The next morning, Chiron moved me to cabin three.
"Wait what happened again?" Orion asked confused.
"I got claimed. Officially."
I didn't have to share with anybody. I had plenty of room for all my stuff: the Minotaur's horn, one set of spare clothes, and a toiletry bag. I got to sit at my own dinner table, pick all my own activities, call "lights out" whenever I felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.
"Sounds awesome." Came several voices.
And I was absolutely miserable.
Thalia and Jason both shot Percy sympathetic looks, remembering their own time in the Zeus cabin.
Just when I'd started to feel accepted, to feel I had a home in cabin eleven and I might be a normal kid- or as normal as you can be when you're a half-blood-I'd been separated out as if I had some rare disease.
Now Nico knew exactly how Percy felt.
Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but I got the feeling they were all talking about it behind my back. The attack had scared everybody. It sent two messages: one, that I was the son of the Sea God; and two, monsters would stop at nothing to kill me. They could even invade a camp that had always been considered safe.
"How did that happen? I wouldn't want to hurt you." Hades said in confusion.
"But you would hurt my kid?" Zeus looked up bemused. Nico and Percy glanced at each other, knowing exactly why Hades hated Thalia's existence.
Hades shrugged. "Not really. But Poseidon's kid would be even lower on my hate list."
Nico stared at his father. He had a hate list?
The other campers steered clear of me as much as possible. Cabin eleven was too nervous to have sword class with me after what I'd done to the Ares folks in the woods, so my lessons with Luke became one-on-one. He pushed me harder than ever, and wasn't afraid to bruise me up in the process.
"Of course not." Thalia and Nico muttered bitterly.
"Eh-I was thankful for that honestly." Percy said aloud.
Thalia and Nico both stared at him, as if he were insane. "What? It helped in the future. A lot, actually."
"You're going to need all the training you can get, " he promised, as we were working with swords and flaming torches. "Now let's try that viper-beheading strike again. Fifty more repetitions."
Annabeth still taught me Greek in the mornings, but she seemed distracted. Every time I said something, she scowled at me, as if I'd just poked her between the eyes.
"Rude." Demeter said, in disbelief how unbearable the daughter of Athena was being. "Her mother's rivalry has nothing to do with her. Especially since the arguments are millennia old."
"Really?" Hermes questioned Demeter. She didn't seem like the type to say that.
"Of course. I wouldn't want any of my demigod to hate Hades' demigod children, may he never have any. That's between us gods, not them. Now if a god had a problem with a demigod, that's a different story."
After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest...Poseidon?...Dirty rotten...Got to make a plan..."
"Excuse me?" Poseidon bellowed angrily. Athena winced, but said nothing.
"Does your child have no respect for the gods?" Triton asked dangerously.
"I'm sure she does!" Athena protested, glaring at the future demigods to back her up.
Thalia and Percy looked at each other. Annabeth hated Poseidon, until she became Percy's friend, she hated Hera, there was no love between her and Hermes...The two came to the conclusion that most of the gods were going to really not like Annabeth.
Meanwhile Athena was waiting, but they both remained silent. The sea gods both angrily sat back in their thrones adding it to the list of reasons as to why they disliked Athena so much.
Even Clarisse kept her distance, though her venomous looks made it clear she wanted to kill me for breaking her magic spear. I wished she would just yell or punch me or something. I'd rather get into fights every day than be ignored.
"Same." Jason agreed. Percy grinned at the blond.
Nico gave the pair a strange look but said nothing. He really wasn't liking Jason at the moment.
I knew somebody at camp resented me,
"Gee, I wonder who that could be?" Thalia asked sarcastically. Nico agreed with her, while Percy just sighed at his friends' stubbornness.
"I don't know. Clarisse doesn't seem the type to do something drastic. It just said that she was keeping her distance." Jason pointed out.
Percy shook his head. "They don't mean Clarisse."
because one night I came into my cabin and found a mortal newspaper dropped inside the doorway, a copy of the New York Daily News, opened to the Metro page. The article took me almost an hour to read, because the angrier I got, the more the words floated around on the page.
