Chapter 5: I Place an Underwater Phone Call

"You called your dad?" Annabeth asked with a frown. Poseidon raised an eyebrow. He sort of hoped his son would call him but it would certainly be strange. Percy hadn't shown much inclination to speak with him so far, not enough to actually call him anyway.

"No. I called Tyson." Percy explained. That made more sense. It still stung a little that his son didn't feel he could just call him whenever he wanted.

I'd never seen Camp Half-Blood in winter before, and the snow surprised me.

"Why?" Clarisse sneered.

"Because of the magic boundaries. I didn't realise you guys would let the snow in." He shrugged.

"How else would we have snowball fights?" Travis asked with a grin.

See, the camp has the ultimate magic climate control. Nothing gets inside the borders unless the director, Mr. D, wants it to. I thought it would be warm and sunny, but instead the snow had been allowed to fall lightly. Frost covered the chariot track and the strawberry fields. The cabins were decorated with tiny flickering lights, like Christmas lights, except they seemed to be balls of real fire.

"They were." Silena confirmed for the Romans.

"It sounds pretty." Gwen smiled.

"It is. Maybe you guys could come for a visit some time?" Beckendorf suggested.

Everyone turned to Chiron while the Gods looked doubtful.

"Let us see what happens in the books first." Chiron said. Everyone nodded at that.

More lights glowed in the woods, and weirdest of all, a fire flickered in the attic window of the Big House, where the Oracle dwelt, imprisoned in an old mummified body. I wondered if the spirit of Delphi was roasting marshmallows up there or something.

Everyone burst out laughing at this.

"Man your mind is weird." Chris said, shaking his head in amusement. Percy grinned.

"Whoa," Nico said as he climbed off the bus. "Is that a climbing wall?" "Yeah," I said. "Why is there lava pouring down it?" "Little extra challenge. Come on. I'll introduce you to Chiron. Zoe, have you met—" "I know Chiron," Zoe said stiffly. "Tell him we will be in Cabin Eight. Hunters, follow me."

A few of the Greek campers scowled at her attitude.

"I'll show you the way," Grover offered. "We know the way." "Oh, really, it's no trouble. It's easy to get lost here, if you don't"—he tripped over a canoe and came up still talking—"like my old daddy goat used to say! Come on!"

"Really, Grover?" Annabeth shook her head.

"I can't believe you were still trailing after them like a lost puppy. It was pretty clear they were stuck up little..." Silena trailed off under a glare from Artemis. Aphrodite was nodding along with her daughter's words.

Zoe rolled her eyes, but I guess she figured there was no getting rid of Grover. The Hunters shouldered their packs and their bows and headed off toward the cabins. As Bianca Di Angelo was leaving, she leaned over and whispered something in her brother's ear. She looked at him for an answer, but Nico just scowled and turned away.

"What was that about?" Will whispered to Nico.

"She was asking if I'd be alright if she went with them. Not that I had much choice." Nico scoffed bitterly. Will squeezed his arm comfortingly.

"Take care, sweethearts!" Apollo called after the Hunters.

Artemis rolled her eyes.

He winked at me. "Watch out for those prophecies, Percy. I'll see you soon."

"Seriously, first you just look at me weirdly and then say something like that." Percy complained.

"What? I thought you'd be delighted that you get to see me again soon." Apollo smirked.

"Nope." Percy replied flatly.

"You're so mean."

"I think your ego can take it. In fact, it'll probably do it good." Apollo put a hand on his chest and put on an exaggeratedly hurt face but Piper started reading before he could reply.

"What do you mean?" Instead of answering, he hopped back in the bus. "Later, Thalia," he called. "And, uh, be good!"

"Half-bloods usually aren't." Dionysus drawled.

He gave her a wicked smile, as if he knew something she didn't.

"Of course I did. I am the God of Prophecy after all." Apollo said smugly.

Then he closed the doors and revved the engine. I turned aside as the sun chariot took off in a blast of heat. When I looked back, the lake was steaming. A red Maserati soared over the woods, glowing brighter and climbing higher until it disappeared in a ray of sunlight.

Apollo sighed. He hoped his future self was correct and that he would see Percy again soon.

Nico was still looking grumpy. I wondered what his sister had told him. "Who's Chiron?" he asked. "I don't have his figurine."

"Does Chiron have a figurine?" Frank asked.

"No. He really should." Nico frowned.

"I'm not one for that sort of thing." Chiron told them firmly.

"Our activities director," I said. "He's… well, you'll see. "If those Hunter girls don't like him," Nico grumbled, "that's good enough for me. Let's go."

"You should show some respect." Artemis glared at the boy. Nico glared right back.

The second thing that surprised me about camp was how empty it was. I mean, I knew most half-bloods only trained during the summer. Just the year-rounders would be here—the ones who didn't have homes to go to, or would get attacked by monsters too much if they left. But there didn't even seem to be many of them, either.

The Gods frowned.

"Surely not that many joined father?" Hades asked anxiously.

"Quite a few, yes. But a lot of demigods were also out on missions or helping Satyr's get new campers to Camp, that sort of thing. We needed all hands-on deck." Connor explained, glancing at Chris. He knew it was around this time that Clarisse had found his half-brother.

I spotted Charles Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin stoking the forge outside the camp armory.

Beckendorf grinned at his brief mention.

The Stoll brothers, Travis and Connor, from the Hermes cabin, were picking the lock on the camp store.

Hermes high fived his kids while Katie whacked Travis on the arm. Chiron gave them both stern looks but was clearly biting back a fond smile. As annoying as their stealing habits were, it had been good to see them behaving normally.

A few kids from the Ares cabin were having a snowball fight with the wood nymphs at the edge of the forest. That was about it. Even my old rival from the Ares cabin, Clarisse, didn't seem to be around.

