Chapter 46

Emmitt Learns How to Talk

I don't know why I expected her reaction to be crazy, maybe because I worked so hard to make the connection. I thought she would gasp, or yell something like "How did you know!" or at least crook an eyebrow.

Instead she said, "That's me."

"It's not a secret or anything? You aren't trying to hide your identity?"

She chuckled. I liked the sound, like acorns knocking together. "I'm not hiding behind an alias. D is only a nickname. And besides, if I were trying to hide who I was, I'd come up with something way spiffier. Like Abalone Darkness, or Desdemona Glitter."

"Right…" For a thousand-year-old naiad-turned-tree, she sure had the taste of a middle school boy. "So you're really— I mean, I hope this isn't too personal but, you're the one whose dad turned her into a tree? I guess there's two of those now. The original one. The daughter of Peneus."

"Ooh, look at you go. You know a lot."

I shivered. "Trust me, it's hard to forget."

Now she looked curious. "You speak as if you were there."

"I wasn't," I said. "But also, I kind of was. Someone showed me. They wanted to make a point, and they saw the best example as Apollo's love for you."

"Ulgh!" Daphne made a retching noise. Her hair went brown like fall was here. "Don't say it!"

"Sorry." I looked away. After an experience like that, I could see why she wouldn't want to talk about it, even after centuries. "I won't mention Apollo again."

"No, no! I don't care about him. That word, just don't say that word again."

I frowned. "What word? Love?"

"Oooooh stop! How can you say that with a straight face? Vulgar boy. Foulmouthed. Please, spare my ears!"

She pressed her hands to her head, whipping back and forth. I'd seen a similar reaction when a seventy-year-old teacher caught rock music coming from an iPod.

"Whoa, whoa." I held up my hands. "My lips are sealed. Zipped. I won't say lo— I mean, no more L word. Got it."

Daphne took a deep breath. "Gosh, kids these days are scary. You get off talking like that from the video games, I bet." She frowned. "But wait, I play games too… Oh confound it, I'm sure it's something. I don't know how you can just talk like that…"

"But weren't you gushing about that tree in the movie?" I asked.

She waved her hand dismissively. "That's different, silly. That's attraction. It's not the same as you-know-what."

"Gotcha," I said, even though I didn't get it at all. "But I guess, if you're Daphne, that explains why you helped us. You want revenge on the gods."

"Revenge?" she said. "Not at the moment really, no. Maybe on Boreas, but that's a personal matter. All these blizzards have been just terrible for my connection. My shows keep stuttering, right at the worst moments."

"But… But what about Apollo? Don't you hate him? It's his fault you ended up this way."

"That was ages ago now, Percy. And besides, it was always only half his fault at most."

My brain felt like it was slipping down an incline. I wanted to put it into words, to get the full story, but the most my mouth could manage was "How?"

"Things just spun a bit out of control is all. Though it was his mouth that started things. Ah… easier to show you."

She changed the screens one more time. The same river Kronos showed me appeared: Peneus's river. Daphne set the speed to times-four.

"Let me know when we get to where you stopped," she said. "It may all be in the past, but I'd still prefer to revisit as little as possible. Wasn't a great day for me."

I watched the blurry screen as her still-naiad self zoomed into view, meeting her father and talking in squeaky too-fast-to-catch voices, flinching as Apollo blazed into the sky, cowering as he divebombed and—

"Stop!" I said, just as Daphne's transformation completed and Peneus disappeared back into the river. The feed slowed to normal speed.

Where Kronos stopped it, I had thought it looked like Apollo was shrugging. But that wasn't right at all. Instead of just spreading his arms, Apollo stepped up to Daphne's trunk, holding it with two hands.

"Oh," he said slowly. "Oh."

He was just standing there, staring at the tree like he couldn't will his body to move. I could imagine him staying that way forever, never shifting or changing except, maybe, to cry. We might really have seen an Olympian shed a tear if it weren't for a buttery voice that slid through the scene.

"Oh my. Look at all of this."

Apollo turned his head.

"Eros," the Sun God and I said at the same time.

The god of love was dressed a bit differently than when I met him, wearing a toga so dark its white bordered on rose pink. He was perched on a stone in the river, chiseled arms resting on his picturesque knees. Don't ask me how knees can be picturesque, just know that his somehow were. Eros smirked at Apollo.

"Gosh," he said, "what a mess we have here. Not bad for a third-rate archer, hm?"

"What is he talking about?" I asked. "And why is he even here?"

Daphne just pressed a finger to her lips as if to say, listen.

