Act I Chapter XXVII: Percy Touches the Art
"How can you eat at a time like this?" Annabeth demanded harshly as she stared down at the map in her hands. She had stopped to mark off a few spots on their map. It turned out that there were a lot of different museums and exhibits near the Empire State Building, so they were stopping at every single one they could.
"I'm hungry," Percy complained through a mouth full of hotdog. The street vendor had offered them a two for one special, and Percy wasn't going to pass that up after eating nothing but campfire food. And sure, he could make a hot dog over the campfire, but there was no way for him to have the ketchup or mustard or relish or onions or any of the good stuff that went on it.
And, Lupa liked to eat hot dogs raw. She would just snatch up the whole pack before anyone realized they had it. Apparently, she didn't need to eat; she just liked the taste. Percy focused back on his hot dog, trying to carefully balance the other one in his hand.
"You're not complaining about Luke eating," Reyna noted as she nibbled on her own hot dog. As far as Percy knew, Annabeth hadn't confronted Reyna about the whole conspiracy that Lupa secretly trained Romans.
"Because it was Percy's idea," Annabeth retorted.
"Just take a break and eat a hot dog," Luke chimed in as he walked toward them. He passed around bottles of water to them. Annabeth begrudgingly grabbed the hot dog that had been set aside for her, and she started to eat.
"So, are any of the mortals here going to be freaked out by the centaur just strolling around?" Percy asked as he finished his hot dog and threw the trash away. "Or does the Mist cover that?"
"The Mist usually covers that," Luke answered, and he pointed with his finger. Percy followed the point. A frown curved his lips as he saw Chiron was making his way toward them. "But, Chiron seems to have it covered in his own way."
"Yeah," Percy agreed as he just watched. The top half of Chiron was normal; he still wore that tweed jacket of his, especially since it was a windy day. But, his bottom half was different. A lot different. As in, it wasn't there. Instead, Chiron was confined to a wheelchair.
"Did you find anything?" Chiron asked as he stopped next to Reyna.
"How?" Percy began, the rest of his question catching in his throat. Chiron just smiled at him.
"It's not the most comfortable, but it allows me to transverse and not draw too much attention," Chiron explained. "I would rather not use the Mist if we have monsters like the Kindly Ones on the prowl. They might be able to sense it."
"So, how bad are these Kindly Ones?" Percy changed topics. "On a scale from like one to ten."
"Ten," Reyna answered bluntly as she finished her hot dog as well and glanced up at the sky. She pulled her hood over her head as raindrops splashed on her hair. Percy did the same. "They are trusted by Pl- the big guy downstairs. He only sends them out when it is serious."
"Makes sense, kinda sounds like the power rangers. Also, how are we going to fight a god?" Percy asked. He swallowed painfully and shifted. Percy stuck his hands into his pockets. "What if he attacks us?"
"Percy, gods cannot attack mortals directly. It goes against ancient laws," Chiron soothed. "Not unless they are attacked first. The Lord of the Underworld cannot attack us directly, but he can send his minions, hence the Kindly Ones."
"And the hellhounds that attacked us," Annabeth chimed in. Percy nodded as he remembered those furballs. He felt a little better, but not by much.
"Now come on. Let's go to the next stop on the list and get out of this rain," Chiron spoke almost cheerfully. They all nodded and followed him down the street. As they walked, Percy felt his nerves tensing up on him. With the four of them there, they were probably shooting off a huge flare to the Kindly Ones about exactly where they were; however, they couldn't split up in case the monsters found them.
As they walked, Percy looked around at his friends. Chiron led the pack with Annabeth by his side. She led the way as he looked around for threats. Luke took up the rear and rested his hand on his sword's hilt. In contrast, Percy kept his hands in his pocket, but he also had his pen resting in his grasp.
Reyna walked next to him and kept her gaze on the sidewalk. It looked like there was a lot on her mind. Percy broke the silence, "You okay?"
"Tired," Reyna answered with a shrug.
"It can't be easy to sleep when you're still wired from keeping an eye out for threats for that long," Percy commented. "You and Clarisse keep us safe, though. So thanks."
"Just doing my job," Reyna replied offhandedly, but the hint of a smile split her face. She shivered as the rain picked up. Percy really wished they had bought an umbrella. As the wind howled in their ears, lightning painted the sky. Percy found himself huddling closer to his friends.
Thankfully, they increased their speed and arrived at the next art museum. They headed up the stairs, and even better, there was a ramp for Chiron. As they rushed inside, Chiron talked to a woman at the front desk and paid for tickets. Then, he turned towards them and passed out the paper slips.
