Well, that took a while, didn't it? Sorry about the wait, thanks for hanging in there.

Annabeth scowled at the book. "That's just … Ugh." She held it up. "Anyway, that's the end of the chapter."

Chris held out a hand. "I'll go next."

Percy tensed next to Annabeth. "Is that a good idea?"

Annabeth flinched. "Um, Chris, before you do, can I just check the next few chapter titles? If we're going to break for lunch, I'd like to make sure we don't have a cliffhanger."

"That's a good idea," Athena said.

Annabeth flicked back to the chapter list, Percy looking over her shoulder.

"Accepting gifts from a stranger …" Annabeth murmured under her breath "… boarding the Andromeda …"

"It'll be that one," Percy whispered.

Annabeth grimaced. "Family reunion - might be that one."

"This one should be safe either way," Percy whispered.

Annabeth nodded. "I think we should have lunch after this chapter. Will should be able to wake Thalia after this one as well."

Chris took the book. "Thanks."

Chapter Seven

I Accept Gifts from a Stranger

"What's a stranger doing at camp?" Grover asked.

"It could be a god," Artemis suggested.

"The last time a god intervened, Percy identified him as a god straight away," Aphrodite said. "Would he call a god a stranger?"

"Depends which god," Apollo said sagely. "Some of us are very strange."

The way Tantalus saw it, the Stymphalian birds had simply been minding their own business …

"Olympus help me," Hermes muttered.

… and would not have attached if Annabeth, Tyson and I hadn't disturbed them with our bad chariot driving.

"Out of interest, Luke," Hermes said, directing his words to the older of the two, "how many recruits did you get after this?"

Luke thought for a second. "Quite a few, but I couldn't say for sure if it was directly caused by this. Although none of this helps Olympus's argument."

"That's what I thought," Hermes said, rolling his eyes.

This was so completely unfair, I told Tantalus to go chase a doughnut …

Apollo sniggered. "Probably didn't help."

… He sentenced us to kitchen patrol …

"That's not too bad," Silena said cautiously. "I mean, I hate it, but it could have been worse."

… scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies.

"Never mind," Silena said, wincing.

"What's the difference?" Sally asked.

"Kitchen patrol is normally prep work," Silena answered. "You know, peeling potatoes, that kind of thing. This is … Well, I'm sure Percy will explain."

The harpies washed with lava instead of water … so Annabeth and I had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons.

Sally closed her eyes. "Please tell me demigods are immune to that."

"Immune to what?" Athena asked immediately.

"Mortals have problems with asbestos," Sally answered. "That's why we don't use it in buildings anymore - it causes illnesses in the lungs and things."

Athena frowned. "I didn't actually know that," she admitted. "Malcolm, make a note of that please. This isn't an activity the demigods should be doing."

Tyson didn't mind … but Annabeth and I had to suffer through hours of hot, dangerous work …

Annabeth groaned. "I hate you sometimes."

Percy grimaced, sweat beading on his forehead. "Yeah, so do I."

… especially since there were tons of extra plates. Tantalus had ordered a special luncheon banquet …

"He did that on purpose," Percy grumbled.

… to celebrate Clarisse's chariot victory …

"Not much of a victory," Travis muttered.

Luke gave him a look. "Be nice."

"No, he's right," Clarisse grumbled. "The whole thing was a farce."

… a full-course meal featuring country-fried Stymphalian death-bird.

Katie pulled a face. "Can we even eat them?"

"I have," Apollo said, frowning. "I'm not sure it's safe for demigods."

"That might explain the rounds of food poisoning afterwards," Will said. "We were running out of beds."

Hermes sighed. "Oh for the love of …"

"Alright, you've made your point," Dionysus said grumpily. "If I ever need a new activities director, I'll make sure it's not him."

The only good thing … was that it gave Annabeth and me a common enemy and lots of time to talk.

"Good," Nico said. "It's hard on the kids when you two fight."

Annabeth rolled her eyes, looking a little better now the book had moved on from describing their working conditions. "Oh shut up."

… 'If he's really found it,' she murmured, 'and we could retrieve it —'

Luke sighed. "You're doing it again, Annie."

"Doing what?" Annabeth asked.

"Thinking out loud and assuming we all know what you're talking about," Luke answered.

'Hold on,' I said. 'You act like this … whatever-it-is Grover found is the only thing in the world that could save the camp.

"It is," Luke murmured, glancing towards the closed door where Thalia lay.

What is it?'

'I'll give you a hint. What do you get when you skin a ram?'

Chris paused and snorted.

"What?" Connor asked.

'Messy?'

Several people sniggered.

"He's not wrong," Aphrodite said, hiding a smile. "But something tells me that's not what she was looking for."

She sighed. 'A fleece … And if that ram happens to have golden wool—'

"You were right," Lee said. "You're not going alone, are you?"

"No," Annabeth said immediately, before Luke could answer. "I'm going too."

"No, you're not," both Lukes said in unison.

Annabeth gave Luke a fierce glare. "You don't get a vote. And you," she said, rounding on his younger counterpart, "will either bring me along or I will find a way to follow you."

Luke held her gaze for a moment, then sighed. "Yeah, I know."

