Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Preparing for the end of the world was not something most seventeen-year-olds had to worry about, but well nothing about me screams ‘normal’. Normally teenagers in august would be on the beach or running amuck at their favorite haunts in massive groups built for destruction run on hormonal-based decision-making skills. I on the other hand decided to hole myself up in the back of the oven, also known as the forge, bent over my workstation that had more metal scraps on it than there was table space. I had a wrench in one hand and a particularly stubborn set of bolts loosely shoved in one of the thickened shields that had come across my bench. Ash and oil were smeared on any available space of clothing not covered by my apron, which meant my long-sleeved gray shirt had become almost black. I had long since gotten used to looking out through ash smeared goggles and constantly blowing a few loose strands of blonde and silver hair from my field of vision. But preparing for war was tedious work, and I was nothing if not determined to be ready for anything.

I mean having not one but two less than ideal prophecies foretelling awful events is not great to have if you want to enjoy an easy-going summer. And my father always said to hope for the best but prepare for the worst. Poor guy just didn’t know that somehow there would be worse issues than foreign invaders and erupting volcanoes, and we are not going to rehash that out, if I can help it. That's all just ancient history now…...literally.

 So, I spent most of my summer in the same hunched position absolutely destroying my spine. My only reprieve was when I was helping train some of the younger campers with proper fighting techniques, usually with swords (my personal specialty) but also on firearm usage and safety (because I assisted in adding to the gun supply for our more modern Greek army), Or I was being carted off into the ocean to get more lovely help from Tethys. Yeah the Titaness in case you forgot. She had been nice enough to help send some wayward half-bloods our way while also helping me collect more celestial bronze. Gods know we could always use more celestial bronze.

I was so deeply engrossed in my work that I hardly noticed who came and went, so when Jake Mason banged a hammer on my table I was not surprised that I hadn’t realized he was there.

“What do you want Mason, I’m busy.” I said, wiping some sweat off my cheek with the back of my hand.

I heard him take a long suffering breath over all of the loud clangs of the forge echoing from every station. “Beckendorf is going to leave within the hour.”

I stopped mid wrench twist to look up at him. I blinked owlishly at him. Leave? There was no mission today was there? Either I had asked it out loud or the son of Hephestus could just read my confused expression.

“The princess Andromeda mission…you know the one you helped plan…”

I blinked one more time before I shot out of my seat knocking all of my tools onto the ground, scaring the shit out of Mason. “Oh gods! I forgot!” I started grabbing a few armor pieces and threw my apron at Mason, who did not see it coming so it smacked him right in the face. “Thanks!” I yelled over my shoulder as I sprinted out of the forge.

***

It was just as hot outside as it was in the forge, the only difference was that the sun had decided it was a good time to blind anyone who dared step outside into its light. (Thanks for that Apollo.) I probably looked crazy, all smeared in debris with arms full of armor pieces, squinting so bad that it looked like I had no eyes at all. Oh, and I almost ran into at least eight people as I made my way clumsily to the stables.

This plan had been the brainchild of Char and I. It was a little wild that I had been so out of it that I had completely forgotten what day it was. Not that it was a new occurrence, but this was the first time that it almost made me miss something so important. Char and Percy had been chosen to board the Princess Andromeda and to make things short, set that bitch ablaze. Percy was always excited to throw a wrench into Luke’s, or I guess Kronos’s, plans and Char enjoyed any excuse to use Greek fire and I mean any excuse. I had sent Tiny, my celestial bronze dragon automaton, on a journey to acquire some more materials to make bigger and better bombs. Char had looked like a kid on Christmas morning when Tiny had returned with a bag bigger than him clutched in his itty-bitty claws only a few days ago.

The man was a mechanical genius on par with Hephestus himself. (Which Char got a little emotional anytime I told him that he was just as creative as his dad.) Just last month he rigged a Greek firebomb in the bathroom of a tour bus that was carrying a bunch of monsters across country. The explosion took out a whole legion of Kronos's goons as soon as the first harpy went flush. It was beautiful.

I skidded around the corner and all but ran directly into Char’s back. If he had been big before then he had bulked up significantly over the past year from constantly working in the forges. (It was really disheartening seeing how easily he bulked up when we did the same work, but he often had to remind me that most girls my age are not the ‘lean, mean, killing machines’ That I am. Whatever that means.) He had taken on the title of Hephestus cabin’s head counselor as well as being camp’s best armor smith. (Best inventor remains the title of yours truly.) So yeah, he was an imposing hulk of an eighteen-year-old that seemed to make everyone think twice about taking him on in any form of test .... except for my dumb ass. But then again, I had been told many times that I had a death wish, so it was kind of my brand at that point.

“As per usual you seem to be rushing around not really looking at where you are going.” 

I shook my head and took a step back to look at him properly. He had put on his favorite black camo pants and a dark shirt, an outfit much better suited for a stealth mission than our orange camp shirts. He had a bronze breastplate half strapped in place and a war helm neatly placed next to his explosives bag by his feet. The sword strapped to his side had a small dragon carved into the hilt, a detail that I had done unconsciously but he had liked so much that I left it.

“Are you alive in there Xan?” He waved a hand in front of my face bringing my attention back up to his dark eyes.

“Unfortunately.” I said, blinking at him.

He rolled his eyes and then turned back to finish fastening the last buckle on his chest plate. I blinked once bringing myself back to the present and then set to work. I dropped the armor pieces I had brought next to me except for two forearm guards. We worked in comfortable silence as I fastened the pieces to each of his arms making sure they were laced up correctly. 

“You’re fussing.” Char said softly.

I did not want to admit he was right, but I had taken a little too long straightening the laces than what was necessary. I sighed, “I am not fussing, you just clearly don’t know how to lace up your armor correctly.”

I crouched next to the other armor pieces I had brought and packed them into the saddle bag that needed to go on a less than excited Black Jack.

“Don’t you think that is a little excessive. I don’t think Percy is going to need more than a chest plate and maybe a helmet. He likes to be lighter.”

I huffed. “I’d wrap that idiot in bubble wrap if I could. But no, it's not like I’m expecting him to use all of it….though that would be nice, I’m not naive enough to believe he cares for my mental well being.”

Char chuckled as he swung his explosive bag over his shoulder and tucked his helm under his other arm. “Don’t worry too much.” He dropped a kiss onto the top of my head before continuing deeper into the stables, “I’ll make sure he comes back in one piece.”

I yanked the saddle off of the rack and hurried after him. “I would prefer if you both come back in one piece.”

He shrugged, “I’ll give it my best shot.”

I blew a loose strand of silver from my face, “yeah that sounded so convincing.”

A lot of the Pegasi were out practicing evasive maneuvers with some of the younger kids so the stalls were eerily empty. Then again that was just the general vibe of camp. People were around and yet it felt like a ghost town anyway. Maybe it was because we were essentially staring down the barrel of fate, and the odds were most certainly not in our favor. 

“I can’t remember the last time it was this quiet in here.” Char commented.

I readjusted the saddle on my shoulder, “yeah its really…unsettling.” 

A chill ran up my spine a few stalls before we got to Black Jack’s. I shook it off, I did not have time to get a bad feeling now. Black Jack himself had his head shoved in his grain bowl paying us no mind at all as we approached him. Poor guy was trying to fuel up to carry Percy, a heavy bag of explosives, and a very ripped Char. I did not envy his task one bit.

“Hey B, mind if I pop in to saddle you up?” I said as I opened the gate to his stall.

He lifted his head slightly to eye the saddle in my hand. Sure thing boss lady, as long as I get to keep eating.

“I’m not stupid enough to get between you and your food.”

Char laughed from outside the stall rolling his eyes with a sickening amount of affection. Sometimes I forgot that not everyone could understand horses. I had only started to hear them a few years back when I had befriended Percy, you know the son of the god of horses. It was the first time I had discovered that I adopted some abilities from my friends’ personal arsenals. I also discovered that I could breathe under water last summer…among other things… but that is a whole other can of worms.

I heaved the deep brown and freshly packed saddle onto his back, and if the weight bothered him, he did not show it considering he was practically licking his bucket clean. I could distantly hear Char whispering to Black Jack as I fastened the saddle buckles. I hoped that they were both distracted enough to miss the way my hands were shaking. It took me three times as long to do something that I could normally do in my sleep. I took a quiet steadying breath. I was being ridiculous, we had done crazier things than placing bombs on a cruise ship and made it out just fine. Which admittedly is a crazy statement to make for any non demigod, but honestly it was pretty standard for us at this point. A mortal would not believe even a fraction of the stories I could tell, even the tamer ones .... that and the whole, you know…ancient Rome thing. Yeah, I’d be locked up in the loony bin for sure.

“You doing some real hard thinking over there?”

I looked up to see Char leaning over the shorter stall wall, eyebrow quirked. I blinked at him and shrugged, wiping my hands on my shorts. He snorted as he turned his attention back to Black Jack, who had just finished his attempt to gnaw through his feed bucket.

“I think our ride might need a bit more fuel.” Char mused as he patted the horse’s head.

Fuel? Does that mean more food? Oh I hope you have donuts.

I barely choked down the laugh that bubbled up my throat. “A completely understandable request, B.”

“What did he say?” 

I didn’t try to hide the smirk that broke across my face. “Your noble steed is requesting donuts.”

“Is he requesting donuts? Or are you?”

I shrugged, “well I am not going to turn down the opportunity.”

“Th-the opp-portunity?” He asked in-between giggles.

Black Jack turned, nodding his head at me. Don’t worry boss lady, he just doesn't understand their true greatness.

“You're right, he is just not evolved enough to understand.”

Char gasped, reaching a hand up to grasp at his camp necklace. Like a southern grandma clutching her pearls. “Not evolved? Are the two of you gossiping about me in front of me?”

“Sorry Char, but you need to put more respect on the donut game.”

Black Jack nodded enthusiastically in agreement.

Char held his hands up in surrender with terribly contained laughter slipping past his even worse poker face. “Forgive me for my donut sins. I will be sure to bring a plentiful supply for my noble steed and faithful sidekick next time.”

“Who are you calling a sidekick?” I huffed, crossing my arms.

He only laughed harder reaching over the banister to ruffle my hair. I half heartedly smacked his hand away in an attempt to still look offended. It didn't work considering he pulled me in closer for a hug mumbling something about a pouty kitten into my hair. Any other time I probably would have struggled a bit longer before I gave in to the hug, or maybe I would have fully slid out of his grasp leading to a chase full of giggles and ridiculous threats that did not mean much of anything. But this time I just buried my face into his shoulder. He smelt of fire and motor oil, with a hint of something floral that was hard to distinguish what it was.

“You did see Selina today, right?”

I could feel the vibrations of the hum in his chest. “She insisted on giving me a good luck kiss.”

“Good, you idiots are going to need all the luck you can get.”

He bristled, “I certainly do not need luck.”

“Oh yes of course,” I fake conceded. “But Percy definitely needs copious amounts of it.”

Char nuzzled the top of my head giggling as he did. “Luck is really kind of his thing isn’t it?”

“I guess technically it's fate, because there is no way his dumb ass would be alive if something a bit more powerful was not looking out for him.”

“Or maybe he is just that good?”

He barely got the words out before we both burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter. Black Jack huffed next to us saying something about his Boss being the best, but it's not like Char could hear him anyway. In Percy’s defense he was very good in battle and thinking outside the box, but he also had the worst luck in the universe. As the son of one of the big three assholes *cough cough* I mean gods, he is essentially a monster magnet. So no amount of badass behavior is really going to do much when you are hunted down so mercilessly…one needs quite a lot of luck as well.

“As much as I would love to banter with you all day, I do have to meet Percy in the next fifteen minutes.” Char said, pulling back to look at me.

I huffed and frowned up at him.

“Oh don’t look at me like that! You know I have to go.”

I deepened my frown and did my best impression of puss in boots’s sad pleading eyes.

He took a long, suffering sigh. “I regret letting you watch those movies.”

I snorted, “I thought you enjoyed watching my genuine confusion and wonder when you pop on a new movie for me. Or maybe you just liked how much it made Selina smile that she got to rewatch some of her favorite rom coms.” I paused, raising an eyebrow at his slightly redeemed face, “Not that any of them were good.”

“Well she loves them so…watching a few won’t kill us.”

“Okay but she’s your girlfriend. Why do I have to be there to suffer?”

His smirk turned villainous, “because she wants to give you ideas on how to get your crushes to notice you.”

I narrowed my eyes at him as I pulled back fully, “I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“Hmmm, sure you don’t.”

I shook my head and moved to lead Black Jack out of the stables. Hey….hey Boss Lady.

“What’s up B?”

What’s a crush? Is it a type of donut?

Despite being unable to understand Blackjack, Char looked like he was holding back some serious laughter. “Unfortunately, no. But I do think that Good old Charizard here is going to owe us a whole dozen.” I turned to eye Char over my shoulder as I lead Blackjack toward the stable entrance. “Each.”

I like the sound of that! Blackjack whinnied, causing Char to start sputtering behind us. We do deserve them for being so awesome.

I patted the space between his ears, “We are definitely more awesome than both of them combined.”

I could hear Char still sputtering trying to defend himself between giggles. “I-I- never thought…..that th-is is where being a de-migod would take me.”

I paused in the doorway to look back at him, “what you didn’t expect magical creatures, exceptionally complicated weapons, and world altering battles?”

He blinked at me smiling. “I never thought that I would have to argue with a winged horse and my best friend about whether or not they are awesome enough for donuts.”

We are always awesome enough for donuts Black Jack retorted.

I snorted and patted his side, urging him out the door. Black Jack happily trotted out, his long dark tail swishing behind him like a dog happily going out for a walk.

“You know he will be deeply devastated if he does not get a sweet treat for this.” I mused as Char finally caught up to me.

“And I wonder who’s fault that is?” he chuckled, bumping our shoulders together.

“Yours obviously.”

“You’re such a little shit.”

“Hey that is THE little shit to you.”

We stood for a moment in comfortable silence watching Black Jack wander in circles stretching his wings out. His dark coat stood out against the bright sun and lush green grass he trotted on. Pretty picturesque if I’m honest.

“Don’t worry Hanora, we’ll be back before you know it.”

I crossed my arms against the sudden chill that raced up my sleeves. “Yeah…sure you will….Charles..”

“Gods when you say that you sound like my mother.” I could practically hear the eye roll in his voice.

“You pulled up the full name first.” I countered. “But…just be careful… I really do not need an upset Silena and Annabeth to deal with if you two can’t keep your shit together.”

“Awww, it almost sounded like you are truly worried about us.”

“Then clearly you must be delusional,” I huffed, careful not to look at him.

He pulled me into a side hug and dropped a kiss on the top of my head. “Love you too, my little cannoli.”

“I despise you,” I puffed with no real heat.

He laughed as he let go and walked up to Black Jack. In one swift movement he threw his explosives bag on his back with one hand and yanked himself up onto the saddle with the other. He took a moment to settle himself before looking back at me.

“Make sure you check on our new friend, the others are not nearly as good at thinking on the fly with him like you are.”

I rolled my eyes. Our ‘new friend’ was a large wingless dragon automaton he and Percy had found earlier that summer. It was right around the time that Char had finally worked up the courage to ask Selina out, which was a painful experience for all those who had to bear witness. We had still not named him yet, or well I had given him a million names but no one seemed to like any of the options I was giving them.

“You’re just trying to distract me with our spicy motor oil enjoying automaton…but fine, I’ll go check on his circuits or whatever.”

He smiled down at me with a fond shake of his head. “Nothing gets past you.”

“Of course not, you said it was one of the things you like best about me.”

Blackjack trotted closer to me and nuzzled the side of my face. Be back soon Boss lady.

I stroked down his snout and looked back up at Char “See you later.”

He nodded and echoed the sentiment with a quiet “love you.”

 I took a deep breath as they turned to start revving up to fly. And before I could think better of it I shouted  “Love you too!”

I felt sick as soon as I said it, but the blinding smile that spread across his face almost made it worth it. I stood still as a statue as the two of them took flight, Char waving as they became smaller figures in the sky. It took me an embarrassingly long time to take my eyes off the sky. For some reason I felt like I needed to commit that moment to memory. If I stayed in place maybe nothing would go wrong, but that was just the foolish hopes of a child who I had not been for a very long time. I shook myself back to reality, readjusted my sleeves, and then turned on my heels back down to the forge.

***

Making sure that our tabasco enjoying dragon remained in Titan fighting condition was really not that difficult. It took more time to collect my tool bag from the forge and then find the damned thing prowling around the forest than it did to tighten up his wiring. Any and all activities involving the dragon tended to fall squarely on Charles shoulders. Despite it being programed to listen to all children of Hephestus, the dragon only truly trusted Char and for some reason I came in at a very distant second. The other Hephestus kids could hang out around it but if they tried to open anything up the dragon would start revving up to turn them into demigod sized charcoal. Very inconvenient.

Even more inconvenient is the entire cabin taking naming privileges from me. Despite the fact that I am one of only two people that can touch that temperamental hunk of metal. They shot down every idea I put out like Messy Fessy,  Flame, CB (Celestial Bronze, I would have added a D for dragon but Annabeth just smacked me in the back of the head with no explanation.), Big Boy, Titan destroyer, Hades I even through out naming him Charizard. I got so annoyed with the constant “Nos” that I just threw my hands up and said “Fine you name this glorified primordial sized metal dildo then!” Little did I know that Chiron was right there to hear my out burst….I may or may not have lost dessert privileges for a few weeks….Not that I don’t have a way to smuggle in desserts anyway.

I twirled my screwdriver between my fingers letting it travel from my thumb and pointer fingers across to my pinky and back again. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees as I picked my way across the underbrush. I yanked my tool bag’s strap back into place after sliding down the last boulder between me and the beach. I had decided that salt water was just what the doctor ordered after being slightly singed from reattaching those annoyingly loose wires. Just don’t tell Annabeth I really do not want another lecture.

Mossy soil gradually shifted into fine white sand. All at once the sound of the surf and the smell of the sea air hit me a few steps from the tree line. I took a deep breath and dropped my loose screwdriver into my bag before setting the whole thing in the shade of the last tree before hitting the beach. I popped off both shoes and socks before happily trotting across the dunes to the freshly darkened wet sand.

I sat just out of the range of the incoming tide with my feet firmly placed into the wet sand. I watched as the sun set leaving the clear night sky in its wake. I distantly thought about how I probably missed dinner, but I was not feeling all that hungry. Ever since Char flew off early that day his and Percy’s threads had been dancing around me, their distress increasing with each passing moment. I was used to the constant presence of Percy’s blue thread, that boy was looking at danger in the rearview mirror, so ignoring it had become easier as I grappled with letting him fight his own battles. But seeing Char’s thread was a little jarring. 

His thread was one that I would see more when I was in danger, like a light to guide me home. Almost like he was checking up on me not calling out for help. But there I was forcing myself to bury my hands deeper in the sand to keep me from reaching out. His deep hot chocolate colored thread made of interconnected circular links slithered back and forth over the line separating the dark and light sand. Another wave pushed up the shore and if the threads hadn’t been magic both of them would have been swallowed up by the time it gently washed over my feet. 

I dropped my forehead into my bent knees and raked my fingers through the soft sand on either side of me. For the first time since getting my gift from Daedalus, I wished that I could not see the threads through my lenses. I thought it would have been helpful since I had learned to use my abilities better, but in that moment I really wished that I could have sat in ignorance instead.

Deep breath

I sighed “yeah, yeah I know.” I mumbled.

I did as the disembodied voice of my brother said, I took a long suffering breath and then sagged further into my knees on the exhale. Val was always insistent that the best way to calm down was to meditate by the water. The only problem was that as a highly ADHD demigod, I was always terrible at sitting still. Things have not changed all that much considering the small pile of sand that was accumulating under each of my hands. I’m not sure even now what is more concerning. The fact that I can’t meditate properly to save my life, or that I was so concerned that I just rolled with the whole disembodied voice thing. I mean it was not the first time the voices of the dead whispered encouragement in my ears, and in a way I guess it was really the least of my worries at that moment.

I’m not sure how long I sat there dozing off, all I do know is the searing pain in my leg that woke me up. It felt like I had taken an arrow to the thigh, but when I looked down I saw not even the slightest tear in my pant leg. Percy’s blue thread galloped under my raised legs and then back again. Clearly he was the injured party. I bit back a hiss as I slid closer to the surf, I had found that the salt water eased the phantom pains way faster than anything else.

“Damn Sea, you are always making my life more difficult.” I mumbled as I threw some water onto my leg.

The leg was more annoying than painful, but what happened next nearly made me pass out on the spot. My whole body felt like it was on fire, I could feel several bones shattering, I gagged on smoke that wasn't there as I flipped myself over to brace forward into the sand. My eyes stung with tears, and despite my attempts my breathing came out more strangled than steady. This pain was different from all of the times I had siphoned off the worst of Percy’s injuries, it was like I was fighting a losing battle against the fates  themselves. And I am a terrible loser. 

My vision blurred and in the reflection of my glasses I could see monsters and green fire, a boat sinking into the waves. I blinked refocusing on the sand in front of me, my ears started to ring slowly getting louder and louder. I could no longer feel the sand slipping through my fingers, only the hot pain sending all of my nerve endings into overdrive.

The sand shifted revealing the slow disjointed movements of the slowly fraying links of brown thread. I weakly reached out to it as more and more pieces of the once thick yarn split off and flew into the ocean breeze. Just as the tip of my finger was about to graze the now wispy brown thread the center link

….snapped….

Then like a chain event each link followed suit snapping off and then flying off before burning away into nothingness. Each break felt like a new shock wave sent into my bones. My mouth fell open into a silent scream, or at least if I did scream aloud, I couldn’t hear it. The ringing got so loud that it was all I could hear. I screamed myself hoarse, my body shaking as I gripped uselessly into the fine sand. The ocean's gentle waves lapping up my leg not even registering in my brain. My vision blurred and darkened at the edges, like I was being surrounded in thicker and thicker black smoke.

…gone…. I thought as I fell onto my side.

..Gone……GoNe…..GONE….

…FiRe aNd AsH…

I could see my fingers twitch beside me as I succumbed to the dark.

..Ch-..Char-.......Ch-ar-les..

I felt water drip over the bridge of my nose.

“...I-I’m….S-..sor-ry…”

It felt like my heart had been ripped out of my chest and left to bleed out in the sand beside me. And let's be honest…who could stay conscious through a pain like that.

Chapter Text

Demigod dreams suck.

 The thing is ,they're never just dreams. They've got to be visions, omens, and all that other mystical stuff that makes my brain hurt.

 I dreamed I was in a dark palace at the top of a mountain. Unfortunately, I recognized it: the palace of the Titans on top of Mount Othrys, otherwise known as Mount Tamalpais, in California. The main pavilion was open to the night, ringed with black Greek columns and statues of the Titans. Torchlight glowed against the black marble floor. In the center of the room, an armored giant struggled under the weight of a swirling funnel cloud—Atlas, holding up the sky.

 Two other giant men stood nearby over a bronze brazier, studying images in the flames.

 "Quite an explosion," one said. He wore black armor studded with silver dots like a starry night. His face was covered in a war helm with a ram's horn curling on either side.

 "It doesn't matter," the other said. This Titan was dressed in gold robes, with golden eyes like Kronos. His entire body glowed. He reminded me of Apollo, God of the Sun, except the Titan's light was harsher, and his expression crueler. "The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed."

 The images in the fire were hard to make out: storms, buildings crumbling, mortals screaming in terror.

 "I will go east to marshal our forces alongside our loyal sisters," the golden Titan said. "Krios, you shall remain and guard Mount Othrys."

 The ram horn dude grunted. "I always get the stupid jobs. Lord of the South. Lord of Constellations. Now I get to babysit Atlas while you have all the fun."

 Under the whirlwind of clouds, Atlas bellowed in agony, "Let me out, curse you! I am your greatest warrior. Take my burden so I may fight!"

 "Quiet!" the golden Titan roared. "You had your chance, Atlas. You failed. Kronos likes you just where you are. As for you, Krios, do your duty."

 "And if you need more warriors?" Krios asked. "Our treacherous nephew in the tuxedo will not do you much good in a fight."

 The golden Titan laughed. "Don't worry about him. Besides, the gods can barely handle our first little challenge. They have no idea how many others we have in store. Mark my words, in a few days' time, Olympus will be in ruins, and we will meet here again to celebrate the dawn of the Sixth Age!"

 The golden Titan erupted into flames and disappeared.

 "Oh, sure," Krios grumbled. "He gets to erupt into flames. I get to wear these stupid ram's horns."

 The scene shifted. Now I was outside the pavilion, hiding in the shadows of a Greek column. A boy stood next to me, eavesdropping on the Titans. He had dark silky hair, pale skin, and dark clothes—my friend Nico di Angelo, the son of Hades.

 He looked straight at me, his expression grim. "You see, Percy?" he whispered. "You're running out of time. Do you really think you can beat them without my plan?"

 His words washed over me as cold as the ocean floor, and my dreams went black.

 "Percy?" a deep voice said.

 My head felt like it had been microwaved in aluminum foil. I opened my eyes and saw a large shadowy figure looming over me.

 "Beckendorf?" I asked hopefully.

 "No, brother."

 My eyes refocused. I was looking at a Cyclops—a misshapen face, ratty brown hair, one big brown eye full of concern. "Tyson?"

 My brother broke into a toothy grin. "Yay! Your brain works!"

 I wasn't so sure. My body felt weightless and cold. My voice sounded wrong. I could hear Tyson, but it was more like I was hearing vibrations inside my skull, not the regular sounds.

 I sat up, and a gossamer sheet floated away. I was on a bed made of silky woven kelp, in a room paneled with abalone shell. Glowing pearls the size of basketballs floated around the ceiling, providing light. I was under water.

 Now, being the son of Poseidon and all, I was okay with this. I can breathe underwater just fine, and my clothes don't even get wet unless I want them to. But it was still a bit of a shock when a hammerhead shark drifted through the bedroom window, regarded me, and then swam calmly out the opposite side of the room.

 "Where—"

 "Daddy's palace," Tyson said.

 Under different circumstances, I would've been excited. I'd never visited Poseidon's realm, and I'd been dreaming about it for years. But my head hurt. My shirt was still speckled with burn marks from the explosion. My arm and leg wounds had healed—just being in the ocean can do that for me, given enough time—but I still felt like I'd been trampled by a Laistrygonian soccer team in cleats.

 "How long—"

 "We found you last night," Tyson said, "sinking through the water."

 "The Princess Andromeda?"

 "Went ka-boom," Tyson confirmed.

 "Beckendorf was on board. Did you find . . ."

 Tyson's face darkened. "No sign of him. I am sorry, brother."

 I stared out the window into deep blue water. Beckendorf was supposed to go to college in the fall. He had a girlfriend, lots of friends, his whole life ahead of him. He couldn't be gone. Maybe he'd made it off the ship like I had. Maybe he'd jumped over the side . . . and what? He couldn't have survived a hundred-foot fall into the water like I could. He couldn't have put enough distance between him-self and the explosion.

 I knew in my gut he was dead. He'd sacrificed himself to take out the Princess Andromeda, and I had abandoned him. Gods, how was I going to break this to Hanora? The two of them had been friends since before I ever came to camp, how could I explain to her what happened? Let alone to Poor Silena? It made me nauseous just thinking about it.

I looked down at my wrist where a leather braided bracelet with three uniquely colored pearls sat. I had gained the habit over the past year of twirling it around my wrist when my mind started to wander. Well if Annabeth’s knowing observation and Hanora’s raised eyebrow were to be believed. I had to put in the conscious effort to leave it alone.

 I shook my head and thought about my dream instead, it had been concerning to say the least: the Titans discussing the explosion as if it didn't matter, Nico di Angelo warning me that I would never beat Kronos without following his plan—a dangerous idea I'd been

avoiding for more than a year.

 A distant blast shook the room. Green light blazed out-side, turning the whole sea as bright as noon.

 "What was that?" I asked.

 Tyson looked worried. "Daddy will explain. Come, he is blowing up monsters."

     ***

 The palace might have been the most amazing place I'd ever seen if it hadn't been in the process of getting destroyed. We swam to the end of a long hallway and shot upward on a geyser. As we rose over the rooftops I caught my breath—well, if you can catch your breath underwater.

 The palace was as big as the city on Mount Olympus, with wide courtyards, gardens, and columned pavilions. The gardens were sculpted with coral colonies and glowing sea plants. Twenty or thirty buildings were made of abalone, white but gleaming with rainbow colors. Fish and octopi darted in and out of the windows. The paths were lined with glowing pearls like Christmas lights.

 The main courtyard was filled with warriors—mermen with fish tails from the waist down and human bodies from the waist up, except their skin was blue, which I'd never known before. Some were tending the wounded. Some were sharpening spears and swords. One passed us, swimming in a hurry. His eyes were bright green, like that stuff they put in glow-sticks, and his teeth were shark teeth. They don't show you stuff like that in The Little Mermaid.

 Outside the main courtyard stood large fortifications—towers, walls, and anti siege weapons—but most of these had been smashed to ruins. Others were blazing with a strange green light that I knew well—Greek fire, which can burn even underwater.

 Beyond this, the sea floor stretched into gloom. I could see battles raging—flashes of energy, explosions, the glint of armies clashing. A regular human would've found it too dark to see. Heck, a regular human would've been crushed by the pressure and frozen by the cold. Even my heat-sensitive eyes couldn't make out exactly what was going on.

 At the edge of the palace complex, a temple with a red coral roof exploded, sending fire and debris streaming in slow motion across the farthest gardens. Out of the dark-ness above, an enormous form appeared—a squid larger than any skyscraper. It was surrounded by a glittering cloud of dust—at least I thought it was dust, until I realized it was a swarm of mermen trying to attack the monster. The squid descended on the palace and swatted its tentacles, smashing a whole column of warriors. Then a brilliant arc of blue light shot from the rooftop of one of the tallest buildings. The light hit the giant squid, and the monster dissolved like food coloring in water.

 "Daddy," Tyson said, pointing to where the light had come from.

 "He did that?" I suddenly felt more hopeful. My dad had unbelievable powers. He was the god of the sea. He could deal with this attack, right? Maybe he'd let me help.

 "Have you been in the fight?" I asked Tyson in awe. "Like bashing heads with your awesome Cyclops strength and stuff?"

 Tyson pouted, and immediately I knew I'd asked a bad question, "I have been . . . fixing weapons," he mumbled. "Come. Let's go find Daddy."

   ***

 I know this might sound weird to people with, like, regular parents, but I'd only seen my dad four or five times in my life, and never for more than a few minutes. The Greek gods don't exactly show up for their kids' basketball games. Still, I thought I would recognize Poseidon on sight.

 I was wrong.

 The roof of the temple was a big open deck that had been set up as a command center. A mosaic on the floor showed an exact map of the palace grounds and the sur-rounding ocean, but the mosaic moved. Colored stone tiles representing different armies and sea monsters shifted around as the forces changed position. Buildings that col-lapsed in real life also collapsed in the picture.

 Standing around the mosaic, grimly studying the battle, was a strange assortment of warriors, but none of them looked like my dad. I was searching for a big guy with a good tan and a black beard, wearing Bermuda shorts and a Hawaiian shirt.

 There was nobody like that. One guy was a merman with two fish tails instead of one. His skin was green, his armor studded with pearls. His black hair was tied in a ponytail, and he looked young—though it's hard to tell with non-humans. They could be a thousand years old or three. Standing next to him was an old man with a bushy white beard and gray hair. His battle armor seemed to weigh him down. He had green eyes and smile wrinkles around his eyes, but he wasn't smiling now. He was studying the map and leaning on a large metal staff. To his right stood a beautiful woman in green armor with flowing black hair and strange little horns like crab claws. And there was a dolphin—just a regular dolphin, but it was staring at the map intently.

 "Delphin," the old man said. "Send Palaemon and his legion of sharks to the western front. We have to neutralize those leviathans."

 The dolphin spoke in a chattering voice, but I could understand it in my mind: Yes, lord! It sped away.

 I looked in dismay at Tyson, then back at the old man.

 It didn't seem possible, but . . . "Dad?" I asked.

 The old man looked up. I recognized the twinkle in his eyes, but his face . . . he looked like he'd aged forty years.

 "Hello, Percy."

 "What—what happened to you?"

 Tyson nudged me. He was shaking his head so hard I was afraid it would fall off, but Poseidon didn't look offended.

 "It's all right, Tyson," he said. "Percy, excuse my appearance. The war has been hard on me."

 "But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look . . . any way you want."

 "I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim. Percy, I should introduce you—I'm afraid you just missed my lieutenant Delphin, God of the Dolphins. This is my, er, wife, Amphitrite. My dear—"

 The lady in green armor stared at me coldly, then crossed her arms and said, "Excuse me, my lord. I am needed in the battle."

 She swam away.

 I felt pretty awkward, but I guess I couldn't blame her. I'd never thought about it much, but my dad had an immortal wife. All his romances with mortals, including with my mom . . . well, Amphitrite probably didn't like that much.

 Poseidon cleared his throat. "Yes, well . . . and this is my son Triton. Er, my other son."

  "Your son and heir," the green dude corrected. His double fishtails  swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Perseus Jackson. Come to help at last?"

 He acted like I was late or lazy. If you can blush underwater, I probably did.

 "Tell me what to do," I said.

 Triton smiled like that was a cute suggestion—like I was a slightly amusing dog that had barked for him or something. He turned to Poseidon. "I will see to the front line, Father. Don't worry. I will not fail."

 He nodded politely to Tyson. How come I didn't get that much respect? Then he shot off into the water.

 Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon—a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy.

 "I'm sorry about that," he told me.

 A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium.

 Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. Ka-boom! The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror.

 "My family is anxious," Poseidon continued as if nothing had happened. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly."

  He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent.

 "Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?"

 Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is . . . well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side."

 "He looks stupid," I said, trying to sound upbeat. "I mean, who fights with a snake?"

 "Daddy will tie it in knots," Tyson said firmly.

 Poseidon smiled, but he looked weary. "I appreciate your faith. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them. Even the help of Lady Tethys is not enough to turn the tides."

 I heard an explosion in the distance. About half a mile away, a mountain of coral disintegrated under the weight of two giant creatures. I could dimly make out their shapes. One was a lobster. The other was a giant humanoid like a Cyclops, but he was surrounded by a flurry of limbs. At first I thought he was wearing a bunch of giant octopi. Then I realized they were his own arms—a hundred flailing, fighting arms.

 "Briares!" I said.

 I was happy to see him, but he looked like he was fighting for his life. He was the last of his kind—a Hundred-Handed One, cousin of the Cyclopes. We'd saved him from Kronos's prison last summer, and I knew he'd come to help Poseidon, but I hadn't heard of him since.

 "He fights well," Poseidon said. "I wish we had a whole army like him, but he is the only one."

 I watched as Briares bellowed in rage and picked up the lobster, which thrashed and snapped its pincers. He threw it off the coral mountain, and the lobster disappeared into the darkness. Briares swam after it, his hundred arms spinning like the blades of a motorboat.

 "Percy, we may not have much time," my dad said. "Tell me of your mission. Did you see Kronos?"

 I told him everything, though my voice choked up when I explained about Beckendorf. I looked down at the courtyards below and saw hundreds of wounded mermen lying on makeshift cots. I saw rows of coral mounds that must've been hastily made graves. I realized Beckendorf wasn't the first death. He was only one of hundreds, maybe thousands. I'd never felt so angry and helpless.

 Poseidon stroked his beard. "Percy, Beckendorf chose a heroic death. You bear no blame for that. Kronos's army will be in disarray. Many were destroyed."

 "But we didn't kill him, did we?"

 As I said it, I knew it was a naive hope. We might blow up his ship and disintegrate his monsters, but a Titan lord wouldn't be so easy to kill.

 "No," Poseidon admitted. "But you've bought our side some time."

 "There were demigods on that ship," I said, thinking of the kid I'd seen in the stairwell. Somehow, I'd allowed myself to concentrate on the monsters and Kronos. I'd convinced myself that destroying their ship was all right because they were evil, they were sailing to attack my city, and besides, they couldn't really be permanently killed. Monsters just vaporized and re-formed eventually. But demigods . . .

 Poseidon put his hand on my shoulder. "Percy, there were only a few demigod warriors aboard that ship, and they all chose to battle for Kronos. Perhaps some heeded your warning and escaped. If they did not . . . they chose their path."

 "They were brainwashed!" I said. "Now they're dead and Kronos is still alive. That's supposed to make me feel better?"

 I glared at the mosaic—little tile explosions destroying tile monsters. It seemed so easy when it was just a picture.

 Tyson put his arm around me. If anybody else had tried that, I would've pushed him away, but Tyson was too big and stubborn. He hugged me whether I wanted it or not. "Not your fault, brother. Kronos does not explode good. Next time we will use a big stick."

 "Percy," my father said. "Beckendorf's sacrifice wasn't in vain. You have scattered the invasion force. New York will be safe for a time, which frees the other Olympians to deal with the bigger threat."

 "The bigger threat?" I thought about what the golden Titan had said in my dream: The gods have answered the challenge. Soon they will be destroyed.

 A shadow passed over my father's face. "You've had enough sorrow for one day. Ask Chiron when you return to camp."

 "Return to camp? But you're in trouble here. I want to help!"

 "You can't, Percy. Your job is elsewhere."

 I couldn't believe I was hearing this. I looked at Tyson for backup.

 My brother chewed his lip. "Daddy . . . Percy can fight with a sword. He is good."

 "I know that," Poseidon said gently.

 "Dad, I can help," I said. "I know I can. You're not going to hold out here much longer."

 A fireball launched into the sky from behind the enemy lines. I thought Poseidon would deflect it or something, but it landed on the outer corner of the yard and exploded, sending mermen tumbling through the water. Poseidon winced as if he'd just been stabbed.

 "Return to camp," he insisted. "And tell Chiron it is time."

 "For what?"

 "You must hear the prophecy. The entire prophecy."

 I didn't need to ask him which prophecy. I'd been hearing about the "Great Prophecy" for years, but nobody would ever tell me the whole thing. All I knew was that I was supposed to make a decision that would decide the fate of the world—but no pressure.

 "What if this is the decision?" I said. "Staying here to light, or leaving? What if I leave and you . . ."

 I couldn't say die. Gods weren't supposed to die, but I'd seen it happen. Even if they didn't die, they could be reduced to nearly nothing, exiled, imprisoned in the depths of Tartarus like Kronos had been.

 "Percy, you must go," Poseidon insisted. "I don't know what your final decision will be, but your fight lies in the world above. If nothing else, you must warn your friends at camp. Kronos knew your plans. You have a spy. We will hold here. We have no choice."

 Tyson gripped my hand desperately. "I will miss you, brother!"

 Watching us, our father seemed to age another ten years. "Tyson, you have work to do as well, my son. They need you in the armory."

 Tyson pouted some more.

 "I will go," he sniffled. He hugged me so hard he almost cracked my ribs. "Percy, be careful! Do not let monsters kill you dead!"

 I tried to nod confidently, but it was too much for the big guy. He sobbed and swam away toward the armory, where his cousins were fixing spears and swords.

 "You should let him fight," I told my father. "He hates being stuck in the armory. Can't you tell?"

 Poseidon shook his head. "It is bad enough I must send you into danger. Tyson is too young. I must protect him."

 "You should trust him," I said. "Not try to protect him."

 Poseidon's eyes flared. I thought I'd gone too far, but then he looked down at the mosaic and his shoulders sagged. On the tiles, the mermaid guy in the crawfish chariot was coming closer to the palace.

 "Oceanus approaches," my father said. "I must meet him in battle."

 I'd never been scared for a god before, but I didn't see how my dad could face this Titan and win.

 "I will hold," Poseidon promised. "I will not give up my domain. Just tell me, Percy, do you still have the birthday gift I gave you last summer?"

 I nodded and pulled out my camp necklace. It had a bead for every summer I'd been at Camp Half-Blood, but since last year I'd also kept a sand dollar on the cord. My father had given it to me for my fifteenth birthday. He'd told me I would know when to "spend it," but so far, I hadn't figured out what he meant. All I knew was that it didn't fit the vending machines in the school cafeteria.

 "The time is coming," he promised. "With luck, I will see you for your birthday next week, and we will have a proper celebration."

 He smiled, and for a moment I saw the old light in his eyes.

 Then the entire sea grew dark in front of us, like an inky storm was rolling in. Thunder crackled, which should've been impossible underwater. A huge icy presence was approaching. I sensed a wave of fear roll through the armies below us.

 "I must assume my true godly form," Poseidon said. "Go—and good luck, my son."

 I wanted to encourage him, to hug him or something, but knew better than to stick around. When a god assumes his true form, the power is so great that any mortal looking on him will disintegrate.

 "Good-bye, Father," I managed.

 Then I turned away. I willed the ocean currents to aid me. Water swirled around me, and I shot toward the surface at speeds that would've caused any normal human to pop like a balloon.

 When I looked back, all I could see were flashes of green and blue as my father fought the Titan, and the sea itself was torn apart by the two armies.

Chapter Text

My day was not off to a good start.

Actually it was not truly a start at all since I had not slept the night before. If I had not been stressed enough from planning several operations at the same time while also trying to keep the peace between the Ares and Apollo cabins, over a chariot no less, then the blood curdling scream from the beach followed by a plume of smoke on the horizon certainly sent me over the edge.

It had been pretty late and most of us were getting ready to turn in for the night when I realized that I had not seen Hanora since breakfast. It was not terribly unusual considering how much needed to be done around camp, and Hanora was known for working through an actual natural disaster because she was in such a creative fever in the forge. But disappearing for a whole day and not being dragged out by a couple of the Hephestus kids? That was not a great sign. I was almost to the Hermes cabin when I heard the scream.

I went into a full sprint barking orders as I went. Silena Beauregard and Will Solace were hot on my tail with two other Apollo children a few paces behind them. Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw on the beach.

Hanora’s glittering strawberry blonde hair was splayed out in the sand where she had collapsed. I ran over to her, choking back my own sob as she convulsed on and kicking up sand with each shake. There was a puddle of blood by her head and tracks of red coming from her eyes. Silena gagged at the sight, so I sent her to collect Hanora’s things from the tree line and take them back to camp.

Will and his siblings got to work quickly assessing her injuries, but I knew as much as Will did that, they would not find anything. I brushed the hair out of her face and helped place a cloth in between her teeth just in case the convulsing got any worse. 

The medical talk washed over me without sinking in as my brain worked through all of the possible events that could have transpired to put her in this state. Will had finally explained a few months back about how she had been vomiting blood when the literal weight of the world had fallen on my shoulders a little over a year ago. That was also the same time that she started getting silver strands mixed in her blonde hair. And then only a few months ago she had come stumbling into the infirmary and promptly passed out from shoulder pain, that later we connected with Percy’s injury he got fighting daimons in the underworld. And now she fully collapsed in the sand with little warning aside from that earth shattering scream. 

Something terrible must have happened. Percy and Beckendorf had been sent to blow up the Princess Andromeda, and if the smoke on the horizon was anything to go by they must have succeeded. But from the sorry state Hanora was in, not without injury. I could only hope that they were okay enough to get back to camp soon, we did not have the resources to go looking for them. Especially since our second best swimmer was in the middle of having several back to back seizures.

I must have been so deep in thought that I did not hear Clarisse approach until she was shaking me by my shoulders. In a blur I could barely process she scooped Hanora up and rushed back to camp with Will falling into stride with her. The loss of Hanora’s head in my lap shook me to the present enough that I was able to follow them and the others to the infirmary. Which is where I stayed for the whole night and most of the following day clutching her hand hoping that it was doing something…anything to help her.

