It didn't take me long to pack. I grabbed a few changes of clothes, a toothbrush and a backpack, and as I put them away I noticed something, I was sure I'd left my phone in Montauk, maybe Aunt Carmen had put it in the bag for me, technology apparently attracts monsters, but I decided to take it anyway.
I walked out of the big house ready, arriving on the porch to see Percy alone.
"Hey, we've got to go, aren't you going to get ready?" I asked him.
"I was just waiting for you. " he said simply.
"I can walk you to your cabin if you like.
Percy looked lost, as if he was overthinking things. He replied with a simple nod.
So we walked in silence to Poseidon's cabin. The cabin was much warmer than Hera's, and the smell of salt water in the air reminded me a little of home. Percy packed his suitcase very quickly, having only a change of clothes. When he'd finished, he sat down on his bed.
"Kassi, are you going to betray me?
His question felt like a Mike Tyson punch. I sat down right next to him.
"Why are you asking me this? Do you think I'm going to betray you?"
"No... but the prophecy," he began. "It mentioned something like this."
"It said I'd betray you?"
Me betraying Percy, the world's biggest surprise.
"No, but..."
"Then what does it say, I know you didn't tell Chiron everything."
He gave me a small smile. "I know you know."
" Come on, talk Percy."
He tapped his fingers on his leg and spoke at last.
"Four shall go west, and face the god who has shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned. You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend. And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end."
I lowered my head. "So you're afraid I'll betray you because of the prophecy." i was a little disappointed the fact that a prophecy had managed to make Percy doubt our friendship.
"No, I'm more afraid for the last line, let's imagine that the person who means the most to me is you, you're my best friend and ... you're all I've got left" His vision broke. Just two weeks ago, he'd lost his mother, and it would have filled me with joy to know that I was the person who meant the most to him, but this time it made me deeply sad.
"Percy, when we first met, what did you say to me?"
He thought, but I don't think he saw what I was getting at.
"You told me, 'If you think you're alone in this world then now it's you and me against the world ' remember?"
"Yes,"he replied.
I hugged him and said, "That sentence makes even more sense today, you see, so no I won't betray you and you'll manage to save me like you always do if need be. "
"Thank you Kassi. Thank you."
Before I knew it, Percy was crying, I hugged him even tighter, he'd made it through the last week without complaint, he hadn't cried in front of anyone, or the situation, or even for his mother.
"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you, Percy."
"Don't apologize, Kassi, not to me."
"You were there for me after my father died and I didn't..."
"Don't say that," he stopped me, "I told you you were there for me like I'm there for you. You're my best friend don't forget that."
"But..."
he left my arms and stood up, dried his tears and said:
"Come on, we've got to find a lightning "
The camp store lent us a hundred dollars in mortal silver and twenty drachmas of gold. Big coins like Aunt Carmen's cookies with the empire state building on one side and images of the gods on the other. Chiron said the coins might prove useful for non-lethal transactions - whatever that means. He gave Annabeth, Percy and me a flask of nectar and a Ziploc bag filled with ambrosia squares, to be used only in an emergency, if we were seriously injured. It was god's food, Chiron reminded us. It would heal us of almost any injury, but it was deadly to mortals. Too much would think a half-blood would be very., very feverish. An overdose would burn us, literally.
Annabeth brought her magic Yankees cap, a book on famous classical architecture to read when she was bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve. Grover wore his fake feet and pants to pass for human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened out and you could only see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of junk and apples for snacking. In his pocket was a set of reed flutes that his goat daddy had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs, both of which sounded pretty bad on reed flutes.
Percy, however, only had the backpack he'd packed earlier with him. He didn't seem to have brought his minotaur horn. We said goodbye to the other campers, took a last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean and the Big House, then climbed Half-Blood Hill to the great pine tree that was once Thalia, daughter of Zeus.
Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus, the head of security who had been watching over me, now that fact made sense to me, he had been created by Hera my mother he was like my big brother or something, he was just trying to protect his creator's daughter in some way.
Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus, the head of security who had been watching me, now this fact made sense to me, he had been created by Hera my mother he was like my big brother or something, he was just trying to protect his creator's daughter in some way.
"This is Argus," Chiron said to Percy. " He will drive you into the city and, er, well, keep an eye on things."
