Against All Odds
Chapter 1
Percy really hadn't given Chiron's words too much thought. Well, he had, just maybe not enough thought. After the damage was done, Percy would be the first to point out that he'd had a lot on his plate, and he'd been busy. There had been bad weather; there was that whole business with him being on the FBI's Most Wanted list; there had been mattress salesman and pre-algebra teachers and avenging Grover's Uncle Ferdinand. And considering he was stuck in a time-warp in a Vegas hotel for half the week, it'd probably been the craziest week of his life! He hadn't even known about the gods until maybe a week or two beforehand.
Everyone had tried their best to explain to Percy that the gods are forces of nature. Unfortunately, his short stay at Camp Half-Blood wasn't enough time for that to really sink in for the twelve-year-old. It's hard enough trying to understand that he's part-god, let alone apparently part-ocean?
Percy remembered that Chiron did use words. He was confident of that. Chiron had described the master bolt as a "two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives." When they would ask Chiron about how this could've been misunderstood, he'd remind Percy that he even said it in mortal for him. He said it "packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers." Chiron thought that this hinted to Percy that this was not a safe object for mortals to handle.
Chiron even believed, what with the number of times the Big Three had been discussed, that Percy would understand inherently that picking up Hades' Helm of Darkness with his bare hands might be equally as dangerous. Unfortunately, for Chiron's stomach ulcers, Percy is more of a doer than a thinker.
Despite not remembering Chiron's words, Percy still completed his quest, and by the end of the Summer Solstice, he returned Hades' symbol of power, the Helm of Darkness, without a single protective barrier between himself and the divine artifact. As Alecto, Hades' right-hand fury and Percy's least favorite teacher, told him on behalf of Hades, "Live well, become a true hero." Given the non-stop adrenaline he'd been living on since that terrifying cab ride from Vegas, Percy missed the chill that spread across his bones as a new energy pulsed within him for the first time.
After peeking at the master bolt in his backpack no more than seventeen times on the flight back to New York, to make sure it was still there, again, without any real protection; he'd made it to the 600th floor of the Empire State Building to return Zeus' master bolt. And so, on the same Summer Solstice, Zeus looked at the demigod who returned his bolt and said, "You have done me a service, boy." Even after Zeus left, Percy could still smell the ozone in the air. Every muscle in his body tensed for just a moment as the energy of death received a charge of power from the heavens.
Feeling like his insides are rumbling all around, but still not remembering Chiron's words, Percy discussed his quest and life with his father, Poseidon. Before the Summer Solstice could end, under the arithmantic power of 3, and the balance of the heavens, the underworld, and the sea, Poseidon told him, "Whatever else you do, know that you are mine. You are a true son of the Sea God." And it was with that proclamation, Perseus felt his connection with the ocean surge through his veins and into that energy that had been in flux within. With a gasp that startled the Sea God, Percy started to sneeze. After turning on the spot he suddenly felt like he was on a claustrophobic version of the Tunnel of Love, and with a loud *crack* he vanished from the Throne Room of Mt. Olympus. Poseidon stared at the spot where his son had vacated, and frowned, "That was… different."
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With another loud *crack*, Percy appeared a foot off the ground in front of his mother's apartment. After crash landing, he muttered under his breath about gods who just teleport you without asking. He brushed himself off and found the spare key under the mat.
Percy entered the apartment, and saw Gabe covered in powdered donut dust, one hand reaching into the box while the other held a pen, carefully marking cards for his next poker night. Seeing Percy, he blew a gasket. "You goddamn brat! Do you know how much money you cost me? I will press charges for my Camaro, you—"
Before Gabe could get his sweaty powdered hands around Percy's throat, Sally's voice called out from the kitchen, "Percy? Sweetie? You're home!" She set down the tray of cobalt blue cookies she had just baked and flew past Gabe. As she pulled Percy into her embrace, she whispered, "I'm so proud of you sweetheart, and I'm so happy you're safe." Percy could feel himself starting to tear up. Hearing Gabe bustle from behind, she called back, "Gabe, we can talk about the Camaro, just give Percy a chance to settle in?" Gabe took the hint and stifled his exclamations over the electronics store. Percy thought his eyes looked mutinous though. "Percy, why don't you go get everything situated in your room? We can talk about everything that's happened, okay?" Sally gave him a pleading look to let her handle this.
