Chapter 5: I Get a New Cabin Mate
"You broke the oath again?!" Zeus roared at his brother.
"Or it means the Cyclops." Hades rolled his eyes. Zeus glared at him for the tone but said nothing further.
Ever come home and found your room messed up? Like some helpful person (hi, Mom) has tried to "clean" it, and suddenly you can't find anything?
"I hate that." Rachel said.
"It's very annoying." Annabeth agreed.
"Like, I know mom means well but I can never find anything." Percy nodded.
And even if nothing is missing, you get that creepy feeling like somebody's been looking through your private stuff and dusting everything with lemon furniture polish?
"It's more unnerving now I know about monsters." Percy admitted.
"You think monsters would be looking through your room and cleaning it? We need some of those monsters." Connor said. The Hermes cabin was notoriously messy with so many people crammed into it.
That's kind of the way I felt seeing Camp Half-Blood again.
"Yeah, that's a pretty good way of describing it." Annabeth said thoughtfully. She had never thought about it that way but it was appropriate.
On the surface, things didn't look all that different. The Big House was still there with its blue gabled roof and its wraparound porch. The strawberry fields still baked in the sun. The same white-columned Greek buildings were scattered around the valley—the amphitheater, the combat arena, the dining pavilion overlooking Long Island Sound. And nestled between the woods and the creek were the same cabins—a crazy assortment of twelve buildings, each representing a different Olympian god.
The Greeks all smiled at the description of their Camp.
"It does sound lovely." Reyna smiled. But so small she added in her mind. She still couldn't believe how much smaller the Greek camp sounded.
But there was an air of danger now. You could tell something was wrong. Instead of playing volleyball in the sandpit, counselors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed. Dryads armed with bows and arrows talked nervously at the edge of the woods. The forest looked sickly, the grass in the meadow was pale yellow, and the fire marks on Half-Blood Hill stood out like ugly scars.
Now the Greeks all grimaced, as did the Gods. This was supposed to be the only safe place for their children and now it didn't seem safe at all.
"It seems we need some stronger magic to protect the camp." Poseidon stated.
"Especially if Thalia is going to be somehow revived from being a tree." Apollo added.
"I'm sure we can think of something." Hephaestus said. Nico cringed. He would certainly not feel safe with more of his work guarding the camp.
Somebody had messed with my favorite place in the world, and I was not…well, a happy camper. As we made our way to the Big House, I recognized a lot of kids from last summer. Nobody stopped to talk. Nobody said, "Welcome back." Some did double takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past and carried on with their duties—running messages, toting swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels. The camp felt like a military school. And believe me, I know. I've been kicked out of a couple.
"You've actually been to military school?" Thalia asked. Percy shuffled uncomfortably.
"Yeah. Gabe's idea. He thought it might teach me some discipline and to follow the rules better." A few people scowled angrily or grumbled under their breath.
"Well, we can safely say they failed." Thalia forced a grin onto her face as she teased her cousin.
None of that mattered to Tyson. He was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw. "Whasthat!" he gasped. "The stables for pegasi," I said. "The winged horses." "Whasthat!" "Um…those are the toilets." "Whasthat!"
"He reminds me of Nico." Will laughed.
"Hey!"
"You were also adorably excited by everything." The son of the Sun God smirked. Nico went red.
"Shut up." He complained.
"The cabins for the campers. If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin—that brown one over there—until you're determined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group." He looked at me in awe. "You…have a cabin?" "Number three." I pointed to a low gray building made of sea stone.
Percy and Poseidon both smiled fondly.
"You live with friends in the cabin?" "No. No, just me." I didn't feel like explaining. The embarrassing truth: I was the only one who stayed in that cabin because I wasn't supposed to be alive. The "Big Three" gods—Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades—had made a pact after World War II not to have any more children with mortals. We were more powerful than regular half-bloods. We were too unpredictable.
"You most of all." Connor said.
"I'm not that unpredictable." Percy frowned unhappily.
"Yeah, give him food and he's a happy camper." Annabeth snickered.
When we got mad we tended to cause problems…like World War II, for instance. The "Big Three" pact had only been broken twice—once when Zeus sired Thalia, once when Poseidon sired me. Neither of us should've been born. Thalia had gotten herself turned into a pine tree when she was twelve.
"Hey! You make it sound like it was my fault." Thalia said, turning to glare at him.
"Sorry. Bad phrasing." Percy grinned sheepishly. She rolled her eyes but let it go.
Me…well, I was doing my best not to follow her example. I had nightmares about what Poseidon might turn me into if I were ever on the verge of death—plankton, maybe.
"You had nightmares about that?" Poseidon asked his son in concern.
"More the dying part." Percy admitted. "Although I can't say I much fancy being turned into a pile of kelp."
