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Chapter 13-At Least I'm Not A Tree

Grover woke me just as we pulled into the train station. Since neither of us had bags, we climbed right off, and went to grab a cab. Nothing went wrong, which Grover and I both found suspicious. Especially after I heard on the cabbie's radio, "Rescue workers are racing to provide relief after the duel earthquake-tsunami near Los Angeles."

I gulped, and glance over at Grover. He looked nervous, and promptly stuck my coke can in his mouth. I just stared as he ate it. Man, satyrs were weird.

It started to pout. A crack of thunder echoed across the sky, making Grover and I jump. But no lightning followed. How could it? Though it made me wonder, "I thought thunder was caused by lightning. How can you have one without the other?"

Grover just gave me a 'seriously dude' look, and glanced out the window.

The path to school grew more rural, the road turning to dirt. That proved to be a problem. The pounding rain had turned the dirt to mud, and a quarte mile from school the cabbie stopped, telling us, "Sorry boys, but I'm gonna get stuck if I go any further. Can I bring you somewhere else?"

"We'll just walk," I told him with a sigh. This was bound to go poorly, but we didn't have a lot of choices. Until I was back at school, I wouldn't be safe. So I just paid the cabbie and climbed out.

The rain was freezing. Something told me Zeus was the only thing keeping it from flat out snowing. Snow, after all, was pleasant. This rain, which clung to my hair like icicles, was not. Grover seemed more bothered by it than me. As the rain flattened his hair against his head, I spotted two little horns. He pulled a cap from his pocket and tried to hide them, but the wind just knocked it off. Grover had to chase after it, revealing an awkward gait. When he returned, he was bright red, "Ah, sorry."

"Dude, it's cool. Don't be so embarrassed. So you're part goat and run funny. I'm part god and blow up bathrooms. It happens."

Grover seemed surprised by my frank assessment, but bleated (quite literally) his thanks. I smirked. Honestly, I decided I liked this nervous satyr after all, though I wasn't exactly sure how he could do any protecting. He didn't quite look like a fighter. I tried to remember if there were any myths about satyrs having super monster-fighting powers. Those would be pretty useful.

A giant gust of wind knocked me sideways, and I fell into the mud. Grover reached out and gave me a hand up. Together we pressed on, the storm growing worse around us, the thunder crackling dangerously without any lightning in sight.

We were at the bottom of Half-Blood Hill when I first heard someone call out from behind us, "Grover! Grover help me!"

Grover went rigidly still, then hurried forward, grabbing my arm to drag me up the hill. I turned my head, trying to see who was calling out, but noticed no one. Still, with the rain pouring down in buckets, I could hardly see five feet in front of me. There could easily be someone else out here, some girl calling for help. She didn't sound much older than me either, so I didn't get why Grover was just ignoring her.

I pulled away from Grover, prepared to run after the voice, but he hissed, "Percy, we need to run."

"Grover! Please, help!" the voice called out once more.

A tear slid down Grover's face, or maybe that was just the rain. But he grabbed my arm and tried to continue up the hill. I was stronger than him though, and just pulled away. Dashing towards her, I shouted, "We need to help her!"

"Percy! Wait!" Grover howled, but the wind and the rain were too strong, and I could hardly hear him. Not that I would listen. All I could think about was finding this girl, saving this girl. I wasn't going to lose anyone else, not like I'd lost my mom.

"Where are you!" I called, scanning the horizon for any sign of a girl. But I couldn't see anyone. Another gust pushed me backwards, and as I stumbled, I twisted my ankle. Pain shot through me, but I pushed it back. What did it matter if my ankle hurt? My mom was dead, and I wasn't going to let Hades take anyone else from me.

I told myself rain was still water, that it was the sea pouring down upon me. It wasn't entirely true, but I felt a surge of power anyways. Suddenly, I could see around me, and I noticed a form coming at me from a distance. Figuring it was my girl, I dashed towards it full speed. I drew Riptide, preparing to fight whatever was chasing her. Anger and power swirled within me, ready to do anything to protect this girl.

