IX. For a father's sin the sons shall pay
Bellerophon accepted the book and opened it at the right chapter, he was still not sure as to what to make out of his little brother who wasn't even born jet, but seeing how much Theseus and Orion seemed to be attached to him already he figured that he was an ok kid. An ok, but still pretty strange kid even for they standards.
"The next chapter is called We Capture a Flag" he read at which the Greek demigods cheered while the Romans looked curious, well this should be interesting seeing that after his knowledge getting an army's flag had a deciding meaning in a fight.
"We also play that game in school." Matthew called proudly at which the demigods turned to him and Bobby nodded beside his brother.
"Those capture the flag games are for mortals, ours is much better." Clarisse replied with a small sneer while she remembered that baby game they played in school, she always was sent to the principal for beating up those who approached whenever she was put to guard duty. Really, what did they think guard duty meant that she will let them pass?
"It was already mentioned the last chapter, the mortal version never ends in broken bones." Chris added in knowingly as the three sons of Apollo rubbed they past wounds again.
"I got once a bruise on my arm." Matthew said back, he wanted to prove to his big sister that they are as good as those people she was sitting with, but all he got were a few eyerolles and the older children turned back. He and Bobby would need a new plan to use, the getting her mommy to help then would be no good, because the lady with they sister's eyes didn't look happy when she looked at they dad.
"Broken bones hurt more." Perses called over to the other small boy as he remembered how he had once snuck into the stalls and with great difficulties climbed on the back of his dad's horse and fell down breaking his arm. He got scolded for that and his arm was in a shin for a long time.
"Just continue son." Poseidon told Bellerophon who nodded to his father and continued before an argument could start.
The next few days I settled into a routine that felt almost normal, if you don't count the fact that I was getting lessons from satyrs, nymphs, and a centaur.
"You are not only teached by Chiron?" Trickster asked stunned, sure the spirits in camp gave occasionally tips and Lupa does training mostly in the Wolf House, but nothing other they train with they cohorts.
"Yes, so we have all the same training in different levels and the gaps in one's skills are not that large." Annabeth explained to they other cousins who nodded in understanding.
Each morning I took Ancient Greek from Annabeth,
Said girl blushed at this while her friends snickered.
and we talked about the gods and goddesses in the present tense, which was kind of weird. I discovered Annabeth was right about my dyslexia: Ancient Greek wasn't that hard for me to read. At least, no harder than English. After a couple of mornings, I could stumble through a few lines of Homer without too much headache.
"Huh, what did he write?" Jason asked who had a few encounters with him and they tended to talk pretty much with each other about philosophy, poetry and his adventures. He was an amusing man.
"In the future will he have two pretty famous works called the Iliad and Odyssey which is basically the writing down of the Trojan War and Odysseus's adventures in words. The mortals think that they are only fiction and made up, but enjoy them greatly." Lee supplied at which those who were in that war exchanged wide eyed glances while trying to not show that they felt kind of embarrassed about this tibit of information, mostly the gods.
The rest of the day, I'd rotate through outdoor activities, looking for something I was good at. Chiron tried to teach me archery,
At this Bellerophon stopped himself in reading and looked up at the legacies with Orion, curiosity in they eyes.
"Is he…", but before he could continue all nine shook they heads with Enysswe even grimacing slightly.
"Sorry, he is the same walking menace like your other siblings and father with a bow and arrows, he only once was good at it after a prayer to both my grandfather and grandaunt and they were more then eager to aide him by that shoot." Enysswe said when spotting the curious gazes of the two mentioned gods while the others shuddered as they remembered how bad Poseidon was with a bow. "The fourth book will have that scene in it." she told them.
but we found out pretty quick I wasn't any good with a bow and arrow.
"It was already a great wonder that his father had two children who can shoot, so I doubt that the boy is any different from the others." Caerus said shaking his head, he did his best to give at least two of the Sea Gods boys the opportunity to be good in the art of archery of course it helped that his lovely girlfriend was pretty happy that he did that for his two cousins and showed it in the most favourable of ways.
"Don't remind me on it." called Pothos from not far where the other was sitting, his brother Himeros nodding furiously beside him as both shuddered. "Nothing then a butchered shoot with an arrow which nearly castrates people to kill all sexual desires for another person" he said. That had been back then the last time they had tried to ask Triton if he would mind spending some quality time with them in the shades of they mother's private garden as he visited with his father while Phobos looked over at Deimos with a pained expression on his face.
"Why are we again siblings with those two?" he asked his twin in a strained voice as he tried not to remember his last encounter with those two in the baths, let's say it ended with a lot of screaming, curses, splashing water and him never going to the baths without looking as if going to war.
"Our father has problems not getting it on with our mother" his brother replied unsurely before shuddering, in his option had both he and his twin gotten the better deal with coming more after they father Ares than their mother Aphrodite. He shuddered at the memory of her trying to make them wear pink gowns because they would look so cute in them.
"They are a danger with those things for the well-being of everyone in a circle of two whole miles." Eupraxia said ignoring the comment about 'sexual desire', those two could only think about that and how to get others to bed them, but she was always overthrown by work whenever one of Lord Poseidon's offspring's who was not currently reading one or Orion. Those were the only times besides wars that she hated being the personification of well-being.
He didn't complain, even when he had to desnag a stray arrow out of his tail.
All who sat outside flinched in sympathy for Chiron.
"And we stand correct." Eriene said before adding in a pleading tone "For the love of peace, I pray that you will never use a bow again when people who could be harmed are anywhere where you are." this made the Litae sisters raise they eyebrows.
"You know that you currently prayed on your name?" asked one of them at which Eriene looked to her side.
"Your point?" she asked them while everyone else turned back to the palace to listen to the books while the goddesses argued between themselves.
"Could I ask where exactly I was standing?" Chiron asked carefully after a few seconds of complet silence, well as much silence there can be when a good number of people are trying to keep themselves away from sniggering out of respect.
"Uhm…somewhat farther away from him, partly behind by a large tree and a shield big enough for two of you." Sally said sheepishly at which everyone failed to keep they laugh in except a shocked Chiron.
"He is just as terrible like the rest of his siblings with the exception of two." said Hera while shaking her head as she involuntarily recalled the time they were almost all seriously hurt when in the time they were still growing up in they father's stomach - she shuddered at that – her younger brother managed to make a bow and shoot a makeshift arrow. Luckily had Hades managed to somehow stop it, she didn't know how, because Hestia was shielding both her and Poseidon to keep them safe. The only good thing that experience brought, beside the knowledge to flee whenever her brother held a bow, was that they father experienced some mayor stomach pains on that day which she later found out everyone misunderstood as sympathy pains for his wife who was at that time pregnant with Demeter.
After the laughing died down and Chiron mumbled about needing to constantly wear full body armour whenever he will need to take a new hero to the archery fields and it is not clear that they belong to Apollo much to Lupa's amusement.
Foot racing? No good either. The wood-nymph instructors left me in the dust.
"They always do." Travis said solemnly.
They told me not to worry about it. They'd had centuries of practice running away from lovesick gods.
There were some snickers at the sight of said squirming lovesick gods while outside the nymphs laughed hysterically at the expressions they were seeing.
"Not all of them sometimes is it the other way around." Persephone growled as she remembered that annoying little nymph, she needed to learn on the hard way to leave her husband alone.
"Huh?" some asked while Aphrodite started grinning as she noticed the waves of jealousy and protectiveness emitting from the Spring Goddess.
"Why do you think the mint plant exists?" Persephone said sweetly as she leaned against her husband, with a satisfied grin on her lips, who kissed the top of her head remembering what happened after she had turned the naïve nymph into a plant.
"Erm…" was the demigods reply while Henry nodded.
"Told you that she had a better and less dangerous method into what to change people when they offend her." he said while Apollo squirmed in his throne remembering why he had thrown a good deal of his usual seductions plans out of the window. First his uncle didn't even turn around when Aphrodite walked past him or any other attractive divinity and because he didn't want to end up as a daisy flower or Persephone might be in a joking mode a make him a sunflower.
"I will forever have problems thinking about mint the same way again as before." Mitchell whispered to Silena who nodded in agreement. "It is pretty romantic how she diverted any chance to have someone become her rival in love."
"I know right, it is lovely when one is protective about the person they love." Silena replied back to her brother as both let out longing sighs while sending a glance to they sides making a certain son of Hephaestus and Athena tense, they had no clue why they were looking at them while the Goddess of Love beamed, she wasn't this excited for one of her children since Eros fell in love with Psyche.
But still, it was a little humiliating to be slower than a tree.
"We soo know how you feel." groaned all the Greek demigods and the legacies while the Romans looked at them with sympathy.
And wrestling? Forget it. Every time I got on the mat, Clarisse would pulverize me.
Ares nodded proudly at this after he got from Ace a quick mental message that nowadays people wrestle in clothes when he went rigid after hearing who the brat's wrestling partner was.
"There's more where that came from, punk," she'd mumble in my ear.
The only thing I really excelled at was canoeing, and that wasn't the kind of heroic skill people expected to see from the kid who had beaten the Minotaur.
"True, but seeing how I'm not the best at it I think that at least he had fun." Katie said as she remembered how scared she always felt when canoeing, even if the naiad instructors were constantly near to help if something should happen, she just wasn't confident enough.
"I can try helping you out; I'm not bad at it." Travis offered to her silently so that the others don't hear him which made Katie look at him suspiciously, but after only seeing sincerity in his eyes she nodded, a small blush on her cheeks.
"Thank you." she whispered back, maybe she really could fall for him if he doesn't act childish at every given time.
"You are welcome." Travis answered back with a small blush of his own, he didn't know from where that offer had come from, but catching his son's eyes and getting from him a thumb up, he decided that he didn't care.
I knew the senior campers and counselors were watching me, trying to decide who my dad was, but they weren't having an easy time of it.
"I fear that this will be a long day spent with standing around and headaches." Lee said as he looked over at the other five counsellors who nodded in agreement.
"Hope you had a bag of aspirin with you on that day for us all Lee." Beckendorf told the blonde who nodded that he probably had and if not would he with certainty run back to the infirmary to get some.
I wasn't as strong as the Ares kids,
"No one is stronger then my kids in a physical fight." Ares boosted while the others rolled they eyes at him.
or as good at archery as the Apollo kids.
"After hearing about that one shot we would be highly shocked if you would be in denial about that." Felix said.
I didn't have Hephaestus's skill with metalwork
"Not many have." Jake said which made his father smile proudly at his kids; he was really happy that his children shared his interest, from the corner of his eyes he caught his mother's gaze and gave her a small smile which she returned wholeheartedly.
Feeling the exchange looked Aphrodite in confusion between her husband and mother-in-law, she had no clue what was happening, but she felt kind of glad for whatever had started this, all types of love were precious and should be cherished as much as possible. She figured that these books were the cause for the changes and was happy about it, she may be sometimes vein and act naïve, but the truth was that she only had a different type of view about the world around her like most others.
or-gods forbid-Dionysus's way with vine plants.
"You would have been claimed the minute you stepped through the boarders if you would have been our brother." Pollux said while the others nodded, the twins were claimed in the blink of an eye by Mr. D and he always remembered they names.
Luke told me I might be a child of Hermes, a kind of jack-of-all-trades, master of none.
Travis, Connor, Chris, Trickster and Odysseus frowned at this as Annabeth tried to figure out why Luke had said this like that while Misty comforted her granddad who looked slightly hurt. He didn't understand why it was a bad thing to be a patron of those who don't know where they path will lead them. Outside were his other children also not looking pleased with they little brother.
