Looking down at the title looked Athena somewhat confused, but she certainly got that Poseidon's spawn will wreck something just like his father would.
I Ruin a Perfectly Good Bus
"A what?" Orion asked before anyone could stop him and Annabeth opened her mouth to answer, but Will beat her to it.
"Something like a large chariot with four wheels which can drive without horses and has a roof over it. It is used by many people as means of transportation." he explained, but his siblings and friends noted that there was a type of hostility in his happy tone while he looked at the son of Poseidon.
"Why would he ruin something like that?" Perseus asked still a bit surprised about the whole horseless chariot thing.
"If we let Lady Athena read you will know." Misty cut in or this conversation could go on for a while, it was already a wonder that no one of the antique were asking questions after every second word because they have no clue what that is.
"O…of course, forgive us Milady." Perseus said to the goddess blushing in embarrassment.
"It is alright." she replied before starting to read.
It didn't take me long to pack. I decided to leave the Minotaur horn in my cabin, which left me only an extra change of clothes and a toothbrush to stuff in a backpack Grover had found for me.
The camp store loaned me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. These coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold.
The gods nodded at this as if this would have been a ridiculous thing to think otherwise.
"By the way, I'm curious if you also use drachma as your currency?" Annabeth asked as she leaned closer to the Romans.
"No, we use denarii which are much smaller and are made of silver though our weapons are made out of Imperial Gold." Reyna explained to Annabeth who nodded.
Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions—whatever that meant.
"Oh, don't worry dad you will know." Sally said giggling.
He gave Annabeth and me each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.
The demigods and legacies from the future nodded when they noticed that those from the past were looking at them with wide eyes.
"Uh…yes?" Annabeth asked carefully.
"How come that you are in possession of ambrosia and nectar?" asked Athena.
"That we have it was already mentioned some chapters ago." Annabeth answered her mother not understanding the problem.
"Yes, but we thought that it get provided when a camper arrives badly injured, but not that there is a larger amount of it." Athena answered back while the past heroes felt a bit jealous, those would have come handy on they own quests.
"When the camps were established had the gods decided to provide a large number of ambrosia and nectar so that when the young demigods should go for a quest and before we had protective borders was it to help the children survive. After the magical borders were established was it decided that we should still keep both things for safety measures." Chiron explained to the gods who nodded slowly.
Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom.
Mother and daughter smiled at each other.
She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. I was sure the knife would get us busted the first time we went through a metal detector.
"Our weapons can't be detected by those mortal devices." Jake said with a shrug of his shoulder.
Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.
"Agreed." those who have heard it Grover play on his pipes said.
"There is a ground our half-brother had given that music the title 'piano concerto' and not 'reed pipe concerto'" Lee said shuddering he was sure that Amadeus would be not pleased to know what was done to his work.
We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.
Those who didn't know that she was fine looked down in silence for a minute.
Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer dude I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. According to Grover, the guy was the camp's head of security.
"Thank you." Hera said happily to Chiron while Zeus scowled, it annoyed his how attached his wife was to that creature.
He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.
"This is Argus," Chiron told me. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."
"Chiron, do you wish that we also include to your subject changing classes also additional ones about how to make good puns?" Connor asked they activity director who was blushing and shaking his head.
"I will put him down for three just in case." Travis said and scribbled it down in the black not book.
I heard footsteps behind us.
Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.
And Luke was back to muttering again, but this time looked also Henry and Enysswe close to joining him in whatever he was saying.
"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."
"Ooohh, I'm sure that you were." Luke said sweetly making some people shiver and hope that they will be soon by the last book.
Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.
Cue blushing Annabeth, growling from both Jackson siblings and happy grins from Aphrodite and her daughters, much to some people's confusion was Mitchell frowning anstead of joining in with his siblings and mother.
"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these."
"Gee, I wonder why?" this time it was Henry who asked with false wonder, his golden eyes flashing like the metal itself.
He handed me the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal.
Luke said,"Maia!"
