"I choose the prophecy."
Those words had been haunting Percy all night. Why had he said that? Why on earth would he want to be responsible for the future of mankind? It was insane. He wasn't ready for that kind of pressure and he never would be. He was a fourteen year old boy and the lousiest hero there was. Only his sword skills and sheer dumb luck had kept him alive so far.
"Ugh," he groaned. He had been awake all night, thoughts milling through his head. He couldn't sleep. Suddenly he got up and dressed. He had this urge to leave camp. He needed time to think. After a few minutes he looked round his lonely cabin. He had packed a bag with all his clothes. Everything else he had left behind. From the Minotaur's horn he had acquired on the first night he had come to camp to the manticore tail he had cut off a few weeks previously. He crept out of the cabin and started walking toward the beach.
"Leaving? You do that a lot, you know. And you always then come back again, getting my hopes up for nothing." Percy resisted a groan and turned round. Dionysus was leaning against a tree at the edge of the forest. Heroes were not supposed to leave Camp without permission. The first time Dionysus had let him go, but Percy wasn't so sure about this time. He said nothing.
"Well," continued Dionysus, "it seems I do owe you a favour for imprisoning Atlas once again, preventing me from being forced by Father to go to war with those ancient old men, the Titans. Go, Peter Johnson. I have better things to do than talk to half-bloods. Humph, the wine dude indeed. " Percy's eyes widened. With a hard conviction Percy suddenly knew that Dionysus was aware of who Nico's god-father was. How long before Mount Olympus knew there was another child out there who posed a threat to them?
"How did you know?" Percy asked, but Dionysus had already vanished. He shook his head. Grover had been right. You can't keep anything from gods. How long before the gods knew Hades' son was out there, ready for the plucking should Kronos wish it? He shook his head. He could already feel more trouble coming. He turned around and continued toward the beach. Once there he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
Come to me! He shouted the thought as loud as he could so as to summon any sea creature that would hear him. He briefly reflected he could have taken a Pegasus, but then that would have been stealing from the camp and would also entail travelling in the sky, and the last thing he wanted was Zeus shooting lightning bolts at him for some entertainment. A few minutes passed before a very large sea horse pushed its head above the water. Without getting wet, Percy went to it and slung his legs over its back.
Where to, sire? It asked.
Anywhere, he replied.
XXX
It was morning and another day at camp. Annabeth and her cabin joined the rest of the camp for a morning jog around the borders of camp. Last night Chiron had introduced a new training regime for the campers. With danger growing in the world, the heroes needed to be ready for anything. To that effect Chiron had vowed to make them heroes equal to those of Hercules's time.
"Where's Percy?" Annabeth wondered afterward. She was standing next to Marcy, another Athena camper, and both were panting heavily. Even for Annabeth, a good athlete, running over thirty miles was no pushover. That was more than what professionals ran in a marathon! But since they were half-bloods they could endure more than mortals. But still, thirty miles was a long run. And that was only a "light morning jog", according to Chiron.
"Come on people!" Chiron shouted. "Ancient Greek heroes had to endure worse than this. And I'd hate to think human blood has thinned over the millennia. You're better than this. Now I want another lap around camp. Now!" They all groaned but the expression on Chiron's face set them running again. Annabeth quickly ran over to Chiron.
"Chiron, where's Percy? I haven't seen him all morning." Chiron looked down at her and his stone set face softened.
"I was hoping to tell you this evening, once I'd had time to digest it myself, but…"
"What, Chiron?" she asked, getting worried. "What is it?"
"Well, it's Percy," Chiron explained. "He's run away from camp. Mr. D saw him leave last night. He told me this morning." Annabeth could only stare slack-jawed at Chiron. Chiron shook his head sadly.
"We can only pray to the gods that he is alright, wherever he is." With that Chiron moved away from Annabeth and started running after the jogging heroes.
"Come on, Sam! Push yourself as if your whole life depended on it. That's the only way heroes survive. Get used to it!"
Annabeth watched the scene with disbelieving eyes. How could Chiron dismiss Percy like that? But then her logical mind kicked in. Chiron had been alive for millennia. All the heroes he had trained, such as Ajax and Achilles, had died, and whether it was because of old age or some nastier means it didn't matter. He had learnt to deal with it. But she hadn't. She stood there frozen, and then she started running in a desperate attempt to do something with herself. But still thoughts plagued her mind. How could Percy just have left?
