Chapter 7: I Accept Gifts From A Stranger
Poseidon grabbed Dionysus and left the room. Several other Gods followed, some wanting to have a few words as well and the others just wanting to watch. Chiron herded the children out of the room and towards the dining hall. Apollo then took Percy towards the archery range.
Percy picked up the bow and got into the same stance he had been shown the day before. Apollo made a few minor adjustments. His hands were really hot and Percy could feel his skin burning and tingling everywhere that Apollo touched him. It was quite distracting.
"There. Now, take aim." The God said. Percy did so. Apollo made a couple more minor adjustments and then Percy let the arrow fly. It did hit the edge of the target. "See, you're already much better."
"Only when you pretty much do the aiming for me." Percy muttered.
"Still, you haven't shot me once." Apollo grinned cheerfully.
"It is tempting." Percy smirked. "I might but if I actually tried I'd probably miss."
"You wouldn't. I'm too amazing."
"You wish."
"I am."
"Not." Apollo dived towards him and they began wrestling with the God trying to make him admit that he was amazing. However he was used to having Godly strength whereas now they were pretty evenly matched. Eventually Apollo got him in a headlock.
"Now, admit I am amazing."
"Alright. You are amazing." Percy said. Apollo beamed and let him up. "Amazingly stupid to believe I meant that." With that, he ran off towards the dining hall.
"Hey!" Apollo yelled and began chasing after him. They thundered into the dining hall, making everyone look up at them.
"What's going on?" WIll asked, glancing between his father and Percy from his seat next to Nico.
"Percy won't admit that I'm amazing." Apollo whined.
"I don't blame him. You're not." Hades said easily. Apollo pouted and flopped down on the free side of his son.
"You think I'm great, right?"
"Of course dad." Will told him, trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice. It was quite weird to see his dad, who was a few thousand years old, acting like a five year old. Apollo grinned and threw an arm around Will's shoulders.
"Come on, let's get back and continue reading." Chiron suggested. Percy grabbed some food to take with him as he hadn't gotten to eat anything. They made their way back to the throne room where the rest of the Gods were already waiting. Dionysus looked sullen while the others looked angry.
"I will read." Demeter said, grabbing the book.
I Accept Gifts From A Stranger
"Er, Percy, that didn 't end too well last time." Poseidon frowned.
"These gifts were good." Percy assured his dad. "And it wasn't a complete stranger."
"You'd never met them before." Annabeth pointed out.
"I still knew who it was. Eventually." Percy grinned.
The way Tantalus saw it, the Stymphalian birds had simply been minding their own business in the woods and would not have attacked if Annabeth, Tyson, and I hadn't disturbed them with our bad chariot driving.
"What?" Jason raised an eyebrow.
"What the heck did Dionysus say to make him hate Percy so much?" Piper asked.
"Maybe it's that Percy saved Olympus last summer. Given how much he seems to want the Camp's destruction he probably also is mad that Percy saved Olympus." Jason guessed.
"I still don't get how the Gods let him stay at Camp." Leo frowned.
"Because they probably don't care enough to even realise what's going on." Chris said. All the Gods grimaced.
This was so completely unfair, I told Tantalus to go chase a doughnut, which didn't help his mood.
"There's the Percy we all know and love." Thalia laughed.
He sentenced us to kitchen patrol—scrubbing pots and platters all afternoon in the underground kitchen with the cleaning harpies. The harpies washed with lava instead of water, to get that extra-clean sparkle and kill ninety-nine point nine percent of all germs, so Annabeth and I had to wear asbestos gloves and aprons. Tyson didn't mind. He plunged his bare hands right in and started scrubbing, but Annabeth and I had to suffer through hours of hot, dangerous work, especially since there were tons of extra plates. Tantalus had ordered a special luncheon banquet to celebrate Clarisse's chariotvictory—
Ares grinned proudly. Clarisse also looked a little proud but somewhat annoyed. There had been whispers for ages about how winning was more important to her than protecting camp. No one had dared say it too loudly because they didn't want to upset Tantalus' favourite and it was that particular title that upset her the most.
a full-course meal featuring country-fried Stymphalian death-bird. The only good thing about our punishment was that it gave Annabeth and me a common enemy and lots of time to talk. After listening to my dream about Grover again, she looked like she might be starting to believe me.
"Only starting to believe him?" Nico frowned.
"It just seemed so unlikely." Annabeth pointed out.
"All the more reason to believe him. Percy wouldn't make that up." Connor said.
"I know that now." She nodded.
"If he's really found it," she murmured, "and if we could retrieve it—" "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. What is it?" "I'll give you a hint. What do you get when you skin a ram?" "Messy?"
