XVII
Percy
When I could stand long enough without swaying they took me to the Silent City. Whatever comes to mind when you read the word city it isn't anything like what this place was. It was a dark, damp, cavernous prison crawling with those creepy silent brothers (Nico would have loved the place).
They led me into a cell, and slammed the door behind me. I let out a long breath I hadn't realized I've been holding. Normally if someone tried to imprison me I'd be fighting back relentlessly even without a sword. However, this time I knew that they had Annabeth in custody and I wasn't going to escape without her. I sat dejectedly in the cold corner of my cell with my head leaning against the wall. My stomach still felt like a massive bruise, and I was feeling pretty miserable.
I thought about what I would say in the trial. I usually work best under-pressure, but these shadow hunters are unlike anything I've ever dealt with before. They aren't easy to manipulate like monsters, and they aren't as civil as the Romans. This would be like standing before the Olympian council vouching for my life again. The only difference is this time the only one who was truly on my side was also in jail. I put my head in my hands and massaged my temples. Since when do I get headaches? I always thought that was an Athena kid thing, or maybe a Jason thing considering all the times he got clocked in the head in the last quest.
"Percy, is that you?" A voice whispered pulling me away from my thoughts. I dropped my hands and shifted over to the far right wall of my cell.
"Annabeth." I answered relieved. I put my hands up to the bars, where we laced our fingers together. The relief was evident on her face as she looked at me. I to was glad to see that she was alright with my own eyes.
"How are you?" She asked casually as if we weren't talking to each other through a prison cell. That's what I liked about our relationship we didn't go through all those unnecessary, cliche questions most couples go through like, "Oh my gods I was so worried!" or "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?" Annabeth was always straight to the point.
"Other than having to endure the slow mortal healing process. I'm fantastic!" I said sarcastically with a grin. Annabeth just wrinkled her nose at me, but tightened her grip on my hand anyway.
"You're such a seaweed brain. I thought you really did get yourself killed this time." She growled half-halfheartedly.
"Nah that was nothing. You know it'll take more than a stab wound to kill me. How about you? I don't really remember much." I said sheepishly. She just rolled her eyes, and told pretty much the same story brother Nick told me.
"Have you seen Jace? One of the silent brothers told me their keeping him here." I asked. She shook her head worriedly. My heart sank. I couldn't help but feel some responsibility for the trouble he was in.
"I'm sure he'll be present for the trial tomorrow. Which by the way we need to come up with a plan for that, and what we're going to say." She said getting right to business. I nodded and leaned back in thought.
"What is there to plan? We'll just tell them the truth. Besides, I kind of doubt we'll be able to make some daring escape plan. Even if we managed to escape the Nephilim will just declare war on camp." I said thoughtfully. Annabeth shook her head.
"I agree we shouldn't try to escape unless it's our last option. But we'll need something more than just the truth. This is why I said we should have brought Piper with us." Annabeth growled frustrated.
"Annabeth even if they do find us guilty we'll find a way out of this. We always do." I said with a knowing smile. Annabeth looked up at me her was was a tangled mess hanging loosely in a ponytail. Her face was scratched and grimy but she will always look beautiful to me.
"Together" she promised.
The next day a silent brother released us and we were taken to another section of the Silent city where they let us shower and look presentable for our approaching doom (at least that's what it felt like). When we were led to the courtroom I recognized how Annabeth's breath caught in her throat and her eyes widened as they always did whenever she came upon some piece of architecture she liked.
The courtroom looked like a Gothic church sanctuary with vaulted ceilings, and tall stained glass windows lining the walls. The members of the clave sat on the altar at a long wooden table, with the inquisitor in the center. I expected to see a cross or something to stand out in the center. Instead of a cross a long exquisite sword hung on the wall behind the clave decoratively. The sword looked ancient, but I knew from experience that it was probably still being used.
I had to sit up front in center, while Annabeth sat with the witnesses. I felt the burning stares of several hundred people on me, but I kept my head up and tried to look more confident than I felt. I saw Jace off to one side guarded by shadowhunters in gear, his eyes were fierce. He looked as if he wanted to tell me a million things in one look, but I just swallowed my unease and turned my attention to the center.
"We are gathered here today to decide the fate of Perseus Jackson demigod child of the Greek God Poseidon. He has committed several acts of destruction of mundane cities, and interference in mundane affairs. He has resisted arrest and attacked and nearly killed several of our fellow nephilim, some who are now in critical condition." The inquisitor began.
"Objection your honor." I interrupted my voice echoed across the room and my confidence wavered. "The acts of violence against your people was conducted in pure self-defense. They attacked me and my fellow half-blood Annabeth, and one of them was about to kill me." I nearly growled. How dare they accuse me of attacking those people who murdered Birei and almost killed Annabeth and I.
Murmuring, and whispers began to fill the court room. The Inquisitor hammered her gavel and turned her steely gaze on me.
"Normally we would have the defendant stand trial with the mortal sword, but as the defendant lacks angel blood the sword wouldn't work on him. We will have him stand a common trial instead, however we will still use the mortal sword on our witnesses." She finished before turning around and taking the ancient sword off the wall. Jace never told me what a "trial by the mortal sword" was, but suddenly I felt glad I didn't have to.
"May the witnesses please come to the stand, and shed light on the defendants claim." She stated haughtily. I saw the shadowhunter that stabbed me, and another come to the witness stand. They kept their eyes down cast refusing to look at me.
