Ch. 3

Luke winced when Grover pulled the spike from his shoulder. Whatever nature magic the satyr was trying to use wasn't working so well. The wound immediately began to gush blood as soon as the projectile came out. Grover scrambled to slow the bleeding but if anything, he seemed to be making it worse.

"Let me handle this," a male voice said, pushing Grover's fumbling hands away from the wound. Apollo muttered some kind of incantation and covered the gash with glowing hands. The pain immediately lessened and Luke could almost feel the skin knitting itself back together.

"That should do it," Apollo muttered pulling his hands away.

"Um, thank you, Lord Apollo." He said a little stunned he had just been healed by the god of medicine himself.

Apollo just nodded absentmindedly and turned back to his sister who had helped her hunters set up their camp so they could get to work on the wounded; which was a the majority of the hunters... Those with lesser wounds were working on the more severe.

Luke tried to follow Apollo with his eyes. He had seen the way Artemis and Apollo interacted during the Winter Solstice his first year in camp and from what he had seen; it was a pretty strict love/hate thing. Mostly Apollo aggravated the huntress who kept quiet save for an occasional jab at his intelligence or maturity.

Though his experience on their interactions was limited, he was still shocked when Apollo slipped an arm around his twin's shoulder and pulled her close in an effort to console her. He was pretty sure he had seen tears in the goddess' eyes after Perseus vanished but she was quick to wipe them away and turn stoic before any of her hunters noticed.

The entire situation confused the son of Hermes to no end but their behavior wasn't exactly on the top of his mind.

Thalia was gone; taken with the other two half-bloods to Hades knows where.

He couldn't shake the voice in the back of his mind telling him he'd never see her again. Thalia was his best friend and he'd just let her get snatched up by this mysterious god dude who up until that night, he'd pretty much considered the coolest thing since sliced bread.

He thought about the prospect of returning to camp, just him and Grover; having to tell Chiron and the campers that not only had he failed to save the two half-bloods but he'd managed to lose Thalia, the most powerful demigod he'd ever met and the daughter of Zeus himself.

Oh gods, he thought in horror as he imagined telling Annabeth that he'd lost Thalia. She was the closest thing to family either of them had... Those big grey eyes had a way to ripping his heart to pieces.

"Luke," Grover interrupted his thoughts and snapped him out of his trance. "What do we do?" The satyr had a look of hopelessness on his face. It wasn't that uncommon for Grover but Luke had a feeling he looked about the same.

Before he could try and answer him, one of the hunters approached them in their spot a little ways away from the hunters' camp. Luke recognized her instantly. She was the one who had almost been snapped in half by Perseus. He also knew her from the past... She was the one who had tried to recruit Thalia and Annabeth into the hunt while they were on the run, tried to strip him of his only friends and leave him all alone to run from the monsters.

"Zoë," he said coldly. "What can I possibly do for a hunter?"

Zoë gave him a slight glare but she seemed a little out of it, much like Apollo and Artemis looked. He wondered if she knew who Perseus was too and would have asked had she not pointed towards the tents before he could speak.

"Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo wish to speak to thee." There was definitely something off with Zoë. Not that he claimed to know or want to know anything about the huntress, but in their few interactions, she had never passed on a chance to insult him for having the gall to be a male.

He looked at where she was pointing and climbed to his feet. He stepped towards the tent when Zoë's voice stopped him.

"Not you, satyr." She held a hand in front of Grover, preventing him from following Luke.

"Don't tell him what to do." Luke snapped. "He's not one of your hunters and doesn't take orders from you."

Zoë's eyes flashed dangerously but Grover quickly butted in to prevent a potential standoff.

"It's okay Luke, Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo want to speak to you. I will, uh, see if I can do anything to help the hunters with the wounded."

Luke kept his eyes on Zoë, almost daring her to say something else. But Zoë just nodded, "Thank you satyr, we have many injured. Perhaps some of thy nature magic can help speed up the healing."

Grover's eyes lit up at the chance to help the hunters and use his nature magic. He trotted off towards the hunters' tents, digging through his pack for anything that might help with healing.

"That satyr has a name, hunter," Luke said coldly. "It's Grover."

Zoë looked like she wanted to snap back but then thought better of it and just pointed towards the tent.

"Lady Artemis and Lord Apollo do not like to be kept waiting."

He was surprised she didn't retort back with some kind of insult. He started to walk towards the tent, hoping he might find out something about where Thalia might have been taken.

When he walked through the tent flap, he froze in his tracks for a moment. The tent was obviously enchanted because it was much larger on the inside than it looked on the outside. The floor was covered in furs from different animals; bears, foxes, lions, tigers and just about anything else that could be hunted for sport. The walls were decorated with the pelts of even more animals, ones from all over the world. If a member of PETA stepped into this tent Luke figured they might have something to say about all the dead animal furs. But being goddess of the hunt and wilderness and whatever else Artemis was, he guessed she could probably repopulate whatever she killed so he doubted the pelts of the endangered animals would be hurting their species populations.

