After lunch I had to figure out my schedule. Maybe I could join the Aphrodite cabin for activities?
I sighed.
Setting up the basic schedule wasn't too hard. I could keep Ancient Greek where it was (three days a week) since I had already been doing that alone. I added Music after on Mondays and Fridays because that seemed like a good way to relax. Archery (which was required ) went on Tuesdays and Thursdays after Wilderness Survival, with Arts and Crafts after.
That would at least let me have fun around my suffering.
Forge Time I put on Wednesdays, before canoeing so that I could cool off in the water after the heat of the forges. Both of those were after music. Then of course there was lunch and then… I decided on Horseback Riding, which was only required once a week for an hour, having a three hour slot and put it Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday.
Arena work got thrown in after lunch Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Monster Assault, which was a lot of strategy work, I did after Horseback riding for the weekdays. The only other thing I had to add was helping in the Strawberry Fields, so I threw that in and then also added the "official" free time and added Assisting in the Infirmary to try to get some medical experience.
I also made note of the normal events that came after dinner, which were all optional. Capture the Flag was highly recommended, but none were required , and they switched off week by week.
"That's a good schedule," Carl said cheerfully after I read it to him. "You'll learn a lot from that."
"That's good," I mused, studying it carefully. "I really wanna make the most of my time. I'm so behind on land mythology stuff, Annabeth's lessons have really made that clear."
"You'll catch up," Carl assured me. "Lots come to camp not knowing anything at all. You're ahead by those standards."
"I don't feel ahead," I grumbled.
"Try to do more myth work in Ancient Greek, ask Annabeth to make it a myth discussion too."
"That's a good idea, Carl. I'll have to talk to her about that on Monday."
"I'm full of great ideas," he said smugly, tail swishing in a flurry.
I rolled my eyes, "I'm gonna take a bath then head to the strawberry fields. Today is all free time since I haven't logged my schedule yet."
"Have fun!"
The bath was very relaxing and the mini waterfall felt amazing on my back. I was going to miss the bath when I went home.
And I discovered that there were bubble supplies in little hidden nooks in the bath sides, along with various hair care supplies and even salts and stuff to put in the water!
I spent way too long in the bath.
After I changed into fresh camp clothes, nice and dry with barely a thought, I headed to drop off my schedule with Lord D. Khiron was teaching class so wasn't there and Lord D gave approval with a dismissive wave of his hand. With that done, I left for the strawberry fields.
They were big, covering a large portion of that side of the valley. If the forest felt deep and dark, dripping with shadows and power and ancient eyes, the strawberry fields were the exact opposite. They were bright, fresh with new life, shining in the sun and sparkling with dew. Butterflies and bees and all manner of creatures flit here and there, brightening the fields more than the bright red dots of strawberries could ever hope to.
A large butterfly tickled my cheek as I found a comfortable spot. I waved to Imani and Darius (Demeter children) as I settled down, careful not to sit on any of the ants that were working diligently in the dirt.
I had my ocarina and music book with me, so I could play for the plants. It was relaxing to play, and good practice for Siren's Song.
I laid out my music book, brushing a caterpillar away when it tried to crawl onto it, and brought my ocarina to my lips.
Music tumbled out, slowly spilling over the field as I went through my practice songs and let my fingers dance over the notes. Music familiar to me, tunes I'd played a hundred times already, filled the air and ruffled my hair with the breeze, chasing the curling wind across the field until the air was filled with sea currents and flitting fish.
Once my practice songs were finished, my fingers stretched and positions comfortable, I moved onto a newer song I'd been practicing. Poni'tiet Avixokik, a song of growth, of moonlight, of the bright night and silver light.
The notes flit high from the very beginning, twining lightly and swooping in arcs which spiraled through the leaves and danced over the tops of the leafy green plants. The notes swept in a lithe current, trilling and spiraling 'round the berries and dusting the small white blossoms that would become bright red strawberries. They settled on the leaves and stems, sinking in like twinkling stars.
I let my fingers dance, flitting over the ocarina in the familiar yet not fully practiced motions of the song as I let the moonlight and starlight of the song twine through and lighten the field with a different brightness than it held already.
I finished that song and moved to another, Retafeti Tos'Meyv, letting the faster pace song dart across the field anew. It danced and swung and spun through the air, notes fumbling with my fingers at times but not hesitating to spread out across the greeny field.
I finished that song and moved to another, and then another, and then another still. Right now I didn't stop when I fumbled, nor did I pause to redo any song I'd played. Instead I played through every song I knew well enough to at least attempt a play through.
Notes flitted soft and gentle, darted quick and fierce, swung bright and joyful, spiraled free and high through the field, song after song sinking into the plants around me and urging their growth.
Once I'd finished the familiar songs I moved onto the unfamiliar, stumbling through a song with quick notes, my fingers faltering and catching as I tried to keep up with how I knew it was supposed to sound.
I moved onto another song, much newer, that the satyrs had taught me. I was struggling through getting the mid portion to sound right, with a different instrument than they had, when I was interrupted.
"Hey Percy."
I looked up, lowering my ocarina as I blinked at the figures coming towards me. Katie Gardner and Miranda Davis smiled at me as they neared. Katie was the cabin counselor for the Demeter cabin and Miranda was one of the other cabin members. They'd been nice to me so far and I couldn't help but return the smile.
"Hey Katie, Miranda. What's up?"
Katie stopped in front of me, her eyes furrowed as her smile shifted to something I couldn't quite name. Her brown veil was pinned around a bun today, I noticed. Most likely so she could work easier in the fields.
"How are you doing?" she asked, voice gentle.
I blinked, tilting my head in confusion.
"You weren't at breakfast," she explained. "And we didn't see you at all until lunch."
Oh, they were worried for me. Like the Aphrodite cabin had been.
I'd never really had anyone worried for me except my mom and Triton, and maybe my merfriends. It was… nice.
I hadn't expected anyone to worry for me really.
"I'm fine," I assured her. "I just… didn't sleep well. Silena checked on me earlier."
Katie nodded, her lips pursed and gaze intent on me. "All right, let us know if we can help. I know it was really weird for me when I was claimed, even though I wasn't in the Hermes cabin long. I still had to leave and adjust to a new cabin. It must be way harder without any siblings there to help you adjust."
My chest warmed and I flashed her the brightest smile I could, "I'll let you know if i need anything. I really appreciate it."
"Of course," Katie said, voice fierce and intense. "Any time."
Miranda settled next to me, carefully avoiding the line of ants like I had. Her green veil was coming a bit loose, it looked like, but she just tugged it lightly as she settled.
"Are you here to play- to- to play for the plants a- again?"
I nodded, holding up my ocarina so they could see. "Yep."
She grinned, "I heard y-you playing. It-it-it's really nice. Can we j-join you? It's really n-n-nice to work with music as a- as a background."
"Yeah," Katie said with a laugh as she sat near us. "It's a nice change of pace from the panpipes."
I flushed, ducking my head. "I'm glad you like it. I'm not very good yet."
"It's okay," Katie chirped, "You'll get better."
I rubbed my cheek, trying not to let my blush be too obvious. The people at camp had been so nice and encouraging, I wasn't really used to it. I never really knew how to reply to it, so instead I just lifted my ocarina to my lips and started playing again.
The two took that as their cue and got to work as well, fingers digging into the dirt as music twined through the air in the notes of Ert Kulio Kaluha. Slow and steady notes built up, thrumming and whistling through the air.