"I was on a mission." Clarisse stated at the look she got from her father. Ares nodded. Chris wrapped his arm around her waist and smiled at his girlfriend. He would be forever grateful for what she had done for him.

The Big House was decorated with strings of red and yellow fireballs that warmed the porch but didn't seem to catch anything on fire. Inside, flames crackled in the hearth. The air smelled like hot chocolate. Mr. D, the camp director, and Chiron were playing a quiet game of cards in the parlor. Chiron's brown beard was shaggier for the winter. His curly hair had grown a little longer. He wasn't posing as a teacher this year, so I guess he could afford to becasual. He wore a fuzzy sweater with a hoofprint design on it, and he had a blanket on his lap that almost hid his wheelchair completely. He smiled when he saw us. "Percy! Thalia! Ah, and this must be—" "Nico Di Angelo," I said. "He and his sister are half-bloods." Chiron breathed a sigh of relief. "You succeeded, then." "Well…" His smile melted. "What's wrong? And where is Annabeth?" "Oh, dear," Mr. D said in a bored voice, "Not another one lost."

"How can you be so casual about my daughter being missing?" Athena glared at the wine God.

"It sounds like it's a common occurrence." Dionysus yawned.

"Honestly, what could Mr. D do though?" Percy asked. Dionysus' attitude had always angered him but his recent talk with Chiron had made him think about a few things. "He's not actually allowed to be any more involved than the rest of you really. It's Athena's daughter who is missing, but she isn't out there searching for her. I agree, Dionysus could at least not act so callously but he can't help much either."

The wine God did a double take at the brat's defense of him.

"Oh yes, because you were so understanding back then." Thalia scoffed, recalling how close Percy had come to being incinerated.

"I admit I didn't get it then." Percy shrugged. "And I should probably apologise for the way I'm about to behave in the book. I honestly would have deserved being turned into a dolphin but in my defense, one of my best friends was missing and my Camp Director was acting like he could have cared less. So, no, I didn't appreciate his attitude, but I also didn't realise exactly how much his hands were tied too." Poseidon smiled proudly at his son. He had definitely grown, even in the few days since they had come to Olympus.

Dionysus eyed the sea brat appraisingly. It surprised him that he had been the one who had noticed that his hands were tied. He could not go out and search for every demigod who went missing, nor could he interfere on their missions to help them. He was just grateful he wouldn't have to go to that blasted Camp anymore. Still, he was apprehensive about the boy's confession that he probably deserved to be turned into a dolphin. They had already read how rude and impulsive he could be. Dionysus bit back a groan. At least he had apologized.

I'd been trying not to pay attention to Mr. D, but he was kind of hard to ignore in his neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes.

Most of the demigods pulled horrified faces, even the ones who were used to seeing Mr. D's attire.

"You actually wear that?" Aphrodite screeched.

"Mr. D has running shoes?" Chris said in surprise.

"There is nothing wrong with my outfit." Dionysus snapped, just wanting this chapter to be done with already despite the fact that they had only just started.

(Like Mr. D had ever run a day in his immortal life.) A golden laurel wreath was tilted sideways on his curly black hair, which must've meant he'd won the last hand of cards.

"He actually won?" Chiron asked in surprise.

"I guess so. Or he just felt like wearing it." Percy shrugged.

"I won!" Dionysus crowed gleefully. He took a large sip of wine to celebrate.

"What do you mean?" Thalia asked. "Who else is lost?" Just then, Grover trotted into the room, grinning like crazy. He had a black eye and red lines on his face that looked like a slap mark.

"What did you do?" Annabeth asked Grover.

"Nothing." He said sheepishly.

"Evidently it wasn't nothing." Artemis raised an eyebrow. Grover blushed and refused to say more.

"The Hunters are all moved in!" Chiron frowned. "The Hunters, eh? I see we have much to talk about." He glanced at Nico. "Grover, perhaps you should take our young friend to the den and show him our orientation film."

"Oh sure. He gets to see the Orientation film." Percy complained good naturedly.

"You really didn't miss much." Will assured him.

"But if it means that much to you, we can show it to you when we get back to camp." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"But… Oh, right. Yes, sir." "Orientation film?" Nico asked. "Is it G or PG? 'Cause Bianca is kinda strict—" "It's PG-13," Grover said. "Cool!" Nico happily followed him out of the room. "Now," Chiron said to Thalia and me, "perhaps you two should sit down and tell us the whole story." When we were done, Chiron turned to Mr. D. "We should launch a search for Annabeth immediately."

"Thank you." Athena nodded to Chiron while Annabeth smiled gratefully.

"I'll go," Thalia and I said at the same time.

"Just not together." Clarisse said. "Not just the two of you anyway. You'd kill each other before you managed to find Annabeth."

"Na. We'd work it out."

"Like what happened at the creek, work it out?" Grover asked dryly. Both of them blushed.

Mr. D sniffed. "Certainly not!"

"Why you…" Athena began furiously.

"Oh do use that brain of yours." Dionysus snapped. "Yes it's a shame your daughter is missing but as we suspected she had been taken by a Manticore it is not worth risking losing more children in an attempt to find her. We are at war." Athena gaped at him.

"He's right." Ares spoke up. "We can't afford to lose any more of our children needlessly."

"Needlessly?" "Yes. Needlessly. Especially as Thalia and Percy are the ones who would be most likely sent after her. It would take the most powerful demigods to take on a manticore and they had already lost a fight against him. What would happen if Kronos captured either of them? He could use them against Olympus. Your daughter is not worth that risk." Ares stated. Athena gritted her teeth. She knew Ares was right, it would be a poor strategy to send the two demigods Kronos' wanted most, right into his hands. Still, that was her daughter!

Thalia and I both started complaining, but Mr. D held up his hand. He had that purplish angry fire in his eyes that usually meant something bad and godly was going to happen if we didn't shut up.

