Chapter 22: The Quest
"That didn't take nearly as long as i thought." said Hermes, who was twiddling with his hair.
"Because these imbeciles had the gall to show up on here, on Olympus and seek safety." Ares gave Willa a smug look, infuriating her.
"It's not her fault, Ares." Aphrodite said quietly. Ares laughed.
"She led him like a pig to slaughter."
"I was trying to save him!" Willa retorted.
"And instead," Apollo spoke quietly. "Eurus and my Oracle are both dead."
Everyone grew silent as Apollo walked over to the Oracle and bent down. He turned he dress into a long, shimmering gold cloth and shrouded her in it , wrapping her body from head to toe. Hermes walked over and picked up the winged body of Eurus. He turned around and Eurus body was draped in a long white cloth. Thunder could be heard overhead, and everyone looked back towards the palace.
"I'll be back later. I'll let the other winds know."
"Hermes, Zeus said-"
"Let him go, Artemis." said Apollo.
Hermes walked past the others and vanished, leaving behind a golden ray of light that faded after a few seconds.
"You two need to go as well." Apollo said, looking at Willa and Caitlyn. "You don't want to confront Zeus when he's in a bad mood."
"But I don't know what to do," Willa started to tear up. "Aphrodite told me everything would be okay."
"And it will." She interjected. "Just... not now."
"You visited my Oracle to see if he can be saved. What else did she show you?" Apollo watched them with teary eyes. Willa could sense that somehow, he already knew. She couldn't lie.
"She said I could see my dad," said Caitlyn, before Willa could speak. "But not my mom. Why can't I see her?"
"Your mother was murdered by vampires, supernatural demons like that man from earlier. Your father, on the other hand,was killed by," Willa shook her head in protest, cutting him off.
"By a mythical greek...entity." he continued, looking from Caitlyn to Willa. "Thus, he is part of the greek world now. His spirit rests in Asphodel, and I will allow you to visit him."
"What do you mean allow?" Aphrodite snapped. "She is to be my maiden, in case you've forgotten."
"She is a child." said Apollo
"She'll get older." Aphrodite replied.
"She has vampirism." he continued.
"So I'll cure it! Why does this matter to you?"
"OKAY! I'M GONE!" Ares erupted into flames and disappeared.
Artemis watched them quietly before looking at the sky.
"I should go too. Now that we've found him Laelaps can rejoin the stars. I'm sure Zeus wouldn't mind." Artemis twinkled into dozens of tiny lights that flew towards the sky.
"Anyways," said Apollo, irritated. "She is one of the last beings to interact with my Oracle, and I want her last prophecies to come to fruition."
"They weren't exactly prophecies." Willa mumbled, and everyone looked at her.
"What do you mean by that?" Aphrodite asked.
"Well, she told me I should go see my mother, and then she kind of had a seizure, and said Zeus was interfering."
"Of course he was." said Apollo through gritted teeth. "He never stops."
"That's what you should do then." said Aphrodite cheerfully. "She'll be in the Fields of Asphodel as well. You can take Caitlyn to reunite with her father while you're there."
"Whoa, no. I didn't even know this was possible. Why didn't any of you tell me sooner? Why didn't Wilhelm tell me sooner?"
Aphrodite and Apollo both looked at the palace as thunder boomed overhead again.
"Of course." Willa rolled her eyes. "How will we get there? WIll it be dangerous?"
Apollo pulled out two bags of black sand and two gold coins.
"Find a body of water and put this sand in it. Just one bag. It creates a portal to the Underworld, where Charon will be waiting. Tell him you are on a quest from the Oracle of Apollo and hope he's not in a mood. Tell him you need to go to Asphodel."
"And when you've had your fun," Aphrodite cut him off. " Go to Elysium, find a pond, and come right back."
"No." said Apollo. "Find the Oracle, and ask her who is she going to host next. We're going to send you back to Earth now, you can't do this here."
Willa and Caitlyn both started to fade away. Caitlyn was excited to see through her hand.
"Cool!" she exclaimed.
"Don't worry, you guys got this!" Aphrodite waved goodbye while Apollo stared at them solemnly.
"You're a goddess and a maiden. It's not like we're sending two crappy demigods to fight is it?"
Just as they vanished, an enormous bolt of lightning tore through the palace and hit the sky, spreading and scattering into dozens of other bolts that streaked the sky, lighting up every surface. Apollo and Aphrodite watched a small figure drop from the sky onto the palace, and mount Olympus began to rain.
"It's a good thing she didn't see that." said Apollo.
"Definitely."