"You did this," Apollo said.

He turned away from Daphne's tree. He still looked sad, but something else was mixing in now. Bits of his skin fizzed and steamed, like his human body was a step off immolating. Eros looked more pleased than worried.

"He admits it himself!" Eros stood up, still perched on the stone. "The god of archery acknowledging my arrows, this might just be the happiest day of my life. Too bad it didn't happen sooner. So much suffering could have been avoided."

"Why did you do it?" Apollo demanded. "Just because I insulted your archery? Are you really so petty?"

"Not petty, simply vain. You called my archery a fraud. That trampled my pride."

"So you force me into love? And not only that, you make it hopeless? I know what you did. You pierced Daphne's heart as well, but not to open it to me. You closed it forever, sealed her off from ever loving again!"

Daphne whimpered beside me. Whatever Eros had done, it was still going strong after thousands of years, leaving her sick to her stomach just at the word.

"And if I did?" Eros asked.

"You—!"

I was starting to wonder if we were in danger. Apollo's body was flickering. He seemed moments from taking his real form and vaporizing us through the screen.

"Face it. You were arrogant Apollo, but now…" Eros eyed the Olympian. "You look a mess. As you should. I take my archery seriously."

"I will write Aphrodite an entire book of love ballads," Apollo declared. "With that, she should overlook the permanent disappearance of her favorite son."

He took a step forward. A bow appeared in his hands, golden and fiery. Across from him a bow appeared in Eros' hands too, a daintier one with white wood and pink trim. Still, Eros didn't look scared.

"Are you going to attack me?" he asked.

Apollo drew his bowstring back. A gold arrow materialized, as sharp as it was bright.

"I seem to be in trouble," Eros remarked. "But, you know, there is one thing that doesn't make sense. I did hit you with my arrow. But a minor god controlling an Olympian? That's impossible. I can only do so much."

Apollo's arrow evaporated. "What are you saying?"

"I think you already know. I nudged you to chase Daphne, but forcing you? That's beyond my power."

"No." Apollo's arms shook. Holding up his bow seemed to be taking all his strength. "You're lying."

"You know I'm not. Somewhere inside, you had to already be aware of it. And if Daphne ever would have loved you, she could have resisted me as well. Face it. This is your doing as much as it is mine, lover boy."

Apollo's bow dropped to the ground where it seared the riverbank. All the rage in his face burned away in favor of a different emotion: regret.

Eros chuckled. "The truth hurts, doesn't it? Seems like this archer has hit his mark."

He broke apart into glowing motes and disappeared, laughing the entire way. Left alone, Apollo stared at the dirt. Then, slowly, he turned to Daphne's tree. With careful hands he picked a single laurel branch, holding it in front of him like a treasure.

"I can do this much at least," he said, before disappearing himself, his discarded bow fading the same way.

And then it was just the tree and the river, one changed forever and the other grieving, all from a feud they hadn't even had anything to do with.

"Do you see what I mean?" Daphne asked. "Apollo may have pursued me, but he wasn't the one who gave me my curse. In a way, he was a victim too."

"He could have stopped himself."

"Maybe. But us immortals, we aren't so good at being selfless. I won't pretend mortals are experts at it, but some among them… that's my favorite feature about you. You aren't a hero like Hercules or Achilles, all stern all the time. You're kind, willing to sacrifice yourself. It makes you a much more dynamic character than those old bores. However…"

"What is it?" I asked, trying not to blush from the praise.

"Sometimes you needn't put others first. Sometimes, it's important to do what you want."

"You know, Coeus told me almost the same thing. "

"Oh, I know."

I tried not to shiver. It was a little scary how much she'd seen through her screens. "He said being selfish is important. But the way I see it, I'm already plenty selfish. I had a feeling I hadn't seen your whole story. Even if I wouldn't admit it, I think I was only using it as an excuse. I just want my mom back. Isn't that bad? I might be helping to destroy the world for one person. Isn't that selfish?"

Daphne puckered her wood lips. "Maybe," she said. "But it might not be about doing things differently, see. It could just be about being honest with yourself."

"I don't understand."

"You will, when the time comes. I believe in you."

She smiled. Great. Now I could add an anthropomorphic tree to the list of things that had given me pep talks. It could go right there, in between the smooth-talking titan and the literal embodiment of love.

Thinking that reminded me of my talk with Eros. He'd been pleasant, but dangerous. Like a lot of immortals. I had no trouble imagining him tearing Daphne's life up to get even with Apollo— even when we met he'd been willing to toy with mortal lives, ruining people only to see if he could make a shot. What bothered me was he was on our side.