"Dyslexia." Jason grimaced. Now that he had regained his memories, he remembered how hard it was to do all the paperwork that came from being a praetor. And how it took forever.
BOY AND MOTHER STILL MISSING AFTER
FREAK CAR ACCIDENT
BY EILEEN SMYTHE
Sally Jackson and son Percy are still missing one week after their mysterious disappearance. The family's badly burned '78 Camaro was discovered last Saturday on a north Long Island road with the roof ripped off and the front axle broken. The car had flipped and skidded for several hundred feet before exploding.
Mother and son had gone for a weekend vacation to Montauk, but left hastily, under mysterious circumstances. Small traces of blood were found in the car and near the scene of the wreck, but there were no other signs of the missing Jacksons. Residents in the rural area reported seeing nothing unusual around the time of the accident.
Ms. Jackson's husband, Gabe Ugliano, claims that his stepson, Percy Jackson, is a troubled child who has been kicked out of numerous boarding schools and has expressed violent tendencies in the past.
"What?" Nico asked carefully, his eyes getting darker.
"Nico, no. You don't want to reveal your parentage remember? Control your emotions." Percy hissed.
Police would not say whether son Percy is a suspect in his mother's disappearance, but they have not ruled out foul play.
Thalia crackled with lightning. "Thalia?" Jason asked, never having seen his sister get like that.
"You would never hurt Sally." Thalia said angrily.
"Thals. cut it out. Its in the past and honestly Gabe's opinion really doesn't matter to me." Percy attempted to soothe her. "It all works out in the end."
Thalia and Nico were obviously gritting their teeth but remained silent.
Below are recent pictures of Sally Jackson and Percy. Police urge anyone with information to call the following toll-free crime-stoppers hotline.
The phone number was circled in black marker.
I wadded up the paper and threw it away, then flopped down in my bunk bed in the middle of my empty cabin.
"Lights out," I told myself miserably.
"That's awful." Demeter spat angrily. It was far too reminiscent of how she had felt when she had lost Persephone, and to the same god then as well.
That night, I had my worst dream yet.
I was running along the beach in a storm. This time, there was a city behind me. Not New York. The sprawl was different: buildings spread farther apart, palm trees and low hills in the distance.
About a hundred yards down the surf, two men were fighting. They looked like TV wrestlers, muscular, with beards and long hair. Both wore flowing Greek tunics, one trimmed in blue, the other in green.
Poseidon and Zeus stared at each other perplexed. The two couldn't figure out whether they liked their descriptions or not.
They grappled with each other, wrestled, kicked and head-butted, and every time they connected, lightning flashed, the sky grew darker, and the wind rose.
I had to stop them. I didn't know why. But the harder I ran, the more the wind blew me back, until I was running in place, my heels digging uselessly in the sand.
Over the roar of the storm, I could hear the blue-robed one yelling at the green-robed one, Give it back! Give it back!
"Give what back?" Zeus asked immediately, suspicious.
Like a kindergartner fighting over a toy.
There was a pause, before everyone from the future burst out laughing.
"What is a kindergartner?" Hermes asked, not recognizing the term.
In between hysteria, Thalia bit out "A five-year old mortal child."
That set everyone but Zeus off.
The waves got bigger, crashing into the beach, spraying me with salt.
I yelled, Stop it! Stop fighting!
"We've been telling them that for millennia." Hera rolled her eyes.
Zeus and Poseidon grumbled at the statement but remained quiet.
The ground shook. Laughter came from somewhere under the earth, and a voice so deep and evil it turned my blood to ice.
The faces of everyone but the Greek, future trio turned pale.
Come down, little hero, the voice crooned. Come down!
Instinctively Nico and Thalia both grabbed onto one of Percy's hands each, as if to ensure he would be unable to leave. Percy raised an eyebrow at their gesture, but he was touched. He gently squeezed their hands as if to reassure them that he was right there.
The sand split beneath me, opening up a crevice straight down to the center of the earth. My feet slipped, and darkness swallowed me.
At this point, Nico and Thalia were strangling Percy's hands. He yelped, "Guys!"
They let go immediately. "Sorry!"
I woke up, sure I was falling.
