The Voice That Froze the Sea
Not many minutes had passed since Luke and his people left when Percy emerged from the forest, carefully weaving around the carnivorous sheep. His clothes were slightly torn from the fight with Polyphemus. He had minor wounds, nothing too serious, but several stains of blood covered his body.
As he stepped out from between the trees, his eyes widened in shock at the sight of his friends… and Clarisse… lying on the ground.
"Guys!" Percy shouted as he ran toward Tyson and Grover.
He quickly realized both of them were unconscious, with light injuries. But Clarisse was the one who truly seemed in danger.
Percy's eyes sharpened with alarm as he began using healing magic without wasting a second.
"He has Annabeth… and the Fleece…" Clarisse whispered weakly, her eyes struggling to stay open. "He took them…"
"Who? Who took her?" Percy demanded instantly, not stopping the healing.
"Luke…" Clarisse murmured, fighting to remain conscious.
At the sound of that name, Percy's expression changed for a moment. It turned dangerous.
He quickly pulled potions from his bag and poured them into Clarisse's mouth while examining the wound. Even with his magic, stopping the bleeding before she died seemed nearly impossible. Neither potions nor sacred food would be enough.
Percy looked at her for a brief second. She was getting paler by the moment.
Without something like the Fleece… she would die.
"Clarisse. Listen to me," Percy said, his voice steady and firm.
She barely shifted her gaze toward him. Her breathing was slowing.
"This is going to hurt. A lot."
Percy grabbed Clarisse's spear from where it lay beside her and aimed the blade toward the open wound.
Clarisse, as if she knew exactly what was coming, clenched her teeth.
Then the sound of sparks filled the air.
And a scream echoed across the entire island.
…
Meanwhile, on Luke's ship, which they had reached using a smaller boat to travel to the island, Luke paused and looked back toward the island, as if he had heard something.
"I don't understand why you didn't let me kill them right there. That would've been one less problem," Alison said, mild irritation in her voice. "We even had to bring that—"
She didn't finish the sentence, but the resentment in her tone toward Annabeth was obvious.
Luke glanced at her with faint contempt. He was about to respond, but before he could, he turned back toward the island.
Suddenly, a shout echoed from its center, from the direction where they had been moments earlier.
"WULD NA KEST."
Luke's eyes widened in surprise.
After those words rang out, he watched as trees seemed to be ripped from their roots, splitting apart in a straight line as though something invisible was tearing through the forest at inhuman speed.
A moment later, Percy appeared at the shore.
And he was staring directly at the ship.
With fury.
Percy inhaled deeply, drawing in a massive breath while holding Luke's gaze, and Luke did not look away.
"FO KRAH DIIN."
Alison and the others stared in shock as the sea before them began to freeze violently. Spikes of ice rose from the water, expanding outward with a deafening crack, threatening to destroy everything in their path.
Panic spread across the deck.
The ice stopped only a few meters from the ship, trapping it for a brief moment and preventing it from advancing. For a second, the massive yacht stood suspended in a sea turning to crystal.
But quickly, the hull began breaking through the thin layer that barely held it, and the ship continued moving away.
If it had been a few meters closer, escape would have been impossible.
Or maybe… Percy hadn't intended to freeze it completely.
After all, Annabeth was there.
The temperature dropped several degrees in seconds, chilling even the sweat on the skin of those staring toward the shore.
Toward the boy who had just done that.
"Because if you corner a predator… you might end up being bitten," Luke said with a faint smile.
Alison's eyes were still wide. For a brief moment, she glanced at Annabeth, realizing that if she hadn't been on that ship right now…
"Destroy their boat," Luke ordered, lifting Annabeth into his arms himself.
The Lotus Eaters nodded immediately. Spheres of fire were already forming in their hands as they began hurling them toward the Queen Anne's Revenge.
The ship almost immediately burst into flames. Explosions shook its structure, tearing it apart so it would never sail again.
