Chapter 37: The Differences Between Mortals, Gods and Demigods

"I've been expecting you, Percy," my dad said calmly.

"P-P-P-Poseidon!" the seahorse Delphinius blurted.

"Now, now, Delphinius, you know that I've been expecting him. Let's not play your psychological jokes on my son please," Poseidon said, "He never was the sharpest knife in the drawer..."

Gee....my own dad undermining my intelligence, now that...stung.

"Yes sir," Delphinius responded.

"Honestly!" my dad said, shaking his head. "Percy, come with me now."

I followed him, with Delphinius close behind.

Why are you following me again?

"Because, I feel like it," the seahorse responded.

...Sure... Wait. How did he know what I was thinking?

"You're quite easy to read," the seahorse answered.

"Delphinius!" Poseidon said.

"Shutting up now," the seahorse said.

That is one DANG smart seahorse.

"I'm not a seahorse, I'm a human," the seahorse said.

I froze.

"You're a...human?"

Delphinius burst out laughing.

"What, you think a seahorse has an IQ of 200? Yeah...right," he said, "Poseidon gave me this form so I could serve him under the water."

200...that's even smarter than Wise Girl, or anyone else at camp.

"Yes that's right. Mortals are smarter than demigods and demigods are smarter than gods," the seahorse continued.

What? I'm smarter than a god. I looked to my dad, who was walking forwards and not looking back.

"Well sure, because gods usually make poor decisions based on sudden impulses and well, demigods, having the characteristics of humans, usually think more about decisions they make. Of course, your experience doesn't even COMPARE to that of your dad's but intelligence-wise..."

"DELPHINIUS!" Poseidon roared.

The seahorse cringed in fear.

"Shutting up now, again..." he said.

He was silent for the rest of the walk, or more accurately, swim to the Ocean Palace. It wasn't particularly tiring, but the fish were boring me.

"Red...yellow...blue...yellow..." I noted as the fish swam by.

Almost 200 or so fish later, we arrived at our destination.

"Oh...my...god..."

"Welcome to my Ocean Palace," Poseidon said.

This place made the Forbidden City seem like a joke. I swear. Even Mt. Olympus was inferior compared to this. This was beyond the description of words. There were beautiful arches lined up against the large double doors, all draped with a thin layer of seeweed, swaying with the current. This way and that way...

The inside was even more magnificent. As my dad opened the door, I gasped in wonder as the various fish swam out to greet me.

"Hello, Perseus..." "Hey Percy!" "So, you're Poseidon's kid?" "..."

"Hey." I said back.

Poseidon clapped his hands and they stopped crowding over me.

"See ya later, kid," Delphinius called as he swam off to join the school of fish. He looked at me as if it was the end of the world.

As all the fish left the palace, the magnificent giant doors closed with little notice. My dad beckoned for me to follow him to his throne, and I did. What I didn't know that there was a tiny throne, right beside it, with my name in Greek carved into it.

That's a little...much...

"So, Percy, have a seat," he said, sighing, "This split personality of yours is becoming a bit of a problem for all of us gods."

I gulped. How did he know?