Everybody burst out into surprised laughter.
"He's not wrong." Hermes snickered.
She sighed. "A fleece. The coat of a ram is called a fleece. And if that ram happens to have golden wool—" "The Golden Fleece. Are you serious?" Annabeth scraped a plateful of death-bird bones into the lava. "Percy, remember the Gray Sisters? They said they knew the location of the thing you seek. And they mentioned Jason. Three thousand years ago, they told him how to find the Golden Fleece. You do know the story of Jason and the Argonauts?" "Yeah," I said. "That old movie with the clay skeletons."
"That is a good movie." Piper nodded.
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "Oh my gods, Percy! You are so hopeless." "What?" I demanded. "Just listen. The real story of the Fleece: there were these two children of Zeus, Cadmus and Europa, okay? They were about to get offered up as human sacrifices, when they prayed to Zeus to save them. So Zeus sent this magical flying ram with golden wool, which picked them up in Greece and carried them all the way to Colchis in Asia Minor. Well, actually it carried Cadmus. Europa fell off and died along the way, but that's not important." "It was probably important to her."
More laughter.
"He's got a point." Silena said.
"The point is, when Cadmus got to Colchis, he sacrificed the golden ram to the gods and hung the Fleece in a tree in the middle of the kingdom. The Fleece brought prosperity to the land. Animals stopped getting sick. Plants grew better. Farmers had bumper crops. Plagues never visited. That's why Jason wanted the Fleece. It can revitalize any land where it's placed. It cures sickness, strengthens nature, cleans up pollution—" "It could cure Thalia's tree."
Zeus brightened a bit at this news like he had forgotten his daughter was in the same room.
Annabeth nodded. "And it would totally strengthen the borders of Camp Half-Blood. But Percy, the Fleece has been missing for centuries. Tons of heroes have searched for it with no luck." "But Grover found it," I said. "He went looking for Pan and he found the Fleece instead because they both radiate nature magic. It makes sense, Annabeth. We can rescue him and save the camp at the same time.
"Well that sounds like a trap." Reyna noted.
"Yeah. Trap is written all over that." Dakota agreed.
"They don't have a choice." Jason said firmly. They needed to cure his sister.
It's perfect!" Annabeth hesitated. "A little too perfect, don't you think? What if it's a trap?" I remembered last summer, how Kronos had manipulated our quest. He'd almost fooled us into helping him start a war that would've destroyed Western Civilization. "What choice do we have?" I asked. "Are you going to help me rescue Grover or not?" She glanced at Tyson, who'd lost interest in our conversation and was happily making toy boats out of cups and spoons in the lava.
A few people smiled at this.
"Percy," she said under her breath, "we'll have to fight a Cyclops. Polyphemus, the worst of the Cyclopes.
Poseidon grimaced. He did not want to hear about his children fighting each other.
And there's only one place his island could be. The Sea of Monsters." "Where's that?" She stared at me like she thought I was playing dumb. "The Sea of Monsters. The same sea Odysseus sailed through, and Jason, and Aeneas, and all the others." "You mean the Mediterranean?" "No. Well, yes…but no." "Another straight answer. Thanks." "Look, Percy, the Sea of Monsters is the sea all heroes sail through on their adventures. It used to be in the Mediterranean, yes. But like everything else, it shifts locations as the West's center of power shifts."
"So, Bermuda triangle?" Piper guessed.
"Yep." Travis nodded.
"Like Mount Olympus being above the Empire State Building," I said. "And Hades being under Los Angeles." "Right." "But a whole sea full of monsters—how could you hide something like that? Wouldn't the mortals notice weird things happening…like, ships getting eaten and stuff ?" "Of course they notice. They don't understand, but they know something is strange about that part of the ocean. The Sea of Monsters is off the east coast of the U.S. now, just northeast of Florida. The mortals even have a name for it." "The Bermuda Triangle?"
Piper grinned proudly.
"Exactly." I let that sink in. I guess it wasn't stranger than anything else I'd learned since coming to Camp Half-Blood. "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—" "Hey, I'm the son of the sea god. This is my home turf. How hard can it be?"
All of the demigods groaned.
"Did you really just ask that?" Thalia asked him.
"You really should know better." Rachel said.
"Yeah." Percy sighed. It was a stupid question.
Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "We'll have to talk to Tantalus, get approval for a quest. He'll say no." "Not if we tell him tonight at the campfire in front of everybody. The whole camp will hear.
"Good plan." Apollo smiled.
They'll pressure him. He won't be able to refuse." "Maybe." A little bit of hope crept into Annabeth's voice. "We'd better get these dishes done. Hand me the lava spray gun, will you?" That night at the campfire, Apollo's cabin led the sing-along.
