Chapter VII: I Think Sharp Thoughts

Disclaimer: As usual, I own none of the elements of Rick Riordan's works, nor those of Greek mythology and the Western literary tradition. However, Jason Williams' weapon is my own creation. Read on to see what I mean!

Still gasping for breath and with a painful stitch in my side from the fall, I stumbled slowly back and stared at the goddess.

Athena…my mother. I had no idea how I was supposed to react to either. For one thing, I'd grown up with only one parent for so long that the idea of my mom had just sort of become an unanswered question, a blank space that had been in the back of my mind for years. I didn't like it, but over time I'd at least gotten used to it.

And for another thing, I was now face to face with the immortal Greek goddess of wisdom and warfare, an entity I would've dismissed as imaginary just a few weeks ago. And the idea that they could be one and the same? Now that was mind-bending.

What do you say? I asked myself. A casual "hey there" or a formal greeting? Hymns of thanksgiving or a high five?

Athena smiled at me in an understanding way. "I'm sorry for the abrupt appearance," she told me. "I realize that you must have a lot to process right now, but I urgently needed to speak with you."

I can't believe this is really happening, I thought. The goddess was about the height and build of a really tall, athletic human, but she was hovering several feet above the ground, making her seem several feet taller. She was clad in one of those traditional Greek…robe-type things, with a war helmet pushed back into her long, dark hair. All of the moonlight in the forest seemed to concentrate on her, making her skin and robes almost glow. Athena looked otherworldly, immortal, and extremely powerful, but at the same time, she looked just a little like me.

Sure, I'd met one god before, but now that I was here Dionysus didn't really seem to count. I was well and truly knocked for a loop.

"I…um…yes…thank you," I stuttered, feeling more than a little pathetic.

Her gray eyes sparkled warmly. "I am glad to see that you've reached camp safely, Jason. I would imagine that right now you're feeling confused, scared, and unstable, and probably a bit useless compared to all of the fine athletic heroes-in-training here, correct?"

I didn't have anything left to do but nod. One look at me, and Athena had figured out just about all of my problems, feelings and motivations. I guess I shouldn't have expected any less from the goddess of wisdom.

She leaned towards me slightly, adopting a thoughtful expression. "On this last point, I am able to both reassure you and assuage your troubles somewhat. Jason Williams, I will tell you right now: you are far more powerful than you know, and of more tremendous importance than you can comprehend. Though your skills may be less obvious than those of some other demigods, you, like all of my children, possess tremendous strength of mind. You need only find the best way to harness it."

"And what … uh, how do I do that?"

The goddess raised a hand to cut off my question. "All in good time. I am sorry to monopolize the conversation like this, but there is much I must tell you and little time to do so. Now, I must ask – " She gave me a This is very important look – "are you aware of the great conflict that now looms before the Olympians, threatening our very survival?"

Seriously? I just got here. I'm barely on good terms with the fact that there are gods, let alone that there's something out there that could actually pose a threat to them! I tried to compress all of these thoughts into one unusually expressive "No."

Athena pursed her lips, looking frustrated. "Then I can tell you no more. I know that must inflame your curiosity intolerably, but direct intervention in the affairs of heroes is against our Ancient Laws. Furthermore, the Fates have decreed that your path must be of your own choosing."

For a few seconds she fixed me with an extremely concerned, almost mournful gaze. I found myself irrationally thinking, I spend enough time thinking I'm about to die lately without you doing it too!

I immediately felt embarrassed just for thinking that, though. You know, I told myself sternly, you're talking to an Olympian Goddess, here. Don't assume that you're the one with all the answers!

When I looked back to Athena, her eyes had taken on a glint I would almost describe as mischievous. "That said, I must confess to a long track record of giving my favorite heroes gifts and advice. Perhaps you remember a few of those cases. Perseus, Odysseus, Theodore Roosevelt … also, as the goddess of clever warfare and victory in battle, I cannot resist such a fine example of friendly competition as your Capture the Flag games here."

Everything was going so fast. My mind, still catching up, blazed past "Destroy the gods themselves?" "What was that about my destiny?" and "Wait, did you say Teddy Roosevelt?" before I felt at least somewhat up to speed.

