Thank You for reading. I deleted my last story because it was mostly a test run for this. A rough draft. This is a final copy.
Percy's POV
Getting summoned to Olympus randomly was hard.
Getting that call from Rachel and watching Nico's face as she spoke to him was harder.
No wait scratch that, meeting with his friends on these conditions was harder. Their reunion after the war should have been happy and full of laughter but no.
Getting that look from one of the fates was the hardest thing.
It wasn't anger. Percy could deal with anger. A lot of the Olympians were angry with him. But no it wasn't that.
It was a look of sympathy.
It severely shook Percy to his core. What was so bad that a fate could feel pity for you? Olympus looked the same as it had every other time he'd ever been there. Big white columns a lovely sky above. The Olympians expressions were grim. The tension was thick in the air, everything was on edge as if they were waiting to stab Percy in the back and run away to go play a nice game of chess.
Percy really had planned on a relaxing day . . . and with recent events he deserved it.
Annabeth stood next to him and gave him a grave look What is going to happen?
All 12 of the Olympians were here, they were all sitting in their thrones giant size observing them from above.
They loved to look down on them. Something in the corner caught his eye. A small hearth, with a young woman tending it. Lady Hestia.
She met Percy's eyes for a moment before returning her gaze to the embers. She seemed nervous and scared.
A bubble of anxiety began to churn in his stomach. Zeus cleared his throat, loudly.
"I know you must be wondering why you've been summoned to Olympus, it's because of some problems that have shown their faces recently. Things that could mean the end of our world's." He had all of their attention. Zeus adjusted himself in his throne. "They are demons."
Almost immediately the Olympians burst into panicked chatter.
Zeus called for silence and it was quiet again.
"We summoned the heroes of Olympus because I was told that you all have a connection to these demons, though you may not know it yet."
Percy was pretty sure he didn't know any demons, though he'd have to ask Annabeth to be sure. Judging by the looks on the others faces they were just as clueless as him. The tables have turned.
"They are known as the seven deadly sins and they are seven very powerful and dangerous beings. They will be summoned and they will be interrogated." Percy wanted to laugh. Didn't the seven deadly sins have something to do with capital G God? That's what they were gonna have to deal with? Zeus's voice boomed "Mystic!"
An old woman stepped out of the shadow of his throne. She looked old and frail, wrinkled skin, white hair etc. But she had dark mischievous eyes. Percy would keep his hand on his wallet when she was around. A small group of young men trailed behind her like foot soldiers. They wore cloaks with hoods that were black like the old woman's.
The young men couldn't have been much older than Percy they seemed on edge waiting for her to ask them to do something.
Percy hated how Zeus didn't even ask them. He just told everyone what was going to happen. As if to show them his dominance.
He was nervous.
He was trying to act so tough and in control because he, Zeus the king of the gods was nervous.
Percy was sure of one thing: they needed to get out of here. It was the seven of the prophecy plus Nico, Apollo, Calypso and Will. By his calculations that was 11 people. How could they slip away unnoticed?
The old woman muttered something a one of the young men handed her what looked like chalk. It was vividly red. She walked over the far side of the room on Percy's left, she got down on her hands and knees and drew a perfect circle. They she began drawing something with long broad strokes. It took him a moment to recognize it was a pentagram.
Looking at it gave him the chills.
"Whats going on here?" He heard Nico mutter. No one answered.
The woman began to draw these symbols that looked like scribbles and things maybe similar to Latin inside of the points of the star.
The old woman stood and muttered something under her breath.
"Its complete." She said and she asked one of the boys for something. They handed her a knife and she cut her palm. A drop of blood fell unto the ground in the circle.
"One."
Another drop.
"Two."
Another.
"Three."
And another. Her voice seemed to shake the room and mess with Percy's head. Each drip of blood seemed to echo in the vast throne room.
"Four."
Drip.
"Five."
Drip, drip.
"Six." "Seven."
"And so it goes." One of the boys with a grave expression. He seemed to be the older one.
Percy creep-o-meter was going off and he knew they should leave, but they were trapped and there wasn't much they could do about that. Percy wanted to scream at the unfairness of everything, but that wouldn't get him any where. Besides that would be really embarrassing. One of the hound men lifted the hood on his cloak his dark skin seemed sickly.
"They will come one after the other. Their essence will flow in the wind until they appear." He gulped
For a moment no one said anything. It was all too weird. Their essence will flow in the wind? What the . . ?
A smell of subtle vanilla hit his nose. He suddenly felt silly and . . . determined. Percy smelled something fresh and then he smelled gasoline and a wave of pain passed over him. It wasn't real pain but like a memory of pain.
So this is what he meant by essence . . . Annabeth gripped his hand nervously. Percy glanced back at the others. He and Jason made eye contact. Even he looked nervous.
WHOOSH!
The throne room filled with smoke. It was heavy and thick, suddenly everyone around him was coughing and gasping for air. But it didn't feel like fire smoke it felt like mist. And after a moment he could breath again. He heard the gods asking questions frantically and the sound of crackling energy like they were preparing to fight.
BOOM! CRACK! The floor wobbled beneath them and Percy let go of Annabeth's hand but quickly found it again. He heard a scream and it sounded like one of the young men's voices. The seemingly sunny sky flickered like a bulb until it was dark as midnight with nothing but the moon to provide light.
Then there was the thump of a body hitting the ground. It smelled like the beach and roasting marshmallows with his mom.
"Mel, what happened!"
"It was her! One of them! I saw the mark on her hand when she rescued he from falling." He voice was shaking.
Percy heard the sound of a weapon unsheathing.
"No, don't you dare get them angry at us! Olympus will fall. And her sister . . . she's the worst one of all. . . "
It was dead silent and the smoke or fog or whatever it was began to clear. And he saw the silhouette of a girl or young woman.
"Who are you?" Zeus practically screamed "What's your name?" He voice shook at the last word.
"My name?" Said a voice feminine and small. "That's easy I'm Zoe of the seven deadly sins, the Fox sin of greed."