"Let me guess, you ignore the warning signs." Reyna stated. She would have found it funny had he not been showing such disrespect to a God.

"From what you have told me," Mr. D said, "we have broken even on this escapade. We have, ah, regrettably lost Annie Bell—"

"That was partly what set me off." Percy stated. "Annabeth had been at Camp for seven years by this point and he was still pretending not to know her name."

"To be honest, if Percy hadn't snapped at him, I would have." Thalia admitted.

"Annabeth," I snapped. She'd gone to camp since she was seven, and still Mr. D pretended not to know her name.

Athena glared at Dionysus once more but Chiron sighed. He knew it was the God's coping method for spending so long around the children and constantly watching them die. Still Dionysus could at least show the demigods he did care a little. His attitude was probably a large factor in why some of the demigods had joined Kronos. Chiron himself had spent much longer being very close with the children and watching them die. It obviously wasn't the same when it was Dionysus' own children but for the others, he didn't have to be so callous.

"Yes, yes," he said. "And you procured a small annoying boy to replace her.

Nico scowled. He was not just some replacement for a missing camper.

"One demigod does not simply replace another." Hermes frowned at Dionysus.

So I see no point risking further half-bloods on a ridiculous rescue. The possibility is very great that this Annie girl is dead."

Athena sighed. The logic was sound but it still hurt to hear it. Then she wondered how her daughter had been rescued.

I wanted to strangle Mr. D. It wasn't fair Zeus had sent him here to dry out as camp director for a hundred years. It was meant to be a punishment for Mr. D's bad behavior on Olympus, but it ended up being a punishment for all of us.

"Oh believe me, it's definitely a punishment." Dionysus stated as he glared at Percy. "And you would do well to watch your words."

"Hey, these are just my private thoughts to which I am entitled. In my own head I can say what the heck I like. And I apologized for the bit that's coming up."

"Indeed. Percy cannot be blamed for the thoughts in his own mind." Poseidon said sternly to Dionysus. The wine God grumbled about the disrespect but nobody paid him any attention.

"Annabeth may be alive," Chiron said, but I could tell he was having trouble sounding upbeat. He'd practically raised Annabeth all those years she was a year-round camper, before she'd given living with her dad and stepmom a second try. "She's very bright. If… if our enemies have her, she will try to play for time. She may even pretend to cooperate."

Annabeth smiled, pleased Chiron had such faith in her.

"That's right," Thalia said. "Luke would want her alive."

Athena bit her lower lip. While she was pleased her daughter was alive, she did not like to think of her captive by that madman.

"In which case" said Mr. D, "I'm afraid she will have to be smart enough to escape on her own."

"If anyone could, it would be Annabeth." Grover smiled.

"Not if she didn't want to escape." Percy muttered to himself. He suspected that Annabeth hadn't even really thought about escape. She had been too busy trying to convince Luke to come back to their side. Not that she would have gotten far with so many monsters nearby.

I got up from the table. "Percy." Chiron's tone was full of warning. In the back of my mind, I knew Mr. D was not somebody to mess with. Even if you were an impulsive ADHD kid like me, he wouldn't give you any slack. But I was so angry I didn't care.

Poseidon winced.

"You're glad to lose another camper," I said. "You'd like it if we all disappeared!" Mr. D stifled a yawn. "You have a point?"

"I see why they get so angry." Apollo muttered. His half-brother's blatant disregard for their lives was a bit disturbing. Then he wondered if the rest of them were any better, it just didn't seem quite so bad because they didn't live with the demigods at their camp.

"Yeah," I growled. "Just because you were sent here as a punishment doesn't mean you have to be a lazy jerk! This is your civilization, too. Maybe you could try helping out a little!"

"PERCY!" Annabeth yelled.

"Seriously. How is he alive?" Frank whispered to Hazel.

"I literally have no idea." She whispered back.

"Sorry. Sorry." Percy shrunk down on the couch under the weight of so many people looking at him. Triton stared at his half-brother in complete astonishment. He did not understand how he was still alive and not transformed into some creature. Hades, even their father would have punished him if he dared speak that way to him. It certainly did not endear the boy to him and he wondered if he could convince his father not to have him in this timeline. Dionysus half rose out of his seat in a fury.

"YOU DARE…" He thundered before he trailed off, too furious for actual words.

"Damn." Apollo whistled. "I think even I'd be tempted to blast you for that."

"Percy. For some reason, none of the Gods have yet killed you for your blatant disrespect but that does not mean you can say or do whatever you please." Poseidon told his son. "Bratty and annoying he may be, but Dionysus is still a God." Said God glared at him for that statement.

"I know." Percy sighed. "I was angry and grieving. And I can't change what happens in these books. I promise to be more respectful now though." The sea God nodded. He couldn't ask for more than that. Percy had acknowledged that he was wrong and apologized. This was only the third book, he thought in consternation. There were another seven books left. That left a lot of opportunity for Percy to offend more Gods. Still, he shouldn't be punished for something he could not change or had not even done yet. He also really did wonder what had stopped the wine God from doing something rather nasty to his son. Had he managed to intervene? He could not imagine intervening in such a matter without at least giving Percy a stern talking to.

After a few moments, Piper nervously started reading again.

For a second, there was no sound except the crackle of the fire. The light reflected in Mr. D's eyes, giving him a sinister look. He opened his mouth to say something—probably a curse that would blast me to smithereens—when Nico burst into the room, followed by Grover. "SO COOL!" Nico yelled, holding his hands out to Chiron. "You're… you're a centaur!" Chiron managed a nervous smile. "Yes, Mr. Di Angelo, if you please. Though, I prefer to stay in human form in this wheelchair for, ah, first encounters." "And, whoa!" He looked at Mr. D. "You're the wine dude? No way!"

Poseidon let out a relieved chuckle. So, this was how his son had wriggled out of punishment.