A terrible thought crossed my mind as Selina coaxed me to eat some of the toast she had brought me from breakfast. What if something happened to Luke? Was the war over? Were Percy and Beckendorf that successful? Were all three of them hurt, or just one? What…What if one of them…died? I dropped my forehead onto our joined hands. The only good news was that as long as I was grasping her hand the seizures stopped. I sent a prayer to my mom to bring Percy back at the very least. I needed his help with this…or if I’m being honest, I selfishly just wanted him to come home to us.

***

I woke up to the sound of the conch horn reverberating through camp and Silena promptly spilling half of her bowl of warm water onto the floor. She had been a bundle of nerves before Beckendorf even left the day before, but she was still insistent on helping despite her shaky hands. Hence why half of the bowl Will was using to wipe away some fresh blood from Hanora’s mouth was on the floor.

“..Charlie..” She whispered, staring at the door.

I shook my head groggily, rubbing the sleep from my eyes with my free hand. Will put a hand on her shoulder, a small smile on his face.

“Silena, why don’t you go check it out with Annabeth.”

That shook her from her daze as she looked between his bright blue eyes and the mess on the floor. She quickly readjusted the bowl in her arms and steeled her expression.

“I-I am so sorry, I’ll clean this up first.”

Will let out a small breathy laugh, “Don’t worry about it. I’m sure the two of you will be requested out there to meet the boys.”

She shook her head, “no I’ll clean this up first.” She turned her eyes on me, and I became acutely aware of the dent in the side of my face from falling asleep on Hanora’s arm. “You go ahead Annabeth, I’ll catch up.”

I blinked at the two of them absentmindedly squeezing Hanora’s hand. 

Will cut me off before I could protest. “ Don’t worry, I’ve treated Hanora long enough to know how to handle this.” He smiled at me and slung the warm towel he had been using over his shoulder. “Now go find Percy and bring him back here stat. I’ll need both of you to get her up and running sooner rather than later….Doctor’s orders.”

***

I rushed out of the infirmary and joined the stream of campers rushing toward the dining pavilion. Chiron galloped ahead of me, which was easy for him since he's a white stallion from the waist down. His beard had grown wilder over the summer. He wore a green T-shirt that said MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR and a bow slung over his back. I jogged after him in a trance like I was truly seeing camp for the first time in weeks.

The hills still ringed the valley. On the tallest, Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece hanging from its branches, magically protecting the camp from its enemies. The guard dragon Peleus was so big now I could see him from here—curled around the tree trunk, lending up smoke signals as he snored.

 To my left spread the woods stocked full of monsters and forgotten weapons from past capture the flag games. To my right, the canoe lake glittered and the climbing wall glowed from

the lava pouring down its side. Twelve cabins—one for each Olympian god—made a horseshoe pattern around the commons area. Farther south were the strawberry fields, the armory, and the four-story Big House with its sky blue paint job and its bronze eagle weathervane.

 In some ways, the camp hadn't changed. But you couldn't see the war by looking at the buildings or the fields. You could see it in the faces of the demigods and satyrs and naiads coming up the hill.

 There weren't as many at camp as four summers ago or really even in the past year. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others—we tried not to talk about them—had gone over to the enemy.

 The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary. There was little laughter at camp these days. Even the Hermes cabin didn't play so many pranks. It's hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one. I had to shake off the feelings of dread as I caught up with Chiron at the pavilion. I felt my breath get caught in my throat.

Messy dark hair, (wind swept by the sea breeze Hanora would have said with a teasing smirk) and deep sea green eyes. He was in one piece aside from the few holes and burns present on his dark blue shirt and a perfect circular hole in the one thigh of his blue jeans. Being around Percy had become increasingly difficult with the prophecy looming over our heads. (And also, the lack of communication about what happened in mount saint Hellens. And No Hanora, I am not going to address it, nor will I address what ever happened to him on Ogygia…I really do not want to know.) We had been at each other's throats for a few years at that point, but it was never anything truly serious. In that moment I did not care what stupid thing was going to come out of his mouth, I was just happy that he was back.

"Percy!" Chiron said. "Thank the gods. But where . . ."

I cut him off as soon as Percy’s eyes caught mine. His eyes were wild like he did not know what to say, like he was afraid or guilty. 

"What happened?" I asked a bit harsher than I intended. My mind was swirling with all of my burning questions, all of the possible events leading to Percy washing up on our shore alone. I grabbed his arm, and I felt compelled to ask… "Is Luke—"

"The ship blew up," He said. "He wasn't destroyed. I don't know where—"

His thought was cut off by Silena pushing through the crowd to meet us. Her hair had gotten frizzy, probably from her rush to meet us. In that moment I was finally not distracted enough to notice that for the first time since I had met her she was not wearing any makeup.

"Where's Charlie?" she demanded, looking around like he might be hiding.

 Percy glanced at Chiron helplessly, my eyes felt like they were burning. Not Beckendorf…gods that must have been why…why Hanora was….

I could feel movement and the echoey voice of Chiron clearing his throat.

  "Silena, my dear, let's talk about this at the Big House—"

 "No," she muttered. "No. No."

 She started to cry, and the rest of us stood around, too stunned to speak. My ears started to ring and it took all of my focus to blink my way back into the present. We'd already  lost so many people over the summer, but this was the worst. With Beckendorf gone and Hanora incapacitated, it felt like someone had stolen the anchor for the entire camp.

 Finally Clarisse from the Ares cabin came forward. She put her arm around Silena. They had one of the strangest friendships ever—a daughter of the war god and a daughter of the love goddess—but ever since Silena had given Clarisse advice last summer about her first boyfriend, Clarisse had decided she was Silena's personal bodyguard. 

 Clarisse was dressed in her blood red combat armor, her brown hair tucked into a bandana. She was as big and beefy as a rugby player, with a permanent scowl on her face, but she spoke gently to Silena.

 "Come on, girl," she said. "Let's get to the Big House. I'll make you some hot chocolate."

 The way she spoke so kindly to her made me think of the way she had quietly forced her way to the beach to help us with Hanora. Another interesting friendship, if I am being honest. Clarisse and Hanora had become silent friends a few years back and both of them had been targets for Silena’s makeover eras. The image of both fierce some warriors in full faces of makeup and copious amounts of glitter still lived in my brain. And pictures of said looks may or may not have been captured by a certain mischievous Hermes child…or two….and maybe I had gotten my hands on one of those pictures. But that stays between us. Hanora would kill me if she knew I had it…assuming she wakes up.

Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes, heading back to the cabins. Nobody was excited to welcome home our surviving idiot. I took a deep breath as I turned my attention back to Percy.

I rubbed a stray tear that I hadn't noticed off of my cheek. "I'm glad you're not dead, Seaweed Brain."

 "Thanks," he said. "Me too."

 Chiron put a hand on Percy’s shoulder. "I'm sure you did everything you could, Percy. Will you tell us what happened?"

 Percy reluctantly filled us in on what had happened on the Princess Andromeda, his dream about the Titans and the situation in Poseidon's palace. 

Chiron gazed down at the valley. "We must call a war council immediately, to discuss this spy, and other matters."

 "Poseidon mentioned another threat," Percy said. "Something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda. I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream."

 Chiron and I exchanged looks, only one thing could be a challenge enough to keep the gods busy. Well one thing that the titans would pull out as their trump card.

 "We will discuss that also," Chiron promised.

Percy blinked looking between the two of us, like he was trying to decide what to say. He took a deep breath. “When I talked to my father, he said to tell you it's time. I need to know the full prophecy.”

Chiron's shoulders sagged, but he didn't look surprised. "I've dreaded this day. Very well.  Annabeth, we will show Percy the truth—all of it. Let's go to the attic."

***

We were about halfway to the big house when Percy started to look around anxiously. Searching.

“What is it now, Seaweed brain?”

He huffed as he stared at the cabins. “I just- …have you seen Hanora? I really need to talk to her.”

I tried to keep my voice as even as I could, eyes focused on Chiron ahead of us. “She’s in the infirmary.”

His eyes widened to a point that I was concerned they would fall straight out of his head. “She’s hurt and you weren’t going to tell me?!”

Before I could turn to say anything he took off toward the infirmary with a speed that my sleep deprived state could never hope to match. I threw a look over my shoulder at Chiron who had either not noticed Percy’s outburst or chose to ignore it. I sighed, the prophecy had waited for many years already. I was sure it could wait a few more minutes.

I jogged after Percy doing my best to avoid the confused campers, and mostly succeeding. Luckily when I approached the infirmary in the Apollo cabin said campers were already pushed out of my way, thanks to a very concerned idiot with only seaweed in that thick skull of his, so I had a clear shot into the building. Hanora’s room was pretty much exactly the way I left it. Except the water spill had long since been cleaned up and instead of a dazed Silena milling around the foot of the bed there was a wild eyed Percy clutching Hanora’s limp hand as he kneeled by her bedside. Will was quietly explaining something that I couldn't make out until I was in the doorway.

“She is pretty stable all things considered, I mean at least she is not vomiting blood every two seconds this time. I just have to wait until she regains consciousness so that she can take some nectar. Once she does I am sure that she will be back in the forge barking orders in no time.”

Percy’s shoulders only tensed more as he listened. I was still not used to the feeling of not knowing what to do, and as the daughter of the goddess of wisdom I tended to know exactly what to do. Or at least to have a couple of possible plans on what to do. But healing was not one of my best skills, and comforting people was arguably a skill I was even worse at.

Should I go to Percy? Put a hand on his shoulder? Should I just say something? What do I even say? We both know why she is in the condition that she is in, and I know that he is beating himself up for not being able to get Beckendorf out of there as well. That is just the kind of guy Percy is. His loyalty will be the death of him, Hanora worries about it all the time. I worry about it all the time. Percy may not know the full prophecy yet, but Hanora and I had read it years ago. Before Percy even came to camp. I was getting antsy just thinking about it. Thankfully Will saved me from my spiral by literally dragging me into the room and plopping me in the chair on the opposite side of the bed from Percy.

“Perfect,” he said as he loosely threw my hand over Hanora’s. “My prescription is a few minutes of squad time. I’ll be back in ten minutes to check on you guys.” And then with a finale wink Will Solace sauntered out of the room a pencil behind his ear and his clipboard clutched to his chest.

We sat for a few moments in silence watching the slow rattled rise and fall of Hanora’s chest. Aside from the less than normal breathing pattern she looked to be sleeping rather peacefully. Which was very unlike her.

“I don’t understand.” Percy mumbled into the back of her hand. “Why did you not drag me straight here? How long has she been like this!?” He whisper-yelled looking up at me.

To say I was shocked by his angry outburst would be incorrect, Percy tends to get bursts of emotions like this when he is in situations where he has no control or feels like he can’t do anything to help. But the fact that his anger was directed at ME? I looked back at him, tears stinging my eyes. For a moment I could see the waves crashing on the sand again washing away the blood pooled under her body.

“What were you even doing?! Probably had your nose smashed into some book... or-or were you making your plan M for some small operation that will have little to no importance in slowing Kronos down?!”

How dare he?

“Percy there is a lot going on! We are at war, people are dying, and I have been up all night hoping that by sitting at her bedside that she would wake up! Praying to the gods that you would come home, that her collapsing did not mean that we had lost you! So forgive me for being a little side tracked considering I am confident that Will is taking care of her just fine while we deal with something that we can actually help with.” I baulked at him throwing my free arm up in exasperation.

His shoulders sagged. “All night?”

“Yes! ALL NIGHT!”

He blinked slowly, sinking deeper into the cot as he pulled her hand closer. “What happened?” he asked much smaller than before.

But I was angry. I was so angry. I told him with all the frustration that I had bottled up from months of preparation, constant losses on and off the battlefield, the worry that would not leave my bones, and the fear of losing both of them. If not from that night, then maybe the future. Their paths are uncertain but tied to prophetic words that foretell of less than ideal ends to this war. Percy deflated further with each word I spat at him, but I couldn’t find any part of me that cared. I WAS WORRIED ABOUT HER TOO! And I was WORRIED ABOUT HIM! And if I had to scream it into his ear for it to settle into that thick mound of seaweed he calls a brain, then so be it.

I took a deep breath when I was finished, only then realizing how low on oxygen I was after my outburst. Percy’s green eyes, now rimmed red and glassy stared back at me, I heard a faint sniffle muffled by the cotton sheets as he made himself smaller. We had been in arguments before, but something was different. I had never seen him react like this.

“I-I I’m sorry…I-I-I mm so-rry..” He mumbled, eyes dropping to the now tear stained sheets.

I blinked at him, my own rage eroding away until there was nothing of it left. I had the vague thought as I watched him fold in on himself that he almost looked…scared…of me? I fought with the idea of reaching for his hand, but I knew that it wouldn’t be enough. So I took a deep breath and dropped Hanora’s hand to move to the other side of the bed. I crouched next to him, hesitating for a moment before doubling down and wrapping my arms around his shoulders. He needed no coaxing to drop his head into the crook of my neck. I stiffened for a fraction of a second as I felt his soft hiccups against my skin before I forced myself to relax. 

“Yeah…I’m sorry for yelling…It’s just I am stressed too you know.”

I moved one hand to smooth down his dark hair while the other squeezed his shoulder lightly. His breathing was still shaky, but it was better than the choked hiccupping it had been.

“I-I should ha-ve been he-here.” He mumbled.

“If you had then who would have helped Beckendorf on the ship?”

“Bu-t he…he still-”

I leaned my head into his, “I know. But without you it could have been worse.”

“O-oh ho-w coul-d…it have been any wo-se?”

I sighed, turning my gaze to the unconscious girl whose hand Percy was gripping for dear life. “Well, he could have been taken out before he even got on the ship, let alone placed and set off the bombs.”

Percy mumbled something incoherently, so I took that as my cue to continue. “With your help the enemy has one less hub to fall back on. And it is also really important that you are still around because if you weren’t-” I nudged his head to look at Hanora, “she would be in way worse shape. Because you and I both know that she would try and siphon off all of your injuries so that you might have a chance. Even if it is only a one percent chance instead of zero.”

“That’s not very wise of her,” he said with a half laugh.

“Yeah well I think we are all pretty certain she is no child of Athena.”

I distantly noticed that his breathing had evened back out, only because my own heart rate spiked as I realized my current position. My face heated up, but thankfully Percy was not in a position where he would have been able to tell.

“Aww no fair…ya’ll are having a heart to heart without me?”

Percy and I shot apart as we whipped our heads to look at a freshly opened pair of pale green eyes sparkling with silver flecks and a whisper of humor.

“Han?!” we both yelled flinging ourselves at the edge of her bed taking her closest hand in between our own.

A tired smile lazily spread across her face. Slowly her other hand shakily reached across to land in Percy’s hair. “Good to see you in one piece, Sea.” Her hand lethargically ruffled his hair. “How’s the leg?”

His eyes grew large and watery, “It’s- um it’s good…noth-ing a little salt water couldn’t fix.”

She hummed in response, her hand falling from the top of his head to gently wipe a stray tear before it rolled down his cheek. She brought her hand back down beside her so it layed on top of mine and Percy’s, effectively sandwiching our hands between her own. I felt a wave of calm wash over me despite everything that was going on. I guess Hanora just had that effect emanating from her, like everything was going to be okay.

“Sorry that I made you guys worry.” Hanora said, her eyes flicking between the two of us.

Part of me wanted to chew her out for running off like that to just pass out. She seemed to have made it a habit, always dealing with her pain on her own. But it didn’t seem fair to throw that at her. It’s not like she was doing it on purpose. I mean how could she have known something terrible was going to happen? Knowing her, she had just wandered off to the beach and then was hit with the pain. Another thing she could not control, her link to people closest to her. I hated to think that not only did she have to deal with her own pains, but that she also had to deal with ours. Which brings me back to the other part of me that wanted to wrap her up in my arms and tell her everything is alright.

I settled for squeezing her hand. Before I could think of what I wanted to say to her, Percy said, “no. I should be saying sorry.” He took a deep breath but kept his head bowed down avoiding both of our gazes. “I-I left him…he-he’s gone. And I’m sooo sorry! I wish I could have done more or been strong enough to get us both out of there.”

“Come on seaweed brain, we talked about this already.” I whispered.

“No Annabeth. I appreciate that you might believe it, but I just- I can’t. It’s my fault that we lost Beckendorf and the reason Hanora is in the infirmary.”

“Sea-” Hanora started

“He told me to go! To leave him!-”

“Pesciolino-” 

“-That I was needed more, because of the prophecy! But he had people he needed to see too!”

“Percy-”

“Gods, you should have seen Selinna, she was devastated. And you…Han, I-”

“Perseus Jackson shut up!” Hanora snapped, pushing herself to sit up and face us. She ripped her hands away from the pile we had created in favor of grabbing Percy by the ear.

I looked between the two of them with my hands out hesitantly “Han...are you sure you should be sitting up so fast-”

Her eyes darted to me for a moment and in a quick blink and you’ll miss it moment, she grabbed one of my outstretched hands and placed a kiss on my knuckles before dropping it back onto the bed. If her aim was to distract me enough to keep me from worrying about her health, then she was very successful. My face burned about as much as the ghostly impression of her lips on my hand did, which was a lot.

Hanora turned back to Percy and pulled him closer by the ear so that he had no choice but to look at her.

“Listen well Jackson cause I am only going to say this once. Char is…was a big boy who made all of his own decisions. He was not the best at following directions he did not whole heartedly agree with, Hades it was impossible to get him to do anything he did not want to do. Now he had a plan and when things got hectic he improvised as best as he could, you both did. You can not fault yourself for something you did not plan for.”

“-But-”

“Do not interrupt me.”

Percy gulped almost commercially as he clamped his mouth shut again.

Hanora poked at the space between his eyebrows with her other hand before continuing. “Char believed in you so you damn well start believing in yourself too. Because he always knew which bot to bet on in the ring, and if you make a liar out of him I will knock you into next Tuesday.” She poked between his eyebrows again, “Do you understand?”

He nodded dumbly in response.

“Good. Besides you had no chance anyway in trying to die in his place. He already promised me that you would come home in one piece, and Char has never in his whole life broken a promise to me.” She finally released his ear and waved him off lightly as she leaned back onto her pillows. “Now that we are done with the pity parade why don’t you fill me in on what I missed.”

Between the two of us and Will who had wandered in not long after we started explaining what happened on the Princess Andromeda, we went over all pertinent information for the battles of the present and future. Hanora listened with rapt attention as she tapped at the golden pendant hanging around her neck. Will himself did not have much to add aside from explaining the injuries he treated on her while bringing her some nectar. She took it without complaint but she slowly grew more restless on her cot as the story caught up to the present.

She nodded, her jaw set in place. “Well then, what are we doing sitting around here? Lets go get that prophecy.”

“We?” I asked not bothering to hide the concern in my voice.

Hanora started to push the blanket off of her legs, “yes we. Now come on, we don't have all day.”

She quickly threw her legs over the opposite side of the bed from Percy and I, which both of us had stood up in alarm in an attempt to stop her. Will was faster than both of us and grabbed her ankles in a swift movement throwing them back onto the bed.

“Oh no you don’t.” He started with one hand on his hip the other pointing his pen at her emphasizing his point. “With the amount of blood that you coughed up and!” He took a big suffering breath saying the next bit much louder and closer to her face, “had dripping from your eyes! You really should not be walking around.”

She started to say something but was stopped by Will’s pen being pressed against her lips. “Doctor’s orders. No Walking. At least for the rest of the day. You need to rest and not face plant from blood loss.”

Foolishly I hoped that the conversation was over, that she would lay back down and rest. Percy seemed to have a similar thought as I felt him relax a bit next to me. We were both sadly mistaken.

“Alright then get me a wheelchair.”

The sound of my palm smacking into my forehead echoed through the room so loudly that Percy gasped in concern pulling the two apart to check for damage. Will and Hanora were unphased.

“And why should I do that?” Will countered crossing his arms over his chest with a quirked eyebrow.

“Because if you don’t I’ll leave anyway.”

My face must have shown the heart attack I was having because Percy’s eyes popped out of his head. He pulled out a chair and forced me to sit down while the other two battled it out on the other side of the room.

“That is the worst negotiation tactic I’ve ever heard.”

“No, no Solace, hear me out.”

 Will only rolled his eyes but motioned for her to continue. 

Hanora readjusted her long hair by flicking it behind her. “ Okay…so, you want me to rest because you are afraid that too much movement could cause me to fatigue too quickly and make me pass out.” Will nodded along skeptically. “And I want to get the Hades out of here and help plan our next steps at the head counselors meeting once Percy obtains the prophecy.”

Will pinched the bridge of his nose, “So your big compromise is a wheelchair?”

“Exactly. I get to be a part of the discussions while also staying off my feet taking added stress off of my less than ideal current medical condition. Besides, do you really think that I am going to let the Stolls speak for us unclaimed? Absolutely the fuck not! As their unofficial head counselor I need to be involved in these discussions …and… I have a lot of experience to aid in our plans. So can you really deny me this simple request?”

There was a moment of silence as the two of them had a silent argument. Then Will sighed, throwing his hands towards the heavens haphazardly before leaving the room. Hanora turned back to us, her legs now crossed as she leaned back on her hands.

“I don’t know why he argues with me any more. He knows damn well that the only way I’ll stay in this bed is if I’m knocked out. Just don’t say that in front of Clarisse, she might take that as an invitation.”

A whisper of a laugh escaped me as I shook my head at her. “You just can’t help yourself can you?”

Her laugh had more body behind it than my own, but something about it felt hollow. Maybe I was just overthinking things. “As if you would have me any other way.”

The bright smile splitting across her face brought heat to my own again. This little crush,…no… affection would be more accurate, was going to be the death of me.

“If that’s what helps you sleep at night.” I snarked back trying to hide the redness I felt on my face.

Percy shook his head at the both of us and walked to the threshold of the door to help Will wheel in the chair. Will and Percy made quick work of helping her into the chair and wheeling her out of the building. I trailed a few paces behind trying not to think about what awaited Percy and I in the attic. But the sense of dread only grew as Will waved us off and Percy took the handles to push Hanora down the path to the big house.

Chapter Text

The walk to the big house was quiet, the only sound being our foot falls in the dirt or tires in Hanora’s case. I’d been to the Big House attic three times before, which was three times more than I wanted to. Standing at the bottom of the staircase that led to the attic’s ladder, I wondered how Chiron was going to get up there, being half horse and all, but he didn't try.

 "You know where it is," he told Annabeth. "Bring it down, please."

 Annabeth nodded. "Come on, Percy."

“But what about-” I started to ask but Hanora cut me off.

“I’ll be down here when you’re done.”

She waved at me to go as she threw a look to Annabeth behind me. I folded faster than I would have normally, at least that's what I’d like to believe anyway. The guilt was still eating at me, but I swallowed it down as I turned to follow Annabeth up to the attic.

 The sun was setting outside, so the attic was even darker and creepier than usual. Old hero trophies were slacked everywhere—dented shields, pickled heads in jars from various monsters, a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read: STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR'S HONDA CIVIC, BY GUS, SON OF HERMES, 1988.

 I picked up a curved bronze sword so badly bent it looked like the letter M. I could still see green stains on the metal from the magical poison that used to cover it. The tag was dated last summer. It read: Scimitar of Kampê, destroyed in the Battle of the Labyrinth.

 "You remember Briares throwing those boulders?" I asked.

 Annabeth gave me a grudging smile. "And Grover causing a Panic?"

 We locked eyes. I thought of a different time last summer, under Mount St. Helens, when Annabeth thought I was going to die and she kissed me.

 She cleared her throat and looked away. "Prophecy."

 "Right." I put down the scimitar. "Prophecy."

I could practically hear Hanora’s melodic laugh now. I was infinitely happier that she had not come up with us.

 We walked over to the window. On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle—a shriveled female mummy in a tie-dyed dress. Tufts of black hair clung to her skull. Glassy eyes stared out of her leathery face. Just looking at her made my skin crawl.

 If you wanted to leave camp during the summer, it used to be you had to come up here to get a quest. This summer, that rule had been tossed. Campers left all the time on combat missions. We had no choice if we wanted to stop Kronos.

 Still, I remembered too well the strange green mist—the spirit of the Oracle—that lived inside the mummy. She looked lifeless now, but whenever she spoke a prophecy, she moved. Sometimes fog gushed out of her mouth and created strange shapes. Once, she'd even left the attic and taken a little zombie stroll into the woods to deliver a message. I wasn't sure what she'd do for the "Great Prophecy." I half expected her to start tap dancing or something. But she just sat there like she was dead—which she was.

 "I never understood this," I whispered.

 "What?" Annabeth asked.

 "Why it's a mummy."

 "Percy, she didn't used to be a mummy. For thousands of years the spirit of the Oracle lived inside a beautiful maiden. The spirit would be passed on from generation to generation. Chiron told me she was like that fifty years ago." Annabeth pointed at the mummy. "But she was the last."

 "What happened?"

 Annabeth started to say something, then apparently changed her mind. "Let's just do our job and get out of here. Hanora is probably buzzing with anxiety down there."

 I looked nervously at the Oracle's withered face trying to picture Hanora wheeling herself around Chiron as she explained some new weapon she had dreamed up in her coma. But all I saw was miss zombie face instead. "So what now?"

 Annabeth approached the mummy and held out her palms. "O Oracle, the time is at hand. I ask for the Great Prophecy."

 I braced myself, but the mummy didn't move. Instead, Annabeth approached and unclasped one of its necklaces. I’d never paid too much attention to its jewelry before. I figured it was just hippie love beads and stuff. But when Annabeth turned toward me, she was holding a leather pouch—like a Native American medicine pouch on a cord braided with feathers. She opened the bag and took out a roll of parchment no bigger than her pinky.

 "No way," I said. "You mean all these years, I've been asking about this stupid prophecy, and it's been right there around her neck?"

 "The time wasn't right," Annabeth said. "Believe me, Percy, I read this when I was ten years old, and I still have nightmares about it."

 "Great," I said. "Can I read it now?"

 "Downstairs at the war council," Annabeth said. "Not in front of . . . you know."

 I looked at the glassy eyes of the Oracle, and I decided not to argue. We headed downstairs to join the others. I didn't know it  then, but it would be the last time I ever visited the attic.

 * * *

 The senior counselors had gathered around the Ping-Pong table. Don't ask me why, but the rec room had become the camp's informal headquarters for war councils. When Annabeth, Hanora, Chiron, and I came in, though, it looked more like a shouting match.

 Clarisse was still in full battle gear. Her electric spear was strapped to her back. (Actually, her second electric spear, since I'd broken the first one. She called the spear "Maimer." Behind her back, everybody else called it "Lamer.") She had her boar-shaped helmet under one arm and a knife at her belt.

 She was in the midst of yelling at Michael Yew, the new head counselor for Apollo, which looked kind of funny since Clarisse was a foot taller. Michael had taken over the Apollo cabin after Lee Fletcher died in battle last summer. Michael stood four feet six, with another two feet of attitude. He reminded me of a ferret, with a pointy nose and scrunched-up features—either because he scowled so much or because he spent too much time looking down the shaft of an arrow.

 "It's our loot!" he yelled, standing on his tiptoes so he could get in Clarisse's face. "If you don't like it, you can kiss my quiver!"

 Around the table, people were trying not to laugh—the Stoll brothers, Pollux from the Dionysus cabin, Katie Gardner from Demeter. Even Jake Mason, the hastily appointed new counselor from Hephaestus, managed a faint smile. Only Silena Beauregard didn't pay any attention. She sat beside Clarisse and stared vacantly at the Ping-Pong net. Her eyes were red and puffy. A cup of hot chocolate sat untouched in front of her. It seemed unfair that she had to be here. I couldn't believe Clarisse and Michael standing over her, arguing about something as stupid as loot, when she'd just lost Beckendorf. I had to force myself not to shoot a look at Hanora as she wheeled herself over to her place in between Conner and Pollux, if I did my rage would have become unmanageable.

 "STOP IT!" I yelled. "What are you guys doing?"

 Clarisse glowered at me. "Tell Michael not to be a selfish jerk."

 "Oh, that's perfect, coming from you," Michael said.

 "The only reason I'm here is to support Silena!" Clarisse shouted. "Otherwise I'd be back in my cabin."

 "What are you talking about?" I demanded.

 Pollux cleared his throat. "Clarisse has refused to speak to any of us, until her, um, issue is resolved. She hasn't spoken for three days."

 "It's been wonderful," Travis Stoll said wistfully.

 "What issue?" I asked.

 Clarisse turned to Chiron. "You're in charge, right? Does my cabin get what we want or not?"

 Chiron shuffled his hooves. "My dear, as I've already explained, Michael is correct. Apollo's cabin has the best claim. Besides, we have more important matters—"

 "Sure," Clarisse snapped. "Always more important matters than what Ares needs. We're just supposed to show up and fight when you need us, and not complain!"

 "That would be nice," Connor Stoll muttered but was cut off with a pained ‘oof’ when Hanora jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

 Clarisse gripped her knife. "Maybe I should ask Mr. D—"

 "As you know," Chiron interrupted, his tone slightly angry now, "our director, Dionysus, is busy with the war. He can't be bothered with this."

 "I see," Clarisse said. "And the senior counselors?  Are any of you going to side with me?"

 Nobody was smiling now. None of them met Clarisse's eyes.

Hanora sighed and looked up tiredly at Clarisse, something passed between them that I could not understand. But Clarisse nodded at her before regarding the rest of the table.

 "Fine." Clarisse turned to Silena. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get into this when you've just lost . . . Anyway, I apologize. To you. Nobody else."

 Silena didn't seem to register her words.

 Clarisse threw her knife on the Ping-Pong table. "All of you can fight this war without Ares. Until I get satisfaction, no one in my cabin is lifting a finger to help. Have fun dying."

 The counselors were all too stunned to say anything as Clarisse stormed out of the room.

 Finally Michael Yew said, "Good riddance."

 "Are you kidding?" Katie Gardner protested. "This is a disaster!"

 "She can't be serious," Travis said. "Can she?"

“Deadly serious.” Hanora confirmed with a sad nod.

  Chiron sighed. "Her pride has been wounded. She'll calm down eventually." But he didn't sound convinced.

 I wanted to ask what the heck Clarisse was so mad about, but I looked at Annabeth and she mouthed the words I'll tell you later.

 "Now," Chiron continued, " if you please, counselors. Percy has brought something I think you should hear. Percy—the Great Prophecy."

 Annabeth handed me the parchment. It felt dry and old, and my fingers fumbled with the string. I uncurled the paper, trying not to rip it, and began to read:

 "A half-blood of the eldest dogs . . ."

 "Er, Percy?" Annabeth interrupted.  "That's gods. Not dogs  ."

 "Oh, right," I said. Being dyslexic is one mark of a demigod, but sometimes I really hate it. The more nervous I am, the worse my reading gets. "A half-blood of the eldest gods . . . shall reach sixteen against all odds . . ."

 I hesitated, staring at the next lines. A cold feeling started in my fingers as if the paper was freezing.

 "And see the world in endless sleep, The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap."

 Suddenly Riptide seemed heavier in my pocket. A cursed blade? Chiron once told me Riptide had brought many people sorrow. Was it possible my own sword could get me killed? And how could the world fall into endless sleep, unless that meant death?

 "Percy," Chiron urged. "Read the rest."

 My mouth felt like it was full of sand, but I spoke the last two lines.

 "A single choice shall.  . . shall end his days. Olympus to per—pursue —"

 "Preserve," Annabeth said gently. "It means to save."

 "I know what it means," I grumbled. "Olympus to preserve or raze."

 The room was silent. Finally Connor Stoll said, "Raise is good, isn't it?"

 "Not raise," Silena said. Her voice was hollow, but I was startled to hear her speak at all. "R-a-z-e means destroy."

 "Obliterate," Annabeth said. "Annihilate. Turn to rubble."

“AB.” Hanora cut in with a shake of her head.

 "Got it." My heart felt like lead. "Thanks."

 Everybody was looking at me—with concern, or pity, or maybe a little fear.

 Chiron closed his eyes as if he were saying a prayer. In horse form, his head almost brushed the lights in the rec room. "You see now, Percy, why we thought it best not to tell you the whole prophecy. You've had enough on your shoulders—"

 "Without realizing I was going to die in the end any way?" I said. "Yeah, I get it."

 Chiron gazed at me sadly. The guy was three thousand years old. He'd seen hundreds of heroes die. He might not like it, but he was used to it. He probably knew better than to try to reassure me.

 "Percy," Annabeth said. "You know prophecies always have double meanings. It might not literally mean you die."

 "Sure," I said. "A single choice shall end his days. That has tons of meanings, right?"

Hanora’s voice caught my attention, “unless it means that the person making the choice and the one who’s days end are two different people?” She shrugged.

 "Maybe we can stop it," Jake Mason offered. "The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap.  Maybe we could find this cursed blade and destroy it. Sounds like Kronos's scythe, right?"

 I hadn't thought about that, but it didn't matter if the cursed blade was Riptide or Kronos's scythe. Either way, I doubted we could stop the prophecy. A blade was supposed to reap my soul. As a general rule, I preferred not to have my soul reaped.

 "Perhaps we should let Percy think about these lines," Chiron said. "He needs time—"

 "No." I folded up the prophecy and shoved it into my pocket. I felt defiant and angry, though I wasn't sure who I was angry with. "I don't need time. If I die, I die. I can't worry about that, right?"

 Annabeth's hands were shaking a little. She wouldn't meet my eyes.

Hanora, however, met my eyes with defiance. How could I have forgotten about her own foreboding prediction? ‘The last son of the dragon shall fall’, and a reaped soul did not sound great for either of us. I shook my head and turned back to the room at large.

 "Let's move on," I said. "We've got other problems. We've got a spy."

 Michael Yew scowled. "A spy?"

 I told them what had happened on the Princess Andromeda —how Kronos had known we were coming, how he'd shown me the silver scythe pendant he'd used to communicate with someone at camp.

 Silena started to cry again, and Annabeth put an arm around her shoulders.

 "Well," Connor Stoll said uncomfortably, "we've suspected there might be a spy for years, right? Somebody kept passing information to Luke—like the location of the Golden Fleece a couple of years ago. It must be somebody who knew him well."

 Maybe subconsciously, he glanced at Hanora. She'd known Luke better than anyone, of course, but Connor looked away quickly. "Um, I mean, it could be anybody."

 "Yes." Katie Gardner frowned at the Stoll brothers. She'd disliked them ever since they'd decorated the grass roof of the Demeter cabin with chocolate Easter bunnies. "Like one of Luke's siblings."

 Travis and Connor both started arguing with her.

 "Stop!" Silena banged the table so hard her hot chocolate spilled. "Charlie's dead and . . . and you're all arguing like little kids!" She put her head down and began to sob.

 Hot chocolate trickled off the Ping-Pong table. Everybody looked ashamed. While Hanora for a split second looked like she was going to be sick before she schooled her expression.

 "She's right," Pollux said at last. "Accusing each other doesn't help. We need to keep our eyes open for a silver necklace with a scythe charm. If Kronos had one, the spy probably does too."

 Michael Yew grunted. "We need to find this spy before we plan our next operation. Blowing up the Princess Andromeda won't stop Kronos forever."

 "No indeed," Chiron said. "In fact his next assault is already on the way."

 I scowled. "You mean the 'bigger threat' Poseidon mentioned?"

 He and Annabeth looked at each other like, It's time.  Did I mention I hate it when they do that?

 "Percy," Chiron said, "we didn't want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your . . . mortal friends."

 Annabeth blushed. It dawned on me that she knew I'd been hanging out with Rachel, and I felt guilty for a whole new reason. Then I felt angry that I felt guilty. I was allowed to have friends outside camp, right? It wasn't like . . .

 "Tell me what's happened," I said.

  Chiron picked up a bronze goblet from the snack table. He tossed water onto the hot plate where we usually melted nacho cheese. Steam billowed up, making a rainbow in the fluorescent lights. Chiron fished a golden drachma out of his pouch, tossed it through the mist, and muttered, "O Iris, Goddess of the Rainbow, show us the threat."

 The mist shimmered. I saw the familiar image of a smoldering volcano—Mount St. Helens. As I watched, the side of the mountain exploded. Fire, ash, and lava rolled out. A newscaster's voice was saying"  —even larger than last year's eruption, and geologists warn that the mountain may not be done."

 I knew all about last year's eruption. I'd caused it. But this explosion was much worse. The mountain tore itself apart, collapsing inward, and an enormous form rose out of the smoke and lava like it was emerging from a manhole. I hoped the Mist would keep the humans from seeing it clearly, because what I saw would've caused panic and riots across the entire United States.

 The giant was bigger than anything I'd ever encountered. Even my demigod eyes couldn't make out its exact form through the ash and fire, but it was vaguely humanoid and so huge it could've used the Chrysler Building as a baseball bat. The mountain shook with a horrible rumbling, as if the monster were laughing.

 "It's him," I said. "Typhon."

 I was seriously hoping Chiron would say something good, like No, that's our huge friend Leroy! He's going to help us!  But no such luck. He simply nodded. "The most horrible monster of all, the biggest single threat the gods ever faced. He has been freed from under the mountain at last. But this scene is from two days ago. Here is what is happening today."

 Chiron waved his hand and the image changed. I saw a bank of storm clouds rolling across the Midwest plains. Lightning flickered. Lines of tornadoes destroyed every-thing in their path—ripping up houses and trailers, tossing cars around like Matchbox toys.

 "Monumental floods," an announcer was saying. "Five states declared disaster areas as the freak storm system sweeps east, continuing its path of destruction."  The cameras zoomed in on a column of storm bearing down on some Midwest city. I couldn't tell which one. Inside the storm I could see the giant—just small glimpses of his true form: a smoky arm, a dark clawed hand the size of a city block. His angry roar rolled across the plains like a nuclear blast. Other smaller forms darted through the clouds, circling the monster. I saw flashes of light, and I realized the giant was trying to swat them. I squinted and thought I saw a golden chariot flying into the blackness. Then some kind of huge bird—a monstrous owl—dived in to attack the giant.

 "Are those . . . the gods?" I said.

 "Yes, Percy," Chiron said. "They have been fighting him for days now, trying to slow him down. But Typhon is marching forward—toward New York. Toward Olympus."

 I let that sink in. "How long until he gets here?"

 "Unless the gods can stop him? Perhaps five days. Most of the Olympians are there . . . except your father, who has a war of his own to fight."

 "But then who's guarding Olympus?"

 Connor Stoll shook his head. "If Typhon gets to New York, it won't matter who's guarding Olympus."

Hanora propped her elbows up on the table and rested her chin on the clasped backs of her hands. “Essentially no one is on Olympus. Tethys said that Themis, Leto, and Asteria would be periodically doing rounds on site, but they have all been dispatched out to help with smaller squabbles the gods don’t have the manpower to handle right now. And Tethys herself has her hands full helping your father against her husband.”

Travis huffed and muttered, “Talk about family drama.”

 I thought about Kronos's words on the ship: I would love to see the terror in your eyes when you realize how I will destroy Olympus.

 Was this what he was talking about: an attack by Typhon? It was sure terrifying enough. But Kronos was always fooling us, misdirecting our attention. This seemed too obvious for him. And in my dream, the golden Titan had talked about several more challenges to come, as if Typhon were only the first. I caught Hanora’s eye, which glittered with silver specs. She had figured it out too.

 "It's a trick," I said. "We have to warn the gods. Something else is going to happen."

 Chiron looked at me gravely. "Something worse than Typhon? I hope not."

 "We have to defend Olympus," I insisted. "Kronos has another attack planned."

 "He did," Travis Stoll reminded me. "But you sunk his ship."

 Everyone was looking at me. They wanted some good news. They wanted to believe that at least I'd given them a little bit of hope.

 I glanced between Hanora and Annabeth. I could tell we were thinking the same thing: What if the Princess Andromeda was a ploy? What if Kronos let us blow up that ship so we'd lower our guard?  But I wasn't going to say that in front of Silena. Her boyfriend had sacrificed himself for that mission, and despite Hanora clearly being on the same page as us I really did not want to voice it out loud with her yet either.

 "Maybe you're right," I said, though I didn't believe it.

 I tried to imagine how things could get much worse. The gods were in the Midwest fighting a huge monster that had almost defeated them once before. Poseidon was under siege and losing a war against the sea Titan Oceanus. The titainesses on our side being spread thin across the world putting out fires. Kronos was still out there somewhere. Olympus was virtually undefended. The demigods of Camp Half-Blood were on our own with a spy in our midst.

 Oh, and according to the ancient prophecy, I was going to die when I turned sixteen—which happened to be in five days, the exact same time Typhon was supposed to hit New York. Almost forgot that.

 "Well," Chiron said, "I think that's enough for one night."

 He waved his hand and the steam dissipated. The stormy battle of Typhon and the gods disappeared.

 "That's an understatement," I muttered.

 And the war council adjourned.

Chapter Text

Sleeping that night proved to be an even more difficult task than usual. The pain in my chest made it hard to think straight let alone relax. Luckily for me I at least got to stay in the infirmary for ‘overnight observation’ just to be safe, not like Will was in any rush to let me out of that room for more than ten minutes at a time. I wished that I could be mad about it, but annoyingly he was right. I was in terrible condition despite what my stubbornness would have you believe. Standing was painful and gods know walking was completely out of the question for the foreseeable future. That boy could see right through my mask of indifference and see the pain bubbling to the surface, and he had the audacity to not just assume that it was my….well lets just say…. Devastation.

I must have fallen asleep at some point. One moment I was tossing and turning in my cot and the next I was staring up at the night sky. The ground was cold and hard, which was really what shook me out of my pained stupor to pay attention.

I pushed myself up to find that I had been laid out on a jetty with calm ocean waves licking up either side of the collection of dark rocks. Being propped up on the jetty in the middle of the night was not a new experience, just one I had not partaken in since the invaders came to our shores. The sky was more reminiscent of the one I saw every night in modern New York, So I knew that I had not fallen into a memory. (which I had been doing a lot of since regaining them all in a quick burst after essentially being an amnesiac.)

“Good you’re here.”

I peeked my head over the side of my rock to see Tethys pulling herself onto the jetty from the sea below. She was in full celestial bronze armor, an image of a Ketos (Or a Cetus for all those Greek demigods that did not grow up in ancient Rome.) wrapped around an oar with wings sprouting out on either side of the image engraved in her breast plate, over her flowy blue dress. An oar made of celestial bronze was in a holster on her back. Her long wavy brown hair had been pulled up into a slick bun that probably fit better in the helmet, with wings protruding from either side, attached to her belt than it would have free flowing. Her deep blue eyes looked tired but still held the cold elegance that I had become accustomed to.

“You hijacked my dream.” I noted as she settled in next to me. “Is something wrong? Or I guess worse than normal?”

She sighed looking up at the stars, I wondered what she was looking for up there. My own eyes always strayed to Zoë Nightshade running amongst the constellations. Maybe she was looking at the people she knew as well, but the way her eyes narrowed made me think that it had not been a pleasant relationship. Or perhaps she was merely thinking…I tend to overthink, or so I have been told.

“The battle between Poseidon and Oceanus has proven to be much more involved than I anticipated. My daughters and I help where we can, but we have precious little resources to spare elsewhere. And as you know I had only been able to get into contact with Themis, Leto, and Asteria. Asteria tried her luck in convincing her husband and the others to join the side of the gods, but it has come up rather fruitless.” Her shoulders sagged slightly but her posture somehow remained annoyingly regal. “We are spread thin, and with Typhon raging across the country the gods are also quite busy.”

“Yeah we’ve been keeping tabs on Typhon’s progress.” I confirmed. “I’m just concerned that…that something bigger is coming.”

