Daughter of the Sky, Son of the Earth

VI.

Fire

My eyes flew open, and I was surprised to see I was lying in front of the long grass field I had seen while I had gone on a run with Andrew. It was dark and the grass was humid and cold as a breeze of wind flew past me. Somehow, the air smelled fresher and much colder. 

In the distance, I heard rapid footsteps throughout the field, and I quickly rushed to my feet and ran to hide behind a tree. The footsteps were getting louder, and my body filled with adrenaline. I could hear my heart pumping in my chest, and I inhaled sharply when I saw a hooded person running out of the field. 

My eyes instantly widened when I recognized the dark cloak over the woman. This was Artemis, my mother. What was she doing here?

Even though every part of me wanted to walk out from my hiding spot, I was frozen. I couldn't move or speak from the shock of seeing her here. 

Suddenly, two big wolves stepped out of the forest holding two baskets and my face paled. I realized it then. I wasn't in the present nor the future, I was seeing the past. The day I was being dropped off at the orphanage. But why was I seeing this again? What was the point? And why did the memory start here?

The questions circled my mind as I watched the two wolves come closer to Artemis. They were huge. It was bigger than I ever expected a wolf to be. Their fur was thick and the muscles beneath it looked firm and strong. Even I would fear having one of those chasing me in the forest. 

"Thank you, Willow. I'll take this basket from here." Artemis said as she took the basket from one of the wolves. My eyes widened as I heard her voice. It sounded strong and confident, similar to Athena's but much more relaxed. Athena spoke very tensely and authoritatively. 

The wolf, Willow, huffed and Artemis smiled before petting its big head. "I'll be right back. Both of you stay here. We don't want to cause a scene," Artemis said slowly as she looked at the two wolves as if they could understand her. 

To my surprise, both wolves sat down and stayed put while Artemis walked away, carrying the basket with the baby version of me in one hand.

The two wolves sat patiently, and I didn't move either. I didn't know if they could hear me in this vision, but I didn't want to find out. They looked bigger than me. 

Suddenly, I heard a small cough before a baby started crying. My blood went cold when I saw the wolves circle the basket and try to see what was wrong. The baby was crying loudly and screaming as if it had just been scared awake. 

The wolves whined and looked at each other and then, Artemis appeared as she ran towards the two wolves with a heartbroken look on her face. Her cloak was dripping wet from the rain that had just begun. Her eyes were red and teary as she reached the wolves and instantly looked into the basket. 

Gently, she reached inside and pulled out another baby from the basket. Rocking him softly, the baby's cries began to die down. "Shhh, Mason. Everything is going to be fine. You're going to be okay."

The gentleness in her voice made my blood run cold. Was the baby in her arms my brother? Did I have a twin brother?

My heart was racing, and I felt as if the ground under me was spinning. I didn't know what to believe now. 

The baby cooed gently, breaking me out of my thoughts. Artemis smiled and placed the small boy back inside the basket and handed it to one of the wolves. "I promised your mother I would take you to your new home safely, but you have to cooperate. We cannot have you screaming like that. You're going to call out all the monsters," Artemis said as she got onto Willow's back and smiled at the baby. 

"Come on, we have to drop off Mason before dawn," Artemis said, and just then, a big thunder resonated throughout the forest, making me wince and Artemis yelled something to the wolves before they charged deeper into the field.

...

 I woke up gasping for breath. Sweat was falling from my forehead as my head throbbed from the vision I had just dreamed of. Placing my hand on my head, I looked to Andrew who was sleeping next to me as if nothing had happened. He must have been too tired to notice I had woken up. 

Shaking my head, I laid down again, and the images of what I had just seen echoed in my mind. 

He had been there with me that night. We had been separated on the same night.

He wasn't my brother, but my mother had dropped us off both on the same night. That had to mean he wasn't very far away, right? I chuckled in my mind and shook my head. Don't dream of it, Aileen. Remember your mother is a goddess. She can probably appear anywhere she wanted when she wanted. I thought to myself.

Sighing, I closed my eyes and tried to calm my breathing. My heart was still racing but it was slowly returning to its normal speed.

Nothing happened. I was still wide awake.

My eyes flew open, and I tried to turn to my side to face Andrew, but the tiredness didn't come back. I was too anxious. Too worried about what tomorrow would bring. 

I looked at the clock on the nightstand and realized it was 4 am. Only a couple of hours until dawn. 

Filled with frustration, I tried to force myself to sleep once again but all my attempts were useless. 

Finally, I got up and put on my shoes and sweater before walking out of the room. Without thinking, I walked into Barbara's storage closet where she had kept her books and I began to skim the titles of each one.

I didn't know what I was looking for but then, one of the titles caught my eyes. 

The Prophecies of the Oracle

I could vaguely remember Barbara mentioning an oracle. She had said it was sort of like a medium that received messages from the gods or the future about what was to come. Of course, the most famous oracle was the one they called Priestess of the Temple of Apollo. 

I shuddered as I imagined what this book could have inside. I wondered if I really wanted to know. I wasn't so sure, but sleep wasn't going to come, either way so I guessed figuring out what was written in these pages was better than nothing. 

