Chapter 3: Bianca Di Angelo Makes a Choice
Nico grimaced. He knew exactly what choice this was. Some part of him was interested to know exactly why his sister had abandoned him at the drop of a hat and the other part thought that no reason would be good enough.
After seeing Dr. Thorn turn into a monster and plummet off the edge of a cliff with Annabeth, you'd think nothing else could shock me. But when this twelve-year-old girl told me she was the goddess Artemis, I said something real intelligent like, "Um… okay."
A few people chuckled.
That was nothing compared to Grover. He gasped, then knelt hastily in the snow and started yammering, "Thank you, Lady Artemis! You're so… you're so… Wow!"
Now everybody was laughing while Artemis raised an eyebrow at the blushing Satyr. Grover put his head in his hands. This was only the beginning. He could imagine the Goddess' reaction to some of his actions when they got back to Camp. He was fairly certain Percy had managed to witness at least half of his stupidity.
"Get up, goat boy!" Thalia snapped. "We have other things to worry about. Annabeth is gone!" "Whoa," Bianca Di Angelo said. "Hold up. Time out." Everybody looked at her. She pointed her finger at all of us in turn, like she was trying to connect the dots. "Who… who are you people?" Artemis's expression softened. "It might be a better question, my dear girl, to ask who are you! Who are your parents?"
"No, I think Bianca's question was perfectly valid too." Nico stated grimly. "Especially as we had just been almost kidnapped."
Bianca glanced nervously at her brother, who was still staring in awe at Artemis. "Our parents are dead," Bianca said. "We're orphans. There's a bank trust that pays for our school, but…"
Hades grimaced as he thought of his poor Maria. He wished he had been able to protect her as well as the children. Then he sent a glare towards Zeus. Persephone guessed where her husband's thoughts had gone and sighed. She grasped his hand in support. She may dislike his dalliance with mortals but she didn't like seeing her husband in pain.
She faltered. I guess she could tell from our faces that we didn't believe her. "What?" she demanded. "I'm telling the truth." "You are a half-blood," Zoe Nightshade said. Her accent was hard to place. It sounded old-fashioned, like she was reading from a really old book. "One of thy parents was mortal. The other was an Olympian." "An Olympian… athlete?"
"Nope." Connor laughed. "Though that would be cool."
"Cooler than having a god for a parent?" Rachel asked.
"In some ways." Chris stated. All the Gods looked affronted at this statement.
"No," Zoe said. "One of the gods." "Cool!" said Nico. "No!" Bianca's voice quavered. "This is not cool!" Nico danced around like he needed to use the restroom. "Does Zeus really have lightning bolts that do six hundred damage? Does he get extra movement points for—"
"What?" Will choked while trying to turn his laughter into a cough. Given the glare Nico was giving him, he figured he hadn't been successful.
"Never mind." Nico said through gritted teeth. "Just ignore all of the next part."
"Oh no. This is going to be brilliant." Travis sniggered.
"You were so hyperactive." Beckendorf smiled. Nico buried his face in his hands.
"Nico was hyperactive?" Hazel asked in astonishment. She could not imagine her brother acting in such a way, even with what they were reading.
"Yep." Will nodded.
"You have no idea." Percy said with a long-suffering sigh. Then he winked at Nico to let him know he was joking.
"Nico, shut up!" Bianca put her hands to her face. "This is not your stupid Mythomagic game, okay? There are no gods!" As anxious as I felt about Annabeth—all I wanted to do was search for her—
"Thanks." Annabeth said.
"Anytime." Percy nodded.
I couldn't help feeling sorry for the Di Angelos. I remembered what it was like for me when I first learned I was a demigod.
"At least you found out pretty quickly. I had to fight a Fury and then spend months thinking I was going insane." Percy grumbled.
"You were already insane." Nico replied.
"And you weren't?" Percy raised an eyebrow. "The kid who asked if Zeus had lightning bolts that did six hundred damage." Nico went red again and didn't reply.
Thalia must've been feeling something similar, because the anger in her eyes subsided a little bit. "Bianca, I know it's hard to believe. But the gods are still around. Trust me. They're immortal. And whenever they have kids with regular humans, kids like us, well… Our lives are dangerous." "Dangerous," Bianca said, "like the girl who fell." Thalia turned away. Even Artemis looked pained.
So did Athena.
"That's a pretty horrible way to learn that lesson." Will grimaced, feeling extra bad for the Di Angelo siblings.
"Do not despair for Annabeth," the goddess said. "She was a brave maiden. If she can be found, I shall find her." "Then why won't you let us go look for her?" I asked. "She is gone. Can't you sense it, Son of Poseidon? Some magic is at work. I do not know exactly how or why, but your friend has vanished."
