Chapter Text
My grandfather told my dads I was cursed since the day I was born. Don’t ask me what he meant by that. You could say he is the god of prophecy. And by that, I mean he is. And in turn, I know exactly what he means. I’ve felt cursed for as long as I can remember. I wasn’t alone in that until now. I had my twin brother along with me.
You may have read about the tales of my family. Some of it messed up… sure. But what family isn’t? My family literally created tragedy. They might have also invented comedy, but I’m not necessarily in the laughing mood right now.
But back to my twin brother and I. I’m Damian, grandson of the gods Apollo and Hades. They had sons with two different mortal women, and those sons had me. Don’t ask me how; I still don’t fully feel like having that conversation with them yet. I think Apollo had something to do with it. Some of my aunts and uncles have mortal fathers along with Apollo. I guess it’s a thing.
My brother, Cosmas, was literally the golden child. I’m not exaggerating on that literally either. Long golden blond hair, bronze tanned skin, glowed the second he stepped into the sunshine. Being a legacy of Apollo, you’d assume both of us would end up that way. But no, I took a little bit too much of my other father’s lineage’s cake mix in the oven (again I reiterate I don’t know how that oven was made in the first place). Ghostly, practically see through, white skin, dark black hair with curls that go up into bat wings, and dead dark eyes that are practically black. The other legacy kids started calling me “sun-bleached” once they watched that episode of SpongeBob.
Right, the legacy thing. The last real time our family’s stories were told, legacies were really only talked about at the Roman camp. Greek demigods didn’t necessarily live long enough to have kids or develop a system to take care of them. My dads had a bit of a hand in helping them set up. But it was mainly Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase.
Percy was dead set after college at New Rome to create something similar for the Greeks. He started pushing the gods for better treatment of the campers, age limits on quests, and had his now-wife, Annabeth, design and help build a whole city right next to camp. She already was the architect of Olympus. Why not also make her the architect of New Hellas?
Dad became the lead medic in New Hellas. Although anytime there’s serious damage done at camp (after quests or ever really intense Capture the Flags), he helps out there. Which means I get to visit him in the infirmary even though I don’t understand the first thing about being a healer. Unlike my brother. Cosmas was the lead healer of the camp. Probably the best in centuries, surpassing Dad. He took natural Apollo healer qualities. But then he mixed it with Hades abilities like controlling temperature (he could cauterize a wound faster than most modern technology or keep the infirmary at the exact temperature to slow down bacteria in everyone’s bodies) and controlling bones to actually mend them without even touching the camper.
I luckily see Papa less often. While I’d love to see him more, his presence at the camp always means the death of a camper. He directs and makes sure ancient funeral rites are given to campers when they pass to the Underworld. It’s not a very busy gig, but he’s also busy at home, caring for my little sister, Rory. She hasn’t hit the age to go to camp yet. She’s still got ten more years.
As for Cosmas and I, we had to move to camp a year ago. Legacies of two or more gods usually go to whichever cabin is closest to them in generation. When both of your parents are first generation demigods, you have to pick. I immediately chose Hades because I knew the others wouldn’t like me. Despite my born gift of just being able to pick up an instrument and play it or my weapon of choice being the bow, I just don’t fit in with them. Cosmas wanted to switch it up, not constantly grouped together because of the twin thing.
It all changed the day that Meli arrived. I recognized her mom as someone from Papa’s stories. Piper, daughter of Aphrodite, was able to charmspeak to Gaea herself and send her back to sleep. Piper came rushing into camp freaking out because something was wrong with her daughter. My parents and most of their friends seemed shocked to find out that she even had a daughter. Something about her stepping away from Olympus and having a wife at home.
Didn’t question it. I have two dads.
But the second Meli stepped foot on the steps of the Big House to speak to Chiron, we all learned why Piper was freaking out. She didn’t glow that pink aura and get a makeover like all children and legacies of Aphrodite get. She glowed bright golden tones of blue and green with a crown wavering above her head.
Meli was claimed by Hera.
If Piper had been freaking out before, I don’t know what to call what her reaction was after that. Chiron came out with pink curlers in his tail with Percy not far behind. He seemed to be excited when he saw Piper until his eyes settled on her daughter. He yelled out for Annabeth and she got that angry look in her eye that always made me want to go hide in the darkest shadows of the Hades cabin.
They led Piper and Meli inside. Afterwards, when Meli started staying at camp, she didn’t tell us much about what was said inside the house. She didn’t know much at all. But for the first time ever, Hera’s cabin had a demigod staying in there.
Rachel, our camp’s oracle, came out of her cave, green smoke surrounding her with her eyes glowing which could only mean one thing: she had a prophecy to send someone on a quest.
She climbs the crouching cat at light,
To seek the mother veiled in night;
Where stone and shadow bend and play,
A child of sun and dark finds the way.
Hearts will strain, and paths conceal,
Till dawn returns what time will heal.
It was Meli’s quest. She was to find a stone formation that looked like a big cat. She figured Hera was supposed to meet her there and tell her something. We aren’t supposed to try and figure out the prophecies before they’re finished, but there were a lot of guesses as to where it would be. Maybe that’s why everything went wrong. But because we were so close to the fall equinox (and for some reason quests are always limited to a few days), she assumed that it was the Cougar’s Shadow within Superstition Mountain in Arizona.
The quest called for a son of the Sun and dark. Obviously either me or Cosmas. She called on Cosmas immediately. I pretended to not be hurt. I wanted to beg on my hands and knees to go with them. Maybe it was the concerned look on Chiron’s face when Meli said Superstition Mountain that made me nervous.
Chiron doubled down and said only one of us could go. Meli would have to pick someone else to be the third companion. “There has to be a reason it says a child of the sun and dark.”
So I was stuck and alone in the Hades cabin. I didn’t dare go back to New Hellas with my dads and sister. It had been fall, so I was allowed, but I did not want to face them. I knew Papa had the same dread about this quest that I did.
Then on the fall equinox, their supposed deadline Meli had set, I was in my cabin all day, avoiding all of the activities they had planned. The only time I went outside was to eat. But walking back to my cabin alone, I suddenly felt a tugging situation in my chest. It began to burn immensely, causing me to collapse to the ground. My breathing became extremely deep and shaky.
Visions flashed past in my mind of Cosmas. Blood was pouring from his chest, directly where I had been feeling that pull. Meli was over him, pleading he stay alive. He had already been drained. Her charmspeak had no effect. It switched to the Underworld. I saw his shade floating along with the rest of them.
Suddenly I had multiple people over me. The main one I could see was Percy. “Damian, buddy, you alright?”
“Get Papa.” I tried to get up. I needed to see my dads. Papa would know what to do. It was already too late and Cosmas was too far for Dad to save him.
“Hold on, buddy, what’s wrong?” My camp counselor still. Percy looked at me with those concerned eyes he always looked at me with. Like I’m going to snap and vanish into the shadows to do gods know what.
“Papa can save him. He’s gotta bring back Cosmas.”
“Bring back Cosmas? What did you see?”
“He’s dead. I saw his shade go to Grandpa’s domain. He’s gone.”
“Damian!” I heard Papa’s voice before my eyes rolled back and I hit the ground again. If Cosmas was dead, I might as well be too.