But I got the feeling he was just trying to make me feel better. He really didn't know what to make of me either. Despite all that, I liked camp. I got used to the morning fog over the beach, the smell of hot strawberry fields in the afternoon, even the weird noises of monsters in the woods at night.
The Greek demigods nodded at this, they all loved it there while they parents looked happy about this, they might be not the best parents in the world, but they still wanted they kids safe and cared for.
I would eat dinner with cabin eleven, scrape part of my meal into the fire, and try to feel some connection to my real dad. Nothing came.
"What is keeping me?" Poseidon demanded from the legacies.
"You see, the case was a bit complicated for you." was the only reply he got which made the god frown, but didn't ask further.
Just that warm feeling I'd always had like the memory of his smile. I tried not to think too much about my mom, but I kept wondering: if gods and monsters were real, if all this magical stuff was possible, surely there was some way to save her, to bring her back . . .
Cue groans from most occupants of the throne room and outskirts of the place.
I started to understand Luke's bitterness and how he seemed to resent his father, Hermes.
"Don't you dare think like that worm." Luke snapped at his father's past self making the others stare at him in shock as Hermes whimpered which in turn made Misty hug him as Apollo patted his hand.
So okay, maybe gods had important things to do. But couldn't they call once in a while, or thunder, or something? Dionysus could make Diet Coke appear out of thin air. Why couldn't my dad, whoever he was, make a phone appear?
All gods turned to Zeus who was starting to squirm in his seat by all the glares he was receiving, maybe he should ad some exceptions to that particular law if he doesn't want his family to follow the tradition of throne sizing. He bit back a shudder at that what would be his fate, the track record what his father did with they grandfather and what he did to him were not all to pleasant options.
Thursday afternoon, three days after I'd arrived at Camp Half-Blood, I had my first sword-fighting lesson. Everybody from cabin eleven gathered in the big circular arena, where Luke would be our instructor.
We started with basic stabbing and slashing, using some straw-stuffed dummies in Greek armor. I guess I did okay. At least, I understood what I was supposed to do and my reflexes were good.
"He is the best with a sword." Sally said proudly while her brother was stuck between looking proud or growl in anger making those from the past look at him worriedly, they still didn't fully understand why he was acting like this.
The problem was,I couldn't find a blade that felt right in my hands. Either they were too heavy, or too light, or too long, Luke tried his best to fix me up, but he agreed that none of the practice blades seemed to work for me.
"But he had no problem with that sword in the museum." Malcolm pointed out.
"Because that is the only sword which is good for him." Henry said while not looking at either Artemis or Hercules, he was not sure how they would react to the familiar weapon.
We moved on to dueling in pairs. Luke announced he would be my partner, since this was my first time.
"Good luck," one of the campers told me. "Luke's the best swordsman in the last three hundred years."
"Not for long and dad, that was you who had said that." Misty called over to her blushing father while the others were still looking stunned that Percy will be better then Luke.
"Maybe he'll go easy on me," I said.
The camper snorted.
Luke did the same. "Not a chance dad, if anything he will only go much harder on you." he said with a bitter smile on his lips.
"Annabeth, are you sure that he doesn't need to see a specialist?" Jake whispered to her carefully.
"I don't even know his father yet and we might know soon enough what it wrong." Annabeth replied back, but on the inside was she dreading the answer, she had already lost Thalia, she couldn't loose Luke to whatever the problem was also.
Luke showed me thrusts and parries and shield blocks the hard way. With every swipe, I got a little more battered and bruised. "Keep your guard up, Percy," he's say, then whap me in the ribs with the flat of his blade. "No, not that far up!" Whap! "Lunge!" Whap! "Now, back!" Whap!
"Love the added sound effects." Jay said as he felt the tense atmosphere around them.
By the time he called a break, I was soaked in sweat. Everybody swarmed the drinks cooler. Luke poured ice water on his head, which looked like such a good idea. I did the same.
Poseidon and his kids started grinning at while the legacies exchanged suspicious glances, it seemed that he had already known to whom they uncle/dad belonged.
Instantly, I felt better. Strength surged back into my arms. The sword didn't feel so awkward.
"I see, the water enchants his strength." Athena said in a stunned tone while the demigods who were not children of the sea exchanged slightly envious glances, it would in some cases come in handy to have such skills.
"Okay, everybody circle up!" Luke ordered. "If Percy doesn't mind, I want to give you a little demo."
Great, I thought. Let's all watch Percy get pounded.
There were some snickers at this.
The Hermes guys gathered around. They were suppressing smiles. I figured they'd been in my shoes before and couldn't wait to see how Luke used me for a punching bag. He told everybody he was going to demonstrate a disarming technique: how to twist the enemy's blade with the flat of your own sword so that he had no choice but to drop his weapon.
"This is difficult," he stressed. "I've had it used against me. No laughing at Percy, no. Most swordsmen have to work years to master this technique."
"It is a good technique." both Athena and Ares said at the same time while the Romans looked curious, they didn't remember having such a technique so naturally they were intrigued.
"It is really not easy, it took me two weeks to learn, but that I prefer the spear better in battle and use a sword only on some occasions would be a clue why it took so long." Clarisse said at which her father nodded proudly.
"I prefer fighting with a knife." Annabeth told her mother while Malcolm looked up.
"I like also knives better or bows." he added in at which they mother nodded, the others didn't comment because they either haven't learned about this technique till now or it took them a pretty long time to learn if they used swords.
He demonstrated the move on me in slow motion. Sure enough, the word clattered out of my hand.
"Now in real time," he said, after I'd retrieved my weapon. "We keep sparring until one of us pulls it off. Ready, Percy?"
I nodded, and Luke came after me. Somehow, I kept him from getting a shot at the hilt of my sword. My senses opened up. I saw his attacks coming. I countered. I stepped forward and tried a thrust of my own. Luke deflected it easily, but I saw a change in his face. His eyes narrowed, and he started to press me with more force.
Everyone was staring intently at the book as they listened to the fight while the legacies nodded approvingly that they uncle/dad had made it clear that he isn't one who can be easily made into a pawn no matter his age.
The sword grew heavy in my hand. The balance wasn't right. I knew it was only a matter of seconds before Luke took me down, so I figured, What the heck?
I tried the disarming maneuver.
Some of the gods looked close to fall out of they thrones as they leaned even more forth in them.
My blade hit the base of Luke's and I twisted, putting my whole weight into a downward thrust.
Clang.
Luke's sword rattled against the stones. The tip of my blade was an inch from his undefended chest.
The legacies and Roman demigods cheered with Poseidon and his family while the other demigods stared blinking at the heard happenings meanwhile the gods got up from the ground and sat back on they thrones with as much dignity as they could muster. Hermes also gave his granddaughter and apologetic grin as she glared at him with a look which reminded him on her grandmother Hecate which on the other hand made him blush.
"I would like to know what he could do with a balanced sword." Jay asked while looking over at his fellow Romans who were all asking themselves the same.
"A great damage to his enemies." was the reply from the nine legacies.
The other campers were silent.
I lowered my sword. "Um, sorry."
"Why is he apologizing?" Odysseus asked in a stunned tone.
"That is Uncle Percy for you." Misty replied nonchalantly.
For a moment, Luke was too stunned to speak.
"Not something one sees every day." Chris whispered to his brothers who nodded in agreement.
"Sorry?" His scarred face broke into a grin. "By the gods, Percy, why are you sorry? Show me that again!"
I didn't want to. The short burst of manic energy had completely abandoned me. But Luke insisted.
This time, there was no contest. The moment our swords connected, Luke hit my hilt and sent my weapon skidding across the floor.
After a long pause, somebody in he audience said, "Beginner's luck?"
The legacies snorted at this.
Luke wiped the sweat off his brow. He appraised at me with an entirely new interest. "Maybe." he said. "But I wonder what Percy could do with a balanced sword. . . "
"You will know pretty soon." Luke said smirking evilly.
"Are we sure that he is your grandson Poseidon and not Hades's?" Zeus whispered to his older brother.
"I'm sure about that, but I should ask his sister later on how close exactly they father is with Hades's children." Poseidon whispered back still wondering what was wrong with his grandson.
Friday afternoon, I was sitting with Grover at the lake, resting from a near-death experience on the climbing wall. Grover had scampered to the top like a mountain goat,
Again the Romans were gapping in shock, the fauns take part in the training also!? This was it, after they get back will the faun case be the first one with which they will start from they list!
but the lava had almost gotten me. My shirt had smoking holes in it. The hairs had singed off my forearms.
All those who knew how that feels flinched in sympathy.
We sat on the pier, watching the naiads do underwater basket-weaving, until I got up the nerve to ask Grover how his conversation had gone with Mr. D.
His face turned a sickly shade of yellow.
"Fine," he said. "Just great."
"So your career's still on track?"
He glanced at me nervously. "Chiron t-told you I want a searcher's license?"
"Well . . . no." I had no idea what a searcher's license was but it didn't seem like the right time to ask.
"He just said you had big plans, you know . . . and that you needed credit for completing a keeper's assignment. So did you get it?"
Grover looked down at the naiads. "Mr. D suspended judgment. He said I hadn't failed or succeeded with you yet,
At this Annabeth beamed at Mr. D for doing this for Grover while Castor leaned over to her.
"See, our dad can be nice to others." he told Annabeth who was still resisting the urge to walk over to the god and give him a hug.
so our fates were still tied together. If you got a quest and I went along to protect you, and we both came back alive, then maybe he'd consider the job complete."
My spirits lifted. "Well, that's not so bad, right?"
"Blaa-ha-ha! He might as well have transferred me to stable-cleaning duty. The chances of you getting a quest . . . and even if you did, why would you want me along?"
"That poor satyr really needs more self-esteem." Hestia said kindly she understood where Dionysus was coming from, that little satyr also started to remind her about how her nephew Pan had been when he was still little, constantly hiding behind his father or his cousin when frightened.
"Don't worry grandaunt Hestia, he will." Henry told her at which she smiled happily, that was good to hear.
"Of course I'd want you along!"
Grover stared glumly into the water. "Basket-weaving . . . Must be nice to have a useful skill."
I tried to reassure him that he had lots of talents, but that just made him look more miserable. We talked about canoeing and swordplay for a while, then debated the pros and cons of the different gods. Finally, I asked him about the four empty cabins.
"Number eight, the silver one, belongs to Artemis," he said. "She voiced to be a maiden forever. So of course, no kids. The cabin is, you know, honorary. If she didn't have one, she'd be mad."
"It is also the place where the Hunters sleep when they are near the camp." Will added in trying not to remember that disaster when some cabins burned down as the Aphrodite cabin and the Hunters clashed with each other, at the moment were they two Aphrodite kids busy with trying not to growl as they remembered the same.
"That is good that they will have a place to stay." Artemis said in approval not noticing the demigods expressions.
"Yeah, okay. But the other three, the ones at the end. Are those the Big Three?"
Grover tensed. We were getting close to a touchy subject "No. One of them, number two, is Hera's." he said.
"That's another honorary thing. She's the goddess of marriage, so of course she wouldn't go around having affairs with mortals.
Hera nodded in agreement, now when her husband would also manage to take his vow seriously, but alas that was too much to hope for.
That's her husband's job.
And this was the exact minute that beside a glaring Zeus everyone who heard the sentence broke out into hysterical laughter, the children of said husband being the loudest of them all, while in the mortal world were the people starring stunned at the sudden blooming of everything around them, on the bright rainbow on the crystal blue sky or why they all had suddenly the urge no matter they situation to laugh.
