The Legacy of the Sky, Book 1: Chapter 13

Chapter 13: Settling Down
Two days after we got back from the quest, Gregory brought me and Elissa back to St. Charles Academy to gather up what few personal belongings we had at the dorm.

“You leavin’ all you’re school stuff?” he asked when I had put everything into my school bag to bring back to camp.

“Yeah, what use am I going to have for it at camp?” I asked him.

“You gotta point,” he grinned, and then led the way out of the dorm. I only retrieved some of my normal clothes, my MP3 player, my laptop and cell phone (to which Gregory thoroughly protested against, something about technology plus demigods equals bad monsters. Whatever, I saw the Athena cabin using it all the time), and my only photo of my mother, which seems a little weird and childish and embarrassing, but since she died ten years ago, I kept this with me. She had written her name in neat cursive in the corner, and I was never sure why. Jewel Ordona. She was standing on the beach of Sydney, British Columbia in Canada, where we used to live. Even I’m not sure how I ended up in the United States; it was just an odd twist of events that had led to something bigger. I tucked everything away and met with Elissa in the school’s entrance foyer, who had all of her things packed away. Together, we took a taxi back out to Long Island.

The next month was the best summer I had had in all my life. I spent my time practicing sword fighting ( to which I found I liked the short silver sword I stole from Camp Othrys better than the ones we had at camp, which Annabeth recognized a Roman gladius), learning how to better read and write ancient Greek (apparently my dyslexia was caused by my brain being hardwired to interpret ancient Greek. Huh), practicing archery, building things at the camp forge, canoeing, and climbing the rock climbing wall while avoiding the lava that was being poured down it. I would also visit and occasionally take Gunner out for a ride, to which he seemed very pleased.

The night of July fourth, they were going to be setting up a special fireworks show for Independence Day. That afternoon, after working up my courage all morning, I caught up to Elissa as she was coming out her archery session.

“Hey, tonight’s the firework show,” I said when I came to her side.

“Yeah. I wonder if demigod fireworks are different from normal ones,” she thought out loud.

“Yeah, I was wondering if you wanted to watch them with me. I’ve got a blanket and everything,” I offered hopefully. She looked a little crestfallen when I asked, like she was hoping for something different.

“Oh. I’m so sorry Matt, but, you know Brennan Flarity from Tyche? Well, he kinda asked me first, and I said I’d go with him,” she said rather guiltily. My heart fell, and I nodded in saddened understanding.

“Oh, that’s okay,” I said, even though it was not okay. “I’ll catch you later,” I said, and then walked away, even though she was calling my name after me.

That night, I still went up to the beach to watch the show. I set out my blanket in front of a thick tree, so I could lean back onto it (despite what the dryad, or tree nature spirit, would think). The Hephaestus cabin apparently always sets up the fireworks in a special way. I could see them all on the beach watching as the slimmest kid from their cabin who looked like an elf ran away after igniting the fireworks. They flew into the sky and they exploded in such a way that they formed scenes of various battles. I looked up, and I couldn’t help but admire the Hephaestus cabin’s artwork.

“Mind if I borrow you’re blanket?” I heard a girl’s voice ask, and I was kind of hoping it was Elissa, but I looked up to find somebody completely different. If I were standing, we would have probably been about the same height, but I might be a little taller. She had sandy blond hair that fell just above her shoulders and shone like gold in the firework and moon light. She stared at me with beautiful icy blue-gray eyes, almost like Kelsey Sheppard’s, but these were a lot kinder, innocent and meaning no harm.

“Um, sure, but first, who are you?” I asked. I wasn’t really willing to share my blanket with a complete stranger.

“Oh, I’m Elizabeth Johnson, daughter of Athena,” she explained, and she held out her hand. I reached up and grasped it in welcome.

“Matthew-” I started to introduce myself, but she cut me off.

“Anderson, son of Zeus,” she finished. “Word about a child of the Big Three gets around quick, and I’ve got a photographic memory,” she admitted.

“Have a seat,” I offered, kind of impressed. She sat down beside me on the blanket, and together we watched the firework show explode against the stars.

''' End of Book One. '''

Chapter 12: I Learn a Secret