"Okay, what about Capture the Flag? I think I already failed at what I was supposed to do there … "

At the same time, a nervous, expectant feeling kindled itself like a fire in my ribs - almost like my subconscious knew more than I did about what was about to happen.

Athena gave me a dazzling smile. "I think not, Jason Williams. Remember who you are talking to. You might find that you will return to the field of battle precisely when you are needed most. But not without my gift to you – a way to harness your power, as I have promised."

She clapped her hands, and a tremendous barn owl fluttered out of the forest and landed on her shoulder. The symbol of Athena, I recalled, thinking of the décor of Cabin Six.

Athena began to sketch in the air, and shimmering lines of blue light followed the motion, creating something like a wireframe blueprint. "A spear, I think," she mumbled to herself. I paid close attention, not wanting to miss any detail. "Perhaps five feet … and … "

She snapped her fingers, and the design hanging in the air swiftly became solid – rich mahogany and glittering bronze replacing the ghostly wireframe, until the whole thing, a gorgeous spear with a wickedly curved bronze point, hung in the air a few feet above me.

Then without warning, it fell, and of course I fumbled the catch. But as I snatched my new spear out of the dirt, everything changed.

I felt a sharp, mental zing immediately, the same kind of sensation I'd felt when being claimed by Athena. And in my hand, the point of the spear erupted into dancing, blue-green flames, the same color as the wireframe that my mother had used to create the weapon.

As I concentrated on the flames, still in total awe, they grew larger and fiercer, until it seemed as if I was holding a torch instead of a spear. As the flame increased, a small flock of last year's dead leaves were blown away from around me, skittering off like a strong wind had just kicked up. However, the wood of the shaft didn't seem to be growing any hotter, and when I cautiously put a hand near the blaze I didn't feel a thing.

Athena was watching me with a self-satisfied sort of smile. "It will respond directly to your thoughts, Jason. From now on, your formidable mental energies will be your weapon, both directly with this spear and in more subtle situations. Use your gifts wisely."

From her shoulder, the owl gave vent to a prolonged, hooting screech, and somehow or other, I swear, I understood it. The stupid bird was saying, Well, here goes nothing.

I glared at the owl and sent it a mental image of a sizzling Thanksgiving turkey in retaliation. To its owner, I said, "Thank you, Athena … Mother. This is incredible, really."

It was the first time I'd used the mother label and I was a little nervous about how the goddess would react, but she favored me with a warm smile. (The owl, meanwhile, was preening its feathers and pretending not to notice me). "You are welcome, Jason. Now, my time here grows short and your friends are in need of your aid. You will hear from me again when it is safe for us to converse, but for now I will leave you with this advice."

She leaned back in midair and took on a thoughtful expression, and when she spoke again, her voice had an impactful echo behind it. "Dangerous times lie before you, Jason, Be careful where to place your trust. Know your own self well. And, above all, do not fear your destiny."

I was finally getting used to the otherworldly conversation, and there was so much more I'd wanted to ask, but it was clear that my audience with Athena was just about over. "Farewell, Jason Williams," she intoned. "And welcome to our world."

Good luck; you're going to need it, added the owl helpfully. And without so much as a second's warning they were gone, leaving the grassy valley much as it had been before, except for a faint, olive-scented breeze lingering in the air and one young demigod (myself) holding a remarkable spear.

I still felt like I had way more questions than answers. Athena had dropped so many little hints about coming danger and whatever my destiny was, but it seemed like for the most part, I would have to figure things out for myself.

I sighed, gazing absentmindedly at the patchy glimpses of indigo, star-covered sky that I could discern through the trees. It was totally incredible to think that I'd just been visited by a goddess. More than anything else, this little episode had driven home to me just how different my life was now from anything I'd known before. The goddess of wisdom probably could've helped me figure it out better than anyone else, but wherever Athena was now, it certainly wasn't here.

I turned my attention to the spear. The geek in me was absolutely rejoicing at it. The power to control it with my mind – even if I didn't know exactly how that worked yet, the thought alone sent a huge thrill of excitement through me.

That was when I noticed something on the shaft of the spear – golden letters shining against the wood, spelling out a glimmering sentence in Ancient Greek. Sỳn Athēnâi kaì kheîra kinei.

