CHAPTER 9

ZOE GUIDES MY WAY

We made our way down the bottom of the hill. The distant sounds of destruction and dying monsters drifted down to my ears by the wind. I looked around and saw that everyone was still okay. Annabeth was now wearing a brown book bag. I have no idea where it came from. The night air was blowing her blond hair, making her look so beautiful. She saw me looking and smiled. I couldn't help but smile back. I think I even blushed. We made it down to the end of the dirt road and into the cottage my mom took me once every summer, near the Long Island Sound. I hadn't even seen my mom before I left MS-54 and I think, we I had the time, I'd send her an Iris message. I pushed the door open and the smell of mold and mildew hit my nose. The place was totally trashed and dirty. The couch and the bed were still intact.

Tyson set Grover down on the bed.

"Is boy goat gonna be okay?" asked Tyson, staring down at him.

"Yeah, he'll be fine." said Annabeth.

"It's really started," said Sarissa, collapsing on the couch, her wand still in her hand.

"It has," said Thalia, sitting next to Grover on the bed.

"So," said Clarisse, "what now?"

"We fulfill the final prophecy." I said.

This got everyone's attention and all eyes were on me. I told them what the Oracle had told me.

"The Scythe!" said Thalia and Clarisse.

"The Scythe of Athens, wow, Percy." said Annabeth.

"What's the Scythe of Athens?" I asked.

"Scythe of Athens, Scythe of Olympus, the Legendary Blade, Scythe of Destiny, Deathblade, its all the same thing according to myth." said Annabeth. "Thousands of years ago when the first Titan War took place, the Scythe of Athens was forged by the most powerful half-bloods of the age. They gave the Scythe to Zeus who used it to chop up Kronos and place him in Tartarus. It's been said that the scythe is the most powerful weapon of all time and becomes even powerful when the zenith is released. According to the prophecy, it looks as though Percy is the one to wield it again since it's his destiny to fight Kronos."

"What's the zenith?" I asked.

"Ultimate power." said Annabeth. "Zeus couldn't even unlock the zenith of scythe, but its probably your destiny to do it!

My head was spinning from the information that Annabeth has just given me.

Grover grunted and it made me get back on track.

"So, where is this scythe thing?" I asked.

"You shall head to the place where all of the myths have been told." said Clarisse. "Where have all of the myths we know came from? Where did Western Civilization use to be a long time ago? Greece!"

"No way!" I said. "We have to go all the way to Greece?!"

"Looks like it," said Annabeth. "The peak the prophecy refers too must be Mount Penteli."

"How are we supposed to get there?" I asked.

Everyone was silent.

"The St. Anne," said Thalia, suddenly.

"This isn't the time for all girl small talk." said Clarisse.

"No, you idiot. The St. Anne is a ship that leaves New York City tomorrow and heads to the Athens Port by next Wednesday." said Thalia. "It'll make a few stops along the way. But it'll get us where we need to be."

"But we don't have any money." said Sarissa.

"We won't need it." said Thalia. "As long as Percy doesn't mind helping me out."

Grover woke up a few hours later and we filled him on what was going on. He was very shaken about what he'd just went through back at Camp Half-Blood. He cried like a baby after we'd told him how many were hurt or killed. We also discovered, thanks to Annabeth, that the pipes had been craved out of Holm wood, which is used to create dark objects. Annabeth theorized that Kronos had the pipe delivered to Grover because he wouldn't see what it really was, if it was a gift from Pan. Once Grover played it, it turned him evil, and gave him powers over the Camp, which weakened it's borders.

Grover eventually straightened up and we got down to business.

So the plan worked like this: Thalia was going to teach me now to control the Mist. Don't think there weren't jealousy issues going on either, namely Clarisse. But Thalia had explained to them that when we combined our powers we were stronger. That settled the argument. Learning to manipulate the Mist was tricky and difficult. I had to will my thoughts into the mind of the mortal I was trying to mystify. I then would snap my fingers and it should come naturally because of my powers as a half-blood. She had me practice the next morning on a couple of mortals near Time Square. Lets just say that the results were horrible and that I almost caused a traffic accident.