"Well, the Manticore wouldn't just jump off a cliff to his death so I guess that makes sense." Clarisse nodded. Triton let out a sigh of relief. He liked Athena and hoped her daughter would be alright. Then he had to remind himself the girl was here and so had clearly survived whatever happened.
"At least Annabeth managed to hold on then. It wouldn't have been good if she'd fallen off." Thalia said with a grimace.
"Thorn wanted them alive so he probably wouldn't have let her fall. He would have wanted a prisoner." Percy reminded her.
"Honestly, if he was going to take a prisoner, it's probably a good thing it was me." Annabeth put in. "I was the only one there not a child of the Big Three."
"That's true." Thalia nodded. She didn't like it but who knows what would have happened if Luke had been able to capture one of the kids of the Big Three. She had barely been able to resist the Ophiotaurus as it was. If he'd had days to try and convince her, and no Percy to essentially claim the prophecy as his, she might well have given in.
I still wanted to jump off the cliff and search for her, but I had a feeling that Artemis was right. Annabeth was gone. If she'd been down there in the sea, I thought, I'd be able to feel her presence.
"You probably would as you are so attuned both to Annabeth and to your powers." Poseidon stated. Percy and Annabeth both went red at this statement.
"Oo!" Nico raised his hand. "What about Dr. Thorn? That was awesome how you shot him with arrows! Is he dead?"
There were a few more chuckles.
"Kill me now." Nico muttered.
"This isn't even the best bit. Remember our one on one conversation? Or when you met Mr. D?" Percy smirked. Dionysus groaned. That did not sound promising. Nico also groaned and hid his face in Will's shoulder without thinking.
"He was a manticore," Artemis said. "Hopefully he is destroyed for now, but monsters never truly die. They re-form over and over again, and they must be hunted whenever they reappear." "Or they'll hunt us," Thalia said. Bianca Di Angelo shivered. "That explains… Nico, you remember last summer, those guys who tried to attack us in the alley in DC?" "And that bus driver," Nico said. "The one with the ram's horns. I told you that was real." "That's why Grover has been watching you," I said. "To keep you safe, if you turned out to be half-bloods." "Grover?" Bianca stared at him. "You're a demigod?" "Well, a satyr, actually." He kicked off his shoes and displayed his goat hooves. I thought Bianca was going to faint right there.
"Really Grover?" Annabeth rolled her eyes.
"She'd already seen a Manticore, forgive me for thinking some hooves wouldn't be too much after that." Grover replied.
"There is only so much crazy a person can handle at once." Percy told his friend, recalling how he wanted to go home after seeing Naiads.
"Grover, put your shoes back on," Thalia said. "You're freaking her out." "Hey, my hooves are clean!"
"I don't think that was the problem." Leo stated as everyone laughed.
"Bianca," I said, "we came here to help you. You and Nico need training to survive. Dr. Thorn won't be the last monster you meet. You need to come to camp." "Camp?" she asked. "Camp Half-Blood," I said. "It's where half-bloods learn to survive and stuff. You can join us, stay there year-round if you like." "Sweet, let's go!" said Nico.
There were a few smiles at his enthusiasm.
"Wait," Bianca shook her head. "I don't—" "There is another option," Zoe said. "No, there isn't!" Thalia said.
Nico's good mood vanished immediately. Joining the Hunters was what had killed Bianca. If she hadn't been a Hunter then she would have never gone on that stupid quest. He was grateful to Thalia for trying to stop it happening, even if he knew it really had nothing to do with Bianca and more to do with Thalia's issues with the Hunters.
Thalia and Zoe glared at each other. I didn't know what they were talking about, but I could tell there was bad history between them. For some reason, they seriously hated each other.
Artemis frowned in concern. She wondered how Thalia had come to be her Lieutenant given how much she seemed to dislike her Hunters.
"We came to an understanding." Thalia told the Goddess quietly.
"We've burdened these children enough," Artemis announced. "Zoe, we will rest here for a few hours. Raise the tents. Treat the wounded. Retrieve our guests' belongings from the school." "Yes, my lady." "And, Bianca, come with me. I would like to speak with you."
Nico sighed. He didn't really want to hear his sister's reasoning for abandoning him because there was finally someone else to dump him with.
"What about me?" Nico asked. Artemis considered the boy. "Perhaps you can show Grover how to play that card game you enjoy. I'm sure Grover would be happy to entertain you for a while… as a favor to me?"
"I'm sure he would." Annabeth rolled her eyes, giving Grover a smirk. He went red and glared at her.
