POTTER FILES : THE LIGHTNING THIEF
Chapter 6 : We receive a Quest
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Disclaimer : I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.
Note : The timeline of the HP universe has been changed to fit PJO universe. Some slight changes have been made to HP canon to fit girl Harry. So, Iris (fem!Harry) Potter was born on 31 July 1993 and COS happened in 2005-2006.
This chapter will be in Iris' Pov unless stated otherwise.
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VoldemortThe Musical has pointed out that Will Solace was not and will never be the Apollo cabin counsellor in canon. It was a mistake on my part. I should have researched more thoroughly. In this story, Will Solace will be best archer but Lee Fletcher will be the counsellor. I apologise for the inconvenience to the readers and thank you for pointing out the flow.
As for the archery, I don't know whether it is canon or fanon, Artemis was always the one with more skill. It was naturally passed on to her daughter. As a goddess of archery, she had to have more skills than just shooting straight. Apollo was the one with special arrows like Greek fire arrows.
Comparing most of the campers to Iris is like comparing a software engineer who keeps fit to a military guy. The military guy will always come on top. The campers, while skilled, are complacent being used to safe and relaxed camp life while Iris' life was a long survival training.
Don't worry about the story turning out to be like third rate Tamil movies. Iris might be skilled and powerful but her enemies are more powerful and numerous. I can't say anymore without ruining the mystery.
As you might have noticed, I am not strictly following canon. There will be many changes.
Just so you know reviewers like you are blessings to writers like us.
Meh : Lets say I was in the mood for old wine in a new bottle or was it the other way around.
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I moved out of the Big House that night feeling tired and miserable. My claiming had shocked everyone into silence but I had the feeling that my list of allies had just dried up. It was the Chamber of Secrets fiasco all over again. I stood in front of the cabin eight for a moment admiring its beauty and wondered why I never suspected Artemis to be my mother. After all, whenever I passed nearby, I was drawn to it like a moth to flame.
I opened the cabin and stared in amazement at the sight in front of me forgetting my previous misery temporarily. It was not a cabin at all. The moment I closed the door, I felt as if I was in the middle of a forest. The woods seemed to stretch for miles in all directions. I suddenly had trouble believing that I had just come through a door somewhere behind me.
The space above me was empty and seemed to extend into the sky though I knew that it was the same enchantment that was on the ceiling of the Great Hall at Hogwarts. It seemed that my mother was more claustrophobic than me.
I went around smelling, touching and sometimes licking the trees to check for illusions. An illusion became more difficult to construct and maintain the more senses it had to fool. As far I could see, the trees around me, grass under my feet, all of them were real. Either, the door was a portal to the middle of a forest, a stable one or my mother created a forest in a magically expanded cabin. I didn't know which one would be more impressive.
I took a deep breath filling myself with the sweet scent of the woods letting it calm me. It was official. My mom was the coolest god ever. After all, a goddess who has such a cool cabin had to be cool herself.
I could see a silver coloured tent with my name on it set up in a meadow near a steadily flowing stream. I opened the tent to see a sleeping bag and a few spare items.
"Thank you mom"
I looked up to the sky and saw the moon shine more brightly. I now knew why I performed so well. Full moon night and forest are my mother's domains. I must have looked like a force of nature, unstoppable, unbeatable. Atleast, I didn't have to be worried about being bullied, hopefully.
I settled into the sleeping bag and calmly assessed the situation. Being the child of Artemis had many advantages. It was a well known fact that the first child of a god was always the most powerful one of their kind. There was also the fact that as the only child and magical at that, no one would know the limitations or varieties of my abilities. I could even pass of some abilities like Parseltongue as demigod powers and vice versa.
I didn't have to share anything with anybody. I had plenty of room for all my stuff. I got to sit at my own dinner table, pick all my own activities, call "lights out" whenever I felt like it, and not listen to anybody else.
The disadvantage was that I might need every advantage I had to survive. There was no doubt that I was now on the top of demigod kill list for every monster that ever existed. After all, my mother and her Hunters had killed them all at least once. Add to that, hunters' unpopularity here ensured that I would have almost no allies to back me up in a tough situation even if I was lucky enough not to have already made any outright enemies, something I doubted.
