Chapter 61
Meeting the Original Cliff Jumper.
We got within fifteen feet of the Hunters without Zoe looking at us. It wasn't that she didn't know we were there; her ears twitched in time with our footsteps. But she had an injured friend to keep alive, and that took priority over everything else. I respected that.
"If thee have come to finish me off," Zoe said, "then do not expect an easy target.
"Honestly, you are so melodramatic," Annabeth said.
Zoe's back stiffened in recognition, then relaxed. She glanced over her shoulder.
"Annabeth Chase," she said. "And—" her brown eyes met mine and widened. "You?"
Annabeth looked between us. "I thought you two didn't know each other."
I shut my eyes and tried to ignore the way my heart was going wild. Saving the Hunters was the right thing to do, really it was, and I didn't regret it. That didn't mean it wasn't terrifying to stand there totally helpless. Somehow, relying on a stranger was scarier than fighting with your life on the line.
"His introduction, in the first round," Zoe said after a long pause. "It has been a time since I laid eyes upon a son of Poseidon. This one, I believe I've even hunted."
I opened my eyes to find Zoe not even looking at me. Her eyes were aimed up the hill, toward Niobe. Finally, she traced down the hill back to me. When she made eye contact, I could see she'd reached a decision.
"I tracked you once, with My Lady," she said. "Zeus was furious when you escaped his Harpies, enough to call upon us. But by the time we arrived, the trail led only into the Labyrinth. A good thing, I suppose. We would have brought you before the gods, and now you seem to have saved my sister and I. That deserves… a bit of faith."
We sized each other up, and she gave a nearly imperceptible nod. My secret was safe. For now.
"Well," Annabeth said, "good to see you have manners."
She walked around to stand beside Zoe, looking down at the injured Hunter.
"How bad is it?" Annabeth asked.
The girl was unconscious. Her cuts weren't the worst, but one gash in her calf would leave a limp. Bruises ringed her throat where Mark's fingers had dug in. My guess was, that's what made her pass out.
"Avery will live," Zoe declared. "Whether she will walk… probably, but not soon."
"How many tests have you passed?" I asked.
"Two. But once we reach the one at the top of the hill—"
"Uh-uh," Annabeth said. "The proctor up there has a history with your mistress. If you go up there, you'll get treated worse than your attackers."
"Surely it cannot be that bad—"
"It's Niobe."
Zoe's mouth shut with a clack. She frowned.
"Very well," she said. "What do you propose?"
Annabeth sighed. She shifted her sword around her belt and took a knee at Avery's side.
"We'll have to carry her. There's a proctor not too far away, but it will take us further from the finish line. At our speed, there's no telling what that will do to our times."
"But we must pass!" Zoe said. "It's the only way to—"
She cut herself off, but we could guess where she was going.
"You're no good to Artemis if you get killed," Annabeth said.
Zoe opened her mouth to argue, but only ended up hanging her head. "Fine."
She looked between Avery and us, eyes a thousand miles away. Then she sighed.
"You should leave us," she said. "There is no reason for you to fail as well."
"Not happening," I said. "Those two that attacked you are still out there. You'd be easy targets on your own."
"You would go so far to aid us?" Zoe asked.
"We already did this much, didn't we?"
"I do not know what you expect in return."
This made Annabeth roll her eyes. "If it bothers you, just assume we never learned the sunk-cost fallacy. Now come on, we need to move."
She hauled Avery up, slipping under one arm. I ducked under the other so that the Hunter was suspended between us.
Tentatively, Zoe rose to her feet.
"We will be in your care," she said. "I thank thee."
Our hobbling progress was slow, but knowing the clock was ticking made it feel glacial. Avery groaned sporadically, pained whimpers when her wound got jostled, but never woke up. Zoe flinched every time. The lieutenant channeled her nervous energy into walking circles around us, fingers tight against her bow's grip. Her eyes darted over the landscape. Once, she nearly loosed an arrow at a whistling teen when he came around a corner walking his dog.
"Zoe, relax," Annabeth told the jumpy Hunter. "Turning a mortal into a pincushion isn't going to help us."
"I am looking out for threats!" she said.