I could dimly hear Grover calling after me, but I was too focused on my target. Yet as I approached it, I realized something was wrong. The voice I'd heard calling was that of a young girl, but the person before me was tall, giant actually. I skid to a stop, but the muddy ground beneath me didn't hold, and I fell once more. The towering figure finally came into view, and my heart stopped. It wasn't a girl at all. No, it was a lumbering man, tall, burly, and in the center of its face, a single green eyeball.

It smiled at me. "Hello, brother. I shall eat you now in the name of Poseidon."

I heard the clomping of hooves- Grover must have lost his shoes- and from behind me the satyr called, "Percy, it's not a girl. Thalia is dead! And the only one who knows that voice is…AHH!"

Grover froze when faced with the cyclops. Thank gods he did, though, because his arrival was just the distraction I needed to scramble to my feet. The mud made it difficult, but I refused to die lying down. A voice in my head urged me to give up, give in, die so I could be with my mother again. But I knew that wasn't what she would want, and quite frankly, it wasn't what I wanted either. I wanted to live. I wanted to fight.

"Hello Grover," the cyclops chimed, still using Thalia's voice. "Five years I have waited to eat you, but this time there are no little girls with knives."

I remembered Annabeth telling me she'd once saved Thalia and Luke by stabbing a cyclops in the foot. It had been a good plan, for a seven year old, but it wasn't going to help me now. I would have to do this the old-fashioned way.

I drew Riptide, and slashed at the cyclops. I had hoped it was too busy looking at Grover to pay me any attention, but I wasn't that lucky. It saw my blow coming, and swung its long, clubby arms. My sword scraped against its side, but its arm hit me like a club, and I went soaring. Riptide flew from my hands, landing on the other side of the cyclops. There was no way I was getting to it; I would have to hope it would reappear in my pocket soon. Until then…

Grover was still standing just a few feet away from the cyclops, staring in horror. I shouted, climbing to my feet, "Grover, run!"

"No! Grover called. I'm not letting you sacrifice yourself for me. Not again!" Grover shouted back.

I wanted to scream at him for being stupid, but instead I just screamed, "No! We're both going to run. Come on! No one else is dying today!"

That Grover seemed to get onboard with. He took off running, and despite his awkward gait, he was fast. The cyclops smiled widely, glad to have a fight. It reached down, making a ball out of the mud and flung it towards me. I dashed to the side just in time. You wouldn't think mud would make a very good weapon, but the speed these balls were going, I knew they'd knock the wind out of me. I just had to run, and run fast. Once I made it past Thalia's tree, I would be safely at school. The daughter of Zeus had sacrificed herself to protect Luke and Annabeth, but her magic would protect me as well. Even from death, she'd thwart this cyclops's plans.

Little bit of advice- if you're ever running from a monster, don't run straight. Sure, it's faster, but it's also the best way for them to hit you with something. And don't just run in a perfect 's' either. They'll notice after two seconds and just throw where you're going to be. Dash fifty feet to the left, then run diagonally twenty feet to the right, and then backtrack five feet. You'll look stupid, sure, but you might just live.

I ducked and bobbed around, all the while making my way up the hill. I was mostly focused on not-dying, but I kept looking over to make sure Grover hadn't gotten himself in any trouble. Actually, the half-goat seemed to be making good time; I guess hooves are good for something. He was further up the hill than I was. Soon enough, I was only ten yards away.

"Ah! Grover, help me!" I called, except, of course it wasn't me calling out. The cyclops, it seemed, could do multiple voices. It took even me a moment to realize that though, and it slowed me down. Suddenly I turned to see Grover was still running, but in the wrong direction. He was heading towards the cyclops.

"Grover, I'm over here. Just keep going!" I shouted, but the wind and the rain were too heavy for him to hear. Son of Poseidon and all, I could see through the rain a lot better than Grover. He had no idea I was alright, and he was running back to save me.

He's a protector. It's his job to protect you, Percy. Just make it over the boarder and you'll be safe. There's no point in dying with him.

I cursed the little voice in my head, and promptly ignored it. I turned around, running towards the cyclops. Mid-charge I realized Riptide had probably returned to my pocket, and pulled her out. Honestly, I probably looked pretty stupid running down the hill, slipping and sliding in the mud, sword in my hard, yelling "AHHHHH" into the blistering wind. But it certainly got the cyclops's attention. It turned away from Grover and picked up a big rock to toss at me.

