Elderbrook - Old Friend
Isaac Dunbar - freshman year
These have no correlation to the story.
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Word count: 10,060
"We will never make it," Zoë said, casting a look back to Taurus as he swam next to me as we jogged along the waterfront. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus."
Taurus mooed somberly. We'd left the shopping center pier far behind and had begun heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was a lot farther than we'd all imagined. The sun was already dipping in the west.
"Why do we have to get there at sunset?" Bianca asked.
"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoë said. "We can only enter their garden as day changes to night."
"And if we miss it?" Bianca questioned further.
"Tomorrow is winter solstice. If we were to miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis tonight."
"We need to get a car," Thalia said.
"What about the Ophiotaurus?" I asked.
Grover stopped in his tracks, the rest of the group stopping to look at him in turn. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?" I nodded that he was correct. "So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."
"Okay, but he was following me," I said, "If I wasn't there, would he know where he'd be going?"
Taurus mooed forlornly.
"I..." Grover hesitated. "I can show him. I'll go with him."
I raised an eyebrow and Thalia narrowed her eyes at him.
"You almost drowned last summer in the Sea of Monsters, not to mention that you can't even swim that well," Thalia said.
"I'm the only one that can talk to him," Grover reasoned. "It makes sense."
He bent down and said something into Taurus's hear. Taurus shivered, then made a contented, lowing sound.
"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage."
"That alone isn't going to be enough to protect you two, Grover," Thalia said, looking between Grover and the Ophiotaurus.
"It will have to do," Grover said.
I bit the inside of my cheek, slipping off the lion coat from my shoulders. I held it out to Grover. "Offer it to Poseidon, for safe passage through the seas."
He looked surprised. "Percy," he said. "Are you sure? That lion skin... that's really helpful. Hercules used it!"
I cast a small look to Zoë, seeing her chin lift and her face steel. I turned back to Grover, lifted his hand, then dropped the pelt into it.
"No sense getting used to an oversized safety blanket which I won't always have," I said, smiling.
"Safety blanket?" Thalia said, baffled. "That's the lion skin that Hercules used."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Go ahead, Grover."
He hesitated, giving me one last look before throwing it into the bay, eyes closed as he started saying a silent prayer. It turned back into golden lion skin, flashing in the light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water.
The sea breeze picked up and I could feel the ocean attempting to pull at me.
"Thank you," I said mentally, hoping Poseidon had heard me. He was an ass, but if he was willing to help those that I considered friends, I wouldn't be ungrateful of his actions.
"What'd I do?" My smile disappeared.
"Not you, Perseus,"
"Mmm. I'm coming out for a sec." I braced myself, feeling the not-so-familiar pressure build up and then opening my eyes to see Perseus standing beside me.
"Howdy," I rolled my eyes, ignoring him as Grover opened his eyes and looked at all of us.
Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."
He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Taurus glided next to him and let Grover take hold of his neck.
"Be careful," I told them.
"We will," Grover said. "Okay, um... Taurus? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way."
"Moooo?"
"Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this islands. And... it's long. You know what, let's just start."
"Mooo!"
Taurus lurched forward. He started to submerge and Grover, panicking, said, "I can't breathe underwater-"
And under they went. I stared at the water before shrugging my shoulders, thinking Poseidon had probably extended the protection to things like breathing. I hope.
"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoë said. "But how can we get to my sisters' garden?"
I shrugged my shoulders and stepped away. "I need a second to think, I'll be right back."
"But we need to start moving now," Zoë said, her poker face almost breaking. This was all affecting her a lot more than she was letting on. But I couldn't blame her.
"I will just be a moment, okay, I promise," I said, watching as she begrudgingly nodded at me.
I thanked her then stepped away, going far enough away they wouldn't be able to hear me. I turned my back to them and faced Perseus who had been following me.
"What is it?" I ask, looking him up and down.
"Ooh, passive aggressiveness," he commented, smiling at me. "I've gotta ask you a couple questions."
"And you couldn't have done it in my head?" I ask, crossing my arms.
"Feels good to stretch my technically non-existent legs now and then," he answered. "Now, tell me, you been seeing anything weird in your dreams lately, kid?"
