A/N: Hello all. If you are reading this then it means I'm back from hiatus and I am done writing the Titan's Curse aspect of this story (Finally). I have missed this story so much and so in a period of three weeks, I shall publish the three chapters left from the TC section (The 1st Arc) of The Dissonant Notes of Fate. Things are going to get heated and a lot of twists and turns will be coming your way. I hope you all enjoy what I have to offer and take your time to leave a vote, comment, kudos or review. If you haven't, check out my profile and my other works there too. A few new books—out of the 18 drafted stories I have prepared—will be making an appearance. I got this idea from lildrummerboi to write my stories in arcs and rotate them after each story completes an arc. That author is smart and might have just taken away any difficulties I would've had. Thank you all for the support and for waiting for me. Enjoy the story!
-TripleHomicide.
THALIA sat up with a jerk, glancing around her in a panic at the loud bang. Instantly, she recalled the dreams sent to her by Kronos. She shuddered slightly, shaking her head. Thalia felt herself relaxing when she realised they weren't under attack. Her eyes flickered over to the Titan by her side. His eyes were shut but she could tell he was awake. She silently wondered why he hadn't disappeared back to his Island since the quest had started.
The groan from the front of the truck made the black-haired immortal sit up too. Grover was still passed out, clearly unaffected by the noise. Thalia leaned over the edge of the truck, catching sight of both Phoebe and Zoë Nightshade prowling around the truck in what Thalia assumed was anger.
"What's wrong?" She called to them. The lieutenant of the hunters of Artemis grunted in response. "We have run out of fuel. And the tyres are out of air." Thalia pursed her lips, looking around her. Desert. That was all she could see.
"There's a river," She heard Grover's voice from beside her. Thalia didn't know when the satyr had awoken. "And a path to it. We could use that."
Thalia's brows creased. The path was between a few cliffs. Too high up. She could felt the telltale anxiety already bubbling up. "That's a path for goats." She said, huffing. "In case you couldn't tell, the rest of us aren't goats."
Grover blinked, trying to get the sleepiness out of his eyes. He yawned, and then said, "We could go further upstream if you want." Thalia jumped out of the back of the truck, with Grover following her lead. She looked up as her feet touched the ground and caught the grim look on Percy's face. Thalia bit her lips, wishing she could tell what he was thinking. He was so deep in thought he didn't even notice she wasn't at his side anymore. "Hey, you coming down?"
Her voice broke him out of his reverie and the Titan blinked, murmuring something along the lines of, "Coming." He landed next to her a second later.
"Thalia," Zoë's voice made her spin to her left, where Grover had joined the huntress. "If thee is done talking to yourself, we need to leave, now."
Thalia nodded, passing Percy another look, before jogging towards her quest-mates.
-X-
PERSEUS was having a rotten morning. They had followed the river for a while, coming to a slope that led towards the water. The night before, he'd been visited by his brother's messenger. The girl who had revealed herself to him three chapters ago had come again in what he supposed was a vision, as he had been fully awake.
She had said Kronos was growing impatient. The boy, Luke Castellan was making his way to San Francisco as they spoke and he had to find a way to turn Thalia before they got to the mountain. They had managed to fill Luke's head with doubts thanks to Perseus' memories. But Perseus still hadn't completed his mission. He hadn't managed to get her away from the others yet and he was hoping that he'd be able to on their next stop. He had been thinking of ways to persuade her to join the Titans throughout the night.
The girl had also told him that his brother was getting displeased. He was growing too close to Thalia and Lord Kronos wasn't happy. He sighed as he tried to push all thoughts of the message out of his head. They had spotted a canoe rental operation, as Thalia had called it, on the shore and the hunter Phoebe had left a few coins for the canoes they had stolen. Phoebe and Zoë rode in one canoe by themselves. Thalia, Perseus and Grover sat in the other. The lieutenant of Artemis had pulled some daughter-of-a-sea-goddess thing and communicated with the naiads, asking them to push the canoes along.
Perseus hated the water.
He was the Titan of the Earth. He felt unstable when he was anywhere else. He felt solid when his feet were touching the ground. The water unsettled him. It made him feel unbalanced. And he hated that. He let out another loud breath. "Is the water bothering you?" He heard Thalia say from his side.
