AN 7/11/15: Hey there, sorry this is a day late, I wasn't able to get onto the site earlier (wasn't working for some reason) and it has been a crazy week. I just wanted to say thanks to the awesome people who have been reviewing, it really makes this all even more worthwhile. I am glad you are finding this story interesting and I have been working on the next books and testi writing a spin-off. I managed to talk to my one friend (who I started it with) and he has gotten a bit more back into writing so another person to bounce ideas off of will be really cool. Anyway, thanks a ton for the reviews and I hope you enjoy this chapter and some of the Allison's backstory bits.
We somehow managed to make it back to the Amtrak station without being spotted, boarding just in time. The train took off into the night as darkness fell, police lights still pulsing against the St. Louis skyline in our wake. I was actually quite surprised that we had managed to get to the train, let alone the train leaving the city at all. I would think that after something like that they would have all travel stopped.
After Percy finished telling us about his conversation in the Mississippi, Annabeth switched topics.
"So what's this about these 'wicked' weapons Percy mentioned?" She asked. I sighed slightly. I knew I couldn't avoid the question any longer.
"They are something Chiron gave me. He said they used to belong to a former student of his that I reminded him of." It was only a partial lie, as technically they did belong to an old student, it was just that I was that student.
"The bracelet and necklace you shoved at Chiron on the porch?" She guessed and I nodded.
"What was that about on the porch anyway, you said something like 'thing will never change, will they?'"
I studied her. She was fully focused on me, probably reading my body language to tell any lies. I became very mindful of myself and as I talked I released the tension in my shoulder. "You just hear all these stories of the gods and quests their children have to go on, and it makes you wonder if everything is just stuck in an endless cycle."
"Can we see them?" Grover asked, clearly curious about the weapons that killed the Chimera.
"It probably isn't the best idea to bring them out in public unless I really need them. We don't need any more attention brought to us." I was already using some of the Mist to make my sword look like a water bottle in a little bag on my belt to try not to make it obvious, but the Mist can be faulty.
"True, but why do you carry that sword if you already have those weapons?" Annabeth gestured to the regular sword I was hiding under the blanket next to me. Dang daughter of Athena.
I made myself look nonchalant, "Eh, they just feel a bit awkward, but I am keeping them because Chiron seemed like he wanted me to have them. I prefer using the sword I brought." I gave a noncommittal shrug. "Anyway, I'm pretty tired. I'm going to go to sleep. Night guys." I covered myself with a blanket to block myself from prying eyes but I could still feel Annabeth's intelligent gaze. Percy and Grover had already switched conversations to talks of dinner.
Soon my breathing evened out and I fell asleep. I felt myself being pulled into a dream and frankly I was getting really tired of these. Couldn't I just get one peaceful sleep? It felt like I couldn't even take a nap now-a-days without being plagued with them, or old memories.
I was standing in the valley of my last fight, the water rushing over rocks and the sounds of battle in the background. The memory played out until I heard the voice, the one from the pit. My dream focused in on Chester, who was battling a hellhound. The voice was goading him, telling him it was time for action, as if it had done similar before. Whatever plan they had must be set in motion.
I got a sick feeling as Chester finished off the hellhound and moved to where Nick and I were fighting. That voice was talking to Chester again, riling him up, almost like when an animal gets into a frenzy, but more controlled and calculating. I remembered how in my first dream the voice had basically said it was the reason I was killed, and now I saw it happening.
The voice had helped push Chester over the edge, and given the memories of the looks he would give me long before that final act I would bet it had been talking to him then too. It had been leading him into becoming paranoid and wanting to kill the cause, or as close as he could get. I swore to myself then that I would make that voice pay. Clearly it had some grand plan, and now it wanted to try to recruit me, given the last time it spoke to me. Something was in the works and I needed to know what.
My memory of the battle stopped at that last scene. I tried to make the memory stop before it could play out fully, but I couldn't. I was forced to see Nick's grief stricken face once again. My dream then turned into glimpses of stuff that had recently happened. I saw Echidna and the Furies attacking a bus, even Chiron's words from after I woke up. Then I saw something that hadn't happened yet. I was in my father's throne room, fighting with him, an army of the undead surrounding the walls. I could only see my father and I but I got the feeling there were others present.
I saw an older, sadder Nick. His face, once almost always cheery, was one of someone who had seen too much - the one I see in the mirror and try to hide. I saw flashes of two kids I didn't know playing in a hotel, a familiar presence nearby. One was a girl with dark hair and freckles, the other a boy who looked to be her brother, if I had to guess. There was an explosion and I saw a flash of the boy's older self. He was about ten in the flash, clutching some sort of dark figurine. Then the dream faded and I felt myself waking up. It was the next afternoon already. Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were just starting to stir.
