There was a silent agreement between the six of them to focus on the objective at hand: the castle that had become a frozen tomb.
Westover had been Bianca's home for a couple of months. It was as welcoming as most castles were. Which meant it wasn't.
Cold stone bricks. Iron barred windows. And security officers patrolling the hallways.
Honestly, it was more like a prison than a school. But that was the point, wasn't it? A military academy where parents sent the kids that they couldn't be bothered to deal with.
She used to sneak out at night, ducking behind replica suits of armor and other ostentatious decorations, just so she could go stargazing for a bit.
But now the problem was how to get in. The front gate had a glacier the size of a large house blocking it. Scaling the walls wasn't an option either with the smooth and slippery coating of ice.
The daughter of Hecate had a different idea altogether.
"How do you feel about explosions?" Lou Ellen asked.
"I'm not opposed," Bianca muttered. It's not like she would be back there for the spring semester. "But there are people that go to school here."
"You sure?" Travis peered into the window. "Dead empty inside."
"Did they evacuate because of the weather?" Percy asked.
"No way," Lee said. "It would be safer to shelter inside than it'd be to send everyone home."
"But the entire place is frozen over," Travis argued. "They would've been trapped inside."
Lou Ellen frowned. "So why aren't they?"
"Because they want to keep people out," Percy said. "Hey, Westover doesn't happen to have dungeons, does it?"
Bianca shivered. "That's where detention was held." Fortunately, the faculty didn't use the chains and manacles, but being lectured at for hours on end wasn't much better than actual torture.
"Chances are that Apollo's doing homework in there?" Connor asked.
"Pretty likely," Lee said. "But why here? Why so close to where they captured him?"
Lou Ellen tapped her chin as she thought. "Artemis was captured first, right? And she's somewhere out west. Maine is the furthest point east, maybe they're trying to keep their prisoners separate?"
"So how do we get in?" Travis asked. "Front door is blocked. Windows are barricaded. And we don't have the gear to scale the walls."
"We'll alert whatever's in there if we bust our way in," Lee said.
Connor tapped on one of the frozen bricks like it might reveal something. "Any hidden entrances? Castles must have tons of those things."
Bianca frowned. "There's another entrance around the back. But I don't see why they would leave that unblocked."
Percy knit his eyebrows as if in deep thought. "What if it isn't on ground level?"
"Like a tunnel?" Lou Ellen asked. "We'd have to find it half-buried under snow, Bubbles."
"Or maybe it isn't anywhere near the snow," Percy took off running towards the woods behind Westover.
Lee immediately gave chase. "Hey! Can you guys stop running off?"
Bianca stared at Lou Ellen and the Stolls. "Should we follow them?"
"Probably," Travis shrugged.
Percy was a lot faster than Bianca realized. She only saw him fight once before, back when Thorn had them hostage. Then they went into Amazon without him, so that was all she had to gauge his ability. Percy in motion reminded her of a storm: relentless and tireless.
He left them behind quickly and easily.
"Dude, can you at least tell us where you're going?" Connor called out.
"I'm jumping!" The son of Poseidon shouted.
"He's fucking lost it," Travis mumbled.
They caught up just in time to see Percy leaping over the cliff.
"Dude! What the heck?" Lee skidded to a halt before the precipice.
The son of Poseidon had disappeared. The only thing below them were the crashing waves and jagged rocks that would've been a painful spot to land.
"Percy tried to get us to jump off of this the first time we met," Bianca said as she looked over the edge. It wasn't the best first impression. "Then his friend ended up falling off it five minutes later." What was it with people and this cliff?
"Wait, this is where Annabeth went missing?" Connor asked.
"Didn't think she would do something so dumb." Travis mused. "I guess it happens to the best of us."
"Yeah, I'm going to hold it over her," Percy said. He was standing on a pillar of water.
"What were you doing?" Bianca frowned. She used the same tone whenever Nico tried to get away with something he shouldn't.
"Remember how Annabeth was holding onto Thorn when he jumped off?"
"Yeah?"
"They never hit the water," Percy stated. "They were just gone."
"So they teleported," Lou Ellen chimed in.
"Monsters can do that?"
"Sure, well, actually no. Only the ones with a connection to Hecate. Demigods can too with enough practice. It's just magic."
Bianca knit her eyebrows. "Why didn't you—"
"Oh, I don't have the basics down yet." The dark-haired girl had a sheepish look on her face. "I can only go a couple of feet diagonally before it'll kill me."
"I'm going to say a no on that theory," Percy gave Lou Ellen a concerned look. "I thought it was odd that I couldn't spot them from the cliff's edge. Unless I'm wrong, manticores can't breathe underwater."
"You aren't," Lee said. "So what'd you find?"
"There's a cave," Percy pointed at some section of the cliff that they couldn't quite make out due to the angle. "You can't see it from up there, but it's probably an entrance of some sort."
"What's the plan then?" Travis asked. "Front door or spelunking?"
"We need to be careful about this," Lee insisted. "This won't be like Amazon. We're probably dealing with a Titan if we waltz on in."