"GAAAHHH" everyone heard the scream closely followed be the sound of crashing and a type of whimpered command before a dazed Hermes crashed into Apollo's lap almost knocking the wind out of his brother.
"Dad/granddad!" yelled his kids and grandchildren.
"I got this under control." Apollo said in a pained tone as she put his brother back into his throne, after making sure that he had no broken bones, and went to treat him.
"Knew that I should have changed shoes before coming here." Hermes groaned, his intimate rendezvous with the ceiling was anything, but fun, leave alone the landing on Apollo. He really loved his half-brother, but not like that to be in his lap!
"So you'r using your mother's name as the activation's command?" Zeus asked not noticing how Hera flinched, but Hephaestus did so he stood up and gave his mother a hug much to the surprise of his father, uncle and aunts except Hestia who smiled brightly at the exchange.
"Granddad, you should go changing your shoes then, it is better for your health." Misty said and Hermes nodded then flashed out for five minutes.
"We can continue." he said while Hephaestus went back to his throne, but as he did so nudged his brother that he should not delay his talk with they mother for to long.
White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much, I dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.
"Awesome!" Grover said.
Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.
"Strange, dad and uncle Travis used theirs for pranks in camp." Misty said testily while her dad and uncle turned to her they eyes shining while the others held back they groans only because they looked so hopeful and happy at the moment.
"Yup, both personally delivered by granddad on your respective birthdays." Lance said while the brothers turned now to they father.
"Thank you so much dad, you are the best." both chorused to Hermes who grinned back at them feeling happy to see the excited faces of his children.
"No problem boys." he replied.
I didn't know what to say. It was cool enough that Luke had come to say good-bye. I'd been afraid he might resent me for getting so much attention the last few days.
"Nah, he resents you for what your existence means if he can't get you to be his buddy." Luke said testily.
"I'm really starting to worry about him." whispered Pollux to Katie who nodded.
But here he was giving me a magic gift... It made me blush almost as much as Annabeth.
"The first person to comment on this sentence will have Enysswe to deal with." Sally said darkly, she hated using her friend as a threat, but really if even one comments that her dad might have felt attracted to the original Luke will she not fear using drastic measures.
"Should I be worried that she is using our granddaughter as a threat?" Hades whispered to his wife who looked thoughtful.
"I'm not sure, but till now has she shown that she is pretty powerful." Persephone whispered back while Athena continued reading not doubting that her granddaughter would go with her threat.
"You know that I hate being used as a threat." Enysswe whispered to Sally who shrugged.
"Better then hearing someone gush that my dad wanted to date that guy." she whispered back not even wanting to think about the idea with which Aphrodite would come up with for her parents if she thought that. No need to ad them to the already existing threesome relationships, some have in the future En's parents not counted in.
"Hey, man," I said. "Thanks."
"Listen, Percy ..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?"
"Oh, please can't you make a more pathetic comment?" Luke said while rolling his eyes.
"I would really like to know what you have against him?" Annabeth said, she could really not take it much longer.
"You will see soon mom." Luke replied back as Sally signalled to they grandmother that she should continue before an argument breaks out.
We shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.
Annabeth blushed momentanly forgetting that she was angry at her son.
After Luke was gone, I told her, "You're hyperventilating."
"Am not."
"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"
Cue the growling.
"Just forget it, the book will tell us what the problem is." Clarisse said when Annabeth looked as if she might say something.
"Oh... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"
Before Aphrodite could say her suggestion was she beat to it by her grandson.
"I don't think that you want to drag out this reading with also going over the list you have written, it is easily seventy feet long and you are still not done." Mich added in which made everyone gap at the blushing daughter of Athena.
"Aphrodite, are you alright?" Hephaestus asked his wife who was fanning herself.
"Ye…yes I'm only feeling a bit feint from the thought of such a romance." she replied back smiling while her husband carefully nodded before exchanging slightly worried glances with his brother.
She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.
I picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. I looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use these, will I?"
"Good." the legacies said together making everyone bite they tongues in frustration that they had not the slightest clue, except two, what they problem was.
He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy.
Luke snorted at this. "Meant well my ahumpf."