It wasn't like I thought the titans were saints. I'm not that dumb. But it made me wonder. If Kronos's best example against the gods had to be cut off halfway to keep from splitting the blame, what did that say about which side was worse?

"My boss lied to me."

Daphne gave my face a hard look. I guess I looked as irritated as I felt, because she said, "Don't do anything rash Percy. I'd hate to see your story cut short."

"Rash is kind of my thing." I took a deep breath. "But I won't do anything too over the top. I just need to sit for a bit. Think things through."

"Go ahead." Daphne waved her hand and the leafy door spread open. "I won't keep you any longer. Rest. Maybe catch up with Edgar. I'm sure he has a lot he'd love to tell you."

I nodded. Just before leaving the room, I turned back. "Thanks," I said. "You helped us a ton."

Daphne was already looking back at her screens, hitting buttons to open new feeds.

"If you want to thank me," she said, "then live long, exciting lives. Heroes always make the best shows. The tragic endings never fail to get tears out of me."

That she framed it as a permanent part, not a possibility, didn't do much for my mood. I wandered back into the main room, head swirling.

OOO

I'm not sure how long I wandered the room doing aimless laps, just that I would've been at it longer if Emmitt's voice hadn't suddenly said, "Percy!"

"Huh?" I turned in a circle but didn't see my friend. Just when I was thinking I'd gone insane I heard it again.

"Percy!"

This time I spotted it. But "it" didn't help things make much more sense.

"Emmitt?" I said, staring at the protruding root. There wasn't anything special about it — a normal size, width, and shape — except for the fact that it was speaking English.

"You can hear? This is amazing!" the root gushed. "She was right! I mean, she could've been clearer, but she was really right. It is all about pushing."

"Hold on." I rubbed my face. "What's going on right now? Where are you?"

The root grew further out of the wall and shifted shapes, pointing like an index finger. I spun and found Edgar and Emmitt sitting on a high ledge about halfway up the wall.

"Come on!" Emmitt's voice sounded excited. "Come up here. I'll explain everything."

"How do I get there?"

Immediately roots appeared from the wall in the form of steps. Emmitt giggled.

"I did that. Did you see it happen? I did that! Get up here, I want to show you."

Climbing the roots was a little sketchy. The wobbled just enough under my weight to make me wish I had a guardrail, but I wasn't greedy enough to ask Emmitt for that kind of luxury. In a minute I was next to the two of them, taking a seat on the bark balcony.

"I didn't just make stairs," Emmitt said in amazement. "I made working stairs. I'm growing. Is this my origin story?"

"But how are you doing this?" I asked.

"Mistress is helping," Edgar said. "Only a little, though. The rest is his powers."

Come to think of it, I'd never actually heard who Emmitt's parent was. With the way he could hear plants I'd just assumed it was some minor nature god. But this was on a different level, even if Daphne was helping.

"Emmitt," I said, "what are your powers?"

"Not sure," he said, giggling as he made a little sprout twist and bend with his mind. "Yesterday, I never thought I would be able to do this. I could always listen to plants, but other than that I was just a regular child of Demeter."

"Hold on," I said "Demeter's your mom?"

Emmitt looked away from his new toys. "You didn't know?"

"You're slow," Edgar said. "Been with him all this time and you couldn't smell it? I caught the scent in five minutes."

"Not everyone has a nose like yours," I told Edgar.

"Poor you," he said. "Ladies love it."

"I guess I never did say," Emmitt said. "That wasn't totally an accident. Mom and I aren't on great terms. Things were pretty over between us when I chose to leave Camp."

"If it's parent trouble, I get you," I said. "My dad set me up to get killed just by having me."

"And my parents were eaten two days after I was born," Edgar added. "I still do well for myself."

"I never got along with my siblings either," Emmitt admitted. "All they do is grow strawberries. Gardening is cool, but I wanted more. They thought I was crazy for wanting to fight."

He wiggled his fingers and the sprout in front of him morphed into a cute little sword. It waved back and forth, slicing the air, before stopping.

"Still, I haven't forgotten what you told me, Percy. I've actually thought about it a lot, how there's more than one way to be a hero. I think I finally get it. And, well, what I mean to say is, I've got this idea…"

OOO

"How's it looking up there?"

"Like total chaos," I said. "Good work."

It was evening. Bianca and I, our two-person raid party, were perched on a high ridge somewhere along Denali's South face. At least that's where Emmitt told us we were. All I knew was it was a long way down, and somewhere atop the even higher cliffs at our back gryphon screeches were echoing like grinding metal.

