After a couple of minutes of walking, Percy found a fountain in a corner garden and he sent an Iris-message to Tyson. Annabeth explained that if Iris wasn't too busy, she would take calls from demigods if they had a golden drachma and created mist.
"O goddess, accept my offering," Percy said. He tossed the drachma into the fountain.
"Show me Tyson," Percy requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes."
Cyclopes? Then Max was looking at a Cyclops who was working on a sword as sparks flew and fire swirled around his body.
"Tyson!" Percy called. Tyson turned, and Max blinked. He had one eye.
"Percy!" Tyson said. His face broke into a crooked grin. "And Annabeth! She is safe!"
"Percy never said anything about having a monster as a brother," Max whispered.
"He's not like other monsters," Annabeth whispered back. "He's on our side. He helped us last year to save Grover."
Max nodded as Percy told Tyson about their adventure and about Bessie—Tyson wanted to hear every little detail—and Percy assured him that Annabeth was safe. Percy finally got around to tell him about his damaged shield.
"Yay!" Tyson said. "That means it was good! It saved your life!"
"It sure did, big guy," Percy said. "But now it's ruined."
"Not ruined!" Tyson promised. "I will fix it next summer."
"Seriously?" Percy asked. "They'll let you take time off?"
"Yes! I have made 2,741 magic swords," Tyson said, showing Percy the newest blade. "The boss says good work! He will let me take the whole summer off. I will visit camp!" Then he finally noticed Max.
"Who are you?" Tyson asked.
"This is Max," Percy said. "And Max, meet Tyson."
"Hello," Max said.
"Hi!" Tyson said. He waved. Then everyone jumped in and they started talking until Tyson's boss had started yelling at him. He had to get back to work, and Percy reluctantly cut the connection.
Percy dug out his last drachma and made one more Iris-message.
"Sally Jackson," he said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."
The mist shimmered, and there was Percy's mom at the kitchen table, laughing and holding friends with a male friend.
Percy raised his hand to cut the connection, but his mom saw him.
Her eyes got wide. She let go of the man's hand real quick. "Oh, Paul! You know what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?"
"Sure, Sally. No problem."
As soon as he left the room, Percy's mom leaned towards the Iris-message. "Percy! Are you all right?"
"I'm, uh, fine," Percy said. "How's that writing seminar going?"
Percy's mom pursed her lips. "It's fine. But that's not important. Tell me what's happened!"
Percy and Annabeth filled her in as quickly as they could and introduced Max to Sally Jackson. She sighed in relief when she heard that everyone was safe.
"I knew you could do it!" Sally said. "I'm so proud."
"Yeah, well, I'd better let you get back to your homework."
"Percy," Sally said, "I...Paul and I—"
"Mom, are you happy?" Percy asked.
Sally hesitated. "Yes. I really am, Percy. Being around him makes me happy."
"Then it's cool. Seriously. Don't worry about me."
"You promise not to call him Mr. Blowfish?"
Percy shrugged. "Well, maybe not to his face, anyway."
"Sally?" Paul called from the living room. "You need the green binder or the red one?"
"I'd better go," Sally said. "Oh, and Max, if you decide to leave Westover, you're always welcome at the Jackson household."
Max had forgotten all about Westover. "Thanks, Ms. Jackson."
"Please, call me Sally," Sally said. She turned to Percy. "See you for Christmas?"
"Are you putting blue candy in the stocking?"
Sally smiled. "If you're not too old for that."
"I'm never too old for candy."
"I'll see you then."
Sally waved her hand across the mist. Her image disappeared, and Max said, "Your mom's really cool."
"Yeah," Percy said. "She really is."
-:-:-:-
Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. On the Friday before Christmas, there was hardly anyone on Fifth Avenue. Argus picked up Annabeth, Grover, Max, and Percy at the Empire State Building and ferried them back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.
After they arrived at camp, they trudged up Half-Blood Hill and entered the Big House, where they were greeted by Chiron with hot chocolate and sandwiches. Grover went off with his friends to tell them about the encounter with Pan's magic. Within an hour, the satyrs were running around, demanding espressos.
Annabeth, Max, and Percy sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, the Stoll twins, and a girl that Max didn't recognize. She had a scar on her chin.
"I got news," the girl mumbled. "Bad news."
"I'll fill you in later, Clarisse," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"
Annabeth smiled at Max and Percy, and the latter looked away, deep in thought.
"I spoke to my mom," Max said. "Annabeth is right. Luke's still alive."
Annabeth sat up. "How does your mother know?"
"Luke fell off the cliff. He wasn't wounded by a weapon," Max explained. "And Kronos can use magic to revive him or something."
"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."
Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire, he looked so old.
"Two years may seem like a long time," he finally said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."
"How are you so sure?" Max asked.
"The gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous...We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but we do not know exactly how they will attack the camp." Chiron sat up and got out of his magical wheelchair. "That is enough for now. I assume that the three of you are tired from the que—"
There was a knock on the door and Bianca came into the parlor, her cheeks red from the cold. She couldn't see Max from where she was standing.
"Hey!" Bianca said. "Where's Max?"
"Right here," Max said. He raised his hand.
Bianca looked relieved. She looked at Chiron. "Is the meeting finished?"
"Yes, you can talk with him."
Max reluctantly got out of the comfortable chair. Percy and Annabeth followed. "Let's go, Bianca."
-:-:-:-
They stood at the dining pavilion, where the wind was bitter cold. Snow fell lightly against the marble steps.
"So Zoe and Phoebe died," Bianca said. "One shall be lost in the land without rain. Where was that?"
"Hephaestus's junkyard," Max said. "Talos could only be activated by someone taking something. No one took anything. I'm sure of it."