The God clapped Will on the shoulder, grinning proudly.
They tried to get everybody's spirits up, but it wasn't easy after that afternoon's bird attack. We all sat around a semicircle of stone steps, singing halfheartedly and watching the bonfire blaze while the Apollo guys strummed their guitars and picked their lyres. We did all the standard camp numbers: "Down by the Aegean," "I Am My Own Great-Great-Great-Great-Grandpa," "This Land is Minos's Land." The bonfire was enchanted, so the louder you sang, the higher it rose, changing color and heat with the mood of the crowd. On a good night, I'd seen it twenty feet high, bright purple, and so hot the whole front row's marshmallows burst into the flames. Tonight, the fire was only five feet high, barely warm, and the flames were the color of lint. Dionysus left early. After suffering through a few songs, he muttered something about how even pinochle with Chiron had been more exciting than this.
"Well maybe you shouldn't have fired him then." Connor snapped.
Then he gave Tantalus a distasteful look and headed back toward the Big House. When the last song was over, Tantalus said, "Well, that was lovely!" He came forward with a toasted marshmallow on a stick and tried to pluck it off, real casuallike. But before he could touch it, the marshmallow flew off the stick. Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames.
"Marshmallow suicide." Leo sniggered.
"If only he'd jumped after it." Beckendorf muttered darkly.
Tantalus made a wild grab, but the marshmallow committed suicide, diving into the flames. Tantalus turned back toward us, smiling coldly. "Now then! Some announcements about tomorrow's schedule." "Sir," I said. Tantalus's eye twitched. "Our kitchen boy has something to say?" Some of the Ares campers snickered, but I wasn't going to let anybody embarrass me into silence. I stood and looked at Annabeth. Thank the gods, she stood up with me. I said, "We have an idea to save the camp." Dead silence, but I could tell I'd gotten everybody's interest, because the campfire flared bright yellow. "Indeed," Tantalus said blandly. "Well, if it has anything to do with chariots—" "The Golden Fleece," I said. "We know where it is." The flames burned orange. Before Tantalus could stop me, I blurted out my dream about Grover and Polyphemus's island. Annabeth stepped in and reminded everybody what the Fleece could do. It sounded more convincing coming from her.
"Of course it did." Annabeth smirked.
"You tend to ramble when you're nervous." Grover told Percy.
"The Fleece can save the camp," she concluded. "I'm certain of it." "Nonsense," said Tantalus. "We don't need saving."
The Romans and the Gods stared at the book in astonishment. They couldn't believe he was still acting like everything was completely fine.
"How did he expect anyone to buy that?" Reyna frowned.
"My guess is that he just didn't care." Gwen muttered.
Everybody stared at him until Tantalus started looking uncomfortable. "Besides," he added quickly, "the Sea of Monsters? That's hardly an exact location. You wouldn't even know where to look." "Yes, I would," I said. Annabeth leaned toward me and whispered, "You would?" I nodded, because Annabeth had jogged something in my memory when she reminded me about our taxi drive with the Gray Sisters. At the time, the information they'd given me made no sense. But now… "30, 31, 75, 12," I said. "Ooo-kay," Tantalus said. "Thank you for sharing those meaningless numbers." "They're sailing coordinates," I said. "Latitude and longitude. I, uh, learned about it in social
studies."
Poseidon grinned proudly.
"You paid attention in school?" Nico asked with a grin.
"No, I think he just knew and made up the school part so it sounded more convincing." Grover said. Percy grinned but didn't respond.
Even Annabeth looked impressed. "30 degrees, 31 minutes north, 75 degrees, 12 minutes west. He's right! The Gray Sisters gave us those coordinates. That'd be somewhere in the Atlantic, off the coast of Florida. The Sea of Monsters. We need a quest!" "Wait just a minute," Tantalus said. But the campers took up the chant. "We need a quest! We need a quest!" The flames rose higher. "It isn't necessary!" Tantalus insisted."WE NEED A QUEST! WE NEED A QUEST!"
"Really? He still won't allow a quest?" Chris raised an eyebrow.
"He did eventually." Annabeth sighed.
"Fine!" Tantalus shouted, his eyes blazing with anger. "You brats want me to assign a quest?" "YES!" "Very well," he agreed. "I shall authorize a champion to undertake this perilous journey, to retrieve the Golden Fleece and bring it back to camp. Or die trying." My heart filled with excitement. I wasn't going to let Tantalus scare me. This was what I needed to do. I was going to save Grover and the camp. Nothing would stop me.
"Somehow I doubt he's going to let you go." Jason said.
"Yeah, he knows that's what you want. He'll pick his favourite." Piper nodded. Percy grimaced.
