Chapter Thirty Seven - The Lightning Thief

The rest of July passed in a blur, and all too soon campers were preparing for the last day of Summer. I decided to head down to the training arena to get in some last minute practice with my sword, but it seemed I wasn't the only one that had that idea.

Luke was absolutely destroying the battle dummies with a sword I'd never seen before. It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off, stabbing through their straw-stuffed guts like they were made of paper. His orange counselor's shirt was dripping with sweat. His expression was so intense, his life might have really been in danger. I watched, fascinated, as he swiftly reduced the whole row of dummies to nothing more than a pile of straw and broken armor.

Finally, he saw me, and stopped mid-swing. "Hey, kid."

"Um, sorry," I said, embarrassed. "I just..."

"It's cool," he said, lowering his sword. "I was just doing some last minute practice."

"Well, I don't think those dummies will be threatening us anytime soon."

Luke shrugged. "We build new ones every summer."

Now that his sword wasn't swirling around, I could see there was definitely something strange about it.

Luke noticed me looking; "Oh, you like my new toy? It's called Backbiter."

"Backbiter?" I asked. "Sounds kind of pretentious."

"All the best swords have names," he grinned.

"Well, I guess it beats Sting," I admitted. "What's it made out of?"

"One side is celestial bronze. The other is tempered steel. Works on mortals and immortals both," Luke said as he turned the blade in the light so it glinted wickedly.

I frowned. As children of the gods, we were held to a higher standard than mortals. One of the first rules Chiron tried to instill in us was that a hero should never harm mortals unless absolutely necessary.

"I didn't know they could make weapons like that," I said.

"They probably can't," Luke agreed. "It's one of a kind."

He gave me a tiny smile, then slid the sword into its scabbard. "Listen, I was going to come looking for you. What do you say we go down to the woods one last time, look for something to fight?"

I don't know why I hesitated. I should've felt relieved that Luke was being so friendly. Ever since we'd gotten back from the quest, he'd been acting a little distant. I was afraid he might resent us for all the attention I'd gotten. At least, I hoped that was the case and that he wasn't in the same group of people distrusting the Johnston siblings for their parentage.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" I asked. "I mean..."

"Aw, come on." He rummaged in his gym bag and pulled out a six-pack of Cokes. "Drinks are on me."

I stared at the Cokes, wondering where the heck he'd gotten them. There were no regular mortal sodas at the camp store. Maybe the Hermes cabin had their own contraband trade. It was likely. Either way... Sugar and caffeine. My willpower crumbled.

"Sure," I decided. "Why not?"

We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot. All the monsters with any sense must've been sleeping away the daylight in their nice cool caves. We found a shady spot by the creek where Percy had fought Clarrise during our first capture the flag game. We sat on a big rock, drank our Cokes, and watched the sunlight in the woods.

"You ever miss being out on a quest?" I asked. "I know, weird question and all. But being back here after all that... It just doesn't feel real, you know?"

A shadow passed over his face. I was used to hearing from the other girls how good looking Luke was, but at the moment, he just looked tired. His blond hair was gray in the sunlight. The scar on his face looked deeper than usual. I could imagine him as an old man.

"I've lived at Half-Blood Hill year-round since I was fourteen," he told me. "Ever since Thalia... well, you know. I trained, and trained, and trained. I never got to be a normal teenager, out there in the real world. Then they threw me one quest, and when I came back, it was like, 'Okay, ride's over. Have a nice life'."

He crumpled his Coke can and threw into the creek, which really shocked me. One of the first things you learn at Camp Half-Blood is: Don't litter. You'll hear from the nymphs and the naiads. They'll get even. You'll crawl into bed one night and find your sheets filled with centipedes and mud.

"The hell with laurel wreaths," Luke said. "I'm not going to end up like those dusty trophies in the Big House attic."

"You make it sound like you're leaving."

Luke gave me a twisted smile. "Oh, I'm leaving, all right, kid. In fact, I brought you down here to say good-bye."

He snapped his fingers. A small fire burned a hole in the ground at my feet. Out crawled something glistening black, about the size of my hand. A scorpion. I started to reach for my knife.

"I wouldn't," Luke cautioned. "Pit scorpions can jump up to fifteen feet. Its stinger can pierce right through your clothes. You'll be dead in sixty seconds."

"Luke, what—"

He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans. The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe then slowly up my pants leg. There had to be a way out of this. I needed time to think.

"Why are you doing this?"

"You know what my quest was two years ago? My father, Hermes, wanted me to steal a golden apple from the Garden of the Hesperides and return it to Olympus. After all the training I'd done,that was the best he could think up."