Artemis was seated Indian style on the far side of the tent. She looked like she was petting a huge stuffed animal but when the golden stag raised its head to look at Luke; he quickly realized it was very much alive.

Apollo was a few feet away from his sister. He hadn't even looked up when Luke entered. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, pacing back and forth and threatening to burn a hole straight through one of Artemis' fur rugs.

"Brother," Artemis said softly and her tone surprised Luke. He'd never heard an immortal sound so... broken. It was like the fight with Perseus had sapped the life right out of her and she sounded like she was about to either pass out or break down in tears.

Apollo finally looked up and his expression wasn't any less surprising. He looked nervous and antsy... Like he was waiting for something bad to happen and had no idea when it was coming.

"Luke Castellan," Artemis said with a little more firmness in her voice. "Please sit," she gestured to a pillow that appeared by his feet. Luke took a seat and waited for the goddess to speak. But Apollo jumped in before she had a chance.

"What happened?" He blurted out and Artemis shot him a look of annoyance that he ignored, looking impatient for Luke's response.

"Uh, well, Lord Apollo..." He found the words hard to get out with Apollo looking at him so expectantly. "We came here for the two demigods... The other two that were taken, other than Thalia."

Apollo nodded impatiently, showing he was expecting more.

"Well, I got hit with one of the manticore's spikes and," he tried to lick his lips which were getting dry with Apollo staring at him. "Then the hunters showed up. And well, after that, that guy Perseus showed up and I think Lady Artemis knows better what happened then."

Apollo's eyes went wide and he closed the distance between them in an instant, "How do you know his name half-blood?" He pulled Luke up by the collar of his jacket and was holding his faces inches from his own, like he was trying to sniff out a lie.

"We... We... We saw him before. Two years ago, he appeared on Half-Blood Hill when we first arrived at camp. The three Furies and a pact of Hellhounds would have killed us if he hadn't saved us."

Apollo stared at him for a full five seconds before letting go of his jacket, apparently sensing no lies in his words.

"Why wasn't the council informed of this?" He tone was less angry and more confused now. "How is this the first I've heard of it?"

Luke just shook his head, "Chiron warned us not to repeat what had happened to anyone, not even the other campers. He said it would only bring hardship to us."

Artemis said something quick to her brother in ancient Greek, too quickly for Luke to catch it. Apollo calmed for the moment and his sister leaned forward looking very interested.

"Tell me son of Hermes, from the beginning, everything that happened on Half Blood Hill."

Luke recounted everything, from Perseus' creepy entrance, to dismantling the Furies and catching Chiron's arrow in midair and firing it back into his leg. By the end of the story, Luke thought he almost saw a little bit of a smile creep onto the goddess' face until it was wiped away by Apollo and her getting into a hushed and heated debate in ancient Greek. It was tough to hear but he managed to pick out a couple words; mother and the council.

By the end it seemed Apollo had won and he walked right past Luke without another word. From the blinding light that came from outside the tent, he clearly took his true form the second he was far enough away to not incinerate Luke; or Zoë, who had listened in silence at Artemis' side throughout the whole conversation.

"Lady Artemis," Luke asked after a moment of silence. "Who is Perseus?"

Zoë scowled at him, "That is not thy concern, bo..." She was stopped when Artemis raised her hand to her lieutenant.

"He deserves some sort of explanation, Zoë." The huntress frowned but didn't argue. Artemis took a breath like she was trying to steady her nerves or reel in her emotions. "Perseus is a god, a god who was exiled from Olympus long ago. It was believed he had faded or failed to escape Tartarus but it appears that was assumed in error."

Luke was positive there was a tone to Artemis' voice, almost like the fact was a relief to her.

"Exiled?" He asked; his curiosity peaked at what kind of act could get a god exiled from Olympus.

"A choice, made long ago that was unforgivable."

"What could a god do that earns him banishment from Olympus?"

Artemis exchanged a look with Zoë for some reason and then sighed, like it was something she didn't like talking about.

"There were many reasons but the final straw was when some of the gods planned to capture Zeus in a golden net."

"Capture Zeus?" Luke asked in shock.

"Yes," Artemis nodded, "But their plan was discovered and Zeus demanded the conspirators kneel before him and swear an oath of loyalty to him. The other gods behind to plan all knelt before Zeus but Perseus refused. He openly challenged Zeus for his right to rule Olympus and per the ancient laws, they fought for the right to rule the gods."

"He fought Zeus?" Luke's wonder got the better of him and the words just blurted out. Zoë unsheathed a hunting knife but Artemis stopped her with a hand.

"Yes and it was battle like none seen since the war with the Titans. In the end, Zeus was triumphant and he cast Perseus into Tartarus, exiling him for eternity from both the heavens and earth."

Luke tried to comprehend the story. How had he never heard about this? As if reading his mind, Artemis answered.

"His banishment included being stricken from history. Zeus ordered any record of him destroyed and he be erased from the histories of Olympus."

