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Zeus' eyes drifted to his daughter Thalia. "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if you were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, you would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain? You, my daughter, will turn sixteen on the morrow, just as the prophecy says." "You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them." Zeus scowled. "Trust a hero?" "Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoë Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately." Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear. A feeling of panic seized me. "Annabeth," I said under my breath. "Don't." She frowned at me, "What?" "Look I need to tell you something," I continues. The words came stumbling out of me. "I couldn't stand it if... I don't want you to." "Percy?" she said. "You look like you are going to be sick." And that's how I felt. I wanted to say more, but my tongue betrayed me. It wouldn't move because of the fear in my stomach. And then Artemis turned. "I shall have a new lieutenant." she announced. "If she will accept it." "No," I murmured. "Thalia," Artemis said. "Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?" Stunned silence filled the room. I stared at Thalia, unable to believe what I was hearing. Annabeth shared my expression, looking at Thalia with amazement in her eyes. But Thalia's hand was shaking. She had a g4rim look on her face, as if she had been expecting this. "Thank you, Lady Artemis, but I must decline," Thalia said firmly. "I've spent years as a tree, my life was being preserved but I was not living. I would like to experience this life exactly how I choose to, not in a way where I would have to conform." Zeus' eyes shown with pride and he lightly smiled towards Thalia. Zeus, pleased with a demigod? To my horror, Artemis simply nodded and turned towards Annabeth. I gripped her hand tight, but at the same time Athena gave her a knowing look, must like the one Artemis gave to Thalia not too long before. "Annabeth," Artemis repeated. "Will you join the Hunt?" Annabeth looked towards me, and I saw what looked like pity. No, not pity. It was guilt. She turned back to face Artemis, "I will." Athena, who's face held a light smile strikingly similar to Zeus', nodded. "Mother," Annabeth started, tugging onto Thalia's hand tighter than before. "Thalia will turn sixteen tomorrow. The prophecy will be hers to bear. You must help her, stand tall with Olympians and demigods alike. Kronos will be gathering his forces from those who feel ashamed to share family with whom occupy this palace. You cannot allow them to join him, do not let them be like him." Him. She was referring to Luke. She knelt before the goddess and began the words I remembered from Bianca's oath, what seemed so long ago. "I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men..." Zeus looked ready to smite Annabeth on the spot, speaking to them as if she had the power to do so. But now she did, so all he could do was glare at her with a thousand storms behind his eyes. Afterward, Annabeth came over to me, smiled, that guilty look still in her eyes; yet this time there was also a fierce determination. In front of the whole assembly, she gave me a hug. My face was flushed, I gave a weak smile and tried to pass it off as blushing, but I wanted to cry. When she pulled and gripped my shoulders, I said, “Um… aren't you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean?” "I'm honoring a friend," she corrected. The word friend hurt for some reason, it just was not correct. Not anymore. "I must join the Hunt, Percy. I have spent my whole life not feeling worthy. Like nobody took me seriously. In the Hunt, I feel whole, it's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel complete. But you and Thalia are heroes. I have no doubts you two will be the ones to save the world." "Great," I muttered. My whole world was collapsing, but I couldn't be mad. She was finally where she felt she belonged. "I'm proud to be your friend. Mortified, but proud." She hugged Thalia, and Thalia squeezed hard. "You'll do great Annabeth, you always have." Then Annabeth turned to Grover and hugged him, he looked like he was trying not to cry. His eyes shone with the same pride as Zeus', like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon. Then Annabeth went to stand by Artemis' side. "Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said. "This boy is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the two—" "No." I looked around at all the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him." "And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus. "Thalia is almost sixteen," I said. "If this prophecy is about her, that leaves only a day. If the Ophiotaurus were to be killed today, or be somewhere far too easy to reach, Kronos could have the means to retrieve Bessie himself. It is putting all of us at risk." "So what? You can keep the Ophiotaurus within your reach, Kronos can still deceive you boy, even with only hours left." Zeus glared at me. "Father!" Thalia said, exasperated. "It is only the truth, child. The animal should not live. Neither should the boy." "Percy is not the one you should be scarce about." Thalia argued, Zeus had a look of surprise on his face for the first time ever. "I am the child of the prophecy, if anyone should be gone it's me." My father stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I can help it." He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the safety of the creature and that of the Olympians." "You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus stood. "I will not allow the boy to have such easy access to such a powerful creature." "Brother, please," Poseidon sighed. Zeus' lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone. "Fine," Poseidon said. "I will build an aquarium for the creature, here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The boy will not betray us. I vouch for this in my honor." Zeus thought about this. "All in favor?" To my surprise, a lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Aphrodite. Athena gave her daughter a look and Annabeth slightly raised her head. Athena nodded and raised her hand. Barring the three, so did everyone else… "We have a majority," Zeus declared. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes… I imagine we should honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!" There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian. The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same soundtrack. No arguments. No fights to change the radio station. Just requests to crank it up. Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm–his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked almost happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets were being passed around to gods and demigods alike, a silver platter serving them held by Ganymede. Grover had a small side of enchiladas and a goblet full of double-espresso latte, which he had drank too much of. I knew this because every now and then he had a small hop to himself and he kept muttering "Pan! Pan!" Gods kept coming over to congratulate me. Thankfully, they had reduced to their human sizes, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with me, and he was so cheerful I hated myself for the lack of emotions I was feeling. I felt like the world was pulled beneath my feet and I kept on spinning in a vortex of misery. But, Hermes either didn't mind or didn't notice, as he chatted until he got a call on his caduceus and walked away. Apollo told me and Thalia that we could ride his sun chariot at any time, in which Thalia's face went green. And if we ever wanted archery lessons… "Thanks," I told him. "But seriously, I'm no good at archery." His face fell, but he looked in hope over to Thalia. "It couldn't hurt to learn from one of the best, I supposed." Thalia shrugged, Apollo looked enthusiastic. "Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!" Thalia's face turned a light shade of red. I made some excuses and got out of there, weaving through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. I looked for Annabeth; last I saw her, she'd been talking to one of the Hunters. Then a man's voice behind me said, "You won't let me down, I hope." I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me. "Dad… hi." "Hello, Percy. You've done well." His praise made me uneasy. I mean, it felt good, but I knew just how much he put himself on the line, vouching for me. It would've been a lot easier letting the others disintegrate me. "I won't let you down," I promised. He nodded. I had trouble reading gods' emotions, but I wondered if he had some doubts. "Your friend Luke—" "He's not my friend," I blurted out. Then I realized it was probably rude to interrupt. "Sorry." "Your former friend Luke," Poseidon corrected. "He once promised things like that. He was Hermes' pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall." "Luke fell pretty hard," I agreed. "He's dead." Poseidon shook his head. "No, Percy. He is not." I stared at him. "What?" "I believe Annabeth told you this. Luke still lives. I have seen it. His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him." "How can he be alive?" I said. "That fall should have killed him!" Poseidon looked troubled. "I don't know, Percy, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength." "What about Atlas?" I said. "What's to prevent him escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?" My father snorted in derision. "If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my son. The curse of the sky can only be forced on a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranos. Anyone else must choose to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos' army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death." "Luke did it," I said. "He let Atlas go. Then he tricked Annabeth into saving him and used her to convince Artemis to take the sky." "Yes," Poseidon said. "Luke is… an interesting case." I think he wanted to say more, but just then, Bessie started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd. "I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, my son. We may not speak again for some time." And just like that he was gone. I glanced over to where he came from, and Thalia seemed to be having a very similar conversation with her father. I was about to keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. "Your father takes a great risk, you know." I found myself face-to-face with a gray-eyed woman who looked so much like Annabeth I almost called her that. "Athena." I tried not to sound resentful, after the way she'd written me off in the council, and how she had encouraged Annabeth to join the Hunt. But I guess I didn't hide it very well. She said dryly. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous, and my daughter is safe." "You never take risks?" She nodded. "I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet… your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself." My heart crept into my throat. A year ago, Annabeth and I had a talk about fatal flaws. Every hero had one. Hers, she said, was pride. She believed she could do anything… like holding up the world, or becoming Artemis' lieutenant; for instance. Or saving Luke. But I didn't really know what mine was. Athena looked almost sorry for me. "Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Percy. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now my daughter, Annabeth." She paused, a glint appearing in her eyes. "In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos' traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Percy. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. Even if they did not need to be saved." I balled my fist. "That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends—" "The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom… that is very hard indeed." I wanted to argue, but I found I couldn't. Athena was pretty dam smart. "I hope the council's decisions prove wise," Athena said. "But I will be watching Percy Jackson. I did not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I did not think it was wise for either of you. Should you have begun to waver in your loyalties…" She fixed me with her cold, gray stare, and I realized what a terrible enemy Athena would make, ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus or maybe even my father. Athena would never give up. She would never do something rash or stupid because she hated you, and if she made a plan to destroy you, it would not fail. "Percy!" Annabeth said, running through the crowd. She stopped short when she saw who I was talking to. "Oh… Mom." "I will leave you," Athena said. "For now. Go ahead and say your goodbyes." She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis. "Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked. "No," I said. "It's… fine." She studied me with concern. She touched the new streak of gray in my hair that had matched hers entirely, but the Hunter's gift had given her color back, and the souvenir was mine alone to bear. There was a lot I wanted to say to Annabeth, but Artemis had taken the confidence out of me. I felt like I'd been punched in the gut. I will. "So," Annabeth said. "What did you want to tell me earlier?" The music was playing. People were dancing in the streets. I said, "I, uh, was thinking we got interrupted at Westover Hall. And… I think I owe you one last dance." She smiled slowly. "All right, Seaweed Brain." The nickname that had once left me feeling butterflies in my stomach now felt bitter. But this was not my place, so I took her hand. I don't know what anyone else heard, but to me it sounded like a slow dance: it was a little sweet, but a little sad, too.