He turned to her, forcing a smile. "How could you tell?" At the same, the satyr said, "Uh, no?"
"Well, you were making this expression, like you wanted to puke whatever you last ate," The daughter of Zeus could see right through him, and Perseus didn't know how to feel about that. They'd only known each other for a few days and she could already read him like an open book. She knew he was worried about something.
Perseus shook his head, chuckling slightly and answered, "You've been watching me. Do you like what you see?" At the same time, Grover arched an eyebrow. "Was I?" Thalia ignored him and Perseus saw her turn red. "Oh, shut up," She mumbled, shoving him good-naturedly and turned redder. "We both know there's nothing not to like. You're an immortal."
Perseus smiled. It was nice to see her not so listless anymore. He had told her about Luke being alive and wanting to meet them at Annabeth's father's house and instantly, her mood had shifted; nearly gone back to the one she'd had before, from a despondent one. She was glad her friend was alive.
"Um, Thalia," Grover muttered. "I think you better go back to sleep. You're going bonkers."
"What?" Thalia finally turned to look at Grover, who was staring at her like she'd grown four heads.
"Look, I get that you're sad about Luke but talking to yourself isn't going to help," Grover looked extremely worried for her. Perseus bit his inner cheek, forcing himself not to laugh. Thalia hadn't told anyone yet.
"Luke's alive, Grover," The blue-eyed girl glared at her friend. 'And I'm not mad."
"Thalia, the automaton exploded. And he was in it," Grover sighed. "I know I'm not the best at this grief thing but—"
"He's not dead, idiot," Thalia rolled her eyes. "He's alive."
"—I get it, you're in denial," Grover pursed his lips. "Losing someone is never easy but—" Thalia sighed heavily, narrowing her eyes at the half-goat half-man wearing the beanie.
"Luke. Is. Alive," She said through gritted teeth. Perseus placed a hand on her shoulder. He knew Thalia hated physical contact but sometimes—just sometimes—she allowed it.
Grover's eyes held pity, but then he said, "How can you be so sure?" Thalia was silent for a few seconds. She and Perseus exchanged a glance. They hadn't discussed her telling the others of him yet and so she didn't know what to say. "Um, I...I saw him—in a dream," Thalia said quickly. 'I saw him in a dream." Grover arched an eyebrow, disbelief etched on his face. Before he could say demigod dreams didn't work like that, Thalia ploughed on. "He wants us to meet him at Annabeth's parents' place."
The satyr suddenly sat up straight as if hearing her for the first time. "He does?" Thalia nodded. Mentioning the home of the friend they'd lost did wonders. Grover broke into a smile and the blue-eyed demigoddess breathed out in relief when he turned away.
"Nice save," Perseus whispered. 'But I suppose we'll have to talk in secret now."
"Thanks, I try," Thalia answered back in a whisper, grinning wryly at his last words. "Yes, like we haven't been doing that for days now." She rolled her eyes and Perseus smiled again. He forgot about the water as the sea nymphs pushed the canoe on. After what he guessed were a few minutes, he heard Zoe's clear voice, "This is as far as they'll take us." The daughter of Pleione was already jumping out of the wooden canoe, Phoebe following suit.
Perseus looked forward at Grover's gasp. The river was blocked. His eyes widened at the huge building thing before him. He marvelled silently to himself, unable to stop his mouth from falling open as he gazed at the wonder before him. He'd never seen anything like it. It was magnificent. He could see a path, with people who looked like ants walking on it. The mortals had developed so much in the millennia he was away. It was times like this that he reminisced of the time he had been free. If his mother hadn't urged him to join his brothers against the gods he would have never been imprisoned. He would have been there to see it all. He would have been there to see the mortals advance while the people like him tried to keep up with them.
"Hoover Dam," Thalia muttered from beside him.
"Gods of Olympus, it's huge," Grover said in awe. There were a few heartbeats of silence. Everyone gazed reverently a the Hoover Dam thing. Grover turned to Thalia. 'Well, what are you waiting for?"
