Celia's Locket

Her body began to tremble. It was pouring outside, and the sound of distant gunshots and explosions echoed across the town. She took a few deep breaths, and with one last inhale, leaped out of her apartment window. She landed within the hedges, being cautious not to snap a single branch. Brushing her hair aside, she scanned her surroundings, making sure that nothing mischievous was lurking in the shadows. Glancing down at the heart-shaped locket around her neck, she took a moment to reflect on her mother's sacrifice. Celia knew what she had to do, even if no one else understood.

Celia swiftly hopped the fence and looked back to her suburban apartment, knowing that it may be the last time she would ever see it. She took a deep breath, pushing her fears aside, before running off into the rain.

Celia made her way over to the bus stop, keeping her head down low and evading eye contact. Her hometown was a small yet somewhat quaint community down south. If anybody saw her, she would be recognized instantly, and they would notify her father. Her father would not be pleased that she snuck out, especially with World War Three raging on outside their town. She also knew that getting on the bus would corner her, leaving her vulnerable to supernatural forces. She knew the risks, but she pushed her fears aside as she stepped onto the bus.

Celia hopped onto the bus and felt a chill go down her spine. After all the years she spent fighting monsters, she never thought she could see anything more depressing. Yet, as she looked at the various passengers, she realized how wrong she was. In one seat of the bus was a mother comforting her baby while holding back her tears. In the back was a soldier taking a swig out of a flask before tossing it against a window, cracking it. Even the bus driver looked like he wanted to end it all and veer off the side of the road. Celia shuddered as she sat down beside a dazed drug addict, being wary the entire ride.

As the bus stopped at the outskirts of town, she looked up through the heavy rain at the rusty antique building standing before her. The text on the front of the building was barely legible due to how worn the calligraphy was, but Celia immediately knew what it said. She hopped out of the bus and began to head into the old locksmith's workshop.

The mere sight of the workshop was enough to make someone dizzy. On one side of the workshop were organized lock picks, tension tools, bump keys, and an abundance of versatile tools that any locksmith should have at their disposal. On the other side was a disarray of scattered locks, cores, and pins. And in the back were some custom forged locks, handmade to be unpickable. Finally, a photograph of a woman whose beauty radiated from the picture alone swayed on the wall beside Hammill Fredrikson, the legendary locksmith. His disheveled grey hair fell to his shoulders, and his puffy dark brown eyes looked as they could pierce through your soul. Despite his grim appearance, he was an honest, hard-working man and was like family to Celia.

Celia stumbled through the doorway, briefly startling Hammill. He turned around and let out a hearty laugh upon seeing Celia.

"My dear Celia! You alarmed me! My, it's been so long since I've last seen you." Hammill put aside his unfinished lock and hastily stood up from his chair, his joints audibly popping. Terrified, Celia rushed over to him to help him up.

"Uncle Hammill!" Celia cried out. "I'm joyous to see you too, but you mustn't overexert yourself!"

"Now, now, Celia, I know I'm an old man now, but I'm not that old. There's no need to be formal around me."

Hammill let out another chuckle, putting a smile on Celia's face. She gave him a big hug, causing Hammill to flinch slightly, and helped him back into his chair before grabbing a chair for herself. She slowly sat down, keeping her legs together and her hands folded in her lap. Despite what Hammill had said, her posture still had a sense of formality to it.

"I'm so glad you stopped by. It's been ages since I've had a customer, especially during the war. To what do I owe this pleasure?" Hammill asked, smiling at her.

Celia exhaled heavily. "This is it," she told herself. Celia brought her hands up from her lap and wrapped them around the back of her neck. She gently brushed her hair aside and attempted to remove the locket delicately, her hands trembling. Finally, she got it off and handed it over to Hammill's callous hands. The locksmith analyzed the locket for a few moments in admiration.

"The condition of this is remarkable! Why, I've never witnessed anything like it! The material used looks like it dates back to ancient Greece, yet it has managed to stay in such a perfect state for centuries. Truly incredible!"

Celia's eyes widened, impressed. "You're surprisingly spot-on. My mother found the locket in Greece a few years back. The person who sold it to her was a bit of a nutjob, but the story he told her was pretty interesting. Hephaestus had made it for Aphrodite, locking up all his love in it as a gift for her. But Aphrodite had an affair with Ares, and when Hephaestus found out, he cast the locket and its key out of his workshop up in Olympus and into the mortal world. I'm surprised that you knew of its origins."

Hammill let out a nervous laugh. "Perhaps I've been around locks for too long. However, that certainly is an interesting story." Hammill fiddled with the locket for a moment before speaking again. "I'm guessing you would like me to unlock it?"

Celia nodded. "The item contained within is invaluable, at least according to local Greek rumors. But whoever sold the lock to my mother never gave her the key. The key could be anywhere, and I believe that it's lost forever. You're the only person I know that would be capable of picking the locket."