Katie hummed along to the music as she twisted her fingers, the flowers surrounding her twisting and growing and blossoming and some even beginning to grow the berries. Miranda was slower than Katie, though she rocked lightly in tune with the racing sharks in the song. Her fingers cupped the plants that she coaxed up, her voice soft and stuttering yet easing them up with gentle encouragement.
Their styles were different, but I always found them both amazing. I wondered if they'd ever used their plants as a weapon, or if they just enjoyed bringing new life up.
I finished the first song and moved to another, letting new notes fill the air once I found the right page in my music book. They didn't falter in their work, seeming happy to work quietly as I played. It was relaxing.
I was working through the satyr's song again, a while later, and struggling to switch the notes at one portion when Miranda finally spoke to me again.
"You know, I wa- was convinced your mom an- your mom and our mom got together and you were- you were our sibling."
The Ocarina made a strange sound at my strangled choke and I coughed as I pulled it away to look at her.
"Ta- ala- what?"
Miranda grinned, "Well like, you- you're pretty good wi-with plants. They don't really grow- don't really grow faster but they def-definitely brighten. It- it's similar to how some of us s-s-sta-started. We had a bet going on who- who your parent was. The Apollo cabin and us were- we were betting against each- against each other."
I blinked, "Oh…"
Katie huffed, apparently taking Miranda's chatter as free reign to speak up herself. "We would've loved to have you in our cabin. But it's cool, even if everyone lost the bet. We're just glad you're okay, last night was scary."
I nodded, staring down at the strawberries in front of me.
"Yeah…" Miranda mumbled.
We sat quietly again and I picked some berries to put in Miranda's basket.
"So what do you do to improve the plants?" Katie questioned suddenly. "Any that you work with don't really grow, but they're definitely healthier and the bugs leave them alone."
The bugs left them alone? How did that work- oh… was it like how I kept certain water bugs from the trash in the river? I was pretty sure that was part of my purification powers. Oops.
"It's sea magic," I twisted my ocarina in my hands. "It's called Siren's Song. I'm not very good yet, still on the beginner steps. It-" I help up my ocarina "-it has me use an instrument to build up familiarity with how the Song feels without like… channeling it."
Katie looked curious.
"Sea magic?" Miranda asked, leaning forward. "What- what's that?"
I chewed my lip, staring down at my ocarina. It felt weird to talk about. I'd promised my mom to keep my waterbending secret previously, and I promised Triton to be careful. And I'd just… never really talked about this to anyone before.
"It's… basically what it sounds like. It's the magic of the sea- er, that's like the closest English translation. It's called Wasare Tahuhu in Halmerhan-"
"What's Ham-a-herin?" Katie interrupted.
I giggled, correcting her quickly. "Hal-mah-hair-in, it's like uh… one of the most common languages used in the sea. Different areas use different languages too but Halmaheran came from- and I'm getting off track."
I coughed, studying my ocarina once more while Miranda and Katie laughed.
"Anyways," I said sheepishly, "there are a lot of different tahuhu. I'm best at waterbending- er, I mean it's technically called Tevemoa, or Themomancy is what Triton says is the English translation. Um, there's also Vapaloa- et- sorry, Purification which is like… cleaning the water? It cleanses things, gets rid of what shouldn't be there. It's really good for curse-breakers."
"Curse-break- breakers?" Miranda questioned.
"Yeah, there are different kinds of like- curses and stuff, and curse-breakers take care of them."
"What are the kinds of curses?" Katie asked curiously. "I didn't know curses could be put into categories."
"Oh, I meant like they can handle curses and stuff but yeah there are also different kinds.Er… I guess I said that but like- ta- changing forms might be the kind you'd have heard of? It's… ala… it's the kind you see in the myths and stuff?"
The nodded, clearly recognizing that. I didn't think I was explaining this well but oh well.
"There's also like- cursing objects to do things, or cursing someone to do or not do something. And then like- other stuff too, I don't think I can name them all…" what else was there- oh yeah! "There's also the Great Curses!"
"Great Curses?" Katie asked.
I nodded eagerly, those were really interesting to hear about.
"Yeah, they're like- really big curses that no one has been able to do anything about. But those are like- not considered normal for curses. They're all divine level anyways, so not like- easy to mess with in general."
"That's cool," Katie said. "I'd never really thought about curses and stuff."
"You said you were- that you were using your ocarina f-for Siren's So- Siren's Song," Miranda mused. "What's that?"
"Well," I hesitated, trying to think of how to describe it. "You know the Sirens? In the myths?"
"They sing about what you want the most," Katie said.
I nodded, "Yeah. Well they have a power called Siren's Song, it's where they got the name Siren from. It's a magic that allows you to influence others. It's really powerful when used properly, and can be used to enhance other magics. I'm learning it to improve my Purification."
That's cool, I didn't realize the Sirens got their names from the power they had."
"Fetu will get really insulted if you try to say the Song got the name from the Sirens. He's the one that taught me about it."
"Fetu?" Miranda asked.
"Yeah, one of merfriends."
Katie blinked, "You're friends with mermaids?"
I shook my head, "Merfolk. I mean, I am friends with mermaids, two of them. But not all merfolk are mer maids - like I'm friends with two mermen and two mernix, though Rosa, xey're a mernix, sometimes prefers to go by mermaid."
"What's a- a mernix?"
They didn't know what a- oh… Well that was kinda fair, I hadn't known about them before Triton explained it to me either.
"So uh… merfolk don't exactly have two sexes? Like humans have two- er… sorta? I think there's a group that doesn't, we learned about that in science class…"
I tried to remember the stuff about humans not having just two sexes but couldn't remember the details.
"Well, anyways, the sea has lots of sexes and stuff. There's three really common ones, which aren't exactly like human sexes, it's Vomhi, Tomhi, and Pomhi, but I mean… if I had to define it like human then it's girl, boy, and nix, which isn't either- but like there are also the other kinds… but you can just call all merfolk 'tame' if you want, that means merperson basically."
"Oh, wow, I didn't know some beings had more than two sexes," Katie said, eyes wide.
"Three main ones," I repeated, not sure exactly how to explain it all. "But there's also like- a bunch of other genders too. Cause some aren't what they're born as, you know?"
"Oh yeah!" Katie grinned. "Bina from the Apollo cabin is non-binary and Keanu is a demiboy."
"Calisto from- from the Aphro-Aphro-Aphrodite cabin is non-binary t-too."
"Oh cool!" I said cheerfully. "I don't know what either of those terms mean."
Katie laughed, "Non-binary is a broad term, can mean something different to everyone but it basically means not a girl or a boy, or maybe both, or something else entirely. Demiboy is like… sorta a boy or sometimes a boy but also not or sometimes not."
I nodded, "Huh, cool."
That kinda sounded like how Rosa was sorta a girl but also not, but sometimes was more girl than not. Maybe it was the same thing? Sorta?
They both nodded before Miranda brought us back on track. "It's really cool- really cool to learn about mer-merfolk."
"What do they look like?" Katie asked, bouncing in place.
I perked up at the question. I could talk about my friends!
"Samoa is really pretty!" I rushed out. "She has a white tail and white hair, which is like- super uncommon, and it sparkles and flows and she's super nice. We're really good friends and we practice purification together."
Miranda grinned, "You like Samoa?"
"She's the greatest," I gushed. "She gave me the dye for my hair, it's magic. She's super cool."
"Sounds like it," Katie laughed. "What about your other friends?"
"There's Elei," I continued happily. "She's really good at fighting and has a sleek tail that's a really deep red. It's almost invisible in the deeper water."
"Really?" Katie asked with a frown. "Red seems pretty visible?"