'The Golden Fleece. Are you serious?'

… 'Percy, remember the Grey Sisters? … They mentioned Jason. Three thousand years ago, they told him how to find the Golden Fleece.

"Who was Jason's parent?" Will asked. "I can't remember."

"That's because he wasn't a demigod," Piper answered. "One of the few old heroes that wasn't."

You do know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?'

'Yeah," I said. 'That old movie with the clay skeletons.'

Nico snorted. "Be honest. You do it to piss her off."

"No," Percy said. "That was genuinely my only memory of the story."

"But …" Annabeth prompted.

Percy smiled sheepishly. "Maybe I sometimes do it on purpose. In my defence, you tell the stories far better than I remember."

"Annabeth is good at story-telling," Malcolm agreed.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. 'Oh my gods, Percy! … The real story of the fleece: there were these two children of Zeus … Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool …

Annabeth frowned. "Luke, am I imagining it or has Thalia told me before that she's seen a golden ram?"

Luke nodded. "She used to see one quite often. I never saw it; honestly, I thought she was seeing things, but it led us to …" he faltered. "Well, ultimately, it led us to you."

"Where did it lead you?" Connor asked curiously.

"We met a son of Apollo," Luke answered. "Halcyon Green."

Apollo groaned. "Oh dear. And he told you that he'd once acted on a vision to save a child's life and I punished him for it and now he's bitter, right?"

Luke nodded a little cautiously. "Yes sir."

Apollo nodded. "Well, a little lesson for everyone on consequences: the less information you have, the more you're missing. He had a brief vision and he acted - not something he's supposed to do, but not too much of a problem necessarily. It's instinct, and generally I just warn of the consequences. However he had done it before, and I'd given him the same warning, and what he didn't know - and what he never seemed to care about - was that that child grew up to be a horrific serial killer. In saving his life, he condemned twenty-three innocent women to death. Even when I explained why he shouldn't have done it, he maintained that he'd done the right thing."

"Yeah, he didn't tell us that part," Luke said.

Apollo sighed. "Doesn't surprise me."

… which picked them up in Greece … Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important.'

'It was probably important to her.'

Several people sniggered again.

'The point is … he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree … It cures sickness, strengthens nature, cleans up pollution -'

'It could cure Thalia's tree.'

A cheer went up.

Annabeth nodded. 'And it would totally strengthen the borders … But Percy … Tons of heroes have searched for it with no luck.'

"I don't think anyone thought to look there," Nico said dryly.

'But Grover found it,' I said. 'He went looking for Pan … We can rescue him and save the camp at the same time. It's perfect!'

Annabeth hesitated.

"What?" Michael asked. "Why?"

'A little too perfect, don't you think? What if it's a trap?'

"Was it?" Lee asked.

Luke opened his mouth, and hesitated. "Not … I can't answer that."

"Could the Fleece help Kronos in some way?" Lee asked.

Hermes grimaced. "In theory, yes."

"So did he want the tree poisoned to destroy the border or to get them looking for the Fleece?" Lee asked. "And why couldn't Luke look for the Fleece?"

"Well, if I were Kronos," Artemis said, "which I'm not, thank goodness, I would say Luke is too valuable to risk. He's a good person to have in recruitment - I think it was Will who said it yesterday; people trust him. As for the tree …" she sighed. "I would take a guess that he told Luke it was to get them looking for the Fleece and that once he'd used it for his purpose, they could use the Fleece to bring Thalia back."

Luke nodded. "He did."

"Almost certainly a lie," Apollo said, picking up his sister's thought process. "We know that the recommended dose would have been fatal. The Fleece heals, it doesn't resurrect. Honestly, I think Percy was right earlier - he wanted to make sure that Thalia definitely wasn't coming back. Yes, there was the possibility you could have brought her round - you probably didn't even doubt that for a second - but if you couldn't … Well, the prophecy is pretty clear. He wouldn't want to take the chance that she would stop him."

"She's okay," Will said firmly, his eyes on Luke's younger self. "She will be absolutely fine."

I remembered last summer … 'What choice do we have?' I asked. 'Are you going to help me rescue Grover or not?'

"Obviously," Annabeth said, rolling her eyes. "It's just that someone needs to think of the logistics."

"But you do it far better than me," Percy said.

… 'Percy,' she said under her breath, 'we'll have to fight a Cyclops.'

Luke cursed under his breath. "Annie …"

"I'm coming," Annabeth said again. "I will just follow you."

Polyphemus, the worst of the Cyclops. And there's only one place his island could be. The Sea of Monsters.'

Lee grimaced, leaning over to speak quietly to Luke. "You'll need to take Percy. If his navigation is as good as they think, you'll need him, but I'm coming too."

"You …"

"Don't argue," Lee said.

'Where's that?'

"I'm glad he asked," Will murmured.

She stared at me like she thought I was playing dumb.

"In my defence," Annabeth said, "sometimes you do because you think it's funny."

'The Sea of Monsters. The same sea Odysseus sailed through, and Jason, and Aeneas and all the others.'

Sally frowned. "But wasn't that just the Med?"

'You mean the Mediterranean?'

"Like mother like son," Hermes quipped.

'No. Well, yes … but no.'