"Wine dude?" Dionysus scowled. "Yeah. That's what Apollo calls you in the orientation video." Nico told him, face red with embarrassment.

"Wine dude?" Dionysus now turned to Apollo who smirked.

"It fitted into the poem." He shrugged.

"You will take it out of that blasted video."

"No can do, I'm afraid." Apollo put on a fake sad face which made Dionysus scowl even more.

"I can't believe you called Mr. D 'wine dude'." Will smirked at Nico.

"Me either." Nico said dryly. While he hated everything he had been through, he was quite glad he was no longer that hyperactive ten-year-old.

Mr. D turned his eyes away from me and gave Nico a look of loathing. "The wine dude?" "Dionysus, right? Oh, wow! I've got your figurine." "My figurine." "In my game, Mythomagic. And a holofoil card, too! And even though you've only got like five hundred attack points and everybody thinks you're the lamest god card, I totally think your powers are sweet!"

Nico buried his face in his hands at this.

"What's so good about them?" Frank asked curiously.

"Power over mental illness and insanity. You wouldn't function if your brain was turned to mush." Nico shrugged, his voice muffled by his hands.

"He does have some cool powers." Percy admitted, thinking about the way he had healed Chris with ease. "Also, kind of terrifying." His mind turned to later in that quest to find Annabeth.

"Ah." Mr. D seemed truly perplexed, which probably saved my life. "Well, that's… gratifying."

"Yeah. Thanks for that Nico." Percy said with a grin. "That was some good timing there."

"Anytime." Nico smiled back.

"Percy," Chiron said quickly, "you and Thalia go down to the cabins. Inform the campers we'll be playing capture the flag tomorrow evening."

"Urgh." The Greeks all complained while Artemis looked smug. She knew her Hunters always won.

"A game? Should they not be preparing for war?" Ares frowned.

"It is tradition." Chiron told him.

"Capture the flag?" I asked. "But we don't have enough—" "It is a tradition," Chiron said. "A friendly match, whenever the Hunters visit."

"It is not friendly." Silena scoffed.

"That's because you always lose." Thalia smiled.

"You were on the demigod side last time so you've never actually won." Percy reminded her.

"Plus the Hunter's cheat." Silena said.

"What do you mean?" Artemis asked. "My Hunter's do not need to cheat to be superior to demigods." All of the demigods glared at that comment.

"Because they don't play by the Camp rules. They don't get punished for maiming us because they don't stay at Camp long enough." Katie pointed out.

"Well, it's not like the punishment is much of a deterrent." Poseidon snorted, recalling when his son had been attacked in the first book by the Ares campers. "You lose your dessert privilege."

"Maybe so but it does still stop us from doing so." Beckendorf shrugged. "We respect the rules." He glanced at Clarisse. "Mostly, anyway. The Hunter's don't even try to play fairly and abide by the rules. We can't even use our powers. Not actively anyway."

"That's to stop the Camp from exploding." Chiron put in, looking between Thalia and Percy who both grinned.

"Well next time, I will tell my Hunters they are to play by your Camp rules and they will still prove superior." Artemis said with a smug expression.

"We'll see about that." Silena muttered angrily.

"Yeah," Thalia muttered. "I bet it's real friendly." Chiron jerked his head toward Mr. D, who was still frowning as Nico talked about how many defenses points all the gods had in his game. "Run along now," Chiron told us. "Oh, right," Thalia said. "Come on, Percy." She hauled me out of the Big House before Dionysus could remember that he wanted to kill me.

"Good idea." Apollo nodded.

"You've already got Ares on your bad side," Thalia reminded me as we trudged toward the cabins. "You need another immortal enemy?"

"You mean aside from Kronos?" Percy asked dryly.

"You know what I meant." Thalia rolled her eyes.

She was right. My first summer as a camper, I'd gotten in a fight with Ares, and now he and all his children wanted to kill me. I didn't need to make Dionysus mad, too.

Poseidon nodded. "If only you would remember that before you speak."

"I'll try." Percy grinned sheepishly.

"Sorry," I said. "I couldn't help it. It's just so unfair." She stopped by the armory and looked out across the valley, toward the top of Half-Blood Hill. Her pine tree was still there, the Golden Fleece glittering in its lowest branch. The tree's magic still protected the borders of camp, but it no longer used Thalia's spirit for power. "Percy, everything is unfair," Thalia muttered. "Sometimes I wish…" She didn't finish, but her tone was so sad I felt sorry for her. With her ragged black hair and her black punk clothes, an old wool overcoat wrapped around her, she looked like some kind of huge raven, completely out of place in the white landscape.

"I do not look like a raven!" Thalia protested.

"You kinda did." Percy laughed. Everyone else joined in, finding that mental image hilarious. She glared at him but he didn't even notice he was too busy chuckling.

"We'll get Annabeth back," I promised. "I just don't know how yet." "First I found out that Luke is lost," she said. "Now Annabeth—" "Don't think like that." "You're right." She straightened up. "We'll find a way."

"Of course." Thalia nodded.

Over at the basketball court, a few of the Hunters were shooting hoops. One of them was arguing with a guy from the Ares cabin. The Ares kid had his hand on his sword and the Hunter girl looked like she was going to exchange her basketball for a bow and arrow any second.

"What was the argument about?" Rachel asked.

"Some of the campers wanted to shoot hoops too but the Hunters wouldn't let them because of the no guy rule. They seem to think that because they aren't allowed to fall in love they also can't be within a certain distance of males." Will scoffed. "You'd think that being male was contagious or something."

"Nothing unusual." Chiron sighed. It was never fun when the Hunters came to stay.

"I'll break that up," Thalia said. "You circulate around the cabins. Tell everybody about capture the flag tomorrow." "All right. You should be team captain." "No, no," she said. "You've been at camp longer. You do it."

