Disclaimer: I do not own PJO.
Author's Note: I'm very, very sorry for the long wait – the trimester was ending, which means homework and tests galore. I'll try not to make you wait so long again.
Thanks to Phoenix Espeon, MyPenIsSharperThanYourSword, naoman16, and Nk8*0% for their reviews.
This chapter is from Clarisse's POV.
Year 73 of the Titans
Friday, April 13th
Present Day
Hekate's fortress was located in the northern end of the Grand Canyon in Arizona. I didn't like Arizona much; it brought back too many memories – memories of Chris, who had died in the first attack, memories of the Labyrinth, and memories from before then.
I walked towards the endless rift in the ground, the mark that looked like it had been cut by the hand of a god. At the very bottom, a winding river traced along a bend in the canyon far below. It reflected the hot sun of the desert.
It was here that I was to find my first ally in the strange land that America had become under the rule of the Titans. The first contact among the long and winding path I had put my feet on the moment I had burst into the Olympian's throne room, so long ago. I have never regretted my choice.
The problem was this: The world, to all appearances, was a better place. The Titans had stopped deep-sea trawling, woodcutting in the rainforest, and the output of harmful gases to the environment. Global warming had stopped completely. Guns, bombs, and other similar weapons were gone, to be replaced by swords, axes, and bows. The world was united under a powerful government, that, although brutal, did a lot better than other places had in the past. Sure, the results of these things had ruined billions, but now, after the first couple decades, humankind, although decreased in numbers to less than three billion, was doing better as a whole than it had under the gods.
So why was I risking my life, here and now, to change things to what could be the worse? There was only one religion; Greek mythology. All uprisings against it had been brutally crushed. The Titans may rule by fear, but it was better than anything else the world had come up with since ancient days. There were downsides – greater numbers of unexplained deaths, higher taxes, destruction of roads and homes to build temples – but was it worth it?
I shook my head free of these thoughts. They were depending on me to get them out of their prison. They needed me. I could not be the weak link, the one who ruined the entire plan. I remembered the brutality of the fighting, the way that they had destroyed the Olympians and imprisoned those who remained. I remembered Zeus, cut into a thousand pieces by the scythe of Kronos. I remembered Chris, squashed underfoot like a bug by a twenty-foot Cyclops. The memories pushed the doubts from my mind – for now. But all I needed to do was get to the fortress. Then it would be out of my hands.
But still, I could not push these doubts from my mind. An image popped into my head, an image of my father. I remembered the brutality he had shown, to me and to everyone else. I recalled the debate Percy had talked about, when the gods were decided whether or not to kill him and Thalia. I recalled the Big Three's forbidden children, and the lives that they had to live in order to be tolerated, if not accepted, in Camp and Mount Olympus.
Just get to the darn fortress.
"Excuse me, miss?"
I spun around, hand flying to my revolver. It was a girl, maybe sixteen, seventeen years old. She seemed a little young for the Park Rangers uniform that she was wearing, but I knew this area; that was the uniform. She carried only a cell phone at her waist, and maybe a small knife; it was hard to tell. Mentally, I cursed myself for getting out of practice; fighting might not be the only skill I would need.
She was dark-skinned, with curly dark hair that tumbled unceremoniously down to her shoulders. A smile was fixed on her face, but her eyes were hard and suspicious.
"This area is off-limits to the general public," she told me severely. "Unless you are working with the Park Rangers, you should head back.
I smiled as blatantly and superficially as I could. "I'm not working with the Rangers, but I was invited here by Hekate. Would you care to show me where her fortress is?"
Her smile grew in size and chilliness. "I'm sorry – who?"
See, the Titans did not go by their names, but by their power or position. Since true names held such power, they forbid the general public to use them. Kronos was only known as the Titan Lord, Atlas as the General, so on and so forth. Also, their individual whereabouts was unknown – only the country of dwelling was released. So far, there were three Titans in the U.S., one in France, Australia, China, Peru, and Russia, two in India, and eight in their ruling palace, the Coliseum in Rome. No one knew which Titan ruled which place – all the people knew was that there was a Titan in their country, ruling over them. Generally, that was enough to discourage any rebellions.
"Hekate," I replied. "She sent for me a while back – I'm Clarisse, from Geryon's former ranch."
Her eyebrows rose slightly. "She told us that you were coming a little over seven decades ago."
"So you're an emposai, then," I said, casually letting a hand drift to my pistol. "Look, I'm a busy person, and I would prefer not to be kept waiting."
For a moment, her eyes flared red, but then the moment passed, and she laughed. "A demigod, is it?" she asked, amusement evident. "We haven't had one of those in… roughly sixty-five years," she mused, pondering over that for a little while. "That was in the last rebellion, led by… Charles Beckonderf and Silena Beaugard, I believe. Hekate dealt with them personally. I'm Tammi, by the way – and you said your name is Clarisse?"
"Right," I said, smiling. The danger was past, apparently.