"It is not my place to keep you in the realm of the living." Poseidon said sadly. "I would not wish you to die and would heal you if I could but otherwise...I would not turn you into anything." Percy was a little surprised by the admission but quite grateful. Hades nodded approvingly.
"Thanks dad. I'd prefer it that way." If he had to die then he would rather be in Elysium than be a tree. No offense to Grover or other Satyrs. Poseidon gave his son a strained smile. It was not a topic he wished to dwell on.
Or a floating patch of kelp.
Thalia couldn't help giving a small chuckle.
When we got to the Big House, we found Chiron in his apartment, listening to his favorite 1960s lounge music while he packed his saddlebags. I guess I should mention—Chiron is a centaur.
"I wonder why this is in the book?" Athena frowned. "Obviously we know this."
"No idea." Hermes shrugged.
"The bigger question is why is Chiron packing his bags?" Apollo pointed out. The Greeks said nothing while the other Gods all shrugged, looking concerned.
From the waist up he looks like a regular middle-aged guy with curly brown hair and a scraggly beard. From the waist down, he's a white stallion. He can pass for human by compacting his lower half into a magic wheelchair. In fact, he'd passed himself off as my Latin teacher during my sixth-grade year. But most of the time, if the ceilings are high enough, he prefers hanging out in full centaur form. As soon as we saw him, Tyson froze. "Pony!" he cried in total rapture.
Chiron sighed as the room erupted into muffled sniggers.
Chiron turned, looking offended. "I beg your pardon?" Annabeth ran up and hugged him. "Chiron, what's happening? You're not…leaving?" Her voice was shaky. Chiron was like a second father to her.
The Centaur smiled fondly over at Annabeth.
Chiron ruffled her hair and gave her a kindly smile. "Hello, child. And Percy, my goodness. You've grown over the year!" I swallowed. "Clarisse said you were…you were…" "Fired." Chiron's eyes glinted with dark humor. "Ah, well, someone had to take the blame.
"What?" Poseidon frowned.
"Chiron is the last person who would do anything to hurt camp." Hermes raised an eyebrow.
"If anyone should take the blame, surely it should be Mr D. He has made it clear he hates the kids." Chris pointed out. Dionysus looked offended at this while all the Gods turned to him.
"Dionysus wouldn't dare." Zeus rumbled.
"Neither would Chiron but he's still taking the blame." Annabeth pointed out angrily.
Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he'd created from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned!
"Oh yeah, it couldn't be the enemy now could it?" Percy asked sarcastically. "But we're ignoring Kronos so someone at Camp had to be blamed." Zeus glared at him but Percy glared right back.
Mr. D had to punish someone." "Besides himself, you mean," I growled.
"Exactly." Percy agreed with himself.
"Surely as the director for the whole camp, it is Dionysus who should be held responsible for the failure to protect Thalia's tree." Hades questioned. Zeus glared at his brother but didn't respond.
Just the thought of the camp director, Mr. D, made me angry. "But this is crazy!" Annabeth cried. "Chiron, you couldn't have had anything to do with poisoning Thalia's tree!" "Nevertheless," Chiron sighed, "some in Olympus do not trust me now,
"How could you not trust Chiron?" Will asked the Gods angrily. "He has done nothing but train and protect your children for millennia."
"They didn't trust him because his father is also Kronos." Annabeth spoke up furiously.
"As he is yours." Percy reminded Zeus. "And Uncle Hades' father. Not to mention Hades has attacked Thalia before. There are so many people who would do such a thing and Chiron does not even make the list."
"Enough, children." Chiron said sternly, though his eyes held no small amount of pride.
"It's wrong. Father forbade any mention of Kronos and yet he's willing to let Mr D punish you for something you'd never do, simply for being his son." Thalia said.
"There is nothing that can be done now." The Centaur told her calmly. Still, he could not deny how much their defence of him and outrage on his behalf warmed his heart.
under the circumstances." "What circumstances?" I asked. Chiron's face darkened. He stuffed a Latin-English dictionary into his saddlebag while the Frank Sinatra music oozed from his boom box. Tyson was still staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered like he wanted to pat Chiron's flank but was afraid to come closer. "Pony?"
There were a few laughs and a couple of smiles as the Greeks were torn between wanting to laugh at Tyson's childish innocence and still being angry on Chiron's behalf.
Chiron sniffed. "My dear young Cyclops! I am a centaur." "Chiron," I said. "What about the tree? What happened?" He shook his head sadly. "The poison used on Thalia's pine is something from the Underworld, Percy. Some venom even I have never seen. It must have come from a monster quite deep in the pits of Tartarus."
"And you don't think somebody would notice if Chiron were to procure this poison. He almost never leaves camp, except when he went to teach Percy." Connor said coolly.