"Red doesn't show up in deep water," I said primly. "So it's a great color for camouflage."
"I did-didn't know that."
I nodded, quite happy with their curiosity as I continued. "And then- let's see- Masina is great at current control, that's really hard. Their tail is a cool blue yellow, with pink frills. And then Rosa is training to help care for endangered species. Xey're hoping to use her gift of prophecy to protect them better."
"Wait prophecy?" Katie said in surprise.
"Yeah! It's a rare gift but Rosa is already showing signs of it. She's really fun, we talk about magical theories a bunch."
"Wow," Miranda mumbled.
"Then of course there's Fetu and Lagi. They're twins. Fetu is amazing at the Siren's Song, and he's super nice. He's been helping me learn it and even gave me a rare book on it!"
"That's sweet!" Katie chirped.
I nodded, "Yeah! And then Lagi is a great healer. He's already got an apprenticeship and everything."
"Ooh, is th-that hard?"
I nodded, "Yeah. Apprenticeships under anyone as good as his ororai-"
"What's ororai?" Katie interrupted, brow furrowed in confusion.
"Teacher," I clarified. "It's really hard to get a teacher as good as his at his age. He's only just passed his thirteenth veruo- er, storm season… basically birthday."
"That's really cool," Katie said. "I had no idea the undersea worked like that. How'd you meet them?"
"Oh yeah, I went with Tri-"
The sound of the conch horn cut me off and I flinched in surprise.
"Aww," Miranda grumbled. "Looks like din- looks like dinner time. We- we'd better head back."
Katie nodded, "Yeah we need to clean up. We'll see you later, Percy."
I waved as I stood up too, brushing dirt off my knees. "Yeah, see you guys later."
We split up, heading to our own cabins to clean up for dinner. I couldn't help but smile as I walked, pleased with how the day went.
Maybe my luck would hold through the week.
OO OO OO OO
Sunday went fine, I mostly hung out with the Aphrodite cabin. We traded knife techniques and chatted about TV shows we liked.
The Aphrodite and Demeter cabins talked to me, and over the weekend that was more than enough since I didn't have anything with other cabins… but Monday-
Monday it became clear that I was an outcast.
Nobody mentioned the hellhound, but then, nobody mentioned much to me at all. They avoided me like I had the plague.
Despite the fact that I'd spent the last week in their cabin, the Hermes kids stayed well out of my way. They refused to do any activities with me and even moved their sword fighting lessons (Arena Work) so that we wouldn't be together anymore.
It hurt more than I wanted to admit.
Even Maegan, Elizabeth, and Grant from the Apollo cabin were avoiding me. I took it to mean that we weren't going to be practicing our instruments together this week like planned.
It was obvious they were scared, and that was kinda fair. The hellhound attack sent a message that the ones after me wouldn't be stopped by something as insignificant as an impenetrable barrier.
Luke was kind enough to offer private sword fighting lessons, which did help. I worked with him on sword fighting, doing drills and sparring. He was amazing but a harsh taskmaster so I was usually pretty bruised by the time we finished. He didn't hold back.
I did get a decent amount of practice healing myself because of it, but I did miss using my trident.
And I missed not being lonely.
I pushed my bitter feelings back, trying to remember the things Triton had taught me. People were afraid, afraid of what someone would do to attack me. It was fine. They didn't want to be near me, didn't want to be in danger. Everything was fine.
Annabeth still worked with me in the mornings but had a scowl on her face. She was stiff, stilted, and entirely unwilling to change the focus of the lessons. She was definitely not happy to be working with me anymore.
She always walked away muttering insults and plans in equal measure.
The biggest shock was that the Ares cabin left me alone. They didn't go near me, they barely even looked at me. I was half relieved, I'd feared they would've been aiming for revenge after the fight at the creek.
Thankfully the two who were hurt badly were going to make a full recovery, though one had aconcussion.
All five had kitchen duty for the next month.
I wasn't sure how I would've handled it if I didn't have the Aphrodite and Demeter cabins. They stood by me, spent time with me, even invited me to training.
Neither cabin was really big on fighting, but they were a lot of fun to spend time with.
I did most of my training with the Aphrodite cabin. A lot of them didn't like fighting, or preferred peaceful solutions. But that didn't mean they couldn't fight. A lot of them liked smaller weapons, or even hidden weapons, like knives. Though Aarya had a large weapon I'd never seen before.
I never did manage to beat Silena in a knife fight.
I also joined them for horseback riding, which was a lot of fun. I translated for Silena often, she adored horses.
We hung out outside of activities too, talking about fashion stuff and playing around with styles and chatting about shows and books and our families.
With the Demeter cabin I did archery, which I sucked at. But they weren't the best at it either so it was more fun when we could giggle over each other's failures together.
I also joined them in the fields, learning how to encourage plant growth more and more. In exchange I taught them about how I learned to use my powers and they theorized how it could be combined with their plant powers.
They already knew how to do a lot of growing plants, rapidly even. And one mentioned having seeds that they brought with them to use as weapons. That was scary enough, but thinking of them expanding beyond that- they would be terrifying.
If it weren't for the fact that neither the Demeter nor Aphrodite cabin members tended to much like fighting then I imagined they'd have long since expanded on their powers and become terrifying forces of nature.
Arts and Crafts I did with the Hephaestus cabin. It was pretty quiet, but if I didn't know how to do something then Beckendorf was happy to help me.
I got to make a suncatcher for my cabin and an extra for Triton too. It was too late to make a sundial, especially alone. Beckendorf promised to teach me how to make a sundial next year.
He was really nice, even when my face was all red from the heat of the room he never said anything. I couldn't stop smiling.
I still spent my free time down by the lake with the naiads and visiting Lady Hestia. I learned basket weaving, though my first dozen tries were ruined and the next dozen were… a bit tangled. Lady Hestia was always soothing to talk to as well, giving me a break from the overstimulation of the rest of the camp.
I could almost forget that someone was out to get me.
The bubble of close comfort and two kind cabins was popped by a mortal newspaper, left at the door of my cabin. It was a copy of the New York Daily News, open to the Metro page.
Reading it was infuriating, and the angrier I got the harder it was to read, the words blending and blurring as my brain struggled to pick them out. The font didn't help.
The article was explaining the disappearance of my mom and I. Despite the fact that we were both missing, I was the prime suspect. Thanks, Gabe. That theory makes soooo much sense.
The phone number at the bottom was circled in black marker.
I crumbled up the paper and threw it away with a scowl. Having two cabins on my side helped a lot, but I was still pretty miserable.
OO OO OO OO
I stood before a woman whose dress shifted with dirt and plants, six others were there: hidden in the darkness.
One was Okeanos, I knew that presence, but I wasn't certain of the others' identities.
Faint numbness, pinpricks of warmth and an ache deep in my bones, needles pricked my finger tips, and a familiar shifting sands.
The woman in front of me simply felt… natural. Like the Earth beneath my feet maybe? Grass on your toes? It was- just like standing outside.
"You must kill Him; His crimes– they are too great to let stand."
Okeanos stepped forward. "Mother, He is the Sky , how would You expect Us to kill Him?"
"He has discarded my children, your siblings! His abuse of You is unforgivable- battering You with storms whenever you turn to the surface. Your siblings suffer greatly for his crimes, You are trapped in a cage of my Earth. You must save them, saveYourselves."
Okeanos didn't seem happy, "He is Our Father and is greater than us. To kill Him is impossible– perhaps we could destroy His form but He would eventually reform, likely angrier than now. And what of Pontos and Aether? They would be enraged. Surely there must be another way!"