Percy exhaled and gave his mother another hug. "Sounds great, Mom… I'm so glad you're back." In his room he picked up a familiar box with a RETURN TO SENDER label. Percy muttered, "So immortals do have a sense of humor." He heard some commotion back in the living room. Percy opened his door and peeked at what was going on.
"—in my HOUSE? That bastard of yours is a troublemaker, and he owes me a car and my money. I will press charges—" Gabe's tirade was cut short by Sally.
"Gabe. That's my son, and I will not let you harm him." Sally said firmly. The next few moments were a blur to Percy's eyes, his ADHD or battle senses or whatever seemed to take in every detail at a thousand miles an hour.
First, Gabe mimed aggressively standing up towards Sally. And his mom flinched. His mom, who was the epitome of bravery, who married Gabe, the human incarnation of rotten meat in a recycling bin, to simply protect Percy from the ancient monsters that roam America. His mom, who when confronted by the Minotaur didn't back down. His mom flinched from Gabe.
Second, as Sally looked down chagrined, Gabe snorted and said, "That's what I thought. Kid's out of here, or else." And he started to resume marking cards and reaching for donuts. Percy's brain misfired. His whole body went rigid. Gabe had beat his mother. Gabe Ugliano had beat Sally Jackson, the best mother in the world. He'd beat her. Percy wasn't sure when, he wasn't sure for how long this had happened, but by the gods he knew for sure it wouldn't ever happen again.
Thirdly, the strangest thing happened as Percy's rage spiked and Gabe reached for a donut. The box on his poker table wasn't the donut box. No, that box was now in Percy's hands. The box on the table had a note on the top that read RETURN TO SENDER.
Though we may never know what Gabe thought or felt in those final moments. Years from now, when telling this story, Percy liked to say it was, "I'm an abusive asshole, yup yup. Wait a second, why are my donuts slimy?" Because after that moment of confusion, Gabe looked in the box. An expression of true fear was left etched on his face as Gabe became the statue that would later be known as The Poker Player.
As the donut box that had been switched into Percy's hands fell to the floor, alongside his jaw, Sally turned towards him, her eyes wide in shock about what just happened to her now ex-(late)-husband. "Percy, was that—"
*Knock* *knock* *knock* came from the front door. Percy let out an expletive and rushed to toss a kitchen towel over the box the statue was holding. His eyes looked more and more panicked at the thought of being caught with the dead body that people might not realize is a dead body of the man he really wanted to kill. "Ok, yes, that was Medusa's head. And I have no idea how it got there, but—"
*Knock* *knock* *knock* Sally started to hold up her hand to reassure Percy, but the knocking sent him on another frenzy, and he started to run for another towel to cover the statue holding the towel covered box with the head of death inside it. "Percy, I think you should—"
There was a collapsing sound from the bathroom followed by a tearing noise. And Percy came running out with a shower curtain in one hand trailing behind him. Sally's eyes were still wide, trying to process the last minute and a half, as she watched Percy place the curtain over the statue. The whole scene at the poker table looked a mess. There was powdered sugar all over the green felt, the statue in the chair was covered in a torn white shower curtain, with two stone hands sticking out holding a box covered in a blue kitchen towel, and Percy was looking around the apartment wildly. She realized how exhausted he was when she took in that he was still cut and bruised from his fight with Ares, and his legs were starting to shake. Sally saw him eye the donut box on the ground, and he picked it up and set it carefully on top of the curtain covering the towel covered box.
*Knock* *knock* *knock* "Percy, I want you to just take a deep breath and count to 100. Do that, and if you do that and still want to put something on top of this situation," she waved at the body of her ex-husband and her former lover's ex-girlfriend's head, "then I want you to count up to 100 in Roman numerals best you can." At Percy's nod, she could see his forehead wrinkle as he started working his way through. "I'm going to answer the door now."
She approached the door, ran her hands through what she assumed was disheveled hair, and after a deep breath opened it with a smile. "Good evening?" On the other side of the door was a well-composed woman who looked about Sally's age, though she lacked the wrinkles that came with raising a demigod. The silver hoop earrings were shaped like an ouroboros, and, when Sally really looked, she saw the snakehead move as it swallowed its own tail. The woman dressed in a chic ensemble; consisting of a purple blouse neatly tucked into a black pencil skirt with a small slit over her left thigh. Ebony hair flowed from her widow's peak and framed a labyrinth-shaped silver pendant that rested on her sternum. Her violet eyes shone like a torchlight at dusk, and as they settled onto Sally, she felt the scrutiny and weight of divinity upon her. Internally, Sally sighed, this was her life now, and this visitor seemed to foreshadow more divine encounters in the future.
