Chapter 1: My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong
Everyone who didn't know what happened was quite eager to hear about what Percy would do next. Annabeth was interested to see what had happened while she had been captured. She had heard from Thalia that Percy had been extremely upset when she was missing and part of her was sort of looking forward to hearing about it. Though she didn't have massively high hopes, Annabeth was hoping that reading about how he had acted would make Percy realise he had feelings for her. Still, he was a boy and Percy so she wasn't expecting much.
"Er, just a second. Nico, can I have a word?" Percy asked. Nico frowned but nodded. The two left the room while Poseidon stopped Zeus from grumbling.
"What's up?" Nico asked though he had an idea.
"Well, the next big quest I went on was the one to rescue Annabeth and Artemis. Are you going to be ok hearing about Bianca? Nobody would mind if you sat this one out." Nico gave a half smile that looked more like a grimace.
"Honestly, I don't know. Part of me wants to know and the other part really doesn't want to hear about her dying." Percy felt sorry for the young boy who looked so lost. It was so easy to forget Nico was only twelve. While demigods were usually far more mature than their actual ages due to the lives they led, it was still far too young to hear about such things.
"Alright. Well, I'm going to guess the two of you will be involved pretty much from the beginning as it all started when we came to pick you up. But I promise to let you know before we get to...that part and you can choose if you want to leave. If you do then I can give you the short version afterwards."
"Thanks, Percy." Nico smiled gratefully. He was glad he didn't have to decide quite yet. He would see how hard it was hearing about Bianca when she was alive before hearing about her death. Percy squeezed his shoulders.
"What about your dad? Does he know what happens to Bianca?" Percy asked.
"No. I just told him I don't know why she wasn't chosen to come with us."
"Do you think you should warn him? I mean, quite a few Gods are going to have to hear about their kids dying when we get to the summer with the Labyrinth but it probably won't be in as much detail as Bianca's death."
"When you warn me it's coming up, I'll let him know." Nico said. He didn't want to talk about it before he had to. The older boy nodded. It was Nico's decision. They waited a few more moments, letting Nico regain his composure.
"Come on, we'd best get back before Zeus throws a gasket." Percy smirked. Nico chuckled and they went back into the room and took their seats.
"Begin Hephaestus." Zeus ordered irritably, before anyone else could say anything.
My Rescue Operation Goes Terribly Wrong
Immediately Nico, Percy, Thalia and Grover all grimaced.
"You're rescue operation?" Annabeth asked in a teasing voice, trying to lighten the grim mood.
"Well, it went badly so let him take the blame." Thalia said, smirking at Percy. He stuck his tongue out.
"You clearly wanted to be in charge. So that makes it your operation." He pointed out.
"Yeah but it's probably Percy's luck that makes it go wrong." Connor stated with a chuckle. Percy mock glared at him.
The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school.
"Just your usual equipment for going to school." Travis said with a raised eyebrow.
"It is when there is a monster at said school." Annabeth pointed out.
We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.
"Aww, how cute. You thought we were friends already." Thalia smirked.
"Frenemies." Percy corrected himself.
"I thought that was you and Clarisse?" Will asked.
"It suited me and Thalia to begin with as well." Percy told him.
"Yes, it did." Grover stated, recalling their fight after Capture the Flag.
It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we were about to do, we were too nervous to talk much. Except for my mom. She talks more when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me.
Percy groaned loudly.
"Oooh, we have to hear these." Connor said eagerly.
"Yes, please tell us." Travis added. They looked pleadingly towards Thalia and Annabeth.
"I want to hear this as well." Clarisse grinned evilly.
"Don't even think about it." Percy warned them. They could tell by the look on his face that he was actually serious about that and neither of them wanted to truly upset Percy. "Frankly, the fact that you guys are reading all of my private thoughts is embarrassing enough. You don't need to be telling them anything else." That was also a fair point.
"Sorry guys." Thalia said. "No can do." The Stolls both pouted.
Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun." Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff overlooking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.
"Definitely sounds like a castle out of a horror movie." Rachel commented.
"A bad movie." Will corrected.
"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked. "No, thanks, Mom," I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay." "But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy." I hoped I wasn't blushing. It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles.