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Before I left Olympus, I decided to make a few calls. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a quiet fountain in a corner garden and sent an Iris-message to my rother Tyson, under the sea. I told him about our adventures, and Bessie–he wanted to hear every detail about the cute baby cow serpent–and I told him about how Annabeth had joined the Hunters. Finally I got around to explaining how the shield he'd made me last summer had been damaged in the manticore attack. "Yay!" Tyson said. "That means it was good! It saved your life!" "It sure did, big guy," I replied. "But now it's ruined." "Not ruined!" Tyson promised. "I will fix it next summer!" The idea picked me up instantly. I guess I hadn't realized how much I missed having Tyson around. "Seriously? They'll let you take time off?" I asked. Tyson had been working non-stop in the forges, I guess I didn't stop to think about if the cyclops down there had anything else to do. "Yes! I have made two thousand seven hundred and forty-one magic swords," Tyson said proudly, showing me the newest blade. "The boss says 'good work'! He will let me take the whole summer off. I will visit camp! Hope Annabeth can come visit us!" The mention of Annabeth hurt me slightly. Even though it had not even been hours ago, I still could not believe she had chosen to join Artemis. We talked about war preparations and our dad's fight with the old sea gods, and all the cool things we could do together next summer, but then Tyson's boss started yelling at him to get back to work. I dug out my last golden drachma and made one more Iris-message. "Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan." The mist shimmered, and there was my mom at our kitchen table, laughing and holding hands with her friend Mr. Blowfish. I felt so embarrassed, I was about to wave my hand through the mist and cut the connection, but before I could, my mom saw me. Her eyes went wide. She let go of Mr. Blowfish's hand real quick. "Oh, Paul! You know what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?" "Sure, Sally. No problem." He left the room, and instantly my mom leaned towards the Iris-message. "Percy! Are you alright?" I tried to keep the tears from pushing out, "I'm, uh, fine. How's that writing seminar going?" She pursed her lips, she knew better than to believe he was okay, but she let it go for now. "It's fine, what has happened? Annabeth is safe, yes?" I filled her in as quickly as I could. She sighed with relief when she heard that Annabeth was safe. Although not long after she looked at me with a sorrow in her eyes when I told her about Annabeth joining the Hunt. "I knew you could do it!" she tried. "I'm so proud of all of you. I'm sure Annabeth will adjust just fine." "Yeah, well, I'd better let you get back to your homework." "Percy, I… Paul and I—" "Mom, are you happy?" The question seemed to take her by surprise. She thought for a moment. "Yes. I really am, Percy. Being around him makes me happy." "Then it's cool. Seriously. Don't worry about me." I meant it. Maybe I should have been worried for my mom, I'd seen how mean people can be to each other. Like Hercules and Zoë Nightshade, and like Luke and Thalia. I'd met Aphrodite – Goddess of Love – in person, and her powers had scared me worse than Ares. But seeing my mother laughing and smiling, after all the years she'd suffered with my nasty ex-stepfather, Gabe Ugliano; I couldn't help feeling happy for her. "I will always worry about you," she smiled sadly. "But nevermind that. Do you promise not to call him Mr. Blowfish?" she teased. I shrugged. "Not to his face, anyway." "Sally?" Mr. Blofis called from our living room. "Do you need the green binder or the red one?" "I'd better go," she told me. "See you for Christmas?" "Are you putting blue candy in my stocking?" Her smile warmed up. "If you're not too old for that." "I'm never too old for candy." "I'll see you then." She cut off the connection with a wave across the mist. I thought back to what Thalia had said so many days ago at Westover Hall: my mom really was pretty cool. Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Short of a week before Christmas, but it was exceedingly late into the night, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyes security chief, picked up Thalia, Grover, and me at the Empire State Building and ferried us back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted. As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, I half expected to see Annabeth there, waiting for us just past the border. But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure. Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was. Thalia and I sat with Chiron and the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, the Stoll brothers, as well as Clarisse; who seemed to have just gotten back from her secretive scouting mission. I knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she didn't even try to pulverize me. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors. "I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news." "I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The thing is you have prevailed, I heard that Annabeth has gotten back safely, and has joined the Hunters." He looked at Thalia. "According to the prophecy, tomorrow Thalia must make a choice that will either save or destroy Olympus." Thalia shuddered, obviously not wanting to think about it. It had come so soon for all of us. But it was her choice to make. I placed my hand on her shoulder and gave her a small squeeze, accompanied by a light-hearted smile. In return, she gave me a pursed smile. My mind wandering back to Annabeth, I oddly also found myself thinking about Hoover Dam – and the mortal girl I'd run into there, Rachel Elizabeth Dare. I don't know why, but her annoying comments kept coming back to me. Do you always kill people when they blow their nose? I was only alive because so many people had helped me, even a random mortal girl like that. I'd never explained to her who I was. My face heating up, I realized I was blushing… while still holding on to Thalia's shoulder. I quickly let go and gave another half-hearted smile and tuned back into the conversation. "Luke is alive," I said. "Annabeth was right." Clarisse stared daggers at me. "How do you know?" I tried not to feel annoyed at her insinuation, I explained the conversation I had with my dad about the Princess Andromeda. Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old. I mean… he was really old, but he usually didn't look like it. "I still hope Thalia is not the child of the prophecy," Chiron looked over to her. "But if you are, then the second titan war is at its edge. This is just the calm before the storm, Kronos' first strike will be here." "How do you know?" I asked. ""Why would he care about the camp?" "Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous… We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue in fending them off, but—" There was a knock at the door, and Nico Di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold. He was smiling but looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's… where's my sister?" Dead silence. I stared at Chiron. I couldn't believe nobody had told him yet. And then I realized why. They'd been waiting for us to appear, to tell Nico in person. That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I owed it to Bianca. "Hey, Nico." I got up from my uncomfortable chair. "Let's take a walk, okay? We need to talk." I looked over to Thalia in desperation. Hey eyes met mine and she quickly nodded, practically jumping up from her seat. He took the news in silence, which somehow made it worse. I kept talking, trying to explain how it happened, how Bianca has sacrificed herself to save the quest. But I felt like I was only making things worse. "She wanted you to have this." I brought out the little god figurine Bianca had found in the junkyard. Nico held it in his palm and stared at it. We were standing in the dining pavilion, just where we'd last spoken before I went on the quest. Thalia was to the side of Nico, rubbing his shoulder soothingly. The winter was bitter cold, even with the camp's magical weather protection. Snow fell lightly against the marble steps. I figured outside the camp borders, there must be a blizzard happening. "You promised you would protect her," Nico said. He might as well have stabbed me with a rusty dagger. It would've hurt less than reminding me of my promise. "Nico," Thalia said. "He tried, we all did. Bianca sacrificed herself to save—" "He promised!" He glared at me, his eyes rimmed with red. He closed his small fist around the god statue. "I shouldn't have trusted any of you." His voice broke. "You lied to me. My nightmares were right!" "Wait. What nightmares?" "I hate you! All of you!" He flung his figurine to the ground, it bounced until it was next to Thalia. "She might be alive," I tried desperately. "We don't know for sure—" "She's dead." He closed his eyes. His whole body trembled with rage. "I should've known about it earlier. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it." Thalia looked at him worryingly. "What do you mean, you can 'feel it'?" Before he could answer, I heard a new sound behind me. A hissing, clattering noise I recognized all too well. Thalia pulled out a dagger and I drew my sword. I whirled around and found myself facing four skeleton warriors. They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. I wasn't sure how they'd made it inside the camp, but it didn't matter, we would never get help in time. "You're trying to kill me!" Nico screamed. "You two brought these… these things!" "No! I mean, yes, they followed us, but no! Nico, run, they can't be destroyed." "I don't trust you!" "We will have to see how indestructive they really are!" With that Thalia charged into one, dagger ripping into it. Her eyes grew stormy and electricity volted into the skeleton. It went down, but only temporarily. A skeleton advanced behind her to attack, but I slashed it aside with Riptide. Even as I sliced it in half, and with the charred bits from Thalia, the skeletons simply knit themselves back together. "Nico, go, get help!" Thalia begged. She had a new cut on her thigh from one of the skeletons grabbing her. It didn't look too worrying, yet. "No!" Nico shouted. "Go away!" The ground rumbled beneath us. The skeletons froze. I rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the four warriors. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth, taking the skeletons and Thalia with it slowly. "Please, Nico!" She cried. "I know what it's like to lose somebody like that." Nico faltered, the anger no longer clouding his face. "What do you mean?" Slowly, Thalia was able to climb her way out, as the opening in the hole started closing. "I had a brother. His name was Jason." Thalia picked herself back up and slowly walked towards Nico. "My mother Beryl Grace had all but stopped taking care of us. She was mad with insanity." Thalia picked up the figurine Nico had tossed. "I had to take care of him, he was just a baby. When I was nine, my mother took him away and left to go to a park. When she came back, he was gone." She placed the figurine in Nico's hand. "He was only two. That was when I decided I had enough, and I ran away." Thalia pulled Nico into a hug and he didn't back away. Instead he stood there, in her arms, tears rolling down his face. After a while, he calmed down, looking at the figurine. "Who is it?" I asked, I hadn't gotten a good look at it yet. "Hades." The Lord of the Dead. Even from here, I could now recognize his face on the toy. Thalia went to put Nico asleep in the Hermes' cabin, where the unclaimed children go, and eventually caught back up with me. Grover had come over here moments before to look at the earth by the skeletons. "We have to tell Chiron." Thalia stated, she looked tired. "No," I said. She and Grover both stared at me. "Um," Grover said nervously, "What do you mean, no?" I was still trying to figure out why I'd said that, but the words spilled out of me. "We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a—" "Son of Hades," Thalia finished. "If the Olympians find out…" "It might start them fighting among each other again. This is not good." Grover clopped his hoof against the cement multiple times. I couldn't tell if it was from too much caffeine or nerves. Thalia rested her chin on her palm for a second, shivering from the cold air, and finally looked back up. "We can't hide things from the gods, not forever." "Just until the prophecy is finally over," I agreed. "We cannot let Nico undertake something like this." Thalia looked determined, "This prophecy is mine to bear. I will do anything if one of us could live a normal life." That was likely never going to happen, but I didn't say that. We needed our morale up now more than ever. "We can't let Nico be in any more danger," I said. "I owe that much to his sister. I… let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer anymore." "That poor kid who hates you and wants to see you dead." Grover reminded me. Thalia had a spark behind her eyes, "He is just scared. He lost his sister. We can help him, we will help him." She put so much conviction behind her words, I just hope she was telling the truth. I wasn't sure Chiron believed the story Thalia and I told him. I think he could tell I was holding something back about how Nico responded to the news, but in the end, he accepted it. Unfortunately, the death of a demigod was not uncommon. "So young," Chiron sighed, his hands on the rail of the front porch. "Alas, I hope she gets the peace she deserves. I don't know if I can say it is better than a life full of suspense and pain, but it is a hero's fate." "You really think the first attack will be here?" I asked. Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. I could see smoke from the dragon guardian at the pine tree, the glitter of the distant Fleece. "All I can wish is that the strike doesn't come soon, even if the choice does." He looked in pity at Thalia. "We better get rest soon, I hope you all know where you are going after the winter?" I looked over to Thalia, questioning her. "I am going to be staying at camp, I have no place else to go." Chiron nodded solemnly. "And Percy, you'd better focus on school, stay out of trouble, and get rest." "You'll send an Iris-message if anything goes wrong?" To that Thalia nodded. Wishful thinking that they would make it past tomorrow, nonetheless next summer. I didn't like the idea of waiting. Even hours can feel like an eternity when it can decide everything. I try not to think about it. Thalia spoke again "Percy—" Whatever she was going to say was interrupted by Grover, who stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale, like he'd seen a specter. "He spoke!" Grover cried. "Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?" "I … I was playing music in the parlor," he stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!" "Who?" Thalia demanded. "Pan!" Grover wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to … I have to find a suitcase." "Whoa, whoa, whoa," I said. "What did he say?"
Grover stared at me. "Just three words. He said, 'I await you.'"
I glanced over at Thalia, the grim look on my face not hiding any of my worries whatsoever. "Happy sixteenth birthday."
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Last night was less than pleasant, to say the least. As well as the usual influx of dreams to expect from a half-blood, one stuck out. It was of Thalia and Luke, she looked as she did the day before – defeated spirit and barely holding on – but Luke was grinning ear-to-ear. "I am so glad you could finally join us, Thalia. With your help, we can finally bring justice to the Olympians for the pain they brought to us." To this Thalia slightly brightened up. Luke took her by the hand and led her to a smaller patch in the woods, where he was met with an opening in the ground and took her underneath. I woke up in a cold sweat. Looking outside I could see that it was a bit later in the morning, at least ten. I grabbed some of my clothes and a coat, hit the showers, and then found the others. Nico and Thalia were playing a game with figurines and cards in the pavilion. Doing my best to not slip on the ice, I made my way up there to greet them. When Nico first saw me, he glared and put his head back down into the game. Ouch. "Glad you could finally join us, Percy," Thalia remarked half-wittedly. "Beauty queens need their sleep," I strolled up next to her and sat down, to which she scooted a little further away. On Thalia's side: there was Zeus, Thanatos, Hekate, and Dionysus. On Nico's: Aphrodite, Tyche, Hermes, and Morpheus. There was a stack of cards on either side, one of them with a green label and the other with a gold one. "So, how do you play?" I asked. "We each have four gods given to us randomly, two of which are any combination of Olympians, Titans, and Primordials," Nico started, no longer caring about his grudge against me he was showing only seconds ago. "Each of the gods has a special skill, an amount of health, speed, and base damage. Olympians, Titans, and Primordials each have an extra skill." To show me this, he got a card – from out of his pocket – and showed it to me. It happened to be Poseidon. "Poseidon, Ruler of the Oceans, can douse two of your opponent's gods with water. Water makes them slower, weaker, and susceptible to lightning and frost damage, but gives resistance to fire." The card had small numbers that I could barely read, but looking closer I found that he was right. Poseidon had pretty good strength and health, but his speed was lower than some others that I saw. "Since he is an Olympian he has an extra skill, in which he can summon a random sea deity and use their special skill. Speed determines which gods go first in turn order, and base damage determines damage they do in health to other gods." I could barely wrap my head around this, so instead I just focused on the game they were currently playing. "Isn't your side a little weak?" I asked. "You just have like, luck and love. Thalia has the king and literal magic." I was proud that I could remember some of them from my mythology studies. Except I didn't know who Morpheus was. "One hundred twelve damage," Nico told Thalia. She