POTTER FILES : THE SEA OF MONSTERS

Chapter 4 : From Whirlpool To Fire

X-X-X-X-X

Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.

Note : The timeline of the HP universe has been changed to fit PJO universe. Some slight changes have been made to HP canon to fit girl Harry. So, Iris (fem!Harry) Potter was born on 31 July 1993 and COS happened in 2005-2006.

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This chapter will be in Iris' Pov unless stated otherwise.

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It was around seven hundred metres. I accounted for the oscillatory movement due to the flowing river and I fired. Soon, all the heads were sliced off and necks causterised and the Hydra dispersed into the dust. I smirked smugly on seeing them staring at me gobsmacked.

"Hmph! I would have left you three here if Iris had not begged me and I decided to indulge her on a whim.", Clarisse sneered, "Come Aboard."

They entered the battleship and Percy tossed something at me. It was bottle covered with engravings of a snake. I knew that it contained hydra venom and it could only be opened in the same way as that of Chamber of Secrets : Parseltongue. It seemed the spoils did not always have to be a weapon, atleast in the traditional sense.

I guessed I should tell you what happened. There was nothing much to explain. The three idiots ran away on their own without inviting me. I was lucky I was close enough to Clarisse that she allowed me to join her.

We left the Camp at dawn. Clarisse sacrificed her golden laurels to Ares and she got the dingy old ship with its undead crew in return. As if I had not had enough in Asphodel Fields. Apparently, they were the losers of the Civil War and because they lost they would have to obey Ares or something. I did not meet any Roman demigods. So, it might only be applicable for ordinary mortals. This quest was their chance to get peace at last. From what I learned of American history in my time at the Camp, the Confederates were the ones who supported slavery. So, you could understand why I was so uncomfortable with them. Atleast, they were not Independence movement soldiers. Thank the Fates for small mercies.

"You are in so much trouble," Clarisse informed them gleefully.

We gave them a ship tour, through dark rooms overcrowded with dead sailors. We showed them the coal bunker, the boilers and engine, which huffed and groaned like it would explode any minute. They then saw the pilothouse and the powder magazine and gunnery deck (Clarisse's favorite) with two Dahlgren smoothbore cannons on the port and starboard sides and a Brooke nine-inch rifled gun fore and aft-all specially refitted to fire celestial bronze cannon balls.

Everywhere we went, dead Confederate sailors stared at us, their ghostly bearded faces shimmering over their skulls. They approved of Annabeth because she told them she was from Virginia. They were interested in Percy, too, because he had the same last name as the Southern general but then I gleefully told them he was from New York. They all hissed and muttered curses about Yankees.

Tyson was terrified of them. All through the tour, he insisted Annabeth hold his hand, which she did not look too thrilled about.

I, on other hand, enjoyed their discomfort. I was not going to forgive them just because they mentioned something about five minute limit. I had to suffer the undead since the beginning of the quest. I just ensured that they would be suffering too.

Finally, we were escorted to dinner. The CSS Birmingham captain's quarters were little bigger than the cupboard I grew up in, but still much bigger than any other room on board. Have I told you how much I hated being here?

The table was set with white linen and china. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, potato chips, and Dr. Peppers were served by skeletal crewmen. I did not want to eat anything served by ghosts, but my hunger overruled my aversion.

"Tantalus expelled you for eternity.", Clarisse told them smugly, "Mr. D said if any of you show your face at camp again, he'll turn you into squirrels and run you over with his SUV."

"Did they give you this ship?", Percy asked.

"Course not. My father did."

"Ares?"

Clarisse sneered. "You think your daddy is the only one with sea power? The spirits on the losing side of every war owe a tribute to Ares. That's their curse for being defeated. I prayed to my father for a naval transport and here it is. These guys will do anything I tell them. Won't you, Captain?"

The captain stood behind her looking stiff and angry. His glowing green eyes fixed us with a hungry stare.

"If it means an end to this infernal war, ma'am, peace at last, we'll do anything. Destroy anyone."

Why was I not surprised? The undead served Hades because they were loyal to him while they served Ares because they were bullied into it. Typical.

Clarisse smiled. "Destroy anyone. I like that."

Tyson gulped.

"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "Luke might be after the Fleece, too. We saw him. He's got the coordinates and he's heading south. He has a cruise ship full of monsters-"

"Good! I'll blow him out of the water.", she replied.

"Wait", I said, "When did you meet Luke?"

Percy then explained Hermes convincing him to leave without permission, the gifts, ending up in Luke's ship, the two bear brothers, their 'escape', the safe house and finally the Hydra.

It was concerning. I did not know whether Percy or Annabeth understood the significance of their find. The fact that Luke had the guts to sail around so casually in the sea after what he did to Percy last summer meant there was someone really powerful protecting him from Poseidon. There were not many deities that powerful, only two that I knew about.

Triton, son of Poseidon, Prince of the Sea. Being God of Navy and Ships, he was capable of shielding Princess Andromeda from his father's gaze. It was an unspoken but well known fact that the gods paid less attention to them than their half mortal counterparts. It was not uncommon for them to lash out due to jealousy.

Another was Oceanus, Titan of Deep Oceans. He was powerful enough to shield the ship from Poseidon. But, from what I knew, his loyalty was to none but himself. He was as conniving and self serving as anyone could get. He only cared about being on the winning side and would wait long enough to be sure before throwing his lot with anyone. Perhaps, it was what Kronos meant when he said he had already won.

"Clarisse," Annabeth said, "We have to combine forces. Let us help you-"

"No!", Clarisse pounded the table, "This is my quest, smart girl! Finally I get to be the hero, and you two will not steal my chance. Besides, from what I have seen just now, Iris is more than enough."

Annabeth and Percy looked at me as if they expected me to convince her. I simply shrugged.

"Hey! She is the leader. I am just along for the ride.", I said.

"Ha! Even she agrees with me.", Clarisse said looking smug.

"Iris, I know you are angry at us for leaving without you and I am sure you felt we abandoned you but-"

I held out a hand to stop her. "I know I have a tendency to hold grudges but I am not unreasonable. I do not hold any grudge against you. I simply decided to have some faith in her. Unless you are afraid that, if given the chance, Clarisse might grow into a better leader than you..."

I immediately saw the effect my words had on her. She was not just angry. She looked murderous, her stormy grey eyes darkening as if there was a miniature storm inside destroying everything. Along with the greater height advantage she had over me due to her recent growth spurt, I could finally see why everyone considered Athena as terrifying.

Demigods tended to inherit some weird characteristics from their divine parent. Athena was born an adult. So, unless they ignored their divine nature and played mortal like Percy did last year, her kids reached their peak much quicker than others. I had a feeling that when she would be fifteen years old, the age of adulthood in Ancient Greek culture, it would be difficult to believe that she was not in her early twenties.