'Another straight answer. Thanks.'

Travis gave a snort.

'Look, Percy, the Sea of Monsters … like everything else, it shifts locations as the West's centre of power shifts.'

"That makes sense," Sally murmured.

… 'But a whole sea full of monsters - how could you hide something like that? Wouldn't the mortals notice … The Bermuda Triangle?'

"Oh, of course," Percy muttered. "That makes sense."

"What's the Bermuda Triangle?" Bianca asked curiously. "Aside from the Sea of Monsters, I mean."

"It's a patch of ocean where strange things seem to happen," Sally explained. "Ships disappear, planes drop out of radar signal … Mortals have all sorts of explanations for it."

"Aliens," Connor said gravely. "It's always aliens."

Sally hid a smile. "It being the Sea of Monsters makes perfect sense."

… I guess it wasn't strange than anything else I'd learned … 'Okay … so at least we know where to look.'

'It's still a huge area, Percy. Searching for one tiny island in monster-infested waters-'

"Oh, that's what the coordinates were," Malcolm said, flipping back through his notes and circling them.

'Hey, I'm the son of the sea god. This is my home turf. How hard can it be?'

Sally's brow crinkled. "Be careful, honey."

"He's not wrong," Amphitrite said. "His heritage will certainly help a lot."

… 'We'll have to talk to Tantalus, get approval for a quest. He'll say no.'

The campers all seemed to deflate at once.

"He's right," Clarisse said.

"Nah, I reckon he'll agree," Connor said. "If they've got any sense, they'll ask in front of everyone."

"He'll agree," Michael added, "but send someone else."

"Probably me," Clarisse said, a little miserably.

"That means you get a quest though," Chris said, apparently trying to cheer her up.

"One that isn't suited to me at all though," Clarisse said.

"If I were Percy and Annabeth," Apollo said, looking at the ceiling, "I would go anyway, regardless of whether or not they have permission."

"Apollo!" Artemis scolded.

"Not that I would condone that for any of you," Apollo added hastily, to the younger campers. "But in these circumstances, Percy is best placed to find the fleece, and if something isn't done, there's not going to be a Camp Half-Blood."

Artemis held her glare for a few more moments, then sighed. "I hate it when you're right."

'Not if we tell him tonight … He won't be able to refuse.'

"Michael's right," Lee said heavily.

'Maybe … Hand me the lava spray gun, will you?'

Sally shuddered, but didn't say anything.

That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along.

"Don't they always?" Percy asked.

"Most of the time," Lee answered. "If the infirmary's particularly busy, other cabins sometimes step in. Usually Cabin 10."

They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack.

"I'm not surprised," Hermes muttered.

We sat around … singing half-heartedly … The bonfire was enchanted … Tonight, the fire was only a metre high, barely warm, and the flames were the colour of lint.

"It's never been that bad," Michael said.

Chris read ahead a little and grimaced. "Okay, so Tantalus is about to be a complete asshole again. Can we just get this over with?"

Amazingly, everyone stayed silent while Chris read, although both Hermes and Apollo got up to pace when he started telling the story of his children, both of them shooting dirty looks at Dionysus.

… With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off towards their cabins in the dark.

"Don't the harpies always enforce the curfew?" Sally asked softly. "And would they …?"

"They would not actually eat any campers," Hermes said. "And, yes, they do, but it's more a guideline than actual rules. If someone's having a nightmare, we wouldn't begrudge them stepping outside to get some fresh air or something."

Dionysus looked like he didn't entirely agree, but very wisely said nothing.

I couldn't explain things to Tyson … 'You will go anyway?' He asked.

'I don't know,' I admitted. 'It would be hard. Very hard.'

"You should," Clarisse said, sounding a little grumpy. "If I had any sense, I'd take you with me. What?" She asked, when everyone stared at her. "You're all thinking it."

'I will help.'

"Oh, bless him," Silena murmured.

'No. I - uh, I couldn't ask you to do that, big guy. Too dangerous.'

"Seriously?" Jason asked.

Tyson looked down at the pieces of metal … Beckendorf had given him some tools and spare parts …

Silena gave Beckendorf a blinding smile that he couldn't help but return.

… and now Tyson spent every night tinkering … 'What are you building?' I asked.

"I never did find out," Percy murmured.

Tyson didn't answer. Instead, he made a whimpering sound … 'Annabeth doesn't like Cyclopes. You … don't want me along?'

"Oh," Annabeth whispered. "Remind me to give Tyson a big hug when we get back."

'Oh, that's not it,' I said half-heartedly. 'Annabeth likes you. Really.'

"You're a terrible liar," Nico said. "I don't know why you bother."

… I remembered that Grover, like all satyrs, could read human emotions. I wondered if Cyclopes had the same ability.

"They do," Amphitrite said softly, "but most don't care."

Tyson folded up his tinkering project … lay down on his bunk bed and hugged his bundle like a teddy bear.

Silena sniffled a little.

When he turned towards the wall, I could see the weird scars on his back, like somebody had ploughed over him with a tractor.

"Oh, the poor boy," Sally said. "You'd better bring him home," she added to Percy.

"He might be better off with us," Amphitrite said. "Why isn't he with us?" She added to her husband.