"Then we know who's responsible. Kro—" "Do not invoke the titan lord's name, Percy. Especially not here, not now." "But last summer he tried to cause a civil war in Olympus! This has to be his idea. He'd get Luke to do it, that traitor."
Annabeth, Thalia, Hermes and the God's children all went pale. Hermes was suddenly fearful that he would now be forced to take the blame for his son's future actions. Especially something as serious as poisoning Zeus' beloved daughter.
Annabeth and Thalia both still struggled to deal with the fact that Luke would do something so terrible to someone he had once vowed to never harm. Even if he thought she would be brought back there was no guarantee it would work.
"Perhaps," Chiron said. "But I fear I am being held responsible because I did not prevent it and I cannot cure it.
"Apollo is the God of medicine. Why isn't he trying to cure the tree?" Clarisse asked.
"I deal in human or godly medicine. Not nature magic." Apollo pointed out.
"Oh yes, because Chiron frequently heals trees." Silena frowned. "Maybe the Satyrs should be held accountable for not being able to cure the tree." Grover sent her a wide-eyed look of horror. Wincing she sent an apologetic look in return. She hadn't meant to blame him but all of the campers loved and respected Chiron. It angered them that he took the blame and then that Mr D had had the audacity to bring Tantalus to their camp.
The tree has only a few weeks of life left unless…" "Unless what?" Annabeth asked. "No," Chiron said. "A foolish thought. The whole valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying. Only one source of magic would be strong enough to reverse the poison, and it was lost centuries ago." "What is it?" I asked. "We'll go find it!" Chiron closed his saddlebag. He pressed the stop button on his boom box. Then he turned and rested his hand on my shoulder, looking me straight in the eyes. "Percy, you must promise me that you will not act rashly.
"It's as though you've never met Percy before." Rachel laughed. Chiron's lips twitched.
"I wanted him to be safe."
"I don't think camp classifies as safe anymore anyway." Grover pointed out.
I told your mother I did not want you to come here at all this summer. It's much too dangerous. But now that you are here, stay here. Train hard. Learn to fight. But do not leave."
"If monsters are attacking more frequently all over the country then it is safer to be at camp where there are many demigods." Clarisse said.
"Why?" I asked. "I want to do something! I can't just let the borders fail. The whole camp will be—" "Overrun by monsters," Chiron said. "Yes, I fear so. But you must not let yourself be baited into hasty action!
"Hasty action could be bad but time isn't on your side." Athena pointed out.
This could be a trap of the titan lord. Remember last summer! He almost took your life." It was true, but still, I wanted to help so badly. I also wanted to make Kronos pay. I mean, you'd think the titan lord would've learned his lesson eons ago when he was overthrown by the gods. You'd think getting chopped into a million pieces and cast into the darkest part of the Underworld would give him a subtle clue that nobody wanted him around.
The room burst into laughter as most of the tension dissolved.
"I don't think Kronos is coming back because he thinks people want him around." Nico said with a chuckle.
But no. Because he was immortal, he was still alive down there in Tartarus—suffering in eternal pain, hungering to return and take revenge on Olympus. He couldn't act on his own, but he was great at twisting the minds of mortals and even gods to do his dirty work. The poisoning had to be his doing. Who else would be so low as to attack Thalia's tree, the only thing left of a hero who'd given her life to save her friends?
Thalia sighed again. Even with Kronos twisting his mind, Luke didn't have to do that. There were other ways to put the camp in danger but he had chosen to poison her tree. He had done that. He had spat on her memory, on their friendship.
Annabeth was trying hard not to cry. Chiron brushed a tear from her cheek. "Stay with Percy, child," he told her. "Keep him safe. The prophecy—remember it!" "I—I will." "Um…" I said. "Would this be the super-dangerous prophecy that has me in it, but the gods have forbidden you to tell me about?" Nobody answered. "Right," I muttered. "Just checking."
There were a few more sniggers.
"Chiron…" Annabeth said. "You told me the gods made you immortal only so long as you were needed to train heroes. If they dismiss you from camp—"
The other Greek campers went very pale. They hadn't even thought of that. In unison they all turned to glare, first at Dionysus and then at Zeus.
"No." Travis whispered. He could not imagine a camp without Chiron permanently. The idea that Chiron was no longer needed was ridiculous.
"It wasn't even his fault." Connor scowled.
"Can you imagine…" Silena said gravely though her voice trailed off, unable to voice the terrible thought.
"I'm quite fine, children." Chiron reminded them all gently.
"You will always be needed." Annabeth choked out.
"Always." The other campers agreed. The Centaur went a little red but smiled fondly at all of his charges.