The other men murmured in agreement. None of Them seemed to want to kill their dad, or perhaps They were afraid?
I couldn't be sure, I didn't understand- They were something more than mortal though, I knew that much.
"You will kill Him, You must kill Him. If You do not- then I may as well hide you in Tartarus myself. At least You would be spared the abuse! After what He has done, could you truly defend Him? Hide away forever and hope for the best?"
The men faltered, fearful looks shared between them. Okeanos' skin paled. The words were nearly a threat, and yet- they pinged with shaking Earth, the world battered and bent and desperate to heal-
The one with gold eyes stepped forward then, His expression tight, "Mother-"
"Do You disagree?" Whispered the Earth in rustling wind and swaying grasses. A forest fire crackling under the heavens. "Youngest of mine, do would You betray Yourself? Your Siblings? Me? "
The gold-eyed man's eyes flickered to His siblings (The Titans?). They were all afraid, I could feel it in the shiver in the air, see it in the way They tucked close, light shaky and shivering. The gold-eyed man was afraid too, but he was… determined.
He turned to His mother, a steady breath, chin raised.
How could I disagree with You, Mother? Father's crimes are many, against Us, against You, against Our Siblings- We fear Him, how could We not?"
His Mother (Gaia?) listened keenly, the world held its breath.
"You say destruction is the only path to stopping Him… and much as I would like to find another way- I Myself see no other route. If this is the only path to saving Us, You, Our Siblings- to stopping Father? I will personally strike Him down."
Despite the fear the others radiated they slowly moved forward.
"I will help," said one with ram horns and pinpricks of warmth.
The man that glowed stepped forward next, the final two joining a moment later, "As will we."
Okeanos shook His head. He stared at His Mother (Gaia?) with mournful eyes.
"I will not stand against My Siblings, Nor You. I could not… but neither can I attack Father. He will return one day, and He will be vengeful. This would incite war, a war of Earth and Sky, of Heavens and Depths. I would rather turn Him back to Himself, how He was before."
"You remember His kindness, so long ago," His Mother said in a low tone, grinding rocks and shaking mountains. "And yet You forget the cruelty that sent even You, of deep waters, hiding within me. To stand neutral in this matter, in the Safety of Your Siblings and Mother- this is akin to betrayal."
She was angry, grieving, the World ached and cracked and shook. Okeanos was making a stance that did not earn Him favor-
The Earth around Okeanos rose and twisted- I tried to step forward, reaching for Him- but I couldn't move.
All I could do was watch.
The Earth coiled and prepared to bury Him- and Gold flared bright and fierce an instant before the Earth swallowed it.
The Earth settled once more, and there was nothing left behind.
The one with golden eyes and shifting sands had His hand stretched out. For just a moment- an instant- relief shone clear, grief deepening the emotion.
"If He will not aid us, then it is best He stay in the sea," the figure raised His chin, His expression cool and calm even as His hands shook. "He will have His safety there, and We will be able to focus on what We must do."
The woman of Earth, the Mother Gaia, hummed low and deep.
"As you say," she agreed. "Ouranos must fall, Your Siblings must be freed- You must no longer live in fear. I shall aid You in Your Quest."
The five men (Titans) bowed, gazes grim.
"As you wish mother."
And the depths of the Earth which had held this conversation, which had changed history and Fate- which had decided how the World would turn- darkened.
My feet came free and I stumbled forward, hard packed dirt and rock replaced with something slippery- rain on my skin and lightning flashing bright.
I was on the beach again, a storm raging overhead– I ran, ran from something– ran to something– My feet pounded against the sand, slapping against the water which soaked it.
The world darkened, my feet finally coming free and I stumbled forward into a run. There was a city in the distance, not where I was running but near it. It was no city I knew, with palm trees and low hills rather than towering skyscrapers.
Ahead of me, with waves crashing over their forms, the tide whirling- were two men wrestling.
Both were muscular figures, with beards and shoulder length hair. Both, as well, wore flowing Greek khitons. One was trimmed in blue, and the other in green. They grappled with each other, each hit flashing with lightning, rumbling with thunder, shaking the sea and bringing waves crashing down upon them. The wind sang and sparked with electricity and salt pressed into my skin.
Their fight was dangerous, it would bring disaster, it shook the heavens and sea. They needed to stop fighting, I knew if they didn't it would bring disaster.
Already the beach was crumbling, being devoured by the sea and storm. The water encroached on the land, devouring it and spreading the waves.
I ran as hard as I could, trying to reach them. I didn't know what I would do if I did, but someone had to stop them.
And yet, no matter how hard I ran, how fast I tried to go, the wind blew against me with the howl of a hurricane, the sand slid beneath my feet. I was practically running in place, arms pinwheeling as I fought the wind and sand, fought to take at least one step closer.
Their battle grew fiercer, vengeful, and over the storm I heard shouts.
The blue-robed one shouted, voice like thunder and shaking windows, shaking the Earth and rumbling through my chest. "Give it BACK!"
I tried to yell back, tried to be heard, "Stop it! Stop fighting!"
But the waves crashed into me, the thunder shook the sand beneath my feet, and my voice was ripped away by the wind.
Sand curled over me, shifting and sliding as the ground shook. Familiar laughter rose up from beneath the Earth.
"Leave them be, little hero. Come to me," The pit voice crooned, only now I recognize it, "Help me return. There is nothing for you amongst them."
"Stop it!" I cried, "Mr. Pit Voice stop!"
The voice chuckled, the ground split. Sand slid into the hole as scrambled for some hand hold. Darkness swallowed me.
"No need to fear, little Percy. All is going as planned."
The Titan of gold eyes and sand laughed, and I woke, sure I was falling.
OO OO OO OO
I knew it was morning, knew from the rise of the tides, but you wouldn't know it from the sky outside.
The sky was dark, rumbling with thunder that rolled across the hills. The air was thick with moisture, the scent of petrichor filling the cabin.
A storm was building in the waking world as well.
I thought of the pit voice, of what it had said. Come to it? How did that even work? What did it mean to help it return? What plan was it talking about? And… was it a Titan, like the ones in the other part of the dream?
There were six guy children of Gaia. Okeanos couldn't be it, since he was in the sea not a pit. The others I could probably guess, like the ram horns being Krios and the glowing one Hyperion… But I wasn't sure about the others. Gaia? had called the golden-eyed one her youngest right? Did that mean He was Kronos?
I could've stayed in bed all day trying to figure out what the dreams meant, but my thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door.
"Come in?" I called, confused.
Grover trotted in, brows furrowed and fingers clutching each other tight. "Mr. D wants to see you."
"Why?" I asked nervously.
I'd been expecting to be called in, but it had been a week since the claiming so I'd started to relax.
"He wants to kill… er… I'd better let him tell you."
Well that was reassuring, thanks Grover.
I quickly changed, putting on some of the clothes that Triton gave me. I wanted comfort while being told that I was going to die.
I fingered my bracelet, touching the pearl. It was for emergencies, and this might end up being an emergency. Hopefully it would keep me safe.
I stepped outside and frowned up at the sky.
"Will we need an umbrella?" The sky was like ink soup, dark and foreboding with a hazy curtain of rain headed towards us.
"No," he said, "It never rains here unless we want it to."
I raised an eyebrow and glanced back at the storm.
If he said so…
I walked with him towards the big house, rubbing my arms that sparked with electricity. We passed the volleyball pit where some Apollo kids played a morning game against the satyrs.
