Half Blood Revenge

The Truth

“What the heck is happening,” I keep saying in my head.

My dad walks over to me like I have known him my whole life and embraces me in a big hug.

“Wow, you have grown more beautiful than I ever could imagined,” He says and I blush. “Although with a beautiful mother like yours, it was inevitable.” This time making mom blush.

“What are you doing here?” I ask him, realizing it came off a bit rude. “I mean, I am happy to finally meet you, but why after 18 years?”

Apollo, Dad, goes into explaining how he has to stay away for my safety.

“If I stay too long it can be very dangerous for you. Which is why I can’t stay long today. With it being your 18th birthday, you will become even more of a target.” He says.

“Target?” I asked, confused. “Target for what?”

My dad explains, “You see, a long time ago my father Zeus created my twin sister, Artemis, and myself with my mother, Leto. This did not sit well with the wife of Zeus, Hera. When I was growing up, we were constantly harassed by creatures on earth, sent by Hera.”

“That’s awful,” I said. “How could a God want to kill innocent children!” My disgust must be funny to my Dad, as this makes him laugh.

“I thought the same thing, Melody.” Apollo said. “My father Zeus eventually let my sister and I into Olympus to take our place among the Gods, but Hera has never forgotten the betrayal of Zeus and continues to haunt us today.”

“How?” I ask.

“This part is very important, Melody. So you need to pay very close attention to all I am about to tell you and please try to keep composure of your emotions, okay?” He requests.

I nod my head. He then goes to explain how Hera no longer sends monsters after him, but after his children. If Hera finds out about me, she will send monsters to try and kill me. And I guess when you turn 18 you emit some sort of aura that these mythical creatures can detect.

I continue to nod as he tells me that there is a safe haven for “people like me” as he puts it. Other Gods create offspring and they roam the earthy freely. Some who need protection, some who choose to become protectors, and some who just want to be with people like them have a place called Camp Delos. It was named after the safe haven Apollo’s mom used to give birth to him and his sister.

“Where is Camp Delos?” I ask my Dad.

He explains that it is not far from here, in Mt. Washington State Park, right on the Connecticut New York and Massachusetts state line. The entrance is right where all three states meet at Tri-State Point. I know that place, it isn’t far from here. Mom and I have been up there.

I start thinking about it some more and wonder…

“Is that why you took the job here, Mom?” I ask. “Did you know we may need to be close to this area when I turned 18?”

Mom has been hanging in the back letting Dad do most of the talking, but as she steps up, Apollo grabs her hand and my heart aches a bit as I can still see he has feelings for her, and I wonder what life would have been like if he could have been around.

“Yes, I could not tell you much because I couldn’t risk your exposure. Your Dad told me that we may need to be near this area on your 18th birthday, for your safety.” Mom explains.

I still can’t believe this, but I am not about to lose my life to God knows what creatures, so I continue to listen to the instructions laid out by my father.

After he is done, I couldn’t help but ask him a burning question that has been on my mind all morning.

“Do you have other children roaming around on earth, besides me?” I ask, shyly.

“I am not going to lie to you about this, but the truth may be hard to swallow. I have had hundreds of other half-blood children with other humans over the millennium of my life. We Gods come to visit earth to check in our mankind. Over the years many half-bloods were born from my infidelities and it is similar with the other Gods. The thing you need to realize is, once I found out Hera was actively hunting my children, I slowed down considerably. While I would have frequent flings in the past, Over the past century I only created offspring, if I was in love.” The last part he said staring at my mother.

“I didn’t want to see the fate of my children continue to be terrorized by Hera. So, I slowed my infidelities and it seemed she slowed her hunt. But, that doesn’t mean she has stopped. She found out that I have a child, but she is not sure of their age and their location. She just knows you are out here someone.” This makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.

Apollo continued explaining that he wants me to go to Camp Delos where I will be safe. He has already planned my escort with another half-blood in the area, the son of his twin sister, Artemis. He said this boy was around my age and was planning to head to Camp and agreed to be my escort. He has been training for the past six months since his 18th birthday and is going to be a warrior in the half-blood army.

This is all so much to process. I can see tears starting to well up in my mothers eyes. I go over to her and give her a big hug. I don’t want to be away from her, I have never been away from her. It has always been her and I.

She grips my face in her hands and tells me everything will be okay. “You are strong, Melody. I know you have your insecurities, but you need to let them go. I also understand that for 18 years it has been you and me, kiddo. But now it is time for you to start your life and I need to know you will be safe.” Mom says while kissing my forehead.

I give her a big hug and tears come down my face. “I love you, mom.”

We embrace for a few more moments, I wipe my eyes and turn towards my Dad. He almost looks jealous.

“As your mom has already told you, your powers will start to develop over the next week. I am excited to see what you possess.  I heard you are already a fantastic musician.” Dad says to me. “I see your keyboard there, would you mind showing me what you got?” He winks.

“Sure,” I say.

I sit down at the keyboard and start to play. As I am playing, I can see my Dad’s eyes light up with pride. But all of a sudden mom seems to be in a trance and Aunt Shelly walks in looking like a zombie.

“What is happening?” I ask my Dad.

“Well, it seems like when you play music, you put people in to some sort of trance.” He replies.

I stop playing and they both snap out of it.

“How did I get up here?” asked Aunt Shelly.

“We found one of Melody’s magical powers,” Apollo said. “When she plays music, she puts everyone around her into some sort of trans. You know Melody, you might even have the power of persuasion when they are in that unconscious state. But, we won’t test that theory out today.”

“Woah, I have power in my music?” I think to myself.

My dad can see I am deep in thought. “Melody, these powers can be dangerous, so I must warn you to take extreme caution when using them. Use them for good and not for evil or selfish purposes.”

I nod, understanding him perfectly. He then walks over and sits on the bench beside me, taking me into a side hug.

“Listen, Melody. I wish I could stay longer, but my presence here brings danger. I wanted to give you this present for your birthday. Please open it when I am gone. I hope these items come in handy and you find great value from them.” He says to me.

“Will I ever see you again?” I ask with a shaky voice.

“I have always been around, watching you grow, my love. I could never risk your exposure, but I have seen you grow into this beautiful amazing woman. Please know I will continue to watch over you and if an opportunity presents itself where we can meet again, I will take full advantage of that moment.” He says with a big smile and pulls me in for a hug.

“Dad, one last question before you go. When do I need to leave for Camp Delos and what is my escorts name?”

As my Dad stands up, ready to leave he replies. “You will leave at 5pm today, and your escort will be a boy named Alex Cirillo.”

My mouth drops to the floor.