Poseidon sighed. "I really have no idea, darling."

I wondered for the millionth time how he'd got hurt.

"Maybe that's why he's not with you," Apollo said. "He's not exactly a … normal Cyclops. Maybe the others in the forges didn't take to him."

'Daddy always cared for m-me,' he sniffled. 'Now … I think he was mean to have a Cyclops boy. I should not have been born.'

"Oh sweetheart," Sally murmured.

Artemis sighed. "Why do I feel like all demigods have felt that way at some point?"

None of the campers answered, but the way they all avoided their parents' eyes told a story in itself.

'Don't talk that way! Poseidon claimed you, didn't he? So … he must care about you … a lot …'

My voice trailed off as I thought about all those years Tyson had lived on the streets of New York in a cardboard refrigerator box.

"Yeah, that's a difficult argument to make," Apollo said grumpily.

"We already know that there were other demigods doing the same thing," Artemis said.

"None of mine," Apollo said with certainty. "Unless I've missed something," he added, turning to Lee with a look of worry.

"No," Lee said. "All of the kids in our cabin are either with their parents or were brought straight to Camp."

… What kind of dad let that happen to his kid, even if his kid was a monster?

"Sorry," Percy murmured, but his father sighed heavily.

"Don't apologise, Percy. You're absolutely right that I let him down."

'Tyson … camp will be a good home for you. The others will get used to you. I promise."

"Not just me then," Nico muttered, not quite under his breath.

Percy winced, and turned to him with regret in his eyes.

Nico gave him a small smile. "Your heart's in the right place, Percy. But don't make promises you can't keep"

Tyson sighed … he was already asleep.

"Wish I could fall asleep like that," Annabeth murmured, still feeling horribly guilty.

I lay back on my bed and tried to close my eyes, but I just couldn't. I was afraid I might have another dream about Grover.

"I don't blame you," Grover bleated.

If the empathy link was real … if something happened to Grover … would I ever wake up?

Sally closed her eyes, gripping both Percy and Grover's hands tightly.

The full moon shone through my window … But something felt wrong about the night — the sickness of Thalia's tree, spreading across the valley.

Everyone looked at Will, who gave them all a smile. "She's fine."

Could Clarisse save Half-Blood Hill? I thought the odds were better of me getting a 'Best Camper' award from Tantalus.

Clarisse bristled at that, but Percy sighed. "Only because I was the one with the empathy link. And the nautical thing. Plus you're too focused on glory."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Clarisse asked.

"I mean that sometimes you have to step back and let someone else 'take the glory'," Percy said. "If it came down to that, I knew you'd rather loose than let that happen."

Clarisse scowled, but did not have an argument for that.

I got out of bed and pulled on some clothes.

"Be careful," Sally murmured.

"The harpies wouldn't hurt any of the campers," Chiron said firmly. "Give them a scare, maybe, but not hurt them."

I grabbed a beach blanket and a six-pack of Coke … The Cokes were against the rules.

"Why" Bianca asked curiously. "And what are Cokes?"

"A carbonated soft drink," Nico answered. "Not sure why they're against the rules."

No outside snacks or drinks were allowed …

"Well, yes," Nico said, as though Chris had answered him directly, "but why?"

"Partly because it's mostly artificial," Chiron said, "but also because it gives Cabin Eleven a chance to be sneaky in a mostly harmless way."

… if you talked to the right guy in Hermes's cabin … he could smuggle in almost anything from the nearest convenience store.

"Do you actually turn a blind eye?" Sally asked. "Or do you know what's coming in?"

"Oh, we know," Chiron said with a smile. "Anything dangerous we put a stop to."

"Has anyone brought in anything dangerous?" Luke asked.

"Not with you in charge," Chiron said. "A few years before you arrived, someone tried to smuggle in needles, and that was stopped. Somehow one of the older campers had developed a drug habit and no one had noticed."

"How had no one noticed?" Sally asked.

Chiron sighed. "Because I'm the only adult who interacts with the campers, so we rely on the head counsellors to pick up on things like that."

"Okay, but Annabeth is currently one of those and she's only 12," Sally said. "That seems a lot to put on their shoulders."

"It is," Chiron agreed. "In an ideal world, I'd hire some of the graduated campers, but we don't have the funding."

"Then we will find some," Hestia said firmly. "Sally's absolutely right that it should not be down to children. Head counsellors should be responsible for making sure people make their beds and get to activities on time, not to act in loco parentis."

Sneaking out after curfew was against the rules, too.

"Well, technically," Luke said, "it's not against the rules for head counsellors. Which you are. Technically."

… But I wanted to see the ocean. I always felt better there.

"It's in your blood," Amphitrite said softly.

… For some reason sugar and caffeine always calmed down my hyperactive brain.

"Technically, what it does is speed up your heart rate and provoke a fight or flight response in your body," Annabeth said, "which is when our hyperactive brains work best."

I tried to decide what to do to save the camp, but nothing came to me.

"You know what you need to do," Rachel said. "You just don't think you can do it."

"Out of interest," Connor said, "I don't suppose you know Clarisse's prophecy, do you?"

"Well, I don't know if …" Rachel suddenly stiffened, her eyes glowing green.