Annabeth looked like she was about to say something to me but then thought better of it. She turned to Clarisse and said, "What's to become of us, leader ?"

"All you need to know is that I'm finishing this quest and you're not helping. On the other hand, I can't let you go ..."

"So we're prisoners?", Annabeth asked.

"Guests. For now."

Clarisse propped her feet up on the white linen tablecloth and opened another Dr Pepper.

"Captain, take them below. Assign them hammocks on the berth deck. If they don't mind their manners, show them how we deal with enemy spies."

I felt bad for using her pride to get her to cooperate especially because I personally agreed with her. But, I had a feeling that putting pressure on Clarisse when she was so defensive was a bad idea. Once she was confident in her leadership, she would be more accepting of help and suggestions.

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That night I had a dream that was not a memory of Selene. I was in a small house that was not remarkable in any way other than that it was decaying. I did not know where I was nor had I seen the house before but the sight before me felt wrong somehow as if the house was supposed to be livelier, more beautiful. I felt uncomfortable. I knew there was a great predator nearby but I did not know how I knew.

"Well, what do you have to say?"

The voice appeared so suddenly that I was startled. I looked around and saw her. She wore punk-style clothes with silver chains on her wrists. She had spiky black hair, dark eye-liner around her stormy blue eyes, and a spray of freckles across her nose. She looked slightly pale and emaciated as if she had been ill for some time. I had not seen her before but I knew who she was, the girl who became the hero of the Camp without ever stepping a foot on it, Thalia.

Well?" she asked. "Are we going to stop it or not?"

I realised, to my surprise, that she was talking to me. That had never happened before. I waited to see whether I would automatically talk like in Selene's memories when I was her, but the only thing that happened was the girl getting more impatient.

I spoke but no sound came out as if whoever materialised me screwed up and left my voice box behind. I tried to move but whatever construct housed my presence did not obey my mental commands. If it was how Percy's dreams tended to be, I could understand why they made him uncomfortable.

The girl rolled her eyes. "Fine. Leave it to me and Aegis."

She tapped her wrist and her silver chains transformed, flattening and expanding into a huge shield. It was silver and bronze, with the monstrous face of Medusa protruding from the center. It looked like a death mask, as if the gorgon's real head had been pressed into the metal. I repressed my instinctive need to shiver and turn my head, and looked at it closely. So, that was the famous Aegis, second most powerful shield ever held in mortal hands, first being Ajax's Rho Aias of course. True, Athena's personal Aegis was more powerful but it was a godly shield.

The girl suddenly drew out her sword and got into a stance facing forward. I did know what she was doing. Suddenly, I knew it was coming even if I did not know what it was. I could not see, hear or smell it, whatever it was, but it seemed Thalia could. I did not know what happened when it attacked because I then woke to alarms ringing throughout the ship.

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I was walking up the stairs looking for Clarisse when something made me freeze. I felt a familiar and unwelcome presence. I suddenly felt like picking a fight, punching a dead Confederate, damn slaving bastard, but I knew it was not my feelings and pushed them aside.

Instead of going up, I crept to the edge of the ventilation grate and saw Percy peering down into the boiler deck and I joined him.

Clarisse was standing right below us, talking to an image that shimmered in the steam from the boilers-a muscular man in black leather biker clothes, with a military haircut, red-tinted sunglasses, and a knife strapped to his side.

"I don't want excuses, little girl!", he growled.

"Y-yes, father.", Clarisse mumbled.

"You don't want to see me mad, do you?"

"No, father."

"No, father.", Ares mimicked, "You're pathetic. I should've let one of my sons take this quest."

"I'll succeed!", Clarisse promised, her voice trembling, "I'll make you proud."

"You'd better.", he warned, "You asked me for this quest, girl. If you let that slimeball Jackson kid and the conniving witch steal it from you—"

"But the Oracle said—"

"I DON'T CARE WHAT IT SAID!", Ares bellowed with such force that his image shimmered, "You will succeed. And if you don't ..."

He raised his fist. Even though he was only a figure in the steam, Clarisse flinched.

"Do we understand each other?", Ares growled.

The alarm bells rang again. We heard voices coming toward us, officers yelling orders to ready the cannons. We crept back from the ventilation grate and made our way upstairs to join Annabeth and Tyson on the spar deck.

"What a jerk!", I said.

He shrugged. "Some people never change, I guess."

"Actually, he used to be worse."

He looked at me surprised.

"I didn't know it was possible to be worse than that.", he said pointing in the direction they used to be.

"Clarisse atleast got a chance to prove herself. One of the Hunters spent her entire life trying to make her father proud. When she finally met Ares, the obnoxious jerk told to her face that he did not care how strong she was, a woman's purpose was to spring out strong male warriors who would make him proud. As she had not done that, according to him, she was a failure.", I replied.

"Ouch!"

"Exactly. As if a donkey can understand the value of a diamond. Mama is quite proud of her and she is happy where she is."

"Mama?"

My eyes widened in shock as I realised what I had let slip. My cheeks felt hot and I hoped I was not blushing.

"Hey! That's between Artemis and me. You will not speak of it to anyone else.", I said waving my finger at him.

"Alright! Alright! I won't.", he replied holding out his hands in surrender pose though the smile on his face was too similar to that of the Stoll twins for me to be comfortable.

I guessed I would have to keep an eye on him. Clarisse came up the stairs right after us. She grabbed a pair of binoculars from a zombie officer and peered toward the horizon.

"At last. Captain, full steam ahead!"

I looked in the direction she was looking at. To the north, a huge mass of rock rose out of the sea-an island with cliffs at least a hundred feet tall. About half a mile south of that, there was a storm brewing. The sky and sea boiled together in a roaring mass.

"Hurricane?", Annabeth asked a few minutes later and I knew they could now see.

No.", Clarisse said, "Charybdis."

Annabeth paled. "Are you crazy?"

"Only way into the Sea of Monsters. Straight between Charybdis and her sister Scylla." Clarisse pointed to the top of the cliffs, and I felt dread creep up my spine knowing what lived there. .

"What do you mean the only way?", Percy asked, "The sea is wide open! Just sail around them."

Clarisse rolled her eyes. "Don't you know anything? If I tried to sail around them, they would just appear in my path again. If you want to get into the Sea of Monsters, you have to sail through them."

It reminded me of platform 9 3/4 where the only entrance from non-magical side was through the pillar. Maybe, they were created with similar principles.

"What about the Clashing Rocks?", Annabeth said, "That's another gateway. Jason used it."

"I can't blow apart rocks with my cannons.", Clarisse said, "Monsters, on the other hand ..."

I sighed. "Annie, what Clarisse meant is that we would have to go through both the gateways anyway to complete the quest. The choice is about the order in which we do it. The Clashing Rocks is all about timing and speed but the speed required is beyond the capabilities of our ship. She intends to...'appropriate' a lighter and faster transport along the way. Here, we need a heavier transport like this old warhorse so that Charybdis won't easily drag us into its mouth. Our ship also has an inbuilt weapon system with which Clarisse can blast away at everything to relieve her frustrations. Better the monsters than us."