“Knowing my brother, I am certain that he has something up his sleeve. Some key players have been missing in action for some time. It would be wasteful of him to side line them.”

We fell into a heavy silence as the waves grew in height and ferocity. 

“And we think there is a spy amongst us. No, I know that there has to be a spy. There is no way that Kronos just stumbled upon our mission plans by accident. Plus he happily paraded the fact around to Percy and…” I dug my nails into the palm of my hands, “how do we counter a spy? We don’t even know where to start to weed them out.”

She hummed in response, her eyes still locked on the sky. “I’m not sure that it is worth your efforts to worry about it. Stick to the loyalties you hold dearest, they will not fail you.”

“Yeah cause that has really worked out for me so far,” I bristled.

For the first time since climbing onto the rocks with me Tethys’s blue eyes bore into the side of my head. “Miss Xanthus.” She started with a deep sigh. “You are a much better judge of character than you give yourself credit for. You most certainly got that trait from your father, and perhaps selfishly I hope a little came from me.”

“I thought you were not my mom? And that I am unfortunately not the first demi titan.”

A small huff of a laugh escaped her. “Yes, but I would hope your mother picked up a thing or two from me. But alas time and time again I fear my wisdom escapes her.”

“Oh? Am I about to get some mom lore right about now, or are you going to clam up? Cause it's ‘not time yet’...whatever that means.”

“Your mother will reveal herself in time, but again here you are pushing the focus anywhere but you. I find that you have a real talent for deflection.”

“Well I did learn from -” 

Tethys cut me off before I could turn us again to a new tangent. “Child, despite Castellan’s choices he did have good intentions in regard to your kind.-”

“Oh yeah? You mean like how he poisoned a child for existing and then shattered a several year long friendship at the drop of a hat?”

“-That Chase girl is strategic but still runs to her friend’s aid.-”

“Which has gotten her beaten, poisoned, kidnapped, and drowned.”

“- Jackson continues to fight for the people he cares for and what he believe is right-”

“Sure, and that said side has led him to take up the title of the child of prophecy. Which is damn near close to a death sentence lest you have forgotten.”

“-And Beckend-”

“DON’T SAY HIS NAME!” I cut in breathing heavily at that point. “Please…I-I can’t,” I said softer, bringing my knees up to my chest. 

“Hanora,” she said, turning fully to face me. “Hanora darling, look at me.” 

I reluctantly shifted so that I could see her but my face was still mostly pushed into my knees.

“Your attachment to that camp, your friends, that deep sense of loyalty that runs in your veins. It will be what decides the fate of this world, in a way that not even the fates themselves could weave. I know that you fear that your attachments could be your downfall, and perhaps they could be. But they could also be your greatest strength. If you let them. Trying to go out on your own now and cut them all off will not serve you well, and you know that all those you have lost would agree with me.”

“That has not worked for me all that well so far. I mean anyone I have said that I- well you know…the word to are very…dead. I’m not sure how much of a super power that is.” I blinked up at her processing what she said again, “wait…what was that bit about the fates? Isn’t their whole job to weave together different possibilities for the future?”

Tethys by nature tended to exist with an air of seriousness at all times, and yet somehow her aura shifted to something even heavier. “ Yes but there are events foretold by beings even older than the fates, events that they can not even see let alone weave into their own plans.”

“Like the prophecy Phoebe had been spouting?”

“Exactly like that prophecy,” She confirmed. “It is still unclear how she got a hold of such an ancient prediction. But with it now circling among our enemies' ranks they believe that you are the key to their victory, or their great failure.”

I couldn’t hold back my eye roll. “Okay I get the prophecy could possibly inform them of an important decision for them, but what does that have to do with me? The whole damn thing is pretty vague and I am only mentioned in the last line. Plus it says I am going to fall, which is not exactly a great thought, but not really important for them….right?”

Tethys’s eyes glowed like fresh dawn light hitting the tip of a clear blue glacier. “A child hidden from fate, born of a broken vow. Three threads intertwined shall never stand down. In fire and ash a protector forged anew. A side they must carefully choose, for their aim holds true. Loyalty so strong answers the call. The last son of the dragon shall fall.”

“Yeah thanks for the recap, but I already have the whole thing memorized.”

“And yet you still do not understand any of it.”

“Rude,” I huffed, crossing my arms. “Alright, enlighten me then.”

“You can see the threads of those closest to you, so one can assume that you would use those connections to stand your ground in this upcoming battle-”

“-yeah sur-”

“Do not interrupt me.” I slammed my mouth shut as those icy eyes shot daggers at me. “As I was saying…Even the line about fire and ash links back to Vesuvius and how a ‘protector’, which I am quite certain is you, was born anew. And darling you are constantly using yourself as a human shield for your people. You are so deeply loyal that you stood your ground to help your fellow demigods and the friends you have made. This whole prophecy is about you and the life you have lived up to this point.”

I blinked a few times trying to process her honestly terrifying assessment. “I-I well….okay, but what about that secret child? Clearly we will need their help or we might need to get rid of them….or I don’t know…something?”

“Oh sweet heart…weren’t you listening? The prophecy is yours, and yours alone.” A cold well manicured hand came up to rest carefully on my cheek. “You are the child hidden from fate.”

***

I woke up with such a heavy start that I nearly did a forward tuck roll straight off of the foot of my cot. Only the remains of my anxiety fueled tinkering activities the night before gave me enough things to grip to stop myself from hitting the floor. The image of Travis Stoll sneaking in my tool kit after lights out would normally have been enough to calm my speeding heart after a particularly rough dream. This time it was not nearly enough. I sat with my knees tucked under me and my forehead pressed into the sheets for at least ten minutes trying to slow my breathing.

My brain was swirling with both prophecies echoing in my ears, Tethys’s hopefully incorrect theories, and my own negativity just piling up on top of everything. So I got the added joy of a headache on top of the nausea and all of my bones rattling like they wanted to escape my meat suit….yeah it was so bad that I used the term ‘meat suit’. Sorry not sorry.

“Oh good you're awaa- holy Apollo what happened to you?”

I peaked up through my curtain of hair to see Will all dressed and ready in his doctor’s best. He was carrying a plate with a croissant and a few orange slices on it.

I took a long suffering breath, “....life, Solace ... .Life is what happened to me.”

I pushed my face back into the sheets. Will shuffled around the room, I heard the plate being set on the bed side table before he started throwing my tools into their bag on the floor.

“How many times have I told you no tinkering while you're on bed rest?"

I shrugged, “a shit ton.”

“Must you curse?”

“It's the only way I get through the day.”

He went silent for a moment. Then in a quick fluid movement he grabbed me by the shoulder and flipped me over onto my back. I was too stunned to move as I was greeted with two big blue eyes. Looking at him upside down made my head swim again, but he didn’t stay there long. He pulled out thermometers, a wash cloth, and bandages. He worked silently checking me over before shoving an orange slice into my mouth.

“Gods Will what the fuck?” I said around the slice.

“Good news your fever is gone and you have no sign of any external injuries. Bad news, you have eaten only one slice of toast in about a day and a half. So, you need to eat and tell me your pain levels.” He stared at me with narrowed eyes, “honestly please.”

“Ummmmm…” I swallowed the orange slice, which annoyingly did lessen my head ache a bit. “Are my bones supposed to be vibrating?”

He blinked down at me, once, twice, three times before he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Vibrating?”

“....vibrating…”

He stepped away from me causing me to hang my head off of the bed to track his movements. He grabbed at his clipboard and quickly jotted something down. He looked up from his board and pointed the end of his pen at me and then at the plate on the table. “Eat that and make sure you have a lot of water. I’m going to go scavenge my medical books to double check, but knowing you this …” he sighed and with his pen hand made air quotes “vibrating ... .is something that just needs time to heal. So don’t do anything crazy, or at the very least use the wheel chair for today at least.”

I sat up and swung around so that I was facing him, which was a terrible idea considering the bout of dizziness I got. “I can be off bed rest?!” 

He pushed over the wheelchair, “only because you’d be worse for everyone else if I kept you in here. Don’t push it.” 

With one final withering look he stepped out of the room and disappeared down the hall.

I giggled to myself trying to refocus my eyes against the dizziness. That poor bastard has no idea that said chair that he thinks is going to keep me mostly out of trouble, had actually been my main tinkering focus last night. 

***

I blasted out of the infirmary so fast after forcing down my food that my wheels might have actually caught fire a little bit. I was already a bit behind in the day's activities, breakfast had come and gone leaving the camp to their assigned activities. I hit a tight turn as I pressed my newly installed control panel to pick up my chair’s speed. (If you thought I was going to manually drive this damn thing then you are dead wrong. I shan’t be doing a whole day worth of arm day, absolutely not.)

I shot past cabins one and two, ignoring the urge to flip off cabin two, and rolled my way into the cabin common area. I felt an evil smile sneak its way onto my face as I saw two very familiar people stepping out of the Aphrodite cabin. Luckily for my plans the two were busy looking at the papers and clipboards in their hands and not at the wheelchair rocketing up behind them.

“All aboard!” I yelled as I slammed my chair into their backs, scooping them up onto the arms of the chair.

The high pitched squeaks they both released as I raced them across the common area toward cabin eleven, (which was where they had been heading since Annabeth had been given cabin inspection duty that day). I couldn’t contain the laugh that bubbled up as I drifted into a parked position just in front of the steps to the cabin. 

Annabeth squirmed away from the arm I had used the seat belt her into place in favor of angrily stomping in front of me. While Percy let himself fully fall into my lap like I was holding him bridal style.

“Gods Han! You can not just sneak up on us like that!” Annabeth yelled, waving her clipboard in the air for emphasis.

“To be fair, I did announce myself before I grabbed you.” I countered finally noticing that the vibrating in my bones had lessened. Well actually it had been completely gone for a moment there…perhaps I had been too excited to wreak chaos that I had fully blocked it out. Yep that's what I am going to go with.

Percy was breathing heavily clutching his papers to his chest, a big smile on his face. “Don’t listen to her Specs, that was awesome.”

Annabeth huffed indignantly but it just made the whole thing funnier.

Just then a fight broke out between the Ares and Apollo cabins. Some Apollo campers armed with firebombs flew over the Ares cabin in a chariot pulled by two pegasi. That particular chariot had become the topic of much discussion the past few days, and honestly despite how cool it looked I could make a better one. Soon, the roof of the Ares cabin was burning, and naiads from the canoe lake rushed over to blow water on it.

 Then the Ares campers called down a curse, and all the Apollo kids' arrows turned to rubber. The Apollo kids kept shooting at the Ares kids, but the arrows bounced off.

 Two archers ran by, chased by an angry Ares kid who was yelling in poetry: "Curse me, eh? I'll make you pay!  I don't want to rhyme all day!"

 Annabeth sighed. "Not that again. Last time Apollo cursed a cabin, it took a week for the rhyming couplets to wear off."

 I shuddered. Apollo was god of poetry as well as archery, and I'd heard him recite in person. I'd almost rather be shot by an arrow…. No I definitely would rather get shot…by anything not just a random arrow.

"What are they fighting about anyway?" Percy asked as he slid off my lap to get a better look.

Annabeth ignored him while she scribbled on her inspection scroll, giving both cabins a one out of five. The light of day was doing that thing again where it caught in her blonde hair almost making her long ponytail look like it was made out of strands of pure gold. Except for her streak of gray that normally hung around the side of her face, a reminder of the burden all three of us had carried not all that long ago. She was also wearing her iconic silver owl earrings from her dad, who was this brainiac military history professor in San Francisco. I had to force my eyes elsewhere to avoid staring. My eyes falling on her was not an unusual occurrence, but seeing Percy practically gawking at her was a newer development. He really did look at her like she had hung the sun in the sky herself, just don’t tell Apollo that I used that analogy. The two had finally evened out height wise making them both officially taller than me, chair or no chair, which was kind of disrespectful. I was a whole year older and somehow I had become the pipsqueak….not cool.

Finally she said, "That flying chariot."

 "What?" Percy squeaked being pulled from his thoughts

 "You asked what they were fighting about."

 "Oh. Oh, right."

"They captured it in a raid in Philadelphia last week. Some of Luke's demigods were there with that flying chariot. The Apollo cabin seized it during the battle, but the Ares cabin led the raid. So they've been fighting about who gets it ever since."

 We ducked as Michael Yew's chariot dive-bombed an Ares camper. The Ares camper tried to stab him and cuss him out in rhyming couplets. He was pretty creative about rhyming those cuss words.

 "We're fighting for our lives," Percy said, "and they're bickering about some stupid chariot."

 "They'll get over it," Annabeth said. "Clarisse will come to her senses."

“Assuming they don’t kill each other first,” I added, pushing my glasses back up my nose. The pain was back almost as bad as it had been when I first left the infirmary. I bit back a grimace and focused on the papers Percy was sorting through since he had decided to join me in my chair. He said something about it being easier than reading and walking. I slowed my chair to keep pace with Annabeth as she finished inspecting the cabins.

Demeter got a four. Hephaestus got a three and probably should've gotten lower, but with the whole…you know, Annabeth cut them some slack. I pretended not to notice her staring at me while we were in there. Hermes had gotten a two, which sucked since usually I was the one keeping those idiots in check, but spending two nights in the infirmary had let the whole thing fall into disarray. 

Percy patted my shoulder, “don’t worry Annabeth is just brutal. She gave me a three out of five, and it's just me in there.”

That did not reassure me in the slightest.

Finally we got to Athena's cabin, which was orderly and clean as usual. Books were straightened on the shelves. The armor was polished. Battle maps and blueprints decorated the walls. Only Annabeth's bunk was messy. It was covered in papers, and her silver laptop was still running.

 "Vlacas," Annabeth muttered, which was basically calling herself an idiot in Greek.

Her second-in-command, Malcolm, suppressed a smile. "Yeah, um . . . we cleaned everything else. Didn't know if it  was safe to move your notes."

 That was probably smart. Annabeth had a bronze knife that she reserved just for monsters and people who messed with her stuff.

 Malcolm grinned at me and Percy (who had made himself comfortable on my lap). "We'll wait outside while you finish inspection." The Athena campers filed out the door while Annabeth cleaned up her bunk.

 Percy shuffled uneasily and pretended to go through some more reports. Technically, even on inspection, it was against camp rules for two campers to be . . . like, alone in a cabin. That rule had come up a lot when Silena and Beckendorf started dating. And I know some of you might be thinking, aren't all demigods related on the godly side, and doesn't that make dating gross? But the thing is, the godly side of your family doesn't count, genetically speaking, since gods don't have DNA. A demigod would never think about dating someone who had the same godly parent. Like two kids from Athena cabin? No way. But a daughter of Aphrodite and a son of Hephaestus? They're not related. So, it's no problem.

Not that it really mattered considering all three of us had come inside…but clearly Percy was growing a bit nervous since he popped up to stand next to me instead.

Annabeth closed her laptop, which had been given to her as a gift from the inventor Daedalus last summer.

 Percy cleared his throat. "So . . . get any good info from that thing?"

 "Too much," she said. "Daedalus had so many ideas, I could spend fifty years just trying to figure them all out."

 "Yeah," he muttered. "That would be fun." Clearly not thinking it would be fun at all, but honestly I couldn’t disagree more. The amount of interesting designs Annabeth had shown me so far was higher than the interesting designs that the Hephestus cabin had come up with in the past three years. Not that I am dissing them or anything…but like Daedalus was a genius, definitely one of my actual Greek heroes. No Hercules for me, give me all them brainy legends please and thank you.

 She shuffled her papers—mostly drawings of buildings and a bunch of handwritten notes. I knew she wanted to be an architect someday, but I'd learned the hard way not to ask what she was working on while Percy was with us. She'd start talking about angles and load-bearing joints until poor Percy’s eyes glazed over.

 "You know . . ." She brushed her hair behind her ear, like she does when she's nervous. "This whole thing with Beckendorf and Silena.  It kind of makes you think. About . . . what's important. About losing people who are important."

 Percy nodded, his face growing redder by the second. I felt like I was intruding so I started wheeling closer to the door to give them some space.

 "Urn, yeah," Percy stammered as I was about half way through the door. "Like . . . is everything cool with your family?"

 I nearly face palmed as I stopped in the doorway. This boy was so stupid. I sent a silent apology to Aphrodite for her poor choice in entertainment.

 Annabeth looked disappointed (poor thing) , but she nodded.

 "My dad wanted to take me to Greece this summer," she said wistfully. "I've always wanted to see—"

 "The Parthenon," Percy remembered.

 She managed a smile. "Yeah."

 "That's okay. There'll be other summers, right?"

 It would have been a normal sentiment but with the war and the high likely hood that if things don’t go our way we will be hunted to extinction. Well lets just say we were living in a time of no guarantees.

 Annabeth stared at her inspection scroll. "Three out five," she muttered, "for a sloppy head counselor. Come on. Let's finish your reports and get back to Chiron."

 On the way to the Big House, we read the last report, which was handwritten on a maple leaf from a satyr in Canada. If possible, the note made me feel even worse.

 " 'Dear Grover,'" I read aloud." 'Woods  outside Toronto attacked by giant evil badger. Tried to do as you suggested and summon the power of Pan. No effect. Many naiads' trees were destroyed. Retreating to Ottawa. Please advise . Where are you? —Gleeson Hedge, protector.'"

 Annabeth grimaced. "You haven't heard anything from him? Even with your empathy link?"

 Percy shook his head dejectedly. Ever since last summer when the god Pan had died, our friend Grover had been drifting farther and farther away. The Council of Cloven Elders treated him like an outcast, but Grover still traveled all over the East Coast, trying to spread the word about Pan and convince nature spirits to protect their own little bits of the wild. He'd only come back to camp a few times to see his girlfriend, Juniper.

 Last I'd heard he was in Central Park organizing the dryads, but nobody had seen or heard from him in two months. We'd tried to send Iris-messages. They never got through. Percy had an empathy link with Grover, so he would definitely know if anything bad happened to him. Grover had told us one time that if he died, the empathy link might kill Percy too. Which was a really cheery thought. My own link to Grover was not nearly as strong, but as far as I could tell he was alive and not in any immediate danger.

 "Annabeth." Percy stopped her by the tetherball court. I slowed up behind them allowing us to crowd around each other, just in case someone was listening. "Listen, I had this dream about, um, Rachel . . ."

I could feel Annabeth’s rage spike, but to her credit she kept it pretty cool.

 Percy told us his whole dream, which was just Rachel throwing darts at his picture and having a shitty conversation with her dad while being disappointed Percy would not go on vacation with her. Oh and there was a weird picture of Luke as a child she drew. Not really earth shattering news aside from Percy admitting another girl was interested in him. I wanted to smack him on Annabeth’s behalf but I figured she’d be happier if she got to smack him.

 For a while she didn't say anything. Then she rolled up her inspection scroll so tight she ripped it. "What do you want me to say?"

 "I'm not sure. You're the best strategist I know. If you were Kronos planning this war, what would you do next?"

 "I'd use Typhon as a distraction. Then I'd hit Olympus directly, while the gods were in the West."

 "Just like in Rachel's picture."

 "Percy," she said,  her voice tight, "Rachel is just a mortal."

“Who seems to have a small gift for prophecy.” I muttered trying to not get in the middle of this slowly mounting argument. Luckily they either didn’t hear me or ignored what I said.

 "But what if her dream is true? Those other Titans—they said Olympus would be destroyed in a matter of days. They said they had plenty of other challenges. And what's with that picture of Luke as a kid—"

 "We'll just have to be ready."

 "How?" Percy said. "Look at our camp. We can't even stop fighting each other. And I'm supposed to get my stupid soul reaped."

 She threw down her scroll. "I knew we shouldn't have shown you the prophecy." Her voice was angry and hurt. "All it did was scare you. You run away from things when you're scared."

 Percy stared at her, completely stunned. "Me? Run away?"

 She got right in his face and I rolled myself further back from them. "Yes, you.  You're a coward, Percy Jackson!"

 They were nose to nose. Her eyes were red, and I watched as realization dawned on his face. Maybe there was hope for him yet?

 "If you don't like our chances," she said, "maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel."

 "Annabeth—"

 "If you don't like our company."

 "That's not fair!"

 She pushed past him and stormed toward the strawberry fields. She hit the tetherball as she passed and sent it spinning angrily around the pole. I took it back immediately, he was doomed.

***

 That afternoon we had an assembly at the campfire to burn Char's burial shroud and say our good-byes. Even the Ares and Apollo cabins called a temporary truce to attend.

 Char's shroud was made out of metal links, like chain mail. I didn't see how it would burn, but the Fates must've been helping out. The metal melted in the fire and turned to golden smoke, which rose into the sky. The campfire flames always reflected the campers' moods, and today they burned black.

 I hoped Char's spirit would end up in Elysium. Maybe he'd even choose to be reborn and try for Elysium in three different lifetimes so he could reach the Isles of the Blest, which was the best place to be in the underworld. If anyone deserved it, Char definitely did.

I was having difficulty sitting still for the whole ceremony. Chiron had asked me to say a few words, but I couldn’t do it. The duty fell on Mason as the new head counselor and Char’s sibling. The whole ordeal made me nauseous and the vibration of my bones lessened into more of a deep itch I could not scratch. For a scary moment I wanted to roll right into the funeral pyre and join him. Only Annabeth’s firm hand on the back of my chair kept me in place.

Once people started peeling off to return to camp activities Annabeth needed little prompting to wheel me away. I had no intention of staying to have to see Selina break down while Clarisse and Chris tried to comfort her. It was hard enough seeing the shroud; I did not want to be around any wailing widows.

“Are you sure you're okay, Han?” Annabeth said softly as she wheeled me back to the infirmary.

“I’m fine.” I asserted keeping my voice devoid of emotion.

I should have known that she wouldn’t believe me far before she turned my chair around and knelt so we were eye to eye.

“Hanora, you know you can talk to me about it right? Bottling it up will do more harm than good.”

I looked into pools of gray mist swirling with concern and all I could hear was Tethys’s echoing words again. I could feel the burns crawling up my spine like fire ants, but I just gripped the arms of my chair tighter.

“I’m fine for now. I don’t have time to dwell on it AB.”

She shook her head, a small frown on her face, “I don’t think talking about your grief is ‘dwelling’ on anything.”

I leaned closer to her, clasping my hands together in front of me. “AB the moment I give into it, the moment I-I acknowledge it…I’ll be out of commission for-...a while. I don’t have time for that now. People die everyday, and we are at war. We have to put our game faces on, wallowing in our grief could be our downfall.”

“But Han-”

“No AB, I know you mean well and I appreciate it…really I do. But I do not have time to mourn.” I sighed and wheeled myself around her, pressing my stairs button to shoot up onto the infirmary porch. I turned back to her from the doorway where she looked up at me with misty eyes. “For all of the people we have lost leading up to this and all those we will lose in the coming battle. We have to soldier on, because who will be left if we don’t?”

Before she could answer I rolled myself inside blinking back tears that I could not shed.

Chapter Text

Mrs. O'Leary saw me before I saw her, which was a pretty good trick considering she's the size of a garbage truck. I walked into the arena, and a wall of darkness slammed into me.

 "WOOF!"

 The next thing I knew I was flat on the ground with a huge paw on my chest and an oversize Brillo-pad tongue licking my face.

 "Ow!" I said. "Hey, girl. Good to see you too. Ow!"

 It took a few minutes for Mrs. O'Leary to calm down and get off me. By then I was pretty much drenched in dog drool. She wanted to play fetch, so I picked up a bronze shield and tossed it across the arena.

 By the way, Mrs. O'Leary is the world's only friendly hellhound. I kind of inherited her when her previous owner died. She lived at camp, but Beckendorf . . . well, Beckendorf used to take care of her whenever I was gone. With the previously hellhound hating Hanora of course. He had smelted Mrs. O'Leary's favorite bronze chewing bone. He'd forged her collar with the little smiley face and a crossbones name tag, and Hanora had designed some hellhound sized frisbees with different underworld inspired designs engraved on them. She had tried to play it off like she just wanted her to stop taking bites out of the shield rack, but even Mrs. O’Leary could tell that she actually had grown on the inventor. Next to me and Hanora, Beckendorf had been her best friend.

 Thinking about that made me sad all over again, but I threw the shield a few more times because Mrs. O'Leary insisted.

 Soon she started barking—a sound slightly louder than an artillery gun—like she needed to go for a walk. The other campers didn't think it was funny when she went to the bathroom in the arena. It had caused more than one unfortunate slip-and-slide accident. So, I opened the gates of the arena, and she bounded straight toward the woods. I threw a look over my shoulder considering getting Hanora, but I thought better of it. With her in a chair and the presence of Mrs. O’Leary without Beckendorf, it was probably better I left her alone.

 I jogged after Mrs. O’Leary, not too concerned that she was getting ahead. Nothing in the woods could threaten her. Even the dragons and giant scorpions ran away when she came close.

 When I finally tracked her down, she wasn't using the facilities. She was in a familiar clearing where the Council of Cloven Elders had once put Grover on trial. The place didn't look so good. The grass had turned yellow. The three topiary thrones had lost all their leaves. But that's not what surprised me. In the middle of the glade stood the weirdest trio I'd ever seen: Juniper the tree nymph, Nico di Angelo, and a very old, very fat satyr.

 Nico was the only one who didn't seem freaked out by Mrs. O'Leary's appearance. He looked pretty much like I'd seen him in my dream—an aviator's jacket, black jeans, and a T-shirt with dancing skeletons on it, like one of those Day of the Dead pictures. His Stygian iron sword hung at his side. He was only twelve, but he looked much older and sadder.

 He nodded when he saw me, then went back to scratching Mrs. O'Leary's ears. She sniffed his legs like he was the most interesting thing since rib-eye steaks. Being the son of Hades, he'd probably been traveling in all sorts of hellhound-friendly places.

 The old satyr didn't look nearly so happy. "Will someone—what is this underworld creature doing in my forest!" He waved his arms and trotted on his hooves as if the grass were hot. "You there, Percy Jackson! Is this your beast?"

 "Sorry, Leneus," I said. "That's your name, right?"

 The satyr rolled his eyes. His fur was dust-bunny gray, and a spiderweb grew between his horns. His belly would've made him an invincible bumper car. "Well, of course I'm Leneus. Don't tell me you've forgotten a member of the Council so quickly. Now, call off your beast!"

 "WOOF!" Mrs. O'Leary said happily.

 The old satyr gulped. "Make it go away! Juniper, I will not help you under these circumstances!"

 Juniper turned toward me. She was pretty in a dryad-y way, with her purple gossamer dress and her elfish face, but her eyes were green-tinted with chlorophyll from crying.

 "Percy," she sniffled. "I was just asking about Grover. I know something's happened. He wouldn't stay gone this long if he wasn't in trouble. I was hoping that Leneus—"

 "I told you!" the satyr protested. "You are better off without that traitor."

 Juniper stamped her foot. "He is not a traitor! He's the bravest satyr ever, and I want to know where he is!"

 "WOOF!"

 Leneus's knees started knocking. "I . . . I won't answer questions with this hellhound sniffing my tail!"

 Nico looked like he was trying to not crack up. "I'll walk the dog," he volunteered.

 He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary bounded after him to the far end of the grove.

 Leneus huffed indignantly and brushed the twigs off his shirt. "Now, as I was trying to explain, young lady, your boyfriend has not sent any reports since we voted him into exile."

 "You tried to vote him into exile," I corrected. "Chiron and Dionysus stopped you."

 "Bah! They are honorary Council members. It wasn't a proper vote."

 "I'll tell Dionysus you said that."

 Leneus paled. "I only meant . . . Now see here, Jackson. This is none of your business."

 "Grover's my friend," I said. "He wasn't lying to you about Pan's death. I saw it myself. You were just too scared to accept the truth."

 Leneus's lips quivered. "No! Grover's a liar and good riddance. We're better off without him."

 I pointed at the withered thrones. "If things are going so well, where are your friends? Looks like your Council hasn't been meeting lately."

 "Maron and Silenus . . . I . . . I'm sure they'll be back," he said, but I could hear the panic in his voice. "They're just taking some time off to think. It's been a very unsettling year.

 "It's going to get a lot more unsettling," I promised. "Leneus, we need  Grover. There's got to be a way you can find him with your magic."

 The old satyr's eye twitched. "I'm telling you, I've heard nothing. Perhaps he's dead."

 Juniper choked back a sob.

 "He's not dead," I said. "I can feel  that much."

 "Empathy links," Leneus said disdainfully. "Very unreliable."

I bit back mentioning how Hanora had confirmed it saying how Grover’s thread was very much intact. She had insisted that for now at least it was better if fewer people knew how her powers worked.

 "So ask around," I insisted instead. "Find him. There's a war coming. Grover was preparing the nature spirits."

 "Without my permission! And it's not our war."

 I grabbed him by the shirt, which seriously wasn't like me, but the stupid old goat was making me mad.

"Listen, Leneus. When Kronos attacks, he's going to have packs of hellhounds. He's going to destroy everything in his path—mortals, gods, demigods. Do you think he'll let the satyrs go free? You're supposed to be a leader. So LEAD. Get out there and see what's happening. Find Grover and bring Juniper some news. Now, GO!"

 I didn't push him very hard, but he was kind of top-heavy. He fell on his furry rump, then scrambled to his hooves and ran away with his belly jiggling. "Grover will never be accepted! He will die an outcast!"

 When he'd disappeared into the bushes, Juniper wiped her eyes. "I'm sorry, Percy. I didn't mean to get you involved. Leneus is still a lord of the Wild. You don't want to make an enemy of him."

 "No problem," I said. "I've got worse enemies than overweight satyrs."

 Nico walked back to us. "Good job, Percy. Judging from the trail of goat pellets, I'd say you shook him up pretty well."

 I was afraid I knew why Nico was here, but I tried for a smile. "Welcome back. Did you come by just to see Juniper?"

 He blushed. "Um, no. That was an accident. I kind of . . . dropped into the middle of their conversation."

 "He scared us to death!" Juniper said. "Right out of the shadows.  But, Nico, you are the son of Hades and all. Are you sure you haven't heard anything about Grover?"

 Nico shifted his weight. "Juniper, like I tried to tell you . . . even if Grover died, he would reincarnate into something else in nature. I can't sense things like that, only mortal souls."

 "But if you do hear anything?" she pleaded, putting her hand on his arm. "Anything at all?"

 Nico's cheeks got even brighter red. "Uh, you bet. I'll keep my ears open."

 "We'll find him, Juniper," I promised. "Grover's alive, I'm sure. There must be a simple reason why he hasn't contacted us."

 She nodded glumly. "I hate not being able to leave the forest. He could be anywhere, and I'm stuck here waiting. Oh, if that silly goat has gotten himself hurt—"

 Mrs. O'Leary bounded back over and took an interest in Juniper's dress.

 Juniper yelped. "Oh, no you don't! I know about dogs and trees. I'm gone!"

 She went poof  into green mist. Mrs. O'Leary looked disappointed, but she lumbered off to find another target, leaving Nico and me alone.

 Nico tapped his sword on the ground. A tiny mound of animal bones erupted from the dirt. They knit themselves together into a skeletal field mouse and scampered off. "I was sorry to hear about Beckendorf."

 A lump formed in my throat. "How did you—"

 "I talked to his ghost."

 "Oh . . . right." I'd never get used to the fact that this twelve-year-old kid spent more time talking with the dead than the living. "Did he say anything?"

 "He doesn't blame you. He figured you'd be beating yourself up, and he said you shouldn't."

 "Is he going to try for rebirth?"

 Nico shook his head. "He's staying in Elysium. Said he's waiting for someone. Not sure what he meant, but he seems okay with death."

 It wasn't much comfort, but it was something.

 "I had a vision you were on Mount Tarn," I told Nico. "Was that— "

 "Real," he said. "I didn't mean to be spying on the Titans, but I was in the neighborhood."

 "Doing what?"

 Nico tugged at his sword belt. "Following a lead on . . . you know, my family."

 I nodded. I knew his past was a painful subject. Until two years ago, he and his sister Bianca had been frozen in time at a place called the Lotus Hotel and Casino. They'd been there for like seventy years. Eventually a mysterious lawyer rescued them and checked them into a boarding school, but Nico had no memories of his life before the casino. He didn't know anything about his mother. He didn't know who the lawyer was, or why they'd been frozen in time or allowed to go free. After Bianca died and left Nico alone, he'd been obsessed with finding answers.

 "So how did it go?" I asked. "Any luck?"

 "No," he murmured. "But I may have a new lead soon."

 "What's the lead?"

 Nico chewed his lip. "That's not important right now. You know why I'm here."

 A feeling of dread started to build in my chest. Ever since Nico first proposed his plan for beating Kronos last summer, I'd had nightmares about it. He would show up occasionally and press me for an answer, but I kept putting him off.

 "Nico, I don't know," I said. "It seems pretty extreme."

 "You've got Typhon coming in, what . . . a week? Most of the other Titans are unleashed now and on Kronos's side. Maybe it's time to think extreme."

 I looked back toward the camp. Even from this distance I could hear the Ares and Apollo campers fighting again, yelling curses and spouting bad poetry.

 "They're no match for the Titan army," Nico said. "You know that. This comes down to you and Luke. And there's only one way you can beat Luke."

 I remembered the fight on the Princess Andromeda. I'd been hopelessly outmatched. Kronos had almost killed me with a single cut to my arm, and I couldn't even wound him. Riptide had glanced right off his skin.

 "We can give you the same power," Nico urged. "You heard the Great Prophecy. Unless you want to have your soul reaped by a cursed blade . . ."

 I wondered how Nico had heard the prophecy— probably from some ghost.

 "You can't prevent a prophecy," I said.

 "But you can fight it." Nico had a strange, hungry light in his eyes. "You can become invincible."

 "Maybe we should wait. Try to fight without—"

 "No!" Nico snarled. "It has to be now!"

 I stared at him. I hadn't seen his temper flare like that in a long time. "Urn, you sure you're okay?"

 He took a deep breath. "Percy, all I mean . . . when the fighting starts, we won't be able to make the journey. This is our last chance. I'm sorry if I'm being too pushy, but two years ago my sister gave her life to protect you. I want you to honor that. Do whatever it takes to stay alive and defeat Kronos."

 I didn't like the idea. Hanora would be freaking out if she were with us. She’d tell me about all the ways this could backfire and how hedging all our efforts on one play was poor planning. I readjusted my bracelet running my fingers on the three pearls, all cool to the touch. I should have doubled down and headed back to camp, but then I thought about Annabeth calling me a coward, and I got angry.

 Nico had a point. If Kronos attacked New York, the campers would be no match for his forces. I had to do something. Nico's way was dangerous—maybe even deadly. But it might give me a fighting edge. I blocked out the way I could almost hear Hanora telling me to reconsider.

 "All right," I decided. "What do we do first?"

 His cold creepy smile made me sorry I'd agreed. "First we'll need to retrace Luke's steps. We need to know more about his past, his childhood."

 I shuddered, thinking about Rachel's picture from my dream—a smiling nine-year-old Luke. "Why do we need to know about that?"

 "I'll explain when we get there," Nico said. "I've already tracked down his mother. She lives in Connecticut."

 I stared at him. I'd never thought much about Luke's mortal parent. I'd met his dad, Hermes, but his mom . . .

 "Luke ran away when he was really young," I said. "I didn't think his mom was alive."

 "Oh, she's alive." The way he said it made me wonder what was wrong with her. What kind of horrible person could she be?

 "Okay . . ." I said. "So how do we get to Connecticut? I can call Blackjack—"

 "No." Nico scowled. "Pegasi don't like me, and the feeling is mutual. But there's no need for flying." He whistled, and Mrs. O'Leary came loping out of the woods.

 "Your friend here can help." Nico patted her head. "You haven't tried shadow travel yet?"

 "Shadow travel?"

 Nico whispered in Mrs. O'Leary's ear. She tilted her head, suddenly alert.

 "Hop on board," Nico told me.

 I'd never considered riding a dog before, but Mrs. O'Leary was certainly big enough. I climbed onto her back and held her collar.

 "This will make her very tired," Nico warned, "so you can't do it often. And it works best at night. But all shadows are part of the same substance. There is only one darkness, and creatures of the Underworld can use it as a road, or a door."

 "I don't understand," I said.

 "No," Nico said. "It took me a long time to learn. But Mrs. O'Leary knows. Tell her where to go. Tell her Westport, the home of May Castellan."

 "You're not coming?"

 "Don't worry," he said. "I'll meet you there."

 I was a little nervous, but I leaned down to Mrs. O'Leary's ear. "Okay, girl. Uh, can you take me to Westport, Connecticut? May Castellan's place?"

 Mrs. O'Leary sniffed the air. She looked into the gloom of the forest. A thin piece of a light green thread brushed against my face. I blinked at the warmth against my cheek, but just as fast as it appeared it was gone. I didn’t have time to think about it as Mrs. O’Leary bounded forward, straight into an oak tree. 

 Just before we hit, we passed into shadows as cold as the dark side of the moon.

Chapter Text

I fell asleep in my notes again that night. 

I must have been more tired than I had realized because one moment I was searching through a new protocol on Daledelus’s laptop trying my best to not think about Percy or Hanora and the next I was looking at a familiar front door step.

I tried to pinch myself to check If I was actually awake, but realistically that never worked with demigod dreams. I blinked a few times to take in my surroundings. The house itself was a two-story white Colonial on a cliff in the woods. Down one side of the cliff, a highway cut through a ravine. Down the other side was someone's backyard. The property was huge—more wilderness than lawn. Despite the fact that it was right on the other side of the hill from a highway, it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. I could see a light glowing in the kitchen window. A rusty old swing set stood under an apple tree.

I didn’t want to go inside but the dream pushed me along through the now slowly opening door. The sidewalk leading up to the door was lined with those little stuffed bean bag animals you see in gift shops. There were miniature lions, pigs, dragons, hydras, even a teeny

Minotaur in a little Minotaur diaper. Judging from their sad shape, the beanbag creatures had been sitting out here a long time—since the snow melted last spring at least. One of the hydras had a tree sapling sprouting between its necks.

 The front porch was infested with wind chimes. Shiny bits of glass and metal clinked in the breeze. Brass ribbons tinkled like water would in a light sun shower. I remembered this place, but it was certainly far worse for wear than it had been the last time I visited. It had been a different time then I would have said more dire, but it was not like we were in the middle of a war.

I came face to face with the now fully a jar doorway passing the turquoise painted door into the living room. I forced myself not to look at the door itself. I did not need to see the same name written in english and greek on it, it hurt just to think about it.

Mirrors and candles filled every available space in the room. In real life you would not be able to look anywhere without seeing your own reflection, but in my dream state I did not have a form for them to reflect. Above the mantel, a little bronze Hermes flew around the second hand of a ticking clock. Then I noticed the framed picture on the mantel, and I froze. 

Luke was around nine years old, with blond hair and a big smile and two missing teeth. The lack of a scar on his face made him look like a different person—carefree and happy. The way I remembered him, the way I wish he had stayed.

The dream pushed me along into the kitchen where I was finally met with the focus of this event. Percy and Nico were sat at the table, Stacked on the counter were hundreds of Tupperware boxes with peanut butter and jelly sandwiches inside. The ones on the bottom were green and fuzzy, like they'd been there for a long time. On top of the oven was a stack of cookie sheets. Each one had a dozen burned cookies on it. In the sink was a mountain of empty plastic Kool-Aid pitchers. A beanbag Medusa sat by the faucet like she was guarding the mess.

I had the distinct memory of playing with that bean bag, but that was before I met the source material. Now I probably would have thrown the thing into the garbage disposal without a second thought.

Above the sink, taped all around the window, were dozens of little pictures cut from magazines and newspaper ads—pictures of Hermes from the FTD Flowers logo and Quickie Cleaners, pictures of the caduceus from medical ads. I felt awful taking in the surroundings, this was the home of someone who had truly lost touch with, well everything.

 I turned my gaze back to the boys ignoring the creator of the mess. Percy had a smear of peanut butter on his face that must have come from the women making a sandwich at the opposite counter. She had white hair stuck out in tufts all over her head, and her pink house dress was covered in scorch marks and smears of ash. May Castellan looked almost the same except for the several added years that had brought more crazy into her eyes.

I couldn’t hear what they were saying, only a low hum like an old TV that had been muted. Ms Castellan flitted between the counter and the boys like she was answering questions while also making sure they had not disappeared. Reading their lips also proved to be impossible due to the way that what I was seeing was almost being sped up. I only caught ‘dangerous’, ‘monsters’, ‘scar’, and ‘blue’. None of it made much sense stringing together, partially because I was missing about ninety-nine percent of the conversation and partially because Ms Castellan did not make much sense in the first place. Unless something had changed in the nine years since I had visited last.

Ms. Castellan gasped. She doubled over, and her cookie tray clattered to the floor. Nico and Percy jumped to their feet.

 Percy crept closer to her about to help her get to a chair when she straightened back up and screamed. Percy scrambled away and almost fell over the kitchen table, because her eyes  were glowing green.

 "My child," she rasped in a deep voice I could finally hear. " Must protect him! Hermes, help! Not my child! Not his fate —no!"

 She grabbed Nico by the shoulders and began to shake him as if to make him understand. "Not his fate!"

 Nico made a strangled scream and pushed her away. He gripped the hilt of his sword. He said something to Percy that looked like a plea to leave when suddenly Ms. Castellan collapsed. Percy lurched forward and caught her before she could hit the edge of the table. Then he led her over to get into a chair.

 She muttered something incomprehensible and shook her head. Clearly trying to respond to something Percy had asked. She blinked, and her eyes were back to normal—or at least, what they had been before. The green glow was gone. The scene around me faded just like the glow of her eyes bringing me out to the woods around a small fire. It was being tended by a girl about eight years old who was sitting cross-legged next to Mrs. O'Leary, scratching the hellhound's ears. The girl had mousy brown hair and a simple brown dress. She wore a scarf over her head so she looked like she could have existed in the time of the pioneers. She poked the fire with a stick, and it seemed to glow more richly red than a normal fire.

She looked familiar, like I should have known who she was. But I could not place where I had seen her before, or even why I would have known her at all. In the smoke of her fire I saw new images. There was a scene of Sally Jackson sitting at her own kitchen table with tears in her eyes. Her partner Paul was beside her placing a consoling hand on top of her own. Then the scene shifted to a pond in central park. It was still night but I could see the shadows of two boys and their comically large dog turn into three boys and their dog.

 Slowly everything got darker, and darker like I were traveling down a cavernous staircase. Then I felt a spark of rage followed by the appearance of the furies. Something was not right, but unfortunately the morning light woke me from my dream before I could find out what happened.

***

I woke up half on the floor with papers and pens scattered around me like a halo. The sun was shining directly into my eyes, nearly blinding me, but at least my laptop had stayed on the bed instead of falling onto my head ... .this time. 

My siblings had mostly cleared out of the bunk area and were either filing out to head to breakfast or pouring over books and maps on our war table. I quickly collected all of my things off of the floor and threw them into my drawer. Not as neat as I would have done normally, but I was on a time crunch. I needed to see if Percy was still at camp, and I needed to know immediately.

I didn’t bother with changing, it wasn’t like I had actually managed to get into my pjs before passing out anyway, me running around in yesterday's close was not necessarily a rare occurrence. A messy ponytail and mismatched converse shoes was all I stopped for before clumsily sprinting out of cabin six. The common area was mostly deserted since most people would have already made their way to breakfast, which gave me a straight shot into cabin three.

I threw open the door to see the place the exact same way Percy and I had left it the day before. Bed haphazardly made, clothes on the floor, and minotaur horn straightened nicely on the wall. But no sign of Percy anywhere. It looked like he never made it back to his room after the funeral. My dream must have been real, Percy had been at the Castellan house with Nico. But why? Why were they there? When were they coming back, were they even going to come back?