Grover just about tripped over himself getting up. "You bet! Come on, Nico!" Nico and Grover walked off toward the woods, talking about hit points and armor ratings and a bunch of other geeky stuff. Artemis led a confused-looking Bianca along the cliff. The Hunters began unpacking their knapsacks and making camp. Zoe gave Thalia one more evil look, then left to oversee things. As soon as she was gone, Thalia stamped her foot in frustration. "The nerve of those Hunters! They think they're so… Argh!"
"Seriously, what did they do?" Jason asked his sister. Asking her to join the hunt while she had been on the run didn't seem like enough to incite this kind of anger.
"I think I explained it to Percy later." She told him.
"I'm with you," I said. "I don't trust—" "Oh, you're with me?" Thalia turned on me furiously. "What were you thinking back there in the gym, Percy? You'd take on Dr. Thorn all by yourself? You knew he was a monster!"
"Because you wouldn't have done exactly the same thing." Percy glared at her.
"I'm not that stupid." Thalia retorted.
"Yeah you are." Annabeth told her friend. "You'd think you were perfectly capable of taking a single monster on by yourself, especially if the other option was getting Percy to help." Thalia scowled but had to admit her friend was correct. She would have behaved exactly as Percy had done. For the same reasons too.
"If we'd stuck together, we could've taken him without the Hunters getting involved. Annabeth might still be here. Did you think of that?"
"Annabeth was the one who decided to jump on his back." Rachel pointed out.
"Which saved their lives." Piper put in. "It distracted him from Percy and Thalia."
"You two are so like your fathers." Demeter shook her head in exasperation. "Any excuse to start a fight." Zeus and Poseidon both sent a glare at their sister before studiously avoiding each other's gaze.
"We're better now." Percy said. "Mostly."
My jaw clenched. I thought of some harsh things to say, and I might've said them too,
Thalia grimaced. Percy might not be cruel or mean in the slightest but he certainly had a way with words when he wanted too. His insults might be rubbish but he didn't need them to make you feel awful.
but then I looked down and saw something navy blue lying in the snow at my feet. Annabeth's New York Yankees baseball cap.
"At least you got that." Annabeth sighed.
"It came in very handy." Percy grinned.
Thalia didn't say another word. She wiped a tear from her cheek, turned, and marched off, leaving me alone with a trampled cap in the snow.
Annabeth hugged her friend.
The Hunters set up their camping site in a matter of minutes. Seven large tents, all of silver silk, curved in a crescent around one side of a bonfire. One of the girls blew a silver dog whistle, and a dozen white wolves appeared out of the woods. They began circling the camp like guard dogs. The Hunters walked among them and fed them treats, completely unafraid, but I decided I would stick close to the tents. Falcons watched us from the trees, their eyes flashing in the firelight, and I got the feeling they were on guard duty, too. Even the weather seemed to bend to the goddess's will. The air was still cold, but the wind died down and the snow stopped falling, so it was almost pleasant sitting by the fire.
Apollo whistled.
"You're pretty lucky. Not many males have seen my sister's camp."
Almost… except for the pain in my shoulder and the guilt weighing me down. I couldn't believe Annabeth was gone. And as angry as I was at Thalia, I had a sinking feeling that she was right. It was my fault.
"See what you've done?" Annabeth looked at Thalia who was already looking guilty.
"Sorry, Percy. It wasn't just your fault. We all made mistakes that day." Thalia told him. Percy nodded but she knew he wasn't convinced. Thalia made a mental note to speak to him when they took a break. This book was going to be particularly difficult for them, not just with the deaths of Bianca and Zoe but their rivalry as well.
What had Annabeth wanted to tell me in the gym? Something serious, she'd said. Now I might never find out. I thought about how we'd danced together for half a song, and my heart felt even heavier.
"It's probably a good thing. If she'd told you she wanted to join the Hunters you'd probably hate them as much as Thalia does." Rachel laughed.
"Yeah, we didn't need both of you being angry and upsetting them." Grover said.
I watched Thalia pacing in the snow at the edge of camp, walking among the wolves without fear. She stopped and looked back at Westover Hall, which was now completely dark, looming on the hillside beyond the woods. I wondered what she was thinking.
"Mostly I was just worrying about Annabeth but I was also thinking about the last time I met the Hunters." Thalia told him.
Seven years ago, Thalia had been turned into a pine tree by her father, to prevent her from dying. She'd stood her ground against an army of monsters on top of Half-Blood Hill in order to give her friends Luke and Annabeth time to escape. She'd only been back as a human for a few months now, and once in a while she would stand so motionless, you'd think she was still a tree.
"Really?" Thalia frowned. "I didn't know I did that." Annabeth, Percy and Grover all nodded.
"Yeah. Not often but you do do it occasionally." Annabeth told her friend. Zeus looked at his daughter in concern, wondering if there were any other side effects of his turning her into a tree.