A few people snickered.
"Hey, it's better than having to find your own transport." Grover pointed out.
"Exactly. It would have taken too long to get to Maine otherwise." Thalia agreed. "Grover had said it was an emergency."
"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blond hair was tucked into a ski cap and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep him out of trouble." My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most levelheaded demigod ever to hit eighth grade. She's sure Annabeth often keeps me from getting killed. She's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.
A few more people sniggered.
"Your mom isn't wrong." Grover snickered.
"Whatever makes my mom relax a bit is fine by me." Percy replied.
"All right, dears," my mom said. "Do you have everything you need?" "Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride." "Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?" "Mom—" "Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"
Most of the demigods laughed, if only to cover up their jealousy. Not only did Percy have the best relationship with his Godly parent, but his mortal one also was amazing.
"I wouldn't put it past you to have forgotten something." Thalia pointed out with a laugh.
"True but mom already asked me all of those questions before we left home." Percy grumbled.
"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys." She looked a little hurt, and I was sorry about that, but I was ready to be out of that car.
"I probably would be wanting to get out too." Will said, giving Percy a sympathetic look.
"I'd love to have my mom around to fuss like that." Frank muttered to Hazel. She squeezed his arm.
If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three years old, I was going to burrow into the snow and freeze myself to death.
"We need pictures of this." Rachel grinned. She was willing to bet Percy was an incredibly cute kid, considering how good looking he was now.
"Those were the best stories." Annabeth smirked wickedly. Percy glared.
Annabeth and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice daggers.
"That's pretty cold." Dakota whistled.
"Yep." Percy nodded.
Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."
"She really is." Nico nodded. Most of the other demigods thought about their own mortal parents.
"She's pretty okay," I admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?" As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears—the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave me now was a perfect evil "ten."
"Glad to know you find me scary." Thalia smirked. Jason didn't admit he'd been thinking the same question. When he and Thalia had talked the other night, she had carefully avoided any questions about their mother. Given her reluctance to discuss it, he assumed their mother was dead but it would still be nice to hear about her.
"To be fair, it was a reasonable question." Gwen pointed out. "If my friends had met my dad, I'd be curious about their parents too."
"If that was any of your business, Percy—" "We'd better get inside," Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting." Thalia looked at the castle and shivered. "You're right. I wonder what he found here that made him send the distress call." I stared up at the dark towers of Westover Hall. "Nothing good," I guessed.
"Gee, thanks." Nico grumbled jokingly. Percy smiled, pleased to see he seemed to be ok so far.
"I was right." Percy laughed. "But I think I meant the monster."
The oak doors groaned open, and the three of us stepped into the entry hall in a swirl of snow. All I could say was, "Whoa." The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle flags and weapon displays: antique rifles, battle axes, and a bunch of other stuff. I mean, I knew Westover was a military school and all, but the decorations seemed like overkill. Literally.
"That sounds pretty cool." Clarisse grinned.
"What kind of a school is that?" Athena frowned.
"A horrible one." Nico muttered. Hades sighed. Maybe he should take more care when deciding where to put his children when they finally can be taken from the Lotus Casino.
My hand went to my pocket, where I kept my lethal ballpoint pen, Riptide. I could already sense something wrong in this place. Something dangerous. Thalia was rubbing her silver bracelet, her favorite magic item. I knew we were thinking the same thing. A fight was coming.
"If you are both feeling that way then it is likely the monster is both old and very dangerous." Poseidon frowned.
Annabeth started to say, "I wonder where—" The doors slammed shut behind us.
"That's a bit creepy." Piper muttered.
"More than a bit." Leo replied.
"Oo-kay," I mumbled. "Guess we'll stay awhile." I could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.
"What?" Reyna frowned.
"School dance." Nico grimaced.
We stashed our overnight bags behind a pillar and started down the hall. We hadn't gone very far when I heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and woman marched out of the shadows to intercept us. They both had short gray hair and black military-style uniforms with red trim. The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me. They both walked stiffly, like they had broomsticks taped to their spines. "Well?" the woman demanded. "What are you doing here?" "Um…" I realized I hadn't planned for this. I'd been so focused on getting to Grover and finding out what was wrong, I hadn't considered that someone might question three kids sneaking into the school at night.