"I will allow our champion to consult the Oracle!" Tantalus announced. "And choose two companions for the journey. And I think the choice of champion is obvious." Tantalus looked at Annabeth and me as if he wanted to flay us alive. "The champion should be one who has earned the camp's respect, who has proven resourceful in the chariot races
"She wasn't resourceful. Everybody else stopped to protect the camp and she had a clear run." Dakota pointed out, easily guessing who Tantalus was talking about.
and courageous in the defense of the camp. You shall lead this quest…Clarisse!" The fire flickered a thousand different colors. The Ares cabin started stomping and cheering, "CLARISSE! CLARISSE!" Clarisse stood up, looking stunned. Then she swallowed, and her chest swelled with pride. "I accept the quest!"
Ares nodded proudly.
"Wait!" I shouted. "Grover is my friend. The dream came to me."
"You already had a quest." Ares told him.
"I didn't care about the opportunity for a quest. I wanted to save my friend." Percy glared at him.
"Sit down!" yelled one of the Ares campers. "You had your chance last summer!" "Yeah, he just wants to be in the spotlight again!" another said.
"Or it's his friend in trouble, plus Percy and Annabeth were the ones who figured everything out and convinced Tantalus to give a quest." Thalia glared at Clarisse.
"Exactly. Percy did his bit." Clarisse glared right back. "Someone else should have had a chance."
Clarisse glared at me. "I accept the quest!" she repeated. "I, Clarisse, daughter of Ares, will save the camp!" The Ares campers cheered even louder. Annabeth protested, and the other Athena campers joined in. Everybody else started taking sides—shouting and arguing and throwing marshmallows.
"Food fight!" Grover grinned.
"A dam food fight." Percy smirked. Grover and Thalia both burst out laughing.
I thought it was going to turn into a full-fledged s'more war until Tantalus shouted, "Silence, you brats!" His tone stunned even me. "Sit down!" he ordered. "And I will tell you a ghost story." I didn't know what he was up to, but we all moved reluctantly back to our seats. The evil aura radiating from Tantalus was as strong as any monster I'd ever faced.
"And he's supposed to be looking after our children." Aphrodite's brow furrowed.
"This will not be happening in the future." Poseidon stated firmly, glaring at Dionysus.
"Once upon a time there was a mortal king who was beloved of the Gods!" Tantalus put his hand on his chest, and I got the feeling he was talking about himself.
"He usually does." Hephaestus grunted.
"This king," he said, "was even allowed to feast on Mount Olympus. But when he tried to take some ambrosia and nectar back to earth to figure out the recipe—just one little doggie bag, mind you—the gods punished him. They banned him from their halls forever! His own people mocked him! His children scolded him! And, oh yes, campers, he had horrible children. Children—just—like—you!" He pointed a crooked finger at several people in the audience, including me. "Do you know what he did to his ungrateful children?" Tantalus asked softly. "Do you know how he paid back the gods for their cruel punishment? He invited the Olympians to a feast at his palace, just to show there were no hard feelings. No one noticed that his children were missing.
Demeter grimaced.
No one dared answer. The firelight glowed dark blue, reflecting evilly on Tantalus's crooked face. "Oh, the gods punished him in the afterlife," Tantalus croaked. "They did indeed. But he'd had his moment of satisfaction, hadn't he? His children never again spoke back to him or questioned his authority. And do you know what? Rumor has it that the king's spirit now dwells at this very camp, waiting for a chance to take revenge on ungrateful, rebellious children.
"Zeus! This is where non interference gets us." Poseidon scowled at his brother.
"This is where letting Dionysus choose a new activities director gets us." Apollo corrected.
"And he would not have been allowed to get away with such a choice if we were watching properly." Demeter added angrily.
"Camp is supposed to be the only safe place for our children. Now, not only is the magic failing, there is someone inside the camp who actively wants to take out his revenge on our children." Aphrodite said. Zeus said nothing.
And so…are there any more complaints, before we send Clarisse off on her quest? Silence. Tantalus nodded at Clarisse. "The Oracle, my dear. Go on." She shifted uncomfortably, like even she didn't want glory at the price of being Tantalus's pet. "Sir—"
"Who would?" Leo asked.
"Go!" he snarled. She bowed awkwardly and hurried off toward the Big House. "What about you, Percy Jackson?" Tantalus asked. "No comments from our dishwasher?" I didn't say anything. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of punishing me again.
"Good." Poseidon nodded.
"Good," Tantalus said. "And let me remind everyone—no one leaves this camp without my permission. Anyone who tries…well, if they survive the attempt, they will be expelled forever, but it won't come to that.