It took nearly a whole hour till everyone managed to calm themselves down enough so that Bellerophon could start reading again.
"That satyr got you right there." Apollo told his father cheekily, his sky blue eyes still dancing with mirth.
When we say the Big Three, we mean the three powerful bothers, the sons of Kronos."
Said brothers nodded they heads at this.
"Zeus, Poseidon, Hades."
"Right, You know, After the great battle with the Titans, they took over the world from their dad and drew lots to decide who got what."
"Which as we now know was rigged." Enysswe hissed to her cousin who nodded darkly, luckily no one other heard them.
"Zeus got the sky," I remembered. "Poseidon the sea, Hades the Underworld."
"Uh-huh."
"But Hades doesn't have a cabin here."
"Thanks Uncle Percy." Enysswe and Henry said at the same time.
"At least will I have one later on." Hades said feeling glad about that, not for himself, but for his son.
"No. He doesn't have a throne on Olympus either.
The gods shifted uneasily at this while outside Hades's three children who were called up there by the Keres scowled, they father was as good as any of his siblings.
He sort of does his own thing down in the Underworld.
"More like, I'm in exile except for one day in winter." Hades said in a dark tone while his wife glared at her father, Apollo was fighting the urge to do the same while Hestia looked disappointed at her youngest brother who felt mostly by her gaze the most unnerved and guilty.
If he did have a cabin here . . ." Grover shuddered. "Well, it would be pleasant. Let's leave it at that."
"And exactly what do you mean by that Uncle Grover?" Enysswe and Henry asked sweetly making they present parent look over at the other nervously before nodding and walking over to they future children and taking they hands into their own while outside were some of the others busy calming down the three siblings.
"But Zeus and Poseidon-they both had, like, a bazillion kids in the myths. Why are their cabins empty?"
"We would also like to know." said the mentioned two brothers at the same time before flinching and looking over at they wives who only hit them over the heads, they could at least have done this in a subtle way like looking more interested.
At the same time were Chiron and the Greek demigods looking nervously at each other, most of the kids heard small snippets about why that was and Annabeth knew more, but not the exact full story.
Grover shifted his hooves uncomfortably. "About sixty years ago, after World War II, the Big Three agreed they wouldn't sire any more heroes. Their children were just too powerful. They were affecting the course of human events too much, causing too much carnage.
All present Three Big children shifted uncomfortably at this while the others looked at them.
World War II,
"I hope that they don't mean that name literally." Artemis said while Ares looked excited.
"Unfortunately yes, it was the second war in which nearly all nations of the world have stood opposite each other as two sides." Annabeth said sadly at which most of the gods looked horrified, this sounded worse then the Trojan War and that was saying something.
you know, that was basically a fight between the sons of Zeus and Poseidon on one side, and the sons of Hades on the other.
A new flinch from the gods as they looked over at the children from the future.
"Franklin Delano Roosevelt, the 32nd President of the United States, a son of Zeus and Winton Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom a son of Poseidon were both leaders of the Allied Powers who stood against the Axis Powers, one of they leaders being Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Germany and a son of Hades." Annabeth said carefully while most of the gods flinched as did the demigods.
"Uncle Adolf" a good deal of demigods flinched at Enysswe's use of words that she would call that monster her uncle even though he was a child of one of her grandfathers "was highly displeased with the other gods and kind of also the fact that grandfather didn't do anything to punish them." Enysswe said with a bitter smile, they fatal flaw was a dangerous inheritance and it was another prof about why her grandfather had only so few demigod children unlike the others. "He didn't understand why he let himself be exiled and didn't overthrow those who have wronged him to punish them." the elder gods looked again uncomfortable; her words were hitting to close to home for they liking. "So he decided to do something himself, why do you think that the symbol of his personal, most deadly bodyguards was the symbol of his father? He also decided to mock the gods who had wronged his father doing so as to get him also to finally act."
"What do you mean?" Malcolm asked while exchanging glances with his sister, racking they brains to remember everything Hitler had done, then gasped.
"Hitler often used both the eagle and lightning as propaganda symbols for his beliefs and his regain." Annabeth said at which many eyes widened as they also remembered.
"Those are my symbols!" Zeus yelled, but held himself back from glaring at his oldest brother.
"And you are the King of Gods father; he was mocking you as a ruler." Jay said, this would explain why he read somewhere that Roosevelt really hated Hitler, now he understood his half-brother. Gods never use the symbols of the other and neither do they demigod children, that was a serious offence.
"Uhoh…would this mean that…those were also made to mock the gods…" Frank asked suddenly, his face ashen as he looked at his son and niece.
"The Death Camps?" Henry asked his father with a sad smile. "Yes, they were made as a symbol of Camp Half-Blood, but also for something other as we have found out." he said sadly, reaching out and taking his cousin's hand into his, he knew how finding that out had been like a stab in the heart to they grandfather and his children.
"I fear asking, but what were they?" Orpheus asked fearfully, not liking how much the rift between the Big Three's children had become, he personally didn't have a problem with Lord Hades.
"They were horrible places, used for the so called purging of German society from the so-called "racially undesirable elements" such as Jews, criminals, homosexuals, and Gypsies. They were brought there by trains a transportation's vehicle used in the future to transport a large number of materials or people, but in these trains were the selected people from all around squeezed in and spent often days standing without food, water, bathrooms or even fresh air." Hestia looked saddened at this. "After arrival they were let outside and separated, one line would be forced to work till they can't anymore or used for cruel experiments while the others were sent to either the gas chamber to suffocate or the crematorium to be burned alive, men, woman old and young, children not even infants were spared." many of the gods looked horrified at this while Hades sunk back into his throne at the thought what his son will do to finally get him to stand up against his family. "Those who lived and were made to work were starved, sicknesses of all types, lice and fleas the hygiene was nonexistent." Annabeth said bitterly while those of the past stared at them with horror filled eyes some even looking green.
"True, they were all made to represent camp, the way they got there should be a symbol of the struggle a demigod experiences to reach the safety of the camp, the selection is that even if you get to camp there is still a chance that you will not survive while the hard labour stands for the training as for the experiments…what do you think would happen if the world figures out that we still exist and manage to capture us?" Enysswe asked, her gaze firmly on her hand which was still tightly held by her mother while Persephone pulled closer to her husband, daring anyone with her glare to say something bad to him, so she was mostly looking at her father.
"Wasn't there a woman who when finding a prisoner's tattoo interesting that she skinned them and made book covers and all such from them?" Jake asked carefully, but immediately regretted it when Aphrodite and her two daughters jumped up from they seats and run to the bathroom while Sue also hurried out with the twins so that they don't hear this, Malcolm was slightly surprised that Mitchell had not run out with his mother and sisters, but he could see that he was more pale then green. After this he would deny it, but he placed his hand on that of the brunette who gave him a thankful smile in return. Fredric stayed behind because he loved history and to know that three of the most prominent figures of that war had been demigods was keeping him in his place, Andromeda only put her hands on Perses's ears, she knew that children can't be shielded forever from the world.
"Uhm…that was actually Megaera in human disguise." Henry said carefully, when faced by the disbelieving looks he decided to elaborate. "Seeing how grandfather has a pretty low number of children, both immortal and demigod tend the three Furies to usually have a favourite one in the case of the demigods seeing how our lives can be pretty fleeting. In that case they tend to stay near them in disguise." he finished to the shocked demigods while Hades even though all the things he heard gave a small smile that the three sisters would try keeping an eye out for his children.
"I take one of them favours your father." Will asked his daughter, he didn't like this talk all too much seeing how he will be marrying a chid of Lord Hades.
"Yes, Alecto." she said when Dr. Chase spoke up suddenly deciding to take part in the conversation.
"Also she had been not one of the worst in the case of the Nazis, beside Hitler himself, "he said carefully not exactly wishing to offend the man's father "had been the leading doctor of the Auschwitz camp Dr. Josef Mengele who had also been called the Angel of Death." when he said that felt Enysswe her mother's grip on her hand tighten, looking up and noting the flash in his eyes was she sure that he knew. Closing her own eyes for a few seconds she leaned against her mother to show that she was there no matter how painful this will be for them all seeing how the others didn't know. "A good looking and charming man with a love for Wagner's opera music, always dressed pristine, who selected who shall live or not, ordered cruel deaths with detachment, but if angered could act in a brutal manner, but that was not why he had been feared by both his victims and even his colleagues." Fredric continued oblivious like the others to the small exchange between mother and daughter. "He was obsessed with one main theme of the genetic of humans, twins." he said at which the two present sets of twins shuddered. "He would send his men around and separated twins and bring them to a special facility part, he made sure that they had enough food, were spared from labour and beatings and even doted on them like a father would, those in that facility were even called 'Mengele's children', but the others fate would have been better for them. He was a twisted man who with time welcomed new victims with waltz music played by a prisoner's orchestra as not far hundreds were burned alive, he brought the term that love and death are quiet similar to a new level. He did many operations without anything that would stop the pain, castration and sterilization, removal of inner organs while the patient was strapped down and fully awake, injecting things into the eyes to see if they colour could be modified. As said most of his cruel tests were about how to control the birth of twins and for that he murdered thousands and in the end even escaped earthly judgement." Fredric told the past gods and heroes in a grave tone as he tried not to remember all the things he had read. "In our time are there some books which have a good account about the Angel of Death who is for most still an enigma and in the eyes of his victims still out there even if it is impossible. One of them is ironically titled 'Children of the Flames: Dr. Josef Mengele & the Untold Story of the Twins of Auschwitz'"
"Are we actually sure that this person was a mortal and not a monster?" Jay asked suddenly, disgust evident in his voice.
"He was not a mortal." Enysswe spoke up softly from where she sat with her mother.
"So he was a monster then?" Odysseus inquired, but then he saw the girl lover her head while Orpheus's brother who sat close to her spoke up.
"No…" he said in a faint tone as his sky blue eyes which were filled with sadness and worry looked in the direction of his father. "…he was a Child of Apollo, our brother…" Will finished as suddenly the room was filled with a deathly silence while everyone looked at said god and his children who had all horrified expressions on they faces. Will himself had stumbled on this account by accident, it was not clear how his, as hard it was to think, brother had avoided being found by monsters. At that time had he been both to horrified and disgusted that he didn't tell any of his siblings about the find he had made when getting back to camp a month later, he didn't even dare asking his father in fear that he would either be angry or sad.
"I…I need to go for a few minutes…" Apollo said suddenly and flashed out.
"Apollo." Artemis called, her had still in the air when she wanted to grab her brother.
"I think…we should take a pause…" spoke up Hades in a faint, sad tone as he stood up from his throne and made his way to the exit with Persephone, Henry and Enysswe, after telling her mother to go after his father and giving a suggestion where to find him, hurrying after him.
"I agree, we should return here after an hour." Poseidon said in a grave tone as he looked over at his siblings. "Brother, sisters I think we need to talk with one another." he said while the others nodded and flashed out of the throne room
"I will go looking for Apollo." Artemis said as she stood up and run out of the room not even bothering with flashing.
"We should do the same, father may need us." Will said as he stood up, but before he could make a step a hand grabbed his arm, turning around he found himself looking into Lee's eyes.
"How…how did you know?" Lee inquired from his little brother, something told him that beside they father and the other gods no one else had know that the most feared monster of Auschwitz was they own brother.
