…Percy…
I didn't know if it was the exhaustion, all the monster attacks, or the unruly waves beneath us, but I felt restless as we sailed through the night.
I had a feeling Nico and Thalia were just as uneasy being at sea, but their tiredness had caught up with them. They seemed to collapse a while ago, trying to restore their energy.
Amber had gone to a closed room in the ship as well, and I only hoped she would get a few hours of sleep through the night.
Although Annabeth had offered to stay up with me as we sat near the higher level dock of the ship, staring out at the moon's reflection on the waves, I had told her to sleep. Annabeth didn't argue too long, falling asleep in a room just under where I sat.
The night was quiet, though the water's pressure sounded very loud where I sat near the edge of the ship. I wasn't particularly tired as I kept watch, but a strange sense of sleep kept coming over me as if I was being drugged.
I could feel the flow of the water under us, and I knew it was only a few more hours before we hit land. When I was sure the ocean was clear of everything else, I finally stopped fighting the strange pull tugging at me. I may have only been asleep for a few minutes until dawn shed its morning light, but my dreams left me feeling all the more exhausted.
At first I couldn't see her face. It was too dark, but the smell of fresh soil and freshly watered roots reminded me that we were in a garden.
I remembered the feeling of the soft petals on my skin as she handed me a miniature bouquet of a golden plant. As I held it up to my face, it seemed to glow, lighting up the darkness around us just enough to see that she was right next to me.
I saw a light blush come to her face when she realized just how late it was. Calypso apologized quietly, standing up to head over to her own part of the island to call it a night.
She left me sitting alone in the garden, thinking to myself. Crystal blue water was just a few steps away from me, and the trickle of water from the small waterfall on the rocks made me remember camp and all of my worries.
The next morning, I paced back and forth on the shore of Ogygia, until I was sure I had lost my mind. I had everything on this island: peace, safety, protection, companionship, and love.
Something was still missing.
Calypso kissed my forehead, clear teardrops blurring almond eyes. Even then, I had the feeling that I never wanted to leave, but looking at the magic raft behind me, I knew I had to do what was right.
Feeling incomplete and miserable, I put on a smile. Sailing away from the island, I knew that I would never feel the same. Things had happened on the island that I would never be able to explain to anyone. I knew right then, as I sailed away from her with a trace of moon lace tucked in my shirt, that I could never talk about Calypso again. It would hurt too much.
My dream shifted to a time when I was at camp, just days after the war. Annabeth's hand was in mine as we walked in the forest where no one else knew we were. Annabeth was laughing without a care in the world.
That moment, I had no doubts or denials. I didn't have any what-ifs.
Streaks of dawn marked the sky just like they did the morning I had left Ogygia when I opened my eyes. I woke up gradually, coming to my senses quickly. We were on a quest. We had to get to France to track Hecate.
I rubbed my eyes, feeling extremely confused and worn out. I didn't know what my dreams meant, but I knew that I had just seen a replay of things that had already happened. What bothered me the most was that I had just witnessed the night before I left Calypso and the morning I actually sailed away towards camp.
I didn't know if it was some kind of message, but the only thought I could reassure myself with was that Calypso was free now. She wasn't suffering in confinement and heartbreak anymore.
The thought seemed to give me some peace as I stood up, noticing that land was approaching quickly.
Annabeth and Amber were already awake by the time I put on a new pair of jeans and T-shirt from my backpack and headed to the center of the ship. Nico and Thalia were quickly up shortly after, probably bothered by all of us up and talking.
"Are we there yet?" Nico asked, squinting.
"We'll pull up to the port in a few minutes," I told the others. "We should grab our stuff and get ready."
The dock of France was large, easily allowing us to pull up to the border and securely get off the ship. Every time we got off our ride, we didn't know if we would ever be getting on again because help from the gods was unpredictable.
Thalia stretched as we stood on the wooden floorboard of the port. "Where to now?"
Before Amber could concentrate her magic or before Raevin even had time to put her nose to the ground, I saw the look on Annabeth's face. She suddenly seemed ten times more awake as she stared out past the dock and at the busy country of France. "Paris," Annabeth said, immediately. "We have to see the Eiffel tower while we're here!"
Nico rubbed the back of his neck. "The Eiffel tower? Are you sure that has anything to do with where Hecate is?"
Annabeth gave Nico a hard look. "Paris," she repeated. "We're going to Paris. We're already here. We might as well see it. We can track Hecate's trail from there."
I found myself flashing back to a moment back in my apartment when Annabeth and I had been flipping through the channels on TV. A show about the Eiffel tower was on and Annabeth's eyes had lit up. I knew she had always wanted to see it, and this was as close as we were ever going to get.
I sighed, trying my best to smile. "Alright, let's go to Paris."
Annabeth glanced back at me, and the way her face brightened suddenly made it worth it.
Amber looked confused, and Thalia seemed to be giving in to the idea, knowing Annabeth. "We could easily get a tour bus," Annabeth said, suddenly feeling energetic. "I've heard of a lot of buses that go right to Paris."
None of us argued as Annabeth led us to a nearby tourist center located near the dock, convenient for those visiting France by cruises and ships. I wasn't sure what city we were in, but I could already tell that the larger cities in the France would be crowded. Half of the vehicles on the streets were cabs and gigantic Double Decker busses.
As Annabeth went towards a building with an information lobby, I found myself telling the girls to go ahead as I pulled Nico aside to a small money exchange shop located a few buildings down.
"What's the deal?" he asked.
"We're going probably going to need Euros for bus fares," I told him. "You still have Hermes Express on you?"