-X-
THALIA didn't know how to feel as they climbed the path. It pained her that she'd been separated from her two best friends. It hurt her that they were at one of Annabeth's favourite places and the daughter of Athena—her sister and best friend— wasn't there to see it. She could tell Grover was feeling the same. She could see his bottom lip quickening as he exchanged furtive glances with her. Annabeth would have loved Hoover Dam.
She had spouted facts about the monuments in America and sometimes Thalia thought she was barking mad for keeping all those useless facts in her head. She'd heard them so many times that now she knew the dam was seven hundred feet tall and built in the '30s. She knew it held five million cubic areas of water and that it was the largest construction project in the States. She missed her best friends. She had Grover, and of course, Percy, by her side but she missed Annabeth and Luke. The grey-eyed girl she and Luke had rescued two years before while on the run had been her lifeline. She had thought her dead when Annabeth had fallen off the cliff at Westover.
And in those fleeting moments after Talos had imploded with Luke inside—in those hours that she searched frantically for his body, for anything of his, really—Thalia had felt like curling into a ball and staying in the cursed junkyard till Thanatos came knocking. But she had had to move on. She had made up her mind to find Annabeth, for Luke's sake. To send their friend back home.
And then Perseus had told her he'd seen Luke. She had been so glad when she'd heard the news. So…ecstatic. She was euphoric. Because he was alive and he would meet her in San Francisco and together, with two powerful huntresses, their satyr friend and the most powerful Titan on their side, they would rescue Annabeth and Apollo and Artemis.
Thalia didn't know how long they had been walking. It felt like it had been hours—which it probably had. Her feet were getting tired and she let out a loud sigh of relief as they finally got to the top. On one side of them was a huge lake, ringed by sand and desert. On the other, the dam dropped down, seven hundred feet, to the river they'd come from, water flowing through its vents. Thalia kept to the middle of the road, far from the edges, walking in silence and tandem with Perseus, Grover a few feet away from them, next to the huntresses. She saw the satyr sniff nervously.
"Monsters," Perseus' voice was low as he fiddled with a knife which had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. "Lots of them are here."
"You can sense them?" She asked. He tilted his head to the side in response. Thalia rarely saw him display his powers other than those over the earth. She hardly ever saw him using his other abilities as an immortal deity. When he nodded grimly, she said, "How far?"
He glanced around them warily. "It's coming from all around us. This place is infested." It hadn't been when she'd last been to the dam. "You've been here before?" Perseus queried, although it sounded more like a statement. She nodded anyway.
"Once. To speak to the statues." Thalia turned her eyes to the far end of the dam where the guardians stood, carved and hewn into the rock—giant bronze men with wings. "They were given to Zeus by Athena. Dedicated to him when the dam was built." She could see tourists, rubbing the bronze toes of the statues like she'd done all those years before. "It's believed that rubbing the toes bring good luck." She turned away, eyes suddenly clouding as she remembered the desperation she'd had all those years ago.
She had gone to rub the toes, trying to ask her father for help. She had tried to feel some connection with him, tried to get him to acknowledge her. But the statues hadn't worked. Nothing had happened. Like always, Zeus had not listened.
"Hey," Perseus said softly. "You've got your I-want-to-kill-something face on, Thalia." She inhaled, and then exhaled, trying not to curse at her father—could she even call him that when he'd never been there? Thalia frowned, shaking her head. "Sorry, just got lost in my thoughts. Come on, we've got to catch up with the others." Motioning to the hunters and satyr who were far ahead, she began jogging.
-X-
PERSEUS came to a stop next to them just as Thalia said, "The dam has a snack bar. We should get something to eat before we move on."
"Good idea." The titan heard Zoë Nightshade reply. He stared at her as she said, "Let's find the dam snack bar." Perseus looked away. The huntress reminded him so much of her sister—she had the good qualities of Calypso he'd loved and none of the bad ones he'd come to loathe her for. She was loyal to a fault, even if she knew what her fate would be at the end. Perseus frowned when Grover smiled wryly.
"The dam snack bar?"
Zoē's face blanched as Phoebe sniggered. "Yes, why is that so funny?" If they could see him, Perseus would have asked them the same question. He couldn't understand how they found whatever she had said amusing.
His frown deepened when Thalia chuckled from beside him as Grover said, "It's nothing. Gods, I could do with some dam french fries."
