Sparks in the Flame

Grace was stunned into silence as campers started to crowd around her, touching her hair, her dress, hugging her, shaking her hand, congratulating her. She didn’t know what to do, so she just kept nodding and smiling. The trident still floated above her head like a beacon, and she just wished it would go away. She could distantly feel the ground rumbling as Poseidon and Zeus began to bicker again, but her head was spinning too fast to pay close attention to much of anything.
Suddenly, Grace felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and saw Percy through a space in the people surrounding her. He jerked his head, signaling her to follow him. Curious, she squeezed herself through what felt like hundreds of campers and followed him behind the cabins where they were out of sight of the campfire.
By that time, Grace felt her head clearing up. “Where are we going?” She asked.
“Home.” Percy said, smiling a little and quickening his pace. Grace had to jog to keep up with him, but surprisingly, her new dress flowed easily around her, avoiding tripping her up as if it had a mind of its own. After a few more minutes of blindly following Percy through the dark, they emerged near the end of the row, in front of one of the larger cabins.
The cabin was low to the ground, but long. The walls weren’t made of wood, like how Grace pictured a typical camp cabin, but instead were made from a sturdy-looking dark gray stone, with coral and shell embedded in its surface. Percy held a polished wooden door open and ushered her through. The inside of the cabin was sparsely decorated, with a single bunk bed along one wall, a wooden trunk along the other wall, and a large grey fountain with a fish spouting water taking up most of the remaining space. It seemed as though it had been broken before, there was a large crack in the middle and looked to be glued together. The walls of the cabin were iridescent, and all of the windows were facing the lake, the windowsills covered with beautiful plants and corals. Strung on the ceiling were a few sculpted metal animals-half-horse, half-fish. A horn was mounted on the wall next to Percy’s bed.
Grace ran her hand along the side of the fountain and continued to look around the cabin in awe, it was so simple, yet so beautifully decorated. Everything seemed to hum with an invisible energy. As she turned her head, she saw Percy hovering over her shoulder, grinning like an idiot from ear-to-ear.
“Why do you look like I just gave you a box of puppies?” She asked, turning to face him. That only made him smile more; he looked like he was about to explode. “You’re freaking me out, Aqua Man. What is it?”
Percy suddenly lunged forward and hugged her so violently it knocked the wind out of her. Squished against his chest, she managed to mumble, “Hey, get off of me, I can’t breathe!” He broke the hug and held her at arm’s length, looking at her for a minute before responding.
“I’m sorry, it’s just… I finally have a sibling that I can talk to!” He said. It finally hit her. Grace had been so shocked with the whole claiming spectacle that she’d forgotten Percy was also a son of Poseidon, making him her half-brother.
“Oh. Yeah. I guess we are siblings.” She said, walking across the cabin and leaning against a window. It was a clear night, and the light of the moon danced across the lake’s surface. She heard Percy step closer to her.
“Huh. Are you okay?” He asked. “I thought you’d be more excited to find out you’re my sister.”
Grace watched the glow of a firefly trailing along the tree line in the distance. Right about then, she wished she could fly too. She sighed and turned to Percy. “No, it’s not that. It’s really cool that we’re related. It’s just…” She started. How could she express her concerns about being a demigod to one of the most famous and accomplished demigods alive?
Percy took another step closer. He looked unsure of what to do, but there was concern in his sparkling green eyes. “It’s just what?” He asked.
“It’s just that maybe I don’t want to be a demigod.” The words spilled out before Grace could stop them. Percy took a step back, crestfallen. “You’ve done more than any demigod out there, and I’m supposed to go on this big quest or whatever, and I don’t even know what it is, never mind how to do it without dying.” She said. “I just don’t want to let everyone down, you’ve all been so nice to me.” She sniffed. “I’m just a normal girl, this isn’t supposed to happen to me.”
Percy blinked. Once. Twice. Then, to Grace’s shock, he smiled. Then, to Grace’s astonishment, he started laughing. “That was pretty cute, ya know.” He said after a minute. Grace cocked her head, confused. He wiped tears from his eyes and smiled down at her. “Oh, Grace. Every demigod on the face of this planet and beyond has had those exact thoughts before. You can’t possibly think you’re the only person who’s gotten a prophecy with an unknown quest, can you?”