It was June 14th already, seven days before the solstice. Our train rolled up into Denver as I finished eating what Annabeth saved for me from the dining car the previous night. Looking at them and down at myself, I realized how we must look like a pretty scruffy group of kids. Nobody had showered since Camp and after a few monster attacks, it was really a necessity.
"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth suggested.
"We can't use phones though, right?"
"I'm not talking about phones."
We wandered around downtown for about half an hour, looking for a place to make the I-M. The air was hot and dry, very unlike the humidity in St. Louis. Everywhere we turned, the Rocky Mountains were there, at least off west. I found myself looking around in fascination as we walked; the city had changed so much. I sighed, remembering the old days of living in Colorado before I knew I was a half-blood. The mountains had been an everyday view for me and Nick. It was a nice change from the city and I liked to be able to see the familiar landscape again. I had grown up here after all. I was more a rural living kind of girl, personally. Denver was so much more built up though, more big businesses being at the top of that growth.
We finally came across an empty do-it-yourself carwash. We veered toward the stall farthest from the street and kept our eyes peeled for any patrol cars. Four roughed up kids hanging around a car wash without a car, that was a big red-flag for any self-respecting law enforcement officer right there.
"What are we doing, exactly? How are we going to contact Chiron from here?" Percy asked as Grover picked up the spray gun.
"It's sev-Oh, thanks, Allison." I handed him seventy-five cents, putting the rest of my change back into my pocket, hand brushing against the Chimera teeth.
"Excellent," he said. "We could use a spray bottle, of course. But the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping the bottle." Of if you are a child of a water deity with control over water you can, with enough practice, make your own mist.
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked. I couldn't wait to see his reaction to the I-M. I remember the first time I ever saw one and resisted any and all bouncing up and down like a little kid.
Grover inserted the quarters into the machine and set to knob to Fine Mist. "I-Ming."
"Instant messaging?"
"Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess, Iris, carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she isn't too busy she'll do the same for us."
"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?" I smiled, as Annabeth rolled her eyes. Of course Percy would be the one to say something like that about any of the gods. Someday he would get himself in big trouble with that mouth if he wasn't careful. I could picture it now:
Zeus frowning in the Olympian council room, knuckles white as he gripped his throne, grinding his teeth. "I'm going to ask you to be respectful."
Percy from the center of the room, a stoic look on his face with a hint of amusement in his eyes, "I will politely decline."
Back to the moment I heard the water hiss out of the nozzle and Grover pointed it to make a thick white mist. "Unless you have an easier way to make a rainbow." After a moment a rainbow formed in the mist, the last afternoon light filtering through the water droplets.
Annabeth held out her palm to Percy, "Drachma, please." Percy handed one over and Annabeth raised the coin over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering." She threw in the coin, it disappearing in a golden shimmer. "Half-Blood Hill." She requested.
It took a moment for the message to go through, but then the image of camp's hill appeared in the mist. The strawberry fields and the Sound in the distance. We were in the perspective as if we were someone on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to the railing was Luke. He had his bronze sword grasped in his hand and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the direction of the cabins. I moved myself out of the view of the I-M; I didn't want there to be any question about my presence with the limited time we had for the I-M.
"Luke!" Percy called. Luke turned, eyes wide. He looked just three feet away, but that was just the magic of the I-M.
"Percy!" Luke's face broke out into a grin. "Is that Annabeth too? Thank the gods! Are you okay?"
"We're.. uh.. fine," Annabeth stammered, very unlike a child of Athena. She was quickly straightening her dirty T-shirt while simultaneously trying to swipe loose hair out of her face. "We thought Chiron, I mean-"
"He's down at the cabins." Luke's smile faded. "We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you guys? Is Grover alright?"
Just then, a big black car pulled up into the closest stall, its stereo blasting out trashy music that would have made my grandmother have a heart attack, the vibrations shaking the pavement.
"Chiron had to-what's that noise?"
"I'll take care of it." Annabeth yelled back, looking very relieved to be saved from being within view. "Grover, come on!"
"What? But-"
"Give the nozzle over and come here." She ordered. I took the nozzle from him and made a little shooing motion with my hand. I heard Grover mutter something about girls being harder to understand than the Oracle and I gave him a proud grin.
"Chiron had to break up a fight," Luke shouted over the music. "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how, probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound. Now the campers are taking sides. It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, Apollo all backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."
If this quest failed we would be in deep dodo. I heard Annabeth and the driver arguing with each other. The music's volume dropped drastically.
