22. THE PROPHECY IS COMPLETED

Camp has some weird traditions, is what I learned when I got back.

For some reason they made shrouds for quest goers to be buried in in case of death, and when we returned safely we would get to burn them.

Annabeth's was beautiful, and I asked her if she was sure she didn't wanna actually use it (I got punched for that)

Mine was made by Ares cabin, since I had no cabin mates. Burning it was fun though, since it was just an old bedsheet with a bunch of smileys with X-ed out eyes and 'LOSER' painted in the middle.

As Apollo's cabin led the sing-along and passed out s 'mores, I was surrounded by my old Hermes cabinmates, Annabeth's friends from Athena, Charles and some of his Siblings and Grover's satyr buddies, who were admiring the brand-new searcher's license he'd received from the Council of Cloven Elders. The council had called Grover's performance on the quest "Brave to the point of indigestion. Horns-and-whiskers above anything we have seen in the past."

The only Grumpy ones were the Ares cabin, which made sense since I embarrassed their dad.

Dionysus gave a speech which was basically " Kid didn't die, yay"

As for my mother, she had a chance at a new life. Her letter arrived two and a half week after I got back to camp. She told me Gabe had left mysteriously—disappeared off the face of the planet, in fact. She'd reported him missing to the police, but she had a funny feeling they would never find him.

On a completely unrelated subject, she'd sold her first life-size concrete sculpture, entitled The Poker Player, to a collector, through an art gallery in Soho. She'd gotten so much money for it; she'd put a deposit down on a new apartment and made a payment on her first semester's tuition at NYU. The Soho gallery was clamouring for more of her work, which they called "a huge step forward in super-ugly neorealism."

'But don't worry' she had written. 'I'm done with sculpture. I've disposed of that box of tools you left me. It's time for me to turn to writing.'

At the bottom, she wrote a P.S.: 'Percy, I've found a good private school here in the city. I've put a deposit down to hold you a spot, in case you want to enrol for seventh grade. You could live at home. But if you want to go year-round at Half-Blood Hill, I'll understand.'

I knew that while camp was great, home was with my mom. I sent her a reply letter (delivered through mail harpies, who knew that was a thing?) saying I'd definitely be returning for that.

On the Fourth of July, the whole camp gathered at the beach for a fireworks display by cabin nine. They'd anchored a barge offshore and loaded it with rockets the size of Patriot missiles. According to Annabeth, who'd seen the show before, the blasts would be sequenced so tightly they'd look like frames of animation across the sky.

As Annabeth and I were spreading a picnic blanket, Grover showed up to tell us good-bye.

"I'm off," he said. "I just came to say ... well, you know."

Annabeth gave him a hug and told him to keep his fake feet on.

I just asked him where he was going to search first.

"Kind of a secret," he said, looking embarrassed. "I wish you could come with me, guys, but humans and Pan ..."

"We understand," Annabeth said. "You got enough tin cans for the trip?"

"Yeah."

"And you remembered your reed pipes?"

"Jeez, Annabeth," he grumbled. "You're like an old mama goat."

He gripped his walking stick and slung a backpack over his shoulder. He looked like any hitchhiker you might see on an American highway—nothing like the little boy I was friends with at Nancy.

"Well," he said, "wish me luck."

He gave Annabeth another hug. He clapped me on the shoulder, then headed back through the dunes.

"Hey, Grover," I called.

He turned at the edge of the woods.

"Mail me an Enchilada"

Grover grinned, and then he was gone, the trees closing around him.

"We'll see him again," Annabeth said.

"Heck yeah we will" I said with a grin.

July passed.

I spent my days trying to figure out new ways to use my powers, and master that energy slash I used against Ares.

If there's one thing he was right about, it's that the current me was not even close to my old self.

My plan for now was to create new moves with my current powers.

I had been on guard with Luke ever since we returned, but i hadn't told anyone or let either of the other two tell anyone or confront Luke ( Genjutsu is great for enforcing suggestions, even if it feels underhanded)

The last night of the summer session came all too quickly.
The campers had one last meal together. We burned part of our dinner for the gods. At the bonfire, the senior counsellors awarded the end-of-summer beads.

The design was pitch black, with a sea-green trident shimmering in the center.

"The choice was unanimous," Luke announced. "This bead commemorates the first Son of the Sea God at this camp, and the quest he undertook into the darkest part of the Underworld to stop a war!"

The entire camp got to their feet and cheered. Even Ares's cabin felt obliged to stand. Athena's cabin steered Annabeth to the front so she could share in the applause.

The next morning, I found a form letter on my bedside table.