grunted unhappily and Hekate fell. "Aphrodite is also a war goddess, I'm winning." I stared at him, and he cheekily smiled back. I doubt I would understand that game for as long as I lived, so I gave up. I almost walked away, but suddenly remembered why I was here in the first place. "Thalia, I had a dream about you." I blurted out. Thalis groaned in disgust, "Gross, Jackson." "You were with Luke," this got her attention. "Can I speak to you? In private?" I didn't want Nico to hear anything too upsetting, fearing that he would go berserk again and reveal himself too soon. Nico looked like he wanted to object, but Thalia told him she wouldn't be long and they could finish the game. He crossed his arms and continued to stab me with his gaze, but he didn't try to stop her. Thalia and I walked over to the amphitheater, and I explained to her what happened in my dreams. "I would never join him." "I didn't say you would," I held up my hands. "I just want to make sure you guys are safe, after what happened with Annabeth and Bianca. We can't let him get away with these things." She sighed. "There's no need to worry, Percy. This is my choice to make, I need you to trust that I can make the right one." Reluctantly, I nodded my head and let it go. Going back to camp, I only had a few more places I wanted to visit before I went to pack my stuff and go home. Mostly, it was just checking up on a few of the campers. I first went to check on Silena Beauregard, as I was still curious about the information Clarisse had last night. I couldn't go to Clarisse directly – for fear of my getting a lot more than just that information – but Silena was good friends with Clarisse and she never held any grudges. Gods, I'm saying Clarisse so much it's starting to sound like we are friends. I knocked on the door to the Aphrodite cabin, "Hello?" The door opened to reveal one of the younger members, Valentina I think. "What do you want? You are interrupting movie night." "Sorry, I just wanted to have a chat with Silena, is she here?" I looked around from where I stood, but I could only see the entrance and a couple of dressers. "Of course she is, I'll go get her," Valentina sighed. The little girl went deeper into the cabin and out of my sight. Thinking it would be rude to go anywhere or look inside, I just stood by the door, my right leg lightly bouncing. "Yes, Percy?" Silena was wrapped in a soft, pink robe. Her hair was a little messy and her makeup was only half done. Not knowing what else to say or do, I just directly asked. "What did Clarisse discover?" "That… is a longer conversation than I was hoping, give me a moment and I'll be out." She grabbed a scarf from one of the dressers and, like Valentina, disappeared into the cabin. I simply stood outside the cabin. Maybe in another life, I would have the courage to go in there, but after my encounter with Aphrodite, it was far too intimidating. I should probably ask the Aphrodite cabin to join us in the next camp game (it would also be easier to get the Ares cabin that way, which would guarantee a victory). Silena came back out five minutes later, fully dressed with a luscious green fur coat, the red scarf from earlier, and black and white eyeshadow. "You look dashing." "Well, thank you. If I ought to make another appearance, I should look suitable." She walked past me into the common areas and I followed. I repeated the same question that brought me here, "So, what did Clarisse discover?" "She found one of Luke's smaller hideouts from months ago," my eyes grew wide. "He thought no one would go there, so he left some of his plans behind. Although a majority of them suffered water damage, she was able to get her hands on one document. Luke is not going to strike here anytime soon." "What do you mean? It's Thalia's birthday. Today." Why would he not attack us at our most vulnerable? That makes no sense. "He is sending somebody here instead." My eyebrows furrowed, which she caught on to, "We don't know why or when, though we think it will be today, but Clarisse is already setting up some security measures and traps with the Hermes cabin." I relaxed my face, it was all under control. There was nothing I needed to do. But there was still a detail that she didn't talk about, "What was that cut on her chin?" "She got it when she fell into the hideout, nothing too bad to handle. I'm sure Michael and the others can get her fixed up in no time." "What do you mean fell into the hideout," that did not sound like anything good. "She didn't tell anyone, not even me. I wouldn't go asking her, though." As if I would do that. I thanked her and headed to my next victim, which coincidentally happened to be one of the people we were talking about, Michael Yew. I walked into the infirmary, and a younger camper was bugging me about why I was there, I think his last name was Salad or something. After that, I looked around and spotted Michael tending to Clarisse. I bit my teeth, I did not want to see her, at least until next summer. "Jackson," Clarisse said bitterly. Michael turned around and gave me a grin. The guy was around my age but built a bit better, he was good at healing and archery. Most times, you could find him in the infirmary or practicing shooting. "Hey, what's up?" He asked, grabbing a cloth and placing it on Clarisse's chin. It must've been warm because she softened to the touch. "Just checking up on you, any supplies we are low on?" I questioned. Not only did I care somewhat about most of the campers here, I needed something to keep myself busy. "No, not really. Pass me that paper, would you?" I tossed him the paper and he started singing, I saw the scars vanish from Clarisse's chin. "Alright, you are good to go." He helped Clarisse up and had her go on her way. On said way, she ‘accidentally' bumped into me, causing some rubbing alcohol to spill on me. I grabbed onto her arm before she got away, "Silena told me about the hideout. What was it really?" I had a feeling it was no ordinary hideout, and I had to ask even if it was against my health. "That's it. I wouldn't tell you even if it was anything more. Now let go." She tried to get away, but I held her a little tighter, "Snowball fight? You pick anyone you want first, I pick who I want next. If I win, you tell me what you actually saw. If you win, I will clean your cabin before I leave." She smirked devilishly, "Deal. I'll take Yew." From behind me, Michael gave a thumbs up to join her. "You have twenty minutes to be ready, or you forfeit." With that, I ran out of there. I didn't really know who to pick for a snowball fight, that was just the first thing I could think of. Nobody from Ares or Apollo, as Clarisse and Michael were up against us. Possibly somebody from Athena Cabin, except I don't know if planning will help us win. And I couldn't trust that a Hermes kid would help me. I asked something of Aphrodite already, so that left Hephaestus, Demeter… Zeus? I walked over to the Zeus Cabin, inside there was a statue of him looking down on the entire room. Most of it was open space, but I saw a slab sticking out from the wall with a bedroll, pillow, and some blankets, as well as various items lying around. "What're you doing Percy?" I gasped in surprise and turned around, Thalia was right behind me. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to help me in a snowball fight against Clarisse and Michael." I was talking so fast I don't actually know if she heard me correctly, but she stood there to think for a second. "And why would I help you again?" "Because Clarisse is hiding something, and if we win she will tell us," I explained, hoping it would be enough. She thought for a few more moments, "Fine." I looked back into the Zeus Cabin for the last time, I didn't know how somebody could live in a place like this. "How do you stay warm here? I don't see a heater or anything." Thalia shrugged, "I don't need one. Cold doesn't bother me to a certain degree. Must be something I inherited from him." Zeus, she means. Even if she didn't want to say it out loud. "Well, goodbye Percy. Don't die… or do, I couldn't care less. I have preparing to do." She closed the cabin door before I could tell her when and where to meet up. I just hoped she would show. And she did, almost late. I found Clarisse near the strawberry fields, on a small area of flat land. Michael Yew was also there, making snowballs for them. "Here are some ground rules," Clarisse shouted. "One, no powers to speed up making the snowballs or to make them go faster," at that part she glared at me. "Two, if you are hit twice, you are out. You cannot get back in." Fair enough. "Three, you are only out if you are hit with a snowball or break a rule." That was when I noticed she had her spear. Apparently, Ares had gifted her a new one after her secret mission had been a success. This one had some weird red mist dripping from the top. With seconds remaining, I did my best to build a sort of snow wall to protect us. I tried to use my powers, but the water just turned the snow into sludge. Next to me, Thalia was expertly crafting a dozen snowballs. Clarisse began a countdown from ten. Nine. An arrow flew into the snow wall and made a small hole. Eight. Thalia went too fast