Chapter 8: Oracle
I awkwardly shuffled after Prometheus and Zeus, both of whom were speaking to one another lowly. The three of us eventually ended up at a temple like hall and Prometheus took a seat in a chair while Zeus rang a large bell. Several other adults appeared in flashes of bright lights and I shuffled near the door nervously while the group began all speaking at once. I noticed a side door open and watched as the student Pantheon walked in, taking seats in smaller throne like chairs while Zeus allowed the others to yell at one another. I glanced at the student Pantheon and awkwardly waved to Amanda, who frowned and waved back. “Silence! We are all gathered here because of the Prophecy!” He roared, the others shutting up and beginning to mumble to themselves. The adults looked nervous and anxious while Prometheus looked exhausted, his hands rubbing together.
“Father what happened?” A beautiful woman, dressed in a business suit asked, her eyes narrowing when a military looking man snorted.
“Obviously Uncle Hades can’t keep watch over his realm,” he snorted out. A thin and irritated looking businessman glared at him before looking to Zeus warily then to Prometheus.
“Are you for certain brother? The prophecy has been set into motion?” He asked, rubbing his hands together and causing silver sparks to erupt.
“Yes. The demi god has arrived and the Earth, the Sun, the Moon and the Sea have returned,” he said, the group breaking back out into noise.
“Who broke the pact?” The military man roared, red energy flaring around him while the others eyed one another in anger.
“I did,” Hephaestus said, rolling forward and glaring at the man, brown energy whirling around him.
“Why would you do that brother?! We knew of the prophecy for centuries!” Hissed one of the women dressed in a military like uniform her. Her twin was nodding along with her and Hephaestus scoffed before waving his hand around.
“We’ve all made mistakes,” he snapped. I frowned deeply, feeling only slightly hurt as they argued. I sighed as they continued to yell at one another then shifted about before backing out of the temple and rubbing my face. So I was some kind of demi god? I groaned softly and awkwardly rubbed at my neck before turning to head off, crashing into ma and momma, who shot me a curious look.
“Hey are you okay?” Momma asked, her arm gently going around my shoulder. I nodded and leaned against her before sighing and sitting on the steps of the temple.
“Just tired. What are you both doing here?” I asked, watching as they glanced at one another before sitting on the steps of the temple as well.
“We heard that a student got into trouble,” ma said before giving me a hug herself. I relaxed into her embrace and sighed softly, burrowing my face into her next as I relaxed.
“Oh well you should head inside,” I said after a moment, extracting myself from her grip and watching as she frowned down at me before helping momma up. They headed inside together and I sighed softly before rubbing my head and scowling down at the ground, listening to the talking from the inside of the temple. The noise grew in level then cut out and I lifted my head, wondering what had happened. This was all a mess. I wanted to be noticed, but never like this!
“Helen?” A quiet voice called, catching my attention. I looked back and found Achilles behind me, a deep frown on her face as she walked over and took a seat at my side. “You alright?” She asked softly. I nodded before rubbing my face then looking back at the temple and frowning deeply when I found ma and momma standing outside of it. They looked nervous, both of them moving in place while I rubbed at my face. I couldn’t be mad with them. I loved them, but I could be irritated with them for this.
“No. I’m kind of in shock. I’m the demi-god,” I mumbled before turning around and frowning at the steps.
“Wait what…You’re the demi god?” I heard her say. I looked over and found she was frowning which pulled laugh from me.
“Yeah shocking huh?” I said before rubbing my face aggressively then looking to her. “Why are you out here?” I asked, watching as she rubbed her cheek.
“The gods and goddesses were looking ready to murder one another and Zeus called a recess. He went to go collect the oracle and the god were all tossing one another snide comments so I thought I’d come out here,” she said before rubbing my shoulder. Concern appeared on her face and she sighed before looking forward and frowning slightly. “The prophecy states that the demi god would arrive and the earth and sky would release the four Titans to bring about the apocalypse,” Achilles said softly. I winced and looked at her nervously and she gave me a small smile before waving her hand. “The oracle speaks of the demi god rising to stop them with the help of the invincible warrior, the warrior of love, the warrior of life and the warrior of death,” she said softly before patting my shoulder. “There’s hope,” she mumbled before something cracked behind us.