"So what's your status?" Luke asked. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you, your friend has been wanting to talk to you too." I don't think Percy picked up on that last part, but I sure did. Luke was lying about me still being at camp, he wasn't telling Percy about me going missing in the camp's eyes. Before I could stop him without making my presence with Percy known, Percy went on to tell Luke basically everything, including his dreams. I couldn't say anything without being noticed by Luke, and I wasn't so keen after his earlier comment for him to know where I was. I was growing even more weary of Luke, more than I was of the rest of the campers. Yeah, Luke had been at camp a while and was a good fighter, but I only fully trusted Chiron, Percy, and Sally here. His comment had just sprung up another warning flag on him.
Where are you, Nick? I need an ally who has experience. I don't even know what happened..
"I wish I could be there," Luke was saying. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid, but listen.. it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. He was there at Olympus during the solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him." I scowled, he was really being insistent on pegging my father as the culprit. Why bring it up now when we already have the objective to the quest, was my question. I readjusted my sword in its sheathe at my waist.
"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly."
"That's true," Luke said, a troubled look on his face. "Still.. Hades has the Helm of Darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible." Exactly, and I knew sure as heck my father wouldn't lend his helm for somebody to use to get the bolt, if he wanted it in the first place. I looked at him through the side of the Iris Message, wondering if he was really suggesting that Annabeth had something to do with the theft intentionally. I could never picture her doing something like that, she was a nice girl, loyal to camp. A bit picky at times but she was good. Unless someone else got a hold of an item like that. My original hesitations about Luke were starting to grow though.. he just seemed.. off. Call me paranoid but there was something there.
There was a silence before Luke seemed to realize his implications.
"Oh, hey," he protested. "I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never.. I mean, she's like a little sister to me." In the next stall over, the music stopped dead. A man screamed in terror, a fairly shrill girly voice actually for a man, car doors slammed, and the car fled from the car wash.
"You'd better go see what that was," Luke continued. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel a lot better if they've done you some good."
"Oh.. uh, yeah!" Percy was trying not to sound guilty, but for somebody who had known him since he was a toddler, it was fairly easy to tell, even if I didn't know Grover had the shoes. "Yeah, they've come in handy."
"Really?" Luke grinned. "They fit and everything?" What's so special about those shoes? Why would Luke give a kid he basically just met a pair of his father's shoes? I guess I was just overly cautious about anything involving Percy and was just being over skeptical about everything. Some things in this quest just didn't line up though. I hadn't had the best experiences in the past with kids Luke's age and with similar looks, maybe I was just automatically on edge. It was just that something about him was just reminding me of Chester. The water shut off and the mist started evaporating.
"Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver," Luke called out, his voice fading. "and tell Grover it'll be different this time! Nobody will get turned into a pine tree if he just-" But the mist was gone, his image faded. Annabeth and Grover came around the corner, laughing, but sobered up once they saw our faces.
"What happened guys? What did Luke say?"
"Nothing much," Percy lied, sending me a glance to tell me not to say anything. "Come on, let's find dinner."
Soon I found myself sitting at a booth in a gleaming chrome diner. All around our table there were happy families eating classic diner food, drinking shakes and doing everything like normal people did. A waitress finally came over after observing us when she came out of the swinging kitchen doors, eyebrow raised. "Well?"
"We, um, want to order dinner." Percy said nervously.
"You kids have the money to pay for it?" I started rifling through my bag, hoping I had enough money left to get us all food. I saw Grover's lip quivering and Annabeth looked like she was about to pass out. Then, a rumble shook the building as a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant rolled into the lot.
All conversation abruptly stopped. The bike's headlights beamed red, gas tank painted with flames and full shotgun holster strapped to its side. I put my hand on the hilt of my sword, ready to draw if needed. The guy on the bike was really built and dressed in cliché muscle-man gear, a black leather duster to top off the look. He actually reminded me a bit of Terminator. There was a huge hunting knife strapped to his thigh, his eyes blocked with red wraparound shades, his face cruel and scarred even from a distance.
I gulped in recognition, scrunching down in my seat to hide behind Annabeth and the wall. As he walked into the diner, a hot, dry wind swept through the doors. Every mortal in the place stood up in a trance, but he just waved them back down. Talk about an entry, definitely Zeus's son. Our waitress blinked, as if she was back at the moment she arrived and asked us again:
"You kids have money to pay for it?"
"It's on me." The man said. He slid down into our booth, right next to Annabeth. I got pressed up against the wall as Annabeth frantically scooted over. He looked up at the waitress, who was gaping at him and said, "Are you still here?"
He pointed at her and forcibly made her start walking back to the kitchen. The man, or should I say god, looked at all of us. His eyes lingered on me for a moment, as if trying to place a memory, then landed on Percy. I saw Percy's muscles go tense in his arms, like he was clenching his fists.
Ares gave a wide grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?" It looked as if Gabe was talking, just by looking at Percy. I kicked his foot from under the table to warn him not to say anything that might get us killed but, of course, he ignored me.