None of them seemed concerned about the storm. None of them even glanced at us either.
We reached the big house and I bit my lip. Lord D was sitting at the pinochle table on the porch in the same outfit that he wore when I first arrived, Khiron across from him in the fake wheelchair that made my skin buzz.
There were also two invisible opponents? I frowned at the place where the cards were hovering, a chime echoed in my ears. Strange.
"Well, well," Lord D said without looking up. "How's our new celebrity doing?"
I waited hesitantly. Did he want me to go over or…
"Come closer," Lord D said, "At least you still have some respect."
Khiron feigned interest in his pinochle cards while Grover cowered by the railing.
"See," Lord D started, "If I had my way you'd just be turned into a dolphin or something, a nice peaceful solution. You'd get that mercy only because you've been so respectful, unlike most of you brats."
He sighed examining his cards, "Unfortunately Khiron claims that I can't do that, something about needing to keep you brats safe and being unable to if you're a dolphin."
"Mr. D—" Khiron warned.
"Anyways," Lord D continued dismissively, "There's another option for you, but it's horribly foolish."
He stood, the invisible people's cards dropping to the table, the chimes in my ears stopped as well. "I have to go to an emergency meeting, probably about you, aren't you special. If you're still here when I return I can't guarantee your safety. If you're at all smart, Perseus Jackson, you'll choose being a dolphin over Khiron's foolhardy offer."
He picked up a playing card, twisted it, and with a feeling of curling vines tightening the card became a plastic rectangle, a security pass.
He snapped his fingers and the vines unwound, the air folding and bending around him until he was gone. All that was left was the smell of fresh-pressed grapes lingering behind.
I swallowed, that couldn't mean anything good for me
Khiron smiled at me, and I scowled back.
I was still mad at him for taking the sword of the sea from me. It wasn't his avito maie!
"Sit, Percy, please. And Grover."
We sat.
I forced my expression to smooth over, this wasn't the time to let my grudge get in the way of things.
Khiron laid his cards on the table, a winning hand.
"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"
I grimaced, but paused to consider it.
I could handle it, did handle it, on my own. But… It was kinda terrifying. I'd spent years training my waterbending so it was fine , but I did have to reveal myself for it.
"It was scary," I said finally. "But I think that I handled it alright."
He nodded, "You did. But you'll meet worse before you're done."
I frowned, "Done… with what?"
"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"
I stared, glancing at Grover who was crossing his fingers looking very nervous. No help there. I focused back on Khiron and shook my head.
"What quest? You haven't told me anything yet."
He sighed, "Well, that's the hard part, the details."
Thunder rumbled across the valley, the storm clouds had reached the edge of the beach. I felt the salt and electricity crackling against each other, it was very unpleasant.
I narrowed my eyes at Khiron, no way was I taking a quest without even being given the basic info. And why was I getting a quest? I was twelve? Quests weren't allowed till sixteen? At least in the sea. Did the land work different?
Khiron didn't look at all inclined to explain anything to me though, so I took a moment to try and figure out what was up myself.
Some things were obvious, like Hades blaming me for a theft (and probably kidnapping my mom cause of it). Zeus and Poseidon were definitely fighting over something too, the theft that Triton mentioned? Zeus seemed to suspect me as well.
So what this was probably about was the? Theft that Triton mentioned. Or thefts?
"The details are… something to do with a theft? The Gods are fighting over it."
Khiron and Grover exchanged looks and Khiron sat forward.
"How did you know that?"
"Uh- the Erinyes that attacked me mentioned a theft, and accused me of it. The sea and sky have kinda obviously been fighting, what with all those storms. Annabeth also mentioned a theft when she was asking me what was going on… also I had a dream about it.
"I knew it," Grover said.
"Hush, satyr," Khiron ordered.
Okay that was so rude? What would he say to me, hush human? How would he like to be told to shut up centaur?
"But it is his quest!" Grover said excitedly, "It must be!"
"Only the Oracle can decide." Khiron said firmly. "Nevertheless, you are correct, Percy. Your father and Zeus are having Their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be more precise: a lightning bolt."
I blinked, like… how did one steal a lightning bolt? Was it a special lightning bolt? Couldn't Zeus just... make more lightning bolts?
"Uh…"
"Do not take this lightly child," Khiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."
Oh… that was a special lightning bolt.
"Zeus's Master Bolt," Khiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of His power, from which all other lightning bolts are based. The first weapon made by the Kyklopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."
Wait wait wait- the Master Bolt ? That wasn't just a special bolt… that was like taking Triton's trident or conch shell, or Poseidon's trident, or Okeanus' sword. That was a huge deal and… would start war… oh dear.
And Hades was missing something too, according to the Erinyes. If it was something of the same level as the Master Bolt… that probably meant His Helm. I didn't remember what that did though.
Was he serious about this? It seemed impossible… How could someone steal the Master Bolt ?
"You're… you're saying that the Master Bolt , Zeus' symbol of power made before they even came to rule was stolen?" I asked to clarify.
He nodded, "Yes."
"But how?" It was honestly ridiculous. Stealing symbols of power was asking to be destroyed. Triton made sure I was well aware of their importance. "Who could've done that?"
"You."
I stared.
I took a slow deep breath.
My eye twitched.
"At least"—Khiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the Gods, Zeus and Poseidon had another argument. It wasn't anything new, 'Mother Rhea always liked me best', 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters', the norm. Afterwards, Zeus realized His Master Bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under His very nose."
I raised my hand.
"Yes?"
"Why are they fighting over which disasters are the worst?" And why did they sound like children arguing?
Thunder shook the building.
Khiron shrugged, "They simply do. Regardless, Zeus immediately blamed Poseidon for the theft–"
"Why?"
"Why?" Khiron repeated.
"Yeah, I mean, if it was a normal sibling argument then… why would He assume that meant my- my Metua was responsible for the theft?"
Khiron shrugged, he was literally no help.
"Now," Khiron continued. "A God cannot take another God's symbol of power directly, that is forbidden by the most ancient of laws."
I nodded, Khaos Themself decreed that. Oftentimes an immortal's essence was placed in their symbol of power, stealing it would greatly weaken Them. Stealing the essence of an immortals' power was the most despicable of all crimes and could not be done… at least not directly.
"Zeus believed your father convinced a mortal hero to take it."
Okay, well yes that made sense… but then- that meant- that meant they were assuming I was the mortal hero-
"I didn't—"
"Patience and listen, child," Khiron interrupted.
My eye twitched. Khiron was infuriating.
"Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Kyklopes are—"
And Khiron started talking about things I knew. I knew how the sea worked, I knew that the Kyklopes forges were there, I knew that they could create copies of it. I knew all about my home, I didn't need Khiron to tell me about it. Especially since he just straight up was quoting the tourist brochure for the Kyklopes forges that Triton had showed me.
"—and Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the Master Bolt and is now having the Kyklopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne."
Okay but what proof was there? There had to be something more than pointing fingers right? Also, the Kyklopes made the original , they didn't need it to make more copies! Wasn't there some policy preventing that?
"The only thing he wasn't certain of, was which hero Poseidon used. But now you've been claimed. You were in New York over the winter holidays as well. You could've easily snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he's found his thief."
I clenched my jaw, "I've never been to Olympus, I didn't even know where it was until Annabeth told me. And I spent the whole solstice with my mom and my friends!"
Khiron opened his mouth to interrupt but I kept going.
"And this is wrong , there's no evidence to prove I committed the theft–or even that I was there! I'm being accused wrongfully ! Isn't He the God of Justice ? Where does He get off accusing people with no evidence !?"
Khiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky, the clouds had entered the barrier.
"Er… Percy….?" Grover mumbled, "You shouldn't… shouldn't say that…"
Khiron hummed, "Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. It wouldn't be unreasonable for him to use you. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam…" He looked at me as if he expected me to remember question thirty-eight.
I had no idea which areok question that was (how would he expect me to remember that?), but I was pretty sure I knew the what he was talking about anyways.
"Hera, Poseidon, Apollo, and most of the other Gods got together and tied Zeus up in His sleep because He was doing a horrible job as a ruler," I snapped.
They both winced and Khiron opened his mouth to interrupt again, but I ignored him.
"They were going to determine who would be a better ruler than Him but got into a fight. Thetis ended up freeing Zeus and Poseidon, Hera, and Apollo were all punished for Their actions. It wasn't just Poseidon and They only did that because He wasn't doing His job as King. Are you saying He's not been doing His job? Did They fight over that?"
Khiron coughed and studied the sky. I scowled.
"Plus that still doesn't change the fact that He didn't even bother to check my alibi, or, and here's a crazy idea, ask me where I was. They have a God of Truth you know."
Khiron faltered, "Well, you are right about the last time They tried to overthrow Zeus, and it led to Him never trusting Poseidon again."
"It wasn't just Poseidon though!"
And how did Khiron claim to know Zeus' inner thoughts on Poseidon?
"It was very close to overthrowing him, without Poseidon it's likely it would've failed."
I scowled. While that might've been true, as in terms of raw force Poseidon was one of the most dangerous Gods, that still didn't mean it was just Poseidon!
"Poseidon of course denies stealing the bolt and took great offense to the accusation. The two have been arguing for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."
"I'm just a kid," I hissed. "I had nothing to do with this and They could just ask and find that out."
He shook his head, "Zeus is not one to just ask the illegal child of His brother if He committed such a crime. Additionally, Apollo is siding with Poseidon currently."
"Gee, wonder why."
Khiron pursed his lips.
"Percy," Grover started. "If you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, and that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you… wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"
"No!? Because I wouldn't randomly accuse people with no basis? And didn't Zeus break the same oath? He doesn't really have a leg to stand on.."
Khiron coughed, "Well… that isn't… Zeus is a God, he thinks differently than mortals."
I rolled my eyes. I literally was best friends with a God who was also my brother. Sure They could think different, but not that different. Something was being left out for sure.
And all that aside, "Poseidon might be a bad dad, but He wouldn't do anything to endanger His people. A war would do that, thus He definitely had nothing to do with the theft."
Or at least I hoped He wouldn't endanger his people, as king that was kind of His job, protecting His people. I imagined Triton would've told me if Poseidon wasn't a good king.
Khiron nodded, a small frown on his face as he studied me. "Most would agree that theft isn't Poseidon's style. But he's too proud to try convincing Zeus of that fact. So, Zeus has demanded Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice, and Poseidon has demanded an apology by the same date."
"That's in ten days," I said helpfully.
He nodded, "I hoped diplomacy might prevail. Hera, Demeter, or Hestia are usually able to calm the brothers. But your arrival has angered Zeus once more. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the Master Bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war."
I took a deep breath. I could, maybe, understand that my existence made Zeus mad at Poseidon. But He'd also had a child. So… double standard!
"Do you know what a full-fledged war would look like, Percy?"
"Bad," I said.
"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan war look like a water-balloon fight."
"So… bad."
"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."
It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.
The anger that had been bubbling under the surface blossomed into full on rage.
The wrongful accusation was bad enough, the fact that I was in the center of two Gods fighting was even worse, but now the entire camp was being punished? Zeus had brought this storm here. He was punishing everyone because he was a jerk who accused a child of a crime with no proof. How dare he punish everyone because of this.
"So, what," I snapped, "I need to find His stupid bolt?"
"What better peace offering," Khiron said. "Then to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"
I could think of a dozen things wrong with this, starting with the fact that we were being blamed with no proof but had to be the ones to prove him wrong, but I held my tongue this time.
"I find His bolt, He apologizes for the wrongful accusations, there's no war. Great. Where would this bolt be then?"
"I believe I know." Khiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago… well, some of the lines make sense to me now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."
"And why can't you tell me now, so I can make an informed decision?"
"Because you would be too afraid to accept the challenge."
My eyes narrowed, "Then it stands to reason that I simply shouldn't accept regardless doesn't it?"
He blinked, "Ah…"
"If I'm going to be too scared to do it if you tell me, isn't it best I simply don't accept at all? Or you could assume that I would take it regardless and allow me information before I go to this Oracle."
He sighed. "Very well. I believe the thief is Hades, the Lord of the Underworld."
I blinked, now that didn't make any sense, Hades had something taken too. But then… Khiron didn't mention something being taken… hmm…
"Do you still wish to go?"
"Why would Hades take it? Didn't something of His get taken? What would He gain from it!?"
"Hades has said nothing about a theft. And think about it. Who would gain the most if Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"
I frowned, "Somebody who wants to take over."
It was strange that Hades had said nothing. Did he actually not lose anything? But then why did the Erinyes come after me and mention a theft? If Hades wanted the Master Bolt Himself, then why accuse me of stealing an item He already had?
"Exactly. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."
"But all people die eventually. Why would he need to speed up the process? And don't the Gods have lots of enemies? Couldn't one of them have done it?"
Khiron sighed, "Yes they have enemies. But Hades has the greatest motive at the moment. Speeding up the process would aid Him in growing stronger all at once. This quest is necessary, will you do it?"
I huffed and glanced at Grover who had gone very pale and was trembling. Nonetheless, he gave me an encouraging nod.
Easy for him, I was the one people wanted dead. But in the end...
"Better than being a dolphin. Masina would never let me live it down. How do I meet the Oracle?"
Khiron nodded, "Go upstairs, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."
I sighed and ignored his comment on sanity as I stood to leave. Why was there an oracle in the attic?
"Who's Masina?" I heard him ask Grover as I walked away.
OO OO OO OO
Four flights up the stairs ended under a green trapdoor.
I pulled the cord and climbed up the wooden ladder that clattered down.
The attic was dark and smelled like snakes. I froze right as I entered the attic. There was a clear itching burn, itching like what I usually felt for curses and… burning… burning shadows.
Burning shadows like the ones that stole my mom.
I looked around, searching for the source.
It was actually hard to pinpoint considering most of the room was filled. There were many strange things placed all over the room, and quite a few had sensations of their own. It felt like stepping into some kind of fantasy world, with precarious shelves and decorations.
Armor stands covered in cobwebs took up one corner, shields pitted with rust leaning against them. There were old leather steamer trunks plastered with stickers. One large table was stacked with glass jars filled with pickled… things. Claws, eyes, and many other parts of creatures. There was even a large snake like head on a statue, or a trophy?
And then there were weapons, knives and a few swords. Most were broken in some way.
I eyed some of the humming objects, torn between curiosity and wariness. It was probably best I didn't touch anything.
My eyes were drawn to the back as I moved slowly through the room. In the back, by the window, the itchy burning shadows were strongest.
A mummy sat under the window, lit up with a flash of lightning. It sat upon a wooden tripod stool, strange mist seeming to linger around the base. An iron wolf was positioned by her side, unmoving.
It wasn't what I would've expected of an oracle at all. It was a shriveled human woman's body, wearing what once might've been a lovely sundress, with faded flowers decorating it. There were dozens of necklaces hanging around its neck, beaded and shining and leathery. A headband held back the long black hair that definitely needed a good wash.