"You shall sail the iron ship with warriors of bone,

You shall find what you seek and make it your own,

But despair for your life entombed within stone

And fail without friends, to fly home alone."

She blinked, the light clearing.

"Okay, just to be clear, that was not a prophecy."

"So … that wasn't my prophecy?" Clarisse asked hesitantly.

"Oh, it was," Rachel said. "But that wasn't the Oracle giving a prophecy; that was the Oracle supplying what was, not what will be."

"Does Luke get one?" Hermes asked. "Since we're sending him off to find the Fleece and all?"

Rachel was silent for a moment. "No," she said finally. "Or rather, yes, you will," she added to Luke, "but you'll need to speak to the Oracle from your time."

"That makes sense," Lee said.

"So I can't do it," Clarisse said heavily.

"It doesn't say that," Aphrodite said kindly. "It says you'll 'fail without friends'. You can't do it on your own. But that doesn't mean you can't do it." She gave Ares a very stern glare, and he closed his mouth.

I wished Poseidon would talk to me, give me some advice or something.

"If I could," Poseidon muttered.

The sky was clear and starry. I was checking out the constellations … when somebody said, 'Beautiful, aren't they?'

"Uh oh," Travis and Connor chorused.

"This must be the stranger," Malcolm said. "The one in the chapter title."

"Gifts from a stranger," Athena murmured. "Well, given how suddenly they seem to have appeared, it must be one of us."

I almost spewed soda.

Percy coughed, thumping his chest to clear his throat.

Standing right next to me was a guy … with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile.

"Oh, what are you doing?" Artemis asked, as everyone turned to Hermes.

"Helping, I hope," Hermes answered.

"Hermes …" Zeus began.

"You turned your daughter in to a pine tree to save her life," Hermes snapped. "Do not judge me for trying to save my son."

"You think you're doing it for Luke?" Apollo asked.

Hermes sighed. "I should have noticed. And I didn't. And I'm willing to bet that by the time I did, it was too late for me to be able to get through to you, right?"

Luke nodded. "I mean, you didn't try, but it wouldn't have worked if you had."

"Didn't think so," Hermes said. "I think I'm probably hoping that Percy and Annabeth can." He paused. "And trying to save the camp."

He looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't figure out why.

"Really?" Annabeth asked. "You didn't see the family resemblance?"

"Once I knew who he was, yeah," Percy said. "Forgive me if I wasn't expecting a god to randomly appear at Camp."

My first thought was that he must've been taking a midnight jog down the beach …

"Who on earth does that?" Connor asked.

"Percy," Annabeth said dryly.

… That wasn't supposed to happen. Regular mortals couldn't enter the valley.

"They can," Rachel said. "They just have to be invited. Like Tyson."

"How do you know?" Silena asked, surprised.

Rachel shrugged. "I was a regular mortal before I was the Oracle. I had to take her somehow. And …" she trailed off, her eyes narrowing.

"What?" Percy asked.

To everyone's surprise, she pointed at Apollo. "I have a bone to pick with you."

Apollo raised an eyebrow. "With me? What about?"

"The so-called restrictions on the Oracle," Rachel said.

Apollo chucked. "I don't make the rules, Rachel. But I'm happy to discuss it with you. Later."

But maybe with the tree's magic weakening he'd managed to slip in. But in the middle of the night? … Where would this guy have come from?

'May I join you?' He asked. 'I haven't sat down in ages.'

Hermes stretched. "This is the longest I've sat down since I was born, I think."

"I'm surprised you haven't had anyone chasing you," Hestia said. "Your phone's normally screaming at you."

"I turned it off," Hermes admitted. "The Fates told me to," he added, before Zeus could argue. "And I would have done it anyway. This is more important."

"He does get the lion's share of the work around here," Hera said softly to her husband.

Now, I know - a strange guy in the middle of the night. Common sense: I was supposed to run away, yell for help, etc.

Sally sighed. "At least you know what common sense is. I know you're safe," she added to Hermes. "But you might not have been."

But the guy acted so calm about the whole thing that I found it hard to be afraid.

I said, 'Uh, sure.'

He smiled. 'Your hospitality does you credit. Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?'

Sally sighed again. "Look, I know you're gods and all. But would it kill you to introduce yourselves?"

"To be fair," Lee said with a grin, "most demigods would have caught on by now. It's not your fault," he added to Percy - both of them. "You're still fairly new at it all, and Lord Hermes keeps his aura in check, but you do learn to pick it up."

He sat at the the blanket, popped a soda and took a drink. 'Ah … that hits the spot. Peace and quiet at -'

Hermes winced. "Oh, don't jinx it."

A cell phone went off in his pocket.

The jogger sighed … When he extended the antenna, two creatures began writing around it - green snakes, no bigger than earthworms.

Hermes chuckled. "Oh, they'll be thrilled."

… 'Listen - I know, but … I don't care if he is chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn't have a tracking number, we can't locate his package … A gift to humankind, great … You know how many of those we deliver — Oh, never mind.

"Hermes …"

"They've already got fire, relax," Hermes said, rolling his eyes. "Everything's urgent, it never is."

Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go.'

… 'You have snakes on your phone.'

'What? Oh, they don't bite. Say hello, George and Martha.'