"Don't you dare finish that sentence Luke Jackson." Sally told her brother before she took her hand from his mouth.
But taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."
I nodded, disappointed, but then I got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"
His eyes lit up. "Me?"
Pretty soon we'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.
"Maia!"he shouted.
"I see what you meant with it being better if I changed shoes." Hermes said, his head was still throbbing a bit from his crash, but at least was his back fine, unlike by Apollo.
"True and Herm, I think aunt Demeter should set you on a wheat diet." Apollo huffed at which his brother stared at him with horror filled eyes while Demeter's eyes lit up.
"My pleasure." Demeter said as Hermes become even paler.
"Apollo, please no, have mercy." he pleaded, but the other only ignored him as his back gave another small reminder that they were used as a landing place.
He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.
"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"
"Practice, really Chiron this is what you tell him right before a quest while he is in the air with flying shoes he can't control?" Lupa asked the blushing centaur which made the gods chuckle, yes they were certainly seeing what Aphrodite's kids saw.
"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van.
Cue hysterical laughter from all those who have imagined the scene, it took everyone a good ten minutes to calm down again so that Athena could continue.
Before I could follow, Chiron caught my arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason—they all got more training."
Both mentioned men nodded with Jason smiling at his old teacher that he mentioned him even thought he was not a demigod.
"That's okay. I just wish—"
I stopped myself because I was about to sound like a brat. I was wishing my dad had given me a cool magic item to help on the quest, something as good as Luke's flying shoes, or Annabeth's invisible cap.
"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this."
He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. Probably cost thirty cents.
"Is this the same as in the museum?" Athena asked the legacies who nodded.
"Now he will have a balanced sword." Clarisse said approvingly.
"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."
"I really would like to know that prophecy." Annabeth mumbled again, but let her mother continue.
I remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when I'd vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown me a pen that turned into a sword. Could this be...?
I took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, I held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in my hand.
Both Artemis and Hercules frowned that sword sounded eerily familiar to them.
"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told me.
"It certainly does." Enysswe said as her eyes flashed at Hercules who tensed at her glare when Athena gasped as she noticed the next line in the book and threw a fleeting glance at her fidgeting half-brother and at her sister.
"Its name is Anaklusmos." "Its name is Anaklusmos."
Again fell a deep silence over everything when suddenly two voices broke out.
"WHAT!" screamed both Artemis and Hercules.
"This is the same sword my poor Zoe gave this jerk of a man." Artemis sheeted while pointing at Hercules who was still stunned that the sword would end up by one of his cousins.
"Lady Artemis, please sit down and let Lady Athena continue." Henry said carefully not even flinching when the goddess turned into his direction, he put that down that living in the Underworld kind of gives you a longer resistance for glares. "Milady, beside that we have mentioned about you accepting him there will be another person who will be glad that this blade will be placed into my uncle's property." he finished.
"Fine." Artemis huffed as she sat back down, but sent one last glare at Hercules which indicated that if he makes even one noise till they are done for tonight will she shoot him with an arrow where it really hurts.
Seeing that things have calmed down somewhat started Athena reading again while Apollo took his sister's hand into his.
"'Riptide,'" I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.
"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary,
"Unfortunately was someone to busy with his daddy issues to get that memo." Luke growled so that only those sitting the closest to him could hear.
of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."
I looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals?" How could it not?
"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first.
The gods all looked over at a fidgeting Chiron with raised eyebrows.
But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."
"I hope you remember that you are sending a twelve years old boy out on a dangerous quest." Amphitrite said to Chiron who avoided her gaze.
"I'm sorry Lady Amphitrite." he said.
"Good to know."
"Now recap the pen."
I touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. I tucked it in my pocket, a little nervous, because I was famous for losing pens at school.
"You can't," Chiron said.
"Can't what?"
"Lose the pen," he said. "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."
"Wish my coin would have that function." Jay said while looking up at Reyna who was still busy playing with his hair, he was really liking this less cold side of her.
I was wary, but I threw the pen as far as I could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass.