The woman gave a thin restrained smile, and asked, "Ms. Jackson, I presume?" at Sally's confirmed nod she continued, "Good evening, my name is Hecate, Perseus' father asked me… to…" The woman seemed to lose her train of thought as she peeked behind Sally and a thin eyebrow rose slightly. "Is everything alright in there? I can feel a lot of magic in the air."
Sally started to assure her it was okay, but as she turned around, she found that written all over the walls were numbers and various letters. Mainly 'X', 'V', and 'I'. In the center of this mayhem was her son, Percy. In his exhausted state, he saw the stranger look in, and tried to casually block her vision from the statue covered in linens. It wasn't very casual when he tripped over the coffee table. Sally rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Lady Hecate, I'm sorry about the chaos. Please come in, I just put some coffee on, I have a feeling this is going to be a long night."
At this Hecate nodded her assent, and smirked forebodingly, "How strange, since tonight is the shortest of the year."
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After Hecate came in, she cleared up the letters and numbers that had appeared on the wall with nothing more than a small *snap* for effect. Meanwhile, Sally made sure that Percy hadn't sustained any real injury from planting his face upon the floor. He reassured her that it was just a nosebleed, and he'd been through much worse in the past 24 hours. Hecate was not surprised when this did not assure Sally one bit. After emitting some strangled motherly sounds, Sally gave him some tissues to stuff in his nose and went to retrieve the coffee. In the kitchen, the reality of the past ten minutes seemed to set unto Sally. She was free and Percy was safe. With her hand over her mouth, she tried to sob as silently as she could.
As she grabbed a coffee mug for herself and Hecate, she saw one of his items that polluted the house. Not so subtly she threw out Gabe's favorite coffee mug that said "Vegas '89" with a silhouette of a pole dancing woman on the side. She remembered when he'd unpacked that mug after they moved in together. He'd made a crass joke about how maybe they could install a pole in the apartment and then she could earn her spending money. Her breath released as it shattered at the bottom of the trashcan. The physiologically impossible breasts and rear of the shadow stripper now fractured into a Rorschach blob for future archaeologists to wonder about.
Percy's voice reached her from the living room. Nasally and stopped up, he asked if everything was okay. After a pause, she reassured him that she had just been clumsy with one of the mugs, and there was nothing to worry about. After pouring the coffee and taking three more deep breathes, Sally returned to the living room in a few minutes with two blue mugs.
Percy looked between Sally and Hecate as they sipped their coffee. "Um, hi, I'm Percy Jackson." His hand extended for a shake, and he tried to be as formal and professional as he could. Despite having just possibly murdered (or at least accessorized to the murder of) his stepfather.
With a small laugh, Hecate shook his hand, "Yes, I am quite aware, I loved your surprise showing on All is Fair. I am Hecate, Goddess of Magic, Crossroads, and Boundaries." She watched Percy's expression turn to a blushing mortification. "Your father asked me to come check in on you, and I daresay his concerns were valid."
Percy's brow scrunched at the mention of Poseidon. Meeting his father for the first time hadn't gone as he'd ever envisioned it. As a kid, he expected it to be a tearful reunion where he and his mom go out to sea and find him stranded on an island this whole time. After learning his dad was a god, and that he was the product of an affair, he'd expected to deck his dad when they met. Instead, the whole circumstance was so nerve-wracking what with his uncle threatening to vaporize him via thunderbolt and all. By the time Poseidon finally spoke to him as a person, it didn't feel very fatherly. After the lull in conversation, Sally prodded it along, "Lady Hecate, what concerns might Poseidon have about Percy?"
"Through a yet-to-be-determined series of events, Perseus has somehow become magical." Hecate paused considering something, "Ms. Jackson, you are a clear-sighted mortal, yes?"
"Yes, Lady Hecate, it's not as easy as it used to be, but I've been aware of monsters for quite some time. And please, Sally is fine." Sally answered.
"Sally then." Hecate agreed, "Has Perseus ever displayed any accidental magic, such as the numbers that were on the wall when I walked in, or him apparating from Olympus to your apartment earlier?"
Percy exploded, "Hold on! You're saying that I did that? I thought Poseidon was just being a jerk!" The sound of thunder rolled in the distance. The goddess' mouth quirked upward.