The Gods looked around at each other while Zeus and Hera were uneasy. On one hand it was pleasing to see the respect that Chiron had from the children but on the other hand, their loyalty to him was minorly worrying. If Chiron were ever to turn against them, how many of the children would follow him?
"Swear you will do your best to keep Percy from danger," he insisted. "Swear upon the River Styx." "I—I swear it upon the River Styx," Annabeth said. Thunder rumbled outside. "Very well," Chiron said. He seemed to relax just a little. "Perhaps my name will be cleared and I shall return.
"Well, now you've said that I'm sure Percy and Annabeth will be very determined to make that happen." Reyna smiled slightly.
"They did." Chiron nodded.
"They had some help." Clarisse grumbled.
"Indeed they did." Chiron smiled.
Until then, I go to visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. It's possible they know of some cure for the poisoned tree that I have forgotten. In any event, I will stay in exile until this matter is resolved…one way or another." Annabeth stifled a sob. Chiron patted her shoulder awkwardly. "There, now, child. I must entrust your safety to Mr. D
The Greeks all snorted.
"Awesome. Trust our safety to someone who probably could care less if we all died." Beckendorf muttered.
and the new activities director.
"And he was even worse." Percy snarled.
"Worse?" Poseidon asked warily. Given his son's opinion of Dionysus, it was hard to imagine him thinking someone else was worse. The Greeks all nodded.
We must hope…well, perhaps they won't destroy the camp quite as quickly as I fear."
"The monsters or Mr D and Tantalus?" Will asked sarcastically.
"I meant Kronos' forces." Chiron clarified.
"Still, the statement applied to both." Silena said grimly. The Gods were now all very concerned.
"Who is this Tantalus guy, anyway?" I demanded. "Where does he get off taking your job?" A conch horn blew across the valley. I hadn't realized how late it was. It was time for the campers to assemble for dinner. "Go," Chiron said. "You will meet him at the pavilion. I will contact your mother, Percy, and let her know you're safe. No doubt she'll be worried by now. Just remember my warning! You are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten you!"
"I'm unforgettable." Percy smirked.
"Definitely." Hades nodded.
With that, he clopped out of the apartment and down the hall, Tyson calling after him, "Pony! Don't go!" I realized I'd forgotten to tell Chiron about my dream of Grover. Now it was too late. The best teacher I'd ever had was gone, maybe for good.
Chiron smiled once more and Percy grinned back.
Tyson started bawling almost as bad as Annabeth. I tried to tell them that things would be okay, but I didn't believe it.
"Marks for trying." Annabeth told him.
"And I lose them all for failing." Percy said glumly.
"Tyson cheered up a little." She reminded him and he shrugged.
The sun was setting behind the dining pavilion as the campers came up from their cabins. We stood in the shadow of a marble column and watched them file in. Annabeth was still pretty shaken up, but she promised she'd talk to us later. Then she went off to join her siblings from the Athena cabin—a dozen boys and girls with blond hair and gray eyes like hers. Annabeth wasn't the oldest, but she'd been at camp more summers than just about anybody. You could tell that by looking at her camp necklace—one bead for every summer, and Annabeth had six. No one questioned her right to lead the line.
Athena smiled proudly at her daughter who sat up a little straighter.
Next came Clarisse, leading the Ares cabin. She had one arm in a sling and a nasty-looking gash on her cheek, but otherwise her encounter with the bronze bulls didn't seem to have fazed her. Someone had taped a piece of paper to her back that said, YOU MOO, GIRL!
"Who did that!" Clarisse demanded angrily. The Hermes kids all looked at each other and sniggered.
"Jake I think." Connor said. "Not sure though, it was a while ago Clarisse." She glared at him while Ares frowned at his daughter.
But nobody in her cabin was bothering to tell her about it.
Clarisse looked even angrier about that. Ares considered this. If her cabin mates would not have her back maybe she was not the right person to be leading his children. If she could not control her own brothers and sisters, how could she be a good army commander?
After the Ares kids came the Hephaestus cabin—six guys led by Charles Beckendorf, a big fifteen-year-old African American kid.
Hephaestus smiled at his son and Leo looked over at his half brother. So far he seemed like a really decent guy and he could see why his cabin mates liked him.
He had hands the size of catchers' mitts and a face that was hard and squinty from looking into a blacksmith's forge all day. He was nice enough once you got to know him, but no one ever called him Charlie
"Not yet, anyway." Travis said slyly, glancing over at Silena. Beckendorf went slightly red as Silena grinned widely.
or Chuck or Charles. Most just called him Beckendorf. Rumor was he could make anything.
"He can." Silena praised her boyfriend. Beckendorf went even redder.
"Not anything ."
"Yes. You are fantastic." She told him sternly.