"We were on a holiday trip, my mom's brother got a job in the museum they had made out of the Auschwitz Camp and there when we were lead through Mengele's chambers I noticed something, there was a journal about his experiments I thought that I saw something so while my uncle was giving a lecture I snuck back to the journal and took a better look. It seems as if the journal had some of the mist on it, and the way it was placed down was also hiding it, but…" Will felt bile in his throat, just like at that time. "There in that journal was an old stile silk bookmark, it was crimson in colour, but at the bottom in clear sight was the symbol of our father, just like on the gloves he always wore. Then some of his quirks which got mentioned by Annabeth's father with him humming opera music or greeting people with waltz music played and even on the photos if you look really closely. All those were too much to be a coincidence." again they were effulged into silence before Octavian stood up.
"I don't know if you want to chat more, but I'm going looking for grandfather." Octavian said at which Will nodded, the blonde didn't know what was wrong with him acting understanding with the Greecus, but it felt like he needed to do this.
"Agreed, we all know that one can't pick relatives." Michael said as both him and Lee stood up with Orpheus finally reaching his younger siblings. Together they hurried out not noticing that Orion had also disappeared from the room.
"We should also be looking for Apollo." Dionysus said, his brother tried consoling him now is it his turn, the other gods nodded.
"You children should stay here with your trainers; tell Aphrodite where we are when she gets back." Athena instructed them before they also disappeared while Misty gave a signal to the others that she had warned her grandmother, not that Hecate knew that the voice was that of her granddaughter, that there is an hour long pause and that they should act natural.
"I should probably have stayed quiet." Fredric said suddenly while all demigods turned to him with looks saying what-gave-you-that-idea.
Hades, Persephone and they grandchildren
The King of the Underworld had retreated himself to a sunny meadow beside which the tall trees formed a shaded forest. This was his favourite place on Olymphos, well beside the heart his older sister tended to, this was where he liked to come when he wanted to be alone or just think before he was told that he could only return here for one day. Those more often then not useless councils took to much time and he could not sneak out here. His thoughts were a mess since he heard what one of his children had done, he felt as if he would have become a disappointment that he didn't turn against his family just like they had turned against him. Sometimes, that he needed to admit, he really had thoughts about taking revenge, but he never acted upon them, if he did would he disappoint Hestia that he was no better then they father and a hypocrite, he would cause his beloved rose pain, then no matter how often she clashed with her mother she loved her. He could never bring himself to hurt either of them, he was not like they father who destroys whatever angers him or he sees as a threat!
"My Lord?" he heard the soft voice of the woman he had been thinking a few seconds ago, it didn't take long and he saw her running in his direction. The irony of the situation made him almost smile because he liked this place also because this was where he had meet his small niece, now beautiful wife for the first time as she approached him with her crown woven from flowers, a rose in her hands.
Finally reaching him went the Goddess of Springtime and Queen of the Underworld to her knees in front of her husband as he sat on the trunk of an old tree, cradling his cold hands into her warm ones, head resting in his lap as she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding.
"Persephone, you didn't need to come." Hades spoke softly to his wife who suddenly looked up, her eyes burning with the fire of life he adored so much.
"Don't you think that I will let you alone in such a state." she snapped at him as her hands tightened around his. "I'm your wife and love you so is it natural that I don't let you alone when you are hurt."
"You know that grandmother can be just as stubborn then the rest of the family." Enysswe said with a small smile on her lips as she arrived with a panting Henry at her side, both making they way over to they grandparents and plopping down beside them in the grass.
"I know, this is why I love her so much." Hades said with a small smile which made his wife blush as she rested her head again in his lap, not minding the ghosts woven into the fabric.
"I think you certainly have proven that one during the past decades." Henry said while looking at is grandparents. "Do you know why you had only so few demigod children unlike the other gods?" both Hades and Persephone exchanged glances at this, not sure if they want to know or not, but in the end both nodded, it was better knowing now then one of them hurting later on. "All of your past lovers had one big similarity between them" Henry started softly as he smiled at his grandparents "they all had exactly the same personality as grandmother Persephone, matching till the smallest details."
"What!" Persephone asked in a stunned tone as she looked over at her equally surprised husband. She could not believe it, those women with whom her husband will cheat on her all were like her in they personality?
"Persephone?" she heard him ask worriedly and she soon understood why he was worried when she touched her cheek and found her fingers wet from tears.
"I'm fine, it is just that the fact about your lovers personalities…" she didn't say more as Hades pulled her up from her kneeling position on the ground and pulled her into his lap, burying his head into her hair which always even in winter smelled like sweet flowers.
The two of them stayed like this for a few minutes while both Enysswe and Henry looked up at the cloudless sky above them, trying not to think that after the Western Civilization will change places will the gods who went with it will return here one more time to fight a war for they own survival against the earth.
"Enysswe, you said that my son made those camps also for something other, but you didn't say for what." Hades spoke up after some time as the girl looked down.
"I can tell you, at least a little bit, but don't tell the others the third and fifth book will explain it more fully well not this, but those things in it are closely related to that. Let's just say that it all started because of a prophecy which Zeus feared and during that time had he found out that you had two demigod children aged five and two. He demanded from you to give him the children so that they can be brought to Camp Half-Blood and be trained to fight for Olymphos." she didn't need to continue because Hades's grip on his wife tightened as also her eyes filled with anger.
"Neither of the siblings would have made it alive there." Persephone said testily, her father really needed some lessons in how to be a good ruler then in the future will he do a rather horrid job.
"Grandfather come to the same conclusion when hearing the plan and uncle Adolf did the same when he found out that he had two younger siblings, he wanted to divert the attention from them while also showing to his uncle that he can't fool him." Henry said bitterly, while following they grandmother had he and Enysswe decided to not inform they grandfather about the relationship between his and his nephew's son. It was better like that mostly that so Apollo may not know about the as he in the past called it a sin or curse he passes down every generation to one of his children, a circle which got broken by En's mother.
"It seems that the Fates, Lord Chaos and Lady Nyx had the right idea with sending you children here to change things that will come." Hades said finally while resting his head again on his wife's head, letting her warmth surround him as now a slightly much calmer silence fell over them. All he needed now was having Persephone and his grandchildren near when suddenly a soft humming sound hit his ears, he knew that melody, it had been him who come up with it for the shake of his younger siblings. Opening his dark eyes he found himself looking into the tri-colour eyes of his granddaughter
"Dad tended to sing this lullaby to me when I was little or sick, just like Aunt Hazel did it for Henry." Enysswe said as Persephone also opened her eyes which she had closed when snuggling against her husband's chest.
"I also remember it, you tended to hum it when I was pregnant and I heard you on occasions singing it to our children, it seems you will be doing that for all of them." Persephone said softly.
"It seems so." Hades replied feeling a small tinge of happiness that the night song he had made up spontaneously as he tried helping Hestia settle Hera down for the night and later Poseidon, his brother had been such a fussy baby when it come to sleeping, would be still used in the future.
"I don't mind doing a duet grandfather." Enysswe said with a soft smile on her lips as the dark haired god nodded before also staring to hum the same tune as his granddaughter before both started singing to the two people who had closed they eyes and were leaning against them.
"Night falls softly, the stars are alight,
the birds song rest as the water turns to a mirror.
Close your eyes now, glistering wings,
powder of the deepest blue,
shall bring you the sweetest of dreams.
The night has come so rest little one.
Eyes close as the wings brush your skin,
let yourself be carried by your dreams.
Rest little one, for you are safe by me…"
Apollo and children, grandson
Apollo had flashed into the garden near his palace; he needed to get out of that room. The thought of one of his children doing such horrendous crimes against other living beings, he could not believe any of this. He felt sick, disappointed, horrified, but most of all disgusted not only with his future son, but also with himself. Gods hated to admit it when they have made mistakes, he was no exception, but still he knew that if the people really have so many of they stories that they will also see him for some of his deeds like a monster would they not? The way he punished those who have in his option wronged him, were those deeds not cruel? The God of Prophecy sighed painfully when the sound of running hit his ears. The steps were quick, but too loud to be from Artemis and he doubted that this would be the first place she would be looking for him, so who could it be? It didn't take long and he saw his sons and grandson hurrying into his direction.
"Boys, how come that you are here?" he asked, ignoring how his voice sounded or the wetness on his cheeks from crying.
"Enysswe had a hunch that you would be here, she told me to look for you here before she run out with Henry." Will told his father, he hated seeing him so sad, Gods never looked sad or vulnerable, they were always either happy, confident, angry, arrogant and most of all proud, never sad or in aguish.
"You were not the only one deciding to storm out of the throne room, Lord Hades also departed somewhere." Michael said carefully as his father looked down, his tears unnerved Michael, his dad never cried except maybe from laughing, but never like this.
"Dad, we are sorry, history is not always pretty." Lee said, to be honest neither of them knew how to console they father, this was something neither of them had ever needed to do in they lives.
"I'm sorry boys that I'm acting like this, being all sad and pathetic like this is not how I usually act." Apollo said as he tired to smile at his children, but it looked more like a grimace then his usual sunny smiles which threaten to blind the one looking at it.
"Don't say that father." Orpheus told his father from beside his brothers and nephew, but his father only shook his head in sadness.
"I think the only one who can do here something is Lady Di…Artemis." Octavian spoke up suddenly, somehow here in the presence of his uncles and grandfather he felt kind of relaxed, if you cut out the stabbing he felt whenever there was a whimper from his grandfather or he looked at his sad face. In the case of the others did he always feel that he needs to act so that they respect him, that they remember him only because in any other way he would be forgotten, but to be honest with such a small group here did he not feel fully like it.
"Good idea Octavian, one of us should stay here though to make sure that father is fine while we look for Lady Artemis." Orpheus said to his nephew before turning to Will who understood and stepped beside his father, placing his hands on his shoulders, while the others turned around and started running into four separated directions.
After they left was the only sound breaking the silence the small sobs coming from the golden haired god as his son tried to carefully console him with soft words his mother tended to tell him when he had been little and others made fun of him for not knowing how to read properly. He made small circles on his father's back while continuing to whisper the gentle words till the sobbing ceased again to occasional small whimpers before his father looked up at him with red trimmed, puffy eyes.
"Did you know that I kind of envy you Will?" his father asked suddenly in a soft voice making his son need to strain his ears to fully hear him.
"What do you mean father?" Will asked in a stunned tone, why would his father, an Immortal Olympian God envy his demigod son? He could not find anything his father could be envious about, he could have anything with a snap of his fingers.
"I envy you for gaining the heart which's creator I may never have." Apollo said softly as he stroke over his son's cheek, both of they skins like the warm rays of the sun. Will only looked pondering at his father not quiet understanding what he was talking about when suddenly it hit him like when they border patrol was literally run over by the Ares cabin.
"You are in love with Lord Hades." he gasped in shock, but this would explain the strange way he acted by lunch, his father only chuckled bitterly.
"I still like to call it a crush, for the shake of my sanity, but yes I like him. I'm not sure when it had started, but something in him made me want to be close. Alas that is not exactly which I can control all too good as you have seen it when I needed to flash out of the throne room when the children talked about the Tournament Week or my embarrassing behaviour by lunch." Will nodded in understanding still feeling somewhat awkward about the whole talking to your father about his love interest in your future-father-in-law whose son you will marry, Gods or in the current situation his daughter knows when, oh and also that said god also happens to be your father's uncle. One should really ignore the family relationship lines and just go simply with 'we are related family' that explains everything. "There is also the fact that since I can remember had he never really shown interest in any other divinity or even nature spirits; I still find it a wonder that he will even have demigods. The only person he ever showed actual deep interest in was Persephone, you know I saw when he abducted her and failed to tell Demeter, your grandaunt was pretty miffed when I finally did." Apollo said with a humourless laugh. "I thought that he was doing this to annoy her seeing how they had an argument the last time he had been allowed up here for the council and would return her unharmed in a few days. When…when Hermes told me that they married I broke on the inside." Will listened to his father while pulling him closer against his chest, it must have been hard on him to like someone who may never notice you even if you have all eternity for that.
