An Unstable Alliance
"Alright, one more time," Sally said as she drove her car down the highway at high speed. She glanced to the side, where Percy sat with a slightly uncomfortable expression, staring ahead as if he didn't fully understand what was going on either. "Where are we going, and why?" she asked.
"Maine," Percy said.
"And we're going to rescue a friend of ours who went to find two demigods that might be in danger," Annabeth added calmly from the back seat.
"And she is…?" Sally asked, looking through the rearview mirror at the girl sitting beside Annabeth. She couldn't have been older than fifteen, with an unfriendly expression, the kind you'd expect from a punk girl straight out of the nineties.
"Thalia Grace, daughter of… Zeus," Thalia said, pausing for a moment with a slight scowl before finishing.
"She's also Percy's opponent in the tournament," Grover added from the other side, a bit squished against the car door.
"What tournament?" Sally asked, as Percy turned sharply to look at Grover.
"Yeah, Grover… what tournament?" he said, teeth clenching slightly.
"Oh. Well… uh…" Grover immediately realized he'd said something he shouldn't have.
"It's a competition created for the son of Poseidon and the daughter of Zeus," another boy said from the middle seat, shifting uncomfortably between Grover and Thalia as he adjusted his glasses and cleared his throat.
"And you are?" Sally asked again, looking at the other new addition in her car.
"Malcolm Pace, son of Athena. You could say I'm something like Annabeth's half-brother… and apparently your son's partner for this tournament," Malcolm added, glancing at Percy with a hint of exhaustion, as if he still hadn't fully accepted the fact that he'd somehow ended up teamed with Grover and Percy, technically against Olympus.
"Oh…" Sally said, seeming to piece things together as she gave her son a small, amused smile. "And why is everyone going to Maine?" she asked again.
"Because once we help Clarisse, we'll continue the competition from the same point," Percy said calmly, ignoring his mother's smile.
"Because we made a temporary alliance to complete this task before the third competitor does. If he wins this trial, things could get dangerous," Grover added again.
"And why is that?" Sally asked, frowning slightly.
Percy shot him another sharp look, making gestures at him.
Grover quickly apologized, covering his mouth with both hands as if that would stop him from saying anything else for the rest of the trip.
"Because he's not exactly well-liked at camp. No one wants him to win. Not even us. That's all," Percy said quickly, which wasn't entirely a lie, since Luke really wasn't liked at all in camp.
"Mmm…" Sally hummed, glancing at him from the side. Percy avoided her gaze, staring straight ahead. He wasn't exactly lying… but she could tell there was more he wasn't saying.
"And why am I here?" Sally asked one last time.
"Because Mr… the Camp Half-Blood driver can't go too far from camp, and using anything else would take too long. And since you were still nearby after dropping us off last time, we figured this would be faster," Percy said, a little embarrassed about asking his mom to drive them on what was essentially a rescue mission, like a group of kids heading out on some imaginary adventure… in a park.
Well, technically, they were kids heading out on an imaginary adventure… for some people.
"I see," Sally said, nodding as she more or less understood. Of course, she also knew Percy wasn't telling her everything. But she didn't press it, keeping her focus on the road as the car sped forward, knowing how important it was to get there quickly if someone was in danger.
"Sorry for taking up your time, ma'am… you probably should be enjoying yourself instead of driving a bunch of kids to another state," Thalia said respectfully, which Percy did not expect from her at all. The first time he saw her, she had thrown a lightning bolt at him at point-blank range, something that might've killed someone else. And the times after that… she wasn't exactly the definition of friendly.
"Oh, don't worry about it, dear. Normally I'd be at home cleaning up the mess of dangerous weapons Tyson and Percy's teacher leave all over the place while I study. But this time, they both went out to sea a few days ago, and I have no idea what they're up to, so I ended up with some free time to visit Montauk. I was already nearby. Though I did have to turn down an invitation from someone I study with at my writing seminar," Sally said casually, not making a big deal out of it.
But Percy frowned at several things she had just said.
"Wait… my teacher and Tyson went out to sea? They didn't say where they were going? And who invited you out?" he asked, staring at his mother.
Not sure what bothered him more, his teacher taking his half-brother somewhere without saying anything, or the fact that some guy had invited his mom out.
"Oh, they didn't say. I just saw them carrying a large number of swords, war axes, and maces somewhere, and then Miraak brought out a large ship, something very… Viking-like, and simply took Tyson with him and left. You know how he is," Sally said calmly, not seeming too concerned. After all, Miraak was an immortal being over four thousand years old; he knew how to take care of himself, and Tyson probably did too. "And about the other thing… his name is Paul. He's an English teacher. He's really kind, funny, and handsome," she added, a soft smile forming on her lips.
That made Percy narrow his eyes for a moment, a faintly amused smile appearing on his face.
"Well… as long as he's not another Gabe, I guess I wouldn't mind you going out with someone, as long as you're happy, Mom," Percy said lightly.
Sally was a bit surprised by Percy's words, and even though she was already an adult, her cheeks turned slightly red as she cleared her throat.
"Ahem… it's still too soon to think about that, Percy. Besides, if I ever introduce someone to our family, I'd have to explain my demigod son, my adopted Cyclops… and what exactly would your teacher be? Our pet dragon?" she said, her tone lightly amused.
Even Percy couldn't hold back his laughter at that, imagining his teacher with a collar, a doghouse, and a sign that read "Beware of the dragon. Bites."
But then, thinking about what his teacher might actually do to him for that thought, a cold shiver suddenly ran down his spine. He looked around in mild panic.
His laughter died instantly.
Luckily, there didn't seem to be anything nearby. Maybe it was just his imagination… or maybe not. Either way, he kept glancing around cautiously, as if Miraak might suddenly appear above him and beat him up just for thinking something like that.
Meanwhile, Thalia looked somewhat confused, listening to the conversation between them.
Annabeth, on the other hand, simply pretended not to hear them casually joking about a god. Only a mother and her son could get away with that, especially when they had connections to that god. No one else would dare, even if it was a god from another pantheon.
Grover looked pale, clearly having the same thoughts as Annabeth. Malcolm watched the two of them as if he was beginning to understand where Percy got his personality from, nodding slightly to himself.
"Percy's teacher… is he the one who fought Zeus?" Thalia murmured quietly to Annabeth.
Annabeth simply nodded.
"I see," Thalia said, a faint glimmer of interest appearing in her eyes for a brief moment.
All of this as they continued down the road…
while Clarisse and the two kids with her were still in danger.