Annabeth kept quiet for a few seconds, her Eye of the Mind (True) skill analysing all the possibilities.

"It's a sound decision.", she admitted with grudging respect.

"Hmph! Finally, you understand what I am talking about, Wise Girl."

Clarisse turned to the captain. "Set course for Charybdis!"

"Aye, m'lady."

The engine groaned, the iron plating rattled, and the ship began to pick up speed. "Clarisse," Percy said, "Charybdis sucks up the sea. Isn't that the story?"

"And spits it back out again, yeah."

"What about Scylla?"

"She lives in a cave, up on those cliffs. If we get too close, her snaky heads will come down and start plucking sailors off the ship."

"Choose Scylla then.", Percy said, "Iris can speak to it in snake language and convince it to let us pass by."

"Prissy, did you really believe that I did not think of it myself? It doesn't work like that.", Clarisse replied.

"Perce, we snakes have a hierarchy depending on a combination of potency of venom, size and magical/divine nature. If I order those well below me, their obedience is instinctual and absolute. Those near my level has to be reasoned or bribed. Those above consider me as food. Snakes are also intensely territorial and my presence will only make it more aggressive.", I said.

"So, Scylla is a bad idea.", he said.

"Yes."

The engine hummed. The boilers were heating up so much I could feel the deck getting warm beneath my feet. The smokestacks billowed. The red Ares flag whipped in the wind. As we got closer to the monsters, the sound of Charybdis got louder and louder. Every time Charybdis inhaled, the ship shuddered and lurched forward. Every time she exhaled, we rose in the water and were buffeted by ten foot waves.

Undead sailors calmly went about their business on the spar deck. I guess they had fought a losing cause before, so this did not bother them. Or maybe they didn't care about getting destroyed because they were already deceased. Neither thought made me feel any better.

Annabeth stood next to Percy, gripping the rail.

"You still have your thermos full of wind?"

Percy nodded. "But it's too dangerous to use with a whirlpool like that. More wind might just make things worse."

"What about controlling the water?", she asked, "You're Poseidon's son. You've done it before."

"Don't bother. It's not going to work. To control water here, he would have to overpower Charybdis which is impossible even with Poseidon's blessing. She is the daughter of Poseidon and Gaea after all.", I interjected.

"We need a backup plan.", Annabeth said, "This isn't going to work."

"Annabeth is right.", Tyson said, "Engine's no good."

"What do you mean?", I asked.

I knew that the system was under strain but I had believed that it would hold until we passed the gateway. But, if Tyson was so worried, perhaps, the situation was worse than I thought.

"Pressure. Pistons need fixing."

Before he could explain, the ship lurched forward and I was thrown to the deck. We were in the whirlpool.

"Full reverse!", Clarisse screamed above the noise. The sea churned around us, waves crashing over the deck. The iron plating was now so hot it steamed. "Get us within fir-ing range! Make ready starboard cannons!"

Dead Confederates rushed back and forth. The propeller grinded into reverse, trying to slow the ship, but we kept sliding toward the center of the vortex. A zombie sailor burst out of the hold and ran to Clarisse. His gray uniform was smoking. His beard was on fire.

"Boiler room overheating, ma'am! She's going to blow!"

"Well, get down there and fix it!"

"Can't!", the sailor yelled, "We're vaporizing in the heat."

Clarisse pounded the side of the casemate. "All I need is a few more minutes! Just enough to get in range!"

"We're going in too fast.", the captain said grimly, "Prepare yourself for death."

"No!", Tyson bellowed, "I can fix it."

Clarisse looked at him incredulously. "You?"

"He's a Cyclops.", I said, "He's immune to fire. And he knows better than all of us about machines. He only has to keep it going till we pass through. After that, we can decide whether we should abandon the ship or give it complete overhaul."

"Go!", yelled Clarisse.

"Tyson, no!", Percy grabbed his arm. "It's too dangerous!"

He patted Percy's hand.

"Only way, brother."

His expression was determined-confident, even. I had never seen him look like this before. It was a glimpse into the kind of man-Cyclops he would grow up to become.

"I will fix it. Be right back."

I watched him go wondering whether Artemis felt the same about me when she heard of me leaving on my first quest, worried yet proud. I wished the entire Camp was watching that moment so I could know how many of them could still deny that Tyson was as much of a hero as any of them.

I placed a hand on Percy's shoulder and said, "It's his area of expertise. If he is confident about fixing it, we will simply have to trust him."

Charybdis appeared only a few hundred yards away, through a swirl of mist and smoke and water. The first thing I noticed was the reef-a black crag of coral with a fig tree clinging to the top, an oddly peaceful thing in the middle of a maelstrom. All around it, water curved into a funnel, like light around a black hole. Then I saw the horrible thing anchored to the reef just below the waterline-an enormous mouth with slimy lips and mossy teeth the size of rowboats. And worse, the teeth had braces, bands of corroded scummy metal with pieces of fish and driftwood and floating garbage stuck between them.

Charybdis was an orthodontist's nightmare. She was nothing but a huge black maw with bad teeth alignment and a serious overbite, and she had done nothing for centuries but eat without brushing after meals. I was suddenly glad Hermione was an ordinary witch. That sight would have scarred her for life.

As I watched, the entire sea around her was sucked into the void-sharks, schools of fish, a giant squid, I realized that in a few seconds, the CSS Birmingham would be next. "Lady Clarisse," the captain shouted, "Starboard and forward guns are in range!"

"Fire!", Clarisse ordered.

Three rounds were blasted into the monster's maw. One blew off the edge of an incisor. Another disappeared into her gullet. The third hit one of Charybdis's retaining bands and shot back at us, snapping the Ares flag off its pole. I guessed even the darkest clouds had their silver lining.

"Again!", Clarisse ordered. The gunners reloaded, but I knew it would not be enough to even hurt it. If she felt useful by doing it, I was not going to complain.

Then the vibrations in the deck changed. The hum of the engine got stronger and steadier. The ship shuddered and we started pulling away from the mouth.

"Tyson did it!", Annabeth said.

"As if there was any doubt.", I said proudly.

"Wait!", Clarisse said, "We need to stay close!"

"We'll die!", Percy said, "We have to move away."

"Prissy!", Clarisse snapped, "We want Charybdis to push us beyond Scylla's range. For that, we need to stay close."

I gripped the rail as the ship fought against the suction. The broken Ares flag raced past us and lodged in Charybdis's braces. We were not making much progress, but at least we were holding our own. Tyson had somehow given us just enough juice to keep the ship from being sucked in.