"I'm sorry dad…" he felt kind of stupid for saying this, but what could he do to change things? Saying that he should continue trying and eventually his feelings will be returned? No, his dad didn't deserve lying to.
"Don't be; only be happy that you will have something which is one of the hardest things to gain no matter if you are mortal or immortal." Apollo told him son with a small smile on his lips.
Big Five
The five children of Kronos and Rhea had gathered in a small clearing not all to far from the palace, but still scheduled enough that someone should not walk in on them by accident. The revelation some minutes ago had left them all in both shock and guilt; they did not know that in the future one of they brother's children would wish for they father to overthrow them.
"Is this what you have truly wanted Zeus? Did you hear what will come even before the things we are hearing in these books?" Poseidon demanded from his youngest brother.
"Poseidon don't…" but Hestia halted Zeus in his words.
"Poseidon is right brother, since we had won against our father, and this time I speak to all of you then there was none of you who had not agreed on that cruel betrayal against our brother. Even I'm not free from blame because I hadn't protested more vehemently, set my foot down as the oldest of us." Hestia said with saddened eyes as she remembered the time when it were only her and Hades trapped inside they father, the way he would always snuggle up to her because she felt so pleasantly warm while his skin was always so cold. She missed those small moments of innocent intimacy.
"I agree with Hestia" Hera spoke up "we should tell Hades why we act the way around him as we do, the situation can't be held for long then eventually he will take a step against us and…I'm not sure which side I would choose." Hera admitted with her head held low.
"You all know why I made this decision; Hades was and is too much like him…I wanted to protect everyone from a second so-called Golden-Age." Zeus protested while shaking his head, the situation was kind of delicate to say at least. "Why do you think I had made sure that he falls in love with Persephone?" but as soon as Zeus said this did he realize that he made a terrible mistake when meeting the eyes of his sister.
"What do you mean by 'made him fall in love with Kore'? " Demeter asked in a threateningly low tone while Poseidon immediately grabbed both his remaining sisters by the arm and pulled them behind himself and started slowly backing away.
"Uhm…I made her play near him, spend time around him when he was here and you know gave Hades tips what she would like for her birthdays, but he actually is kind of pretty good with picking presents of his own and well I though if he had a…wife who belonged here could well…with me being her father she would tell me if Hades plans an attack on us…I didn't know that she would also fall in love with him." Zeus stammered as Demeter advanced towards him, her face redder then the ripest tomato, her eyes blazing like the sun never could manage.
ZEUS!
The children of said god looked up in shock as they heard the blood curling scream of they aunt scarring most of the birds and everyone who heard it half to death.
"What do you recon father did to get her to scream as if she would any second gut him?" Ares asked his siblings who were all looking just as bewildered as him.
"Not sure, but I hope that someone tells me so that I can avoid doing or saying the same in her earshot." Hermes said as the others nodded in agreement, they aunt was usually more annoying with her constant rants about cereal, wheat and farm work, but never aggressive enough to make them all shake in fear.
"We can figure that out later, first we need to split up and look for Apollo, we still have thirty minutes to find him, talk to him and get him to his senses." Athena said to her siblings.
"Did you notice that since we got these books here we spend quite some times with interacting with each other and I don't mean screaming insults at each others heads, but actually talking in normal tones?" asked Hermes, he usually had such talks only with Apollo the others were harder cases.
"I agree with Hermes, I even had a talk with mother and it is shocking, but I may forgive her for throwing me of Olymphos one day, but till then we will act decent with each other." Hephaestus said at which Ares stared wide eyed at his blood brother while Hermes started gapping, so he didn't imagine Hera smiling at him and his granddaughter.
"She talked with you?" he asked incredulously. "Why didn't she do the same with me, I mean I'm also her son." Ares said feeling slightly hurt, not that he would ever admit it out loud.
"She has her reasons to believe that you would not be interested in what she says, but maybe you could start a conversation with her and see how it goes." the God of Smiths suggested to his brother, he didn't want to tell Ares what they mother told him how she felt when his brother's spectre of power got revealed, it was not his place to tell, something in him didn't want to break his mother's trust.
"I may try." Ares said finally.
"We should now get going." Dionysus suddenly said getting the attention of his siblings.
"Lets go, everyone pick a direction and start searching, Apollo can't be that hard to find." Athena said as all of them nodded and run into different directions.
At the same time were a number of minor gods gathered together, moving they heads from right to left like some will do when tennis matches get invented. Some flinched on occasions; some looked amused while others made small bets.
"Someone please remind me that whatever Lord Zeus did that I don't do the same." said Eulabeia while watching with morbid fascination as the King of the Gods was again thrown against a large tree by the powers of his angry sister who at the moment looked as if she could make a whole army of Titans run away crying by only looking at them.
"I don't care whatever he said, let me enjoy this sight." Eris said as she was eating some grapes, the goddess of strife was highly enjoying the torment of her sister's attacker no matter who made him suffer.
"I think it would be a good idea if no one tells Lady Demeter that when she is angry like this her nose scrunches just like that of her father when he was in that mood." whispered Thrasos, even he wasn't that bold to do that and he was the personification of that act!
This was also when Dionysus passed them in the search for his brother, stopping for a few seconds to see the prediction his father was in.
"Well, I certainly don't want to be in his place at the moment." he said while leaving the crowd of onlooking minor divinities and made his way to the other side of the clearing where he stopped again in his tracks when spotting a familiar figure sitting under one of the olive trees, her smile warming his heart like always.
"You always seem to find me wherever I'm." Ariadne said as she stood up from the ground, dusting some grass from her white dress as her husband reached her, kissing her hands gently.
"That is because I love you Ariadne." he told her, but on the inside he wondered how she would react to the knowledge that currently in the palace three children sat who were his with two mortal women.
"My Lord, may I ask you a question?" Ariadne inquired with a gentle smile on her lips, but a part of her was slightly nervous, she chided that side to keep still.
"Whatever you wish, I will answer you with all honesty." he told his lovely princess, her small hands still in his, he was glad that Theseus had no clue that she was here, but a part of him was more concentrated on her upcoming question.
"Would you find me if I would be lost?" now that question surprised him and also made him force himself to not look in panic at the palace. Did she know about the children or Theseus being here? Was she planning on leaving him? Neither of those questions made him happy, but he remembered that she waited for his answer so he did.
"I would find you wherever you are, just like on that island and inside the Underworld." Dionysus answered.
"Would you also find me if only a part of me was lost?" she asked again stunning her husband. What did she mean by that question that finding her when only a part of her was gone, but again he answered her with that what he felt.
"I would still find you no matter what or how long it takes." he answered at which she gave him a relieved smile which confused him, but her soft lips on his made him forget about it.
"I thank you my Lord for answering me honestly, now I believe you were in a hurry for something?" her husband nodded at this and even if reluctantly, but he let go of her hands and started walking away, but turned around one last time.
"Ariadne, try avoiding the west part of the clearing, my aunt is currently busy there using my father as a kind of ball to toss against trees." he informed her at which the Goddess of Labyrinths nodded while watching her husband depart, a warm relieved feeling flooding her body.
Artemis, Orion and Apollo
The Goddess of the Hunt was hurrying through the lush forest in a frantic search for her twin brother. She had not found him on the archery range like she expected or everywhere near the vicinity, then she checked Hermes's rooms where he had hidden out a few times when he had made her angry, but also no such luck. His room in the main palace was also empty, the ranch? She didn't know that they had flesh eating horses there, she would need to find out who they belonged to, but not was not the time.
She needed to find Apollo before he does something stupid like when going for that python.
She remembered how panicked she felt when going to his room and finding a note that he went to kill the monster which had tormented they mother for so long. The agonizing fear which nearly paralyzed her when he returned looking half dead, his clothes were dirty from mud, blood and guts, ripped, she nearly didn't recogrinaize him with his golden hair nearly looking black from the dried blood and dirt, his face on one side swollen, he had broken bones, several deep gashes by which he was lucky that they didn't get infected. He was to thin for her comfort and could barely stand and that was not only because of his broken right let. She had taken care of him, bringing him back to health, she had wondered back then if this would be one of her tasks in her eternal life.
"Lady Artemis!" a voice from behind her broke the goddess out of her thoughts and made her whirl around to see a familiar demigod nearing her looking relieved that he had managed to catch up to her.
"Orion, what are you doing here?" she asked him in surprise while trying to understand if her heart beat faster from her worry for her brother or because of the other's presence.
"I come to help you find Lord Apollo." he knew that this was partly a lye, Lord Apollo looked like he would just love to burn him into a crisp and throw his remains into Tartaros whenever he saw him and he was currently making an understatement here, but he hoped to get some points for helping his sister finding him.
"I'm the Goddess of the Hunt, I can track him down." she said, but right after that wanted to kick herself, Apollo was not some kind of wild animal which needed tracking down, but her brother who needed finding.
She was to busy with her thoughts that she failed to notice the tick root which was standing out of the ground and tripped on it suddenly which would have ended in an ungraceful fall if it weren't for the strong arms which wrapped around her. Looking up found the Goddess her eyes locked with deep, sea-green eyes making her freeze down.
"Are you alright Milady?" Orion asked the goddess worriedly while trying to ignore the fact how wonderful it felt to hold her in his arms, they bodies so close and when she placed her hands on his arms little sparks of electricity went through his body.
"Ye…yes I was careless." Artemis said feeling embarrassed that she did such a mistake; she needed to get a grip on herself while trying to ignore the strange feeling spreading in her. She was not used to being held by a man, the only one who had ever held her had been the very same person she was now looking for and no one other, not even her father.
"You are more then welcome Lady Artemis." Orion whispered softly, they faces were so close that he wondered if it would be ok to kiss her, but before he could find out someone cleared they throat behind them making Artemis pull away from his in a hurry, both of them blushing in embarrassment.
"Lady Artemis, I come to bring you to your brother." Octavian said while trying not to glare at the son of Neptune who had his arms on his grandaunt a few seconds ago making the augur pleased that he arrived just in time.
"Please show me the way Octavian." Artemis said while walking over to her grandnephew, when her back was to the two young men Octavian gave a warning glare to Orion who shuddered while cursing on the inside that Lord Apollo's glare seemed to be inheritable as seemed his dislike towards him. Just wonderful.
It took Octavian only like ten minutes to reach the place where both his grandfather and uncle were. When they arrived he caught Will's eyes who nodded and gently pulled away from the blonde God and gave up his place to his aunt, joining his nephew both of them walking away while Octavian relented to him how he found her with Orion.
Apollo had been slightly confused when he felt the warmth of his son retreat form him and be replaced by a slightly cooler warmth he knew only all to well. Opening his eyes looked sky-blue ones up into silver ones. He was stunned that she was there and holding him, the last time she did that was after he killed they mother's tormentor after that no more, but here she was now hugging him fiercely against her chest, her face and right hand buried into his hair.
