I was speechless.
"So what Thalia didn't want to tell me was that-" I said without thinking.
"Exactly." Aphrodite winked. "Grover caught them in a…let's just call it a sentimental moment."
This was getting ridiculous. What the heck did she mean by a sentimental moment? Unless it was what I thought it was…
"We have to get back to the others," Aphrodite said, still smiling.
We walked back to the clearing in which all the Olympians were now standing. Thalia and Grover were pacing impatiently. Tyson was talking to Poseidon, his father. Aphrodite joined them.
Zeus announced, "The council shall be away from the eyes of the traitor." I have to admit, that sounded a bit harsh, if you're addressed as "the traitor".
Zeus snapped his fingers. The air seemed to shimmer around us, and we found ourselves in the white-marbled glory of Mount Olympus. The gods and goddesses sat on their corresponding thrones.
"And now this council begins," Zeus said. "One thing I would like to ask you, Perseus Jackson, how did you defeat Luke? Kronos' spell has given him unimaginable power for a mere mortal."
"It was all because of Tyson," I said modestly. "Luke was wielding a repulse shield, almost the same as mine. I showed them the shield. Poseidon eyed Tyson with an unmistakable expression of pride.
"I don't know exactly what happened, but Tyson can probably explain." I continued and gestured towards Tyson.
"Lord Zeus, you know that electricity messes with magnetism, right?" Tyson addressed Zeus.
Zeus was wearing a slightly bemused expression, but he said, "Yes, I did."
"Percy's sword was stuck to Luke's shield, because Thalia hit Luke's shield with her lightning spear. Percy hit his shield to Luke's and the electricity exploded due to the emergency system I installed on that shield, knocking Luke into a tree." Tyson explained.
"Ah," Zeus said. He still looked confused. "Now back to the business at hand. Should we kill Luke?"
Artemis started off, "He should die for brainwashing my huntress!"
"What about brainwashing your huntress?" Aphrodite asked sweetly. Artemis fell silent. She didn't want everyone knowing about that.
"I say we keep him. He might be of use to us." Zeus said.
Hermes nodded assent. "He's my son. I can't kill him in cold blood, even if he did betray us."
Ares spoke up next. "I think we should keep him…because…I feel good about it." He was eyeing Aphrodite as he said this. It was fairly obvious that Aphrodite had twisted his answer. Normally, Ares would kill anyone if they betrayed him.
Athena said, "Don't keep him. I don't take risks." I remembered what she said before, when the gods were voting on whether to kill me or not. Pretty much the same thing.
Dionysus was twisting a vine around his finger. He commented, "As long as he's a danger to the boy, then I'll keep him."
"Dionysus," Poseidon warned. I could tell that he was going to get angry if Dionysus kept it up.
"What?" Dionysus defended himself. "It's my opinion. If the boy dies, its all for the better. I won't have to be bothered by him anymore."
"Dionysus…" Poseidon's voice was a low growl in his throat. He got up from his throne. Dionysus did the same.
"We don't have time for this," Zeus muttered. "This is ridiculous."
What happened next was so fast that my eyes couldn't comprehend it. There was a loud crack, and thick green vines restrained both Poseidon and Dionysus.
"Could we calm down, please?" Demeter said to them. "None of you ever seem to grow up.". Poseidon and Dionysus were looking murderous.
"Silence!" Zeus roared. "Now we vote. All in favor of killing the traitor?"
Artemis' hand shot up followed by Poseidon's and Athena's. After a few moments, Hephaestus and Hera's hands came next.
"The traitor is not to be killed, then." Zeus said. He waved his hands and food appeared as well as platinum-colored picnic tables. "After the feast, I will summon him here."
Ah, finally. The best part of the Olympian Councils. The feast.
I dug in eagerly. The Nine Muses played their classic multi-song melody, and everybody was chatting pleasantly. What I heard from the Muses was a song of tragedy. It made me feel a little better about Annabeth's death. I would find her and bring her back from the Underworld. I had to.
As the food began to diminish, Apollo walked up to me. "I just don't feel right about something," he said. "Something bad is going to happen."
I didn't give that much thought. "Could you be more specific?" I asked him.
"I don't know," he said. "It's hidden from me. As was the location of my little sis."
"I heard that!" Artemis shouted from another table. "We're twins, for the gods' sake!"
The feast seemed to be over before it had started. Zeus waved his arms and all the food and dirty dishes disappeared. He snapped again, and we were back at the forest. Only one thing was missing.
Luke.
Mwahahahaha! Cliffies! I will NOT post the next chapter until I have a couple of reviews. By the way, the oneshot idea I mentioned before, here's the idea: What would Percy hear if he listened to the Sirens? I decided to drop the idea, but if there's anyone who wants to try it, go ahead.