I was still in bed in cabin three. My body told me it was morning, but it was dark outside, and thunder rolled across the hills. A storm was brewing. I hadn't dreamed that.
"Is it because of the boy? I mean, yes Poseidon broke the oath. But it shouldn't make me so angry." Zeus asked. Percy didn't answer.
I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold.
"Come in?"
Grover trotted inside, looking worried. "Mr. D wants to see you."
"Why?" Half the throne room asked. Dionysus never wanted to see heroes.
Megaera put up a claw, signaling them to wait.
"Why?"
"He wants to kill...I mean, I'd better let him tell you."
Ariadne shot her husband a disapproving look. He shrugged.
Nervously, I got dressed and followed, sure that I was in huge trouble.
"You think Kelp Head?" Thalia laughed.
Percy pouted at her.
For days, I'd been half expecting a summons to the Big House. Now that I was declared a son of Poseidon, one of the Big Three gods who weren't supposed to have kids, I figured it was a crime for me just to be alive. The other gods had probably been debating the best way to punish me for existing, and now Mr. D was ready to deliver their verdict.
"That's not how it works." Thalia and Nico deadpanned.
"I didn't know, okay?! I was still new to the demigod thing, and the oath making me illegal freaked me out! Er...more illegal I mean."
"What do you mean more illegal? How were you illegal to begin with?" Perseus asked.
"Our parents weren't married when they had us. This means we were born out of wedlock. Society considers us as wrong." Thalia shrugged, remembering the angry taunts her drunk mother had made.
The people from the past were silent after learning that. Some glanced at Hera out of the corner of their eyes and were surprised to see that even she looked like she had been struck in the face.
Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. I asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.
"No," he said. "It never rains here unless we want it to."
I pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"
He glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."
I realized he was right. In the week I'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I'd seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.
But this storm... This one was huge.
"Meaning Dad's gonna unleash his rage." Apollo pointed out.
Everyone but Zeus agreed.
At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.
"Mournful? They should be winning!" Apollo exclaimed.
"Maybe they are. That's why its mournful for the satyrs." Artemis offered. Apollo said nothing, his face going blank.
Grover and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Dionysus sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheel-chair. They were playing against invisible opponents-two sets of cards hovering in the air.
"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrity."
"Dionysus is secretly Severus Snape?" Jason asked.
Percy snorted and stared at the blond. Jason shrugged, "You aren't the only one that can make references."
Percy threw his hands up. "Noted."
I waited.
"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to kowtow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle- Beard is your father."
Poseidon glowered at Dionysus, but said nothing. He knew Dionysus' attitude was due to his wife no his own pride.
A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.
"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.
Zeus glared at Dionysus for showing him disrespect. Dionysus merely yawned, having no interest or worry in regards to Zeus' anger.
Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.
"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats safe from harm."
"Really?" Persephone said sarcastically. The god of wine shrugged.
"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.
A pause. The entire throne room burst out laughing.
"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "Boy wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself I'm thinking of turning you into a dolphin instead, sending you back to your father."
"One would think that you would tire of turning my children into dolphins." Poseidon said.
"Hey, at least I didn't say I'd turn him mad too." Dionysus countered.
"Mr. D-" Chiron warned.
"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness. " Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table. "I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."
"You realize he would turn the boy back into a human?" Amphitrite asked.
"He didn't do it for Chrysaor."
"Chrysaor was a pirate who deserved it." Poseidon said rolling his eyes.
Dionysus picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.
He snapped his fingers.
The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.
"You know I've always wondered, is what our parent's...odour what we smell like to monsters?" Percy asked curiously.
The others shrugged not having an answer.
"Ask Grover." Thalia advised.
Chiron smiled at me, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, please. And Grover."
We did.
Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.
"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"
"It wasn't Mrs. O'Leary." Percy replied.
"Who?"
Thalia, Nico and Percy grinned at each other. "A friend."
Just hearing the name made me shudder.
Chiron probably wanted me to say, Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast. But I didn't feel like lying.
"For once." Thalia coughed. Percy pushed her half-heartedly.
"It scared me, " I said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."
"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."
"Done...With what?"
"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"
I glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.