"And I need to use the dam restroom," Thalia spoke and Phoebe burst into laughter.
Grover echoed her, saying between laughter, "I want to use the dam water fountain."
"And- and…I need to buy a dam t-shirt," Thalia held her knees as she laughed and Perseus watched in slight amusement. Zoë said, brow creased in confusion, "I do not understand." The son of Gaea bent, reaching Thalia and said, "Neither do I. Care to explain what in Ouranos' name is going on?" Her lips parted to speak when they heard the noise. Perseus tensed, eyes widening as it sounded again.
MOOO.
"Did I just hear a cow?" Grover asked, looking around him incredulously.
"A dam cow?" Phoebe smiled, wiping the tears that had come with the laughter. It was probably one of the only times Perseus would see the normally rigid huntress laughing. Zoë cocked her head to the side, frowning too. The mooing had stopped as suddenly as they had started and the huntress shook her head. "I hear nothing."
It's the cow-eel from Camp Half-Blood. Perseus read through Thalia's mind, hearing her thoughts.
Yes, it is. We've got to see it. She seemed taken aback that he had infiltrated her mind. But she relaxed, then thought again, I didn't know you could do that.
I thought I couldn't, He said shrugging, Seeing as I'm imprisoned and weakened and this is just a dream-transport thing. He heard her snort mentally.
"You guys go ahead," Thalia said, standing straight. "I'll catch up with you."
"Why?" Phoebe's eyes narrowed in suspicion at the same time Grover asked, "Is everything all right, Thals?"
She nodded, waving him off. "I just need some time…to think." The two huntresses looked doubtful and Perseus pursed his lips. Thalia was sending them away and separating herself from the others. If only they went along with what she said…
"Fine, then," Zoë said finally. "Come find us later."
When they were gone, Perseus turned to Thalia, his heart thumping, adrenaline pumping through his veins. He had to get her far away from the dam and then convince her to turn away from the Olympians. She was finally alone, without the others urging her to move or the threat of a monster distracting him.
But Thalia was already moving, towards the edge of the dam. He jogged after her a second later, joining her at the edge of the road.
Mooo.
He winced at the sound. He had promised his former pet that he would find it later. But he hadn't even thought about it since the quest had started. He couldn't understand how the cow-serpent hybrid could see him. He knew it was still linked to him. That was how it had found him at Hoover Dam.
What're you doing here? He sent the question to the creature through his mind.
Mooo. He heard the was urgency in his voice. His pet was trying to warn him about something. He easily translated the language of the creature.
Come with me.
"How did...How the Hades did it get here from camp?" Thalia murmured, brow creased in confusion.
Perseus shrugged, then sent another thought to his pet. I can't. I have a job to do. He frowned at the despondent Moo which came from the hybrid creature. "It swam?" He suggested. Thalia rolled her eyes.
They're near. You have to come with me.
His frown deepened. He wished he could go with him. But turning Thalia was more important. He had finally got an opportunity to turn her against the Olympians. He couldn't pass that up. Not when freedom was so close.
Not when he could taste it.
I'm sorry, he thought sadly. I promise we'll speak tonight. His pet made another sad Moo and did a backflip into the water. Then it disappeared, away from his sight.
-X-
THALIA glanced at the Titan by her side as the hybrid creature swam away from view. His brow was creased and she could tell he was deep in thought. She mulled silently, wondering what had caused the mystery cow-serpent to flee. Thalia was about to ask why he'd been so reserved the entire morning but Perseus' next words tore through her train of thoughts.
"We've been travelling for a few days now, Thalia," He pursed his lips, turning to her. "Why don't any of the gods help? Hermes is the only one who's gotten involved and that's because he wanted to please Luke. Why does Zeus do nothing?"
Thalia blinked at the question. Where was it suddenly coming from? She inhaled. His words caused her to drift back into her memories—memories of her trying to contact her father. Trying to ask for help. But he had never answered. The only good thing he'd ever done was causing his magic-goat nanny to lead her to Luke. And then they found Annabeth.
All three of them had bad relationships with their godly parents. Thalia didn't even have anything to do with the sky god to begin with. Luke hated Hermes for leaving him alone and not helping his mother. Annabeth was always trying to please Athena—always trying to prove she was worth her mother's attention.