I heard footsteps behind me. Luke holding up a pair of basketball shoes.
"Hey!" he gasped. "glad I caught you."
"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke said to Percy. "And I thought... uh, maybe you could use them. He handed him the sneakers.
Luke said, "Maia!" White bird wings sprouted from the heels, making me squeal a little and surprising Percy so much that he dropped them. The shoes clattered to the floor until the wings folded and disappeared.
"Great!" said Grover.
Luke smiled. "These came in handy when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.
"Hey, man," Percy said. "Thanks."
"Listen, Percy... "Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just... kill some monsters for me, okay?"
They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then hugged me, then Annabeth, who looked like she was about to faint. After Luke left Percy said to Annabeth:
"You're hyperventilating."
"Am not." she replied directly.
"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"
"Oh…why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?"
she raced down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV was waiting for us. Argus followed her, jangling the keys in his hands.
"I won't be able to use them, will I?"
He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air... it's not wouldn't be wise for you or you Kassi."
I was a little disappointed I would have liked to have been able to fly but anyway, in the end Percy gave the shoes to Grover who seemed hyper happy but he needed practice. Just as we were about to descend to join our friends Chiron held us by the arms.
"I should have trained you better," he said, "if only I'd had more time... Heracles, Jason, Atalanta... they all had more training.
"It's no big deal. It's just that..." For some reason he stopped there.
"What am I thinking?" cries Chiron. "I can't let you get away without this."
He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to her. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint pen, black ink, removable cap. An ordinary disposable ballpoint pen, black ink, removable cap. It must have cost thirty cents.
"Gee," he said, "Thanks."
"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."
I remembered the trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when he'd vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had tossed her a pen that had turned into a sword.
He removed the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in my hand. In half a second, Percy was holding a gleaming bronze sword with a double-edged blade, leather-wrapped hilt and flat guard riveted with gold nails.
"The sword has a long and tragic history that need not be mentioned." said Chiron. "It's called Anaklusmos.
"Riptide." Percy translated.
"Use it only for emergencies," said Chiron, "and only against monsters.
No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword would do them any harm.
I looked at the blade. "What do you mean by that? Wouldn't hurt mortals? How could it not?"
"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."
"That's good to know." I said.
"Now recap the pen."
He touched the pen cap to the point of the sword and instantly Riptide shrank to a pen and he tucked it away in his pocket, Percy is known to lose his things so it was best.
"You can't," said Chiron.
"Can't what?"
"Lose the pen," he said. "It's enchanted. It will always reappear in your pocket. Try it."
He was wary for a moment, but tossed the pen far down the hill and watched it disappear into the grass.
"This may take a few moments," Chiron said. "Now look in your pocket."
Sure enough, the pen was there.
"Okay, very cool," I admitted, "I want the same."
Chiron looked at me and said, "May I see your ring for a moment, Kassi?"
I took it off my finger and held it out to him.
"Asteri or Stella"
"Starry, in Greek and Latin" both came to me suddenly.
"An interesting weapon two magical metals, a mixture of celestial bronze and enchanted gold"
"Enchanted gold?"
"Yes, destroys monsters like celestial bronze but... there was only one pirate from Greek times who really used it, it's rare to have one, the sword is a parazonium, a Greco-Roman weapon."
He said this calmly, but seemed worried for some reason.
"But what if a mortal sees us using our weapons?" Percy asked.
Chiron smiled, "Mist is a powerful thing, Percy."
"Mist?"
"Yes. Read the Iliad. It's full of references to stuff like that. Whenever divine or monstrous elements mix with the mortal world, they generate mist, which obscures human vision. You'll see things as they are, being a half-blood, but humans interpret things differently. It's remarkable, really, how far humans will go to fit things into their version of reality. Kassi herself seems to be using the mist."
"Me? I don't even know what it is. "
Chiron handed me my ring and gave me one of his usual benevolent smiles. "To tell you the truth, it's only a hypothesis, but what you did at the museum, creating that wall of energy or turning Clarisse blonde, sounds a lot like magic, and high-level magic at that, for someone like you."
So without knowing it I was magic, I started looking at my hands like she was on fire.