"Dog walkers are known for their murderous rampages," I said innocently.
She scowled, but before she could retort Avery let out another of her whimpers and Zoe's anger melted to a wince.
"I apologize," she said stiffly. "It is nerves. Things have been going… poorly, recently."
"We know that Artemis has been captured," Annabeth said.
Zoe flinched. "How could thee?"
"Percy saw it in a dream."
All of a sudden Zoe was in front of me, so close I nearly tripped.
"What did you see?!"
"Not much!" I said quickly. "Artemis was in a cell. Hecate was talking to her, having a conversation. That's who showed me the vision— Hecate wanted to make sure I took these games seriously. Don't ask me why."
I didn't mention that the only reason Artemis hadn't busted out was because Zoe and the other Hunters were basically hostages. That would only make things worse.
Zoe slumped. "So it is true. This is where she disappeared to."
"But… how?" I asked. "Artemis said something about Hecate tricking her. But she's still an Olympian. How could someone like that be captured?"
"I do not know," Zoe said miserably. "Had I not known it to be true, I would have said it impossible. Even alone… it does not make sense!"
"Alone?" Annabeth's brow furrowed. "Why would Artemis be alone?"
"There was a hunt, one she called the most important in centuries. She informed us that we would only slow her down. I should not have agreed. Since then, things have only gotten worse and worse."
After a minute, when Annabeth and I didn't say anything, Zoe carried on.
"Avery is injured. Without your help, she could have died. I could have died. And poor, poor Lily…"
I remembered the Hunter from the alleyway. We hadn't had time to move the body or bury it. It would still be there, right by the starting point. Of course Zoe would have seen it.
"We were with her," I said. "I don't know how much it helps, but she didn't die alone."
"I am glad for it." Zoe said. "But it should have been I."
We had reached Main Street, this time at the West edge of town. A turf sports field sat behind us buried in snow, its yellow steel field goals the only part you could see. Down the street, on the right side, stood the town hospital, a modern two-story with lots of glass and reddish wood, its helicopter pad out back. And, in the middle of the street, was a bronze-skinned woman in a cloud-gray toga and nothing else, not even sandals.
"That has to be the proctor, right?" I asked.
"That, or someone with a thing for frostbite," Annabeth said. "Come on."
Up close, the woman's brown hair looked damp, which was a neat trick— the way the wind was blowing, I would've expected anything wet to freeze over. Kelp was stuck between her bare toes. A small crab hung by a clenched claw from the hem of her toga.
"Hello there, heroes," she greeted musically. "Fancy running into you here."
"I am no hero," Zoe growled. "I am a Hunter."
The proctor looked amused. "Who says one cannot be both?"
Zoe's eyes flared. "I do."
"Very well, Hunter." The woman laughed, lilting and melodic. She wasn't particularly pretty, but as long as her voice was going she could've given pre-tree Daphne a run for her money. That was just how beautiful the sound was.
"My name is Sappho," she said. "You may have heard of me. You may not have. I care little about that. I'd rather hear about you all. How are you?"
There was a pause, none of us knowing what to say.
"You want us to tell you about our day?" I asked. "Is that our test?"
"If you do it well enough, maybe," Sappho said. "I'm a poet, see— or, I was. A rather good one, I've been told. Feel like giving it a crack?"
"Do you want us to tell you about our day, or do you want a poem?" Annabeth asked. "You're not being clear."
"Well I'd be quite a poor poet if I was clear. And I'm not. People tell me I was rather good."
Sappho smiled as if that answered everything. There was another awkward pause, filled by the wind whipping down the frigid street. The little crab gripped her fluttering toga harder to keep from flying off. Finally, without her smile dropping, Sappho took pity on us.
"I'll give you two hints," she said. "The first hint is, there are no hints in poetry. The second is, tell me about love. Those were always my favorite poems. Especially lyrical ones, put to music, but don't worry about that. You've faced enough singing for one day, and at its core poetry needs only come from the heart."
I set aside the fact that she knew about Annabeth's lullaby. Maybe the proctors had a group chat or something. Instead, I looked over our group.
