POTTER FILES : THE LIGHTNING THIEF
Chapter 7 : Bad Cop...Bad Cop
X-X-X-X-X
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.
X-X-X-X-X
It didn't take me long to pack. With my shoulder bag having extra space, I could fit all my possessions into it. As I had many other arrangements to get done, I was the one who arrived last.
The camp store had loaned us one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. Those coins were much bigger than the galleons I was used to and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other.
The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told us, but Olympians never used less than pure gold .
Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions-whatever that meant.
He gave us a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares each, to be used only in emergencies, if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded us. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn us up, literally.
Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which she told me had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve.
I had brought a few books of magic with me, some my own and others borrowed from Lou Ellen. I had thought of taking a set of bow and arrows with me but all the ones at the camp were too big and cumbersome to carry around on a cross country journey.
We waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that was lovingly called Thalia's Tree.
Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood the surfer guy I'd seen when I was recovering in the sick room. From what I heard, the guy was the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. I wondered how he managed to not poking himself in the eye accidentally.
Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so I could only see extra eyes on his hands, face and neck.
"This is Argus", Chiron told me, "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."
I rolled my eyes at the horrible pun. I then heard footsteps behind us.
Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.
"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."
Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. I hid my smirk and reminded myself to use it as entertainment whenever we feel down.
"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these."
He handed Percy the sneakers, which looked pretty normal.
Luke said, "Maia !"
White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much that he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.
I stared at the shoes fascinated. True, it was not the original Hermes sandals but it was still cool. Luke surely knew his history well. After all, the original Perseus had used the Hermes sandals to get from Medusa's Lair to Aethiopia to slay the sea monster Cetus. It was nice of him to give us something like that. Atleast, I hope it was not a subtle insult as Percy's father was the one who unleashed the monster in the first place.
Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..."
His expression turned sad.
"Hey, man", I said, "Thanks."
"Listen, Percy ...", Luke looked uncomfortable, "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?"
"Will do, Luke.", I said, "It is a pity we are not going the same route as you. We would have returned with a Ladon's head gift wrapped for you. Isn't that the saying? Head for a scar."
An amused smile came on his face.
"An eye for an eye actually. But, it works too."
They shook hands. Luke patted my head, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.
After Luke was gone, Percy told her, "You're hyperventilating."
"Am not."
"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"
"Oh... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"
She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road.
Argus followed, jingling his car keys.
Percy picked up the flying shoes and asked Chiron, "I won't be able to use these, will I?"
He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."
"Hey, Iris. You want a magic item?", Percy asked.
"No Percy. I am as much on Zeus' blacklist as you are. If I could have flied, I would have brought my broomstick.", I replied.
Seeing the excitement on his face fade away, I instantly felt bad about it. I decided to give him a lifeline.
"You can give it to Annabeth. A gift from Luke, she will be over the moon."
Percy nodded in agreement with an amused smile on his face.
"She might even put it in a bulletproof glass box and worship it twice a day."
"Come on, it is time to leave.", I told Percy.
Before we could leave, Chiron told Percy, "I should have trained you better, Percy. If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason-they all got more training."
"That's okay. I just wish-"
Percy stopped but I could guess what he was going to say, that his dad had given him a magical item rather than expecting him to go empty handed. I too wished that my mother had given me a compact bow and arrow that I could take with me to the quest. The daggers were cool enough, but they were close range weapons. There were many powerful monsters I would not dare get that close to. Perhaps my mother intended to give me but ended up under house arrest before she could do that. I would just have to take that as a challenge.
"What am I thinking?", Chiron cried, "I can't let you get away without this."
He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to Percy. It seemed to be an ordinary disposable ballpoint pen, black ink, removable cap.
"Gee", Percy said, "Thanks."
"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."
"Yes.", Chiron replied as if he knew what Percy was talking about.
Percy took off the cap, and the pen seemed to grow longer and heavier. In half a second, he was holding a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. It was the first weapon that Percy seemed comfortable with.
"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told us.
"Its name is Anaklusmos."
"'Riptide,'" I translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.
"Use it only for emergencies", Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."
Percy looked at the wickedly sharp blade.
"What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals?"
"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."
"Good to know."
"What about my daggers?", I asked.