and shocked me while melting some of the snowballs. Seven. A large amount of snow was dumped onto me and Thalia by a pegasus and bucket. It looked to be the doing of a Hermes kid. Six, five, four. The wall was finished, so I helped Thalia with the snowballs. Three. We had about two dozen made, although the older ones were turning into sludge balls. Two. "One! Go!" A snowball went flying directly past my face, it only missed because Thalia tugged me out of the way. "You are not losing this in mere seconds, Jackson! Use the water or something!" Thalia demanded. "She said no using powers to make the snowballs go faster!" I argued back, getting disqualified was just as bad. "She never said you couldn't soak them in water." I thought for a second and was promptly almost hit with another snowball. Turning around, I spotted Michael Yew, he was far too happy. I'm guessing he is the one almost getting me because he is taking the time to aim (unlike Clarisse). I start to circle up some water around me, but before I can shoot it at him, Clarisse yells: "Jackson!" Mistakenly, I look at her. She lets out a battle cry so loud that my head spins. I try to stop it, kneeling and clutching my ears, but that does nothing. When it is over, I look up to see a snowball hurtling towards me, about to pummel me in the face. Right before it reaches, it promptly turns back around and smacks Michael in the face. And Thalia sends another one that hits him in the same spot. I look in surprise over to her, and her eyes are the same stormy gray when she summons lightning. "How did you…" "No time for that!" She pulled me aside, behind the snow wall. We could hear Clarisse yelling at Michael, and Michael was sent back to the infirmary. "So, you can control snowballs in the air, and Clarisse is really, really loud." "I can manipulate the trajectory of things while they are in the air," she explained. I stared at her. "Gods, Percy. I can change where an object lands if it is dropped or thrown. I did that with the figurine Nico dropped to make it land by me, I didn't trust that you'd slip and step on it." Rude. "So, how do we deal with her screech?" My ears were still ringing. "Maybe cover our ears with water or something? Sound doesn't travel well in water, does it?" "Honestly, no idea. Worth a shot." I used the water I had summoned earlier and put a small bubble around my and Thalia's ears. With that, we got back up and faced Clarisse. As if she was waiting for us, she let out another scream. This time, the noise had quieted a bit. While she was in the middle of it, I threw my snowball at her, and it hit her straight in the chest. At that moment, Thalia screams behind me. I turned over and saw a spear had impaled her arm. "Percy, don't fail me." Before I could even say a word, some Apollo kids whisked her back to the infirmary. Another snowball whizzed past my head right where I was looking at. Clarisse was running out of snowballs, and if she made any more, I would have the advantage. I ran towards her and dodged as many as I could. "What." She threw one. "Are." And another. "You." Just three left. "Doing." Two. Using the water, I turned the last two into sludge and summoned two snowballs towards me. And I was met with a spear in my face. "I wouldn't throw those if I were you." I dropped the snowballs. "Hands behind your back." I listened. "On your knees." My legs became more soaked than they already were when my body obeyed. "Now, who won?" She smirked. "We did," Thalia said. I grabbed the two snowballs from off the ground, threw them into the air, and then zipped right into Clarisse's face. She stumbled backward and fell into the snow. I stood up and walked over to Clarisse's fallen body. "What else do you know?" "Meet me at the Big House in an hour." Finally.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
I cleaned myself off in my cabin, instantly drying all the snow and gunk sticking to my clothes. Picking up the bag next to my bed, I shoved in all my clothes and belongings, struggling to close it afterward. Walking to the Big House, I saw that the pavilion was empty. Nico and Thalia must have finished their games. Although, there was a figurine and a card still on the table. I went to see who it was, but I couldn't tell by looking at the small figure. Flipping over the card next to it, I saw the name Atë. According to the card, she was the goddess of mischief, recklessness, and misfortune. Fun. I pocketed both to give to Nico later. Inside the Big House, I saw: Chiron, Silena, Charles, Thalia, Nico, and Michael. All of the senior campers are still at the camp except Travis, the Hermes' counselor. Probably best to keep it that way. "Percy arrives late, once again," Thalia remarks. I give her a mocking grin before sitting down on one of the last chairs. "So, I presume most of you know why you are here?" Chiron asked. To that, Thalia, Michael, and I all nodded our heads. Silena and Charles had no idea what was going on. "Clarisse has some important news to tell us, about her scout quest." Clarisse stood up, "When I got to Luke's hideout, it wasn't something normal or small. It was inside the ground. Physically, most of it was under the earth." A few of us looked at Chiron expectantly, and Silena practically grunted. "It's the labyrinth, guys. Giant underground maze?" Chiron stroked his beard, "Are you certain?" Silena nodded, "There's an overwhelming force of anguish underneath the earth, I noticed it a couple of weeks ago but didn’t pay it any attention." "Wasn't that like famously hard to navigate?" I ask, confused. "How would Luke have used that for a hideout?" "It was beaten with a ball of twine, Percy. I'm sure Luke could've managed that." Michael looked at me apologetically after he said that. Why is this happening? There was a rustling upstairs, and Chiron sent Dionysus to check on it. "Me? Why not send one of the kids?" "We do not need another prophecy right now. Plus, I need to prepare the kids." Dionysus groaned and left the room. "So, does everyone have a list of the campers who will be staying?" Me, Thalia, and Nico all stayed put in our seats while the other counselor gave him a couple of papers. When he asked the three of us, Nico and Thalia said they'd be staying, while I was going home. He simply nodded and turned his attention back towards the group. "For those that will be staying here over the winter, we will be doing extra training and preparing," cue the groans. "Last year our barriers were broken by bulls, a hellhound was let inside the borders, and Kronos is constantly gathering support for his side." They reluctantly accepted this and took some of the new schedules he had made. Dionysus returned to the room with a smile plastered on his face, "Guess who's going on a quest?" Another round of groans escaped. Dionysus suddenly went limp in the face, and a green mist expelled from his mouth and eyes, in the same tone as the oracle, he gave a prophecy.
The daughter of the king stands proud and tall,
To defend her family, she must give it her all.
Creation of the blacksmith's bottle grows bright green,
A thousand deaths the soldier will see.
Under the goddess' spell, the lower shall fall,
Or the Olympians' death, the Titans shall reap.
"Great, carry on then." Dionysus left before anyone could say another word. "That was—" Thalia started, still shocked by Dionysus' crude performance. "A prophecy, yes dear. One talking about the downfall of the Olympians." Chiron finished. Clarisse, once again paying attention, sparked up, "Well then, we must have a quest, right?" Charles and Michael both grunted, each of the boys had plans over the winter, a quest would mess them up. "Well, Dionysus is the one who heard the quest, so we have to piece together who is the best to send. Let's start one line at a time. The daughter of the kind stands proud and tall." "That would be me," Thalia concluded. Chiron corrected her, "Well, we don't know for sure. It can easily be an outside influence." I could tell most of the other campers did not agree with him. "The second one references the girl before, so the next line. Creation of the blacksmith's bottle grows bright green." We all knew whom this meant, and by showing that we looked over at Charles. He was the only camper trusted to wield Greek Fire. "So, we have our first quester. A thousand deaths the soldier will see." Nobody answered this line, I doubt anybody wanted to experience what a thousand deaths might look like. "Under the goddess' spell, the lover shall fall," Chiron continued. This time, Silena received the attention. "Just because I am the child of the love goddess does not mean I am the ‘lover'," she argued. "You fit the description best out of any of us, plus aren't like you and Charles a thing?" Michael commented. To that, Silena and Charles were both flustered. "Well, no. We aren't, but like—" Silena was having trouble getting words to come out. Clarisse came to her defense, "If she says no, then that is that." When it came to Silena, nobody was to argue with Clarisse, that was an unspoken rule. She was so protective of the girl, and no one wanted to end up in the infirmary. Michael apologized. Some whispers started to happen, mainly with Nico and