I then remembered reading that Artemis and Hecate were some kind of friends though the extent of friendship was not known. After seeing the kind of magic done here, I had no doubt that they were quite close. It was a surprise for me to learn that Hecate was actually seen as stern, strict and demanding figure even by her children. I did not believe that she was affectionate to me just as a favour to her son or because I was famous among the subjects of her domain. Hopefully, that friendship would extend to her children. The stress of the day soon caught up with me and my eyes slowly closed down.
I was standing in a huge hall with a ceiling that seemed to reach up to the sky. There were 12 thrones arranged in a U-pattern similar to the cabins of the camp. They were all different in their own way but there was one thing common to all of them. They seemed to have been designed for 12 feet tall beings to sit on. The two thrones at the end were occupied by a tall black haired man with stormy grey eyes and a stately woman with brown hair and brown eyes. I instinctively recognised them as Zeus and Hera. Some thrones were occupied while others were not.
They were interrupted by the arrival of a guy who looked like a professional wrestler. He was dressed in a red muscle shirt and black jeans and a black leather duster, with a hunting knife strapped to his thigh. He wore red wraparound shades, and he had the cruelest, most brutal face I'd ever seen, handsome, I guess, but wicked with an oily black crew cut and cheeks that were scarred from many, many fights.
It was then she noticed that he was not alone. He had a woman with him whom he was dragging with him by a chain linked to the handcuffs binding her hands together. The woman had a proud and defiant look on her face even in the midst of the humiliation, something I could not help admire. It was then that I got a look at her.
She was not tall which was weird for a goddess but she was not short either. She was average, perhaps, 5-5 or 5-6 by her estimates. The averageness did not extend to her beauty however. She had long reddish brown hair framing her heart shaped face and flowing slightly past her shoulders, a cute button nose, pouty lips and eyes as green as leaf. I knew exactly who that was. Artemis, my mother. I suddenly had a bad feeling about it.
"You are right on time, Ares.", Zeus' voice boomed all over the throne room.
Ares bowed to his father in response.
"Father, may I ask what is the meaning of this?", Artemis asked in a calm and cool tone that contrasted the tense atmosphere.
"Where is it, my daughter? Hand it over to me.", he shouted.
"Father, I don't have it. We have searched everywhere but we could not find it.", she paused for a moment, "Surely you are not accusing me of the theft, are you?"
"It would have been believable if we hadn't known how good you are at hiding things from us, Artemis. When were you planning to tell us about your broken oath?"
"I had taken an oath and I had not broken it.", she replied furious at her integrity being questioned.
'unlike some others' was not said but understood by all.
"Do not lie to me, Artemis.", Zeus shouted his anger causing his aura to flare enough that even I could feel his power from where I was,"It is a common knowledge that your daughter and Poseidon's son arrived at the camp together and I know that they were already quite familiar then."
A blonde haired guy with blue eyes got up from his throne and said,"Father, wouldn't it be better if we investigate it in depth and find the whole truth before making any decisions?"
"I did not ask your opinion, Apollo. Don't interfere in this matter.", Zeus replied harshly.
Any bravery Apollo might have had fled the moment he had to face the brunt of his father's anger. He sat back in his throne with a bowed head.
"I will not speak anymore on the matter as I can see that it will only on deaf ears. Someone has already ensured that.", my mother replied sending a dirty look at her stepmother who returned a smug one.
"In that case, I will summon your daughter here. Let us see if she will be more cooperative."
The defiant look on Artemis' face soon changed into panic.
"No. Not my daughter. She did not do anything wrong.", she paused as if she was gathering courage, "I will accept any punishment you deem fit but please leave my daughter alone."
"In that case, your punishment has been decided. You will be restricted to your abode in Olympus and relieved of all your godly duties. You will be allowed no visitors and no communication with anyone else. I will permit you to contact your Lieutenant now to inform her of the situation. Is there anything else anyone would like to say?"