"Only you guys would argue about being team captain." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"We can, uh… co-captain or something." She looked about as comfortable with that as I felt, but she nodded.

"That won't end well." Jason guessed.

"Understatement of the century." Katie told him.

"I can't believe I missed this." Clarisse groaned. She had heard about the fight several times and it sounded like it had been awesome.

"What happened?" Piper asked.

"Well, you've already seen how well Percy deals with Thalia being in charge." Connor said. "And we know Thalia is the same. So, combine the two and you get one big fight."

"So a mini Zeus-Poseidon fight then." Hades rolled his eyes.

"With powers." Travis put in.

"That is very bad." Annabeth winced. She had heard some stories but never in much detail.

"It wasn't our best moment." Percy admitted.

As she headed for the court, I said, "Hey, Thalia." "Yeah?" "I'm sorry about what happened at Westover. I should've waited for you guys." '"S okay, Percy. I probably would've done the same thing."

"No 'probably' about it." Annabeth laughed.

She shifted from foot to foot, like she was trying to decide whether or not to say more. "You know, you asked about my mom and I kinda snapped at you. It's just… I went back to find her after seven years, and I found out she died in Los Angeles.

"What?" Jason breathed, going pale. Thalia cursed. She had forgotten this particular conversation with Percy or she would have warned her brother. He didn't deserve to find out like this.

"Ok, come on. Let's go out for a bit and I'll tell you what I know. You guys keep reading." Thalia told the room. Then she escorted Jason out. There was a few moments silence before Piper kept reading, though her eyes were constantly flickering to the door.

She, um… she was a heavy drinker, and apparently she was out driving late one night about two years ago, and…" Thalia blinked hard.

Frank frowned sympathetically. It sucked losing your mom.

"I'm sorry." "Yeah, well. It's… it's not like we were ever close. I ran away when I was ten. Best two years of my life were when I was running around with Luke and Annabeth. But still—" "That's why you had trouble with the sun van." She gave me a wary look. "What do you mean?" "The way you stiffened up. You must've been thinking about your mom, not wanting to get behind the wheel."

"You hadn't learnt to leave that topic alone?" Annabeth asked in exasperation.

"Apparently not." Percy shrugged. "But it was pretty weird how she acted in the sun chariot."

"And none of your business." Katie told him.

"I know." He sighed.

I was sorry I'd said anything. Thalia's expression was dangerously close to Zeus's, the one time I'd seen him get angry—like any minute, her eyes would shoot a million volts. "Yeah," she muttered. "Yeah, that must've been it."

Zeus frowned. That didn't sound very convincing but he genuinely couldn't think of anything else that would have scared his daughter. She was in the sky, his own element. And she had seemed quite taken with Apollo, not frightened of him. He tried not to think about that very much, suddenly rather glad she had become a Hunter.

She trudged off toward the court, where the Ares camper and the Hunter were trying to kill each other with a sword and a basketball.

"I wonder which of those would make a better weapon." Clarisse muttered sarcastically.

"You'd be surprised. The Hunters throw pretty damn hard." Will told her quietly.

The cabins were the weirdest collection of buildings you've ever seen. Zeus and Hera's big white-columned buildings, Cabins One and Two, stood in the middle, with five gods' cabins on the left and five goddesses' cabins on the right, so they all made a U around the central green and the barbecue hearth. I made the rounds, telling everybody about capture the flag. I woke up some Ares kid from his midday nap and he yelled at me to go away. When I asked him where Clarisse was he said, "Went on a quest for Chiron. Top secret!"

Clarisse sighed and subtly moved closer to Chris. She hated thinking about that time.

"What mission?" Dakota asked.

"You'll find out in the next book probably." Clarisse told him. The next quest Percy had gone on had been in the Labyrinth.

"Is she okay?"

"Careful, Jackson. That sounds dangerously close to caring." Clarisse said in a mocking tone.

"You might be a pain in the ass but you're still a good fighter. We couldn't afford to lose any more of those." Percy shrugged. She stuck her tongue out at him.

"Haven't heard from her in a month. She's missing in action. Like your butt's gonna be if you don't get outta here!"

"Glad he sounds so concerned about his sister being missing in action." Frank scoffed.

"To be fair, he had just been woken up." Nico shrugged.

I decided to let him go back to sleep. Finally I got to Cabin Three, the cabin of Poseidon. It was a low gray building hewn from sea stone, with shells and coral fossils imprinted in the rock. Inside, it was just as empty as always, except for my bunk. A Minotaur horn hung on the wall next to my pillow.

Percy and Tyson both smiled at the mention of their cabin.

I took Annabeth's baseball cap out of my backpack and set it on my nightstand. I'd give it to her when I found her. And I would find her.

"Thanks." Annabeth smiled at him.

"You'd do the same for me." He shrugged. Piper smiled slightly, recalling how frantic Annabeth was when Percy was the one missing. She certainly hadn't handled it any better than Percy.

I took off my wristwatch and activated the shield. It creaked noisily as it spiraled out. Dr. Thorn's spikes had dented the brass in a dozen places. One gash kept the shield from opening all the way, so it looked like a pizza with two slices missing. The beautiful metal pictures that my brother had crafted were all banged up. In the picture of me and Annabeth fighting the Hydra, it looked like a meteor had made a crater in my head. I hung the shield on its hook, next to the Minotaur horn, but it was painful to look at now. Maybe Beckendorf from the Hephaestus cabin could fix it for me. He was the best armor smith in the camp. I'd ask him at dinner.

Hephaestus smiled proudly.

"Will make you a new one." Tyson promised.

"Thanks, Tyson." Percy grinned. He couldn't ask for any better protection.