"Wouldn't you know?" I ask, looking at him oddly. "They're all your doing, remember? You're the one giving me little enigmatic bits and pieces of my memory. Which, by the way, you could be a bit more relevant with them because right now it's just confusing."
"Uh huh," he gave me a tight-lipped smile. "Sorry, can't exactly pick and choose what you see."
"What do you mean?" I ask.
"It's not exact and ever since your brush with death and my intervention, it's only gotten ten times more complicated," he paused. "It's why I've been quiet so recently and will probably stay quiet for a little while."
"I'm still gonna be in contact with you, right?" I ask.
"Of course, it's not like I can go anywhere else," he said, coming to stand beside me and putting a hand on my shoulder. "I'm just going to need you to trust me." He put both of his hands on my shoulders and made me face him.
"If you start feeling or experiencing anything weird, like pain, nausea, weird... visions or dreams, I need you to trust me and know that I've got it handled. Everything's just really complicated at the moment, but I'll have it back and in order soon enough," Perseus said, squeezing before removing his hands. "You're just gonna have to push through it all. I've got your back, but you can't let anyone else know about it or me, got it?"
"Yeah, I've got it," I said.
"Good." His shoulders seemed to relax and he smiled. "Now, let's get you back to your friends. Close your eyes."
"Fuck," I said, bracing myself and gritting my teeth as the pain hit me. I breathed out quickly, cracking my neck. "I'm never going to get used to that."
"Probably not." I shook my head and made my way back to Bianca, Thalia, and Zoë who all stood together but didn't appear to be saying much.
"Did you have enough time to think?" Zoë questioned upon seeing me return.
"Yeah, Thalia's right, we need a car. However, there's no one here that can help us get one," I paused. "Well, I mean, we could always steal."
"Wouldn't we get noticed?" Bianca asked.
"If they care about their car, yeah," I said. "If I just went up and took your bag from you which held thousands upon thousands of dollars in it, would you just let me?"
"Of course not!"
"Then, yeah, we'd be noticed. That's where driving faster comes into play!"
"Wait," Thalia said, interrupting us and beginning to rifle through her backpack. "There is somebody in San Francisco who can help us, though. I've got the address here somewhere?"
"What? A drug dealer so that we can get high and forget our problems?" I ask.
"Percy!" Bianca elbowed me, giving me a glare while I raised my hands in surrender and then rubbed at where she elbowed my arm.
Thalia shook her head, pulling out a crumpled piece of notebook paper, holding it up to us as if it was a long-lost artifact. "Professor Chase. Annabeth's dad."
"Ew."
I don't know what I expected Annabeth's dad to look like, but it was not what I saw when he had opened the door to his house. He was wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. He looked weird, his eyes bugged out through his glasses, so much so that we all took a step back from the man in sync as if practiced.
"Hello," he said in a friendly voice. "Are you delivering my airplanes?"
All four of us shared a wary look.
"Um, no, sir," I said.
"Dear," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."
"Right," I said, pretending I had any clue what he was talking about. "We're, uh, friends of Annabeth."
"Annabeth?" He straightened as if I'd just given him an electric shock. "Is she all right? Has something happened?"
None of answered, but our faces said it all. He took off his cap and goggles. He had sandy-colored hair like Annabeth and intense brown eyes. He was handsome, for an older guy, but it looked like he hadn't shaved in a couple of days, and his shirt was buttoned wrong, making one side of his collar stick up higher than the other side.
"You'd all better come in," he said.
It didn't look like a house they'd just moved into by what Thalia had told us on our way their. There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like fresh-baked chocolate chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It seemed like a messy, happy kind of home - the kind of place that had been lived in forever.
"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!"
"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently, "don't take apart your brother's robots."
"I'm Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"
"Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"
"Okay, Dad!"
Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."
"Honey?" a woman called. I guess what was Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asain woman with red highlighted hair tied into a bun.
"Who are our guests?" she asked.
"Oh," Dr. Chase said. "This is..."
He stared at us blankly.
"Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"
We introduced ourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase seemed really nice. She asked if we were hungry. We admitted we were, and she told us she'd bring us some cookies and sandwiches and sodas.