XXX
I must go back to my herd, sire.
Of course. Sorry for keeping you away so long. Thank you.
It was my pleasure, sire. Farewell.
Percy rolled off the sea horse and he felt himself being dragged to the sea bed by the weight of his bag. He watched the sea horse swim back the way they had come. He waved farewell, pinched himself and finally found the energy to propel him upwards. He looked around but there was a storm and the clouds were obscuring his view of anything. He shrugged and sank back underneath the water. He floated there for a moment before he chose a direction and started swimming west. Since he didn't want to tire himself out he used a technique he had developed over the years and used his control of the water to propel himself forward. In a few minutes he was swishing through the water at over 60 knots. He didn't know where he was going. Maybe that was best. That way no one would be able to find him seeing as he himself didn't know where he was going.
XXX
"Did you hear? That weakling Percy ran away from camp. I always knew he was a coward!" Clarisse's contempt was clear in her voice.
"Maybe he went looking for that Nico kid," suggested another Ares camper. "I hear the kid's sister died in the god's junkyard. It must have been tough on him. How old was Nico again? Ten?"
"He's a half-blood," admonished Clarisse. "Life is tough for half-bloods. If he wants to survive he's gonna have to learn to deal with it. And do you really think Percy went to look for Nico? From what I hear, Mr. D caught him running for the safety of the sea! Maybe he was hoping his dear daddy would keep him safe!" The whole Ares bunch started laughing at that.
Annabeth sat there and said nothing. How could she? For all she knew they were probably right. It was afternoon and everyone was tired and ready to drop. Chiron had put them through their paces alright, that and more. It was like being at a military training camp for the actual military. Chiron had said there was a lot they needed to learn and there was much ground to cover if they were going to be prepared for whatever was coming. She sighed and drank the last of her cold water. Training would end at nine at night. She looked up at the weary campers. They were in for a storm alright. As she scanned the camp, her eyes caught something in the distance. She focused on it and she simply couldn't believe what she was seeing. She stood up on the table to get a better view.
"What are you doing?" Clarisse shouted over to her from the Ares table. Clarisse looked in the same direction and her eyes couldn't believe it as well.
"What in Hades…? Is that someone at the camp's borders?" Everyone heard her exclamation and looked. She was right. There was someone at the camp's borders.
"If that person can't enter then they're obviously a monster. Come on!" It only took seconds but by then most of the campers were on their way up the slight hill toward Thalia's tree. Annabeth was right there with them, right at the front. It wasn't because she thought this person was a monster. There was just something about him she couldn't place. As they got closer to the tree the person turned round and faced them. It was a boy, maybe fifteen or so. He seemed shocked to see a horde of teenagers coming at him with swords and bows and spears and all other assorted nasty weaponry. He stepped past the tree and waved a furtive hand at the massive group that had formed in front of him.
"Um … hello?"
Clarisse attacked. She ran forward with her broadsword and slashed at his head. He yelped and ducked underneath. At the same time his hand flashed forward and gripped Clarisse's wrists. He used her own momentum and swung her around forcing her arms crossed over her chest. When she was in front of him he applied pressure to her wrists. She dropped her sword.
"Get off me, monster," Clarisse growled. He raised an eyebrow.
"Monster? Who's the one attacking an unarmed boy here?" She growled and tried to wrestle him off. He held on. Clarisse was a big and very strong girl, and yet this lean boy could hold her down. Some Ares campers started walking forward. The boy let her go and stepped back with his arms raised in an "I mean you no harm" gesture.
"Kill him," Clarisse growled.
"No!" Annabeth shouted as she stepped forward. "He's not a monster. He managed to cross the border. Look for yourself. He's past Thalia's tree. And the sword remained substantial when you tried to attack him. So that means…"
"He's a half-blood," finished Clarisse as she got up. She glared at him before going to collect her sword and sheath it. She turned back to him. "Who are you?"
"My name is Jon," he answered with a smile. Clarisse's stiff manner lightened somewhat.
"I'm Clarisse," she said. She extended her hand and Jon shook it.
"Nice to meet you," he said. He turned toward Annabeth. "And you are?"
"Annabeth," she said. They shook hands.
"It seems I owe you my life. I didn't fancy much being at the end of that sword." Annabeth smiled. But then her mind kicked in again. "What are you doing here? It's not everyday half-bloods simply turn up at camp. Did your god-parent tell you to come here?"