"I know the Titans were bad rulers," Percy said, staring towards the horizon. "But are the gods any better? They just sleep around and have children and then abandon them, from what I heard from Hephaestus."
"They're the lesser of two evils," Thalia replied but even as she did she knew it wasn't entirely true. That was what they had been fed since they had made it to Camp Half-Blood. That was what the gods wanted them to believe. Thalia blinked to herself, wondering where those random thoughts were coming from. She wondered why doubts were floating into her head.
But she only fought for the Olympians because they were her family. They were the only ones who actually gave her life a purpose.
Perseus answered her at last, turning to glance at the blue-eyed daughter of the sky god. "Are they, really?"
If she joined Kronos, he might bring her brother back.
But he was the crooked one for a reason.
Thalia shook her head, grimacing and trying to shake the conflicting thoughts away. She ran a hand through her hair, glancing at the far end of the dam. And then she froze.
"We need to leave," Thalia hissed, reaching out to grab Perseus' hand. "Now!" She saw him glance in the direction she had turned to and then he cursed in a language she couldn't understand. Undertones of anger and frustration were apparent in his expression.
"Let's go," He said, glancing back at her. Thalia nodded once, then ran, pulling him away as the Spartoi swarmed the dam.
-X-
PERSEUS was angry. Whatever that goddess of luck's name was,—Tike, or something like that—she hated him. She hated him so much. He'd been influencing Thalia's thoughts with his newly recovered ability. And he could see she was doubting the Olympians.
And yes, he had felt very very bad about it and he'd had to remind himself of the reward of his freedom which rested at the end of the tunnel. But those stupid spartoi Atlas had sent after them had to interfere and break the connection he'd established in Thalia's mind to influence her thoughts.
As they ran, he glanced at the girl by his side, guilt hitting him again. She had done nothing to be part of this. None of the demigods had. Being born to the Olympian gods and into this world—their world, now—had pulled them into all this death and quests and carnage. They had all gotten the short end of the celestial stick.
And he hated that the demigods had to go through so much at such young ages.
He was pulled out of his thoughts at Thalia's snarl. They had been running for about ten minutes, trying to find the dam snack bar, as the other questers had so graciously called it. But all Perseus could see were many mortals and mortal contraptions. (And there was also the guy who stood at the doors into the building with a blinking mortal thing. But he was chasing after them now.)
Thalia had pulled him into the nearest escape—a small box thing with about six people in it already. Two huge sliding doors sealed them in. Perseus tried not to panic at the obvious entombment, glancing around. There was a woman at the front of the group, addressing the people, but Perseus could not hear what was being said. He was busy cursing the goddess named Tike.
"Does this go to the snack bar?" Thalia interrupted the woman. She turned her eyes to them, then curled her lips up in distaste. Perseus had seen her before. He just didn't remember where. The hair on his arms stood as her eyes met his. Almost as if she could see him.
"No, it does not." Her voice sounded familiar too. "It goes straight to the turbines." He felt the electricity in the air. He suddenly remembered where he had seen her before—she worked for Kronos.
He glared at the woman. Had his brother sent her there to keep an eye on him? Was she there to make sure he was doing his job?
She tossed a smirk in his direction like she could hear what he was thinking. Perseus glanced away, just as the doors slid back open. Thalia was out of the mortal contraption before he could process it, pulling him along, as the other mortals walked out leisurely.
Perseus wondered what they would do if they knew there were goddesses, titans, demigods and monsters among them. Probably try to kill them. He'd heard from Hephaestus once that mortals offed whatever they did not understand.
He and Thalia finally stopped running in a random corner. The girl at his side looked around, trying to spot the skeleton warriors.
Perseus spun when he heard the sharp sound behind them, like a skeleton's voice. At the same time, Thalia had activated her shield and stabbed forward with her spear. The Titan of the Earth froze as the mortal whom Thalia had graciously tried to skewer yelped and dropped a sort of box.
"Oh, my God," She shouted. "Do you always kill people when they blow their nose?" Her eyes travelled from the daughter of Zeus to Perseus and then narrowed as she backed away. "And how did you get a bloody spear through security?" Perseus felt the electricity in the air once again, almost like the girl could see him.
