Hello there, gods, half-bloods and friends, welcome to the next chapter of The God Hunter.
Hope you enjoy and now story time.
On the surface, things didn't look all that different at Camp Half-Blood. The Big House was still there with its blue gabled roof and its wraparound porch. The strawberry fields still baked in the sun. The same white-columned Greek buildings were scattered around the valley, the amphitheater, the combat arena, the dining pavilion overlooking Long Island Sound. And nestled between the woods and the creek were the same cabins, a crazy assortment of twelve buildings, each representing a different Olympian god.
But there was an air of danger now.
One could tell something was wrong. Instead of playing volleyball in the sandpit, counselors and satyrs were stockpiling weapons in the tool shed. Dryads armed with bows and arrows talked nervously at the edge of the woods. The forest looked sickly, the grass in the meadow was pale yellow, and the fire marks on Half-Blood Hill stood out like ugly scars.
As the group made their way to the Big House, none of the kids from last summer stopped to talk. Some did double takes when they saw Tyson, but most just walked grimly past and carried on with their duties, running messages, toting swords to sharpen on the grinding wheels. The camp felt like a military school.
None of that mattered to Tyson, he was absolutely fascinated by everything he saw.
"What's that!?" he gasped.
"The stables for pegasi." Percy said, "The winged horses."
"What's that!?"
"The cabins for the campers." Percy said, "If they don't know who your Olympian parent is, they put you in the Hermes cabin, that brown one over there, until you're determined. Then, once they know, they put you in your dad or mom's group."
He looked at me in awe. "You... have a cabin?"
"Number three." Percy said, pointed to a low gray building made of sea stone.
"Number two." Matt said hands in his pockets.
"What's that!?"
"Those are the toilets." Matt said.
When they got to the Big House, Chiron was in his apartment, listening to his favorite 1960s lounge music while he packed his saddlebags. Tyson froze as soon as he saw him. "Pony!" he cried in total rapture.
Chiron turned, looking offended, "I beg your pardon?"
Annabeth ran up and hugged him. "Chiron, what's happening?" she said, her voice was shaky, "You're not... leaving?", Chiron was like a second father to her.
Chiron ruffled her hair and gave her a kindly smile. "Hello, child. And Percy, and Matt, my goodness. You've grown over the year!"
"Yeah, lots of milk." Matt said awkwardly, "So... Clarisse said you were..."
"Fired." Chiron said, his eyes glinted with dark humor, "Ah, well, someone had to take the blame. Lord Zeus was most upset. The tree he'd created from the spirit of his daughter, poisoned! Mr. D had to punish someone."
"Besides himself, you mean." Percy growled.
"But this is crazy!" Annabeth cried, "Chiron, you couldn't have had anything to do with poisoning Thalia's tree!"
"Nevertheless." Chiron sighed, "Some in Olympus do not trust me now, under the circumstances."
"Which circumstances?" Matt asked.
Chiron's face darkened. He stuffed a Latin-English dictionary into his saddlebag while the Frank Sinatra music oozed from his boom box. Tyson was still staring at Chiron in amazement. He whimpered like he wanted to pat Chiron's flank but was afraid to come closer. "Pony?"
Chiron sniffed. "My dear young Cyclops! I am a centaur."
"Chiron, what about the tree?" Matt said, "What happened?"
He shook his head sadly. "The poison used on Thalia's pine is something from the Underworld. Some venom even I have never seen. It must have come from a monster quite deep in the pits of Tartarus."
"Then we know who's responsible. Kro..." Percy said.
"Do not invoke the titan lord's name, Percy." Chiron said, holding up his hand, "Especially not here, not now."
"But last summer he tried to cause a civil war in Olympus!" Percy said, "This has to be his idea. He'd get Luke to do it, that traitor."
"Perhaps." Chiron said, "But I fear I am being held responsible because I did not prevent it and I cannot cure it. The tree has only a few weeks of life left unless..."
"Unless what?" Annabeth asked.
"No, a foolish thought." Chiron said shaking his head, "The whole valley is feeling the shock of the poison. The magical borders are deteriorating. The camp itself is dying. Only one source of magic in this world would be strong enough to reverse the poison, and it was lost centuries ago."
"Sounds like a quest for us." Matt said, clapping his hands together, "What is it?"
Chiron closed his saddlebag. He pressed the stop button on his boom box. Then he turned and rested his hand on Percy's shoulder, looking him straight in the eyes. "You must promise me that you will not act rashly. Stay here. Train hard. Learn to fight. But do not leave."
"Why? I want to do something!" Percy asked, "I can't just let the borders fail. The whole camp will be..."