"Yes," he replied, "although he didn't exactly tell me. I followed a very large boar that prodded me very sharply every time I went the wrong way. I took that as a sign. It just disappeared over there. That's why I was looking around. And then I heard you and turned round and there it was – my destination." By now everyone had eased up. And then it hit them. A red boar. That was the symbol for…
"Ares," Clarisse whispered. "You're a son of Ares." Jon turned to her and smiled.
"Yep," he said.
XXX
Percy dragged himself onto the beach. He had been travelling for all night and most of the day. When it had reached morning he had started dozing and had lost speed. To keep himself awake he had started peddling instead but that had only worked for a few hours. He had resorted to propelling again, and this time his mind had been slipping in and out of consciousness as he went. He knew he had drifted off course. One moment he had dozed off and came to in an icy sea, the next he had come to in very warm water and now he was in another stormy patch of water. And at last he had completely fallen asleep and let the currents take them where they willed. Thanks to his parentage he had not drowned, but he hoped never to test his powers like that ever again. Who knew what could happen? For all he knew his power of water only worked when he was conscious enough to control it.
But now he was awake and on the beach of an unknown place. He dragged himself until he was clear of the tide and then let himself slump on the dry sand. He turned round and looked at the sky. He knew he would fall unconscious soon. He looked up at the stars. So far away and yet so close and so coldly apathetic. They had seen so much. He identified the new constellation created by Artemis, Zoë the Huntress. He knew somehow that when it was discovered by mankind it would be named just that. No other name suited Artemis better for one of her loyal servants. Blackness started to invade his vision.
That was when he saw him. The man. He was easily seven feet tall. He wore some very strange clothing, like he'd come straight from the Dark Ages; leggings and tunics and boots and armor and the lot. Percy knew he'd lost it then. All that seawater must have gotten to his head. The giant man came to stand by him and knelt down. Percy's heart skipped a beat as he gazed into bottomless black eyes. There were no eye whites, no irises and no pupils. Just blackness. And then the giant man spoke.
"Welcome, Perseus. I have been awaiting your arrival for a while now." Percy blacked out.
XXX
When Percy woke up he was in a cave. He looked around in confusion. What had happened to the cabin? And then the incidents of the last two days hit him. What had he been thinking leaving camp? Kronos and his minions were out there and he was unprotected and ripe for the plucking! He needed to get back to camp as soon as possible.
"I could change that." Percy looked left in alarm. At the back of the cave sat the giant man he remembered seeing last night. He looked into those black eyes and shivered.
"Who are you? And change what exactly?" Percy did not like the feeling he was getting from this guy.
"My name is Aracnan. And by change I mean I could change you. You fear the Titan Lord and his army. You even now seek to return to the safety of your peers. I can see it in your eyes."
"Of course I want to return to camp. I can't deal with the horde Kronos could send after me. If he can make Luke survive a twenty foot fall then I don't want to face whatever else he can conjure up!" Aracnan shook his head.
"Such weakness. And pardon me, but aren't you the child who chose the prophecy? How do you hope to accomplish anything with such an attitude? You must learn to harness you inner power and get strong enough to fight whatever the Titan Lord throws at you, or so human phrase it these days, correct?" Percy shook his head and tried to stand up but instantly he was hit by a wave of nausea. He sat back down and rested his head on the cave wall.
"I did choose the prophecy. And even though I want to ask how you know that, my head is spinning in circles so I'm not even sure I would understand. There is nothing you can do to help me. I do intend to get strong enough to do whatever it is I have to."
"It's easy how I know you chose the prophecy. You are your father's son, and the sea does not like being controlled, yes? And I know how the Titan Lord would do things. I'm assuming by now you don't like him much so it's natural you would want to oppose him."
"So it was guess work basically," Percy said.
Aracnan shrugged. "Pretty much."
"Last night … you said you had been waiting for me. How did you know I would end up here?"
"The prophecy," Aracnan answered. That perked Percy up. He looked at Aracnan intently.
"You know about the prophecy? How?"
"I am in it. It says you shall come to me half dead and alone and so you have. And it says it shall be my duty to make sure you're ready for your duty on your sixteenth birthday."
"It says that?" Percy answered incredulously.