"Zeus, our son Ares had not found an appropriate bride in the many millenia of our existence. Now that the oath is no longer an issue, we can consider Artemis for him. I believe their union would be good for Olympus."
Artemis' already pale face got a horrified expression while Ares had a lecherous grin on his face and was eying up my mother up and down. I wanted to carve his eyes out but I could not feel my daggers in my hand. It was possible that whatever I was here I was not tangible. I knew I was not the only one considering that option as I saw Apollo's hand was gripping the arms of his throne.
My mother looked at her father hopefully but there was no sympathy on his face.
"The matter will be discussed at the Winter Solistice meeting.", Zeus replied curtly as if he was talking about a business deal rather than something that involved the welfare and happiness of his daughter.
The lack of outright rejection from her father caused her to slump her shoulders in defeat. I sighed feeling powerless myself. Already, one of my mothers had sacrificed her life for my continued existence. Now another had made a bigger sacrifice. When will I be powerful enough to stand on my own feet, to not need people sacrificing for me?
"Now if there is nothing more anyone has to say-"
Apollo then suddenly got up from his throne and walked towards his father. He looked like he was going to deck his father and leave Olympus but his eyes met my mother's and something passed between them.
"Father, as my sister is unable to perform her duties, I ask your permission to do them in her stead.", Apollo spoke.
Zeus initially looked at him in suspicion and then nodded and said, "Permission granted"
"Now, if there is nothing else", he looked around waiting for someone to interrupt him and continued when he saw that everyone was in agreement, "Ares, escort the prisoner to her new prison. Council dismissed."
A lightning bolt struck Zeus and the next moment he was gone. Others disappeared in their own style. Ares dragged my mother to where I assumed was her abode with Apollo following them perhaps to threaten the War God, hopefully. The room and the people in it slowly started to fade into darkness.
The next thing I knew I was in a giant forest. Everything had a greenish hue to it but I knew that it was morning. I darted my tongue out to assess my surroundings. Wait, what? It felt weird to me but I also felt that it was the right way to do things. The sensations that engulfed me told me that I was in no danger.
I saw a weird structure which I had difficulty identifying as my tent as it was so big compared to what I remembered. In fact, everything seemed bigger than what I remembered. I then crawled towards it, yes crawled. It seemed that I had no arms in the present form. A part of me even felt that having appendages protuding out of your body was weird.
I turned my head and my suspicions were confirmed. I couldn't understand what was happening. First, I was some intangible ghost spying on a meeting that might or might not have happened and now I was a non-venomous green snake. How do I turn back to myself now? The moment I thought about it, I felt a tingle and I was back to my awesome self. I somehow knew that I could change back and forth as easily as combing my hair from one side to other. After all, both were me only with different appearances. It seemed that I just got a skill that could make infiltration easy in the right kind of environment.
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Things were not as bad as I had expected. A lot of people who I was in good terms with started avoiding me like plague but those who stuck around became closer friends. The Hecate kids were more friendly with me after my claiming and started teaching me many tricks and nuances of magic. The Stoll twins showed their similarity to Weasley twins by claiming that my unique claiming and the chaos that was caused due to it was further proof that I was a natural prankster.
The biggest surprise was Annabeth. While the other Athena kids followed the trend, Annabeth made it a point to accompany me everywhere and help me whenever she could. It seemed that she found the possibility of a daughter of a virgin goddess who was not her sibling fascinating. She was much more like Hermione than I had initially thought. It was quite a blessing as she was the best knife figher in the camp. While twin daggers were technically not her preferred style, as the daughter of the Goddess of War strategies, she knew quite a lot about it. It was an interesting learning experience as Annabeth was as hard a teacher as Percy mentioned Luke being.
While Annabeth's relationship with me improved, her relationship with Percy, and I use the term relationship in the loosest meaning possible, deteriorated. Annabeth still taught us Greek in the mornings, but she was always distracted. Whenever Percy had a doubt, he had me ask her as every time he said something, she scowled at him, as if he'd just poked her between the eyes.
After lessons, she would walk away muttering to herself: "Quest ... Poseidon? ... Dirty rotten ... Got to make a plan …".