Suddenly, the mouth snapped shut. The sea died to absolute calm. Water washed over Charybdis. Then, just as quickly as it had closed, the mouth exploded open, spitting out a wall of water, ejecting everything inedible, including our cannonballs, one of which slammed into the side of the CSS Birmingham with a ding like the bell on a carnival game.

We were thrown backward on a wave that must have been forty feet high. For a moment, I thought we were about to capsize, but Percy somehow managed to keep the ship upright, but we were still spinning out of control, hurtling toward the cliffs on the opposite side of the strait.

Another smoldering sailor burst out of the hold. He stumbled into Clarisse, almost knocking them both overboard.

"The engine is about to blow!"

"Where's Tyson?", Percy demanded.

"Still down there.", the sailor said, "Holding it together somehow, though I don't know for how much longer."

The captain said, "We have to abandon ship."

"No!", Clarisse yelled.

"We have no choice, m'lady. The hull is already cracking apart! She can't—"

He never finished his sentence. Quick as lightning, something brown and green shot from the sky, snatched up the captain, and lifted him away. All that was left were his leather boots. I paled as I realised that Charybdis had shot us right into Scylla's range rather than beyond it.

Suddenly, I jumped back and something smashed into the deck with enough force to punch a hole in it. It retreated as quickly throwing around many wooden splinters. Suddenly, I was glad for my blindfolded training. I could not have escaped without my slight precognition abilities. It was simply too fast.

~Intruders...home...die...food~

I realised that it did not have enough mental capabilities to differentiate me from others. I did not know whether it was good or bad thing.

"Scylla!", a sailor yelled, as another column of reptilian flesh shot from the cliffs and snapped him up. It happened so fast it was like watching a laser beam rather than a monster. I could barely even make out the thing's face, just a flash of teeth and scales.

I saw Percy uncap Riptide and try to swipe at the monster as it carried off another deckhand, but he was way too slow.

"Everyone get below!", Percy yelled.

"We can't!", Clarisse drew her own sword, "Below deck is in flames."

"Lifeboats!", Annabeth said, "Quick!"

"They'll never get clear of the cliffs.", Clarisse said, "We'll all be eaten."

"We have to try. Percy, the thermos."

"I can't leave Tyson!"

"We have to get the boats ready!"

Clarisse surprisingly took Annabeth's command without protest. I guessed she knew the stakes. She and a few of her undead sailors uncovered one of the two emergency rowboats while Scylla's heads rained from the sky like a meteor shower with teeth, picking off Confederate sailors one after another.

"Get the other boat."

Percy threw Annabeth the thermos. "I'll get Tyson."

"You can't!", she said, "The heat will kill you!"

Percy ignored her and ran straight for the boiler hatch. Annabeth cursed to herself and then dragged me with her to the lifeboat. Once we got down onto the waters, we saw Percy being lifted to the caves by one of the Scylla's heads. He somehow managed to poke her in the eye causing her to drop him. Considering it happened when he was more than hundred feet up in air, it was not exactly a good thing. To make matters worse, the ship exploded while he was falling sending many burnt pieces of iron and debris up towards him. Annabeth opened the thermos and sent a gust of wind to keep the pieces away from Percy. She might have opened the thermos more than she intended because at that moment, all hell broke loose.

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We were in a rowboat with a makeshift sail stitched of grey uniform fabric waiting for Percy to wake up. We had found him and managed to fish him out of the sea. From what we could see, he was exhausted but was not injured in any way. I had always thought his automatic regeneration in the sea was ridiculous but at the moment, I was thankful for it. Perhaps, it had something to do with water being universally associated with healing. After all, no other demigod children had ever had that ability, not even Apollo's kids. While I could heal myself in the woods, it was me consciously using natural energy rather than the domain healing me on its own like for Percy. We saw Percy wake up and try to sit.

"Rest.", she said, "You're going to need it."

"Tyson ... ?"

She shook her head. "Percy, I'm really sorry."

We were silent while the waves tossed us up and down.

"He may have survived.", she said halfheartedly, "I mean, fire can't kill him."

"He could have the same healing ability that you do.", I said trying to be more convincing.

Percy nodded. If he noticed that we were not as confident in our words, he kept quiet about it.

Waves lapped at the boat. We showed him some things we had salvaged from the wreckage-Hermes' thermos (now empty), a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia, a couple of sailors' shirts, and a bottle of Dr Pepper. We had found his knapsack, bitten in half by Scylla's teeth. Most of the stuff had floated away, but we managed to save Hermes' bottle of multivitamins. I assumed he had his sword with him as his clothes still had pockets intact.

We sailed for hours. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too-as if a thunderstorm was coming. Or something even more dangerous.

No matter which way we turned, the sun seemed to shine straight into my eyes. We took turns sipping from the Dr Pepper, shading ourselves with the sail as best we could and we talked about Percy's latest dream of Grover. By Annabeth's estimate, we had less than twenty four hours to find Grover, assuming his dream was accurate, and assuming the Cyclops Polyphemus did not change his mind and try to marry Grover earlier.

"Yeah," Percy said bitterly, "You can never trust a Cyclops."

Annabeth stared across the water.

"I'm sorry, Percy. I was wrong about Tyson, okay? I wish I could tell him that."

Annabeth was a proud person. The fact that she admitted to our faces that she was wrong was an indication of the effect Tyson had on her. Even the most oblivious dunce could detect the regret and guilt in her voice. It must be hard knowing someone died for you and having no good memory of him to remember.

"Annabeth, what's Chiron's prophecy?", Percy asked.

It was a blatant attempt to change the subject but we did not mind. I had to admit I too was curious about the prophecy.

She pursed her lips. "Percy, I shouldn't—"

"I know Chiron promised the gods he wouldn't tell me. But you didn't promise, did you?"

"Knowledge isn't always good for you."

"Your mom is the wisdom goddess!"

"I know! But every time heroes learn the future, they try to change it, and it never works."

"The gods are worried about something I'll do when I get older.", Percy guessed, "Something when I turn sixteen."

Annabeth twisted her Yankees cap in her hands, a sign of her nervousness.

"Percy, I don't know the full prophecy, but it warns about a half-blood child of the Big Three-the next one who lives to the age of sixteen. That's the real reason Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades swore a pact after World War II not to have any more kids. The next child of the Big Three who reaches sixteen will be a dangerous weapon."

"Why?"

"Because that hero will decide the fate of Olympus. He or she will make a decision that either saves the Age of the Gods, or destroys it."

I let that sink in. I was suddenly quite glad I was not the subject of any prophecy. For a moment, I felt that the universe was laughing at me for some reason but I ignored it. It must have been my imagination.

"That's why Kronos is trying so hard to tempt me into his side."

She nodded. "You could be very useful to him. If he can get you on his side, the gods will be in serious trouble."