The Stolls exchanged looks. "So, celestial bronze bullets then?"
"I'm still surprised that Chiron lets us have those at Camp," Percy muttered.
"You should see how surprised the monsters are. They're used to swords and spears, but they never see these things coming."
Lou Ellen bounced nervously as she got out her bronze knife. "The Mist can put us out of sight, but monsters can still smell us coming."
"What exactly do we smell like?" Bianca asked. The concept of demigod scent didn't really make any sense to her. It just made her self-conscious.
"Dinner," Percy said. "Is there a way around it?"
"Here," The daughter of Hecate tossed him a perfume bottle.
He squinted at the container with suspicion. "Why is there a skunk drawn on it?"
"That's where I got it from."
"No," Percy deadpanned.
"I'm vetoing that," Lee agreed.
"I guess we can roll around in the mud a few times."
Travis pulled out one of the tear gas grenades. "I don't know if it works on monsters, but we've got a lot of these."
"Hit them fast and hard, right?" Connor looked around the group. "We don't need to beat a Titan, we just need to free Apollo."
Percy nodded. "Makes things a lot easier."
Bianca shuddered. Gods, monsters, and Titans. She liked it better when expulsion was her biggest worry. "Are we going down the cave, then?"
"How exactly?" Travis gestured at Percy's liquid platform. "News flash, but none of us are Jesus." His eyes quirked up when he realized the feat that Percy was currently performing. "Well… you sure Poseidon's your dad?"
"You know, Chiron told me the capital G God wasn't real."
"Can't you freeze water?" Bianca asked. "Like it's just a different state, right? Ice is just water that's in a solid form."
Percy had a surprised look on his face. "That's simpler than my plan." He concentrated and his platform spread out to cover a larger surface before the movements of the water slowed and froze to form a disc of ice.
"What exactly did you have in mind?" Connor asked.
"I carry you guys down one by one."
"Very romantic, I've always wanted to be held in your arms."
"Um, what?" Percy flushed at the teasing.
Bianca's lips quirked in a slight smile. If they weren't risking their lives, she wouldn't mind hanging out with these five. Gods knew she needed the company.
Percy lowered the frozen platform down gently with his powers. As they neared the bottom, she could make out a triangular cleft in the stone. Mist poured from it ominously.
"Looks cold," Bianca's skin tingled from being near it.
"Well, it's not like it'll get any warmer if we wait," Lee's hand started glowing as he stepped into the cave. "Stay alert, everyone."
They trekked slowly in pairs. Percy had drawn his sword and was leading with the son of Apollo. The combined light of the bronze blade and Lee's power was barely enough to illuminate a few feet in front of them.
The further they went in, the more intense the mist became. And the colder the mist, the more they saw ice coat the sides. Eventually, they reached a spot where it opened up into a cavern.
The walls were made of stone brick, like Westover. Large stone pillars sprung up from the ground that reached the ceiling. Similar tunnels lined the walls like a primitive train system.
But they weren't alone.
Lee and Percy ducked behind a series of large stalagmites to avoid being spotted.
Two blue and white giants were positioned near the center, they were playing rock-paper-scissors with each other.
"Hyperboreans," Lee whispered. "Don't get too close."
Past the giants was their target. There was a recess in the floor of the cave where Apollo was bound with shackles of ice that extended to the pillars of the room, keeping him suspended in the air.
Yet it was the demigods that worried her. Bianca estimated that there were fifty of them. The oldest around Lee's age, and others, maybe around Nico's. They stood in formation behind a towering figure in the pit.
He was ten feet tall. With armor black as night and a sword that looked large and heavy enough to carve out a canyon.
Bianca's blood ran cold at the sight of him, this was the Titan that captured a god.
Lee had only seen his father three times in his life.
Once when Chiron took the campers to visit Olympus. His father had looked so young, a teenager at most. His smile was warm when he looked at his kids, but he didn't say anything then. He was distant like the actual sun was to the earth. He was radiant but untouchable.
The second was when he dropped off Percy and the new kids. It was much the same as before. Too young, too carefree, and too much of a stranger for Lee to really associate him with the word father. It was a title, like king or lord. It could be used in place of a name but it had none of the deeper connections that went with it. Blood was the only thing that tied them together.
The third was right now. He was constrained, battered, but defiant. His smile was just as cold as the Titan standing in front of him. And Lee realized, with absolute certainty, that the two immortals were directly related. But there was no love shared between them.
"Last chance, Apollo," The Titan stated. His very breath seemed to freeze the molecules in the air. As if he was absolute zero temperatures personified. "Your resolve is impressive. Destroying your own weapon? Futile, the explosion barely left a scratch on my armor!"
"You say that but it took you this long to get back up," Apollo grinned. "I see you fixed your nose, Koios. Shame. I think you looked better with it crooked."
"Bah!" Koios spat. "What were you hoping to accomplish, boy? Fisticuffs against two Titans? Your audacity is insulting!"
Apollo's laugh was perfectly rhythmic, almost like a metronome. "You wouldn't have captured me if it weren't for Hyperion. You should've just stayed in Tartarus, old man!"