Hello, George and Martha.

Don't be sarcastic.

"Oh, don't you start," Hermes said hastily. "Hang on." He pulled out his phone. "Go ahead."

The phone grew into the caduceus, the snakes growing to full size.

"Now, behave yourselves," he said sternly.

Chris sniggered.

Hello, George and Martha, a raspy male voice said inside my head.

Don't be sarcastic, said a female voice.

There were a few giggles.

Why not? George demanded. I do all the real work.

"Don't," Hermes said hastily.

'Oh, let's not go into that again! … Now, where were we … Ah, yes. Peace and quiet.'

"There's a luxury," Hermes muttered.

… 'Been a long time since I've got to relax. Ever since the telegraph — rush, rush, rush. Do you have a favourite constellation, Percy?'

Percy sighed, remembering the conversation. He had a different answer now.

I was still kind of wondering about the little green snakes he'd shoved into his jogging shorts …

Hermes burst out laughing. "Yeah, fair point."

We hate being in there, Boss.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Tough. There's nowhere else to keep you."

You could keep us like this.

"No, I couldn't because it's unwieldy and old-fashioned."

… but I said, 'Uh, I like Heracles … he had rotten luck. Even worse than mine. It makes me feel better.'

"Is that still true?" Artemis asked curiously.

Percy shook his head. "No, ma'am. I mean, he did have worse luck than mine, but he was also kind of an asshole. My favourite constellation … It doesn't exist yet."

Artemis raised an eyebrow. That suggested that there was going to be a new one. They hadn't created a new constellation in millennia.

The jogger chuckled. 'Not because he was strong and famous and all that … You're an interesting young man. And so, what now?'

"You're going to convince him to go," Persephone said.

I knew immediately what he was asking. What did I intend to do about the Fleece?

"I don't like that you're interfering," Zeus said.

"Yeah, well, us not interfering is what got us into this mess," Hermes said.

"It wasn't you," Luke said. "That was a tiny part of it."
"I know, son," Hermes said softly. "But we - all of us - could have prevented the rest of it."

Before I could answer, Martha the snake's muffled voice came from his pocket, I have Demeter on line two.

'Not now,' the jogger said. 'Tell her to leave a message.'

Demeter bristled, but said nothing.

She's not going to like that. The last time you put her off, all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted.

"Exactly!" Demeter said.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Auntie, I put you off by ten minutes. If the flowers wilted in ten minutes, there was something wrong with them. If they wilted because you had a tantrum about having to wait, that's not my problem."

"Mother," Persephone said, rolling her own eyes.

"Out of interest," Sally said, "what do they do on your days off?"

"I don't get any," Hermes said tiredly.

"None of us do," Hera said.

"Okay, but the rest of you get time to yourselves, right?" Sally asked. "Moments to sit down and do things you enjoy."

"Well, yes, of course," Demeter said.

Sally looked at Hermes. "You don't though, do you?"

"Never," Hermes said. "As you've heard, it's hard to get five minutes of peace."

"That doesn't seem fair," Sally said.

Hera frowned. "No, it doesn't. You do have people to delegate to, don't you?"

"Yeah, but everyone wants to talk to me," Hermes said.

"Well then," Hera said firmly. "New rule: You take at least two days a month to yourself; if anyone bothers you and won't go to the others, you send them to me, understand?"

Hermes nodded hastily. "Yes ma'am."

"At least," Hera repeated, turning to Apollo, who was quick to say, "I'll make sure he does."

'Just tell her I'm in a meeting! … Sorry again, Percy. You were saying?'

"I think he was trying for figure out why you wanted to know what his plan was," Apollo said with a grin.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Yeah, alright; let's see if he ever meets you and if you introduced yourself."

"Of course he didn't," Artemis said, "because Apollo never needs to. I'm surprised mortals don't automatically know who he is."

'Um … who are you, exactly?'

'Haven't you guessed by now, a smart boy like you?'

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Boys. Always so dramatic."

Show him! Martha pleaded … The phone glowed a brilliant blue. It stretched into … a caduceus, the symbol of Cabin Eleven.

"And the drachma drops," Connor announced.

… 'You're Luke's father,' I said. 'Hermes.'

Hermes frowned. "Am I about to say something stupid?"

Percy thought for a second. "I don't think so."

… '"Luke's father." Normally, that's not the first way people introduce me. God of thieves, yes. God of messengers and travellers, if they wish to be kind.'

"That's not how we introduce you," Artemis agreed.

"Yeah, we just tell people you're an asshole," Apollo grinned.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Oh, shut up."

God of thieves works, George said.

Oh, don't mind George.

… 'Behave you two,' Hermes warned, '… No Percy, you still haven't answered my question. What do you intend to do about the quest?'

"There's the million dollar question," Travis said.

"Well, there's no question, is there?" Michael asked. "He has to go."

Clarisse raised her hand. "Can I just point out that, for all you know, I might be able to do it myself?"

"Of course you could," Aphrodite said matter-of-factly. "It's just that time is of the essence, and it will get done quicker with Percy's abilities."

'I — I don't have permission to go.'

"Since when has that stopped you?" Nico asked.

'No, indeed. Will that stop you?'