"So now he has Thalia, a daughter of Zeus. He's doing this to get back at Zeus." Luke felt that nagging feeling that he'd never see Thalia again return even stronger.

"Not necessarily." Artemis said softly. Something was off about the way she talked about him. It was like she loved him and the thought of this jerkoff being evil was something she couldn't accept.

"He's evil." Luke said bluntly. "I need to get back to Camp Half-Blood. We need a quest to find Thalia."

A look of anger flashed through Artemis' silver eyes and it was more than enough to quiet him down real quick.

"You presume much, boy." The venom in her voice made him shiver.

Luke watched the anger in her eyes fade and be replaced by a sadness that he had seen when he first walked in. Suddenly a thought popped into his head and before he could stop himself, he said it aloud.

"He's your brother."

Silence.

Artemis stared at the son of Hermes, trying to comprehend how he had figured it out. Then her head dropped and her body seemed to slouch like that statement took the life out of her.

"He was many things, but yes, he was my brother."

Line Break

Thalia felt herself emerge from the darkness that had engulfed her when Perseus kidnapped her and the other two unknown demigods. When she opened her eyes, she found herself in a sunny room, seated on a luxurious chair. The other two demigods were seated on a plush couch looking just as confused as she was.

Before she could even say anything, the young boy broke into tears and his sister wrapped her arms around him, trying to console him despite her own look of fear.

Thalia's hands went to her neck and found the shackle was gone. She looked at her wrist and breathed a sigh of relief, Aegis was still there. She could feel the canister of mace in her pocket, her disguised spear. Though she doubted they would help in a fight against this guy, she was relieved she at least had a way to defend herself.

Just as she was about to say something to the girl about making a break for it, Perseus materialized along with a chair across from her, his dark eyes staring right through her and making her gulp nervously.

She swallowed her fear though and glared at him, "What do you want? And what are you?"

Perseus raised an eyebrow and Thalia worried he was about to blast her. But his lips curled into an amused smile and he nodded at her.

"How rude of me, where are my manners?" He stood up and made an over exaggerated bow at her. "I am Perseus, the God of Night and son of Zeus and Leto."

Thalia's eyes went wide, "You're brother to Apollo and Artemis?"

His smiled vanished and a sneer covered his face, "I severed all connections to Olympus." He spat and she immediately knew that was a touchy subject.

"Right," she said awkwardly and then remembered she really didn't care if he didn't like it; he had just kidnapped her and two kids. "Well whatever, I really don't care about you or your shitty relationship with them. What do you want with us? If you brought us here to kill us, just be done with it."

The smile crept back onto his face and somehow Thalia could tell it wasn't condescending or vindictive.

"I'm not going to hurt you, any of you." He looked at the two siblings and tried to ease their worries, not that it helped much. "I brought you three here to help you," he paused, "well, I think we can help each other. I know these two are still in the dark but surely you have heard about the great prophecy, right?"

Thalia's eyes widened a little. She'd heard about the great prophecy... Hades, it was all she heard sometimes; everyone thought it was about her. But the thing about it was, she didn't actually know the prophecy.

"Ah," Perseus nodded like he knew what she was thinking. "Know of it but don't know it, right? Typical of the gods, hiding the truth from heroes. Well, let me enlighten you on what waits in store for you if you live to be sixteen." He cleared his throat and looked at her seriously.

"A Half-Blood of the eldest gods,

shall reach sixteen against all odds

And see the world in endless sleep

The heroes soul, cursed blade shall reap

A single choice shall end their days

Olympus to Preserve or Raze."

Thalia stood like a statue in her spot until she took a step back and fell back into her chair. She tried to digest the words she'd just heard; the line about a single choice ending her days playing back and forth in her mind.

"I die." It wasn't a question. She just said it out loud because she needed to hear it so it would fully sink in. "These past two years, all the talk about being the chosen one and its being chosen to die?" She could feel the anger start to swell inside her. She felt like everyone, Chiron, the older campers, the gods, had lied to her since she first got to camp. They acted like it was an honor. Some friends they were.

Perseus looked a little sympathetic but gave her a moment to digest the significance of what she'd just heard. Thalia looked over at the other two half-bloods. The boy had stopped crying; both he and his sister were staring at her, obviously confused but seeming to understand something bad had just happened.

"Who are they? Why did you take them too? Why do you need us all?"

Perseus sat back down in his chair, crossing his legs and resting his ankle on his knee.

"I was hoping to ease them into it but I suppose it's better to just get it out there and explain later. Thalia, this is Nico and Bianca Di Angelo, they are children of Hades." Thalia's eyes went wide but he continued before she could speak. "You three, as far as I know, are the only living demigod children of the three eldest gods. So if this prophecy comes to pass, one of you three will be the one."

Things started to come together for Thalia and a dark thought crossed her mind, "You're hoping to use one of us, whichever is willing to do what you want. You want to destroy Olympus, don't you?"

Perseus' lips curled and a smile crept onto his lips again, this one making Thalia shiver.