"Well, would you look at that. I'm still at Camp." Percy said to Grover quietly.
"Somehow." Grover replied with a grin.
The harpies will be enforcing curfew from now on, and they are always hungry! Good night, my dear campers. Sleep well." With a wave of Tantalus's hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off toward their cabins in the dark. I couldn't explain things to Tyson. He knew I was sad. He knew I wanted to go on a trip and Tantalus wouldn't let me. "You will go anyway?" he asked.
"Of course he will. He's Percy and his friend is in danger." Thalia scoffed.
"I almost didn't." Percy admitted.
"I don't know," I admitted. "It would be hard. Very hard." "I will help." "No. I—uh, I couldn't ask you to do that, big guy. Too dangerous." Tyson looked down at the pieces of metal he was assembling in his lap—springs and gears and tiny wires. Beckendorf had given him some tools and spare parts, and now Tyson spent every night tinkering, though I wasn't sure how his huge hands could handle such delicate little pieces.
"That is weird but it's part of being a Cyclopes." Beckendorf shrugged.
"What are you building?" I asked. Tyson didn't answer. Instead he made a whimpering sound in the back of his throat. "Annabeth doesn't like Cyclopes. You…don't want me along?" "Oh, that's not it," I said halfheartedly. "Annabeth likes you. Really."
"Clearly." Nico said sarcastically.
"I do like Tyson now." Annabeth said.
He had tears in the corners of his eye. I remembered that Grover, like all satyrs, could read human emotions. I wondered if Cyclopes had the same ability.
"No." Grover said. "It's a Satyr thing."
Tyson folded up his tinkering project in an oilcloth. He lay down on his bunk bed and hugged his bundle like a teddy bear. When he turned toward the wall, I could see the weird scars on his back, like somebody had plowed over him with a tractor. I wondered for the millionth time how he'd gotten hurt. "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."
Poseidon sighed sadly. "He doesn't still think that, does he?" He asked Percy nervously.
"No." Percy smiled. "He's had loads of fun in the forges."
"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. How could Tyson think that Poseidon had cared for him?
Poseidon winced. His monstrous children usually were quite happy to make their own way in the world. Evidently Tyson was quite different in that respect. He would have to make sure he did better in the future.
What kind of dad let that happen to his kid, even if his kid was a monster?
Poseidon explained his previous thoughts to Percy.
"Still, Tyson said he prayed to you and you were clearly watching out enough to send him to meet me." Percy frowned.
"I know. I have no good explanation for my future actions." The God said.
"Tyson…camp will be a good home for you. The others will get used to you. I promise." Tyson sighed. I waited for him to say something. Then I realized he was already asleep.
There were a few snickers.
"I really do envy his ability to fall asleep at the drop of a hat." Will said.
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. If the empathy link was real…if something happened to Grover…would I ever wake up?
"I'm sorry Percy." Grover looked horrified that he had worried Percy so much he didn't want to sleep.
The full moon shone through my window. The sound of the surf rumbled in the distance. I could smell the warm scent of the strawberry fields, and hear the laughter of the dryads as they chased owls through the forest. But something felt wrong about the night—the sickness of Thalia's tree, spreading across the valley. Could Clarisse save Half-Blood Hill? I thought the odds were better of me getting a "Best Camper" award from Tantalus.
"Thanks for the faith." Clarisse snorted.
"Need I remind you of your prophecy?" Percy raised an eyebrow. She glared at him angrily but didn't argue.
I got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. I grabbed a beach blanket and a six-pack of Coke from under my bunk. The Cokes were against the rules. No outside snacks or drinks were allowed, but if you talked to the right guy in Hermes's cabin and paid him a few golden drachma, he could smuggle in almost anything from the nearest convenience store.
Chiron looked over at the Hermes kids who all pulled identical innocent faces. The Centaur snorted in amusement while the God high fived his children.
Sneaking out after curfew was against the rules, too. If I got caught I'd either get in big trouble or be eaten by the harpies. But I wanted to see the ocean.
Poseidon smiled.
I always felt better there. My thoughts were clearer. I left the cabin and headed for the beach. I spread my blanket near the surf and popped open a Coke. For some reason sugar and caffeine always calmed down my hyperactive brain.
"What?" Rachel looked at him in confusion.
"I'm weird." Percy shrugged.
I tried to decide what to do to save the camp, but nothing came to me. I wished Poseidon would talk to me, give me some advice or something. The sky was clear and starry. I was checking out the constellations Annabeth had taught me—Sagittarius, Hercules, Corona Borealis—when somebody said, "Beautiful, aren't they?" I almost spewed soda.
There was a round of laughter.
Standing right next to me was a guy in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile.