"Dear," Dr. Chase said. "They came about Annabeth."
Mrs. Chase pursed her lips, looking concerned. "All right. Go on up to the study and I'll bring you some food."
Upstairs, we walked into Dr. Chase's study and I immediately whistled, looking around the room, commenting, "Nice."
The room was wall-to-wall with books, but what really caught my attention were all the war toys. There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ceiling, tilted at crazy angled like they were in the middle of a dogfight.
Dr. Chase smiled at me. "Thank you. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for."
He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.
"Uh, yeah," I said, looking toward Bianca as she eyed the man oddly, her eyes locking onto mine and giving me a look as she looked back to Annabeth's father who was still playing with the biplane, a poor soldier flying off the table.
"My apologies, can you get that?" he asked me, pointing toward the soldier which had fallen to land by my foot. I nodded, picking it up and handing it to him.
Zoë came over and studied the battlefield as Dr. Chase attempted to put the soldier back into its position. "The German lines were farther from the river."
Dr. Chase paused in his movements, staring at her. "How do you know that?"
"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste."
Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You-"
"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. "But that's not why we're here. We need-"
"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said, paying no attention to Thalia. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"
"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Annabeth is in danger."
That got his attention. He set the toy soldier down.
"Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."
It wasn't easy, but we tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. We were running out of time.
When we finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands. "My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."
"Brave?" I questioned incredulously, getting elbowed by Zoë before she quickly began talking.
"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoë said. "And we need it immediately."
"I'll drive you. Hmm, it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."
"Wait, wait, you have an actual biplane?" I ask.
"Down at Crossy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He let me restore the Sopwith Camel-"
"Sir," Thalia said. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."
Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not, I... I can't just-"
"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, Cokes, and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips still gooey. My mouth started to water and Bianca and I inhaled a few while Zoë and Thalia spoke with Dr. Chase.
"I can drive, sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car," Zoë said. I scoffed, causing me to choke on a cookie while Bianca roughly patted my back to help me out.
Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?"
"Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "Oh Mount Tam. I would drive them, but... apparently it's no place for mortals."
He seemed to struggle to get that last part out.
Bianca and I waited, looking between Mrs. Chase and Dr. Chase. I expected her to say no, I mean, what mortal parent would allow three underage teenagers to borrow their car? But, to my surprise, Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get going."
"Right!" Dr. Chase said.
Zoë grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. Now."
We hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind us.
"Thalia," Mrs. Chase called as we were leaving, "tell Annabeth... Tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."
Thalia paused, taking one last look at the messy living room, Annabeth's half brother's spilling LEGOs and arguing, the smell of cookies filling the air. I watched as a small smile came on her face.
"I'll tell her," Thalia said.
We ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going down. I figured we had less than an hour left.
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded.
Zoë glared at her as Thalia was sitting in the passenger seat. "I cannot control traffic."
"You both sound like my mother," I said, thinking of Ananke.
"Shut up!" they said in unison.
I looked between the two of them, baffled, as Bianca laughed at me.
Zoë weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the horizon when we finally got into the Marin County and exited the highway.
The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. Zoë didn't slow down at all.
"Why does everything smell like cough drops?" Bianca asked from beside me, her legs lying in my lap with her back to the side of the door.
"Eucalyptus." Zoë pointed to the huge trees all around us.
"The stuff koala bears eat?"
"Why do you know that?" I asked Bianca with her choosing to ignore me.
"And monsters," Zoë said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."
"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"
"Believe me," Zoë said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."
I didn't question her, but I did keep my eyes peeled more closely as we drove. Ahead of us loomed Mount Tamalpais. It wasn't one of the biggest mountains in the world by far, but it looked plenty huge as we were driving toward it.
"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" I ask.
"Yes," Zoë said tightly.
"Why do they call it that?" Bianca asked.
Zoë was silent for almost a mile before answering. "After the war between the Titans and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."
"The General," I said. Clouds seemed to be swirling around its peak, as though the mountain was drawing them in, spinning them like a top.
"What's going on up there? A storm?" Bianca asked, staring up like I was.
Zoë didn't answer and I had a feeling she knew exactly what the clouds meant, and she didn't like it.
"We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here."