Finally, one of the Hunters brought me my backpack. Grover and Nico came back from their walk, and Grover helped me fix up my wounded arm. "It's green!" Nico said with delight.
"You do realise wounds are not supposed to be green?" Will asked Nico in amusement.
"I know but it was cool to look at." Nico defended.
"Hold still," Grover told me. "Here, eat some ambrosia while I clean that out." I winced as he dressed the wound, but the ambrosia square helped. It tasted like homemade brownie, dissolving in my mouth and sending a warm feeling through my whole body. Between that and the magic salve Grover used, my shoulder felt better within a couple of minutes.
"That salve was awesome." Percy told his friend.
Nico rummaged through his own bag, which the Hunters had apparently packed for him, though how they'd snuck into Westover Hall unseen, I didn't know. Nico laid out a bunch of figurines in the snow—little battle replicas of Greek gods and heroes. I recognized Zeus with a lightning bolt, Ares with a spear, Apollo with his sun chariot.
Apollo smiled, as did most of the Greek demigods. It was still strange to them hearing about Nico this way. Even during this reading, he had been acting more relaxed than usual but still nothing compared to how he was in this book.
"Big collection," I said. Nico grinned. "I've got almost all of them, plus their holographic cards! Well, except for a few really rare ones." "You've been playing this game a long time?" "Just this year. Before that…" He knit his eyebrows.
"That's a pretty good collection for a year." Frank told Nico.
"What?" I asked. "I forgot. That's weird." He looked unsettled, but it didn't last long. "Hey, can I see that sword you were using?" I showed him Riptide, and explained how it turned from a pen into a sword just by uncapping it. "Cool! Does it ever run out of ink?"
"I have no idea." Percy frowned.
"I doubt it." Poseidon told him.
"It's doubtful because Percy wouldn't ever write with it enough to run out of ink." Annabeth laughed.
"Um, well, I don't actually write with it." "Are you really the son of Poseidon?" "Well, yeah." "Can you surf really well, then?"
Everyone burst out laughing.
"Yes I can." Percy told Nico.
"It would be pretty weird if you couldn't." Piper said. Percy nodded.
"It's just one of those things I'd never actually tried doing." Percy told her.
I looked at Grover, who was trying hard not to laugh.
He had no such compunction now and was happily laughing away. Nico glared at him.
"Jeez, Nico," I said. "I've never really tried." He went on asking questions. Did I fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (I didn't answer that one.)
"The answer is yes." Annabeth stated.
If Annabeth's mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn't Annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? (I tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one.)
Annabeth now glared at him.
"I don't blame you." Thalia said. "Insensitive much?"
"You're lucky you didn't say that to Thalia." Will told Nico who nodded.
"Sorry." Nico said with a wince. "I didn't really see what happened properly."
Was Annabeth my girlfriend? (At this point, I was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves.)
Nico groaned. He was honestly surprised Percy hadn't throttled him. And that Percy had spent so long trying to help him out.
Aphrodite grinned. Percy might not have his little crush on Annabeth anymore but she certainly still had one on him. She did love love triangles. They made things so interesting.
I figured any second he was going to ask me how many hit points I had, and I'd lose my cool completely, but then Zoe Nightshade came up to us.
Nico went red.
"You were going to ask that weren't you?" Will asked Nico noticing the blush.
"I might have been considering it." Nico admitted.
"I'm not a God?" Percy looked confused.
"Well, we had just met Artemis who looked twelve." Nico pointed out.
"I had already told you I was the son of Poseidon."
"You could have been a godly son." Triton scoffed at this.
"Percy Jackson." She had dark brown eyes and a slightly upturned nose. With her silver circlet and her proud expression, she looked so much like royalty that I had to resist the urge to sit up straight and say "Yes, ma'am." She studied me distastefully, like I was a bag of dirty laundry she'd been sent to fetch.
"She would probably prefer the dirty laundry." Apollo told him with a chuckle.
"I expect she would." Percy grinned. He and Zoe might have reached some kind of understanding but he had no doubt that in the beginning he was pretty much scum under her boot.
"Come with me," she said. "Lady Artemis wishes to speak with thee." Zoe led me to the last tent, which looked no different from the others, and waved me inside.
Apollo looked at his sister in shock. It was strange enough that she had let the boys stay in her camp but she never let a male in her tent. Not even him. She always came outside to greet him. Even Artemis looked surprised at her future self's actions. The Goddess wondered if the boy knew what honor he was being bestowed. She doubted it. Clearly something about him made her invite him in rather than going outside to see him.