"That's Lord Koios to you, boy!" The Titan roared. "Or did your mother not teach you respect? Leto deserved more than an ungrateful brat like you!"
"I think she'd be more disappointed at how you're treating her favorite son," Apollo smirked. "There's a reason she's not involved with your idiotic plans."
"Leto is too kind for her own good!" Koios' bellow was brutal, equal to the force of blizzards that would blanket whole towns in an icy grave. The enemy demigods went for cover as freezing winds blew throughout the cave, covering anything that wasn't a Hyperborean in a sheet of frost.
"She is the only reason you have any chance of survival! It would break her heart if I were to destroy you, so act wisely! Stay out of this war and you will be spared. Or be destroyed alongside that miserable hovel of your degenerate offspring. Once the Ophiotaurus is sacrificed, you and the rest of your filthy kind will be gone!"
Lee's felt a pit form in his stomach.
"They're going to attack Camp," Percy whispered.
"Worse," Travis hissed. "It's much worse."
"How is anything worse than—"
"You know," Apollo glared at Koios. Despite his position, the sun god looked dangerous. "I'm not a big fan of my dad. But you crossed a line when you hurt my sister. And then you ran it over by threatening my kids. Fuck off."
"Fine then!" The Titan huffed. "Live with the consequences! Your power will be the ruin of that camp!" The towering immortal turned back to the rogue demigods and shouted. "Torrington!"
A boy about Percy's age stepped forward with his hand resting on the pommel of a golden sword. Lee had never seen a weapon like that before, but Lou Ellen let out a small whimper at the sight.
"Sir," The boy waited for Koios to speak.
"Take the arrow and regroup with Castellan. Once Atlas finishes his business, you are to find a way to navigate the maze. The rest of you, keep guard and deliver the flame to Hyperion when he arrives. Prometheus should know better than offloading his trash to me." He produced an ornate torch composed of white wood and golden accents, the flame was dazzling, like a beacon. The Titan handed it off to a girl in bronze armor.
Lee's tried to still his breathing. That couldn't be it, could it? The flame that was given to humanity so that they could learn to fend off the night… what were the Titans doing with it?
The rogue demigods divided themselves into groups, one heading down the tunnel. The other group had the torch and they just stood at attention. Koios gave one last withering glare at his grandson before splintering into a pile of shattered ice.
Lee signaled for everyone to move forward. The Titan was gone. There were only a quarter of the demigods left in the room, and only two Hyperborean giants to deal with. Which wasn't ideal, those guys were pretty dangerous, but this was their chance.
It was also the moment when Lee's father decided to pick a fight. He caught Lee's eye and winked, giving a knowing smile.
"You gonna say something or are you just keep staring at me?" Apollo raised his voice, attracting the attention of the other demigods. "I'm not your father if that's what you were wondering."
The lead girl clenched her fist tighter around the ornate torch. She kept silent but continued to glare at Apollo.
"What?" The god taunted. "An autograph maybe? Or do you want a poem dedicated to yourself? A bit difficult with my hands tied. Although you could change that." Lee's father quirked an eyebrow as if it was an enticing offer.
Travis and Connor inched closer as the enemy demigods started gathering around the pit.
"Do you ever shut up?" The girl snarled.
"I would be robbing the world of one of the greatest sounds that can be heard."
Lee raised his bow and aimed at one of the Hyperborean giants. The glow from the explosive arrows was faint, but the slight gleam made him nervous. He would be spotted if someone turned around.
"Gotta say, kid. Betraying the gods isn't a good look."
That seemed to set the girl off.
"I'm not betraying anyone!"
"Sure you are," Apollo's smile was cold, almost like his grandfather's. "You've betrayed every demigod at Camp. And for what? Mom or dad don't want to see you, so you help resurrect the guy famous for betraying his own father and eating his kids? Pretty stupid, if you ask me."
"I didn't, so shut up!"
"They're just using you."
"So we should walk back to Camp and be good little soldiers whenever you need us to do your bidding? The gods want to use us, the Titans want to use us. But at least with them, there's a chance for change! All you Olympians do is lord over us like we're your fucking slaves!"
"Serving Kronos will only lead to your death," Apollo warned. His eyes had gone harsh like burning coals. "You'll die here if you don't turn back. You won't even make it Asphodel."
The god's head snapped to the left as she swung the torch at his face. Ichor dribbled from the corners of Apollo's mouth as his cheek was left a bright red. He merely smiled back. But there was a moment where his eyes met Lee's and that's when he noticed the chains. They were steaming and melting just ever so slightly due to the proximity to the torch. A single drop of water fell and crystalized before shattering against the floor.
"Like you're any better!" She screamed. "Have you ever been hunted down by monsters? Have you ever begged for help and watched as nothing happened? You don't have any right to judge! Never once have any of the Olympians done anything for us!"
"Really?" The sun god looked disinterested. "Well, don't say I didn't give you a chance. If that's your choice… be prepared to die for your convictions." The god looked up at Lee and shouted. "Hey! Can you hurry this up? Patience is a virtue and all that jazz, but the other guy is gonna be here soon."