"Why?...Oh right the searcher's license. What is he searching for anyway?" Jason asked.
"Spoilers." The Greek trio chorused.
"Um, sir," I said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."
Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."
Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.
"Poseidon and Zeus," I said. "They're fighting over something valuable... Something that was stolen, aren't they?"
Zeus and Poseidon both leaned forward, wanting to know what it was.
Chiron and Grover exchanged looks.
Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"
My face felt hot. I wished I hadn't opened my big mouth. "The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And...I've also been having these dreams."
"I hate demigod dreams." All the demigods said simultaneously, except for Perseus.
They all turned to him. He shrugged. "I don't. They can be helpful." The others grudgingly accepted his logic.
"I knew it," Grover said.
"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.
"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"
"I hate quests." Every demigod but Thalia said this time. But when they turned to her, she didn't offer an explanation.
"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."
"...WHAT?!" Zeus leapt to his feet. "YOU DARE STEAL MY LIGHTNING BOLT BOY?!"
"No!" Percy shot up. "Listen Lord Zeus, you've seen my thoughts, you know I haven't. Besides the truth will be revealed in the books, so for now the only thing we can do it read on."
"Don't tell me what to do." Zeus glared at Percy threateningly. "READ!" He bellowed furiously.
I laughed nervously. "A what?"
"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."
"Oh."
"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now.
"As he should be!" Zeus exclaimed.
"The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."
"And it's missing?"
Everyone in the room was painfully aware of Zeus breathing loudly.
"Stolen," Chiron said.
"By who?"
"By whom," Chiron corrected. Once a teacher, always a teacher. "By you."
"PROOF!" Zeus yelled pointing at the book.
"Just read a little further, before declaring your verdict?"
Zeus relented.
My mouth fell open.
"At least"-Chiron held up a hand-"that's what Zeus thinks.
"So you really didn't?" Zeus asked dubiously.
"No, I didn't!" Percy replied vehemently.
During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best, ' Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters, ' et cetera.
"Still?" All the other gods groaned.
Zeus and Poseidon huffed at their attitudes. They were all good topics to fight over.
Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly-that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."
"But I didn't-"
"Patience and listen, child,"
"But Percy doesn't have any patience." All of the future demigods countered. Percy glared at them, while Nico and Thalia shared a look. How well did Percy and Jason know each other?
Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."
"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"
Thunder boomed.
"Lighten up Zeus. Its the truth." Hades said irritably. Hera nodded her assent.
Zeus gaped in disbelief at his wife and brother.
Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were rolling straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid.
"Er, Percy...?" Grover said. "We don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."
"That's right." Zeus said petulantly, a little like a child not getting his favourite food.
The other gods and goddesses tried to hold in their laughter at the King of the Gods.
On the other hand Thalia grimaced. "The c-word? Gods, Goat-boy is pure."
Percy cracked a grin. "That's G-man for you."
"Perhaps paranoid," Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam..." He looked at me as if he actually expected me to remember question thirty-eight.
"I remember that." Zeus said angrily, then beamed. "I was able to turn you and Apollo into mortals for that. It was fun!"
"Not for us!" Poseidon and Apollo countered, shuddering at the memory.
How could anyone accuse me of stealing a god's weapon? I couldn't even steal a slice of pizza from Gabe's poker party without getting busted.
"Lame." Several people called out. Percy only shook his head.
Chiron was waiting for an answer.
"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods...They, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"
"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since.
"You realize I was trying to help you?" Poseidon asked Zeus incredulously.
Zeus scowled. "I don't need your help."
Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along-the proverbial last straw."
"I love being the straw that breaks the camel's back." Percy said giddily.
The others all stared at him as if he were insane. Percy shrugged. "Its happened so many times, might as well be happy about it or I might go insane."
"Amen." Hercules agreed, remembering all of his Labors.
"But I'm just a kid!"
"So?" The people from the past asked innocently.
The futures looked at each other. It was depressing to know, that no one in the past thought it wrong to have young children in perilous situations.
"Percy, " Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you... Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"
"I've never heard of that expression." Aphrodite frowned. "And I make all expressions when it comes to clothing."
