Chapter 17: I Put On a Few Million Extra Pounds
Poseidon's eyes went wide. As did Apollo's.
"Does that mean what I think it means?" Poseidon asked his son.
"Err...maybe?" Percy offered weakly. Zeus scoffed to himself. The girl was one thing but to think that this boy could be strong enough to do what his son had done was ridiculous. Although this whole book seemed to have been about his nephew copying what his son had done.
The Roman demigods were watching Percy warily, wondering just how powerful he could be. He came across as powerful, which was expected as a son of Neptune, but also kind of goofy. But then once in a while they would read about something that should just be completely impossible and he not only made it possible, but he often made it look easy too. Every time they thought he had reached his limit, he did something even more ridiculous.
"You held the sky?" Apollo asked bluntly, looking terrified. If Percy had held the sky then there would be consequences. Mortals were not supposed to hold the sky and to do so came at a price. It took great strength to do and that strength had to come from somewhere. Usually the mortal's lifeforce. Percy's life was going to be short enough, he didn't need to be losing years of his life holding up the sky. Apollo couldn't stand the thought. His hand twitched towards Percy, wanting to hide him away from all of the things that seemed to be trying desperately hard to kill him.
"Yeah. Only for a few minutes." Percy admitted.
"You are very brave." Artemis told Percy while looking sympathetically at her brother.
"I did what I had to do." He shrugged. Given Ares' curse it would have been fatal to stay in the fight. Not to mention they had needed Artemis' power to even stand a chance. Even then it had been close and they had also needed Mr. Chase.
Poseidon gripped his son tightly. As if he hadn't suffered enough already. Dionysus grew bored and began reading once more.
The horrible thing was: I could see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoe, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoe sometimes got when she was mad, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things I'd originally disliked about Zoe, with none of the good I'd come to appreciate.
Artemis smiled slightly. She was glad that the boy had come to appreciate Zoe properly.
"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded. Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest." Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."
Percy privately wondered if taking the sky would have saved Zoe. He guessed not because of the prophecy but still...he couldn't help but wonder.
Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.
Apollo chuckled lightly.
"Good for you, Arty."
"Don't. Call. Me. Arty." She glared at him and he smirked. It felt good to have this familiar banter. It reminded him she was here and safe.
"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."
Zeus scowled and grumbled angrily under his breath.
I looked at Annabeth. She was desperately trying to tell me something. She motioned her head toward Luke. But all I could do was stare at her. I hadn't noticed before, but something about her had changed. Her blond hair was now streaked with gray.
Athena grimaced. A reminder that her daughter had held up the sky. It was incredible that it hadn't killed her. The grey would fade but the toll that holding the sky will have taken would not.
Everyone turned to look at Annabeth whose grey streak was quite prominent now everyone was looking for it. Even the Greek demigods hadn't paid it much attention. They knew the story that the two of them had held the sky but it hadn't seemed quite real despite the evidence. Reading about this gave them an even greater appreciation for Percy and Annabeth.
"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered, as if she'd read my mind. "The weight should've killed her."
"Yes. The usual rules don't seem to apply to you lot." Hermes commented with a strained smile.
"Percy's infectious." Annabeth laughed.
"In this case that's a very good thing." Thalia told her. She nodded.
"I don't understand," I said. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?" Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you." He approached us, studying Thalia and me. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge." "Fight us," I said. "And let's see."
"Nooo. Percy!" Poseidon complained. His son was going to be the death of him. He just knew Percy was going to challenge Atlas.
"Sorry." He grinned sheepishly. That did not make him feel any better.
"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."
"Luke wouldn't be able to take Percy and Thalia. Let alone Zoe too." Connor scoffed.
"Maybe not but he does have his army there somewhere." Clarisse reminded him.
"Yeah. That will make things difficult." Nico scowled.
"So you're another coward," I said. Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred. With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia. "As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you." "I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. If I didn't hate his guts so much, I almost would've felt sorry for him.
Hermes swallowed harshly.
"You were wrong." Jason snapped.
"Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!" He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. I could imagine Bessie in that pool. In fact, the more I thought about it, the more I was sure I could hear Bessie mooing.
"Stop thinking about the Ophiotaurus or you will summon it." Artemis told him.
"Yeah but trying not to think about something just makes you think about it more." Percy sighed.