The real show was below us. Glaring searchlights crisscrossed the valleys. Arimaspoi search parties after us and the treasure we stole. Periodically rifles would shoot, always followed by shouts of frustration. In the quieter moments you could hear what it was drawing their fire: screams in Emmitt's voice "giving away" our hiding spot. Except every time they tracked down the source, the best they could do was riddle a root with bullet holes.

"They're really falling for it," Bianca said, leaning over the edge to look down.

"How long can you keep this up?" I asked.

The little root at our side hummed thoughtfully. "With Daphne's help, hours. She said we can use as many of her roots as we need. You should hurry, though. The less time you're out there the less time something can go wrong."

"Gotcha," I said. "Watch our backs."

The root bobbed sort of like a nod and sunk into the earth.

Bianca and I turned back to the ledge we were climbing. It angled up, our boots stomping through fresh snow.

Three Gryphons glided overhead, flapping off probably in search of fresh meat. We were seeing more and more of them the higher we got. Bianca tracked the trio with her eyes.

"We should've brought some Kallikantzaroi for backup," she said.

"Nothing we can do about it. They don't like being above ground ever, even at night. Too bright for them."

"I guess." Bianca didn't look happy about it, and I didn't blame her. "Let's get this done quickly. I feel like we're walking into a trap. Again."

We still had some climb left. Fifteen minutes of hiking, at least. Seeing as we were headed straight into the Gryphon den, I figured this was a good time to make sure the person watching my back had her head in the game.

"Bianca. About earlier…"

She didn't look my way. "I'm fine."

"People that say that are usually the least fine," I said. "Or at least, that's what someone told me a long time ago. What Daphne showed you, that would shake anybody up. I need to know. Are you alright for this?"

"A little late to ask now, isn't it?" She stepped over a stone, crunching ice when she pushed her foot down. "Maybe I'm still out of it. Maybe it feels like it's a lie or a dream or… something. But I'm here so I'll keep it together, because we need to do this."

I would've loved to tell her to turn around. To say we'd wait a day, or I'd go by myself, or anything that could've made things easier. But those would be lies. This had to be done tonight, and I couldn't manage it alone. For us, this was about surviving.

Maybe Bianca was thinking along similar lines, because she said, "Once we rob the Gryphons, what next?"

I shrugged. "Attract both tribes' attention and lead them to Hyperborea. We'll stick to the plan."

"You know there's a good chance it's another trap, right?"

"Yeah. I do."

It was something I'd thought a lot about. From the moment Hector went missing things had smelled fishy. And trust me, if anyone would know, it would be a fish expert like me. I was sure someone had set us up, and right now Pagomenos was a lead candidate.

I didn't know why the Hyperboread would have it out for us. Maybe he never planned to support the titans in the first place. Maybe he didn't like us in particular. Whatever the reason, it seemed like he might want us gone.

But that didn't mean we could abandon the plan. That was how few options we had.

"We need to get rid of the tribes to survive," I said. "For that, we'll need help. If Pagomenos is a traitor, maybe we can convince the Hyperboreans to turn on him."

"That's optimistic. Have you seen how they treat that guy? They all but worship him."

"Still, we'll have to risk it. Let's trust Prometheus. He pushed us to go along with this, remember?"

"Yeah." Bianca glanced at me, more worry in her eyes than I'd ever seen there. "But what if Prometheus was in on it, too?"

"If he is," I said slowly, "then we never had a chance to begin with."

Both of us sped up as if trying to leave the thought behind us in the cold. We were just getting to the end of the path when Emmitt's voice whispered: "Drop!"

We didn't ask questions, belly-flopping in the snow. Scrapes came from out of sight, like a gravel road hacking up phlegm.

Massive wings appeared above us, extending out. Gryphons were walking by along a ledge higher than ours. Their claws were so long, they dug through the snow to slice the stones underneath.

"Stay low," Emmitt whispered, "stay low, stay low… okay. You're good."

We stood up, knocking snow off our stomachs. The gryphon home base was different to the Arimaspoi's. It was outside, for one, built into a big crater in a high plateau. Emmitt said it was volcanic. I just knew it was creepy— sheer walls dusted with snow, huge bird-like nests rising way above, awful screeches and squeals echoing like a sinister amphitheater. The only thing it had in common with Arim's cave was the pile of shiny wealth lumped in the middle.