Bianca Di Angelo was seated next to the auburn-haired girl, who I still had trouble thinking of as Artemis. The inside of the tent was warm and comfortable. Silk rugs and pillows covered the floor. In the center, a golden brazier of fire seemed to burn without fuel or smoke. Behind the goddess, on a polished oak display stand, was her huge silver bow, carved to resemble gazelle horns. The walls were hung with animal pelts: black bear, tiger, and several others I didn't recognize. I figured an animal rights activist would've had a heart attack looking at all those rare skins, but maybe since Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, she could replenish whatever she shot.
Artemis nodded. "Artemis is also Goddess of the hunt, so while certain animals are sacred to her, she favours hunting too." Annabeth reminded Percy who nodded his understanding.
I thought she had another animal pelt lying next to her, and then I realized it was a live animal—a deer with glittering fur and silver horns, its head resting contentedly in Artemis's lap. "Join us, Percy Jackson," the goddess said. I sat across from her on the tent floor. The goddess studied me, which made me uncomfortable. She had such old eyes for a young girl.
"That would be because she's not a young girl." Thalia told him with an eye roll.
"I know. But it was still strange because I'd never seen a God or Goddess take such a young form. The youngest was Hermes who looked mid-twentyish." Percy defended himself.
"Are you surprised by my age?" she asked. "Uh… a little." "I could appear as a grown woman, or a blazing fire, or anything else I want, but this is what I prefer. This is the average age of my Hunters, and all young maidens for whom I am patron, before they go astray." "Go astray?" I asked.
"Growing up, truly living life and falling in love are not going astray." Aphrodite scowled.
"They will be used by men and have their hearts broken." Artemis said scathingly.
"That does not happen to everyone. Sometimes women can be equally vicious, they use people too." Aphrodite replied scorn in her voice.
"Enough." Hestia told them in her quiet but commanding voice. They stopped arguing but continued to glare at each other.
"Grow up. Become smitten with boys. Become silly, preoccupied, insecure. Forget themselves."
Aphrodite opened her mouth but reluctantly shut it again at a look from Hestia.
"Oh." Zoe sat down at Artemis's right. She glared at me as if all the stuff Artemis had just said was my fault, like I'd invented the idea of being a guy.
"I don't blame Zoe for being angry but it's not like every male hurt her the way he did." Percy frowned. He totally got why she hated Hercules. That guy was a jerk for what he did to her but that didn't mean every male ever should take the blame for his actions. Artemis looked at him. It sounded as if he knew at least part of Zoe's story. The Goddess wondered how he had found out. Surely Zoe would not have told him as she hated discussing it but not many other people knew and they wouldn't betray Zoe's trust.
"You must forgive my Hunters if they do not welcome you," Artemis said. "It is very rare that we would have boys in this camp. Boys are usually forbidden to have any contact with the Hunters. The last one to see this camp…" She looked at Zoe. "Which one was it?" "That boy in Colorado," Zoe said. "You turned him into a jackalope." "Ah, yes." Artemis nodded, satisfied. "I enjoy making jackalopes.
"You were deliberately making him nervous." Apollo accused his sister.
"I am sure I merely wished to impress upon the boy how rare it is to be in my camp and my tent." Artemis replied.
At any rate, Percy, I've asked you here so that you might tell me more of the manticore. Bianca has reported some of the… mmm, disturbing things the monster said. But she may not have understood them. I'd like to hear them from you."
"You could have spoken to him outside of your tent." Apollo stated. "Your Hunters know better than to eavesdrop." Artemis shrugged. She was not sure why she had taken the actions she had in the future.
And so I told her. When I was done, Artemis put her hand thoughtfully on her silver bow. "I feared this was the answer." Zoe sat forward. "The scent, my lady?" "Yes." "What scent?" I asked. "Things are stirring that I have not hunted in millennia," Artemis murmured. "Prey so old I have nearly forgotten."
"That's not good." Athena said with a frown.
"Thorn mentioned old monsters waking up too." Demeter recalled. "It seems we need to brush up on our knowledge."
"Hopefully these books will tell us what monsters are stirring." Poseidon stated. In his mind he was running through all the ancient sea monsters he could think of. Triton was doing the same thing and telepathically comparing notes with his father.
She stared at me intently. "We came here tonight sensing the manticore, but he was not the one I seek. Tell me again, exactly what Dr. Thorn said." "Um, 'I hate middle school dances.'"
Everybody laughed.
"Percy." Poseidon rolled his eyes at his son in exasperation. Percy grinned sheepishly.
"I doubt that's the part she meant." Connor snickered.
"You never know. Artemis may have been interested in a Manticore's dance preferences." Percy smirked.
"I think not." Apollo laughed.
"No, no. After that." "He said somebody called the General was going to explain things to me." Zoe's face paled. She turned to Artemis and started to say something, but Artemis raised her hand.
Artemis sighed. It certainly seemed like this General would be Atlas. If he was freed it would be disastrous.