A knot formed in my throat, but I didn't stop or hesitate. I continued my charge, holding Riptide level. Only at the last second did I swerve to avoid getting hit. I came upon the cyclops form the side, swinging Riptide with all my might. The cyclops was so surprised, it didn't have time to respond. It vaporized on the spot.

"Thank… thank you," Grover stammered, eyes wide.

I smiled at him, "Hey, I wasn't going to let him eat you. Then I'd have to become a vegetarian, and that would be a major buzz-kill."

Grover clearly didn't know how to respond to that, so he just bleated. I clapped him on the back, and returned to climbing up the hill. Now that the battle was over, the rain didn't seem to energize me anymore. Maybe it was my lack of sleep, or the power exerted in the battle, or maybe the earth itself was trying to suck me down, but it was a lot harder to climb Half-Blood Hill than it should have been. Finally though, we made it to the top. I caught sight of Thalia's tree in the distance, standing guard forever and ever. I didn't know whether to feel grateful for her sacrifice, or just sad. Her dad had broken his oath, same as mine, but Thalia had suffered for it. My mom had suffered for it too. As for me…

I was safe for the moment, but I doubted it could possibly stay that way.

It never rained at school. Annabeth said it had something to do with the magic borders, but the weather always seemed clear and fair. Sure, we got just enough of a chill to watch the leaves change, but not more than that. As for rain, that we never got any of.

Until that day. As we neared the main school building, I realized the rain hadn't lessened or stopped. That certainly wasn't a good sign. If the magical barriers were letting the weather in… well that meant Zeus had ordered them too. The thought left my stomach twisted in knots. If Zeus could get his storm across the camp borders, what was to stop him from just killing me in my bed?

"Chiron wanted me to bring you to the Big House when you got here," Grover admitted. "But maybe Apollo House should take a look at you first."

I frowned, "Why? I'm not hurt."

Grover looked at me like I was crazy, and I realized, he was right. I was hurt. Now that I thought about it, my ankle throbbed where I'd twisted it, and since the cyclops had clubbed me right in the ribs, that explained the splitting pain in my sides. I wondered how I hadn't even noticed. Adrenaline I guessed. Wow. That was… that was kind of scary, actually.

"They'll just give me ambrosia and nectar," I told Grover, forging ahead to the Big House. "I'm sure Chiron will have the same, and I just want to get this over with."

I noticed a few people glancing out of their house as I passed, but no one came out to greet me. That left a sour taste in my mouth, but I tried not to think too much about it. Instead, I tried to plan what I would say to Chiron. He'd be mad I'd snuck onto Olympus, but he was usually pretty fair. I hoped he'd believe I was no thief. But if Mr. D was there as well… well I'd seen him on Olympus, and he'd done nothing to support me. In fact, he was the one who'd pushed my dad, dropping hints to push my dad into claiming me. No, Mr. D was no friend of mine. He hated all demigods on principle, which was ironic, because if I remembered right he'd started life as a demigod.

But maybe that's why he hated us. Maybe seeing us reminded him of how hard life had been before he was a god. If I remembered right, Hera had tricked his mom into getting herself killed. Dionysus had only survived because Zeus sewed him into his leg… which was weird. But that meant Mr. D knew what it was to lose your mom to the jealousy and bickering of the gods. Maybe that should have meant he'd be understanding, sympathetic even, but bad memories make people do all kinds of crazy things. And Mr. D was also the god of insanity.

I hoped for about .2 seconds he wouldn't be there, but the moment I crossed the threshold of the house, I saw Mr. D and Chiron next to each other, arguing. They went silent when they saw me, but that just proved I had no luck at all. Not that I really needed any more evidence at that point.

Chiron looked relieved, and smiled at me. He was in wheelchair form, and rolled over. "Percy, my boy, I am glad to see you are alright. You as well, Grover. Why don't you go clean up? Percy shall be alright from here on out."

I doubted I would be 'alright', but Grover looked nervously over at Mr. D, so I felt bad for the guy and told him, "Thank again, Grover. It was nice to meet you."

