Hug For The Win

Chapter 14: Hug for the Win

"Icarus why in your dreams you know the future?" Hailey asked me, and I cursed some more.

HUG FOR THE WIN

(also known as effective affection)

I briefly thought about how to answer while keeping the cards regarding my true origins close to my chest, but it was difficult, and bullshitting my way through this conversation would have forced me to walk on eggshells around Hailey for a very long time, which would defy the secondary purpose of the voyage I had started: to be fucking free to do as I pleased.

"I..." I started to answer, my eyes trailing over her form and the reasonable distance between us and the rest of the camp. I couldn't kill her quietly, even if the thought became startlingly clear in my mind for a split second. I was somewhat aware that our action defined us, even more so while being so deep inside a mythological realm, and just as I had made mine Atlas' stubbornness and impossible determination, I didn't want to make a part of me the act of betrayal on the basis of keeping a secret. Like never before, I became aware that my life as a demigod, no matter how absurd, was real, and that there were a lot of beings more than capable of killing me simply because of a grudge. Making an enemy of Hypnos, whose realm I visited every night, and maybe Thanatos himself, who I suspected already had a bone to pick with me given my origins, sounded like an extremely stupid thing.

Besides, Hailey had apparently been instrumental to keep the peace in the camp, and that was without considering the help she gave me on more than one occasion during our self-imposed mission. Repaying honesty with a knife between her ribs sounded like a dick move.

"I don't know for sure." I honestly replied. And how did she know that I've known about the future? It's not like I remember the awful movies that had been made based on the books, I've never read the comics and... I mentally slapped myself, I had no idea about how Hailey's power could work, but the human brain worked by association, it was more than likely that whatever she had been able to glean from my memories, or distracted thoughts about my plans regarding how to handle the king of titans, had been 'translated' by association with images and ideas that worked for Hailey.

"But you have an idea." she pressed me, cutting off my planning-time.

I sighed, not really knowing how to go about this, in a sense, I could imagine the easiness that I could live with when alone with a person that knew, on the other hand, there was a shady connection between demigods and other supernatural beings that I wasn't eager to bank on. Hekate kept me safe from outside influences, or at least prevented my thoughts and innermost secrets from being read by the first god to cross my path, Hypnos, and Thanatos by extension, would likely be very interested in me. Not that much for the knowledge I held, but because of its implications. Thusly, telling Hailey, or another demigod, everything, was a big no. "My mother rules over crossroads, which symbolize free choice, she is the daughter of Asteria, Titan goddess of nighttime divinations such as oneiromancy, by dreams, which I suspected you witnessed a little part while poking your nose around me, and astrology. My maternal grandfather, on the other hand, is Perses, Titan god of destruction."

"Icarus, you won't be able to distract me by recounting your ancestry, I want to know how..." she started to sound annoyed and tried to admonish me when I interrupted her with a slow snarl.

"You've asked for an explanation, sit and listen!" I barked, pushing her slightly towards the fallen trunk of a small tree that could act as a bench. "As I told you, my father was, or is, I don't know and don't care, a demigod from the King of the Sea." She huffed in irritation and crossed her arms expectantly, waiting for me to make a point. "And I grew up until I was twelve in a hut in Alaska, raised by someone that... if not for the Rules that forbid any contact between a godly parent and their child... I would suspect was my mother." My flat tone clearly convened how much the Rules had clearly been broken in my case.

That caused the daughter of Hypno to raise an eyebrow, recognizing the unlikely circumstances regarding not only my birth, but also my first years. "My theory," I continued, "is that between the unusual amount of godly spark within me, caused by having a demigod of the sea and a Titan goddess of witchcraft as a mother, coupled with my first years, I can somehow access a little of my grandparents' realms, undoubtedly because my mother did something to ensure it, I have no doubt."

I saw that she was as unsure as I felt regarding my explanation, but what other reason could she find behind my explanation? That I was a reincarnated soul from a world in which her reality had been written and narrated as a novel for kids? Such a thing was well beyond what a simple jump of intuition could bring her. "So more often than not I dream a future of destruction and extreme devastation. I don't know if it's written or not, I had dreamt that Thalia would end up as a tree, but I didn't really give it any weight, it didn't really make sense at the time."