Tammi nodded. "The mistress told us that she wanted to see you personally when she arrived," she said. Then she frowned. "Interesting that you should pick today, of all days," she said.
I swallowed nervously. "What day is it?" I asked, trying to keep my voice neutral. After seventy years, I often lost track of the date. I fervently hoped nothing important was going on today – once a month, a Sabbath, if you could call it that, was issued, and no visitors could visit – the day was dedicated to worshipping the Titans.
Tammi considered the question before answering. "The trial of Kelli."
* * *
We walked through the Grand Canyon, taking such twisted and complicated turns that I could not remember the way back out. Finally, Tammi headed for a large side canyon that came to a dead end. I frowned.
"Tammi, there's –"
She turned to the right and went down an immense tunnel that I had not noticed. It led steeply downwards, and I could see no light at the end. It was just a long, dark tunnel.
A few minutes later, I could no longer see the light from the surface world, either. The only thing illuminating the crevice was Tammi's hair, which she had let slip back into its natural form of flames.
"How long is this passage?" I asked, more to take my mind off the darkness than to actually know the answer. The tunnel reminded me far too much of the Labyrinth for comfort. Even now, after so many years, I was scared stiff of it.
"A little less than a mile long," answered Tammi, turning right at a fork. "And it's not all underground, either; there's an entrance in the canyon wall, one at the top, and three more under here. This fortress threads around the wall of the canyon, so it's not like we don't have enough space."
Finally, we turned again and stopped at a large obsidian door. The entire thing was carved with intricate swirls of faintly glowing golden paint. At the canter was a set of red eyes, glowing menacingly.
Tammi stepped forward and drew a claw down the door. There was a whirring noise, then a clicking noise. The door didn't move.
The emposai looked over at me with a sly grin. "If anyone other than one of Hekate's servants did that to the door, the Tartarian spawn bound within the door would materialize, and then devour whoever dared to invade. Also, on the other side of this door is a small army of the spawns, ready to pounce on whoever opens the door."
"Then how do we get past them?" I asked nervously, drawing the spear off my back.
Tammi smiled. "We don't," she said, and pushed in the center of the door. It slid backwards about ten feet, revealing the stairs leading down into the fortress of Hekate. We descended, Tammi pausing every now and again to nod to an unseen guard.
After several more miles of walking, Tammi ushered me forward towards an enormous golden door with a Greek word inscribed on it. Translated, it meant, "courtroom". From the other side, I could hear voices, murmuring softly. Apparently, the trial had not yet begun.
"Go on," whispered Tammi. "She said that if you were to arrive today, you could witness the trial. It's a great honor!"
"I'm sure," I replied. "So how does this door open?"
Tammi simply let claws creep out and poked a claw into the center of the design, and the door swung open. As I strode in, she announced, "The rancher, Clarisse, daughter of Ares!" All eyes turned to me as I walked forwards, trying to stop my cheeks from burning.
It was mostly emposai sitting as the jury, but the judges' seat was occupied by a woman fully six feet tall, with caramel skin and dark hair the same color as her dress. The only thing in the room darker than her dress was her eyes, which held more power than I had ever before seen in that of a humanlike form.
Seeing her, I remembered back to the first time I had seen this Titaness, so long ago…
Year 2010 A.D.
Monday, June 21st
"I'd say," I said, eyes blazing. "You've been taking the heroes from Half-Blood, reducing out chances for victory over your kind!" I was suddenly angry again, and my spear, almost of its own accord, shot up and laid itself on her throat.
"Calm down, Clarisse," said Mathilda quietly. "Let them explain. The mere fact that she is still here is indicative that the gods, to some degree, trust her."
"Thank you… remind me what your name is now?" asked Hekate, frowning slightly.
"Mathilda," she said steadily. "Clarisse, stop."
I reluctantly let my spear drop. "But for all we know, the heroes could all be dead," I pointed out.
"No," said Athena. "Let's sit down and let me explain."
We glanced around – that is, Acacia, Phoebe, and I did – and then sat.
"I'm simply going to take the blunt approach," said Athena. "Even with the heroes, we have little chance of winning this war. Over the centuries, we have let our skills and armies grow slack, and the Titans have been preparing. They have the element of surprise on their side. They have greater strength than us. They have many minor gods on their side."
"So you take away our heroes. That's sure to make us win," I said tightly, doing my best to rein my emotions in.
"No," said Athena. "You remember the Lotus Casino in Las Vegas?" I nodded. "We shall place all of the heroes into it, for we have found that its power is completely undetectable in any way. Since Hekate is in charge of destroying Camp Half-Blood, she will blast the place to a smoking crater – letting everyone she can escape, of course – and then claim that she has destroyed the heroes. The Titans will become complacent, and not prepare for an attack. Then, using a messenger that will be placed in Eurytion's ranch – he has agreed to this, by the way – they will go into the Lotus Casino and bring the heroes out of there, and then attack the Titans. Many years later, of course – fifty years would be about right. With any luck, you will defeat them, and then find the scattered remains of the gods to unite us and bring us back."