One was unconscious, which left two teens barely old enough for high school and a girl sworn to the goddess of maidenhood. It didn't fill me with hope for love stories.
"Love." Zoe said the word like it rotted her teeth. "What do people see in that fetid emotion?"
"Fetid," Sappho said. "Good word for it. It does stink. But before you know it, you're running on those fumes. I experienced love twice in my life. The first time was with Kerkylos, of Ambros. He loved me back, and we were wed. The second time it was Phaon, a simple ferryman. Or he was simple, before Aphrodite blessed him with youth and perfect looks. Terrible unfair, if you ask me, but it didn't change the fact that I was besotted, and that he wanted not a thing to do with me."
"What did you do?" I asked.
"I didn't want to overreact, so I hurled myself off a cliff into the ocean. A good choice, looking back. It's given me such a chic post-death look. My brother may have had an Egyptian mistress in life, but he'll never have an ectoplasmic crab in death."
She grinned. The crab gave a little wiggle, as if it were saying, I sure am awesome.
"We don't have time for this," Zoe snapped.
"Don't blame that on me," Sappho said. "I'm only keeping you until you give me a poem."
"I do not understand you," Zoe said. She stalked forward until she was right in front of Sappho, looking up at the taller woman. "Love destroyed you. So why do you pine for it? Why do you chase something so ugly?"
"Because it is ugly," Sappho said. "Horribly ugly. Also beautiful. Terribly beautiful. Never mundane, though, and that's where the magic comes from. You of all people ought to understand, Zoe Nightshade."
"Do not presume to know what I have felt!"
"Then tell me," Sappho said. "Tell me what you felt."
Zoe must have missed that she was being goaded, or she was just too angry to care.
"I thought he was perfect," she snarled. "Skin deep, only. I thought he loved me. Only enough to smile, as he left me behind. I thought I was clever, once. All fools do. Love is what hurled me from my home. Love is what tore my life apart. You want to know what love is? Love is nothing."
However she expected Sappho to react, snapping wasn't it.
"Not bad," Sappho said, her fingers still moving. "The form and meter are all over the place, but there's a rhythm there, and it clearly came from the heart. We'll call it free verse. You know what, I'm going to give it to you. You pass."
"What?" Zoe demanded. "You accepted that as… as a poem?"
"What else would it be?"
Zoe gaped. "You have no respect for your own art!"
"That's a bit harsh on yourself," Sappho said. "Sure it wasn't up to snuff with my own work, and I can't say I agree with the girl in question's response. No flare to it. No crabs, either. But as for the poem… better than most of what I've heard today. Have you ever listened to a Laistrygonian attempt to compose lines? I'm lucky not to have bled out through my ears."
"I do not understand you," Zoe said again, but unlike the first time, she sounded confused, not angry.
"Then I've done my job quite well." Sappho shifted her attention. "Now, you two. I do believe it's your turn."
I faced Annabeth, assuming that both of us were equally stumped.
"Rock-paper-scissors for who has to try?"
Annabeth didn't respond. Her free hand tugged at a bead on her Camp Half-Blood necklace.
"You're the proctor," Annabeth said to Sappho. "That means you're the only one who needs to hear the poem, right?"
Sappho smiled a lot. She'd been smiling since we arrived. But I noticed the corners of her lips turn up a little extra.
"Exciting!" she said. "Yes, it's true. Come closer, closer. This I've got to hear."
Slipping from under Avery's arm, Annabeth strode up, leaned in, and began to whisper in Sappho's ear.
It went on for a few minutes, although it felt like forever. I've never been good at waiting. I noticed Zoe didn't seem bothered. I wondered if becoming a Hunter overwrote demigod ADD, or whether she even was a demigod in the first place.
Finally, Annabeth pulled away. Sappho stared at her, holding eye contact. She wasn't snapping. I couldn't tell if that was a bad thing.
"A hell of a story," Sappho said. "I'd be tempted to write about it myself, were I not, you know, dead."
"Do we pass?" Annabeth asked.
"Oh, yes. That was even better than your friend's. Just a lovely touch, adding that rhyme scheme."