Thalia, as well as Clarisse and Charles. "Well, Charles, do you have any suggestions of who to come with you?" Chiron asked. Charles thought for a second, "Clarisse." "She was just on a quest though!" Silena said. "Yes, which I believe is directly related to this one. She knows the most out of any of us." Charles was right, Clarisse would be the best help. Clarisse knew this too, she gave Silena a sorry look and then turned to Chiron, "I am in." Before Clarisse could go to sit with Charles, Silena grabbed onto her wrist lightly. Clarisse put her own hand over the girl's, squeezed, and then pulled the hand off. "And who shall be the last one? Quests are best with three," Charles looked around the room and his eyes landed on Thalia. Daughter of the king. "No," I gasped. Everyone looked at me weirdly, since when have I ever gotten along with Thalia? But I couldn't lose Thalia, she was the closest thing I had to Annabeth. I couldn't say that… "You were talking about how you wanted to live your life, Thalia. That's what you told Artemis when she asked you to join the Hunt," this got some looks, "Last year you were a tree, and there is going to be a thousand deaths. You really want to risk this?" "You do not know what I want, Jackson. As far as I'm concerned, saving the world from disaster is a perfect use of my time." Her words stung, I had to remind myself that she was not Annabeth. "Thalia is right, Percy. This is her choice, and she fits the description," Chiron being the voice of reason was expected. "I'm with Percy," now that was a surprise for me, "Thalia is finally free of burden. Frankly, I don't see why we have to do anything at all. Why can't the gods handle it? We are children." A breach of thunder hit the Big House as Nico finished his lines. "The gods need u—" "We are soldiers, not children." Clarisse corrected before Chiron could even finish his usual spiel. "We leave tonight, in three hours. I'm done here." She got up from her chair, and walked out the front door, Silena following behind her – likely to calm her down. "Charles, Thalia, I expect you to be ready by three then?" questioned Chiron. Charles and Thalia both nodded and promptly left, followed by Nico. That left Chiron, Michael, and I all in the rec room. "Well, Percy, Michael," Chiron began, "I need you two to round up all the campers that will be staying here and direct them to me. Make sure the ones leaving have everything they need before they go. Have a good Christmas, Percy." We nodded and left. "What is up with Clarisse?" I asked Michael. "What do you mean?" "Well, she has been acting strange. First, she told me off, which is normal for her, and then she was just suddenly polite. And she goes right back to being rude!" Her inconsistent behavior was annoying me. I can get behind being a jerk, I can deal with those. But random bouts of kindness? Something was up. Michael sighed, "Percy, Clarisse has been going through a lot. A few years ago when she went to the sea of monsters? Her dad showed up for like the first time in forever and simply dismissed her. You saw her dad multiple times during your first year at camp." Before I could say anything, he raised his finger. "Annabeth told us all about it. It was her first quest and she was super excited. It's one of the many reasons Clarisse doesn't like you two." "And now this last quest? You spoke to the gods again. Clarisse has seen her dad twice. The first was when we took the trip to Olympus, and her dad basically ignored her, like she didn't exist." I was stunned into silence. Focusing on our rivalry, I did not consider the fact that I knew how many times Ares did anything for her, and I thought nothing more of it. Michael looked over to me in pity, "Percy, you are powerful. You are recognized by the gods. Clarisse has been doing her best to get an ounce of attention, that's why she takes on so many dangerous quests. You can just exist and have things happen to you. Now Clarisse also has to be around Thalia, another child of the Big Three. She's jealous of you, and it is tearing her apart." "I- I hadn't put too much thought into it." I had no idea what to say to that. "You're a big three kid, the most thought you can put into anything is how to survive. Speaking on that note, you should probably pay attention to Nico more." I gawked at him, "How did you know? Is it that obvious?" He just laughed, "My father is the prophecy god, it's kinda what I do. Plus, I'm barely on hanging out terms with Clarisse, how do you think I know so much?" I just blinked absent-mindedly, "I… I'm a mess." I confessed. Another laugh came out of him, "Don't worry, we all are. Nobody else knows about Nico except you and Thalia, as far as I'm aware. Don't underestimate how important having the right allies is." I simply thanked him and we went back to sorting out the campers. It took the better part of two hours to get everything together. After we were done, I said goodbye and went back to my cabin, I had one last thing to do. I pulled out a golden drachma, willed some water to make a rainbow, and tossed it in, "Annabeth Chase, Hunters of Artemis." For a second it flickered, and then Annabeth was displayed in the mist. She was having a lively conversation at a campfire. She saw me and made an excuse to get away. "Hey, Percy, everything okay?" She had a look of worry. "Everything is fine, for the most part. Thalia's choice has not come yet, at least I think so?" "So, what's up? Why are you calling?" she asked. "A couple of things have happened, I think it would be nice just to catch up," I said, basically asking to talk to her again. "You start first then, Seaweed Brain," she gave a small smile and waited. "Okay, so: Clarisse had news that Luke was sending somebody here soon. Nico di Angelo is a child of Hades. The oracle gave another prophecy. And Clarisse, Charles, and Thalia went on a quest." "I thought you said everything was fine! Hades had a child?!?! Even he broke the oath! This is huge!" Annabeth wailed. I did my best to try and calm her down. "We don't think he did," I responded. "What do you mean?" "Nico and Bianca were trapped in the Lotus Casino for decades, they only got out because of some guy. We had a conversation about it when we were going to save you," I explained. "And the prophecy?" she asked. I did my best to recite the prophecy, although I knew I messed some things up. "So, Thalia, Charles, a thousand deaths, and a goddess. Sounds about right. Why is Clarisse going on this quest again?" "Well, Thalia, Clarisse, Michael, and I had a snowball fight," Annabeth raised her eyebrow, and I didn't blame her, it sounded insane coming out of my mouth. "It was so that I could get information out of her." Annabeth then nodded, as if they made any sense. "Me and Thalia won, due to some weird powers she has. Then we all gathered in the Big House to discuss this and the oracle went off. Dionysus checked it, came back, and spewed the prophecy back to us. We weren't sure who it was actually meant for since Dionysus heard it, but we assumed a couple of things. Clarisse going on the quest was half volunteering and half because she was the reason we were at the Big House in the first place." It felt good to ramble and get everything off my mind, especially in front of Annabeth. "That was… a lot. How is Nico holding up about this?"
"He was a strong advocate for Thalia not leaving, the two got closer when we got back. He doesn't know that he is a child of Hades yet, I think." If Michael was right, only four people still alive knew. Him, Thalia, Hades, and me. It had to stay that way, at least for now. "So, how has the Hunt been?"
Annabeth's eyes lit up, I hated that they did, that she wanted this. It would be so much easier if it was hard. "The other Hunters taught me how to use Artemis' gift, such as tracking animals and asking nature for help. They said I was a natural at it, although I'm not quite sure how to draw power from the moon, and bows are not really my thing."
"Sounds fun," I did my best to hide the amount of gloominess in my statement.
"Oh, also. My mom must be proud or something, because my cap got better. The other Hunters can't hear my movement anymore when I put it on! I still need to be careful about speaking with it though, they are scary fast at taking it off once they do notice my voice."
She continues to explain all of the cool gifts and training she's gone through so far, and for a moment I could just pretend that she was still here. Only for a moment.
"Oh, sorry Percy, I have to go. I'll try to contact you next time I can."
"Goodbye, Wise Gir—" Before I could even finish, the connection was cut. I sighed and climbed onto my bed, putting my head back. But, I felt somebody watching me. I turned around to see Nico di Angelo waiting there. "How long were you standing there?"
"Long enough, keep the Äte stuff," as soon as I noticed him, he had disappeared.
Before I could go to him, Thalia, or even Michael, Chiron showed up as well. "Your mother is here to pick you up, ready to go?"
I blanked, not wanting to tell him about Nico yet, but not having any excuses to go tell somebody else. "Yeah, I am." Chiron and I walked through the barrier, and I left to spend the winter with my mom.