The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and we kept driving straight toward them. We were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog.
I happened to glance down at the ocean as we passed a scenic curve, seeing something that seemed out of place.
I raised an eyebrow, turning back to the rest of the group. "There's a big white cruise ship docked near the beach. Is that supposed to be there?" I ask.
"What?" Thalia asked, looking to where I then pointed at the ship. "That's Luke's ship."
I'd heard of it. The Princess Andromeda, Luke's apparent demon cruise ship. It made sense for it to be here, especially since Luke was apparently with the General and if the General wasn't at the Mountain of Despair, I'd be surprised.
"We will have company, then," Zoë said grimly. "Kronos's army."
"Gonna be a real party, then," I said, the stupid grin disappearing from my face as the hair on the back of my neck stood up and I threw Bianca's legs off of me, standing up in the car and grabbing her arm, pulling her up as I yelled, "Stop the car! NOW!"
Zoë must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff, me bracing me and Bianca against the seats to keep us from flying out.
"Out!" Thalia yelled, opening the door and pushing Bianca and I out hard and before jumping out right behind us. We all rolled onto the pavement. The next second: BOOOM!
Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. Bianca and I probably would've been killed by shrapnel if it weren't for Thalia shield which appeared over us. I heard a sound like metal rain, and opened my eyes, looking around and seeing the wreckage which surrounded us. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.
I swallowed the taste of smoke out of my mouth and lifted myself up on my elbows. "Thanks," I said to Thalia, standing up and offering both her and Bianca my hands, which they took, Thalia a bit angrily.
"One shall perish by a parent's hand," she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?"
"You think that was Zeus?" Bianca asked.
"Who else?"
"Zoë?" I call out, walking around the car and away from Bianca and Thalia who quickly realized that Zoë wasn't there and began looking around. I quickly looked around seeing that there was nothing inside the car, around it, or down the roads, and then my attention snapped to the cliff. "Please not this shit again," I said to myself, running over to the edge of the cliff before Zoë was suddenly by my side, grabbing my arm.
"Silence, fool! Do you want to wake Ladon?" she hissed at me.
"Ladon?" Thalia asked, running up to us with Bianca in tow, looking relieved. "We're here?"
"Very close," she said. "Follow me."
Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoë stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and Bianca looked toward me.
"Concentrate on Zoë," I advised them. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog and keep that in mind, okay?" I said, my gaze focusing on Bianca as she gave me a hesitant nod.
"Okay," she said, looking between me and Thalia before stepping into the fog, disappearing into it.
Thalia moved to go next but I stopped her.
"Wait, Thalia. What happened back on the pier with the manticore and the sacrifice-"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"I don't care if you don't want to talk about it," I said, obviously surprising her as her gaze snapped to me. "I just want to make sure I don't need to worry about you doing something stupid."
She leveled a glare at me, hesitating. "I was just shocked. That's all."
"When the fate of the world could rest in your hands, you can't be 'shocked' like you were," I said.
"It won't happen again," she said, ripping her gaze away from me and toward the fog.
"I'm not scolding you, Thalia," I say, hearing her scoff.
"Sure seems like it."
"I need you to know that Zeus didn't send that lightning bolt at the car. It was Kronos. He's trying to manipulate you, make you angrier at your dad. You can't let it get to you this much, as hard as it is." I say.
She took a deep breath. "Percy, I know you're working some weird angle for your dad or something, and you're just trying to make me feel better. I'm thankful for it, but we need to go, come on."
She stepped into the fog and I sighed before following her.
When the fog cleared, I was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset was a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of us. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight.
If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place I'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of the five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, and I don't mean yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. Real gold apples. They had an appeal to them which was indescribable, a fragrance which just tempted you to come closer and get one.
"The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."
"New meaning to go big or go home," Bianca commented from beside me, staring up at the tree before her eyes dropped down to the dragon which was coiled around it. "Everything has to come with a catch in this world, doesn't it?"
For a better picture, the serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He had more heads than I could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed.
"Ay, you're getting the hang of it, now," I say, smiling down at her as she didn't look all that happy.