"But if it's me in the prophecy—"

"We'll only know that if you survive three more years. That can be a long time for a halfblood. When Chiron first learned about Thalia, he assumed she was the one in the prophecy. That's why he was so desperate to get her safely to camp. Then she went down fighting and got turned into a pine tree and none of us knew what to think. Until you came along."

"If Hades was hiding his children somewhere and one of them turned 16, well, no one would know the prophecy was completed.", I said.

"Is it just me or did it sound oddly specific?", Annabeth asked.

"It's just your imagination, Annabeth."

She looked at me scrutinising me as if I was going to suddenly spill out my secrets. When it did not happen, she just shook her head.

"You know what, I think it's better I not know. I have a feeling it's a one way path to madness.", she said to which I simply smirked.

On our port side, a spiky green dorsal fin about fifteen feet long curled out of the water and disappeared.

"This kid in the prophecy ... he or she couldn't be like, a Cyclops?", Percy asked, "The Big Three have lots of monster children."

Annabeth shook her head. "The Oracle said 'half-blood.' That always means half-human, half-god. There's really nobody alive who it could be, except you."

"Then why do the gods even let me live? It would be safer to kill me."

"You're right."

"Thanks a lot."

"Percy, I don't know. I guess some of the gods would like to kill you, but they're probably afraid of offending Poseidon. Other gods ... maybe they're still watching you, trying to decide what kind of hero you're going be. You could be a weapon for their survival, after all."

"Then there is the fact that you are a known quantity. They know about your fondness for the Camp, they know about your love for your mother and where she lives. So, the situation is under control. If they kill you, the next Prophecy child would be an unknown hero with unknown agenda working for an unknown benefactor.", I said.

Annabeth spoke, "The real question is ... what will you do in three years? What decision will you make?"

"Did the prophecy give any hints?", Percy asked.

Annabeth hesitated. Maybe she would have told us more, but just then a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast. Annabeth looked startled as the bird dropped a small cluster of leaves into her lap.

"Land," she said, "There's land nearby!"

Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats. The current was pulling our rowboat toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

X-X-X-X-X

"Welcome!", said a lady with a clipboard in hand.

She looked like a flight attendant-blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock. With the dazzling smile she gave us, it was as if we had just gotten off the Princess Andromeda rather than a banged up rowboat.

Then again, our rowboat was not the weirdest ship in port. Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three masted sailing ship. There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.

"Is this your first time with us?", the clipboard lady inquired.

Annabeth and I exchanged looks.

Annabeth said, "Umm ..."

"First-time-at-spa.", the lady said as she wrote on her clipboard, "Let's see ..."

She looked us up and down critically.

"Mmm. A herbal wrap to start for the young ladies. And of course, a complete makeover for the young gentleman."

"A what?", Percy asked.

She was too busy jotting down notes to answer.

It seemed my suspicions were true. We were in Aphrodite's spa. Well, if Ares could have a fight club, it was not out of the norm for the Aphrodite to have a spa run by her kids.

"Right!", She said with a breezy smile, "Well, I'm sure C.C. will want to speak with you personally before the luau. Come, please."

"I guess it couldn't hurt.", Annabeth muttered.

I wondered whether C.C. was a favoured immortal daughter of Aphrodite. Hopefully, our stay here would be more pleasant than that at the fight club.

The place was amazing, I had to admit. There was white marble and blue water everywhere I looked. Terraces climbed up the side of the mountain, with swimming pools on every level, connected by watersides and waterfalls and underwater tubes you could swim through. Fountains sprayed water into the air, forming impossible shapes, like flying eagles and galloping horses.

Percy looked behind him hoping to see something and suddenly became disappointed. I understood. It was the kind of place that Tyson would have loved to see. The situations like that made his loss seem keener. Everything that could go wrong seemed to do so in the quest.

"You okay?", Annabeth asked Percy, "You look pale."

"I'm okay.", Percy lied, "Just ... let's keep walking."

When Annabeth peaked at me, I slightly shook my head and mouthed 'Tyson'. She gave me a near-imperceptible nod and kept quiet.

We passed all kinds of tame animals. A sea turtle napped in a stack of beach towels. A leopard stretched out asleep on the diving board. The resort guests-only young women, as far as I could see-lounged in deck chairs, drinking fruit smoothies or reading magazines while herbal gunk dried on their faces and manicurists in white uniforms did their nails.

As we headed up a staircase toward what looked like the main building, I heard a woman singing. Her voice drifted through the air like a lullaby. Her words were in some language other than Ancient Greek, but just as old-Minoan, maybe, or something like that. I could understand what she sang about-moonlight in the olive groves, the colors of the sunrise. And magic. Something about magic. There was something about it that was familiar to me but I could not recall it.

We came into a big room where the whole front wall was windows. The back wall was covered in mirrors, so the room seemed to go on forever. There was a bunch of expensive looking white furniture, and on a table in one corner was a large wire pet cage. The cage seemed oddly out of place in the extravagance that was the room. I put it to the back of my mind when I saw the lady who was singing.

She sat at a loom the size of a big screen TV, her hands weaving colored thread back and forth with amazing skill. The tapestry shimmered like it was three dimensional-a waterfall scene so real I could see the water moving and clouds drifting across a fabric sky.

Annabeth caught her breath. "It's beautiful."

The woman turned. She was quite beautiful. Her long dark hair was braided with threads of gold. She had piercing green eyes and she wore a silky black dress with shapes that seemed to move in the fabric: animal shadows, black upon black, like deer running through a forest at night.

"You appreciate weaving, my dear?", the woman asked.

"Oh, yes, ma'am!", Annabeth said, "My mother is-"

She stopped herself. I frowned. Annabeth was not usually that careless. Percy was usually the motormouth of the group. I guessed he was not speaking because he was too busy salivating over the woman. Percy was a good person but I hated it when he acted exactly like how my mother and the more neutral Hunters told me about the men's typical behaviour. Annabeth had stopped herself in time but anyone who was halfway intelligent could fill in the blanks. I had a feeling that the woman in front of me was not lacking in the intelligence department.

Our hostess just smiled seeming ignoring Annabeth's sudden stop. "You have good taste, my dear. I'm so glad you've come. My name is C.C."

The animals in the corner cage started squealing. They must have been guinea pigs, from the sound of them. We introduced ourselves to C.C. and I was careful to give only my first name.

When she looked at me, I saw surprise and confusion on her face for a moment before it smoothly transitioned back into a smile.

She looked Percy over with a twinge of disapproval, as if he had failed some kind of test. He, on the other hand, looked like some kicked puppy eager to do anything to get its master's approval. Perhaps, that was what people called lovesick puppy. I had never seen him act like that before. Then again how would I know what went on inside a boy's mind. From what I heard, they were supposed to act stupid in front of good looking females.

"Oh, dear," she sighed, "You do need my help."

"Ma'am?", Percy asked.

