Chapter Two: That Mummy Still Freaks Me Out

I sprinted past the strawberry, volleyball courts and staring satyrs, my destination the Big House. As I got nearer, I saw four figures on the porch: Chiron, Mr. D, Annabeth and Grover. Chiron must have sent for them when he got the news I was coming.

"Hi, Percy," said Grover, gnawing nervously on some aluminum foil. He would probably eat the box when he was finished.

"Hey, Grover. Hey, Annabeth."

"Hi," she said quietly. I hoped she still wasn't ignoring me. I wanted to say something to her, to tell her everything, but I couldn't in front of my friends or the camp director. Grover, being empathic, looked sympathetic. I met eyes with Mr. D, knowing he was able to read my mind. His expression was strange. It was…sad, almost.

"Percy," said Chiron, so urgent he didn't bother with a greeting. I averted my gaze from Mr. D to Chiron. "I've already explained everything to Annabeth and Grover, and Mr. D of course, and Annabeth has agreed to go."

"What about Grover?" I asked.

"Well, um, Percy. I need to restore the wild places with the power Pan gave me. And it's going to be hard if we're always traveling around, to find out the best places…" he trailed off, sucking his lip where the blade of the tin foil box had cut him.

"That's okay," I said, though half-heartedly. This would be the first time I went on a quest without him. Well, except the time he got captured by the Cyclops Polyphemus, when I was trying to rescue him. "So I guess I should go see the Oracle?"

Chiron looked up, seeming very distracted. "What? Oh, yes, yes, go up…we'll wait for you here."

So I started up the stairs of the Big House, each step creaking ominously. I'd only been to the Oracle twice before, and only once had it actually spoken to me. The scarlet scarf I'd discovered on my last visit was still there among the piles of junk that demigods had collected throughout the years. Why would she have kept it? I wondered once again. To remember what we went through to get it? The Thrill Ride O' Love…ironic that my own love life (not that I have a love life or anything, that's just what Aphrodite said) would prove to be so dangerous in itself. But that's the life of a demigod for you.

I tore my eyes from the perfumed scarf to the bleached mummy, in sharp contrast with her lively dress. Eugh, she still really freaks me out, I thought, waiting for her to speak.

Almost right after I thought this, her mouth opened and a gruesome green tendril of smoke wafted out of the cavity. Her toothless, decomposing gums grossed me out almost as much as the rest of her. She went through the usual introduction then made a final request in her voice of a thousand snakes, as if Medusa's hair were speaking to me:

"Approach, seeker and ask."

I knew what I had to say. I wanted to ask so much more, but unfortunately, only one question was allowed. I stepped forward unwillingly, my need for knowledge more powerful than my repulsion.

"How can I find Thales of Miletus?"

The Oracle of Delphi's spirit caused the green fog to form an image of a ghostly Paul Blofis and my mom, sitting at the small kitchen table in our Upper East Side apartment. Paul opened his mouth and spoke in the Oracle's voice:

"Two demigods and two others

Venture towards the Miletus of today to find Mathematics' father."

Then Paul stopped talking, allowing my mom to say the next couplet:

"One will be defeated, one shall abide in Asphodel

Either way the story ends this quest will be a legend to tell."

Then mom and Paul were speaking simultaneously, a chorus of hissing:

"In two tasks succeed, in one fail

But in the end one side will prevail."

I didn't exactly like the sound of that prophecy, but I committed it to memory, knowing I would need it later on. I walked back down the staircase and was blinded for a moment by the bright sunlight, so varied from the dank attic where I'd just been.

"What did the Oracle say, Percy?" asked Chiron anxiously.

"Uh, she said: 'Two demigods and two others venture towards the Miletus of today to find Mathematics' father. One will be defeated, one shall abide in Asphodel—either way this story ends this quest will be a legend to tell. In two tasks succeed, in one fail but in the end one side will prevail.' And that's it. Where is 'the Miletus of today'?"

"Hmm…," said Chiron, stroking his bristly brown beard. "I'm not sure, but Mr. D and I will be doing some research to see. For now though, I think you three should go to lunch. I'm sure you're hungry."

Just then the conch shell sounded across camp, and a din of excited chatters drowned out the end of Chiron's sentence. So I nodded and, accompanied by Annabeth and Grover, went down to the open-roofed pavilion where pita, olive oil and vinegar were being laid out next to heaps of ribs and chicken. I was surprised how much food they'd prepared, until I saw the crowd coming to the dining tables. Almost everyone had stayed at camp: Clarisse, Beckendorf, the Stoll brothers…I guess people are really scared at the news of Typhon stirring, and of course our recent battle.

Grover went to sit with the rest of the satyrs, Annabeth to the Athena table, and I sat by myself at the Poseidon table. Just like old times, I thought ruefully. Tyson was still with Briares underwater at my dad's forges. I knew it was childish, but I was still a little peeved that my dad had never invited me to come underwater. But not as much as before: I still remembered very clearly my birthday party (was it really only yesterday?) when dad told me I was his favorite son. I smiled as I scraped off a quarter of my meal into the brazier.

"Poseidon." Please Dad, I really need some help for this quest. Hopefully he wasn't too busy to hear me. I resumed my seat at my table and just as I touched the seat, a bunch of people started screaming at once.