"Yeah… you too Percy," Grover nervously said, and then the satyr proceeded to flee from the Big House, leaving little hoofprints of mud on the ground. Suddenly, I was alone. It occurred to me that if Mr. D killed me now, Chiron would be the only witness, and what could he do against a god? But Chiron, at least was pretending not to look worried, which I guess was good enough for the moment.

"Here, eat, you'll feel better," Chiron said, offering me a square of the godly food. I nibbled on it cautiously, because Annabeth had once said too much ambrosia could cause demigods to spontaneously combust. But nothing like that happened. The godly food tasted wonderful, like my mom's blue chocolate chip cookies. Except the thought of my mom made me sad, so I finished the square slowly, and looked for no more.

The food did make me feel better though. I was still sore, but I didn't feel as if I'd been hit by a truck… maybe just a car, or even a bicycle, if I was being positive. At least I could move without feeling as if my whole body was about to fall apart. That was a good thing for sure.

"Come, Percy. Sit down so we may talk."

Chiron's voice was calm, pleasant. Mr. D's expression was not. I was vividly reminded of the fact that Zeus was his dad. The expression upon his face reminded me distinctly of my interactions with the stormy king of the gods. I just knew this was going to be a mess, but I didn't have any choice but to shuffle in behind Chiron and sit down. The whole time Mr. D glared at me. I couldn't help it; I met his gaze and held it. Sure, submission would have been the smart thing to do, but the gods were bullies. They were powerful bullies, sure, but I wasn't going to let them get away with it anymore than I'd let Clarisse.

Mr. D, much to my surprise, didn't kill me for my insolence. He just sat back in his chair, breaking off eye contact, and said, "So, you're alive. I suppose that's good news for you. As for the rest of us, it means a great deal more trouble. It would have been much more considerate for you to have died."

Chiron sighed, seemingly exasperated, but even he could only contradict the god so much. Instead he just said, "I am glad to see you unharmed, Percy, but I must ask what happened. I awoke this morning to all my students having been kicked out of Olympus, and the news that you stole Zeus's Master Bolt."

"I didn't steal it!" I said. I was starting to sound like a broken record, but what else could I say? It was the truth, even if no one else wanted to believe it. "Look, I'll admit to sneaking onto Olympus. I needed to know if I was right, if Poseidon really was my father, so Annabeth lent me her cap, and I went. Zeus even thought it was funny at first! Then all of a sudden I'm being dragged from my bed at spearpoint and called a thief. Zeus didn't care about the truth. None of the gods did! My father only claimed me so Zeus couldn't just kill me on the spot!"

"Are you accusing the King of the Gods of being unfair?" Mr. D asked, leaning over the table and staring down at me.

Once more I met and held his gaze, saying, quite simply, "Yes, I am. He wasn't fair. None of you were."

Mr. D smirked, and sat back. "I won't disagree. Frankly, I would have been glad to see one less half-blood wandering the earth, and I think my own punishment is proof of my father's fairness. A hundred years at this school over one little nymph- can you believe it!"

I never thought I'd say this, but Mr. D was right. His punishment was unfair. Except it was unfair to us, not to him. (Well, maybe I was mad enough at Zeus to sympathize with even Mr. D a little.)

Chiron said nothing. I didn't quite understand his relationship with the gods, but he at least seemed to believe me, "Very well. What happened afterwards? How did you come to be so… bruised."

The story spilled out. I told Chiron about the pearls and appearing in my apartment. I told him about the confrontation with Gabe, and going to the diner with my mom. My voice choked up a little bit as I tried to explain the attack in the train station, I couldn't bring myself to actually say the words 'and they killed my mom'. I just skirted around it, though from the sympathy in Chiron's eyes, he clearly understood. I explained how I'd met Grover on the train and decided it couldn't hurt to trust him. How the storm had broken down the taxi and we had to walk. I confessed to being tricked by the cyclops, and the fight. When I was finally done, I found my mouth dry and my hands shaking.

Chiron broke off another little piece of ambrosia and offered it to me. When I bit down, it tasted almost bitter. I supposed, now that my mom was dead, her cookies couldn't do much to help me anymore. I was on my own.

"Percy, I am terribly sorry about your mother. She sounds like a very brave woman and to lose her now… I am sorry. The creatures you describe sound like the Kindly Ones, Hades's servants. The Lord of the Underworld has never been friend to his brothers' children, but knowing both Zeus and Poseidon broke their oath… I suspect it has caused him great anger. Had you not come immediately back here, you would likely have died alongside your mother."