And I knew what it meant: Along with Athena, move also your hand. The goddess had given me an incredible gift, but this seemed to be the goddess' way of saying that from now on, it was going to be up to me.

Do not fear your destiny, she had said.

I couldn't help but grin. Perhaps I would be able to accomplish something in this new world, after all …

I was so absorbed in my own thoughts that when the cry of pain came, it completely startled me, making me jump back in shock (well, as well as you can do that in armor; it translates into a slight double-take and a loud clank.)

In all the excitement, I'd practically forgotten that there was still a Capture the Flag game going on. But what was it that Athena had told me? That I would return exactly when I was needed?

You've got this, I told myself. My subconscious didn't buy it – apparently, removal of all doubt was not among the spear's powers– but I tried to ignore my pounding heart as I took one last deep breath and charged back up the hill.

Although I hadn't really done much before getting launched by the Ares guys, it was still clear that my absence had been keenly felt. Without my (admittedly questionable) guarding skills in their way, said Ares guys had run right into the Blue Team flag carrier (some Apollo guy I know by sight only). As I held my position just below the crest of the hill, looking for an opportunity, they disarmed him, Brian grabbed Ares' flag, and together they promptly knocked him unconscious.

Prisoners may not be bound or gagged, I remembered Chiron warning. I supposed that was as good a way as any to get around that rule.

I found myself hesitating, my grip on the spear slipping as I sweated profusely. Now was my big chance to act, but these were the same two burly teenage warriors who'd almost killed me in the first place. Was I seriously about to fact them again, this time on purpose?

The part of my mind that was the most honest with itself knew that the more I thought about it, the more I'd psych myself out. Heeding this inner voice, I closed my eyes in sheer terror for a moment, then flung caution to the winds and rushed the Ares guys.

While my deficiencies in the ways of warfare have already been chronicled extensively within these pages, I can at least run quickly. I reached the pair in seconds, and by the time they whipped around in surprise to face me, I was already realizing that I'd better do something right now. To that end, I lashed out with my new spear.

The experience that followed was nothing short of incredible. The spear point lit up with blue fire again, but easily the greatest advantage lay in the fact that wherever I thought it should go, I effortlessly found myself matching the action to the thought. No, better than that – the actions and the thoughts seemed to be one. I needed only to envision a jab, block, etc., and it would happen, my arm seemingly taking a back seat in the whole process.

Whereas ordinary warfare had struck me thus far as wretched and exhausting, this was something else entirely. It almost felt more like a video game than real life – and whatever my other shortcomings may be, I am an excellent gamer.

Virtually before I knew what was happening I'd divested Brian of that mace of his, slammed him squarely in the chest with the burning spear point, and sent him crashing to the ground. That was when a crazy idea occurred to me, but in the elation of the moment all I could think was "Why not?" So before my sane side could object, I took one hand off the spear and whipped around in a 180-degree motion to face the other Ares soldier, the weapon swinging in a similar arc.

The spear erupted into a fresh torrent of blue flame as I turned, which screamed out behind it in a blurred comet tail. The muscle-bound brute never even saw it coming.

After the second heavy thud had subsided, silence fell abruptly. I gradually became aware of little noises around me, like crickets, the far-off clash of swords, and the gusting of wind in the pines.

I could hardly believe the sight that surrounded me – two unconscious Ares-cabin soldiers, surrounded by a chaotic mess of footprints and churned-up earth, a crumpled flag discarded next to them. And I had done all this. I, Jason Williams.

My breath coming in shuddering gasps and my knees shaking, I held my new spear out at arm's length and stared at it in awe. "Dang," I muttered.

While the moment did deserve some appreciation and reflection, I'd had the distinct impression that the Ares guys would be rather dissatisfied with my actions when they awoke. Therefore, I grabbed the red team's flag in my free hand (with both a flagpole and a spear, I felt like an idiot and probably looked like a skier out of season), checked to make sure the Apollo flag carrier was all right (he seemed to be coming around), and made good my escape.

I stuck to the edges of the forest as best I could, not wanting to attract any unwanted attention, and skirted well around the huge brawl in the center, remembering Annabeth's advice. Things were pretty quiet for a while, and I almost began to think I might get away with this escapade, when suddenly a camper charged right at me, his or her helmet crest in flames.