"Adam Knight you have sustained many injuries from Mr. Jackson here, what have you to attribute to the defendants claim." The inquisitor asked as she placed the sword in his hands. Adam's face went pale, and a serious look overcame his face as he turned to glance at me before turning his attention back to the inquisitor.
"Perseus Jackson's claim to self-defense is true. My comrades attacked him when he and his companion resisted arrest." He said. The inquisitor nodded.
"Is it true that one of the shadow hunters of your cohort tried to kill the defendant." She asked. Adams face twisted, and beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. He gritted his teeth, as if he was trying to keep from saying something.
"In the heat of battle I momentarily forgot my orders, and would have ended the Demigod if it weren't for Jace Lightwood blocking my strike, and disarming me." Adam nearly spat out turning to the blonde nephilim in accusation. The whispering started up again furiously as everyone's eyes turned to Jace.
The stares didn't seem to faze Jace at all. He stood tall, and proud as ever, his gold eyes staring intently at a random spot in the wall. Normally I would want an enemy's attention focused entirely on me, so as to keep my friends safe. However my feelings toward Jace still felt conflicted. I know he saved my life for the second time now, and ultimately did the right thing. I guess part of me (a small part) wanted some kind of revenge, have him feel the stress and fear I've had for the last few days. I watched Jace just as everyone else did to hear what he was going to say.
"Objection your honor." One of the council members at the altar interjected the inquisitor. She turned towards the elderly man in irritation, and surprise.
"Yes, claveman Abbey do you have something to add?" she asked stiffly. The old man squinted at an enormous, ancient looking leather-bound book through his reading glasses. He raised his eyebrows and placed his finger at a section of the text.
"According to Nephilim law demigods of the Greek Pantheon were never added to the accords, and therefore they are not subject to nephilim law. We had no right to arrest them in the first place. The claim that Mr. Jackson resisted arrest is invalid as it wasn't lawful to begin with." He said. The inquisitor's eyes twitched, and the whispering turned into an up roar. Jace smirked, and winked at me. The clave member closest to the head banged his gavel for order. The inquisitor composed herself.
"I see, However that doesn't dismiss Jackson's other crimes. Nephilim law explicitly says it will investigate and punish all crimes against humanity, no matter where it comes from." She spat taking the sword from Adam's hands, and turning toward Jace. Jace frowned a little, his confident persona breaking momentarily. I wondered if the sword was some sort of lie detector, or maybe it forced the truth out of them seeing as how Adam reacted to the blade.
"Beats getting attacked by metal dogs." I thought to myself randomly. Jace put his hands out bravely as the inquisitor placed the weapon in his hands.
"Why did you save this demigod? You knew you were committing treason and going against orders. Is there anything you wish to tell the court?" She asked. Jace frowned looking angry.
"Our orders were to take Percy alive not to kill him, and I would like to hear him defend himself against the accusations of harming mortals. Because the stories of Greek Heroes I've grown up listening to go against the clave's claims." Jace said smoothly. The Inquisitor looked disappointed. I smiled at his testimony, Jace was making it really hard to stay angry at him now.
"I see." She said simply taking the sword from him. She walked back up to the center of the Clave table, and glared at me before looking down at a scroll and began to read aloud.
"The accusations against Perseus Jackson are as follows. The eruption of Mt. St Helens displacing an entire mundane City. The destruction of Goode High school. The destruction of the Smithsonian Museum of Aeronautics and…" she began listing off a whole bunch of stuff I did.
To be honest I never really considered how much destruction I've caused in my life. Of course it was never on purpose. I was always in some kind of life or death situation, but I did feel bad for all the trouble I've caused for people. Then again at the same time I helped save the world numerous times. I think they can handle some disturbances.
"The punishment for such crimes is death. How do you plead?" the Inquisitor asked looking triumphant. I almost didn't hear her because I was already zoned out by the third accusation.
"Not guilty your honor." I said bravely. I wasn't scared of death. She smirked as if she couldn't wait to see how I would defend myself. I could feel everyone's eyes on me again. Some of it was malicious, but the majority was just plain curiosity. How do you defend yourself against so many crimes? The Inquisitor made me sound like a freaking terrorist! I stood up straight and turned to address the audience. I knew I wasn't going to get any sympathy from the Clave, but maybe I could tug on the heartstrings of the other nephilim.
"I don't know how much you all know about the Greek Pantheon, but my fellow demigods and I are protectors of humanity just as you are. You protect mortals from the demons of Hell, and we protect them from the monsters of Tartarus. The only difference is that sometimes there's collateral damage with our good intentions." I began putting on a friendly smile. Gods, Annabeth was right I really wish Piper were here. By the time she was done she'd have them eating out of the palm of her hand. I turned back to the clave.
"I admit guilt to these crimes, but I must assure they weren't committed with ill intent or any intention really. They happened in an unintentional addition to saving the world from the adversaries from our pantheon. I wish that the destruction to the mortal world never happened, but it was unavoidable." I said with finality. I had to be careful with what I said. I know using big words makes you sound educated, and I had to make myself come across as the good guy. The clave began talking among themselves. The whispering began again. I looked towards Annabeth, she gave me a small smile. Maybe I did a good job. My confidence went away when the Inquisitor looked down at me sternly.
"Is there anyone who can back up the defendants claim?" she asked. Her voice ringing throughout the hall. Annabeth was about to speak up, when suddenly the light next me bent in on itself and Nico Di Angelo popped in out of shadow. The whispers and murmurs turned into gasps and shouts. I saw shadow hunters reach for their swords.
"Hey Percy, I'm not too late am I?" he asked with one of his rare grins.