It didn't take me long to pack.
Carl wished me luck as I gathered what I needed, then gave some extra quest advice. Stuff like "avoid spas" and "pack an extra toothbrush" and "double check your weapons" and "watch out for people offering help cause there's always a catch".
I found that a bit strange. Obviously there would be trades for assistance, that was just business. Triton would help me without that, he was my friend (brother), and Lord D had been nice (mostly). Most sea Gods would help others if it was beneficial to them. I wasn't sure why I was warned not to take the Gods' assistance.
If I could have Triton's aid right now…
I stared at the rainbow stone longingly. I wanted to call Triton but I didn't know if that would make things worse. He said to wait.
I left the rainbow stone where it was and shoved my medical kit into the bottom of my bag then added any of the other things I had that could be useful. The armor, a few changes of clothes, the storm calming stone, and my ocarina. I strapped my knife to my side and hooked my waterskin over my shoulder.
I was pretty sure that was all I needed by that point, so I headed off to the Aphrodite cabin.
I informed them of my quest, but apparently they'd already heard of it. Silena agreed to feed Carl while I was gone, so he would be okay.
I was about to leave when Mitchell stepped forward with a braided hair tie held in his hand, a dove charm hung off the end.
"For good luck," he explained. "The Aphrodite cabin stands with you."
Silena tied my hair up again, using the new hair tie. She gave me a hug and made me promise to come back safely while Lacy wished me luck and Drew told me not to mess up.
I beamed, feeling warm. They'd quickly become like family to me and it meant so much that they were supporting me like this. It made me more determined, I would succeed, for them, for my mom, for all of the people of the sea.
I had to leave but I gave Drew and Silena one more hug first. Then I headed off to the Demeter cabin.
Katie tugged me in when I arrived and the cabin quickly checked to make sure I was ready for my quest.
Apparently Katie heard about it through the grapevine so the cabin was all set for it. News spread fast at camp.
Miranda was the one to hand me a good luck charm for the quest, a carved pine pendant shaped like a scallop shell. Unlike the one from Aphrodite, this one had a carving on it in Ancient Greek.
Take care, Take heart, Take honor, and your journey shall give you success.
It felt like sunshine and safety and brought me comfort as I slipped it over my head.
Imani stepped forward with three seed packets (that tasted like warm bread), a determined look in her eyes as she explained what they were.
Katie, Darius, and Suki had apparently worked together to make the packets. They'd been experimenting with making seeds that had enhanced growth so it took less energy for them to summon plants and these were the results.
There were three, one set of trumpet vine (which grew the fastest and tangled like crazy), one set of Manchineel (don't touch those trees if you want to live, they're super dangerous), and one set of hogweed (don't touch those if it was daytime because that would end badly).
All three sets would grow quickly as long as there was sunlight and moisture.
It was amazing! The seeds seemed really useful. And it was super sweet of the cabin to give me them.
I hugged Katie and thanked all of them profusely, but then I had to leave. I had two more stops to make before I reached the hill.
Hestia smiled softly at me when I reached Her hearth.
"I have a quest now," I said. "Thank you for granting me shelter at your hearth."
"You're always welcome to sit with me, Perseus Jackson. Good luck on your quest and remember the hearth is within you. Hypíaine."
I twisted my hand in a sign of thanks and turned away.
The camp store lent me one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty drachmas. It was a good thing I had my stash of money in my bag 'cause the money from the camp was barely any. I'd probably have to supplement it with my own money (though I didn't want to).
We also received a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies. It was Godly food and could be lethal in high amounts.
I found Annabeth and Grover near the base of the hill.
Annabeth was holding her magic Yankees hat, a twelfth-birthday gift from her mom, and a book on famous classical architecture. I could see her bronze knife tucked under her long sleeve.
She was also wearing a bracelet that wasn't there before, words carved in Ancient Greek on it though I couldn't make out what they said.
Grover waved as I joined them, wearing his fake feet and pants and holding his forearm crutches so he could pass as human. He had a cap on his head and a bright orange backpack filled with scrap metal and apples (and apparently most of our food supply). Around his neck hung his reed pipes, his daddy goat (who he'd never met but left them for him) carved them for him.
Grover knew a variety of songs that would let him do magic, he'd learned a lot during music club this year. I agreed that he definitely learned a lot, he was way better now than he used to be.
Khiron was waiting for us at the top of the hill in his wheelchair. Next to him was Argus, the guy with loads of eyes.