Taking a deep breath, I opened the leather cover and was surprised to see the pages were blank. Shock and confusion filled me as I tried to think of an explanation when dark ink started to appear on the yellowed pages making me gasp. 

The ink solidified and soon, I was staring into a full text. 

The Prophecy of the Fall of Olympus and the Elementals.

My blood went cold, and I considered putting the book down, but curiosity got the best of me. 

I turned the page and started reading. 

Zeus will be the means of his own destruction. A demoness has managed to blind him, and the king of gods shall fall as his heir claims the throne. The half-monster, half-god creature is more powerful than anything ever seen in this world. 

Destruction, havoc, and loss follow his every path as he grows and becomes his full version.

The rise of the Elementals could pose a threat to this all-powerful creature but the four will fall no matter how hard they try. 

During the summer solstice, the final war will be upon us. Zeus will be badly injured and captured and it will be up to the others to stop his son from conquering them all.

If they shall fail, the world will plummet into darkness and there will be nothing but death on the earth. Monsters will rule everyone and everything and the gods will fall into nothingness until they are forgotten from all memory. 

There were more details sprawled on the pages, but I was too shocked and concerned to want to know any more. Barbara had always said the future was a sensitive subject and that we should always be careful with what we did to alter it. 

Shutting the book, I placed it back where I found it and tried to clear my mind by grabbing another book. This one talked about the gods' lineages. 

...

I hadn't realized I had fallen asleep until light streamed from the small window outside and I groggily lifted my head. My neck was stiff, and I winced as I straightened my back. 

Stretching, I took a deep breath before looking down at the book on my lap. I had fallen asleep just as I was reading about all of Zeus's endless children. He either really liked children, or he was just too careless to care about the consequences of his actions. The more I read about his sons and daughter, the more I felt sympathy for Hera. She deserved better.

I didn't know what her story was. Only the myths, but I was sure it wasn't easy for her to see her husband flaunting around with hundreds of girls and creatures while she was left to tend for her own children. 

I shuddered and closed the book before getting to my feet and walking out of the room. 

Outside it was quiet and that was somehow worrying. 

Slowly, I walked over to the kitchenette and was surprised to see it was empty. I walked over to Alex's room and found her bed empty. 

Anxiety filled me as I rushed to Andrew's room and also found he wasn't there. 

Quickly, I made my way out of the cabin and instantly let out a deep breath as I saw both of them scattered by the lake with worried looks on their faces. "What are you looking for?" I called out and both of them jumped at the sound of my voice.

Relief filled their faces, and they quickly made their way towards me. 

"Where were you? We were worried something happened to you," Alex said with her arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Sorry. I fell asleep while reading in the storage room," I said with a shrug and her eyes widened. 

"Aileen Hagan, reading a book?" She asked in disbelief and I nodded my head. 

"Wow, who are you and what have you done to my friend?" She asked with a chuckle and I gently nudged her. 

Andrew reached us and before he could ask, I clapped my hands together and smiled. "Now, who's ready for breakfast?"

The morning flew by in a flash and after we ate our breakfast, we began to pack for our journeys ahead of us. 

Alex made sure we had everything and that we had enough clothes just in case. 

It wasn't until it was almost noon that the three of us walked out of the cabin with backpacks on our backs. I carried my crossbody bag as well as my baby belongings and held the compass close to me before opening it and seeing the green-eyed boy's face.

I was the last to walk out of the cabin and as soon as I closed the door behind me, I felt my heart begin to break. 

Looking back, I realized this might be the last time I was going to be here. At least for a while. 

Somehow, that hurt much more than I cared to admit, and it took all in me to hold back the tears that threatened to fall. 

Andrew placed a comforting hand on my shoulder, and I turned to look at him while smiling. "It's time to go," I whispered, and he nodded.

Alex and he had already said their goodbyes, but I was postponing it as much as I could. I didn't want us to separate. I didn't know how long we'd be far from each other. 

"Be careful, alright? Make sure you watch your back," I whispered into his ear and he nodded his head as he hugged me tightly. 

I inhaled his scent deeply and sighed as I tried to calm myself. 

"You too. Try to keep out of trouble. Remember Alex is with you and she's tough, but she will need you too," Andrew whispered and I nodded my head. 

Our eyes met and, at the same time, we both reached for one another until our lips finally touched. Sparks flew between us and my heart thundered inside my chest. My arms tightened around him as I tried to memorize the way he felt.

We pulled away after a couple of seconds and tears shone in my eyes, but I put on a smile as we walked down the steps of the cabin and headed in Alex's direction. She smiled and opened her arm for me.

Looking at Andrew one last time, I pulled away from him and headed towards Alex. 

My friend placed a comforting arm around my shoulders and smiled. "Where are we off to, captain?" She asked with excitement in her voice. 

I chuckled and shook my head while opening the compass. 

"Until the arrow changes again, we need to head south," I said, and she nodded her head. 

Looking back at Andrew one last time, I waved goodbye at him and smiled. He returned the gesture with a saddened smile of his own and then turned away in the opposite direction.

Take care, I thought in my mind before trailing after Alex who was already a couple of steps in front of me.