"Us and who's army?" I asked. "We're just a couple of measly heroes against the might of the Titans."
This time it was Hekate that answered. "My army, which will have been building up for all of the years the heroes will have been in there. We shall also place the Hunt inside the Casino. Also, you will find plenty of mortals sympathetic to your cause – they will unite behind such legendary figures from the past. There should also be scattered pockets of resistance – satyrs, Cyclopes, dryads, nymphs, Briares, and creatures like them. You will be able to unite them to form a great army."
"Wow," I said weakly. "So when do we go?"
Hekate laughed. "Right now."
"Wait," said Mathilda. "Which heroes are being put into the Casino?"
Athena answered this time. "Percy, Annabeth, Soaron, Cassandra, Thalia, Zoë, and Nico will all go."
"What about Zoë's sword, the one in the deeps?" Acacia asked.
Hekate shrugged. "If you want to try and get it, that's fine – but I wouldn't recommend it."
I hadn't heard about any of this. "What sword?" I asked. "And why shouldn't we get it?"
Hekate sighed, eyes frustrated. "She hid it in Atlantis. The kraken has it."
Mathilda gasped. Her eyes were terrified. That was the only word to describe it. Utter and stark terror.
"So?" I asked. "Why does that matter?" The only thing I knew about Atlantis was from a Disney movie on it that I had watched when I was two.
"Atlantis, even after its sinking, was a place of power," said Athena. "It would attract monsters due to the high amount of celestial silver – the most powerful metal in this world or any other. They used it for jewelry." Disdain was evident in her voice.
"Percy had a tiny amount of celestial silver with him," recalled Hekate. "But that's not the worst of it. Some say that…" Hekate lowered her voice. "…spirits of Atlantis still dwell there. They used to send heroes to them to test to see if they were strong enough to complete their task."
"And?" asked Phoebe.
Athena swallowed. "They had the same power that makes up the Oracle – but they don't just use it for telling prophecies."
Hekate shook her head, as if dismissing such thoughts from her head. "You should go now," she said, and lifted a hand. Energies began to play around it, lancing into a sphere around the Hunters to transport them to the Lotus.
"Wait!" I called, looking at Mathilda. "What was your name? Who are you?"
Silence was my only answer as the whirling disk of energy faded away, taking the Hunters with it.
Year 73 of the Titans
Friday, April 13th
Present Day
Though I still thought about the day often, I have not yet seen Mathilda again. But the past was the past, and it was the present I was in. I forcibly shoved all thoughts of the past into the past.
The courtroom was simply immense. Have you ever been to Davies' Symphony Hall, or maybe the Sydney Opera House? It was like that. Immensely tall, so wide you couldn't see both ends simultaneously, and with balconies towering above you. The entire place was made of obsidian, with golden designs painted into it. Apparently, that was Hekate's favorite theme.
Hekate's immense throne dominated the room, set on a cuplike structure protruding from the wall. She was at least a hundred feet in the air, and in the very center of the wall. The nearest balcony structure was fifty feet to her right, and at least twenty feet underneath. She was in her human form, but that somehow added to the sense of power radiating from her form.
Set on the opposite wall, where a screen or a stage would be in a normal theater, was a map of Arizona, with moving water, people, clouds, and wind currents. Certain points glowed with power; others were completely empty. Below it was a single podium, less than two feet tall. It had enough room on top for something the size of a small car, perhaps, but nothing more. A shimmering pattern of black-and-gold light played around it. There was a large hole in the middle, leading into the ground.
"Well, well," said the Titan-goddess, standing up on her dais. "Clarisse's here, after all these years. You were supposed to be here over two decades ago." In spite of the words, she was smiling.
"I was… delayed." I said carefully, not wishing to reveal anything.
She laughed, sensing the reason behind my stiff words. "It's fine, Clarisse. Every person in this room has been handpicked, and they are all loyal to our cause. You may speak freely."
Hekate snapped her fingers, and, suddenly, I was sitting on a throne right next to hers on the dais. I blinked in surprise, but I quickly acclimated to my new view of the room.
"Welcome," she said to me quietly, too quietly for anyone else to hear. "I trust that you remember your mission perfectly?" I nodded, and she continued. "I have a new task for you and the others – but it can wait till after the trial."
Hekate turned to the room and spoke loudly and clearly for all to hear. "Council, we are gathered here today to witness the trial of Kelli, once a senior emposai, but one, in open defiance of my orders, committed an unforgivable act of rebellion: she attacked a quest from Camp Half-Blood, on the orders of Luke Castellan, and attempted to murder Perseus Jackson on his first day of school – an act that, if successful, would undoubtedly ended in a Titan victory for all time. Today, we allow her to present her defense, and, of unsuccessful, to decide on her punishment."
The ruler of all of the Midwest looked down and smiled upon her council. "Let the trial begin."