"This is Argus," Khiron told me unhelpfully, "He'll drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."
I heard footsteps behind us and turned to see Luke running up.
He held something in his hands.
"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."
Annabeth blushed, as usual for being around Luke.
"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told me as he approached, the shifting sands made their appearance again. Why did he feel like that Titan from my dreams? "And I thought… um, maybe you could use these."
He handed me the shoes, which despite looking normal had a strange mixture of sensations on them. Tickling feathers, incense taste, itching curse, shifting sands. They were enchanted? Cursed? Some weird combination like the tree that was Thalia? Something else entirely?
I hated not knowing what my senses meant, it was so confusing how the same sensation seemed to have multiple meanings.
Luke said, " Maia! "
White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling me so much I dropped them. Knowing they were magic and having them sprout wings were definitely two different things.
But flying shoes were very cool.
"Awesome!" Grover said.
Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days…" His expression turned sad.
I flushed, this was super nice of him. He was going out of his way to help us and even gave me an incredibly valuable gift.
It was really cool of him.
"Hey, um… Thanks."
"Listen, Percy…" Luke looked uncomfortable, "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just… kill some monsters for me, okay?"
I nodded, we shook hands, he patted Grover on the head, and gave a goodbye hug to Annabeth.
"You're hyperventilating," I said helpfully when Luke was gone, "You should try to count your breaths—"
"I am not," she snapped before she turned and headed down to the SUV.
I shrugged and picked the shoes back up again.
Something occurred to me.
"I won't be able to use these. They go in the sky."
Khiron nodded, "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air… that would not be wise for you."
I nodded, not surprised but a bit disappointed.
I didn't need flying shoes, I had my gifts from the sea so I'd be fine. But… they were really cool and a gift. I didn't want to just let them go to waste.
Hmm...
"Hey, Grover. Do you want a magic item?"
His eyes lit up. "Me?"
I nodded and he beamed.
I helped him adjust the shoes, putting in his Styrofoam inserts and lacing them up.
" Maia! " He shouted gleefully.
He got off the ground just fine, and promptly fell over as the winged shoes started dragging him off.
"Practice," Khiron called after him. "You just need practice."
"Aaaaaa!" Grover yelled in response as he was dragged to the van.
I started after him, grinning at the sight, but Khiron caught my arm, a familiar current drifting from him. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason—they all got more training."
"It's fine," I said. It wasn't like he was making me do this or anything.
Oh wait.
"What am I thinking?" Khiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this."
He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to me.
My eyes widened, it was the sword pen, I could tell immediately. That was what the current was, hidden beneath all the electricity over my skin.
"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were the one I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one."
My eye twitched.
He was the one that forced me to give it back to him before when I told him that it was mine. And why would my Metua give me a sword made of another being's essence? Were they dead? Did something else happen?
Triton told me that a sea being's essence was extremely valuable, it was basically their immortality. To give it a form like this was to compress their power into one state. Of course, it only really risked their immortality if they were a nymph or a naiad but still… For me to have this…
I could only assume the original owner must have passed. There was no way Poseidon would let another use it otherwise. I still wanted to talk to my Metua before I used it though, just in case.
I nodded to Khiron, clutching the sword that was a pen tightly. I wasn't going to thank him for giving me back something he took.
"It is named Anaklusmos. I believe you know it is the same sword as the one in the museum that you kept so long."
I pursed my lips.
"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into. It is to be used only for emergencies, and only against monsters." Khiron said, "No hero should harm a mortal unless absolutely necessary. Though of course… this sword wouldn't be able to harm a mortal anyways, not like your knife."
His gaze flicked to the knife at my side.
Abyssal Platinum was more than able to harm a mortal, unlike Celestial Bronze or Imperial Gold. Those were the only two immortal metals unable to affect mortals according to Triton. They were outliers, and used to be mixed with other metals for when battles were against mortals. In the modern day Triton said that they were used alone, so that mortals wouldn't be able to see them.
Khiron seemed wary of my knife, which was fair, I was careful about using it for a reason. Abyssal Platinum's was a magic metal afterall, and its power wasn't to be underestimated.
I nodded to Khiron again though, "I'll take care of Anaklusmos."
"You won't have to risk losing it," he reassured. "It will always reappear in your pocket."
I nodded, studying the feelings coming off of it. I would have to learn how to recognize the enchantments on things. Maybe Triton could help with that.
Khiron sighed, "I believe you know more than you've told us, but I will allow you to hold your secrets."
