CHAPTER 6 – THE ORACLE HAS HISSY FITS

I wasn't entirely sure whether I wanted to simply kill Luke or take the Clarisse-approach and blow him to smithereens, then vacuum the ashes up and finally burning the bag.

But that wasn't going to get me in anybody's good books.

"Luke," Chiron said quietly, "you had better come with me. And you too, Lady Arachne." I knew that he knew that this situation was going to implode sooner or later, and wanted to avoid any GBH caused by any of the campers who had lost people to Luke.

As the spider queen passed by the Athena cabin, accompanied by Chiron and Luke, she narrowed her eyes at Athena's children, along with the fierce hissing sound that her fellow spiders were making.

"Your spiders may live in the woods, my lady," Chiron said courteously. "I'm afraid that the Wise One's children are a bit too squeamish about them."

A bit too squeamish. Annabeth was looking like she could paint the entire inside of the Athena cabin with projectile vomit. I grimaced. Best not to stay on that subject too long.

The spiders retreated, but it was not before the last arachnid disappeared into the woods that the Athena campers finally felt safe in coming down. Annabeth was frozen up on the roof. Slightly hesitantly, I climbed up there to join her.

There was one of those long drawn-out silences between us that you always see on one of those soap programmes (I don't watch them!) on the roof. It took ages for either of us to muster the courage to speak. It was finally Annabeth who spoke up:

"Thanks."

I looked at her solemnly, before returning to staring at the floor.

"Don't mention it."

"I panicked," Annabeth confessed. "I thought those spiders were going to kill me – I couldn't move. I – I probably looked so stupid…"

"Look, I said don't mention it!" I couldn't tell whether anger had found its way into my voice or not. Either way, Annabeth still looked pretty defeated.

"Percy," she whispered. I tensed. This was the first time she had actually addressed me by name since our bust-up. "Look – I'm sorry. I'm just really sorry."

"No," I murmured, "I was being a jerk earlier on. I guess I got a bit protective of my mom – I didn't want Gabe happening to her all over again. She doesn't deserve that."

"He did help her in one way though," Annabeth mentioned. "Apart from the stink he kicked up to protect you. That statue made your mom a fortune when she sold it. She's much happier now."

"I know." I tensed again. "Friends?"

"Friends."

We shook hands instinctively. But then, again instinctively, I kept on holding her hand. It was warm and tender – like nothing else I'd ever felt before. And the odd thing was that she didn't want to let go either.

It felt like a movie – sitting on top of a roof, holding hands, watching the sunset. It was like one of those films shown on bank holidays – the slushy romantic ones my mom loves.

Annabeth leaned over, as did I, our faces drawing closer to each other. Our lips were poised, ready to taste the contents of the last meal the other one had had –

"Hey guys!" either Travis or Connor Stoll shouted from below. "Hope we're not interrupting anything here!"

Annabeth and I pulled away from each other quickly. Our hands automatically let go of each other – it was like we had just been randomly sitting on the same rooftop. The Stoll brothers' heads were poking over the top, their grins identical.

"Looks like we were. Chiron's called a head-of-cabin meeting. It sounds important. Something about Luke."

"Although," the other brother said, "I don't see what could be more important than this. I think we just found the headline story."

"What?" I said pretty bluntly.

"Percy and Annabeth, sitting in a tree-" Travis and Connor trilled.

"We're sitting on top of a cabin, idiots." Annabeth tossed back her hair. "How dumb can you get?"

"Cabin doesn't have the same ring to it."

"Forget I ever mentioned it, okay?"

"C'mon!" I growled.

As we walked up to the Big House, I felt something behind me, something staring into my back like a razor-sharp knife.

I turned around. Nobody.

We continued. There was still that 'watched' feeling. Again, I turned around. There was still nobody behind me. By now Annabeth had noticed that I kept turning around every couple of paces.

"Seaweed Brain, what is it?"

I didn't even have to listen to her tone to tell that she was annoyed.

"Something's behind us. Something big."

Annabeth rolled her eyes and tossed her hair again.

"Percy, you're a big boy now. You can take care of yourself, can't you?"

"Of course I can but-"

Perseus Jackson, a disembodied female voice (the kind you hear chanting 'Ground Floor' on elevators) whispered. That was freaky. I turned around, even though the voice was in my head and not behind me.

The Oracle was striding towards me in that ethereal kind of walk she had. Her arm was outstretched, and pointing right at me.

Hear my words to thee, Perseus Jackson, son of Poseidon, the Earth-Shaker, and ponder them. I do not have much time…

By now Annabeth and the Stoll brothers had noticed the woman in the summer dress striding towards us, almost gliding.

Find he who since Protogenos fell

Has slumbered somewhere we cannot tell

Call on the three who have quested so long

Hunter, strife and spider too will come along

Along enemy sworn you shall fight

One shall fall at serpent's bite

But woe indescribable you shall take

For one must fall for a friend's sake

You, Perseus Jackson, the oracle croaked, heed my words, and above all, do not trust the-

The Oracle shrieked hoarsely and began to disintegrate, crumbling into dust, which was blown away by the wind. Soon all that was left of the mighty Delphic oracle was an old summer dress and a writhing form within them.

I approached the bundle, unsure of what I had just seen. I stuck my hand into the rags that lay on the ground, and pulled out the twisting creature inside. It was a snake – it had lost its colour over time and was now just a grey, wrinkled – thing. There was no other way to describe it.

"That's the Oracle?" Annabeth said in disgust. "A snake?"

I nodded. They always said that Apollo spoke through the Oracle – I'd met Apollo and I'd never seen the Oracle spouting haikus or whatever Apollo's latest poetic craze was. And it was just a little snake.

"We need to take this to Chiron," I decided finally. "He'll know what to do."