My first night of sleep as a self-acknowledged god was blissfully nightmare-free.
In fact, I didn't dream at all. The moment I closed my eyes the world went dark and stayed that way until they cracked back open at first light. I'm no bear, the experience was exactly what I always imagined hibernation would feel like.
By the time I was up Calypso was gone. The smaller bed I had taken note of when I woke up was hers, set up right next to my own. Three whole years she had slept at my side to hold watch and keep me comfortable, all while I just slept and slept and…
I shook myself. Self-pity was a whirlpool I couldn't afford to be sucked into right now.
With the room to myself, I pulled back my blankets and dangled my feet off the bed. Then I shut my eyes. I directed my attention inside, toward my body and the sensations I was feeling.
I knew what I was looking for, I just didn't have the slightest clue about how to find it. If I were a god, I should have a true form. Calypso assured me that was what happened when I managed to injure Kronos during the escape; for just a moment, I'd reached the real power inside of me and directed it outward.
I wasn't being greedy though. I didn't need to have enough power to burn the Titan daddy himself. Yet. But my 'mortal' body still felt all wrong, just the way it had before, like I was moving it with conscious thoughts instead of reflexes. I felt like a full-grown toddler relearning how to walk.
As I sat there, searching around my gut for anything that felt different, I had a pretty crushing amount of success. I thought maybe there was something different in the area around my heart, a kind of warmth I had never felt there before. But no matter how much I prodded or pulled it wouldn't spread, and I never shed my skin to become some glorious all-glowing being.
In fact, there was only one change I was one-hundred-percent confident in. My mind had changed. The urgent need to be doing something that I'd lived with for as long as I could remember – the byproduct of my ADD-inducing battle reflexes – was gone. It was like a voice that had been ranting in my head for years had finally been gagged. That was pretty nice. The not-so-nice part was the creeping feeling of unease that my brain had been altered somehow.
I kept my little meditation going for about two hours before quitting (something only possible because of the change in my head). In the end, I never made any progress. When I finally gave up on that, I took to pacing back and forth, hoping to at least figure out how to walk normally. I had more success here, achieving something that I thought looked normal enough, but it was still taking more attention than it should have. Finally, frustration boiled over. I turned and slammed my fist into the wall, before taking a deep breath and leaving to go and find Calypso.
It was only much later, when I returned to the room that afternoon, that I discovered the dent and hairline-fissures now decorating one of our walls.
-
"Is this seat taken?"
Mikey twisted to look up at me, huddled on the bright red turf of the football field. He was a ways past the last of the tents, faced away so he could see the woods past where the missing field goal once stood. His eyes studied my pointing finger before following the direction all the way to the spot next to him.
"S'not a seat," he said. "That's the ground."
"Really?" I sat down next to him, exactly where I'd pointed. "Wow, you're right. There actually isn't a seat here."
He squinted at me. "Are you being serious?"
"I'm not. I was telling a joke."
Mikey considered that. "It wasn't funny," he decided.
"Not really," I agreed.
It had been two days since I first visited the camp. That was just how long it took for me to get Mikey alone.
He was one busy kid. Probably because he had more energy than three-quarters of the other survivors combined. Sometimes he was helping at the kitchen, sometimes he was washing clothes, sometimes he was trying to convince the few other kids his age to take up some game, and sometimes he was doing what he was doing now, posted at the edge of camp keeping a watch for anything coming.
Why did I want to get him alone, you ask? Simple. Something had been bothering me since the first day, and Mikey was the only one with the answers I wanted and no reservations about sharing them.
"Are you looking for something?" I asked.
His eyes had already returned to the tree line. He was staring with so much intensity that I would've been impressed to see it from someone three times as old. He offered me a single nod.
"What're you looking for?"
"Animals," he said. "Calypso told me to report any I see to her. But she really means snakes. I know because whatever I tell her, that's what she always asks about."
I blinked, more than a little impressed with his reasoning.
"Why does she care about snakes?"
"I don't know," he said. "She won't say. Maybe she really really likes them."
That wasn't it. I still remembered Calypso and I's encounter with a snake the first night I woke up. My spotting the snake was what made her lie. Even more telling, I thought I'd seen a flash of fear in her eyes when I told her about the animal, just in the moment before she turned away from me.
"Maybe they have something to do with Rio," I said casually.
That got Mikey to look at me. "You know Rio?" he asked.
"Sure. But I'd like to know a little more."
He hesitated. "Grace told me not to tell you who he is."
"But I already know who he is, don't I?"
"You do?"
"Yep. He's that super dumb, annoying guy that's totally obsessed with Calypso and won't leave you alone."
I held my breath. This was the risky part. I'd hoped Mikey would spill the details right away, but since they coached him not to I needed to convince him that I knew way more than I really did.
From the name I assumed Rio was a guy. Given how gloomy everyone got when his name was brought up he couldn't be popular, so I doubted Mikey would disagree about calling him dumb and annoying. The one I was least certain about was the Calypso part. Annie mentioned that he'd been chasing this batch of survivors for ages. I couldn't believe that the mortals were so unlucky that someone would follow them all around the country, so it had to be Calypso he was interested in. She was definitely beautiful and powerful enough to catch a few eyes.
Mikey studied me for a few more seconds. Then a smile slowly spread on his face.
"He is dumb." Mikey giggled. "Really dumb. And really ugly, too."
"But what exactly is he?" I asked.
Mikey thought about that. "A god, I think. He can't die, Calypso said so. And he works for someone. But Calypso wouldn't tell me who."