Someone clearing their throat behind me shook me out of my spiral. Hanora was leaning back in her wheelchair, arms crossed over her chest and one leg popped up over the knee of the other. Selina must have been by to visit her because her hair had been put up in a french braid that laid beautifully over her shoulder, glittering silver in the morning light. I noticed almost a whisper of light eyeshadow and a minimalistic winged eyeliner that Hanora would never have the patience to do herself. It was always jarring to see her with anything on her face that wasn’t oil or coal smears, but honestly she was just as beautiful either way.

“I noticed two very important missing idiots from breakfast this morning,” she said with a quirked eyebrow.

I suddenly became very self conscious under her gaze. “Umm…well I just woke up…”

Her eyes tracked up and down, “I can tell.” 

I wanted to argue but I was still waking up and my brain was running on overdrive. She must have noticed that I was not exactly myself because she relaxed and motioned for me to follow her. I did without any protest, just blindly trailing behind making myself walk in between her tire tracks to keep myself focused enough to not pass back out. I could hear her voice but it sounded a bit further away, or maybe it was being carried away by the wind. Whatever she was saying I couldn’t understand it, but it did sound like the melody of a siren’s song. And I would know, I had heard a siren song before. I focused back in when I watched her chair pop up into the air at least two feet and landed on the doorstep of my cabin.

“Don’t trip up the stairs AB.”

“Di-did you just fly?” I asked, still dazed.

She rolled her eyes at me, “no it's just some pressurized air I use to get up the cabin stairs. Now come on, let's wake you up properly this time.”

***

Hanora made quick work of sending out the three stragglers to go take a proper break before turning her full focus on me. She had left her wheelchair by the door and moved about the cabin collecting my things on much steadier legs than Will had alluded to the day before. Then again she was a quick healer and unfortunately for us very convincing even if she was not as healed as she said she was. I tried to watch her gait more closely, just to be sure, but my eyes were having trouble focusing.

“Chill AB, I am on strict orders to not do any crazy long walks.” She poked my forehead before pushing my shoulders with a bit more force causing the back of my knees to hit the edge of my bed. One more well aimed nudge to my sternum had me clumsily falling onto the mattress. “I am perfectly okay to move around a room without face planting. Now why don’t you tell me why you burst into Percy’s empty cabin an hour after breakfast ended.”

I blinked up at her as she brought a wet washcloth up to my face. “I missed breakfast?”

Her laugh came abruptly mixed with genuine surprise. “Yeah, yeah you did goldie locks.” She brought the back of her unoccupied hand up to my forehead. “Are you okay? Like should I call Will?”

“No-no…” I stuttered warming at the contact, which definitely did not help my case. “I think my dream really just ….um- messed me up a bit…”

“Those late nights passing out on your laptop probably don’t help either.”

I stared up at her shocked, “h-how did you?”

She rolled her eyes and grabbed my hand placing it on my check. I could feel deep indentations on my skin, making me flush.

“Kind of a dead give away when you are wandering around with a shift key imprinted on your cheek.”

“.....oh…..”

She shook her head, a small smile settling onto her features as she brought the washcloth back up to scrub at the side of my face. She worked in silence for a few moments before I calmed myself enough to make a coherent thought. By the time she had moved on to pulling the band out of my hair to actually brush it, I had caught her up on my disjointed dream and hurried to sprint across the commons to cabin three. She hummed occasionally as she carefully untangled my hair, assuring me that she was listening, but honestly it was getting more difficult to focus on anything that was not her fingers in my hair. Gods what was wrong with me? I really needed to focus but between Percy’s obliviousness and Hanora’s avoidance, there was a high possibility that those two idiots were going to kill me. No weapons required.

“You shouldn’t worry about Percy so much, he’s probably just doing his spirit world chosen one shit. He’ll come back all powered up and ready to rumble.” Hanora said as she slid off the bed heading back to the pile of self care items she had grabbed.

“Spirit world? You think he went to the underworld?!” I blinked at her a second, “wait! What do you mean by ‘power up’?”

She tilted her head at me, eyebrows scrunched, and spare clothes hanging semi-forgotten on her arm. “I-I AB it was a joke….I mean partially a joke…Have you never seen Avatar the last airbender?” The look on my face clearly answered her question. “You know what, never mind. I’m not sure where he is, but he is with Nico and I trust that he will be back in time for the fight we all know is coming.”

I found her faith in Percy, even in my slowly waking state, to be questionable considering how well he tends to handle things on his own. But I did not get to say as much because she dropped a new outfit and my toiletries in my lap.

“But what about the little girl? What does she have to do with it?”

“I can’t entirely be sure but if she helped the boys or at least let you see what was going on then she is probably a goddess. And if she is associated specifically with the campfire you saw, then my money is on Hestia. She likes to hang around our campfire, so it tracks that she’d help us puny demigods out from time to time.”

“But- how-why?”

“Cause I’ve seen her; now can you focus-”

“But, Han-”

She put a finger up to my lips, cutting me off. “Shoosh, now you are going to go get cleaned up and come back here. I will have food for you and then we will start looking at a game plan to be ready for when our idiot shows back up with new problems for us to deal with.”

“You really ca-”

“Can’t be in a cabin that is not my own? I implore someone to stop me.” She leveled me with a look as she plopped back into her chair. “Now get going Chase, you look better but still not great.”

With that finality she kicked me out of my own cabin and down to the showers. I wished, not for the first time, that cabin six had an inventor of Hanora’s caliber to create an in cabin bathroom for us. Beckendorf had said that if I asked her she’d probably put one in no questions asked, but I didn’t want to take advantage of her like that. Thinking of Beckendorf was probably not the best idea in my attempt to keep a clear head, so I shook the thought away and trudged to the showers.

***

I hate to admit it, but after a hot shower and what Hanora insisted was called a ‘crostata’, I was feeling much sharper. She had situated the both of us around the Athena cabin war table, which was still mysteriously empty of my siblings. When I asked where they had gone I only got a smirk in response before she ducked her head back down over a pile of scrap metal. I did not even pretend to understand what pieces it was composed of.

She carefully constructed a metal rose that bloomed and closed again when she twirled the stem. She seemed to be transfixed on the petals like a moth to a flame, but her leg bouncing on the ball of her foot under the table gave her away.

“Where’s your head at?” I said breaking the spell of the silence.

“Attached to my neck hopefully.”

I launched a few crumbs from my plate at her head, “why can’t you be serious for once?”

She shrugged not even flinching, pulling a petal off causing the whole thing to collapse in her hands. “Would I be me if I tried the whole serious demeanor shit? That's more your stick, AB.”

I sighed begrudgingly, “I guess not. But can you at least be honest?”

“I prefer to be honest rather than dishonest.”

“Good,” I mumbled, reaching across the table to grab her hands.

She looked up at me a little startled, her hands shook like she wanted to pull back but she forced herself to stay still instead. Her green eyes sparkled with uncertainty behind her comically large glasses. 

“Han,” I started, “I know that you don’t want to talk about ... .you know ... .the thing. But um- how are you physically? I can tell you are moving around better, but you are also a very good actress.”

“First of all I am a terrible actress, I just have a very high pain tolerance. That is a very important distinction.” She clarified her shoulders relaxing. “Secondly, I pretty much have full mobility with only occasional twinges. I could go without the chair entirely if I am being completely honest, but Will wants to err on the side of caution and keep me at least semi in it for the rest of today.”

I squeezed her hands and flashed her a smile. “That’s good, we are going to need you on your feet for whatever is coming next.”

She nodded, squeezing my hand back. “As if I would let you ride into battle without me.” Her smile filled my stomach with butterflies, “I’ve got your back Chase, till the very end.”

“Which will be a long, long, LONG time from now,” I amended.

“That’s the hope I guess, but you know I can’t promise that.”

“Promise me anyway.” I pleaded.

Her eyes grew misty, but nothing fell. “You know I hate the idea of breaking a promise.”

“Then don’t break it.”

“The fa-fates,” a strange look flickered on her face but she steeled her expression, choking down whatever emotion had tried to escape. “The fates have a plan for us all, trying to change it could be disastrous to all those involved. I hate it as much as you do, but it is true. The great prophecy has dictated that a great choice will fall to Percy when he turns sixteen, that is the only bit I am sure of. The rest is unspecified. My own prophecy coupled with his, paints a different picture than what Chiron or even the rest of the camp has accepted.”

“Han, the prophecy says that a cursed blade will reap his soul.”

“No,” she cut in, pulling one hand out to point a finger at me with finality. “ It says that the hero’s soul, not specifically the child of the eldest gods.”

“But he is the hero in the prophecy, and despite his head full of seaweed Percy is very heroic.”

Hanora shook her head, “being heroic and being THE hero of the prophecy is very different.” her breath came out a little shaky, but I only noticed because we were in such close proximity. “But my prophecy says that I will fall,” she held out her free hand quickly to stop the protest bubbling up my throat, “which could mean a few different things. But it also says that if the three of us, and yes I am sure it is our little dysfunctional trio it is referring to, if the three of us stand together we will find our way to the best outcome. Whatever it might be, I can feel it AB. The fates did not take my prophecy into account, so if we use this- this ancient prediction, older than the fates, we can do this.”

“Wow,” I said with a wet laugh, “when did you become such a ray of positivity?”

Her smile wavered for a fraction of a second, “well somebody has to be. Normally Percy or Grover have to take up the reins but it's back to the original dynamic duo today. And besides Tethys has always said that I am a hyper protective personality that rivals even Percy and his possibly fatal sense of loyalty. Who better to keep your dumbasses alive?”

I found it difficult to come up with a comeback. I only managed a watery smile before I pulled her across the table into a tight hug over top of the maps. I hoped that none of my tears distorted any of the diagrams below, but in that moment I really did not care enough to make sure they didn’t. We stayed there for a beat clinging to each other, her face buried in my shoulder and my own nuzzling into her’s. I wanted to stay there longer, but I reluctantly released my death grip on her shirt when she started to pull back. She quickly swiped the back of her hand across her cheek as she fell back into her chair.

“Alright,” Hanora segwayed, collecting herself as she let the small dragon she quickly constructed waddle across the table. “So Percy is awol, we have a spy in our midst, and we are pretty sure that Typhon is a massive distraction for the gods so our possessed idiot can do something even worse without them in the way.” She looked up at me, her pale green eyes shimmering with silver light that did not come from any lamp in the room, “am I missing anything?”

“No, sounds about right.”

Her chair squeaked as she slumped back into it, “great.”

I hummed in agreement staring down at the maps strewn across the table. What was Luke-no Kronos, what was Kronos planning? With the gods busy fighting Typhon across the midwest, where would he go to make his big play? The little wind-up dragon stomped across long island and my heart dropped. Was that the play? Without the gods to help us, was he going to destroy camp?

“What if…what if he’s coming for camp?” I asked, eyes still locked on the dragon.

“Who? Percy, I sure hope he does. We really are going to need to regroup before shit hits the fan. I did set up his bracelet so he can find his way back to us since he is the dumbass that tends to wander off and almost die.”

“No, actually I’ll have to circle back to the fact that you what? Chipped us?”

“I did not ‘chip’ us, I merely programmed the green pearl to be able to send up a flare and track the materials I used in your ring as well as the gold of my necklace. It’s essentially a compass, but in reality as long as I am running around you guys won’t need it cause I’ll thread hunt you both down.”

“ That is so terrifyingly concerning, but anyway as I was saying. What if the Titans are going to come here?” I looked up to be met with her confused but thoughtful expression.

She hummed, holding her hand out for the little dragon to hop into. “I don’t think so AB. They already did that song and dance.”

“So what's to stop them from trying again now that they have more information?”

“No offense AB, but it would be stupid of them to waste that distraction on our, quite frankly, piss poor little camp.” 

“Our camp is not ‘piss poor’” I muttered back, indeed a little offended.

She rolled her eyes and dismantled the dragon into the original pile of scraps. “ They already tried last summer when the labyrinth was still up and running, trying again would just be a waste of resources.” She propped her chin up in one hand while the other systematically tapped each finger through the scraps. “No, why come here?….” She sat up a bit straighter and pulled a map of the east coast closer to us. “When they can roll up to a completely undefended…” A decisive finger on Manhattan, “Mount Olympus.”

I felt a chill in the room that crawled up my spine. It was a terrifying thought, but she was right. Tethys had said that Olympus was virtually undefended and in Kronos’s view ripe for the taking. But how would he do it? When? How could we possibly prepare? Did we even have the numbers to be of any use at all? Maybe Daledaeus’s laptop had something we could use. My mind was spinning, but it all came to a halt when the sound of the conch rattled me from my thoughts. Hanora shot straight up, her eyes tracking something in the air I could not see.

“Han? What is it?”

Her wide eyes locked back on me, “he’s back.”

“Percy?” I asked hopefully.

She shook her head, “No,....It’s Grover.”

***

Grover had shot up since the last time I had seen him. Between his horns now popping a whole inch above his curly hair and the fullness of his goatee he looked on his way to being a full grown satyr. He had long since stopped wearing his cap, fake feet, and even his jeans opting to let his goat legs out in full view. He only wore a shirt, on this particular day he was wearing a T-shirt that had a picture from that book Where the Wild Things Are. Also notably he was covered in branches, dirt, and sap with a wild look in his slightly dazed eyes.

With the help of Chiron, Hanora and I managed to corral him into the big house before the mob of campers swarmed him with never ending questions. He collapsed onto the sofa mumbling to himself, but it was too gargled for me to understand it. Chiron came up to him offering a container of empty soda cans that Grover happily chomped on, effectively calming his nerves.

“Now, why don’t you try explaining to us all of that again, Mr. Underwood?” Chiron asked calmly, leaning back into his wheelchair.

“Slower this time, “Hanora added from beside me in her own wheelchair.

Grover took a large gulp of the remainder of his can and let out a long breath. “Morpheus was in New York.”

“Morpheus?” Chiron and I repeated.

“Yes, Since Pan's death, I can feel when something is wrong in nature. It's like my ears and eyes are sharper when I'm in the Wild. Anyway, I started following the scent. This man in a long black coat was walking through the park, and I noticed he didn't cast a shadow. Middle of a sunny day, and he cast no shadow. He kind of shimmered as he moved. Nico said it was kind of like a mirage.”

“You talked to Nico?” Hanora asked, leaning closer so quickly that I was afraid that she was going to topple right out.

“Only for a little bit, he was with Percy who had woken me up from a two month long nap in central park.”

“Two months?!” Hanora asked at the same time that I said “Percy?” 

Chiron shook his head, concern edged into his features. “Oh dear, this is terrible news indeed. What was he doing there?”

“ I-I am getting there. So anyway, I followed the guy. He kept looking up at the buildings around the park like he was making estimates or something. This lady jogger ran by, and she curled up on the sidewalk and started snoring. The guy in black put his hand on her forehead like he was checking her temperature. Then he kept walking. By this time, I knew he was a monster or something even worse. I followed him into this grove, to the base of a big elm tree. I was about to summon some dryads to help me capture him when he turned and . . ."

 Grover swallowed, a shiver rattling down his spine. "I couldn't make out his face because it kept shifting. Just looking at him made me sleepy.  I said, 'What are you doing?' He said, 'Just having a look around. You should always scout a battlefield before the battle.' I said something really smart like, 'This forest is under my protection. You won't start any battles here!' And he laughed. He said, ' You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event, little satyr. I'll just grant you a short nap. Pleasant dreams.'  And that's the last thing I remember. Until Percy woke me up."

“This is even worse than we feared,” Chiron mumbled, hand gripping his jaw in thought. He excused himself to make a call and rolled further into the house leaving the three of us alone.

“Are you absolutely sure that is what he said?” I asked, my mind still swirling with the new information.

“Yes, Annabeth, I am sure! Percy even said that Kronos is likely to invade Olympus! I need to rally the nature spirits to help,” And then in a smaller less confident voice he added, “and I need to tell Juniper that I’m okay.”

“That is probably a good idea,” Hanora cut in. She had brought her scraps with her and had created a small blade that looked oddly familiar. She twirled it by the hilt in thought. “You should go see Juniper and then focus on the nature spirits. Clearly Percy and Nico have a plan, so we should trust that and prepare ourselves to protect New York.” As she absentmindedly tossed the blade into her opposite hand I realized that the original blade was black, and that was why I did not make the immediate connection. She had crafted Nico’s blade. Clearly the confirmation of his appearance outside of my disjointed dream had shaken her.

“Are you sure?” Grover asked hesitantly, “because I can stay for now-”

“No Grover, Han is right.” I interrupted, “you are the only one who can rally the nature spirits.” I placed a hand on his shoulder, “we believe in you Grover. You can do this.”

He nodded a few times, each one gaining more finality in its movement. Then he launched himself on me in a death grip hug. “Be careful Annabeth. And you-” he released me as he pointed sternly at Hanora, “you better not be stuck in that thing or I-”

“Chill Grow, it’s only a precaution I’ll be up and at ‘em doing sword acrobatics before you know it.”

His smile was a little watery, “good,” then he launched himself at her.

She rolled her eyes fondly and patted his head. Her shoulders relaxed, her smile was small and fond, her green eyes wholly focused on the heap of satyr in her arms. She always seemed to be softer when she thought no one was looking. Luckily, I had decided to always be looking.

“Come on Grow, you’ve got a girl to see. And AB-” Her green eyes locked on me over top of Grover's head. I felt pinned but also light as a feather. “We have an army to prepare.”

Chapter Text

My sword reappeared in my pocket.

 Yeah, great timing. Now I could attack the walls all I wanted. Or maybe even make a smoke screen or slam my icy shield into it instead? Hanora gave me the coolest support bracelet and I did not even think to use it to create a distraction. My cell had no bars, no windows, not even a door. The skeletal guards shoved me straight through a wall, and it became solid behind me. I wasn't sure if the room was airtight. Probably.  Hades's dungeon was meant for dead people, and they don't breathe. So forget fifty or sixty years. I'd be dead in fifty or sixty minutes. And even if I got out of that Hanora would kill me for being so stupid. Meanwhile, if Hades wasn't lying, some big trap was going to be sprung in New York by the end of the day, and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

 I sat on the cold stone floor, feeling miserable.

 I don't remember dozing off. Then again, it must've been about seven in the morning, mortal time, and I'd been through a lot.

 I dreamed I was on the porch of Rachel's beach house in St. Thomas. The sun was rising over the Caribbean. Dozens of wooded islands dotted the sea, and white sails cut across the water. The smell of salt air made me wonder if I would ever see the ocean again.

 Rachel's parents sat at the patio table while a personal chef fixed them omelets. Mr. Dare was dressed in a white linen suit. He was reading The Wall Street Journal.  The lady across the table was probably Mrs. Dare, though all I could see of her were hot pink fingernails and the cover of Condé Nast Traveler. Why she'd be reading about vacations while she was on vacation, I wasn't sure.

 Rachel stood at the porch railing and sighed. She wore Bermuda shorts and her van Gogh T-shirt. (Yeah, Rachel was trying to teach me about art, but don't get too impressed. I only remembered the dude's name because he cut his ear off.)  I wondered if she was thinking about me, and how much it sucked that I wasn't with them on vacation. I know that's what I was thinking.

 Then the scene changed. I was in St. Louis, standing downtown under the Arch. I'd been there before. In fact, I'd almost fallen to my death there before.

  Over the city, a thunderstorm boiled—a wall of absolute black with lightning streaking across the sky. A few blocks away, swarms of emergency vehicles gathered with their lights flashing. A column of dust rose from a mound of rubble, which I realized was a collapsed skyscraper. 

A nearby reporter was yelling into her microphone: "Officials are describing this as a structural failure, Dan, though no one seems to know if it is related to the storm conditions."

 Wind whipped her hair. The temperature was dropping rapidly, like ten degrees just since I'd been standing there.

 "Thankfully, the building had been abandoned for demolition," she said. "But police have evacuated all nearby buildings for fear the collapse might trigger—"

 She faltered as a mighty groan cut through the sky. A blast of lightning hit the center of the darkness. The entire city shook. The air glowed, and every hair on my body stood up. The blast was so powerful I knew it could only be one thing: Zeus's master bolt. It should have vaporized its target, but the dark cloud only staggered backward. A smoky fist appeared out of the clouds. It smashed another tower, and the whole thing collapsed like children's blocks.

 The reporter screamed. People ran through the streets. Emergency lights flashed. I saw a streak of silver in the sky—a chariot pulled by reindeer, but it wasn't Santa Claus driving. It was Artemis, riding the storm, shooting shafts of moonlight into the darkness. A fiery golden comet crossed her path . . . maybe her brother Apollo.

 One thing was clear: Typhon had made it to the Mississippi River. He was halfway across the U.S., leaving destruction in his wake, and the gods were barely slowing him down.

 The mountain of darkness loomed above me. A foot the size of Yankee Stadium was about to smash me when a voice hissed, "Percy!"

 I lunged out blindly. Before I was fully awake, I had Nico pinned to the floor of  the cell with the edge of my sword at his throat.

 "Want . . . to . . . rescue," he choked.

 Anger woke me up fast. "Oh, yeah? And why should I trust you?"

 "No . . . choice?" he gagged.

 I wished he hadn't said something logical like that. I let him go.

 Nico curled into a ball and made retching sounds while his throat recovered. Finally he got to his feet, eyeing my sword warily. His own blade was sheathed. I suppose if he'd wanted to kill me, he could've done it while I slept. Still, I didn't trust him.

 "We have to get out of here," he said.

 "Why?" I said. "Does your dad want to talk  to me again?"

 He winced. "Percy, I swear on the River Styx, I didn't know what he was planning."

 "You know what your dad is like!"

 "He tricked me. He promised—" Nico held up his hands. "Look . . . right now, we need to leave. I put the guards to sleep, but it won't last."

 I wanted to strangle him again. Unfortunately, he was right. We didn't have time to argue, and I couldn't escape on my own. He pointed at the wall. A whole section vanished, revealing a corridor.

 "Come on." Nico led the way.

 I wished I had Annabeth's invisibility hat, but as it turned out, I didn't need it. Every time we came to a skeleton guard, Nico just pointed at it, and its glowing eyes dimmed. Unfortunately, the more Nico did it, the more tired he seemed. We walked through a maze of corridors filled with guards. By the time we reached a kitchen staffed by skeletal cooks and servants, I was practically carrying Nico. He managed to put all the dead to sleep but nearly passed out himself. I dragged him out of the servants' entrance and into the Fields of Asphodel.

 I almost felt relieved until I heard the sound of bronze gongs high in the castle.

 "Alarms," Nico murmured sleepily.

 "What do we do?"

 He yawned then frowned like he was trying to remember. "How about . . . run?"

 Running with a drowsy child of Hades was more like doing a three-legged race with a life-size rag doll. I lugged him along, holding my sword in front of me. The spirits of the dead made way like the Celestial bronze was a blazing fire.

 The sound of gongs rolled across the fields. Ahead loomed the walls of Erebos, but the longer we walked, the farther away they seemed. I was about to collapse from exhaustion when I heard a familiar "WOOOOOF!"

 Mrs. O'Leary bounded out of nowhere and ran circles around us, ready to play.

 "Good girl.'" I said. "Can you give us a ride to the Styx?"

 The word Styx got her excited. She probably thought I meant sticks.  She jumped a few times, chased her tail just to teach it who was boss, and then calmed down enough for me to push Nico onto her back. I climbed aboard, and she raced toward the gates. She leaped straight over the EZ-DEATH line, sending guards sprawling and causing more alarms to blare. Cerberus barked, but he sounded more excited than angry, like: Can I play too?

 Fortunately, he didn't follow us, and Mrs. O'Leary kept running. She didn't stop until we were far upriver and the fires of Erebos had disappeared in the murk.

 Nico slid off Mrs. O'Leary's back and crumpled in a heap on the black sand.

 I took out a square of ambrosia—part of the emergency god food I always kept with me. It was a little bashed up, but Nico chewed it.

 "Uh," he mumbled. "Better."

 "Your powers drain you too much," I noted.

 He nodded sleepily. "With great power . . . comes great need to take a nap. Wake me up later."

 "Whoa, zombie dude." I caught him before he could pass out again. "We're at the river. You need to tell me what to do."

 I fed him the last of my ambrosia, which was a little dangerous. The stuff can heal demigods, but it can also burn us to ashes if we eat too much. Fortunately, it seemed to do the trick. Nico shook his head a few times and struggled to his feet.

 "My father will be coming soon," he said. "We should hurry."

 The River Styx's current swirled with strange objects—broken toys, ripped-up college diplomas, wilted homecoming corsages—all the dreams people had thrown away as they'd passed from life into death.

Looking at the black water, I could think of about three million places I'd rather swim.

 "So . . . I just jump in?"

 "You have to prepare yourself first," Nico said, "or the river will destroy you. It will burn away your body and soul."

 "Sounds fun," I muttered.

 "This is no joke," Nico warned. "There is only one way to stay anchored to your mortal life. You have to. . ."

 He glanced behind me and his eyes widened. I turned and found myself face-to-face with a Greek warrior.

 For a second I thought he was Ares, because this guy looked exactly like the god of war—tall and buff, with a cruel scarred face and closely shaved black hair. He wore a white tunic and bronze armor. He held a plumed war helm under his arm. But his eyes were human—pale green like a shallow sea—and a bloody arrow stuck out of his left calf, just above the ankle.

 I stunk at Greek names, but even I knew the greatest warrior of all time, who had died from a wounded heel.

 "Achilles," I said.

 The ghost nodded. "I warned the other one not to follow my path. Now I will warn you."

 "Luke? You spoke with Luke?"

 "Do not do this," he said. "It will make you powerful. But it will also make you weak. Your prowess in combat will be beyond any mortal's, but your weaknesses, your failings will increase as well."

 "You mean I'll have a bad heel?" I said. "Couldn't I just, like, wear something besides sandals? No offense."

 He stared down at his bloody foot. "The heel is only my physical weakness, demigod. My mother, Thetis, held me there when she dipped me in the Styx. What really killed me was my own arrogance. Beware! Turn back!"

 He meant it. I could hear the regret and bitterness in his voice. He was honestly trying to save me from a terrible fate.

 Then again, Luke had been here, and he hadn't turned back.

 That's why Luke had been able to host the spirit of Kronos without his body disintegrating. This is how he'd prepared himself, and why he seemed impossible to kill. He had bathed in the River Styx and taken on the powers of the greatest mortal hero, Achilles. He was invincible.

 "I have to," I said. "Otherwise I don't stand a chance."

 Achilles lowered his head. "Let the gods witness I tried. Hero, if you must do this, concentrate on your mortal point. Imagine one spot of your body that will remain vulnerable. This is the point where your soul will anchor your body to the world. It will be your greatest weakness, but also your only hope. No man may be completely invulnerable. Lose sight of what keeps you mortal, and the River Styx will burn you to ashes. You will cease to exist."

 "I don't suppose you could tell me Luke's mortal point?"

 He scowled. "Prepare yourself, foolish boy. Whether you survive this or not, you have sealed your doom!"

 With that happy thought, he vanished.

 "Percy," Nico said, "maybe he's right."

 "This was your  idea."

 "I know, but now that we're here—"

 "Just wait on the shore. If anything happens to me . . . Well, maybe Hades will get his wish, and you'll be the child of the prophecy after all."

 He didn't look pleased about that, but I didn't care.

 Before I could change my mind, I concentrated on the small of my back—a tiny point just opposite my navel. It was well defended when I wore my armor. It would be hard to hit by accident, and few enemies would aim for it on purpose. No place was perfect, but this seemed right to me, and a lot more dignified than, like, my armpit or something.

 I pictured a string, a bungee cord connecting me to the world from the small of my back. And I stepped into the river.

 Imagine jumping into a pit of boiling acid. Now multiply that pain times fifty. You still won't be close to understanding what it felt like to swim in the Styx. I planned to walk in slow and courageous like a real hero. As soon as the water touched my legs, my muscles turned to jelly and I fell face-first into the current.

 I submerged completely. For the first time in my life, I couldn't breathe underwater. I finally understood the panic of drowning. Every nerve in my body burned. I was dissolving in the water. I saw faces—Rachel, Grover, Tyson, my mother—but they faded as soon as they appeared.

 "Percy," my mom said. "I give you my blessing."

 "Be safe, brother!" Tyson pleaded.

 "Enchiladas!" Grover said. I wasn't sure where that came from, but it didn't seem to help much.

 I was losing the fight. The pain was too much. My hands and feet were melting into the water, my soul was being ripped from my body. I couldn't remember who I was. The pain of Kronos's scythe had been nothing compared to this.

 The cord, a familiar voice said. Remember your lifeline, dummy!

 Suddenly there was a tug in my lower back. The current pulled at me, but it wasn't carrying me away anymore. I imagined the string in my back keeping me tied to the shore.

 "Hold on, Seaweed Brain." It was Annabeth's voice, much clearer now. "You're not getting away from me that easily."

 The cord strengthened.

 I could see Annabeth now—standing barefoot above me on the canoe lake pier. I'd fallen out of my canoe. That was it. She was reaching out her hand to haul me up, and she was trying not to laugh. She wore her orange camp T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was tucked up in her Yankees cap, which was strange because that should have made her invisible.

 "You are such an idiot sometimes." She smiled. "Come on. Take my hand."

“Sometimes?” Hanora said from her position sitting on the pier, her own feet dangling in the water. She’d opted to forgo her long sleeves and instead wear only her camp shirt making her burned forearms visible, her bronze and gold bracelets reflecting the sun's light making her almost look like she was glowing. Her smile was blinding as she reached down to offer her hand as well.

 Memories came flooding back to me—sharper and more colorful. I stopped dissolving. My name was Percy Jackson. I reached up and took Annabeth's and Hanora’s hands.

 Suddenly I burst out of the river. I collapsed on the sand, and Nico scrambled back in surprise.

 "Are you okay?" he stammered. "Your skin. Oh, gods. You're hurt!"

 My arms were bright red. I felt like every inch of my body had been broiled over a slow flame. I looked around for the girls, though I knew they weren't there. It had seemed so real.

 "I'm fine . . . I think." The color of my skin turned back to normal. The pain subsided. Mrs. O'Leary came up and sniffed me with concern. Apparently I smelled really interesting.

 "Do you feel stronger?" Nico asked.

 Before I could decide what  I felt, a voice boomed, "THERE!"

 An army of the dead marched toward us. A hundred skeletal Roman legionnaires led the way with shields and spears. Behind them came an equal number of British redcoats with bayonets fixed. In the middle of the host, Hades himself rode a black-and-gold chariot pulled by nightmare horses, their eyes and manes smoldering with fire.

 "You will not escape me this time, Percy Jackson!" Hades bellowed. "Destroy him!"

 "Father, no!" Nico shouted, but it was too late. The front line of Roman zombies lowered their spears and advanced.

 Mrs. O'Leary growled and got ready to pounce. Maybe that's what set me off. I didn't want them hurting my dog. Plus, I was tired of Hades being a big bully. If I was going to die, I might as well go down fighting.

 I yelled, and the River Styx exploded. A black tidal wave smashed into the legionnaires. Spears and shields flew everywhere. Roman zombies began to dissolve, smoke coming off their bronze helmets. The redcoats lowered their bayonets, but I didn't wait for them. I charged.

 It was the stupidest thing I've ever done. A hundred muskets fired at me, point blank. All of them missed. I crashed into their line and started hacking with Riptide. Bayonets jabbed. Swords slashed. Guns reloaded and fired. Nothing touched me.

 I whirled through the ranks, slashing redcoats to dust, one after the other. My mind went on autopilot: stab, dodge, cut, deflect, roll. Riptide was no longer a sword. It was an arc of pure destruction.

 I broke through the enemy line and leaped into the black chariot. Hades raised his staff. A bolt of dark energy shot toward me, but I deflected it off my blade and slammed into him. The god and I both tumbled out of the chariot.

 The next thing I knew, my knee was planted on Hades's chest. I was holding the collar of his royal robes in one fist, and the tip of my sword was poised right over his face.

 Silence. The army did nothing to defend their master. I glanced back and realized why. There was nothing left of them but weapons in the sand and piles of smoking, empty uniforms. I had destroyed them all.

 Hades swallowed. "Now, Jackson, listen here. . .."

 He was immortal. There was no way I could kill him, but gods can be wounded. I knew that firsthand, and I figured a sword in the face wouldn't feel too good.

 "Just because I'm a nice person," I snarled, "I'll let you go. But first, tell me about that trap!"

 Hades melted into nothing, leaving me holding empty black robes.

 I cursed and got to my feet, breathing heavily. Now that the danger was over, I realized how tired I was. Every muscle in my body ached. I looked down at my clothes. They were slashed to pieces and full of bullet holes, but I was fine. Not a mark on me.

 Nico's mouth hung open. "You just . . . with a sword . . . you just—"

 "I think the river thing worked," I said.

 "Oh gee," he said sarcastically. "You think?"

 Mrs. O'Leary barked happily and wagged her tail. She bounded around, sniffing empty uniforms and hunting for bones. I lifted Hades's robe. I could still see the tormented faces shimmering in the fabric.

 I walked to the edge of the river. "Be free."

 I dropped the robe in the water and watched as it swirled away, dissolving in the current.

 "Go back to your father," I told Nico. "Tell him he owes me for letting him go. Find out what's going to happen to Mount Olympus and convince him to help."

 Nico stared at me. "I . . . I can't. He'll hate me now. I mean . . . even more."

 "You have to," I said. "You owe me too."

 His ears turned red. "Percy, I told you I was sorry. Please . . . let me come with you. I want to fight. I want to help you and Han-"

 "-You'll be more help down here."

 "You mean you don't trust me anymore," he said miserably.

 I didn't answer. I didn't know what I meant. I was too stunned by what I'd just done in battle to think clearly.

 "Just go back to your father," I said, trying not to sound too harsh. "Work on him. You're the only person who might be able to get him to listen."

 "That's a depressing thought." Nico sighed. "All right.  I'll do my best. Besides, he's still hiding something from me about my mom. Maybe I can find out what."

 "Good luck. Now Mrs. O'Leary and I have to go."

 "Where?" Nico said.

 I looked at the cave entrance and thought about the long climb back to the world of the living. "To get this war started. It's time I found Luke."

Chapter Text

Smashing forty odd campers, and their magical escorts into three white vans was not the most comfortable experience. But unfortunately one startling encounter with a dazed Grover and a frantic call from Percy meant that we needed to get moving, like yesterday. Combine the minimal ‘get to the empire state building’ from Percy’s voicemail and Grover rambling about a two month long nap in central park courtesy of Morpheus, the god of dreams and you get a very concerning prediction of an incoming war. Located in the one and only New York city, which happens to be the current home of Mount Olympus. Wow it is almost like someone really smart suggested something like this would happen. Hmmmmm, I wonder who that could have been? Oh right, it was me! Just in case you forgot, but I digress.

I found myself pressed against the window with Annabeth on my other. She had been staring at her phone like it had personally offended her since she played Percy’s message. Her gray eyes narrowed at the dark screen in a way that made me extra glad that I was not on the receiving end of her rage….for once.

“AB, you know glaring at the screen is not gonna make him call again any faster.”

She only huffed in response, not looking up. 

I rolled my eyes, not that she would have noticed, and took one of her hands in my own threading our fingers together. Since she had decided that talking was not an option then at least I could do that. I turned my gaze back to the window watching the city as we weaved through the kind of traffic you would expect of New York. The van itself was buzzing with nervous anticipation and hushed conversations that sounded more like we had been placed inside a vibrating beehive. The vibrations rattled through my bones but I forced myself to ignore it, I did not have any more time to heal before waltzing out onto the battlefield. Which was not exactly a new sentiment for me but it was one of the few times I had at least one person side eyeing me every two seconds to make sure I did not fall apart. (Looking at you Solace!)

I was so deeply invested in evening my breath and keeping the pulsing of my bones to myself that when Annabeth’s phone rang I nearly jumped out of my skin.

I was concerned that she would knock herself out with the force she used when she slammed the phone to her ear. She paused for only a second before shouting at the person on the other end of the line. Which I did not need to guess the identity considering she started off by berating him by name.

"Percy, where have you been? Your message said almost nothing! We've been worried sick!"

I leaned in closer to hear his voice for myself. Annabeth leaned the phone slightly to the side to let me hear him better.

"I'll fill you in later," Percy’s muffled voice responded. "Where are you?"

 "We're on our way like you asked, almost to the Queens—Midtown Tunnel. But, Percy, what are you planning? We've left the camp virtually undefended, and there's no way the gods—"

 "Trust me," he said. "I'll see you there."

The line went dead and for a split second in that silence we just looked at each other.

“Did he just hang up on me?”

I nodded, a bit dazed as a smile crept onto my face. “I do believe he did.”

The pride I felt as she let out a string of ancient Greek curses made me almost completely forget about the pain. A strand of blonde hair fell out of her messy ponytail and bounced over the phone that she was glaring at. I was in such a good mood after hearing Percy was alive and that we were going to see him shortly that I did not think twice about brushing the strand back to sit behind her ear instead. I turned my attention back to the window buzzing with newfound adrenaline instead of dread. We could do this, we could just make this work for us I thought as we passed into the tunnel.

***

It was late afternoon when we arrived at the Empire State Building. Piling out of the vans and onto the street had been an ordeal considering half of our group was dealing with the after effects of car sickness and the other half was a mix of adrenaline induced delirium responses. The head counselors of the present cabins gravitated together toward the entrance to the building that I could not see through the sea of demigods. The only thing I could see was the happily panting face of Mrs. O’Leary bobbing from side to side as she took in the sight of us. It was strange but for the first time in my life I realized with full consciousness that I was actually happy to see a dog. I did not get to dwell on the realization as Annabeth nearly shoved me into Pollux dragging me through the crowd. Poor guy seemed only half there for the past year since ... .well you know what happened…. the Stoll brothers, Michael Yew, Jake Mason, Katie Gardner, also tried to part out of her and by extension my way. But only years of training kept us all on our feet as we fought against the steely determination of one agitated daughter of wisdom.

Annabeth slowed down a bit to carefully maneuver us around Silena Beauregard, which I was ever so grateful for. There was no need to ram into the side of the grieving widow, and yes I know she is not technically a widow cause they were not married, but damn it close enough! I had assumed when we emerged on the other side of the nervous crowd that a certain someone would be standing, waiting for another certain someone despite knowing that she might kick his ass on sight…..but he’s never been known for his self preservation skills. He’d be there, they’d have a little tiff of sorts and then they’d lock in and get to strategizing like they always did. The rest of our fellow campers, minus a very stubborn Clarisse and her siblings (and a very concerned Chris who said he’d stay back to convince her to join us later), would then follow our dynamic duo’s plan to the best of their abilities. And hopefully we win and most of us live….You know the way we have been existing for the last…oh I don’t know ….almost four odd years.

And yet despite knowing that Percy went on some vision quest to help us and then the same formula would take place, I was not ready to be face to face with him that day. Something was different about him. His hair was still the same dark hue in a perpetually wind swept state of unkept, his eyes still the same green that could only be found in the clearest of the oceans waves ... .and yet something about him glowed. Not literally of course, but something was emanating from him….or maybe it was coming from the unsettling calm blue thread gently circling around him at shoulder level. His gaze was harder than I had ever seen it, calculating almost, a spike of rage filtered into the start of a tsunami in his eyes before green met gray. His whole body language changed. Shoulders relaxed, eyes softened, and an easy smile settled onto his features.

Annabeth frowned. "What is it?"

 "What's what?" He asked.

 "You're looking at me funny."

I released the breath I had not realized I had been holding in a startled huff. He looked like a deer caught in headlights as his gaze shot over to me for a second before clearing his throat. Undoubtedly trying to save himself from being caught staring at the black camouflage clad blonde. (not that anyone would blame him for that…..right? No, no you will not judge me for understanding this dumbass…..I have eyes damn it! If you saw her with your own peepers you’d be on my side for this!)

"It's, uh, nothing." he turned to the rest of the group. "Thanks for coming, everybody. Chiron, after you."

 Our mentor shook his head. "I came to wish you luck, my boy. But I make it a point never to visit Olympus unless I am summoned."

 "But you're our leader."

 Chiron smiled. "I am your trainer, your teacher. That is not the same as being your leader. I will go gather what allies I can. It may not be too late to convince my brother centaurs to help. Meanwhile, you called the campers here, Percy. You are the leader."

If he had looked caught off guard before then he looked like he was about to be caught in a nuclear melt down. He blinked away his surprise quickly taking in his awaiting troops. I watched in real time Percy finally understand the gravity of his decisions. From that point on he was calling the shots, and despite the fear he took a deep breath and squared his shoulders under the weight of his newly accepted role.

"Okay, like I told Annabeth on the phone, something bad is going to happen by tonight. Some kind of trap. We've got to get an audience with Zeus and convince him to defend the city. Remember, we can't take no for an answer."

 Percy quickly  asked Argus to watch Mrs. O'Leary, which neither party looked too happy about.

 Chiron shook his hand and over the sound of the buzzing crowd I could just make out his quiet words of wisdom. "You'll do well, Percy. Just remember your strengths and beware your weaknesses."

Percy stalled, a blink and you’d miss it moment, but worry knitted its way into his brow before he forced it away with a wobblily pseudo confident smile. He sent Chiron a firm nod and then turned to yell back to us, "Let's go.”

***

A security guard was sitting behind the desk in the lobby, reading a big black book with a flower on the cover. He glanced up when we all filed in with our weapons and armor clanking. "School group?  We're about to close up."

 "No," Percy said leaning his elbows on the desk. "Six-hundredth floor."

 He checked us out. His eyes were pale blue and his head was completely bald. I couldn't tell if he was human or not, but he seemed to notice our weapons, so the Mist clearly was not very effective against him.

 "There is no six-hundredth floor, kid." He said it like it was a required line he didn't believe. "Move along."

 Percy leaned further across the desk. "Forty demigods attract an awful lot of monsters. You really want us hanging out in your lobby?"

I hummed in agreement, “yeah, you might as well ring the dinner bell yourself if you don’t want to let us up.” I threw my thumb back to gesture at the crowd behind us as I also leaned into the front of the desk. “Cause we will wait here all night if we have to.”

 He thought about that. Then he hit a buzzer and the security gate swung open. "Make it quick."

 "You don't want us going through the metal detectors," Percy added.

The thought of getting my camo clad ass, fully strapped to the teeth with a plethora of gadgets, through the metal detectors was so absurd that I had to stifle my laugh into Percy’s shoulder. He jumped a bit at the contact, but I just wrote it off as prebattle adrenaline putting him on edge.

 "Um, no," the guard agreed. "Elevator on the right. I guess you know the way."

 Percy tossed him a golden drachma and we marched through.

 We decided it would take two trips to get everybody up in the elevator. I went with the first group.

Different elevator music was playing than my last visit—that old disco song "Stayin' Alive." It was an oddly fitting song considering we were staring down the barrel of our own demise. Which was a cheery apocalyptic thought that I was glad to have interrupted by the elevator doors dinging open. In front of us, a path of floating stones led through the clouds up to Mount Olympus, hovering six thousand feet over Manhattan.

 I'd seen Olympus several times, but it still took my breath away. The mansions glittered gold and white against the sides of the mountain. Gardens bloomed on a hundred terraces. Scented smoke rose from braziers that lined the winding streets. And right at the top of the snow-capped crest rose  the main palace of the gods. It looked as majestic as ever, but something seemed wrong. Then I realized the mountain was silent—no music, no voices, no laughter. It reminded me of the moment the characters in a horror movie realize something bad is coming for them. The eerie quiet before the storm. 