I knew that. I'd known that since I'd first heard about Thalia. That didn't make me feel any better though. I was alive. My mom and Thalia weren't. If I ever left school again Hades would continue trying to kill me, and Zeus certainly wasn't innocent either. That had been no normal storm slowing me down. Maybe Zeus was too cautious to bring himself in direct conflict with Poseidon, but he'd certainly not hesitated to help Hades kill me.

"Unfortunately," Chiron continued, looking grave. "This matter shall not be resolved until the true thief is found. I must ask you Percy, did you notice anyone else acting suspicious during your time on Olympus? Is there anyone who might seek to frame you."

I paused for a moment, thinking. Unfortunately, I couldn't come up with anything. We'd all been together all day. After I crashed the trip, the house heads has stepped up their attention, and made sure no one else did anything problematic. Even Luke, the most laid-back head-of-house, had almost killed Travis and Connor for trying to steal from one of the merchant stalls. I didn't see how anyone could have stolen the Master Bolt without the rest of us noticing. Besides, even if someone had, surely it was impossible to hide Zeus's lightning bolt beneath your bed, and no one would have had time to stash it somewhere else.

"I don't know who did it, Chiron. I really don't. But it wasn't me."

Chiron studied my face for a long time, but finally nodded. "Very well, then. For now, we must simply hope this matter resolves peacefully. As for you, Percy, I think it would be best if you went to Poseidon House and rested. Ambrosia can only heal wounds with time."

A chill crept down my spine. Poseidon House. I had been thinking all morning about how it would be nice to return to Hermes House, to relax with Luke and laugh at his siblings' antics. But I wasn't going to. I'd been claimed, and my godly parent had his own house. It was just that no one had lived there in sixty years. I couldn't imagine the cobwebs. I couldn't imagine the loneliness.

In the end, it turned out that there weren't that many cobwebs. I suppose as I was fleeing for my life from monsters, Chiron had set the cleaning harpies to making the place livable. Someone had even brought over most of my things from Hermes House. They sat in a box by the doorway.

It was nice, I guess. The place smelled like the cabin in Montauk, though the joyous memories that evoked were dimmed by the ever-present ache of my mom's death. Past the main corridor, there was a little kitchenette, a lounge, a bathroom, and a few bedrooms. Since I was the only son of Poseidon, I had the whole place to myself. Never again would I be fighting for hot water in the shower, or awoken by the chaos of fifty kids in a building meant for 10. But the place felt cold, empty, and miserable compared to Hermes House. The only thing I liked about it was that it overlooked the beach. I'd have no trouble sneaking down to my father's domain from here… except knowing it was my father's domain made me not want to even look.

What I wanted most of all was to see Luke, so I was thrilled when he showed up at my doorstep with a few things the harpies had forgotten. Neither of us said anything at first. Instead a cold silence spread over us. I wondered if he was mad at me. He'd told me not to go to Olympus, that I was better off not pushing the question of my father. Last night on Olympus he'd mostly ignored me, just shaking his head. I'd attributed that to him being busy as a chaperone, but what if it was more. What if he was angry at me for not listening to him? If he was, I didn't know what I'd do. I was lonely enough in this house. If I lost my friend as well…

Finally, my voice cracking, I asked, "Are you going to say 'I told you so'?"

Luke leaned up against one of the walls, but shook his head. "No. Of course not, Percy. I'm not glad that I was right. I wish, for your sake, that I'd been wrong. I'm mad, but not at you."

"You're mad at the gods?"

Luke laughed, a humorless, dark laugh. "Aren't you? First Poseidon abandons you. Then Zeus tries to kill you. And your mom…. Gods, Percy, I'm so sorry. Chiron told me the Furies killed your mom, all because Hades is mad at his brothers? It's sick. They're gods. Masters of the Universe. But they act like children. They fight. And they kill. And we're always the ones who pay! Of course I'm angry at the gods! I have every right to be. We all do."

Luke words got under my skin, mostly because they were true. Every god I'd met so far had tried to kill me simply for existing. No… that wasn't true. "I'd love to see Zeus and Hades pay, but my dad's not like that. He's in trouble now too for claiming me, but he did so to save my life. He only left to protect me. He cares about me."