"Spoils of victory. It will hurt both mortals and monsters though I would prefer you reserve it for the latter."
"Cool."
"Now recap the pen."
Percy touched the pen cap to the sword tip and instantly Riptide shrank to a ballpoint pen again. He tucked it in his pocket, a little nervous, perhaps of losing it.
"You can't," Chiron said as if he read his mind.
"Can't what?"
"Lose the pen", he said, "It is enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."
Percy hesitantly threw the pen as far as he could down the hill and watched it disappear in the grass.
"It may take a few moments," Chiron told us. "Now check your pocket."
Sure enough, the pen was there.
"Okay, that's extremely cool", he admitted.
"But what if a mortal sees me pulling out a sword?"
Chiron smiled. "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."
"Mist? Like that magical thing that those with godly blood generate?"
"Yes. Read The Iliad. It's full of references to the stuff. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate Mist, which obscures the vision of humans. You will see things just as they are, being a half-blood, but humans will interpret things quite differently. Remarkable, really, the lengths to which humans will go to fit things into their version of reality."
Percy put Riptide back in his pocket.
"Chiron ...", Percy asked, "When you say the gods are immortal... I mean, there was a time before them, right?"
"Four ages before them, actually. The Time of the Titans was the Fourth Age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of Western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the Fifth Age."
"So what was it like ... before the gods?"
Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I am not old enough to remember that, child, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind except as appetizers or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Lord Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species
began to progress, and even then Prometheus was branded a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually the gods warmed to humans, and Western civilization was born."
"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So ...even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?", Percy asked hopefully.
Chiron gave us a melancholy smile.
"No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid that the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."
"Our destiny ... assuming we know what that is."
"Relax," Chiron told him. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."
I winced. With the millenia of training experience behind him, I thought Chiron would have mastered the art of pep talk. Apparently not.
"Relax", Percy said, "I'm very relaxed."
When we got to the bottom of the hill, we looked back. Under the pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron was now standing in full horse-man form, holding his bow high in salute. Just your typical summer-camp send-off by your typical centaur.
Argus drove us out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Percy sitting next to me as if we were normal carpoolers. Two weeks after my arrival at America, it was the first chance I got to see the sights and admire them. I found myself staring like a kid in a candy store at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.
"So far so good", Percy told Annabeth, "Ten miles and not a single monster."
I winced. He might as well have sent a signal flare informing every monster in the area of their presence. It seemed Annabeth agreed with me.
"It's bad luck to talk that way, Seaweed Brain."
"Remind me again-why do you hate me so much?", Percy asked her.
"I don't hate you."
"Could've fooled me."
I knew that an argument was coming but I did nothing to stop it. It was better to have a small argument in the beginning and work it out of the system rather than a big fight later on.
She folded her cap of invisibility.
"Look ... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."
"Why?"
She sighed.
"How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."
"They must really like olives.", Percy gave his typical reply.
"Oh, forget it."
"Now, if she'd invented pizza-that I could understand."
I could understand that too. Pizza was one of the few so called junk food that I could actually stomach.
"Percy, I really hope for your sake that Athena had not heard it. Pizza is of Roman origin and Athena has a personal vendetta against anything even remotely related to Rome.", I told him.
Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.
Argus dropped us at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with Percy's picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?
Percy ripped it down as quickly as he could. Annabeth and I had a silent agreement not to mention it as it was obvious that he did not want us to know.
Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we got our bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch us as he pulled out of the parking lot.
The rain kept coming down.
We got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of the apples.
Annabeth was awesome. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, Percy wasn't too bad himself.
I didn't bother trying as I knew that I was hopeless. So, I naturally used their distraction to eat the other apples.
Finally the bus came. As we stood in line to board, I started looking around feeling like we were being watched.
"What is it?", Percy asked.
"I don't know", I replied tensely, "Maybe it's nothing."
But I could tell that Percy was beginning to feel it too. He started looking over his shoulder, too.
We were relieved when we finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. Percy and Annabeth stowed their back packs. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh.
As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto his knee to get his attention.
"Percy."
An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and I knew that she was the monster or one of them watching us.
Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like the first one who I guessed was the leader-same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses.
They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.
