Vengeance

Will had to leave the island. He said that it was his turn to clean the stables, so he left, leaving me and Isabella alone on the island.

The sun had long set and the moon and stars had taken over the sky.

"You never cease to amaze me" Isabella said as she looked towards the moonlit sky.

"Well, you do that too. I'm just returning the favor." I said and she looked at me, her brows knotted together.

"When did I surprise you?" she asked innocently and I smiled at her.

"You can charmspeak, you are a good fighter, you can perform invisibility spell... you are perfect in every possible way. And just when I thought I can't get surprised anymore, I came to know that you never told anyone about your birthday. You are full of surprises." I said and she smiled brightly.

"How did you know about my birthday?" she asked and I told her. When I was done, she was staring at me with awe.

"You did all that...just to surprise me?" she disbelieving asked and I nodded.

"Why would you do that?" she asked. Her eyes were so pure, giving away all her emotions. God! how may I answer this question? Isabella, you have have put a charming spell on me!

"Because I wanted to see your smile. Just like the one in the photo." I said and she tilted her head in the most adorable way.

"What's the difference? It's me in the photo and I don't think a smile can change." she said and I stared at her. How could I tell her that her smile HAS changed? The girl in the photo looked happy... happy from within. But now, the smile has faded somewhere.

"I'll tell you, but not now." I said and she looked like she wanted to argue but finally nodded.

"I'll wait." she said, peacefully gazing at the moon shining above us.

We stayed there for quite some time.

"I think we should go back now." I offered and she agreed reluctantly. It made me happy. She really liked my gift.

I whistled and Luo and Cooper came flying. We mounted on our ride and left the island.

"Adrian, this was the best birthday ever. Thank you so much." she said on our way back.

Finally, we were home. Isabella had used magic to change her clothes to normal. We didn't want any suspicious eyes staring at us and thinking, 'where did they steal that dress from?' and that kind of things.

We reached the dining area. Dinner had already begun. Luckily, everybody was busy in eating so nobody noticed us, except Hecate.

She was sitting at her usual place, the head dining table, above from all tables.

She looked at us and then looked away just that instant, as if we were some insects, not worthy of her attention. Well, I didn't mind it. I had been garnering pretty much attention lately and I didn't like it. I am better off unknown.

I and Isabella sat beside Will, who was having a tiramisu for dessert.

He saw us and smiled. "So, you're finally back." he said.

"What happened till now?" Isabella asked as she picked an ice-cream for herself.

"Nothing much. Just the normal." he casually said.

After that, I had a good meal. I was about to go to the cabin when I noticed Will sitting behind a tree in the garden.

"Don't want to sleep?" I asked and he looked up at me.

"No, it's just...I want to be here for a while." he said while looking away. A sure sign he was not telling me everything.

I decided to change his mood. I knew he was sad because of Michelle, so I knew I had to talk about her to make Will happy.

I sat beside him and Will stared at me confusingly.

"Tell me. Tell me everything about her." I said as I made myself comfortable on the ground.

"Let's start from...how did you guys meet?" I asked. His expressions were still doubtful as if I was talking all nonsense.

"She... she is a mortal. Not a sendate like... me" he said and I caught why he hesitated. He was about to say 'we' ,when he remembered that I am a half-blood, not a sendate.

"If she is a mortal, why Hecate agreed to bring her here?" I asked, Hecate had told me that no-one except sendates, ( half-blood, in my case) and gods can enter this valley. It's heavily guarded with magic.

"Hecate didn't bring her here... I did." he said. "I met her in New York. She was a student in a school there and I was in that city because I was on a quest. I was fighting a centaur, when she saw me."

"What? she saw you and the CENTAUR?" I astonishingly asked. "But I had heard that mortals can't see monsters or... gods."

"Yes, you're right. But some mortals are special... they're born with the power to see them. That's also why they are most likely to be in danger." Will said. The way he said 'special' I felt as if he wasn't talking about Michelle's power, but she herself.

"I brought her here because I thought that she's not safe without protection. Fortunately, Hecate agreed. But..."

"But what?"

"The next week, Apollo came here. He declared Michelle as his Oracle and transferred the Spirit if the Oracle of Delphi into her." his voice echoed with hatred, every ounce of his voice conveyed one thing : vengeance.

"Apollo has been using many humans and other beings as a container for his immortal 'toy'...and when they expires...he finds another one. For him Michelle has always been a thing he can use. I hate it that he's my grandfather. I...I hate myself!" he clutched his hair tightly.

"Hey, stop blaming yourself!" I held his hand. "Will, please let go of this hatred. It's not made for you." I said and he looked at me. His eyes were filled with tears and regret, but there was something else too, hopelessness. He had become hopeless. He had started to doubt that he will ever be able to find Michelle.

That was the time, I decided to tell him. I HAD to tell him about my oath.

"Will, We will bring Michelle back, I will. I swear it on the river Styx."