Artemis let the world slip by her when the relief of having found her brother flooded through her making her want to never let him go. Holding him like this, feeling his warmth go through her body reminded him on the time when they were little and one of them would sneak into the other's bed and they would snuggle up against each other. She enjoyed this mostly in the colder nights, her brother and twin she helped be born had always been precious to her. No matter how irritating carefree he was, no matter his dumb comments or his constant flirtings with her hunters she still cared about him, but failed to show it. She silently wondered when they had drifted apart that it become so hard for her to just smile at him, to hug her brother. She knew that it had nothing to do with her vow to stay a virgin and never let a man touch her in that way, he himself had not some time ago declared to Aphrodite that he would never be interested in her like that so when did they bond start to vein? Then she thought that she heard Demeter scream her father's name and it hit her, when they come to live at they father's court and become part of the Council of the Twelve Olympians, after that everything started to change. They started slipping away from each other, her spending more and more time with the hunt or Athena, constantly fighting with the thickhead Aphrodite while he spent his time pulling silly pranks with Hermes and flirting around constantly. They were slipping through each others fingers like the light they seem to emit, like Helios's and Selene's avatars which they took over for them on occasions, the moon and sun are constantly separated.
"Arty?" Apollo's soft whine made her look down at him in confusion.
"You are kind of hurting me." he said with a careful, but still pained smile making Artemis blush as she realized that she had constantly tightened her hold on him while she was thinking.
"Sorry…" she said still blushing.
"It is fine." Apollo said as he leaned back into his twins embrace feeling just like when they had been little and neither wanted that any different.
Back in the palace
The demigods were still waiting for the gods to return so they found ways to busy themselves with talking to each other about the similarities and differences of they camps and how they could improve them with changes much to the relief of they trainers who were watching them with unwavering eyes. Well not fully seeing how little Perses had jumped down from his mother's lap and had made his way over to the two immortal trainers of heroes and started bombarding them with eager questions like any little kid would who knew that they granddad was a god and that they parents got together with his daddy turning a monster into stone while riding a flying horse to save his mommy. Yes, that is certainly not your typical 'I met your mom on a dance' type of story. Fredric watched the whole thing silently as the demigods interacted with each other; feeling slightly surprised that even though there were thousand of years between some of them that the fact that they were demigods made them still able to understand one another. Both Queen Amphitrite and her son Triton had retreated not long ago, the queen to see after Aphrodite and her daughters while her son went to investigate that loud scream which sounded suspiciously like the name of Lord Zeus. It didn't take all to long for the Queen of the Seas to return with a slightly pale green looking Aphrodite clinging to her, both Dakota and Beckendorf hurried forth to assist Silena and Gwen with getting back to they seats. Sue also returned with the children, but gave her husband a small glare for not coming with them. Triton got back after them followed by his father, younger brother who avoided all questioning gazes, and his two aunts, but neither Zeus or Demeter were with them. Apollo and Artemis were next much to the relief of everyone looked the god somewhat back to normal, Apollo's kids and grandson strolled after them and being followed five minutes later by Hades and his family. The rest of the council arrived another five minutes later, but still there was no sign of Zeus and Demeter.
"Uhm…where are father and Aunt Demeter?" Apollo asked after his half-siblings finished either hugging him or giving him a pat on the shoulder.
"The two of them had kind of a let's say disagreement." Poseidon tried to explain while throwing a fleeting glance at his niece who had decided that she didn't like sitting on her throne anymore and was instead in her husband's lap. Was it only him, or looked Apollo disappointed and was one of his sons knowing something?
"So this is why she lets the trees smack him around like a leather ball?" Dionysus asked as his sibling blinked at him.
"She does what?" everyone in the room inquired when the doors opened revealing a still fuming Demeter who threw a murderous glare at the limping King of Heavens, who looked as if a forest had attacked him which in a way really was the case, when spotting her daughter's new seating arrangements.
"Sorry for the delay, we should continue now." she said making her way briskly to her throne while Apollo tended to his father as Bellerophon picked up the book and started reading after finding the paragraph he left of, this was also the time Misty gave the signal for returning.
The winning side, Zeus and Poseidon, made Hades swear an oath with them: no more affairs with mortal women. They all swore on the River Styx."
The hall went silent as beside Hades and Persephone everyone of the past stared gapping at both Zeus and Poseidon who on the other hand looked bewildered.
"You know, I could see this oath more better if it would have been the other way around." Hermes said with the others nodding.
"And we know how much that one was kept in the end." Hera said while looking over at the children who come form the future.
Thunder boomed.
I said, "That's the most serious oath you can make."
Grover nodded.
"And the brothers kept their word-no kids?"
"Not as it seems." Orpheus said jokingly as he looked at the legacies who grinned back at his sheepishly.
Grover's face darkened. "Seventeen years ago, Zeus fell off the wagon.
Everyone nodded at this while said god glowered at his family, but didn't dare to say anything this was the whole thing with Dionysus all over again.
There was this TV starlet with a big fluffy eighties hairdo-he just couldn't help himself. When their child was born, a little girl named Thalia . . .
Annabeth bit back a sob, her poor friend, Sally walked over to her mom and hugged her she would have liked to tell her that in they time aunt Thalia was fine, but that would spoil the end of the second book.
well, the River Styx is serious about promises. Zeus himself got off easy because he's immortal, but he brought a terrible fate on his daughter."
Zeus looked down on the ground, but looked up when Jay suddenly gasped in shock, his blue eyes wide in realization, his body shaking.
"Jay what is wrong?" Reyna asked worried as Lupa stood up with a sigh from her spot beside Chiron and walked over to the blonde praetor.
"I was made to swear that I will keep it a secret." Lupa started as she looked over at the legacies if she should say it or not.
"It may be mentioned somewhere in the Lost Hero, but I think you should tell the basic." Nathan told the wolf goddess who nodded and nudged Jason gently with her nose.
"The young lady who just got mentioned his both Jason's full-blood and half-sister, Jay had been given into my care when he was around two years old." Lupa said to the confused and shocked audience while settling beside Jason and allowing him to lean into her rust coloured fur like he had tended to do when he had been little.
"How can someone be ones full-blood and half-sibling at the same time?" asked Jake looking at both Annabeth and Malcolm.
"Thalia's father is Lord Zeus, but when he visited her mother for the second time was he in his for as Jupiter." Lupa explained patiently while Jay was still snuggled up against her, his shoulders shaking slightly which made his siblings and friends worried, these books were giving all of them a heart break. "Continue reading and you will understand his reaction." Lupa said sighing; her pup needed her for a while.
"But that isn't fair! It wasn't the little girl's fault."
No one commented, but on the inside were all demigods agreeing, but unfortunately it seemed that it were always them who were punished or made to attorn for they parents sins.
Grover hesitated."Percy, children of the Big Three have powers greater than other half-bloods.
"And he is part of the strongest generation that ever was of them." the present Big Three grandchildren chorused together proudly at which they grandfathers seemed to be stuck between looking proud, worried or in the case of two brothers apologetic towards they spouses. The older heroes only pouted while even Jay managed a small smile before hiding his face again, he knew that his sister was dead, but he feared that he would not hear how she died.
They have a strong aura, a scent that attracts monsters. When Hades found out about the girl, he wasn't too happy about Zeus breaking his oath. Hades let the worst monsters out of Tartarus to torment Thalia.
Jay let out a miserable sob and Annabeth glared at the Lord of the Underworld who on the other hand was looking at is grandchildren, understanding in his eyes now that he knew why he would be so enraged about the birth of that girl. Zeus meanwhile wanted to snap at his brother, but Enysswe's cold tone stopped him.
"He had a right to do what he did, I don't say that it was good, but you had brought his wrath on your daughter if not for you my grandfather would not have reacted like this to her. Your read before only two monsters in two separated time frames, one watching him for months instead of hunting like in her case." Enysswe said making Athena and her children look at her realizing the same thing. "You will know later in the fifth book what you have done to bring that fate on your own child, but as said the only one who is blamed for his reaction is you." she finished with a growl before turning to Bellerophon who immediately started yelping, that kid was Lord Hades's grandkid alright.
A satyr was assigned to be her keeper when she was twelve, but there was nothing he could do. He tried to escort her here with a couple of other half-bloods she'd befriended. They almost made it. They got all the way to the top of that hill."
Annabeth let her head drop again while now Malcolm was also hugging her as Athena and Fredric tensed realizing that Annabeth had been present at that time, making both of them go rigid in they seats.
He pointed across the valley, to the pine tree where I'd fought the minotaur.
The Romans and all those who didn't know the story sat a bit straighter wanting to know the significance of that tree, but they were also worried about Jay who was still hiding his face in Lupa's fur as the wolf placed her head on the teens shoulder.
"All three Kindly Ones were after them, along with a hoard of hell hounds.
Athena had gone deadly pale surprisingly it was Ares who leaned over and patted her arm to try calming his half-sister down, luckily were all to busy listening to the story to pay to much attention to his gesture. Even if they did he would just glare at them, they had told them already the both of them represent the two sides of war, naturally they rub each other of on the wrong way, but that is natural they still balance out each others properties on the battlefield.
They were about to be overrun when Thalia told her satyr to take the other two half-bloods to safety while she held off the monsters. She was wounded and tired, and she didn't want to live like a hunted animal.
Tears were streaming down Annabeth's eyes as she remembered Thalia yelling at Grover to take her and Luke to safety, how Luke had protested, but she didn't change her mind. When Jay let out another whimper scooted Reyna closer to looking at Lupa who nodded and allowed the girl to rest her body against that of the blonde.
The satyr didn't want to leave her, but he couldn't change her mind, and he had to protect the others. So Thalia made her final stand alone, at the top of that hill.
Many bowed they heads at this, the sons of Zeus in they grief for they little sister while the Romans for the sister of they praetor.
As she died, Zeus took pity of her. He turned her into that pine tree. Her spirit still helps protect the borders of the valley. That's why the hill is called Half-Blood Hill."
The sound of small sobs could be heard in and out of the palace before everyone held a minute of silence for the young demigod.
I stared at the pine in the distance.
The story made me feel hollow, and guilty too. A girl my age had sacrificed herself to save her friends. She had faced a whole army of monsters. Next to that, my victory over the Minotaur didn't seem like much. I wondered, if I'd acted differently, could I have saved my mother?
"N…no…what you do…did was also heroic…" Jay said with a weak voice as he pulled away from Lupa, but still allowed Reyna to put her arms around him. Looking to his side he nodded to the she-wolf who nudged him once more before turning away and returning to her spot beside Chiron who looked at her in understanding.
"Grover," I said, "have heroes really gone on quests to the Underworld?"
Dionysus, Orpheus and Hercules nodded they heads they had all gone down there at lest once.
"Sometimes," he said. "Orpheus. Hercules. Houdini."
The mentioned two heroes smiled, but looked puzzled at the third name.
"Houdini was a Son of Hermes and an escaping artist." Malcolm supplied.
"And have they ever returned somebody from the dead?"
"Wrong, there was a certain young man who had come to my realm and managed to leave with the soul he wished to return to life." Hades said with a smile while Dionysus tried not to blush at the hidden praise in his uncle's voice while the others who didn't know looked confused.
"No. Never. Orpheus came close . . .
"Yes I was close, but was too foolish and didn't listen to the kind hearted advice Lord Hades had given me and thus failed." Orpheus said with a sad smile as he remembered his lovely Eurydice.
Percy, you're not seriously thinking-"
"No," I lied. "I was just wondering. So . . . a satyr is always assigned to guard a demigod?"