The bus pulled out of the station, and we headed through the slick streets of Manhattan. "She didn't stay dead long.", Percy said, trying to keep his voice from quivering, "I thought you said they could be dispelled for a lifetime."
"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."
"I am sure their master was quite generous in helping them out.", I said.
"It's okay.", Annabeth said, obviously thinking hard, "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."
"They don't open", Percy moaned.
"A back exit?", she suggested.
It wasn't opening. While I knew I could have magicked it open, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.
"They won't attack us with witnesses around.", Percy said, "Will they?"
"Mortals don't have good eyes.", Annabeth reminded me, "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."
"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"
She thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof...?"
We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.
The leader got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the rest-room."
"So do I," said the second sister.
"So do I," said the third sister.
They all started coming down the aisle.
"I've got it", Annabeth said, "Percy, take my hat."
"What?"
I took my trusty Invisibility Cloak and told them the plan I had thought out.
The plan was quite simple. Percy and I would turn invisible and leave Annabeth as the bait. We would then move far enough forward and let the Furies pass us by. We would then follow them at a striking distance and on my signal, which I would give the moment the leader arrives within the striking distance of Annabeth's knife, we would kill both the lackeys from the back simultaneously. The leader would naturally turn around on hearing the screams of her sisters and Annabeth would use her distraction to kill her. By the time the bus came out of the tunnel and the mortals could see us properly, we would be back in our seats chatting away as if nothing had happened. The mist would either make them forget the old ladies altogether or make them believe that it was their imagination.
We moved up the aisle ten rows before we had to duck into an empty seat to let the Furies pass. The leader suddenly looked at the seemingly empty seat on my opposite side intently sniffing. I feared for a moment that my plan was undone before it even began but I had nothing to worry about. The monsters moved forward without checking properly. I found it amusing that they didn't even check my direction. It seemed that my little magical Invisibility Cloak was much better than Athena's gift. I didn't know what to think about that.
Perhaps, I was a little overconfident. I missed a glaring flaw in my plan. Neither Percy nor Annabeth had kind of night vision or enhanced senses that I did. Percy, being the natural klutz that he was, bumped into something and fell down. The cap fell off his head revealing him to the Furies. Luckily, I was close enough to stab the one in front of me in the heart killing it. Now, we had to deal with two Furies rather than one as I had planned.
The old ladies took their true form now that they realised that any facade was pointless. Their faces were still the same but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.
"Perseus Jackson", the leader said, in a weird accent, "You have offended the gods. You shall die."
"I liked you better as a math teacher", Percy told her.
I raised an eyebrow in surprise. I did not know that. I decided now was not the time to ask what kind of school employed a Fury as a maths teacher. I did wonder how she taught the subject.
If we give 20 whippings to the back and 20 to the front, how many whippings did the person get in total?
What Annabeth did next could be termed as either brave or stupid but it gaves us the necessary advantage. She got the head Fury in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while I took the opportunity to quickly rip the whip out of her hands. I nearly dropped it due to its searing heat.
The other one lashed her whip around Percy's sword hand and I could tell that he nearly dropped his sword himself. Luckily, he was already in the middle of his attack and he ended up slashing her to dust.
Annabeth and I tied up the Fury with her own whip making sure to keep her mouth free. We wanted answers.
Annabeth put her cap back in her pocket and I put my Invisibility Cloak back in my shoulder bag. I noticed that the Fury looked at it as if she knew it from somewhere but could not remember where.
"Zeus will destroy you!", she promised, "Hades will have your soul!"
I snorted. I knew her game well. I was reminded of the time I rallied all the kids bullied by Dudley behind me to hunt down Dudley's gang down one by one like they did to us. The look on their faces when they learned that they have suddenly turned from predator to prey was priceless. They threatened to tell their parents about my 'freakishness' but I just laughed in their faces. In the end, it seemed that the infamous torturers were no different than those small minded bullies in Little Whinging. She was trying to fool us into thinking she had some control over the situation but, like all bullies, her instincts were to hide behind a more powerful being when the going got tough.