Percy pulled off his hood and kept the ticket in his pocket. There weren't many people inside the museum, so that was a good sign. If something did happen, mortals wouldn't be caught in the crossfire. Percy looked at all of the signs for the different exhibits. He tried to make out what they were, but it was just a big blob of letters and symbols he couldn't read.
Annabeth grabbed a guide and looked through it, "They have a Greek and Roman exhibit. He might even be in the Egyptian one. Or maybe the arms area."
"We should all split up," Luke suggested.
"No," Chiron declined. "None of you should go alone. You should go in pairs of two. Luke and Annabeth will take the left side, and Reyna and Percy will take the right. I'll cover the middle, and hopefully, we can find him. And hurry. We don't know how close the Kindly Ones could be. If anyone is attacked, yell for help."
Luke nodded and kept his hand to his sword as he turned and led Annabeth towards a section that looked like it was full of vases. Chiron turned to look at Percy and Reyna. Then, he nodded to the two of them before strolling his wheels down the middle hall of the museum. Percy looked at Reyna and then made his way towards the section with Greek and Roman art.
Reyna rested her thumbs in her pockets, and her fingertips brushed against the hilt of her sword. Percy pulled his pen out of his pocket just in case. Percy looked around at the mixture of art. There were a few sculptures depicting what he guessed were creatures from different myths.
None of it really looked like a normal sculpture. Reyna stopped walking and began to look around. Percy followed her example, and he heard a scuff from behind him. Percy jumped and saw a woman walk by him. She didn't even pay him a second glance as she walked past the few busts depicting Roman leaders, her shoes squeaking against the tiled floor. But, she still ignored him.
The woman didn't look like Mrs. Dobbs, so he looked back around. Percy walked forward and increased his pace so that he was almost jogging. They didn't have time to waste. The Kindly Ones could be there or had already found the statue.
"No running in the halls!"
"Sorry," Percy apologized as he turned his head to look at who had spoken. When he found no one near him, he slowly turned around. As he made a circle, Reyna looked at him and raised an eyebrow. "Did you hear that voice?"
"What voice?" Reyna questioned.
"Listen," Percy shushed her. He took a few steps backward and then jogged forward. Reyna stared at him like he was a crazy person.
"NO RUNNING IN THE HALLS!"
Reyna and Percy jumped and whirled around. Their eyes shot all around as they looked for who had spoken. There were a ton of those busts on his side, but they all looked like that of emperors. Percy wasn't sure if one of them had spoken.
"You heard that one?" Percy asked.
"I did," Reyna answered. Percy looked around in confusion.
"I'm going to run again," Percy said after a moment.
"So help me young man!"
Percy heard the voice from his right, and he walked further down the row of busts. Reyna watched him and raised her hand towards the art, "I think I'll touch the displays."
"No touching the art!"
Percy stopped and looked at a table that had a bunch of cracked clay pots and other items, including what looked like a circular object. The head to a bust perhaps? Percy slowly placed his hand to it.
"NO TOUCHING THE ART!"
Percy jumped and dropped the piece bust. A grunt of pain resounded through the hall as it hit the floor. Then, he carefully picked up the head again and turned it around, "Are you Terminus?"
"Who's asking?" the statue head demanded, and Percy nearly dropped it again. Instead, he carefully placed the head back down on the display so it was facing them. Reyna stood next to him and studied the head. It looked like it was made of marble, but the mouth had definitely moved when it talked.
The head looked like a perfect sculpture of a person. Like someone had just been mummified with a sheet of marble. The only flaw was a slab of concrete placed over the eyes, but it was a different material than the rest of the head. Like someone had added it to the bust.
"Terminus," Percy stated.
"Give me your hand," Terminus demanded. Percy frowned at the request. "Let me smell you."
"Smell me?" Percy repeated. "Why?"
"I have to know what you are," Terminus replied in a clipped tone. "Roman. Or a graceus."
"A what?"
"A Greek," Reyna supplied softly.
"Oh. Well, I am a Greek."
"Get away from me!" Terminus shrieked, and he bared his teeth. Percy retracted his hand.
"I'm a friend," Percy tried to soothe.
"Greeks are not friends," Terminus spat in a harsh voice. "Your kind bared gifts, and those gifts killed us!"
"What are you talking about?" Percy asked. Terminus scoffed, and if he had a body, he would probably turn his back to them. "What did the Greeks do?"
"Terminus, it's been decades since Camp Jupiter was destroyed," Reyna began as she stepped forward. "We're not divided anymore, and there's not a lot of us left."
Reyna slowly held her hand out near Terminus' mouth. Percy was worried he would try to chomp on her finger, but Terminus just sniffed the air loudly. A frown twisted his animate maw, "I smell the Roman on you, and the war in your blood. Along with other things: promises, sorrow, forgetfulness, fire, and agony."