Grover studied me warily. I hadn't persuaded him that I'd really dropped the Underworld idea. "Not always. We go undercover to a lot of schools. We try to sniff out the half-bloods who have the makings of great heroes. If we find one with a very strong aura, like a child of the Big Three, we alert Chiron. He tries to keep an eye on them, since they cause really huge problems."
"That is putting it lightly what they can do and as said that generation is the most catastrophic of them all." Mich said grinning before he was hit over the head by the children of said catastrophic generation, Sally had by that time returned to her original seat. This only made the gods exchange nervous glances.
"And you found me. Chiron said you thought I might be something special."
Grover looked as if I'd just led him into a trap. "I didn't . . . Oh, listen, don't think like that. If you were-you know-you'd never ever allowed a quest, and I'd never get my license. You're probably a child of Hermes. Or maybe even one of the minor gods, like Nemesis, the god of revenge. Don't worry, okay?"
"Did uncle Grover just call one of my grandaunts a guy?" Enysswe asked in a disbelieving tone while Zeus tried to not say that she certainly was female, but refrained from commenting, he was attacked enough today by angry goddesses.
"Nemesis is certainly not male." Artemis snapped while outside Nemesis let out an indignant shriek that she was not a male god and those who knew her were also confused about the misplacing of her gender.
"Uhm… I think he failed to note the name he brought up as an example and just picked one." Sally tried to save the poor satyr from having a serious talk with her cousin.
I got the idea he was reassuring himself more than me.
There were some snickers at this.
That night after dinner, there was a lot more excitement than usual.
At last, it was time for capture the flag.
When the plates were cleared away, the conch horn sounded and we all stood at our tables.
Campers yelled and cheered as Annabeth and two of her siblings ran into the pavilion carrying a silk banner. It was about ten feet long, glistening gray, with a painting of a barn owl above an olive tree.
Athena and her children beamed, she was feeling a bit calmer now that she didn't hear about how much danger her daughter had been in when she was seven, but wondered what Enysswe meant that what happened had been her father's fault. Fredric had it harder to calm down after hearing what had nearly befallen his child, no wonder she resented him so much.
From the opposite side of the pavilion, Clarisse and her buddies ran in with another banner, of identical size, but gaudy red, painted with a bloody spear and a boar's head.
Now was Ares and Clarisse who were grinning, but it soon disappeared and turned into a frown when he suddenly saw everyone freeze down and stare at him with wide eyes, some were even gapping, his family members included.
"What is it?" he demanded when he saw Hermes point slightly downwards. Raising and eyebrow he looked down and noticed that his hand was still resting on Athena's who had in her worry laced they fingers together. It seemed that she had now also noticed and both of them let go as if they would have been burned.
"Bellerophon, start reading." snapped Athena her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.
I turned to Luke and yelled over the noise, "Those are the flags?"
"Yeah."
"Ares and Athena always lead the teams?"
"Not always," he said. "But often."
"So, if another cabin captures one, what do you do-repaint the flag?"
Only the legacies and Perses snickered at this the others were still kind of in shock form the missunderstandable picture a few sentences ago.
He grinned. "You'll see. First we have to get one."
"Whose side are we on?"
He gave me a sly look, as if he knew something I didn't.
And Luke was back to muttering angrily under his breath.
The scar on his face made him look almost evil in the torchlight.
"I wouldn't say 'almost' dad replace that with 'fully' and you got it perfectly right." Luke said bitterly this seemed to snap everyone out of they daze then now they were all staring at him, his mother looked like whenever she was about to demand and answer, but he only gestured to his uncle to continue.
"We've made a temporary alliance with Athena. Tonight, we get the flag from Ares. And you are going to help."
The legacies scowled.
"He hated that plan mom and looking back at it, the plan was mean." Sally said while looking up at the ceiling, it was strange not seeing the Huntress constellation up there by the others.
The teams were announced. Athena had made an alliance with Apollo and Hermes, the two biggest cabins.
Apollo sunk down blushing in his throne by the looks he was getting, Hermes got of easily seeing that he had a bunch of unclaimed kids in his cabin.
Apparently, privileges had been traded-shower times, chore schedules, the best slots for activities-in order to win support.
"That doesn't sound like a bad idea, making alliances with other teams." Jay said while looking up at Reyna who nodded feeling glad that he started feeling better now.
Ares had allied themselves with everybody else: Dionysus, Demeter, Aphrodite, and Hephaestus. From what I'd seen, Dionysus's kids were actually good athletes, but there were only two of them.
Both Castor and Pollux looked proud at this, it was better as being called plump while Dakota grinned at his brother.
Demeter's kids had the edge with nature skills and outdoor stuff, but they weren't very aggressive.
At this most people who had witnessed or seen the result of the now smugly grinning Demeter's wrath snorted.
"I think father would like to differ about that statement." Apollo whispered to Hermes who nodded eagerly, happy that his brother was back to normal again.
Aphrodite's son and daughters I wasn't too worries about. They mostly sat out every activity and checked their reflections in the lake and did their hair and gossiped.
Aphrodite frowned at his slightly not understanding the problem while Gwen looked a bit envious about that chance, but both Silena and Mitchell were looking at the ground blushing in embarrassment.
"Well, they certainly are ready for a fight whenever the Hunters visit." Malcolm said earning himself a beaming smile from the brunette who sat beside him which on the other hand made him blush. He wasn't even sure why he threw in that statement, but something had bothered him seeing the other look down like that.
"I can imagine if they are anything close in relationship like when they mother and Artemis face of against each other in an argument." Hephaestus said as he found when he had been working on before they made a pause in the reading.
"They certainly are dad." Beckendorf said as he smiled at a blushing Silena before both him and Jake turned back to they left of work.
"Kelly and the other Aphrodite kids in our time are the same." Sally said smiling.
Hephaestus's kids weren't pretty, and there were only four of them, but they were big and burly from working in the metal shop all day. They might be a problem.
"Of course we are, mostly our automatons are the ones you need to look out for." Jake piped in proudly which made his father smile with pride.
That, of course, left Ares's cabin: a dozen of the biggest, ugliest, meanest kids on Long Island, or anywhere else on the planet.
"HEY!" yelled again Ares, his kids and Ace.
Chiron hammered his hoof on the marble.
"Heroes!" he announced. "You know the rules. The creek is the boundary line. The entire forest is fair game. All magic items are allowed. The banner must be prominently displayed, and have no more than two guards. Prisoners may be disarmed, but may not be bound or gagged. No killing or maiming is allowed. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. Arm yourselves!"
The Romans looked interested, this game was in some way similar to they War Games, but also pretty different in the case of some of the rules and how one plays it, but sounded fun none then less.
"Maiming…killing?" Fredric choked out.
"Of course, this is only Capture the Flag and not a war, though most of the time gets the 'no maiming' rule ignored." Annabeth said casually while her brothers exchanged slightly scarred looks, this sounded not fun at all.
"Barbaric." Sue mumbled shuddering.
He spread his hands, and the tables were suddenly covered with equipment: helmets, bronze swords, spears, oxhide shields coated in metal.
"Whoa," I said. "We're really supposed to use them?"
A few people snickered at this while the others only shook they heads.
Luke looked at me as if I were crazy "Unless you want to get skewered by your friends in cabin five. Here-Chiron thought these would fit. You'll be on border patrol."
My shield was the size of an NBA backboard, with a big caduceus in the middle. It weighed about a million pounds. I could have snowboarded on it fine, but I hoped nobody seriously expected me to run fast. My helmet, like all the helmets on Athena's side, had a blue horsehair plume on top. Ares and their allies had red plumes.
"Well, it would be confusing without it." Chris stated remembering that when the game really started was it already hard to tell who was with whom, he didn't want to even think how it would be without the colour of the plumes.
Annabeth yelled, "Blue team, forward!"
We cheered and shook our swords and followed her down the path to the south woods. The red team yelled taunts at us as they headed off toward the north.
I managed to catch up with Annabeth without tripping over my equipment. "Hey."
She kept marching.
"Ow, you are giving him the cool shoulder." Silena said while Annabeth blushed and her father looked pleased, but then remembered the siblings sitting also in this room reminding him tauntingly that she will not keep that act up for to long.
"So what's the plan?" I asked. "Got any magic items you can loan me?"
Her hand drifted toward her pocket, as if she were afraid I'd stolen something.
"Even if we would love it was it already established that he was not our brother and really Annabeth, you have seen our dad and Percy doesn't look like him at all." Travis said while shaking his head at the still blushing Athena girl who was glaring at everyone who snickered at her.
"Just watch Clarisse's spear," she said. "You don't want that thing touching you.
Those who knew what was behind that sentence either grinned or flinched while the others looked confused.
Otherwise, don't worry. We'll take the banner from Ares. Has Luke given you your job?"
"Border patrol, whatever that means."
"It's easy. Stand by the creek, keep the reds away. Leave the rest to me. Athena always had a plan."
Athena beamed while Poseidon rolled his eyes at her.
She pushed ahead, leaving me in the dust.
"Okay," I mumbled. "Glad you wanted me on your team."
Annabeth let her head drop, she really was not making the best impressions on him and she really started wondering how exactly they have managed to end up together.
It was a warm, sticky night. The woods were dark, with fireflies popping in and out of view. Annabeth stationed me next to a little creek that gurgled over some rocks, then she and the rest of the team scattered into the trees.
Standing there alone, with my big blue-feathered helmet and my huge shield, I felt like an idiot.
Again some snickered at this.
The bronze sword, like all the swords I'd tried so far, seemed balanced wrong. The leather grip pulled on my hand like a bowling ball.
There was no way anybody would actually attack me, would they? I mean, Olympus had to have liability issues, right?
"No." come it from all gods, demigods and legacies making Fredric want to groan.
Far away, the conch horn blew. I heard whoops and yells in the woods, the clanking of metal, kids fighting. A blue plumed ally from Apollo raced part me like a deer, leaped through the creek, and disappeared into enemy territory.
The Apollo kids squirmed at this with slight embarrassment while Misty leaned over to Enysswe.
"I think we shouldn't inform your mom that it was him in that paragraph." she whispered to the other girl.
"Only if you want him to black out again with an unnatural skin colour." she answered.
Great, I though. I'll miss all the fun, as usual.
Then I heard a sound that sent a chill up my spine, a low canine growl, somewhere close by.
Everyone tensed at this while the legacies narrowed they eyes, so this was when he had summoned it.
I raised my shield instinctively; I had the feeling something was stalking me.
"Good son, don't let your guard down." Poseidon said nervously.
Then the growling stopped. I felt the presence retreating.
"He certainly has good instincts." Lupa said with approval.
On the other side of the creek, the underbrush exploded. Five Ares warriors came yelling and screaming out of the dark.
"Cream the punk!" Clarisse screamed.
Her ugly pig eyes glared through the slits of her helmet. She brandished a five-foot-long spear, its barbed metal tip flickering with red light. Her siblings had only the standard issue bronze swords-not that made me feel any better.
They charged across the stream. There was no help in sight. I could run. Or I could defend myself against half the Ares cabin.
"Ah mom, if you want to know this is a good deal of the plan dad hated." Sally told her mother who looked somewhat worried, yes she was making horrible impressions on Percy.
I managed to sidestep the first kid's swing, but these guys were not as stupid the Minotaur. They surrounded me, and Clarisse thrust at me with her spear. My shield deflected the point, but I felt a painful tingling all over my body. My hair stood on end. My shield arm went numb and the air burned.
Electricity. Her stupid spear was electric.
Many jaws dropped at his wile Clarisse smiled smugly, her father only grinned he really should infuse some of spears with lightning, the instant flaming ones or the spears which froze everything they impaled were fun and all, but this sounded even better.