"Its a Greek play on a different expression we will have." Thalia shrugged. She paused. "When did I become the person who has to explain everything from the future?"
The three boys shrugged. Thalia deadpanned.
"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon-my dad-he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"
"No!" Poseidon exclaimed outraged. "I would never!"
"I know Dad." Percy said, trying to calm his father down.
Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that.
"You and your ego." Amphitrite sneered. "It'll be the end of us."
"Agreed." Hera said staring at Zeus. The two squirmed in their thrones.
Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense.
All three goddesses scoffed. Chiron thought too highly of Zeus, as if anyone could compete with his obstinacy.
But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"
"Bad?" I guessed.
"No kidding." Ares snorted.
"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."
"Bad," I repeated.
"You, need to seriously upgrade your vocabulary." Theseus told him.
"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."
"Joyful." Percy winced.
It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.
I had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of me.
'You think rather highly of yourself." Athena jeered.
"He's the son of the sea god. Its his right." Triton declared. He and Athena stared at each other, before breaking away.
I was furious.
"So I have to find the stupid bolt,"
"It is not stupid!" Zeus shrieked about to go on a lecture about how important the Master Bolt is, when Hera rolled her eyes.
"Just keep reading." She ordered Megaera.
I said. "And return it to Zeus."
"What better peace offering, " Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"
"Chiron set it up like that." Hercules muttered. When he was looked at questioningly he added, "So you would agree to the quest."
"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"
"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago...
"What prophecy?" Percy asked confused. Thalia and Nico shrugged. They had never heard of another prophecy.
Well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."
Thalia, Nico and Percy all grimaced.
Jason on the other hand, smiled. "Great, we'll finally see Rachel!"
"No. We won't." Nico countered. Jason shot him a puzzled look.
"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"
"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."
"Chiron better not try to blame me." Hades said warningly.
Percy didn't say a word. Best to deal with one thing at a time.
I swallowed. "Good reason."
"You agree then?"
I looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.
Easy for him. I was the one Zeus wanted to kill.
Once again many people burst out in hysterics. "I love your sense of humor." Hermes laughed. "Never change."
"Uh thanks?" Percy said.
"All right," I said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."
"I disagree. What good are quests?" Dionysus said matter-of-factly.
The demigods all stared at him astonished.
"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."
Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trap-door.
Apollo leaned forward. "Wait, my Oracle lives in the attic? That's not nearly as...awesome enough." No one responded.
I pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place.
The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and something else ... A smell I remembered from biology class. Reptiles. The smell of snakes.
Apollo shrugged. "I guess I can be wrong." The Greek trio winced. He had no idea.
I held my breath and climbed.
The attic was filled with Greek hero junk: armor stands covered in cobwebs; once-bright shields pitted with rust; old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers saying ITHAKA, CIRCE'S ISLE, and LAND OF THE AMAZONS.
Percy grimaced at the mention of all three. Just his luck he had sort of encountered all three too.
One long table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled things-severed hairy claws, huge yellow eyes, various other parts of monsters. A dusty mounted trophy on the wall looked like a giant snake's head, but with horns and a full set of shark's teeth. The plaque read, HYDRA HEAD #1, WOODSTOCK, N. Y. , 1969.
His eyes narrowed. Actually that was suspicious. All of those things had in one way or another interfered on his next quest. What was that word Paul would generally use to describe it? Foreshadowing. Of his life. How much stranger could he get?
By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was the most gruesome memento of all: a mummy. Not the wrapped-in-cloth kind, but a human female body shriveled to a husk. She wore a tie-dyed sundress, lots of beaded necklaces, and a headband over long black hair. The skin of her face was thin and leathery over her skull, and her eyes were glassy white slits, as if the real eyes had been replaced by marbles; she'd been dead a long, long time.
"Why would my Oracle keep that?" Apollo asked a little disgusted. "Is she into necrophilia?"
He frowned. "Why won't you three answer me?"
"Just...read Lord Apollo. And you'll find out." Nico said, waiting for another explosion to occur.
Looking at her sent chills up my back. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth.
Apollo's eyes widened and he began to shake his head in denial.