I was staring at the shield when I noticed a strange sound—water gurgling—and I realized there was something new in the room. At the back of the cabin was a big basin of gray sea rock, with a spout like the head of a fish carved in stone. Out of its mouth burst a stream of water, a saltwater spring that trickled into the pool. The water must've been hot, because it sent mist into the cold winter air like a sauna. It made the room feel warm and summery, fresh with the smell of the sea. I stepped up to the pool. There was no note attached or anything, but I knew it could only be a gift from Poseidon.

"Thanks, dad." Percy said with a grateful smile.

"I can't believe it took you that long to notice it." Annabeth rolled her eyes.

"I did have a lot on my mind." He defended.

I looked into the water and said, "Thanks, Dad." The surface rippled. At the bottom of the pool, coins shimmered—a dozen or so golden drachma. I realized what the fountain was for. It was a reminder to keep in touch with my family.

The other demigods were once again, feeling super jealous of Percy and his relationship with his dad. Although receiving gifts from their parents wasn't necessarily uncommon, but this was almost like an invitation to talk to his dad.

The Gods were all looking at Poseidon. Some wishing they had given their kids something to contact them with.

"That is a wonderful gift, brother." Hestia praised.

I opened the nearest window, and the wintry sunlight made a rainbow in the mist. Then I fished a coin out of the hot water. "Iris, O Goddess of the Rainbow," I said, "accept my offering." I tossed a coin into the mist and it disappeared. Then I realized I didn't know who to contact first. My mom? That would've been the "good son" thing to do, but she wouldn't be worried about me yet. She was used to me disappearing for days or weeks at a time.

"That doesn't mean you shouldn't call her!" Annabeth yelled at him in exasperation. "Besides, your mom is always worried when you go off on a mission." Percy looked sheepish.

"The whole point of my gift is so you can contact your mother so she doesn't have to worry." Poseidon told his son, looking a little amused.

"I did call my mom eventually." Percy said. "The next day or the day after."

My father? It had been way too long, almost two years, since I'd actually talked to him. But could you even send an Iris-message to a god? I'd never tried. Would it make them mad, like a sales call or something?

"Yes you can Iris message the Gods. And no, it would not annoy me." Poseidon assured his son. "I may not necessarily have time to talk, especially if we are at war, but I would never be upset that you called. In fact, it would be quite nice." Percy nodded.

"Thanks dad."

I hesitated. Then I made up my mind. "Show me Tyson," I requested. "At the forges of the Cyclopes."

Tyson beamed, glad his brother thought to call him. "I like it there but I miss Percy."

"I miss you too big guy."

The mist shimmered, and the image of my half-brother appeared. He was surrounded in fire, which would've been a problem if he weren't a Cyclops. He was bent over an anvil, hammering a red-hot sword blade. Sparks flew and flames swirled around his body. There was a marble-framed window behind him, and it looked out onto dark blue water—the bottom of the ocean. "Tyson!" I yelled. He didn't hear me at first because of the hammering and the roar of the flames. "TYSON!" He turned, and his one enormous eye widened. His face broke into a crooked yellow grin. "Percy!" He dropped the sword blade and ran at me, trying to give me a hug.

"That is the one downside. No touching." Percy sighed.

"It's still pretty cool." Frank said. The Romans all nodded.

The vision blurred and I instinctively lurched back. "Tyson, it's an Iris-message. I'm not really here." "Oh." He came back into view, looking embarrassed. "Oh, I knew that. Yes." "How are you?" I asked. "How's the job?" His eye lit up. "Love the job! Look!" He picked up the hot sword blade with his bare hands. "I made this!" "That's really cool."

Beckendorf gestured for Tyson to join him at his workbench and the two of them started talking about the forges of the Cyclopes, as well as weapon ideas for the upcoming war. Leo soon leaned over and joined in.

"I wrote my name on it. Right there." "Awesome. Listen, do you talk to Dad much?"

"You wanted to speak to me?" Poseidon asked.

"Yeah. I wanted to know if Annabeth had fallen into the ocean, plus I wanted to ask about some stuff Dr Thorn had said."

"If that was the case with Annabeth, I would have already informed Chiron and given her passage back to camp." Athena looked at him in surprise. "Oh like you would have let me not do that." Poseidon rolled his eyes. "You would have been constantly badgering me until I did so."

"True." Athena acknowledged.

Tyson's smile faded. "Not much. Daddy is busy. He is worried about the war."

"What war?" Triton asked anxiously. "I didn't think anything had properly escalated yet."

"Olympus wasn't at war. Just dad's kingdom." Percy explained. The Gods all looked very concerned by this. If one of their best fighters was already busy fighting a war of his own, their fight had just gotten a lot harder.

"What do you mean?" Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. "Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys."

"That's not good." Triton murmured.

"Oceanus stayed neutral last time. The fact that he has joined Kronos is not a good sign." Poseidon sighed heavily.

"The Titans are confident of victory." Athena said. "Or he would not participate."

"How many other Titans or minor Gods will not choose to stay neutral?" Ares wondered in concern.

"They will pay." Zeus grumbled furiously. Percy opened his mouth but then shut it again. It was not a good idea to pick a fight so soon after reading about his talk with Dionysus.

I sort of knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good.

"No. Not good at all." Hades mused. A part of him wondered if he would even bother to take part. A large part of him knew he should. His father winning would not be good for him either, even if he stayed out of the fight but still...there was a small nagging thought that he had helped before and Zeus had practically banished him to the Underworld. He was only allowed to visit his own home once a year for a single day. His children were unwelcome at Camp. Why should he help?

"Is there anything I can do?" I asked.

"It seems you have enough to do above ground." Triton stated.

"Besides, I would not want to risk you falling in battle or being captured." Poseidon told his son. "Not when you have another year and a half until you turn sixteen."

Tyson shook his head sadly. "We are arming the mermaids. They need a thousand more swords by tomorrow." He looked at his sword blade and sighed. "Old spirits are protecting the bad boat." "The Princess Andromeda?" I said. "Luke's boat?" "Yes. They make it hard to find.