"Really?" Athena scowled. "I would hope security would question three children sneaking into a school."
"I had it covered." Thalia assured the wisdom Goddess. Percy scowled.
"You could have at least mentioned that." He complained.
"I didn't realise Chiron hadn't shown you." She shrugged. Percy's scowl deepened and Chiron sighed.
We hadn't talked at all in the car about how we would get inside. I said, "Ma'am, we're just—" "Ha!" the man snapped, which made me jump. "Visitors are not allowed at the dance! You shall be eee-jected!" He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced his J like in Jacques, He was tall, with a hawkish face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, which made it really hard not to stare up his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, one blue—like an alley cat's. I figured he was about to toss us into the snow, but then Thalia stepped forward and did something very weird. She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud. Maybe it was just my imagination, but I felt a gust of wind ripple out from her hand, across the room. It washed over all of us, making the banners rustle on the walls.
"Not your imagination." Annabeth told him.
"I know that now." Percy said sharply.
"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said. "We go to school here. You remember: I'm Thalia. And this is Annabeth and Percy. We're in the eighth grade."
"That won't work if one of them is a monster. It'll just give away the fact your are demigods." Demeter noted.
"Well it was that or be thrown out." Thalia shrugged.
The male teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes. I didn't know what Thalia was thinking.
Now Poseidon frowned. "You didn't even teach him that it was possible to manipulate the mist?" He asked Chiron. "Or how to spot when it is being manipulated?"
"It was an oversight on my part." Chiron admitted.
"One that still hasn't been corrected." Percy muttered bitterly.
"They don't teach anything like that at Camp Jupiter." Reyna noted.
"How about I teach those of you who don't know how during a break?" Chiron suggested. All the demigods nodded.
Now we'd probably get punished for lying and thrown into the snow. But the man seemed to be hesitating. He looked at his colleague. "Ms. Gottschalk, do you know these students?" Despite the danger we were in, I had to bite my tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Got Chalk? He had to be kidding.
"Really, Percy?" Annabeth asked in exasperation.
"I can't help my thoughts." He pointed out defensively.
"Trust a male to be so easily distracted." Artemis scoffed.
The woman blinked, like someone had just woken her up from a trance. "I… yes. I believe I do, sir." She frowned at us. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing away from the gymnasium?" Before we could answer, I heard more footsteps, and Grover ran up, breathless. "You made it! You—" He stopped short when he saw the teachers. "Oh, Mrs. Gottschalk. Dr. Thorn! I, uh—" "What is it, Mr. Underwood?" said the man. His tone made it clear that he detested Grover. "What do you mean, they made it? These students live here."
"Good going Grover." Clarisse said sarcastically.
Grover swallowed. "Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant, I'm so glad they made… the punch for the dance! The punch is great. And they made it!"
"Not your worst lie." Travis said consideringly.
"Grover has gotten a lot better." Percy nodded.
"He could still do with some lessons." Connor stated. Grover tried to say he was fine without them but the Stolls insisted until he gave in.
Dr. Thorn glared at us. I decided one of his eyes had to be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to pitch us off the castle's highest tower, but then Mrs. Gottschalk said dreamily, "Yes, the punch is excellent. Now run along, all of you. You are not to leave the gymnasium again!"
"Dr. Thorn definitely doesn't seem to be affected by the mist, at least not like she does." Hazel noticed.
We didn't wait to be told twice. We left with a lot of "Yes, ma'ams" and "Yes, sirs" and a couple of salutes, just because it seemed like the thing to do. Grover hustled us down the hall in the direction of the music. I could feel the teachers' eyes on my back, but I walked closely to Thalia and asked in a low voice, "How did you do that finger-snap thing?" "You mean the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"
"Ouch." Rachel winced.
"I honestly thought Percy would know how." Thalia said, shooting Percy an apologetic look.
An uncomfortable lump formed in my throat. Chiron was our head trainer at camp, but he'd never shown me anything like that. Why had he shown Thalia and not me?