Like whatever spell had sent him to Thalia was unravelling. Perseus saw the confusion on Thalia's face. He turned back to the girl. The spear had passed through her like she was not there and had impaled itself into the wall behind. "You're mortal?" Thalia queried.
The girl's eyes narrowed further. "Uh, what the hell are you going on about? What's that supposed to mean, of course I'm mortal." She rolled her bright green eyes as Thalia became rigid. The girl was a mortal, yet she could see the spear. "And what's with that shield? Do these security people not do their jobs?" Her frizzy reddish-brown hair was all around, framing her face nicely. She wore a big grey thing and that long blue mortal clothing article Thalia had once called jeans, which was riddled with stains and holes like several tiny snake babies had decided to crawl around in her clothes in their spare time. And yes, Perseus was fascinated with the article of clothing, which shielded people's legs, sort of like strides did in ancient times.
Thalia tapped her shield in the centre and it shrank into her silver bracelets once more. The girl's eyes went the size of saucers. "You can see through the Mist," Thalia decided, reaching out to grab her spear. She pulled it out of the wall, then through Rachel once more, who shuddered as the spear shimmered.
"What? Who are you two? What's the Mist? Also, why doesn't your friend say something?" Thalia grimaced at the girl's rapid-fire questions, then froze when she realised what the girl had said. "Which friend?"
"Uh, the one you came with? Black hair, green eyes? Standing next to you like some guard dog? Yeah, seem familiar?" She arched an eyebrow. "Or am I going mental?"
Perseus spoke at last, cursing in his mind. He had been right. The magic was unravelling. "You can see me?"
"Of course I can," the girl snorted. "What, you think you blended in with the walls or something? Also, what's with the clothes? It looks like that sack my great-great-grandmother calls a dress." Perseus frowned, not even taking offence to what she had said. Koios, he didn't even know what a sack was. Or a great-great-grandmother, for that matter. Thalia glanced around her warily, as if suddenly remembering that the Spartoi were still after them. She glanced back at Rachel, who was giving Perseus an odd stare.
He didn't say anything. He was shocked into silence. If a mere mortal could see him now, what did that mean for the other questers? "And…he's gone mute again."
Thalia raised her fingers to the girl's face, then snapped them. "You don't see him, you don't see my weapons, just a handbag and whatever rabid mall girls have on these days."
Rachel's brow creased. Nothing was happening. "You two are weird. I can still see him and those weapons."
"Who the Hades are you?" Thalia's frustration suddenly surfaced. "Why isn't it working?"
"I like to think I'm extraordinary but maybe it's just you who's barking mad. I'm Rachel Elizabeth Dare." Perseus opened his mouth to speak. She turned to glare at him. "And don't dare call me RED. Perseus shut his mouth, snorting. This was exactly why middle and last names were stupid. "Also, are you going to tell me what's going on or do I have to call security?"
"No!' Thalia yelled. "We're in a hurry." At the same time, Perseus said, "We've encountered a bit of a problem. And we're in a lot of trouble."
Rachel glanced between them once again then looked behind, over Thalia's shoulder. She tensed, then hissed, 'Does skeleton people invading the dam gift centre count as a problem?" Thalia made to turn but RED (he was going to call her that anyway) grabbed her hand, then said, "Bathroom, now." Thalia was pulling him into the room behind RED before he could process it and shutting the door.
He heard the clattering of the skeleton warriors, then Rachel's shrill voice. "Finally, security! Some nutters just went that way! They stabbed me with a giant toothpick and everything. You security guys let lunatics into a national landmark? God, you are so jobless now. They went for the turbines and I think the girl fell off the side or something."
He heard more skeletons clatter, then they moved away.
The door swung open and Rachel whispered, "All clear. They're gone now. You'd better leave." She paused. "Were they really that?" She was pale and shaking in her clothes, eyes wide with fear. "Were they really skeletons?"
Thalia nodded. "Do yourself a favour, Rachel. Forgot you saw us, forget you saw them and forget I tried to run your though with a giant toothpick, like the lunatic I am." Rachel snorted in laughter. "I don't think that's going to be possible…" She trailed off, looking at them expectantly.