Percy thought about that and felt a little freaked out. These Titans could stop his dad finding a ship, in his own realm of power. They must be incredibly powerful and his dad had been fighting them for over a year, in Percy's time.

Protect it from Daddy's storms. Otherwise he would smash it." "Smashing it would be good." Tyson perked up, as if he'd just had another thought. "Annabeth! Is she there?" "Oh, well…" My heart felt like a bowling ball. Tyson thought Annabeth was just about the coolest thing since peanut butter (and he seriously loved peanut butter). I didn't have the heart to tell him she was missing. He'd start crying so bad he'd probably put out his fires. "Well, no… she's not here right now."

"You should have said. I would have helped you look." Tyson looked up from his project with Beckendorf to look at Percy.

"You needed to make weapons for dad." Percy told him.

"Tell her hello!" He beamed. "Hello to Annabeth!" "Okay." I fought back a lump in my throat. "I'll do that." "And, Percy, don't worry about the bad boat. It is going away." "What do you mean?" "Panama Canal! Very far away." I frowned. Why would Luke take his demon-infested cruise ship all the way down there? The last time we'd seen him, he'd been cruising along the East Coast, recruiting half-bloods and training his monstrous army.

"They will be heading to Mount Othrys." Athena said unhappily.

"All right," I said, not feeling reassured. "That's… good. I guess." In the forges, a deep voice bellowed something I couldn't make out. Tyson flinched. "Got to get back to work! Boss will get mad. Good luck, Brother!" "Okay, tell Dad—" But before I could finish, the vision shimmered and faded. I was alone again in my cabin, feeling even lonelier than before.

"Sorry, Percy." Tyson said, looking very guilty.

"It's not your fault big guy. You had a job to do." Percy told him. "A very important job." Tyson nodded but looked unconvinced. Just then Thalia and Jason came back into the room. They both looked rather grim but determined. They took their previous seats and Piper squeezed Jason's hand before continuing to read. Annabeth whispered to them what they had missed.

I was pretty miserable at dinner that night. I mean, the food was excellent as usual. You can't go wrong with barbecue, pizza, and never-empty soda goblets. The torches and braziers kept the outdoor pavilion warm, but we all had to sit with our cabin mates, which meant I was alone at the Poseidon table. Thalia sat alone at the Zeus table, but we couldn't sit together.

"That is pretty sad. I'm glad we don't do that." Hazel said.

"It does get pretty lonely." Percy sighed.

"Yes, well, it helps to prevent arguments breaking out during dinner." Chiron told him. "Given how you and Thalia reacted to each other, especially in the beginning, I doubt you could have made it through an entire dinner together without exploding something." Percy nodded. That did make some sense but it would be nice to be able to sit with Annabeth sometimes. Or even his friends in the Hermes cabin. Plus, some of the guys in the Hermes cabin would appreciate being able to sit somewhere else, just so there was room.

Camp rules. At least the Hephaestus, Ares, and Hermes cabins had a few people each. Nico sat with the Stoll brothers, since new campers always got stuck in the Hermes cabin if their Olympian parent was unknown. The Stoll brothers seemed to be trying to convince Nico that poker was a much better game than Mythomagic. I hoped Nico didn't have any money to lose.

"Nope." Nico said. "Not that they would convince me of that anyway."

"Yeah." Connor sighed sadly.

"Good." Hades said firmly.

The only table that really seemed to be having a good time was the Artemis table. The Hunters drank and ate and laughed like one big happy family. Zoe sat at the head like she was the mama. She didn't laugh as much as the others, but she did smile from time to time. Her silver lieutenant's band glittered in the dark braids of her hair. I thought she looked a lot nicer when she smiled. Bianca di Angelo seemed to be having a great time. She was trying to learn how to arm wrestle from the big girl who'd picked a fight with the Ares kid on the basketball court. The bigger girl was beating her every time, but Bianca didn't seem to mind.

Nico frowned. His sister had barely spoken to him once they got to Camp. He didn't know whether that was just because she had adopted the whole 'boys are bad' thing really quickly, but it had still hurt. He was her brother.

When we'd finished eating, Chiron made the customary toast to the gods and formally welcomed the Hunters of Artemis. The clapping was pretty halfhearted. Then he announced the "good will" capture-the-flag game for tomorrow night, which got a lot better reception. Afterward, we all trailed back to our cabins for an early, winter lights out. I was exhausted, which meant I fell asleep easily. That was the good part. The bad part was, I had a nightmare, and even by my standards it was a whopper.

"Wonderful." Poseidon groaned.

"To be honest, I keep thinking that and then they just get worse." Percy sighed.

"Not making me feel any better here." Apollo grimaced.

"It's true." Percy shrugged. "Can't help it."

Annabeth was on a dark hillside, shrouded in fog.

Athena perked up at news of her daughter.

It almost seemed like the Underworld, because I immediately felt claustrophobic and I couldn't see the sky above—just a close, heavy darkness, as if I were in a cave. Annabeth struggled up the hill. Old broken Greek columns of black marble were scattered around, as though something had blasted a huge building to rums. "Thorn!" Annabeth cried. "Where are you? Why did you bring me here?" She scrambled over a section of broken wall and came to the crest of the hill.

"Thorn took you there and then just left you?" Triton asked. Annabeth nodded.

"It was part of the plan." She said bitterly. Was it so bad that she hoped there was still good in Luke?

She gasped. There was Luke. And he was in pain.

Hermes tried not to visibly react to this statement. It was hard. He still hoped that his son was alright.

"Did you not say his ship was going around the land? Why is he at Mount Othrys?" Ares asked.

"His ship was. Luke wasn't." Percy shrugged.

He was crumpled on the rocky ground, trying to rise. The blackness seemed to be thicker around him, fog swirling hungrily. His clothes were in tatters and his face was scratched and drenched with sweat, "Annabeth!" he called. "Help me! Please!" She ran forward.