Due to that unfortunate situation I couldn't tell if the charred horsehair plume had been red or blue. "Uh, friend or foe?" I called nervously, wondering if it even mattered when the poor sap was on fire.

I heard a surprised "Jason?" as the camper collapsed weakly to the ground and wrenched the helmet off, revealing herself to be my sister Alexis. She looked pretty battered, but apparently wasn't too concerned about her own condition, as she was staring at me in shock.

"What the … Where on Earth, Olympus, or Hades did you get that spear?" Alexis typically seemed to be in complete control of her life and just about everything else, but right now she sounded absolutely freaked out. I was reminded of myself and Biagio on our trip to camp—Alexis had the same look, like the metaphorical rug had been pulled out from under her and she had no idea what would happen next.

"Long story, but, um, Athena gave it to me," I mumbled. "Look, are you in good enough shape to take the flag? You can probably get it to our base better than I can."

You might well be thinking, A true hero would've refused all aid and gotten the flag to base himself, but I was being honest with myself here. I might have been able to defend myself against two Ares soldiers before, but I'd had the element of surprise on my side then. Now I was getting increasingly exhausted, and I had a feeling that the route back to the blue base would be utter chaos. I wouldn't last five minutes.

Alexis' eyes had gone wide when I'd mentioned our mother, but now they narrowed grimly as she accepted the flag. "You're going to explain everything after this," she informed me, then seemed to relent somewhat and gave me an excited, conspiratorial smile. "Hey, great job, Jason. I think we just might be able to win this."

She jammed her still-smoking helmet back on and dashed away. I, now feeling pretty good about myself, started to follow, supposing that I'd return just in time to see the victory celebrations begin. But unfortunately, the next thing I heard was a war cry.

I froze, my spine tingling in anticipation, and stared back the way I'd come – a deceptively peaceful-looing trail illuminated by the odd firefly and dusted with fallen pine needles. The red team was after us, I knew instantly. Either they'd found the two demigods I'd defeated, or I'd been seen with the flag.

With a flat, accepting dread a few levels lower than mere panic, I realized that it would probably be up to me to buy Alexis the time she needed. I needed to think creatively, and I needed to do so fast.

I examined my new spear again. It will respond directly to your thought, Athena had told me. So, theoretically, if I thought of something …

I leveled the spear at the ground and concentrated. In a split second, a bolt of blue fire shot from the spear point to the forest floor, where it remained, moving in the breeze but seemingly not spreading.

I gritted my teeth and reflexively grabbed my helmeted forehead, feeling the beginnings of a ferocious headache coming on. Well, I supposed no one ever said that affecting the physical world with my thoughts was going to be a completely free lunch.

But the sounds of pounding footsteps and shouted instructions were getting louder rapidly, clearly headed this way. One blob of flame-like stuff wasn't going to cut it. More; I needed more!

I had no idea how this would work since the spear was no longer directly involved, but I stared at the little blue-green bonfire and imagined it growing, spreading, fanning into a massive thoughtblaze. And excruciatingly, bit by bit, my desire started to become reality. I was fighting for every inch, but it was working.

It sounded like my pursuers had run into trouble of some kind, so fortunately I had enough time to do the real work and get into a nice theatric pose as they approached. This had the happy effect of making me seem way more awesome than I actually was at the time. Specifically, here's what the detachment of Red Team soldiers must've seen:

They know precisely where the flag is, and they're hot on its heels (well, flags don't have heels, but you should get the general idea). But that's when they notice a weird light ahead. Drawing nearer, they see a rippling, shimmering, four-or-five-foot wall of blue energy, stretched between two mighty trees, somewhere between flame and pure light. Ensconced safely behind that wall is an intimidating figure (work with me here!) clutching a spear.

"Back off," I shouted in my best action-hero impression, and wondered why it came out sounding more like "Please spare me." To drive my point home, I brandished the spear as threateningly as I could manage.

In yet another instance of that charming klutziness so evident in everything I do, my elbow hit the top of my makeshift barrier, giving me a taste of what my foes would be in for. It didn't really burn, but there was a sharp jolt that left my whole arm feeling oddly fizzy for a moment. Kind of like a stun gun, I imagine.

Although that totally blew my chances of intimidating the Red Team envoys, it did at least show them the effects of the thoughtfire, and most of them stopped short to look for a way around.