"Of course not. You should know how prophecies work by now young one. It's in riddles, but I heard of it and managed to decipher the meaning. I hid myself before any of the gods managed to hear it and decipher it. How would they feel if they knew I would train the person that might aid in their destruction?"
"They would kill you," agreed Percy. Aracnan nodded.
"While on this island no man or god can find us for we are entwined in the movement of the cosmos itself. Time can stand still or reverse or move incredibly fast, so don't be surprised if you see a dinosaur one day. But it's a very large island and the most dangerous things are on the other side of the island. I will send you there to polish up your training before we leave this island."
"You are acting as if I said I believed you and I was staying," Percy said. Aracnan looked into his eyes.
"That's because I know you will. You have lost too much not to take this opportunity. Friends have died in front of you and if you don't want that to happen again you will stay. Do not think I enjoy being cooped up on this place. Once I finish with you the gods will not harm me for it will serve no purpose and I will be more valuable on their side. Besides, you know as well I that prophecies cannot be fought. You shall stay one way or another, so why not pick the easier option?" Percy sighed in exasperation but deep down he agreed.
"Fine," he said. Aracnan nodded. Percy's mind briefly drifted back to Annabeth and Grover. He would not see them, not at least until he was sixteen, for that was when the prophecy would come true.
"Don't worry. You'll not be here for long, though it will seem like it. You have latent talent and if pushed you can achieve great results. But I am a worse taskmaster than that centaur Chiron. And unlike him I shall take you many places once your training is finished so that you can get a first hand experience of fighting monsters and other worse such things. The Great Stirring has begun so it wouldn't surprise me if great beasts of the past will walk among us once more." Percy groaned. All this talk of doom and such was not doing any good for his nausea. Aracnan gave him a thin smile.
"Things are just getting started for you, my young hero. I shall make a warrior out of you yet." Percy decided to go to sleep. The way this guy was talking, he doubted he would have much time to sleep during his stay. The last thoughts in his head were about his friends, and how long it would be until he next saw them.
XXX
"Hey, Annabeth."
Annabeth turned round and saw Jon walking toward her. It had been six months since that day they first met. In that time the campers had improved much, especially Jon. Chiron's almost militant training had transformed Jon from a moderately handsome and strong hero into a Greek god, figuratively of course. Right now without his shirt on and with sweat on his body he looked … well, you get the picture. She blushed and smiled.
"Hey, Jon," she said. She put down all her gear. That was another thing. Chiron had insisted they wear proper ancient armor at all times. That way they would get used to it and it wouldn't seem so much a hindrance when fighting.
"How did you enjoy another one of Chiron's exercises?"
"Hauling a boulder up the lava filled climbing rock with harpies trying to eat you? Not very much." Jon laughed.
"You get used to it after a while though," he said. "But I dread what Chiron will think up next." Annabeth laughed at that.
"Yeah," she agreed. "He's got a very twisted mind, and he's supposed to be a centaur!" They both laughed and Jon stepped closer. He was smiling at her. Annabeth felt slightly flustered.
"So what are you doing tonight?" he asked.
"You mean apart from that massive essay Chiron wants handed in tomorrow?" Jon's mouth formed an O. "I guess you forgot about that," she continued with a smile.
"Yeah," he said rubbing his head. "Think you could help me? I'm good with fighting and other such stuff but I can't even read Ancient Greek properly!" Annabeth laughed.
"I guess you know what I'm doing tonight then," she answered. Jon's smile widened.
"I guess so," he said. Suddenly someone shouted his name and they both jumped back. He looked and saw it was his cabin mates. "Time for the next exercise I guess. I'll see you tonight then," he said as he walked away.
"Tonight," she agreed. Her heart suddenly felt aflutter.
A hundred metres away Clarisse watched with an amused expression. So it seemed that little Annabeth might be getting some action. She laughed. About time. That loser Percy had been bad news from the start. She could use some strong Ares to show her how things were done.
"Come on," she said to the rest of her cabin. "If we're late I'd hate to see what punishment Chiron cooks up. If it's as bad as the last one I think I'll faint. Cleaning the Pegasi's stables indeed!"
"What about Jon?" someone called. Clarisse shrugged.
"If he's strong enough to start learning magic with some of us then he should be able to catch up. But I certainly won't risk being caught. Now let's move! Double time!" They all started running for the archery range where they would learn with the Hephaestus cabin.