----- CHAPTER BREAK -----
The last thing I wanted to do on my summer break was blow up another school. But there I was Monday morning, the first week of June, sitting in my mom's car in front of Goode High School on East 81st. Goode was this big brownstone building overlooking the East River. A bunch of BMWs and Lincoln Town Cars were parked out front. Staring up at the fancy stone archway, I wondered how long it would take me to get kicked out of this place. "Just relax." My mom didn't sound relaxed. "It's only an orientation tour. And remember, dear, this is Paul's school. So try not to…you know." "Destroy it?" "Yes." Paul Blofis, my mom's boyfriend, was standing out front, greeting future ninth graders as they came up the steps. With his salt-and-pepper hair, denim clothes, and leather jacket, he reminded me of a TV actor, but he was just an English teacher. He'd managed to convince Goode High School to accept me for ninth grade, despite the fact that I'd gotten kicked out of every school I'd ever attended. I'd tried to warn him it wasn't a good idea, but he wouldn't listen. I looked at my mom. "You haven't told him the truth about me, have you? She tapped her fingers nervously on the wheel. She was dressed up for a job interview—her best blue dress and high-heeled shoes. "I thought we should wait," she admitted. "So we don't scare him away." "I'm sure orientation will be fine, Percy, it's only one morning." "Great," I mumbled. "I can get expelled before I start the school year." "Think positive. Tomorrow you're off to camp! After orientation, you've got your date—" "It's not a date!" I protested. "It's just Silena, Mom. Jeez!" "She's coming all the way from camp to meet you." "Well, yeah." "You're going to a cafe." "Yeah." "Just the two of you." "Mom!" She held up her hands in surrender, but I could tell she was trying hard not to smile. "You'd better get inside, dear. I'll see you tonight." I was about to get out of the car when I looked over the steps of the school. Paul Blofis was greeting a girl with frizzy red hair. She wore a maroon t-shirt and ratty jeans decorated with marker drawings. When she turned, I caught a glimpse of her face, and the hairs on my arms stood straight up. "Percy?" my mom asked. "What's wrong?" "N-nothing," I stammered. "Does the school have a side entrance?" "Down the block on the right. Why?" "I'll see you later." My mom started to say something, but I got out of the car and ran, hoping the redheaded girl wouldn't see me. What was she doing here? Not even my luck could be this bad. Yeah, right. I was about to find out my luck could get a lot worse. Sneaking into orientation didn't work out too well. Two cheerleaders in purple-and-white uniforms were standing at the side entrance, waiting to ambush freshmen. "Hi!" They smiled, which I figured was the first and last time any cheerleaders would be that friendly to me. One was blond with icy blue eyes. The other was African American with dark curly hair like Medusa's (and believe me, I know what I'm talking about). Both girls had their names stitched in cursive on their uniforms, but with my dyslexia, the words looked like meaningless spaghetti. "Welcome to Goode," the blond girl said. "You are so going to love it." But as she looked me up and down, her expression said something more like, Eww, who is this loser? The other girl stepped uncomfortably close to me. I studied the stitching on her uniform and made out Kelli. She smelled like roses and something else I recognized from riding lessons at camp—the scent of freshly washed horses. It was a weird smell for a cheerleader. Maybe she owned a horse or something. Anyway, she stood so close I got the feeling she was going to try to push me down the steps. "What's your name, fish?" "Fish?" "Freshman." "Uh, Percy." The girls exchanged looks. "Oh, Percy Jackson," the blond one said. "We've been waiting for you." That sent a major Uh-oh chill down my back. They were blocking the entrance, smiling in a not-very-friendly way. My hand crept instinctively toward my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. Then another voice came from inside the building. "Percy?" It was Paul Blofis, somewhere down the hallway. I'd never been so glad to hear his voice. The cheerleaders backed off. I was so anxious to get past them I accidentally kneed Kelli in the thigh. Clang. Her leg made a hollow, metallic sound, like I'd just hit a flagpole. "Ow," she muttered. "Watch it, fish." I glanced down, but her leg looked like a regular old leg. I was too freaked out to ask questions. I dashed into the hall, the cheerleaders laughing behind me. "There you are!" Paul told me. "Welcome to Goode!" "Hey, Paul—uh, Mr. Blofis." I glanced back, but the weird cheerleaders had disappeared. "Percy, you look like you've seen a ghost." "Yeah, uh—" Paul clapped me on the back. "Listen, I know you're nervous, but don't worry. We get a lot of kids here with ADHD and dyslexia. The teachers know how to help." I almost wanted to laugh. If only ADHD and dyslexia were my biggest worries. I mean, I knew Paul was trying to help, but if I told him the truth about me, he'd either think I was crazy or he'd run away screaming. Those cheerleaders, for instance. I had a bad feeling about them… Then I looked down the hall, and I remembered I had another problem. The redheaded girl I'd seen on the front steps was just coming in the main entrance. Don't notice me, I prayed. She noticed me. Her eyes widened. "Where's the orientation?" I asked Paul. "The gym. That way. But—" "Bye." "Percy?" He called, but I was already running. I thought I'd lost her. A bunch of kids were heading for the gym, and soon I was just one of three hundred fourteen-year-olds all crammed into the bleachers. A marching band played an out-of-tune fight song that sounded like somebody hitting a bag of cats with a metal baseball bat. Older kids, probably student council members, stood up front modeling the Goode school uniform and looking all, Hey, we're cool. Teachers milled around, smiling and shaking hands with students. The walls of the gym were plastered with big purple-and-white banners that said WELCOME FUTURE FRESHMEN, GOODE IS GOOD, WE'RE ALL FAMILY, and a bunch of other happy slogans that pretty much made me want to throw up. None of the other freshmen looked thrilled to be here, either. I mean, coming to orientation in June, when school doesn't even start until September, is not cool. But at Goode, "We prepare to excel early!" At least that's what the brochure said. The marching band stopped playing. A guy in a pinstripe suit came to the microphone and started talking, but the sound echoed around the gym so I had no idea what he was saying. He might've been gargling. Someone grabbed my shoulder," What are you doing here?" It was her: my redheaded nightmare. "Rachel Elizabeth Dare," I said. Her jaw dropped like she couldn't believe I had the nerve to remember her name. "And you're Percy somebody. I didn't get your full name last December when you tried to kill me." "Look, I wasn't—I didn't—What are you doing here?" "Same as you, I guess. Orientation." "You live in New York?" "What, you thought I lived at the Hoover Dam?" It had never occurred to me. Whenever I thought about her (and I'm not saying I thought about her; she just like crossed my mind from time to time, okay?), I always figured she lived in the Hoover Dam area, since that's where I'd met her. We'd spent maybe ten minutes together, during which time I'd accidentally swung a sword at her, she'd saved my life, and I'd run away chased by a band of supernatural killing machines. You know, your typical chance meeting. Some guy behind us whispered, "Hey, shut up. The cheerleaders are talking!" "Hi, guys!" a girl bubbled into the microphone. It was the blonde I'd seen at the entrance. "My name is Tammi, and this is like, Kelli." Kelli did a cartwheel. Next to me, Rachel yelped like someone had stuck her with a pin. A few kids looked over and snickered, but Rachel just stared at the cheerleaders in horror. Tammi didn't seem to notice the outburst. She started talking about all the great ways we could get involved during our freshman year. "Run," Rachel told me. "Now." "Why?" Rachel didn't explain. She pushed her way to the edge of the bleachers, ignoring the frowning teachers and grumbling kids she was stepping on. I hesitated. Tammi was explaining how we were about to break into small groups and tour the school. Kelli caught my eye and gave me an amused smile, like she was waiting to see what I'd do. It would look bad if I left right now. Paul Blofis was down there with the rest of the teachers. He'd wonder what was wrong. Then I thought about Rachel Elizabeth Dare, and the special ability she'd shown last winter at Hoover Dam. She'd been able to see a group of security guards who weren't guards at all, who weren't even human. My heart pounding, I got up and followed her out of the gym. I found Rachel in the band room. She was hiding behind a bass drum in the percussion section. "Get over here!" she said. "Keep your head down!" I felt pretty silly hiding behind a bunch of bongos, but I crouched down beside her. "Did they follow you?" Rachel asked. "You mean the cheerleaders?" She nodded nervously. "I don't think so," I said. "What are they? What did you see?" Her green eyes were bright with fear. She had a sprinkle of freckles on her face that reminded me of constellations. Her maroon T-shirt read HARVARD ART DEPT. "You…you wouldn't believe me." "Oh, yeah, I would," I promised. "I know you can see through the Mist." "The what?" "The Mist. It's…well, it's like this veil that hides the way things really are. Some mortals are born with the ability to see through it. Like you." She studied me carefully. "You did that at Hoover Dam. You called me a mortal. Like you're not." I felt like punching a bongo. What was I thinking? I could never explain. I shouldn't even try. "Tell me," she begged. "You know what it means. All these horrible things I see?" "Look, this is going to sound weird. Do you know anything about Greek myths?" "Like…the Minotaur and the Hydra?" "Yeah, just try not to say those names when I'm around, okay?" "And the Furies," she said, warming up. "And the Sirens, and—" "Okay!" I looked around the band hall, sure that Rachel