It seemed that any hope Percy might have had of scoring with the well developed blonde had already drained into the sea, pun intended of course.
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I heard a clopping sound at the door, a hoof knocking on the threshold. I opened the door to see Percy and Grover standing outside nervously. It was amusing to see them look at the door as if it could identify them as males, would grow teeth and bite off their manhoods. The first part was true of course but they were in no danger until they cross the doorway into the cabin. If they do, well, a certain important part would not accompany them inside. Lou Ellen told me that it was applicable to all males possessing the organ whether it was god, demigod, satyr or even a river spirit. If any idiot god tried to get in by masquerading as a female, their punishment made the previous one seem mild in comparison. It was harsh enough to make Prometheus and Atlas think Lucky Me. It was a testament to how pissed off Artemis was with her father's little stunt.
I cleared my throat to get their attention.
"Mr. D wants to see us.", Percy said.
"Why?"
"He wants to kill... I mean, I'd better let him tell you.", Grover said.
I rolled my eyes at Grover's tactlessness and closed the door to get changed. I then nervously followed them to the Big House.
For days, I'd been expecting a summons for us to the Big House. After all, both of us were children that were not supposed to exist. Just because I had a personal heaven to retreat to did not mean that I was ignorant of the tense atmosphere prevelant in the camp. It was like a calm before the storm. Noticing Percy's nervous state, I wondered whether it was better to be ignorant of our fate or not.
Over Long Island Sound, the sky looked like ink soup coming to a boil. A hazy curtain of rain was coming in our direction. Percy asked Grover if we needed an umbrella.
"No", he said, "It never rains here unless we want it to."
Percy pointed at the storm. "What the heck is that, then?"
Grover glanced uneasily at the sky. "It'll pass around us. Bad weather always does."
Grover was right. In the week I'd been here, it had never even been overcast. The few rain clouds I'd seen had skirted right around the edges of the valley.
But this storm ... this one was huge.
At the volleyball pit, the kids from Apollo's cabin were playing a morning game against the satyrs. Dionysus's twins were walking around in the strawberry fields, making the plants grow. Everybody was going about their normal business, but they looked tense. They kept their eyes on the storm.
Grover, Percy and I walked up to the front porch of the Big House. Mr. D sat at the pinochle table in his tiger-striped Hawaiian shirt with his Diet Coke, just as he had on my first day. Chiron sat across the table in his fake wheel chair. They were playing against invisible opponents-two sets of cards hovering in the air.
"Well, well," Mr. D said without looking up. "Our little celebrities."
We waited.
"Come closer," Mr. D said. "And don't expect me to bow to you, mortal, just because old Barnacle-Beard is your father or my little prude of a sister is your mother. I still can't believe she had it in her."
A net of lightning flashed across the clouds. Thunder shook the windows of the house.
"Blah, blah, blah," Dionysus said.
Chiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards. Grover cowered by the railing, his hooves clopping back and forth.
"If I had my way," Dionysus said, "I would cause both of your molecules to erupt in flames. We'd sweep up the ashes and be done with a lot of trouble. But Chiron seems to feel this would be against my mission at this cursed camp: to keep you little brats
safe from harm."
"Spontaneous combustion is a form of harm, Mr. D," Chiron put in.
"Nonsense," Dionysus said. "They wouldn't feel a thing. Nevertheless, I've agreed to restrain myself. I'm thinking of turning you Perry into a dolphin sending you back to your father and you Irene into a wolf to send to your mother's hunters. I am sure you will have a good time there spending your entire life hunting."
I kept silent wondering whether Mr. D would have had the guts to say that if my mother was not under house arrest.
"Mr. D—" Chiron warned.
"Oh, all right," Dionysus relented. "There's one more option. But it's deadly foolishness."
Dionysus rose, and the invisible players' cards dropped to the table.
"I'm off to Olympus for the emergency meeting. If the boy is still here when I get back, I'll turn him into an Atlantic bottlenose. Do you understand? And Perseus Jackson, if you're at all smart, you'll see that's a much more sensible choice than what Chiron feels you must do."