Don't think about him! Suddenly Grover's voice was inside my mind—the empathy link. I could feel his emotions. He was on the verge of panic. I'm losing Bessie. Block the thoughts! I tried to make my mind go blank. I tried to think about basketball players, skateboards, the different kinds of candy in my mom's shop. Anything but Bessie.
Poseidon nodded.
"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods." "Luke…" Her voice was full of pain. "What happened to you?" "Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods?
Zeus frowned and looked over at his daughter while Hermes cringed. Athena watched her own daughter, wondering if she had taken part in these discussions. It sounded like she had a fairly decent relationship with Annabeth but it was difficult to know for sure.
Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!" Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go." "If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together.
"That's not letting Annabeth go." Connor said angrily. He didn't want to think about the possibility that Annabeth would have joined Luke voluntarily, especially if Thalia had done so.
Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree…" His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."
"What other way?" Athena wondered.
"Nothing good." Percy grimaced. He guessed Luke had meant him turning into Kronos was the other method. He felt bad for Hermes. They found out that Luke was Kronos right before they watched Pan fade. That was going to be a grim few chapters for one of his favourite Gods.
I didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. I believed that Luke was in danger. His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And I was afraid Thalia might believe it, too.
Hermes blinked rapidly. His suspicion was growing about what Luke was going to have to do and it hurt to even briefly consider. Part of him wanted Thalia to agree to go with him, if only because she, along with Annabeth, probably had the best chance of bringing him back.
Jason took his sister's hand and squeezed it. He knew this had to have been horrible for her and he was so glad she had made the right choice no matter how painful it must have been. She offered him a wobbly smile but it was a smile nevertheless which made him happy.
"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "We must fight them." Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame. "Thalia," I said. "No." Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, I saw images in the mist all around us: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow. "We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus.
Zeus and several of the other Gods scoffed at this. Nothing was stronger or greater than Olympus.
Look, Thalia. We are not weak." He pointed toward the ocean, and my heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laistrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things I couldn't even name. The whole ship must've been emptied, because there were hundreds, many more than I'd seen on board last summer. And they were marching toward us. In a few minutes, they would be here.
"Best hurry up then." Clarisse said tightly.
"Yes. Stop talking and kill him." Zeus told his daughter. Hermes, Annabeth and Thalia all flinched.
"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke said. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help." For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him.
"It was." Thalia whispered raggedly. She just wanted one of her best friends back. It had been so unbelievable that the Luke she had spent so long on the run with could turn into this shadow of himself.
Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."
Zeus let out a quiet sigh of relief. While he rationally knew that his daughter had made the right choice, it made him very uncomfortable to hear how close it had been. Still he was proud. She had overcome her fatal flaw, with some help which he chose to ignore, and managed not to be persuaded by one of her friends.
Annabeth gripped Thalia's other hand as she tried desperately not to cry. Part of her had hoped that once Thalia got there Luke would change his mind. That between Thalia and herself they could convince Luke he was being crazy. Her hopes had been dashed once again and it hurt reading about it.
"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me… Don't make him destroy you."
"As if you could." Jason scoffed. He had complete faith his sister could thrash the annoying son of Hermes in a fight. Whether she actually would he wasn't quite sure. It was one thing not to join her old friend. It was quite another to then kill him.
There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, we would be overwhelmed. I met Annabeth's eyes again. She nodded. I looked at Thalia and Zoe, and I decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this. "Now," I said. Together, we charged. Thalia went straight for Luke.
Zeus and Hermes both frowned in great concern. Thalia moved to that she was hugging Annabeth, the two of them mourning their lost friend. Hearing about this encounter was opening barely healed wounds that they had been trying desperately to ignore.
Connor was startled to see a single tear glistening on Annabeth's cheek. He couldn't recall ever seeing her cry. It made him hate his half-brother even more. He felt at a loss. Normally he would try to cheer the room up with a joke or funny trick. However Connor knew that would not work in the current mood and he had no idea how to make anyone feel better without the use of comedy. He was no good at consoling upset people. That was Travis' area. Even Thalia looked close to tears and he wondered if Luke was proud of what he had done to the two people who had looked out for him and still believed he could see reason.
The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword.
Hermes wasn't sure whether to be relieved or not.
He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.
Zeus smiled grimly. He was certain his daughter could best the traitor.
As for me, I did the stupidest thing in my life,
Quite a few people groaned.
"That's a pretty big claim, Perc." Grover told him, attempting a smile.
"Trust me. I know." Percy replied seriously.