C.C. called to the lady in the business suit. "Hylla, take Annabeth and Iris on a tour, will you? Show them what we have available. The clothing will need to change. And the hair, my goodness. We will do a full image consultation after I've spoken with this young gentleman."

I gritted my teeth to keep from making a noise when a sudden pain flared in my forehead. I did not know why but for some reason I felt it was important.

"But ...", Annabeth's voice sounded hurt, "What's wrong with my hair?"

It seemed even Annabeth was infected by the Aphrodite bug the woman was spreading. Now that I was thinking about it, why the hell did I come here if I knew it was Aphrodite's domain rather than get as far away as possible? There was something I was missing, something so obvious that I should have already realised it. If the way Annabeth was behaving was any indication, I might have to get to the bottom of the mess on my own.

C.C. smiled benevolently. "My dear, you are lovely. Really! But you're not showing off yourself or your talents at all. So much wasted potential!"

"Wasted?"

"Well, surely you're not happy the way you are! My goodness, there's not a single person who is. But don't worry. We can improve anyone here at the spa. Hylla will show you what I mean. You, my dear, need to unlock your true self!"

Annabeth's eyes glowed with longing. I had never seen her so much at a loss for words.

"Ma'am, do I really have to change my clothes? Mama bought it for me and it's the only thing I have left of her.", I asked playing up the poor orphan card.

"Oh poor dear! If you want, you could keep it as a souvenir. Surely, you could wear better clothes. After all, wouldn't your mama want you to be more beautiful and confident?", she said sympathetically, "As part of your treatment involves our special growth potion to bring you up to the appropriate height, you would need new clothes that fit anyway."

I resisted the urge to throttle her neck. Why did everyone make a fuss about my height, well, the lack of it? Surely, there was nothing wrong in being slightly shorter. If I had not been so indignant about the dig, I would have noticed that she did not refer to my mother in the past tense despite me implying that she was dead.

"But ... what about Percy?", Annabeth asked.

"Oh, definitely," C.C. said, giving him a sad look, "Percy requires my personal attention. He needs much more work than you."

"Well ...", Annabeth said, "I suppose ..."

"Right this way, please.", Hylla said and we allowed ourselves to be led away into the waterfall-laced gardens of the spa.

X-X-X-X-X

I hummed the song the lady was singing while the girl showed us around. Suddenly, I understood what I was missing. The song was an old prayer of sorcerers which was basically thanking the gods for their powers. It was sung before Helios faded and Apollo became the Sun god, when the magic was limited to the Divine and those part of the Cult specifically blessed by the god in question. Even if the song praised all major gods of the time, there were variations where one or two gods was given more prominence. The song the lady sung was mainly prayer to Helios to be sung facing the Sun during the sun rise but was modified to also give Hecate slightly more prominence, the part about conquering the boundaries of magic. Ironically, the weird feeling was me feeling the effect of her praising Selene.

With all that hints, it was obvious that C.C. was Circe, daughter of Helios and Hecate. Now that I thought about it, she even resembled Hecate in appearance. I was not happy about having left Percy alone with her but there was no point in rushing back there. She was not going to kill him. Extreme caution was necessary as she had shown herself to be quite crafty.

In fact, I would say that Circe was the Greek version of Scathach. Both of them were immortal sorceresses who was not officially considered goddesses by the respective ruling bodies but were powerful and dangerous enough that many called them that.

There was another problem at the moment that was giving me a metaphorical head ache. The Mist seemed to indicate that the girl Hylla was a Roman demigod. As if the situation was not bad enough. A Roman demigod and a child of Athena had to end up in the same room, quite a volatile situation. I sighed. As someone in the know, it was now my responsibility to ensure neither spills the beans to the other. Great.

She showed us the quarters we would be expected to stay in and soon we got to the library. I did not get why the sorceress needed such a vast library but it kept Annabeth distracted and that was good enough. I gave a bunch of recruitment pamphlets to the girl surprising her.

After reading it, she said, "Did you really believe I would abandon my mistress just because you gave me some pamphlets?"

"Yes, and you would distribute it to everyone not completely loyal to her and take those interested with you.", I replied.

"And what makes you think I would not show Miss C.C. these and inform her you tried to get me to defect?"

"You would not have read it completely if you were not interested, daughter of War goddess. You would have thrown it away or at my face the moment you realised what it was."

She stared at me surprised. It was big enough for her to act like an actual person for a moment.

"Do you know my mother?", she asked me, a little suspicion colouring her tone.

"No. I just know that you don't like being here reduced to a glorified doll to be shown off. I can feel your restlessness. I don't really care what you do, to be honest. I can tell you that there will be a disturbance soon and your mistress will be distracted. It's upto you whether you want to take advantage of it or not."

By now, she had already discarded her doll mode and was staring at me intensely as if she could see through me if she stared hard enough. I did not know whether she was going to say anything as Annabeth came back babbling about something and Hylla quickly hid the brochures in her suit..

"My dear, I am sure Miss C.C. will give you permission to check out the library as much as you want. Come this way, please.", the lady said.

Hylla and I acted as before but I noticed Annabeth looking between the two of us a few times as if she could sense some tension, some indication that things had changed between us.

She took us to one of the specialists in white uniforms and told her to give us the trial package and left. It was nice to be pampered for once, I admitted as the new girl worked on our hair. I could see the lure of staying there forever.

"Don't you think what is happening to us is weird?", Annabeth asked.

"Weird? I guess finding a nice lady living in the middle of a monster infested sea willing to take us in and care for us can be considered suspicious. But, Annie, there are times when you should know to not look a gift horse in the mouth.", I replied.

Despite the casual and carefree way in which I said it, I noticed Annabeth stiffen slightly. It seemed she was not as lost as I had believed. Perhaps, Circe lost her hold over her after she left her proximity.

It was one of the many codes we came up with on a whim. While the modern meaning of the saying was to not question things too much, old Roman version equated the term 'gift horse' with deception and trickery, something that looked good on surface but had deadly traps hidden within. I had also put a slight emphasis on the word 'horse' which meant Percy fell for the trap and was in need of a rescue. If the emphasis was on the word 'gift', it would have been Percy or I informing the other that Annabeth fell for the trap and was in need of rescue. I did not know what those two cooked up if I was the one in need of rescue. I had decided it was better I not know.

"I guess you are right.", she said.

X-X-X-X-X

Annabeth's voice called: "Miss C.C.?"

She looked around the room and frowned. "Where's Percy?"

I quietly followed her in, invisible.

C.C. smiled. "He's having one of our treatments, my dear, in the men's side. Not to worry. You look wonderful! Where is your friend?"

"Iris is chatting with the girl in charge of the gardens. She is quite fascinated with them."

"I am not surprised. Places like this have become quite rare these days. Sadly, nature has paid the price for the greed of men.", C.C. said a sad smile grazing her face, "What did you think of your tour, my dear?"