As Bianca and I peered over the ledge taking it in, I couldn't help noticing just how many gryphons there were. Hector hadn't been kidding when he said hundreds.

"How are we supposed to get through all of that?" I asked.

"Give me a minute," Emmitt said. "If you guys are in position, it should be happening soon."

Somewhere not too far away Emmitt's voice screamed, "Have one eye if you're really stupid!"

The words rolled over the mountain, echoing, until it was cut off by a barrage of crackling gunshots. Much quieter, from the root beside us, Emmitt said, "That should be close enough."

I was going to ask what he meant when I realized I didn't have to. With a noise like a million drumbeats a shadow passed over us, blotting out the stars. Hundreds of gryphons streamed into the sky. One gave a shriek and the others picked it up, wailing back and forth like living bomb sirens.

Somewhere under the noise Emmitt said, "Hurry! You have to get in and out before they realize the Arimaspoi aren't actually attacking them!"

I could already hear shouts and gunshots. It would've been nice if we could've gotten rid of the tribes like this, luring them into fighting each other. But with the Arimaspoi's refusal to use Celestial Bronze, it would never get anywhere. There was a reason they had been fighting for thousands of years.

Bianca and I vaulted up, took our first step in that creepy mega-nest, then raced for the middle. I reached the treasure first, clawing up coins and necklaces as Bianca pulled open her bag. We shoveled in as much as we could, then switched and filled the empty space in my own bag. I really hoped the gryphons were as sharp as the Arimaspoi and would actually notice what we'd taken. If not, this was one massive (and dangerous) waste of time.

When both bags were stuffed we looked at each other.

"Emmitt," I said. "We've got it."

It wasn't Emmitt's voice that answered. Instead, a root the size of a car breached the earth like a drill, opening a cave that angled sharply down.

"This is still a bit much for him," Daphne spoke through the root. "But don't worry, this Laurel has you covered!" She giggled. "Ooh, creating an escape route is so much fun. I feel like I'm in a heist movie!"

"Glad you're enjoying yourself," I said. "And I hope you know what you're doing."

Bianca and I jumped into the fresh tunnel.

I didn't expect the floor to be bark. Totally smooth and a little moist, I immediately slipped on my butt. Turns out we were meant to. Like a covered water slide we whooshed through the heart of Denali, picking up speed and feeling friction against our tailbones.

"Do you like the ride?" Daphne asked.

I kind of did, but every time I tried to answer the wind made my lips flop. Bianca just screamed. We really were going fast.

I guess that was why we covered ground so quickly. In a third of the time the climb took, the tunnel leveled out. I saw light at the end. When we zoomed through the white circle we popped out in sunlight. Looking up and shielding my eyes, I caught my breath. Grass was underneath us, trees on either side. We were back in Hyperborea.

"Never again," Bianca panted, down on all fours.

"It wasn't that bad, was it? Like a roller coaster."

She glared at me. "My butt is wet and my back is on fire. I'd rather go back to the Lotus Casino than ride that another time."

I couldn't do anything for her back, but I willed her clothes dry. She stood up, grumbling.

"Still not riding it again."

We were Hyperborea, but right on the edge. From where the Eridanos ran I guessed about a ten-minute hike from the ambush spot. Behind us, way up the rugged mountain, we could still hear sounds of battle. Boy were gryphons loud. Their screeches drowned out the gunshots.

"What now?" Bianca asked.

"We get their attention over here."

"Yeah, but how?"

Rather than answer I said, "Daphne?"

A root like the one that opened the passage for us sprouted. "You called?"

"Did Emmitt say how we were supposed to bring them to us?"

"Boy did he." The root giggled. "I haven't had the chance to stretch my voice like this in ages. Don't worry, I'll bring them here. Ah but, you probably want to move a bit further away."

Bianca and I shared a look. Then we took off running. Who were we to argue?

Keeping oriented by the golden tips of the Heliade trees, we raced through the woods toward where, hopefully, Pagomenos was waiting with an army at his back. Behind us we heard humming. Little "do do do"s going up and down in pitch. Daphne was doing vocal warmups.

When we skidded to a stop in the right place, we were breathing hard. I looked around.

It was at the base of a hill, close enough to the Eridanos to hear rushing water. Hector and I picked the spot for its location. The incline was supposed to help, the Hyperboreans setting up a defensive line along the top. Except instead of tens of armed giants, just one figure stood at the top.

Pagomenos smiled down at us, but there was none of the kindness in it I'd gotten used to seeing.

"Hello," he said. "It's high time we had a talk, don't you think?"

(-)