"Shout their names out all you want, Fury. They won't lift a finger to save you. Perhaps, fresh news is difficult to get in Hotel Tartarus. So, I will tell you. We are on a quest and gods are forbidden from interfering in the mortal quests by the Ancient Laws, the laws that even the Lord of Dead have to comply with. The only thing that you have ensured is that both of them will be able to hear your confession. Now, confess your crimes, monster, and we will provide you a quick and less painful route back home. If you don't, well ...we have all wondered whether the Hades' infamous tortures are as good at taking it as they are at doling it out.", I replied.
I noticed Annabeth looking quite gleeful at the possibility of torturing the Fury. It seemed she had some bad history with them.
The Fury's eyes seemed to burn with hellfire due to her anger and she was furiously trying to shake off her bindings.
"You have your mother's arrogance, Iris Potter, and soon it will be the end of you. I will be waiting for you till then.", she hissed.
"Empty words from a monster who was outsmarted by three inexperienced kids and ended up getting her sisters killed.", came my scathing reply, "Tell us where you have hidden Sally Jackson and Zeus' master bolt."
"Thasedo stin kólasi"
See you in hell. A weird reply. It was then that I noticed that we had gotten out of the Lincoln Tunnel back into the rainstorm. The mortals had seen us and were speaking with each other pointing at us but I could not concentrate on that. I could feel something in the air. I then noticed the windows of the bus shaking slightly and realized the true meaning of the Fury's words.
I willed the back exit open and shouted, "Annabeth, Percy, leave the monster here and jump out of the door."
Thankfully, they did not hesitate. Immediately after we jumped out, I willed the Cushioning spell to form on the road. It was nowhere as good as my wanded spell but it was good enough for the situation. It felt like we had tripped and fell forward on to the road rather than jumped from a bus going at 70+ miles per hour. Atleast we didn't break any bones.
"Our bags!", Percy said, "We left our—"
BOOOOOM!
The windows of the bus exploded due to the sheer power of the lighting bolt that struck the bus. The burning bus continued moving taking with it the screams of pain from the mortals being burned alive but we knew that we would not forget them for a long time. We sat shockstill trying to take in everything that had happened. None of us had much personal experience with death. I was the most experienced having burned a person to death but Quirellmort was not exactly an innocent mortal, nothing like the bus passengers who just wanted a vacation and ended up taking the wrong bus. It was a testament to Zeus' character that he had no qualms about causing their deaths just to have us dead. The shock soon changed to anger, anger at our cruel, hypocritical tyrant of a king.
"Come on, let us leave. It is not safe to sit under the open sky. He will soon learn that we are alive and try again.", I told them.
We plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind us, and nothing but darkness ahead.
X-X-X-X-X
In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.
So there we were, Annabeth and Percy and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.
I lead the group forcing myself to remain calm and serene. I wanted to rant and rave like an ordinary demigod about the things that piss me off: a king cum grandfather arrogant enough to believe that he was above following the Divine Laws, said king trying to kill us, being thwarted when I was very close to success by the said king, selfish mortals polluting the rivers by throwing their waste in it which for once Zeus was not responsible for and the very reason she had to stay calm which the aforementioned king was very much responsible for. Zeus, in his infinite wisdom, decided to cut off her mother's connection to her domains. With no designated heir, as her only child, I ended up as the Mistress of the Wild, atleast that was what I was able to understand. So, the woods were very sensitive to my emotions. That is the reason my companions were quietly following me like lost puppies without their usual Athena-Poseidon argument. They didn't want to risk setting off my temper in what was now my domain and face the hostile nature of the woods again.
Once I was sure, I was reasonably calm, I told them, "Despite our obvious differences and the inherited rivalries, we fought well as a team. Keep it up and we will return to the camp in glory."
On seeing them smile, I wondered what I was doing. I was not the leader of the quest, Percy was. I sighed. I was so used to being the leader that I naturally took over the role. Well, Percy was inexperienced and needed someone to show him what was expected of a leader. Now that he had seen a demo, my continuing to take that role would only adversely affect his self-confidence. I promised myself that I would let him take the lead from then on and learn from his own mistakes.
"We might not have gotten much from the Furies in the way of answers but Percy atleast got a new toy to play with.", I said.
"What?", they spoke simultaneously.