"Ooh. Big three kids' rivalry." Connor smirked.
"Because at that time, I thought Thalia was the child of the prophecy, it was more important to teach her." Chiron reminded Percy, ignoring Connor.
"Yes but you had the two summers before this and almost two summers after to teach Percy." Poseidon pointed out. Chiron winced but said nothing. He didn't really have a defense.
Grover hurried us to a door that had GYM written on the glass. Even with my dyslexia, I could read that much. "That was close!" Grover said. "Thank the gods you got here!" Annabeth and Thalia both hugged Grover. I gave him a big high five. It was good to see him after so many months. He'd gotten a little taller and had sprouted a few more whiskers, but otherwise he looked like he always did when he passed for human— a red cap on his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans and sneakers with fake feet to hide his furry legs and hooves. He was wearing a black T-shirt that took me a few seconds to read. It said WESTOVER HALL: GRUNT. I wasn't sure whether that was, like, Grover's rank or maybe just the school motto.
"It was my rank." Grover said quickly.
"Why would you think 'Grunt' would be a school motto?" Will asked in amusement.
"Military school." Percy shrugged.
"So what's the emergency?" I asked. Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."
Nico sighed.
"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?" Grover nodded. Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring schools from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there.
"There is more than enough." Hera sniffed disdainfully.
"A brother and a sister," he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help." "Monsters?" One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"
"One monster shouldn't be that hard." Ares scoffed.
"It would be in it's a monster old enough or powerful enough to agitate Thalia and Percy." Demeter pointed out.
"There was no way Grover would have been able to fight the monster alone." Percy said. "No offense Grover."
"None taken. It's true." The Satyr admitted.
Grover looked at Thalia desperately. I tried not to feel upset by that. Used to be, Grover looked to me for answers, but Thalia had seniority. Not just because her dad was Zeus. Thalia had more experience than any of us with fending off monsters in the real world.
"Sorry Percy. I didn't mean to make you feel bad." Grover leaned over to whisper to his friend. Percy just nodded.
Thalia grimaced. She had known that Percy had felt undermined when she came back but she hadn't cared. Despite the fact he had been so kind and helpful when she first woke up, she had bought into the rivalry between their parents. In some ways, she was no better than Annabeth in that respect, although she hadn't done it consciously.
"Hey, at least you have someone to blame when it all goes wrong." Apollo whispered to Percy with a grin. Percy gave him a weak smile, appreciating the attempt to make him feel better. Poseidon squeezed his son's shoulders.
"Right," she said. "These half-bloods are at the dance?" Grover nodded. "Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?" "Oh," Grover said, and looked around nervously. "You just met him. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn."
"Not much of a shock." Clarisse nodded.
Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.
"Yeah. Living in a strict military style for ages does get annoying. It's nice to celebrate once in a while." Dakota nodded. The other Romans agreed. That was one thing about the Greek Camp, it was nowhere near as strict but they were still trained well. They just put more emphasis on individual fighting and using their Godly powers than the Romans did.
There were black and red balloons all over the gym floor, and guys were kicking them in each others faces, or trying to strangle each other with the crepe-paper streamers taped to the walls.
Artemis rolled her eyes and began muttering about boys.
"That's probably what I would be doing." Leo nodded.
"You'd be standing in a corner awkwardly trying to impress the girls." Piper teased.
"Hey!" He complained. That was more true than he would like to admit.
"There is nothing awkward about the Flaming Hot Valdez." Everyone gave Leo weird looks at that.
Girls moved around in football huddles, the way they always do, wearing lots of makeup and spaghetti-strap tops and brightly colored pants and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every once in a while they'd surround some poor guy like a pack of piranhas, shrieking and giggling, and when they finally moved on, the guy would have ribbons in his hair and a bunch of lipstick graffiti all over his face.
"The girls don't sound any better than the guys. In fact, they sound worse." Rachel pulled a face.
"Kinda reminds me of Drew." Connor muttered. The other Greek demigods grimaced and nodded their agreement.
Some of the older guys looked more like me—uncomfortable, hanging out at the edges of the gym and trying to hide, like any minute they might have to fight for their lives. Of course, in my case, it was true…
"I don't know, if those girls catch them it might be true for them." Travis shuddered.