"Don't be surprised Kassandra, you're a mystery even to me, a daughter of Hera, no one would have thought this possible," He told me calmly. "Argus is waiting for you children you should go, I won't keep you any longer."
"Chiron..., Percy asked. "When you say the Olympian gods are immortal... I mean there was a time before them, right?
"Four ages before them, actually. The time of the Titans was the fourth age, sometimes called the Golden Age, which is definitely a misnomer. This, the time of western civilization and the rule of Zeus, is the fifth age."
"So, what was it like... before the gods?"
Chiron pursed his lips. "Even I'm not old enough to remember that, but I know it was a time of darkness and savagery for mortals. Kronos, the lord of the Titans, called his reign the Golden Age because men lived innocent and free of all knowledge. But that was mere propaganda. The Titan king cared nothing for your kind, except as appetizer or a source of cheap entertainment. It was only in the early reign of Zeus, when Prometheus the good Titan brought fire to mankind, that your species began to progress, and even then Prometheus was considered a radical thinker. Zeus punished him severely, as you may recall. Of course, eventually the gods warned to humans and Western civilization was born."
"But the gods can't die now, right? I mean, as long as Western civilization is alive, they're alive. So... even if I failed, nothing could happen so bad it would mess up everything, right?"
Chiron gave him a melancholy smile. "No one knows how long the Age of the West will last, Percy. The gods are immortal, yes. But then, so were the Titans. They still exist, locked away in their various prisons, forced to endure endless pain and punishment, reduced in power, but still very much alive. May the Fates forbid the gods should ever suffer such a doom, or that we should ever return to the darkness and chaos of the past. All we can do, child, is follow our destiny."
"Our destiny... assuming we know what it is."
"Relax," Chiron told us. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be preventing the greatest war in human history."
I took a deep breath and said, "Let's relax, okay. I'm super relaxed."
When I got to the bottom of the hill, I looked back. Under the pine tree Thalia, daughter of Zeus, Chiron now stood in the form of a man-horse, holding his bow in salute. It was just the typical summer camp farewell by a typical centaur, or just a final farewell.
Driven by Argus, we left the countryside and entered the western part of Long Island. It was weird-I'd probably gotten used to the half-blood camp-because the outside world didn't seem so 'real' anymore. Grover, Annabeth, me and Percy were there as if we'd just come back from a weekend away.
"So far so good," Percy told me, "ten miles and not a single monster."
"Yeah really our luck."
Annabeth gave us an irritated look for some reason. "It's bad luck to talk that way, seaweed brain."
"Remind me why you hate Percy so much." I asked him, it had been annoying me for a little while this situation.
"I don't hate him. "
"Sorry miss, that was a close call."
She folded back her invisibility cap.
"Look... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals.
"Why?" asked Percy.
She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time, my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is extremely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon fought it out to be the patron god of the city of Athens. Your father created stupid salt water for his gift. My mother created the olive tree. People saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after it.
"They must really like olives." I said.
"Oh, forget it."
"Now, if she'd invented pizza," Percy mused. "That I could understand."
"I said, forget it!"
"But you're really going to hate Percy for his father, it's not fair, it's not wise."
His face went through a grimace, I think I saw a gleam of anger pass into his eyes.
"What do you know about wisdom?" She let go of me.
This time I intended to keep my cool. "Maybe I know more than you do, since I know my friends from my enemies."
"Shut up!"
"Calm down, both of you." Percy said, "You're not going to start a fight when we've only just left."
I turned away from the others. Argus up front smiled at me. He said nothing, but one of his blue eyes winked at me.
Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time we reached Manhattan, it was sunset and starting to rain. Argus dropped us off at the Greyhound station on the Upper East Side. Stuck to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with Percy's photo on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?
I showed it to him and he tore it up before Annabeth and Grover could notice. Argus unloaded our bags, made sure we had our bus tickets, then left, the eye on the back of his hand opening to look at us as he exited the parking lot. Percy's gaze wandered to the street, we were near his old apartment, where smelly Gabe probably used to be, Percy had introduced me to that nickname when we were kids, I hate the guy, I think he adores me because one day I financed one of his games under duress, he said to me "You're a rich heiress aren't you, you won't miss a hundred dollars aren't you little one." I haven't been to Percy's since.
"You want to know,why she married him, Percy?" Grover said.
