I arrived to find that not only were the campers recovered from an attack by two Colchis bulls, nasty machine things created by Hephaestus, but also to discover that Chiron was gone and had been replaced by a real asshole called Tantalus. I had a feeling I knew his name somehow, but right now I didn't care, I'll get back to him later. Snowstorm dropped me off directly where Percy and Annabeth were surprisingly also with Tyson, and flung my arms out so widely that I accidentally caught Annabeth in my grip too, though I pulled her in anyway to hug them both. "Thank the gods you're alright Perce! I stopped by the school. What in Hades' name happened?!" Rather sheepishly, Percy told me about the Canadian cannibals that had played dodgeball of death with bronze flaming balls with his head as a target. I paled and wavered slightly, growing unsteady on my feet with a groan. This had not been a good last day of school for either of us. Everyone was gathering for dinner which I had timed my arrival well for, though I felt bad I hadn't been able to help with the bulls, though Percy rather eagerly told me as we walked how Tyson has punched them into scrap metal. At first I couldn't believe it, confused as to how Tyson could somehow fireproof until Annabeth helpfully explained that Tyson was a Cyclopes, something I hadn't been able to see, of course. "Oh! Well that actually explains a lot. Hey Tyson! Thanks for saving Percy, you're a real hero." I told him which made him giggle and probably blush. Percy told me he blushed a lot around me. He gave me one of his bone crushing hugs that lifted me clean off the floor until I laughed and patted his back, politely requesting he put me down so that we could go get some food. The promise of food prompted Tyson to listen, and from there he followed after the three of us as Percy and Annabeth both got me up to speed. The reason why the camp was facing such danger and why monsters were able to get in was because someone had poisoned Thalia's tree. Luke. The magic was fading, and soon we would probably be overrun. I felt a dark twist of anger in my stomach but I held it back. Now wasn't the time to run away with rage. I had to think clearly and figure out how I could help. At the very least, I can make it impossible for the monsters to walk if I shake the ground well enough and focus the areas so that I didn't affect the rest of camp. I'll work on that.
In the meantime, I told Percy and Annabeth about meeting Lamia and even showed them her snakeskin which Annabeth was seriously impressed about, telling me that my strategy had been unorthodox and she wished she could have seen it in play, making me laugh. "Trust me, it was way scarier after I'd gotten a chance to catch my breath, and from now on I'm not going anywhere without a weapon. It would have made things so much easier if I'd at least had a knife." I told her and I heard her hum of agreement. Percy was glad that I'd thought ahead and brought him some of his own stuff, all the happier for finding a large bag of candy from mom's work, all of it blue of course. By this point we reached the mess hall where I followed Percy, listening to the murmurs of the kids around us, and most of them seemed disbelieving to see Tyson with us. I didn't understand the issue, but then again, I'm one of the newer people around here. I wasn't as clued in as some of the senior campers. Of course Mr D was absolutely ecstatic to see me and Percy again, drawling heavily as he acknowledged us, though he still got our names wrong.
You'd think he'd at least remember that we were siblings and had the same surname. I have no idea why he insists on calling me 'Libby Jepson'. I sniffed at the air, catching something that smelled like old paper that was near enough the point of disintegrating into dust. I made a face as Percy corrected Mr D of our names. Of course Mr D didn't care, but then he started to talk to someone next to him, and after a little while I guessed that this must be the new guy who'd replaced Chiron as activities director, Tantalus, and the source of that old papery smell. "These two, especially the boy, you need to watch. Poseidon's kids, you know."
"Ah! Those ones." The voice that answered sound like it was raspy and dry, in desperate need of a drink to quench his thirst because honestly, it sounded like his voice would crack and break if he spoke too loudly. "I am Tantalus. On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Perseus Jackson, I do expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble." Beside me I felt Percy tense as he repeated Tantalus's words, and inwardly I had a sneaking suspicion that his guy probably hated us kids as much as Mr D, who was forced to be here because Zeus was punishing him for chasing after a nymph he fancied. There was a snap of someone's fingers and a rustle of paper which drew my attention towards the table, though I couldn't tell what it was exactly. "Ah yes, of course the girl can't read. Shall we have someone read it aloud for you?" Tantalus offered mockingly and my brother almost leaped across the mess hall to punch the guy in the face. I smartly caught hold of him and hauled him back before he could do something stupid. From there Tantalus insinuated that Percy caused a lot of trouble last year, meaning that everything had been fault and this time Percy had to stop me from marching over there and decking him. Yeah. We hated this guy already.
