When MYTHS Become Real

“So where to?” Annabeth asked when I got back from the cabin.
I groaned inwardly; she was usually the smart one. I didn't even know where to begin but I figured it'd be better to save the River Lethe for later. “Okay, so we have to find Kaya. She's some sort of key to stopping Mnemosyne. I don't think that she actually wants to help, but Mnemosyne is holding her memories hostage.”
“And how do you suggest we find her?” Percy asked, as if it was supposed to be easy.
I let out a huge sigh before closing my eyes and trying to remember everything that Kaya had said to me back at my apartment. She hadn't wanted to kill me but she wanted her memories back more than anything. She was willing to do anything for the guy she loved, and that desperation for love made her easy to manipulate.
I gnawed on my lower lip for a minute before I answered. “Kaya's going to come after me to finish the job for Mnemosyne. So why don't we make it easy for her?”
“What? Are you crazy?” Annabeth snapped. “You're just going to give yourself up to her?”
“Look, we need Kaya and what better way than to just make her come to us? Or do you have any better ideas?”
Annabeth frowned at me but miss smarty-pants didn't have any other ideas. I nodded once to myself and made my way down to the canoe river. I heard Annabeth let out an annoyed sigh before she and Percy followed after me. When we got down to the water's edge, I flicked my fingers and a steady mist shot up from the river. I tossed a gold drachma into the rainbow caused by the mist and light then asked the rainbow goddess to connect me to Kaya.
In no time at all, the petite girl with the viper wrapped around her waist popped up in the mist. Her pitch black eyes narrowed at me. “What do you want?”
She was in some black jeans with a white tank that was pulled up to expose her midriff. The snake hissed at me and I saw the deep wound that Percy had made.
“I want you to get your memory back,” I answered. “Just because I'm a cynic and had a shitty love life doesn't mean that you shouldn't get what you want.”
She stared at me through the mist for a long minute. “Do you really expect me to trust you? The only way I get to remember my love is by dragging your butt straight down to the Underworld.”
I jolted. “I thought you said she'd only help you if you killed me.”
Kaya rolled her coal colored eyes. “Same thing, isn't it? Just in one scenario, your body is there, too. Either way, your soul's trapped down with the dead.”
“Well as it so happens, my new quest involves me going to the Underworld anyway. I'll hand myself over to you to take me there.”
“What? No,” Annabeth protested. “What if it's a trap?”
“If your dead, nothing can bring you back. Let's just go down there ourselves,” my brother added.
“No,” I snapped at them before turning back to Kaya. “You can take me to her. Get us down there and you get your memory back. Sound good?”
Kaya considered my offer for a long time. “Fine. Meet me in a little town called Bisbee in Arizona. It's total desert so you won't be able to use any of your water tricks. I'll be waiting by the clock tower at four PM tomorrow. Don't be late.”
The snake at Kaya's belly lunged strait into the mist and the connection was cut off.
I blew out an exhausted breath and yanked my red curls back in a messy ponytail with my bangs falling into my eyes. With two fingers in my mouth, I let out three loud wolf whistles. In less than a minute, three giant shapes were silhouetted by the sun. To most people, the shapes could've been fighter jets. Even before they drew closer, I knew exactly what was flying at us. Three large Pegasi landed on the white sand.
The solid white mare pranced up to me and nuzzled her nose into my neck. I giggled as her warm breath tickled at my skin. “Oh, Naida. I've missed you. Camp gets boring without you.”
I hugged Aspros around her sleek neck. Yes, I easily got annoyed with the myth stuff and wanted normal but this girl made it a little less sucky. “Hey. I've missed you, too. But now I've got another quest. We've got to get to Arizona. Bisbee. You in?”
She pawed the ground excitedly. “Most definitely.”
I climbed onto her back and the others followed suit. Percy was on Blackjack and Annabeth was climbing onto a brown and gold mare called Merry. As one, the three Pegasi launched into the dark sky and we were off. It was well past midnight when we landed in the tiny town in the middle of the desert. We had over 12 house before Kaya was supposed to show and I was exhausted. I slid off Aspros' back and patted her velvety nose as I spoke. Somehow we found a motel that was open and rented a room to Percy. If I was normal and didn't know how to work a sword, there would have been no way that I was staying in that dingy place. But I wasn't normal. I was a demigod and beggers can't be choosers.
After a night of tossing and turning, I wasn't feeling much better when the sun came up. I was tired and cranky but Annabeth insisted that we needed a plan. There was a pretty good chance that Kaya was setting up a trap but I wasn't exactly sure if I cared. With Blackjack, Aspros, and Merry on their way back to New York, that left me with my brother and his girlfriend. Just another thing that made me a bit grumpy.
“Kaya's gonna come, I'm going to talk her into taking us to the River Lethe, she gets her memory back. What else do we need to plan for?”
Annabeth's eyes narrowed at me. “What if she stabs you in the back and kills you?”
“Then I'm in the Underworld and I find the Lethe anyway. Besides, we've still got a couple of hours.”
No sooner had the words left, Kaya was there. Percy glowered at me but stood his ground. I was glad that he didn't draw his sword to scare her away. Kaya's midnight black eyes narrowed in Percy's direction before drifting to me.
"You're early." She didn't sound surprised."So are you," I replied just as stoically.Kaya flashed me a wry grin. "I had to be sure that Athena's daughter wasn't planning anything. I'd rather not be stabbed in the back."Annabeth pursed her lips together but was smart enough to keep quiet. Percy had his sword in hand, wary. They were both ready for a fight but I was honestly hoping that it wouldn't come to that. We needed Kaya and even I figured that a little diplomacy would be better."Look, we're all here. Can we help each other or not?"Kaya's fingers gently stroked the snake's head as she thought about my question. "If I take you to the Underworld, do you really think you can stop Mnemosyne from taking demigods' memories? Is this a fight you can win?""Yes," I said with way more confidence than I felt. I was mad and that anger made me determined. I was going to stop her, not for the gods, but for all my friends at Camp Half-Blood.Kaya stared at me for a long minute. "Okay, I'll take you. But it won't be easy and I'm not helping you once we're down there. As soon as Mnemosyne gives me my memory, I'm gone."I nodded in agreement. "I understand."Kaya cocked her head to the side and even the snake looked like it was studying me. "You know, Naida, under different circumstances I think we'd actually make decent friends. I hope you know that I'm just following orders."My brows bunched up in confusion when she held up her closed fist. Percy took a step but stopped when the viper snapped in warning. I held out my hand and tried to summon some water or make some ice but nothing happened. "I chose this place because there's really not much water. You two are powerless. And again I'm sorry about this but the only way I'm getting that memory back is by bringing you and only you."Her hand opened and she blew a white powder that reminded me of gross dried milk. The white stuff swirled straight at Percy. I didn't know what to do but I highly doubted it would be good if the powder got Percy. I wanted to do something to stop it but my feet felt like they were glued to the floor. At least Annabeth didn't have that same problem. She dashed toward my brother in a moment. In that single instant it took to get to him, I saw the fear and love in her intense grey eyes. She'd risk anything for him.

Notes

i am SO sorry for taking forever to update. but i would like to thank ChasingAnnabeth for your comment :)