"My son just charged the Titan general." Poseidon muttered to himself.
"I'm alive." Percy offered, leaning closer to his dad. The sea God tightened his grip on Percy's shoulders. Then Percy felt a warm hand grabbing his. Apollo was staring at him intently, eyes moving rapidly as he, once again, scanned him for injuries. Percy felt his face go red as he found himself holding hands with the sun God, who seemed to have no intention to let go. He told himself it was just stress. Apollo clearly cared for his well-being and Artemis was there too. It was nothing more than that.
which is saying a lot. I attacked the Titan Lord Atlas.
"Of course you did." Chiron sighed.
"Just because you can does not mean you should challenge Gods or Titans to a fight." Beckendorf said, glancing at Ares who looked a bit too gleeful for his liking.
He laughed as I approached. A huge javelin appeared in his hands. His silk suit melted into full Greek battle armor. "Go on, then!" "Percy!" Zoe said. "Beware!" I knew what she was warning me about. Chiron had told me long ago: Immortals are constrained by ancient rules. But a hero can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as he has the nerve. Once I attacked, however, Atlas was free to attack back directly, with all his might.
"Might be helpful if someone freed Artemis." Apollo suggested weakly.
"To free Artemis, they would have to take the sky. Or somehow force Atlas to do so which is unlikely." Athena pointed out. Given the chapter title, it was clear the boy had chosen option one. Which surprised her. He did not seem the type to back out of a fight and allow someone else to take over, even a Goddess.
I swung my sword, and Atlas knocked me aside with the shaft of his javelin. I flew through the air and slammed into a black wall. It wasn't Mist anymore. The palace was rising, brick by brick. It was becoming real.
The Gods, who weren't busy worrying about their children, exchanged concerned looks. That was definitely not a good sign.
"Fool!" Atlas screamed gleefully, swatting aside one of Zoe's arrows. "Did you think, simply because you could challenge that petty war god, that you could stand up to me?"
"Watch who you're calling petty." Ares grumbled. It was bad enough they had read about the stupid brat beating him, by getting lucky. Now that news seemed to be all over the immortal world. He would be a laughing stock. He knew he should have turned him into a rodent.
The mention of Ares sent a jolt through me. I shook off my daze and charged again. If I could get to that pool of water, I could double my strength. The javelins point slashed toward me like a scythe. I raised Riptide, planning to cut off his weapon at the shaft, but my arm felt like lead. My sword suddenly weighed a ton. And I remembered Ares's warning, spoken on the beach in Los Angeles so long ago: When you need it most, your sword will fail you.
"ARES!" Poseidon yelled furiously. The war God did not dare show the slight smugness he felt and instead cowered away from his uncle's wrath. The sea God was up and advancing on him.
"Hey, it was Atlas' fault. If he hadn't mentioned me then Percy wouldn't have remembered the curse so nothing would have happened." Ares defended himself.
"That does not excuse you! What if his sword fails him against Kronos? What if your curse causes the downfall of Olympus?" Poseidon's scowl somehow managed to increase in intensity. Apollo's expression wasn't far behind but he had remained seated.
"We know he succeeds." Ares pointed out.
"Not the point!" Poseidon roared.
"Father. Maybe this could wait until we are positive the children are safe." Triton ventured. Obviously they knew the kids all made it out because they were here but he didn't add that part.
Artemis heaved a heavy sigh. Not all of them were going to make it out safely. Zoe...her faithful Zoe was going to die.
Poseidon turned to look at his son, eyes still blazing. It took quite a force of will for Triton not to flinch under his gaze, even if the anger was not aimed at him. Because of his generally jovial nature, people often forget just how wrathful his father could be. Eventually he nodded.
"When this chapter is over, you and I are going to talk." He told Ares. The war God nodded weakly.
"I think we should break for the night after this chapter." Chiron put in. They had not gotten very far in the reading today at all but he suspected that talk was going to be a long one. There was no way Poseidon would be persuaded to postpone either so they might as well have an early night and get started early the next morning. They had barely even gotten through half the book, even with the slow start. Still, it wasn't as if they were short on time. And this book had been much more emotionally charged than the others. Not to mention it was only going to get worse.
Not now! I pleaded. But it was no good. I tried to dodge, but the javelin caught me in the chest and sent me flying like a rag doll. I slammed into the ground, my head spinning. I looked up and found I was at the feet of Artemis, still straining under the weight of the sky.