Definitely some kind of immortal then. That made sense— anything less and Calypso should've been able to blast them away whenever she wanted.
"He's never alone," Mikey said, continuing. "Every time I've seen him he's always got stuff with him. Big ugly monsters. They're even uglier than he is. And they roar, and look scary, and then all the people at camp always get really sad for a few days afterward. Except Grace and Annie. Those two are like me, monsters don't scare us. That's why I like them."
I patted his pack. I didn't even mean to do it, it was just a natural reaction to hearing him talk like that.
Mikey shifted. "Don't pat me! That's for little kids. I'm just a kid, not a little one."
"Sorry," I said, hiding my smile. "So what does this Rio guy want?"
"Calypso."
"Like he wants her to do something for him, or…"
"No." Mikey's little hands curled into fists. He pulled his legs up to his chest. "He wants her."
Part of me was tempted to ask for more, but I held back. I really didn't need it. Calypso was an unmarried Titan in a world by her dad's friends, beautiful even by immortal standards. What other reason would a minor god need to chase after her?
"I hear you're pretty strong."
I focused back on Mikey. He was still glaring into the distance, his face more serious than a little kid's— sorry, a kid's ever should've been.
"Who'd you hear that from?"
"Calypso and Thalia."
I jolted. The first was obvious, but sometimes I forgot Thalia spent time with these people too. She wasn't really gone, just off doing something Calypso wouldn't describe. "What'd they say?"
"That you killed tons of monsters," Mikey said. "Calypso said you even fought her dad, just not alone. Thalia said you're pretty tough, but not as tough as she is."
I leaned in. "I'm actually tougher," I whispered.
He gave me a disbelieving look. But it got him to stop glaring, which I liked.
"No way."
"Yes, way."
"Thalia can shoot lightning."
"I can control water."
"Thalia can use her spear suuuper fast."
"I'm better than her with a sword."
"Thalia can fly!"
"But she's too afraid of heights to use it!"
He shook his head. "That's not true! She showed me."
I blinked. That was new… "Fine, maybe she can fly now. But that's basically just a party trick. What else does she have over me?"
"She didn't fall asleep for three years."
That shut me up pretty quickly.
"You know what… fair enough."
He turned away triumphantly, back to looking to the woods. He kept sneaking glances from the corner of his eye, though. Finally said, "It's fine if you aren't as tough as Thalia."
I paused. A grin spread on my face.
"Ah! I knew you liked me!"
"You're strong," he continued, "but you didn't know who Rio was, did you?"
I froze.
He nodded to himself. "You came and talked to me so I'd tell you. Even though the others didn't want you to know, you went to me 'cause I was the youngest."
I stayed quiet, holding back my surprise to wait and listen.
"The others would get really mad if they knew," he said, "but I won't tell them if you do something."
"Wait, you're blackmailing me?"
He suddenly stood up, forcing me to tilt my neck to look at him. I thought I saw the start of tears in the corner of his eyes.
"The two of us didn't do anything wrong if there is no Rio to talk about!" he declared. "You have to get rid of him! Make him disappear, and I won't tell anyone!"
He was definitely crying. I looked at him breathing hard and doing his best to look serious. As he talked, he'd thrown one hand out the way people did for dramatic effect. I wondered who he learned that from.
Then I stood up too.
The way he looked up at me, it was almost like he'd forgotten I was actually a full-grown adult.
"You shouldn't blackmail people," I said. "That makes you like Rio. It makes you a bad person."
It was a little bit of a generalization, but I wasn't used to being on this end of conversations about life advice, and I felt I should at least make a little bit of an effort to sound like Chiron.
Mikey puffed out his chest. "I know it's bad! But Calypso cries when she thinks we can't see her!"
For the second time in a few minutes, I froze. "What?"
"I've seen it." Mikey stared down at the turf. "I followed her, the last time Rio came. She went off on her own and cried. I want to stop it. I want him gone! But… I'm not strong. I'm a little kid. This is the only thing I can do!"
I ruffled his hair the way Grace had days earlier. He jerked back, staring at me.
"You're not a little kid. Just a kid, remember?"
He looked a little lost, but that quickly turned to determination. He gave me his firmest nod.
"And next time? Make sure to ask before trying blackmail. They could always say yes."
"You'll do it?" he burst out.
"You're right about me sleeping for three years," I said darkly. "Calypso's the reason I'm standing here. I should at least do this much for her."
"Yes!" Mikey shouted, so loud and sudden I actually took a step back. He bent forward, pumping his fists. "Yes! Yes! Yes!"
I laughed, holding up my hands. "Hold on, you've got to tell me more or I won't know what to do. When does Rio show up?"
Mikey straightened. He put a lot of effort into containing himself and just about managed it. There was no wiping away his beaming smile, though.
"It changes. Sometimes we don't see him for weeks. Other times, he shows up after days. Usually you only know he's coming when you smell his monsters or start seeing the tumbleweeds."
"Tumbleweeds."
"Y'know, those dead grass thingies that roll around—"
"No," I said. "Tumbleweeds."
I pointed behind him. He twisted around. Bobbing slowly across the artificial grass was a golden-brown circular plant ball. It was quickly joined by another, then another. Dozens bounced into view, rolling quickly in the soft wind. They collided with the tents and canopies, some collecting in patches while others rolled straight through. Panicked voices rose up not far away. I thought I caught a whiff of something on the breeze.
Mikey and I traded looks. Then we put our heads down and ran for camp.