Her eyes were glassy white slits, as if they'd been replaced with marbles. She'd been dead a very long time.
Just looking at her made my skin crawl, she wasn't like the Oracles Triton had taught me about. She… it? was … something else entirely.
I felt eyes on me, my hair standing on end. There was no one here but me and the mummy.
I was pretty sure that Oracles had rules about when you could speak to them, Triton had told me some about the ones in the sea who had such policies. I didn't know about this Oracle's rules though.
I was about to just give up and leave, to tell Khiron that this was a waste of time (and creepy) when the air shifted. Sulfur burned my nose and the mummy sat straight up, eyes wide open and glowing green.
I shrieked and stumbled back as green mist spilled from her now open mouth. It spread out over the floor, filling the room and hiding the world from sight. A hissing sound, like that of a thousand snakes, filled my ears.
I was leaning against a table I couldn't see for the mist and holding as still as I could.
A voice slithered through the air, hissing and twining as it slipped into my mind and coiled through me.
I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Moira'getes Apollon, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.
Well, that wasn't terrifying at all .
She wasn't alive, like the Great Oracle of Delphi was supposed to be. Even I, who focused on the sea, knew of her. One of the five greatest land oracles. Yet, despite her… mummification… she was holding the power of… of the green mist? Like the mist of the actual location of Delphi?
I swallowed but straightened to ask my question. They didn't exactly tell me what to ask, so I asked the most obvious question.
"How do I find the stolen items?"
The mist swirled thickly, collecting in front of me as- my breath caught. My merfriends formed from the mist.
Rosa's mouth opened, and xey spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: You shall go west and face the God who has turned.
Elei looked at me solemnly as she spoke, her sword in hand: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.
Samoa smiled gently, pityingly: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
Masina gave me a sorry look: You shall choose to leave what matters most in the end.
Lagi continued the prophecy solemnly: A gift that was given, a life that is saved.
Finally, Fetu delivered the final line: Returning home, the sea enraged.
I listened wide-eyed. What…
The mist retreated before I could say anything, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy.
"Wait!" I called, "What does that mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"
I didn't know why I bothered really, I knew Oracles could give no more than what they gave you.
And indeed, the Oracle sat silently. The only mist that remained coiled around her feet, highlighting the iron wolf by her side.
I grimaced but turned away. This prophecy didn't sound very good. What could enrage the sea? And was it me returning home? Home as in mom's apartment? Or home as in the sea? Would the sea be angry that I was going to it? I didn't understand.
But my audience with the Oracle was over.
OO OO OO OO
"Well?" Khiron asked me when I returned.
I slumped into a chair, noting the smell of olive oil and the feeling of crinkling paper. Annabeth was here.
"She said I would retrieve what was stolen."
Grover beamed, "That's great!"
"What was the exact wording Percy?" Khiron pressed, "This is important."
I sighed, "She said I would go west and face the god who has turned. That I would retrieve what was stolen, and see it safely returned."
"I knew it!" Grover said.
Khiron frowned, "Is that all? Most of her prophecies are longer."
I only considered telling him for a moment. He wasn't trustworthy and didn't share information with me, why should I share with him?
"That was all." I murmured. "I guess it's pretty straightforward."
Khiron pursed his lips, studying my face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: The Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."
He definitely knew I was holding something back, but he didn't push so I didn't elaborate
"The prophecy supports my belief that Hades is the thief. There is no other God traditionally in the west."
It didn't sound right to me but… I thought of my mother, burning shadows, probably an underworld deity. Probably Hades. And who else could curse an oracle? Especially that Oracle.
Grover interrupted, "But Hades… I mean I know it fits but of all the Gods…" He looked like he was trying to reason his way out, hoping it wasn't Hades.
"An Erinyes came after Percy," Khiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Erinyes obey only one lord: Hades."
"Yeah… but Hades hates all heroes!"
Did he? I didn't remember hearing about that, but the underworld wasn't my thing.
Khiron continued, "A hellhound got into the forest, and those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment. Hades must have a spy, and he must suspect Poseidon will use Percy to try and clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill Percy before he could take the quest."
"Yay," I muttered. "Not even two weeks at camp and I have two God Kings wanting me dead."
Maybe I could just go to Triton instead of dealing with this.
"Couldn't we go to Maine instead?" Grover mumbled.
"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Khiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing that Zeus would accuse Poseidon. I cannot pretend to understand His motives perfectly, or why He chose now to start a war, but Percy must go to the Underworld, retrieve the bolt, and reveal the truth."
I didn't want to do this.
I took a deep breath. I didn't want to do this, and the prophecy made it clear this was gonna be kinda bad. Triton would kill me if he knew I was doing this but…
My mom was in the underworld and I needed to talk to Hades to clear things up. And there was a war coming.
I was a prince of the sea, I had a responsibility to the beings that lived there. War would be bad, I needed to stop it. Not for Poseidon, for everyone else.
I nodded. This wouldn't be easy, and I wasn't looking forward to it, but Hades was a fair God from what I remembered. If I had a chance to plead my case then perhaps He would hear me out. The prophecy said we'd find the traitor God that way anyways so it wasn't like I wouldn't be completing the quest.
I had a feeling they were intending Grover to come with me and… I did sorta promise to myself I would bring him on a quest. He was terrified but also clearly determined.
I nodded slowly and cleared my throat. "Okay, so just to clarify everything."
Khiron nodded.
"I need to go to the Underworld and talk to the Lord of the Dead."
"Check," Khiron said.
"Find the most powerful weapon of the Gods."
"Check."
"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, which is in ten days."
"That's about right."
Grover looked like he wanted to do literally anything else. "Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" He asked weakly.
"You don't have to come," I said seriously. "I can't ask you to do this."
"No…" He said, shifting, "It's just that, well, satyrs and underground places… well…"
He took a deep breath, "You saved my life, Percy. If… if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down.
I mean it wasn't like I asked him to come. But… oh well. I nodded to him.
"So, where is the entrance to the Underworld?" I asked as I turned back to Khiron.
"It is always in the west, moving from age to age like Olympus. It is also in America, of course."
Did I need to make him spell it out? The location of the Underworld was not a part of my lessons.
"Where?"
Khiron blinked, surprise crossing his face. "I thought that would be obvious, it's in Los Angeles."
Naturally, I thought, where else.
"So, we take a bus? Train?"
I definitely couldn't take a plane, not with Zeus so angry with me. He'd probably strike me down before we could leave the landing strip.
"A bus. Now then, two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."
Three guesses to who, and the first two don't count.
"Gee, I wonder who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this."
The air behind Khiron shimmered as the olive oil taste vanished once more.
Annabeth became visible and stuffed her Yankees cap into her back pocket.
"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed Brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."
"If you say so yourself I suppose," I said, "Though this isn't your quest, it's mine. And I don't know what our parents have to do with anything, Wise Girl."
Her cheeks colored, "Do you want my help or not?"
I took a long moment to consider.
Silena would be a big help I thought, she had the same voice as those with the Siren's Song. But I knew she didn't like to fight, and we would probably have to fight. She might've been capable, but she'd be reluctant.
Katie or Miranda would be big helps too, both were good with plants. But… we were going to the Underworld and I already had Grover who was also good with plants.
No one else at camp would really talk to me except Luke but he didn't seem like he wanted to go on a quest again, not after what happened last time.
I sighed, "A trio then. I suppose that'll work." I was a bit limited in my options.
"Excellent," Khiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that you're on your own."