Sally interjected before Percy continued to anger the gods, "No, up until today he hasn't ever done these things. There's been weird reports from school, of course. But that's always been either monster or more water related." This made Percy frown, had he really been that oblivious to the world before being claimed by Poseidon?
Seeing Percy's expression, Hecate soothed his nerves, "They've explained how the Mist hides our world from the eyes of mortals, yes?" Percy's head moved in the affirmative, "There is an additional function in which it helps disorient the monsters away from young demigods. Part of the reason your mother wouldn't have mentioned Poseidon to you is that will break the spell, and, as uncouth monsters put it, to them you will reek of divine being." She frowned slightly, her violet eyes seemed to look inside of Percy, "Actually, your aura is rather similar to my own, only it has a bit of a sea breeze flavor…" Hecate trailed off as she pondered what this could mean.
Sally filled in the space, "Percy, sweetheart, maybe you can fill me in on what happened after the minotaur took me. It seems like something on this quest might have caused you to become… magical?" Sally knew that she'd rather be fully aware of the dangers of her son's life, than to just get told "I'm fine" after every crazy adventure that involved monsters such as Medusa.
Percy told his story, he talked about Camp Half-Blood, his quest with Annabeth and Grover. "—and then I was teleported to the welcome mat outside our apartment." He ended, rubbing the shoulder he'd landed on. He hadn't noticed Hecate pinching the bridge of her nose towards the end.
Hecate let out a long-suffering sigh, "To be clear, you handled both Hades' Helm of Darkness, and Zeus' Master Bolt and your father claimed you once more, all on the summer solstice? And rather than suggest that you undergo a ritualistic cleansing, they instead thanked you on this same day?"
Percy was dumbfounded, how were those the important details she got from his quest? He'd gone to the underworld, and fought Ares, and he felt pretty good about receiving the thanks from his uncles. That didn't seem like a part to be upset over, considering how many times he thought he'd be disintegrated for mouthing off. "Yes, but—" Percy tried, but Hecate held up a hand.
"It's not your fault, Perseus. In some ways, it might be mine, because I eased up the policy on magical training seminars each decade." Sally thought she could hear the ouroboros earrings laughing at the goddess, and Hecate absentmindedly flicked the earring on the right. After another breath, she began, "You must understand, my domain is accessible by all the gods, and I am mostly a steward of magic as an energy of the world. As such, I am one of the few beings given full access to all the other domains. My magic covers Zeus' realm, everything the heavens look upon in Western Civilization; it covers Hades' realm, magic runs free through the chambers of the underworld; and even in the deepest depths of your father's realm. I have ruled over magic in both this age and the Golden Age. It would seem your uncles have forgotten the danger for mortals to touch their symbols of power. As if ignoring the dangers wasn't bad enough, they essentially provided their own blessing to the powers that had, for lack of a better word, contaminated you. The summer solstice is, and has always been, a magically significant day. The earth is at the peak of the orbit, and the powers of the cosmos are at work. As the Fates would have it, the sons of Kronos, rulers of the three kingdoms, have made you into a nexus that magic can flow through." Under her breath she murmured, "Child of the eldest gods, indeed."
Percy's face was one of disbelief, he was too distracted to hear her murmuring, as images of comic book heroes and villains with radiation origin stories came to mind. His cortisol levels shot up, and every light bulb in the living room shattered. Sally pulled Percy into her body as the glass started to rain from above, but Hecate merely held up a hand and the filament and glass froze in the air. Softly speaking, Hecate offered, "And that power is causing these accidental effects around you. Consider it this way, unlike a typical witch or wizard you are also a half-blood. And unfortunately for us, your father is known for some rather… destructive tendencies." After a beat her hand moved again, and the glass danced back up to the ceiling and reformed into the lightbulbs. With a gulp his thoughts continued spiraling as he thought about how his powers could've hurt his mom. Dear gods, what if his mom had been killed by Medusa's head instead of Gabe. His mouth turned dry, and he felt something stir within.
Sally spoke up after a minute of silence following the shattering of the bulbs, "How can he control this, so that he'll be safe?" After a pause she mustered up her bravery for the goddess, "Can you teach him? I'll do any—" Hecate held up a hand to cut her off.