"Great." Annabeth marched to me, taking Avery's arm back over her shoulder. Without a word, she turned us around and started walking. I was forced to match to keep Avery from falling on her face, and Zoe slipped in behind us.
"I'm looking forward to the next stanza!" Sappho called behind us. "Good luck my girl!"
"What's that mean?" I asked.
"Nothing to worry about." Annabeth wouldn't look at me. "C'mon. Pick up the pace."
I waved behind us with my free hand as we left. I thought Sappho had been pretty nice. She waved back, and down by her feet, so did her crab.
The finish line was at the foot of the tallest mountain around, although after Denali it looked kind of cute.
"It's massive," I said, staring up to the peak.
Annabeth glanced at me. "How did you know?"
"What do you mean? I can see it. It's huge."
"No, you had it the first time," Annabeth said. "It's massive— Mount Massive, second tallest mountain in the Rockies."
"Now you're just making things up."
"She is correct," Zoe said. "I once hunted a drake near its peak. Wonderful view."
She'd been looking gloomy since her conversation with Sappho, but remembering an old hunt seemed to perk her up."
"You hunted a dragon… for fun?" I asked.
Zoe looked affronted. "And why is that strange? I like dragons. Besides, a grand quarry is needed for a grand hunt."
"I mean, whatever you're into. I'm not judging."
"Thee most definitely are!"
"We're here," Annabeth interrupted.
I would've missed it. Unlike the flashy proctors, the finish line blended right into the scenery. It seemed like just a one-room ski cabin, until you looked closer and saw the flashing window. When you squinted, names and numbers were visible.
"A scoreboard," I said.
"Indeed." Zoe read it carefully before sighing. "I would love to check if we are about to pass, but I do not know our own times, and I seem to have left my watch pocket-watch at home."
"Nobody uses pocket watches anymore," Annabeth said.
"Gah! I cannot keep up with mortal fads." Zoe crossed her arms. "Well? What are you waiting for? Enter."
She pushed me, taking my spot supporting Avery.
"But—"
"I'm aware you'll finish ahead of us," Zoe said grumpily. "Do not think I'm happy about this. But my honor wouldn't accept any different."
"We don't have time to argue,"Annabeth said. "We don't have time for anything. We might already have too little time."
She was right, about all of it. She stepped inside and I prepared to follow.
"Perseus."
Zoe's voice stopped me in my tracks, just as I was about to finish the race.
"What is it?"
Her face was serious. Stormy. I wondered if something had upset her, or if she'd just been covering it up while Annabeth was around.
"You saved my sister's life. That has earned you the benefit of the doubt. However, step out of line…"
"And you'll tell Annabeth about me," I said.
"And I will finish the hunt I started," Zoe corrected. "I know full well how quickly men change their minds, how easily they turn on those around them. My arrow's are more than enough to put down scum like that."
I tried not to get too annoyed at the way she was talking. "Don't you think you should give people a chance before you decide they're scum?"
"Is that not what I have been doing?" Zoe's eyes narrowed at something I couldn't see. "Go. Annabeth was correct about time. I hope only that she is correct about you, as well. Her history does not fill me with hope."
I wanted to ask what that meant, but the flashing window dragged my attention. There was something more important than my questions. With a final nod to Zoe and her dazed sister, I crossed the finish line. The first event was over.
(-)
With the gap between chapters, I feel like you deserve a quick explanation/heads-up.
A few weeks ago, I started the final year of my undergraduate degree, and things got serious way faster than I expected. Managing MFA applications, school work, club activities, and submitting original work for publication all at the same time, has absolutely crushed my freetime. I really don't want another four-week gap before the next chapter, but I have no idea when it'll be out, and I'd rather take longer than sacrifice quality for update rate. So, for now, chapters might become somewhat inconsistent, is I guess what I'm saying, but only for a couple months. Things will calm down, and I'll look at bringing back the weekly update rate.
And one thing I can say for certain, is that barring anything cataclysmic in my life, this story will never be abandoned. I have a rough plan for everything through to the end, and know the exact way I want to end things. We will get there, I promise that. Probably about midway through next year. Anyway, enjoy. And hopefully I'll be back sooner next time.