"It may take a few moments," Chiron told me. "Now check your pocket."
Sure enough, the pen was there.
"Which is really useful." Clarisse noted while the others nodded they heads in agreement.
"By the way, what would have happened if Chiron had been wrong?" Connor asked suddenly while looking over at his teacher.
"I would have probably gotten the whole camp to look for it in the grass." Chiron replied with a shrug while the children paled.
"What is with them?" Felix asked curiously.
"That grass on that hill is waist high." was Dakota's simple reply at which both Trickster and Felix exchanged a shocked glance.
"I think I agree with them." Felix replied hurriedly.
"Okay, that's extremely cool," I admitted. "But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"
Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."
"Mist?"
"Yes. Read The Iliad.
"Which is about the Trojan War." Odysseus said still feeling slightly uncomfortable about the fact that there is a whole epos about his journey back home.
It's full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans.
"Though not always as one would like it." Sally mumbled to her parents remembering how much trouble the Mist had caused her parents on this quest.
You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."
The demigods nodded at this while the Chases felt somewhat offended, but didn't comment.
I put Riptide back in my pocket.
For the first time, the quest felt real. I was actually leaving Half-Blood Hill. I was heading west with no adult supervision, no backup plan, not even a cell phone. (Chiron said cell phones were traceable by monsters; if we used one, it would be worse than sending up a flare.) I had no weapon stronger than a sword to fight off monsters and reach the Land of the Dead.
"So the usual for a demigod." Theseus supplied starting to feel worried again for his little brother.
"Chiron ..." I said. "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time before them, right?"
The older gods shuddered.
"He really needed to ask now did he?" Demeter asked.
"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age,
"Which certainly is a misnomer if one asks anyone beside some of the dangerous Titans." Sally said while the gods nodded in agreement as Athena beamed, it seemed that there was some hope for the children of her daughter's union.
which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."
"So what was it like ... before the gods?"
The mood continued to darken.
Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge.
Athena and her children shuddered at the thought of no knowledge.
But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall.
"It is hard to forget that." Enysswe growled at Zeus, Prometheus had not deserved his punishment at all and even after what he was made to go through he still tired to help they side. "The next time one does something you don't like because you get jealous that you failed to do the same as them be a man and suck it up." she growled leaving only two things which stopped a furious Zeus from trying to attack the girl beside the fact that both his brother and son would attack him in return was his oath and the fact that the Fates and Lady Nyx would react more then unkind to him.
"I don't need to defend myself in front of a kid." Zeus growled out locking eyes with the Mortal Goddess.
"You really don't, the books will give freely what you are in denial about and refuse to acklowge." she said resting her case and yes she knew that she was acting disrespectful, but as her grandfather told her; "The kin of the Night Goddess only respects those who earn it." In other words she will show respect if Zeus admits his mistakes, beside that is she in the least danger to be hurt by him unlike her cousins.
"Will, your daughter had guts." Michael whispered to his little brother who looked worriedly at his daughter.
"Athena, I think you should continue." Ares whispered to his sister, even if he liked war between his relatives, but something told him that it would not be fun if his father and his grandniece/cousin start fighting.
"I'm with you." Athena replied and started reading hurriedly, if her calculations were right would most of them get hurt if a fight breaks out.
Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."
Athena continued before anyone could comment.
"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So ... even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?"
"Sorry uncle Percy, but yes it would have ended it all." Lance said knowingly before Misty hit him over the head. "What was that for?" he asked his cousin.
"Stop making them nervous." she said gesturing to everyone other who were looking somewhat uncomfortable.
"Uh…sorry."
Chiron gave me a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive.
"Chiron you forgot sheeting with rage." Ace added in while Misty went to hit him also for not helping the others with they nerves.
May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."
"Our destiny ... assuming we know what that is."
"Relax," Chiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."
"Chiron, we also ad you in for pep talk classes, this was again a horrible example from your side." Travis said gravely as they teacher blushed.
"Relax," I said. "I'm very relaxed."
"That I doubt." Triton said with a raised eyebrow.