"So what do you think?" Annabeth asked.
"We talked with Ares after we talked to Aphrodite," Percy answered. "He may still have a grudge against me, so he could've done something."
"Why did you talk with Aphrodite?" Annabeth asked.
Percy and Max shared a glance. "Nothing important," Percy said. "Man, I hope Zoe and Phoebe are in Elysium. They deserve it."
"They are," Bianca said. "They've already been evaluated by the judges. I can feel it."
Max, Percy, and Annabeth looked at her in shock. "How do you know that?" Annabeth asked.
Bianca didn't answer, because Max heard a familiar hissing and clattering noise. He whirled around and found six skeleton warriors.
"Spartoi!" Annabeth gasped. "How did they get in here?"
"Doesn't matter!" Percy said. "Someone call Chiron!"
The first warrior charged at Max, who kicked it in the stomach before pulling off the dragon tooth from his bracelet. He stabbed the warrior in the stomach, where it burst into ashes.
Percy knocked aside the blade of one warrior before slicing another one in half and knocking the head off the other. They kept reassembling and fighting.
Max tried his best to get rid of the warriors, but they weren't giving him an opening now. He didn't hear Annabeth or Bianca, so he hoped they went to the Big House.
"We're gonna get overpowered!" Percy said.
Max didn't answer but feinted to the left of a skeleton before switching directions and decapitating it, but before he could sigh in relief, two warriors with batons jabbed Max in the ribs. Max fell down to the ground.
"Max!" Percy yelled.
"Get away from them!" yelled Bianca, with Annabeth and Chiron by her side. The ground rumbled under Max, and the skeletons froze. Max saw a crack in the ground and rolled away. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth as flames erupted from the fissure as the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!
There was silence. In the place where the skeletons had stood, a 20-foot long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. There was no other sign of the warriors.
Percy looked at Bianca. "How did you do that?"
Bianca looked troubled. "I-I don't know."
Percy helped Max up, who winced and held his ribs.
"You okay?" Percy asked.
"Yeah," Max said.
Chiron looked at Bianca with a troubled look. "It seems that my suspicions were confirmed."
"Suspicions?" Percy asked.
"Only one god has that same ability," Chiron said gravely.
"Who?" Max asked.
Before Chiron could answer, a black light suddenly started shining above Bianca's head. There was also a miniature bronze helmet surrounded with shadows around it.
Percy's eyes widened.
"The Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said.
"Whose symbol is that?" Max asked.
"Hades," Chiron answered. "Lord of the Dead."
"Hades broke the oath twice, then," Annabeth said. "None of the Big Three stuck to the oath."
"What oath?" Bianca asked. The helm had finally faded away.
"I don't think Hades broke the oath," Percy said. He turned to Bianca. "Did you happen to stay at the Lotus Hotel?"
"How did you know?" Bianca asked.
Percy and Annabeth exchanged a look.
"So they were stuck there for who knows how long," Annabeth said. "But how do we figure out which time period they were from?"
"Bianca," Max said, "who is president?"
"Bush," Bianca said matter-of-factly.
"And before him?" Max asked.
Bianca thought for a moment before answering. "FDR."
Everyone stared at her.
"Bianca, Franklin Roosevelt hasn't been president since World War II," Chiron said. "You were most likely born before the oath was created."
"So the whole prophecy thing," Max said. "Is it about Percy or Bianca?"
"My birthday is August 18th," Percy said. "When is your birthday, Bianca?"
"September 2nd," Bianca answered. "So Percy turns sixteen first."
"We can't tell anyone about this," Percy said. "If the gods find out—"
"They'll start fighting, and that's the last thing we need," Max said. "And if Kronos finds out..."
"He'll get Luke to go after me and Nico," Bianca finished.
"Luke has other things to worry about," Percy said. "Namely, me. I'm the child of the prophecy."
"You want to be responsible for the whole world?" Annabeth cried.
Percy didn't answer.
"Let's go to the Big House," Chiron said. He looked around warily.
The demigods followed Chiron to the Big House and into his office. Max saw a record player and a video projector, along with a computer and a boom box.
"So Chiron, do you really think the first attack will be here?" Max asked.
Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. Max could see smoke from Peleus at the pine tree.
"The attack will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. "This winter will be hard...the hardest for many centuries. It's best that you go home to the city, Percy; try to keep your mind on school. And rest. You will need rest."
Percy looked at Annabeth. "What about you?"
Annabeth's cheeks flushed. "I'm going to try San Francisco. Maybe I can keep an eye on Mount Tam, make sure the Titans don't try anything else."
"You'll send an Iris-message if anything goes wrong?"
Annabeth nodded. "But I think Chiron's right. It won't be until the summer. Luke will need time to regain his strength."
"And Max, you will go with Percy," Chiron said. "Enyo and I contacted your father. He agrees to let you stay with Percy until he returns."
"And Bianca?" Max asked.
"Nico and I will stay here until the end of the school year," Bianca answered, "so by the summer, we'll be trained. Deal?"
"Deal," Max said, grinning. "And Percy—"
Max was interrupted by Grover, who stumbled into the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale like he'd seen a specter.
"He spoke," Grover cried.
"Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said. He frowned. "What is the matter?"
"I...I was playing music in the woods," Grover stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"
"Who?" Annabeth demanded.
"Pan!" Grover yelled. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to...I have to find a suitcase."
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, wait for just a second," Percy said. "What did he say?"
"Just three words," Grover said. "He said, 'I await you...'"
And that's the end of The Son of Destruction: The Titan's Curse! I hope you enjoyed the story and thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed. The first chapter of The Son of Destruction: The Battle of the Labyrinth will be out soon. And with that, see you in the next book.