"Go on, Percy," the goddess said. "Well, then Thorn was talking about the Great Stir Pot—" "Stirring," Bianca corrected. "Yeah. And he said, 'Soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus.'"
Most of the Gods were still wondering about this. The most likely culprit was still Typhon but Artemis was not so sure. Something about it just felt off to her but she could not think of another alternative.
The goddess was so still she could've been a statue. "Maybe he was lying," I said. Artemis shook her head. "No. He was not. I've been too slow to see the signs. I must hunt this monster."
"Not on your own." Apollo said sharply. His sister looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
Zoe looked like she was trying very hard not to be afraid, but she nodded. "We will leave right away, my lady." "No, Zoe. I must do this alone."
"You should take someone with you." He reiterated. "If this monster is to bring the downfall of Olympus, you should not be hunting it alone." Artemis did not reply. She was too busy thinking. She would certainly not be stupid enough to hunt Typhon by herself as she knew she would stand no chance. What other monster could possibly be so dangerous but that she would risk hunting alone?
"But, Artemis—" "This task is too dangerous even for the Hunters. You know where I must start my search. You cannot go there with me."
"You're going to start at Mount Othrys." Athena stated.
"It makes the most sense." Artemis nodded.
"As… as you wish, my lady." "I will find this creature," Artemis vowed. "And I shall bring it back to Olympus by winter solstice. It will be all the proof I need to convince the Council of the Gods of how much danger we are in."
"Not Typhon then." Demeter muttered. That monster was not one who could be brought to Olympus by one Goddess alone.
"It seems that you have guessed what this monster is in the future." Ares looked at Artemis.
"Poor Bessie." Percy sighed to himself. It was still beyond him how a creature as nice as Bessie could have the power to bring down Olympus.
"You still need more proof?" Poseidon asked his brother in exasperation. Everyone was now looking at Zeus. The demigods were angry because they felt that if Zeus had allowed the Gods to be prepared earlier then so many might not have turned to Kronos, or been killed.
The Gods were all very unhappy that despite all the evidence, Zeus still wanted to turn a blind eye and ignore the fact that Kronos was rising.
"I don't know why you're so surprised Poseidon." Hades said. "Zeus never takes action until the world is already in chaos."
"That is not true." Zeus protested. "For all we know this could simply be a trick." All of the Gods rolled their eyes at this comment.
"You know what the monster is?" I asked. Artemis gripped her bow. "Let us pray I am wrong." "Can goddesses pray?" I asked, because I'd never really thought about that.
"Good question." Rachel said.
"I hadn't thought about it either." Apollo mused. "Interesting thought."
A flicker of a smile played across Artemis' lips. "Before I go, Percy Jackson, I have a small task for you." "Does it involve getting turned into a jackalope?"
"Why would you ask that?" Annabeth asked Percy.
"Artemis had made a pretty big point about turning the last guy in camp into a jackalope." He shrugged.
"Sadly, no. I want you to escort the Hunters back to Camp Half-Blood. They can stay there in safety until I return." "What?" Zoe' blurted out. "But, Artemis, we hate that place. The last time we stayed there—" "Yes, I know," Artemis said. "But I'm sure Dionysus will not hold a grudge just because of a little, ah, misunderstanding. It's your right to use Cabin Eight whenever you are in need. Besides, I hear they rebuilt the cabins you burned down."
"The Hunters burnt down cabins?" Leo asked.
"Yes." Connor scowled furiously. "With campers inside."
"What?" Artemis asked in concern.
"To be fair, they didn't realise there were still people in the cabins." Thalia put in, having heard this story from both sides.
"That's no excuse. There is almost always at least one person in the Hermes cabin. And the Aphrodite one." Travis said bitterly. It was only pure luck that his half-sister had been heard and gotten out in time. Silena was equally angry. Two of her siblings had been inside when the fire was started but thankfully, they had been close to the door and got out easily enough.
"Your Hunters burned down my cabin?" Now Aphrodite was scowling at Artemis. So was Hermes. The Goddess shrugged.
"I'm sure my Hunters had good reason."
"There is no good reason for burning down cabins that could have people in." Hermes snapped. "I doubt they even bothered to check."
"A few of the campers pulled some pranks, which were annoying but harmless on the Hunters because of their superior attitudes. In retaliation, the Hunters set fire to the Hermes cabin and the Aphrodite cabin in retaliation." Thalia explained. "They thought everybody was at dinner but it turns out a couple of kids weren't. Nobody was hurt though."
"Only by luck." Chris spat. The incident had been just after he got to camp. Aphrodite and Hermes continued glaring at Artemis but eventually the love Goddess continued reading.
Zoe muttered something about foolish campers.
All of the Greek demigods scowled angrily.