When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur.
There were a few weak snickers at the last sentence.
Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to me as if we were normal carpoolers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, the real world seemed like a fantasy. I found myself staring at every McDonald's,
Enysswe sent a glare at her cousins that they should not dare make a noise, it was not her and her dad's fault that the ghosts seemed to like the food they make.
every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.
With each word got those from the antique more and more confused, but they didn't ask because they wanted to hear the story.
"So far so good," I told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."
She gave me an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, Seaweed Brain."
"Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?"
"I don't hate you."
"Could've fooled me."
"Agreed." the demigods said while Annabeth blushed, she was really messing up there even if the two of them would not end up together, Percy sounded like a nice guy who could make a good friend and she was acting like this with him because of his dad.
She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look ... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."
"Why?"
She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful.
Athena read that part with a growl.
"Technically she was only his lover and not girlfriend and grandmother, you kind of went overboard with your reaction." Sally said while Perseus nodded with a shiver as he remembered the sleeping Medusa.
"I did not." Athena said defiantly as Sally sighed.
"Please continue reading, our argument would only take pointlessly time away from reading and after this we still need to manage one last chapter for today." Sally said, the next chapter would make her grandmother understand.
"Fine." Athena said suspiciously, what she saw from the girl could she note that she is coming more after her mother and the fact that she gave up this easily bothered her, but she continued reading, she will figure it out after the reading when they had all retired for the night.
Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift.
"Which kind of had its own uses if one knows how." Henry said making the goddess of Wisdom stare at him.
"What do you mean." she saw by any means no use for that well as did the people of her city.
"Well, if one knows how to separate the salt from the water one gets both, water which can be drunk or use to nurture the plants and salt to preserve food like flesh or use it as a kind of spice to some food types." Henry explained to the blinking gods.
"I will continue reading now." Athena said with a faint blush on her cheeks as she ignored everyone around her.
My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."
"They must really like olives."
There were some snickers as Athena continued hurriedly.
"Oh, forget it."
"Now, if she'd invented pizza—that I could understand."
Many nods from the guys who knew what that was.
"I said, forget it!"
In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at me.
"I really don't know if I should laugh or groan." Sally said while looking at her brother who nodded.
"What do you mean?" Katie asked when they suddenly heard Silena, Mitchell and Gwen groan, they mom had passed out in her throne and was now fanned by both her husband and boyfriend.
"Those two are the perfect example for love at first sight and everyone who takes a look at they interactions realizes it except for them." Silena groaned again as Annabeth went red as a tomato while her father spluttered, her mom only looked wide eyed.
"Tell us about it, dad only knew them like for five minutes and he figured it out and he was only ten years old." Enysswe said while the others looked unbelievingly at the girl.
"Mum read." Annabeth pleaded to her mother who luckily complied even if her voice sounded still somewhat mystified.
Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.
Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my mom and Gabe's apartment. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with my picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?
I ripped it down before Annabeth and Grover could notice.
"They both had." Sally supplied.
Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets,
"He is always so forthcoming and dedicated to his tasks." Hera said beaming which made the Greek half-bloods nod in agreement, they also liked Argus when you got over the thing with the eyes you realize that he is pretty fun.
"You really adore him." Aphrodite stated as she finally come to be from the feelings she felt from Hera.
"Of course." the queen replied without missing a beat while her husband leaned back in his throne mumbling about blasted, thousand eyed freaks as some tried not to snicker at his jealousy.
then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot.
I thought about how close I was to my old apartment. On a normal day, my mom would be home from the candy store by now. Smelly Gabe was probably up there right now, playing poker, not even missing her.
Cue growls and threats.
Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction I was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"
I stared at him. "Were you reading my mind or something?"
"Just your emotions." He shrugged."Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that.
You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"
I nodded, wondering what else Grover might've forgotten to tell me.
"Nothing much." come it from the Greek demigods.
"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told me. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura…. Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."
"Thanks," I said. "Where's the nearest shower?"
Everyone broke out laughing about this and took another five minutes to calm down.