"Thalia," The girl at his side just offered. "And this is Percy—" At that same moment, Perseus spotted a skeleton warrior turn to them, then speak in disjoint clatters to the others. They all turned. "Gotta go!" He reached out, grabbing Thalia's hand.
Rachel was confused. "What kind of name is Percy Gotta-go?!"
But he didn't wait to correct her (or to tell her that he didn't even have a last name). They raced for the exit.
-X-
ZOË looked up as Thalia came running through the doors of the dam snack bar (She got the joke now). They were just getting seated with the food they had ordered. The huntress narrowed her eyes just as Thalia spotted them and rushed in their direction.
"We need to leave!" She gasped. "Now!"
Phoebe frowned. Grover muttered something along the lines of, "But we just got our food." Zoë glanced around them, then cursed in ancient greek when she spotted the skeleton warriors marching towards them from the café/snack bar window. She stood, saying, "Let's move."
The lieutenant of Artemis counted two skeletons coming from the east, blocking the way from Arizona. There were three on the west, blocking Nevada. And all of them were armed. Zoë tensed when the café doors swung open. Three of the spartoi had caught up with them. Phoebe and Grover stood as Zoë said, "Let's head for the elevator! Maybe we can escape through—" She was cut short by the loud ding. The elevator doors swung open and three skeletons marched out. They were surrounded.
Zoë Nightshade cursed Tyche, the goddess of luck. She was certainly not with them that day. Suddenly, Thalia said, "There are stairs leading down. We just need a distraction—" They all turned as the satyr shouted, "Food fight!" There were yells and then suddenly, food was flying. Children were attacking each other, sending their food through the air. Zoë felt the air fill with ozone and then a blast of lightning soared towards the closest of the Spartoi. She glanced at Thalia, whose hands were still smouldering from what she had just done.
The chaos gave them the perfect cover. Before the skeletons could recover they were passing them, jumping onto the staircase and moving down it at an abnormal speed. They burst outside, running across the street to the pavilion with the giant bronze statues. Zoë cursed once again when she saw the Spartoi who were outside closing in. They formed a crescent moon shape around them and she hissed at the insult to her lady. The skeletons from inside were joining their brethren, with two smoking as they ran. A few others were covered in food from the snack bar.
It was four against many. Zoë drew her knives, slipping into a stance. She saw Phoebe arm herself with her bow as Grover put his reed pipes to his lips. Thalia's shield came into view. Zoë's heart was thumping. She glanced at the others. It had been nice, questing alongside them.
But all things had to come to an end eventually.
-X-
THALIA, pray to your dad, She heard Perseus' voice in her head. She pursed her lips as the skeletons advanced. He never answers. I told you.
Perseus was rigid beside her. Neither the skeletons nor her friends could see him (although Rachel had been able to, which was beyond weird). He turned to glance at the daughter of Zeus, speaking again in her head, You're going to die. I think he can take some time off from shagging random women to save his only demigod daughter's life. His words stung because she knew it wasn't true. She had almost died once before, at the hands of Hades. What had he done to help when she was bleeding out?
Nothing. Trying to turn a dying girl into a pine tree was nothing. Not when he could have blasted his brother's monsters to ashes and dust. He won't answer me, Percy, We're fighting through this.
Just try. I've told you only Hades and his descendants can battle them and win. The skeletons were getting closer. Thalia knew he was right. If the spartoi got to them, their quest would be over. Perseus was frowning and Thalia spotted the warriors raise their guns. A few held up their batons.
Thalia…His voice was urgent.
Fine! She said, annoyed. What did he want to prove? Why was he being so contrasting that day? He'd said before that the gods were not worth it. But now he wanted her to ask their neglectful king for help? She turned rapidly, rubbing the gigantic toes of the two bronze statues behind them. Her lips moved in silent prayer, begging—pleading with her father to offer his help. Asking him to finally notice her.
Thalia pulled away. Nothing was happening. Nothing ever did. She glared at Perseus, saying out loud, "Are you happy now?" He grimaced like he'd really been expecting Zeus to help. Thalia huffed, turning to face the Spartoi. No matter what happened, she would go down fighting.