 Annabeth studied Percy with narrowed eyes. "You look . . . different," she decided. "Where exactly did you go?"

 The elevator doors opened again, and the second group of half-bloods joined us. I leaned forward a bit to look at Percy properly from her other side. It made me feel a bit better that I was not losing my mind about something being different, but I still couldn’t place it. Just before he responded his thread glittered like it had been glazed in gold.

 "Tell you later," Percy said. "Come on."

Then just as fast the gold was gone. Percy and his now calm blue thread made their way across the sky bridge into the streets of Olympus with the rest of us only a few steps behind. The shops were closed. The parks were empty. A couple of Muses sat on a bench strumming flaming lyres, but their hearts didn't seem to be in it. A lone Cyclops swept the street with an uprooted oak tree. A minor godling spotted us from a balcony and ducked inside, closing his shutters.

 We passed under a big marble archway with statues of Zeus and Hera on either side. I quickly averted my eyes, suddenly finding the stone streets to be much more interesting than the architecture. I only looked back up when I could hear the contempt dripping from Annabeth’s voice. She made a face at the queen of the gods.

 "Hate her," she muttered.

 "Has she been cursing you or something?" Percy asked. Last year Annabeth had gotten on Hera's bad side (which she was justified in doing cause Hera is awful. And no I do mean it, and no I don’t care if she finds out I’ve been talking shit. I shall square up at a moments notice….but I digress. My disdain is not the point of this tangent……what was I talking about again?................oh right! Annabeth!), but Annabeth hadn't really talked about it since.

 "Just little stuff so far," she said. "Her sacred animal is the cow, right?"

 "Right." Percy confirmed.

 "So she sends cows after me."

 He tried and failed not to smile. "Cows? In San Francisco?"

 "Oh, yeah. Usually I don't see them, but the cows leave me little presents all over the place—in our backyard, on the sidewalk, in the school hallways. I have to be careful where I step."

“Gods that is some petty shit.” I muttered.

Percy snorted which got him a half hearted smack to the shoulder from Annabeth. I realized then I had accidentally made a pun….well a happy accident I guess.

“You both are so unserious."

“I’m sorry, when did I ever give the impression that I could be serious?” I shot back leaning into my unconscious joke.

I did not have to look to know that Percy had a shit eating grin splayed across his face, “Don’t worry Han I never thought that of you.”

 "Look!" Pollux cried, pointing toward the horizon. "What is that?"

 We all froze. Blue lights were streaking across the evening sky toward Olympus like tiny comets. They seemed to be coming from all over the city, heading straight toward the mountain. As they got close, they fizzled  out. We watched them for several minutes and they didn't seem to do any damage, but still it was strange.

 "Like infrared scopes," Michael Yew muttered. "We're being targeted."

“Oh goodie, more obstacles to the killable ... .just what we needed.” I said throwing my hands in the air for emphasis.

 "Let's get to the palace," Percy said, shooting Annabeth and I an urgent look.

 No one was guarding the hall of the gods. The gold-and-silver doors stood wide open. Our footsteps echoed as we walked into the throne room.

 Of course, "room" doesn't really cover it. The place was the size of Madison Square Garden. High above, the blue ceiling glittered with constellations. Twelve giant empty thrones stood in a U around a hearth. In one corner, a house-size globe of water hovered in the air, and inside swam my old friend the Ophiotaurus, half-cow, half-serpent.

 "My lady! You have brought my savior and an army! Blessed the day!" he said happily, turning in a circle. Though I knew everyone else only heard loud moos instead. Two years ago we'd spent a lot of time trying to save the Ophiotaurus from the Titans, and we had gotten kind of fond of him. Well at least Percy and I had, considering he had attached himself to Percy and I was one of the few people that could understand him. He seemed to like us too, even though Percy'd originally thought he was a girl and named him Bessie. I didn’t think to look into it when Percy introduced us, so that’s on me for just trusting Pery’s observation skills. My bad.

 "Hey, man," Percy said. " They treating you okay?"

 Ophi, (as I had dubbed him because Bessie was not his preferred name despite what Percy would have you believe.), responded enthusiastically which I translated for Percy in a hushed voice. 

“He says yes, he gets lots of good food and scratches. As well as live entertainment via Lord Zeus’s daily meetings. Though for legal reasons I will not translate the gossip he just spilled. It is not good for either of us to know that information.” I sent a pointed look at Ophi who had no shame and did another little spin for us.

“Damn gossip hound.”

Percy giggled softly, bumping our shoulders together as he had moved to be in the middle instead of Annabeth. I tried not to focus on that sound and instead turned toward the eyes I felt on us from the center of the room.

 We walked toward the thrones, and a woman's voice said, "Hello again, Percy Jackson. You and your friends are welcome."

 Hestia stood by the hearth, poking the flames with a stick. She wore the same kind of simple brown dress as she had the few times I had seen her at the camp’s fire, but she was a grown woman now.

 Percy bowed. "Lady Hestia."

 I sank to my knee only a second after and our friends followed suit.

 Hestia regarded Percy with her red glowing eyes. "I see you went through with your plan. You bear the curse of Achilles."

 The other campers started muttering among themselves: What did she say? What about Achilles? And honestly, I too almost had my jaw fully detach from my skull and fall on the floor. Was he STUPID?!?! No actually don’t answer that, cause I KNOW he IS stupid, SO STUPID! This man was going to be the death of me. I could feel it in my still slightly vibrating bones. If Kronos did not kill him by the end of all this nightmare fuel, I just fucking might.

 "You must be careful," Hestia warned him. "You gained much on your journey. But you are still blind to the most important truth. Perhaps a glimpse is in order."

 Annabeth nudged him . "Um . . . what is she talking about?"

I wanted to face palm. Clearly Percy’s vision quest was not done. And if Percy’s thread had not decided that it was a great time to circle its way into the rim of my glasses I would have told Annabeth just that. But instead I somehow got DRAGGED into the GODS DAMNED QUEST! I did not need nor want to see a dark alley between red brick warehouses. A sign above one of the doors read RICHMOND IRONWORKS.

Nor did I want to see two half-bloods crouched in the shadows—a boy about fourteen and a girl about twelve. I especially did not want to see it when it became clear that the children were Luke and Thalia respectively. And yet there I was…..So I guess I will describe it to you……Against my WILL!

Luke carried a bronze knife. Thalia had her spear and shield of terror, Aegis. Luke and Thalia both looked hungry and lean, with wild animal eyes, like they were used to being attacked.

 "Are you sure?" Thalia asked.

 Luke nodded. "Something down here. I sense it."

 A rumble echoed from the alley, like someone had banged on a sheet of metal. The half-bloods crept forward. Old crates were stacked on a loading dock. Thalia and Luke approached with their weapons ready. A curtain of corrugated tin quivered as if  something were behind it.

 Thalia glanced at Luke. He counted silently: One, two, three!  He ripped away the tin, and a little girl flew at him with a hammer.

 "Whoa!" Luke said.

 The girl had tangled blond hair and was wearing flannel pajamas. She couldn't have been more than seven, but she would've smashed Luke’s skull in if he hadn't been so fast.

 He grabbed her wrist, and the hammer skittered across the cement.

 The little girl fought and kicked. "No more monsters! Go away!"

 "It's okay!" Luke struggled to hold her. " Thalia, put your shield up. You're scaring her."

 Thalia tapped Aegis, and it shrank into a silver bracelet. "Hey, it's all right," she said. "We're not going to hurt you. I'm Thalia. This is Luke."

 "Monsters!"

 "No," Luke promised. "But we know all about monsters. We fight them too."

 Slowly, the girl stopped kicking. She studied Luke and Thalia with large intelligent gray eyes.

 "You're like me?" she said suspiciously.

 "Yeah," Luke said. "We're . . . well, it's hard to explain, but we're monster fighters. Where's your family?"

 "My family hates me," the girl said. "They don't want me. I ran away."

 Thalia and Luke locked eyes. I knew they both related to what she was saying.

 "What's your name, kiddo?" Thalia asked.

 "Annabeth."

 Luke smiled. "Nice name. I tell you what, Annabeth—you're pretty fierce. We could use a fighter like you."

 Annabeth's eyes widened. "You could?"

 "Oh, yeah." Luke turned his knife and offered her the handle. "How'd you like a real monster-slaying weapon? This is Celestial bronze. Works a lot better than a hammer."

 Maybe under most circumstances in this era, offering a seven-year-old kid a knife would not be a good idea, but when you're a half-blood, regular rules kind of go out the window. Or just grow up in the before times where kids fought in the street with their family blades for fun. Not that I would recommend it now, scars are not nearly as revered as they were in my childhood…..so um don’t try that at home please.

 Annabeth gripped the hilt.

 "Knives are only for the bravest and quickest fighters," Luke explained. "They don't have the reach or power of a sword, but they're easy to conceal and they can find weak spots in your enemy's armor. It takes a clever warrior to use a knife. I have a feeling you're pretty clever."

 Annabeth stared at him with adoration. "I am!"

 Thalia grinned. "We'd better get going, Annabeth. We have a safe house on the James River. We'll get you some clothes and food."

 "You're . . . you're not going to take me back to my family?" she said. "Promise?"

 Luke put his hand on her shoulder. "You're part of our family now. And I promise I won't let anything hurt you. I'm not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?"

 "Deal!" Annabeth said happily.

 "Now, come on," Thalia said. "We can't stay put for long!"

 The scene shifted. The three demigods were running through the woods. It must've been several days later, maybe even weeks. All of them looked beat up, like they'd seen some battles. Annabeth was wearing new clothes—jeans and an oversize army jacket.

 "Just a little farther!" Luke promised. Annabeth stumbled, and he took her hand. Thalia brought up the rear, brandishing her shield like she was driving back whatever pursued them. She was limping on her left leg.

 They scrambled to a ridge and looked down the other side at a white Colonial house—May Castellan's place or at least I thought it was based on what Annabeth had described to me from her dream, though that felt like almost a lifetime ago.

 "All right," Luke said, breathing hard. "I'll just sneak in and grab some food and medicine. Wait here."

 "Luke, are you sure?" Thalia asked. "You swore you'd never come back here. If she catches you—"

 "We don't have a choice!" he growled. "They burned our nearest safe house. And you've got to treat that leg wound."

 "This is your house?" Annabeth said with amazement.

 "It was my house," Luke muttered. "Believe me, if it wasn't an emergency—"

 "Is your mom really horrible?" Annabeth asked. "Can we see her?"

 "No!" Luke snapped.

 Annabeth shrank away from him as though his anger surprised her.

 "I . . . I'm sorry," he said. "Just wait here. I promise everything will be okay. Nothing's going to hurt you. I'll be back—"

 A brilliant golden flash illuminated the woods. The demigods winced, and a man's voice boomed: "You should not have come home."

***

The vision shut off abruptly. I felt myself wobble but thankfully already being lower to the ground I stabilized myself before anyone noticed. Not that they would have considering Percy, who had been standing up, no longer had functioning legs and had to be caught by Annabeth before he face planted. Not the best way to have your first day as leader ending. He fought well but was taken out before anything really happened by an impromptu nap.

"Percy! What happened?"

 "Did . . . did you see that?" Percy asked.

 "See what?"

I glanced around to see the concern on the campers and Hestia’s expressionless face. I was missing something, but clearly whether consciously or more likely unconsciously Percy wanted me to see it too. I stood up brushing the dust off my pants.

"How long was I out?" Percy muttered.

 Annabeth knit her eyebrows. "Percy, you weren't out at all. You just looked at Hestia for like one second and collapsed."

I nearly spit out a swig of water I did not take. “Only a second?!”

They both turned to look at me. Annabeth’s confusion only deepened while Percy’s face shifted into relief. He stood himself back up shifting his weight closer to me as he turned back to Hestia. I didn’t remember the throne room being so warm before.

"Um, Lady Hestia," he said, "we've come on urgent business. We need to see—"

 "We know what you need," a man's voice said. Percy shuddered, probably because it was the same voice we'd heard in the vision.

 A god shimmered into existence next to Hestia. He looked about twenty-five, with curly salt-and-pepper hair and elfish features. He wore a military pilot's flight suit, with tiny bird's wings fluttering on his helmet and his black leather boots. In the crook of his arm was a long staff entwined with two living serpents.

 "I will leave you now," Hestia said. She bowed to the aviator and disappeared into smoke. I understood why she was so anxious to go. Hermes, the God of Messengers, did not look happy.

 "Hello, Percy." His brow furrowed as though he was annoyed with him, and I wondered if he somehow knew about the vision we'd just had. I had spent a lot of time with Luke after getting placed in the Hermes cabin along with all the other undeterminds, and honestly I don’t think I ever heard him say something positive about his father. It was a lovely thing we had in common, shitty absent godly parents and unlike everyone else at camp we were not as reverent about our deadbeat parents regardless of their godliness. It was kind of weird that not many of us were annoyed about that, but I guess it just illustrates how attention starved these kids are.

 Percy bowed awkwardly. "Lord Hermes."

 Oh, sure, one of the snakes said telepathically. Don't say hi to  us. We're just reptiles.

 George, the other snake scolded. Be polite.

 "Hello, George," Percy said. "Hey, Martha."

 Did you bring us a rat? George asked.

 George, stop it, Martha said. He's busy!

 Too busy for rats? George said. That's just sad.

 Thankfully Annabeth and I did not need to steer him away from the snakes, for once Percy actually stayed on topic. "Um, Hermes," he said. "We need to talk to Zeus. It's important."

 Hermes's eyes were steely cold. "I am his messenger. May I take a message?"

 Behind us, the other demigods shifted restlessly. Percy sent us a look before looking back at our entourage.

 "You guys," he said. "Why don't you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who's left in Olympus. Meet us back here in thirty minutes."

 Silena frowned. "But—"

 "That's a good idea," Annabeth said. "Connor and Travis, you two lead."

 The Stolls seemed to like that—getting handed an important responsibility right in front of their dad.

They usually never led anything except toilet paper raids. "We're on it!" Travis said. They herded the others out of the throne room, leaving Percy, Annabeth and I with Hermes.

“I give them ten minutes before something gets set on fire……no actually make that five minutes.” I mumbled as my gaze lingered on the space where our fellow campers had occupied.

Annabeth discreetly reached around to pinch my arm. She then turned back to Hermes with a carefully constructed mask of fake pleasantness. "My lord, Kronos is going to attack New York. You must suspect that. My mother must  have foreseen it."

 "Your mother," Hermes grumbled. He scratched his back with his caduceus, and George and Martha muttered Ow, ow, ow. "Don't get me started on your mother, young lady. She's the reason I'm here at all. Zeus didn't want any of us to leave the front line. But your mother kept pestering him nonstop, 'It's a trap, it's a diversion, blah, blah, blah.' She wanted to come back herself, but Zeus was not going to let his number one strategist leave his side while we're battling Typhon. And so naturally he sent me to talk to you."

 "But it is a trap!" Annabeth insisted. "Is Zeus blind?"

 Thunder rolled through the sky.

“I think he heard that.” I mumbled leaning into Percy’s side.

 "I'd watch the comments, girl," Hermes warned her. "Zeus is not blind or deaf. He has not left Olympus completely undefended."

 "But there are these blue lights—"

 "Yes, yes. I saw them. Some mischief by that insufferable goddess of magic, Hecate, I'd wager, but you may have noticed  they aren't doing any damage. Olympus has strong magical wards. Besides, Aeolus, the King of the Winds, has sent his most powerful minions to guard the citadel. No one save the gods can approach Olympus from the air. They would be knocked out of the sky."

 Percy raised his hand like a student afraid to admit they were confused. "Um . . . what about that materializing/teleporting thing you guys do?"

 "That's a form of air travel too, Jackson. Very fast, but the wind gods are faster. No, if Kronos wants Olympus, he'll have to march through the entire city with his army and take the elevators! Can you see him doing this?"

 Hermes made it sound pretty ridiculous—hordes of monsters going up in the elevator twenty at a time, listening to "Stayin' Alive." Which it kind of was, but it was certainly not outside the realm of possibilities.

 "Maybe just a few of you could come back," Percy suggested.

 Hermes shook his head impatiently. "Percy Jackson, you don't understand. Typhon is our greatest enemy."

 "I thought that was Kronos."

 The god's eyes glowed. "No, Percy. In the old days, Olympus was almost overthrown by Typhon. He is husband of Echidna—"

 "Met her at the Arch," I muttered. "Not nice."

 "—and the father of all monsters. We can never forget how close he came to destroying us all; how he humiliated us! We were more powerful back in the old days. Now we can expect no help from Poseidon because he's fighting his own war. Hades sits in his realm and does nothing, and Demeter and Persephone follow his lead. It will take all our remaining power to oppose the storm giant. We can't divide our forces, nor wait until he gets to New York. We have to battle him now. And we're making progress."

 "Progress?" Percy said. "He nearly destroyed St. Louis."

 "Yes," Hermes admitted. "But he destroyed only half of Kentucky. He's slowing down. Losing power."

 I really wanted to argue, but it sounded like Hermes was trying to convince himself. And despite my distaste for most of the gods I didn’t think pointing out his faulty logic was going to help.

 In the corner, the Ophi sadly lamented about our rather doomed predicament.

 "Please, Hermes," Annabeth said. "You said my mother wanted to come. Did she give you any messages for us?"

 "Messages," he muttered. "'It'll be a great job,' they told me. ' Not much work. Lots of worshippers.' Hmph. Nobody cares what I have to say. It's always about other people's messages.”

 Rodents, George mused. I'm in it for the rodents.

 Shhh, Martha scolded. We care what Hermes has to say. Don't we, George?

 Oh, absolutely. Can we go back to the battle now? I want to do laser mode again. That's fun.

 "Quiet, both of you," Hermes grumbled.

 The god looked at Annabeth, who was doing her big-pleading-gray-eyes thing. Which was usually super effective, and again was proven to be her finishing move. That evil child could get even the gods to break with that look apparently, not a great sign for any future attempts to ignore it for me.

 "Bah," Hermes said. "Your mother said to warn you that you are on your own. You must hold Manhattan without the help of the gods. As if I didn't know that. Why they pay her to be the wisdom goddess, I'm not sure."

 "Anything else?" Annabeth asked.

 "She said you should try plan twenty-three. She said you would know what that meant."

 Annabeth's face paled. Obviously she knew what it meant, and she didn't like it. "Go on."

“Something about Hanora and tapping into her titan connections, hopefully you know what that means.”

I nodded. I was not expecting to get my own message from Athena, but with mine and Percy’s converging prophecies I really should have known better.

 "Last thing." Hermes looked at Percy. "She said to tell Percy: 'Remember the rivers.' And, um, something about staying away from her daughter."

 I'm not sure whose face was redder: Annabeth's or Percy’s. Either way I thoroughly enjoyed the sight of two of the most badass people I know turning into blubbering tomatoes.

 "Thank you, Hermes," Annabeth said. "And I . . . I wanted to say . . . I'm sorry about Luke."

 The god's expression hardened like he'd turned to marble. "You should've left that subject alone."

 Annabeth stepped back nervously. "Sorry?"

 "SORRY doesn't cut it!"

 George and Martha curled around the caduceus, which shimmered and changed into something that looked like a high-voltage cattle prod.

 "You should've saved him when you had the chance," Hermes growled at Annabeth. "You're the only one who could have."

 Percy tried to step between them, a finger at the ready to push the blue pearl on his bracelet. "What are you talking about? Annabeth didn't—"

 "Don't defend her, Jackson!" Hermes turned the cattle prod toward him. "She knows exactly what I'm talking about."

I blinked back my surprise and pushed Annabeth behind the both of us, keeping one hand on Percy’s elbow and the other ready to activate my blade.

“Yeah, let's blame a child for not raising an older child to do the right thing.” I snarked glaring down the god, “Makes sooooo much sense.”

Hermes did not have much time to think about shoving his stick of death at me since Percy had taken it upon himself to become public enemy number one in that moment.

 "Maybe you should blame yourself!" Part of me thought he should have kept his mouth shut, the other found that him telling a god off to protect Annabeth was…..ummm….something else…... "Maybe if you hadn't abandoned Luke and his mom!"

 Hermes raised his cattle prod. He began to grow until he was ten feet tall. I activated Aigéan and pulled Percy behind me as well ready to block the hit, but as he prepared to strike, George and Martha leaned in close and whispered something in his ear.

 Hermes clenched his teeth. He lowered the cattle prod, and it turned back to a staff.

 "Percy Jackson," he said, " because you have taken on the curse of Achilles, I must spare you. You are in the hands of the Fates now. But you will never speak to me like that again. You have no idea how much I have sacrificed, how much—"

 His voice broke, and he shrank back to human size. "My son, my greatest pride . . . my poor May . . ."

 He sounded so devastated I didn't know what to say. One minute he was ready to vaporize us. Now he looked like he needed a hug.

 "Look, Lord Hermes," Percy said trying to come out from behind me, but he only got about half way before I shot my arm out to keep him back a bit. "I'm sorry, but I need to know. What happened to May? She said something about Luke's fate, and her eyes—"

 Hermes glared at Percy over my shoulder, and Percy’s voice faltered. The look on his face wasn't really anger, though. It was pain. Deep, incredible pain.

 "I will leave you now," he said tightly. "I have a war to fight."

 He began to shine. Percy and I turned away making sure to cover Annabeth’s eyes as well, because she was still frozen in shock.

 Good luck, Percy, Martha the snake whispered.

 Hermes glowed with the light of a supernova. Then he was gone.

 ***

 Annabeth sat at the foot of her mother's throne and cried. I curled around her letting her tears soak through the shoulder of my jacket. Percy paced uncertainly in front of us.

 "Annabeth," he said, "it's not your fault. I've never seen Hermes act that way. I guess . . . I don't know . . .he probably feels guilty about Luke. He's looking for somebody to blame. I don't know why he lashed out at you. You didn't do anything to deserve that."

“Wow, good job referencing psychology in the weirdest way I’ve ever heard, Sea.” I blinked at him running my fingers through Annabeth’s hair. “But he is right, the gods are not exactly know for taking responsibility for their actions. Somehow its always someone else's fault.”

 Annabeth pulled away and wiped her eyes. She stared at the hearth like it was her own funeral pyre.

 Percy shifted uneasily. "Um, you didn't, right?"

 She didn't answer. Her Celestial bronze knife was strapped to her arm—the same knife I'd seen in Hestia's vision. 

 "Percy," she said. " Luke's mother? Did you really meet her?"

 Percy nodded reluctantly. "Nico and I visited her. She was a little . . . different."

“Yeah…..I saw. I-I had a dream about it.” Annabeth frowned. "But why were you visiting—" Her eyes widened. "Hermes said you bear the curse of Achilles. Hestia said the same thing. Did you . . . did you bathe in the River Styx?"

 "Don't change the subject."

“I think you both have some explaining to do.” I chimed in but they had entered their own little world. So third wheel it was again I guess.

 "Percy! Did you or not?"

 "Um . . . maybe a little."

 Percy told us the story about Hades and Nico, and how he'd defeated an army of the dead. Something in the way he eyed us made me think he left something out, but I decided not to comment on it. Assuming they would acknowledge me even if I did. Annabeth shook her head in disbelief. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?"

 "I had no choice," Percy said. "It's the only way I can stand up to Luke."

 "You mean . . . di immortales,  of course! That's why Luke didn't die. He went to the Styx and . . . Oh no, Luke. What were you thinking?"

“Trying to figure out what that idiot was thinking is a mute point, AB.”

 "So now you're worried about Luke again," Percy grumbled.

 She stared at him like he'd just dropped from space. "What?"

Oh, dear gods of Olympus. I knew Percy was stupid, hades he probably does not even understand why he’s jealous. But Annabeth? Girl! Why do you not see the jealousy coming off this man in waves?! I popped up from my spot at the foot of the throne and moved closer to the hearth.

 "Forget it," he muttered. "The point is he didn't die in the Styx, neither did I . Now I have to face him. We have to defend Olympus."

 Annabeth was still studying his face, like she was trying to see differences since his swim in the Styx. "I guess you're right. My mom mentioned—"

 "Plan twenty-three."

 She rummaged in her pack and pulled out Daedalus's laptop. The blue Delta symbol glowed on the top when she booted it up. She opened a few files and started to read.

 "Here it is," she said. "Gods, we have a lot of work to do."

 "One of Daedalus's inventions?"

 "A lot of inventions . . . dangerous ones. If my mother wants me to use this plan, she must think things are very bad." She looked at Percy. "What about her message to you: 'Remember the rivers'? What does that mean?"

 Percy shook his head.  

“who would have guessed it? Percy has no idea what a semi cryptic message has to do with him.” I looked between their unimpressed faces, “ me. I would have guessed it. And if you two problem children straight from a Shakespearean play even care, I have an idea of what your lovely mother’s message meant for me.”

Annabeth’s face brightened ever so slightly at the same time as Percy’s scrunched in confusion. “You do?-” “-Shakespearean?”

Just then the Stoll brothers ran into the throne room.

 "You need to see this," Connor said. "Now."

 The blue lights in the sky had stopped, so at first I didn't understand what the problem was.

 The other campers had gathered in a small park at the edge of the mountain. They were clustered at the guardrail, looking down at Manhattan. The railing was lined with those tourist binoculars, where you could deposit one golden drachma and see the city. Campers were using every single one.

 I looked down at the city. I could see almost everything from here—the East River and the Hudson River carving the shape of Manhattan, the grid of streets, the lights of skyscrapers, the dark stretch of Central Park in the north. Everything looked normal, but something was wrong. I felt it in my bones (and no not the vibrating which was also still happening) before I realized what it  was.

 "I don't . . . hear anything," Annabeth said.

 That was the problem.

 Even from this height, I should've heard the noise of the city—millions of people bustling around, thousands of cars and machines—the hum of a huge metropolis. You don't think about it when you live in New York, but it's always there (at least that's how Percy explained it. Pompeii was very bustling for its time as well, so it was not like I did not understand the concept, but New York city was a whole different animal). Even in the dead of night, New York is never silent.

 But it was now.

 "What did they do?" Percy’s voice sounded tight and angry. "What did they do to my city?"

 Percy pushed Michael Yew away from the binoculars and took a look. Annabeth and I followed suit, but a bit more politely gaining access to our own set of binoculars.

 In the streets below, traffic had stopped. Pedestrians were lying on the sidewalks, or curled up in doorways. There was no sign of violence, no wrecks, nothing like that. It was as if all the people in New York had simply decided to stop whatever they were doing and pass out.

 "Are they dead?" Silena asked in astonishment.

No, not dead. I was sure of that. I had seen a city lined with the dead and they did not do so in such a peaceful and bloodless way. My stomach dropped as I realized what had happened. A line from the prophecy rang in my ears: And see the world in endless sleep.  I remembered Grover's story about meeting the god Morpheus in Central Park. You're lucky I'm saving my energy for the main event. With cold dread I looked over to Percy’s grim expression as he came to the same conclusion.

 "Not dead,"  Percy said. "Morpheus has put the entire island of Manhattan to sleep. The invasion has started."

Chapter Text

Mrs. O'Leary was the only one happy about the sleeping city.

 We found her pigging out at an overturned hot dog stand while the owner was curled up on the

sidewalk, sucking his thumb.

 Argus was waiting for us with his hundred eyes wide open. He didn't say anything. He never does. I guess that's because he supposedly has an eyeball on his tongue. But his face made it clear he was freaking out.

 I told him what we'd  learned in Olympus, and how the gods would not be riding to the rescue. Argus rolled his eyes in disgust, which looked pretty psychedelic since it made his whole body swirl.

 "You'd better get back to camp," I told him. "Guard it as best you can."

 He pointed at me and raised his eyebrow quizzically .

 "I'm staying," I said.

 Argus nodded, like this answer satisfied him. He looked at Annabeth and drew a circle in the air with his finger.

 "Yes," Annabeth agreed. "I think it's time."

 "For what?" I asked.

 Argus rummaged around in the back of his van. He brought out a bronze shield and passed it to Annabeth. It looked pretty much standard issue—the same kind of round shield we always used in capture the flag. But when Annabeth set it on the ground, the reflection on the polished metal changed from sky and buildings to the Statue of Liberty—which wasn't anywhere close to us.

 "Whoa," I said. "A video shield."

 "One of Daedalus's ideas," Annabeth said. "I had Beckendorf make this before—" She glanced at Hanora who had gone startlingly still but otherwise looked no different than she had moments prior, then to Silena who looked much worse. "Um, anyway, the shield bends sunlight or moonlight from anywhere in the world to create a reflection. You can literally see any target under the sun or moon, as long as natural light is touching it. Look."

 We crowded around as Annabeth concentrated. The image zoomed and spun at first, so I got motion sickness just watching it. We were in the Central Park Zoo, then zooming down East 60th, past Bloomingdale's, then turning on Third Avenue.

 "Whoa," Connor Stoll said. "Back up. Zoom in right there."

 "What?" Annabeth said nervously. "You see invaders?"

 "No, right there—Dylan's Candy Bar." Connor grinned at his brother. "Dude, it's open. And everyone  is asleep. Are you thinking what I'm thinking?"

 "Connor!" Katie Gardner scolded. She sounded like her mother, Demeter. "This is serious. You are not going to loot a candy store in the middle of a war!"

 "Sorry," Connor muttered, but he didn't sound very ashamed.

Hanora pinched the bridge of her nose, “Idiots,” she muttered under her breath and partially into my shoulder that she was leaning on. 

 Annabeth passed her hand in front of the shield, and another scene popped up: FDR Drive, looking across the river at Lighthouse Park.

 "This will let us see what's going on across the city," she said. "Thank you, Argus. Hopefully we'll see you back at camp . . . someday."

 Argus grunted. He gave me a look that clearly meant good luck; you'll need it, then climbed into his van. He and the two harpy drivers swerved away, weaving around clusters of idle cars that littered the road.

 I whistled for Mrs. O'Leary, and she came bounding over.

 "Hey, girl," I said. "You remember Grover? The satyr we met in the park?"

 "WOOF!"

 I hoped that meant Sure I do!  And not, Do you have more hot dogs?

 "I need you to find him," I said. "Make sure he's still awake. We're going to need his help. You got that? Find Grover!"

 Mrs. O'Leary gave me a sloppy wet kiss, which seemed kind of unnecessary. And smashed her forehead into Hanora, who would have fallen to the concrete had she not landed on the Stoll brothers instead. All three of them looked up at her in varying stages of amusement and annoyance, but the small, exasperated smile on Hanora’s face was a bit distracting. She waved off Mrs. O’Leary who then raced off north at her command.

 Pollux crouched next to a sleeping policeman. "I don't get it. Why didn't we fall asleep too? Why just the mortals?"

 "This is a huge spell," Silena Beauregard said. "The bigger the spell, the easier it is to resist. If you want to sleep millions of mortals, you've got to cast a very thin layer of magic. Sleeping demigods is much harder."

 I stared at her. "When did you learn so much about magic?"

 Silena blushed. "I don't spend all my time on my wardrobe."

Hanora stood pulling Travis and Connor up with her. “You’d be a lot less interesting if you did.” She said over her shoulder causing Silena’s blush to deepen before she turned away.

 "Percy, Hanora," Annabeth called. She was still looking at the shield. "You'd better see this."

 The bronze image showed Long Island Sound near La Guardia. A fleet of a dozen speedboats raced through the dark water toward Manhattan. Each boat was packed with demigods in full Greek armor. At the back of the lead boat, a purple banner emblazoned with a black scythe flapped in the night wind. I'd never seen that design before, but it wasn't hard to figure out: the battle flag of Kronos.

 "Scan the perimeter of the island," I said. "Quick."

 Annabeth shifted the scene south to the harbor. A Staten Island Ferry was plowing through the waves near Ellis Island. The deck was crowded with dracaenae and a whole pack of hellhounds. Swimming in front of the ship was a pod of marine mammals. At first I thought they were dolphins. Then I saw their doglike faces and the swords strapped to their waists, and I realized they were telkhines—sea demons.

 The scene shifted again: the Jersey shore, right at the entrance to the Lincoln Tunnel. A hundred assorted monsters were marching past the lanes of  stopped traffic: giants with clubs, rogue Cyclopes, a few fire-spitting dragons, and just to rub it in, a World War II-era Sherman tank, pushing cars out of its way as it rumbled into the tunnel.

 "What's happening with the mortals outside Manhattan?" I said. "Is the whole state asleep?"

 Annabeth frowned. "I don't think so, but it's strange. As far as I can tell from these pictures, Manhattan is totally asleep. Then there's like a fifty-mile radius around the island where time is running really, really slow. The closer you get to Manhattan, the slower it is."

 She showed me another scene—a New Jersey highway. It was Saturday evening, so the traffic wasn't as bad as it might've been on a weekday. The drivers looked awake, but the cars were moving at about one mile per hour. Birds flew overhead in slow motion.

 "Kronos," I said. "He's slowing time."

 "Hecate might be helping," Katie Gardner said. "Look how the cars are all veering away from the Manhattan exits, like they're getting a subconscious message to turn back."

Hanora hummed leaning on my shoulder again to get a better look, “Well it would be too difficult to put a spell on the whole state even for him. At least we do know he has no interest in any added fatalities of the mortal kind.” 

It was a nice thought but I wasn’t sure how much Kronos had really considered loss of life as opposed to too much interference. I didn’t mention it though since she already looked paler than usual staring down at the shield. I grabbed her free hand and squeezed hopefully to reassure her.

 "I don't know." Annabeth sounded really frustrated. She hated not knowing. "But somehow they've surrounded Manhattan in layers of magic. The outside world might not even realize  something is wrong. Any mortals coming toward Manhattan will slow down so much they won't know what's happening."

 "Like flies in amber," Jake Mason murmured.

 “Looks like the post apocalyptic young adult novelists were right.” Hanora said, staring off into the distance. “The fate of the world rests solely on the shoulders of a rag tag group of mentally ill children with severe trauma…….but at this point I don’t know why we were expecting anything different.”

Annabeth hummed in agreement, “I guess we are on our own.”

 I turned to my friends. They looked stunned and scared, and I couldn't blame them. The shield had shown us at least three hundred enemies on the way. There were forty of us. And we were alone.

 "All right," I said. "We're going to hold Manhattan."

 Silena tugged at her armor. "Um, Percy, Manhattan is huge."

 "We are going to hold it," I said. "We have to."

 "He's right," Annabeth said. "The gods of the wind should keep Kronos's forces away from Olympus by air, so he'll try a ground assault. We have to cut off the entrances to the island."

 "Yeah but they also have a fleet of ships at their disposal, and last I checked we only have one Percy. How do we cut all of those off too?” Hanora pointed out waving the hand loosely laying on my shoulder in my direction.  An electric tingle went down my back. Suddenly I understood Athena's advice: Remember the rivers.

 "I'll take care of the boats," I said.

 Michael Yew frowned. "How?"

 "Just leave it to me," I said. 

“Damn you get yourself cursed and now you think you can do anything?” Hanora muttered sarcastically.

“Don’t worry I’ve got it,” I reassured her. She only rolled her eyes with a small huff but did not comment on it further. "We need to guard the bridges and tunnels. Let's assume they'll try a midtown or downtown assault, at least on their first try. That would be the most direct way to the Empire State Building. Michael, take Apollo's cabin to the Williamsburg Bridge. Katie, Demeter's cabin takes the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. Grow thorn bushes and poison ivy in the tunnel. Do whatever you have to do, but keep them out of there! Conner, take half of Hermes cabin and cover the Manhattan Bridge. Travis, you take the other half and cover the Brooklyn Bridge. And no stopping for looting or pillaging!"

 "Awwww!" the whole Hermes cabin complained.

 "Silena, take the Aphrodite crew to the Queens-Midtown Tunnel."

 "Oh my gods," one of her sisters said. "Fifth Avenue is so on our way! We could accessorize, and monsters, like, totally hate the smell of Givenchy."

 "No delays," I said. "Well . . . the perfume thing, if you think it'll work."

 Six Aphrodite girls kissed me on the cheek in excitement.

 "All right, enough!" I closed my eyes, trying to think of what I'd forgotten. "The Holland Tunnel.  Jake, take the Hephaestus cabin there. Use Greek fire, set traps.Whatever you've got."

 He grinned. "Gladly. We've got a score to settle. For Beckendorf!"

 The whole cabin roared in approval. I tried to ignore Hanora’s death grip on my hand.

 "The 59th Street Bridge," I said. "Clarisse—"

 I faltered. Clarisse wasn't here. The whole Ares cabin, curse them, was sitting back at camp.

 "We'll take that," Annabeth stepped in, saving me from an embarrassing silence. She turned to her siblings. "Malcolm, take the Athena cabin, activate plan twenty-three along the way, just like I showed you. Hold that position."

 "You got it."

 "I'll go with Percy," she said. "Then we'll join you, or we'll go wherever we're needed."

 Somebody in the back of the group said, "No detours, you two."

 There were some giggles, but I decided to let it pass.

 "All right," I said. "Keep in touch with cell phones."

 "We don't have cell phones," Silena protested.

 I reached down, picked up some snoring lady's BlackBerry, and tossed it to Silena. "You do now. You all know Annabeth's number, right? If you need us, pick up a random phone and call us. Use it once, drop it, then borrow another one if you have to. That should make it harder for the monsters to zero in on you."

 Everyone grinned as though they liked this idea.

 Travis cleared his throat. "Uh, if  we find a really nice phone—"

 "No, you can't keep it," I said.

 "Aw, man."

 "Hold it, Percy," Jake Mason said. "You forgot the Lincoln Tunnel."

 I bit back a curse. He was right. A Sherman tank and a hundred monsters were marching through that tunnel right now, and I'd positioned our forces everywhere else.

 Then a girl's voice called from across the street: "How about you leave that to us?"

 I'd never been happier to hear anyone in my life. A band of thirty adolescent girls crossed Fifth Avenue. They wore white shirts, silvery camouflage pants, and combat boots. They all had swords at their sides, quivers on their backs, and bows at the ready. A pack of white timber wolves milled around their feet, and many of the girls had hunting falcons on their arms.

 The girl in the lead had spiky black hair and a black leather jacket. She wore a silver circlet on her head like a princess's tiara, which didn't match her skull earrings or her Death to Barbie T-shirt showing a little Barbie doll with an arrow through its head.

 "Thalia!" Annabeth cried.

 The daughter of Zeus grinned. "The Hunters of Artemis, reporting for duty."

  ***

 There were hugs and greetings all around . . . or at least Thalia was friendly. The other Hunters didn't like being around campers, especially boys, but they didn't shoot any of us, which for them was a pretty warm welcome.

 "Where have you been the last year?" I asked Thalia. "You've got like twice as many Hunters now!"

 She laughed." Long, long  story. I bet my adventures were more dangerous than yours, Jackson."

 "Complete lie," I said.

 "We'll see," she promised. "After this is over, you, Annabeth, Hanora and me: cheeseburgers and fries at that hotel on West 57th."

 "Le Parker Meridien," I said. "You're on. And Thalia, thanks."

 She shrugged. "Those monsters won't know what hit them. Hunters, move out!"

 She slapped her silver bracelet, and the shield Aegis spiraled into full form. The golden head of Medusa molded in the center was so horrible, the campers all backed away. The Hunters took off down the avenue, followed by their wolves and falcons, and I had a feeling the Lincoln Tunnel would be safe for now.

 "Thank the gods," Annabeth said. "But if we don't blockade the rivers from those boats, guarding the bridges and tunnels will be pointless."

 "You're right," I said.

Hanora nodded, “well, better leave the masses with a damn good speech before we all die a horrible death in battle.”

“Thanks for that thought, Han” I deadpanned.

She shrugged, “happy to help any time.” Her smile was full of the type of mischief that would have had me concerned at camp, but on the precipice of battle it was just the kind of energy we needed.

 I looked back at the campers, all of them grim and determined. I tried not to feel like this was the last time I'd ever see them all together.

 "You're the greatest heroes of this millennium," I told them. "It doesn't matter how many monsters come at you. Fight bravely, and we will win." I raised Riptide and shouted, "FOR OLYMPUS!"

 They shouted in response, and our forty voices echoed off the buildings of Midtown. For a moment it sounded brave, but it died quickly in the silence of ten million sleeping New Yorkers.

  ***

Annabeth and I would've had our pick of cars, but they were all wedged in bumper-to-bumper traffic. None of the engines were running, which was weird. It seemed the drivers had had time to turn off the ignition before they got too sleepy. Or maybe Morpheus had the power to put engines to sleep as well.

Most of the drivers had apparently tried to pull to the curb when they felt themselves passing out, but still the streets were too clogged to navigate.

 Finally we found an unconscious courier leaning against a brick wall, still straddling his red Vespa. We dragged him off the scooter and laid him on the sidewalk.

 "Sorry, dude," I said. With any luck, I'd be able to bring his scooter back. If I didn't, it would hardly matter, because the city would be destroyed.

Hanora jumped after us when we split from the group explaining that she needed to get to a good pond and fast. I drove with Annabeth behind me holding on to my waist, and Hanora behind her somehow staying on while only half holding onto Annabeth for support. We zigzagged down Broadway with our engine buzzing through the eerie calm. The only sounds were occasional cell phones ringing—like they were calling out to each other, as if New York had turned into a giant electronic aviary.

 Our progress was slow. Every so often we'd come across pedestrians who'd fallen asleep right in front of a car, and we'd  move them just to be safe. Once we stopped to extinguish a pretzel vendor's cart that had caught on fire. A few minutes later we had to rescue a baby carriage that was rolling aimlessly down the street. It turned out there was no baby in it—just somebody's sleeping poodle. Go figure. We parked it safely in a doorway and kept riding.

 We were passing Madison Square Park when Annabeth said, "Pull over."

 I stopped in the middle of East 23rd. Annabeth jumped off and ran toward the park with Hanora hot on her heels. By the time I caught up with them, Annabeth was staring at a bronze statue on a red marble pedestal. Hanora stood behind her brow raised and hands on her hips. I'd probably passed it a million times but never really looked at it.

 The dude was sitting in a chair with his legs crossed. He wore an old-fashioned suit—Abraham Lincoln style—with a bow tie and long coattails and stuff. A bunch of bronze books were piled under his chair.

He held a writing quill in one hand and a big metal sheet of parchment in the other.

 "Why do we care about . . ." I squinted at the name on the pedestal. "William H. Steward?"

 "Seward," Annabeth corrected. "He was a New York governor. Minor demigod—son of Hebe, I think. But that's not important. It's the statue I care about."

 Hanora kneeled in front of her and with swift practiced ease Anabeth jumped up to examine the base of the statue.

 "Don't tell me he's an automaton," I said.

 Annabeth smiled. "Turns out most of the statues in the city are automatons. Daedalus planted them here just in case he needed an army."

 "To attack Olympus or defend it?"

“A brilliant mind knows to be prepared for every eventuality, Sea. And you should know that immortals are not always the kindest to those they feel are too big for their breaches.” Hanora nonchalantly rattled. I thought she was much too candid about a possible insurrection considering the circumstances.

 Annabeth shrugged. "That was plan twenty-three. He could activate one statue, and it would start activating its brethren all over the city, until there was an army. It's dangerous, though. You know how unpredictable automatons are."

 "Uh-huh," I said. We'd had our share of bad experiences with them. "You're seriously thinking about activating it?"

 "I have Daedalus's notes," she said. "I think I can . . . Ah, here we go."

 She pressed the tip of Seward's boot, and the statue stood up, its quill and paper ready.

 "What's he going to do?" I muttered. "Take a memo?"

“Or maybe our order, I could go for a donut right about now,” Hanora mused.

 "Shh," Annabeth. "Hello, William."

 "Bill," I suggested.