I knew Dionysus must've filled it out, because he stubbornly insisted on getting my name wrong:

Dear_ Peter Johnson_ ,

If you intend to stay at CampHalf-Blood year-round, you must inform the Big House by noon today. If you do not announce your intentions, we will assume you have vacated your cabin or died a horrible death. Cleaning harpies will begin work at sundown. They will be authorized to eat any unregistered campers. All personal articles left behind will be incinerated in the lava pit.

Have a nice day!

Mr. D (Dionysus)

Camp Director, Olympian Council #12

Most of my stuff was packed, so I wasn't worried about being eaten alive.

I went down to the arena after packing the rest, being still just aint my thing.

The campgrounds were mostly deserted. All the campers were in their cabins packing up, or running around with brooms and mops, getting ready for final inspection. Argus was helping some of the Aphrodite kids haul their Gucci suitcases and makeup kits over the hill, where the camp's shuttle bus would be waiting to take them to the airport.

I got to the sword-fighters arena and found Luke there His gym bag was plopped at the edge of the stage. He was working solo, whaling on battle dummies with a new sword. It must've been a regular steel blade, because he was slashing the dummies' heads right off.

The blade was two different types of metal—one edge bronze, the other steel.

Luke noticed me looking at it. "Oh, this? New toy. This is Backbiter."

"Backbiter?"

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

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

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

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

Clearly a trap, unfortunately (for him) I was bored enough to play along.

not?"

We walked down to the woods and kicked around for some kind of monster to fight, but it was too hot.

We found a shady spot by the creek where I'd broken Clarisse's spear during my first capture the flag game. We sat on a big rock, drank Cokes which he somehow got, and watched the sunlight in the woods.

After a while Luke said, "You miss being on a quest?"

"Yeah, I miss it," I admitted.

A shadow passed over his face.

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

He crumpled his Coke can and threw into the creek.

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

"You leaving?" I sounded inquisitive. Inside, I was tense and had a couple of water whips ready to form in a moment.

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

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

The whips were put now, grabbing his hands and legs.

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

There was a flare of energy from him and he was free "You're not the only one to get gifts, except my patron is much stronger than some god"

He stood calmly and brushed off his jeans.

The scorpion paid him no attention. It kept its beady black eyes on me, clamping its pincers as it crawled onto my shoe.

"I saw a lot out there in the world, Percy," Luke said. "Didn't you feel it—the darkness gathering, the monsters growing stronger? Didn't you realize how useless it all is? All the heroics—being pawns of the gods. They should've been overthrown thousands of years ago, but they've hung on, thanks to us half-bloods."

"I have one question" I said.

He stilled, but nodded.

"Is this of your own free will?" I searched his eyes.

He laughed "Yes Percy. I guess you'd hope that I was controlled or something, but this is all me"

The scorpion crawled onto my pants leg.

"Kronos got you to steal the master bolt and the helm. He spoke to you in your dreams."

The sky got dark.

"You should be careful with names."

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

Luke's smile wavered. "I ... I got overconfident. Zeus sent out his sons and daughters to find the stolen bolt— Artemis, Apollo, my father, Hermes. But it was Ares who caught me. I could have beaten him, but I wasn't careful enough. He disarmed me, took the items of power, threatened to return them to Olympus and burn me alive. Then Kronos's voice came to me and told me what to say. I put the idea in Ares's head about a great war between the gods. I said all he had to do was hide the items away for a while and watch the others fight. Ares got a wicked gleam in his eyes. I knew he was hooked. He let me go, and I returned to Olympus before anyone noticed my absence." Luke drew his new sword. He ran his thumb down the flat of the blade, as if he were hypnotized by its beauty. "Afterward, the Lord of the Titans ... h-he punished me with nightmares. I swore not to fail again. Back at Camp Half-Blood, in my dreams, I was told that a second hero would arrive, one who could be tricked into taking the bolt and the helm the rest of the way—from Ares down to Tartarus.

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

"I've been used?" Luke's voice turned shrill. "Look at yourself. What has your dad ever done for you? Kronos will rise. You've only delayed his plans. He will cast the Olympians into Tartarus and drive humanity back to their caves. All except the strongest—the ones who serve him."

"And your way to get rid of me is a BUG ? fight me yourself"

Luke smiled. "Nice try, Percy. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake. Good-bye, Percy. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."

He tried to slash his sword, but was grabbed by reformed whips.

The scorpion lunged.

[Time Stop]

It was a sign of my improvement that I was able to use that ability with barely a thought, and lunged at the struggling Luke.

Riptide was in sword form in my hand and aimed at his neck.

His hand was free already, and he used his sword to parry it before kicking me in the gut.

"How can you use the power of time" he shouted, pointing wildly with his sword towards the scorpion which was covered in a frozen water bubble which I then proceeded to shatter.

