulders and a short skirt that looked a lot like a tu-tu and she had a pair of brown knee-high boots. The thing that I found most odd about her was what I'd thought was a belt at first but it definitely wasn't. Around her waist a green and black-striped snake coiled and slithered and it took me a minute to realize that the thing's tail went straight into her stomach where her bellybutton should have been.
“Naida, meet Kaya, an Erinyes. She's going to punish you for me.”
The snake at Kaya's belly hissed and snapped at me, venom dripping from its curved fangs. Those pitch black eyes were locked on me like it was ready to swallow me whole.
“Shit,” I muttered before Kaya advanced toward me.
Ummm.... I'm a little confused about how Percy's turning back to Percy. PLEASE UPDATE!!!!!!
2/18/15