 "Bill . . . Oh, shut up," Annabeth told me. The statue tilted its head, looking at us with blank metal eyes.

 Annabeth cleared her throat. "Hello, er, Governor Seward. Command sequence: Daedalus Twenty-three. Defend Manhattan. Begin Activation."

 Seward jumped off his pedestal. He hit the ground so hard his shoes cracked the sidewalk. Then he went clanking off toward the east.

 "He's probably going to wake up Confucius," Annabeth guessed.

 "What?" I said.

“Or maybe he’ll get me donuts.” Hanora said wistfully. 

Annabeth stepped off of Hanora’s knee shaking her head before turning to me with her explanation. "Another statue, on Division. The point is, they'll keep waking each other up until they're all activated."

 "And then?"

 "Hopefully, they defend Manhattan."

“I hate how uncertain you sound about this.” Hanora commented as she brushed the dirt off her knees.

“Well, it's not like he ever enacted this sequence before.” Annabeth defended.

 "Do they know that we're not the enemy?" I asked.

 "I think so."

 "That's reassuring." I thought about all the bronze statues in the parks, plazas, and buildings of New York. There had to be hundreds, maybe thousands.

 Then a ball of green light exploded in the evening sky. Greek fire, somewhere over the East River.

 "We have to hurry," I said. And we ran for the Vespa.

  ***

 We parked outside Battery Park, at the lower tip of Manhattan where the Hudson and East Rivers came together and emptied into the bay. Hanora had jumped off a few blocks back at collect pond park. She waved and sprinted in like a woman on a mission. Which I guess she was, I hoped that she would be alright on her own. Annabeth had looked completely unbothered and had practically forced me to drive away before I got off to follow her in. That reaction made me feel less guilty for what I said next.

 "Wait here," I told Annabeth.

 "Percy, you shouldn't go alone."

 "Well, unless you can breathe underwater . . ."

 She sighed. "You are so annoying sometimes."

 "Like when I'm right? Trust me, I'll be fine. I've got the curse of Achilles now. I’m all invincible and stuff."

 Annabeth didn't look convinced. "Just be careful. I don't want anything to happen to you. I mean, because we need you for the battle."

 I grinned. "Back in a flash."

 I clambered down the shoreline and waded into the water.

 Just for you non-sea-god types out there, don't go swim-ming in New York Harbor. It may not be as filthy as it was in my mom's day, but that water will still probably make you grow a third eye or have mutant children when you grow up.

 I dove into the murk and sank to the bottom. I tried to find the spot where the two rivers' currents seemed equal—where they met to form the bay. I figured that was the best place to get their attention.

 "HEY!" I shouted in my best underwater voice. The sound echoed in the darkness. "I heard you guys are so polluted you're embarrassed to show your faces. Is that true?"

 A cold current rippled through the bay, churning up plumes of garbage and silt.

 "I heard the East River is more toxic," I continued, "but the Hudson smells worse. Or is it the other way around?"

  The water shimmered. Something powerful and angry was watching me now. I could sense its presence . . . or maybe two presences.

 I was afraid I'd miscalculated with the insults. What if they just blasted me without showing themselves? But these were New York river gods. I figured their instinct would be to get in my face.  Sure enough, two giant forms appeared in front of me. At first, they were just dark brown columns of silt, denser than the water around them. Then they grew legs, arms, and scowling faces.

 The creature on the left looked disturbingly like a telkhine. His face was wolfish. His body was vaguely like a seal's—sleek black with flipper hands and feet. His eyes glowed radiation green.

 The dude on the right was more humanoid. He was dressed in rags and seaweed, with a chain-mail coat made of bottle caps and old plastic six-pack holders. His face was blotchy with algae, and his beard was overgrown. His deep blue eyes burned with anger.

 The seal, who had to be the god of the East River, said, "Are you trying to get yourself killed, kid? Or are you just extra stupid?"

 The bearded spirit of the Hudson scoffed. "You're the expert on stupid, East."

 "Watch it, Hudson," East growled. "Stay on your side of the island and mind your business."

 "Or what? You'll throw another garbage barge at me?"

 They floated toward each other, ready to fight.

 "Hold it!" I yelled. "We've got a bigger problem."

 "The kid's right," East snarled. "Let's both kill him, then we'll fight each other."

 "Sounds good," Hudson said.

 Before I could protest, a thousand scraps of garbage surged off the bottom and flew straight at me from both directions: broken glass, rocks, cans, tires.

 I was expecting it, though. The water in front of me thickened into a shield. The debris bounced off harmlessly. Only one piece got through—a big chunk of glass that hit my chest and probably should've killed me, but it shattered against my skin.

 The two river gods stared at me.

 "Son of Poseidon?" East asked.

 I nodded.

 "Took a dip in the Styx?" Hudson asked.

 "Yep."

 They both made disgusted sounds.

 "Well, that's perfect," East said. "Now how do we kill him?"

 "We could electrocute him," Hudson mused. "If I could just find some jumper cables—"

 "Listen to me!" I said. "Kronos's army is invading Manhattan.'"

 "Don't you think we know that?" East asked. "I can feel his boats right now. They're almost across."

 "Yep," Hudson agreed. "I got some filthy monsters crossing my waters too."

 "So, stop them," I said. "Drown them. Sink their boats."

 "Why should we?" Hudson grumbled. "So, they invade Olympus. What do we care?"

 "Because I can pay you." I took out the sand dollar my father had given me for my birthday.  The river gods' eyes widened.

 "It's mine!" East said. "Give it here, kid, and I promise none of Kronos's scum are getting across the East River."

 "Forget that" Hudson said. "That sand dollar's mine, unless you want me to let all those ships cross the Hudson."

 "We'll compromise." I broke the sand dollar in half. A ripple of clean fresh water spread out from the break, as if all the pollution in the bay were being dissolved.

 "You each get half," I said. "In exchange, you keep all of Kronos's forces away from Manhattan."

 "Oh, man," Hudson whimpered, reaching out for the sand dollar. "It's been so long since I was clean."

 "The power of Poseidon," East River murmured. "He's a jerk, but he sure knows how to sweep pollution away."

 They looked at each other, then spoke as one: "It's a deal."

 I gave them each a sand-dollar half, which they held reverently.

 "Um, the invaders?" I prompted.

 East flicked his hand. "They just got sunk."

 Hudson snapped his fingers. "Bunch of hellhounds just took a dive."

 "Thank you," I said. "Stay clean."

 As I rose toward the surface, East called out, "Hey, kid, any time you got a sand dollar to spend, come on back. Assuming you live."

 "Curse of Achilles," Hudson snorted. "They always think that'll save them, don't they?"

 "If only he knew," East agreed. They both laughed, dissolving into the water.

  ***

 Back on the shore, Annabeth was talking on her cell phone, but she hung up as soon as she saw me. She looked pretty shaken.

 "It worked," I told her. "The rivers are safe."

 "Good," she said. "Because we've got other problems.  Michael Yew just called. Another army is marching over the Williamsburg Bridge. The Apollo cabin needs help. And Percy, the monster leading the enemy . . . it's the Minotaur."

Chapter Text

Collect pond probably would not have been my first choice for a fresh water source in all of Manhattan, but it was in the direction Percy and Annabeth were heading. So I had to make do….even though I could have headed out on my own to Central park…..but that would have meant parting from my two idiots even sooner, and with certain doom staring us down I really wanted to procrastinate a little bit. I could feel my legs grow heavier as my feet hit pavement and the sound of the vespa grew further and further away. 

“Alright Hanora, you got this…easy peasy..” I muttered as I slowed at the edge of the pond. “Nothing you haven’t done before….Its just your new bestie….”

I took a deep breath and turned in the worst direction possible to calm my nerves. I was face to face with Medusa. I stumbled back flat on my ass into the water. It took an embarrassingly long time for my brain to catch up to the fact that I had not turned to stone and that Medusa was made of clay. I blinked up at the nude representation of the monstrous woman with a sword in one hand and the severed head of her original killer, Perseus, in the other. Well that is a terrible omen if I have ever seen one, I thought.

“It is amusing how the mortals interpret the stories of old.”

I shot up to my feet quickly spinning around Aigéan at the ready pointed toward the voice. Years of being a demigod will give you the stab first ask questions later reflexes, but luckily I had nothing to worry about ... .that time.

“Tethys! What have I told you about sneaking up on half-bloods?!”

“That it is a good way to get celestial bronze to the sternum?”

I leveled her with a look and a raised eyebrow.

She tilted her head to the side and narrowed her icy blue eyes in an attempt to understand why I was upset. “.......oh…So I should not just appear and speak loudly behind you?”

I nodded, “that would be preferable.”

She hummed and shrunk down to a more manageable human size as opposed to the original fourteen foot giant she likes to appear as. It was weird to see her standing only a few inches taller than me  but I shook off the surprise. I had shit to do. 

“Anyway how did you know I was going to call you?” 

She shrugged slinking closer until she could reach out to plop a well manicured hand on my hand. “A great battle is on the rise, and oh, my girl you shall be in the center of its chaos. So I thought it would be good to keep an eye out for your signal, whatever it may have been.” She patted my head twice before withdrawing it completely, “I’ve decided to fight more proactively now that I am alone making my choices on the battlefield.”

“I am not entirely sure how to feel about that response but I also do not have the time to unpack it.” 

I clasped my hands together and took a deep breath. I laid out the battle strategy Percy and Annabeth had prepared since we had been unfortunately informed that the gods had left Olympus in our debatably capable hands. Everything from the delegation of defenses on land, Annabeth activating the dormant automatons, and Percy’s insistence on having the sea under control on his own. Tethys listened with rapt attention and an occasional nod as she loosely pinched her chin between her thumb and first finger.

“And you did not encounter Themis at all while you were at the palace?”

I blinked owlishly retracing my steps for any sign of her, but my internal search came up empty. “No…should I have?”

Her expression turned more grave, “she was supposed to be up there while Asteria and Leto were on their own mission to slow down my brother. If she was not, something must have torn her attention away from the site itself.”

The unspoken concern for what could have been so dire for the titaness of Justice, law, and order to go against her scheduled duty was a chilling thought. As was the fact that Tethys had clearly had no inclination something had been wrong beforehand.

“Could she have changed her allegiances and just left or maybe decided to go back to neutrality?” I tried to suggest but it did not sound convincing even to my ears let alone the titaness in front of me.

She sighed, tightening her crossed arms into her chest. “I suppose that is not the most pressing issue at the moment. You are sure the boy has the sea?”

I nodded despite not truly knowing what Percy was planning, but I had known him long enough to trust him regardless.

“If people believed in the gods even a fraction of the belief you have for that boy, this war may not have ever come to fruition." 

I blinked up at her trying to process what she meant, but the time limit and the burning gaze of the statue behind me made it a little difficult to focus on it. “Okay so can you help us? We know Mnemosyne and Theia have some sort of plan and will ride in with Kronos; did you get any intel on that in your travels?”

“Just that they have been collecting many of the lesser titans while stockpiling large amounts of celestial bronze.” She paused to look past me into the park, “They will probably not be part of the first wave though. My sisters do enjoy making a more dramatic entrance.”

“Fun,” I muttered with an eyeroll.

Tethys nodded gravely, “Your sarcasm is a very accurate representation of how difficult this shall be…..for once.”

“I resent that last bit.”

She shrugged before turning back to the center of the pond. “I need to call my comrades and I will bring them to the base of Olympus.”

“You might be more helpful on the front lines when we locate Kronos,” I countered, causing her to pause in her half water swallowed state. 

“Do you know where that might be godling?”

My jaw clenched as I turned my gaze up to the evening sky. It was too clear, too normal for the storm brewing below it. Apollo kids at Williamsburg Bridge, Demeter’s children at Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel, Aphrodite’s in Queens-Midtown Tunnel, Hephaestus’s in Holland Tunnel, The 59th Street Bridge covered by Athena’s kids, The Hermes cabin split between the Manhattan Bridge and the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Hunters at Lincoln Tunnel. Where would he strike? What was his plan? I was certain each area would be hit with some of his forces but I needed to point Tethys to the place that would be the most bogged down, the place with the highest concentration of Titans. I took a breath and let my eyes lids fall shut.

“Lincoln tunnel.” I said without much thought. “You should aid the hunters once you collect your reinforcements.” 

“You believe the immortal huntresses of Artemis will require our help?” Skepticism clearly evident in her tone.

“No,” I said with the kind of confidence that surprised me. I tilted my head back down to lock eyes with icy blue. “ But I think whatever you are needed for will be there.”

***

Moments later I was back out onto the main streets of Manhattan on a borrowed motorcycle speeding down canal street. I probably should have grabbed a phone to contact Annabeth before I had set off, but I figured it would be better if I rejoined my cabin on Manhattan bridge. Gods know that the Stolls could use all the help they could get. Just as I reached the turn off I heard the loud beating of wings above followed by something that sounded suspiciously like Donuts. 

My stomach growled treacherously at the thought.

I cut the engine, planting my boots on the ground to look back up at the slowly darkening sky. Sure, enough two Pegasi cut across the sky at near breakneck speed, each carrying a rider on their backs. The dark Pegasus was unmistakable, and only one idiot had been known to ride that donut enjoying steed. I watched as they soared ahead toward the Williamsburg bridge.

“Gods please tell me I am making the right choice here.” I muttered as I turned the key and hit the gas taking a sharp left onto Bowery so fast that the tires skidding echoed down the sleeping streets. 

A sinking feeling settled in my stomach as I tried to focus on not slamming into the idle cars and sleeping New Yorkers. An ache settled into my bones as the ever-familiar thrum of adrenaline shot into my veins. I had been in plenty of dangerous situations before, honestly probably more times than I was ever in safe situations. I revved the engine despite the butterflies of anxiety fighting to escape my stomach as I hit the two-lane split of Delancy, ready for the space to move. I however almost put on the brakes as I looked out toward the bridge only to see a whole ass Limousine get catapulted into the east river.

“HOLY SHIT!” I yelled as I fought the bike to keep from skidding out.

I evened out and slowed my pace to take in the scene before me. The bridge was kinda on fire…. everywhere but also...... controlled? Arrows burned across the midnight sky further into the darkness while spears flew back toward the Manhattan side of the bridge. As I looked closer, I realized that the Apollo cabin that I was rapidly approaching was holed up behind cars and an overturned bus sniping the advancing enemy line. They moved quickly with precision that could only be acquired from years at a literal battle camp, which it was. They set off explosive arrows and drop caltrops in the road, building fiery barricades wherever they could, dragging sleeping drivers out of their cars to get them out of harm's way. But the enemy kept advancing. An entire phalanx of dracaenae marched in the lead, their shields locked together, spear tips bristling over the top. An occasional arrow would connect with their snaky trunks, or a neck, or a chink in their armor, and the unlucky snake woman would disintegrate, but most of the Apollo arrows glanced harmlessly off their shield wall. About a hundred more monsters marched behind them.

 Hellhounds leaped ahead of the line from time to time. Most were destroyed with arrows but a few broke through to wreak havoc on our ranks. I focused in on the small cluster of campers behind the bus spotting a very familiar pair huddled amongst the Apollo children. Despite the situation the pit in my stomach lessened at the sight of them. I was still a few car lengths back when an archer, whom I could only assume was head counselor Micheal Yew, stood to shoot off an arrow that made a screaming sound as it flew. When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran. Others disintegrated on the spot. Gods sonic arrows were so cool. I had drawn up some plans to make sonic bombs for the rest of us to use, but I never got to show Beckendorf the plans to get his input. I shook off the thought and jumped off the bike to join the huddle.

"We have to fall back," Michael said gaze darting between Percy and Annabeth. "I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps farther down the bridge."

I realized that in my haste I must have plowed right past them, talking about tunnel vision…...or I guess bridge vision……yeah, yeah, I know that was a bad one, but I’m sorry okay. Its nervous work being on the battlefield, and a little pun aint never hurt nobody…...probably.

 "No," Percy said. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait for my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Michael laughed. "How do you plan to do that?"

 Percy drew his sword.

“With stupidity apparently.” I interjected, startling the group so bad Percy almost dropped his damn sword.

“Hanora!?” The two of them yelled with wide eyes at the same time that Miceal said, “Oh thank the gods some of these pistols are backfiring!”

I laughed at the outburst as my gaze followed Micheal gesturing to the three campers beside him fiddling with several pistols with little success. “Oh good, I could use a project.” I quipped, grabbing the least busted one and started pulling it apart as I regarded Percy again. “Anyway, your big plan is just to run in swinging your sword? That seems like a good way to wind up dead, or worse.”

“What's worse than being dead?” Micheal interrupted.

“For your sanity, let's not get into it.”

Annabeth blinked away her surprise, “ I’ll go too. It will be better if there is more than one fighter on the front line. More distractions for the enemy.”

"Too dangerous," Percy said. "Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can."

 Michael snorted. "Thanks a lot."

“Okay fine, then I’ll come with you.” I countered breaking the staring competition between the sickeningly sweet soulmates. “I mean I can still put you on your ass and aside from you I’m the only one that’s actually had Luke on the ropes….and it's not like I’m the big planner out here.”

“No you should stay here too.”

“Give me one good reason, Jackson.”

And that smug mother fucker took one look at me then looked down at the gun in my hand before looking back at me again with the evilest grin on his face. “Because you are the only one who can fix our weapons.”

“I haven’t fixed any-” I cut myself off mid sentence looking down at the now completely functional put together pistol and my all purpose tool ring loosely hanging off my pinkie finger like it belonged there. I hadn't even realized I had been actually fixing it. That bastard. “There is a lot to hate about you Perseus Jackson.”

His shit eating grin only grew as he took the gun from me and handed me the next one before moving to stand next to Annabeth again, who was concealing her laughter very poorly. I narrowed my eyes at the both of them but I was only met with his evil little smile and the back of her hand as she tried to cover her slowly reddening face. Traitors the both of them, I should have headed to the Manhattan bridge. At least there I would not have had to deal with this deep betrayal. I grumbled like the toddler that I was and plopped next to the pile of equipment pretending to ignore them in favor of my new project…. begrudgingly. 

Annabeth took a breath. "All right. Get moving."

 Percy, still on his wild adrenaline rush, really put all of his courage behind what he said next. "Don't I get a kiss for luck? It's kind of a tradition, right?"

 I nearly dropped my multitool from his brazen ass request. I slowly looked up expecting either a swift punch to his gut or for her to straight up dip kiss his ass. But, instead, she drew her knife and stared at the army marching toward us. "Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we'll see." She turned on her heels and marched over to Micheal and the small group of his siblings moving further back across the bridge.

I turned to lock eyes with sea green eyes. “You’ve got some celestial bronze balls on you today.”

He huffed a laugh, “maybe I do.” He stepped closer to me and ruffled my hair.

“Hey!” I yelled, pushing his hand off, “that’s my bit!”

His smile widened as he walked backwards toward the front of the bus, “yeah, but I’ve got celestial bronze balls today!”

I bit my lip harder than was probably necessary to keep my smile smaller, but as soon as he walked out from behind the bus and toward the battle my smile fell without any prompting. And my stomach settled deep into the east river. Not even the five pistols at my side were going to be enough to keep me from rushing out after him.

“Only one who can fix our weapons, huh?” I muttered, “well if there’s nothing to fix then you’ll have to let me out there.” I flipped open my tool again, “Guess I’ll just have to fix it all fast then.”

***

I probably should have been paying more attention to the world around me, but I was so focused on blowing through the repairs to rush in after Percy that I kind of missed a lot. And I mean a lot. Like sure I fixed my entire pile of custom pistols, mostly based on the style of Beretta pistols cause they became my fast favorites, all with extended magazines and alterations for a smoother trigger pull. All very impressive might I add. 

But unfortunately for me and well you dear reader I missed two simultaneously done bad ass maneuvers. We missed Percy’s actually stellar rematch with the minotaur, who had actually shown up battle ready as opposed to showing up in his actual underwear like he had when he chased Percy to camp, which felt like a million years ago. I was told that from the waist down, he wore standard Greek battle gear—a kiltlike apron of leather  and metal flaps, bronze greaves covering his legs, and tightly wrapped leather sandals. His top was all bull—hair and hide and muscle leading to a head so large he should've toppled over just from the weight of his horns. He was ten feet tall at least. A double-bladed axe was his weapon of choice.

And Percy in his invulnerable state kicked his ass, sliced off both horns, and then impaled him on part of his own axe before tossing him off the bridge. Yeah I know, fucking epic. On the other side of my little bus hideaway Annabeth was leading the Apollo kids to setting up beautifully constructed vantage points while also pulling civilians far away from any and all of the action. Cars were moved, arrows assessed, bows tightened, instruments tuned, and guns thanks to yours truly locked and loaded. 

But as I stated before, by the time I was finished the minotaur was dust in the east river below and all available campers were either charging into the 200 some army of monsters ahead of us or posted up on the points constructed by Annabeth to rain down their arrows, and bullets. And oh, what a beautiful sound it was as the melodic tune of battle cries, whizzing arrows, and raining bullets combined with the delicious sound of monsters turning to dust. It just can’t be beat. 

Cutting through their ranks with Annabeth on one side, perfectly calculated and precise. And Percy on the other spinning like a hurricane as if he could go on forever without a scratch, was strangely comforting. Aigéan fit perfectly in hand switching grips easily as I danced between the two strongest fighters I had ever met.

 "Yes!" yelled Michael Yew. "That's what I'm talking about!"

 We drove them back toward the Brooklyn side of the bridge. The sky was growing pale in the east. The toll stations slowly came into view as I ran my blade through a particularly annoying dracaena. I looked up from the place she had stood to see only about twenty or so monsters left turning tail to retreat across the bridge. Percy was a few paces ahead of me pushing forward with little regard for anything except for his growing blood lust, or I guess dust lust. Do monsters actually bleed if when they die they turn to dust? I don’t know, but it probably does not matter…..no. no you’re right I guess it doesn't matter.

"Percy!" Annabeth yelled from beside me. "You've already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!"

He faltered for a moment as if he were grappling between her logical directive and his own need to destroy the entire army. I shot forward to grab his arm before he decided that he did indeed want to finish off the monsters himself.

“Sea, come on.” I pulled at his wrist to make him look at me, “you know us mortals need to know when to regroup.”

He blinked down at me,(curse his new several inches), “yea-”

The rest of his thought was cut off as our attention was pulled back toward our retreating foes. They were running straight toward their reinforcements at the base of the bridge. It was a small group, maybe thirty or forty demigods in battle armor, mounted on skeletal horses. One of them held a purple banner with the black scythe design. The lead horseman trotted forward. He took off his helm, and I recognized Kronos himself, his eyes like molten gold.

I felt sick looking at him, which was not helped as Annabeth and the rest of our crew faltered at his appearance. Percy stood steadily beside me shifting to link our fingers together. The monsters we'd  been pursuing reached the Titan's line and were absorbed into the new force. Kronos gazed in our direction. He was a quarter mile away, but I swear I could see him smile. 

"Now," Percy said, "we pull back."

 The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. The hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. Our archers shot a volley, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding.

 "Retreat!" Percy yelled behind us. "I'll hold them.'" He dropped my hand and nudged me toward Annabeth. “Go.”

“Not a chance.” I shot back, not that it really mattered since they were on us in seconds. 

Annabeth completed our little triangular island in the middle of the onslaught. While Micheal and his archers attempted to retreat, which was not really an option with how quickly we were overwhelmed. Annabeth clutched her knife and mirrored shield as she stood shoulder to shoulder with Percy who had his own blade in hand as well as his shield of ice. Which I had programmed into his special bracelet for a situation just as dire as this. 

Somehow in the chaos I had been pushed away from them, deeper into the fray in a circle of four dracaena. Whom all fell so quickly they would probably be too embarrassed to tell their friends in Tartarus what killed them this time. They were not really the problem though; the real problem was the shit ton of enemy demigods trying to turn my friends into shishkabobs. In normal circumstances I would have just sliced and diced them like any other monster on the battlefield, they were on the wrong side of history and actively trying to kill my people. But as I finished off the dracena I looked up to see Percy nicking the soldiers not doing nearly enough damage to actually take them out. I am sorry but I am a roman girl at heart and we are not exactly known for our mercy. 

A demigod I did not recognize tried to drive his axe into my shoulder while I was contemplating murder. In that split second that it took me to bash my golden bracelet against the blade to deflect it I had to make a choice. Was I going to take the opportunity to drive my blade into his unprotected side like my brothers had taught me? Or was I going to turn to the flat of my blade and smash it into his forehead to knock him unconscious? Having to deal with new modern moral compasses was really becoming overly cumbersome. I internally sighed when the flat of my blade made contact with his stupidly helmetless skull. I watched as his eyes rolled shut and he became Jello dropping to the ground. I silently hoped he got a concussion from that.

I got myself back into the grove of combat, relying on the butt of Aigéan and swinging it like a baseball bat smacking its flat into unsuspecting demigods. It was not my preferred combat style but it gave me plenty of new nonlethal weapon ideas to sketch out after we took out this trash. The thought made my arms a little lighter and the vibration in my bones a little duller. I looked up just in time to see Blackjack and Porkpie (who must have been the two to escort Annabeth and Percy to the bridge in the first place.) were swooping in, kicking our enemies in the helmets and flying away like very large kamikaze pigeons. A smile settled onto my face as I found that I was almost enjoying myself despite, you know, the looming possibility of death. For a moment there it almost felt like capture the flag…..until I was hit with cold, deep dread. Almost like my bones had been popped out of my body and placed in an industrial freezer for a few days before being returned to my meat suit. 

I was concerned for half a second that I had been caught in Kronos’s time slowing bubble, but looking up he stood just as slow moving as everyone else around me. Arrows dragging through the sky, feathers twitching off the edge of Blackjack’s wings, blood dripping slower than the most viscous molasses. Then right in front of me the two most persistent threads twirled in the air, each fighting for my attention. Looking past them I could see the other end of their connection. Percy’s shield shattering against an attack from a nameless demigod as Riptide cuts through a hellhound. Annabeth was moving from her place beside him in favor of being fully back to back. A shiver ran down my spine like ice cold water had been poured down my shirt. 

Just in front of Annabeth was an enemy demigod. His blade was drawn and arched to go straight into Percy’s spine, but if Annabeth was fast enough (and I was certain she was) she would intercept the attack. However she would not be able to do much defending, only ensuring that the blade would most likely sink into her arm instead of his back. Which was a better alternative, but still not a fantastic idea all things considered. Being stabbed should never be on your to-do list but being stabbed by what looked like a poisoned dagger, based on the strange color and almost smokiness of the blade, was even less appealing. So, what is a girl to do? I was faced with the moment seconds before one of my two favorite people in the world were going to be stabbed and poisoned, and I was too far away to be able to do anything about it. I had no gun or other projectile on my person, only my bracelets and my fists. Neither of which would be helpful.

I zeroed in on the threads focusing harder. What did they want me to see? How was this momentary pause supposed to help? It's not like I am a god or the damn flash; there was no way I was going to make it in time to push the two of them away. I crossed my eyes watching blue and gray spiral together, overlapping, twisting into a tangled mess of yarn that you’d probably see at the bottom of a knitting bag that had been long forgotten. The colors shifted, melding together until a new thread appeared tightly wound in between them. Bright pastel green glittered under the early morning light floating a few inches from my frozen free hand.

“Well I haven't seen a lot of you before huh?” I muttered to the new thread. “What was it? Once, twice? Well definitely in that weird acid trip dream when I was falling into the volcano again, you know like an idiot.”

The green thread just bobbed like it did not find me amusing at all, which was fair, hurtful, but fair. A strong sense of Deja vu settled over me as I instinctively reached for it. It was like being on that balcony again looking down on the monsters circling Tori. Maybe I had seen the thread then and just not realized it. Just another instance of my brain filtering out the extraordinary in an attempt to hide me from the other half of my lineage. I had felt so strong that day, terrified and hopped up on adrenaline, but strong all the same. And I was fast. Very fast.

Answer the call, huh? 

My mind was set, in a swift motion I broke the spell of timelessness and surged forward thread in hand. It was like being shot out of a cannon, I was not certain my feet ever even touched the ground. Not that I had much time to think about it as the knife was driven between my ribs deciding to remain in my abdomen as opposed to the asshole who had been wielding it. What happened next is unfortunately not in my memory bank. As soon as my back hit the ground my vision blurred into a tornado of colors and my ears could only pick up this incessant ringing I had not heard before. 

Just as everything quieted into the darkness an old lullaby finally drifted me off to sleep.

Chapter Text

We'd almost made it to the middle of the bridge when something strange happened. I felt a chill  down my spine—like that old saying about someone walking on your grave. Behind me, Annabeth cried out in shock.

"Annabeth!" I turned in time to see her drop onto the most bone chilling sight I had ever seen. 

Blonde hair streaked with silver splayed across the ground slowly soaking in the blood beneath the unconscious form of Hanora. The handle of a blade stood straight up out of her lower side. Annabeth crowded her wrapping her own jacket around the wound. A demigod with an empty hand stood over them.

In a flash I understood what had happened. He'd been trying to stab me. Judging from the position of his hand, he would've taken me—maybe by sheer luck—in the small of my back, my only weak point.

 Hanora had intercepted the knife with her own body.

 But why? She didn't know about my weak spot. No one did.

 I locked eyes with the shocked enemy demigod. He wore an eye patch under his war helm: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. Somehow he'd survived the explosion on the Princess Andromeda. I slammed him in the face with my sword hilt so hard I dented his helm.

 "Get back!" I slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from the girls stepping closer so that I was in the way of all directions coming for them. My blood boiled. "No one touches her!"

 "Interesting," Kronos said.

He towered above me on his skeletal horse, his scythe in one hand. He studied the scene with narrowed eyes as if he could sense that I'd just come close to death, the way a wolf can smell fear.

 "Bravely fought, Percy Jackson," he said. "But it's time to surrender . . . or the girl dies."

"Percy, don't," Annabeth seethed. Her own gray eyes filled with the kind of fire that no sane person would ever want to be on the receiving end of. Her hands were stained red, I needed to get Hanora out of here. Annabeth must have realized what I was planning because in a fluid motion she wrapped her jacket around the wound more securely and then pulled Hanora tightly to her chest.

"Blackjack!" I yelled.

 As fast as light, the Pegasus swooped down and clamped his teeth on the straps of Annabeth's armor. The three of them soared away over the river before the enemy could even react.

 Kronos snarled. "Someday soon, I am going to make Pegasus soup. But in the meantime . . ." He dismounted, his scythe glistening in the dawn light. "I'll settle for another dead demigod."

 I met his first strike with Riptide. The impact shook the entire bridge, but I held my ground. Kronos's smile wavered.

 With a yell, I kicked his legs out from under him. His scythe skittered across the pavement. I stabbed downward, but he rolled aside and regained his footing. His scythe flew back to his hands.

"So . . ." He studied me, looking mildly annoyed. "You had the courage to visit the Styx. I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him. If only you had supplied my host body instead . . . But no matter. I am still more powerful. I am a TITAN."

 He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force blasted me backward.  Cars went careening. Demigods—even Luke's own men—were blown off the edge of the bridge. Suspension cords whipped around, and I skidded halfway back to Manhattan.

 I got unsteadily to my feet. The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, except for Michael Yew, who was perched on one of the suspension cables a few yards away from me, His last arrow was notched in his bow.

 "Michael, go!" I screamed.

 "Percy, the bridge!" he called. "It's already weak!"

 At first I didn't understand. Then I looked down and saw fissures in the pavement. Patches of the road were half melted from Greek fire. The bridge had taken a beating from Kronos's blast and the exploding arrows.

 "Break it!" Michael yelled. "Use your powers!"

 It was a desperate thought—no way it would work— but I stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in asphalt. Salt water shot from the crack like I'd hit a geyser. I pulled out my blade and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Chunks the size of houses fell into the East River. Kronos's demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backward. Some were knocked off their feet. Within a few seconds, a fifty-foot chasm opened in the Williamsburg Bridge between Kronos and me.

 The vibrations died.  Kronos's men crept to the edge and looked at the hundred-and-thirty-foot drop into the river.

 I didn't feel safe, though. The suspension cables were still attached. The men could get across that way if they were brave enough. Or maybe Kronos had a magic way to span the gap.

 The Titan lord studied the problem. He looked behind him at the rising sun, then smiled across the chasm. He raised his scythe in a mock salute. "Until this evening, Jackson."

 He mounted his horse, whirled around, and galloped back to Brooklyn, followed by his warriors.  I turned to thank Michael Yew, but the words died in my throat. Twenty feet away, a bow lay in the street. Its owner was nowhere to be seen.

 "No!" I searched the wreckage on my side of the bridge. I stared down at the river. Nothing.

 I yelled in anger and frustration. The sound carried for-ever in the morning stillness. I was about to whistle for Blackjack to help me search, when my mom's phone rang. The LCD display said I had a call from Finklestein & Associates—probably a demigod calling on a borrowed phone.

 I picked up, hoping for good news. Of course I was wrong.

 "Percy?" Silena Beauregard sounded like she'd been crying. "Plaza Hotel.  You'd better come quickly and bring a healer from Apollo's cabin. It's . . . it's Hanora.”

***

I grabbed Will Solace (who needed little prompting to run to Hanora’s aid) from the Apollo cabin and told the rest of  his siblings to keep searching for Michael Yew. We borrowed a Yamaha FZI from a sleeping biker and drove to the Plaza Hotel at speeds that would've given my mom a heart attack. I'd never driven a motorcycle before, but it wasn't any harder than riding a Pegasus.

 Along the way, I noticed a lot of empty pedestals that usually held statues. Plan twenty-three seemed to be working. I didn't know if that was good or bad.

 It only took us five minutes to reach the Plaza—an old-fashioned white stone hotel with a gabled blue roof, sitting at the southeast corner of Central Park.

 Tactically speaking, the Plaza wasn't the best place for a headquarters. It wasn't the tallest building in town, or the most centrally located. But it had old-school style and had attracted a lot of famous demigods over the years, like the Beatles and Alfred Hitchcock, so I figured we were in good company.

 I gunned the Yamaha over the curb and swerved to a stop at the fountain outside the hotel.

 Will and I hopped off. The statue at the top of the fountain called down, "Oh, fine. I suppose you want me to watch your bike too!"

 She was a life-size bronze standing in the middle of a granite bowl. She wore only a bronze sheet around her legs, and she was holding a basket of metal fruit. I'd never paid her too much attention before. Then again, she'd never talked to me before.

 "Are you supposed to be Demeter?" I asked.

 A bronze apple sailed over my head.

 "Everyone thinks I'm Demeter.'" she complained. "I'm Pompona, the Roman Goddess of Plenty, but why should you care? Nobody cares about the minor gods. If you cared about the minor gods, you wouldn't be losing this war! Three cheers for Morpheus and Hecate, I say!"

 "Watch the bike," I told her.

 Pompona cursed in Latin and threw more fruit as Will and I ran toward the hotel.

 I'd never actually been inside the Plaza. The lobby was impressive, with the crystal chandeliers and the passed-out rich people, but I didn't pay much attention. A couple of Hunters gave us directions to the elevators, and we rode up to the penthouse suites.

 Demigods had completely taken over the top floors. Campers and Hunters were crashed out on sofas, washing up in the bathrooms, ripping silk draperies to bandage their wounds, and helping themselves to snacks and sodas from the minibars. A couple of timber wolves were drinking out of the toilets. I was relieved to see that so many of my friends had made it through the night alive, but everybody looked beat up.

 "Percy!" Jake Mason clapped me on the shoulder. "We're getting reports—"

 "Later," I said. "Where's Hanora?"

 "The terrace. She's alive, man, but . . ."

 I pushed past him.

Under different circumstances I would've loved the view from the terrace. It looked straight down onto Central Park. The morning was clear and bright—perfect for a picnic or a hike, or pretty much anything except fighting monsters.

Hanora lay on a lounge chair. Her face was pale and beaded with sweat. Even though she was covered in blankets, she shivered. Silena Beauregard was wiping her forehead with a cool cloth, while Annabeth was bent over at her side frantically pulling out cloth and first aid supplies out of a bag at her side. I could not remember a time that I saw her eyes so wild and filled with a deep guttural sense of fear. Will pushed through the crowd of Hermes cabinmates a bit ahead of me only due to my slight falter. Will waved Annabeth away to get full access to Hanora’s side, he unwrapped her bandages to examine the wound, and I wanted to faint. The bleeding had stopped but the gash looked deep. The skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green. 

I dropped to one knee on Hanora’s opposite side next to the still dazed Annabeth who couldn't stray even another inch back before boomer ranging back to her side. "Hanora. . ." I choked up. She'd taken that knife for me. How could I have let that happen?

Her eyes stayed closed but her eyebrows scrunched in concentration. Her fingers twitched but aside from that she made no sign that she was able to hear me.

“Has she said anything at all?” I looked at Annabeth, whose eyes never strayed from Hanora’s ashen face.

“No, only incoherent grumbling.” For the first time since we’d arrived she finally looked up to meet my eye, “Percy she wasn’t supposed to be there…” She swallowed back a choked sob, “I-I was going to-...I- I don’t know how she-...” She cut herself off as her gray eyes filled with tears.

I pulled her into my chest before the crowd could see her. I turned to Will whose expression turned more grave. “Come on Wise girl you can’t possibly blame yourself for her lack of self preservation skills. Just like she scolds you all the time about taking responsibility for when I run in and almost get myself killed.”

“Well, your head is full of seaweed so I couldn’t possibly blame myself when seaweed can’t comprehend genius.”

“See exactly…. - hey, wait a second….” I feigned offense only for her to release the smallest laugh into my chest. I turned my attention to Will on Hanora’s other side. “How we looking, doc?”

He exhaled a shaky breath, “not great. It's going to be rough, but I think I can contain most of it. Leave it to my worst patient to go and get herself impaled by a poisoned dagger.” He let out a humorless laugh, “somebody hand me some nectar."

 I grabbed a canteen behind me and passed it to him. Will cleaned out the wound with the godly drink while I held Hanora's limp hand.

 As soon as the drink hit her skin she started to squirm away from it. Annabeth moved to hold her shoulders in place while Travis and Conner Stoll pushed to the front of the pack to each push a leg down to keep her from kicking at Will. Which did protect Will, but not poor Conner who got kicked in the knee before he was ready bringing him to the floor much faster than he had intended. Her previously limp hand gripped my fingers so tight they turned purple, and yet somehow she did not make a single sound. Her features remained scrunched in confusion rather than pain, it was honestly impressive and a little unsettling.

 Silena muttered words of encouragement as she brushed Hanora’s damp hair back. Will put some silver paste over the wound and hummed words in Ancient Greek—a hymn to Apollo. Then he applied fresh bandages and stood up shakily. The healing must've taken a lot of his energy. He looked almost as pale as Hanora.

"She’s not out of the woods yet, but we're going to need a lot of mortal supplies."

 He grabbed a piece of hotel stationery, jotted down some notes, and handed it to one of the Undetermind guys. "There's a Duane Reade on Fifth. Normally I would never steal—"

 "I would," Travis volunteered, hopping up from his post as the not kicked brother.

 Will glared at  him. "Leave cash or drachmas to pay, whatever you've got, but this is an emergency. I've got a feeling we're going to have a lot more people to treat."

 Nobody disagreed. There was hardly a single demigod who hadn't already been wounded . . . except me. Even Annabeth had several bandages on her arms and a large butterfly bandage on her cheek.

"Come on, guys," Travis Stoll said. "Let's give Hanora some space. We've got a drugstore to raid . . .I mean, visit."

 The demigods shuffled back inside, Conner hobbling just a little bit. Jake Mason grabbed my shoulder as he was leaving. "We'll talk later, but it's under control. I'm using Annabeth's shield to keep an eye on things. The enemy withdrew at sunrise; not sure why. We've got a lookout at each bridge and tunnel."

 "Thanks, man," I said.

“Good job as always Jake.” Annabeth added just before she turned her attention back to Hanora, gripping her hand in between both of hers.

 He nodded. "Just take your time."

 He closed the terrace doors behind him, leaving Silena, Hanora, Annabeth, and me alone.

 Silena pressed a cool cloth to Hanora's forehead. "This is all my fault."

 "No," Annabeth said in a near whisper. "Silena, how is it your fault?"

 "I've never been any good at camp," she murmured. "Not like you or Percy. If I was a better fighter . . ."

 Her mouth trembled. Ever since Beckendorf died she'd been getting worse, and every time I looked at her, it made me angry about his death all over again. Her expression reminded me of glass—like she might break any minute. I swore to myself that if I ever found the spy who'd cost her boyfriend his life, I would give him to Mrs. O'Leary as a chew toy.

 "You're a great camper," I told Silena. "You're the best Pegasus rider we have. And you get along with people. Believe me, anyone who can make friends with Clarisse has talent."

 She stared at me like I'd just given her an idea. "That's it! We need the Ares cabin. I can talk to Clarisse. I know I can convince her to help us."

 "Whoa, Silena. Even if you could get off the island, Clarisse is pretty stubborn. Once she gets angry—"

 "Please," Silena said. "I can take a Pegasus. I know I can make it back to camp. Let me try."

 I exchanged looks with Annabeth. She nodded slightly.

 I didn't like the idea. I didn't think Silena stood a chance of convincing Clarisse to fight. On the other hand, Silena was so distracted right now that she would just get herself hurt in battle. Maybe sending her back to camp would give her something else to focus on.

 "All right," I told her. "I can't think of anybody better to try."

 Silena threw her arms around me. Then she pushed back awkwardly, glancing at Annabeth. "Um, sorry. Thank you, Percy! I won't let you down!"

 Once she was gone, I settled back down next to Hanora and felt her forehead. She was still burning up.

 "You're cute when you're worried," Annabeth muttered into the back of Hanora’s hand. "Your eyebrows get all scrunched together."

I rolled my eyes at her taking up Hanora’s other hand to hopefully hide the redness of my face. "You are not going to die while I owe you a favor," I whispered down to the still sleeping girl. "Why did you take that knife? Han that was so-"

“S-s-tup-id?” She choked out hoarsely green eyes slowly peeling open.

“Welcome back gears.” Annabeth whispered, a tear sliding down her face.

Hanora hummed looking between the two of us, “D-did we win?”

I couldn’t hold back the snort, “not yet, but we are working on it.”

“Hmmmm, sounds like weak shit.”

Annabeth playfully batted at her elbow, “you almost die and you wake up to start negging us?”

Hanora’s head fell to the side to regard Annabeth closer, “Negging? Have you been talking to my main mate Ember? Cause I am pretty sure you are not even using that correctly.”

“Shut up.” Annabeth retorted without much bite.

The two of them whispered back and forth like that for a moment, slowly color returned to Hanora’s face. I gripped her hand tighter hoping that us being there was indeed just what the doctor ordered. My shift in position must have drawn her attention back to me since her index finger started to tap against the back of my hand. I looked up to see her eyes already on me.

“Where’d you go, Sea?”

I blinked at her. If I had not just seen her thrash around in a cold sweat it would have been hard to see that she was in any sort of discomfort. The furrow of her brow had smoothed until she looked as if she had only just woken up from a nap and not a poison induced short lived coma. I knew for certain that I would not have bounced back that fast.

“Han….Why? Why did you jump in the way?”

She shrugged absentmindedly, tapping her fingers rhythmically on the back of my hand. "You would've done the same for me."

 It was true. I guess we both knew it. Still, I felt like somebody was poking my heart with a cold metal rod. "How did you know?"

 "Know what?"

 I looked around to make sure we were alone. Then I leaned in close and whispered: "My Achilles spot. If you hadn't taken that knife, I would've died."

Annabeth’s breath hitched as she leaned closer into our bubble.