Hailey frowned at my explanation, likely fighting between the outrage of me being raised by my godly mother, and her sceptical reaction to my convoluted explanation. It was a natural way to answer to my bullshit, but I had come relly close to skirting the truth, and I wouldn't say anything more on that regard. I didn't truly believe it, if it were so, every demigod could access not only their godly parent domain but all of the others' ones, since there was a clear relationship at some point among everyone.

"It sounds strange that you're the only one capable of such." she objected in the end, but I could see in the way she looked at the camp that she was busy going over the implications of my explanation, having, in her heart at least, already accepted it.

I very carefully avoided to out my bullshittery with any kind of outwards sign of relief, instead choosing to ask: "Do you have a better theory?"

She shook her head minutely: "I just don't know why T... death... would be interested in you." and before I could reply, she went ahead: "But maybe you magically stink of necromancy because of your mother, or something like that."

I nodded thoughtfully, it was a reasonable assumption, and even if it was clearly wrong, I didn't dislike the outcome, and away from me the thought of interfering with her assumptions: "Can you keep this quiet? I still don't know if everything that I see comes to be as I see it, regardless of what I do to prevent it, or because of my attempts to avoid it. I have enough problems with questioning my choices based on what I see during the night without the need of strange looks from the crew." I pleaded.

Hailey studied me for a couple of seconds, I didn't know what she was looking for, but apparently, she found it and scoffed: "You've got a big secret, I understand why you kept it quiet, and your spectacular falling with Luke gains a whole different depth with this. If you want to talk about it with me, I'll listen."

Her offer was made sincerely, and displayed a level of trust I found disarming, so I nodded gratefully: "Thanks Hailey, you're a good friend." I let an arm rest over her shoulders and hugged her briefly.

And even as I uttered those world, that I knew were true, I felt that I would never tell the whole truth to anyone, if only because of the kind of attention that it could bring on me. With a sigh I turned once more to the festive camp, this would be the last night we spent on the Hydra's Island, and they had waited for this for months, I could only hope that Posidon calmed his tits in the meantime.

4 May 2001

Two days later, we had survived another storm, and got lost once more in the Sea of Monsters. In hindsight, hoping that Poseidon would stop being a cunt was wishful thinking.

"Land ho!" a shout echoed from the top of one of the masts, where Annabeth had taken to spend some of her free time since we got back on the sea, and her acute voice ground almost painfully in my eardrums, reminding me that I originally hadn't wanted her on my fucking ship.

Everyone started moving towards the armoury, following the indications of Emily and Charlotte, after the last stunt of sending a lone team, everyone agreed that the 'rules' of having a small team scout ahead, as dictated by the protocol taught at the Half-Blood Camp, was dumb as fuck, so there would be a minimal team taking point, signalling the trail for a second one, bulkier and armed heavier, to follow.

In the past months, Jillian had set up a system of signals to be either scratched in the ground on in the bark of trees to communicate effectively the conditions encountered by the first team, so that the second team would have an idea about how to proceed.

More importantly, that set up allowed for the first team to proceed a bit more quickly than it would have without a support squad following, and it granted to those that took point the possibility of a quick retreat towards reinforcement.

"Thank you!" I shouted back, leaving the helm in position with a simple length of wood that stuck it as I left it by leveraging its rays against a nook in the deck. Let's hope the aren't Lestrigons on this island, those would be super nasty. Among all of the shit Ulysses had encountered, facing some kind of tribe composed by giant cannibals able to hurl rocks the size of minivans was among my least favourite scenarios, along with crossing Scylla and Cariddi, but that couple should be fixed on the Strait of Messina, back in Sicily, so I was reasonably hopeful that we weren't going to be eaten alive by a Lovecraftian Horror.

"What kind of shit are we about to face in your opinion?" Hailey made herself known with a lazy smile, and I didn't jump in surprise, no matter what everybody thought.

I shrugged, really the possibilities were uncountable: "Jillian had everyone learn some stuff about the Odissey, we're sailing the same sea, and we managed to land in the hunting ground of the Hydra, which had been killed by Heracles, so we are really out of reliable instruments to foretell what is going to happen." Her eyes narrowed at me, indicating that she wanted to pick on my unnatural knowledge of the future, and I shook my head minutely, I had honestly no idea of what was going to happen.