Still it was rather satisfying when Tantalus tried to eat and drink and Percy whispered to me that his food kept on running away from him, giving us a larger hint as to who he was. I didn't care much for either him or Mr D, but both Percy and I grew defensive over Tyson when they ordered him to approach them so that they could decide his fate. They better not hurt him, otherwise I will make sure that I become a thorn in their sides for as long as I live. Tyson was a sweetheart, he wouldn't hurt a fly. Well…unless that fly happened to be two rampaging bronze bulls, but that's not the point. Considering there was very little we could do we assured Tyson that everything was going to be alright before sitting down at our table where pizza was being served. Despite everything, I was ravenous, though Percy didn't eat much. Before eating anything, we took part of our meal to the fire and made our offerings to the gods. I listened to Percy offer his to Poseidon, but there was no way I was going to do that. Instead, I took two slices of the five I had on my plate and tossed them into the flames as I felt them warm my face and listened to them crackling away as a pleasant aroma wafted around me from the smoke. "Hermes, accept my offering. Hades, accept my offering. I give thanks for the kindness you have both shown me in the past." If ever I verbally made an offering, it was to either Hermes or Hades.
Hermes because he had protected me from a monster when I'd first arrived here, and Hades because he had released my mom after Percy had given back his Helm of Darkness last year. He didn't have to do that, he could have held onto my mom's soul forever if he wanted, but in a sign of good faith, he'd let her go. No strings attached. Underneath my feet I felt the tiniest of tremors which went unnoticed by everyone else but I smiled, liking the thought that perhaps this was Hades telling me that he acknowledged my offering. Returning to my table, neither Percy nor I said a word and ate in silence until dinnertime was over and the announcements were made by Tantalus. "Yes, well. Another fine meal! Or so I'm told." I couldn't help but feel smug over how bitter and resentful he sounded. "And here on my first day of authority, I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture – er – interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat." No one laughed at his attempt at a joke, though some nervously clapped and I would guess that only Mr D would enjoy that kind of morbid humour since it involved us half-bloods being eaten. I think Mr D would just love it if some monster came and ate the lot of us. Then his punishment wouldn't be so tedious for him. "And now some changes! We are reinstituting the chariot race!" A murmur of mixed responses rippled amongst the campers, though having never experienced a chariot before, I said and did nothing. "Now I know, that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."
"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations." Someone from the Apollo cabin shouted out helpfully, which did not exactly instil reassurance in me over this decision.
"Yes, yes! But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days' time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?" Okay, so maybe this idea was starting to grow on me a little.
"But sir!" To everyone's surprise, it was Clarisse who protested. "What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots…"
"Ah, the hero of the day. Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!" Tantalus praised, completely neglecting the fact that it had actually been Tyson who'd done most of the work, but that didn't matter to him. However, again unexpectedly, Clarisse started to disagree, which made my eyebrow arch in her direction. Huh. Maybe there was more to Clarisse than anger and violence after all. "And modest, too. Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"
"But the tree…"
"And now, before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here." I bristled and started to rise from my seat, knowing damn well that Tantalus was now talking about Tyson in such a cruel manner. "Now of course, Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclopes is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes's cabin, possibly?" I wanted nothing more than to take the largest mound of brisket and shove it down that guy's throat, burning in outrage at the thought of using Tyson as hunting game. Hopefully, no one would dare try hurting him with the two children of Poseidon in his corner, though I didn't want to take any chances.
"We'll house him!" I near enough shouted as I shot to my feet, cutting across Tantalus who had started to drawl mockingly again about Tyson perhaps being useful for menial chores, but just as I felt his cold gaze swivel around to face me, I head a collective gasp which told me something had happened. I poked at Percy, silently ordering him to tell me what was going on, but he was completely silent. Suddenly everyone was laughing and I was more confused than ever.
"Well! I think we know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!" Punching Percy hard in the shoulder, he still remained unresponsive to me so I demanded to know what was happening since I was clearly missing something and one of the kids from the nearby table told me that Tyson had been claimed as a son of Poseidon because there was a glowing trident now shining above his head. My jaw dropped and I whirled around in disbelief. Poseidon? Aw great. Looks like he wasn't too cut up about my mom after all. At first I started to feel resentful towards Tyson, but then I scolded myself and reasoned that it wasn't Tyson's fault. We couldn't pick our parents. Unfortunately. Ignoring everyone's laughter, I called Tyson over and I heard him clumsily rush to our table and cower behind me, now realising just how frightened he was so I soothed him gently, patting his shoulder and promised him a nice bed to sleep in later. I spirited him away quickly after that, because to be honest I didn't feel like a sing-along, and I wanted Tyson out of there before Tantalus and Mr D changed their minds and turned him into a pig to be made into tomorrow's barbeque.
Like I said. This had been a really messed up day.