"Were you reading my mind or something?"
"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"
"Your mother married Gabe for you," Grover said. "You call him 'Smelly' but you have no idea. This guy has this aura...Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."
"Thanks," he replied. "Where's the nearest shower?"
"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy, if that makes you feel any better."
Sally was a brave woman, there was no denying that, and the fact that she was dead saddened me. I hoped to see her again when she went down into hell.
We couldn't wait for the bus and decided to play Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. I was terrible, the apple hit Percy and Grover in the face several times, Annabeth was incredible. She'd bounce it off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, anything she wanted. Percy did very well. The game ended when I threw the apple at Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega-bite goat, our Hacky Sack disappeared...core, stem and all. Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Annabeth, Percy and I were too busy laughing.
Eventually the bus arrived. While waiting in line, Grover looked around and sniffed as if he smelled his favorite food enchiladas.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"I don't know," he said, tense. "Maybe it's nothing."
But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I also started looking over my shoulder. I was relieved when we finally boarded and found seats together at the back of the bus. We stowed our backpacks. I absentmindedly played with the pendant on my necklace while looking out the window, while Annabeth kept nervously banging her Yankees cap against her thigh.
But I could tell it wasn't nothing. I also started looking over my shoulder. I was relieved when we finally boarded and found seats together at the back of the bus. We stowed our backpacks. I absentmindedly played with the pendant on my necklace while looking out the window, while Annabeth kept nervously banging her Yankees cap against her last passengers boarded.
"Percy, Kassi." Annabeth tapped my leg.
"Hey, what's wrong with you?" I asked.
I looked at what she was showing us. An old lady in a shirt. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace glove, a shapeless orange knit cap that hid her face, and she carried a large cashmere handbag. She carried a large cashmere handbag. When she raised her head, her black eyes sparkled. My heart stopped beating.
Mrs. Dodds. Older, more wrinkled, even uglier. She still appeared in my dreams and here she was now, no I must still be dreaming, I pinched myself and no I wasn't dreaming she was there all right. Behind her appeared two other old ladies, carbon copies of her with the only difference being the color of their hats. The trio of granny dangers.
They sat in the front row, just behind the driver. The two who were in the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, forming an X. It was pretty casual, but the message was clear: nobody leaves.
The bus pulled out of the station and we crossed the slippery streets of Manhattan.
"She didn't stay dead long," Percy said in Annabeth's direction "I thought you said they could be dissipated for a lifetime."
"I said if you were lucky," she replied, "Obviously not."
"All three of us," Grover groaned. "Di immortales!"
"It's okay," Annabeth said, obviously deep in thought. "The Furies. The three worst monsters of the Underworld. No problem, no problem. No problem at all. We'll just slip out the windows."
"They don't open," Grover groans.
"A rear exit?" she suggested.
There was none. And even if there had been, it would have been useless. By now, we were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.
"We're screwed," I simply said. There were no better words to describe our situation.
"They won't attack us with witnesses nearby," Percy suggested. "Won't they?"
"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded us. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."
"They'll see three old ladies kill us, won't they?"
She pondered. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortal for help. Maybe an emergency exit on the roof... ?"
We entered the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark, except for the traffic lights in the driveway. It was strangely quiet, without the sound of rain. Mrs. Dodds stood up. In a flat voice, as if she'd been rehearsing it, she announced to the whole bus, "I need to go to the restroom."
"So do I,"said the second sister.
"So do I," said the third sister.
They all started down the aisle.
"I've got it," said Annabeth. "Percy or Kassandra take my hat."
"What?"
"It's you they want. One of you has to become invisible and walk up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."
"Can't two of us go Percy and me?"
"The cap can only make one person invisible, so it's either one of you or nobody."
"Then give it to Kassi, I don't need to run."
"But no..."
"Percy should take the cap, he's the son of one of the big three his scent is probably the strongest of us all for us There's a chance they won't notice us," Annabeth said.
"I can't leave you like this, guys."
"Don't worry about us," said Grover. "Go!"
He took the cap put it on his head then disappeared from head to toe right in front of me.