Then the shadows in front of us began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. Bianca reached for her knives but Zoë stopped her. Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoë. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel. Silky black hair tumbled loose around their shoulders. It was strange, but I'd never realized how beautiful Zoë was until I saw her siblings, the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoë - gorgeous and probably very dangerous.
"Sisters," Zoë said.
"We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see three half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."
"Damn, that's shady," I said, stepping forward and smiling toward them. "But, no one's died yet on my watch, and I plan on keeping it that way."
The girls studied me. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.
"Perseus Jackson," one of them said.
"Yes," mused another. "I do not see why he is a threat."
"And who said I was a threat?"
The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee despite how little thee has been around for. They are unhappy that this one had not killed thee."
She pointed at Thalia.
"Tempting sometimes," Thalia admitted. "But no, thanks. He's my friend."
"Aww," I said, smiling at her. "You're finally admitting it."
"Shut up."
"There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back."
"Not without Annabeth," Thalia said.
"And Artemis," Zoë said. "We must approach the mountain."
"You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him now."
"Artemis must be freed," Zoë insisted. "Let us pass."
The girl only shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake."
"He will not hurt me," Zoë said.
"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"
Then Zoë pulled out her reverse card, making my gaze snap toward her as she fucking shouted, "Ladon! Wake!"
The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl said to Zoë, "Are you mad?"
"You never had any courage, sister," Zoë said. "That is your problem."
The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Zoë took a step forward, her arms raised.
"Yo, Zoë, I'm all for sticking it to your shitty sisters, but this is not what I had in mind," I said, taking out Revenge.
"Zoë, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you."
"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoë said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am the bigger threat, he should ignore thee."
"Fuck," I said under my breath, watching as a head focused its gaze on me and me only.
"Should," Bianca said. "Not exactly reassuring."
"It is the only way," she said. "Even the four of us together cannot fight him."
Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down my back, and that was before his breath hit me. The smell was like acid. It made my eyes burn, my skin crawl, and my hair stand on end. It was like the smell of a dead rat that'd died in the summer but multiplied by a hundred with a hint of eucalyptus.
I thought back to the tale which Hemera had told me when I was younger about Zoë and Hercules, knowing how a head-on assault wouldn't work. I put away my sword.
I encouraged Bianca and Thalia to take the left together while I went right, knowing that Ladon could probably sense my aura was stronger than Thalia and Bianca's. Having Bianca or Thalia go around with me would be a death wish. While the three of us walked left and right, Zoë walked forward, straight toward the monster.
"It's me, little dragon," Zoë said. "Zoë has come back."
Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. It was confused. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool."
"I used to feed you by hand," Zoë continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"
The dragon's eyes glinted.
Thalia, Bianca, and I were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, I could see a single rocky trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the summit like it was the axis for the whole world.
We'd almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. I felt the dragon's mood shift. Maybe Zoë got too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Whatever the reason, he lunged at Zoë.
Two thousand years of training kept her alive. She dodged one set of slashing fangs and tumbled under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she ran in our direction, gagging from the horrible breath.
I drew Revenge to help.
"No!" Zoë panted. "Run!"
The dragon snapped at her side, and Zoë cried out. Thalia uncovered Aegis and Bianca had her bow out, about to nock an arrow, the dragon hissed at them. In his moment of indecision, Zoë sprinted past us up the mountain, and we followed.
The dragon didn't try to pursue us. He just hissed and stomped the ground, he was well trained to guard that tree and wouldn't be lured off my anything. As I took one last look at Ladon, I could've sworn I had seen someone standing near the dragon in white, but when I did a double take there wasn't anything there. Just an angered dragon.
We ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind us. The music didn't sound so beautiful to me now - more like the soundtrack for a funeral.
At the top of the mountain were ruins, blocks of granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.
"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe.
"Yes," Zoë said. "It was not here before. This is bad."
"What's Mount Othrys?" Bianca asked.
"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoë answered. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was-" She winced and held her side.
"Let me see," I said, looking at her side.
"No! It is nothing. I was saying... in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces."
"Then... how is it here?"
Thalia looked around cautiously as we picked our way through the rubble, past blocks of marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on this mountain, is not good."
"Why?"
"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoë said. "Where he holds-" She froze. Her voice was ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."