Annabeth had climbed down in the meantime, and was badly hiding her pouting next to me: "I still don't understand why I can't be on the Explorers Team." she grumbled just loud enough for me to hear. She had grown in leaps and bounds under Jillian's somewhat stern care, the younger daughter of Athena had slowly accepted that she wasn't the best demigod for every task, and was currently working on recognizing that until she hit twelve years of age, nobody would let her go gallivanting in a potentially deadly situation.

"If you manage to win in a straight fight against one of the demigods on the Explorers Team, you can join after having proved self-restraint and caution." I grinned at the kid that huffed in irritation at me, before turning on herself and glaring at everybody until she reached Abigail, who was setting up small packages containing a bit of Ambrosia for the demigods that were to go in the unknown island.

I withheld a snort, knowing that it would only end up incensing the younger girl even more, and we really didn't need her to go gallivanting on her own once more. She wasn't stupid, far from it, but demigods had a natural tendency towards bad choices, teenager demigods were even worse, and prepubescent demigods had a distinct lack of long-term planning ability. Keeping her on the Adamas was the best for everyone.

Taking up a scope that was tied with strips of leather to the closest mast, I took a look at the mass of land we were heading towards: from our position, it didn't look like a particularly big island, but then again, prospective was a bitch when Mist and Supernatural Beings were involved, so I couldn't be sure. The bedrock over which the green mass of a lush jungle sprouted from was of a stark white, almost certainly of limestone, while the low coastline was mostly characterized by white sand. At least there isn't a volcano ready to explode in our faces. I thought with a snort, we didn't need another Pompeii on our hands.

In a few minutes, no doubt our speed and distance influenced by whatever space-bending bullshit that characterized the Sea of Monsters, we started circling the island looking for a river that we could sail countering the current, just enough to make sue Poseidon didn't steal Adamas during the night. The lack of giant stones being thrown at us as soon as we approached the mouth of a river reassured me a bit: no Lestrigons.

The river was placid, and roughly fifty meters wide, it was surrounded on both sides by dense vegetation that looked almost like a barrier thought to stop people from making land as we planned to. Given our location, I doubted that it was a good thing. From my observing of the island by a distance, I knew that there was at least an area either covered in very small mountains, or in very big hills (the dense vegetation had forbidden me from taking a more accurate measure of the hillside).

In less than an hour, we had sailed against the current following it through two bends of the river, and reached a small, roughly circular, lake. That was not the most impressive sight that left many of us speechless: after a stretch of white sand that framed the calm expanse of water we had just intrude upon, there was a building built from white that looked like an open temple. From the fifteen meters tall columns that started after several steps, it created some sort of open-air corridor towards a facade, always in white marble, that was embedded in the hillside: over it there were draped countless vines, each carrying a multitude of either flowers or fruits.

As we made land, I ordered everyone to not cut down any wood yet, nor to hunt or drink, since I had a growing suspicion of where we were.

Hailey, Charles and I dropped over the bulwark and walked carefully beyond the white columns, our senses stretched to perceive whatever could signify a threat. What had me on edge, even given the conspicuous lack of enemy soldiers, wild animals ready to eat us and whatnot, was the long, oaken table covered with food. Distractedly, I recognized soft music echoing through the air, like Amy Lee and Whitney Houston had a daughter and taught her to sing since birth. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old, something that I had half-forgotten after leaving my little home in Alaska, it was Minoan, maybe, or something like that. I could understand what she sang about, moonlight in the olive groves, the colours of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. Her voice seemed to lift me off...

And it wasn't just food. Shiny fruit, just cooked meat, water that looked so fresh and pure that it would feel like having a purifying ritual in your heart as you drank it, and the smells...

I wrenched myself back from the table, checking immediately my companions that had luckily kept themselves out of range from the obviously suspicious looking table. My companions had remained beside the white columns, carefully sticking to the plan.

As I walked back towards them, I mouthed: 'Circe' and saw everyone pale accordingly. One thing was facing a random animal or mythological whatever, another was setting ourselves against a fucking sorceress that turned people into animals before eating them just for shit and giggles.