'I want to go. I have to save Grover.'

"And the rest of Camp," Grover bleated.

Percy shrugged. "That was Clarisse's job. I was more worried about you."

Hermes smiled. 'I knew a boy once … oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really.'

"Oh, here we go again," Apollo said, rolling his eyes.

"What does this have to do with whether Percy goes or not?" Athena asked.

… 'One night, when this boy's mother wasn't watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo.'

"And that's why he's the god of thieves," Apollo grumbled.

Artemis chuckled. "He got the better of you, get over it."

"He was a baby," Apollo protested.

"When I was a baby, I delivered you," Artemis shot back.

'Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?' I asked.

"Of course not," Apollo said. "He was a baby."

Hermes snorted. "Yeah, that's what stopped you."

'Hmm … no. Actually … the boy gave Apollo an instrument he'd invented - a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry.'

Apollo rolled his eyes. "That is not what happened. I realised you were a baby, and my brother, and I decided to let it go. Also the lyre was pretty impressive."

'So what's the moral?'

'The moral?' Hermes asked. 'Goodness, you act like it's a fable. It's a true story. Does the truth have a moral?'

"You have a point," Athena admitted. "But I still don't understand why you told the story in the first place."

"Maybe I'm trying to prove that sometimes doing what you're not supposed to do can be the right thing to do," Hermes said. "That whole episode is why Apollo and I are so close."
"Then why not tell him that?"

… 'How about this: stealing is not always bad?'

'I don't think my mom would like that moral.'

Sally snorted. "No, I wouldn't."

"It's not wrong though," Annabeth said softly. "That was the only way we could eat on the streets."

Rats are delicious, suggested George.

What does that have to do with the story? Martha demanded.

Nothing, George said. But I'm hungry.

The campers all laughed, a little relieved to break the tension.

'I've got it,' Hermes said. 'Young people don't always do what they're told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How's that?'

"That's what I said," Hermes said. "I stand by it."

"I hope you're not going to send him off without any help," Artemis said.

"But we don't get extra help on quests, do we?" Clarisse asked, a little tentatively.

"Not usually," Artemis agreed. "If the Oracle gives the quest, in theory, we shouldn't interfere. On saying that, if a god directly gives a quest, it's only polite to give you some help."

"I'm not giving him a quest though," Hermes said.

Artemis rolled her eyes. "Oh, please. As much as you want Camp to be safe, like you said, you're also hoping that Percy can talk Luke around."

"Do you think he can?" Luke asked hopefully.

"No," Apollo said, before his sister could. "If Percy could do that, it would have happened last summer. I think Kronos has too tight a hold at this point. But I can't blame him for trying."

'You're saying I should go anyway,' I said, 'even without permission.'

"That's almost always what he's saying," Artemis said.

Hermes's eyes twinkled. 'Martha, may I have the first package, please?'

"Oh good," Apollo said, "you're going to give him help."

Martha opened her mouth … She belched out a stainless steel canister … The sides of the flask were enamelled … a hero killing a lion; a hero lifting up Cerberus, the three-headed dog.

"What on earth …?" Sally murmured.

'That's Heracles,' I said. 'But how -'

'Never question a gift,' Hermes chided.

"I think the lesson from last summer was to always question a gift," Athena said.

Hermes rolled his eyes, but did not respond.

… 'Wait a minute,' I said. 'This is a gift?'

"Keep up, Percy," Travis grinned.

"I think I was a bit distracted by the snakes," Percy said. "Also, I was trying to figure out what ancient merchandise had to do with anything."

"Vintage," Hermes corrected. "Not ancient."

"Ancient," Artemis said flatly. "Also, that show was awful."

"It wasn't that bad," Hephaestus muttered.

"He did not need any more exposure," Artemis grumbled.

'One of two,' Hermes said. 'Go on, pick it up.'

I almost dropped it … when I turned the Flask, the side facing the ocean - north - was always the cold side.

Amphitrite frowned. "You know he doesn't actually need a compass, right?"

Hermes grinned. "If it's what I think it is, it's not a compass."

'It's a compass!' I said.

Hermes looked surprised. 'Very clever … Uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way.

"Ah, now that he will need," Amphitrite said.

Not now! And please, when the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit … And now my second gift. George?'

Sally sighed. "I'm grateful of course, but is there any chance that this gift does not also come with the risk of destroying everything?"

"I didn't say it would destroy everything," Hermes said.

Sally raised an eyebrow. "'Should all four escape at once …' what?"

"There'd be a terrible storm," Zeus answered. "Not pleasant to be part of, but it wouldn't destroy everything."

She's touching me, George complained …

'She's always touching you,' Hermes said. 'You're intertwined. And if you don't stop that, you'll get knotted again!'

"What happens if they get knotted?" Chris asked curiously, as his older brother sniggered.

"I have to untangle them," Hermes answered. "And then no one's happy."

… George unhinged his jaw and coughed up a little plastic bottles filled with chewable vitamins.

Sally raised an eyebrow. "Please tell me they include ambrosia or something."

"Well, they're certainly more helpful than the mortal ones," Hermes said.

… 'Are those Minotaur-shaped?'

"What happened to not using the names?" Percy asked.