“Um, I don’t-“ She started to defend herself, when he suddenly pulled her in and gave her a noogie, ruffling her hair.
“You have a lot to learn out there, but that’s what quests are for!” He said as she squirmed in his grip. “Plus, I’ll be there every step of the way to guide you.” He said.
“Wait a minute.” Grace said. She pushed his arms away and smoothed her hair back into place. “What do you mean, you’ll be there with me?” She asked, crossing her arms.
“There’s no way that I’m just going to let my little sister go out there into danger!” Percy said. “After this, I’m going to talk to Chiron and convince him to let me come too.” He said with a self-satisfied grin. Grace felt anger bubbling. How could she have been so stupid? To think, he’d just let her spill her guts right in front of him about this whole quest thing, and he thought that he’d be the best solution to the problem? Her dress started swirling around her ankles, seeming to sense her thoughts.
“What makes you think that you can just waltz in here and take over my quest?” She demanded. He looked taken aback, shocked that maybe, possibly, she didn’t want him to go with her.
“I thought that you didn’t want to go on this quest anyways, that maybe it’d be better if your big bro came along to protect you.” He said.
“First of all, half-big-bro, I am nervous about the quest. But that also means that it’s a challenge, and I like challenges. I want to learn all I can about this weird world that I’m apparently a part of, and a quest is the perfect opportunity to do so. I can handle it on my own, thank you.” She steamed.
He frowned. “Just because you’re only my half-sister, doesn’t mean that you don’t have to listen to me. I’m older, more experienced-“
“Oh of course you’re pulling the experience card! I’m sorry I’m not the most famous demigod Mount Olympus’s affairs have ever produced, and I’m sorry I don’t have everyone fawning all over everything I do! ‘Oh Percy Jackson, he’s so cool! I wonder what he’s doing right now? Isn’t it just amazing how he’s eating those Cheerios!’” She yelled.
“First of all, I eat Captain Crunch, not Cheerios, and second-“ He stopped, mouth agape.
“Can’t think of anything clever to say, oh wise one?” Grace taunted. He shook his head, grabbed her shoulders, and turned her so she was facing the broken fountain. Mist was spilling out of the water, covering the floor and filling the air.
“I must be getting an Iris message, which is weird. I haven’t used that fountain in a couple of years.” Percy said, drawing closer to the fountain and putting his hand out. Before he could answer the call, the mist exploded into color around them, and Grace was splashed with water.
“Percy Jackson, is that you?” A voice whispered. Percy walked around the fountain, peering into it.
“Yeah, but I can’t see you, the connection must be bad. Who’s this?” He asked. The mist shifted and altered itself into the shimmering image of a girl who couldn’t have been much older than Grace. She was wearing a silver-white shirt and her blonde hair was disheveled. She had an open wound on her forehead.
“My name is Corrina, a Hunter of Artemis. Percy Jackson, you must help us. I alone have evaded being captured, but he has the others, including Thalia.” The girl whispered frantically.
Percy’s eyes widened. “What happened? Are you all okay? Where are you?”
“I do not know. Somewhere in the countryside, far from New York. We were investigating some unusual activity near Colorado when he came.”
“Who? Who came?” Percy asked.
“He was as pale as moonlight, yet emanated shadow. We fought valiantly. Before Thalia was taken, she threw a drachma at me and told me to run and send an Iris message to Percy Jackson at Camp Half-Blood, that he’d help us.” She recounted.
“Corrina, I’m coming. Describe your surroundings.” Percy said.
The image of Corrina shifted as she looked around. “It’s dark. Very dark. I must be in his domain. We’re high up, the altitude is effecting my respiration. Wait.” She froze and whipped her head around. “I hear something, I-“ A tendril of darkness shot into view and wrapped its way around Corrina’s mouth. Her eyes grew wide and tears flowed out of them as she struggled.
Someone spoke. “There you are, my dear. Don’t you want to join in on the fun?”
She disappeared, replaced with only darkness.
“Corrina!” Percy yelled. The message ended, and the mist sank back into the fountain. Grace’s heartbeat quickened and her blood ran cold. She’d know that voice anywhere.
It was the man from her dreams.

Notes

Hi everyone! It's been awhile, hasn't it? I love this longer, exciting chapter, I worked pretty hard on it! I wonder what'll happen next, poor Corrina. Let me know what you guys think, and thanks so much for the continued support!

xoxo, galeckey1234