I Am Thrown Into a Quest

The sun was streaming into the windows of the sick-room when I woke up. I was sore all over but had no bruises from my squabble with Luke. I got dressed and left the sick-room. I headed down the hallway and out of the front door to find Chiron and Mr. D. playing pinochle.

Chiron looked up. "Ah, Percy. We're glad to see that you are awake. Your mother contacted us, but we would like to know what happened." He motioned for me to sit down.

I explained everything to him. When I was done, he looked worried, and his brows furrowed, forming a v.

"I don't like the idea of what he said." He said thoughtfully. "It sounds as if Kronos was looking for a new host…"

"You mean me."

Mr. D. put down his cards and looked me in the eye. "You'll be tested boy. The Titans will do everything they can to try to break your will power and unravel the threads of your mind. Be warned, boy, the Titans want you, and they want you bad. And if they can't have you, then they'll kill you..."

I nodded.

Chiron told me to alert the other cabin leaders of a meeting, and I left the Big House.

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I walked to each cabin, giving the news. No one stopped to talk to me. They just nodded and said they would be there. When I got to the Athena cabin, I ducked my head in and asked, "Is Annabeth here?"

Nobody answered, but a moment later, Annabeth emerged from the depths of the bookshelves lining the cabin walls.

"Percy! You Seaweed Brain! What happened?"

Her words were harsh, but I could tell she was relieved to see me alive. "Cabin meeting, tell you then."

She nodded and followed be to the Big House.

When we got there, every leader from every occupied cabin was sitting in the meeting room around a ping-pong table furbished with snacks and refreshments.

Annabeth and I took our seats by Grover as the meeting started.

"We all know why we are here," Chiron started, "There is a war upon us and we have been going to great lengths to prepare for it."

Everyone nodded. We had all been busy with extra training, and the Hephaestus cabin had been working over time to create enough weapons and shields for everyone.

"The Titan Typhon is once more threatening to arise. We need a quest to stop this from happening." He surveyed everyone around the room carefully, until his gaze rested on me. "Percy, will you lead this quest?"

I hesitated. I wanted too, but… "What about my sixteenth birthday, Chiron? It's at the end of this summer."

Mr. D. looked up from his wine magazine and looked me in the eye. He didn't say anything, he just looked at me.

"Who cares when your birthday is?" Clarisse said gruffly.

"Silence, child," Chiron told her, "There are things yet that you will not understand for a while longer." He turned back to me "Do you accept?"

I thought about it a moment longer before nodding.

"Then it's time you confronted the oracle."

I walked into the musty old attic. It was full of knick-knacks and spoils of war that demigods had brought back from previous quests. There were also monster hands, claws, eyes, and heads in jars.

But the scariest thing by far was the mummy by the window. She sat on her stool and looked at me. I always thought it was weird that a thousand year old mummy would wear a tie-die sundress. Now I thought it was just plain creepy.

She spoke in her cold, rasping voice, I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

I swallowed the bad taste in my mouth and asked, "What is my destiny?"

Green mist swirled out of her mouth and formed the images of my friends and family.

There is a half-blood more powerful than most, Chiron said.

Who will leave behind those he once led, my mother said.

And journey to the Lord of Time's lair, Mr. D. said that one. Weird.

There he will weep and he will bleed, Bianca said.

And do the impossible that all others do not dare, said Thalia.

And will become the Titan Lord's new host, Nico said.

In the end he will succeed, Grover told me.

But the son of Poseidon will be dead, Annabeth told me that with misty green tears in her eyes.

The mist recoiled into the mummy's mouth and it looked back out the window.

There was a pain in my chest, like my heart was suddenly wrenched from it. I was going to die? I always knew there was a possibility of me dying, but now… it was stated in the prophecy, so it's almost like it's set in stone, right?

I turned to leave, but the oracle spoke again. I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.

I was stunned. "But you already told me my prophecy."

Approach, seeker, and ask.

Hesitantly, I repeated, "What is my destiny?"

Green mist rolled out of its mouth again, but did not form images like last time. I saw the faces of people I cared about, people I had lost, and might still lose… people that I feared flashing in my mind.

The next child of the Big Three to reach sixteen

Will unravel the world at it's seems

It will decide who will reside

Upon the mighty throne

They will emerge from the water, the answers unseen

And tell the Titan's true means

Until the last moment, it will hide

The choice that will be known

The mist recoiled and I went back downstairs.

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I entered the meeting room and sat down in my chair. I was thinking so hard that I didn't even notice everyone was looking at me until Annabeth spoke.

"Percy? Percy! Earth to Seaweed Brain!"

I looked up, "Wh-what?" I asked shaking.

"You look like you've seen a ghost, man," Grover said concerned. "Is it the prophecy?"

I looked at the floor.

"What did he oracle say, Percy, exactly?" Chiron asked me.

I put my head in my hands and shook it. "I… I can't tell you, Chiron."

Everyone but Chiron gasped. "You better spit it out before I strangle it out of you," Clarisse growled.

"Perseus Jackson," Mr. D. said menacingly calm, "What exactly did that prophecy say." His eyes flashed dangerously with a purple fire.

"I can't tell you, sir," I said quietly, then stood up. "Grover, I need to talk to you."

"O-okay, s-sure." He stood up nervously.

"Wait," Chiron said, "Who is accompanying you on your quest?"

"I will," Grover and Annabeth said at the same time.

"No," I said so firmly that they jumped. "The prophecy said that only one would go."

Everyone looked shocked. Just me, by myself, against Typhon?

"Very well," Chiron said grimly. It is decided. Meeting dismissed."

"Wait," I said everyone stood still, "Chiron, I need to know what the prophecy you received was." Everyone was deftly silent. Chiron looked pale.

"We will worry about that when the time comes."

"We need to worry about it now. I won't be back at camp before my birthday." I paused as I realized that this was true. I would probably never see these faces again.

"Very well, child. Come with me." And with that he rolled out of the room.

I turned to Grover, "I'll talk to you after dinner." Then I followed Chiron out of the room.