Hecate moved her gaze to Sally, and her face softened, "Unfortunately, I have other duties that must be attended to. Most young witches and wizards attend schools designed for magic which will train them to harness and control their power. There is a rather large hidden world for magical peoples. Even clearsighted mortals rarely encounter them. They maintain a strict policy of secrecy from the mortal and non-magical world. And if a magical is born out here, they will reach out to you to offer tutelage. Typically schooling starts at your fifth prime and finishes at your seventh." At their scrunched-up brow, she clarified, "Most start at eleven years old, and finish at seventeen."
"So, Percy will be behind the other students?" Sally asked, she was well-aware how much Percy struggled with school, stuck two years behind the other kids his age would be quite detrimental to his self-esteem. Percy stared at his mother, he knew her concern, but he would take classes with kindergarteners if it meant he wouldn't ever hurt his mom.
Hecate hesitated here, "There is a chance my daughter might agree to tutor him to catch up. She runs a school that focuses mostly on potions." Percy's attention snapped back to the goddess, "She's not the most… approachable of goddesses, but I think she could be persuaded due to the uniqueness of his situation." Sally caught on to what the goddess was suggesting, and her eyes drifted over to the linen covered statue. "The main schools that you will want to consider are Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry in Britain, and, if you can speak French, Beauxbatons Academy of Magic in France." Percy nodded along, there's no way he could learn French while trying to tame his destruction.
"All the way in Europe?" Sally boggled, "Are there no schools in America he could attend?"
"Due to Perseus' heritage, there would be problems. There are schools on the West coast of America which would be dangerous due to the strength of Perseus' aura. I can't in good conscience recommend it, as he would bring danger to all the school children as well as himself. I am under certain… restrictions towards discussing other schools." At their shock, Hecate offered, "Consider these restrictions in the grand scheme of things to be protective, like the protections the Mist provides to young half-bloods."
"Then for this Hogwarts School, will your daughter help us get in contact with them?" Sally asked.
"Actually, I know somebody else who desperately wants to meet Perseus and is perfectly qualified to assist in this. I promise she will be in touch soon." Hecate took a final sip of her coffee, and stood up smiling knowingly at Perseus, "As the first magical child of Poseidon, I hope you are able persevere… Against all odds." And with that she left.
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In the aftermath of Hecate's revelations about magic, and Percy's reckless knack for interacting with objects of power, things settled down for everybody. Percy called Chiron via Iris Message and explained the consequences of not listening to the hero-trainer. Chiron exhaled, and suggested he be as cautious as he can when dealing with magic users, including Hecate's daughter. Especially Hecate's daughter. He begged Percy to avoid Hecate's daughter.
Percy called Grover and Annabeth too and made sure they got back to camp without issue. He was surprised to learn that Annabeth was going to try living with her dad in San Francisco again. Grover had received his Searcher's License and had already begun plotting a trip to the wildest areas of the country. He showed Percy his route from Long Island down through the Appalachian trail and down the eastern seaboard. He said it would be over a year before he'd likely be able to return to camp, but he'd try and contact Percy or Sally when he reached safe spots.
Luke had interrupted the Iris Message by inserting himself between the satyr and child of Athena. Annabeth's face turned bright red, and her grey eyes bugged out. Luke told Percy to watch out for himself. His scar had wrinkled in concern, "Those shoes were enchanted by Hermes, to change the magic in it would require someone really powerful." With a pause, he continued, "This was probably my last summer at camp, I'm going to be heading off on my own." His expression fell a bit, "Look, Percy, I don't talk about this a lot, but Thalia was my best friend, and she sacrificed herself to save the three of us." He gestured at Annabeth and Grover whose faces had fell, "I know the rest of the campers don't get it, but just because of your father you've been dealt a worse hand than most demigods." His hand ran over his face, "Just be careful, and if you need anything let me know." The whole conversation had left Percy slightly choked up, he'd always wanted a cool older brother, and if felt like he finally had that. He'd wished them all good summers and best of luck on everything they had going on.
Meanwhile, Sally had been busy selling her new sculpture, filing for divorce after Gabe "vanished", and applying for school herself. She and Percy spent three days packing up all their stuff and leaving Gabe's place to be condemned. Sally had just received her acceptance into a writing program at a college in town, and she sat Percy down to discuss all the changes happening in their life. This meant giving Percy the talk that every Greek demigod should have at some point. Pulling out a thick stack of library books, Sally started talking. Percy was distracted by how easily he could read the title of the first book, Ἀργοναυτικά or Argonautica.
"-telephone at that birthday party?" Percy picked up there was a question at the end, but he was really confused why talking about myths involves telephones.
