Chapter 10: The Oracle Gives Me A Death Sentence

The Oracle lived at the very top of the Big House. I'd been to the attic many times—most recently to retrieve Thalia's weapons last year—but only twice had I actually approached the mummified figure that presided over the dusty room. The second had been an accident: the night I met Percy, I'd come to stow something away and unexpectedly received a prophecy heralding his arrival.

The first time, I was ten. Aggrieved that Luke hadn't asked me to accompany him on his quest, I'd snuck up here, determined to get my own prophecy for my own quest.

What I'd gotten instead was a seventy-year-old prophecy that foretold the possible downfall of Olympus at the hands of a half-blood child of the three eldest gods.

This prophecy was the reason why Thalia and Percy had no demigod siblings. Their fathers had never even intended to sire them, for fear that they could choose to destroy Olympus when they reached sixteen. Chiron had interrupted me before I heard the prophecy in full, but he had finally revealed its entirety to Thalia and me last year. That was when we'd still thought Thalia was destined to fulfil the prophecy, before she renounced her mortal life hours from her sixteenth birthday, leaving Percy next in line to inherit its burden.

I tried to suppress these thoughts. I didn't really want to think about the Great Prophecy when I was on the verge of receiving my own.

There was a lot of junk strewn about the attic, discarded over the years by campers who had long since left. Battered shields, monster parts, weird statues … I spotted a scarf I'd chucked up here some time back. It was draped over the bust of a god with two faces, which had the words CHOOSE WISELY OR FOREVER REGRET scrawled over it. Whichever angle I looked at it, a devilish face leered back, like, you can't escape me.

I shivered and turned away.

The shrivelled husk of the Oracle was probably the oldest thing in the room. She must have been alive once, but as far as anyone but Chiron could remember, she'd been like this. Not even Chiron knew why the Oracle had stayed trapped in the corpse of her previous host.

Focus, Annabeth.

I closed my eyes briefly, then faced the Oracle and asked, 'What is my destiny?'

The Oracle was silent for a while. She cocked her head to one side, considering me carefully through glassy eyes. Then she crooked one bony finger. My dagger leapt out of my pocket into her skeletal hands. Dust billowed around me, making me cough. My eyes watered. The particles shimmered like stardust in the glow of my celestial bronze blade.

The dust motes swirled in the air, turning black and smoky like the labyrinthine clouds over Mount Tam. They hurtled past me at dizzying speed. The smell of earth permeated the room—damp soil, like the underground. Like monsters, Grover would have said.

And then I saw Grover, or at least an image of him. He glowed a deep, earthy green, as if his skin was covered with UV body paint. His mouth opened, but it was the Oracle's raspy voice that issued from him:

'You shall delve in the darkness of the endless maze.

The dead, the traitor, and the lost one raise.'

With a whooshing noise, the earthy-smelling smoke exploded upwards into a curtain of rushing water. A double tsunami closed in on me from either side. Grover turned into Percy, who said, still in the Oracle's voice:

'You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand;

The child of Athena's final stand!'

There was a sizzling noise. The walls of water shook, becoming mist, then erupted into flames. Percy broadened out into Tyson, who delivered the Oracle's next line:

'Destroy with a hero's final breath.'

The fire melted away, leaving behind fine, pale clouds. Tyson turned and shrank, raising his arms to his sides. Feathers sprouted bizarrely from his arms. He glided through the clouds on outstretched wings and landed on the top of a mountain. I recognised Mount Tam immediately, with the black marble ruins and funnel cloud of the sky sitting at its peak. Luke stood under the column of sky, looking wild and desperate, just like he had when he stood on my doorstep last month. The sky hovered just above his head, an anvil waiting to drop.

I saw myself facing him, hesitating. The sky crashed down onto his shoulders. And I shook my head and turned away. In the background, Luke staggered under the weight while I turned to face myself and gave the last, most terrifying line of all:

'And lose a love to worse than death.'

The entire scene went up in green smoke. My dagger clattered to the ground at my feet. The Oracle went still, her hands clasped in her lap as though she'd never moved.

I wasn't sure how long I stayed there, rooted to the ground in the aftermath of this paralysing vision. I knew the others were waiting for me to return, but I couldn't make myself leave, not yet. They would expect me to have answers, to share my prophecy and reassure them that it spelt success for my quest and the safety of camp.