From Thalia's tree a woman and a man watched unnoticed. The woman smiled.
"You are a great hero, Perseus," she muttered. "And every great hero needs a great love story. This might not be an ancient Greek love story but it will do. I told you I would make this hard. If you want Annabeth then you're going to have to work hard to get her. And you are going to get her. I'll make sure of that. I do so love happy endings." With a last glance at a smiling Annabeth she turned and vanished in a conflagration of flowers. Beside her a man in leather briefly glanced at Annabeth before his flaming eyes turned on the bare chest boy called Jon.
"Don't fail me, son," he said before he vanished in a burst of flame.
XXX
"You are a son of Poseidon, aren't you?" Percy said as he gazed at Aracnan. Aracnan looked at him.
"How did you come to that conclusion?" he asked. Percy shrugged.
"Call it a gut feeling."
Aracnan shrugged but didn't answer. Percy left him alone and looked forward. They were in a boat. The island was fast retreating behind them. And where were they off too? The Sea of Monsters. And from there? The Underworld. And from there? No one knew. But Aracnan was determined to do his duty. Percy's training was nearly complete. He had been given a list of one hundred and one things to do and no time limit. But Percy had flourished under Aracnan's tuition and the handy timeless state of the island. He had learnt all that Aracnan could have taught him. But learning and practicing were two different things. He needed to prove himself a true hero before he could walk back to camp with pride.
"We aren't going fast enough, Percy, and Circe will be leaving for her winter home soon." Percy understood. The first thing on the list was to get one of Circe's bracelets. It had been made from a now extinct tree, a very rare tree, and that made it very valuable and powerful. They needed to reach her while she was still in the open. Once Circe reached her winter home she would be in her own domain and Percy would have next to no chance of accomplishing his goal. And he was determined to complete his list in a few months. He brought his palms together and closed his eyes. He was on the sea. He didn't need to see to know where he was going. That night he had washed ashore he had been disorientated so he didn't know where he was. But now he knew exactly where he was and how to get to the Sea of Monsters. The water behind the boat suddenly started propelling them forward and a sea wind filled their sails. He calculated they would be at Circe's resort in three hours.
I'm coming to get my revenge, Circe. No one turns me into a hamster and gets away with it. Percy suddenly got a vision of two people in his mind. Although his control of the winds and water did not falter, he was disturbed. He knew one of those people. She had changed. She was taller and her hair longer and she seemed to shine from within. But it was definitely her; Annabeth. And she was kissing a boy, some kid he didn't know. For some reason he felt … saddened? He couldn't describe it. Nothing he had learnt from Aracnan or his great store of knowledge could help him with this. He shook it off, although he could swear he heard a woman laughing in his head. It was gone in a moment.
"That vision was a true one. It's happening right now." Percy did not open his eyes nor turn round.
"How do you know I had a vision?" he asked.
"The set of your shoulders. You father's blood makes you susceptible to some vision for it was he who first possessed the Oracle of Delphi. And every time you have one a knot comes into your right shoulder. I have been training you to access and use every power you blood grants and you have become quite good at using this fore vision in battle. But still you are the son of the sea god and therefore unpredictable."
"There's a difference between unpredictable and … whatever I saw."
"True. I thought I smelt something. Someone must be sending you this vision." Percy suddenly remembered something. What seemed so long ago, in that limousine? Was that what Aphrodite meant? Did she think something was between Annabeth and him? Preposterous.
"That's one lesson you have to learn that I can't teach."
"And what's that," Percy grumbled.
"Love always leads to ruin. Look at Helen of Troy and Paris."
"Didn't they get together in the end?" he countered belligerently. He knew what his master would say. He thought the same thing also.
"At the cost of thousands of lives in Greece and Troy," Aracnan said. Percy said nothing to that. Whatever. He had better things to worry about than love. Suddenly he looked forward to completing his quests. While number one tested his stealth and ingenuity – getting the bracelet off Circe – number two would test his strength. Fighting a horde of ancient monsters to get a chunk of meteorite and moon sapphires wasn't the most exciting thing but it would keep him occupied. He wondered why most of these tasks had weird objectives but he didn't ask. He had learnt not to ask questions so long ago. He would find out when the time was right. Something changed in him then. His whole body relaxed. His mind seemed to focus more. His face became impassive. Simply put, he was a hero on a mission.