"I'm guessing that we're leaving?" he whispered anxiously.

I nodded grimly: "We're not equipped to deal with her." I gritted out, "And I'm not eager to have any of us turned into pigs, thank you very much."

In that moment, a crystalline laugh tore through the air, feeding like drops over diamonds, pure and clear and... I violently shook my head, biting the inside of my check in order to ground myself.

Seeing the already vacant eyes of my companions, I dug into myself, immediately recognizing that we were just as risk as we had been against the Hydra, I reached through the deep, muddled power within myself, something that had always felt clear and gargantuan, slipped through my fingers a couple of times before I managed to actually feel it.

Without hesitating, I pushed, and the subtle and clean enchantment that was laid upon us got torn like a spiderweb under a pickaxe. Even as it faded however, I was able to feel its smoothness, its balance and elegance. It wasn't your ordinary run of the mill illusion, nothing targeted specifically towards my group, it was something... vaster, and the song had simply brought us to see the embroidery at the edge of...

I am free. I repeated my mantra to myself, finding again the determination that had allowed me to sail through the impossible storm that Poseidon had thrown at us, the strength of will that had made me gain the title of 'Skyholder' if I were to listen to Prometheus.

"I should have known that your band of misfits would know about me." and I could hear her smile: "But I've stopped turning men into pigs centuries ago, even if I manage to have my fun in other ways."

"Circe, sorceress, the daughter of Helios, the faded sun god, and of the ocean nymph Perse. Capable with drugs and incantations of changing humans into wolves, lions, and swine." Charles gritted out with his eyes clenched shut.

We all had learned that the Greek hero Odysseus visited her island, Aeaea, with his companions, whom she changed into swine. But Odysseus, protected by the herb moly, which apparently was a gift from Hermes, compelled her to restore them to their original shape. He stayed with her for one year before resuming his journey.

I turned and looked her over: her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deers running through a forest at night.

I immediately looked away, metaphorically sidestepping the compulsion weaved in her dress as I clamped a hand over Charles' shoulder, because our satyr companion was extremely easy to trick by beautiful looking women, it didn't matter that they were capable of turning us in mosquitos or not: "Return to the Adamas, Charles, tell David to not leave it for any reason, and to the girls to keep an eye out."

"I don't recall allowing you to do so, satyr." her voice cut cleanly through my orders, and Charles attention was immediately captivated again.

What to do what to do? Known weaknesses? None because it's fucking magic. I thought feverishly, before betting everything on a half-baked plan that I had in the backburner since Annabeth had freed Prometheus.

"Perhaps I should simply complete what your master has left half-done and turn you into a goat, we could cook you along with your demigod friend, you, who have corrupted so many maidens..." Circe walked forward as if sliding over the ground, her feet not making a sound as she extended her hand towards our resident satyr... she seemed almost to slither over the sand, even if nothing in her form reminded me of a reptile, I could only think about how much she resembled a snake, and not the beast' best qualities.

"Hailey," I whispered: "Accompany him to Adamas, tell David 'plan P', and try to figure out if you can make her fall asleep." I turned towards the immortal currently playing with her food to be before the daughter of Hypno could give a retort, and slammed my will against the enchantment that Circe was delicately posing over Charles.

The magic she as waving over the satyr was different from her sly compulsion, delicate yet tight, precise yet created with a single broad stroke of her skill, what little of it I could perceive was maddening with its contradictions, defying what I understood of magic on a general level, as she wasn't twisting something that already existed, Mist had nothing to do with it, and it was something that operated on a deeper level, something more difficult to overcome.

Nevertheless, it looked like the first brick that built my identity, my 'I am free' revelation, granted me some inspiration necessary to break through the binding that Circe was forging around my companion.

I am free. Without thinking, I took a step forward, clapping my hand soundly over Charles' shoulder before he could be turned. My power, something that I understood only by broad strokes and that I had never tried to direct without either Mist or Greek Letters as a channel, acted with all the grace of an enraged bull against the crystalline rope that was being used to change my friend.

The satyr scampered away while Circe' lips twitched upwards: "You'd challenge my magic, little demigod? I see why Hekate likes you." she commented, turning her head towards me, pinning me where I stood with the sharp green glass shards of her eyes, once more I felt like she was a snake ready to lung to my face.