It was then that they noticed the new bracelet on Percy's wrist. The bracelet itself was coal black in colour and had swirls of dark orange on them like fire. I was not surprised that they had not noticed it before. It seemed to have the ability to blend into the darkness of the night so well that not even its owner could detect its presence. I was a little jealous that Percy was the one who got the Fire Whip but I was also happy that he was not completely dependant on, from what Chiron told us, a cursed sword.
I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy food. I suddenly started feeling nauseous and had to cover my mouth to keep from vomiting.
I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. Maybe that was the reason I felt much worse than I usually do when faced with the unpleasant smell or American food was just that bad.
We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the bad smell.
It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd thought. It looked like one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary.
"What the heck does that say?" I asked.
"I don't know," Annabeth said.
I translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium."
Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.
Percy crossed the street, following the unpleasant smell.
"Hey ...", I warned.
"The lights are on inside", Annabeth said, "Maybe it's open."
"Snack bar", Percy said wistfully.
"Snack bar", she agreed.
"Are you two crazy?"
I couldn't help but ask them that. Surely, atleast one of them had watched horror movies. The place looked like the perfect setting for a ghost town that horror movie producers would sell their souls for. It reminded me of the movie where few friends end up in a ghost town where the only occupant is the screwed up murderer who killed those stopping by, extracting all their organs to put in a showcase, tan their skin to make a hide...you get the idea. The idiots I had for friends were walking straight into the murderer's abode to offer themselves up.
The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, who had close enough resemblance to Grover to make me uncomfortable.
But what made me the most uncomfortable was the statue of a girl with a bow and a quiver full of arrows by her side. It looked very life like. Perhaps, it was an advantage of being the daughter of Artemis, I could tell that they were completely mortal with no celestial elements in them. They were useless against monsters. Hopefully, the serial murderer here was mortal.
We stopped at the warehouse door.
"Don't knock. Let's go. We have a quest to complete, remember?", I said.
"We remember but we are hungry. Aren't you hungry?", Annabeth asked.
"No. I am sure we'll find a restaurant with good food along the way.", I replied.
"But we won't get tasty burgers like this place.", Percy said.
Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman-at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant as if she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.
Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too.
She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?"
"They're ... um ..." Annabeth started to say.
"We're orphans.", Percy said.
I cringed. It was not that I was insulted or anything. I have used the 'I am a poor orphan' myself to get sympathy. If I was right and the woman was a monster, it was the wrong thing to say. Percy basically told her that if we disappeared no questions would be asked. I wondered for a moment if it was too late to back out from my earlier promise but then I decided to keep my head down and be quiet. Every monster in the country might already have heard of the daughter of Artemis who came from England and would be eagerly waiting to settle some scores. It would be utter stupidity on her part to announce her identity with her British accent.
"Orphans?" the woman said.
The word sounded alien in her mouth.
"But, my dears! Surely not!"
"We got separated from our caravan", Percy said. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or
maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"
I decided that the first thing I do after we return would be to ask Luke to give Percy lying lessons.
"Oh, my dears", the woman said, "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area."
We thanked her and went inside.
Annabeth muttered to Percy, "Circus caravan?"
"Always have a strategy, right?"
"Your head is full of kelp."
The warehouse was filled with more statues-people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces.
I couldn't help but notice that all the statues were life size even if I didn't recognise its importance then or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us.
We soon found the dining area. It was there at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser plus a few steel picnic tables out front.
"Please, sit down", Aunty Em said.
"Awesome", Percy said.
"Um", I said quietly playing the part of a shy kid, "we don't have any money, ma'am."
Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans."
"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said.
Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I knew for sure that it was a monster.
"Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."
I stiffened. We had never introduced ourselves. If she already knew Annabeth, that meant she knew me too.
I was shocked to see Annabeth not notice it. Percy, I could understand but Annabeth, while impulse at times, was an observant girl. Something more sinister was afoot.
Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries.
Percy was gobbling up burgers like a Neanderthal while Annabeth was slurping her shake in a similar manner and I knew there was no reasoning with them.