Give him a chunk of metal and he could create a razor-sharp sword or a robotic warrior or a singing birdbath for your grandmother's garden. Whatever you wanted. The other cabins filed in: Demeter, Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus. Naiads came up from the canoe lake. Dryads melted out of the trees. From the meadow came a dozen satyrs, who reminded me painfully of Grover.
Grover grinned over at Percy.
I'd always had a soft spot for the satyrs. When they were at camp, they had to do all kinds of odd jobs for Mr. D, the director, but their most important work was out in the real world. They were the camp's seekers. They went undercover into schools all over the world, looking for potential half-bloods and escorting them back to camp.
It never ceased to surprise the Romans, hearing how useful Fauns could be. Reyna and Dakota began very quietly discussing some plans.
That's how I'd met Grover. He had been the first one to recognize I was a demigod. After the satyrs filed in to dinner, the Hermes cabin brought up the rear. They were always the biggest cabin. Last summer, it had been led by Luke, the guy who'd fought with Thalia and Annabeth on top of Half-Blood Hill. For a while, before Poseidon had claimed me, I'd lodged in the Hermes cabin. Luke had befriended me…and then he'd tried to kill me. Now the Hermes cabin was led by Travis and Connor Stoll.
Hermes smiled proudly and ruffled both of his children's hair.
"I'm sure my cabin is in good hands." Hermes said. Their chests puffed out with pride.
"The best." Chris agreed. Having been in the cabin under both Luke and the Stolls, he could tell they were good co-leaders. The Stolls looked at their brother in surprise and grinned gratefully.
They weren't twins, but they looked so much alike it didn't matter. I could never remember which one was older.
"That's me." Travis said. "But Connor is the louder one so people usually think he's older."
They were both tall and skinny, with mops of brown hair that hung in their eyes. They wore orange CAMP HALFBLOOD T-shirts untucked over baggy shorts, and they had those elfish features all Hermes's kids had: upturned eyebrows, sarcastic smiles, a gleam in their eyes whenever they looked at you—like they were about to drop a firecracker down your shirt.
"That's a great idea." Connor grinned.
"No it's not." Annabeth told him firmly.
"Indeed it is not." Chiron agreed. The Stolls nodded but exchanged smirks that had all the other campers worried.
I'd always thought it was funny that the god of thieves would have kids with the last name "Stoll," but the only time I mentioned it to Travis and Connor, they both stared at me blankly like they didn't get the joke.
"We got it. We had just heard it a lot." Travis rolled his eyes.
As soon as the last campers had filed in, I led Tyson into the middle of the pavilion. Conversations faltered. Heads turned. "Who invited that?" somebody at the Apollo table murmured.
Apollo frowned.
I glared in their direction, but I couldn't figure out who'd spoken. From the head table a familiar voice drawled, "Well, well, if it isn't Peter Johnson. My millennium is complete." I gritted my teeth. "Percy Jackson…sir." Mr. D sipped his Diet Coke. "Yes. Well, as you young people say these days: Whatever."
Poseidon glared at his nephew.
He was wearing his usual leopard-pattern Hawaiian shirt, walking shorts, and tennis shoes with black socks. With his pudgy belly and his blotchy red face, he looked like a Las Vegas tourist who'd stayed up too late in the casinos.
Many of the Greek campers sniggered loudly, too angry with Mr D to even attempt to muffle the laughter.
"How dare…"
"Hey, these are my private thoughts. It's not like I said it to your face." Percy reminded the God with an eye roll.
Behind him, a nervous-looking satyr was peeling the skins off grapes and handing them to Mr. D one at a time. Mr. D's real name is Dionysus. The god of wine. Zeus appointed him director of Camp HalfBlood to dry out for a hundred years—a punishment for chasing some off-limits wood nymph.
Zeus glared at his son while Hera glared at Zeus.
Next to him, where Chiron usually sat (or stood, in centaur form), was someone I'd never seen before—a pale, horribly thin man in a threadbare orange prisoner's jumpsuit. The number over his pocket read 0001. He had blue shadows under his eyes, dirty fingernails, and badly cut gray hair, like his last haircut had been done with a weed whacker. He stared at me; his eyes made me nervous. He looked…fractured. Angry and frustrated and hungry all at the same time.
"You thought he was a suitable replacement around children?" Demeter shrieked. "The man who was punished for trying to serve us his own son?"
"He did serve you his own son." Ares sniggered. Demeter glared furiously at him.
"I agree with Demeter. Dionysus, you have clearly lost your mind and are completely unsuitable to be looking after children." Poseidon glared at his nephew. "It is an insult to have him of all people looking after our children...your children. Why on Olympus would you think someone who had been sent to Punishment by us would be a suitable person to have at Camp?" Dionysus didn't answer.