Did it? Nothing in the Oracle's lines indicated if I would succeed or fail. The closest I could make of it was the line about the ghost king: You shall rise or fall by the ghost king's hand … It sounded like this ghost, whoever he was, would determine my fate.

Was it Daedalus? Did it mean I would find him, and he would decide … what?

But the subsequent lines set my teeth chattering. Child of Athena's final stand … hero's final breath … If I wasn't mistaken, that sounded like … like …

It sounded like I was going to die.

Okay, so it wasn't as if I hadn't face death before. That was kind of an occupational hazard of being a half-blood. There'd been so many times I'd thought I was really done for. But it was different when I was facing down a dangerous monster and thinking, crap, I'm toast, or even jumping between my friends and a raging manticore or the falling sky. Hearing the Oracle tell me my days were numbered was a whole new level of terrifying. It was like …

Well, I guess it was probably like Thalia learning that her soul was supposed to be reaped by a cursed blade.

Only that hadn't happened to Thalia in the end. I took heart. Prophecies were tricky things. You could go mad trying to predict exactly what they meant.

My next step should be to pick my companions for the quest. Usually, quest heroes were allowed to choose two companions to accompany them. Before visiting the attic, I'd probably have picked Percy and Grover, or Clarisse, if she hadn't been adamant about never entering the Labyrinth again in her life. But the Oracle had given me four images. Four pillars, like the cornerstones of the world. Earth, water, fire, and air. She'd even given me a person for the first three, someone who matched each element perfectly.

Chiron wasn't going to be happy about this, but I knew with certainty that I would need them all.

I tried not to think about the last image. Or the last line.

By the time I stumbled back to the sword-fighting arena, an hour had passed. Everyone looked at me expectantly when I entered, but my eyes went straight to Percy. Despite being opposed to my quest earlier, his face held only concern now. It made me feel a little warmer, a little braver.

'I got the prophecy,' I told the room. 'I will lead the quest to find Daedalus's workshop.'

Silence. They were waiting for more.

'What did the prophecy say exactly, my dear?' Chiron asked. 'The wording is important.'

I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply. Behind my eyelids, I could see the rushing walls of smoke, of water, of fire. Slowly, I repeated the first two lines of the prophecy.

Grover gasped. 'The lost one! That must mean Pan! That's great!'

I blinked. I'd missed that connection. My mind had gone first to Luke—the brother I'd lost, who'd betrayed us. The traitor and the lost one.

Chiron shushed Grover and prompted me to keep going.

My voice failed me after the next two lines. I guess everyone thought that was the clincher, because they all exchanged nervous looks.

'Hey, we shouldn't jump to conclusions,' Silena ventured hopefully. 'Annabeth isn't the only child of Athena, right?'

Her comment fell rather flat. I didn't think anyone believed it didn't refer to me. Sure, prophecies could be loosely interpreted, but I was the daughter of Athena, and this was my quest. Who else could it possibly refer to?

Besides, there was no way I'd pick one of my siblings to join me just to spread the odds. If I was going to die … well, then I would go down saving camp.

Beckendorf picked up on the earlier line. 'Who's this ghost king?'

There were many shrugs around the table. Percy shifted his weight uneasily. I vaguely remembered him mentioning something about a ghost IM-ing him—or was it an IM about a ghost? I should probably ask him about it later.

Chiron rubbed his beard. 'Are there more lines? The prophecy does not sound complete.'

'I—' The final lines of the prophecy rang in my head, but my throat closed up when I started to say them. 'I don't remember exactly.'

Chiron didn't buy it. He just stared at me until I offered up, 'Destroy with a hero's final breath.'

'And?'

I couldn't bring myself to repeat the last line. What did it mean, lose a love? I thought of Luke, staggering under the sky. Sure, I'd had a crush on him, but love? That was pushing it. But who else fit the bill?

My eyes drifted to Percy. A rush of heat filled my cheeks.

No, it couldn't be him. Percy was just my best friend. So maybe I got giddy and light-headed sometimes when we stood a bit too close, or … No. I didn't love anyone. That was such an Aphrodite thing, the stuff the cabin eleven kids teased each other about. You looooove him. Utter nonsense.

Anyway, I didn't need anyone speculating on who I loved or would lose. And it wasn't like it made a difference to the actual quest. 'Look,' I said, getting to my feet, 'the point is, I have to go in. I'll find the workshop and stop … L-Luke. And …' It was time to announce my companions. I looked at Percy, relieved to see the determined expression on his face, the one that said, I've got your back. 'I need help. Will you come?'