"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod.
Everyone shuddered at this, that mortal must certainly stink if he could hide any demigod no matter they parent and he proved it by hiding Percy.
"He won't like the ground why his mother went along with that man for all those years." Hestia said softly to herself.
As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago.
Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."
"I think it will do the opposite Grover." Annabeth said while her father flinched, he certainly failed to be there for his daughter unlike that woman.
It didn't, but I forced myself not to show it.
I'll see her again, I thought. She isn't gone.
I wondered if Grover could still read my emotions, mixed up as they were. I was glad he and Annabeth were with me, but I felt guilty that I hadn't been straight with them. I hadn't told them the real reason I'd said yes to this crazy quest.
"I think they kind of guessed it anyway." Reyna said.
"Probably." agreed Annabeth.
The truth was, I didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt,
Said god was still to busy mumbling threats against Argus to notice what was read.
or saving the world, or even helping my father out of trouble.
The more I thought about it, I resented Poseidon for never visiting me, never helping my mom, never even sending a lousy child-support check.
"Good that father is still unconscious or he would be sad." Theseus said while looking over at the puddle while the future demigods tried not to squirm in they seats as Percy stated how they often felt.
"Every demigod feels that from time to time because unlike in your time as we said not many know that they had an affair with a god or goddess and they feel as if the other left them because of the baby and unfortunately some take out that anger on the child." the gods looked shocked as did the past demigods while the Chases sunk further back in they seats. "Don't worry the gods now leave a number one can call, courtesy of the Hecate cabin, and someone of the older demigods goes and picks the child up if they parent doesn't want him or her and they get raised by they siblings." Sally explained before adding "Also dad now knows the ground why he couldn't be with his father and understands it."
"It is good to hear that you have found to help the young demigods who are still to little to defend themselves and give them a loving family." Hestia said and everyone agreed with her wholeheartedly, this sounded like a good thing to do.
He'd only claimed me because he needed a job done.
All I cared about was my mom. Hades had taken her unfairly and Hades was going to give her back.
"If only." Demeter mumbled and luckily had her daughter not heard her.
You will be betrayed by one who calls you a friend, the Oracle whispered in my mind. You will fail to save what matters most in the end.
Shut up, I told it.
Apollo wanted to be offended for his Oracle, but decided that it would do no good.
The rain kept coming down.
We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable.
She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. I wasn't too bad myself.
Annabeth had a small smile on her lips.
The game ended when I tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, our Hacky Sack disappeared—core, stem, and all.
Everyone laughed at this.
Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth and I were too busy cracking up.
As was everyone in and out of the throne room.
"I'm really starting to love fauns." Trickster said while Felix leaned against him.
Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy—enchiladas.
"What is it?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."
But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I started looking over my shoulder, too.
I was relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. We stowed our back packs. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.
As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto my knee.
Athena read this part testily as her daughter blushed under the gazes she was getting.
"Sorry grandmum, aunt Silena, Gwen and uncle Mitchell that was not meant like that, at least at that time." Mich called making the four mentioned people blush because of the honorific used for them, but at least Athena stopped scowling and the gazes turned away from a relieved Annabeth.
"Percy."
An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and my heart skipped a beat.
It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.
Everyone tensed at this in worry.
I scrunched down in my seat.
Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds—same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers.
Even if the situation sounded bad there were a few snickers and grins at the last sentence.
"He is good in making amusing comments in tense situations." Chris whispered to his bothers who nodded in agreement.
They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.
"Observant." Bellerophon said while looking at his brothers who nodded.
The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long," I said, trying to keep my voice from quivering. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."
"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."
"That much is certain."
"All three of them," Grover whimpered."Di immortales!"
"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld.
Hades smiled proudly at this, the three would certainly love the compliment.
No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."
"They don't open," Grover moaned.
"Who designed that faulty device!" snapped Beckendorf, Jake and Mich together.
"I see the family resemblance." Dakota whispered to Gwen who tried not to giggle.
"A back exit?" she suggested.
There wasn't one.