"What's it to you?"
Annabeth's eyes flashed in warning. "Percy, this is-" Ares raised his hand.
"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"
After a moment Percy responded, "You're Clarisse's dad, Ares, god of War."
Ares grinned and took off his shades, empty sockets glowing like miniature nuclear explosions.
"That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."
"She was asking for it." At this point I was willing to gag Percy, stuff him in a sack, and drag him out of here by force if that's what it took for us to not be killed by this volatile god.
"Probably. That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for-I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."
The waitress came back with loaded trays of food. I eyed the milkshakes eagerly. Ares handed her a few gold drachmas as payment. The poor waitress nervously looked at the coins until Ares pulled out his hunting knife, casually cleaning his fingernails. "Problem, sweetheart?" The waitress swallowed and quickly left.
"You can't do that," Percy protested. "You can't just threaten people with a knife."
Ares laughed. "Are you kidding me? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon around, punk? Your friend does, she knows what's up." He said with a slight nod in my direction as I awkwardly clutched my sword hilt. "Dangerous world out there, you should know." I fought the surprise from registering visually on my features. He might just be talking about the Chimera, I reassured myself. Ares turned back to Percy. "Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor." Ooh boy, we're in for it now..
"What favor could I do for a god?"
"Something a god doesn't have time to do himself. Nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little... date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me." Ares bringing a shield along on a date didn't really surprise me.
"Why don't you just go back and get it yourself?" Man, his aura is really not good for Percy. I need to get him out of here before he gets us killed. As it was, the fire in Ares's eyes glowed a little brighter.
"Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley? Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you a chance to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove a coward?" He leaned in. "Or maybe you only fight when there's someone else to take the blows for you and a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you." Percy's expression looked like one that said he so badly wanted to slug Ares right now, but was luckily refraining from doing so. Ares was just waiting for him to snap.
"We're not interested," he said. "We've already got a quest." Then Ares's fiery eyes showed us stuff I didn't want to see again, images of the more gruesome side of war. I involuntary shivered slightly, my hand tightening around my sword.
"I know all about your quest, punk. When that weapon was first stolen, Zeus sent out his best looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally." So the A-Team. "If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful.." He licked his lips, as if the idea of a weapon that powerful made him physically hungry. I was progressively liking Ares less and less as this meeting went on, if that was possible.
"Well if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath." I glared at Ares. Always the butt of Olympian comments.
"You told him Lord Hades stole the bolt?" I almost growled. I knew who was on my official list of figures I hated, top rank at the moment.
"Sure. Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for this little quest." I narrowed my eyes at that comment. That theory can go both ways, but I held my tongue in favor of not being turned into a rodent and becoming road kill. I was just happy he didn't seem to make any connection to me and my father, especially with everyone right here. I didn't want to think about what might happen if people found out again..
"Thanks," Percy grumbled.
"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."
"We're find on our own, thanks." I cut in. Offers like these always had a way of turning bad, like genies in old Arabian stories. There is always a twist. That concept of being careful what you wished for carried over pretty well in relation to the gods and their offers.
Ares snorted and proceeded to point out all that had gone wrong in the past number of days. Then he mentioned Sally. I looked to Percy to see his reaction, begging him to not take the bait. He took it.
"My mom?"
Ares grinned widely. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."
"What interrupted your date?" Percy asked. "Something scare you off?"
Ares gave that child of Ares kid look that I had grown to recognize over the years. The false look of confidence hidden behind a try at a strong face.
"You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint." After that Ares was gone, Percy's eyes snapping back open.
"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good." Percy looked out the window. I knew that look, he was thinking about what Ares had said about Sally. I saw the anger that was in him previously dissipate.
"It's probably some kind of trick. Forget Ares. Let's just go."
"Um, Percy, no matter how much of a jerk the guy is, we can't just ignore him without bad things happening. But I agree, the old stories are riddled with things like this. Gods offering things and then it going bad for the little guys." I said.
"Allison's right, Percy. I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't just ignore the gods unless you want some serious repercussions. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent." Annabeth agreed with a slightly appraising look in my direction. At that idea- now that it wasn't as present a threat- a weird picture of Percy formed in my head of him as a little furry rodent with little ears and a wiggly tail danced through my mind.
"Why does he need us?"
"Maybe it's a problem that requires brains," She theorized. "Ares has strength. That's all he has. Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes." Spoken like a true daughter of Athena.
"But this water park.. he acted almost scared. What could make a god of War run away like that?"
Annabeth and Grove shared a look.
"Percy, don't worry. It's a water park, if worst comes to worst, you will be our best fighter there." I reassured.
"Still, I'm afraid we will have to find out."
Have an awesome week! Also, oohh the things I have planned for this series, *insert evil laugh here*