"I wonder why old Poseidon would be so annoyed with you as to push you in this part of my domain instead of the resort that I've created exactly to take care of pesky little demigods with more guts than brains." she tilted her head a bit, her eyes wandering briefly over my remaining companion before looking in the direction of our ship, which despite being hidden from sight, didn't seem to escape the attention of the sorceress.

"An interesting vessel.. 'Adamas'," she scoffed, "Such a male name, no doubt born from your mind." she sniffed disdainfully: "At least your group is composed mostly by women, I can approve of the wisdom of it, or I could, if I didn't smell Dionysus influence over you. Disgusting reprobate."

"What they do with their lives is their choice." I frowned, I didn't quite remember what Circe had against men, was she one of the feminists that never realized the difference between equality and random rampage? Given her last comment over my character, I could guess that she thought every male to be a rapist of some sort.

Circe's green eyes fell over me like sharp shards of glass, pinning me where I was, looking me over a couple of times before tilting her head upwards, staring unrepentantly at the sun: "And why does the Usurper dislike you so?"

"The one with the golden chariot and a troublesome ego?" I asked pointing upwards with a gesture from my thumb, asking for clarification.

"He took what was of my father, so I call him with his proper title." she narrowed her eyes at me, as if challenging me to dispute her claim.

"I... may have punched his Oracle, or kicked it, I don't remember," I answered carefully maintaining a hold over my senses, wary of whatever magic she could try to weave around and over me: "And I may have fought the Lieutenant of the Hunt, so even She of The Wild is less than enthused with me."

That brought a startled laugh out of her lips, I didn't think she expected such candour from me: "You don't seem to be so wise now, given the enemies you appear to chose for yourself."

She returned her attention towards my remaining companion, smiling lightly in their direction: "Don't worry girl, you don't have anything to fear from me."

Sofia was the only one at my side still, since I had sent Hailey away with Charles, hoping that my half-assed solution could be implemented. However, the daughter of Apollo, who had to bit her own tongue in order to not reprimand Circe for how she had referred to her father, hadn't extracted their weapons, following my decision of trying to get out of the situation using words instead of force, which would backfire spectacularly against someone such as Circe.

Sofia looked at me, making me shrug as an answer to her quiet request for instructions. Never trust an immortal, they're fucked up. I wanted to tell her, but I was still very much inside of Circe's range, and I wasn't sure about what I could do if she actually tried something against me.

"I don't fear you." Sofia growled back, showing aggressivity that I wouldn't have expected to see from her, but something that as long as it was directed away from me, I saw no reason to question.

Circe smiled faintly at her, dismissing her words without an afterthought, and while she was distracted with her new game of poking at Sofia's pride, I tried to see through the Mist-not-Mist that surrounded the place, focusing on the specs of golden dust that I could see with the corner on my eye before twisting them in order to...

Circe scoffed, distractedly suppressing my effort with a bland gesture of her hand: "You're one hundred years too young to try magic in my home, demigod. Transmutation, illusion, and necromancy are my preferred fields, but you don't seem to grasp that Magic is Female, and something meant for Women, men lack the sensibility to weave such an art appropriately."

I shrugged: "I can use the Mist well enough, and have discovered a feeling for plants after spending some time in the Queen's garden." I had honestly no idea about how to accomplish some of the shit I knew magic was capable of. Medea had raised an army of skeletons from a bunch of dragon' teeth.

I frowned thinking about what I knew: Kirke's name is derived from the Greek verb kirkoô meaning "to secure with rings" or "hoop around", a reference to the binding power of magic.

We, or better yet, I, had the small advantage of having freedom as my main characteristic, I had proven that much time and time again, but apparently being free from bindings, be they Poseidon's storm attempting to destroy my ship, Ouranos' weight trying to crush me, Her's will pressing against mine and trying to make me submit, or Circe's own brand of subjugation, did not extend to being able of ignoring someone else's power, so I couldn't keep my friends from being overwhelmed by Circe's magic.

Admittedly, it was fanciful whishing. I grimaced a bit, even if I hoped that eventually, my Name would gain enough power to whispered carefully. I could speculate that at that point I would be able to brandish my will in order to break whatever binding I found.

