I CHAT WITH DAD NUMBER ONE WHILE DEPRESSED

Ever since Hades claimed me as his son, everyone's been avoiding me. If I show up anywhere, people just run away. It's kind of like the cheese touch in Diary of the Wimpy Kid or the cooties thing everyone does when they're little. The same happened to Helen. Thank Goodness, her new friend, Emilie, still taught her archery and kept her company. Julien hung out with us two, but even he seemed to be keeping his distance. That made me feel miserable, and even more so when I had to put up with this for three days. All I've been doing is spending as much time as possible training. I spent hours working on my swordsmanship(and scythesmanship?).

I suppose I can't really blame them. Everyone, even the gods, fears Hades, whose name is synonymous with hell. The gods isolated themselves from Hades and didn't even give him a throne on Olympus. The message was clear: we don't want to associate with you. It's not surprising people would feel the same way about his children.

As mad as I was, I had to wonder, are Helen and I the first humans to have multiple divine parents? Even the greatest hero, Hercules, was only half-god. I pondered how strong someone who is two-thirds god could be, especially when that god part comes from a Titan lord and one of the three strongest Olympians. I also thought about other powers I might have since I am the son of Hades. I could probably raise the dead, although I'm pretty sure that would have consequences. I think Hades has the power to control shadows as well. His helm of invisibility allowed him to turn invisible, but that was the helmet's power, not his. I decided to test the shadow power since I had nothing to do and nobody to hang out with.

I looked at the shadows of various objects in my room. I focused on the shadow cast by my bed. I closed my eyes and imagined I was traveling in total darkness and would end up near my table, which was near the outer edge of my bed's shadow.

Well, it turns out I do have the power, but it's not like what I expected. Shadow traveling is essentially moving around a dark space. The thing that surprised me was that I could hear noises as I moved through the darkness, noises I found disturbing. The temperature in the shadows is cold, so cold I thought I was frozen solid. I honestly didn't believe it was possible to move a limb, so I was just floating. In other words, it was a lovely experience. But there was more to it. Even though I couldn't see a thing, I was somehow able to tell I was traveling in the wrong direction and would actually come out of the wall. Knowing that sadly did not change a thing, and I landed painfully on my face. A lovely experience indeed.

When I got up, I couldn't stop huffing and puffing. It felt like I ran a marathon. Even though it was only for a few seconds, using the power really wore me out. On top of that, I had little control over where I ended up when I popped out of a shadow. I need to work on that. Shadow travel might turn out to be a useful ability later on.

There was something else I wondered. If I could control shadows, can I solidify and make weapons of out them? I saw how the kids on the Dionysus team were able to make spears that could dent steel out of leaves. Even though I was exhausted, I gave weapon-making a shot, as I hoped it wouldn't drain my energy so much.

I placed my hand on the shadow behind a stack of books. I concentrated as hard as I could. The shadow swirled around my hand and morphed into different forms until it became what I wanted: a dagger. Unlike shadow traveling, making items out of shadows was a lot easier. It didn't take as much of a toll on me, either. But it still was enough to make me fall asleep. I managed to get on my bed before drowsiness overcame me.

My caring father, Kronos, decided to visit me when I wished for happy dreams for once. Being isolated for three days leads to an unhappy teenager. Why couldn't he pick another time?

My father's choice of setting didn't change, either. I was still clouded in total darkness. It was similar to shadow traveling, except the temperature was more like winter freezing rather than absolute zero freezing. I get that being tortured in Tartarus for thousands of years would make would anyone gloomy, but it wouldn't hurt to lighten up a bit. If our little plan works, striking down the gods will be a real possibility, and he could actually be free from his chains.

"I see my little surprise didn't please you," he chuckled. Was that meant to be a joke?

"Of course not. Helen and I are the children in that prophecy you mentioned. That means Ares might go after Helen. That's the last thing I want."

"Then be at ease, Yiannis. Ares will target only you."

"Why is that?"

"Hades has only claimed you, not your sister. The gods can assume she's a child of Hades, but they can't definitively say she bears Hades's blood, nor mine."

"That doesn't guarantee the gods won't kill her, either. They're cowards. All they care about is their own skin."

"Quite true. However, have no fear. You see, Olympus is actually on the top floor of that hotel you're in-"

"Are you saying my biggest enemies are right above me and that you didn't tell me this? Are you insane? If I got caught, they would have figured out everything, and it would all have been for nothing!"