The other demigods turned to where the god was looking and focused on the orange glow of Lee's arrow. He didn't expect for his own father to blow their cover. Especially when he needs to be rescued.
"Oh, for fuck's sake," Lee muttered as he released the arrow.
"Hey, idiots!" One of the traitors yelled at a Hyperborean. It was too late though because the giant's head was already encased in an inferno. The monster panicked and flailed, trying to put out the fire that had engulfed it.
At that moment, Travis and Connor released the tear gas grenades, rendering a good portion of the enemies into coughing fits.
There were still too many demigods and enough monsters.
It was stupid.
Percy knew he shouldn't get distracted in the middle of a battle. But he couldn't help himself. Couldn't look away from what he did.
His opponent was weak, barely able to hold onto a sword. But he kept getting up and charging at him. He kept fighting. Why didn't he just run? Percy would've let him. But he just kept swinging that sword like a baseball bat.
It was quick, a slash across the throat.
But it was blood that flowed. Warm red blood. Not even the barest hint of golden dust, just red like rubies.
Dripping from Percy's sword and staining his hands.
It would have been so much easier if it was a monster.
Because monsters didn't cry out for 'mama or whisper 'I'm scared' when they died. They didn't look him in the eyes as they tried desperately to stop the bleeding. They didn't sob uncontrollably as their bodies started going still. They weren't demigods.
Killing monsters didn't make him feel like a murderer.
In the chaos of battle, he heard the cruel laughter of the Moirai echo around him as the threads of life were cut to shreds.
"Watch out!" Lee tackled him from behind as a Hyperborean's fist cracked the earth where he was standing. "The torch! Grab the torch!"
The son of Apollo disappeared around a pillar and began firing arrows at the Hyperborean with a flaming mohawk.
Percy shook his head, this wasn't the time to lose focus. His life was on the line and so were his friends.
Bianca yelped and Percy sprinted to her position. The frozen giant had taken interest in the tiny person shooting arrows at it. Which involved swatting at her like she was a gnat.
"Keep its attention!"
"Way ahead of you!" Bianca shouted.
She ducked behind a stone pillar as the giant roared in her direction. A rush of numbing white mist poured from its mouth like a fog machine. Percy's skin erupted into goosebumps just from being behind it.
The view would haunt his nightmares.
Percy paid the giant back by slicing its tendons open.
The chamber shook from the ear-splitting roar of pain.
It turned to face Percy and he realize that it was much bigger than he thought it was. "Why hurt me?" It blinked at him in confusion. "Not nice." It pointed a massive index finger at Percy accusingly.
"Uh, it wasn't me." He lied.
"If not you, then who—" Green flames crawled across its face as Lou Ellen threw bottles of Greek fire at it.
"Nice distraction!" She sprinted past him and started lobbing more concoctions and casting spells.
Rocks fell from the ceiling as the giant tried rolling around to put out the magical fire. Percy felt kinda bad for it, the monster seemed so… clueless. It wouldn't be able to smother the flames, no matter how hard it tried.
An arrow whizzed past Percy.
His head spun towards the shooter, only to see Bianca with her bow pointing at him. Then he heard the thump of a body collapsing behind him. The white fletching sprouted from the demigod's neck like a twisted parody of a flower, he had a spear clenched in his hand.
Percy would've been run through if it wasn't for her.
"Hey, Mary!" Connor called out. He was locking swords with the torch girl. "How about you drop the weapon and come back to camp with us?"
"How about you drop dead and then we'll talk?" She took a sharp jab at the son of Hermes.
"Whoa! Somebody's in a bad mood."
"You weren't supposed to be here so fast!"
Connor narrowed his eyes. "You knew we were coming?"
"Not everyone back there is as stupid as you are!"
Percy kept battling his way forward towards Connor. Travis was next to him as they weathered four demigods together.
"Jack!" Travis shouted. "Can't we work this out?"
"Shut up!" A large and muscular demigod slammed his fist into Travis' face, sending him crashing to the floor. "You never listened!"
Percy desperately fended off the other demigods as the son of Hermes got back to his feet.
"Why are you fighting for them!" Someone howled. "The gods don't give a shit about us!"
Percy grit his teeth as he danced dangerously between sword strikes. "Get up, Travis!" He was on the defensive. None of the enemy demigods were amazing fighters. But they had numbers and he didn't.
Percy was pushed back against the wall as they continued their assault. Riptide bore the weight of two swords grinding against its blade. He didn't have a way to escape this situation.
He was completely open to the third attacker.
It was a stab. Quick and low. It would've slid easily between his ribs and punctured a lung.
Percy was lucky that it was stopped short.
A series of gunshots rang out in the chamber accompanied by bright flashes of light. All three demigods fell over, and only Travis stood in front of him. The large demigod that had sent him sprawling had two hissing arrows sticking out of his back. The flesh was dissolving from the Hydra venom, courtesy of Lee's new arrows.
"Sorry," Travis said to the bodies before him.