Mr. D picked up a playing card, twisted it, and it became a plastic rectangle. A credit card? No. A security pass.
He snapped his fingers.
The air seemed to fold and bend around him. He became a hologram, then a wind, then he was gone, leaving only the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.
Chiron smiled at us, but he looked tired and strained. "Sit, Percy, Iris, please. And Grover."
We did. Chiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand he hadn't gotten to use.
"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"
I winced remembering the injuries Percy had gotten from it. What did Chiron expect him to say anyway? That he eats hellhounds for breakfast?
"Iris made it look easy but it wasn't. It scared me. If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead.", Percy said glumly.
I looked at him in shock. I had never expected a complement from him. I was flattered.
"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."
"Done ... with what?"
"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"
Percy glanced at Grover, who gave him a look as if saying 'It is your decision'
"Sir, Mr. D hadn't exactly mentioned why I was summoned.", I mentioned.
Chiron grimaced as if he was wishing I hadn't just asked that question.
"In your case, Iris, your mother made a deal with her father. She took all the blame herself and accepted the punishment given in exchange for leaving you alone. The first option will see her freed and things will go back to the way it was. If Percy accepts the quest, you can join him. The success of the quest will result in her release. I say 'can' because, unlike Percy, you can choose to spend your life here like an ordinary halfblood without the fear of repercussions."
"Um, sir," Percy said, "you haven't told me what the quest is yet."
Chiron grimaced again, "Well, that's the hard part, the details."
Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as I could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.
"Poseidon and Zeus," Percy said. "They're fighting over something valuable ..something that was stolen, aren't they?"
Chiron and Grover exchanged looks while I gaped at him.
Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"
Percy's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. It seemed that he was regretting ever speaking out loud. Motor mouth on the roll.
"The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And ... I've also been having these dreams."
"I knew it," Grover said.
"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.
"But it is his quest!", Grover said with resignation, "It must be!"
"Only the Oracle can determine."
Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."
Percy laughed nervously, "A what?"
"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned, perhaps not noticing the nervousness in his laugh, "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped
on both ends with god-level explosives."
"Oh."
"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."
"And it's missing?", Percy asked.
"Stolen," Chiron said.
"By who?"
"By whom ," Chiron corrected.
Once a teacher, always a teacher.
"By you."
Percy's mouth was wide open in shock.
"At least"-Chiron held up a hand-"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' etcetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly-that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."
I shook my head in amusement. Yes, I knew that the matter being discussed was not something to be amused about but I had to admire Chiron's style. His 'slip up' got Percy's attention and ensured that it would stay on him during the unpleasant discussion. It was the millenia of experience teaching ADHD demigods showing through.
"But I didn't-"
"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. Six months had only elevated the tension between them."
Chiron then looked at me and continued, "Then, a few days ago, a gigantic creature fell from the sky in to the throne room in the middle of a Council meeting. It was obviously dead with its eyes carved out and a hole in the roof of its mouth. No one had any idea what the creature actually was. With a length of 60-70 feet, it looked like a younger Lydian drakon but it was found to be a sea creature. Zeus believed that it was a threat from Poseidon, a message or show of strength, if you would prefer. 'If I can send a carcass of a monster you have never seen before directly into the throne room bypassing all the vaunted defenses of Olympus, I can easily send a few living ones'. It took all of Athena's persuasive capabilities to convince Zeus to wait until the Summer Solistice rather than throwing the old customs to the wind and declaring a war right then and there. The fact that there was a dead body showed that it was killed outside America and Poseidon was known to have some influence in the western coastal cities of UK. So, Zeus believes that Poseidon has also been cross breeding monsters in underwater facilities there to create an army against him. Cross breeding monsters of course requires someone possessing magic with expertise on monsters and the procedure itself and the parts containing genetic material if not the monsters themselves, a hunter and sorcerer."
"So, when Poseidon claimed Percy and Artemis claimed me, a magical child from England, he believed that the culprits were found and the case was closed.", I said.