The three builders started mumbling indignantly about bad constructions this time also joined in by they father/grandfather also while the others looked even more tense.
Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.
"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I said. "Will they?"
"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded me. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."
"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"
"Or giving you flowers." Malcolm added in, but shut up when noticing his sister's glare.
She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof ... ?"
We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.
Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the rest-room."
"So do I," said the second sister.
"So do I," said the third sister.
All eyes went respectively to the two Underworld monarchs and they descendants who all gave them raised eyebrows as the answer, it was not as if they tell those who work for them what to say now did they.
"Lady Athena." Misty called to the goddess who understood.
They all started coming down the aisle.
"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."
"What?"
"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."
"Sorry mom, you told this to the wrong person." Sally said 'Just like when you wanted him to let you fall alone into Tartaros.' she thought while biting back a shudder, but she could not think about that now it will be already enough when they reach the eight book.
"But you guys—"
"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."
"I can't just leave you."
"He is a loyal person." Andromeda whispered to her husband who nodded in agreement.
"Don't worry about us," Grover said. "Go!"
My hands trembled. I felt like a coward, but I took the Yankees cap and put it on.
When I looked down, my body wasn't there anymore.
The Stoll brothers dropped they grins when noticing the girls of they group glaring at them.
I started creeping up the aisle. I managed to get up ten rows, then duck into an empty seat just as the Furies walked past.
Mrs. Dodds stopped,
"Alecto always pays attention to her surroundings." Hades said there was a ground why her and Thanatos were his lieutenants.
sniffing, and looked straight at me. My heart was pounding.
"This is what I meant, but I think by that time had her sisters noticed the additional smalls and she will follow them." no one knew if this was now a good thing or a bad one.
Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going.
I was free. I made it to the front of the bus. We were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel now. I was about to press the emergency stop button when I heard hideous wailing from the back row.
They all settled for a bad thing.
The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same—I guess those couldn't get any uglier—
"Don't let them hear that." Persephone warned.
but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.
The Furies surrounded Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"
"Excuse me, I may understand that the existence of that young hero is not desired and something dangerous or the oath would not have been made, but it doesn't seem to be Lord Hades's style to refer to people as objects." Odysseus said thoughtfully.
"Does this mean that he really wants to overthrow me?" Zeus asked as he glared at Hades, but could not do anything because Persephone had pulled herself closer to her husband so that she was shielding him mostly and Demeter would be furious with him if he hurts her to get to his brother.
"How often do we need to tell you to read all the books and then judge and also that oath you took extends also to you hurting each other." Enysswe growled out and Athena continued reading, her father had really a tendency to get into fights with that girl and as long as she could not figure her out didn't she want to take risks. Lord Chaos was after all the beginner of all existence and Lady Nyx his lieutenant was both feared and respected by all while also being the only one who could control her daughters the Fates so it would not do any good in angering them.
The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw something, all right.
"I wonder what gave that away." Jason whispered to Odysseus.
"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"
The Furies raised their whips.
Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.
What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should've been named ADHD poster child of the year.
Everyone leaned closer wanting to know what he did while Athena hoped that whatever it was as long as her daughter will be unharmed will she be fine with anything, it was also easier that Poseidon was still a puddle from shock.
The bus driver was distracted, trying to see what was going on in his rearview mirror.
Still invisible, I grabbed the wheel from him and jerked it to the left. Everybody howled as they were thrown to the right, and I heard what I hoped was the sound of three Furies smashing against the windows.
"They didn't appreciate it." Henry said.
"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey—whoa!"
We wrestled for the wheel. The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, and throwing sparks a mile behind us.
We careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars plowed aside like bowling pins.
"In other words just like when grandfather drives." Ace said as Ares grinned in agreement while both Hephaestus and Apollo nodded who needed to deal with the result of those drives.
Somehow the driver found an exit. We shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to our left, the Hudson River to our right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river.
"At least is it cleaner now then it was in the time of our parents." Misty whispered to Sally and Luke who both nodded.
Another great idea: I hit the emergency brake.
The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. I stepped into the driver's seat and let them pass.