was going to make a bunch of bloodthirsty nasties pop out of the walls; but we were still alone. Down the hallway, I heard a mob of kids coming out of the gymnasium. They were starting the group tours. We didn't have long to talk. "All those monsters," I said, "all the Greek gods—they're real." "I knew it!" I would've been more comfortable if she'd called me a liar, but Rachel looked like I'd just confirmed her worst suspicion. "You don't know how hard it's been," she said. "For years I thought I was going crazy. I couldn't tell anybody. I couldn't—" Her eyes narrowed. "Wait. Who are you? I mean really?" "I'm not a monster." "Well, I know that. I could see if you were. You look like…you. But you're not human, are you?" I swallowed. Even though I'd had three years to get used to who I was, I'd never talked about it with a regular mortal before—I mean, except for my mom, but she already knew. I don't know why, but I took the plunge. "I'm a half-blood," I said. "I'm half human." "And half what?" Just then Tammi and Kelli stepped into the band room. The doors slammed shut behind them. "There you are, Percy Jackson," Tammi said. "It's time for your orientation." "They're horrible!" Rachel gasped. Tammi and Kelli were still wearing their purple-and-white cheerleader costumes, holding pom-poms from the rally. "What do they really look like?" I asked, but Rachel seemed too stunned to answer. "Oh, forget her." Tammi gave me a brilliant smile and started walking toward us. Kelli stayed by the doors, blocking our exit. They'd trapped us. I knew we'd have to fight our way out, but Tammi's smile was so dazzling it distracted me. Her blue eyes were beautiful, and the way her hair swept over her shoulders… "Percy," Rachel warned. I said something really intelligent like, "Uhhh?" Tammi was getting closer. She held out her pom-poms. "Percy!" Rachel's voice seemed to be coming from a long way away. "Snap out of it!" It took all my willpower, but I got my pen out of my pocket and uncapped it. Riptide grew into a three-foot-long bronze sword, its blade glowing with a faint golden light. Tammi's smile turned to a sneer. "Oh, come on," she protested. "You don't need that. How about a kiss instead?" She smelled like roses and clean animal fur—a weird but somehow intoxicating smell. Rachel pinched my arm, hard. "Percy, she wants to bite you! Look at her!" She's just jealous," Tammi looked back at Kelli. "May I, mistress?" Kelli was still blocking the door, licking her lips hungrily. "Go ahead, Tammi. You're doing fine." Tammi took another step forward, but I leveled the tip of my sword at her chest. "Get back." She snarled. "Freshmen," she said with disgust. "This is our school, half blood. We feed on whom we choose!" Then she began to change. The color drained out of her face and arms. Her skin turned as white as chalk, her eyes completely red. Her teeth grew into fangs. "A vampire!" I stammered. Then I noticed her legs. Below the cheerleader skirt, her left leg was brown and shaggy with a donkey's hoof. Her right leg was shaped like a human leg, but it was made of bronze. "Uhh, a vampire with—" "Don't mention the legs!" Tammi snapped. "It's rude to make fun!" She advanced on her weird, mismatched legs. She looked totally bizarre, especially with the pom-poms, but I couldn't laugh—not facing those red eyes and sharp fangs. "A vampire, you say?" Kelli laughed. "That silly legend was based on us, you fool. We are empousai, servants of Hecate." "Mmmm." Tammi edged closer to me. "Dark magic formed us from animals, bronze, and ghosts! We exist to feed on the blood of young men. Now come, give me that kiss!" She bared her fangs. I was so paralyzed I couldn't move, but Rachel threw a snare drum at the empousa's head. The demon hissed and batted the drum away. It went rolling along the aisles between music stands, its springs rattling against the drumhead. Rachel threw a xylophone, but the demon just swatted that away, too. "I don't usually kill girls," Tammi growled. "But for you, mortal, I'll make an exception. Your eyesight is a little too good!" She lunged at Rachel. "No!" I slashed with Riptide. Tammi tried to dodge my blade, but I sliced straight through her cheerleader uniform, and with a horrible wail she exploded into dust all over Rachel. Rachel coughed. She looked like she'd just had a sack of flour dumped on her head. "Gross!" "Monsters do that," I said. "Sorry." "You killed my trainee!" Kelli yelled. "You need a lesson in school spirit, half-blood!" Then she too began to change. Her wiry hair turned into flickering flames. Her eyes turned red. She grew fangs. She lopped toward us, her brass foot and hoof clopping unevenly on the band-room floor. "I am a senior empousa," she growled. "No hero has bested me in a thousand years." "Yeah?" I said. "Then you're overdue!" Kelli was a lot faster than Tammi. She dodged my first strike and rolled into the brass section, knocking over a row of trombones with a mighty crash. Rachel scrambled out of the way. I put myself between her and the empousa. Kelli circled us, her eyes going from me to the sword. "Such a pretty little blade," she said. "What a shame it stands between us." Her form shimmered—sometimes a demon, sometimes a pretty cheerleader. I tried to keep my mind focused, but it was really distracting. "Poor dear." Kelli chuckled. "You don't even know what's happening, do you? Soon, your pretty little camp is in flames, your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time, and there's nothing you can do to stop it. It would be merciful to end your life now, before you have to see that." From down the hall, I heard voices. A tour group was approaching. A man was saying something about locker combinations. The empousa's eyes lit up. "Excellent! We're about to have company!" She picked up a tuba and threw it at me. Rachel and I ducked. The tuba sailed over our heads and crashed through the window. The voices in the hall died down. "Percy!" Kelli shouted, pretending to be scared, "why did you throw that?" I was too surprised to answer. Kelli picked up a music stand and swiped a row of clarinets and flutes. Chairs and musical instruments crashed to the floor. "Stop it!" I said. People were tromping down the hall now, coming in our direction. "Time to greet our visitors!" Kelli bared her fangs and ran for the doors. I charged after her with Riptide. I had to stop her from hurting the mortals. "Percy, don't!" Rachel shouted. But I hadn't realized what Kelli was up to until it was too late. Kelli flung open the doors. Paul Blofis and a bunch of freshmen stepped back in shock. I raised my sword. At the last second, the empousa turned toward me like a cowering victim. "Oh no, please!" she cried. I couldn't stop my blade. It was already in motion. Just before the celestial bronze hit her, Kelli exploded into flames like a Molotov cocktail. Waves of fire splashed over everything. I'd never seen a monster do that before, but I didn't have time to wonder about it. I backed into the band room as the flames engulfed the doorway. "Percy?" Paul Blofis looked completely stunned, staring at me from across the fire. "What have you done?" Kids screamed and ran down the hall. The fire alarm wailed. Ceiling sprinklers hissed to life. She was right. The school was in flames and I'd be held responsible. Mortals couldn't see through the Mist properly. To them it would look like I'd just attacked a helpless cheerleader in front of a group of witnesses. There was no way I could explain it. I turned from Paul and sprinted for the broken band room window. I burst out of the alley onto East 81st and ran straight into Silena. "Hey, you're out early!" she laughed, grabbing my shoulders to keep me from tumbling into the street. "Watch where you're going, Percy." For a split second she was in a good mood and everything was fine. She was wearing jeans and an orange camp T-shirt and her bead necklace. Her dark hair was pulled back in a ponytail. Her blue eyes sparkled. She looked like she was ready to chill out, have a cool afternoon hanging out together. Then Rachel Elizabeth Dare, still covered in monster dust, came charging out of the alley, yelling, "Percy, wait up!" Silena's smile melted. She stared at Rachel, then at the school. For the first time, she seemed to notice the black smoke and ringing fire alarms. She frowned at me. "What did you two do? And who is this?" "Oh, Rachel—Silena. Silena—Rachel. Um, she's a friend, I guess." I wasn't sure what else to call Rachel. I mean, I barely knew her, but after being in two life-or-death situations together, I couldn't just call her nobody. "Hi," Rachel said. Then she turned to me. "You are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!" Police sirens wailed on FDR Drive. "Percy," Silena said coldly. "We should go." "I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." She grabbed my arm, whipped out a permanent marker, and wrote a phone number on my hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going." "But—" "I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!" She ran back toward the school, leaving Silena and me in the street. "Hey!" I jogged after her. "There were these two empousai," I tried to explain. "They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn, and—" "You told a mortal girl about half-bloods?" "She can see through the Mist. She saw the monsters before I did." "So you told her the truth?" "She recognized me from Hoover Dam, so—" One of her eyebrows raised, and she smirked, "You've met her before?" "Um, last winter. But seriously, I barely know her." "She's kind of cute." My face turned red, ""I—I never thought about it." Silena kept walking toward York Avenue. "I'll deal with the school," I promised, anxious to change the subject. "Honest, it'll be fine." Silena looked back at me. "I guess our afternoon is off. We should get you out of here, now that the police will be searching for you." Behind us, smoke billowed up from Goode High School. In the dark column of ashes, I thought I could almost see a face—a she-demon with red eyes, laughing at me. Your pretty little camp in flames, Kelli had said. Your friends made slaves to the Lord of Time. "You're right," I told Silena, my breathing still harsh. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now."