"And now there is one last decision to make." Artemis turned to Bianca. "Have you made up your mind, my girl?" Bianca hesitated. "I'm still thinking about it." "Wait," I said. "Thinking about what?" "They… they've invited me to join the Hunt."
Nico's glare intensified. He hated those stupid Hunters.
"What? But you can't! You have to come to Camp Half-Blood so Chiron can train you. It's the only way you can learn to survive." "It is not the only way for a girl," Zoe said. I couldn't believe I was hearing this. "Bianca, camp is cool! It's got a pegasus stable and a sword-fighting arena and… I mean, what do you get by joining the Hunters?" "To begin with," Zoe said, "immortality."
"Because that did her so much good." Nico muttered sarcastically to himself. Will squeezed his shoulders and rubbed his arm soothingly. He felt really sorry for Nico having to relive all of this.
I stared at her, then at Artemis. "She's kidding, right?" "Zoe rarely kids about anything," Artemis said. "My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal… unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely.
Nico didn't manage to stop himself giving a scathing snort at this. Two Hunters had died during one quest. Hades looked at his son in concern. The lack of Bianca and Nico's reactions were not giving him a good feeling about where his daughter might be. Maybe Nico was just upset his sister had joined the Hunt and left him behind. He tried to reassure himself with the thought but it still didn't seem right.
Or break their oath." "What oath?" I said. "To foreswear romantic love forever," Artemis said. "To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally." "Like you?" The goddess nodded. I tried to imagine what she was saying. Being immortal. Hanging out with only middle school girls forever. I couldn't get my mind around it. "So you just go around the country recruiting half-bloods—" "Not just half-bloods," Zoe interrupted. "Lady Artemis does not discriminate by birth. All who honor the goddess may join. Half-bloods, nymphs, mortals—"
"Really? You let mortals join?" Rachel said interestedly.
"Not so much these days, although that has more to do with the fact that mortals no longer believe in us." Artemis told her. "But I did allow mortals to join my Hunt in the ancient days." Percy looked at Rachel curiously. Did she want to join the Hunters?
"Which are you, then?" Anger flashed in Zoe's eyes. "That is not thy concern, boy. The point is Bianca may join if she wishes. It is her choice." "Bianca, this is crazy," I said. "What about your brother? Nico can't be a Hunter."
Nico shot Percy a grateful look. At least someone had remembered him.
"Certainly not," Artemis agreed. "He will go to camp. Unfortunately, that's the best boys can do."
"You say that like there is something wrong with being at camp." Apollo said to his sister.
"It is not as good as joining my Hunt." She shrugged.
"It's better." Silena snapped. Normally she didn't mind Artemis, others were entitled to live however they liked and Silena didn't mind, but the attitude of her Hunters angered her greatly. They thought all demigods were beneath them but particularly boys.
"Hey!" I protested. "You can see him from time to time," Artemis assured Bianca. "But you will be free of responsibility. He will have the camp counselors to take care of him. And you will have a new family. Us." "A new family," Bianca repeated dreamily. "Free of responsibility."
Nico frowned. So that was his sister's reason? She didn't want to be responsible for him anymore. Had he been that much of a burden? Was he not enough of a family for his sister? As soon as she had someone else to look after him, she dumped him and ran off. Mind you, two minutes in his company and Percy had wanted to throttle him. Maybe he was just that annoying. He was jerked out of his thoughts by a sharp poke to his ribs.
"Ow!" He glared at Will.
"It's not your fault your sister didn't appreciate how great you were." The son of Apollo told him forcefully.
Hades watched his son and felt a sudden flare of annoyance at his daughter. It was fairly obvious what her choice was going to be but could she not at least discuss her choice with her brother first? His son was only ten years old, thinking he had no parents, and now his only sister was going to abandon him. He did not begrudge Bianca her choice but he felt she could have been more considerate of Nico.
"Bianca, you can't do this," I said. "It's nuts."
"Thanks for trying, Perc." Nico said with a slightly watery smile.
"I'm sorry I couldn't do more."
"It's not your fault. It was her choice." Percy nodded but he didn't like it. He felt so bad for Nico.
She looked at Zoe. "Is it worth it?" Zoe nodded. "It is." "What do I have to do?" "Say this," Zoe told her, " 'I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis.'" "I… I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis."
"Wait! She didn't even tell you before she became a Hunter?" Will asked in astonishment. Nico shook his head, swallowing around the lump in his throat.
"See, your stupid Hunt is now dividing families." Aphrodite shot at Artemis.
"The girl is well within her rights to choose."