Good. Because I wouldn't have told you anyways.
"Stay safe Percy, I wish you the best of luck on this quest."
I swallowed, feeling the weight of the quest on my shoulders.
I was only twelve and I'd be leaving. No adults, no one that I really knew, no backup. I would be alone except for a girl that didn't like me and a satyr that lied to me for a year.
"I can do this," I mumbled to myself, tucking the sword away.
"Relax, Percy," Khiron told me. "Keep a clear head. And remember, you may be about to prevent the biggest war in human history."
So reassuring, thank you so much for that.
"Relaxed. Totally."
I started down the hill, only looking back when I reached the bottom.
The electricity on my skin was fading for the first time since I arrived at the camp. It was a relief.
Khiron stood beneath the oak tree that was Thalia. He was in full centaur form and held his bow high in a salute.
I turned back and got in the van.
OO OO OO OO
Argus drove us out of the country side and into western Long Island. It was actually kinda weird to be on the highway again after being in camp for two weeks. Annabeth and Grover were beside me and it was like a normal carpool.
If I hadn't grown up going back and forth between the sea and land then I probably would have found it even stranger.
I leaned back, watching the signs pass by for a bit.
My eye caught on Annabeth's bracelet as she flipped the page in her book.
"Is your bracelet from your cabin?" I asked Annabeth.
She shot me an annoyed look, "Yes, not that it's any of your business."
I sighed, "Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?"
"I don't hate you."
I raised an eyebrow, "Could've fooled me."
She closed her book. "Look… we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."
"Because of the Athens contest?"
That was one of the big ones. People in the sea were still bitter about that and the curse Metua put on Athens when he lost is still considered one of the Great Sea Curses.
Of course there was also the incident with Pallas...
"That's just one thing! But yeah your dad lost the contest with that dumb saltwater spring when my mom made an olive tree, then he cursed the city cause he's a sore loser. And that's not even mentioning the time your dad got with someone in my mom's temple."
"Okay the temple thing is Roman, like what are we Italians?" I demanded. "And what about the time your mom killed Triton's daughter?"
Metua had his share of conflicts with Athena, but not all of them were on him . Athena gave as good as she got. I might not have known the full story of Pallas' death, but the entire sea knew that Athena was the one who killed her.
Annabeth scowled and I felt Grover cringing away from us.
I took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. This wasn't the time to debate our family history, we had a quest to focus on.
We didn't need to hold up our parents grudges either, that was… that wasn't our battle.
Annabeth opened her mouth, ready to respond, but I cut her off.
"And- and though our parents have grudges, we didn't cause those problems. We don't have to uphold their grudges between us."
She closed her mouth and turned away, a frown on her face.
Grover studied the seat in front of him, humming softly as it started raining.
The rest of the ride was quiet and I spent the time watching the buildings pass and fiddling with my bracelet. Part of my mind lingered on the conflict between Athena and Poseidon.
Argus dropped us off at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, not far from my apartment… or my old one I guess. Taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with my picture on it: HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY?
I ripped it down before Annabeth or Grover could see.
Argus unloaded our bags from the back and I slung my bag on my back over my waterskin. He made sure we also grabbed bus tickets and then left.
Well, not much adult supervision.
I glanced down the street, towards my old apartment. We were less than three blocks away.
If it were a normal day mom would be there, work would be over and we would have a nice dinner and-
Gabe would be there too mind you, but if dealing with him meant having my mom back...
I felt a flash of rage, Gabe probably didn't even care. Of course, he didn't, he'd never cared.
I hated him.
"You wanna know why she married him, Percy?" Grover asked, looking down the street in the same direction as me as he shouldered his backpack.
I stared at him, how did he… oh yeah, Triton said he could read emotions. Forgot about that. "Reading my emotions?"
He nodded, "You were thinking about you mom and stepdad, right?"
I nodded.
"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told me. "You call him smelly, but you have no idea. The guy has this aura, yuck. I can smell him from here. I could smell him on you almost the entire first semester of Yancy, and again almost the entire second semester. The scent is still clinging to you a bit now from you going home."
I blinked, that… explained a lot.
My mom stayed with that horrible nasty excuse of a human for me… no wonder I was so hidden. Any Godly scent that wasn't covered by my inherent protection or my youth would be covered by his disgusting scent.
On the other hand, "Where's the nearest shower?" I didn't want to smell anything like him.
"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, 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."
I frowned, it didn't and it was also inaccurate.