I pretended to pick at the fries. The moment Aunty Em turned away, I concentrated on my inner snake. A forked tongue quickly came out of my mouth and as quickly went back in. I nearly choked at the feel of magic in the fries. I now understood why I felt so nauseous. It was my body flushing out the foreign magic and warning me of the danger. The magic in the scent was meant to lure the prey in by inhibiting their mental capabilities and creating an obsession for her food in their mind. The food, or to be more specific, the magic oil used to fry it was meant to inhibit their physical capabilities. It seemed that we were dealing with a powerful and crafty monster who didn't hold back when it came to ensure that the playing field was tilted grossly in her favour.
I learned something else. There were a lot of snakes in the area and the monster was a part snake herself. She must have used the Mist slightly to conceal the sounds they make but now that I knew about them, I could hear them clearly. I tried to remember every monster who was sorceress, part snake and had M in their name. The only one I could remember was Lamia. She was the monster who cast a spell that made it easy for monsters to find demigods to punish Zeus for not protecting her from his wife's wrath. We were young enough to be considered children and potential meal. I sighed. Even unknowingly, Zeus was causing problems for us.
Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her head dress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face but I didn't show it. I followed Annabeth's lead and started drinking vanilla shake myself as it was not only healthy but also untainted by Aunty Em's magic. I knew that not eating anything would raise her suspicions
"So, you sell gnomes," Percy said, trying to indulge in some small talk.
"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."
"A lot of business on this road?"
"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get."
My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl
holding an Easter basket.
The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.
I suddenly realised the identity of the monster. We were going against Medusa. It would be a miracle if we survived.
I did wonder why there was no record of Medusa being a sorceress. Were the gods ignorant of it? Or did they intentionally hide it to make our lives more miserable? I had to wonder how many others were sorceresses and no one bothered to warn us.
"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."
I wonder why, I thought sarcastically.
"You make these statues yourself?", Percy asked.
"Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company."
Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?"
I could see that she was starting to piece things together. The magic inhibiting her mind was weakening. It seemed Medusa's magic had a weakness. You just need a trigger. I didn't know how it would help in Percy's case. The scent magic was much weaker than the one that was consumed and works from within. Percy consumed a lot. He would need a really powerful trigger.
"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."
I saw that Annabeth had completely broken free of the spell. As she, like me, had not eaten anything, I could expect full support from her. Medusa not having her sisters to back her up was another good news. I was finally seeing a tiny ray of hope.
"Percy?", Annabeth was shaking Percy to get his attention, "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting."
"Such beautiful gray eyes", Aunty Em told Annabeth again, "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those."
She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly.
"We really should go."
"Yes! The ringmaster is waiting! Right!", I said even when I knew Percy was already too much under her power to agree with them but hoping otherwise.
"Please, dears", Aunty Em pleaded, "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"
"A pose?", Annabeth asked warily.
"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children."
Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy-"
"Sure we can.", Percy said, "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?"
"Yes, Annabeth. It is just a photo. There is no harm.", I said.
Annabeth turned to look at me in shock and her eyes met mine. She got my message. Play along. We stand a better chance outside.
"Yes, Annabeth," the woman purred. "No harm."
I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.
Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr.
"Now", she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young gentleman in the middle, I think, and the two young girls on either side."
"Not much light for a photo", Percy remarked.
"Oh, enough", Aunty Em said, "Enough for us to see each other, yes?"
"Where's your camera?", I asked.
Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot.
"Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"
She still had no camera in her hands.
"Percy-", Annabeth said.
"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..."
"Percy, something's wrong," Annabeth insisted.
"Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?"
"Look away from her!", Annabeth shouted.
She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. I followed her lead with the Invisibility Cloak. We simultaneously pushed Percy off the bench and went separate ways leaving Percy to look at the monster's sandalled feet.
Percy almost looked higher, but Annabeth screamed, "No! Don't!"
Luckily, he obeyed.
"Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she spoke soothingly, "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up."
"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Percy", Medusa said, "Annabeth's mother, the
cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."
"Don't listen to her!", Annabeth's voice shouted, "Run, Percy!"
"Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr.
"You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer."
"No", Percy muttered in a drowsy voice.
"Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Percy? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."
I could feel the magic in her voice or what was known here as charm speak. Luckily, she was not that good. Percy was resisting it. But, I knew that with time, she would wittle down his resistance, time we could not afford to give her. I knew that Annabeth would not dare attack her mother's nemesis. So, I decided to play distraction leaving Annabeth to find the trigger.