"Overrun by monsters, yes, I fear so." Chiron said, "But you must not let yourself be baited into hasty action! This could be a trap of the titan lord. Remember last summer!"
The poisoning had to be his doing. Who else would be so low as to attack Thalia's tree, the only thing left of a hero who'd given her life to save her friends?
Annabeth was trying hard not to cry. Chiron brushed a tear from her cheek. "Stay with Percy and Matt, child." he told her, "Keep him safe. The prophecy, remember it!"
"I-I will." she promised.
"Would this be the super-dangerous prophecy that has me in it?" Percy said, "But the gods have forbidden you to tell me about?"
Nobody answered.
"I would take that as a yes." Matt whispered.
"Chiron..." Annabeth said, "You told me the gods made you immortal only so long as you were needed to train heroes. If they dismiss you from camp..."
"Swear you will do your best to keep Percy and Matt from danger." he insisted, "Swear upon the River Styx."
"I-I swear it upon the River Styx." Annabeth said.
Thunder rumbled outside.
"Very well." Chiron said. He seemed to relax just a little, "Perhaps my name will be cleared and I shall return. Until then, I go to visit my wild kinsmen in the Everglades. It's possible they know of some cure for the poisoned tree that I have forgotten. In any event, I will stay in exile until this matter is resolved... one way or another."
Annabeth stifled a sob. Chiron patted her shoulder awkwardly. "There, now, child. I must entrust your safety to Mr. D and the new activities director. We must hope... well, perhaps they won't destroy the camp quite as quickly as I fear."
A conch horn blew across the valley. It was time for the campers to assemble for dinner.
"I will contact your parent, and let them know you're safe." Chiron said, "Just remember my warning! You are in grave danger. Do not think for a moment that the titan lord has forgotten you!"
With that, he clopped out of the apartment and down the hall, Tyson calling after him, "Pony! Don't go!"
Tyson started bawling almost as bad as Annabeth.
"Feck..." Matt muttered.
The sun was setting behind the dining pavilion as the campers came up from their cabins. The four of them stood in the shadow of a marble column and watched them file in.
"Hey, Annabeth." Matt said, "You alright?"
"Y-Yeah... I'm fine." she said, but she was still pretty shaken up, "Talk to you later."
Then she went off to join her siblings from the Athena cabin, a dozen boys and girls with blond hair and gray eyes like hers. Annabeth wasn't the oldest, but she'd been at camp more summers than just about anybody. No one questioned her right to lead the line.
Next came Clarisse, leading the Ares cabin. She had one arm in a sling and a nasty-looking gash on her cheek, but otherwise her encounter with the bronze bulls didn't seem to have fazed her.
Someone had taped a piece of paper to her back that said, 'YOU MOO, GIRL!', But nobody in her cabin was bothering to tell her about it.
After the Ares kids came the Hephaestus cabin, six guys led by Charles Beckendorf, a big fifteen-year-old African American kid. He had hands the size of catchers' mitts and a face that was hard and squinty from looking into a blacksmiths forge all day. He was actually quite nice enough once you got to know him.
The other cabins filed in: Demeter, Apollo, Aphrodite, Dionysus. Naiads came up from the canoe lake. Dryads melted out of the trees. From the meadow came a dozen satyrs.
After the satyrs filed in to dinner, the Hermes cabin brought up the rear. They were always the biggest cabin. Last summer, it had been led by Luke, the guy who'd fought with Thalia and Annabeth on top of Half-Blood Hill.
Now the Hermes cabin was led by Travis and Connor Stoll. They weren't twins, but they looked so much alike it didn't matter. They were both tall and skinny, with mops of brown hair that hung in their eyes. They wore orange 'Camp Half-Blood' T-shirts untucked over baggy shorts, and they had those elfish features all Hermes's kids had: upturned eyebrows, sarcastic smiles, a gleam in their eyes whenever they looked at you, like they were about to drop a firecracker down your shirt.
As soon as the last campers had filed in, Percy and Matt led Tyson into the middle of the pavilion.
Conversations faltered. Heads turned. "Who invited that?" somebody at the Apollo table murmured.
"Your mom did." Matt muttered.
From the head table a familiar voice drawled, "Well, well, if it isn't Peter Johnson and Mads Mikkelsen. My millennium is complete."
"Hey, Mr. D." Matt said with a wink paired with a set of finger guns, "Happy to help."
"Yes. Well..." Mr. D said quickly sipping his Diet Coke, "As you young people say these days: Whatever."