"It's quite interesting hearing about a school dance from a guy's perspective." Piper said with a laugh.
"There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico Di Angelo"
Nico grimaced and Will put an arm around his shoulders. Hazel looked at her brother sympathetically. She might not have known him for long but she knew how much Bianca had meant to him. It was clear that their father didn't know yet though, given the curious expression on his face.
"You have a full blooded sister?" Jason asked curiously. Nico nodded.
"How come she's not here with us?" Gwen wondered.
"Who knows how the Fates work." Will shrugged, taking the attention off Nico. He had been wondering why Michael wasn't here, given that he was the head counsellor of the Apollo Cabin. Plus Katie from the Demeter Cabin wasn't here either. He pointed this out to everyone. A few people nodded.
"All we can do is keep reading." Annabeth stated.
The girl wore a floppy green cap,
Nico inhaled sharply. Bianca had loved that cap. She rarely ever took it off.
like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked.
Nico looked down at his hands.
"Do I still do that?" He asked Will, eager for anything to distract him.
"Yes. All the time." Will told him with a smile.
The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards.
Now Nico groaned. He was not looking forward to reading about heh ad behaved as a ten year old. It was going to be horrible.
"You were cute." Will smirked at him.
"I am not cute !" Nico hissed back in an undertone. Will just kept smirking at him infuriatingly.
"What kind of cards?" Frank asked.
"Mythomagic." Nico told him with a sigh.
"Oh, you play too?"
"Not anymore."
His sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept looking around like she sensed something was wrong.
"Yes, you'll be sensing the monster around. If he's agitating a son of Poseidon and a daughter of Zeus, you would notice it too." Demeter said absently. She was still busy thinking about what the son of Apollo had said. She too wondered why her daughter was not deemed important enough to be here.
Annabeth said, "Do they… I mean, have you told them?" Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger." He looked at me, and I nodded. I'd never really understood what half-bloods "smell" like to monsters and satyrs, but I knew that your scent could get you killed. And the more powerful a demigod you became, the more you smelled like a monster's lunch. "So let's grab them and get out of here," I said.
"You really thought it would be that simple? Especially as you've already alerted the monster that you're there." Athena rolled her eyes. Thalia and Percy both shrugged.
"My plans go to Hades anyway. Figured it was easier not to really make one." Percy smirked. "And despite the fact that Thalia likes to mock my plans a lot, hers don't ever actually go any better than mine."
"That's not true!" Thalia protested.
"Name one plan of yours that went completely smoothly." He challenged.
"Well there was...no. How about...Na, that went pretty wrong. Oh fine!" She glared at him as Percy smirked triumphantly.
I started forward, but Thalia put her hand on my shoulder. The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded coldly in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow. Judging from his expression, I guessed Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's trick with the Mist after all. He suspected who we were. He was just waiting to see why we were here.
"Most monsters aren't susceptible to mist manipulation. Unless you are exceptionally strong but only children of Hecate are usually strong enough to trick monsters." Chiron stated.
"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered. "We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent." "How?" "We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing.
"That's a better plan." Athena nodded. Not perfect by any means, but better.
"You're talking to Percy and you think dancing is acting natural?" Grover snickered.
"Yeah, he'd be far more likely to hover at the edges with the other guys. He would have the perfect excuse and he would be able to keep an eye on Nico and Bianca. It'll be hard to watch them if you're dancing." Rachel frowned. Annabeth nodded. The mortal had a good point.
Nico frowned. It was weird listening to Percy and Thalia discussing him and his sister. He wondered what Percy's first impression of him would be. Probably some hyperactive annoying kid. He cringed internally.
But keep an eye on those kids." "Dancing?" Annabeth asked. Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose the Jesse McCartney?"
Grover threw a fake glare at Thalia who simply smiled innocently at him.
Grover looked hurt. "I did."
"Urgh, really?" Chris grimaced over at Grover.
"There is nothing wrong with Jesse McCartney." Grover told him.
"Yeah, there is." Clarisse scowled.
"Oh my gods, Grover. That is so lame. Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?" "Green who?"