"Hey, not to alarm you, but I'm still trapped," Apollo complained.
"Shut up!" Torch girl said. She was still fighting with Connor but took the opportunity to smack the sun god with the aforementioned stick.
"Oh, you are so going to the Fields!"
"C'mon, just surrender!" Connor pleaded.
Percy and Travis kept fighting their way forward as Lee and Bianca darted around the edges shooting arrows at the remaining Hyperborean.
She swung the torch at his face as she stabbed with her sword. Connor was just too slippery for her strikes to land. It only seemed to make her angrier. "Why? So I can stay in that overcrowded cabin of yours? Open your eyes! There's nothing there for us!"
"It doesn't have to end like this!"
"You chose your side and we chose ours—" She was cut off by her own cries of pain.
Connor had shot her in the foot. He had feigned a stab to the right of her face. She didn't even see him draw his revolver with his left hand.
"Bastard!" She screamed. "You're just a tool! He's done nothing for you!"
Another gunshot was followed by her cries. She dropped the torch and sword as she grabbed her right hand. Blood dripped from the hole in it.
"Lou!" Connor scooped up the torch and tossed it to the daughter of Hecate. She had snuck around to where Apollo was restrained.
"Yo, about time," The sun god said.
"Could you just warn me if someone tries to stab me in the back?" She muttered a few words of ancient Greek as the flame on the torch spread out of control. Tendrils of flame slithering forward like a nest of burning snakes about to feast on the frozen chains.
Percy and Travis stood back-to-back as they were surrounded by the remaining demigods who had finally shaken off the effects of the tear gas. Six in total. He was still holding back and he knew he shouldn't. But even as they were trying to kill him, Percy couldn't see them as anything other than the kids that they were. Furious and rebellious children, but children all the same.
In another life, he might have been one of them.
He could feel Travis shaking as they parried the enemy strikes.
The reality of the war between gods and Titans dawned on him. It didn't matter who won. The ones bleeding and dying would be demigods.
Your choices, your mistakes, the only ones you can blame are yourselves. Lachesis' words taunted him. The blood that plastered Riptide was a choice. Percy chose to live, he chose to fight back, chose to kill.
He blocked another strike. He stabbed forward. He heard a demigod that he didn't even know the name of cry out in fear.
Percy was a doll in the tyrannical hands of Fate. His limbs were heavy, strung along by his body's survival instinct. His mind was hazy, overcome with the metallic stench of blood.
Why did it have to be like this?
A celestial bronze sword speared forward towards his heart. Another choice. Fight back or give up. No matter what he chose, someone died. It was just a matter of who?
Don't forget who's waiting for you at home. Hermes' words cleared the miasma in his mind.
Riptide lunged forward with renewed vigor, sending the opposing blade rebounding from the force and severing the hand that held it.
It wouldn't be Percy.
He wouldn't leave her alone, not now, not ever.
Three bronze slashes, three voices silenced.
He turned to stand side-by-side with Travis.
A reluctant stab, another life snuffed out.
A flash of light, a void through someone's heart.
Two swords, inexorable against one, three cruel Fates tittering at their sadistic game as another thread was severed.
"Just stop!" Connor shouted. Percy turned his head towards the son of Hermes. The girl, Mary, had picked her sword back up. She was badly injured, too slow and weak to be a threat. But she snarled and kept swinging wildly. Connor just kept blocking her strikes. "I don't want to hurt you!"
"Well, that's too bad!"
"Please, we just want to help!"
"Then die!" She screamed. "You should've stayed at that Camp you love so much!"
Connor deflected another swing. "We can forget any of this ever happened!"
"So I can be another rejected toy in your collection? Unwanted! Unloved. Unimportant! They couldn't be bothered to acknowledge that I existed!"
"You had a home with us!"
"I was your pity project! We all were!" She raged. "Every fucking day with that bullshit! 'Oh, it doesn't matter who your dad is. Forget about him and just have fun!' Well, guess what? It's real easy to say when you're in the cabin you belong to! You didn't see your brothers and sisters walk by every day and wonder why you're the only one forgotten! Why didn't they care!"
She forgot about swordplay and charged Connor, taking him by surprise and knocking him to the ground. She stood over him ready to plunge the sword down. "Just stop trying to save me! I don't need your—"
She was cut short as a bullet perforated her carotid artery like tissue paper. Blood sprouted from the wound like a leak in a dam as she tried to stop the bleeding.
"Sorry," The son of Hermes sobbed. "I'm sorry." His revolver was smoking.
The traitor glared Connor down, sputtering out an unintelligible insult. She tried to get up but a sharp whistling filled the air as an arrow sunk into one of her eyes, ending her struggle.
"That's on me," Lee whispered. Ice coated his body in splotches like a painting. "You didn't kill her, I did. You tried your best."
"I-I," Connor couldn't find the words.
"You tried your best," Lee repeated. "Your hands are clean, mine aren't."
Percy was unable to keep the cookie he had for breakfast down. Nothing about this was right. It wasn't fair. Fate was cruel, but he already knew that. The Moirai made sure that he knew.