"So..." I coughed discreetly, "If that's okay with you, we'll leave without trouble with the dawn's tide." I spotted Hailey moving down from the Adamas, Emily and Hailey hauling a black cargo over their shoulders as they moved quietly over the sand. Without any deliberate movement, in order to not make her suspicious, I walked in a circle around her, letting my eyes roam over her form.

That brought a frown over the sorceress' elegant features: "I don't really like males, but on the other hand, you did in fact, kick the Usurper's little Oracle." she stared me down, as if expressing clearly that I couldn't lie to her, "And you fashion yourself a budding mage... a challenge perhaps, with the males of your crew on the line. If you win, you're free to go, otherwise, I keep you, and in any case, all the girls on the ship who wish to stay with me, will be able to do so."

I frowned: "Well, that's not exactly..." I gulped when I saw wolves and deers run across the clothes of the Sorceress, and I had the acute feeling that they had been trespassers once too, "... If I win, I take something I want from the island." I blurted out, making the immortal in front of me smile sweetly.

In the meantime, I eyed the wary form of Sofia, and brought my right arm up, as to massage my ear, or scratch it. Immediately, her eyes widened and turned towards Circe, who was still studying me with curious eyes.

"It's not like you'll be able to win." she sniffed, "Very well, you win my challenge, and you and yours will be able to leave my home with something of your choice." it was ridiculously open-ended to my advantage, but she really expected to win, like all immortals to ever challenge a demigod, it was really banal, in hindsight, but I wasn't in the position to refuse any kind of advantage.

"If I win, the males of your crew will join the little zoo I'm holding here, and I'll be free to do as I please with the females."

"I can only promise that I won't interfere, their choices are their own." I reminded her, at which she made a dismissive gesture with her hand, agreeing to my correction.

"Will you swear on the Styx?" I asked, at which she narrowed her eyes at me.

"Will you?"

"I always keep my word." I retorted while rising an eyebrow, pointing out silently that it wasn't me the one who could turn the tables on her.

She looked at me curiously, blinking a couple of times, as if surprised, before regaining her composure: "Very well. I swear on the Styx that I'll keep the terms of the challenge I've issued and upon which we have agreed, but if your little mortal friends attack me, the bet is off."

A peal of thunder rumbled in the cloudless sky, sealing her words.

Then, Circe smiled: "It's time for me to name your challenge."

I knew I had forgotten something. Then I blinked, recognizing the failing strands of foreign magic over me... The sneaky bitch!

"You cheat even before the beginning of the challenge" I accused her, causing her to smile unrepentantly at me.

"You still think that Illusions and Mist can hide only the appearances..." she chuckled, "Many of my girls never surpass that point in their studies."

Then she straightened some more, gaining a solemnity that was hidden just behind the soft tilt of her shoulders: "Your task, since you fashion yourself capable of Magic, is to turn me into an animal."

My jaw fell for a second, before I lifted my chin and eyed the Immortal shrewdly: "My fault for telling you what I was capable of, I guess... but at least you can promise to not use your magic on me, only to undo my spells on you."

"It's not very sportive to change the terms after you agreed to compete."

"It's not sportive to trick me into not asking what the challenge is until after I agreed to compete, and I'd like for you to not attack me until the challenge is done, how do you expect to measure my magic if I'm busy staying alive instead of making you into an animal? And since we're already there, you'll agree to keep the form in which I force you for let's say 24 hours, during which you won't use magic or your people against us, giving us the time to leave and enough advantage for you to not smite us into nothingness." I narrowed my eyes, making her smile condescendingly.

"I guess you want me to swear that too on the Styx?" she grinned then, her eyes gleaming at the options my request opened to her: "I wouldn't harm you for an honest win... But I guess... since you attacked the Usurper's little Oracle, I can acquiesce your request, since it's speculation, nothing more, you won't win."

"I swear on the Styx," she started, only to sudden narrow her eyes and grin as if she had spotted a trick, "that until the end of this challenge," her smile was far too wide to be anything less than an open showing of teeth in a threatening manner, "I'll not use my magic directly on you, but only use it against your spells, and that you'll be safe until the end of the challenge, and that if you manage to turn me into an animal, I'll keep that form, without using magic, for 24 hours."