Poseidon continued to glare at Ares while Apollo stared at his sister in concern. She shot him a reassuring smile.
"Run, boy," she told me. "You must run!" Atlas was taking his time coming toward me. My sword was gone. It had skittered away over the edge of the cliff. It might reappear in my pocket—maybe in a few seconds—but it didn't matter. I'd be dead by then. Luke and Thalia were fighting like demons, lightning crackling around them. Annabeth was on the ground, desperately struggling to free her hands.
Athena inhaled sharply as she realised exactly how defenseless her daughter was. She had no weapon and her hands were bound. With an army arriving any minute. The wisdom Goddess had to glance across to where her daughter was still huddled with Zeus' daughter to reassure herself that Annabeth had somehow gotten out of this alive.
"Die, little hero," Atlas said. He raised his javelin to impale me. "No!" Zoe yelled, and a volley of silver arrows sprouted from the armpit chink in Atlas's armor.
Poseidon broke his glare to nod gratefully in Artemis' direction. She gave him a strained smile in return. The price of defending the boy would be Atlas' attention on Zoe. And she knew how that ended.
"ARGH!" He bellowed and turned toward his daughter. I reached down and felt Riptide back in my pocket. I couldn't fight Atlas, even with a sword. And then a chill went down my back. I remembered the words of the prophecy: The Titan's curse must one withstand. I couldn't hope to beat Atlas. But there was someone else who might stand a chance. "The sky," I told the goddess. "Give it to me."
Even though it was obvious he had held the sky, Artemis was still taken aback by the offer. A male hero who knew his weaknesses and allowed someone else to take over instead of simply fighting on anyway? This boy was definitely different. He might even be good for her brother. If they could get past the myriad of issues facing them.
Poseidon once again wrapped his arm around Percy and held him tightly.
"No, boy," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. "You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!" "Annabeth took it!" "She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long."
"I was wrong." Artemis said quietly. "You have more than enough spirit." Percy stared at her in amazement.
"Thank you." He replied, knowing Artemis could have given him no higher compliment. It was up there with when she had called him a man instead of a boy.
"I'll die anyway," I said. "Give me the weight of the sky!" I didn't wait for her answer. I took out Riptide and slashed through her chains. Then I stepped next to her and braced myself on one knee—holding up my hands—and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and I bore the weight together.
Apollo thought he might be sick. He closed his eyes and focused on the hand that was still in his. That didn't help. With his eyes closed he could picture a slightly younger Percy crouching next to his sister, trying to hold the sky. Something cold twisted in his gut and he forced his eyes open, shaking his head to clear away the images. The hand squeezed his.
"You ok? You don't look so hot." Percy whispered.
"I always look hot." Apollo replied automatically. Percy smirked at him.
"Debatable."
"Oi! Besides, shouldn't I be asking you that? You were holding the sky."
"True but I survived and right now you look like you're about to puke."
"I'm fine."
"Really fine or my kind of fine?" Percy joked. Apollo's lips twisted in amusement.
"You're kind of fine I suppose. But I'll be alright." He said.
"Of course you will."
It was the heaviest thing I'd ever felt, as if I were being crushed under a thousand trucks. I wanted to black out from the pain, but I breathed deeply. I can do this. Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and I held it alone.
Everyone stared at Percy.
"You actually…" Beckendorf couldn't finish the sentence. Once again, hearing about it through gossip was nothing like actually reading about the event from Percy's point of view.
"Yeah." Percy said.
"But... Gods." Katie breathed in astonishment. Nobody was quite sure why this felt so different to knowing Annabeth had held the sky. Maybe it was because Percy hadn't really known what was happening then. There was just some vague description. Plus, it had been a dream. There was a chance that wasn't actually happening, not a very high chance but a chance nevertheless. This could not be doubted. Percy was holding the sky voluntarily. He knew it could, and probably would, kill him.
Dionysus stared at the boy. This was the second time in short succession he had been proved wrong about the damn boy. He had known he couldn't win so swallowed his pride and let someone else take over. Even if it killed him. The wine God didn't know what to think and he didn't like it. He didn't want to acknowledge that heroes, especially Poseidon's brats, were not all alike.
"I'm not sure if I should thank you or smack you." Apollo said casually. "You did save my sister but that's the second time in one damn chapter you've gone for the record of stupidest thing you've ever done."
"What can I say? I don't like doing things the easy way." Percy said.