I took a tree trunk as big and thick as a Beater bat and threw it as hard as I could roughly in the direction of the multiple speaking snakes. I quickly moved away to hide behind another statue some distance away. I smiled when I heard a roar of anger.
The next moment, I realised that my foresight had saved my life. By the sound of a statue being broken into pieces, I knew that she had just charged at my previous location. Had I waited until I heard her reaction to move, I would have been the one torn to pieces. I was fast but not that fast.
"Where are you, you miserable girl? I will tear you to pieces."
I then did a little trick I had learned to do with the wand before I learned official spells, a trick I called Flash Bang. A harmless trick that used sudden intermittent sounds to scare or distract someone. If Medusa was as sensitive to sound as a snake, it would drive her mad.
I worked. She became even more angry than before.
I then heard a sound similar to someone shaking their head, then a slosh-like sound as if something slimy had fallen down and many voices on the ground.
~Cover the whole ground, children. Find the daughter of Artemis and the cursed Athena girl. Don't kill them too quickly. I want to personally crush their statues to dust. Avoid the son of Poseidon. He is mine.~
I grimaced. Medusa was bad enough. Now, we had to deal with her snakes too. The snakes had, along with their sensitivity to vibrations on the ground, heat sensors on their tongue that gave them the natural version of infra red vision. So, Invisibility was not a major detterent to them. I would know. I have been using it judiciously to keep track of Annabeth.
There was a myth in our magical society that basilisks were actually the snakes that fell from Medusa's head. I am now sure that it was just a myth. The snakes were fast and venomous but had no killing stare. But what made them very dangerous was that they were completely mortal since the moment they left Medusa's head. You might laugh thinking that I had just told a joke but remember that almost all of the weapons the demigods carry and use were celestial bronze, something which would pass through mortal beings as if it was an illusion. Chiron, in his own way, had been encouraging that dependency.
I was at a loss as to what to do. I personally had nothing to worry about. I could order them away or use my daggers. But Annabeth, as far as I knew, had only a celestial bronze dagger. She was completely helpless.
It was then that I remembered the statue of the girl. The bow and the arrows were not so useless anymore. I quickly sneaked off to the statue of the girl. I put my Cloak back in my shoulder bag as Invisibility had become pointless. I hung the quiver on my shoulder, took the bow and ran in Annabeth's direction shooting the snakes along the way. I then reached the location to see Annabeth with her back to the statue of a gnome waving her dagger trying to scare a snake into keeping away. By the way she was waving it, I knew she realized the same thing I did, hopefully not the hard way. The snake lunged with its mouth open and fangs bared but its existence came to an end with an arrow through its mouth.
Annabeth turned towards my direction pointing her knife and sighed in relief when she saw it was me.
"I came just in time, huh?"
I then looked around and asked, "Where is Percy?"
She pointed and I knew why Medusa had not yet attacked us. Percy was slowly inching towards her with a glass ball in one hand and his sword in another. She could have easily torn him apart but she seemed content to observe as if she had all the time in the world. Her arrogance would be her doom, hopefully.
"So, you have not found the trigger.", I asked.
"No. Atleast she will allow him to get close enough for a surprise attack. Her death will cause the magic to fail.", she replied.
I knew for a fact that it was not true. There was a reason the potions had such an important role in magical studies. Once it was completed and delivered, the potion had no more connection to its brewer unless they cast an enchantment on it to keep up a connection. The working of a potion entirely depended on the one consuming it. Either he would break down the magic on his own and kill the monster or he would become another statue decorating the garden. I knew that it was not the time to discuss the intricacies of magic. Let her have some hope.
Percy got closer to Medusa-twenty feet, ten feet. The magic seemed to be getting stronger the closer he went causing to struggle more and more to keep his head down. The latter option seemed to get more likely with each step. Luckily, I had a secret ace up my sleeve, my last gamble.
"Die", I shouted.
I took out the bottle and threw it hard in their direction. I intended for it to pass over Percy's head but I wasn't that accurate. If Percy had not pulled his head down at the right time, it would have knocked him down. Medusa caught the bottle displaying the kind of insane reflexes that would have left International Seekers drooling. Nothing happened for a moment and I feared my plan had failed. Then, the bottle splintered under Medusa's monstrous strength and the water inside spilled out... on to Percy.
