To Disturb the Harmony~Chapter 9

I woke up that morning to the sound of my alarm clock yelling at me. I hit the button and rolled out of bed with some resistance. I had a hard time getting back to sleep after almost being killed by some kind of lion cub and being forced into a quest that I really didn’t want to be a part of. I looked around the room as small amounts of sunlight started leaking in through the window and the reflection of a sword caught my eye. I looked at it and started getting dressed, but the sword seemed to be calling out to me whenever I would walk across the room without it. I placed it into my hands and walked out of the door toward the Big House. I saw Chiron waiting for me on the front steps talking to Kimi as she nodded to everything he said. Most likely he was giving her some kind of advice for the trip ahead.

“Ah yes, welcome Ashton. I was just talking with Kimi here. I see you still have the sword. Do you have any way to conceal it from the eyes of mortals?” Chiron asked. I looked at the sword and noticed that not only did I not have a way to hide it; I didn’t even have a way to carry it besides my hands. “I see, try and give it some thought as to the best way to carry it.

I did, I thought maybe I could carry it on my back, but who knows what the humans would see it as. I thought about maybe having it transform into something. Something that could easily be worn, but I could easily reach if I had to. However, only certain weapons had the ability to transform.

“See, all it took was a little thought,” Chiron said and I shook out of my daze. I looked at my hand, but instead of a sword, there was a small pocket knife. The sword seemed to have reacted to my thoughts somehow and I hadn’t even known about it. I made a quick flick of my wrist and the pocket knife opened, causing the sword to return to full size.

“This is amazing,” I said out loud. I made the same motion with my wrist and the sword folded up back into the pocket knife.

“Indeed, it appears you are ready to leave, with one very large exception,” he said and took a glance toward the cabins. We followed his gaze and saw the figure of a girl running toward us with one arm raised into the air waving at us.

“Wait, I’m coming,” she yelled, most likely waking up half the camp in the process. When she eventually reached us, she leaned over and placed her hands on her knees, taking in deep breathes. “I’m here, I’m here. Don’t leave without me or anything.”

“We were just about to leave without you,” I mused. She just gave me a quick jab in the shoulder in rebuttal.

“You’re so funny,” she said and then looked over at Kimi. “Hey, good morning.”

“Good morning,” Kimi said and she started playing with her long red hair. I noticed a hair clip that I don’t think she had yesterday, but if she ran into Rachel last night, I’m sure she gave it as a good luck charm. Rachel, being the Oracle, would sometimes have quick visions into the future or just have certain feelings about things. If she felt something was good luck, I wouldn’t object to taking it.

“So, I see we are all gathered. As per the usual list of quest supplies, you will each be given some mortal money as well as a few golden drachmas. Each bag also has a change of clothes in case you need it,” Chiron said with a smile as I saw Argus walk toward the garage to get the car. “Do you know where you’re headed?”

Silence filled the area and all three of us kind of just looked at each other hoping someone had an answer.

“Remember the lines of the prophecy,” Chiron said and I thought back on them. So travel to the sunset to find his hiding place I thought.

“We go west to a canyon,” I said. “The last line said to travel to the sunset, and the sun sets in the west.”

“Good thinking,” Chiron said. “However, west isn’t exactly a final destination. Any other clues to narrow it down?”

“I know!” Aisling shouted with excitement as she did a few short hops into the air. “It is someplace I’ve always wanted to go.”

“Where is that?” Kimi asked as she watched Aisling.

“Duh, only the most famous canyon in the world; the Grand Canyon,” she said with a smile. It seemed like as good a place as any, but I wondered what would be waiting for us once we got there.

“Well it seems like as good a spot as any to start your search. I wish you three luck in your quest,” Chiron said and made a quick hand gesture that was suppose to symbolize luck. Aisling then ran over to Argus, who had just started the car.

“Can I drive?” she asked and he glanced nervously at Chiron.

“No my dear, I’m afraid you don’t meet the minimum age for even a permit. Maybe next summer,” Chiron said and she pouted, but it quickly faded.

“Shotgun,” she called and jumped into the front seat. I walked over as well and jumped into the back seat with Kimi close behind. Before long, Argus had us within the city limits and dropped us off at Penn Station. He waved us goodbye and we gave him our thanks.

“So I’m guessing there isn’t a train that goes directly to the Grand Canyon,” I said, looking at the train times and destinations. I looked over and I saw Aisling’s grey eyes looking over the train schedules, departure times, destinations, and everything else.

“Ok, we will take this line to Washington D.C. and then take a train over to Chicago. There doesn’t seem to be any trains leaving directly west unfortunately, but at least we can enjoy a nice long trip. What could go wrong,” Aisling said and we walked toward the ticket window.