"Understatement." Reyna muttered. "That was insane even for you." Percy thought about what had happened in Mount St Helens the following summer.
"Yeah. It's only going to get worse."
"Worse!" Choked Poseidon.
"Err, yeah." Percy grimaced. Dionysus finally took pity on him and started reading once more.
Afterward, I tried many times to explain what it felt like. I couldn't. Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. I wanted to scream, but I didn't have the strength to open my mouth. I began to sink, lower and lower to the ground, the sky's weight crushing me.
Almost everybody winced at this. Annabeth was nodding. She could recall that feeling only too well.
"You're doing a pretty good job of explaining it there." She said.
"Not sure how. I don't remember thinking any of this." Percy shrugged.
Fight back! Grover's voice said inside my head. Don't give up. I concentrated on breathing. If I could just keep the sky aloft a few more seconds. I thought about Bianca, who had given her life so we could get here. If she could do that, I could hold the sky.
Nico looked over at Percy. He had used Bianca for inspiration. To give him strength. It made him indescribably sad and yet it also made him smile.
My vision turned fuzzy. Everything was tinged with red. I caught glimpses of the battle, but I wasn't sure if I was seeing clearly. There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Or perhaps that was just my fevered brain.
Artemis raised an eyebrow.
"I believe you are correct." She said. "It is impressive that you noticed that much."
"Seriously how could you notice anything going on?" Annabeth asked. "I could barely focus on breathing, let alone what was going on around me."
"You were actually talking to Luke, asking him to help. I couldn't make a sound." Percy pointed out.
Zoe shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark, but they affected him like bee stings. He just got madder and kept fighting. Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing around them. Thalia pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he was not immune to it. He retreated, wincing and growling in frustration.
Zeus nodded proudly.
"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke." He bared his teeth. "Well see, my old friend."
"That was a long time ago. He had six years extra to practice while you were a tree." Clarisse pointed out. She didn't add that he had the added advantage of not caring if he killed Thalia. She wouldn't want to hurt him because they used to be friends but he didn't have the same restraint.
"He still wouldn't be able to beat Thalia." Jason said confidently.
Sweat poured down my face. My hands were slippery. My shoulders would've screamed with agony if they could. I felt like the vertebrae in my spine were being welded together by a blowtorch.
Poseidon watched his son for any ill effects now, which he knew was ridiculous, but he couldn't stop himself. The grey streak in his hair seemed to glow like a beacon now. Constantly pointing out his son's shortened life span. Although, at this point he would take his son reaching the age to have a shortened life span. At this rate he wouldn't see eighteen.
Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward me. Get ready, she spoke in my mind.
Suddenly Apollo smiled. He knew Artemis would get the job done.
I was losing the ability to think through the pain. My response was something like Agggghh-owwwwwwww.
A few people chuckled. Leo was glad they were reading Percy's thoughts. He was pretty good at breaking the tension at just the right moment. It was one of the main things Leo had come to appreciate about the son of Poseidon. It would be nice to have someone with a similar sense of humor on the Argo II. He was also glad for this opportunity to get to know Percy better. At Camp he was pretty much a legend and Leo had been pretty nervous to meet the guy. It was good to know they had some common ground and that he wasn't quite as impossible as the campers made him sound. He certainly lived up to what they had said about his ability but hearing his thoughts, he was also just a regular guy.
"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me." He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. I saw the trick coming.
"Seriously? How can you analyze a fight while holding the sky?" Apollo looked at him in amazement. He wasn't the only one either.
"No idea." Percy shrugged.
"No wonder we can never sneak anything past Percy." Travis complained.
"He can spot everything while literally holding the sky up." Connor agreed. "Nothing can escape his notice."
"Some things can." Rachel muttered to herself. Apparently his observing abilities drew the line as noticing when people liked him.
Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill.
Apollo clenched his teeth and imagined all the many, many ways he would make Atlas pay.
"No!" Zoe screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged like a unicorn's horn.
There were a few more chuckles while Artemis put her face in her hands. So this was it then. Zoe had died saving her. She knew that was exactly the kind of death Zoe would have wished for but that didn't make her feel any better.
Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks.
The Goddess took a deep, ragged breath. Apollo shot her a sympathetic look. He felt quite sorrowful himself. While he had never exactly gotten along with Zoe, he was fond of her simply because she was his sister's Lieutenant. For the billionth time he wished he had been there.