"Which was probably a good idea seeing that you still had a problem." Orion said.
The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Grover threw tin cans.
I looked at the open doorway. I was free to go, but I couldn't leave my friends. I took off the invisible cap. "Hey!"
Everyone was to tense to comment.
The Furies turned, baring their yellow fangs at me, and the exit suddenly seemed like an excellent idea. Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle, just as she used to do in class, about to deliver my F- math test.
There were a few forced snickers at this.
Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather.
Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward me like huge nasty lizards.
"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."
"Hey guy, how often did your dad already get that sentence till now?" Lance asked as he turned to the Jackson siblings who exchanged a glance with each other.
"Don't know, dad stopped counting after one hundred." Luke replied while they uncles groaned or like everyone else looked utterly perplexed.
"I liked you better as a math teacher," I told her.
"Dad kind of likes her better as a lawyer she is pretty good at both." Enysswe said to her group who all nodded.
She growled.
Annabeth and Grover moved up behind the Furies cautiously, looking for an opening.
I took the ballpoint pen out of my pocket and uncapped it. Riptide elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword.
The Furies hesitated.
"It seems as if Alecto had warned her siblings about the sword." Hades said while trying to calm his wife, her grip was kind of starting to hurt him.
Mrs. Dodds had felt Riptide's blade before. She obviously didn't like seeing it again.
"Understandable, if I got killed by a weapon would I also not be thrilled to see it again." Travis whispered to Connor who agreed with his brother.
"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."
"Nice try," I told her.
"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.
Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around my sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at me.
Everyone tensed again in worry for the trio.
My hand felt like it was wrapped in molten lead, but I managed not to drop Riptide. I stuck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat. I turned and sliced the Fury on the right. As soon as the blade connected with her neck, she screamed and exploded into dust. Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.
"Not the best idea uncle Grover." Enysswe said while shaking her head, she thought the whips made it obvious how it would feel holding them anywhere else then the hilt.
"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"
There were many flinched of sympathy for the brave little satyr.
The Fury I'd hilt-slammed came at me again, talons ready, but I swung Riptide and she broke open like a piñata.
Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally they both shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.
"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"
"Well naturally I get the human souls of the dead which fall under our juridicism." Hades said while the children looked at him curiously.
"Lord Hades, what do you exactly mean by "those who fall under our juridicism"?" Annabeth asked, there was something to that statement which indicated that there were people who didn't land in the Underworld when they die.
"Aunt Annabeth, the Greek gods are not the only existing divinities as you saw by Rome who took over many gods from the people they concurred, some of those divinities still exist some closer then you may know." Enysswe said mysteriously while gesturing to Athena to read, leaving the demigods with a strange feeling in they stomachs.
"Braccas meas vescimini!" I yelled.
At this broke all Romans out laughing in amusement so that Sally needed to signal to her grandmother, while giggling, to continue and they will know.
I wasn't sure where the Latin came from.
I think it meant "Eat my pants!"
"It did." Octavian said while covering his mouth with his hand to hide the fact that he was also laughing.
"Sorry, what exactly are pants, they were mentioned some time ago." Theseus asked in confusion.
"That what most of us are wearing are called pants." Pollux said while gesturing to the cream coloured shorts he was wearing, the others doing the same.
"Ah." was the only reply, now he could see what was funny.
Thunder shook the bus. The hair rose on the back of my neck.
"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at me. "Now!" I didn't need any encouragement.
Athena's eyes started narrowing, they colour becoming like that of storm clouds by a hurricane.
We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped my photograph before I could recap my sword.
"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our—"
BOOOOOM!
The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof,
Zeus flinched by the amount of angry looks he was receiving and it didn't help that his favourite daughter looked as if she would attack him any second, but luckily for him she continued reading in a tight, angry tone.
but an angry wail from inside told me Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead.
"Run!" Annabeth said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"
We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us, and nothing but darkness ahead.
"This was the end of the chapter." Athena said still angrily as she passed the book over to stunned Ares, but he didn't dare complain.
To be continued…