Not entirely, but they seemed to not understand how protection for demigods work. Sure the scent of him might throw them off, but it wasn't just the scent.
"Grover, that's not… it's not just scent."
He frowned at me, "What?"
Annabeth was watching me too now.
I pursed my lips.
"There's… there's a protection, it's inherent in all children, especially Half-Blood children. It has some to do with scent sure, but that's not the majority of it. I've never really been attacked by terrors before this year, even though I've seen multiple, and had at least one as a teacher before Ms. Dodds."
Annabeth frowned, "That doesn't make sense, if they got close enough for you to see them then they should've caught your scent."
"That's what, ugh," I ran a hand through my blue hair, ignoring the looks some people were giving me. "That's what I'm saying. Children are safe , terrors can't- they can't target children. Until you're like… four? I think? I don't know- but there's an automatic protection that being an infant gives you against targeted attacks. And then like- you're protected further if you're a 'kid'."
"Of course, you would be!" Annabeth cried, "You're four!"
I nodded. "Right but do the ones responsible for you consider you such, your parents, mortal or immortal. Do they see you as a child? As someone that relies on them? Do they wish to protect you and see you as needing that protection?"
She blinked.
"It's really complicated, and I don't understand all of it, but you're basically safe if your parents, or guardians, consider you a child. Or well- if they… if they offer you the protection of being their kid? Your parents' protection shields you. So yeah, Gabe's nasty scent may have helped, but it's mainly the fact that mom wanted to protect me and did everything she could to do so. The Minotaur might have charged me when it first came, but it only outright attacked when my mom… vanished."
They both stared.
"Wait," Grover said. "Then how did it find you?"
I pursed my lips, "My best guess? It was following you."
His eyes widened.
"It couldn't attack me directly, or be ordered after me directly, but if it's ordered after someone with me, and I just happen to be in the way? That's free game."
He looked horrified.
"If it wasn't you, it would've been my mom probably. Regardless, Gabe isn't the reason I was hidden that long. It's my mom."
Annabeth seemed to be thinking hard as I started walking in and led our group to wait near where the bus would pull up.
"So…" she said. "Where did you learn this?"
"My brother."
Grover choked, and Annabeth recoiled.
"Poseidon has another child!?"
I blinked, "uh… yeah?" He has quite a few.
"Where is he? How old is he? Oh, this is bad!" Annabeth started pacing.
I idly rubbed my arms as a faint itch crawled over my skin.
"Um, you already know about him? I dunno, he's a few thousand years old? I assume he's in the ocean?"
She blinked at me, "What."
"Um, my brother Triton?"
There was a long beat of silence, "Triton… the God of the tides… taught you…"
"Well… yeah. Though I didn't know he was my brother till I was claimed last week."
I watched as both of them seemed to struggle to wrap their minds around that.
"Oh look," I said as the bus pulled up. "Our bus is here."
We stood in line to board, the two still trying to process the fact that I knew Triton. I didn't get why they found it so strange. He was my brother, and he watched out for me. Wasn't that normal?
My arms started itching more and I rubbed them. Was that from Grover's shoes? Or something else?
I glanced at Grover, but he just looked confused and worried.
I rubbed my arms as the itching got worse, frowning as a faint buzz nudged me.
It was our turn to board the bus. We went all the way to the back and I kept my backpack in my lap. I'd packed a few scrolls to review during the bus ride on the quest and I wanted to look over one of the healing scrolls. The other two stowed their bags away and I tried to ignore the itching buzz. What was that? Was it getting stronger?
I was just digging through my bag to find the scroll when Annabeth clamped her hand on my knee. "Percy."
I looked up and froze.
Oh, that was what the itching buzz was. I'd forgotten- it'd been months since I felt that-
An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face. She also carried a big paisley purse, just looking at it made my head buzz. She tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered.
Ms. Dodds.
I shoved at the buzzing, like how I had on the one person I freed from it at Yancy. I caught a glimpse of leathery black, then the old lady was back, along with the buzzing.
I sunk down in my seat and closed my bag again right as two more old ladies came on: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat.
Triplet demon grandmothers, yay.
They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. Casual enough that no one would think twice about it, but it sent a clear message to us: nobody leaves.
The bus pulled away right then and I grimaced. Not even out of the city before being attacked. I didn't expect that, surely Hades would want us to reach Him? Or did He not know that we were headed towards Him?
"She's back already," Annabeth hissed.
"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Μα τούς θεούς! "
I blinked, oh yeah. I knew that Ms. Dodds was back 'cause of the dream but… they didn't. Was it not normal for them to be back so fast? Triton never covered them coming back to life.