When I saw, during Luke's sword fighting class, how Percy got enough power boost from a splash of drinking water, I wondered how good he would have been had it been taken straight from the sea. After Percy accepted the quest and we were told to pack up, I immediately went to the coast and filled a bottle with sea water. I knew that the quest would be very grueling and we would need every advantage we could get. I did not intend to use it up so early in the quest but it was better than dying.
"Sea water", Medusa said and by the way she said I knew she understood the implications.
I then heard a sickening shlock sound, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern-the
sound of a monster disintegrating.
Annabeth went up to it, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She told Percy, "Don't move."
Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.
"Are you okay?" she asked him, her voice trembling.
"Yeah", he replied though I knew he was not.
I was not a healer but I knew from experience that flushing out poisons was not a comfortable experience. But, I didn't say anything. He just killed the dangerous Medusa. He deserved to play macho a little.
"Why didn't ... why didn't the head evaporate?"
"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war", she said, "Same as your minotaur horn and the Fury's fire whip. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."
We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head.
We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.
Finally Percy said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?"
Annabeth flashed him an irritated look.
"Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him."
Percy's face was turning an amusing shade of red.
"Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa."
Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of Percy, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'"
It was so funny that I couldn't help but giggle.
"Iris said that too."
"Iris said that because she believed we had better chance outside especially considering how you were so sweet and lovey-dovey with the monster."
"Forget it", Percy said, "You're impossible."
"You're insufferable."
"You're—"
"Enough! We have some work to do. After that, I will give you both time to continue your flirting.", I said inwardly wondering what happened to my promise.
It was amusing to see the same shade of red appearing on both of their cheeks.
Percy got up.
"I'll be back."
"Percy," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—"
He left. I gave a reassuring nod to Annabeth and followed him.
I searched the back of the warehouse until I found him looking over the account book in the Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden.
According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. He folded up the bill and stuffed it in his pocket.
In the cash register, there were twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. Percy rummaged around the rest of the office until he found the right-size box.
"If you are going to do what I think you are going to do, I have some better ideas that will send a much stronger message.", I said.
He looked at me as if he was surprised that I was not trying to stop him. Really? The very fact that I joined the quest should have let him know that I had a reckless side that loved danger.
"Really? Tell me."
"There are two options for you. First is the well travelled path, tried and tested. The safe path. The path the gods would expect you to take. A path that every hero from the first Perseus to Theseus and Bellerophon had taken irrespective of their parentage. Gift it to Athena. As long as you don't insult her in writing, she will take it as a complement. She will even take it with her to every Council meeting to rub it in your father's face. As this is a quest issued by her father to get us killed, she won't lift a finger to help us though. Of course, if you are planning to date Professor Bethy, that is the option you should take. As someone once said, it is never too early to start impressing your prospective mother-in-law."
Percy became flustered when I mentioned the last part.
"I am not planning to date Annabeth."
"The second option is the less travelled path. The dangerous path filled with unknowns. A path no hero, to my knowledge, had taken before. This option is about impressing your stepmother Amphritite. She will be as pleased with the gift and would use it to gain bargaining power over your father. While she is the Queen of Atlantis, she is not that well known or respected outside the sea. She is not even a goddess, just a sea nymph. By giving it to her, you will striking the Olympians where it hurts them the most, their ego. If she really likes the gift, you might even find yourself a new ally old grandpa has no authority over."
He seemed to be thinking it over trying to choose between mother-in-law and step mother. When a smirk came on his face, I knew what he chose and I approved.
Percy went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:
Amphritite
Queen of Atlantis
Atlantis,
With best wishes,
PERCY JACKSON
IRIS POTTER
I then added a few sentences myself.
Sponsored by Anti Adultery Association
Hera Persephone Ariadne Amphritite
Chairwoman Treasurer Event Manager ?
"They're not going to like that.", Annabeth warned, "They'll think you're impertinent."
I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!
"We are impertinent.", we said synchronously.
We looked at Annabeth daring her to criticize.
She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that we had a major talent for ticking off the gods.
"Come on," she muttered. "We need a new plan."
"An entirely new plan.", I stated.
X-X-X-X-X