"I must agree with Poseidon." Zeus said heavily. It was one thing for his son to not particularly care about the children but to allow his daughter's tree to be poisoned...that could not go unpunished. Annoyingly the brats were correct and as the director, Dionysus was the one who should take the blame.
"Father…" Dionysus pleaded. He didn't particularly care about being removed from camp, besides that had been made clear during the last book. His bigger concern was what punishment would be in store for him now. His father had been threatening to turn him mortal.
"We will discuss this later." Zeus said firmly.
"This boy," Dionysus told him, "you need to watch. Poseidon's child, you know." "Ah!" the prisoner said. "That one." His tone made it obvious that he and Dionysus had already discussed me at length.
Poseidon and Percy both glared at Dionysus. The Wine God sunk down into the couch he was sitting on. This was going to be a long book if it continued in this vein. He had no idea what his future self was thinking doing something so risky.
"I am Tantalus," the prisoner said, smiling coldly. "On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Perseus Jackson, I do expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble."
The Greek campers all glared at the book.
"Good luck with that." Reyna smiled. "I don't think Percy is capable of not at least finding trouble even if he does not cause it."
"Trouble?" I demanded. Dionysus snapped his fingers. A newspaper appeared on the table—the front page of today's New York Post. There was my yearbook picture from Meriwether Prep. It was hard for me to make out the headline, but I had a pretty good guess what it said. Something like: Thirteen-Year-Old Lunatic Torches Gymnasium. "Yes, trouble," Tantalus said with satisfaction. "You caused plenty of it last summer, I understand."
"Percy stopped a war last summer you…" Thalia stopped herself with a quick glance at her father.
"I always did wonder why he seemed to hate Percy so much." Beckendorf frowned. "He singled him out from the first second."
"Maybe he was working for Kronos. He certainly would have no love of the Gods." Silena shrugged.
"Or Dionysus just told him that Percy was a troublemaker." Nico suggested darkly.
"Dionysus." Poseidon said threateningly.
"I don't know. I haven't done this yet." The Wine God threw his hands up in exasperation.
I was too mad to speak. Like it was my fault the gods had almost gotten into a civil war? A satyr inched forward nervously and set a plate of barbecue in front of Tantalus. The new activities director licked his lips. He looked at his empty goblet and said, "Root beer. Barq's special stock. 1967." The glass filled itself with foamy soda. Tantalus stretched out his hand hesitantly, as if he were afraid the goblet was hot. "Go on, then, old fellow," Dionysus said, a strange sparkle in his eyes. "Perhaps now it will work."
"Oh, I get it. You just wanted to see someone else as miserable as you." Apollo looked at his half brother and rolled his eyes.
Tantalus grabbed for the glass, but it scooted away before he could touch it. A few drops of root beer spilled, and Tantalus tried to dab them up with his fingers, but the drops rolled away like quicksilver before he could touch them. He growled and turned toward the plate of barbecue. He picked up a fork and tried to stab a piece of brisket, but the plate skittered down the table and flew off the end, straight into the coals of the brazier.
The demigods all chuckled darkly.
"Blast!" Tantalus muttered. "Ah, well," Dionysus said, his voice dripping with false sympathy. "Perhaps a few more days. Believe me, old chap, working at this camp will be torture enough. I'm sure your old curse will fade eventually."
"No. It won't. And you know that." Hades raised an eyebrow.
"Indeed I do." Dionysus smirked. At least someone else would suffer with him.
"Eventually," muttered Tantalus, staring at Dionysus's Diet Coke. "Do you have any idea how dry one's throat gets after three thousand years?" "You're that spirit from the Fields of Punishment," I said. "The one who stands in the lake with the fruit tree hanging over you, but you can't eat or drink." Tantalus sneered at me. "A real scholar, aren't you, boy?" "You must've done something really horrible when you were alive," I said, mildly impressed.
"Impressed?" Hermes asked in astonishment.
"Hey, it had to be awful to earn him that kind of punishment." Percy said.
"That's probably the worst torture Percy can think of. Permanently looking at food and being unable to eat it." Annabeth laughed.
"What was it?" Tantalus's eyes narrowed. Behind him, the satyrs were shaking their heads vigorously, trying to warn me. "I'll be watching you, Percy Jackson," Tantalus said. "I don't want any problems at my camp." "Your camp has problems already…sir."
"Indeed." Reyna frowned. This did not sound promising.
"He must have noticed." Chris said.
"He did. He just didn't care." Connor scowled.
"Oh, go sit down, Johnson," Dionysus sighed. "I believe that table over there is yours—the one where no one else ever wants to sit." My face was burning, but I knew better than to talk back. Dionysus was an overgrown brat, but he was an immortal, superpowerful overgrown brat.