"That's pretty mean. I can't even imagine dumping Connor with some random strangers, who apparently live very dangerous lives, and joining some group he couldn't join without even consulting him." Travis frowned. "I mean, I consider dumping him off on someone else all the time, but not complete strangers." He added with a smirk at his brother. Katie smacked him on the arm.
"Don't be insensitive." She told him.
"Ow, woman!" Travis complained.
"Oh, I'd be delighted to get away from you." Connor shot back at his brother.
"Guys, not helping." Chris muttered, spotting Nico looking even more upset.
"Sorry." They said in unison.
"'I turn my back on the company of men, accept eternal maidenhood, and join the Hunt.'" Bianca repeated the lines. "That's it?" Zoe nodded. "If Lady Artemis accepts thy pledge, then it is binding." "I accept it," Artemis said. The flames in the brazier brightened, casting a silver glow over the room. Bianca looked no different, but she took a deep breath and opened her eyes wide. "I feel… stronger."
"It is pretty amazing." Thalia nodded, remembering when she had joined.
"Welcome, sister," Zoe said. "Remember your pledge," Artemis said. "It is now your life." I couldn't speak. I felt like a trespasser.
"I can't believe Arty let you watch that." Apollo nodded.
"Don't call me Arty!" His sister glared at him angrily.
"Sorry sis." He grinned cheekily in response. Artemis rolled her eyes at his antics.
And a complete failure. I couldn't believe I'd come all this way and suffered so much only to lose Bianca to some eternal girls' club.
"There was nothing you could do. She had every right to choose as she did." Poseidon told his son.
"You do like to take the blame for things you have no control over, don't you?" Triton commented, looking at his brother curiously. Percy shrugged.
"I should have tried harder." A few people rolled their eyes.
"There is no way you could try harder. You give one hundred and ten percent to everything you do. Especially when it involves helping friends or family." Annabeth told him.
"Then my best clearly isn't good enough." He shot back. Thalia decided to add that to their list of things to discuss later.
"Do not despair, Percy Jackson," Artemis said. "You will still get to show the Di Angelos your camp. And if Nico so chooses, he can stay there."
"Gee, thanks." Nico muttered bitterly. He was still stuck on the fact that his sister had just abandoned him without a second thought. Percy had fought for him harder than his sister.
"You know that still applies. You're always welcome at camp. It'd definitely be better than roaming the wild." Will told him.
"Great," I said, trying not to sound surly.
"I'm sure you failed." Thalia laughed.
"Well, I certainly understood why you hated them so much." Percy sighed.
"How are we supposed to get there?" Artemis closed her eyes. "Dawn is approaching. Zoe, break camp. You must get to Long Island quickly and safely. I shall summon a ride from my brother."
Apollo sat up eagerly. So he was going to meet Percy properly for the first time. He couldn't wait to hear Percy's first impression of him. Would he like him? He certainly seemed to here but still. He hoped that he made a good impression, and that Percy didn't do anything to upset him. Apollo didn't want to find out he was one of the Gods who wanted to kill him in the future. He couldn't even imagine wanting Percy dead right now.
"Ooh, I wonder what Percy thinks of Apollo." Hermes grinned. His own introduction had been pretty good so he was hoping to get some teasing material on his brother.
Zoe didn't look really happy about this idea, but she nodded and told Bianca to follow her. As she was leaving, Bianca paused in front of me. "I'm sorry, Percy. But I want this. I really, really do."
"He's not the one you should be apologizing to." Will growled. Nico gave a half smile at how defensive of him Will was.
Then she was gone, and I was left alone with the twelve-year-old goddess. "So," I said glumly. "We're going to get a ride from your brother, huh?"
"I was glum because of Bianca's choice not about meeting you." Percy assured Apollo when he saw the God's affronted look. Apollo grinned.
"Of course. Who could be upset about meeting me? I'm awesome."
"I thought we'd already covered this. You're not awesome."
"You don't really mean that."
"I totally do."
"Enough." Poseidon looked at them both. Though he outwardly seemed to be amused, Apollo could see the warning in his Uncle's eyes. Ah. Maybe he'd been found out. That would be an interesting conversation.
Artemis's silver eyes gleamed. "Yes, boy. You see, Bianca Di Angelo is not the only one with an annoying brother. It's time for you to meet my irresponsible twin, Apollo."
Nico and Apollo both glared at the Goddess for that comment.
"I am not irresponsible." Apollo protested indignantly. "You're the one about to chase an ancient monster capable of bringing down Olympus by yourself. I'd call that pretty irresponsible."
"You are irresponsible, Apollo." Athena told him with a long-suffering sigh.
"Stay out of it, 'Thena." He shot back. She glared at him.
"The chapter is over." Aphrodite interrupted the growing argument.
"I shall read." Reyna said before the Gods could begin arguing again. Aphrodite passed her the book and she started reading immediately.