We had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel of cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. Just like I had seen.
"My lady!" Zoë rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."
Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. I had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.
Zoë was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests and tugged at the chains binding her.
A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching."
We turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side was Luke and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Annabeth stood at Luke's side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Luke was holding the point of his sword to her throat.
"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go."
Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."
Thalia spat at him.
The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoë. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."
"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."
"Your whole family is shady, Zoë," I say, shaking my head as I look Atlas up and down.
The General glanced at me, recognition lighting up in his eyes. "Ah, our second time meeting, son of Erebus, was it?"
"More or less."
"More or less," he repeated, smiling. "Don't worry, I'll see to it that you get killed by me personally, as well. You'll have to wait until I deal with this wretched girl, however."
"Just like I said to your other daughters: no one has died yet, and I'm going to keep it that way," I said.
The General sneered. "I see why so many people want you dead. Only been known for a couple of days and already so awfully annoying."
"I aim to please."
"No matter," Atlas said. "Because you have no right to interfere in matters which don't concern you. This is a family matter."
"Family matter?" Bianca asked, frowning.
"Yes," Zoë said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."
I had already known about Atlas being her father, but to someone who hadn't, they were probably now seeing the uncanny resemblance. Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoë, the same cold proud look Zoë sometimes got when she was mad, though looked a thousand times more intimidating on Atlas.
"Let Artemis go," Zoë demanded.
Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."
Zoë opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoë! I forbid you."
Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking this fingers off.
"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."
I looked toward Annabeth, seeing her desperately trying to tell me something. I tilted my head, watching as she motioned her head toward Luke, my eyes locking onto the strands of her hair which had turned grey in streaks.
"They made her hold the sky," I said aloud.
"The weight should've killed her," Thalia added on.
"I don't understand," Bianca cut in. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"
Atlas laughed. "How little do you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaea first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth once more. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you."
He approached us, studying Thalia, Bianca and me. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."
"Come on, then, I'm all for being tested," I say, taking a step forward and watching Atlas smile.
"Perfect, I'll have Luke crush you in just a moment," he said, turning his attention to Thalia.
"As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."
"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed to get out. He looked awfully weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. "Thalia, you can still join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"
He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus.
"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."
"Luke..." Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?"
"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"
Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."
"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree..."
His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."
"Do not, Thalia," Zoë warned. "We must fight them."
Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame.
"Thalia," I warned. "Don't."
Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, I saw images in the mist all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.
"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained I could hardly tell it was his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."
He pointed toward the ocean, and my held back a sigh as I saw was marching up the side of the mountain. From the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, a great army marched. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things which I couldn't be bothered to name. The whole ship must've been emptied by the looks of it, and they would be here in a few minutes.
"This is only a taste of what's to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."
For a single moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."
"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me... Don't make him destroy you."
There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. I met eyes with Annabeth's again. She nodded.
I locked eyes with Zoë, Thalia, and Bianca. You know, this whole working with demigods things hasn't been as bad I as imagined, I actually like it quite a bit. I gave the three girls a grin.
"Now," I said.
And then, together, we charged.
Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.
Me and Bianca, though, we were a little pair of stupid and went for Atlas.
He laughed as we approached. A huge javelin appeared in his hands. His silk suit melted into full Greek battle armor. "Go on, then!"
"Percy, Bianca!" Zoë said. "Beware!"
I knew the ancient rules well, and I knew what she was trying to remind us of. Immortals are constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they have the nerve. And once we attack, Atlas was free to do the same with nothing holding him back.
I swung my sword, and Atlas swiped out with his javelin, narrowly missing me as I jumped over it. Bianca jumped over the shaft of the weapon, nearly getting caught before sliding between his legs and slashing out with her knives while his attention was on me. He yelled out, promptly bringing back the shaft of his weapon and moving back before Bianca could move, sending her slamming into a black wall which wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was slowly rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real.
"Fools!" Atlas screamed out gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoë's arrows as I retreated back to help Bianca up, checking over her to make sure she was okay before she roughly pushed me away, saving me from getting skewered by the javelin point which was stabbed our way in a split second. We both separated and Atlas focused on me, smiling excitedly as he watched me move around toward him.