"It's okay," Annabeth muttered, "No problem, none at all. We can… um..."
"Right, it's okay," I said. "They can't really attack us in front of all these people, can they?"
No monster attack on me had been in front of people, the monsters always led me away from people to attack me.
"Mortals don't have good eyes, their brains can only process what they see through the mist."
I frowned, the mist. Khiron mentioned that once. Was it whatever keeps everyone from seeing things? I wished there was some sort of orientation book. Hadn't Khiron mentioned an orientation film?
"This isn't a problem," Annabeth added quickly. "We can just… we can just slip out the windows."
"They don't open," Grover moaned.
I pulled my backpack onto my back, opening my waterskin.
"A back exit?" she suggested.
"There isn't one," I said with a quick glance behind us.
"Maybe we can take an emergency exit on the roof?"
We hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It had gone strangely quiet without the rain.
I stared at the roof for a second and then turned to Annabeth who was gritting her teeth.
Ms. Dodds and her siblings stood. Ms. Dodds spoke in a flat voice to the whole bus: "I need to use the restroom."
"So do I," said the second sister.
"So do I," said the third sister.
They all started coming down the aisle as if that didn't sound majorly suspicious.
"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy take my hat."
"What?"
"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and escape."
"But—"
"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your scent might be overpowering."
I frowned, I doubted it. If Annabeth was in danger as many years as she seems to have been, then she'd have the stronger scent. Triton was still protecting me after all, even if it wasn't much, his protection still meant something compared to Annabeth who had nothing.
"I can't leave you."
"Don't worry about us," Grover insisted. "Go!"
I bit my lip, but took the cap and put it on. It was a weird feeling to be draped in the invisibility, like olive oil over my skin. Everything I had on me also turned invisible. I wondered how that worked but forced myself to focus on the situation.
I started creeping up the aisle and managed to get up ten rows before I had to duck into an empty seat to avoid the Erinyes walking past.
Ms. Dodds faltered for a moment and sniffed the air, but she shook her head, apparently not smelling anything. Did the olive oil feel also smell of olive oil to terrors?
I was free. I made it to the front and was about to hit the emergency stop button when I felt the buzzing… twist oddly. Like it had simultaneously disappeared and also multiplied. I heard hideous wailing from the back.
I spun around to see that the Erinyes had revealed their true form. Their bags changed to fiery whips, their bodies shriveled to leathery brown hag bodies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws, their eyes blazed like hell fire and were clear even from where I stood.
The Erinyes surrounded Grover and Annabeth. They lashed their whips and hissed: "Where is it? Where?"
Ha! They were looking for an item! I knew Hades had something stolen.
The other people on the bus were screaming, some fled towards the front of the bus but most cowered in their seats. They could see something all right.
"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"
I flicked my wrist as I opened my waterskin and shaped the water to form a rope of spiraling water.
The Erinyes raised their whips.
Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.
I snapped my water out, letting it whirl through the air to coat Ms. Dodds whip, then pulled.
She shrieked, stumbling back.
"What's going on back there?" Called the bus driver, trying to look back without looking away from the road.
The bus was driving a little crazier now.
"Who!?" Ms. Dodds cried.
I hardened the water and froze it along with the whip, then shattered it. The whip fell to pieces in the ice.
She spun around as I pulled the hat off.
"Hello!" I called, which was probably the cause of the bus driver screaming and yanking the wheel. We almost crashed and I just barely managed to stay standing by freezing my feet to the ground.
The Erinyes snarled as they tumbled over themselves thanks to the driver's panicked driving.
We came out of the tunnel a second later and the driver aimed for an exit immediately.
"What is going on!" He cried, turning to gape at the situation, now we were headed right for the river.
I slammed my hand on the emergency stop button.
The Erinyes had been stumbling to their feet, finally adjusted to the driver's horrible driving (he should retake the licensing exam) but now they crashed into the windows, sprawled helplessly.
The bus spun to a stop, and by that I meant it crashed into some trees, but it stopped. The emergency lights came on and everyone fled, the bus driver was the first off.
Ms. Dodds and her siblings finally got their footing and Ms. Dodds stalked towards me. The other two Erinyes leapt onto the tops of the seats and started crawling towards me.
"Perseus Jackson," Ms. Dodds said, in an accent from the south. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."
I blinked, "But don't you only serve Lord Hades? Why would it matter if I offended other gods?"