Everyone turned to look at Hermes. The God raised an eyebrow in surprise but inwardly he was quite pleased.
"Why would you be visiting a demigod?" Zeus asked angrily.
"Don't know. I haven't done it yet." Hermes shrugged. Then he spotted the looks on his kid's faces. Connor and Travis exchanged looks. They hadn't heard this bit. Their dad had come to camp and didn't even bother to stop in and say hi. Instead he visited Percy.
He looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't figure out why.
"Yes. I know now." Percy said before anyone could speak.
My first thought was that he must've been taking a midnight jog down the beach and strayed inside the camp borders. That wasn't supposed to happen. Regular mortals couldn't enter the valley. But maybe with the tree's magic weakening he'd managed to slip in.
"That is actually a good point. If monsters could get in, could mortals?" Thalia frowned.
"I'm not sure but probably." Chiron answered.
But in the middle of the night? And there was nothing around except farmland and state preserves. Where would this guy have jogged from? "May I join you?" he asked. "I haven't sat down in ages." Now, I know—a strange guy in the middle of the night. Common sense: I was supposed to run away, yell for help, etc. But the guy acted so calm about the whole thing that I found it hard to be afraid.
"Percy." Chiron raised an eyebrow while Hermes smiled at the demigod.
"He looked familiar and it was a good job I didn't run away." Percy grinned sheepishly.
"He could have been a monster." Poseidon said. Hermes huffed.
"You think he would confuse me with a monster?"
"Seems like quite a reasonable mistake." Apollo smirked.
I said, "Uh, sure." He smiled. "Your hospitality does you credit. Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?" He sat at the other end of the blanket, popped a soda and took a drink. "Ah…that hits the spot. Peace and quiet at—" A cell phone went off in his pocket.
Hermes sighed.
"Not only are you visiting a demigod, you're wasting time sitting around." Zeus grew even angrier.
The jogger sighed. He pulled out his phone and my eyes got big, because it glowed with a bluish light. When he extended the antenna, two creatures began writhing around it—green snakes, no bigger than earthworms. The jogger didn't seem to notice. He checked his LCD display and cursed. "I've got to take this. Just a sec…" Then into the phone: "Hello?" He listened. The mini-snakes writhed up and down the antenna right next to his ear. "Yeah," the jogger said. "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. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go."
"Always so helpful, brother." Dionysus smirked.
"He should have had a tracking number." Hermes shrugged. "Happens all the time."
He hung up. "Sorry. The overnight express business is just booming. Now, as I was saying—" "You have snakes on your phone. "What? Oh, they don't bite. Say hello, George and Martha."
"Hello, George and Martha." A hissing voice could suddenly be heard.
"I see George doesn't change much." Percy grinned.
"Oh good, he still does that in the future." Hermes said sarcastically.
"Hi, George. Hi Martha." Percy said.
"Does the nice boy bring rats?" George asked.
"No. Sorry. I'll try and find some for later." Percy promised.
"Never any rats." George hissed sadly.
"Shut up about rats." Martha said.
"But rats are nice." George replied.
"I think that's enough from you two." Hermes said. They both shut up.
Hello, George and Martha, a raspy male voice said inside my head.
A few people chuckled.
Don't be sarcastic, said a female voice. Why not? George demanded. I do all the real work. "Oh, let's not go into that again!" The jogger slipped his phone back into his pocket. "Now, where were we…Ah, yes. Peace and quiet." He crossed his ankles and stared up at the stars. "Been a long time since I've gotten to relax. Ever since the telegraph—rush, rush, rush. Do you have a favorite constellation, Percy?" I was still kind of wondering about the little green snakes he'd shoved into his jogging shorts, but I said, "Uh, I like Hercules."
Artemis scoffed. Of course the boy would like that one. Percy and Thalia both grimaced.
"Why?" "Well…because he had rotten luck. Even worse than mine. It makes me feel better."
"There is that." Percy nodded. "But the Huntress is my favourite now." Thalia, Grover and Annabeth all nodded solemnly.
"There is no such constellation." Artemis stated.
"Not yet." Percy said quietly in a sad tone.
The jogger chuckled. "Not because he was strong and famous and all that?" "No."
Artemis raised a delicate eyebrow. Even in this, the boy was different from others.
"You're an interesting young man. And so, what now?" I knew immediately what he was asking. What did I intend to do about the Fleece? 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."
"Hermes!" Demeter yelled angrily.
"I was busy. It must be important for me to be visiting Percy." Hermes rolled his eyes.
She's not going to like that. The last time you put her off, all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted. "Just tell her I'm in a meeting!" The jogger rolled his eyes. "Sorry again, Percy. You were saying…" "Um…who are you, exactly?"