'I'm in,' he said immediately.

My lips curved upwards. It comforted me greatly to know he would be there. Aside from the fact that he was the person I trusted most, there was also the looming possibility that I was going to die on the quest. Maybe it was selfish, but if this was my final stand, I wanted a good friend by my side when it happened.

I turned to Grover next, knowing he would be harder to convince. After all, he'd been digging in his heels against the idea of searching for Pan underground for days. But I guess he really believed my prophecy spelt success for his search, because he agreed without argument.

That left the final person the Oracle had specified. Tyson didn't even hesitate. He seemed genuinely excited to be picked.

As I'd expected, Chiron objected. 'This goes against the ancient laws,' he warned me. 'A hero is allowed only two companions.' He began to list all the reasons this was a mistake, the possible consequences of this choice. He even brought up Percy and Grover's quest last winter, the one that had claimed the lives of Bianca di Angelo and Zoë Nightshade.

The one that had been my fault.

'Only three came back,' Chiron said. 'Think on that.'

The child of Athena's final stand, I thought. If only three of us were returning from this quest … well, I probably wouldn't be one of them. Maybe it was fate. Maybe it would be atonement for my mistakes last winter.

I looked straight at Chiron and said, 'I know. But we have to. Please.'

Chiron relented at last. And that was it—my quest team was set.

While I'd been with the Oracle, the other campers had discussed defences for the Labyrinth site. We adjourned the council for them to start setting these up. I was about to join them, but Chiron shook his head.

'You should concentrate on preparing for your quest,' he said. 'Let us worry about defending the camp. After all, our best defence is what you hope to achieve in the maze.'

'But—' Even though he was right, now that I faced the possibility of dying underground, I wanted one last afternoon outside. And it might be the last time I'd ever get to spend time with Chiron.

Chiron seemed to guess what I was thinking. He squeezed my shoulder. 'I will go get them started, and then we'll have an archery lesson together, okay?'

A lump rose in my throat. I nodded quickly, not trusting my voice.

I sent Malcolm to the woods in my place. He'd have to take over Athena cabin in my absence. I was about to head out to the archery field, but the drafting table in my cabin caught my eye. My maps were spread out over it. I stared at them until the lines seemed to blend into one another.

I'd fought really hard hard to get this quest because I knew it was the way to save the camp … and okay, fine, I really wanted to lead it. But how prepared was I, really? I still hadn't figured out how to connect my maps. Could I really trust my research, my knowledge?

This was no time for doubts. I'd convinced everyone I could do it. I had to believe I could, too.

I pushed the maps aside and pulled out a fresh sheet of paper. On it, I wrote out my prophecy, all six lines the Oracle had given me. On a whim, I wrote down the Great Prophecy next to it. Two terrible prophecies. Twelve deadly lines. There was some connection between them, something tugging at the back of my mind.

Final stand … final breath … final choice …

'Knock knock.'

I jumped. Quickly, I swept my paper under the maps.

It was Percy. He'd come to find me, even though he wasn't really supposed to be in here. There was a rule about campers of different gender being alone in each other's cabin. But at the moment, I couldn't care less about the rules.

'You okay?'

I picked up the top map. 'Just … trying to do some research.' I babbled something about the difficulty of our task.

Percy stepped closer. 'We'll figure it out.'

I met the comforting sea-green of his eyes—like a calm, Carribean ocean. How did I explain the complexity of this quest—not just our mission, but my feelings about it? I'd wanted this since I was seven, I was sure I was the right person for it, yet the weight of it terrified me.

'You're going to be awesome,' Percy said.

I breathed in deeply. The smell of old books mingled with the fresh, salty scent that always seemed to hang in the air around him. 'I'm worried, Percy,' I admitted. 'Maybe …'

He was so, so close. I looked down. Although I'd hidden the paper with the prophecies, I could still make out the lines I'd written.

And lose a love to worse than death.

It couldn't mean Percy. He was the hero of the Great Prophecy. He had to survive to reach sixteen at least.

But then, Nico di Angelo was still out there, ready to step in. I felt an irrational burst of hatred toward the kid, which was totally unfair. It wasn't Nico's fault he was a son of Hades. Or that he'd lost his sister. That was my fault.