But apparently, there's one of those guys in every small group of demigods. The most heavily-armed figure in the bunch took in the situation for all of three seconds, then charged me, snarling like a mountain lion with a mouth full of Novocain. (I know, right? I was pretty impressed by that noise myself.)

He really managed a very impressive leap and nearly cleared the wall of thoughtfire (I'm starting to like that word), but his leg smacked full into the thing before he landed. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't seen it, but this somehow flipped him backwards into the air, reversing his momentum and sending the unlucky guy back down into the dirt in front of his companions.

As if on cue, the barrier sputtered away into nothing, but the band of Reds seemed hesitant to try another attack. After all, I realized, they didn't know how I'd created the thing in the first place, or whether or not I could do so again.

Also, as I took a closer look at them, I noticed that the majority looked substantially the worse for wear. I remembered Annabeth saying that the Hephaestus cabin had set traps nearly everywhere, and it looked like quite a few had done their job. One guy's breastplate had a huge, circular scorch mark on it, another had his hands partially entangled in some sort of net, and a third was covered in a substance that smelled a lot like maple syrup.

That still left four more Reds, though (the one who'd been blasted by the barrier was on his feet again), and some of them looked like they were more than willing to start up the fight again, but the one in front held up a hand and gave a command in Latin. I understood him: "Manete! Stay!"

In the pause that followed, I heard the cheers begin to echo out of the woods. It sounded a lot to my untrained ears like Alexis had succeeded. The Red soldiers looked at each other uncertainly, then back at their leader, who sighed and pulled off his helmet.

I did a double take. It was the other Jason—Jason Grace, son of Zeus, who I'd seen around camp a few times in the past week or two. He really did look quite a bit like me, or at least like I would've looked if I'd spent more time freshman year pumping iron than I did reading.

Our slightly rueful grins probably matched too, as he stepped forward to shake my hand. "Well, it looks like you got us this time," he admitted. "That is one heck of an impressive-looking spear! I'm sure that next time I'll…"

That was when another weighted net dropped out of the trees and crashed into the whole delegation, sending them sprawling to the ground. An interesting mix of Greek and Latin filled the air, none of it sounding terribly complimentary.

A short guy wearing a camouflage outfit and a tool belt, who I vaguely recognized as being part of the Hephaestus cabin, walked up to them with an insane-looking grin on his face. "I told you that you'd fall for one of my traps tonight, Jason!" he cackled (really, there was no other word to describe it). "Aw, yeah! What now, Thunder Boy?"

He turned and slapped me a high five, then dashed off for the blue base upon hearing an enraged "VALDEZ!" from the net. Apparently, knowing Flint and Biagio had prepared me for random situations like this somewhat, so I just shrugged apologetically at the other Jason and headed back out of the forest, following the continuing elated voices.

I didn't get too far, though, before being mobbed by a group of very excited demigods. It was so chaotic that I only heard snippets of what they were saying, such as "Alexis," "We totally showed them," "Two Ares soldiers," and "Awesome."

I felt a little unsteady, but at the same time I knew I wouldn't be able to stop grinning even if I tried. All things considered, I reflected, it had been a pretty awesome night indeed.

Hello again from Maecenas, your faithful scribe! I write this author's note not knowing if anyone's going to actually read it. Despite the publication of two new chapters in this story recently, my readership seems to have fallen off a bit. I suppose that since the Riordan fandom is so massive, it's easy for a story to get buried…so, not that I'm begging, but if you're new, I'd love it if you could stop in for a read and review!

In any case, I am now on summer break, and as such will have a lot more time and energy for my writing efforts. Expect to see a lot more in this space coming up, including some exciting new plot developments (or two clichés and a bag of chips, depending on how well it's all pulled off :D), as well as the long-promised revamp of chapters one through four! I just finished writing a new scene for said revamp, and it should go live sometime in the next week or two.

Anyway, Jason has now met his immortal parent and been granted a powerful new weapon. So far he's prevailed, but he still has a lot to learn. What is the destiny he's been told of? And for that matter, what happened to a nunchucks-wielding Biagio, last seen somewhere on the Capture the Flag battlefield?

STAY TUNED…

Maecenas out.