"You hadn't guessed yet?" Thalia looked amused.
"I had a lot on my mind." Percy shrugged.
"Haven't you guessed by now, a smart boy like you?" Show him! Martha pleaded. I haven't been full-size for months. Don't listen to her! George said. She just wants to show off! The man took out his phone again. "Original form, please." The phone glowed a brilliant blue. It stretched into a three-foot-long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting out the top. George and Martha, now full-sized green snakes, coiled together around the middle. It was a caduceus, the symbol of Cabin Eleven. My throat tightened. I realized who the jogger reminded me of with his elfish features, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes.… "You're Luke's father," I said. "Hermes."
Hermes winced.
"Not how I'm usually introduced."
"Sorry." Percy said. "I just realised why I recognised your face."
The god pursed his lips. He stuck his caduceus in the sand like an umbrella pole. "'Luke's father.' Normally, that's not the first way people introduce me. God of thieves, yes. God of messengers and travelers, if they wish to be kind." God of thieves works, George said. Oh, don't mind George. Martha flicked her tongue at me. He's just bitter because Hermes likes me best. He does not Does too!
Hermes rolled his eyes while the demigods all laughed.
"Behave, you two," Hermes warned, "or I'll turn you back into a cell phone and set you on vibrate! Now, Percy, you still haven't answered my question. What do you intend to do about the quest?" "I—I don't have permission to go." "No, indeed. Will that stop you?" "I want to go. I have to save Grover." Hermes smiled. "I knew a boy once…oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really."
"Oh here he goes." Now Apollo rolled his eyes. Hermes smirked at his brother.
Here we go again, George said. Always talking about himself. Quiet! Martha snapped. Do you want to get set on vibrate? Hermes ignored them. "One night, when this boy's mother wasn't watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo." "Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?" I asked.
"He should have been." Apollo grumbled.
"You know you can't blast me to pieces." Hermes grinned.
"Hmm…no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, 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."
"I did not forget ."
"Yeah you did."
"Well now you've reminded me."
"Please read." Ares begged Demeter.
"So what's the moral?" "The moral?" Hermes asked. "Goodness, you act like it's a fable. It's a true story. Does truth have a moral?"
"Maybe he meant was there actually a point to that story." Hades drawled.
"Of course there was a point." Hermes huffed.
"Um…" "How about this: stealing is not always bad?" "I don't think my mom would like that moral."
"Probably not." Annabeth laughed.
Rats are delicious, suggested George.What does that have to do with the story? Martha demanded. Nothing, George said. But I'm hungry. "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?"
"You're persuading my son to go off and risk his life again without permission? When Chiron told him explicitly to stay in camp?" Poseidon glared.
"He was going to go anyway." Hermes protested.
"Possibly not."
"Dad, it was a good job I did go." Percy said.
"You're saying I should go anyway," I said, "even without permission." Hermes's eyes twinkled. "Martha, may I have the first package, please?" Martha opened her mouth…and kept opening it until it was as wide as my arm. She belched out a stainless steel canister—an old-fashioned lunch box thermos with a black plastic top. The sides of the thermos were enameled with red and yellow Ancient Greek scenes—a hero killing a lion; a hero lifting up Cerberus, the three-headed dog. "That's Hercules," I said. "But how—" "Never question a gift," Hermes chided. "This is a collector's item from Hercules Busts Heads. The first season."
"Good show." Ares nodded.
Hercules Busts Heads?" "Great show." Hermes sighed. "Back before Hephaestus-TV was all reality programming. Of course, the thermos would be worth much more if I had the whole lunch box—" Or if it hadn't been in Martha's mouth, George added.
There were a few snickers.
I'll get you for that. Martha began chasing him around the caduceus. "Wait a minute," I said. "This is a gift?" "One of two," Hermes said. "Go on, pick it up." I almost dropped it because it was freezing cold on one side and burning hot on the other. The weird thing was, when I turned the thermos, the side facing the ocean—north—was always the cold side.…"It's a compass!" I said.
"Nice." Hermes said, raising his eyebrows. "I didn't think of that."
"I'm guessing it does something else then." Thalia asked. Hermes nodded.
Hermes looked surprised. "Very clever. I never thought of that. But its intended use is a bit more dramatic. Uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way. Not now! And please, when the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit. The winds are a bit like me—always restless. Should all four escape at once…ah, but I'm sure you'll be careful.
"Yes. Percy's the epitome of careful." Nico sniggered.
And now my second gift. George?" She's touching me, George complained as he and Martha slithered around the pole. "She's always touching you," Hermes said. "You're intertwined. And if you don't stop that, you'll get knotted again!" The snakes stopped wrestling. George unhinged his jaw and coughed up a little plastic bottle filled with chewable vitamins.