He was wearing his usual leopard-pattern Hawaiian shirt, walking shorts, and tennis shoes with black socks. Behind him, a nervous-looking satyr was peeling the skins off grapes and handing them to Mr. D one at a time.
Next to him, where Chiron usually sat, was an unfamiliar face. A pale, horribly thin man in a threadbare orange prisoner's jumpsuit. The number over his pocket read 0001. He had blue shadows under his eyes, dirty fingernails, and badly cut gray hair, like his last haircut had been done with a weed whacker. He looked fractured. Angry, frustrated and hungry all at the same time.
"These two." Dionysus told him, "You need to watch. Especially the blonde one."
"Ah!" the prisoner said, "That one."
His tone made it obvious that he and Dionysus had already discussed the duo at length.
"I am Tantalus." the prisoner said, smiling coldly, "On special assignment here until, well, until my Lord Dionysus decides otherwise. And you, Perseus Jackson, Matthew Hauer, I do expect you to refrain from causing any more trouble."
"Trouble?" Percy demanded.
Dionysus snapped his fingers. A newspaper appeared on the table, the front page of today's New York Post. There was Percy's yearbook picture. The headline was a bit difficult to make out, but it was something along the lines of 'Thirteen-Year-Old Lunatic Torches Gymnasium'.
"Yes, trouble." Tantalus said with satisfaction, "You caused plenty of it last summer, I understand."
"Not our fault the gods got tricked into a civil war." Matt pointed out, "Sorry, almost got tricked."
A satyr inched forward nervously and set a plate of barbecue in front of Tantalus. The new activities director licked his lips. He looked at his empty goblet and said, "Root beer. Barq's special stock. 1967."
The glass filled itself with foamy soda. Tantalus stretched out his hand hesitantly, as if he were afraid the goblet was hot.
"Go on, then, old fellow." Dionysus said, a strange sparkle in his eyes, "Perhaps now it will work."
Tantalus grabbed for the glass, but it scooted away before he could touch it. A few drops of root beer spilled, and Tantalus tried to dab them up with his fingers, but the drops rolled away like quicksilver before he could touch them. He growled and turned toward the plate of barbecue. He picked up a fork and tried to stab a piece of brisket, but the plate skittered down the table and flew off the end, straight into the coals of the brazier.
It would be funny if it wasn't so pathetic. Oh, what the heck, I'll laugh anyway.
"You got a strange sense of humor, Ash." Matt thought.
"Ah, well, perhaps a few more days." Dionysus said, his voice dripping with false sympathy, "Believe me, old chap, working at this camp will be torture enough. I'm sure your old curse will fade eventually."
"Eventually." Tantalus muttered, staring at Dionysus's Diet Coke, "Do you have any idea how dry one's throat gets after three thousand years?"
"You're that spirit from the Fields of Punishment." Percy said suddenly, "The one who stands in the lake with the fruit tree hanging over you, but you can't eat or drink."
Tantalus sneered at him. "A real scholar, aren't you, boy?"
"Must have done something really bad back when you where still kicking." Matt said tilting his head while smirking, "What was it again?"
Tantalus's eyes narrowed. Behind him, the satyrs were shaking their heads vigorously.
"I'll be watching you, Matt Hauer." Tantalus said, "I don't want any problems at my camp."
"Too late for that." Matt said, "Trouble loves me."
"Oh, go sit down, Mikkelsen." Dionysus sighed, "I believe that table over there is yours. The one where no one else ever wants to sit."
"Whatever." Matt said, hands in his pockets, "Let's go, Tyson."
"Oh, no." Tantalus said, "The monster stays here. We must decide what to do with it."
"He's not an it." Matt told him, "He has a name, and it's Tyson."
"Tyson saved the camp," Percy insisted, "He pounded those bronze bulls. Otherwise they would've burned down this whole place."
"Yes." Tantalus sighed, "And what a pity that would've been."
Dionysus snickered.
"Leave us." Tantalus ordered, "While we decide this creature's fate."
Tyson looked at his two friends with fear in his one big eye.
"We got your back, Big T." Matt assured him, "Things will work out, they always do."
"Yeah, don't worry." Percy added, "We'll find you a good place to sleep tonight."
Tyson nodded. "I believe you." he said, "You are my friends."
They went to each of their table, Poseidon's and Hera's. When Matt sat down, a wood nymph brought a plate of Olympian pepperoni pizza.
"Ah, you remember to hold the olives." Matt said happily, "Thank you, sweet cheeks." he added with a wink.
This made the wood nymph blush for a moment as he took his pizza. While his favorite food gave him some comfort, Matt didn't feel very thankful, but took his dinner, as was customary, up to the bronze brazier and scraped part of it into the flames.