I fell back.
Another Ares guy slammed me in the chest with the butt of his sword and I hit the dirt.
They could've kicked me into jelly, but they were too busy laughing.
"Give him a haircut, Clarisse said."Grab his hair."
I managed to get to my feet. I raised my sword, but Clarisse slammed it aside with er spear as sparks flew. Now both my arms felt numb.
"Oh wow," Clarisse said. "I'm scared of this guy. Really scared."
"The flag is that way," I told her. I wanted to sound angry, but I was afraid that it didn't come out that way.
Some were about to open they mouths to complain about that, but Mich spoke up before they could.
"Good for them they didn't make it; I heard that there was a pretty good trap made around the flag which would have stopped about fifteen people at once regards its strength so they would have walked right into it." this made everyone close they mouths again.
"Yeah," one of her siblings said. "But see, we don't care about the flag. We care about a guy who made our cabin look stupid."
"And there was that also." Mich said sheepishly while those who had at least once been on the receiving end of the Ares cabin's wrath flinched in sympathy and Poseidon glared at his nephew.
"I think that was uncle Mark who commented that." Ace added in looking thoughtful.
"You do that without my help," I told them. It probably wasn't the smartest thing to say.
"You think?" Hermes asked as some people groaned at the guy's ability to say the wrong thing at the wrong time.
Two of them came at me. I backed up toward the creek, tried to raise my shield, but Clarisse was too fast. Her spear stuck me straight in the ribs. If I hadn't been wearing an armored breastplate, I would've been shishkebabbed.
As it was, the electric point just about shocked my teeth out of my mouth. One of her cabinmates slashed his sword across my arm, leaving a good-size cut.
Seeing my own blood made me dizzy-warm and cold at the same time.
"Says the guy with the longest track-record of near death experiences." Nathan said shaking his head while Poseidon let out a whimper, Orion, Theseus and even Triton looked only about to be sick.
"No maiming," I managed to say.
"Oops," the guy said. "Guess I lost my dessert privilege."
"I'm always hoping on they liking for sweets." Chiron defended himself when the god stared at him incredulously.
He pushed me into the creek and I landed with a splash. They all laughed. I figured as soon as they were through being amused, I would die.
But then something happened. The water seemed to wake up my senses, as if I'd just had a bag of my mom's double-espresso jellybeans.
Poseidon and his kids relaxed again while both Ares and Clarisse started mumbling curses under they breath about stupid water powers.
Clarisse and her cabinmates came into the creek to get me, but I stood to meet them. I knew what to do. I swung the flat of my sword against the first guy's head and knocked his helmet clean off. I hit him so hard I could see his eyes vibrating as he crumpled into the water.
Ugly Number Two and Ugly Number Three came at me. I slammed one in the face with my shield and used my sword to shear off the other guy's horsehair plume. Both of them backed up quick.
Ugly Number Four didn't look really anxious to attack, but Clarisse kept coming, the point of her spear crackling with energy. As soon as she thrust. I caught the shaft between the edge of my shield and my sword, and I snapped it like a twig.
"You idiot!" screamed Ares, "You corpse-breath worm!"
"Lord Ares, you are kind of talking about the kid of your wrong uncle." Lance said before making a run when suddenly two skeleton warriors rushed after him aided by two sets of silverware.
"Continue Bellerophon, everyone other just ignore my cousin." Misty said while everyone nodded slowly.
"Ah!" she screamed. "You idiot! You corpse-breath worm!"
"Again like father, like daughter."
She probably would've said worse, but I smacked her between the eyes with my sword-butt and sent her stumbling backward out of the creek.
Then I heard yelling, elated screams, and I saw Luke racing toward the boundary line with the red team's banner lifted high. He was flanked by a couple of Hermes guys covering his retreat, and a few Apollos behind them, fighting off the Hephaestus kids. The Ares folks got up, and Clarisse muttered a dazed curse.
"A trick!" she shouted. "It was a trick."
They staggered after Luke, but it was too late. Everybody converged on the creek as Luke ran across into friendly territory. Our side exploded into cheers. The red banner shimmered and turned to silver. The boar and spear were replaced with a huge caduceus, the symbol of cabin eleven.
There were some happy cheers from the winning team, but the legacies were frowning, they knew what was about to come.
Everybody on the blue team picked up Luke and started carrying him around on their shoulders. Chiron cantered out from the woods and blew the conch horn.
The game was over. We'd won.
I was about to join the celebration when Annabeth's voice, right next to me in the creek, said, "Not bad, hero."
I looked, but she wasn't there.
There were a few looks of confusion.
"Where the heck did you learn to fight like that?" she asked. The air shimmered, and she materialized, holding a Yankees baseball cap as if she'd just taken it off her head.
I felt myself getting angry. I wasn't even fazed by the face that she'd just been invisible.
"You set me up," I said. "You put me here because you knew Clarisse would come after me, while you sent Luke around the flank. You had it all figured out."
Annabeth shrugged. "I told you. Athena always always has a plan."
"A plan to get him pulverized?" Triton asked the daughter of his adopted daughter with a raised eyebrow, she didn't dare meeting his eyes.
"A plan to get me pulverized."
"Ugh…no one says a word." Triton groaned while some people tried not to snicker.
"I came as fast as I could. I was about to jump in, but . . ." she shrugged. "You didn't need help."
Then she noticed my wounded arm. "How did you do that?"
"Sword cut," I said. "What do you think?"
"No. It was a sword cut. Look at it!"
The blood was gone. Where the huge cut had been, there was a long white scratch, and even that was fading. As I watched, it turned into a small scar, and disappeared.
"That is so cool, I wish we had such instant heal powers." Dakota commented.
"It would certainly make it easier for us in the infirmary." Lee said sighing while both Perseus and Hercules glowered at they smug looking cousins.
"I-I don't get it," I said.
Annabeth was thinking hard. I could almost see the gears turning. She looked down at my feet, then at Clarisse's broken spear, and said, "Step out of the water, Percy."
"What-"
"Just do it."
I came out of the creek and immediately felt bone tired. My arms started to go numb again. My adrenaline rush left me. I almost fell over, but Annabeth steadied me.
"Not the best idea." Katie said to Annabeth who nodded.
"Oh Styx," she cursed. "This is not good. I didn't want . . . I assumed it would be Zeus . . ."
Zeus stared glowering again only because he had some affairs going on, sometimes more at the same time didn't mean that every kid belonged to him.
"Stop glowering you are always a plausible choice in the case of a demigod child and you had broken that oat as it seems twice, using both your forms." Hera told her husband who was acting like a little kid, now that she thought about it, Hercules had certainly inherited a good deal of his father's personality and the insult to name him Heracles was really to much.
Before I could ask what she meant, I heard that canine growl again, but much closer than before. A howl ripped through the forest.
Everyone tensed while Hades remembered something and looked at the legacies.
"Someone had summoned a hellhound." he said at which the children nodded while everybody else paled, this was certainly not a peculiar joke to do, they now understood why no one would summon after such an incident anything out of fun.
The campers' cheering died instantly. Chiron shouted something in Ancient Greek, which I would realize, only later, I had understood perfectly. "Stand ready! My bow!"
Annabeth drew her sword.
Annabeth wanted to correct that it was a knife, but refrained herself from it, still feeling worried about the situation they were in.
There on the rocks just above us was a black hound the size of a rhino, with lava-red eyes and fangs like daggers.
It was looking straight at me.
Poseidon started hyperventilating and his kids looked no better, the fact that it was looking at Percy meant that whoever had summoned it had picked him as the target.
Nobody moved except Annabeth, who yelled. "Percy, run!"
She tried to step in front of me, but the hound was too fast. It leaped over her-an enormous shadow with teeth-and just as it hit me, as I stumbled backward and felt its razor-sharp claws ripping through my armor,
Poseidon whimpered and buried his head in his wife's dress.
there was a cascade of thwacking sounds, like forty pieces of paper being ripped one after the other. From the hound's neck sprouted a cluster of arrows. The monster fell dead at my feet.
Everyone let out a relieved sigh at this while Poseidon gave Chiron, Apollo and his three present children thankful smiles for saving his son.
By some miracle, I was still alive.
"A miracle that luckily still continues on." Misty said and when they are lucky then it will certainly continue on.
I didn't want to look underneath the ruins of my shredded armor. My chest felt warm and wet, and I knew I was badly cut.
Another second and the monster would've turned me into a hundred pounds of delicatessen meat.
Chiron trotted up next to us, a bow in his hand, his face grim.
"Di immortales!" Annabeth said. "That's a hellhound from the Fields of Punishment. They don't . . . they're not supposed to . . ."
"Someone summoned it," Chiron said. "Someone inside the camp."
Everyone frowned at this while the legacies exchanged bitter looks, they knew who had been the culprit.
Luke came over, the banner in his hand forgotten, his moment of glory gone.
"Oh, the irony of his arrival." Luke breathed; it was not easy to deal with the fact when you are named after a hero and a jerk at the same time.
Clarisse yelled, "It's all Percy's fault! Percy summoned it!"
Everyone turned to Clarisse with raised eyebrows.
"She was still dazed, frustrated and shocked." Ace defended his mother who gave him a small smile in thanks.
"Be quiet, child," Chiron told her.
We watched the body of the hellhound melt into shadow, soaking into the ground until it disappeared.
"You're wounded," Annabeth told me. "Quick, Percy, get in the water."
"I'm okay."
"No you're not," she said. "Chiron, watch this."
I was too tired to argue. I stepped back into the creek, the whole camp gathering around me.
Instantly, I felt better. I could feel the cuts on my chest closing up. Some of the campers gasped.
"Look, I-I don't know why, I said, trying to apologize."I'm sorry . . ."
But they weren't watching my wounds heal. They were staring at something above my head.
"Percy," Annabeth said, pointing. "Um . . ."
By the time I looked up, the sign was already fading, but I could still make out the hologram of green light, spinning and gleaming. A three-tipped spear: a trident.
"Your father," Annabeth murmured. "This is really not good."
"Why is me claiming my son no…oh the oath." Poseidon said now knowing why he waited so long to claim his son, but he probably had no other option after his powers started to become recogrinaizable.
Meanwhile was Annabeth biting back a sigh, so in the end is it really Percy who is the child of the prophecy, but she still didn't know how he is alive then except if there was more meaning to the prophecy then she had figured out.
"It's determined," Chiron announced.
All around me, campers started kneeling, even the Ares cabin, though they didn't look happy about it.
"This is standard when one gets claimed as a child of the Big Tree, by the others is the kneeling optional." Chiron explained to the Romans who nodded.
"My father?" I asked, completely bewildered.
"Poseidon," said Chiron. "Earthshaker, Stormbringer, Father of Horses, Hail, Perseus Jackson, Son of the Sea God."
"That on the other hand is always the same you only switch the name and titles depending on who the godly parent is." Henry said as a tired Lance fell on they mat beside Misty, panting hard.
"This was the end of the chapter." Bellerophon said as he pushed the book over to Orpheus.
"Ok, could now someone please let my son down again?" Hermes asked while gesturing to Connor who was still tied up by the wine pants.
"Fine." Pollux said snapping his fingers and the son of Hermes crashed to the ground with a yelp as he glared at the sons of the Wine God who on the other hand looked back at him smugly.
"Orpheus, start reading, if there are no more longer pauses we may finish two more chapters after this then we will have dinner and go to bed." Hera said while everyone nodded in agreement with the plan.
To be continued…