Percy shuddered while Annabeth tried to stifle a laugh.
"You ok?" Thalia asked in surprise.
"Bad memories." Percy grimaced.
"From vitamins?"
"Kind of. I'm sure you'll read all about it."
"You're kidding," I said. "Are those Minotaur-shaped?" Hermes picked up the bottle and rattled it. "The lemon ones, yes. The grape ones are Furies, I think. Or are they hydras?
"You can't tell the difference between a Fury and a Hydra?" Hades asked his nephew.
"They aren't very clear shapes." Hermes shrugged.
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. Nine essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids…oh, everything you need to feel yourself again."
Percy grimaced again. Reyna's eyes suddenly went wide. Given the timing and where they were going she knew exactly what those vitamins could do. She glared at the book. Those vitamins had been the reason her home had been destroyed. While she didn't regret going to Camp Jupiter it had been a horrifying experience.
He tossed me the bottle. "Um, thanks," I said. "But Lord Hermes, why are you helping me?" 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."
A few of the Gods sent Hermes sympathetic looks while Zeus looked angry.
I stared at him. "You don't mean…Luke?" Hermes didn't answer. "Look," I said. "Lord Hermes, I mean, thanks and everything, but you might as well take back your gifts. Luke can't be saved. 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."
The God blinked slowly. Even having read Luke's speech in the last book, it hurt to hear it put so bluntly. Chris edged away from his father a little, feeling hurt. His father broke the rules to convince Percy to go and try to save Luke but probably didn't even realise that he had defected too. He didn't send anyone to try and change his mind, only Luke's.
The Stolls noticed and exchanged looks. Connor slung an arm around his dad's shoulders while Travis moved to do the same with Chris.
Hermes gazed up at the stars. "My dear young cousin, if there's one thing I've learned over the eons, it's that you can't give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.
Chris bit back a retort and Travis tightened his grip on his brother.
It doesn't matter if they hate you, or embarrass you, or simply don't appreciate your genius for inventing the Internet—" "You invented the Internet?" It was my idea, Martha said. Rats are delicious, George said. "It was my idea!" Hermes said. "I mean the Internet, not the rats.
Everybody laughed.
But that's not the point. Percy, do you understand what I'm saying about family?" "I—I'm not sure." "You will some day."
"I understand what you mean but you can't save someone who doesn't want to be saved." Percy said softly.
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.
"Only sixty?" Hermes asked sarcastically.
"You've been sitting down for not even five minutes?" Connor frowned.
"Yep. Busy, busy." Hermes sighed.
And one thousand-thirty-eight e-mails, George added. Not counting the offers for online discount ambrosia. "And you, Percy," Hermes said, "have a shorter deadline than you realize to complete your quest. Your friends should be coming right about…now." I heard Annabeth's voice calling my name from the sand dunes. Tyson, too, was shouting from a little bit farther away.
"Why are they looking for you?" Nico asked.
"Hermes made it seem like I called them." Percy said.
"I hope I packed well for you," Hermes said. "I do have some experience with travel." He snapped his fingers and three yellow duffel bags appeared at my feet. "Waterproof, of course. If you ask nicely, your father should be able to help you reach the ship." "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.
Percy and Annabeth both grimaced.
"Wait," I said. "I don't understand any of this. I haven't even agreed to go!" "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.
"That is a good reason to hurry." Beckendorf nodded.
"Yeah. I'd get a move on." Leo agreed.
Now, good night, cousin, and dare I say it? May the gods go with you." He opened his hand and the caduceus flew into it. Good luck, Martha told me. Bring me back a rat, George said. The caduceus changed into a cell phone and Hermes slipped it into his pocket. He jogged off down the beach. Twenty paces away, he shimmered and vanished, leaving me alone with a thermos, a bottle of chewable vitamins, and five minutes to make an impossible decision.
"It's not that impossible." Nico said.
"Yeah. I'd have thought you'd jump at the chance to go." Rachel frowned.
"I did really want to go but…" Percy trailed off and shrugged.
"Chapter's done." Demeter announced.
"I suppose I haven't read yet." Hades said in a long suffering voice. She tossed the book at him and he caught it deftly.
A/N: I'm sorry everyone for not updating but I have been busy and didn't have time to finish this chapter. I'm trying to write a new story that has been in my mind for the past few weeks and I think this story will not have a new chapter for the next few weeks. And AO3 has been offline for the past 2 weeks and it's driving me crazy! I wish I put the stories I was reading to the 'to read' section. :'( Ok I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and the story belong to Lorixjake from AO3. I'm just writing it in fanfiction.