The javelin's point slashed toward me like a scythe. I raised Revenge, planning to cut off his weapon at the shaft when my eyes flicked from the javelin to a sudden appearance of a white in the very corner of my eye. My head snapped up, looking to where I had seen it to see nothing and then realize my stupid mistake. I tried to dodge, but the javelin caught me in the chest and sent me flying like a rag doll. I slammed into the ground, my head spinning. I looked up and saw I was at the feet of Artemis, still straining under the weight of the sky.
"Run, boy," she told me. "You must run!"
Atlas was taking his time coming toward me but also casually swinging out and attacking Bianca with ease, Bianca barely managing to dodge his attacks and growing tired especially from the hit she'd taken early on from him still leaving her winded. I looked around and saw my sword had skittered away over to the edge of the cliff. I knew it'd reappear in my pocket in a few seconds, but I didn't have the time to wait around. Luke and Thalia were fighting like demons, lightning crackling around them. Annabeth was on the ground, desperately struggling to free her hands. Bianca, a completely new demigod to all of this and barely holding her own again Atlas was once again hit, slamming into the ground and not getting back up this time. Atlas turned his sights fully onto me.
"Die, little hero!"
He raised his javelin to impale me and I tensed my arms against the floor, feeling myself strain as I called upon the shadows which were now aplenty.
"No!" Zoë yelled, and a volley of silver arrows sprouted from the armor chink in Atlas's armor.
"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter.
I untensed my arms, releasing my hold and quickly turning back to Artemis, setting my newly reappeared sword down at her feet, getting beside her. The Titan's curse must one withstand. I knew what I needed to do, when there was a choice between me, or a goddess to go fight a Titan, the choice should always be the goddess.
"The sky," I told the goddess. "Give it to me."
"No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. "You don't know what you're asking for. It will crush you!"
"I know what all I can handle, and it is much more than you realize!"
"The girl barely survived and she had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long."
"Lady Artemis, no offense, but I doubt it," I said. "Give me the weight of the sky!"
I didn't wait for her to answer and instead picked back up my sword and slashed at the chains which bound her and stepped back up next to her and braced myself on one knee - holding up my hands - and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a single moment, Artemis and I both bore the weight together. It was the heaviest thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I breathed deeply, my breath extremely shaky as I fought the urge to black out form the pain.
And then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and I held it alone.
I could try to explain how it felt, but it just can't compare.
Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, the weight of the sky crushing me.
I concentrated on breathing. I just needed to last a little bit longer. I thought about Bianca, who had nearly given her life just for a stupid toy for Nico, how much I had already done over the course of the last couple of days just to get to this point. I had nearly died multiple times and still kept going one right after the other, not even giving myself time to fully realize and understand what had happened to me and how my life was drastically changed, all to get to this point. I was going to live out of spite, if nothing else. I still had to protect a whole lot of people, people which I felt a lot stronger for now that I'd actually met and spent time with them. I had a job to do and my apparent uncle/great great uncle/brother Ouranos was not going to ruin it for me.
My vision turned fuzzy, but it brightened and cleared slightly as a light which couldn't have possibly existed seemed to touch my face, giving me more strength and a determination. Everything was still tinged with red, and I couldn't focus too hard, but I was able to catch glimpses of battle. There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace which I'd only seen Hemera possess up to this point. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Or maybe that was just my brain getting tired. Zoë shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark, but they affected him like bee stings. He only got madder and kept fighting.
Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing all around them. Thalia pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he was not immune to it. He retreated, wincing and growling in frustration.
"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."
He bared his teeth. "We'll see, my old friend."
Sweat poured down my face. My hands were slippery. My shoulders would've screamed with agony if they could. I felt like the vertebrae in my spine were being welded together by a blowtorch.
"Just a little bit longer," I heard a soft, feminine voice whisper into my ear, the sunlight feeling brighter on my skin.
Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fat, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opened up in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward me.
Get ready, she spoke in my mind.
I prepped as best as I could for someone too tired to think.
"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."
He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming. Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill.