 Hanora got a faraway look in her eyes. Her breath smelled of grapes, maybe from the nectar. "I don't know, Percy. The threads started freaking out so I kind of just you know…. Trusted them and pulled. Where . . . where is the spot?"

 I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. But this was Hanora and Annabeth. If I couldn't trust them, I couldn't trust anyone.

 "The small of my back."

 She lifted her hand. "Where? Here?"

 She put her hand on my spine, and my skin tingled. I moved her fingers to the one spot that grounded me to my mortal life. A thousand volts of electricity seemed to arc through my body. Annabeth leaned around to see the space, her own eyes growing wider by the second.

 "You saved me," I said. "Thanks."

 She removed her hand, but I kept holding it.

"So you owe me," she said weakly. "What else is new?"

The small round of laughter shared in that bubble took some of the weight of our situation away. Just the three of us laughing and watching the sun come up over the city.  The traffic should've been heavy by now, but there were no cars honking, no crowds bustling along the sidewalks.

 Far away, I could hear a car alarm echo through the streets. A plume of black smoke curled into the sky somewhere over Harlem. I wondered how many ovens had been left on when the Morpheus spell hit; how many people had fallen asleep in the middle of cooking dinner. Pretty soon there would be more fires. Everyone in New York was in danger—and all those lives depended on us.

Hanora started to doze in and out despite trying to blink herself awake.

“You should get some rest, specs.” I squeezed her hand as she narrowed her very tired eyes at me.

“I’m…fi-,” her statement was interrupted with a yawn, “-ne. Totally fine. Not tired at all.”

Annabeth chuckled, running her free hand through Hanora’s hair. “Don’t worry, we’ll be here until Will comes back with more supplies. And even after that if you need us you can just have someone come find us.”

Hanora huffed with the kind of annoyance that had no real bite to it. Especially considering that she leaned into Annabeth’s hand, I half expected her to start purring if I am going to be completely honest. She stayed awake for about two more seconds before actually passing out. Leaving Annabeth and I alone watching the steady rise and fall of her chest.

"You asked me why Hermes was mad at me," Annabeth said, breaking the comfortable silence.

 "Hey, you don’t need—"

 "No, I want to tell you. It's been bothering me for a long time." She steadily continued playing with Hanora’s multi-colored locks, keeping her eyes on me. "Last year, Luke came to see me in San Francisco."

 "In person?" I felt like she'd just hit me with a hammer. "He came to your house?"

 "This was before we went into the Labyrinth, before . . ." She faltered, but I knew what she meant: before he turned into Kronos. "He  came under a flag of truce. He said he only wanted five minutes to talk. He looked scared, Percy. He told me Kronos was going to use him to take over the world. He said he wanted to run away, like the old days. He wanted me to come with him."

 "But you didn't trust him."

 "Of course not. I thought it was a trick. Plus . . . well, a lot of things had changed since the old days. I told Luke there was no way. He got mad. He said . . . he said I might as well fight him right there, because it was the last chance I'd get."

 "It's okay," I said. "Just breathe Annabeth, it's not your fault."

 "You don't understand, Percy. Hermes was right. Maybe if I'd gone with him, I could've changed his mind. Or—or I had a knife. Luke was unarmed. I could've—"

 "Killed him?" I said. "You know that wouldn't have been right."

 She squeezed her eyes shut, her fingers stilling for a moment. "Luke said Kronos would use him like a stepping stone.  Those were his exact words. Kronos would use Luke, and become even more powerful."

 "He did that," I said. "He possessed Luke's body."

 "But what if Luke's body is only a transition? What if Kronos has a plan to become even more powerful? I could've stopped him. The war is my fault."

 Her story made me feel like I was back in the Styx, slowly dissolving. I remembered last summer, when the two-headed god, Janus, had warned Annabeth she would have to make a major choice—and that had happened after  she saw Luke. Pan had also said something to her: You will play a great role, though it may not be the role you imagined.

 I wanted to  ask her about the vision Hestia had shown me, about her early days with Luke and Thalia. I knew it had something to do with my prophecy, but I didn't understand what.

 Before I could get up my nerve, the terrace door opened. Connor Stoll stepped through (still with a little bit of a limp).

 "Percy." He glanced at Annabeth and then Hanora’s sleeping form like he was unsure if he should continue, but I could tell he wasn't bringing good news. "Mrs. O'Leary just came back with Grover. I think you should talk to him."

Annabeth nodded and shooed me out of the room after Conner. I turned back to her just before walking into the hall to see her drop a kiss to Hanora’s forehead. 

 Grover was having a snack in the living room. He was dressed for battle in an armored shirt made from tree bark and twist ties, with his wooden cudgel and his reed pipes hanging from his belt.

 The Demeter cabin had whipped up a whole buffet in the hotel kitchens—everything from pizza to pineapple ice cream. Unfortunately, Grover was eating the furniture. He'd already chewed the stuffing off a fancy chair and was now gnawing the armrest.

 "Dude," I said, "we're only borrowing this place."

 "Blah-ha-ha!" He had stuffing all over his face. "Sorry, Percy. It's just . . . Louis the Sixteenth furniture. Delicious.  Plus I always eat furniture when I get—"

 "When you get nervous," I said. "Yeah, I know. So what's up?"

 He clopped on his hooves. "I  heard about Hanora. Is she . . .?"

 "She's going to be fine. She's resting, and Annabeth’s keeping an eye on her."

 Grover took a deep breath. "That's good. I've mobilized most of the nature spirits in the city—well, the ones that will listen to me, anyway." He rubbed his forehead. "I had no idea acorns could hurt so much. Anyway, we're helping out as much as we can."

 He told me about the skirmishes they'd seen. Mostly they'd been covering uptown, where we didn't have enough demigods. Hellhounds had appeared in all sorts of places, shadow-traveling inside our lines,  and the dryads and satyrs had been fighting them off. A young dragon had appeared in Harlem, and a dozen wood nymphs died before the monster was finally defeated.

 As Grover talked, Thalia entered the room with two of her lieutenants. She nodded to me grimly, went outside to check on Hanora, and came back in. She listened while Grover completed his report—the details getting worse and worse.

 "We lost twenty satyrs against some giants at Fort Washington," he said, his voice trembling. "Almost half my kinsmen. River spirits drowned the giants in the end, but . . ."

 Thalia shouldered her bow. "Percy, Kronos's forces are still gathering at every bridge and tunnel. Tethys and her kinswomen are patrolling the area now, but it's not good,  Kronos isn't the only Titan. One of my Hunters spotted a huge man in golden armor mustering an army on the Jersey shore. I'm not sure who he is, but he radiates power like only a Titan or god."

 I remembered the golden Titan from my dream—the one on Mount Othrys who erupted into flames.

 "Great," I said. "Any good news?"

 Thalia shrugged. "We've sealed off the subway tunnels into Manhattan. My best trappers took care of it. Also, it seems like the enemy is waiting for tonight to attack. I think Luke"—she caught herself—"I mean Kronos needs time to regenerate after each fight. He's still not comfortable with his new form. It's taking a lot of his power to slow time around the city."

 Grover nodded. "Most of his forces are more powerful at night, too. But they'll be back after sundown."

 I tried to think clearly. "Okay. Any word from the gods?"

 Thalia shook her head. "I know Lady Artemis would be here if she could. Athena, too. But Zeus has ordered them to stay at his side. The last I heard, Typhon was destroying the Ohio River valley. He should reach the Appalachian Mountains by midday."

 "So at best," I said, "we've got another two days before he arrives."

 Jake Mason cleared his throat. He'd been standing there so silently I'd almost forgotten he was in the room.

 "Percy, something else," he said. "The way Kronos showed up at the Williamsburg Bridge, like he knew you were going there. And he shifted his forces to our weakest points. As soon as we deployed, he changed tactics. He barely touched the Lincoln Tunnel, where the Hunters were strong. He went for our weakest spots, like he knew."

 "Like he had inside information," I said. "The spy."

 "What spy?" Thalia demanded.

 I told her about the silver charm Kronos had shown me, the communication device.

 "That's bad," she said. "Very bad."

 "It could be anyone," Jake said. "We were all standing there when Percy gave the orders."

 "But what can we do?" Grover asked. "Frisk every demigod until we find a scythe charm?"

 They all looked at me, waiting for a decision. I couldn't afford to show how panicked I felt, even if things seemed hopeless.

 "We keep fighting," I said. "We can't obsess about this spy. If we're suspicious of each other, we'll just tear ourselves apart. You guys were awesome last night. I couldn't ask for a braver army. Let's set up a rotation for the watches. Rest up while you can. We've got a long night ahead of us."

 The demigods mumbled agreement. They went their separate ways to sleep or eat or repair their weapons.

 "Percy, you too," Thalia said. "We'll keep an eye on things. Go lie down. We need you in good shape for tonight."

 I didn't argue too hard. I found the nearest bedroom and crashed on the canopied bed. I thought I was too wired to sleep, but my eyes closed almost immediately.

 In my dream, I saw Nico di  Angelo alone in the gardens of Hades. He'd just dug a hole in one of Persephone's flower beds, which I didn't figure would make the queen very happy.

 He poured a goblet of wine into the hole and began to chant. "Let the dead taste again. Let them rise and take this offering. Maria di Angelo, show yourself!"

 White smoke gathered. A human figure formed, but it wasn't Nico's mother. It was a girl with dark hair, olive skin, and the silvery clothes of a Hunter.

 "Bianca," Nico said. "But—"

 “Don't summon our mother, Nico,” she warned. “She is the one spirit you are forbidden to see.”

 "Why?" he demanded. "What's our father hiding?"

“ Pain,” Bianca said. “Hatred. A curse that stretches back to the Great Prophecy.”

 "What do you mean?" Nico said. "I have to know!"

 “The knowledge will only hurt you. Remember what I said: holding grudges is a fatal flaw for children of Hades.”

 "I know that," Nico said. "But I'm not the same as I used to be, Bianca. Stop trying to protect me!"

“ Brother, you don't understand —”

 Nico swiped his hand through the mist, and Bianca’s image dissipated.

 "Maria di Angelo," he said again. "Speak to me!"

 A different image formed. It was a scene rather than a single ghost. In the mist, I saw Nico and Bianca as little children, playing in the lobby of an elegant hotel, chasing each other around marble columns.

 A woman sat on a nearby sofa. She wore a black dress, gloves, and a black veiled hat like a star from an old 1940s movie. She had Bianca's smile and Nico's eyes.

 On a chair next to her sat a large oily man in a black pinstripe suit. With a shock, I realized it was Hades. He was leaning toward the woman, using his hands as he talked, like he was agitated.

 "Please, my dear," he said. "You must  come to the Underworld. I don't care what Persephone thinks! I can keep you safe there."

 "No, my love." She spoke with an Italian accent. "Raise our children in the land of the dead? I will not do this."

 "Maria, listen to me. The war in Europe has turned the other gods against me. A prophecy has been made. My children are no longer safe. Poseidon and Zeus have forced me into an agreement. None of us are to have demigod children ever again."

 "But you already have  Nico and Bianca. Surely—"

 "No! The prophecy warns of a child who turns sixteen. Zeus has decreed that the children I currently have must be turned over to Camp Half-Blood for proper training, but I know what he means. At best they'll be watched, imprisoned, turned against their father. Even more likely, he will not take a chance. He won't allow my demigod children to reach sixteen. He'll find a way to destroy them, and I won't risk that!"

 "Certamente ," Maria said. "We will stay together. Zeus is un imbecile. "

 I couldn't help admiring her courage, but Hades glanced nervously at the ceiling. "Maria, please. I told you, Zeus gave me a deadline of last week  to turn over the children. His wrath will be horrible, and I cannot hide you forever. As long as you are with the children, you are in danger too."

 Maria smiled, and again it was creepy how much she looked like her daughter. "You are a god, my love. You will protect us. But I will not take Nico and Bianca to the Underworld."

 Hades wrung his hands. "Then, there is another option. I know a place in the desert where time stands still. I could send the children there, just for a while, for their own safety, and we could be together. I will build you a golden palace by the Styx."

 Maria di Angelo laughed gently. "You are a kind man, my love. A generous man. The other gods should see you as I do, and they would not fear you so. But Nico and Bianca need their mother. Besides, they are only children. The gods wouldn't really hurt them."

 "You don't know my family," Hades said darkly. "Please, Maria, I can't lose you."

 She touched his lips with her fingers. "You will not lose me. Wait for me while I get my purse. Watch the children."

 She kissed the lord of the dead and rose from the sofa. Hades watched her walk upstairs as if her every step away caused him pain.

 A moment later, he tensed. The children stopped playing as if they sensed something too.

 "No!" Hades said. But even his godly powers were too slow. He only had time to erect a wall of black energy around the children before the hotel exploded.

 The force was so violent, the entire mist image dissolved.

 When it came into focus again, I saw Hades kneeling in the ruins, holding the broken form of Maria di Angelo. Fires still burned all around him. Lightning flashed across the sky, and thunder rumbled.

 Little Nico and Bianca stared at their mother uncomprehendingly. The Fury Alecto appeared behind them, hissing and flapping her leathery wings. The children didn't seem to notice her.

 "Zeus!" Hades shook his fist at the sky. "I will crush you for this! I will bring her back!"

 "My lord, you cannot," Alecto warned. "You of all immortals must respect the laws of death."

 Hades glowed with rage. I thought he would show his true form and vaporize his own children, but at the last moment he seemed to regain control.

 "Take them," he told Alecto, choking back a sob. "Wash their memories clean in the Lethe and bring them to the Lotus Hotel. Zeus will not harm them there."

 "As you wish, my lord," Alecto said. "And the woman's body?

 "Take her as well," he said bitterly. "Give her the ancient rites."

 Alecto, the children, and Maria's body dissolved into shadows, leaving Hades alone in the ruins.

 "I warned you," a new voice said.

 Hades turned. A girl in a multicolored dress stood by the smoldering remains of the sofa. She had short black hair and sad eyes. She was no more than twelve. I didn't know her, but she looked strangely familiar.

 "You dare come here?" Hades growled. "I should blast you to dust!"

 "You cannot," the girl said. "The power of Delphi protects me."

 With a chill, I realized I was looking at the Oracle of Delphi, back when she was alive and young. Somehow, seeing her like this was even spookier than seeing her as a mummy.

 "You've killed the woman I loved!" Hades roared. "Your prophecy brought us to this.'"

 He loomed over the girl, but she didn't flinch.

 "Zeus ordained the explosion to destroy the children," she said, "because you defied his will. I had nothing to do with it. And I did warn you to hide them sooner."

 "I couldn't! Maria would not let me! Besides, they were innocent."

 "Nevertheless, they are your children, which makes them dangerous. Even if you put them away in the Lotus Hotel, you only delay the problem. Nico and Bianca will never be able to rejoin the world lest they turn sixteen."

 "Because of your so-called Great Prophecy. And you have forced me into an oath to have no other children. You have left me with nothing!"

 "I foresee the future," the girl said. "I cannot change it."

 Black fire lit the god's eyes, and I knew something bad was coming. I wanted to yell at the girl to hide or run.

 "Then, Oracle, hear the words of Hades," he growled. "Perhaps I cannot bring back Maria. Nor can I bring yon an early death. But your soul is still mortal, and I can curse you."

 The girl's eyes widened. "You would not—"

 "I swear," Hades said, "as long as my children remain outcasts, as long as I labor under the curse of your Great Prophecy, the Oracle of Delphi will never have another mortal host. You will never rest in peace. No other will take your place. Your body will wither and die, and still the Oracle's spirit will be locked inside you. You will speak your bitter prophecies until you crumble to nothing. The Oracle will die with you!"

 The girl screamed, and the misty image was blasted to shreds. Nico fell to his knees in Persephone's

garden, his face white with shock. Standing in front of him was the real Hades, towering in his black robes

and scowling down at his son.

 "And just what," he asked Nico, "do you think you're doing?"

 A black explosion filled my dreams. Then the scene changed.

 Rachel Elizabeth Dare was walking along a white sand beach. She wore a swimsuit with a T-shirt wrapped around her waist. Her shoulders and face were sunburned.

 She knelt and began writing in the surf with her finger. I tried to make out the letters. I thought my dyslexia was acting up until I realized she was writing in Ancient Greek.

 That was impossible. The dream had to be false.

 Rachel finished writing a few words and muttered, "What in the world?"

 I can read Greek, but I only recognized one word before the sea washed it away. My name: Perseus.

 Rachel stood abruptly and backed away from the surf.

 "Oh, gods," she said. "That's what it means."

 She turned and ran, kicking up sand as she raced back to her family's villa.

 She pounded up the porch steps, breathing hard. Her father looked up from his Wall Street Journal.

 "Dad." Rachel marched up to him. "We have to go back."

 Her dad's mouth twitched, like he was trying to remember how to smile. "Back?  We just got here."

 "There's trouble in New York. Percy's in danger."

 "Did he call you?"

 "No . . . not exactly. But I know. It's a feeling."

 Mr. Dare folded his newspaper. "Your mother and I have been looking forward to this vacation for a long time."

 "No you haven't! You both hate the beach! You're just too stubborn to admit it."

 "Now, Rachel—"

 "I'm telling you something is wrong in New York! The whole city . . . I don't know what exactly, but it's under attack."

 Her father sighed. "I think we would've heard something like that on the news."

 "No," Rachel insisted. "Not this kind of attack. Have you had any calls since we got here?"

 Her father frowned. "No . . . but it is the weekend, in the middle of the summer."

 "You always get calls," Rachel said. "You've got to admit that's strange."

 Her father hesitated. "We can't just leave. We've spent a lot of money."

 "Look," Rachel said. "Daddy . . . Percy needs me. I have to deliver a message. It's life or death."

 "What message? What are you talking about?"

 "I can't tell you.”

 "Then you can't go."

 Rachel closed her eyes like she was getting up her courage. "Dad . . . let me go, and I'll make a deal with you."

 Mr. Dare sat forward. Deals were something he under-stood. "I'm listening."

 "Clarion Ladies Academy. I'll—I'll go there in the fall. I won't even complain. But you have to get me back to New York right now."

 He was silent for a long time. Then he opened his phone and made a call.

 "Douglas? Prep the plane. We're leaving for New York. Yes . . . immediately."

 Rachel flung her arms around him, and her father seemed surprised, like she'd never hugged him before.

 "I'll make it up to you, Dad!"

 He smiled, but his expression was chilly. He studied her like he wasn't seeing his daughter—just the young lady he wanted her to be, once Clarion Academy got through with her.

 "Yes, Rachel," he agreed. "You most certainly will."

 The scene faded. I mumbled in my sleep: "Rachel, no!"

 I was still tossing and turning when Thalia shook me awake.

 "Percy," she said. "Come on. It's late afternoon. We've got visitors."

 I sat up, disoriented. The bed was too comfortable, and I hated sleeping in the middle of the day.

 "Visitors?" I said.

 Thalia nodded grimly. "A Titan wants to see you, under a flag of truce. He has a message from Kronos."

Chapter Text

Leaving Hanora’s side was more difficult than it should have been, but luckily for me she did not leave any room for my excuses to stay.

“If you think that we are about to let Percy meet a Titan without at least one of us, you’ll be the first stupid child of Athena in history.” And then she literally pushed my hand away, “now get going, I'm tired of looking at you, Chase.”

So I found myself a few moments later walking with Percy, Thalia, and Grover up to the slowly approaching enemy group. We could see their white flag from half a mile away. It was as big as a soccer field, carried by a thirty-foot-tall giant with bright blue skin and icy gray hair.

 "A Hyperborean," Thalia said. "The giants of the north.  It's a bad sign that they sided with Kronos. They're usually peaceful."

 "You've met them?" Percy asked.

 "Mmm. There's a big colony in Alberta. You do not want to get into a snowball fight with those guys."

 As the giant got closer, I could see three human-size envoys with him: a half-blood in armor, an empousa demon with a black dress and flaming hair, and a tall man in a tuxedo. The empousa  held the tux man's arm, so they looked like a couple heading out for a nice evening date— except for her flaming hair and fangs.

 The group walked leisurely toward the Heckscher Playground. The swings and ball courts were empty. The only sound was the fountain on Umpire Rock.

Percy leaned into Grover on his other side. "The tux dude is the Titan?"

 He nodded nervously. "He looks like a magician. I hate magicians. They usually have rabbits."

 Percy looked at him flatly. "You're scared of bunnies?"

 "Blah-hah-hah! They're big bullies. Always stealing celery from defenseless satyrs!"

 I resisted the urge to let my palms meet my forehead. Thalia coughed.

 "What?" Grover demanded.

“We do not have the time to unpack all of that.” I muttered, straying closer to Thalia out of habit. She reached out to give my hand a squeeze before dropping it again. I wished it was enough to make me feel better, like it did when we were younger. But all it did was make me want to turn around and run back to Hanora. Burying my face into her shoulder was sounding like a much better idea than what we were setting off to do instead. I blinked back the thought, what kind of child of Athena was I if I did not want to be at the head of all strategy talks and important negotiations of war. I suppose love really does blind you.

"We'll have to work on your bunny phobia later," Percy agreed, though I forgot for a moment what we had been talking about. "Here they come."

The man in the tux stepped forward. He was taller than an average human—about seven feet. His black hair was tied in a ponytail. Dark round glasses covered his eyes, but what really caught my attention was the skin on his face. It was covered in scratches, like he'd been attacked by a small animal- well if you considered an eagle to be a small animal. I may not have seen him in person before, but it was easy to surmise who the titan before us was.

"Percy Jackson," he said in a silky voice. "It's a great honor."

His lady friend the empousa  hissed at us. She'd probably heard how we'd destroyed two of her sisters last summer. I doubt it would foster any fuzzier feelings than…well violence.

 "My dear," Prometheus said to her. "Why don't you make yourself comfortable over there, eh?"

 She released his arm and drifted over to a park bench.

I glanced at the armed demigod behind him. I hadn't recognized him in his new helmet, but it was Ethan Nakamura. My blood ran cold looking at him. For a moment I felt like I was back in that fight, monsters and demigods surrounding us on all sides standing shoulder to shoulder with Percy, not unlike how we stood now though this time we were facing the same enemy. I could still see the glint of his blade prepared to slam down into Percy’s spine. Without thinking much of it I had moved to put myself in between them, not quite fast enough to raise my shield but enough to become his shield. Then a flash of green light blinded me as I felt a tug on the front of my shirt. In the next moment the blade was gone and Hanora hit the ground with its hilt blooming from between her ribs. It felt like a cruel joke or perhaps just sickening irony. I had been prepared to do just that a second prior for Percy, but seeing it happen to Hanora made me want to vomit. Blinking away the memory to look at Nakamura in the present I noticed that his nose looked like a squashed tomato from when Percy smashed his face in on the Williamsburg Bridge. That made me feel a little better. Hanora would have probably high fived Percy right then and there for ‘defending her honor’. I had to bite back the smile that tried to settle on my features at the thought.

 "Hey, Ethan," Percy said. "You're looking good."

 Ethan glared at him.

 "To business." The titan negotiator extended his hand. "I am Prometheus."

 Percy was too surprised to shake, which I found completely unsurprising. "The fire-stealer guy? The chained-to-the-rock-with-the-vultures guy?"

 Prometheus winced. He touched the scratches on his face ."Please, don't mention the vultures. But yes, I stole fire from the gods and gave it to your ancestors. In return, the ever-merciful Zeus had me chained to a rock and tortured for all eternity."

 "But—"

"How did I get free? Hercules did that, eons ago. So, you see, I have a soft spot for heroes. Some of you can be quite civilized."

 "Unlike the company you keep," Percy quipped, staring daggers at Ethan. Prometheus however must have thought Percy was referring to the empousa.

"Oh, demons aren't so bad," he said. "You just have to keep them well fed. Now, Percy Jackson, let us parley."

He waved Percy toward a picnic table, Percy followed and sat down across from the titian. Thalia, Grover, and I trailed a bit behind to stand behind him. I resisted the urge to move closer and instead moved a little closer to Thalia, who thankfully either noticed or mirrored my unease bumping our shoulders together.

 The blue giant propped his white flag against a tree and began absently playing on the playground. He stepped on the monkey bars and crushed them, but he didn't seem angry. He just frowned and said, "Uh-oh." Then he stepped in the fountain and broke the concrete bowl in half. "Uh-oh." The water froze where his foot touched it. A bunch of stuffed animals hung from his belt—the huge kind you get for grand prizes at an arcade. He reminded me of Tyson for a moment, and the idea of fighting him left me feeling more conflicted than I should have been.

 Prometheus sat forward and laced his fingers. He looked earnest, kindly, and wise. "Percy, your position is weak. You know you can't stop another assault."

 "We'll see."

 Prometheus looked pained, like he really cared what happened to me. "Percy, I'm the Titan of forethought. I know what's going to happen."

 "Also the Titan of crafty counsel," Grover put in. "Emphasis on crafty. "

“You are known as the supreme trickster of the titans.” I added crossing my arms tightly across my chest. “How can we trust anything that comes out of your mouth?”

 Prometheus shrugged. "True enough. But I supported the gods in the last war. I told Kronos: 'You don't have the strength. You'll lose.' And I was right. So, you see, I know how to pick the winning side. This time, I'm backing Kronos."

 "Because Zeus chained you to a rock," Percy guessed.

 "Partly, yes. I won't deny I want revenge. But that's not the only reason I'm supporting Kronos. It's the wisest choice. I'm here because I thought you might listen to reason."

I could feel my eye twitch as he said ‘wisest’, my mother was the wisest and she saw to fight on our side. I could feel my anger bubbling and the steady hand Thalia grabbed my arm with was not doing enough to placate it.

 He drew a map on the table with his finger. Wherever he touched, golden lines appeared, glowing on the concrete. "This is Manhattan. We have armies here, here, here, and here. We know your numbers. We outnumber you twenty to one."

 "Your spy has been keeping you posted," Percy guessed. 

My rage only grew at the thought.

 Prometheus smiled apologetically. "At any rate, our forces are growing daily. Tonight, Kronos will attack. You will be overwhelmed. You've fought bravely, but there's just no way you can hold all of Manhattan. You'll be forced to retreat to the Empire State Building. There you'll be destroyed. I have seen this. It will happen."

My brain immediately went into overdrive trying to suss out where their troops would come from, what traps we could place in preparation, what resources and natural barriers could we utilize. I knew Tethys and the titanesses she had gathered on our side were doing rounds around the island at the hunters request, how could we call them when the enemy came?

 "I won't let it happen," Percy said, startling me from my calculations.

 Prometheus brushed a speck off his tux lapel. "Understand, Percy. You are refighting the Trojan War here. Patterns repeat themselves in history. They reappear just as monsters do. A great siege. Two armies. The only difference is this time you are defending. You are Troy. And you know what happened to the Trojans, don't you?"

 "So you're going to cram a wooden horse into the elevator at the Empire State Building?"  Percy asked. "Good luck."

He was so beautifully stupid and sassy sometimes. Despite the rage and nervous planning circling like a hurricane around me a sense of fondness coiled its way into my chest. Hanora would have made so much fun of me in that moment if she had been standing there. The thought added guilt to the hurricane as well.

 Prometheus smiled. "Troy was completely destroyed, Percy. You don't want that to happen here. Stand down, and New York will be spared. Your forces will be granted amnesty. I will personally assure your safety. Let Kronos take Olympus. Who cares? Typhon will destroy the gods anyway."

 "Right," Percy said. "And I'm supposed to believe Kronos would spare the city."

 "All he wants is Olympus," Prometheus promised. "The might of the gods is tied to their seats of power. You saw what happened to Poseidon once his undersea palace was attacked."

 Percy visibly winced at the mention of his father. I could only imagine from his description the unfortunate state of the king of the sea.

 "Yes," Prometheus said sadly. "I know that was hard for you. When Kronos destroys Olympus, the gods will fade. They will become so weak they will be easily defeated. Kronos would rather do this while Typhon has the Olympians distracted in the west. Much easier.  Fewer lives lost. But make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us down. The day after tomorrow, Typhon arrives in New York, and you will have no chance at all. The gods and Mount Olympus will still be destroyed, but it will be much messier. Much, much worse for you and your city. Either way, the Titans will rule."

 Thalia pounded her fist on the table. "I serve Artemis. The Hunters will fight to our last breath. Percy, you're not seriously going to listen to this slimeball, are you?"

 I stepped forward ready to pull her away from whatever the titan might throw her way, but he just smiled. "Your courage does you credit, Thalia Grace."

 Thalia stiffened. "That's my mother's surname. I don't use it."

 "As you wish," Prometheus said casually, but I could tell he'd gotten under her skin. I'd never even heard Thalia's last name before. It had the same affect of seeing your teacher at the grocery store for the first time. It made sense that they obviously had to buy food but it was strange to see them in an environment that was not your daily classroom. Thalia having a last name, especially such a seemingly normal one felt very similar in overall uncomfiness.

 "At any rate," the Titan said, "you need not be my enemy. I have always been a helper of  mankind."

 "That's a load of Minotaur dung," Thalia said. "When mankind first sacrificed to the gods, you tricked them into giving you the best portion. You gave us fire to annoy the gods, not because you cared about us."

 Prometheus shook his head. "You don't understand. I helped shape your nature."

 A wiggling lump of clay appeared in his hands. He fashioned it into a little doll with legs and arms. The lump man didn't have any eyes, but it groped around the table, stumbling over Prometheus's fingers. "I have been whispering in man's ear since the beginning of your existence. I represent your curiosity, your sense of exploration, your inventiveness. Help me save you, Percy. Do this, and I will give mankind a new gift—a new revelation that will move you as far for-ward as fire did. You can't make that kind of advance under the gods. They would never allow it. But this could be a new golden age for you. Or . . ."

He made a fist and smashed the clay man into a pancake.

 The blue giant rumbled, "Uh-oh." Over at the park bench, the empousa  bared her fangs in a smile.

 "Percy, you know the Titans and their offspring are not all bad," Prometheus said. "You've met Calypso."

 Percy’s face immediately bloomed a deep shade of pink. "That's different."

I had to bite down the sting of jealousy climbing up my throat. Strange as it was that little green monster seemed to pop up anytime any girl got too close to him in recent years ... .well all except for one….

 "How? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because she was Atlas's daughter. We are not your enemies. Don't let the worst happen," he pleaded. "We offer you peace."

 Percy looked at Ethan Nakamura. "You must hate this."

 "I don't know what you mean."

 "If we took this deal, you wouldn't get revenge. You wouldn't get to kill us all. Isn't that what you want?"

 His good eye flared. "All I want is respect, Jackson. The gods never gave me that. You wanted me to go to your stupid camp, spend my time crammed into the Hermes cabin because I'm not important? Not even recognized?"

I felt that pang of guilt again. All of those years the Hermes cabin got fuller and fuller with the unclaimed or cabinless demigods. Seeing them hope for so long for a sign, anything at all only for nothing to happen. Hanora had given up on her mom a long time ago and had pretty much embraced being the unofficial sister of the Hermes kids. It was strange to think that she was the exception and not the rule when it comes to the position the unclaimed take on the gods.

 "Your mom's the goddess of revenge," Percy told Ethan. "We should respect that?"

 "Nemesis stands for balance! When people have too much good luck, she tears them down."

 "Which is why she took your eye?"

 "It was payment," he growled. "In exchange, she swore to me that one day I would tip the balance of power. I would bring the minor gods respect. An eye was a small price to pay."

 "Great mom."

 "At least she keeps her word, unlike the Olympians. She always pays her debts—good or evil."

 "Yeah," Percy said. "So I saved your life, and you repaid me by raising Kronos. That's fair."

 Ethan grabbed the hilt of his sword at the same time that I pushed closer to Percy with my hand ready to grab my knife, but Prometheus stopped Ethan before he could move further.

 "Now, now," the Titan said. "We're on a diplomatic mission."

 Prometheus studied us as if trying to understand our anger. Then he nodded like he'd just picked a thought from Percy’s brain.

 "It bothers you what happened to Luke," he decided. "Hestia didn't show you the full story. Perhaps if you understood . . ."

 The Titan reached out.

 Thalia cried a warning, as I moved to push Percy away from Prometheus's index finger but not before it touched Percy’s forehead. The contact was only for a second, maybe even two seconds before I pulled Percy back. In that time, he had broken out into a full sweat, his eyes blinking rapidly trying to ground himself back into reality. I shook him by the shoulder as Thalia knelt on his other side, Grover still stood a bit behind us looking ready to pull out his pan flute.

“Come on seaweed brain, come back.” I said waving my hand in front of his face before resting it on the side of his face.

"Percy?" Thalia asked. "What . . . what was that?"

His eyes finally came back into focus as Prometheus spoke from behind Thalia and I.

"Appalling, isn't it? The gods know what is to come, and yet they do nothing, even for their children. How long did it take for them to tell you your prophecy, Percy Jackson? Don't you think your father knows what will happen to you?"

 Percy was too stunned to answer.

 "Perrrcy," Grover warned, "he's playing with your mind. Trying to make you angry."

 Grover could read emotions, so he probably knew exactly what was rolling around in Percy’s head. And I bet he was getting extremely angry if the turbulent swirl in his eyes could be trusted.

 "Do you really blame your friend Luke?" the Titan asked. "And what about you, Percy? Will you be controlled by your fate? Kronos offers you a much better deal." He paused for a moment taking us all in, “or perhaps you need an even better motivator. Kronos also has a place for the girl in his kingdom. The gods have already tried to erase her once, what makes you think they will not try again?”

My blood ran cold as I froze in place. Grover’s eyes looked like they were about to fall out of his head while Thalia looked like she might take on an entire army on her own with nothing but her rage and fists. Percy’s face hardened and his fists clenched in his lap. For the first time since he had sat down he looked directly at me. My hands had already fallen to loosely grip his forearm. His eyes softened for a fraction of a second, the kind of blink and you’ll miss it moment before he set his gaze back on the titan pat my shoulder.

"I'll give you a deal. Tell Kronos to call off his attack, leave Luke Castellan's body, and return to the pits of Tartarus. Then maybe I won't have to destroy him,"

 The empousa  snarled. Her hair erupted in fresh flames, but Prometheus just sighed.

 "If you change your mind," he said, "I have a gift for you."

I turned pushing myself shoulder to shoulder with Percy to take in the so called ‘gift’. A Greek vase appeared on the table. It was about three feet high and a foot wide, glazed with black-and-white geo-metric designs. The ceramic lid was fastened with a leather harness.

 Grover whimpered when he saw it.

 Thalia gasped. "That's not—"

 "Yes," Prometheus said. "You recognize it."

And recognize it I did. Percy however needed further explanation…as per usual.

"This belonged to my sister-in-law," Prometheus explained. "Pandora."

 I could see Percy’s Adams apple bob, "as in Pandora's box?"

 Prometheus shook his head. "I don't know how this box business got started. It was never a box. It was a pithos, a storage jar. I suppose Pandora's pithos doesn't have the same ring to it but never mind that. Yes, she did open this jar, which contained most of the demons that now haunt mankind—fear, death, hunger, sickness."

 "Don't forget me," the empousa  purred.

 "Indeed," Prometheus conceded. "The first empousa  was also trapped in this jar, released by Pandora. But what I find curious about the story—Pandora always gets the blame. She is punished for being curious. The gods would have you believe that this is the lesson: mankind should not explore. They should not ask questions. They should do what they are told. In truth, Percy, this jar was a trap designed by Zeus and the other gods. It was revenge on me and my entire family—my poor simple brother Epimetheus and his wife Pandora. The gods knew she would open the jar. They were willing to punish the entire race of humanity along with us."  Prometheus tapped the lid of Pandora's jar. "Only one spirit remained inside when Pandora opened it."

 "Hope," Percy said a little dazed.

 Prometheus looked pleased. "Very good, Percy. Elpis, the Spirit of Hope, would not abandon humanity. Hope does not leave without being given permission. She can only be released by a child of man."

 The Titan slid the jar across the table.

 "I give you this as a reminder of what the gods are like," he said. "Keep Elpis, if you wish. But if you decide that you have seen enough destruction, enough futile suffering, then open the jar. Let Elpis go. Give up Hope, and I will know that you are surrendering. I promise Kronos will be lenient. He will spare the survivors, and perhaps allow for an even better alternative." 

 "I don't want the thing," Percy growled alternating his glare between the jar and the titan.

 "Too late," Prometheus said. "The gift is given. It can-not be taken back."

 He stood. The empousa  came forward and slipped her arm through his.

 "Morrain!" Prometheus called to the blue giant. "We are leaving. Get your flag."

 "Uh-oh," the giant said.

 "We will see you soon, Percy Jackson," Prometheus promised. "One way or another."

 Ethan Nakamura gave me one last hateful look. Then the truce party turned and strolled up the lane through Central Park, like it was just a regular sunny Sunday afternoon.

***

As soon as we got to the plaza Thalia pulled Percy around the corner as Grover blissfully unaware continued on without us. I hesitated a beat before following the two of them. 

"What did Prometheus show you?" Thalia hissed as I came up behind her.

Percy threw a look at me over her shoulder almost like he was trying to choose his answer carefully. Which was very unlike him.

“What happened?” I asked, hovering a step behind Thalia’s shoulder.

Percy stuttered looking between the two of us. “Well- I-um….it was- I’m not sure you really want to hear this.” That last bit he directed at me. I tried to ignore the sting of irritation.

“Out with it Percy, whatever it is I can handle it.”

He shot Thalia a look that screamed ‘help me’ and I was sure that had I not followed them there was no way in hades they would have filled me in after their little rendezvous. I crossed my arms with a defiant huff looking between the two of them.

“Well?”

Percy gulped but conceded, Thalia looked less concerned at the start but the longer Percy talked the paler her face became.

“He showed me the night Luke brought the two of you to his mom’s house.” 

The mention of that place sent a shiver down my spine as Thalia rubbed her thigh like she could feel phantom pain in the old wound. Percy continued explaining the scene between Luke and his parents that night. It was strange to be told a story that despite being present for I did not really recall most of it. I just remembered being afraid and gripping onto Luke like a life line trying to make sense of his shift in mood. Thalia nodded along mechanically, her eyes slightly glossy.

"That was a bad night," she admitted. "Annabeth was so little,” she turned to me and gilded her palm across the side of my head. “I’m not sure you really understood what you saw. You just knew Luke was upset and clung to him."

“I had never seen him like that before.” I agreed my voice came out like more of a whisper than I intended.

Percy hesitated for a second before asking, "do you know what happened to May Castellan? I mean—"

 "I know what you mean," Thalia said. "I never saw her have an, um, episode, but Luke told me about the glowing eyes, the strange things she would say. He made me promise never to tell. What caused it, I have no idea. If Luke knew, he never told me."

 "Hermes knew," he said. "Something caused May to see parts of Luke's future, and Hermes understood what would happen—how Luke would turn into Kronos."

I furrowed my eyebrows at the thought.

Thalia frowned. "You can't be sure of  that. Remember Prometheus was manipulating what you saw, Percy, showing you what happened in the worst possible light. Hermes did love Luke. I could tell just by looking at his face. And Hermes was there that night because he was checking up on May, taking care of her. He wasn't all bad."

"It's still not right," Percy insisted. "Luke was just a little kid. Hermes never helped him, never stopped him from running away."

“The gods are supposed to have limited interaction with mortals, Percy. Their half-blood children included.” I tried to reason even though the words tasted sour in my mouth. “Most of us don’t get help from our immortal parents, but we don’t turn to the titans to deal with our problems instead.”

Thalia shouldered her bow. It struck me how much stronger she looked now that she'd stopped aging, and I had always thought she was unattainably strong especially when we were on the run. You could almost see a silvery glow around her—the blessing of Artemis.

 "Percy," she said, "Annabeth’s right, you can't start feeling sorry for Luke. We all have tough things to deal with. All demigods do. Our parents are hardly ever around. But Luke made bad choices. Nobody forced him to do that. In fact—" she turned her attention back to me. I tried not to shrink under her gaze. “I’m worried about you.”

“Thanks for the vote of confidence,” I dead panned, partly annoyed partly afraid of what she might say next.

“If it comes down to it…could you fight him?”

I blinked at her, honestly kind of stunned. Of course I would fight him. What kind of question was that? After everything he had done, after all of the things he had put us through, after all of the people he took from us? I wanted to say that, I wanted to snap at her and yet I just gaped at her like a fish.

"She'll do fine." Percy cut in.

My focus whipped over to him. Dark hair swept messily like the sea breeze had tossed it about. Sea green eyes so deep that it made the Mariana trench look like a kiddy pool, filled with determination and strength of a category five hurricane. His voice edged with the kind of confidence I could not match in that moment. I could feel the butterflies trying to flap their way out of my stomach, I had to look away before they succeeded.

"I don't know. After that night, after we left his mom's house? Luke was never the same. He got reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. By the time Grover found us and tried to get us to camp . . . well, part of the reason we had so much trouble was because Luke wouldn't be careful. He wanted to pick a fight with every monster we crossed. You-” Thalia looked pointedly at me, “didn't see that as a problem. I know that you saw him as your hero. But you got very defensive of him, hades you still are.”

“I am not-” I tried to argue but she waved me off effectively shutting me up.

“All I'm saying" She kept her gaze on Percy, her hand still up to keep me quiet.  ". . . don't you fall into the same trap. Luke has given himself to Kronos now. We can't afford to be soft on him."

  "You're right," Percy said, conceding to Thalia’s concern.

 Thalia patted our shoulders. "I'm going to check on the Hunters, then get some more sleep before nightfall. You two should crash too."

 "The last thing I need is more dreams." Percy quipped.

 "I know, believe me." Her dark expression made me wonder what she'd been dreaming about. It was a common demigod problem: the more dangerous our situation became, the worse and more frequent our dreams got. "But Percy, there's no telling when you'll get another chance for rest. It's going to be a long night—maybe our last  night."

  He nodded wearily, clearly not happy that she made a solid point and then he gave her Pandora's jar. "Do me a favor. Lock this in the hotel vault, will you? I think I'm allergic to pithos. "

 Thalia smiled. "You got it."

Percy and I turned away from her and at the first possible bed Percy swerved to face plant directly on it. I paused for a second before deciding to go to the next room.

“Annabeth.”

I stopped in my tracks to look back at him. He had half turned back so I could see one green eye already half lidded staring after me.

“Go to sleep, seaweed brain, I’ll see you later.”

He made a muffled noise of discontent before shoving one hand back in my direction. He held it aloft for a second before making a grabby motion.

“Really?” I scoffed in an attempt to ignore the heat settling on my face.

He huffed in response, still attempting to use telekinesis to bring me closer, which is a power he does not possess. My nerves were shot, my limbs felt like lead, and my resolve crumbled. The space next to him did look very comfortable.

“Fine…but if anyone asks I was here first and you are the one who was too tired to get to the next room.” I conceded plopping beside him as I kicked my shoes off in a slightly uncoordinated motion.

“Whatever you say, wise girl.” he said half muffled by the comforter.

I hate to admit how fast I fell asleep listening to Percy Jackson’s soft snores and his arm not very sneakily thrown over my waist.

Chapter Text

Being in a medical grade haze was unfortunately not an uncommon situation for me the last couple of years. The Apollo kids were probably sick of seeing me in their infirmary if I am completely honest. Well, I at least know Will definitely was considering all the grumbling he was doing as he checked my temperature for the twelfth time in what felt like ten minutes. The poor beach blonde thirteen-year-old had been nominated as my personal nurse by his siblings like a year and a half ago, which is great for me cause he is THE best of the best, not so great for him cause I am a handful.

Will bristled muttering under his breath. “You must be a masochist; I have never met another person as injured as you are on a regular basis.”