A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trap-door, but it slammed shut. Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.
"MY ORACLE!" Apollo wailed. "What happened to her?!"
"You'll find out." Percy said after a moment. "Its in the books."
I wanted to say, No thanks, wrong door, just looking for the bathroom.
"Way creepier than Octavian and the stuffed animals." Jason said with wide eyes. He wanted to ask about Rachel, but he figured he wouldn't get any answers.
But I forced myself to take a deep breath.
The mummy wasn't alive. She was some kind of gruesome receptacle for something else, the power that was now swirling around me in the green mist.
Apollo flinched with every word. His Oracle and definitely been put under a curse. But who would do such a thing?
But its presence didn't feel evil,
"Of course she's not evil!" Apollo sounded scandalized.
"I know. It just an observation!" Percy quickly reassured him. The poor god looked extremely distressed.
like my demonic math teacher Mrs. Dodds or the Minotaur. It felt more like the Three Fates I'd seen knitting the yarn outside the highway fruit stand: ancient, powerful, and definitely not human. But not particularly interested in killing me, either.
"Particularly? She isn't interested in killing you at all!"
Percy was realizing that he was going to be listening to Apollo defend his Oracle a lot.
I got up the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"
Thalia snorted. "How much more cliché can you get Jackson?"
"Shut up, Pinecone Face." Percy retorted, his face red.
The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of me and around the table with the pickled monster-part jars. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.
The mood dropped even further.
My fists clenched, though I knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.
Gabe turned toward me and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.
"God? Which god?" Hephaestus asked curiously. No answer, just like he had expected.
His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.
"Thank the gods." Zeus exclaimed in utter relief.
The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: You shall he betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
"What friend?" Hestia asked worried.
Luke. Thalia and Nico both realized. Thalia was surprised, she had never thought that Luke had betrayed Percy in the same way he did her and Annabeth.
Finally, Eddie, our building super, delivered the worst line of all: And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
"Wait what?" Zeus' face dropped. "Not my lightning bolt right?"
"No. We find the Master Bolt...Eventually." Percy said tiredly.
Zeus relaxed then tensed again. "Eventually?" He asked in a squeaky voice. He was ignored.
The figures began to dissolve. At first I was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"
"Prophecies don't give you real answers." Jason said in disgust, remembering Octavian's continuous spiel and the one from his own quest to rescue Hera.
"Unless Mars is the one who give it to you." Percy grinned back.
The tail of the mist snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing but a room full of mementos.
I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cob-webs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else.
Everyone agreed. That was just how prophecies worked.
My audience with the Oracle was over.
"Well?" Chiron asked me.
I slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."
Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"
"Right?" Zeus agreed happily with the satyr.
The other Olympians snickered at him, under their breath.
"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."
My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. "She...She said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."
"I knew it," Grover said.
"Grover's excited." Nico pointed out.
"He'll get his searcher's license if he helps out on the quest and its completed right. Of course he is." Percy shrugged.
Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"
I didn't want to tell him.
"You should've. Chiron would've helped." Thalia scolded.
What friend would betray me? I didn't have that many.
"Predictable." Zoë said scathingly. Percy just rolled his eyes.
And the last line-I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, Oh, by the way, you'll fail.
"Mine!" Apollo said grumpily. Whoever had hurt his Oracle would pay. Big time.
How could I confess that?
"No, " I said. "That's about it."
He studied my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."
"Chiron is correct. Many prophecies say one thing but mean another." Hestia said calmly.
I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better.
"Best teacher ever." Hercules coughed.
"No doubt." Every demigod Chiron had trained agreed.
"Okay, " I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"
"Ah, think, Percy, " Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"
"No." Hades said irritably. "He didn't."
"Sorry?" Percy asked.
"Somebody else who wants to take over?" I guessed.
"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."
"Is he insane? People die everyday? War wouldn't do me any good! There would just be more souls." Hades said incredulously.
"We know D-Lord Hades." Nico assured. "
I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."
Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."
Hades growled softly. Persephone put her hand on his arm, in an attempt to calm him down.
A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"
The room cracked. The satyr was the humorous one here.
"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."