"No!" Zoë screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn. Atlas bellowed in rage, and brought his arm back, about to backhand Zoë away before I yelled out and all the shadows from the wall centered in on his form, knocking him back and allowing Zoë to get away from his attack.
I knew I couldn't do much, and it was pretty stupid to waste the little strength I still had, but at least it was something.
Atlas stood and turned back on Artemis with fury. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.
"The first blood in a new war, huh," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.
As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her. I saw him coming down on top of me and quickly loosened my grip on the sky, and as Atla slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let myself be pushed out from under the sky and rolled across the ground before I came to a stop.
The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.
"Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"
Atlas was trapped under his old burden.
I sucked in a breath and tried to stand again but fell back, dazed from pain. My body felt like it was burning up, but then that familiar, comforting warmth came back and it began to fade the slightest bit.
Thalia backed Luke to the edge of the cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.
He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hand and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.
For a moment, there was silence.
"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear the fear in his voice.
Thalia trembled with fury.
Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bounds. Her face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"
"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"
In my daze, I realized that Artemis was no longer with me but at Bianca's side where she had fallen and where Zoë now lay as well.
"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He... he'll be useful."
"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"
Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.
"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.
"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.
I pushed myself up, shakily standing. I went over to the edge, seeing the army which looked at Luke's broken form in surprise. The fall was fifty feet, at least. He wasn't moving and I doubt he would've lived through that fall.
One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"
I backed away with Thalia and Annabeth, heading to where Zoë, Artemis, and Bianca lay. We ignored the curses and threats Atlas sent our way as we passed.
"Artemis," I called out as we approached and I noticed how Artemis was cradling Zoë's form while Bianca seemed to be regaining consciousness beside them. "What happened?"
I knelt down beside Bianca, looking over her as she seemed dazed and semi-conscious, stealing a glance at Zoë's sickly form. She was pale and sweating, her breathing labored.
"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said, looking up with her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's.
"Atlas poisoned her?" Thalia asked.
"No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas."
She showed us the wound at Zoë's side and I was reminded of her brush with Ladon and the wound which she hadn't let me look at. Looking at it now, I could hardly believe she'd been able to charge into battle against Atlas with it sapping away all of her strength.
"The stars," Zoë murmured. "I cannot see them."
"What happened?" Bianca asked, looking toward Zoë as she tried to raise herself up but was stopped as I pushed her back down.
"You need to lay back down, okay?" I said, looking at her dazed and worried face as she let her head drop back down to the ground.
"Hemera, please, help her," I said in my head, knowing she was here and listening before getting up and grabbing my bag, tearing through it, looking for ambrosia and nectar.
"People, move! She is going to die!" I yelled, throwing down my bag and grabbing Zoë's, looking for anything that was left.
No one moved. Grief hung in the air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. We might've met our doom right there if it weren't for the strange buzzing noise.
Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.
"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering.
"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.
"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.
This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now banking around for another strafe.
"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come, we must get away from here."
She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoë's eyes were fluttering.
"Come on, hang in there," I told her. "We've got you, it'll be all right!"
The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machines guns blazed. I realized with amazement that Dr. Chase had somehow gotten ahold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into a sulfurous yellow powder.
"That's... my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement.
We didn't have much time to admire his flying, though, as the giants and snake dracaenae were recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon.
Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer I had ever seen. It landed right next to us.
"Get in," Artemis said.
Annabeth helped me get Bianca on board and then I helped Thalia on board and then grabbed Zoë and got her up until all six of us were in the chariot. I made sure Thalia had Bianca under control, because I could tell that she had to have one hell of a concussion before going over to Zoë, quickly beginning to try to help her with all the nectar and ambrosia I'd been able to find. We wrapped Zoë and Bianca in blankets we'd been able to find before speeding away from the mountain, straight into the air.
Seeing us safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honor guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.
Behind us, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound of the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.
I tore my gaze away, focusing back on Zoë and giving a small prayer to the Primordials as I felt the touch of sunlight once more.
"Save her," I said, looking into Hemera's eyes as she appeared at the back of the chariot with me and Zoë.
"There will be questions."
"I'll deal with them all."
"I don't think you can."
"Hemera, please," I pleaded, watching as she looked down at Zoë before back to me.
"I will try my best."