I shrugged carefully not to jostle the wrapping on my side he had just fixed. “I’m just keeping you busy. Honestly you’d be bored without me.”

“Oh is that what you are doing? Entertaining me?”

I snorted looking up at him to find he was not at all amused…well maybe a little bit if the quirked eyebrow was any indication that he was at least not mad.

“How about you avoid poisoned weapons next time, cause that is not a fun thing to treat.”

“Hmmm, noted. It's not fun to be poisoned either. In case you were wondering.”

That one actually got him to laugh as he stood up and collected his bag of supplies. All freshly restocked by our friendly neighborhood klepto brothers. “Alright I’ll be back in a little bit, but you need to sleep to let the nectar do its thing. Otherwise you will not be back on the battlefield any time soon.”

“Awww come on coach let me in! I can still play, it's merely a flesh wound!” I jested settling into a less painful position.

“I mean it, Hanora. Behave.” He called over his shoulder.

I puffed a half laugh, “yes mom.”

Then the door closed leaving me alone with my thoughts. Not a great thing to leave me with on any normal day, but I suppose there were worse things to be in a room with in my current condition. I let my head fall to the side looking out at central park. I could see fires in the distance. The sun being high in the sky was a very strange juxtaposition between the chaos and clear blue sky, but I suppose violence had never been contained to one time of day. The terrace was no longer solitary confinement considering many of the chairs now contained unconscious demigods. A few of them had a sibling or friend with half lidded eyes watching over them. Every so often I’d scan the masses to make sure none of my idiots had joined our ranks. It’s a bit selfish of me to be glad when a new person is carted in to sigh in relief when I don’t see long blonde hair spilling over the edge of our makeshift gurney, or a puff of black hair sticking up at all ends. Then again I never claimed to be an unselfish person, why would I start now?

Despite the tiredness seeping into my bones I was having a hard time nodding off. Being unconscious for a while and intermittently passing out from pain induced sensory overload tend to affect your ability to fall asleep. That and being left out of the loop of planning was starting to grate on me. I never did take to being still for too long, physical stillness was difficult enough, but mental stillness? Nearly impossible. Everyone else on the terrace seemed to not have that issue considering how eerily quiet the entire area had become as a warm wind washed over us. The peace would not have been as unsettling if I had not seen one of the demigods looking after someone a few chairs down fully fall out of their own chair and pass out on the ground.

“What the-” I mumbled, pushing myself up a bit.

Somewhere off on my other side I heard another crash. Turning only confirmed that another demigod had hit the proverbial deck, and clearly not of their own volition. I swiveled my head around, but all I could see were more sleeping demigods. Despite the situation panic never seemed to set in. Instead it felt like I was in a fog of confusion lethargically looking for something that I couldn’t muster up enough energy to be afraid of.

“Neato, It’s been a long time since I’ve found someone who doesn’t immediately zonk when I send out the good vibes.”

The voice in my ear sent a small jolt of electricity down my spine despite the cozy feeling of a nonexistent weighted blanket settling on my chest. I forced myself to turn my gaze toward the sound. I was not prepared at all to be inches away from a set of glowing gold eyes. So unprepared in fact that I jumped out of my skin and by extension my chair falling ass first on to the hard floor. I bit back the pained groan bubbling at the back of my throat.

“Whoa, whoa, boss, no need to get all unglued on my behalf.” 

I blinked up at the owner of the golden eyes, and it was clear that despite not knowing who she was I was for sure extremely certain that she was an immortal. She was wearing a long batik dress swirling with mesmerizing images of fern fronds and her intricate pattern choices extended to her arms which were full of interlocking henna tattoos. A macrame belt cinched her waist, and around her neck was a chain on which a brass peace symbol hung. Her dark long hair was tied into twin braids with a silver and gold tiara incorporated in its structure, a pair of tinted glasses that shifted between hues of orange and purple were nestled haphazardly in front of the tiara. She was tall but clearly had shrunk herself to a more manageable human size. It was strange to see an immortal choose to appear older than thirty, but this immortal hippie seemed very confident sporting a glowing appearance of someone living out their best midlife crisis approaching their fifties.

“Uh-” I rather intelligently uttered.

She leaned across the chair I had previously been occupying in a quick fluid motion, bringing her face only at most a foot away from my own. “Hmm you’re not looking too groovy, kiddo.” She assessed with a tilt of her head.

I blinked stupidly up at her, still a little foggy despite the adrenaline rush, “...groovy?”

“Oh dear, you must have taken quite the pounding.” She almost muttered to herself, motioning quickly to something behind me.

Had I been more cognizant I might have whipped around to see what was coming toward me, but I was having such a war with my natural inclination to be distrusting and the artificial blanket of ease this immortal had probably placed on the terrace. All I could do was twitch in place with my eyes fully locked on her every movement.

It felt like an eternity but also like no time at all before something came up behind me and gently bumped into my shoulder. Locking eyes with a different set of golden eyes in itself would not be cause for alarm…unless said eyes belonged to a whole ass lion. The warning alarms in my brain were screaming at such a high pitch shrill that my ears should have been bleeding. Being nose to nose with a large carnivorous cat would make any one at the very least ‘concerned’ for their health, but all I could do was widen my eyes in surprise.

“Come on darling, why don’t you help our friend here get back up here to vibe more comfortably.” The titaness asked the lion as she patted the seat she was leaning on.

It is annoying to admit how easily I was coerced back into my seat until I was fully laid out again, by a lion and a titan no less. Embarrassing really. After plopping me back in my chair the lion sauntered off joining his twin in circling the sleeping demigods. I watched as they slowly approached each one and opened their mouths slowly letting out the softest roar, that could have been mistaken as a house cat's gentle murp. A small wind must escape their jaws each time because the hair of each person would jostle like there was a gentle breeze. Then a small glow would surround them before fully dissipating. The lion would then move to the next kid and repeat the process.

“Those two work better than any run of the mill drug that the man will tell you ya need.” The hippie commented cutting through my train of thought. She had perched herself on the edge of my chair watching me with curious golden eyes. “This is the best way we can help out without having to be part of the violence. We have been livin a Peace, love, and Harmony lifestyle for too long to go back to war like this.” She nodded to herself gravely, “even though I would love to help my children more. I am more of a go with the flow kind of titan. You know what I mean?”

I tried to shake off my haze again. I stared at her long and hard trying to place who she was. ‘Help her kids?....Lions?...A tiara?.......Hippie?’ That last one was throwing me off but I decided to take a stab at it anyway. “....Lady Rhea?”

“Right on, Kiddo. But we can drop the lady part, it's a bit too formal for my anti establishment lifestyle.”

“Noted.” I said, pushing myself up a bit. “So…um…what are you and your…..lion friends doing….to- umm….help..?”

She smiled brightly at me, “oh why, to heal up your ranks to be a good bunch of cherries. Between my good vibes to put you all at ease, and my good friends healing upgrades courtesy of my great grandsons medical expertise, we will have ya right as rain.”

I felt like I was having a stroke…or maybe.. “Are you saying you drugged us without the drugs?”

“Well, I can’t exactly let children hang out with Mary jane,” she huffed like it was a totally obvious fact. “So I just sent out my grooviness, which usually puts mortals to sleep.”

“That doesn’t sound any better.”

She shrugged and dropped her two tone shades back onto the bridge of her nose. “Well if it works it works. And this way my sister has less to worry about.”

Another jolt went up my spine forcing me completely up right. “Is Tethys alright?”

Her golden eyes grew but other than that her easy vibe did not waver. “For now, but I’m not certain how alright she’s going to be soon.” Clearly noticing my unease she placed a hand on my shoulder sending more of her ‘chill out’ vibe into my bones. “But you aren’t gonna be any help poisoned, bleeding, and tired. Dig it?”

I nodded helplessly, falling back into the chair.

“I’ve really got to jet before that lovely husband of mine catches my scent.” She muttered to herself before eyeing me again, “Though I guess he seems to be more fixated on you right now. Sorry about that.”

I would have said something but I was too tired to move. Then both lions converged on either side of us.

“Now you nap this out and we’ll finish up here.” 

She stood up as the lions opened their mouths. The breeze was warm, like the one that would pull my hair from its bun as I sat on the Italian coast. It made me a little homesick and super sleepy. Just as my eyes fluttered shut Rhea turned back with a small smile.

“Sleep well little dragon.”

I wished demigod sleep was actually a restful experience.

***

I came too inside a large warehouse in desperate need of a better interior designer. For starters there was a massive hole in the roof, which historically is not something you want in a good roof. They did have a snack bar, a soda dispenser, cement statues of terrified people, pretzel warmer, and a ridiculously large golden throne. You know normal things to have in any space. The worst design choice however was the blonde ass hole lounging on the throne itself. He really ruined the atmosphere. 

Kronos lounged back on the throne, his scythe across his lap. He wore jeans and a T-shirt, and with his brooding expression he looked almost human. I could picture that same look staring off into the woods as we sat by the creek discussing our shitty parents, well his eyes were blue then not the toxic gold Kronos turned them into. It made me feel sick. Even worse was when his face contorted into a very inhuman smile and his eyes glowed upon catching sight of the demigod walking in behind me. He was another sight that made me a little sick to my stomach, Ethan Nakamura, the little shit that tried to stab Percy in the back physically instead of just metaphorically.

"Well, Nakamura. What did you think of the diplomatic mission?"

 Ethan hesitated. "I'm sure Lord Prometheus is better suited to speak—"

 "But I asked you. "

 Ethan's good eye darted back and forth, noting the guards that stood around Kronos. "I . . . I don't think Jackson will surrender. Ever."

 Kronos nodded. "Anything else you wanted to tell me?"

 "N-no, sir.”

 "You look nervous, Ethan."

 "No, sir. It's just . . . I heard this was the lair of —"

 "Medusa? Yes, quite true. Lovely place, eh? Unfortunately, Medusa hasn't re-formed since Jackson killed her, so you needn't worry about joining her collection. Besides, there are much more dangerous forces in this room."

 Kronos looked over at a Laistrygonian giant who was munching noisily on some French fries. Kronos waved his hand and the giant froze. A French fry hung suspended in midair halfway between his hand and his mouth.

 "Why turn them to stone," Kronos asked, "when you can freeze time itself?"

 His golden eyes bored into Ethan's face. "Now, tell me one more thing. What happened last night on the Williamsburg Bridge?"

 Ethan trembled. Beads of perspiration were popping up on his forehead. "I . . . I don't know, sir."

 "Yes, you do." Kronos rose from his seat. "When you attacked Jackson, something happened. Something was not quite right. The girl, Hanora, jumped in your way."

 "She wanted to save him."

 "But he is invulnerable," Kronos said quietly. "You saw that yourself."

 "I can't explain it. Maybe she forgot."

 "She forgot," Kronos said. "Yes, that must've been it. Oh dear, I forgot my friend is invulnerable and took a knife for him. Oops.  Tell me, Ethan, where were you aiming when you stabbed at Jackson?"

 Ethan frowned. He clasped his hand as if he were holding a blade, and mimed a thrust. "I'm not sure, sir. It all happened so fast. I wasn't aiming for any spot in particular.'

 Kronos's fingers tapped the blade of his scythe." I see," he said in a chilly tone. "If your memory improves, I will expect—"

 Suddenly the Titan lord winced. The giant in the corner unfroze and the French fry fell into his mouth. Kronos stumbled backward and sank into his throne.

 "My lord?" Ethan started forward.

 "I—" The voice was weak, but just for a moment it was Luke's. I could feel my heart jump into my throat at the sound. Then Kronos's expression hardened.

He raised his hand and flexed his fingers slowly as if forcing them to obey.

 "It is nothing," he said, his voice steely and cold again. "A minor discomfort."

 Ethan moistened his lips. "He's still fighting you, isn't he? Luke—"

 "Nonsense," Kronos spat. "Repeat that lie, and I will cut out your tongue. The boy's soul has been crushed. I am simply adjusting to the limits of this form. It requires rest. It is annoying, but no more than a temporary inconvenience."

 "As . . . as you say, my lord."

 "You!" Kronos pointed his scythe at a dracaena  with green armor and a green crown. "Queen Sess, is it?"

 "Yesssss, my lord."

 "Is our little surprise ready to be unleashed?"

 The dracaena  queen bared her fangs. "Oh, yessss, my lord.Quite a lovely sssssurprissse."

 "Excellent," Kronos said. "Tell my brother Hyperion to move our main force south into Central Park. The half-bloods will be in such disarray they will not be able to defend themselves. Go now, Ethan. Work on improving your memory. We will talk again when we have taken Manhattan."

The dream shifted as Ethan left but I was not pushed from the room. The room darkened as another figure materialized in the corner cloaked in shadow.

“Brother, you know the boy lies, don’t you. Allow me to wring the truth from him.” Mnemosyne whispered, moving closer to the arm of Kronos’s throne. Her dark curls had been pulled up into her golden helmet which matched her armored chest piece and braisers. It was strange to see her in any color brighter than a muted gray. 

“No, he will be ready when it matters. I will just keep him close until then.” Kronos waved her off curtly, making her stop in her tracks.

“That is quite a bit of faith you have in a mortal.”

He hummed noncommittally. “Is Theia prepared for her part?”

“Of course my lord. Her and our nephews are already in position with their added…hmm…’power sources’.” She narrowed her ghostly eyes as a smirk pulled at her lips. “It will be beautifully destructive, I feel. No need to worry at all, those children can not hope to hold off a single titan let alone the army we have assembled.”

The inhumane smile returned to Kronos’s face as he regarded her. “Good. It shall serve as a good reminder to our kin which side is the winning side.” 

He stood and strode across the room straight toward me until we were almost nose to nose. Gold melted into blue and then I felt hands on my shoulders pushing me back off my feet. Before I could register what happened my eyes snapped open to be met with a different set of blue.

Thalia blinked down at me, her expression grave. “Come on Nora, it's time to move.”

***

I wasn’t sure if feeling no pain at all after waking up was surprising or not surprising at all, but you know I was enjoying the feeling of real energy and no stabbing pain regardless. Rhea and her lion friends did indeed know their stuff, as much as I am loathed to admit it. In no time at all I changed into a shirt without stab holes, reattached my armor, holstered a pistol into its proper thigh strap (cause I’m a dainty lady with a pistol holster on my thigh. Practical? Whose to say, but I do enjoy the aesthetic so I go out looking like a badass strapped to the teeth.), and followed Thalia out to the reservoir under the twilight sky.

The lights of the city were blinking on at twilight. I guess a lot of them were on automatic timers. Streetlamps glowed around the shore of the lake, making the water and trees look even spookier. The head counselors trickled in at varying degrees of ruffled from sleep or lack there of. Connar and Travis hovered closer to me whispering amongst themselves but doing a terrible job masking their concern as they found any reason at all to bump my shoulder. I felt the urge to pull the two of them into a fierce hug, but part of that felt like Luke’s fault so I refrained out of sheer stubbornness alone. Grover and that annoying satyr I refused to remember the name of joined us followed by Percy and Annabeth not long after. I pointedly ignored their stares as well.

"They're coming," Thalia confirmed once we were all in ear shot, pointing north with a silver arrow. "One of my scouts just reported they've crossed the Harlem River. There was no way to hold them back. The army . . ." She shrugged. "It's huge."

"We'll hold them at the park," Percy said, taking his rightful place as our fearless leader. "Grover, you ready?"

 Grover nodded. "As ready as we'll  ever be. If my nature spirits can stop them anywhere, this is the place."

"Yes, we will!" said the annoying, very old, fat satyr who had the nerve to push through the crowd, stumbling over his own spear. He was dressed in wood-bark armor that only covered half of his belly.

 "Leneus?" Percy asked. And I’m honestly impressed that he remembered this asshole's name, but whatever I guess.

 "Don't act so surprised," he huffed. "I am a leader of the Council, and you did tell me to find Grover. Well, I found him, and I'm not going to let a mere outcast  lead the satyrs without my help!"

 Behind Leneus's back, Grover made gagging motions (ten out of ten totally agree, my main satyr), but the old satyr grinned like he was the savior of the day. "Never fear! We'll show those Titans!"

Keeping a straight face after his outburst was a difficult task, made even worse when both Travis and Connor decided to use my shoulders to mask their own snickering. A Stoll on each shoulder giggling so hard that it made my whole body shake was not the most inconspicuous way to meet the seriousness of our situation. But I couldn’t be too mad when it made my frame feel a little bit lighter.

 "Um . . . yeah.” Percy cleared his throat purposely not looking in my direction (probably for the best.) “ Well, Grover, you won't be alone. Annabeth and the Athena cabin will make their stand here. And me, and . . .Thalia?"

 She patted him on the shoulder. "Say no more. The Hunters are ready."

Percy turned to me next, “Han?”

I nodded, “Wherever you need me, Sea. I’ll be there.” I pointedly threw my elbows into the Stolls guts when their snickering intensified. 

Percy must not have noticed them or decided to just ignore them anyway. “Good, you’ll come with us. Do we know the status of Tethys and her team?”

I shrugged looking to Thalia since she had talked to her last.

“Lady Leto informed us that they would do one more round around the island before making camp by the park as well, but we haven’t heard from them for over three hours now.”

I felt a chill settle in my bones; after hearing what Kronos and Mnemosyne were planning, I disliked the lack of communication even more.

“I can always jump in the pond and call her if we need it.” I said trying to add an air of confidence I did not feel.

 Percy nodded with a minute setting of his jaw then looked to the other counselors. "That leaves the rest of you with a job just as important. You have to guard the other entrances to Manhattan. You know how tricky Kronos is. He'll hope to distract us with this big army and sneak another force in somewhere else. It's up to you to make sure that doesn't happen. Has each cabin chosen a bridge or tunnel?"

 The counselors nodded grimly.

 "Then let's do it," Percy said. "Good hunting, everybody!"

***

We heard the army before we saw it.

 The noise was like a cannon barrage combined with a football stadium crowd—like every Patriots fan in New England was charging us with bazookas. At least that's what Percy muttered as he stared out at the enemy forces.

 At the north end of the reservoir, the enemy vanguard broke through the woods—a warrior in golden armor leading a battalion of Laistrygonian giants with huge bronze axes. Hundreds of other monsters poured out behind them.

 "Positions!" Annabeth yelled.

 Her cabinmates scrambled. The idea was to make the enemy army break around the reservoir. To get to us, they'd have to follow the trails, which meant they'd be marching in narrow columns on either side of the water.

At first, the plan seemed to work. The enemy divided  and streamed toward us along the shore. When they were halfway across, our defenses kicked in. The jogging trail erupted in Greek fire, incinerating many of the monsters instantly. Others flailed around, engulfed in green flames. Athena campers threw grappling hooks around the largest giants and pulled them to the ground.

 In the woods on the right, the Hunters sent a volley of silver arrows into the enemy line, destroying twenty or thirty dracaenae, but more marched behind them. A bolt of lightning crackled out of the sky and fried a Laistrygonian giant to ashes, and I knew Thalia must be doing her daughter of Zeus thing.

 Grover raised his pipes and played a quick tune. A roar went up from the woods on both sides as every tree, rock, and bush seemed to sprout a spirit. Dryads and satyrs raised their clubs and charged. The trees wrapped around the monsters, strangling them. Grass grew around the feet of the enemy archers. Stones flew up and hit dracaenae in the faces.

 The enemy slogged forward. Giants smashed through the trees, and naiads faded as their life sources were destroyed. Hellhounds lunged at the timber wolves, knocking them aside. Enemy archers returned fire, and a Hunter fell from a high branch.

Percy and I stuck to the back with Annabeth leading the strategic charge more than getting in the middle of our boobytrapped trail. Despite the fact that I was locked and loaded with several back up magazines Annabeth would not let me charge into the fray guns a blazing just yet. Which was honestly rude but also might be because she kept eyeing my side like it was going to explode releasing the red sea and my intestines……but still rude.

“Percy!” Annabeth yelled yanking on his arm which took away my convenient arm rest (his shoulder) nearly making me topple over. 

I staggered but caught myself before I actually tripped. I was about a second away from letting my complaints ring out over the battlefield, but when my eyes tracked where she was pointing they died on my tongue. On the reservoir itself was a Titan in the gold armor, and he  wasn't waiting for his forces to advance around the sides. He was charging toward us, walking straight over the top of the lake.

 A Greek firebomb exploded right on top of him, but he raised his palm and sucked the flames out of the air.

 "Hyperion," Annabeth said in awe. "The lord of light. Titan of the east."

"Bad?" Percy guessed.

“You could definitely say that,” I confirmed, trying to keep my voice even.

Annabeth nodded and decided more information would make his presence less concerning. "Next to Atlas, he's the greatest Titan warrior. In the old days, four Titans controlled the four corners of the world. Hyperion was the east—the most powerful. He was the father of Helios, the first sun god."

“Yeah, the father of the OG sun, moon and dawn, you know just all of the LIGHTS of the HEAVENS. This man is like a four-million-watt lightbulb and he’s Theia’s, titaness of shiny bullshits, husband ....So….. oww.” I suddenly felt the need to douse myself in sunscreen.

Percy’s face hardened as he looked out at the approaching titan. "I'll keep him busy"

"Percy, even you can't—" Annabeth protested at the same time as I said, “are you insane-”

"Just keep our forces together." He cut in, putting a hand on Annabeth’s shoulder.

I knew what he was thinking, between the curse of Achilles and the large body of water in front of us, he thought that would be enough to at least distract the titan. Annoyingly he was not entirely wrong, but the idea of leaving him alone out there made me ill. 

Annabeth backed off moving toward a better position to command our troops leaving me with the idiot seconds away from barreling at the Titan of the sun head on.

“Pesciolino, you really can’t go in there alone, Invulnerable or not.”

“I’ll be fine,” He insisted, finally looking at me, “and it's not like I’m gonna let you follow me in any way.” 

I gasped indignantly, “since when do I need your permission to do dangerous shit?”

“Since you took a poisoned dagger to the ribs for me.”

“I feel like that would mean that I can extra not listen to you?”

His smirk was small but enough that it made the nausea lessen, “alright then you can be my back up if I need it.”

“I’m pretty sure you need it now.” I insisted, but he was already sprinting out onto the water like if Jesus were an anime character. 

When they were about twenty feet away from each other Hyperion raised his sword. I could just make out the glint of his golden eyes like they were two little balls of pure light. They must have said something because Hyperian erupted into a blinding pillar of light before crashing his blade into riptide. I had to blink away the dark spot floating in my vision from not looking away quick enough. I would have watched the fight longer, Hades I might have even attempted to do that Jesus move to meet them out there. But unfortunately I had a different issue to attend to.

Behind our forces a large explosion set off sending a good portion of the Athena kids sprawling onto the ground. I stumbled against it just in time to stop Annabeth from eating dirt. 

“What was that?!” I yelled over the ringing in my ears.

She only shook her head in response, balling her fists into the front of my shirt. I should have known that there was going to be more to the enemy's assault than those coming straight for us. And I definitely should have known that it would be led by the second shiniest titan and her little minions…..but nothing could have prepared me for how they arrived.

Theia stood front and center with golden armor encrusted with diamonds so clear that it looked like she had crushed millions of stars into the metal. Her dual-colored eyes sparkled with malicious glee and golden hair was free flowing because even in battle she was too vain to restrain it. Floating around her head like she was Saturn, were large nuggets of precious metals and I knew that she was very excited to propel them at unsuspecting demigods. 

Behind her stood two mean looking titans, I figured they must be the nephews I heard Kronos and Mnemosyne talking about. Each of them was well armored, though they were much less elaborate and more practical than their aunt’s. One had wisps of silver hair trying to escape his helmet, while the other had the kind of piercing blue eyes that reminded me of a wolf mid hunt. All three of them had a small dust cloud around them and a few dents and scratches on their armor pieces, but aside from that they looked like they had just walked out of a modeling catalog. 

The two heaps of titanesses who had crashed into the trees only a stones throw away from our center of command did not give off the same air at all. Leto’s golden hair was falling out of the intricate laddered braid, her armor tarnished with streaks of gold ichor dripping down the front of her breast plate. Her bronze skin seemed paler than Tethys had described, but I suppose in comparison to the thin trail of gold spilling from the corner of her mouth would make anything seem paler in comparison. She pushed herself up on shaky arms reaching out for her bow a few feet away. Her sister, Asteria, was in a little better condition having landed on her knees so popping up on to her slightly shaky legs was an easier task. Her dark hair had stayed meticulously pinned up with her star clips and her bronze skin remained unmarred aside from the thin layer of dust, but her silver eyes were weary, betraying the exhaustion seeping into her being. 

“AB, we have to move up and give them more space.” I whispered slowly, pulling her away from the Titanic stand off.

“We can’t, this is the perfect vantage point. If we move any further up we risk higher casualties from the advancing force.”

“I think there will be even greater casualties if we stay here.”

I pushed her behind me as the silver haired titan swung his sword down on Leto, who barely had enough time to raise up her bow to parry it. The force of the swing pushed us a few feet back again.

“Okay yeah maybe we need to move further up,” Annabeth agreed breathlessly.

“Yuh think?!” I whispered back as the fight heated up again.

I pushed Annabeth toward her siblings, who all seemed more than happy to give the titans some space. Annabeth took charge, shaking off her stunned state to lead her siblings up the right flank while Grover and the nature spirits tangled up the left. They decided that keeping the command was unnecessary anyway so abandoning it had only been expedited by the imminent danger from our rear. I thought that was a load of crap but I did not want to get into a fight with the cabin known for their debate skills. Percy was still clashing swords with the massive lightbulb over the reservoir and I was seriously debating running in there instead of following the Athena cabin.

“Han, are you ready to-” Annabeth started but was cut off by another blast drowning out all sound in the surrounding area. 

Without thinking I jumped to cover her and poor Malcom who had been standing next to her. Which was a little embarrassing that I just smushed the two of them into the dirt, but I was not wrong to do so since a large piece of debris soared over my head ready to bonk anything in its path. Running on auto pilot I rolled off the two of them activating my blade as I popped up putting myself in between our smaller group and the fight from behind us. And if I was not terrified before I was certainly feeling a shit ton of fear then.

Now you are probably asking yourself ‘Hanora what could possibly be worse than all of the other things you described to us in this chapter alone? It can’t possibly be that bad.’ Well dear reader you would be terribly wrong. Because not only were the two male titans trying to crush our helpful titanesses…no no no, there was also one of the most devilish she-devils I’ve ever seen tossing molten metal at people and setting off highly dangerous explosives that looked like fireworks. But that was not even the worst part. Theia had two large golden cuffs dangling from her wrist with golden links leading to two large cages floating behind her. Each time she manipulated her metals or explosives the chains would glow and sizzle, which was concerning. Especially when each sizzle is accompanied by a harmony of pained groans.

I couldn’t see into the cages very well, but it was easy to guess who was in the one. The golden blindfold despite its grime still clung tightly across Themis’s eyes. There were chains binding her hand and feet together that also lead to the center of the cage itself. She was also semi transparent almost like each sizzle took more and more of her opacity. The other cage had a similar situation: a brunette woman seized in the cage slightly less transparent than Themis. Each time she shook I could almost feel my wrist shake in time with her. As she withered against the chains she shifted revealing the top of her head. My stomach dropped as the familiar blue winged crown gleamed at me despite the caked dirt and ichor smudged across it.

“....Tethys….” I breathed out, taking an unconscious step forward.

“Han!” Annabeth yelled, pulling herself and her brother up. “Han, we have a plan, come on!”

“Plans changed.” I shot back twirling Aigéan to combat my shaky hands. “Go on ahead, I’ll catch up later.” The sound of her screams for me faded as I ran into the fresh cloud of dust.

***

Navigating with limited visibility was something I was very good at, just try living in the prankster cabin and require glasses, you will also become a pro in no time at all. Could I read literal signs that were too far away? No, but could I figure out which colorful blob was who and be able to bob and weave their attacks? Yes, absolutely, with the grace of a gazelle I might add. So rolling under the blue eyed psycho's swing was child's play, hades I was even able to sprint across the field before the dust cleared and pulled Leto away from a pressurized blast. I don’t want to sound rude or anything, but she was way heavier than I anticipated so I even fell on my ass three times before getting away, and I still had enough time to do that without being pursued. Remind me to thank the Stolls for their accidental contributions to my battle skills.

“Lady Leto,” I called, still a little breathless as I propped her up against a tree just outside of the dust cloud. “Leto, are you still awake?”

She grumbled at me blinking her lavender eyes at me tiredly, a droplet of gold fell off her brow and landed on the apple of her cheek. 

I plunged a hand into my emergency pack pulling out a chunk of ambrosia. “Here, this should help.” I said handing her the chunk.

She inspected it and cautiously took a bite. Immediately I watched the color return to her bronze complexion and the gold dry in place. She tucked the rest into a pouch on her belt “Thank you child. I must hurry back to my sister.”

I stopped her from jumping to her feet, “just a second please.” She raised a blonde eyebrow at me but made no move to get up. “The cages, what are they doing and how can I stop it?”

“Stop it? Child I am not certain any of us can while Theia remains on this plane. The chains feed her the energies of her captives, draining them until they are no more.”

A chill settled into my bones. “No more? Like dead? I thought immortals couldn’t die unless they were, like, forgotten or something.”

She nodded gravely, “yes but no one knows what happens to those Theia has drained. None of us have seen Clemene since Theia used her in a turf war before the gods grew to take power.”

I blinked at her, the dread beginning to suffocate me, “Okay so what are we going to do? Your aunts will cease if we don’t get them out.” 

She sighed, throwing a look into the dust cloud. “Asteria and I tried to break the bars but the gold is too strong even for us. Only a truly great locksmith could even attempt it, and even that would not be enough. I’m not sure any one aside from Hephaestus himself could destroy the mechanism.”

I followed her gaze into the cloud barely able to make out the glint sparking off the golden bars. “I have to try.” I mutter, turning back to her. “Can you and your sister distract them?”

She rolled her eyes with the ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth, “It will be easy to appeal to those boys' egos. Menoetius’s pride is the easiest for me to bruise, and Perses will only have eyes for his wife anyway. This war is like some kind of foreplay for him.”

I scrunched my face in disgust, “Eww…I did not need to know that.”

She shrugged, “it should be easy to keep their attention; it's not like either of them are going to see a mortal as anything more than an insect buzzing too close. Theia will be the issue.”

I nodded, “yeah. I figured she would be.” I stood up adjusting my belt as I did. “Good luck.”

“I believe you are the one who will be in need of Tyche’s blessing.” Leto replied, slipping into the cloud.

I was terrified to acknowledge how right she was, so instead I ran into the dust hoping I could outrun my nerves.

***

I guess Tyche took pity on me after all. Skirting around the fight and avoiding all three titans’ attention had been surprisingly easy, but of course that was where my good vibes (As lady Rhea would have said) ended. The cages were floating a good ten feet off the ground, and in case you forgot I am certainly not that tall. I would need another me to stand on to even attempt to reach the damn thing, and well I was coming up a little short…...alright maybe a lot short. I had planted myself underneath Tethys’s cage and uselessly attempted to leap up to the bars, emphasis on uselessly. As a demigod we did tend to jump a little better when under stress, some sort of latent activation of our godly heritage or whatever Chiron rattled about when we got a dazed and confused newbie. But jumping fiveish feet into the air was a little outside my watered-down godly capabilities.

I had to try a different angle. I surveyed the area looking for anything that could give me a boost. Piles of smoldering sticks? Probably not helpful. Three snapped arrow shafts with dulled heads? Hmmm maybe for later. Droplets of steaming precious metals? Ouch. Felled large trees? Now we are getting somewhere.

The trees themselves had mostly fallen away from the cages, which at first made it seem like they were not close enough to really be helpful. But if I just… I scooped up the arrows and ran over to what was probably once the tallest tree of the group. I didn’t give myself time to overthink it as I stuffed the arrow pieces into my pockets and sprinted up the perfectly ramp placed trunk. I’m not sure how far the jump actually was and perhaps I really should have thought about it before I threw myself from a concerning height. However, If I had thought about it, I probably would not have done it, and I definitely would not have leaped with such fever that allowed me to grasp at the bars on the side of the cage.

I gripped the bars tightly pulling myself up enough that I could rest my elbows on the bars of the floor knitted between the side bars. The rest of my body dangled freely, I tried not to remember how high up I was as I linked my arms together.

“Shit” I mumbled trying to look between the bars.

“S-such lan-langu-uage.” The ball of Titaness within the cage stuttered back.

She looked awful, her long brown hair loose but stuck to her face and shoulders, glued there by a sweat you’d only see on the sick. I didn’t even know immortals could sweat. She was covered in grime, her nails were chipped, her armor gone, and her dress torn. Before I could retort the gold heated up and she let out another pained almost scream that tore through my bones. I had to blink back the images of an old darkened cement cell, chains, and the roar of a crowd above drowning out the pained screams all around me.

She breathed heavily dropping her head to the side with half lidded tired blue eyes falling on me. I tried not to squirm or at least I tried not to swing haphazardly from my admittedly terrible position on the bars.

“Wh-why am I not sur-prised to se-ee you?” She struggled.

I would have snorted under different circumstances. “Who else would be stupid enough to meddle in sister business?” I whispered, trying to pull myself up a bit more and failing. “How about you help a half blood out and tell me how to break you out.” 

She let out the beginning of a humorless laugh that devolved into pain as the cage again grew hot against her skin. I let my palm fully rest on the hot metal trying to keep myself grounded to our present situation.

Her hand weakly fell against the bars beneath her twice before I realized she was trying to point.

“Up?” I asked straining to look through the bars at the top of the cage.

She only groaned in response before flicking her wrist towards her.

“Unless you are trying to tell me to squeeze through this small ass gape I have no idea what you want.” I whispered.

“T-Th-em-is.” She forced out, flicking her wrist again.

“Themis?” I asked, catching a glimpse of the cage floating on the other side containing another collapsed titaness. “Yeah I see her…what about her?”

She blinked at me hazily, “go…fir-first.” She clearly did not see the reaction she wanted from me as I just stared. She huffed in annoyance and frustration. “Go…..GO!” She bellowed with more force but still sounded like it was barely at a proper volume for a conversation.

“I’m not going to leave you like this.” I countered as the cage heated. I watched as she rolled in pain and her form flickered. And I mean flickered, almost like she were a candle when the AC kicks on or lights in a storm threatening to cause a power outage. For a moment I could see right through her. Despite the dangerously warm gold against my skin I felt a shiver crawl up my spine. I had to hurry.

“Her first.” Tethys said again as I struggled to pull myself up toward the top of the cage. “Lock i-is o..onn-top….on-ly…blo-lood of th-he g-gods can…” she stopped mid sentence as her head dropped smashing her cheek into the bars.

I felt bile rise in my throat as I shimmied up the rungs until I pulled myself onto the top of the cage itself. Luckily I choked it down otherwise the way I threw myself the last bit up would have not only knocked the wind out of me as my stomach smacked into the edge of the bars but also made me rain down vomit on poor unconscious Tethys below. Would have been a terrible detail to add to my rescue story.

The lock was surprisingly small when I saddled up to it considering it was meant for larger than life immortals in both instances, but it was as intricately designed as I thought Theia would have requested. The door itself was hard to distinguish between the rest of the bars but I had learned a long time ago that anything made by the gods or their immortal brethren did not necessarily adhere to the laws of physics. I stared at the lock for a few moments before reluctantly turning to look at the second cage. It was floating a couple feet away but even from that distance I could see its lock glittering under the moon light.

Themis was flickering more regularly than Tethys had been, and I knew she had less time for me to fiddle with the damn lock. But the idea of letting Tethys suffer any longer made me itch. Tethys below me withered again grumbling about something I could not make out. I stood shakily, taking a steadying breath. It wasn't about what I wanted, Tethys had been worried about her sister from the start, who was I to not do as she asked. Hades, if the roles were reversed I would have all but begged her to save my brothers first.

I took a couple of steps back to increase my run way before sprinting across to increase my momentum. I landed that jump much more gracefully and luckily still on my feet. I slid over to the lock, their collective screams adding to the urgency of the fresh adrenaline coursing through my veins. I pulled at my belt pouches looking for anything that could help me to pick the lock. I snagged my bent and straight picks from my pistol cleaning pouch but they both proved to be far too short. My screw could fit but seemed to be unable to do much aside from bang around in the mechanism. I rifled through a few more options before dropping my head on it in frustration.

What was I even doing? How did I expect to pick a lock forged by beings tasked to create the perfect lock by the titans? Tethys even said that only the blood of the gods could open the damn thing, and how was my diluted ass supposed to be able to muster up enough godliness to get it done? Char would have been able to do it, I thought bitterly, narrowing my eyes at the offending obstacle. He could have just jiggled the lock and it would have popped open without protest. Children of Hephaestus were known for their smithing and inventions, but that also meant they are excellent puzzle solvers and safe crackers. And despite what you would think from my years of practically living in the camp forges and the time spent with the god himself, I was no daughter of Hephaestus. I had to work five times as hard to be able to be even half as good as the rest of them. I was creative, sure, maybe even inventive depending on who you asked. But I was no real smith, no special ability that made me an amazing asset. Just a kid who needed something to do with her hands and was too stubborn to accept that she was not good at it. But this lock really brought up all of that early frustration all over again. The sword dents that wouldn't come out, that wonky shield that Fessie insisted he enjoyed, and that pile of junk trinkets he would not let me melt down to erase their failure of an existence.

I barely noticed the metal heating once more as the titainesses screams almost became white noise. The cages shook enough to dislodge my forehead from the lock. I felt something come up and brush against my chin before steeling back against my chest. I didn't need to look to know what it was. I thumbed at the golden pendent, the engraved dragon curled around the triquetra, familiar Gaelic around the outer edge. 

“Any ideas?” I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut against the light and dust of the battle not too far away. 

I didn’t get an answer but the next shake of the cage made me lose my balance and I nearly slid over the edge. I gripped at the bars just in time to stop myself from falling, oh,  let's say twenty feet or so to my doom. I hissed as the metal started to burn my palms causing me to slide down a little further. That's when I saw it. A light smear of red blood left where I had been holding mere moments ago. It was steaming which was not weird considering the heat of the bars, what was weird was the small droplets of gold dripping down the bars.

“Holy mother of Zeus,” I breathed seeing that space of gold looking a bit thinner than the rest. “She meant blood of the gods literally!” I laughed maniacally.

I made a few possibly concerning decisions in the next few moments. The first being sliding down the side of the cage and then hanging on the bars of the bottom of the cage like a very high monkey bar set. Then I pulled myself up so that I was hanging with the bar tucked in my elbows and one foot pressed in between the bars a few spaces down. In a swift motion I pulled out one of the duller arrow heads I had picked up and sliced across both palms. Then I took all of the training I gained from the camp lava wall, and that one-time Luke and I snuck away from Chiron on our Olympus field trip to race each other on the jungle gym set at a nearby New York playground and climbed hand over hand in a large circle around Themis.

My plan? Well, what better way to get a weak person who was like three times my size out of a cage than to use gravity. I did a few loops around just to be sure the bars were thoroughly coated in blood before I started kicking at the perimeter trying to dislodge the circle from the rest of the cage. My palms burned as I repositioned myself with every kick trying to keep the bars I was using as leverage from melting along with the circle I had created.

Swing. Kick. Hand over hand. Repeat. Swing. Kick. Hand over Hand. Repeat.

The screams of battle rang in harmony with the roar of the blood in my ears.

Kick. “Just one more Hanora.” I whispered to myself as I felt fatigue set in. Kick. “A little more.” Kick. “Keep going.” I sang to myself like a mantra surging forward. Ignoring the sickening crack of a body slamming into a nearby tree. Kick. Another crash further than that of the five titans battling in the now settling dust storm ahead of me. Kick. Wind and water swirled in a tall column over the trees just barely in my peripherals. Kick. “Come on damn it.” I huffed. “Just break already!” Kick. Kick. Kick. Harder Kick. Kick. Slam. Harder. Kick. Kick.

CRASH!

The bars snapped off tumbling down loosely into the dirt below. An unconscious Titaness fell along with them. Her skin slowly took on more opacity as the force of her fall made her roll a few feet away. A triumphant grin broke across my tired face as I hung from the bars of the now empty cage.

“Fuck yeah!” I yelled momentarily, forgetting the battle.

The bars shook, almost jostling me right off as a scream pierced through my moment of triumph. Ice flooded my veins as a pair of mismatched molten metal eyes locked onto my completely unprotected dangling form.

I barely had enough time to let out a small, “Shit,” before a hailstorm of liquid gold was aimed at me. I made the executive decision that throwing myself toward Themis via a ten-foot drop was a better idea than trying to dodge hot liquid via monkey barring around on my sliced palms. Luckily either the years of tuck and roll training or the bonus durability demigods seem to have, I managed to roll up to the semiconscious titaniness without breaking any bones. This did not stop Theia and her angry onslaught, but the silver arrow that found a home in her outstretched elbow certainly did. Her arm retracted in pain as she swung the other arm sending spikes of gold in the direction of the archer. Leto dove behind a tree and loosed two more arrows, each finding a home in Theia’s shoulder. A second scream ripped through her in harmony with the sister that remained trapped in the freshly glowing golden cage. I turned away from the fight to push Themis further into the tree line. Adrenaline and adrenaline alone was the only reason I was able to do so as hot metal rained down on us from the melting cage as well as the splatter from her attacks. 

I spluttered a few expletives under my breath as I pushed her uphill. She only groaned in response, so at least she was semi-conscious which was a win in my book. More burning gold was hurled in our direction, most of which shot right over top of us. But a few droplets shot into my back. Which hurt like a bitch, but I would be damned if I let her know that.

“Stop that RAT!!!” Theia screamed

Looking over my shoulder, I expected to see two titans barreling toward me, but instead I was met with a much better sight. The Titan Hyperion was completely encased in a large tree trunk. The other two titans were desperately trying to free him while fighting off the woodland magic, led by the one and only Grover Underwood, from making them apart of central park as well. Leto was unleashing arrows at a speed that could only be described as superhuman, even by immortal standards, and her sister kept pace, blinding the men with starlight while attempting to wrap her aunt in strands of her glittering light. Stupidly I let the feeling of hope wash over me as I made the final push to get Themis on the other side of the hill allowing for a bit more coverage. Then the scream started again.

Both Titans finally began to succumb to the foliage as the cages glowed so hot that if I stood there a moment longer, I would have had some serious sun burn. Theia screamed a battle cry that shook the ground causing molten precious metals to erupt in a hurricane of destruction around her. Leto and Asteria were blown back by the force slamming into demigods and wood nymphs alike. Then as quickly as the hurricane came it dropped leaving only a pool of mixing metals behind. No Titaness in sight.

The cages crashed to the ground. The closet one smashed, breaking up into several pieces where my blood had weakened its bars. As expected, it was empty. The second cage dropped with less fanfare. No smoking bars, no breakage, just a fully formed structure dropping ten feet into the grass below. But there should have been more. Maybe a groan or scream, hades I would have settled for a soft ‘oof’ that I had to strain to hear. But there was none of that, because there was no one there to make a noise. The cage was not empty like the space that Theia vacated in her retreat. No, the cage was not empty at all. A pile of golden dust spilled out between the bars as the wind picked back up.

That was all that remained of her.

Two presences dropped on either side of me, both too tall, thrumming with too much power to be who I wanted to be there. A hand on my left gripped my shoulder, but I did not really feel it.

Bianca, Zoë, Pan, Lee, Daledaus, Charles, Micheal, and gods know all of the demigods lost so far. This war had claimed so many names. I suppose this was truly the final straw for me. Destiny or no destiny, it did not matter. I was going to kill them all. Why would I show them any mercy?

Tethys was dead and the old Hanora finally broke out of the cage I had buried her in.