Doubt crowded back into my brain. I'd screwed up so badly last winter. And I knew my fatal flaw was hubris. Had I been overconfident in taking on this quest? How was I going to get my friends in and out of the Labyrinth alive?

'I shouldn't have asked you to do this,' I said. Panic was rising quickly in my chest. 'Or Tyson and Grover.'

'Hey, we're your friends,' Percy said. 'We wouldn't miss it.'

'But …' I rubbed the beads on my camp necklace together.

'What is it? The prophecy?'

'I—I'm sure it's fine.' In my struggle to hold back the tears that pricked at the corner of my eyes, I missed Percy's next question. I remembered something he'd said last winter, when we realised there was another child of the Big Three out there, another potential prophecy kid: 'I choose the prophecy.'

He'd been brave enough to accept that responsibility. I could be brave enough to take on mine.

All the same, my arms reached out, seeking reassurance.

'Hey …' Percy pulled me into a hug. 'It's okay.' His hand rubbed little circles on my back. I hadn't noticed myself trembling until he held me, solid and steady. I rested my head on his shoulder. He'd grown an inch or so over spring, so that we were nearly the same height again.

'Chiron might be right. I'm breaking the rules. But I don't know what else to do. I need you three. It—' I couldn't tell him why it was so important, not without revealing the last line of the prophecy. 'It just feels right.'

'Then don't worry about it. We've had plenty of problems before, and we solved them.'

I raised my head to look at him. 'This is different. I don't want anything happening to y—' I stopped myself before the word could slip out. 'To any of you.'

The look on Percy's face was so tender, my breath caught in my throat. My eyes drifted to his mouth. His lips were slightly parted.

He was so close.

Someone cleared their throat loudly.

Percy and I leapt apart. Malcolm was standing at the door, his nose and ears twitching like they did when he was embarrassed. He wouldn't meet either of our eyes.

'Um, sorry,' he whispered. 'Archery practice is starting, Annabeth. Chiron said to come find you.'

Percy raked his fingers through his hair. 'We were just looking at maps.'

I looked down. I was, in fact, still holding one of the Labyrinth maps.

Malcolm gulped. 'Okay.'

'Tell Chiron I'll be right there,' I told him. He nodded and dashed off like a pack of hellhounds were on his tail.

I ran a hand across my eyes. The moment was ruined—which was probably just as well. I didn't need this distraction, not before a dangerous quest.

Not with that prophecy line.

'You go ahead, Percy.' I forced myself not to look at his face, or at his lips. 'I'd better get ready for archery.'

'Annabeth?' he said softly.

My eyes darted to his. He held my gaze steadily. 'About your prophecy. The line about a hero's last breath—'

My stomach clenched. 'You're wondering which hero?' So he hadn't assumed it referred to me. Then again, I didn't know for sure that it would be me. 'I don't know.'

'No—something else. I was thinking …' He licked his lips nervously. 'The last line usually rhymes with the one before it. Was it something about—did it end in the word death?'

My heart started to race. He'd guessed it. Well, some of it. Ordinarily, I'd have been proud of him for being so perceptive, but this time …

'You'd better go, Percy.' I shuffled the map in my hands. 'Get ready for the quest. I'll—I'll see you in the morning.'

He gave me a long, penetrating look before he left. No longer did I feel safe and comforted, as I'd been in the moment he'd held me.

Now my insides were hollow, like I'd already lost the love the prophecy had warned me about.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

A/N: As far as I can tell, it's never actually explained in canon why Annabeth thought it so necessary that she have all three companions—Percy, Grover, and Tyson. I hope my justification for it was plausible!

So many of you have chimed in this past week and I'm so grateful, and also so sorry at how long I take to reply! Hello, Thunderwolf7226, ArtimuosJackson, JustADerangedFangirl, Arimichi, Livvi May, CQ816, Numberfivewithabullet, VCRx, THANK YOU! And I think I got back to each of you individually, but if I've managed to miss someone out, I'm so sorry. For those of you who don't know, I'm in my final year of my degree and writing my doctoral thesis at the moment so that's (partly) why things are so hectic. But I just wanted to reassure you again that I am still determined to see this story through to it's end. I've decided I won't do NaNo this year, as I likely won't manage with thesis to write + four papers requiring revisions, but think I could do it as a project over Christmas break (as I finally have an original outline I'd like to try my hand at) ... in which case I won't do giftfic requests this year.

Anyway, hope you've all enjoyed this week's chapter at least! :)