"I'm teaching you some good music." Thalia vowed.
"Never mind. Let's dance." "But I can't dance!" "You can if I'm leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy." Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.
"He was right. He can't dance." Thalia noted with a smile.
"The hooves probably don't help." Piper commented.
"Ooh, dancing Satyrs." Travis whispered to Connor. He nodded and smirked over at Grover who eyed them nervously.
Annabeth smiled. "What?" I asked. "Nothing. It's just cool to have Thalia back." Annabeth had grown taller than me since last summer, which I found kind of disturbing.
Annabeth smirked at him.
"It didn't last that long." Percy reminded her.
"Still. I was taller than you." She grinned.
She used to wear no jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she wore little silver earrings shaped like owls—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blond hair tumbled down her shoulders. It made her look older, for some reason.
Aphrodite smiled happily while Apollo frowned.
"So…" I tried to think of something to say. Act natural, Thalia had told us. When you're a half-blood on a dangerous mission, what the heck is natural?
"Killing stuff." Clarisse said immediately.
"Probably not the best idea at a school dance." Travis said with a laugh.
"I don't know. If those crazy girls came near me I might consider it." Beckendorf muttered.
"So I'm not allowed to give you makeovers then?" Silena asked him with a smile.
"Not if they include ribbons and lipstick." He told her firmly.
"I promise it'll be a much better makeover than those girls." She scoffed. He frowned but she sent him a pleading look that he couldn't refuse.
"Oh fine." He grunted. Silena beamed at him.
"Um, design any good buildings lately?"
"That's always a safe topic." Grover laughed.
Annabeth's eyes lit up, the way they always did when she talked about architecture. "Oh my gods, Percy. At my new school, I get to take 3-D design as an elective, and there's this cool computer program…" She went on to explain how she'd designed this huge monument that she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and stuff, and I tried to listen. I knew she wanted to be a super architect when she grew up—she loves math and historical buildings and all that—but I hardly understood a word she was saying.
"At least you listened. Thalia and Grover just interrupt or find an excuse to leave." Annabeth said, glaring at both of them.
"Being a Hunter is busy work." Thalia shrugged, grinning innocently.
"I was busy trying to find demigods and search for Pan." Grover told her. She continued to glare at them.
The truth was I was kind of disappointed to hear that she liked her new school so much. It was the first time she'd gone to school in New York. I'd been hoping to see her more often. It was a boarding school in Brooklyn, and she and Thalia were both attending, close enough to Camp Half-Blood that Chiron could help if they got in any trouble. Because it was an all-girls school, and I was going to MS-54 in Manhattan, I hardly ever saw them.
Annabeth smiled while Thalia smirked.
"I didn't realise you wanted to see more of me, kelp head."
"That was before I had spent much time with you." Percy retorted.
Poseidon frowned at this news. He had assumed that Chiron had taught more to the daughter of Zeus because she stayed at Camp year round. Apparently that was not the case. So he must have taught her the summer that she woke up. Apparently Chiron was not telling them the real reason he hadn't taught Percy such things. Poseidon was determined to find out.
Yeah, uh, cool," I said. "So you're staying there the rest of the year, huh?" Her face got dark. "Well, maybe, if I don't—" "Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die.
Everybody burst out laughing as Grover went bright red.
"When you say he was bad, that appears to be an understatement." Rachel laughed.
"I had bruises for weeks." Thalia grinned.
"You did not." Grover rolled his eyes.
At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy. "Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered. "You look stupid just standing there."
"Well, at least Percy's acting natural." Clarisse snickered.
I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the groups of girls who were roaming the gym. "Well?" Annabeth said. "Um, who should I ask?" She punched me in the gut. "Me, Seaweed Brain."
The room erupted into laughter once more.
"Really Percy?" Thalia asked.
"I didn't want to dance in the first place." Percy shrugged.
"Oh. Oh, right." So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.
"It was tempting." Annabeth assured him.
"Might have knocked some sense into him." Grover smirked, glancing between the two of them.
"Oi!" Percy complained.
"I don't think that's possible." Rachel said to Grover.
"Not you too." Percy pouted. She just smirked at him.