I looked back and found Zeus on the steps, my parents bowing to him as he waved to us. “Now that you’ve caught her up, let’s head inside,” he said evenly. We followed him back up then inside and I found that the room was worse than when I left. The military man and the business-suited woman were ranting and raving while the twin siblings were arguing with one another. A thinly built god was getting drinks off of a frat boy looking man and the others were in varying degrees of anger. “Enough!” Zeus roared, the room quieting while he marched forward. Zeus rubbed his face then waved me forward and I moved over, hesitantly standing in the center of the room and kicking at the ground. “This is Helen Brave, daughter of alumni Francesca Brave and Ruth Brave, she is also our famed demi god. Speak with the oracle,” he ordered. I nodded quickly and moved forward, frowning when a tired looking pale man moved out of the shadows. He was dressed in white robes and his white eyes focused on me. He was bald and chuckled lowly in a wheezy voice.
“Demi god, we meet face to face,” he said before smiling and waving to me. I hesitantly walked over and his smile widened, revealing crooked and yellowed teeth. I stiffened and he waved his hand, fire sprouting out of his fingertips and floating above us. “Your life is tied to invincibility, love, death and life. The four titans of the apocalypse, the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and the Sea are going to try to erase the mortals from the face of the Earth itself. You and the chosen warriors are tasked with protecting the gods and the mortals from this threat, but your journey will not be easy. Another titan has been released from his chains. Iapetus. Atlas’ father, the titan of craftsmanship. He will be trying to find the original creators of Zeus’ thunderbolts, Brontes, Arges, and Steropes so he can learn a weakness within the legendary weapon. Your first quest of many is to head off to where the three were last seen to find and keep them protected until the end of the month,” the oracle said before grinning again. “This may seem like am easy task, but I assure you it is not. You will be heading to Seattle and then from there you will be left to your own devices,” he explained before bowing his head to me. “Hopefully you’ll complete this quest and return victorious,” he said before turning and heading off, Zeus slowly standing from his throne.
He was frowning deeply and looked to me before glancing at the oracle. “We have no time to lose. What of the warriors?” He asked, the oracle smiling before turning to the student Pantheon.
“The warrior of love, born from the flames of anger and hatred, her heart being her only weakness,” he began ominously, moving forward then around the student Pantheon, placing a hand on Achilles shoulder. She glanced up at him and he smiled back down at her before gliding over to Amanda and running a finger up the side of her face. “Warrior of death, jealousy her own undoing,” he chuckled. Amanda paled and looked to him with wide eyes while the oracle moved onto Zoey then Ginger, placing his hands on both of their heads. “Finally warrior of life and the warrior of invincibility, cut from the same cloth, but forged into two different weapons,” he said before turning to me and pausing. We both held one another’s gaze before his eyes drifted over to Zeus and he bowed his head respectfully. “They’ve been here all along Zeus. You should make haste, Iapetus was offered freedom in exchange for his services,” the oracle hissed.
Zeus’ eyes widened in alarm before he turned to the quiet Pantheon and waved a hand. The group rose in unison and he eyed them all before focusing on Hephaestus. “The warriors and your child need weapons, Achilles, Atalanta, Orpheus and Theseus, you four will be charged with keeping Helen safe. Helen. You have to reach the three Cyclops and protect them no matter what,” Zeus ordered before spinning around and looking to the oracle. “Is there anything else that we should know?” He asked respectfully. The oracle looked to me for a short moment before he walked over and gently placed a hand on my arm.
“You’ll find yourself at a crossroads and sacrifices will have to be made,” he said lowly before looking back at Zeus and shaking his head. “Their adventure will begin in Seattle!” He called before walking over to Zeus, who gently took his arm and walked him over to the frat boy looking god.