A calming warmth washed over him, along with a blinding light.
"Shame it had to end this way," Apollo said as he looked over their group. "Sorry that I dragged you into this mess."
"Could you sign this?" Percy waved Kym's petition weakly at the god.
"What's this—oh," A dark expression crossed Apollo's face. "Briares, huh? Know what? I'll do you one better." Percy didn't like how sinister that sounded. The god pocketed the scroll and turned back to the group.
"What now?" Lee asked his father.
"Anybody got something to drink? I haven't had anything to drink."
Lee handed over the jug of Sunny-D to his father.
"Oh, my favorite!"
Lou Ellen limped over to them, her arms had blackened all the way to the elbows. The skin was flaking off like charcoal and Percy was afraid a gust would cause them to crumble. The torch was firmly held in her right hand, either out of determination or inability to flex her digits anymore. "C-can somebody reach into my backpack for me?"
"Oh, let me get that." Apollo grabbed one of Lou Ellen's vials as he chugged orange juice. "Healing potion, huh? Good consistency." The potion's color changed to bright gold. He popped the cork and tipped it in a way that the daughter of Hecate could drink it. "I made some adjustments. It'll ease the pain until you can regrow your flesh."
"Can't you heal her yourself?" Percy asked.
"You don't have the time for a full recovery," Apollo said.
"What? You're free! We're done with this stupid quest!"
"Is the Prophecy over though?" The sun god asked him.
Horror crossed Percy's face. He'd forgotten how long it was. Ten lines and only some of it had come true. "But we—what else do you want from us?" He wasn't asking the question to Apollo. But he didn't expect an answer from them either.
"I messed up," The sun god said. "I wasn't fast enough."
"What are you talking about?" Bianca asked.
"I broke my bow in time, but not the last arrow."
Lee's eyes widened. "Y-you don't mean…"
"They're planning an attack on your Camp," Apollo said grimly. "And they're going to use one of my arrows to annihilate it."
"So what?" Percy mumbled. "We need to chase an army that's got a superweapon? Because you fucked up?"
"Percy, calm down," Lee pleaded.
"Why? Look around us! It's going to happen again! All of this…" All of the senseless bloodshed and fighting between the children of the gods. "And it's going to be so much worse because he walked into a trap!"
"Yes," Apollo stated. To the god's credit, he didn't smite Percy on the spot. "This is my mistake, but I'm asking you to go where I cannot."
"Where exactly?" Travis spoke up.
"After them," The sun god pointed down the tunnel where the larger group of demigods had gone. "Gods can't go on quests. Please, find the arrow and destroy it."
"We don't have a choice, do we?" Lee asked their group of six.
"No," Connor said. "No, we don't."
"Nico's there…" Bianca trailed off.
"Alabaster's going to…" Lou Ellen made a choking noise.
"No rest for the wicked, huh?" Travis said.
"Fine," Percy sighed. "At least give us some help, it's the least you can do."
"Knowledge is power. Face the past or die trying. Read a fucking book."
The son of Poseidon blinked at the god. "Was that a haiku?"
He never got an answer because Apollo was sent crashing through a pillar by a jet of white-hot fire. The cave shook, much greater than before. Stalactites impaled the ground around them like spears. The cavern was collapsing.
"Apollo!" An intense wave of heat, hot as summer winds, crashed over them. The air shimmered like a mirage as a towering Titan composed of flames marched towards them from a tunnel at the far end of the room. "Worthless demigods! I'll put you back in your cage myself!"
"Go!" Apollo shouted. "I'll hold him off!"
"You'll get captured again!" Lee shouted.
The sun god pulled his son into a hug. "I'm sorry."
Lee didn't return it, he just stood there, stiff and confused.
"Don't worry about me," The sun god cracked his knuckles and turned to face his opponent. "Not even Ares can beat me at boxing."
The ceiling caved in as they ran into the darkness ahead of them. Leaving the fate of Apollo unknown to them. Their next destination was equally uncertain.
Apollo showed up a bit earlier than Hermes expected, Percy's team must be doing pretty well for themselves.
With the sun rising again, his half-brother parked the chariot a few paces behind him on the mountain top.
"You look like shit," Hermes said. Apollo was covered in burns and was drenched in his ichor. His knuckles were so bruised and ruined that the bone had been exposed. All in all, about a day's rest to patch up.
"You should see the other guy," The sun god laughed. He collapsed face-first into the snow. "He's in worse shape."
"Right." His brother was never good at bluffing.
"What are you doing here, Hermes? Don't you have a job to do?"
"Same reason why you're here."
Apollo lifted his head and squinted down at the little town in the mountains. "How are these five doing?"
"Pretty badly," Hermes muttered. "Our little sister doesn't get along with the Hunters, keeps butting heads with the lieutenant. They're looking for a way out but they've got Spartoi chasing after them. The monsters will catch up in a few hours."
His brother sighed. "What do you think? Too suspicious if I smite the skeletons?"
Hermes gave it some thought. It was a bit too flashy, especially now that two gods were looking after this group. "Maybe hold off on that. You're still on thin ice with dad."