As a clap of thunder sealed her words, she tilted her head: "Happy now?"

I nodded, my mind already running around in circles trying to figure a loophole that I could use." had she been hasty as I expected an Immortal assured of her victory to be, I would have simply attacked her, knowing that she couldn't harm me with magic, but the moment in which I attacked her with the intent of harming her, the challenge would be forfeited, and I knew that I had been more than simply lucky in order to avoid to swear on the Styx myself.

Then the solution proved itself clearly, since I had no idea about how to turn people into animals, I had to push Circe to do it herself, I doubted that she was unable to do it.

"Immortals do not learn." I shook my head with a faint smile, "Atlas was the same." I spoke, accepting knowingly the weight of the name, and making it mine, anchoring my will to the Titan's presence as I took a step forward, embracing Circe before she could react.

I was around 1.75 meters tall, nothing to write home about, while the immortal in front of me stood around 1.60 meters of height, making it so that her forehead reached my chin.

I didn't hesitate to pin her harms to her sides, while my arms closed around her midriff, just around the lower part of her ribcage.

"What are you...?"

I squeezed, forcing the rest of her breath out from her chest, ignoring the feeling of her breasts squishing against me, making mine the pain that came with the groaning of my sinews as I started to exercise the same kind of strength that allowed me to hold the Sky.

"You see, the terms of the challenge are that you must turn into an animal, not that my magic must do so." I gritted out

"...It was implied..." she wheezed as I squeezed again, feeling more air leaving her lungs, as she tried to push back.

I had no hope to win arm-wrestling against... let's say, Ares, but strength was a part of War, while Circe's nature revolved around the creation of bindings and changing reality to accommodate her will. Physical strength was not a part of her identity, and thusly, once outwitted, as I had luckily accomplished, the job should be done.

"I thought about this method because I was thinking about how much you resembled a boa constrictor, you know?" I spoke tightly, feeling my muscles burn as the Immortal in my arms tried to oppose me.

With a tilt of my head, I made Sofia hide, since I didn't want her to turn into an animal trying to eat me, while Circe couldn't attack me directly, I already was tiptoeing the line by squeezing the air out of her, and I didn't need to leave a possible solution to the Immortal.

"You could turn into an animal at anytime, declaring me the winner." I reminded her, and I hissed in pain as I felt her teeth bite into my right shoulder, one of the few places where the armor offered a less than optimal protection. The Immortal' teeth quickly carved their way through the leather that joined the plaque of my chest with the ones on my arm, and Circe bit deeply, causing another stab of pain to travel across my overtaxed arms.

"To be honest, after holding the Sky, you're not that much of a challenge." I taunted her, causing Circe to raise her head from where she was being me with an enraged expression, as she started to hiss out an insult, I squeezed some more, lifting her from the ground and bringing her to my height.

She had bitten me in order to get free, not in order to harm me, otherwise, her Vow on the Styx would have been broken.

With her lips bloodied and a subtle blue colouring due to the lack of air, her white teeth gleamed out even more, reinforcing the first impression of her being a snake, I smiled lowering my head as she tried to headbutting me, lacking the strength to do any actual harm.

"Turn into an animal, and this can end." I repeated her, only for her eyes to go out of focus as the lack of air started to make itself known.

Then I spotted her pupils becoming slitted as her fangs elongated themselves and the minute drops of sweat that marred her before, shining minutely under the sun, looked more and more like small scales.

The change was smooth and swift, and I went from holding a slip of woman that weighed less than 50 kilograms, to wrestling against a giant ass snake that weighted farm more than it should have, and immediately I felt Circe coiling her spires around me while our roles reversed themselves, and I went from

"She can't use magic!" I shouted to Hailey and Emily, who had been intercepted and kept away by Sofia, that immediately took an arrow, readying it.

"Don't attack her, or she'll be able to turn us into ants!" I reprimanded her. She was there when we discussed the terms of the challenge, wasn't she? I thought, feeling myself a bit confused...

I wheezed as Circe' coils clamped harder around me, trying to make me expel the air I needed far more then the immortal to keep myself conscious.