"Don't!" Athena told her daughter. "He is holding the sky."

"If he's holding the sky, then Atlas is free." Zeus pointed out in concern. "This is not good."

"That boy is going to manipulate Annabeth into taking the sky for him." Athena yelled, worry clear in her voice.

"Why would he bother?" Aphrodite asked. "She wouldn't be able to hold it for long."

"To get Percy there? Or even Thalia?" Reyna suggested.

"No." Apollo said warily. He glanced at his sister. She would not bother to save the boy but a maiden...that would make her take the sky. Artemis caught his gaze and nodded. She had reached the same conclusion. Luke had taken the sky from Atlas with the sole purpose of convincing Annabeth to take it to then convince Artemis to do so. There was no other reason Kronos' chosen mortal would take the sky. There must have been plenty of other disposable people to use if the only purpose had been freeing Atlas. Neither twin said anything to the rest of the room.

I tried to cry out: He's a traitor! Don't trust him!

"Listen to the boy." Athena urged her daughter.

"I can't do anything about it now, mother." Annabeth pointed out.

But my voice didn't work in the dream. Annabeth had tears in her eyes. She reached down like she wanted to touch Luke's face, but at the last second she hesitated. "What happened?" she asked. "They left me here," Luke groaned. "Please. It's killing me."

"They wouldn't just leave him there, he is too important." Jason scoffed.

"Plus, the sky can only be taken voluntarily except by Atlas. He chose to take it." Athena reminded her daughter.

"They could have threatened him." Hermes defended his son.

"With what? Killing him? Holding the sky would do that." Ares pointed out.

"There are worse things than death." Hades stated gravely.

I couldn't see what was wrong with him. He seemed to be struggling against some invisible curse, as though the fog were squeezing him to death. "Why should I trust you?" Annabeth asked. Her voice was filled with hurt. "You shouldn't," Luke said. "I've been terrible to you. But if you don't help me, I'll die."

"Better you than her." Percy muttered angrily.

Let him die, I wanted to scream. Luke had tried to kill us in cold blood too many times. He didn't deserve anything from Annabeth.

"Percy!" Annabeth protested.

"What? I was right."

"And if I hadn't done something, then the place would have been crawling with monsters that I would never have been able to fight on my own." Annabeth pointed out. "I would have died."

"If Ar... something hadn't happened the sky would have killed you anyway." Percy shot back. Apollo grimaced, not happy to have Percy's stumble confirm his fears. His sister would take the weight of the sky. He felt helpless which made him angry.

Then the darkness above Luke began to crumble, like a cavern roof in an earthquake. Huge chunks of black rock began falling.

"Please help him." Hermes whispered. He knew his son had done awful things but he could not wish his death.

Annabeth rushed in just as a crack appeared, and the whole ceiling dropped. She held it somehow—tons of rock. She kept it from collapsing on her and Luke just with her own strength. It was impossible. She shouldn't have been able to do that.

"No!" Athena cried. "Now you will have to hold it." She eyed her daughter, wondering how the Hades she survived holding the sky.

"How did you manage to hold up the weight?" Zeus wondered. Only his son was strong enough to do that.

"She has a strong heart and a strong mind. Physical strength is not the only thing that can be used." Artemis reminded her father.

Luke rolled free, gasping. "Thanks," he managed. "Help me hold it," Annabeth groaned. Luke caught his breath. His face was covered in grime and sweat. He rose unsteadily. "I knew I could count on you." He began to walk away as the trembling blackness threatened to crush Annabeth.

Thalia let loose a string of curses in Ancient Greek which Percy fully agreed with. Hermes winced at his son's, sadly inevitable, betrayal. He had hoped that because it was Annabeth, someone he had known for so long, he would have some mercy. Although, had it been anyone else, they wouldn't have fallen for it and allowed the betrayal to happen. This was just another sign of how far gone he was.

Annabeth just felt sad. She knew Luke had had a plan to get Artemis holding the sky. He hadn't intended for her to die but it still hurt that she could have died and he would have made it happen. Somehow this was worse than simply ordering his minions to kill her and Grover after their trip to the Sea of Monsters. Here he had actually used her feelings for him to trick her.

"HELP ME!" she pleaded, "Oh, don't worry," Luke said. "Your help is on the way. It's all part of the plan. In the meantime, try not to die."

"What?" Hermes frowned. "There is no way the demigods would get there before she died."

"Not demigods." Artemis spoke up with a heavy sigh. "I am tracking the monster and I planned to start at Mount Othrys."

"But he only caught Annabeth by accident." Aphrodite frowned. "They couldn't have known."

"Well Thorn was already trying to capture the children of Hades. I assume the original plan was to threaten Nico so Bianca would take the sky." Will said, thinking out loud.

"But why Artemis?" Reyna asked curiously.

"Artemis said she was searching for proof. If they delay her long enough, father would probably declare the matter closed again. The Titans would be able to wreak havoc pretty much unopposed." Athena stated with a glare at her father.

"So, all of this could be avoided if father brought his head out of the sand for more than one second." Apollo said grumpily. He was greatly unhappy that his twin was in such great danger because their father refused to see what was right in front of him. Zeus scowled.

The ceiling of darkness began to crumble again, pushing Annabeth against the ground.

Athena bit her lip in concern. She knew her daughter lived, but there were other side effects of mortals holding up the sky.

I sat bolt upright in bed, clawing at the sheets. There was no sound in my cabin except the gurgle of the saltwater spring. The clock on my nightstand read just after midnight. Only a dream, but I was sure of two things: Annabeth was in terrible danger. And Luke was responsible.

"Of course he was." Clarisse growled.

"Chapter is done." Piper announced.

"My turn." Annabeth said. She took the book from Piper and began reading.