Annabeth's eyes brightened. "Your library is amazing!"

"Yes, indeed.", C.C. said, "The best knowledge of the past three millennia. Anything you want to study, anything you want to be, my dear."

"An architect?"

"Pah!", C.C. said, "You, my dear, have the makings of a sorceress. Like me."

Annabeth took a step back on seeing the glint in her eyes. "A sorceress?"

"Yes, my dear."

C.C. held up her hand. A flame appeared in her palm and danced across her fingertips. "My mother is Hecate, the goddess of magic. I know a daughter of Athena when I see one. We are not so different, you and I. We both seek knowledge. We both admire greatness. Neither of us needs to stand in the shadow of men."

"I-I don't understand."

"Stay with me.", C.C. told Annabeth, "Study with me. You can join our staff, become a sorceress, learn to bend others to your will. You will become immortal!"

"But—"

"You are too intelligent, my dear.", C.C. said, "You know better than to trust that silly camp for heroes. How many great female half-blood heroes can you name?"

"Um, Atalanta, Amelia Earhart-"

"Bah! Men get all the glory."

C.C. closed her fist and extinguished the magic flame. "The only way to power for women is sorcery. Medea, Calypso, now there were powerful women! And me, of course. The greatest of all."

"You ... C.C. ... Circe!"

"Yes, my dear.", Annabeth backed up, and Circe laughed, "You need not worry. I mean you no harm."

"What have you done to Percy?"

"Only helped him realize his true form."

Annabeth scanned the room. Finally she saw the cage with the guinea pigs. Her eyes went wide.

"Forget him.", Circe said, "Join me and learn the ways of sorcery."

"But—"

"Your friend will be well cared for. He'll be shipped to a wonderful new home on the mainland. The kindergartners will adore him. Meanwhile, you will be wise and powerful. You will have all you ever wanted."

Annabeth was still staring at the cage but she had a dreamy look on her face. I wondered whether I should intervene and do some damage control. For her plan, it was necessary for her to retain all her mental faculties. I decided to wait until she did something obvious. After all the talk of trusting Clarisse, it would be hypocritical of me to not put faith in her.

Let me think about it.", Annabeth murmured, "Just... give me a minute alone. To say goodbye."

"Of course, my dear.", Circe cooed, "One minute. Oh ... and so you have absolute privacy ..."

She waved her hand and iron bars slammed down over the windows. She swept out of the room and I heard the locks on the door click shut behind her.

The dreamy look melted off Annabeth's face. She rushed over to the cage and I followed her.

"All right, which one is you?"

All the guinea pigs squealed and we could only assume one of them was Percy. We were desperate. Annabeth scanned the room and spotted the cuff of his jeans sticking out from under the loom. She rushed over and rummaged through his pockets. She found the bottle of Hermes multivitamins and started struggling with the cap. I discretely cast a spell to loosen it.

She popped a lemon chewable in her mouth just as the door flew open and Circe came back in, flanked by two of her business-suited attendants. Great. Plan A failed because Circe had very good time keeping skills. I hoped Circe was not suspicious but, well, bringing two minions was not ominous at all. Now, onto Plan B.

"Well," Circe sighed, "how fast a minute passes. What is your answer, my dear?" "This," Annabeth said, and she drew her bronze knife.

The sorceress stepped back, but her surprise quickly passed.

She sneered. "Really, little girl, a knife against my magic? Is that wise?"

Circe looked back at her attendants, who smiled. They raised their hands as if preparing to cast a spell.

"What will Annabeth's makeover be?", Circe mused, "Something small and ill-tempered. I know ... a shrew!"

Blue fire coiled from her fingers curling like serpents around Annabeth but nothing happened. Annabeth was still Annabeth, only angrier. She leaped forward and stuck the point of her knife against Circe's neck.

"How about turning me into a panther instead? One that has her claws at your throat!" "How!", Circe yelped.

Annabeth held up the bottle of vitamins for the sorceress to see. I mentally facepalmed. What was she doing? It was a bad idea to reveal your secrets to the enemy.

Circe howled in frustration. "Curse Hermes and his multivitamins! Those are such a fad! They do nothing for you."

"Turn Percy back to a human or else!", Annabeth said.

"I can't!"

"Then you asked for it."

Circe's attendants stepped forward, but their mistress said, "Get back! She's immune to magic until that cursed vitamin wears off."

Circe suddenly teleported away and reappeared a little far away in the back. She gave Annabeth a really cold look that for some reason filled me with dread and said, "So, I'll just kill her myself."

I noticed that her words surprised not just us but also her attendants. I had a feeling she had just stopped playing around.

She summoned an incredible amount of magic in her hand, compressed it into a small sphere and launched it at Annabeth. She was too shocked at Circe's sudden change in demeanour to remember to dodge. I quickly decided that it was time for me to intervene and summoned the strongest shield that I could manage in the limited time in front of her. The attack tore through the shield and struck her sending her flying across the room. For a moment, I feared she had died. Then I saw her struggling to get up with heaving breaths and a pained expression on her face and let out a breath I did not know I was holding. The shield had managed to take away the worst. I then knew that she had atleast broken a rib and was in no condition to fight.

"You're still alive.", C.C. said slightly surprised, "It seems I didn't give the old scoundrel enough credit."

Seeing Annabeth's expression, she gave her a sharp smile, "Don't act so surprised, daughter of Athena. I have been expecting a trick like that and I simply decided to let things play out. I am not some run of the mill monster who continues to be fooled by the same trick for three thousand years. Your brother Odysseus gave me a wake up call and I learned from it. You saw, for yourself, the fruit of my efforts, the library that you were gushing about. Unfortunately, for you, there will be no wake up call, only death."

She again summoned a large amount of magic but let it go in surprise when she saw her attendants fall down dead with a dagger each stuck on their forehead. I took off my Invisibility Cloak as there was no point in continuing to wear it.

"Plan C, Annabeth. You rescue Percy while I keep her busy.", I said.

She nodded shakily and was eager to follow. I sighed. It seemed my killing them had made her uncomfortable. She would have to get used to it and would even have to kill some herself if what she and Percy told me about Luke having sympathizers in the Camp were true. That was a problem for another time.

"Iris, I had assumed you had escaped when I couldn't find you anywhere. All the time, you have been using a Cloak to hide from me, one powerful enough to hide you from my magical senses unlike your friend's little cap.", Circe said, "Is it my mother's gift...no, not her style. Ah! It's the famous Peverell Cloak."

"Does everyone know about it?", I asked a little irritated.

"No, only those who bother to do proper research. I would have asked you to join me but you made your answer pretty clear. Tell me, why do you oppose me for a boy when your mother does the same thing that I do?"

"My mother punishes the men who mistreats women. You do it because the only way you can be happy is to see someone else more miserable than you are. After all, no one is happy the way they are.", I replied mimicking her voice at the end.