"Kr- Your guy aint the only one who has time abilities"

"It doesn't matter" he hissed " even if you can do all this, experience can be a deciding part of a fight"

He was then covered by a huge wave of water which I promptly froze.

"Got that right" I muttered as I collapsed on the ground.

'Using powers is much more exerting in this world than chakra' I thought to myself as I sat back on the ground and opened another coke.

There was a huge blast of black energy from Luke, and I was sent flying through 8 trees.

"It's too bad Percy" he said "You could have joined us."

And then, he slashed the air with his sword and disappeared in a ripple of darkness.

My legs felt like lead. My head was bleeding. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.

I remember making it to the clearing, a counselor shouting for help, a centaur blowing a conch horn.

Then everything went black.

I woke with a drinking straw in my mouth. I was sipping something that tasted like liquid chocolate-chip cookies. Nectar.

I opened my eyes.

I was propped up in bed in the sickroom of the Big House, my head bandaged like a helmet. Argus stood guard in the corner. Annabeth sat next to me, holding my nectar glass and dabbing a washcloth on my forehead.

"Here we are again" I said.

"You idiot," Annabeth said, which is how I knew she was overjoyed to see me conscious. "You were turning white when we found you. If it weren't for Chiron's healing ..."

"Now, now," Chiron's voice said. "Percy's constitution deserves some of the credit."

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"Like I flew through 8 trees and cracked my skull"

"Apt, considering that was what the nymphs said. Now you must tell me, if you can, exactly what happened."

I told him about everything, reincarnation included.

The room was quiet for a long time.

Annabeth looked upset. "We suspected Luke for a while, but I can't believe that you just went with him" she said as she slapped my hand.

"Hey I'm still injured here"

"And I hope you will learn from that" Chiron said sternly " Keeping such crucial information aside, the truth is that you have been acting overconfident. From what you have said the enemies you fought there were easily on the level of the Olympians, but that doesn't mean you can slack off here. Overconfidence leads you to death, as you almost found out"

I just lowered my head. He was right.

"This must be reported to Olympus," Chiron said. "I will go at once."

"They already know" I said " The gods didn't do anything about it though"

"I shall go anyway, there are other matters to be discussed as well"

"I'll be back as soon as I can," he promised. "Argus will watch over you."

He glanced at Annabeth. "Oh, and, my dear ... whenever you're ready, they're here."

"Who's here?" I asked.

Nobody answered.

Chiron rolled himself out of the room. I heard the wheels of his chair clunk carefully down the front steps, two at a time.

Annabeth studied the ice in my drink.

"What's wrong?" I asked her.

"Nothing." She set the glass on the table. "I … just took your advice about something. You … um … need anything?"

"Yeah. Help me up. I want to go outside."

"Percy, that isn't a good idea"

"Nothing I've done today has been a good idea"

I slid my legs out of bed. Annabeth caught me before I could crumple to the floor. A wave of pain rolled over me.

"Your bones are still mending" she said.

"I'm fine," I insisted.

I managed a step forward. Then another, still leaning heavily on Annabeth. Argus followed us outside, but he kept his distance.

By the time we reached the porch, my face was beaded with sweat.

It was dusk. The camp looked completely deserted. The cabins were dark and the volleyball pit silent. No canoes cut the surface of the lake. Beyond the woods and the strawberry fields, the Long Island Sound glittered in the last light of the sun.

"What are you going to do?" Annabeth asked me.

"Train. At home, with my mom. You?"

Annabeth pursed her lips, then said quietly, "I'm going home for the year, Percy."

I stared at her. "You mean, to your dad's?"

She pointed toward the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Next to Thalia's pine tree, at the very edge of the camp's magical boundaries, a family stood silhouetted—two little children, a woman, and a tall man with blond hair. They seemed to be waiting. The man was holding a backpack that looked like the one Annabeth had gotten from Waterland in Denver.

"I wrote him a letter when we got back," Annabeth said. "Just like you suggested. I told him ... I was sorry. I'd come home for the school year if he still wanted me. He wrote back immediately. We decided ... we'd give it another try."

"Taking the first step takes guts"

She pursed her lips. "You won't try anything stupid during the school year, will you? At least … not without sending me an Iris-message?"

I smirked. "I don't do stupid things, they just happen. But yeah I will"

"When I get back next summer," she said, "we'll hunt down Luke. We'll ask for a quest, but if we don't get approval, we'll sneak off and do it anyway. Agreed?"

"Sounds good"

She held out her hand. I shook it.

"Take care, Seaweed Brain," Annabeth told me. "Keep your eyes open."

"You too, Wise Girl."

"I'll be back" I promised myself as I left for home too after a couple of hours " Stronger than ever"