We were running out of time. We had only four days until my birthday and the St. Anne left at noon and if we missed it, we'd missed our only shot to get to Greece. Finally, an hour before the St. Anne was to depart, I was able to make a woman believe a pigeon was her long lost grandson.

"Here we go," said Thalia, as we reached the port of the St. Anne Ship. It almost reminded me of the Princess Andromeda, but it looked a lot more appealing then evil. I got a good vibe from it.

A woman wearing a pale blue uniform stood near the gate, taking tickets from sailors. We approached her. Luckily, we were the last to board.

"Tickets," she said, automatically.

Thalia looked at me. She took my hand and together we snapped our fingers. When Thalia had first manipulated the Mist, it was a sharp snap. When we did it together, it was loud and sounded like a gunshot. A mysterious wind blew all around us.

"We're passengers of the St. Anne." said Thalia.

"And we've been personally invited by the Captain himself to come aboard to Greece." I said.

"No tickets, Captain invited, seven teenagers board the St. Anne." said the ticket woman, hypnotically.

"Yes," said Thalia and I together.

The ticket woman grabbed the gate handle and opened it for us. We ran up the wooden steps up into the doorway. The ticket woman followed us and closed the door.

"Your rooms are right this way Mr. Jackson and Ms. Riordan." said the ticket woman, indicating Thalia and me. She lead us down a dimly lit hallway. An elder couple came out of their room. The man looked very strong for his old age, with large rough looking hands, with dark spots on his arms and hands from burns. The woman looked mischievous for some reason, with slightly upturned ears and she wore a smirk.

"Look at the kiddies," said the old woman.

"Yes, dear, their nice to look at." said the old man, absentmindedly.

"Beauties!" said the old woman. "I'm Doris McFee." She held out an old shriveled hand out to us. Sarissa, assertively, stepped forward and grabbed the woman's hand.

"Hi!" she said, brightly. "I'm Sarissa Greenhouse!"

"I'm Clyde McFee," said the old man, with an airy hand wave.

"Nice to meet you," said Sarissa.

"Oh they remind me of us at that age, don't they Clyde?" said Doris.

"Excuse me?" said Thalia.

"A Hunter no doubt about it." said Clyde.

We were all stunned.

"And a satyr and a Cyclops too." said Doris, looking from Grover to Tyson.

"And it looks like the Mist has been amplified." said Clyde, looking at the hypnotic ticket woman.

"What? How do you know?" asked Grover.

"We're half-bloods, too, my dears." said Doris, quietly.

"No way!" we all said together.

"Come on, inside." said Clyde, moving out of the way of their door.

"We'll be back." I said to the ticket woman. "Wait here."

We all crowded our way into the one bedroom suite of Clyde and Doris McFee. The room was nicely decorated. There were Greek banners and news clippings all around. One of them I recognized from four years ago when I was supposed on the run from the law when I was searching for Zeus' lightning bolt.

Clyde and Doris sat on the bed with Annabeth, Thalia, and Sarissa. Clarisse leaned against the dresser. Grover and I sat in chairs, while Tyson sat on the spacious floor.

"How'd you know us?" I asked.

"Every half-blood worldwide knows about Percy Jackson and Thalia Riordan. You're the most powerful half-bloods to ever live since World War I." said Clyde. A thought, in the form of a young twelve your old boy surrounded by darkness, formed in the back of my head.

"You've heard of me?" I said.

"Of course!" said Doris, with a giggle. "I still get mail from some of our half-blood friends about you!"

"Most of the old generation of half-bloods have died off, but their still a few of us old busters left." said Clyde.

"Who are your parents?" asked Annabeth.

"Hephaestus," answered Clyde.

"And my daddy is Hermes." said Doris.

"Did you guys go on any quests?" intrigued Clarisse. "Because if you didn't, then your old-has-been-good-for-nothings."

Doris and Clyde stared at Clarisse.

"You remind me of a girl from my day." said Doris. "Aleisha Sprint. She had spunk and attitude just like that. Your just like her, I can feel it. You're a daughter of Apollo aren't you?"

"Ick!" roared Clarisse. "Don't insult me. My dad's Ares."

"Yes, that's right, Aleisha was in Ares' Cabin." said Clyde, remembering that piece of information.