“Make sure he is returned to his home safely. Hephaestus!” Zeus roared, looking to the other man, who was frowning deeply.
“Yes father?” He asked, wheeling over while my parents shuffled to my side to hug me. Zeus leaned down and whispered something that made the other man wince then nod before looking to me. Zeus gave me a small smile then turned back to the rest of the Pantheon and sighed softly.
“Our hope lies with Helen and her warriors. They will succeed with our help! We have trusted demi gods and mortals before. They have not failed us and it will not end here. We will keep the Titans from rising and we will keep the world safe from danger. Let’s get them prepared,” he said loudly. The other members of the Pantheon glanced at one another before standing. The tension in the room lifted, leaving behind determination and unity.
“Elei!” The military man roared, Achilles flinching before standing and rushing over, laughing when the man tightly hugged her. He held her for a moment before moving back and beginning to speak to her, placing a finger where her heart was before smiling softly. Achilles was nodding with him and I looked to Amanda, who was rubbing her hands together while Aphrodite spoke to her. Zoey and Ginger were both speaking to the twin gods and I stiffened when ma hugged me unexpectedly. I relaxed after a moment and hugged her back while momma fluttered next to us anxiously.
“He never told us he was part of the Pantheon,” ma said lowly before shaking her head. “He revealed he was a minor god when you caught the kitchen sink on fire as a baby, but….” Ma rambled while I frowned and pulled away.
“I caught the kitchen sink on fire?” I said in shock. Ma and momma paused before laughing and hugging me tightly, ma sighing softly.
“Out of all the things that surprise you,” she teased. I flushed and hugged them back while pouting a bit. They moved back and looked me over before turning when Amanda and Achilles walked over, Achilles flanked by the military man. Up close, he was towering and frowned down at me before looking to momma and smiling lightly.
“Hello Francesca,” he rumbled out, momma beaming before hugging him tightly.
“Hi Uncle Ares,” she said in delight before looking to Achilles with a frown. Achilles shifted in place nervously while Amanda moved over with Aphrodite following, hugging me tightly when she got to my side. I hugged her back, feeling concerned, but it disappeared when the twin gods led Zoey and Ginger over. Hephaestus rolled over when we all got together and gave us all a tense smile while ma and momma moved in front of me slightly.
“We should get to my workshop for your weapons,” he said in a small voice, flinching when Aphrodite slapped him across the face.
“Work on our issues my ass you stupid-,” she hissed out before reverting to Greek while he shrank in his seat. Ma and momma grumbled while Ares sneered at him the twin gods rolled their eyes.
“We don’t have time for this. We all know Hephaestus screwed up and now we have to fix this,” the female twin god said before looking to me. “None of this is your fault so don’t worry about it, but we don’t have time to waste,” she said before looking back at Hephaestus. He was still cowering away from Aphrodite, who looked ready to slap him again, and she whistled. They looked to her and she frowned deeper before moving forward and waving a hand. “How were you able to hide her?” She asked curiously. He paled and the male twin god frowned before looking to me and placing a hand on my shoulder, flinching back when it made contact.
“You took…you took her magic away!” He roared. I winced and watched as the female twin paled before looking to him and growling, royal blue energy gathering around her.
“You’ve left her defenseless and vulnerable! What if she was younger?! She would have died!” The woman shrieked. I swallowed nervously as the man shook his head before looking me over. He gently placed a finger to my forehead before shaking his head again and glaring hatefully at Hephaestus, who looked just slightly more panicked. I could do magic?
“Where did you put her magic?” The male twin demanded. Hephaestus began to stutter and Ares grabbed him roughly by the shirt, lifting him slightly as he stuttered.
“D-Daedalus’ Wings!” He cried before Ares harshly shoved him into his seat and looked to me with red eyes.
“No child deserves to have their magic taken from them. Apollo, retrieve your wings. Ares ordered before giving me a frown. I nervously rubbed my hands together and watched Apollo rush off while the female twin shook her head and grumbled lightly. Ma and momma were asking Aphrodite frantic questions while the four members of the student Pantheon looked to me in concern.