She launched an attack at me, similar to previous one, but weaker and faster and I simply dodged. I sent a flock of birds at her with a flick of my wand that she vanished with a negligent wave of her hand.

"If you are happy living a lie, girl, I will be quite happy to put you out of misery.", she said back.

She sent a few dogs at me while I sent an equal amount of wolves back. We traded attacks changing between transfigurations and pure magical force attacks at whim. I had heard that Transfiguration masters were never out of tricks. While I was far from that distinction, considering how our battle was going, I could understand how that saying came about. I idly wondered, when Professor McGonnagal had taught us to change a matchstick to a needle in her first class, whether she would have envisioned me using her teachings to change wooden debris into razor sharp steel needles of death.

Neither of us had any Divine Authority and both of us were natural. Both of us had a lot of imagination. Despite the many millenia lead she had over me, she had no one who was close to her skill to practice with. We were on even terms at the moment but I knew it would change soon.

I unleashed a fire ball towards her and used it as a cover to charge towards her. The look of surprise on her face when she vanished the fire was priceless. She then changed tactics herself. She sent a lot of those magic balls at me and I had to use all my acrobatic skill to weave, twist and duck my way out of it.

"Got you.", came a triumphant yell.

I stopped suddenly when I came face to face with a large magical circle consisting of many concentric circles with symbols between them. I looked around and realised that I was boxed in from all sides by similar magical circles. It seemed Circe was preparing it while she used the magic balls as a way to herd me into position.

The circles started spinning and the innermost circle started glowing yellow. From what I understood, it was supposed to shoot out a very intense solar beam each. Considering the power coming from it, even Hercules in his Nemean Lion coating might not be able to tank it. I say, might because, well, it was Hercules we were talking about. He had already achieved the impossible twelve times. What was one more?

I concentrated on the place right in front of Circe and teleported right before the beams were released. The moment I got there, I slashed with both of my daggers. It was an indication of how good a sorceress she was that she managed to teleport away from my attack even when her reactions were dulled as a result of simultaneously maintaining many magic circles but she did not get away unscathed. There was an X mark on her front oozing ichor, the gold coloured blood of immortals.

She snarled at me, her eyes smouldering in fury. It was at that moment that a few girls barged in looking frantic. They stilled, their faces paling in fear, when their mistress' gaze fell on them.

"What do you want?", she snarled, "Why are you not doing your jobs?"

They looked ready to turn back and bolt for a moment. Then a brave one bowed and said, "M-Mistress, Hylla is leaving with many others."

"Why? I don't remember giving her permission to leave."

"I don't know, mistress. I only heard from someone that she was offering to take anyone who followed her to Diana and her Huntresses and came here quickly to inform you."

Circe cursed in Ancient Greek, the expletives were not the kind Hecate would have liked hearing from her daughter's mouth, immortal sorceress or not.

I knew that Hylla herself would not be joining the Hunters. While it would be nice for my mother to have a warrior like her, she was too headstrong and stubborn to stay under Zoe's leadership. I could easily see her carving her way to the top of a Mafia-like organisation one dead body after another. Atleast, many others would join in. The Hunters desperately needed some new blood.

"What else is there to go wrong today?", Circe snarled.

My eyes widened in surprise. She really should not have asked that. Her gaze moved towards the back and her eyes widened in horror.

"No! No! No! You idiotic girl. Do you have any idea what you have done? They are the worst of the worst. Thieves, Murderers, Rapists...and you gave them immunity to magic. "

I looked back and saw that she had somehow freed six extra people.

One of the men stood up-a huge guy with a long tangled pitch-black beard and teeth the same color. He wore mismatched clothes of wool and leather, knee-length boots, and a floppy felt hat. The other men were dressed more simply-in breeches and stained white shirts. All of them were barefoot.

"Argggh!", bellowed the big man, "What's the witch done t'me!"

"No!", Circe moaned in despair and for some reason I felt like doing the same.

Annabeth gasped. "I recognize you! Edward Teach, son of Ares?"

"Aye, lass.", the big man growled, "Though most call me Blackbeard! And there's the sorceress that captured us, lads. Run her through, and then I mean to find me a big bowl of celery! Arggggh!"

The pirates charged them and the girls cowered behind their mistress who was looking shaky and desperate herself. Wait! Why would Circe look desperate? From what I had seen, she could easily crush them. It was then I noticed that she looked green and was breathing heavily. It was as if she had suddenly become ill and the only way that could have happened was through my poisoned daggers. Now that I was looking for it, I could see the greenish tinge in the wound I gave her. It seemed dipping my dagger in residue from Thalia's tree had some consequences.

A flame appeared in her hand and I knew it was not her magic. The flame was reddish yellow in colour, the colour of the Sun. The sacred flame of Helios. She soon started speaking the words of power. With each word, the flames grew larger and pressure in the room increased. The pirates stopped their revenge obsessed charge wary of the ever increasing power. But she continued and soon she was sweating, struggling to contain the flames.

I quickly teleported myself between Percy and Annabeth and held them closely to me. I waited patiently and soon she let out the inferno. The pirates did not even have the time to scream before they were consumed. When the flames came close enough, I did a technique that I had only tried out in much smaller scale before.

When I felt the flames on the outside end, I relaxed hold on the spinning dome of white fire surrounding us and let it take a more natural position ready for another attack but it was not necessary. Circe was on her knees hands on the ground to stop herself from falling face first.

"I can see why my mother is interested in you, Iris.", she mumbled.

I did not know whether to take it as a compliment or delirious rambling. So, I put it to the back of my mind. Two of the girls quickly lifted Circe by her hands and ran back inside while the rest followed. I let the fire dissipate and we made our way out ourselves not wanting to push our luck too much. Annabeth did not seem to be struggling. She might have healed herself using ambrosia. I felt as if my inner and outer skin had ground against each other for some time. Kaiten was a technique I created or recreated from Naruto series. So, using it was like putting a square plug in a round hole of similar size, possible but not easy. I had never realised how much effort it took to maintain the technique against an onslaught like that.

We reached the docks and Percy, for some reason, chose the pirate ship, Queen Anne's Revenge over the cool submarine and what else. He was a son of Poseidon in his territory. So, I decided not to question him too much. The moment we hit the deck, darkness claimed me.

X-X-X-X-X

AN :

As you can see, I changed a few things. Clarisse here is not the stereotype of dumb muscle.

One of many things that disappointed me in the original series was Circe. Rick Riordan went to such effort to draw parallels between Circe and Athena that I expected something more exciting. But, the moment Annabeth ate a magic medicine, suddenly, Circe became a paper tiger for Annabeth to punt around.

Here, Circe shows that she is indeed the daughter of Helios and Hecate, two very powerful gods. She shows skill and ruthlessness well worth her fearsome reputation.