Dionysus scowled and made to open his mouth.
"Shut it, nephew. That's exactly what you are currently acting like." Poseidon stated.
"He clearly gets his dramatics from his father." Hades noted. Zeus glared while the two brothers high fived each other.
I said, "Come on, Tyson." "Oh, no," Tantalus said. "The monster stays here. We must decide what to do with it."
"Tyson is not an 'it'." Beckendorf snapped. It was bad enough the way Annabeth had been treating him but at least she had a reason.
"Him," I snapped. "His name is Tyson." The new activities director raised an eyebrow. "Tyson saved the camp," I insisted. "He pounded those bronze bulls. Otherwise they would've burned down this whole place."
"I'm quite sure they would both actually have liked that." Frank said with a slight frown.
"Indeed." Aphrodite said angrily. Dionysus shrunk even further under yet more glares. He was desperately wishing this chapter would be over very soon.
"Yes," Tantalus sighed, "and what a pity that would've been." Dionysus snickered.
"OK! I get it. Future me is terrible." Dionysus said this a little sarcastically. "But I haven't done it yet so please stop glaring at me."
"Not until you actually seem sorry, nephew." Poseidon's glare actually increased. The Wine God subsided and sank back down to sulk.
"Leave us," Tantalus ordered, "while we decide this creature's fate." Tyson looked at me with fear in his one big eye, but I knew I couldn't disobey a direct order from the camp directors. Not openly, anyway. "I'll be right over here, big guy," I promised. "Don't worry. We'll find you a good place to sleep tonight."
"You're a good friend." Piper smiled at Percy. He grimaced.
Tyson nodded. "I believe you. You are my friend." Which made me feel a whole lot guiltier. I trudged over to the Poseidon table and slumped onto the bench. A wood nymph brought me a plate of Olympian olive and pepperoni pizza, but I wasn't hungry.
A few people gave Percy understanding looks. The whole day had been one heck of a shock for him and his impressive appetite.
I'd been almost killed twice today. I'd managed to end my school year with a complete disaster. Camp Half-Blood was in serious trouble and Chiron had told me not to do anything about it.
"For your own safety." Chiron sighed.
"Camp really wasn't any safer, especially as Tantalus had it out for me from the beginning." Percy shrugged.
I didn't feel very thankful, but I took my dinner, as was customary, up to the bronze brazier and scraped part of it into the flames. "Poseidon," I murmured, "accept my offering." And send me some help while you're at it, I prayed silently. Please.
"I already did." Poseidon smiled.
"Yeah, I just didn't know it yet." Percy smiled at his father while his insides squirmed with guilt.
The smoke from the burning pizza changed into something fragrant—the smell of a clean sea breeze with wildflowers mixed in—but I had no idea if that meant my father was really listening.
"I'm always listening." Poseidon stated. "Or at least, I'm certain my future self is."
"You were." Percy assured his father.
I went back to my seat. I didn't think things could get much worse. But then Tantalus had one of the satyrs blow the conch horn to get our attention for announcements. "Yes, well," Tantalus said, once the talking had died down. "Another fine meal! Or so I am told."
There were a few sniggers at this.
As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his refilled dinner plate, as if maybe the food wouldn't notice what he was doing, but it did. It shot away down the table as soon as he got within six inches. "And here on my first day of authority," he continued, "I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here. Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture, er, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat."
The Gods all glared at Dionysus once more for allowing this.
"Hey, I may be the director but father sure hasn't done anything about my appointment." The Wine God pointed out.
"Maybe he didn't notice." Apollo snorted softly. Zeus turned to glare at his son but Apollo glared right back.
Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some halfhearted applause from the satyrs. Tyson was still standing at the head table, looking uncomfortable, but every time he tried to scoot out of the limelight, Tantalus pulled him back. "And now some changes!" Tantalus gave the campers a crooked smile. "We are reinstituting the chariot races!"
Ares grinned wildly while Chiron shook his head.
"Weren't those band because people died?" Chris asked tentatively.
"Yes." The Centaur said tightly.
"Which was what he was hoping for I'm sure." Beckendorf scowled. Hades narrowed his eyes. It seems he would be having some words with Tantalus once he got back to the Underworld.
Murmuring broke out at all the tables—excitement, fear, disbelief. "Now I know," Tantalus continued, raising his voice, "that these races were discontinued some years ago due to, ah, technical problems."
"Technical problems?" Demeter asked angrily.
"Three deaths and twenty-six mutilations," someone at the Apollo table called. "Yes, yes!" Tantalus said. "But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"
"And with such a reward he has now made what was an already dangerous sport, super competitive." Hermes frowned.
