Act II Chapter XLII: "Gods above."
"Hey, Percy. Wake up."
"Five more minutes."
"We're almost there."
Percy groaned and slowly pried his eyes open. Fresh pain ran up and down his sore body as he tried to sit up. His shoulders burned from overuse yesterday, and there was dull ache in his head where Reyna had knocked him senseless. Percy rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
Below him, he could see the camp. There was only a few people awake at this time in the morning. His eyes shot around, hoping to see the hunched figure of Reyna. Maybe this was all some kind of prank that went wrong. Instead, he saw the furry figure of a wolf goddess walking with a Centaur.
"Hey buddy. It's down there," Percy said. The Pegasus started to descend. "Thank you again for the ride."
"I'm sure that you could stay at our camp if you wanted," Annabeth added. "You wouldn't have to forage for food everyday and could get nutritious food.
Blackjack snorted. I don't want nutritious food. I want doughnuts and sugar cubes.
"Me too," Percy said. "Me too."
"Did he say that he doesn't want anything healthy?" Annabeth guessed.
"...no."
A small laugh left Annabeth. It wasn't too loud, but it was a nice sound to hear after everything that had happened. Blackjack landed near the edge of the hill, and Percy slowly dismounted. He turned to help Annabeth and studied her.
"How does the shoulder feel?" Percy questioned.
"Better," Annabeth answered. She sighed as she slowly stretched. Percy tried to stretch out his sore body as well.
"Showoffs," a gruff voice accused. Percy tensed and glanced at Annabeth. A pained look crossed Annabeth's face, and she met Percy's eyes. This was not going to be fun. "Why do you two losers always have to show off?"
Annabeth let out a deep breath and turned around. Percy turned as well, keeping one hand on Blackjack. He could see that Lupa and Chiron were already making their way over. His gut twisted.
"Did you two make Reyna and Luke walk the rest of the way back?" Clarisse accused as she crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. Neither of them could look at Clarisse. As Lupa stopped in front of them, Annabeth tensed. Chiron looked at them, and concern touched his face. "Alright, losers. Where are Reyna and Luke?"
"Luke... he..." Annabeth trailed off as tears filled her eyes. Percy didn't think he had anymore tears to give, but his eyes started to burn as well. Clarisse's arms fell to her side. Chiron closed his eyes. "He died. His m...mother stabbed him."
"I think she was trying to stab me," Percy began. He shivered. "And Reyna pulled me out of the way. The dagger just... it went right into his chest. We tried..."
Clarisse swore and looked away. Chiron put his hand to his mouth and let out a shaky breath. Lupa looked at the ground. After a moment, she looked up, "And Reyna?"
"Gone," Annabeth answered as the grief gave way to rage. "She stole the prophecy and abandoned us."
"What?!" Lupa asked as her eyes widened in surprise.
"Woah. Woah. Woah. There's no way," Clarisse said as she held her hands up. "Reyna wouldn't do that. She wouldn't."
"She did," Percy said. "I don't think she wanted us to find out. I don't know what her plan was, but she stole the prophecy."
"We couldn't find our golden drachmas, and I know that I gave Luke some to put in his bag. They were gone, and I just-"
"Went through everyone's bags," Clarisse interrupted.
"Yeah. I did," Annabeth said. "I looked through Luke's bag first because I knew he had them. Then, I went through Percy's and please stop putting your underwear on top of your backpack. Then, I went through Reyna's and found the coins. And a bit of a leather necklace."
"Which is where we walked in," Percy guessed, trying to ignore the blush on his face.
"When I dumped the bag out, she tried to grab the prophecy. And when I grabbed it first, she attacked me," Annabeth explained. Lupa stared at them, and Clarisse was glaring. Tears welled in Chiron's eyes.
"Reyna told me that it wasn't supposed to be like this," Percy added. "Before she stabbed Annabeth in the shoulder to get away."
Anger filled Clarisse's face, and she stormed away without a comment. Lupa stared at Annabeth before turning to look at Percy. The wolf goddess looked down.
"I don't know what Reyna's plan was," Annabeth muttered. "My guess is that she was going to make it back here without us knowing about the prophecy. Maybe hand it off to Lupa and-"
"No!" Lupa hissed. Her fur bristled up, and a deep growl left her throat. "The prophecy was supposed to be returned to the Oracle where it would have been safe! I did not order Reyna to do anything!"
The goddess' voice boomed through the camp, causing all of them to jump. Percy tensed and looked to his side. Annabeth just stared at Lupa like the wolf goddess held all of the answers. Lupa let out another growl, and Chiron took a small step forward.
"Annabeth, dear. I know you are grieving, but Lupa did not order for anything to happen. She wants the prophecy returned to us just as much as you do," Chiron said through a shaky voice. Annabeth did not look convinced.
"If I wanted this prophecy so badly, why would I not just go there with Reyna myself upon learning the location? Why would I still be here?" Lupa demanded. Chiron placed a hand to Lupa's back. Annabeth's shoulder deflated as she looked down.
"I don't know," Annabeth whispered. "But there has to be a reason. There has to be one."
"Well, why would Reyna take it?" Percy asked as he looked at the others. "Who would she give it to? Her m...mother?"
"Gods above," Chiron said as he looked down. Percy remembered the dream that he had seen with Lupa and Bellona, and his heart dropped to his stomach. He saw Lupa's paw dig deep into the earth.
"If Bellona did have the prophecy, what would she do with it?" Annabeth asked after a few moments.
"Could be used as a bargaining chip," Lupa muttered as her eyes seemed a million miles away. "Why would Reyna do this?"
"And how do we find her?" Annabeth asked as anger filled her eyes once again. Her fist clenched. Percy looked away. Chiron placed a hand to both of their backs.
"Come now. Let us get you food and some drinks. And a place to put your Pegasus. Then, you can tell us everything," Chiron said in a soft voice. Percy just wanted to find a nice bed to curl up in. Instead, he followed after Chiron. His hand moved to the necklace around his neck.
He could really go for some hope now.