Luke looked out the window towards the sea. Then he sighed, "Percy, I'm sorry. I forget how much younger than me you are. When I was your age… well I wanted to believe my dad cared as well. But Percy, it's a lie. Poseidon doesn't care about you. If he claimed you, it wasn't to protect you, it was because he's trying to use you. I guarantee it. Maybe not today. Maybe not tomorrow. But he's going to ask something of you, and it's going to get you killed. Maybe then he'll be kind enough to turn you into coral or something, like Zeus was to Thalia."

The bitterness in Luke's voice was unmistakable. It made me nervous. But at the same time, I got it. I really did. What happened to Thalia was terrible, and Luke had been her friend. And from the way he said her name… I almost wondered if she'd been more than just a friend to him.

Which meant, as Luke's friend, I needed to tell him the truth about earlier before he heard it from someone else. "Luke, earlier today, Grover and I were chased by a cyclops. It was Thalia's voice. It said it had been chasing Grover for five years. I think… I think it was the cyclops that got Thalia killed, so I wanted you to know I killed it. It won't be impersonating her again."

I expected Luke to be relieved. Instead he just looked sad, "Yes it will, Percy. Monsters aren't like us, remember. When we die, we're just dead, but monsters… you kill them and they just come back. Maybe it takes five years. Maybe it takes fifty. But someday they all come back."

It almost made me wonder what the point of fighting them was then. If they were just going to come back in the end… but no. Maybe the monsters would just come back, but we still had to fight them. Otherwise we'd die, and that was one thing I was not willing to let happen.

"Well, at least Hades knows I won't be so easy to kill. He can kill my mom. He can send his monsters after me, but I'm not going to lay down and die."

Luke frowned, deeply. Then he shook his head, "Never mind. It was just a stupid thought."

"What?"

Luke was torn. Obviously he wanted to tell me, or he wouldn't have said anything at all, but there was some part of him, probably the 'adult' part in him which thought I was better off not knowing. But everyone had said I was better off not knowing why my father was, and look where that had gotten me. Luke must have agreed, because he finally admitted, "Percy… I don't know how to tell you this, and I don't even know if it means anything, but cyclopes… well they don't work for Hades. There are some that are rogue, and Zeus controls some, but if this was the same cyclops which fought us years ago… well Hades wasn't the only one trying to punish Zeus through Thalia. Poseidon was as well. Cyclopes work for him, Percy. Most of them are his children with nymphs or whatever. I mean it has to be a coincidence but…"

I shook my head cutting him off. No. I refused to believe my own father was trying to kill me. "Poseidon claimed me so Zeus didn't kill me. What would be the point of killing me now?"

Luke shrugged, biting his bottom lip, "I don't know Percy. Maybe your dad has decided you are a thief. Or maybe he just thinks you're not worth going to war over. If he was to kill you, Zeus and Hades would let him off the hook for breaking his oath. But I don't want you getting upset. It could just have been a coincidence."

He was saying that, but I could tell Luke didn't believe it. Luke had a lot more experience with the gods than I did. Had Zeus turned Thalia into a tree because he couldn't save her, or because he didn't want to? If I was to die, all my dad's problems would simply disappear. Things could go on as they always had. Actually, it seemed to me like the smartest thing Poseidon could do was kill me. If affection was the only thing stopping him… well he hadn't seemed very affectionate on Olympus.

Luke came over and grabbed my shoulder, squeezing it tight. Our eyes met, and there was a promise in Luke's gaze as strong as his words, "Percy, I'm not going to let the gods use you and throw you away. I swear on the River Styx, I will make this right, for you, for Thalia, for all of us."

A few weeks ago, after a rather unfortunate accident in Hermes House, Luke had given us all a lecture about not messing with oaths. Styx wasn't a dainty naiad; she was a primordial goddess. The disaster that was my life proved they were to be taken seriously. I was shocked that Luke would make such a promise. But I was happy as well. It was good to know that Luke was sticking by my side no matter what. Even if I was forced to live all alone in Poseidon House, I was still apart of his (dysfunctional) family. My mom was gone, but I didn't feel so alone.