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FIC: Daughter of Wisdom, chapter 8
Title: Daughter of Wisdom
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Grover Underwood, Chiron, various others, Gen
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: What Annabeth Chase wants most is to undertake a quest, and when that chance comes, she’s taking it-even if that means teaming up with the son of her mother’s biggest rival. She thinks she’s prepared for everything that could happen, but right from the start, nothing goes to plan. And everything she thinks she knows about the quest, her life, and her family, may just be turned on its head. An alternate PoV retelling of The Lightning Thief.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: I Finally Get To Join A Quest
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Chiron, Grover Underwood
Word Count: 3,371
Chapter Summary: Annabeth's dearest wish finally comes true, but it doesn't quite play out the way she wanted it to.
A/N: You know the drill: canon dialogue is straight from canon.
Back to Fic Content Page
'I've got a question,' Percy said.
We were at my morning Greek lesson, a few days after his claiming, sitting on a rock by the canoe lake. His legs dangled over the water, skimming the surface from time to time. I'm not sure he even noticed he was doing it. His book lay open to a page on the Underworld-I'd left him to read the chapter after giving him a brief lecture on Hades's realm.
I motioned for him to go ahead, though I was mildly annoyed because he'd interrupted my thoughts. I'd been in the middle of working out my latest theory about how the summer solstice might fit with the Great Prophecy, and the distraction made it fly straight out of my head.
'So this care-bears dude ... he's like that thing that attacked me, right?'
I had to grab the book to see what he was referring to. 'Cerberus,' I corrected, feeling, for the umpteenth time, torn between exasperation at his irreverence and a childish urge to giggle at the silly name. 'He guards the gates of the Underworld.'
'Like prison gates. Right, like that's not bizarre at all.' His finger traced a circle on the rock. He looked up at me. 'Does anyone ever escape, then? Or is it, like, game over-once you cross the river, you're in for life.'
'Um,' I said, looking away. His green eyes were suddenly intent and focused, and when he stared at me like that, I lost my train of thought. I realised the casual phrasing of his question masked a burning desire for the answer. I remembered Grover saying the Minotaur had got his mother. 'Heroes have gone there and back. Not many-the Underworld's not exactly the kind of place you want to be sent on a quest-but some have reached it and returned to tell the tale. Remember Heracles? He even managed to borrow Cerberus from Hades.'
'Cuz he wanted a three-headed devil dog for a pet so much.'
'No, haven't you been listening? It was for a quest! It was his assigned task.'
'Yeah, okay,' Percy said. 'So what happened then? With Cerberus gone? Did all the prisoners like bust out or something?'
'It's not like that. Cerberus is just one line of defence to keep the dead in their assigned places-you know, like the Fields of Punishment, or Asphodel.'
'You're kidding. They named their prison "Asshole Dell"?'
I fought to keep from stamping my foot. Dealing with Percy was like being on a roller coaster ride: one minute I'd be feeling sorry for the kid, the next he made me want to tear my hair out. One second he was serious, like he was actually working his brains under that unruly mop of hair, then the next, so infuriatingly dense, like there was nothing in there but-but seaweed.
Stupid son of Poseidon.
'As-pho-del. It's where the souls go who've just been mediocre. Not fantastic, but not bad enough to earn eternal damnation.'
'Right. You said the hellhound came from the Fields of Punishment.'
'Yeah.' I was surprised he remembered.
He looked queasy, and I suppose I couldn't blame him. Thinking of the beast's claws sinking into his chest made me shiver, too.
'And the Fu-er, the Friendly Ones?'
'Kindly Ones,' I corrected. 'They're Hades's special lieuntenants.'
'Don't tell me the bull-man was, too?'
'Well, no, not particularly. But monsters all come out of Tartarus-that's the place even deeper below Hades-eventually, so in a way, you could say they're all from the Underworld.'
'Great,' he muttered, clenching his fist. He slammed it down on the rock, and the water in the lake shot up like a fountain. It created a huge wave when it crashed down again. Several canoes on the far shore overturned. Their campers yelled angrily at us.
'Sorry!' he called back. He looked at me sheepishly. 'It's still weird, being able to do that.'
I didn't really know how to respond to that. I'd never suddenly developed crazy supernatural powers.