"That's not an easy quest," I said. "It's one of the classics."

"Exactly," Luke said. "All the gods know how to do is replay their past. I wanted to prove I was good enough for..." he shook his head. "Instead, I was told to relive someone else's glory days. What's the point in doing something that's already been done before? My heart just wasn't in it and in the end I was left holding it, bleeding in my hands. The dragon in the garden gave me this" - he gestured angrily at his scar - "I wanted to pull Olympus down brick by brick right then, but I bided my time. That's when I began to dream of Kronos.

"He convinced me to steal something worthwhile, something no hero had ever had the courage to take. When we went on that winter solstice field trip, I snuck into the throne room and took Zeus's master bolt right from his chair. Hades' helm of darkness, too. You wouldn't believe how easy it was. The Olympians are so arrogant; they never dreamed someone would dare steal from them. Their security is horrible."

He shook his head. "I almost made a clean break. Probably would have gotten further if I hadn't run into someone right as the elevator doors opened."

"That was you," I breathed. I remembered the hooded figure vanishing from sight after knocking me over. At the time, I thought it was a minor god or something, but it was Luke all along.

"I was halfway to New Jersey before I heard the storms rumbling, and I knew they'd discovered my theft."

The scorpion was sitting on my knee now, staring at me with its glittering eyes. I tried to keep my voice level. "So why didn't you bring the items to Kronos?"

Luke's smile wavered. "I... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt - the twin archers, my father... But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power and threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight.

"Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence. Afterward, the Lord of the Titans... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way - from Ares down to Tartarus. Then your brother showed up. A child of one of the Big Three gods."

"You summoned the hellhound, that night in the forest."

"We had to make Chiron think the camp wasn't safe, so he would start Percy on his quest. We had to confirm his fears that Hades was after him. And it sort of worked. Except you stepped up in his place."

"The flying shoes were cursed," I said. "They were supposed to drag me and the backpack into Tartarus."

"You got lucky," Luke admitted, looking down at the scorpion, which was now sitting on my thigh. "You should have died in Tartarus, kid. But now you're luck's run out. I'll leave you with my little friend to set things right."

"Thalia gave her life to save you," I said, gritting my teeth. "And this is how you repay her?"

"Don't speak of Thalia!" he roared, spit flying from his mouth. "The gods let her die! That's one of the many things they will pay for."

"You're being used, Luke. You and Ares both. Don't listen to Kronos."

"I'm being used?" Luke barked out a mocking laugh. "Maybe I am. That's what our parents do, isn't it? Look around you. What have the gods ever done for you? For anyone? Kronos will rise, and He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus."

"Call off the bug," I said. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself"

"Nice try, kid. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me," Luke chuckled. "My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."

"Luke..."

"Goodbye, Penelope. There's a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."

A new legend forged and stories told shall begin an Age of Gold.

I felt a chill run down my spine. That was what the oracle had foretold. It was a warning and I had missed it entirely. I grabbed the scorpion and threw it at Luke's face, reaching for my knife. Faster than I could react, he drew Backbiter and slashed the scorpion in half - sending monster dust flying. My knees buckled and I collapsed to the ground.

"Bad move," Luke clicked his tongue, as he moved to stand over me. "I'd tell you to have a good life, but what's left of it is probably going to be miserable."

My hand was swollen where the scorpion had stung me. As my vision began to darken, I saw him pull out a familiar necklace from his pocket - the magical teleportation amulet that Jo had given me! How had he gotten that? It should have been locked away in Cabin Nine. With one last look of what might have been pity directed at me, he pushed the center button and vanished in a ripple of darkness.

Sixty seconds, Luke had told me. I had to get back to camp. If I collapsed out here, my body would be a snack for some monster. Nobody would ever know what had happened. I staggered to my feet. My legs felt like lead. My vision was blurring. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.

"Help," I croaked, my throat felt cracked and dry. "Please..."

And then the world went dark.

I woke up in a panic. I was freezing cold, being held down and smothered, and no matter how hard I struggled, I couldn't move.

"She's awake!" someone called. Her voice sounded familiar, but strangely muffled.

Why was it so dark? Some of the weight shifted away and suddenly my vision was assaulted by brightness. When my eyes adjusted, I realized that I was under several layers of thick, heavy blankets in the Big House infirmary.

"Wha...?" I rasped, but choked on the syllable as my throat was too dry.

"Shh, don't speak yet," the voice said. I turned to see blonde hair and stormy grey eyes. Annabeth. She was holding a glass full of nectar and she extended the straw to my mouth. "Here, drink this."