I bit back my sigh of frustration with some effort. Damn my Potter luck. Who knew that a simple sacrifice of my first kill to my parent would end up framing me?
Chiron nodded at me then turned to Percy and said, "The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief. Then as Iris said, Artemis claiming a magical demigod child as hers brought them into his suspect list. She was in England until her arrival here by plane. You both arrived at the camp together already familiar with each other and continued being friends. You both were also claimed one after another. Zeus believes that there are no things as coincidences. I know now that the beast was causing problems in Iris' school for the past year and she had merely sacrificed it to her mother but there is no proof strong enough to convince Zeus of this."
"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"
Thunder rolled around the palace.
We glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around us, as Grover had promised. They were striding straight over our valley, sealing us in like a coffin lid.
"Er, Percy ...?" Grover said. "We don't use the c -word to describe the Lord of the Sky."
I told Percy, "Percy, about the initial part, I would agree with you. It was stupid of him to simply accuse someone without proof when it could easily have been any of his power hungry children. He only succeeded in throwing away a powerful ally for no reason. But about the hybrid creature, he actually thought through everything... or Athena did the thinking for him. In the end, the homework was completed and the answers were found. It was only our bad luck that Zeus ended up with all the wrong answers. In his position, I would have suspected us too."
Percy closed his eyes and sighed.
"It would've been nice to have someone to blame without feeling guilty. Anyway, what kind of school has a creature like that roaming around in it?", Percy asked.
"Apparently a magical school founded a millenia ago by a paranoid son of an even more paranoid father up there who has accused us of conspiring to overthrow him. It was meant to protect us from an invading army but the knowledge of existence of the beast and ways to control it were lost to time."
"Oh"
"Iris is right. Perhaps paranoid is a better description.", Chiron suggested, "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your
final exam..."
"Something about a golden net?" I guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods ... they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"
I was surprised. Percy not only remembered all the questions and answers of an exam but also the exact order, something I could never do. Wasn't he the one who had difficulty grasping the simplest of details? When did he become a genius? The fact that the answer was new knowledge to me was not that much of a surprise. I had only bothered learning what I believed would be useful to me. So, my knowledge was a little limited.
"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along-the proverbial last straw."
"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon-my dad-he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"
Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"
"Bad?" Percy guessed causing me to roll my eyes.
"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."
"Bad", Percy repeated like a broken tape recorder.
"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."
It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.
I grimaced.
Zeus had made another power play. The camp had always been a neutral ground till now, well atleast, an effort was made to keep up that charade. Now, Zeus had decided to do away with the facade and officially claim it as his domain. Those he didn't approve of like Percy were not welcome anymore.
I knew that Poseidon would not take the insult lying down and would soon retaliate with his own tsunamis and earthquakes. Then they would both send powerful storms to prove that they were more powerful.
In the end, there would be no part of the camp left standing and no demigod left alive. If the history taught us anything, it was that, Gods have always had more pride than sense.
"So I have to find the stupid bolt", Percy said, "And return it to Zeus."
"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"
"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"
"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim, "Part of a prophecy I had years ago ... well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."
"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"
"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."
Percy swallowed.
"Good reason."
"You agree then?"
Percy looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.
"All right," Percy said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."
"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."
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"Well?" Chiron asked Percy.
Percy slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."
"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed, "This is important."
Percy said, "She ... she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would face my demons and come out smelling melons though I don't know whether it was a joke on Oracle's part. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."
Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"
"No",Percy said, "That's about it."
I instantly knew that he was lying but I let it go. Percy was not obligated to tell Chiron anything. He was not part of the quest after all. We were not in a position to trust anyone. It was good to see him using caution.
Chiron studied his face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."
"Okay," Percy said anxious to change topics, "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"
"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"
"Somebody else who wants to take over?" Percy guessed.
"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."
"Hades."
Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."
A scrap of aluminum dribbled out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"
"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."
"Yes, but-but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon..."
It was nice to see that Grover wanted us to have an easy quest.
"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued, "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."
"Great", Percy muttered, "That's two major gods who want to kill me."
"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron continued, "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."
"Look, if we know it's Hades," Percy told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."