The skeletons close in. Zoë and Phoebe stood in front of Grover. Thalia raised her spear. And then a shadow fell above her. Thalia's heart thumped. Her father had answered. He had finally—
She paused when she saw the wings. It wasn't Zeus. It wasn't the statues.
Three pegasi swooped down from above them, kicking the Spartoi in the heads with their hooves. A brown pegasus flew to Thalia, landing on the ground and neighing. Instantly, she knew where they had come from. "Luke sent you?" She asked, eyes wide. The horse with wings neighed in reply.
"Get on!" Zoë ordered. "We need to leave!" The huntresses jumped on Porkpie, who took off without waiting for the others. Thalia saw Grover mount another horse. She climbed onto Guido, her fear of heights not even making itself known. She felt Perseus slide onto the pegasus, behind her. She was angry. Angry that he had backed her into a corner and made her try the statues when he knew her father didn't care.
"I'm sorry," Perseus murmured. "I thought he would answer." She turned to glance at him. He was frowning, eyes pooling with remorse.
"Yeah," Thalia muttered back. "I used to think so, too." She turned away from him as Guido flew. If she hadn't she would have seen his frown melt away. She would have seen him smile sadly to himself, eyes filling with an unrecognisable emotion. Although he was feeling guilty that he had had to put her through this, his work was almost done. Thalia, the daughter of Zeus, was doubting the gods.
-X-
THE GIRL glanced at her mother as she told her of what had taken place that day at the Dam. Her mother had been sent to see how Perseus was doing, to see if he was doing anything at all. They had doubted him at first because he'd gotten too close to Thalia but her mother had observed him using his powers on her, influencing her thoughts.
It was obvious that he valued his freedom more than her friendship.
The girl smiled to herself. Lord Kronos would surely be pleased. They had arrived at Othrys days before and the girl had been preparing herself for what she had to do all throughout the week. The time was drawing near. In a few days, the quest would reach the Mountain and true colours were going to be revealed. Secrets would come to light. People were going to die.
She didn't want Luke or Thalia in the Underworld. She wanted them in Lord Kronos' service.
And whatever she wanted, she got.
-X-
LUKE CASTELLAN jumped off Blackjack, glancing around him. It was nighttime and he could barely see. He didn't know the name of wherever he had landed or what was happening with the others but he hoped the pegasi had gotten to them. He knew he was in some random town in Arizona. He'd been flying for a whole day, trying to catch up with the others. But his friend had to rest and so did he, he supposed. The son of Hermes patted Blackjack on the muzzle.
"I'll go see if there's some store open and get us some food, alright?" The pegasus neighed in response. 'Stay here, buddy."
Luke placed his hands in his pockets as he walked. He hoped Thalia was doing fine. He prayed to all the gods that Perseus had relayed his message. He had to hurry and get to them before they made it to the Mountain of Despair. Luke sighed, getting lost in his thoughts. As he walked, he thought about the visit he'd gotten from Hermes when he had awoken. He'd called Blackjack after, feeling angry and dejected, and had then flown to Arizona. The pegasus was fast, but it was not a machine.
Suddenly, he bumped into someone. Luke cursed in greek as he fell to the ground. He heard a yelp and a thump. It was a girl. The blue-eyed boy stood hurriedly, moving towards the figure who was seated on her arse and cursing to herself in…greek? He tensed, eyeing her warily. It was dark but he caught a glimpse of caramel hair. The girl glanced in his direction, eyes hard. She glared at him and said, "What, you're just going to stand there and watch me?" Her amber eyes were furious. Her lips were pursed in anger. Luke had seen her before. He just couldn't remember…
Suddenly it hit him.
A gasp escaped his mouth as he whispered her name. "Calypso."
A/N: So, I know it's been long and my writing may be horrible or it may have improved. Shrug. Two more chapters then this story is going on hold for me to publish the first arc of Excidium Troiae. I hope you liked what I did with this chapter. Honestly, I do not know what the hell is happening anymore or what I'm doing but from the comments I'm doing whatever it is well. Thank you all for waiting this long for me. Leave a vote, comment, kudos or review if you liked the story. For Wattpaders, Check out my personal profile and for all of you (FFN, AO3, WP) give a look at my other stories. Thank you all for your support and for reading. Things are going to get heated up.
-TripleHomicide.