"Jack Hauer." Matt said, "Accept my offering."
Matt went back to his seat as he began to dig in.
Do you actually like that?
"How many pizza's have you seen me eat over the year? I don't like pizza. I love it! It's the greatest thing the Roman's ever invented!" Matt thought as he ate, "Why? You never had pizza?"
No, I never had it. Your favorite dish was invented long after I was imprisoned.
"Oh, shit. I sometimes forget your not just a voice in my head." Matt thought as he ate, "Hey, Asherah? I want to make you a promise."
This should be entertaining. What is it?
"Once your free, we'll go eat pizza together! I know the best places!"
...
"Asherah?"
I would like that.
"Then it's a promise." Matt thought with a smile.
But then Tantalus had one of the satyrs blow the conch horn to get their attention for announcements.
"Yes, well, another fine meal!" Tantalus said, once the talking had died down, "Or so I am told."
As he spoke, he inched his hand toward his refilled dinner plate, as if maybe the food wouldn't notice what he was doing, but it did. It shot away down the table as soon as he got within six inches.
"And here on my first day of authority, I'd like to say what a pleasant form of punishment it is to be here." he continued, "Over the course of the summer, I hope to torture... I mean, interact with each and every one of you children. You all look good enough to eat."
Dionysus clapped politely, leading to some half-hearted applause from the satyrs. Tyson was still standing at the head table, looking uncomfortable, but every time he tried to scoot out of the limelight, Tantalus pulled him back.
"And now some changes!" Tantalus gave the campers a crooked smile, "We are reinstituting the chariot races!"
Murmuring broke out at all the tables, excitement, fear, disbelief.
"Now I know that these races were discontinued some years ago due to... technical problems." Tantalus continued, raising his voice, "But I know that you will all join me in welcoming the return of this camp tradition. Golden laurels will go to the winning charioteers each month. Teams may register in the morning! The first race will be held in three days time. We will release you from most of your regular activities to prepare your chariots and choose your horses. Oh, and did I mention, the victorious team's cabin will have no chores for the month in which they win?"
An explosion of excited conversation, no KP for a whole month? No stable cleaning? Was he serious?
"But, sir!" Clarisse said, literally the last person one would expected to object.
She looked nervous, but she stood up to speak from the Ares table. Some of the campers snickered when they saw the YOU MOO, GIRL! sign on her back. "What about patrol duty?" Clarisse said, "I mean, if we drop everything to ready our chariots..."
"Ah, the hero of the day." Tantalus exclaimed, "Brave Clarisse, who single-handedly bested the bronze bulls!"
Clarisse blinked, then blushed. "Um, I didn't..." she muttered.
"And modest, too." Tantalus said with a grin, "Not to worry, my dear! This is a summer camp. We are here to enjoy ourselves, yes?"
"But the tree..."
"And now!" Tantalus said, as several of Clarisse's cabin mates pulled her back into her seat, "Before we proceed to the campfire and sing-along, one slight housekeeping issue. Percy Jackson, Matt Hauer and Annabeth Chase have seen fit, for some reason, to bring this here." Tantalus waved a hand toward Tyson.
Uneasy murmuring spread among the campers.
"Now, of course, Cyclopes have a reputation for being bloodthirsty monsters with a very small brain capacity. Under normal circumstances, I would release this beast into the woods and have you hunt it down with torches and pointed sticks." Tantalus said, "But who knows? Perhaps this Cyclops is not as horrible as most of its brethren. Until it proves worthy of destruction, we need a place to keep it! I've thought about the stables, but that will make the horses nervous. Hermes's cabin, possibly?"
Silence at the Hermes table. Travis and Connor Stoll developed a sudden interest in the tablecloth. The Hermes cabin was always full to bursting. There was no way they could take in a six-foot-three Cyclops.
"Come now." Tantalus chided, "The monster may be able to do some menial chores. Any suggestions as to where such a beast should be kenneled?"
Matt slammed his fist on the table in anger, leaving a dent and was about to speak up when suddenly everybody gasped. Tantalus scooted away from Tyson in surprise. A dazzling holographic image made of brilliant green light had appeared above Tyson's head.
Swirling over Tyson was a glowing green trident, the same symbol that had appeared above Percy the day Poseidon had claimed him as his son.
There was a moment of awed silence.
There you go, another chapter, hope you enjoyed. Many thanks to everyone who reads, reviews, favorite, or follows this story.
Take care of yourself, get some rest, drink plenty of water and I will see you people next time.