She snarled, "We are the enforcers-"
"Also I'm glad you didn't like die, die. Would've probably been bad since you have an important job, I think. I'm not an expert on the Underworld."
She stared blankly.
"Were you looking for something? You made a comment before and just now too…"
Her gaze hardened. Okay so I shouldn't bring up missing items in the future, got it.
"Submit now," she snapped. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."
I raised my hands, "Sorry, I still don't know what I did."
Annabeth tackled Ms. Dodds from behind. I supposed that my diplomacy attempt wasn't going great anyways.
She stabbed Ms. Dodds in the neck with her knife as Ms. Dodds cried out in fury (heh heh) and exploded into dust.
I summoned my trident and raised my other hand to pull more water from my waterskin. I swiped my hand to freeze it into a dozen ice shards and sent them flying at one Erinyes as I lunged for the other with my trident.
Grover leapt forward and ripped the whip from the ice shard one but the one I attacked snapped her whip around my trident.
She yanked and I shoved. My arms strained and I managed to shove the trident forward, into her shoulder.
She shrieked as she fell back, landing neatly on Annabeth's knife as she came to support me. The Erinyes exploded into dust.
Grover tied the final Erinyes' legs up in its whip.
She snarled as she laid on the floor.
"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"
" Αφήστε τους να δοκιμάσουν! " I snapped back, getting really annoyed with these nonsense accusations.
Annabeth drove her knife through the final Erinyes' neck.
Thunder shook the bus, electricity scorched my skin in a dangerously familiar way.
"Get out!" I called.
"Now!" Annabeth cried, grabbing Grover's arm.
We rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze. Quite a few were running around in circles yelling, "We're gonna die!" I twisted the trident back into its charm just as a flash went off from a tourist's camera.
"Our bags! Grover realized. "We left our—"
BOOOOOM !
The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof. My ears rang and my skin was blazing.
"We need to get out of here!" Annabeth cried. "That definitely attracted attention. Let's go!"
She grabbed our arms and I hissed in pain as she tugged us into the woods. The sky above us opened and rain poured down to add to the mood.
It was a small mercy on my skin.
OO OO OO OO
Triton POV
We settled into the dining area of Okeanus's palace, it wasn't often we went to his actual palace to meet him.
We usually just met up during festivals, and official meals at each other's palace were always a bit tense.
He hadn't shown up yet, nor had Tethys. So we were stuck sitting, Metu and I taking care to avoid Mevu's eyes.
I was still annoyed that Mevu lectured me over Persi. I hadn't expected that. Apparently, I should've informed her so that she could figure out how to deal with the situation.
I huffed. I didn't know why she was upset with me, Metu was the one that told no one about his kid.
I just made sure Persi was safe and raised properly.
Metu was preparing to deal with the backlash, getting the different sea kingdoms to hear us out as to why Metu told no one and all that.
Metu was in trouble, I couldn't help being smug about that, even if I was in trouble too. That bit was entirely unfair.
I jolted out of my thoughts when Okeanus swept in, Tethys with him. They settled comfortably in their spots at the ends of the table and the food appeared.
Okeanus watched us with a gleam in his eyes as we exchanged polite greetings. He started up a conversation with Mevu on the ever-present argument between Nammu, ruler of Arabian sea, and Nanmu, ruler of the earth and trees of the area around the Black Sea.
Apparently, Tefnut, ruler of the Red sea, sent them both letters and mixed up their names. The two were pissed off again. They always got pissed off when people mixed them up.
I shook my head, Tefnut definitely did that on purpose. She delighted in causing trouble between them. Not that I could truly blame her, their reactions were always spectacular.
It looked like the next meeting with them would be interesting at least.
Dinner continued with Okeanus and Mevu conversing. Metu chimed in on occasion but was primarily focused on watching our surroundings. He was always rather tense when in Okeanus' territory.
Tethys started up a conversation with me about how the most recent pollution counter-policies were working. Which was not well unfortunately. We discussed what we could do to improve them, something we'd been working a lot on due to the oil spills. The Deepwater Horizon one was unfortunately not alone and though most of our focus was on that one, there were multiple other smaller ones that we still had to handle in the meantime.
Dinner went by fast.
When we finished, Okeanus led us to one of his sitting rooms and we settled in with taipanu.
"Now then, to the reason I asked to meet with you."
Poseidon nodded, "Yes. Fídi made it sound important. What seems to be the issue?"
Okeanus smiled, "I would like to adopt your son."