Lightning flashed, rain pouring in the magic no-bad-weather meadow.
"No time to waste," Khiron said. "I think you should all get packing."
OO OO OO OO
Amphitrite POV
I drifted in front of Poseidon, my auherea, hetai, hereaik husband. He was also a teamane .
"What's this about you having a child?"
Triton was drifting closer with a message from the Wero family. Interesting, I didn't know they were in communication.
He winced, "'Trite, taiai-"
"Don't taiai me, you made an agreement with me. When you have children with others, you tell me."
He nodded, "And I meant to this time, I did, but-"
"But you broke your oath!" That moni, didn't he understand the issues?
"Yes! And I needed to protect him, I needed to keep him hidden . I couldn't allow Zeus to hear of him."
"You needed to protect him?" I hissed, "Not telling us does the opposite! How is he to be taught? Did you at least send someone to teach him? Even if you didn't tell them who he was? And what about the war that's building? Have you considered that?"
Poseidon shook his head, "No, I couldn't risk them figuring it out. A teacher would've been recognized as such, and he already has the family look, I couldn't put him at risk like that. And the war was already building, his existence might have made things slightly worse but-"
I flicked my tail sharply. My lialia husband.
"But nothing. Now that ufanto child of yours is at even greater risk. He doesn't know how to use his powers, he doesn't know our culture, and he has no backing. It's a shame to you to have such an uneducated child, and a shame to our kingdom for one of the princes to know nothing of his own people."
He winced, but held firm. "I couldn't risk him becoming known, I couldn't risk his life."
"Do you have so little trust in me? So little trust in Triton? We have never targeted your children before, even if it displeased us."
He flicked forward with a jerk, "Of course not my taiai, I have full faith in you. I simply feared for him, I needed to keep him unknown to all until he was strong enough to defend himself. I couldn't risk him being harmed. I didn't even dare check in with him beyond the first few days of his birth to prevent any from noticing my interest in him. Even Delphinus wasn't informed."
"Well," we both turned to look at Triton, who was smirking. "If it makes you feel better, half the sea already knew him, even if they didn't know who he was."
I blinked, what?
Poseidon cleared his throat, his eyes narrowed, "What?"
Triton raised an eyebrow, looking very smug, "I met Persi when he was eight and took over his education. He found out that he had powers a few months before I met him, the river Gods were well acquainted with him by the time I showed up."
I stared, slowly registering. "So… You've known about the child."
He shrugged, "Of course I've known about my little brother. Persi is quite strong, did you know? He's very good at purification magic and has started learning Siren's Song."
I took a slow breath, he knew about the kid for the last… how old was the boy now? Whatever, a few years probably, and said nothing!?
"Why didn't you say anything!?" Poseidon asked with a tight voice and tense motion, "You haven't brought him to anything? No one actually knows about him , right? No other Gods learned of his parentage-"
Triton rolled his eyes, "I brought him to some introduction events and let him hang out with the friends he made. And they didn't know before who he was, but they certainly do now. Anyways, I figured you would know Metua, you normally keep an eye on your children until you consider them old enough to take care of themselves."
I considered it carefully, Triton was right of course, Poseidon was normally very careful about ensuring his children's safety, at least until they're older. But this time… this time he'd turned away from the child entirely. It was a good thing that Triton got involved or we would have an even bigger problem.
"Triton– There's no way your actions were unknown to other Gods. I kept away from him, kept the sea away from him, for a reason. Everyone knows I watch my children closely- this could be why he's being accused!"
"You think I wasn't careful? No one knew who his dad was, they just assumed that he was some princeling from the northern seas, you know how private they are up there."
"Why would they assume that!?"
"Because that's what I led them to believe!"
"Why don't we go back to the part where you didn't tell us anything, Poseidon?" I said, turning the attention back on him. We could question Triton about this Persi more later and ask why he thought it was a good idea to mislead his subjects in such a way, because that was going to be a whole 'nother mess.
I wasn't ready to touch on the possibility that this was why Poseidon was accused yet.
"I've told you my reasons, it was to keep him safe." He shot a sharp look at Triton. "Even if my wishes to keep him safe weren't respected."
"Now look here Metu-"
"Enough. What's done is done," I shot them both a sharp look. "Now we must deal with the aftermath. Zeus is threatening war because we're being accused of a theft we did not do, and since someone didn't tell us about Persi, the sea was unprepared to deal with the aftermath, or to keep him hidden entirely. We did not make the announcement that we normally would about him, and most of the sea will not side by an unknown."
"He's not unknown though," Triton pointed out. "I've been teaching him, he's friends with Elei of the Wero family, and Fetu and Lagi of the Faumuina family and even Masina of the Leota family. He's got support, all three of those families have a lot of influence, at least around here, and the Faumuina family beyond as well. Plus he's friends with Samoa Tumata and while she's not as influential, she's still got power. Not to mention his friendship with Rosa Keahi who's going to have a lot of influence soon."
I nodded, that's true. The Faumuina family especially. They were a very powerful family, with connections to the eastern seas that were hard to come by. It was very good for us that Poseidon's ufanto child befriended them. But all the same…
"That does not mean the sea would be willing to go to war for him if it comes to it. They befriended him without all the information."
"Based on the numerous letters, I'd say they would fight for him," he said.
"Plus, he's a child," Poseidon implored. "Surely he would be defended."
"I am not the one who didn't tell his subjects of the birth of another prince. It is not on Triton, he simply followed your example, however foolish of him that was. It is good that they care regardless, but this is a disaster of epic proportions, Poseidon. How do you plan on making it up to our people?"
He sighed, drifting down, "I'm not sure."
I nodded, I thought as much. "Then we need to figure out what to do. Triton's actions have salvaged the situation some. Had he not done so we would've had a much bigger problem."
Triton straightened, a smirk on his face.
"On the other hand," I shot him a look. "Not telling us about him was idiotic as well. And introducing him without his rank and under false pretenses could cause a rift between different factions. We'll have a lot of work to do to handle this mess."
He shrugged, though did appear chided.
"He also might have drawn attention to Perseus," Poseidon added. "When Zeus and I spoke on Olympos before the accusations… he implied he knew something I wanted hidden. With this new context- it's possible he meant Perseus."
I inclined my head, reluctantly agreeing to that point. If Zeus had learned about Persi prior to the theft– well it made more sense why he would accuse us.
Zeus had never hidden his daughter after all.
"Now then-"
A soft hiss interrupted us, and I turned to look.
My heart sank, oh no, what happened now that father was sending his messenger Fídi to us.
The snake slipped through the water to wind around Poseidon's trident, as if it wasn't an immortal weapon of immense power.
"I come bearing a messsssage."
Well, that's what they were usually here for.
"And what message might that be?" Poseidon said stiffly. Leaning away from the highly venomous deadly snake that could make even immortals ill.
"The great Lord Okeanusss wissshesss to meet with you sssssoon."
"How soon is soon?" I said, flicking forward.
Fídi twisted to face me, "As ssssoon as posssssible."
Poseidon grimaced and looked at me.
Triton shrugged at our looks, "I'm available for the next few days."
I sighed, "Very well, then would tonight or tomorrow work?"
"Tomorrow."
With that done Fídi unwound and slipped off, slinking through the window once more.
"I hate that snake," Poseidon murmured.
Be nice," I chided. "Let's just hope He doesn't want to talk about your child as well. That's the last thing we need."
"So, what will we be doing?" Triton asked mildly. "About Persi?"
I sighed, "We will have to figure that out now, won't we."