"I wonder why I would sacrifice one of my Furies to you for an entire year. You don't seem especially important." Hades muttered.
"Gee thanks." Percy replied sarcastically.
"Yes, but-but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon..."
"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."
"Who does Chiron think I am exactly?" Hades asked bewildered. "As if I have time to waste on a single half-blood."
"James Moriarty." Nico muttered.
"What?" Hades stared at the emo-looking boy strangely.
"You said who does Chiron think you are? I answered."
"Nah. Moriarty is way more...eccentric." Percy objected.
"Yeah. And in love with Sherlock. Or in any case obsessed with him." Thalia agreed.
"Guys. Stop with the pop-culture. I live under a rock." Jason pouted. The other three looked at him in a mixture of pity and shock.
"We'll remedy that." Thalia promised, the other two boys agreeing with her.
"Great," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."
"Two?" Demeter asked lost.
"Hades and Zeus." Hera told her.
"But a quest to..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."
"Grover loves Maine." Percy confided.
"Juniper won't like that." Thalia laughed.
"Whose Juniper?"
"His girlfriend."
"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt, " Chiron insisted.
Alecto hissed furiously in defense of her Master.
"He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."
"I mean, in a way Chiron isn't wrong."
Hades looked at Percy sharply, and the boy elaborated. "I mean, the truth came clean in the Underworld. As in everything made sense there. It wasn't you Lord Hades." The god of the dead nodded righteously.
A strange fire burned in my stomach. The weirdest thing was: it wasn't fear. It was anticipation. The desire for revenge. Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound. It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we hadn't committed.
I was ready to take him on.
Hades stared at Percy.
"I may have had another ulterior motive." He admitted.
Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld...
All of the Underworld dwellers groaned.
Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane. You're a kid. Hades is a god.
"Which part? I didn't know it existed!" Thalia exclaimed.
"Shut up." Percy told her.
Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips.
The poor guy needed to complete a quest with me so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but how could I ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said I was destined to fail? This was suicide.
"You do love suicide missions." Thalia said.
"Leave me alone." Percy groaned.
"Look, if we know it's Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."
"That is not how it works." Athena informed him disdainfully.
"Thanks for letting me know." Percy replied sardonically.
"Suspecting and knowing are not the same, " Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades- and I imagine Poseidon does
"I probably don't." Poseidon was quick to step in.
Hades stared at him. "Probably?" His tone was accusatory.
"Hey, future remember?" Poseidon shrugged.
-they couldn't retrieve the bolt them-selves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"
"I wish Chiron hadn't told you that." All three from the future said collectively. Percy gave an innocent smile in reply. None of them bought it.
"You're saying I'm being used."
Thalia flinched. That had been exactly what Luke used to think.
"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."
My dad needs me.
Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. I didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry.
"All of them." Nico advised.
"Several years too late, but thanks." Percy smiled amused.
Poseidon had ignored me for twelve years. Now suddenly he needed me.
I looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"
"Probably has." Many of the gods agreed.
"I had my suspicions. As I said... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."
I got the feeling there was a lot he wasn't telling me about his prophecy, but I decided I couldn't worry about that right now. After all, I was holding back information too.
"Which you shouldn't have." Demeter reprimanded.
"So let me get this straight," I said. "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."
"For no reason whatsoever." Tisiphone sighed. Percy nodded.
"Check," Chiron said.
"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."
"You better." Zeus grumbled.
"Check."
"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."
"Plenty of time." Ares grinned.
"That's about right."
"Creepiest check list ever." Hermes shook his head.
"Thanks. Chiron and I were really proud." Percy said dramatically.
I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.
"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" he asked weakly.
"You don't have to go, " I told him. "I can't ask that of you."
"As if he'll say no." Nico and Thalia both scoffed.
Percy beamed. "Good thing too."
"Oh.." He shifted his hooves. "No...It's just that satyrs and underground places...Well..."
He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If...If you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."
"Knew it."
Hermes nodded proudly. "Satyrs never back down from a challenge."
"No kidding." Jason agreed remembering Coach Hedge.
I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn't think that would be very heroic.