An explosion of excited conversation—no KP for a whole month? No stable cleaning? Was he serious? Then the last person I expected to object did so. "But, sir!" Clarisse said. She looked nervous, but she stood up to speak from the Ares table. Some of the campers snickered when they saw the YOU MOO, GIRL! sign on her back. "What about patrol duty? I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots—"
Ares and Chiron both nodded proudly at the girl and she puffed up with pride.
"He won't care." Chris guessed.
"Ah, the hero of the day," Tantalus exclaimed. "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!"
"No she did not." Poseidon scowled. Without his sons they would have been killed.
"I know, Lord Poseidon." Clarisse said, all pride gone. "Tantalus made me his favourite and I couldn't do any wrong in his eyes." The Gods all gave her a slightly disgusted look. Anyone who was a favourite of Tantalus was not welcome in their eyes.
"Hey! She didn't ask to be made his favourite." Percy pointed out.
"Yeah, she might have been insufferable about it, but she didn't ask for it." Travis spoke up. Clarisse shot him an odd look that seemed to be part annoyance and part gratitude.
Clarisse blinked, then blushed. "Um, I didn't—" "And modest, too." Tantalus grinned. "Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"
"No. They are there to survive." Artemis stated.
"But the tree—" "And now," Tantalus said, as several of Clarisse's cabin mates pulled her back into her seat, "before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here." Tantalus waved a hand toward Tyson. Uneasy murmuring spread among the campers. A lot of sideways looks at me. I wanted to kill Tantalus.
"Don't we all." Thalia said through gritted teeth.
"Yes." The Greek campers all chorused.
"Now, of course," he said, "Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity.
"You have no brain capacity." Beckendorf grunted angrily.
Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks. But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes's cabin, possibly?" Silence at the Hermes table. Travis and Connor Stoll developed a sudden interest in the tablecloth.
The Stolls looked slightly ashamed.
"Don't worry. I knew why you didn't want Tyson in your cabin." Percy smiled at them. They grinned back at him in relief.
I couldn't blame them. The Hermes cabin was always full to bursting. There was no way they could take in a six-foot-three Cyclops.
Hermes winced at the idea of his kids being so cramped.
"Come now," Tantalus chided. "The monster may be able to do some menial chores. Any suggestions as to where such a beast should be kenneled?"
Beckendorf and Poseidon scowled furiously.
"Brother." Poseidon said through gritted teeth. Hades nodded sharply. He already had plans.
Suddenly everybody gasped. Tantalus scooted away from Tyson in surprise. All I could do was stare in disbelief at the brilliant green light that was about to change my life—a dazzling holographic image that had appeared above Tyson's head. With a sickening twist in my stomach, I remembered what Annabeth had said about Cyclopes, They're the children of nature spirits and gods…Well, one god in particular, usually… Swirling over Tyson was a glowing green trident—the same symbol that had appeared above me the day Poseidon had claimed me as his son.
"You actually claimed a Cyclops?" Aphrodite blinked in surprise.
"I suspect I made sure Tyson and Percy met and so I would want them to stay together." Poseidon shrugged.
There was a moment of awed silence. Being claimed was a rare event. Some campers waited in vain for it their whole lives. When I'd been claimed by Poseidon last summer, everyone had reverently knelt. But now, they followed Tantalus's lead, and Tantalus roared with laughter.
Poseidon ground his teeth together in frustration. This was going to be a very long book. He actually was wanting Percy to sneak off. At least, despite how unpleasant it was, hearing about his son in danger, he knew Percy survived. Listening to this scum talk to his children like this, without Dionysus stepping in, was grating on his nerves which were already wearing very thin with his nephew.
"Well! I think we know where to put the beast now. By the gods, I can see the family resemblance!" Everybody laughed except Annabeth and a few of my other friends.
Clarisse, Silena and the Stolls all went red.
"Sorry Perc." The Stolls said together. They went even redder seeing a disappointed look being shot in their direction by their father.
"Sorry, Percy." Silena gave him an apologetic smile.
"It's fine guys." Percy said stiffly. Thalia glared at the four culprits.
Tyson didn't seem to notice. He was too mystified, trying to swat the glowing trident that was now fading over his head.
There were a few snickers but the atmosphere was too tense so they didn't last long.
He was too innocent to understand how much they were making fun of him, how cruel people were. But I got it. I had a new cabin mate. I had a monster for a half-brother.
Poseidon's brow creased a little. It didn't sound like Percy was very happy. In fact his son appeared to be shrinking in his seat.
"The chapter is over." Dakota announced.
"I think Dionysus should read the next chapter." Poseidon stated firmly. The Wine God opened his mouth to argue but saw the expression on his uncle's face and simply took the book from his son.
"I feel we should take a quick break to stretch our legs after the next chapter." Chiron announced. Everybody nodded their agreement and Dionysus started reading in a long suffering tone.