"We need to tie her around a column, grab a piece of her!" Hailey immediately got my drift, a mad glint in her eye as she and Emily dropped the black chains that had once held Proetheus bound on the sand.

My arms shot forward, allowing my hands to close around Circe's reptilian head, clamping hard over it, since I didn't want to deal with her fangs along with the coils that I was already feeling around my torso.

I gritted my teeth, controlling the strength that I was exercising against the Immortal-turned-snake in order to not hurt her, only to keep her from biting me to death.

With three demi goddesses on my side, we managed to straighten out the unbelievably long snake, forcing Circe to round a couple of times around one of the columns of white marble around the area that held the food capable of turning those that ate it into animals.

As I was left holding Circe by the base of her head while Emily was holding the last of her tail, I was feverishly thinking bout a way to keep the very dangerous snake put while I abused as much as I could out of my terms of the challenge, Hailey dangled in front of our eyes the shackle that had been one keeping Prometheus' wrists bound to the chains, showing us the celestial-bronze patch that David had likely added at some point during my six-months long convalescence.

Emily and Sofia managed to make a knot at the end of Circe's body after having her slid her body inside one of the manacles, while Hailey closed the one that had been repaired behind my hands. We were extremely lucky that Circe had chosen such a form, and that Prometheus' wrists were of an appropriate measure.

"Hailey, normally I wouldn't even try to ask you to lullaby to sleep an Immortal, but she's a snake now, and I suspect that she shares some of their weaknesses, if we bring here the sacks of reusable ice from the freezer to slow her metabolism, you'd think..."

"I can certainly try!" Hailey laughed, eyeing the Immortal Sorceress with a smug smile.

In relatively short order, we returned most of Prometheus' chains to the Adamas, where I rallied everybody but Alexandra and Hannah, the more peaceful among us that made sure to keep Annabeth under their watch, and we returned with haste to Hailey, where we dumped the reusable ice packs over the squirming snake, and we made our way towards the small door that would let us inside of Circe's actual home.

As Charles spotted Hailey, he had squeaked and jumped back: "That's a Malayopython Reticulatus, better known reticulated python! They can reach 10 meters of length and..."

"Charles!" I had laughed, "Nobody fucking cares, fill your ears with wax and keep an eye on Hailey." we still were exploring the effects of her Hypnos-related powers, and we had a lot of work to do about her targeting.

"Holy shit, you hug her to death!" was one of the comments from the other demigods when I recounted the recent events.

"Immortals do not die so easily." I countered.

"Okay people! LET'S LOOT THIS ISLAND!"

"Are you sure it's wise? She's an Immortal..."

"I don't care, she tried to take my people from me, we're taking everything we can from this fucking place. Hailey will keep singing and will be our insurance."

I turned towards my people, eyeing each one of them and spotting the same enthusiastic grin that I knew graced my features: I remained convalescent for 6 months, they waited for me, and inaction for a demigod was pure agony.

"Circe offered to let me take something of my choice from her island: my choice is EVERYTHING WE CAN!" I shouted over their heads: "All the food and drinks are not to be touched, they'll turn you into animals, drag them on the beach, we'll set them on fire for someone we don't like too much! If you see flowers, in particular, if they look like snowdrops, call me, but do not touch them! THEY'LL KILL YOU!"

Seeing as they had taken my warnings seriously, and were mostly jumping on their tiptoes in order to look over the small entrance that would allow us inside of Circe's home: "Everything else is fair game, take everything you like!" I laughed out loud.

As a single man, we shouted our warcry and charged forward: "ADAMAS!"

AN

I usually use the first chapter to present a situation and the following one to solve it, introducing the events of the following one, I find that gives a good rhythm to the story and tends to keep the readers eager for more, but I can't find it in myself of leaving you hanging again, not this time at least.

I noticed that there is a lot of law of retaliation in many mythologic and religious works, so I found it appropriate to steer the confrontation with Circe in an appropriate direction.

And yes, I had the Adamas become basically a pirate vessel looting everything that they could while trying to find the objective of their original mission.

Canon starts in the summer of 2004, who knows what else will happen in the meantime? Prometheus, after all, is already around thanks to Annabeth, I don't know yet how much everything is going to change. Who's going to accompany Percy if Annabeth dearest doesn't make her way back in time for his quest to start?