I wanted to shout her name, run to her aid, but I couldn't speak or move. I couldn't even see where Zoe had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph in his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.
Apollo bit his lip. As did Zeus. He knew it was partly his fault that his daughter was in this state and that thought continued to grate on his nerves. He disliked knowing he was at fault, even only partially. Especially as two of his children were currently in danger.
"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward. As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her, I saw him coming down on top of me and I realized what would happen. I loosened my grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me I didn't try to hold on. I let myself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all I was worth.
Poseidon breathed out a sigh of relief.
"How long were you holding the sky?" Apollo demanded.
"Not sure. Only a few minutes. If that." Percy said. "Time is kind of hard to follow when you're holding the sky." Apollo and Poseidon both nodded. A few minutes would not do him too much harm. The sun God still hated that it would have a small cost to Percy but nowhere near the amount it would on Annabeth. She had said she held the sky for something like an hour. He knew if it had actually been that long she would have been dead but it was certainly a lot longer than Percy.
Athena was having similar thoughts and was eyeing the grey patch of hair on her daughter with concern.
The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late. "Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!" Atlas was trapped under his old burden.
All of the Gods nodded smugly.
"Let's hope he stays there this time." Clarisse muttered. They didn't need Atlas escaping again and joining in their upcoming battle.
"I doubt they will be able to find someone else to hold the sky for him." Chris said. "Luke only did it because he knew Annabeth would take it for him and Artemis would take it for her. Now Kronos won't use Luke and I guess everybody else would rather die."
I tried to stand and fell back again, dazed from pain. My body felt like it was burning up. Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.
Hermes winced while Zeus' smug smile widened.
He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.
Zeus opened his mouth to congratulate his daughter and then he spotted her expression. And the tears on her face. He closed his mouth again and sighed. Then he turned to glare at Hermes. After all it was his son who was making his daughter this upset.
For a moment, there was silence. "Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but I could hear fear in his voice. Thalia trembled with fury. Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"
"What?" Athena asked her daughter. "He is too dangerous to be kept alive."
"He would know the enemy plans. He has much useful information." Hermes put in, trying to ignore his father's deepening scowl.
"The boy is a traitor and needs to die." Zeus growled.
"Knowing their plans could save lives." Annabeth argued.
"Destroying Kronos' main pawn would also save lives." Athena told her daughter. While she did agree that the boy might have useful information he was too dangerous. He would try to sway her daughter and Zeus' daughter to his side. With time he might succeed. Or he may end up learning of their plans instead. Not to mention Zeus was likely to smite him on site, no questions asked
"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!" In my daze, I realized that Artemis was no longer with me. She had run off toward the black rocks where Zoe had fallen. "We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He… he'll be useful." "Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"
"Can't he just shut up." Jason grumbled.
Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear. "No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror on his face, and then he fell.
Hermes couldn't breathe. Was his son dead? Just like that. Something was squeezing his chest. He stared at the floor, picturing the broken body of his son that he had never seen. Instead the image looked like a mixture of his children here, with the features that had been described by Percy, such as the scar. He thought he might be sick.
Zeus smiled triumphantly while Athena thought that was too easy. Nothing in these books had been easy or simple and she didn't see why this would be different. Somehow, the boy would survive. Kronos had given him enough extra powers.
"Luke!" Annabeth screamed. We rushed to the cliff's edge. Below us, the army from the Princess Andromeda had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks.
Hermes could no longer contain the sob that burst from him. His vision blurred with tears and he could feel his heart cracking in his chest. Zeus looked at him in disdain. The traitor was dead. He should be pleased, son or not. A traitorous voice in the back of his mind told him that he would be devastated if Thalia died, even if she had betrayed them. Betrayal didn't make their children's death any easier. Then he shook off this thought. Everyone should be glad the boy was dead. Even Hermes. This was a major blow to his father's plans.
Connor and Travis exchanged glances.
"Luke is still alive, dad." Connor said quietly, so nobody but his father and Travis could hear. In a manner of speaking this was true. Luke was now Kronos but his body was still alive. And Percy had said that he thought Luke was still in there as well.
"What? But...?"
"We don't know how but we know he's alive." Hermes could breathe again. Relief washed over him and he hugged his sons as tightly as he was able. He beckoned Chris over to join them as well. He left Clarisse and sat by his father's feet so the God could reach all three of his kids. They stayed in a group hug as Dionysus continued.