'Never mind,' he said, when I didn't say anything. He picked up the book and continued stumbling through the ancient Greek.
OoOoO
That night, I had a dream. I stood at the entrance to a golden temple. It felt like the kind of place that ought to be filled with quiet reverence, a peaceful sanctuary for worship, but the silence was torn by a loud squabbling, as though creatures in the ceiling were having a fight worthy of a pair of toddlers.
A woman with long raven-black hair knelt at the altar. When I entered, she looked at me and I saw that it was my mother-Athena. I dropped to my knees immediately.
'Rise, child.' I got up. Athena was standing now, smiling down at me. The noise overhead continued and she rolled her eyes at it.
'It's enough to give me a headache,' she said. 'Three days now they've been at each other's throats. I can't get any peace, not even here.'
'Who …' But I had the feeling I already knew. 'Lord Zeus? And …'
'My uncle is a fool,' Athena said contemptuously. 'He should have known claiming the child would annoy Father. And Father's being silly, too. That far-fetched accusation …'
The arguing stopped momentarily. Thunder rattled above us. The ceiling flashed threateningly. Then the squabbling started up again.
'He's mad that Poseidon had a kid,' I said.
'Well, that, too, though really, talk about the sword calling the dagger sharp. No, it goes beyond that, my dear. It's been going on for months. This is just the latest twist.' She turned her piercing grey eyes on me. 'You must uncover the truth. I told you before you would need to see clearly, to look past your emotions. Sometimes it is necessary for us to move past our rivalries, for the greater good. The quest depends on it.'
'The quest?'
She smiled mysteriously. A faraway look came into her eyes.
'If you're talking about Percy … well, he's okay, I guess. He's growing on me, a bit.' I mean, he was annoying, but he was also kind of cute, for a goofy kid.
'Just don't get too close. My children were not meant to fraternise with his.' She bent and kissed my forehead. 'Make me proud, my daughter. I must go. Look away.'
A bright light seemed to fill her from within. She grew as she shone and I averted my eyes quickly. I didn't know if a goddess's true form had the same effect in a dream, but I didn't want to risk being reduced to ashes to find out. A searing flash imprinted on the inside of my eyelids, and even with my fingers shielding my eyes, I swore I could see my mother smiling at me through the light. An echo reverberated around me: 'The quest depends on it … make me proud.' Then it all stopped-no more quarrelling voices, just pure, reverent silence.
When I woke up the next morning, I went straight to Chiron.
OoOoO
For the first time since I'd started asking for a quest, Chiron didn't turn me down. I told him about the previous night's dream, and also the Oracle's words the night Percy had arrived. Chiron listened, and then he steepled his fingers in front of his face and said heavily, 'Yes, I do believe you are right, Annabeth. I had hoped … but it seems there is no fighting it. The hellhound was just the beginning.'
'So Percy is the one.'
'Perhaps. Tell me, Annabeth, have you figured out the quest?'
'My mom-Athena said that … Zeus and Poseidon are fighting … and they need help to resolve it. Someone stole something … di immortales, it was something of Zeus's, wasn't it? His …'
'His master bolt,' Chiron confirmed.
I swore again. The situation was more dire than I had imagined. 'Who would dare … surely not Poseidon?'
'While Poseidon has not always been guileless in past attempts to usurp Zeus's power, I think it highly unlikely this time. I believe both brothers were sincere in their desire to maintain peace after the last great war. However, we must not forget that there is a third brother who may not have been quite as sincere.'
'You're talking about Lord Hades, aren't you?'
'Unfortunately, yes.'
'So if he stole it-or sent someone to-and he's been sending monsters after Percy, he must think that Percy's destined to retrieve it.'
'Yes.'
'Does Percy know yet?'
'He will, soon. Mr D has, ah, confirmed much of what you've deduced, and we will need to break the news to him. But as you've come to me … my dear, do you understand what this quest would entail?'
'We'd have to go to the Underworld.' I had to fight to keep my voice steady. Like I'd told Percy, it was the one place you didn't want to have to go for a quest. But I wasn't going to back down now. If I didn't take this chance, who knew if another opportunity would ever come around? 'We'd have to face Hades.'
