"Hello, Father."
As Nick told me, Kronos was waiting in my dreams. It's nice that he speaks to me more now. Before, I was lucky to hold a conversation with him. It was like winning the lottery.
"I'm glad to see how joyful you've been as of late. You've been taking good care of Helen as well."
"Of course I have. But enough of me. You seem quite happy yourself."
"Why, yes. Things have been proceeding smoothly as of late. However, how you perform on your next task might ruin everything."
"Is the quest that important?"
"Yes."
It was seven in the morning or the usual wake-up time. After showering and getting dressed, I headed outside for a stroll. On the weekdays, training started around this time. And it lasted until noon. But it was a Saturday, and like in school, we got a day off. But most of the kids wake up early. By nine, nearly all of them should be up and about.
I thought about the quest. My job was to find and infiltrate Dedalus's laboratory. That was supposedly at the center of the labyrinth. The goal was to meet the man himself. We had made a deal with him for weapons and a special item.
But that was only one part. After that, I would have to find Vittoria. She was already assigned to take an army and capture Hephaestus, so she would march towards Mt. Saint Helens at the same time I departed. Elena and I were also to help her acquire something important. Our trump card, so it would seem. Vittoria would tell me once I reached her. What could it be?
Chiron had called an assembly. He would pick the leaders of the four groups that would descend into the maze. I thought about Amy and Moon. Would they be going along with me? Nick couldn't control them, and I bet they'd love to monitor me. They were dangerous. Better if I kept a distance - a couple of miles at least.
I caught Elena and Helen, and the three of us walked into room 400, the new boardroom. All three hundred demigods were in attendance and seated in chairs. Chiron sat at the head of the table, hands folded. To his right was Nick, and to his left...she lived here?
Chiron coughed. "Just recently, Zeus has given his permission to allow a quest. As such, I will now announce the four heroes who will lead us." Then, he did something unusual.
Chiron looked at us, his eyes sad. In fact, he didn't hold eye contact with us. They dropped down slightly, peering at the floor. He seemed to be ashamed as well.
"But before that, I want to commend you all. Last year, the Titan Lord had almost razed DGH. Many of you had lost your brother, your sister, your closest friends...and all I could do was pray to the gods, their response which was too late. Please, I hope you can forgive this old, useless horse. I am shocked you've managed to push forward despite the tragedy of that day, and I hope that no matter what, you will not quit."
Chiron bowed, and nobody said anything. No "it's not your fault, Chiron," or "we'll get Kronos next time!" Everyone was aware that Chiron was blameless. The guilt...the burden was with me, and only me. I wanted to blurt it out loud and have everyone hate me - if getting revenge and protecting Helen weren't more important.
Chiron continued. "Now, I will announce my four choices. I hope that you will return to us safe and sound."
"The four will be Anatasia, Carissa, Selene, and Yiannis. Each of you can pick two others to accompany you if you so choose. There is an entrance to the labyrinth in the Underworld, and Hades has offered to send you off. That will happen in two weeks. Until then, I will make sure all of you are absolutely prepared to overcome what may come your way. I will replace any of you who fail the training regimen. Best of luck."
Everyone except me erupted in cheers. A lot of people backed Anatasia on that list. After all, she was our strongest fighter and had saved lives in that attack one year ago. She trained day and night to get revenge for her fallen siblings. She deserved it.
But I was concerned about the other two. I've never heard of Carrisa or Selene - never even seen them. And Selene, that is the name of the Titaness who abides on the moon. Carrisa could then be Amy, but that had no evidence. And I didn't have much for Selena being Moon, either. While the community had become more tight-knit, some new demigods did show up every so often. They could be recent additions, although Chiron wouldn't have chosen them, then. After that apology, he clearly wants to send those that have a shot of surviving. Newbies would die pretty quickly since they're untrained. I should ask if someone on my side has seen them before, especially Elena, before thinking about what to do.
Before that, I had to tell Chiron who I wanted to go with me. Anatasia had a lot of picks, but she chose a friend, Zachary Lin, and Teressa, a sibling. Selene had picked Neil, and that worried me. According to Nick, Neil was the fifth consul. And Andrew the seventh. Carrisa picked two lower-ranked members of the cult, Tony and Brianna. However, those two were spies on our side. At least I'll have eyes on one of them.
The rest of the day was uneventful. But what followed were two weeks of complete hell.
Chiron pushed us to our limits every single day. Starting in the morning, for four hours, we would practice. Just pure practice with a bunch of weapons and with each other. I actually managed to become decent in using daggers and spears, but I still sucked with bows. Swords were my best bet. Well, until I sparred with Anatasia. She would crumple me up like paper. On the weekends, we would be made to play games. Chiron would split us up into teams of two, and we'd have to hunt down a monster he let loose in the woods. Whoever caught it first won. Or, we would play steal the base. Not that different from capturing the flag, but the difference was that we had to "occupy" the enemy's base. By that, we had to push the opposing team out and keep them out. We'd have to hold that base and our own for at least an hour to win. Most of the time, the game ended in stalemates.
And I paid attention to Carrisa and Selene. The former was talkative while the latter was silent. In fact, I don't think I ever once heard her voice. Either way, both went mute whenever I was around. Guess I wasn't a welcome presence. I did listen to Carrisa's conversations when I could, but nothing of note was said. I learned nothing even after asking Elena, Helen, and the hunters about the two.
Hopefully, it'll be a different story for Nick. Or perhaps he already knows something - besides their appearance.
Usually, after training, I really wanted to hit the sheets. . But I couldn't - because Vittoria and Mei were training me too. And so, I suffered much agony in the Underworld as well. I wondered if I could surpass Anatasia with all this but then shook my head. She was in her own class.