Zoë rolled her eyes but said nothing. She was unable to figure Percy Jackson's nature, he didn't fit any man the Hunters had ever met.
Grover was the only friend I'd ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he'd be with me.
"All the way, G-man." I turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."
"Again. Prophecies aren't ever specific. You should feel lucky you weren't there at the beginning of...that time. It took forever for us to begin." Thalia ranted.
"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."
"Where?"
Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."
"How is that obvious?" Theseus asked.
"There are many earthquakes there. And Hades can crack the earth...I don't know. I just listened to Chiron." Percy shrugged.
"The atmosphere. People are always depressed in Los Angeles because they can sense the presence of the souls underneath them." Nico told them.
There was a collective understanding, occurring throughout the room.
"Oh," I said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane-"
"NO!" Nico said immediately.
"Unless you have a death wish." Thalia agreed.
"You know what? That's sad. Poseidon wouldn't drown us, and I mean Hades has the Underworld so that doesn't count. So really Zeus is the only one who would kill, if his brother's children were to go in his domain." Jason said distastefully.
"He has no control." Hera told them.
"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"
I shook my head, feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She'd always said we didn't have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane crash.
Glares were directed towards Zeus. Yet again. He was starting to think that these people simply didn't respect him the way they should.
"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."
"The boy is right. Its selfish and unbecoming of the King of the Gods." Hestia said forcefully.
Zeus mournfully looked down. He, like all the other gods, knew it was bad when Hestia started the lecturing.
Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.
"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."
"Good idea." Nico muttered.
"Aww, you care!" Percy grinned.
"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already vol-unteered, if you will accept her help."
"Annabeth?" Jason guessed. Percy nodded.
"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"
"You called the daughter of Athena stupid?" Thalia asked half-impressed, half-shocked.
"You're surprised?" Percy countered.
The air shimmered behind Chiron.
Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.
"How long had she been there? Its not right to listen in on other people's conversations. Did no one teach her that?" Demeter demanded, reminded of the many times Hades had done the very thing when she was talking to her Kore.
"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon,
"Good, because she doesn't have the sea's favor either." Triton stated, shooting the wisdom goddess a look of contempt.
but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."
"If you do say so yourself, " I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"
Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"
"That's a no then. Why does she think she's special again?" Triton jeered.
Athena glanced at him, opened her mouth but then looked away just as quickly.
The truth was, I did. I needed all the help I could get.
"Well..." Amphitrite didn't continue.
"A trio, " I said. "That'll work."
"Excellent, " Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."
Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.
"You're taking out your anger on our kids." Hephaestus spoke up.
"It isn't welcome." Aphrodite agreed with her husband.
"What they mean to say is...don't do it." Apollo threw in.
Zeus nodded, listening to them speak, but not entirely comprehending. He was too busy trying to process who or what had stolen his Master Bolt.
"No time to waste, " Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."
Megaera snapped the book shut. "That was the end of the book." She announced.
Artemis nodded. "I shall read next." The goddess held out her hand, and the book flew into it. She cleared her throat and began...I Ruin A Perfectly Good Bus
Alright guys. You all said sooner, so you got sooner. I hope you're happy. One thing though, I don't understand why people continue to ask me about Annabeth...unless people don't bother to read the notes.
Okay I'm telling this for the last time now, NO Annabeth will not be coming into the books and I am NOT trying to bash on her. I am simply looking through the perspective of the gods at a time where women weren't entirely respected, unless they were goddesses and mortals were more like entertainment. The gods feel insulted and will throw much worse back at Annabeth, this is not set in the twenty first century. Also do you all really think that after all of the issues they have with Athena, anyone actually cares about her daughter? Because they don't. Sorry, but its fact, Athena doesn't get along with most of her fellow Olympians.
Another thing, please review. I've noticed a lot of people have been following and favourite-ing, but not many people are reviewing. And honestly speaking? Reviews are not only my number one motivator for updates, they also let me know that you guys like the direction I am taking with my story. I say this as someone who does review many stories, I'm not a hypocrite guys. So show your passion for fanfiction and please, please review.
I will attempt another chapter before Christmas, but a lot depends on you guys. Don't let my muse and inspiration die!