'This is a dangerous quest,' Chiron agreed. 'Any of Percy's companions-assuming he takes on the quest, of course-would only incur the wrath of Hades as well. And any other … well, I hope that will not be the case, although …' He frowned, and changed tack suddenly. 'Remind me again, would you, of what happened during your winter solstice field trip?'
I was confused, but I tried to recall it for him. 'Well, everything seemed fine … the gods had their council, Hera didn't seemed to like us much but nobody seemed like they were actually angry about anything specific. And then Ariadne took our tour, and there was that concert by Hypnos that put us all to sleep …'
'The world in endless sleep …' Chiron murmured. 'No, not quite, but another sign that it is beginning.'
I was suddenly reminded of a dream I'd had many months ago, shortly after the winter solsttice, about a voice at the bottom of a cliff, telling me it had begun. I got the sudden feeling that Chiron was fitting together the pieces of something much bigger than a quest for Zeus's master bolt. The thing he'd just said about endless sleep … I had a feeling that I ought to know it.
'Sir, is that from the Great Prophecy?' I asked. 'One of the lines I missed?'
Chiron nodded. 'It is part of it.'
'Will you tell me those lines now?'
He studied me carefully. I tried to stand a bit straighter, look like I was ready. Finally, he said, 'No, I do not think it will help much, now. If you return from your quest … ask me again then, Annabeth, and perhaps the time will be ripe for the knowledge to come to you.'
I understood. It was like a test of some sort. Succeed in the quest, and I would prove myself capable of handling more.
'For now, though, you must put the prophecy out of your mind. And I must ask that you not relate it to Percy. It will only distract from your current goal, which is of utmost importance. The master bolt is too powerful a weapon to be left in the wrong hands. Remember, this was the bolt that defeated the King of the Titans himself.'
'Kronos,' I said. 'The father of the gods.'
'Yes. My own father, too, incidentally, although I don't like to advertise that fact. The gods defeated him by standing together in unity-a powerful force. But when rifts appear … well, I can only hope that some of the things I sense are wrong.'
'Sir?'
Chiron shook his head. 'It's probably nothing.' But he still looked unsettled. 'All right, my dear. Assuming you are still willing to take on the quest-'
'I am,' I said.
'-then all we need is our stalwart hero.'
OoOoO
Chiron sent me to go wait in his office while he proposed the quest to Percy. I sat at his deck, idly spinning the wheels on his chair while I studied the row of pictures he kept on the wall. I'd seen them before; they were a hall of fame of sorts, a photo montage of the great heroes he'd trained. Some of them had the grainy quality of photographs from the early eighties; others were older than that, black-and-whites that were possibly from the era of daguerrotypes. The oldest were painted portraits rather than actual photos: I recognised Heracles and Achilles among them. My pulse raced as I tried to imagine myself among them. Could I ever live up to their deeds?
My eye fell on a tall, athletic-looking blonde, who stood proudly alongside a dark-haired hero. Their hands were interlaced. A signature was scrawled so messily over the feet of the guy that I couldn't read it, but the girl had signed hers in proud, bold letters: Atalanta '13.
I grinned. The guy standing hand-in-hand with her must be her husband, Hippomenes, though I couldn't tell if they'd been married at the point the picture was painted. For a moment, I fancied myself as Atalanta, a brave bold heroine who ran like the wind. My mind supplied Luke beside me, smiling warmly, but that image didn't last. Hippomenes, with his dark hair and roguish grin, reminded me more of Percy, and that made the fantasy kind of awkward.
I heard the unmistakeable tread of footsteps plodding up the stairs to the attic, and my heart sped up. That had to be Percy, off to consult the Oracle, which meant he must have accepted the quest. I felt too jittery to sit still any more. I went back out to the porch.
Grover was sitting in one of the chairs, nervously tapping one hoof against the table leg. He shuffled the pinochle cards absently about the table, but didn't seem to have eaten any yet.
'Hey, Grover,' I said.
'Annabeth, you should not be here,' Chiron said. 'Percy has only just gone to the Oracle. We have not told him everything yet.'
'It can't hurt for her to know what's going on,' Grover said. 'I mean, she's going to be a part of this, too, right?'
Chiron pursed his lips. 'All right,' he said. 'But do not reveal yourself until we have finished telling him everything.'
'Sure,' I said, reaching for my Yankees cap. I smiled at Grover. 'Thanks.'