By the time we got back with France's currency in my pocket, Annabeth had already arranged for a tour bus to take us straight to Paris within a few hours. Annabeth was smiling as we waited near a bus station. She put her hand in mine casually. "Who would have thought we would get to see Paris so soon?"
…Thalia…
As I followed Percy and Annabeth onto the tour bus, I fought the urge to shake my head in exasperation. This was typical of Annabeth, and that Percy went along with it was just as typical. Gods, I should have known we'd end up at Paris with these two on the quest. Where else would we go? As much as I greatly disliked the idea, I'd keep quiet, if only for Annabeth's sake. Seeing the Eiffel Tower seemed like her kind of thing.
As we took seats towards the front of the bus, just so we were close to the entrance, others passed by us to settle down. Percy and Annabeth sat together, with Nico and Amber across the aisle, while I sat behind Annabeth, Raevin on the seat next to me with her head on my lap. When she started talking, however, I began to wish I had sat behind Amber instead, if only because the constant facts about Paris were annoying, even if they did make Annabeth… well, Annabeth.
Some of them were interesting to hear, of course. Like how the Champs-Élysées was one of the most famous streets in the world and the name was actually French for Elysian Fields, better known as Elysium to half-bloods these days. That was the fact that stayed in my head the most, if only because of its connection to our world. Most of the rest just stayed jumbled in my head with all the other facts stuck up there from the years I had known Annabeth.
Eventually, I just tuned her out and leaned my head against the window with my eyes closed, rubbing Raevin's fur. I put my bag on the floor rather than one of the overhead racks for easier access. It didn't take me long to begin dozing after that, my hand resting on Raevin's head.
At one point, Annabeth and Percy had turned around to see how I was doing, and Annabeth poked me awake. I just blinked once before shooting them both a glare. In response, they pointed out the window, where I was startled to see a herd of centaurs running along before disappearing into some trees. It appeared the monsters and creatures of Olympus hadn't all left Europe and other parts of the world like I had thought. Honestly, I just had never thought about them still being in Europe unless the gods sent them there for some reason or another. Now it's obvious many just stayed behind when Olympus moved.
After that, I remained awake, looking out the window at the passing scenery. It was because of this that I spotted the trouble first. After gently moving Raevin off my lap, waking her slightly before she curled up on her seat alone, I had moved to sit on my legs and stretch, looking out the front window as we neared a town, when I saw them. Empousai.
Looking at the others, I saw they had all fallen asleep like I had before. Quickly slipping on my pack and waking Raevin with my movement, I prodded Annabeth in the back, sliding my hand between her seat and Percy's, until she woke up. Once she saw the danger, she began to wake Percy up, while I leaned over to shake Nico, who in turn woke Amber. Amber actually woke the easiest of us, with just a single touch making her eyes fly open as she looked around.
Just as we pulled into a gas station for a break and a chance to stretch our legs, the Empousai attacked. They raced to where the bus was and began climbing up the sides of it, most likely attempting to draw us out. Without even saying a word, we all knew the general consensus was to draw them away from the mortals, and we moved.
Being right at the front of the bus, Percy moved and hit the switch that opened the door as he led us off, calling out, "Come and get us!" to the Empousai. We raced around to the back of the station, monsters right behind us. Mortals took the chance to get off the bus and use the restroom or find food or just to stand, not even noticing us now.
My bow and quiver appeared, while Percy uncapped Riptide, Nico drew his sword, Annabeth pulled out her knife, and Amber twisted her ring around so the stone faced outward when she held up her hands. This time, there would be no talking with the Empousai as the fight began almost immediately. They didn't even bother attempting to charm Percy and Nico.
There were six Empousai, and they all charged forward, mouths open with teeth poised to bite into one of us. One neared Amber, who ducked and moved around behind her, hands glowing purple as the Empousa froze in place, hands suddenly tied up with rope behind her back. Percy simply step-sided an attack from another and swung Riptide, turning the Empousa to dust. Nico's sword just absorbed the essence of an Empousa that dared to go near him, while Annabeth put on her cap and disappeared, only for another Empousa to become dust.
The final two Empousa ran at me, most likely figuring they should get in close to I couldn't use my bow. One fell to an arrow before the other was in too close for me to use my bow. Dropping it, knowing it would disappear before it even hit the ground due to a thought, I crouched before lunging at the final Empousa, drawing a hunter's knife and cutting it deeply through the neck. Dust covered me, and I coughed slightly, wiping it off of me.
Amber's Empousa was still trapped in her magic and the rope, not even struggling. As we all moved closer, Amber held the Empousa in place with her right hand and pulled her Celestial Bronze sword from its sheath with her left, stabbing the monster in the stomach. The Empousa turned to dust, and Amber's rope disappeared as her hands ceased glowing purple and she lowered the sword.
"Are we going to be able to go anywhere without my mother sending monsters to attack us?" the younger girl sighed, sheathing her sword.
"I don't know," Nico said. We all understood her despair. When our parents did these kinds of things, especially to our friends or ourselves, it was never easy to tell if they even cared for us. This was what had led to the Second Titan War, leading so many demigods to follow Kronos rather than fight him. Things were getting better, but it would still take time.
"I don't think she's trying to kill us, though," Percy said, glancing at Annabeth, who nodded.
"The monsters are too easy, not numerous enough," she agreed. "If she wanted to really hurt us, she'd send stronger monsters and enough to actually give us a challenge. These are just coming to slow us down so we can't stop her in time." Amber perked up at that news.
"Either way, we'd better hurry if we want to use the bathroom and find food for the bus," I said. "It's probably going to be leaving soon."
The others nodded, and we hurried to get ready to leave again. Hopefully the rest of the trip would be monster-free. I had a pretty good feeling it would be.