"It's been like thousands of years!"
"And he only remembers the negatives," Hermes stated. "But honestly? I'm starting to think you had a point all those centuries ago."
Apollo quirked an eyebrow. "Seriously? It wasn't when Poseidon and Athena agreed it was the right thing to do? C'mon, little bro. That should've been the biggest red flag that dad was doing a pretty bad job."
The messenger god chuckled. "You forget, Hera was involved. She's always plotting and scheming."
"But I was part of it! And I'm always right!"
"Sure you were," Hermes laughed. "Overthrowing the rightful king was a good idea."
"But you're reconsidering," Apollo pointed out.
"A little. I've had a lot to think about recently."
All his life, he had been able to get away with every prank or trick he wanted to pull off. But now, he felt powerless. Not in the sense of being weak. Rather, how his actions meant nothing. Like he didn't have a choice.
"You ever miss being a mortal?" Hermes asked.
"What?"
"Remember that time you became human? After Briares—"
"Fuck that guy," Apollo snarled. "I can't believe he just walked up to Olympus and freed dad. I'm taking this petition to Hera, Athena, and Poseidon after we rescue Artemis!"
"What petition?"
"His wife wants a divorce," His brother said.
"He's married?" Hermes frowned. He didn't remember that wedding. Which hand does the ring go on? And which head does the kissing? All of them? Just one? Did Eris get invited or was there another World War because of it?
"Currently, to… Kymopoleia? Was that her name? Daughter of Poseidon, well, one of them."
"Oh," He rubbed the bandaging around his chest. "Yeah, met her earlier today." He also met her harpoon. Both of them were equally dangerous.
"She cute?" Apollo asked. He laughed at his brother's priorities. He spent a few days captured, fought a Titan, and was now looking for a date while they tried to rescue Artemis.
"She's…" Hermes thought about his meeting with the goddess. Scary was the first word that came to mind. Sadistic was another apt descriptor. He could warn his brother, but it'd probably be funnier if Apollo learned the hard way. "Unforgettable. Yeah, let's go with that."
"Cool. Now, what were you saying earlier?"
The god of thieves sighed. "You miss the time you spent as a mortal?"
"Not really," Apollo frowned. "Working the land for ungrateful mortals who won't pay you? No thanks. Why? You thinking of taking on a side job?"
"Ha! No, I've got plenty. I've been thinking about what mortals have that I don't."
"And what's that?" Apollo asked. "We've got everything we could possibly want."
"Freedom," Hermes said wistfully.
"Really? Bro, you're the god of travelers, you can go anywhere!"
"But never where I want to be," He sighed. Never could he be with the ones that needed him.
"Oh, that's what you meant," Apollo put his arms behind his head and laid down. "I got to talk to him today, my son."
"How was it?"
"Odd. He seemed so much… older. Only a year younger than I look now."
Hermes nodded. "It goes by so fast, doesn't it? So much time, wasted."
Days were like seconds. Weeks like hours. And years too quick for them to matter. But there were moments when Hermes met someone special and it seemed as if the passage of time slowed to a crawl enough for him to enjoy. May was one of those people. But she was… lost. Lost to him, to Luke, and herself.
"Hey," Apollo interrupted his thoughts. "I'm sorry about… her." It was rare when his brother dropped the arrogant facade. He was used to passive bragging. And the active bragging. And the bragging during other people's accomplishments. Wow, Apollo sorely needed this reality check.
"Don't be. It was her choice," Hermes whispered. He wanted to stop hearing her screams every time he closed his eyes. That awful sound of the woman he loved in pain. And the realization that despite his divinity… he couldn't save her.
"But it was my Oracle. I knew there was something wrong with the spirit, but I couldn't figure it out. It just wasn't able to move on anymore."
"I'm the one who should've done more. I shouldn't have let her come to Camp. I should've… I could've prevented it. All of it."
All of this, Hermes thought. He could've broken the rules. Exiled himself from Olympus and raised Luke. He could've prevented his son from suffering. He could've spent time with the rest of his children. He could've stopped this whole uprising. But he didn't. Because then…
"But then I'd never see you again. And you would never be welcomed back." Apollo sighed. "Our family's pretty messed up, isn't it? We're all that we have…"
"And yet we can't get along." Hermes finished. "Influencing a quest? Dad breaks out the lighting. He wants to stop demigods from slaughtering each other again. But he won't let us do anything about it when they're fighting each other!"
"Too much attachment. Too much favoritism." Apollo mimicked their father's voice. "I'm king so I'll break every rule I make!" His brother huffed. "We can't interact with our kids, but he gets to save his just because he's in charge. This distancing thing doesn't work! It just makes them hate us! Blood has already been spilled today, but it isn't just mine."
Hermes sat there miserably. Did he want to ask? The chances were high.. "How many?"
How many of mine? He wanted to ask.
"Too many," Apollo said. "It was a surprise attack. Just after my 'warden' left and before the new one showed up. Lee's group works well together, but it's mostly luck. But hey, sometimes luck is all you need."
