XVII

PERCY

"So, what are we doing now?" Panda asked, as she slowly twisted the dagger in her hand. Moonlight glinted off its golden blade and reflected in her eyes as she stared at it with a mixture of fear and sadness. I pulled up my knees and slung my arms over them.

"I'm not sure," I said as I watched Nico shift in his sleep. She inhaled sharply and before I could stop her, she threw the dagger towards the dumpster. It embedded itself with a loud metallic clunk! She grabbed her hair and leaned on her knees.

"Panda?" I said softly, as I touched her shoulder. She sniffled and lifted her head.

"Everything sucks," she half breathed, half cried as she leaned on my shoulder. I hugged her as she breathed unevenly against my chest.

"Spyridon was right," she whispered.

"What?"

"He said the dagger would make its wielder's life a living hell. Why do I always mess up?" she moaned.

"You don't always mess up," I said, as I stroked her hair.

"Oh really? What do you call what's happening now?"

"A misunderstanding."

"That's rich Percy," she said. "I screwed up and you know it."

"Panda –"

"I'm tired," Panda interrupted. She stood up, grabbed the dagger and sat down, leaning against the alley wall and closing her eyes. I frowned. Panda blamed herself for everything and there was nothing I could say that would help her. Reminds me a little bit of myself I guess. I put my head back and closed my eyes.

I had trouble falling asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Laelaps or Nico's broken bones or the dagger or Annabeth or Panda. It all swirled in my mind like a hurricane and my head started to hurt. I wondered if Hecate would really be willing to help us. I mean, she'd want things fixed wouldn't she? Then I remembered something Annabeth had told me before we'd left.

"You have to be extremely careful with Hecate, Percy," Annabeth had whispered, then she paused. "She killed her daughter."

"Her daughter?" I asked, wondering who Annabeth could possibly be talking about.

"Lamia, Percy."

I wanted to keep Panda as far away from Hecate as I could, but I knew I couldn't. Panda would go after Hecate with or without me and I'd prefer with me. We were in this together and she was my sister. I didn't want to lose her again. I finally fell asleep. When I opened my eyes again I was standing in Camp Half Blood. I could hear a bunch of different voices mingling together so I couldn't tell whose voice was who, but I couldn't see anything.

"How did they escape?!" a voice yelled above the others.

"Yeah! How did they get away?! We had everything secured!" another voice called out.

"I don't know!" a voice answered, and I immediately recognized it as Annabeth's.

"Did you go all sweet on your boyfriend?" another person snarled.

"Max, you keep your mouth shut! You guys should know me better than that!" Annabeth said. "They were wrong with what they did. I can't let that slide," she continued, her voice sounding incredibly sincere it almost made me feel bad.

"This is Percy, Panda and Nico we're talking about," she went on. "They are all kids of the Big Three and all three have even been to the Underworld and back; faced numerous gods, titans and giants. I doubt a steel cage would keep them here."

"Yeah? Why didn't you think of that?" A voice challenged. I could almost see the glare Annabeth would be giving him.

"Maybe someone here is playing double-agent," she said, using their doubts against them. I could hear the voices lower down to murmurs as they started doubting the person standing next to them. I opened my eyes, and I was back in the alley again. Things at camp weren't getting easier and Annabeth was struggling. I sighed. We need to get to Hecate as soon as possible.

Dawn light poured into the alley, casting giant shadows. It was pretty quiet, since most people were still asleep in their houses. I turned to look at Panda, who was still sleeping, and started prodding her.

"Panda, wake up," I said. She moaned and turned her head to the other side. "Panda!" I said a little louder as I poked her hard between the ribs.

"I'm up!" she yelled, as her hand swung back and slapped me in the face.

"Oooow," I complained as I rubbed my sore spot.

"Oh… sorry," Panda snickered.

"Mjm." She stood up and walked over to Nico to wake him up. She was helping him get ready, when I kneeled next to her.

"I'm gonna go find us a ride," I said. She nodded and I left the alley. I was rounding the corner when I heard a deep growling sound. Oh no. I slowly turned and saw Laelaps slobbering in front of me, lip curled back in a ferocious snarl. My heart hammered. I pulled out Riptide.

"PANDA! RUN!" I yelled, as I swung, my sword slashing its muzzle. It jumped back and shook his head, sending drops of blood flying.

"Come on Nico! We've got to go!" I heard Panda yelling down the alley. "Climb!"

Laelaps reared on his hind legs and with a loud howl, he threw himself forward, his giant paws aiming for me. With a terrified yelp, I jumped back, slamming into a light post. He lifted his paw and swiped at me, knocking me into the middle of the street. I groaned as I felt pain seep into my bones. That definitely hurt. I looked up, my sight washed in red, to see Laelaps stepping into the alley. With a sharp breath, I stood up and hobbled towards the giant dog and slashed at its hind leg. It whimpered in pain, before it spun. I ducked out of its giant jaws and lunged upward, my sword embedding itself into the crook of its jaw. It let out an earsplitting howl. It lifted its head, taking my stuck sword and me with it. It swung its massive head and I was thrown to the side, falling onto the sidewalk.

"PERCY!" I heard a familiar voice yell. I slowly blinked my eyes open to see Panda standing at the corner of the sidewalk. She held Planaxis in her hand and I definitely wouldn't want to mess with her with the way she looked. Nico was just behind her, leaning against the wall, sword in one hand and his other clutching his torso. His bone had set during the night, but he still couldn't stand up right.

Panda ran towards Laelaps, who was staring at her hungrily. When she was in striking distance, she lowered Planaxis, then pulled it upward, slashing Laelaps throat. The dog barked loudly and Panda ran to the side, out of reach of Laelaps flailing paws.

"Get Nico and take him to the forest!" she yelled at me. I could barely process what was going on. My head pounded so heard I could barely hear her.

"Percy!" she yelled again, throwing a rock at me. I slowly stood up as she embedded Planaxis into the dog's forearm, leaving three nice sized holes. I ran around her and grabbed on to Nico. Before running towards the forest, I turned and threw Riptide as hard as I could at Laelaps. It struck his shoulder and he limped as he twisted his head to try and pull it out. Seizing his lapse in attention, Panda shrunk Planaxis to dagger size and ran towards us.

"Thanks," she breathed, as she grabbed Nico's other arm and we half run, half limped into the forest. We had made it to the wide stretch of grass before the forest when there was head popping howl and we were all sent flying. We all landed with a very hard splat. I turned around to Laelaps looming over us, teeth bared. He opened his mouth preparing for a bone crushing bite when he suddenly staggered to the side with a loud whimpering sound.

Laelaps spun to face empty space, when he staggered back again, like something was knocking into him. Another hit, and Laelaps ran away with his tail between his legs down the street. I let out a chuckle of relief as my heart started to slow down. We sat up and I suddenly felt this weird, but familiar feeling. I looked at Panda and she looked at me back. She mouthed one word: dad.

Suddenly, there was a blinding light and a tanned, black-haired man appeared before us.

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