"I'm not going to bite," she told me. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?" I didn't answer. The truth was we did. But I'd never, like, actually danced at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.
"Best place to be." Leo nodded.
"Totally." Jason agreed. Piper glared at him and he grinned sheepishly.
We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punch bowl—anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.
Aphrodite smiled. They were so adorable.
"What were you saying earlier?" I asked. "Are you having trouble at school or something?" She pursed her lips. "It's not that. It's my dad." "Uh-oh." I knew Annabeth had a rocky relationship with her father. "I thought it was getting better with you two. Is it your stepmom again?" Annabeth sighed. "He decided to move. Just when I was getting settled in New York, he took this stupid new job researching for a World War I book. In San Francisco!" She said this the same way she might say Fields of Punishment or Hades's gym shorts.
"Excuse me?" Hades grumbled.
There's nothing wrong with San Francisco." Gwen said with a frown.
"Well, it's supposed to be bad for Greek demigods, which is supposed to be because of Mount Tam or Mount Othrys. Now I'm guessing it's also because you guys live there." Annabeth stated. The Romans nodded in understanding. They were a bit jealous that they got to watch over the Titan stronghold and the Greeks got to be right next to Olympus.
"So he wants you to move out there with him?" I asked. "To the other side of the country," she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that." "What? Why not?" Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought I was kidding.
"I did." Annabeth admitted.
"You really should've known better by then." Thalia told her.
"I...yeah." She sighed.
"Hey, it's not like anyone tells me this stuff. And there is an awful lot of stuff to remember." Percy protested. Annabeth and Athena both rolled their eyes.
"You know. It's right there! "Oh," I said. I had no idea what she was talking about, but I didn't want to sound stupid. "So… you'll go back to living at camp or what?" "It's more serious than that, Percy. I… I probably should tell you something."
"Were you going to mention that you wanted to join the Hunters?" Percy asked. Annabeth froze while Artemis studied the girl interestedly. So far it seemed like the daughter of Athena would be a worthy addition to her ranks. Athena frowned at her daughter. While she thought Annabeth could do much better than the sea spawn, she wasn't sure she wanted her joining the Hunters.
"I...how did you know?" Annabeth asked.
"Grover found the pamphlet." Percy told her. Annabeth glared at Grover.
"I was just considering. I hadn't decided anything yet."
Suddenly she froze. "They're gone." "What?" I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.
Hades glared furiously.
"You were so busy chit chatting, you forgot about my children!" If Jackson was the reason something went wrong, he was going to be very angry.
"Grover and Thalia also didn't seem to notice." Poseidon pointed out to his brother. This seemed to be another example of the Satyr failing to protect his charges, even if the sea God had to admit he was becoming quite fond of him.
"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!" She ran through the crowd. I was about to follow when a mob of girls got in my way. I maneuvered around them to avoid getting the ribbon-and-lipstick treatment, and by the time I was free, Annabeth had disappeared. I turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood. About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens.
Hades' glare deepened further.
I still couldn't see Annabeth, but I knew she'd be heading the other way, looking for Thalia and Grover. I almost ran after her, and then I thought, Wait.
"Oh dear." Demeter sighed. "He's already feeling put out by the daughter of Zeus, his natural rivalry will mean he won't want to be seen as needing her help." Percy grimaced as Thalia looked at him. She had wondered why he had run off on his own. Now she thought about it, if Percy had come in and taken charge of everything the way she had done, she would have done the same thing.
I remembered what Thalia had said to me in the entry hall, looking at me all puzzled when I asked about the finger-snap trick: Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?
Thalia grimaced and threw an apologetic look at Percy. Chiron looked down. He hadn't realised that he had also played such a part in Percy's lack of self esteem. It would seem they needed to have a talk at some point.
I thought about the way Grover had turned to her, expecting her to save the day. Not that I resented Thalia. She was cool. It wasn't her fault her dad was Zeus and she got all the attention… Still, I didn't need to run after her to solve every problem.
"You don't know what the monster is or how powerful. You should always take back up in that situation." Clarisse pointed out.
"Like you would have done?" Percy shot back. She shrugged, admitting she would have probably gone off on her own too.