"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades-and I imagine Poseidon does-they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation.
That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"
"You're saying I'm being used."
"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."
Percy looked at Chiron and asked, "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"
"I had my suspicions. As I said ... I've spoken to the Oracle, too."
It seemed Percy was right in being careful. Chiron was keeping secrets himself. I decided to find out about the prophecy as soon as I could.
"So let me get this straight," Percy said, "I'm supposed go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."
"Check," Chiron and I said simultaneously.
"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."
"Check."
"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."
"That's about right."
Percy looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.
"You don't have to go," Percy told him, "I can't ask that of you."
"Oh..." He shifted his hooves, "No...actually, I am not here to join the quest. Mr. D had told me that if Iris turned out to be a child of the Wild, then he would consider the assignment to be a success and give me my license. I guess he meant a child of Pan but he said a word is a word and so I can go... You both are my friends and you are the reason I was allowed to go... The least I could do was wait a few days to see how things went for you..."
I promptly got up and gave him a tight hug. I knew from his behaviour that he would not be coming on the quest but to hear that he had actually been cleared to follow his lifelong dream a few days ago and he delayed it just to give us some moral support...
"Grover, you really are the best friend a girl could ask for."
It was when she pulled out of the hug that she noticed something.
"Grover, you have some strange colouring on your face.", she noticed the colour deepening when she mentioned it, "Are you ill or something? Do you need to see a doctor?"
I was worried. Sure, Grover was a little scrawny but I was no Hercules myself. My hug should not have caused him any damage. I then saw that Chiron and Percy seemed to be trying to keep their smiles in, their eyes full of mirth. I had a feeling that I just became the butt of a joke I could not understand.
"So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west.", Percy asked Chiron.
"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America.", Chiron replied.
"Where?"
Chiron looked surprised.
"I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."
I guess it made sense. From the limited knowledge I had of USA, Los Angeles was diametrically opposite to New York, located on the Western Coast. It was quite famous for its high crime rates, famous enough for a British gal like me to know.
"Oh," Percy said, "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"
"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"
Percy shook his head, his embarrassment showing on his face.
"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."
Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.
"Okay," Percy said, "So, I'll travel overland."
"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Iris is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."
"Gee," Percy said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"
The air shimmered behind Chiron.
Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.
"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed Brain", she said, "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."
"If you do say so yourself," Percy said, "I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?"
Her cheeks colored.
"Do you want my help or not?"
I rolled my eyes at their posturing and gave Annabeth a hug.
"I knew that we could count on you to back us up, Professor Bethy. Without your expertise, we would have ended up as a monster meal on the first day itself.", I said.
"Don't call me Professor Bethy. My name is Annabeth.", she muttered though it did not have much force to it.
It seemed that she was too pleased with my emphasis on her importance to care about her nickname.
"A trio", Percy said, "That'll work."
"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."
Lightning flashed. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.
"Iris, I believe this is yours.", Chiron said handing me a book.
Seeing my questioning look, he explained, "Ever since you came to the camp, I thought you resembled someone but I could not remember who it was. Your claiming reminded me. There was a British girl who came here during the Second World War, a daughter of Iris named Jasmine Ether. She returned home after the war but she kept in contact with me for some time. Her last contact with our world was to invite me to her wedding to one Alexander Evans. I could not attend due to my duties here. The album contains the photos of her farewell party here and some of her marriage that she had sent me."
I held the album close to my chest knowing that it was the last link to an ancestor I had never gotten to know. If anyone noticed my eyes misting, they had the decency to act otherwise.
I hugged Chiron and said, "Thank you."
The old horse was initially surprised by the hug but returned it after a moment. I don't usually hug anyone who I was not very close to but Chiron had earned that privilege.
"No time to waste," Chiron said patting my back. "I think you should all get packing."
X-X-X-X-X
Someone wanted me to kick Annabeth off the quest to give time for Percy and Iris to bond. Perhaps, there is a bit of Aphrodite in me. I did the opposite. It seems our heroes on top of dangerous quests will also have love triangles to deal with too.