I carefully examined the book, looking over the cover and the spine. The seal of blue wax, with a golden trident painted on it, sealed the book shut with a coral pink ribbon. I gently traced the ribbon and on the back I found a flap, set in with more wax. I slowly opened the ribbon, pulling carefully at the seal, the book slammed open and flipped through the pages.
In an instant I was given every bit of knowledge like it was forced down my throat. The book continued to flip through pages upon pages and I could see the scenes of Zeno's and Atticus' lives. As the book neared the last pages it suddenly burnt up, leaving me with one last bit of information. Athena had been at Atlantis, but Poseidon had told her to stay away from Atlantis.
Athena waited there with an Athenian force, ready to launch a counterattack but Poseidon stopped her before she entered Atlantis. It was his mess to handle and he planned to handle it his way, the only two gods he brought with him were Apollo and Artemis. He burned through the Atlanteans and got to the throne room to see Zeno slaughter Atticus in cold blood but then the vision stopped. The book burned up and all that was infront of me was the wax seal.
"Woah….I haven't seen a book do that in awhile…" Andromeda said, opening the fridge behind me.
"Last night….I saw my first life," I said, feeling like I was handed out a death sentence.
"Cool, who or what were you? Julius Ceaser, Romulus, a butterfly?" Andromeda grabbed an energy drink, cracking it open and looking at me.
"Atticus Neptune, King Atticus Neptune of Atlantis," I looked at the seal. "And Zeno Neptune murdered me, not Athena."
"Holy shit….thst explains your nightmares of Zeno but why?" Andromeda grabbed a seat eagerly.
"I don't know….the why was erased from every source I can think of. Even in my dream I couldn't get an answer, the only thing I can think of is an oracle but I don't know any," I put my head in my hands.
"What if I knew where to find one but we'd need Senate approval to go…" Andromeda started, tapping her fingers along the table.
I turned to her, " Go on…"
"In The Odyssey, it talks about Odysseus going to see an Oracle. What do you wanna bet that path is still open?" Andromeda smiled, that evil Moon Child smile that meant no good.
Gods, I forgot that Odysseus even went to The Underworld. Andromeda had a point, an oracle that was already judged would be perfect. He wouldn't hide what he knew since he was already one with the dead, if I was at school I could ask Olivia's friend to raise him from the dead but this would have to do. That and I heard a whisper that they were going on some important quest.
I stood up and sighed, stretching out and looking around the house. "Let's go out, go to the pier. Maybe have lunch there, or dive off and see if the Sirens need to be sent back into deeper water."
"Sara, your father was very clear." Andromeda warned, chugging down her energy drink and tossing the can out.
"Yes yes, but he said keep me in San Francisco. I don't plan to leave the city, not as long as I have my best friend on my heels," I said, opening the door and putting a pin in my hair.
"Gods, I hope Poseidon kills me first so I don't have to deal with you anymore," Andromeda followed me out the door onto the sunny streets of San Francisco, California.
I looked at her occasionally as we walked down the streets, she had another energy drink in her hands. No amount of energy in the world could keep this girl awake, I swear I saw her chug three at one time and take a nap two minutes after. It was honestly a miracle she stayed awake at all, especially in the boring classes like Athena's. That Owl Lady could talk for hours and say nothing, it was its own type of maddening.
Andromeda and me kept walking down the street, the sun was high above us and Andromeda was on her third energy drink already. She should be lucky that she's part god, if not all of the caffeine would've killed her already. The amount of times she woke up in the middle of the day scared me, wondering if I would find her upstairs with Thanatos.
I crossed the street into a simple crystal shop, looking around at all the dreamcatchers and cheap mood rings. Andromeda was stuck in the voodoo section, she swore that one day she would find some mystical haunted artifact that she could use to have a ghost sidekick. A part of me believed in her, a part of me was scared for when that day came. She had picked up a coin and meticulously moved it through her fingers.
"Come on Victorian age sidekick…come on Victorian age sidekick…Fuck! No ghosts, again! Why is everything that's haunted inconvenient to carry!" Andromeda said in a hushed yet violent tone.
"Awwww, it's okay honey, we can look for more at the next store," I whispered hugging from behind.
"Don't patronize me," Andromeda looked up at me. "I want a ghost sidekick to solve mysteries with," she pouted, looking down.
"I know, I know, we'll find one eventually my love," I whispered.
Andromeda looked back up like her head was on a hinge, her face a bright red. She looked like she wanted to say a thousand things at once, but the words lodged in her throat. I covered my mouth to hide a laugh, threatening to force it's way out. The poor girl was at a loss, I smiled a bit and started to walk away.
"Now we're even," I teased, walking out of the store.
I set my feet back on to the street and continued walking, Andromeda ran up to my side as we continued our walk down the street. We drew closer to the pier, the amount of people that surrounded us increased tenfold. There were tourists, locals, and employees bustling about around the entire pier. We continued down the wooden pier , stopping at the occasional shops and finally stopped at another crystal and antique shop. Andromeda looked around at the antiques and found some small treasures, waving her hand over them.
Her eyes started glowing as I stepped over, she slowly picked up a pen. Her eyes glowed a bright white, as a wicked smile came across her face. The pen was a simple feather pen, that looked a little burnt. A brilliant Navy blue color covered the rest of the feather, but at the end was a sharp ink pen that looked like the ones they used in Western films.
Andromeda spun on her heels to face me, "I found a cowboy ghost!" She practically squealed as she ran to the counter to by that old pen.
On a nearby shelf I found a hat that, called out to me? It was an old cowboy hat, tucked in the band of the hat was an Ace of Spades and a King of Diamonds. I grabbed it and noticed a scorch mark near a small hole poked into the brim, I took it to the counter and bought the hat with whatever mortal money I could find and walked out. Andromeda and me walked towards the very end of the pier, excited about our purchases; Andromeda was thrilled to have found a ghost. She examined the pen and talked quietly and before us stood a legendary gunslinger I had overheard Hekate talking about, one of the first mortals introduced to our realm, Jack Ace Silver.