"But to answer your question, I went on a quest when I was sixteen." said Doris, reminiscently. "Had to steal the hair of a Hesperide back in 1945."

"So, do you know there's about to be the biggest war in history?" asked Clarisse.

"Yes," said Clyde, "and every half-blood around the world knows it. But known of them can prepare for it because Western Civilization has moved. Their basically defenseless. We're powerless."

"Why?" I asked.

"We're old, dears, and we don't really have the strength to continue on anymore." said Doris.

"That's why we're on this cruise. 'Sail to the place of ancestral time'." said Clyde.

" 'Claim pure wisdom and refuge with this two piece rhyme'." finished Doris.

"A quest?" asked Tyson.

"More of a reflection journey. We're headed to Greece to find our mythical roots and end of summer vacation. Isn't that why your going?" said Clyde.

"Something or other," said Thalia, not wanting to give to much away.

"Don't worry, we don't want to interfere or have anything to do with your quest." said Doris, hastily. "We know how much action can change prophecy."

"Well, we need to get going." said Clarisse.

"No, please," said Doris, quickly, "we oldies don't get to many visitors. Why don't you meet us in the dining hall for dinner tonight?"

"We'd love too," said Annabeth, before anyone could object.

We retired to our rooms, thanks to the ticket woman, who had remained outside to assist us. The room was known as the royal suite. Believe me, when they mean royal, they mean it here! There were three bedrooms inside of the suite. A large living room and television which picked up every channel. A closet filled with board games and a wardrobe filled with sweets.

"Sweet!" said Grover, running over to the closet and began to chew up a Monopoly board.

I yawned. I was tired. I think it was practicing the Mist, fighting at Camp, and talking with two old half-bloods just wore me out. I went into my room, which I shared with Grover and Tyson. I lied down on my bed. I threw my duffle bag (Annabeth had been prepared for every emergency, and got it for me, when she'd gotten her bag.) across the room. My body slowly began to shut down as I went into dreamland.

My dream started like this. I sat on a cliff side, overlooking the vast ocean. The wind was salty and blew my hair. It was soothing and relaxing. I heard footsteps behind me and turned around.

A young girl was walking toward me. She had coppery colored skin and long dark hair. Some of it was twisted into braids, while the rest had swooped into a beautiful glowing seashell. The girl wore an elegant gown that looked to be of Ancient Greek style. Her sandals made no sound on the ground and she sat next to me.

"Hello," she said, her voice echoing.

"Why are you here?" I asked. My voice didn't echo.

"I'm here for many reasons. But thy own reason is up to thee and thee alone." said the girl.

"Will you ever get the hang of real speech, Zoë?" I asked.

"No," echoed Zoë Nightshade, with a slight echoing chuckle.

"Have you been watching us?"

"Yes."

We were silent.

"Did it hurt?" I asked.

"No," she answered, shortly. "I fulfilled my duties and had no resentment or regrets."

"I'm scared," I said. This was the first time I had ever admitted it. This was the first time I had said it to anyone, even a dream girl.

"Don't be," said Zoë. She reached out and touched my shoulder. Her touch was soft and gentle. I quick flashback to Annabeth and I walking around Central Park, holding hands. It felt just like that.

"How can I not be?" I asked. "What if I make the wrong choice? What if I fail? What if I get someone else killed?"

"What if!" exclaimed Zoë. "So, what if! Things will happen Percy. It is by ye will do ye let them do so."

"I just don't want anymore people dying because of me." I said.

"Percy, listen to me." said Zoë. "This war has been looming upon the heads of the gods for millenniums. Ye can't allow self doubt and darkness into thine heart or it will destroy thee. Who left shall it be to protect the future? It is thine destiny for greatness. But heed, don't give into much of the prophecy. They have been known to lead many heroes astray. Take action and conscious, but above all be careful."

"I wish you hadn't died." I said, not knowing where any of this was coming from.

"It's okay," said Zoë, with a slight grin.

"Do I have to go back? Do I have to wake up now?" I said.

"Yes," said Zoë, with a smile. She patted me on the back.

I awoke with a start and looked up into Annabeth's face.

"Get up Percy! We'll be late for dinner." she said, leaving my room.