"Annabeth already mentioned that monsters will pick up my scent if I use telephones…" Percy trailed off when it became clear this was not what Sally was getting at.
After a deep breath, Sally restarted her explanation, "Percy, please listen, each myth started out as a story told or performed orally. To start from spoken in ancient Greek to translated in English" she tapped the pile of books, "has been a multi-millennia journey for each legend." At a small nod from Percy she continued, "While historians will debate about these details that have changed over time, it has a larger impact to you as a… as a demigod." Her voice caught at that last admission, "You need to understand how the myths can be twisted from the truth."
"So, I shouldn't trust the myths?" Percy asked, confused.
Sally hummed and tilted her head, "The myths are most helpful to you when you encounter monsters your ancestors have faced before. When you fought the Chimera, did you know how to beat it?"
"With the anteater lady? No, her murder-chihuahua was terrible." He shuddered at the memory.
"Would you humor me by explaining how you would defeat it now that you've fought it once?"
"Well… Stabbing it didn't work." Sally smirked, "I'm not sure I can beat it. Maybe drown it?" Percy tried weakly, and Sally laughed lightly. He felt better hearing her laugh. She couldn't ever laugh like that in the old apartment. In what felt like a past life, he'd only heard that laugh when they were on their own in Montauk, he smiled at the thought that it could freely echo all over New York.
"Surprisingly, you are right. Only one hero has ever defeated the Chimera. He was one of the greatest heroes before your namesake came along, Bellerophon, another son of Poseidon. He recognized how futile it was to face the Chimera with a spear, and he instead lodged a ball of lead in its throat. When the chimera blew fire, it melted the lead and suffocated it. So, yes, enough water might have done the trick." She joked, "But the point I was making is that there are two types of information you can get from mythology: Strategy and Character." She paused here, "Strategy is a great place to start, often the myths reference specific weaknesses for certain creatures."
"Like how you knew the Minotaur didn't have very good vision."
"Exactly. As a hero who will interact with the monsters more, these are important Percy. I need you to learn about them for your own safety, please." Sally's eyes had teared up a little, and Percy felt a lump in his throat.
"Okay, mom. I will." He assured her.
Sally let out a breath, and pressed on, "Good. Good. The second part, Character, is less reliable. Both because people change, and because it is mortals who told and wrote the stories of the gods." At Percy's perplexed face, she handed him a marked passage in the Argonautica and another in The Odyssey.
Percy stumbled over the two different portrayals of the Goddess of Magic, and after reading it and rereading it, he finally looked up. "So, she ended up purifying one crew, but she turns the others into pigs? That seems… very different."
Sally nodded, "This is part of the point I was trying to get across. Immortals, as a whole, are fickle, but sometimes their characterizations in story tell us more about the person writing it down than it necessarily does of the deity. Circe is both an enemy of men, and a friend to them. She also supposedly fell in love with Odysseus, but I am not positive on the accuracy of that detail either." Seeing Percy trying to absorb this she continued, "The main point is to approach her with an open mind and try to get the most out of her teaching."
After getting his promise to maintain an open view, Sally setup a small brazier she'd bought from the hardware store. On the balcony of her apartment, she started the fire, and asked Percy to put any offerings in before they got started. Once he'd made his prayer to Poseidon and Hecate using blue cookies, Sally stepped forward with the covered head of Medusa.
As she threw it in, she spoke out loud, "Oh Great Circe, Goddess of Magic, hear my plea. My son needs tutelage in the mystic arts, and Lady Hecate suggested you would be interested." The smoke smelt of jerk chicken, roasted pig, and blueberries, and Sally watched with wide eyes as a soft teal energy floated around Percy for a few seconds before condensing into an envelope addressed in gold leaf to a Miss Sally Jackson and her piglet. It took her a second, but Sally snorted as she read and re-read the envelope. She opened it, and found a printed letter:
Dear Miss Jackson,
Miss C.C. has asked me to send invitations to you and your child on an all-expense paid trip to our five-star vacation resort island. As you and your child are new to the magical side of the world, this letter functions as a portkey, a form of magical transportation. After organizing your affairs, ensure you and your piglet hold the letter, then speak the command phrase "Warm Sands" to join us in paradise.
Sincerely,
Hylla Ramirez-Arellano
Personal Secretary to C.C.
C.C.'s Resort and Spa
Island of Aeaea, Sea of Monsters