Hammill examined it closer, looking through the keyhole.

"While I appreciate your sincere compliment and would be glad to help, this seems like a simple task for any novice locksmith. Why have you brought it to me?"

"I've already tried," Celia remarked, "but every single one in town has struggled. 'The pins won't budge' or 'The pins are stuck.' But the pins work perfectly fine. I can't say how I know, but I do."

Hammil raised his bushy eyebrow, taking another look at the locket.

"Let me see what I can do for you, dear," Hammill said, grabbing a pick and tension tool.

Celia watched as the skilled locksmith immediately got to work. His hand movements were quick and precise, testing each pin before moving on to the next. Each click caused Celia to become more hopeful. But as all the pins fell back down, she lost all faith.

"Well, this lock just became much more interesting," Hammill remarked, going back to the first pin.

Celia watched as Hammill struggled for several minutes, clicking all the pins into place, only for them to all fall back down as he worked on the last one. Frustrated, he removed the tools and put the lock aside.

"I'm sorry, but this lock is too advanced, even for—"

Then, the door to Hammill's workshop shattered into chunks of wood. Confused, Hammill got up to investigate, but Celia's eyes widened as he arose.

"Uncle Hammill, no!"

She outstretched his hand toward him, hurling a bolt of lightning past him and directly through the heart of the monster standing before them. Bewildered, Hammill turned to the now floating demigod.

"C-Celia?" he asked, his voice quivering.

Celia, now realizing what had happened, landed back on the ground. She grabbed the locket and took off running.

"I'm sorry! I promise I'll explain everything later!" she exclaimed, dashing into the cold abyss.

"Zeusspeed, Celia," Hammill said, transforming to reveal his godly form, Hephaestus, before slowly fading away.

Internally, Celia was screaming. Not only had she revealed her powers in front of a mortal, but she had almost zapped him as well. There was no way to get the locket unlocked now, and monsters would surround her any moment now. Deep down, she blamed herself, but self-loathing would do her no good. She had to think of something, and fast.

Celia ran for miles through the cold, and in a last-ditch effort, ran into an abandoned blacksmith's shop. She grabbed a torch off the wall and began to search the shop for anything she could use. Hastily grabbed a beaten-up longsword, she turned to face the entrance of the door. The door was smashed open by a group of monsters with several more on their way, eager to kill any demigod they spotted, especially the daughter of Zeus himself.

Exhausted from running, she struggled to ready herself. She began to swing wildly at the monsters for what felt like hours, but they kept swarming her, backing her into a corner.

"This can't be it, right?" Celia thought to herself. "This can't be the end of my journey. I can't die now."

Celia, running out of options, mumbled one last prayer. "Father, if you can hear me, please bless me with your powers."

She waited and waited, and then, nothing happened. Celia closed her eyes, begrudgingly accepting her demise. Suddenly, in the far distance, the deafening roar of lightning echoed throughout the town. Celia began to float up, the air below her bending to her will. She felt lighter and significantly faster. Sensing the electricity coursing through her veins, she attempted to shoot lightning towards the monsters, striking the top of the shop's door frame instead.

Confused, she attempted to shoot another thunderbolt, missing once again and hitting the door frame.

"What in Zeus' name? Has my aim just gotten worse!?" Celia growled.

As she began to curse herself and her abilities, the clinking of metal hitting the ground stopped her thoughts in their tracks. Celia could only get a glimpse of what had fallen, but that was all she needed to know what it was. She said a silent thank you to Zeus before flying towards the key, slashing through any monster blocking her path. However, one clever harpy grabbed the key and quickly fled, enraging Celia even further.

"Oh no, you don't!" she declared, flying after the harpy.

Celia, running out of stamina, couldn't chase after the harpy for long. Thinking back to how she had redirected her lightning to the key, she pointed her sword toward the sky and aimed her hand towards the harpy.

"Please don't kill me, dad," Celia muttered repeatedly.

The night sky flashed a vivid yellow as Celia redirected a lightning bolt through her body and towards the key, electrocuting the harpy. Celia screamed in agony for what felt like forever until the monster perished, disintegrating into dust and freeing the key from its clutch. Celia dived towards the key, and as she gradually began to blackout, she dropped her sword and grabbed it. Knowing that she would soon hit the ground and most likely die, she inserted the key into the locket, and with a single turn, she opened it.

...

"Hey, sleepyhead, wake up."

Celia groggily opened her eyes to the sight of her human father.

"Guess what?" he said. "The nations of the world just declared the end of World War Three this morning! Isn't that great, honey?"

Celia, still exhausted from the previous night, was now beaming with delight.

"Yeah, that is great, dad."

Knowing that she had not only saved the world but fulfilled her mother's wishes, she fell back into a deep slumber with a smile.