Percy looked at Reyna confused. She looked just as lost as him as they made eye contact. Reyna slowly spoke, "Should I be offended?"
"I don't know," Percy began. He looked at Terminus. "What do I smell like? Other than Greek."
Percy slowly held his hand out. Terminus scowled, but he sniffed the air. Then, his nose crinkled, "Like hot dogs and salt water."
"Oh," Percy spoke. He looked at Reyna and shrugged at that one. "I guess we should tell the others that we found Terminus."
"Why are Greek and Roman working together?" Terminus questioned.
"Because the camps were destroyed," Reyna answered. "Demigods have been scattered all around and don't have a safe place to go, or even be trained. And, the gods have lost themselves. They're not watching over us anymore. We need to establish a safe place for demigods to go."
"Then, we can help the gods find themselves," Percy added. "We need your help, though. We were told by Lupa that-"
"Lupa!" Terminus exclaimed. "Where is she?"
"Back at our camp," Reyna answered. "You protected Camp Jupiter, so we- Percy!"
A heavy weight slammed into Percy, and he hit the ground hard. A cry left him on impact and as part of his arm grazed harshly against the hard tiles. His gaze shot up, and he stared at the winged figure above him. Percy froze at what he saw.
This thing, this creature, had Mrs. Dodds' face, but she had fangs and scarlet red eyes. There were black leathery wings on her back, and her body seemed to be made of worn leather too. Mrs. Dodds lookalike spoke, "I knew you were special, Jackson."
Percy heard glass breaking, and he heard alarms go off through the museum. Terminus yelled, "DON'T TOUCH THE- ACK. LET GO OF ME!"
Upon turning his head, Percy saw that things had gotten a lot worse. Mrs. Dodds' twin was there, and it looked like she had slammed Reyna directly into some of the artwork and then the wall. Oh, and it turned out that Mrs. Dodds was actually a triplet because another creature like her was holding on to Terminus' head.
Percy struggled with the Kindly One that held him. He wrestled to reach into his pocket and grab his pen. Reyna tried to grab her sword, but her opponent grabbed her hand and twisted it, nearly breaking her wrist. Percy grabbed his pen from his pocket and slowly pulled it out. He uncapped it, and as the sword sprouted in his hands, he stabbed it upward.
A look of surprise flashed in Mrs. Dodds' face, and she exploded into that monster dust. The one holding onto Reyna turned towards Percy, and Reyna propelled both of her feet into the Kindly One's wrist, breaking her gasp. Reyna unsheathed her sword, but as she swung forward, a whip from the side coiled around her wrist.
A pained yell escaped Reyna, and she let go of her sword as the whip seemed to tighten around her wrist. Percy scrambled to his feet, but the Kindly One directly in front of Reyna turned towards Percy, and she flung a whip forward. The whip lashed against Percy's face before he could react.
His face felt like it had instantly caught on fire. Percy tried to cry out, but his mouth refused to work. The pain buckled his knees, and he crumpled to the cold floor as tears welled in his eyes. It still felt like the whip was burning his flesh.
Percy heard a yell from his friend, and he gripped his sword. The pain was the worst he had felt in his life, but he wasn't about to do nothing while his friend was fighting alone. Percy risked a glance upwards and crawled to his feet. One of Mrs. Dodds' triplets had Reyna held against the wall and was choking the life out of her.
The other was examining the head of Terminus, and they both had made a mistake taking their eyes off of Percy. He dashed forward and sheathed his sword into the back of the one holding onto Reyna. The Kindly One exploded into monster dust, and Percy turned towards the last one.
She hissed at him and turned, leaping into the air to fly away. An arrow flew past Percy, and it hit the Kindly One square in her neck. She fell to the ground and exploded into golden dust before she could crash land. The head of Terminus fell to the floor, and he made some pained noises on the way down.
Percy instantly turned back toward his friend. Reyna collapsed to her knees and moved both hands to her throat as she coughed and sputtered, trying to catch her breath. Her wrist was a bright red from where the whip had sunk into her flesh. Percy knelt by her and turned his head to see Chiron was galloping towards them, no longer confined to the wheelchair.
"Are you two okay?" Chiron asked quickly with concern filling his tone. Reyna nodded despite the fact that her face was a bright red and that cough hadn't settled down. Percy managed a nod of his own, but his heart raced in his ears. Chiron watched them with concern on his face.
"We found Terminus," Percy began. He winced and placed a hand to his still raw face. Chiron pulled out a canteen of nectar and gently poured some on Percy's head. The pain faded as he sighed in relief. Chiron did the same for Reyna's hand. Then, he helped both of them stand.
"Let us find the others," Chiron said as he picked up Terminus' head. "Then, we can discuss the next step."