"I didn't tell you because you were already aware of the fact that you were in enemy territory. You were already aware that every demigod in that hotel supports the gods and hence are against you, right?" I hate to admit it, but that was a good point. I guess it really wasn't necessary for me to know. I lied about my powers to Vittoria, about the bookbag to Julien. I was consistently wary of my surroundings. I made sure nobody ever saw my scythe. I was already trying my best to hide who I was. But still...

"Perhaps you are right, Father. However, knowing that the gods were observing me would have been helpful. It's sheer luck they haven't caught on to me yet."

"No, you and Helen will be fine. I'm sure you know how arrogant the gods are. They would never think any demigod would dare cross them, so there are no security measures at the hotel. Even though you used your scythe in that little game, since nobody saw it, nobody suspects you."

"I doubt the gods would still trust heroes after their weapons were taken from them by one."

"Quite the opposite, in fact. Indeed, the gods are warier, but they think it's only a few demigods. They have no clue how many actually have joined my side."

"Is that your way of saying I have allies here?"

"Yes. Last night, Chiron held a private meeting, the topic of which was to report what about you to the gods. A few of my helpers were in attendance, as well as your friend Julien. My servants had told Chiron to tell the gods only about you, not Helen, as you were the one who was claimed, not her. The gods have many affairs with mortals, so it was easy to convince Chiron that Helen may be the daughter of another god. Julien is closest to Chiron, and I know your friend would have agreed to my proposal; he loves Helen almost as much as we do. Everything went as planned. Julien persuaded Chiron to keep Helen a secret, and Chiron agreed. "

We? Kronos gave no indications that he actually cared about Helen or me. Was he serious, or was he just trying to gain my trust? I decided to trust him for now and planted the thought at the back of my head.

"I see you've already made preparations in advance. What now, Father?"

"Yiannis, the prophecy states that a child of Kronos will destroy Olympus, but a child of Hades will save it. Eventually, the gods will find out about Helen, but they won't kill her. As you said, they only care about their own skin."

"But I'm a child of you and Hades. Where does that leave Helen and me? I've planned to destroy Olympus, so how can I save it? Please don't tell me I'll be fighting my sister."

"Yiannis, the lines of a prophecy are ambiguous. Not even the gods are always sure about them until they come to pass, nor do they have the power to change them. There's no point in worrying about what you can't change. For now, know that the gods wish to test you. As their destined savior, they want you to be ready to save Olympus from destruction."

"Yet they don't know I'm the one who might bring their downfall someday." Kronos cackled. "Yes. It will be tremendously amusing to see their reaction when they realize who you are that day. But to get there, we need our plan to work. The gods will give you a quest: to retrieve Zeus's master bolt and Hades's helm, as well as Poseidon's trident. Since the prophecy states the son of Hades will save Olympus, Hades is clear of suspicion. His son was not the one who stole the weapons."

"I get how I'm cleared of suspicion, but why is Hades cleared? Hades is a god. He could have easily snatched the items and ran off."

"No, Yiannis. One of the ancient laws is that a god cannot touch another god's possessions nor visit his territory unless invited. Hades has not once been present at Olympus for the past ten years. That alone clears him."

"So that's why you changed the plan I originally made when you first entered my dreams. You knew Zeus and Poseidon would suspect each other."

"Yes, Yiannis. You see, Zeus was trapped in a golden net by Poseidon and a few other gods a long time ago. Poseidon and the other gods threatened to throw Zeus into Tartarus if he did not become a better ruler, which Zeus immediately promised to do."

"Ever since then, Zeus has monitored Poseidon closely with the fear he'll be unseated again, right?"

"Correct," Kronos answered. "Poseidon has feared Zeus will want revenge as well. Both have been almost paranoid about losing their power for centuries, so when their weapons were stolen, they were quick to accuse the other."

"Both will declare war on each other if the weapons are not returned to them, correct?"

"Yes, and that's where you come in, Yiannis."

"I know, Father. I will carry out what we have discussed. I will not fail you, for our sake, and Helen's. Before you leave, Father, might I ask one question?"

"What is it?"

"Do you care about Helen?"

"Yes. I meant it when I said I cared about Helen as much as you do. I have lost far too much to the gods." The pain in his voice sounded so real I wanted to believe it. I thought he needed a hug. "Then will you promise me to protect Helen as well?"

"Yes. I will prove to you that I love my children and that I do not intend to use you or Helen for my own gain." I smiled. "Thank you, Father. I promise to free you from Tartarus one day."

"I will look forward to that day. But until then, we need to overthrow the gods."

I nodded. "Yes, it's high time that the gods were replaced with worthy rulers."