And right now, I was learning magic with Vittoria. I had finally become advanced enough to create items with anima. But I didn't have nearly enough skill to craft the mask Vittoria gave me last year. Anyhow, today, I was learning to create an intricate sword.
To make something with anima(an element present everywhere), you have to continually absorb it. Then, as you do so, imagine what you want in your hands, and it will appear. Well, that's an oversimplified summary, but it'll do. The problem is that constantly taking in anima strains the body and the mind. Do it for too long, and you blow up. Also, different objects require different amounts of anima, and spells are another matter. So if I wasn't absorbing enough every second, it wouldn't work. And it involves a lot of concentration.
I had created the hilt of my blade and was getting closer to the tip. I was going to celebrate, but then the swirl of anima burst in my hands. Denied by premature revelry - happens a lot here. My dream of a cool shadow sword denied.
Vittoria yawned. "Stay focused. If you struggle with just this, then you'll never be able to build the mask I gave you."
"I know."
Vittoria hadn't been getting much sleep. Her eyes were saggy, and she always looked tired. "I did want to ask something, though."
"What is it?"
"Have you been getting any sleep?"
Vittoria shook her head. "Somehow, being your teacher is more demanding. Preparing to ambush a god is nothing to be taken lightly, and yet...this is where the real struggle is."
"I'm very sorry about that . Mind if I helped you on plans, then?"
"No. But Kronos wants you to grow stronger as fast as possible."
"Is he putting pressure on you for teaching me?"
"Yes, yes he is. He wants to make the most of this time."
I understood why. In a year, Kronos would declare war. I still had a way to go - I was not nearly powerful enough to take on the stronger gods.
"Sorry about all this, then. If I can, I'll try to help you plan. We can't have you launching an assault exhausted."
"Mhm. Thanks, Yiannis. Now try making that sword again."
When I wasn't training, I spent time with Elena. Of course, I went to Helen's side whenever she asked, but she didn't ask that much now. Perhaps she grew up, and she's busy, or she has friends she'd rather hang out with. Or, it could be that I have a girlfriend, and she wants to let us have time alone.
I was surprised when Elena said yes, even after telling her the truth. She answered so quickly too...it was almost suspicious...
But there was nothing to suspect. Ever since helping the women on the Isle of Lemnos, Elena has tried to help me whenever she could. After learning of how I once thought suicide, she's been worried. Although she believes I've moved on, she comes by and comforts me practically every day. It's really sweet of her. And she treats Helen in much the same way. I've come to look forward to her visits. They're the best time of day.
I trained and trained and trained. Vittoria and I had become a bit distant, and we didn't talk as much. Whenever we texted, it was only business, nothing casual. With Elena, I spoke with her about everything, and so did she. Later, we had our first date. Elena could go on Olympus as a goddess of beauty with her looks. And she did not need any makeup to do so. God, if only we were actually a couple...
As we walked to the station, Elena had lots of questions - she still had a lot of catching up to do. We talked about US history this time, and because she wanted to, I took her to the Statue Of Liberty. She jumped up and down when I agreed to show her some famous sites - it was her one condition to the date. Last week, I taught her how to take pictures on an iPhone. Now, here she was taking selfies of us.
After that, I took her to the Empire State Building and the 9/11 Museum. Since this was to help her learn, I quizzed her, asking questions at set intervals. I think I was a bit too harsh on 9/11, but she really needed to know that. That date is etched into the American consciousness, and she'll need to understand the tragedy to blend in.
Lastly, I showed her Columbia University and explained the modern-day schooling process. "The Ivy League schools are the most prestigious - they're the oldest in the nation. Many of those who graduate end up changing the world. For teenagers, like me, it's a dream school. It's where we all want to go because we can rise up to the top in the world if we do get in."
Elena smiled. "I see. But you were denied, correct?"
"We don't talk about that. Ever."
Elena giggled. "Yes. Given your description, I'm sure it is."
"It is, and it's getting dark. We should head back now."
Elena didn't move. "Could...we perhaps stay here a little longer?"
"Are you getting ideas of going to the school?"
"Perhaps. Is it possible?"
"Well, it can be, but do you actually want to be a college student?"
"Do you think that I'm not able to get admitted into Columbia?"
"No. As I said, it's quite easy, although we would be breaking our way into the system."
"How about if I went through this high school, same as you?"
"For one, you'd be too old to go there. Of course, that's if we don't fake anything. Naturally, nobody would believe you're two thousand years old, and I've told you that most people are skeptical of gods. There's really no way for you to get it unless we used magic."
"I see...you're right. I was thinking nonsense." Elena looked away. Did I upset her?
I turned her around and made her face me. "You didn't answer my question. Do you want to go?"
"I know this may be naïve, but I want to get accepted on my own merits. I want to believe I earned my right to learn at such an important place, more so than those who got denied..."
"So you wanna do it the old-fashioned way. Well, getting into Columbia is one thing." I explained grades, extracurriculars, internships, and all the fun stuff a college kid would busy themselves in. "There are many ways to distinguish yourself. And, if you do pull it off, then there's no doubt that you deserve your seat, Elena."
"Are you really going to help me with all this? I don't want to give you such a burden, not when we're soon to be at war."
"If you want to live life in the modern world, going to college can help speed up your learning - a college professor and the college experience can teach you far more than I ever can. And I already teach you anyway. If you need help with something, I'm always here for you. Well, if we're here after the war. Or if this city isn't destroyed."
Elena didn't say anything - then she wrapped her arms around me. I grasped her hips and lifted her, my hands going to her thighs, my lips yearning for hers. Yeah, Nick was right. I was head over heels for her.