From the shore, Percy watched the massive luxury yacht disappear into the distance with a truly furious expression.
Blood trailed down from the corner of his mouth.
He had used two Shouts in succession.
Without waiting for his throat to recover.
Every breath scraped like shards of glass against his throat.
…
Clarisse suddenly woke up, her eyes snapping open as she tried to sit up. A sharp pain in her stomach stopped her at once.
She pressed a hand there.
And saw a large burn surrounding the cut that had nearly taken her life.
"Again… I lost again," Clarisse said as she let her head fall back and stared at the sky, feeling as though her pride was worth nothing now. Maybe her father had been right. Maybe she was useless. Surely one of his precious favorite children would have done better.
And she had dared to despise him when she was nothing herself.
Before she could sink deeper into those thoughts, a voice spoke near her.
"You're awake."
It was Tyson. He was rubbing his jaw in pain while checking to make sure Grover was still breathing.
Clarisse looked at him for a moment before letting her head fall again.
"I lost again," she muttered to herself as heavy guilt settled over her chest.
Footsteps approached.
Clarisse tried to push herself up on instinct, but the pain stopped her. Tyson also tensed for a moment, but when he saw who it was, he relaxed.
"Percy," he said with a small smile.
The smile froze when he saw the look on his brother's face.
Percy gave him a slight nod. Then he tossed a piece of meat toward Clarisse along with several potions. After that, he walked over to Grover and placed a hand on his wounded shoulder, beginning to use healing magic. Unlike Tyson, whose skin was tougher, Grover's wound was still bleeding.
"What is this?" Clarisse asked as the meat landed beside her head. It looked like nothing more than roasted meat.
Percy didn't answer. He remained focused on Grover's injury.
Tyson spoke for him.
"It's meat the Master cooks. It can heal your body faster. Though it's better if you don't know what it's made of," Tyson said, casting quick glances toward Percy.
Clarisse looked at Percy for a moment, wanting to say something, but the words wouldn't come. If it could heal her, she wasn't going to waste it. Without hesitation, she began chewing the meat as if her life depended on it.
Then she grabbed the red potion that looked almost like blood. She didn't ask anything. She uncorked it and drank it in one swallow.
Almost immediately, warmth spread through her body, as if something were burning beneath her skin while her tissues began to mend. Even so, the wound in her stomach remained, a reminder that some injuries were not so easily erased.
Clarisse watched as Percy poured the same potion into Grover's mouth after finishing the spell. Then he stood and moved behind Tyson, placing his hands on him to begin healing him as well.
Without saying a single word.
"We have to go after Luke," Clarisse said after swallowing the last of the meat. She leaned on her spear to stand, her face tightening with pain the moment she moved.
Percy looked at her for a moment and shook his head.
There was a truly dangerous gleam in his eyes.
But there was something else there too.
"What do you mean no? And why aren't you talking?" Clarisse demanded immediately.
Percy stared at her. Then he looked at Tyson and made a simple gesture toward his mouth.
"Oh… you used the Voice. That makes sense," Tyson said, frowning briefly before nodding.
Percy made a few more hand gestures while Tyson followed.
"Percy says the boat was destroyed. We're trapped on the island," Tyson explained.
"What? Then we find another way. Are you giving up?" Clarisse shot back at once. Even injured, she couldn't bear the thought of staying there feeling like a loser who hadn't even scratched Luke.
Percy paused the healing for a second before lifting his gaze to her.
And that look didn't need translation.
The air seemed to grow heavy. Almost suffocating. As if a sleeping dragon had just awakened and was staring directly at her.
Clarisse felt a slight chill.
That look said everything.
Of course he wasn't giving up.
Of course he was going after Annabeth.
And of course he would destroy anything that stood in his way.
Even if they were former campers who only wanted revenge against parents who had never been there.
And just as Percy had once told Annabeth on Circe's island…
If he had to choose between Annabeth and the world, the world would burn.
He would make it burn if he had to.