Hermes picked up the bottle and rattled it. 'The lemon ones, yes. The grape ones are Furies, I think. Or are they hydras?

"That's really not the point," Aphrodite said. "It's safe to use monster names around a god, Percy," she added, since no one had answered. "They wouldn't dare."

At any rate, these are potent. Don't take one unless you really, really need it.'

'How will I know if I really, really need it?'

'You'll know, believe me.

"Oh, that's helpful," Apollo said, rolling his eyes.

"Should I make a list of all of the things that could happen and scare the poor boy?" Hermes asked.

… 'Um, thanks,' I said. 'But Lord Hermes, why are you helping me?'

"I think Apollo's right," Athena murmured.

He gave me a melancholy smile. 'Perhaps because I hope that you can save many people on this quest, Percy. Not just your friend Grover.'

"Called it," Apollo said sadly.

I stared at him. 'You don't mean … Luke … Even if I could find him … he told me he wanted to tear down Olympus stone by stone. He betrayed everybody he knew. He - he hates you especially.'

"I didn't," Luke whispered. "Not really."

His father gripped his shoulder. "I know, kiddo. It's okay."

Hermes gazed up at the stars. 'My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the aeons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it. It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the internet -'

"Oh don't start that again," Apollo groaned.

"Well, I'm right," Hermes said huffily.

'You invented the internet?'

It was my idea, Martha said.

Rats are delicious, George said.

Connor and Travis were sniggering.

"They're hilarious, Dad," Travis said.

"They're a pain in my ass is what they are," Hermes grumbled, but he had a smile on his face.

'It was my idea," Hermes said. 'I mean the internet, not the rats.

Artemis cracked a smile at that. "I think he got that one."

… Percy, do you understand what I'm saying about family?'

'I - I'm not sure.'

"Yes," Percy said softly. "I get it."

'You will some day.' Hermes got up and brushed the sand off his legs. 'In the meantime, I must be going.'

You have sixty calls to return, Martha said.

And one thousand and thirty-eight emails, George added. Not counting the offers for online discount ambrosia.

"And that," Hermes announced, "is why I can't take a day off. That's after, what, ten minutes? Can you imagine the chaos after a day?"

"You need a secretary," Sally said. "Or a personal assistant. I'm sure they don't all need to be dealt with by you personally."

'And you, Percy,' Hermes said, 'have a shorter deadline than you realise to complete your quest. Your friends should be coming right about … now.'

Athena gave him a glare. "If you've dragged my daughter into this …"

"At most, I sent a little nudge to wake her," Hermes said. "Besides, we both know if Percy left without her, she'd never forgive him. Right, Annabeth?"

Annabeth smiled. "Exactly right."

Athena sighed. "Is it too much to ask for you to stay safe?"

I heard Annabeth's voice calling my name … Tyson, too, was shouting from a little bit further away.

Lee winced. "That'll alert the harpies."

… He snapped his fingers and three yellow duffel bags appeared at my feet. "Water-proof, of course. If you ask nicely, your father should be able to help you reach the ship."

"Ship?" Several people asked.

'Ship?'

Hermes pointed. Sure enough, a big cruise ship was cutting across Long Island Sound, its white-and-gold lights glowing against the dark water.

Luke's eyes widened. "Wait … Is that …?" He couldn't finish the question, but Percy could take a guess.

"Yep," Percy answered.

"You didn't …"

"I think you'll find I tried," Percy said with false cheeriness. "And before you ask, I don't know if he knew, but I wouldn't be surprised if he did."

Everyone from the past looked a bit puzzled, but all guessed (correctly) that neither of them could elaborate yet.

'Wait,' I said. 'I don't understand any of this. I haven't even agreed to go!'

"Oh, like you're going to do anything else," Will said.

'I'd make up your mind in the next five minutes, if I were you,' Hermes advised. 'That's when the harpies will come to eat you.

Sally sucked in a breath, and Amphitrite patted her hand. "It's alright, dear. We both know Percy's going to go."

Now, goodnight, cousin, and dare I say it? May the gods go with you.'

… Good luck, Martha told me.

Bring me back a rat, George said.

Hermes rolled his eyes. "Priorities, George. Priorities."

Rats are delicious.

"Yes, I know," Hermes muttered.

… He jogged off down the beach. Twenty paces away, he shimmered and vanished, leaving me alone with a flash, a bottle of chewable vitamins and five minutes to make an impossible decision.

Nico rolled his eyes. "How did I miss that you were this much of a drama queen?"

"I am not a drama queen," Percy protested.

"'An impossible decision'?" Nico quoted. "We all know you're going, we all know it was never in any question. You're being dramatic."

"I didn't write this!" Percy said, for what felt like the hundredth time.

"Well, that's the end of the chapter anyway," Chris said. "Did you say we were breaking for lunch?"

"Probably a good idea," Annabeth said. "I know it sounds like a cliff-hanger, but like Nico said, Percy was never going to do anything else."

"Chris, can I just take a look please?" Will asked. "I'd like to just take a look at the first few pages of the next chapter, see if anything's going to come up."

Chris handed the book over, and Will flicked through the pages, before nodding. "Alright, it's safe. I'm going to wake Thalia up."

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