Apparently, I'm Dead

Chapter Six

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING YOU RECOGNIZE.

ALEX

Magnus looks at me nervously. "Should we have told him dragon's blood is acid?"

I elbow him in the chest. He coughs. "Yes, you idiotic meinfretr! He probably thinks we hate him or something! And he'll definitely hate us for not telling him." I want to break out into strings of curses. He would have been a great addition to the team, a natural leader. Very powerful, given how he created that shock wave to knock Sam out of the room. Shame he hates us now.

Eh, whatever. We'll make it up to him tomorrow. Although, dragon's blood. What a horrible way to die. I feel bad for him. 

I make my way to my room, ready to get some sleep, or maybe finish one of the pots I've been working on. I sit down at the wheel, but I hesitate, and I don't put clay on it.

I can't get Percy's eyes when he heard he'd been traded away out of my head. He looked devastated, but it quickly changed to fury. I know exactly what that's like. Staying away from sadness and replacing it with anger. I do that all the time. Maybe I have something in common with him.

I groan. I have no inspiration for pottery tonight. I'm just going to sleep.

TIME SKIP

I wake up when the light filters in through the ceiling. I walk out of my room and down the hall for breakfast, but stop when I hear voices drifting out of the door to Percy's room.  

"I'm sure they just forgot to tell you." That's Sam's voice.

Percy scoffs. "Sure. Let's forget to tell the newbie that dragon's blood burns like acid! Genius idea."

I silently groan. I knew this was going to happen. Stupid Magnus. He was the one who knew the most about this.

I find my feet moving me towards Percy's room. I don't stop them, knowing my instincts are normally good. They've saved my life a couple of times.  I stop just in front of the door, which is open tiny bit. I turn into a fly, my body shrinking and changing until I'm completely an insect.

I land on the wall. Percy catches me coming in and eyes me suspiciously. I try to be as fly-like as possible, even though there is no way he could no that I'm not a normal fly. 

Samirah softens. "Is this about being traded away? I know it hurts, but-"

"No." Percy's tone of voice leaves nothing up for debate. "I'm fine. I'm honestly used to being treated like a pawn."

Sam's eyes flick around the room. They land on me. She raises an eyebrow. "Something you want to say, sister dear?"

Did she just call me out? Rude. I jump off the wall and change back to human. Percy yelps. "Brother, actually."

Percy's shocked look changes to triumph. "I knew there was something weird about that fly! Was it you that was in my room when Samirah came to talk to me about me being dead and Valhalla and Norse myths?"

I raise an eyebrow, impressed he figured it out. He puts up a front of being so stupid and dense, but he's actually quite perceptive.  Is he trying to make people underestimate him? "Yes. That was me."

He narrows his eyes at me. "Would you like to explain why no one told me that dragon's blood is acid?" Water from the pool behind begins to creep up onto land, flowing closer and closer to Percy. He notices and takes a deep breath. The water recedes.

I ignore a shiver that's making its way up my spine. It takes effort for most demigods to use their powers. But Percy just used his completely accidentally, caused by his emotions. Is that a Greek thing, or just him?

I give him a sheepish smile. "We forgot. Or, Magnus forgot, because he should have told you, 'cause he knows all about dragon blood."

Percy looks skeptical. "You...  forgot."

I shake my head affirmatively, hoping he believes me.

He looks at me, his swirling sea green eyes boring into my multi-colored ones. Whatever he sees seems to please him. He nods. "I believe you." A wicked grin breaks out on his face. "But you know, I might want to teach Magnus a lesson about forgetting things."

An identical smirk appears on my face. "I might just help you with that."

He laughs.

Sam sighs. "So, Percy, I really came here to talk about how you blasted me out of your room, but you distracted me with your whininess."

Percy puts a hand to his heart, pretending to be offended. "Oh, Samirah! You wound me!"

Sam eyes him sternly. "Stop trying to change the subject. Answer my question."

Percy deflates. "You noticed that, huh?" When Sam reaches for her spear, he gulps. "Okay, okay! I'll tell you."

He sits down on the bed, thinking. "Okay, so when I first came in the room, I got a huge power boost. I could feel everything four or five floors above and below us. Anything water, in the air or just in its normal liquid form, touched, I could sense. It was really weird."

Sam narrows her eyes thoughtfully. "And you could never do that before?" When Percy confirms this, she absent-mindedly starts playing with the ends of her hijab. "Maybe it's because you're dead. Have you noticed that you're a lot stronger now? Maybe that translated into your powers."

"So as you've probably noticed," Percy continues, "My powers link a lot into my emotions. So when I got really mad at you- sorry about that by the way- there was this painful pull in my gut. And then the water in the air threw you out."

"Could you do it again?" Sam asks.

"I don't know. Here, let me try." Percy replies. He closes his eyes, reaching out with his arms towards the pool.

"Wait!" I interrupt.

Percy eyes fly open. "What? What happened?" He looks panicked, as if he thinks he's done something wrong, or hurt someone.

I give him an evil smile. "I just thought of a good way to teach Magnus a lesson about forgetfulness."

THANKS,

ATOTALMUSICALNERD