The dryness in my throat cleared, and I felt some warmth creeping back into my limbs. Chiron rolled up next to my bed in his wheelchair.

"You were found in the woods half-dead from a monster attack," Chiron said. "One of the nymphs carried you to the boundary line just at the edge of the woods."

"A nymph?" I asked, blinking as my vision swam.

"A young Cypress nymph," Chiron said. I must have looked concerned because he quickly added; "She's fine. Cypress trees are naturally resistant to flame, and even if that were not the case, a nymph's body isn't entirely physical. So long as her tree remains undamaged, any injury inflicted on the body will regenerate. Now, do you remember what happened?"

"I don't..." I trailed off as my mind finally started to catch back up. "Luke tried to kill me!"

"No," Annabeth said, shaking her head.

"That's a strong accusation," Chiron said. "Are you certain?"

"Of course I'm certain," I said. "He summoned some kind of bug..."

I explained everything about the encounter in the woods from when he littered in the creek to the moment he vanished with my amulet, pausing only to drink more nectar and sparing no detail as I told the story.

"I can't believe he would..." Annabeth said, once I'd finished my tale. "No. No, I can believe it. He never was the same after his quest."

"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron murmured.

"Luke's out there somewhere," I said. "We have to..."

"No, Penelope," Chiron said. "You need to rest."

"We can't just sit back and do nothing," I said.

"We will not sit back," Chiron promised. "But, you must be careful. Kronos wants you to come unraveled. He wants your life disrupted, your thoughts clouded with fear and anger. Do not give him what he wants. Train patiently. Your time will come. The gods will decide what to do from here. I'll go report this at once."

"It's just... I should have seen this coming," I said, after Chiron left. "The prophecy... I know I didn't tell you guys, but it didn't seem like a big deal at the time. It said I'd be the one to usher in an age of gold. That's what Luke called it, too. What if he comes back because of me?"

"That's not going to happen," Annabeth said, firmly. "Prophecies are... They're tricky. They don't always mean what you think, and only make sense after it's happened. The best thing you can do is to keep moving forward. History is full of examples of what happened to people that tried and failed to manipulate prophecies."

I stayed silent, mulling over her words. I could see the wisdom in them - fitting from a daughter of Athena. She was right, of course. Still, I'd definitely dropped the ball this time. I vowed to myself that I'd fix things and that I'd be more wary the next time.

"Where's Percy?" I asked, changing the subject.

"He's packing up," Annabeth said.

"Packing?" I asked. "How long was I out?"

"A few days," Annabeth admitted, reluctantly. "A lot's happened. I'll let him explain."

"Well, I've spent long enough laying down," I said, sliding myself out from under the blankets.

"That's not a good idea," Annabeth said, as I stood up - only to crumble to the floor. "Told you, so."

"Yeah, yeah," I grumbled. "Laugh it up while you help me to my feet?"

I didn't want to be stuck in bed while Luke was out there planning to destroy the Western world. With Annabeth's help, I managed to take one shaky step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Annabeth. By the time we reached the porch, my face was beaded with sweat. My stomach had twisted into knots. But I had managed to make it all the way to the railing.

"Penny!" Percy called. He was heading toward the Big House with Andromeda and her brother, but started running when he saw me. "Are you alright? Shouldn't you still be in bed? Is it okay that you're...?"

"I'm fine," I lied.

"Bull crap," Andromeda said, looking at me with a skeptical eye.

"I heard you were packing up," I said, doing my best to ignore her. "Annabeth said I'd missed a lot?"

"Yeah. Apparently my... our stepdad was implicated in the kidnapping plot the media made up to cover your quest activity, and he's been arrested," Percy said. "Desi's been helping mom clean out the apartment in the meantime to make it livable. Apparently it was in pretty bad condition. Well, worse than usual."

"Desi?" I asked, images of colorful dresses passing through my head.

"Our mom," Andromeda explained.

"Oh," I said.

"So what are you going to do?" Percy asked. "Will you come live with us, or...?"

I considered that for a moment. On the one hand, I absolutely wanted to live with my mom and brother. I'd wanted that for the last six years. And with Smelly Gabe out of the way, that wouldn't be unmanageable. The only problem was uncle Joe and Ari. I'd really miss them. Of course, I knew what uncle Joe would say. He'd tell me to go for it. After all, I'd still be in the city. It wasn't as if I couldn't drop by and see him. With that in mind, my decision was made.

"Hell, yeah," I said, grinning.

"Awesome!" Percy grinned back. "And maybe we'll even get to go to the same school together."

Wait, what?