Despite how much I hated him, I couldn't stand to see it. I wanted to believe he was still alive, but that was impossible.
"What?" Poseidon looked at his son in confusion. "Why would you want him to be alive?" Percy sighed. There was no easy answer to that as he wasn't even sure himself.
"I don't know. I guess a small part of me had always thought that he could be saved. Somehow."
The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving. One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!" Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. I pulled her back as a wave of javelins sailed over our heads. We ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas as we passed. "Artemis!" I yelled. The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's.
Artemis hid her face in her hands. Poor Zoe.
Zoe lay in the goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still… "The wound is poisoned," Artemis said. "Atlas poisoned her?" I asked. "No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas." She showed us the wound in Zoe's side. I'd almost forgotten her scrape with Ladon the dragon. The bite was much worse than Zoe had let on. I could barely look at the wound. She had charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.
"She was so brave." Artemis whispered to herself. "Foolish...but brave." Apollo squeezed Percy's hand once more and then moved over to sit beside his sister. He knew she didn't approve of openly showing affection but the thought of losing Zoe was too much for her to bear alone. As if to prove his point, Artemis actually clutched at his arm when he sat down. He put his other arm around her and let her rest her head on his shoulder.
"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I cannot see them." "Nectar and ambrosia," I said. "Come on! We have to get her some." No one moved. Grief hung in air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir.
"You need to move, Arty." Apollo murmured, simply for something to say. As he had hoped, she raised her head to glare at him.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't call me Arty."
"At least once more." He gave her a grin. She rolled her eyes but he detected the faintest of smiles on her face.
We might've met our doom right there, but then I heard a strange buzzing noise. Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.
"What?" Reyna looked confused.
"Isn't that something Mr. Chase mentioned?" Katie tried to recall. It had only been a chapter or so ago but it felt like forever.
"It's a kind of plane." Annabeth said.
"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering.
"Holy Hera!" Leo cried. "Annabeth your dad is awesome!"
"Yeah." Annabeth gave a watery grin. "He kind of is."
"That is one brave mortal." Ares said with a raised eyebrow. Athena gave a smile. He obviously cared deeply for Annabeth, no matter what issues the two were having.
"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief. "Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by. This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now banking around for another strafe. "A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval.
"Woah! First Percy, now this mortal. That's more guys you've approved of in one day than in the last millennia." Apollo gave an amazed laugh.
"It is good to know there are still some halfway decent men out there." Artemis said, her voice still heavy with grief.
"Come, we must get Zoe away from here." She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoe's eyes were fluttering. "Hang in there!" I told her. "It'll be all right!" The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed. I realized with amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulfurous yellow powder.
"Wicked." Leo whistled.
"How did a mortal get celestial bronze?" Hera scowled.
"From Annabeth most likely." Athena stated.
"Why would she give celestial bronze to a mortal?" Demeter asked.
"He explains shortly." Percy cut in.
"That's… my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement. We didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon. Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer I had ever seen. It landed right next to us. "Get in," Artemis said.
"Nice. You got to ride the sun chariot and the moon chariot. In the same week." Katie said enviously.
"I much preferred the moon chariot." Percy muttered. At Apollo's offended expression he smirked. "But that had more to do with the driver at the time." He added, glancing at Thalia. She stuck her tongue out at him while Apollo looked both relieved and amused.
Annabeth helped me get Thalia on board. Then I helped Artemis with Zoe. We wrapped Zoe in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air. "Like Santa Claus's sleigh," I murmured, still dazed with pain. Artemis took time to look back at me. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?"
"Seriously?" Rachel asked. "Santa's sleigh came from the moon chariot?"
"Yes." Artemis nodded.
Seeing us safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed us like an honor guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.
Most people chuckled.
"I'm so glad I was not there." Rachel said. She could only imagine how much that image would have messed with her head.
Behind us, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.
"The chapter is done. Finally." Dionysus tossed the book away from him in disgust
"Right. Let's have dinner and then an early night." Chiron announced. Poseidon got up to drag Ares away for a 'chat'. Apollo spoke quietly with his sister and then got up and went back over to Percy.
"How about some archery practice after dinner?"
"Sure." Percy nodded. Apollo smiled at him and he could have sworn his heart skipped a beat. Maybe being alone with the sun God was not such a good idea but he couldn't come up with a believable lie. Instead he simply hurried off to get some dinner. For once he was planning on taking his sweet time while eating.