Besides, there wasn't time. The Di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends.
"There is that." Hazel nodded. She felt a bit anxious. She knew Bianca died at some point and wondered if that was why the rescue operation had gone so wrong. It felt strange to hear about, and be so concerned for, her half sister that she had never even met.
I knew monsters. I could handle this myself I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.
"Foolish boy." Athena scoffed.
"I needed to stall them. Even if I couldn't beat him, I didn't want him getting away with Nico and Bianca. Besides, Annabeth had gone to find the others so I knew backup would be coming." Percy defended himself.
The door led into a dark hallway. I heard sounds of scuffling up ahead, then a painful grunt. I uncapped Riptide. The pen grew in my hands until I held a bronze Greek sword about three feet long with a leather-bound grip. The blade glowed faintly, casting a golden light on the rows of lockers. I jogged down the corridor, but when I got to the other end, no one was there. I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me.
"Well, you did have a sword." Beckendorf pointed out.
"With Percy's luck the monster will be behind him." Will stated.
I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear. What was wrong with them? Where was Dr. Thorn? Maybe he'd sensed the presence of Riptide and retreated. Monsters hated celestial bronze weapons.
"That would be too easy." Percy sighed.
"Besides, monsters don't like Celestial Bronze but they don't usually run away from it." Artemis stated.
"It'll be a trap. Thorn knows that Percy and the others are demigods." Reyna pointed out.
"My name's Percy," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe." Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.
"Well, you got there eventually." Annabeth sighed.
I whirled around and something went WHIIISH! Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backward and slammed me to the wall. I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit.
"Woah." Leo whistled.
A cold laugh echoed through the hall. "Yes, Perseus Jackson" Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the J in my last name. "I know who you are."
"Seriously, do monsters have like demigods classes or something." Leo complained. "It's freaky how they always know who you are."
"Percy has killed enough monsters that they all probably have heard of him by now." Apollo said, a bit of worry creeping into his voice. While it was a mark of a good demigod, Percy already had enough of a target on his back.
"Besides, all of Kronos' army knows who Percy is." Chris muttered.
"Oh great." Percy said sarcastically. "For once I'm the popular kid and you know what...it sucks." A few people chuckled, though they agreed with Percy.
I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike—a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this before. Poison.
"You know, it's not healthy to have such an acquaintance with poison that you can recognise it instantly." Poseidon told his son.
"Lots of monsters are poisonous." He shrugged. "Besides, it might be a good thing. If I know it's poison, I have more chances of being able to do something about it in time."
"Not if you don't have any cure on hand." Will pointed out.
"That poison would not kill him." Artemis stated confidently.
"How do you know that?" Apollo asked.
"Given all the information about Dr Thorn, my guess is he is a Manticore." She told her brother. Poseidon, Hades, Zeus and Athena all paled a little. They did not want their children fighting a Manticore. Hades was even more concerned because both of his children were defenceless and Poseidon was worried that his son was already poisoned and facing such a powerful monster pretty much alone.
I forced myself to concentrate. I would not pass out. A dark silhouette now moved toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of my sword. "Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."
"Don't we all." Beckendorf laughed.
"So, it looks like he wanted to trap Percy, Thalia and Annabeth too. Otherwise why would he have left Nico and Bianca while he hid?" Reyna noted.
I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach. WHIIIISH! A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.
Artemis nodded. "The tail of a Manticore does move incredible fast."
Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face. "All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw."
"Thankfully, help is already coming." Will said.
"That's the end of the chapter." Hephaestus announced.
"Oh good. That makes it my turn." ares said eagerly. Jackson versus a Manticore was a fight he wanted to hear about. And it was about time to have some action. Everything had been so boring so far. Hephaestus handed the book to his brother with an eye roll, easily guessing where Ares' mind had gone to.
A/N: I have nothing to do yesterday so I just finished more chapters and thought about uploading book 3. Let me know it you want the other chapters to be uploaded or not. If not I might finally upload the prologue and chapter 1 of my crossover story. The original story is on Ao3 and belong to Lorixjake, I'm just uploading it on fanfiction. So all credit go to Lorixjake.