"Are my sons…" Hermes trailed off.
"They're alright. A couple of scratches here and there, nothing permanent."
"That's good to hear. Where are they now?"
Apollo's expression darkened. "The Labyrinth."
Hermes took in a sharp inhale. That wasn't good. "Not the best place to be. The time flow down there's wack, it's gonna make it hard to find them."
"Not impossible, though." The sun god pointed out. "It'll take some time. But don't forget." He tapped his finger against the side of his head. "I'm more than a pretty face. The future changes a lot, but I'll figure out where they'll pop up."
Hermes summoned his tablet. The aerial view showed a clear expanse of white snow and evergreens. No monsters yet. Maybe they could use a ride? Would a plane be too obvious? Maybe a sign that said 'Just take it, the doors are unlocked,' would that be too on the nose?
"Do you think we're bad parents?" Apollo asked.
"Is there any definition that would make us good ones?" Hermes countered.
"We try, don't we?"
"Is it ever enough?"
Apollo sighed. "Was I wrong?"
"All the time."
"No, I meant about him." His brother muttered. "Halcyon."
Hermes frowned. "The one Luke met?"
"Yup, the one I cursed."
"What'd he do?" Cursing your child wasn't unheard of but was rather extreme. Most gods would just reduce their kids to ashes if provoked enough. He probably broke one of Apollo's shrines or something.
"He inherited the gift of prophecy. Saved a girl's life when she was meant to die. Disrupted the weave of Fate."
Okay, that was much worse than what Hermes thought. "What happened to the girl?"
"The Moirai twisted her life. Haunted her every step to cause her pain. She couldn't take it anymore and… well, it would've been kinder if she died when she was supposed to."
Hermes shivered. "Nasty old hags. Did he know?"
"Would it have mattered?" Apollo asked. "He changed that girl's future without understanding the consequences. He saw one outcome and acted on it. He didn't see where her life would end up after that. His choices led to her suffering. So I tested him, always with the same choices. And he failed. Every single time."
"Sounds like you already made up your mind."
"It's just… did I fail him?" His brother muttered. "Why did he keep doing it? He had so many opportunities to atone for his mistake, but every time, he just kept luring more demigods to their deaths. He kept feeding those Leucrotae. And the one time he didn't…"
"It was already too late, he damned himself for all the lives he ruined," Hermes said. It was always too little, too late. That was always the problem. "If I left Olympus today… and spent an eternity fixing every mistake I made, do you think it would get him to stop hating me?"
"Honest answer or the hopeful one?"
"Honest."
Apollo looked him in the eyes. "There was this girl, fighting for Kronos, I told her she would die there. Gave her a chance to save herself. But she held firm. It wasn't out of stubbornness or denial. She just hated us, that much I knew. Because never once did she see anything that showed that we were any better."
Hermes sighed. "Yeah, I suppose we aren't."
"How many prayers have you had to ignore?"
"Have you lost count as well?" It was never easy. Guilt weighed heavier than any burden one could carry. It eroded your will until you either bent or broke. No amount of wine could deafen the pleas. Nothing ever dulled the shame.
His brother closed his eyes. "Sometimes, I pretend that it's for the best. But the truth nags at me. You know? I can't lie to myself as easily as other gods. Perfection does that to you." Apollo let out a defeated laugh. "How am I keeping them safe if I'm not there when they need me?"
"I've asked myself that every day." And not a day passed by that he kept trying to convince him that he was doing something. Anything helpful.
I would only attract more monsters. No monster could touch them if he was around.
My presence would only hurt them. His absence was the reason they hate him.
You don't deserve to be called a father. That, he agreed with. He didn't.
"So, pretty bad parents, huh?" Apollo stretched his arms and the sunlight intensified.
Hermes hummed. "We never really had a great father figure." Yes, the god that had as many children as possible, fully knowing that his wife would go out of her way to kill them, was not a good father. Very shocking.
"Our moms are awesome, though."
Hermes nodded. "You want to go bowling?"
"Huh?"
It was pretty spontaneous. And it wasn't really his invite to extend. But maybe spending time around a normal parent might be a good learning experience. He could do his best, but that wasn't much when Zeus was the only reference he had. And he knew not to act like Zeus.
"I'm going bowling with Percy's mom and her boyfriend. Sally's one of the most understanding parents that I've seen. I—we could learn a thing or two."
"You want me, to go bowling with the mom of one of the demigods that just rescued me?"
"Yes."
"And her boyfriend?"
"He's an English teacher. Maybe you can talk to him about couplets or something."
"Sure, why not?" His brother shrugged. He could always count on Apollo to be open-minded.
His tablet started beeping. Red dots were highlighted above the terrain and they were closing in on the questers. "Those skeletons are a lot faster than I expected."
Apollo darted up. "So, game plan, little bro?"
"How do you feel about mariachi bands?"
"Sounds like a good time."
A bit of fun before things got serious again. Hermes wondered if it would be him or Thanatos that would escort the misguided to Hades He didn't want to see their faces, see who he let down this time.