I hoped in my heart that everything would turn out well for Percy, I hoped so much that I had completely forgotten my situation, yes in no time the three old ladies arrived at the back ranger at our level, we were surrounded. They let out a hideous scream. They were no longer old ladies. Same face, maybe uglier, but their bodies had taken on the shape of shrivelled witches like raisins plus bat wings, their Furies surrounded us, whipping their whips and hissing:
"Where is it? Where is he? If his accomplice is here then so is he."
The others on the bus screamed or cowered, they couldn't 'see well' as Annabeth said but surely felt the fear the three furies were instilling.
"He's not here!" I shouted, "He's gone, so leave us alone!"
The furies raised their whips and replied in unison. "Liar!"
I got Asteri out ready to fight, Annabeth got out her knife and Grover got out some tin cans. We were all ready to fight when the bus swung to the left and we all found ourselves to the right, the furies to my delight crashing into the windows.
"Hey!" yelled the driver. "Hey-whoa!"
The bus slammed into the side of the tunnel, the metal creaking and sparking for at least a mile. We exited the Lincoln Tunnel and plunged back into the storm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars spread like bowling pins.
Somehow the driver managed to regain control of the bus and find an exit, past the traffic lights we ended up rolling down a rural New Jersey road it had woods to our left, the Hudson River to the right, and the driver seemed to be heading for the river.
Suddenly the bus groaned, we all spun around on the wet asphalt and crashed into the trees. The bus driver and passengers fled at full speed.
The Furies regained their balance. They swung their whips at Annabeth as she waved her knife and screamed in ancient Greek to tell them to back off. Grover threw cans. I got back into fighting stance sword cocked ready but Percy did one of the dumbest things he's ever done.
"Hey!" He shouted and when I looked he was visible, he'd taken off Annabeth's cap.
The Furies turned, Mrs. Dodds came up the aisle, she was waving her whip, red flames flickered in the aisle. Her two horrible sisters leaped onto the seats on either side of her and crawled toward Percy like huge lizards.
"Perseus Jackson," said Mrs. Dodds, "You have offended the gods. You shall die and then it shall be around your accomplice Kassandra Knight. "
"I liked you better as a math teacher," Percy told her.
"What are you talking about she was even worse!"
My ex-math teacher turned to look at me and she grunted then back at Percy. Grover and Annabeth came cautiously to my side, I was looking for an opening but there wasn't one, no matter where I attacked one of the three witches, I'd end up devoured.
Percy took the ballpoint pen out of his pocket and opened it. Riptide stretched out into a glittering double-edged sword
They hesitated, I could feel it.
"Submit now," Mrs. Dodds hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."
"Nice try," he told her.
"Percy, look out!" Annabeth screamed.
Mrs. Dodds passed her whip around his sword hand as the Furies on either side pounced on him.
I didn't think, I rushed to Percy's aid, to my surprise he was able to keep riptide in his hands. He gave the left fury a guard kick, causing it to topple backwards into a seat. He turned and slashed at the right-hand Fury. As soon as the blade touched her neck, she screamed and turned to dust.
Annabeth grabbed Mrs. Dodds in her arms and pulled her back as Grover snatched the whip from her hands.
"Ow!" he yelled. " Ow! Hot! Hot!"
The fury Percy had stunned approached him again, talons ready, before she could reach him my sword turned into a spear and I sent it at her, she was pierced in the belly and disappeared into Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover tied Mrs. Dodds' legs in his own whip. Finally, they both pushed her backward into the driveway.
Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling.
"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"
"Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy shouted.
I understood perfectly well what he was saying "eat my pants" the situation wouldn't have been so critical I would have laughed.
Thunder shakes the bus. The hair stands up on the back of my neck.
"Get out!" Annabeth 'yelled at us. "'Now!"
We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering in daze, arguing with the driver, or spinning in circles shouting "We're going to die!
We're going to die!" A tourist in a Hawaiian shirt, equipped with a camera, photographed me with my spear in hand.
"Our bags!" realized Grover. "We left our..."
BOOOOOM!
The bus windows exploded and the passengers ran for cover. Lightning carved a huge crater in the roof, but an angry groan inside told me Mrs. Dodds wasn't dead yet.
"Run!" said Annabeth. "She's calling for reinforcements! We've got to get out of here!
We went deep into the woods in the rain, the burning bus behind us, and nothing but darkness ahead.