'Uh huh,' Grover said. 'Don't thank me too soon. I may still get you killed.'
'Did you volunteer for the quest, too, then?'
'I have to,' he said glumly. 'I won't get my searcher's license if I don't complete a quest with Percy.'
'Oh.'
He must have realised how that sounded because he said quickly, 'Not that I wouldn't follow him, anyway. He's-he's my friend.'
I felt a little annoyed at this. It was disconcerting, the way Grover had attached to Percy so firmly. I reminded myself that the two of them had been through quite a bit already. Then my annoyance was followed by a slight pang of guilt. I would have felt better if Grover had volunteered just so he could follow his career path. His declaration of loyalty made me feel a bit ashamed of my own reasons for volunteering. I found myself wondering whether Percy thought of me as a friend. And when it came to that, was he my friend?
We hadn't known each other for very long, and I still couldn't decide whether I liked him. He could be really frustrating, but in a way that made me almost want to laugh. I thought that beneath all of his goofiness, he was probably quite a decent person.
Of course, there was the inalienable fact that our parents didn't get along, that probably threw a wrench into the whole friendship business. Don't get too close, my mother had said. Still, she's also said to put rivalries aside.
I decided not to waste too much time thinking about it. I would accompany him and I would help him every step of the way. That was all that mattered, right?
As Chiron had instructed, I put on my cap and stood aside when Percy returned, looking pale and disturbed from his consultation with the Oracle. I didn't blame him. My own encounters with her hadn't exactly been steadying experiences.
'She said I would go west and face a god who had turned,' he told Chiron and Grover. 'I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned.'
That sounded good to me. A prediction for success, with no restriction on who his companions had to be.
'Anything else?' Chiron said suspiciously.
'No,' Percy said after a short pause. 'That's about it.' He didn't quite meet Chiron or Grover's eyes.
Chiron accepted this, and guided him through the logic of working out who had stolen Zeus's bolt. I had to give Percy credit-he reached the same conclusions as I had pretty quickly. He was probably smarter than his frequent stupid comments made him seem. And he didn't freak out when he learned that we were head for the Underworld in Los Angeles.
Well, neither had I, but I'd been gearing myself up for a quest for years. Still, my respect for him went up another notch.
Of course, being Percy, he then undid it by suggesting that he-son of the sea god-get on a plane.
Grover, who had practically consumed the whole card table by then, freaked out. 'No, Percy, what are you thinking?!'
Chiron, patient as ever, explained pretty succinctly: a god did not trespass lightly on another god's domain. That went tenfold if you were a demigod. Particularly if you were one who already had a god pissed off at you. As if to back Chiron up, lightning and thunder helpfully shook the sky outside.
'Okay, so I'll travel overland.'
'That's right,' Chiron confirmed, and moved on to the final logistics. 'Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help.'
I guessed that was my cue to appear. Before I could come forward, though, Percy said, 'Gee, who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?'
I'd meant to be nice about offering my help, say something light-hearted like guess we're on the same team again, but his sarcastic tone, like he already knew I'd offered and he didn't think much of it, irritated me.
He didn't want me.
I whipped off my cap and stared him right in the eye. I was gratified to see him look surprised and a little abashed. It helped, too, that he was just the littlest bit shorter than me. Intimidation didn't work well when you had to look up at someone.
'I've been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed Brain,' I told him coldly, determined not to let him see how much his comment stung. 'Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up.'
His initial shock melted away and he lifted his chin as though rising to a challenge. 'If you do say so yourself. I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?'
Coming from him, it felt like more of an insult than when Clarisse said it. Like it was something personal.
'Do you want my help or not?' This wasn't going the way I'd intended at all. I felt furious at him. This had to be why children of Athena weren't supposed to work with children of Poseidon. The natural rivalry was just too strong.
Percy didn't answer directly. 'A trio, that'll work,' he told Chiron.
I felt completely wrongfooted. And it hurt more than I was willing to admit, to have my help so grudgingly accepted. But it was all I was going to get: a reluctant alliance with the world's most annoying boy.
Focus, Annabeth, I told myself. Whatever it was, the important thing was that I finally did have a quest.
Chapter 9
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Grover Underwood, Chiron, various others, Gen
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: What Annabeth Chase wants most is to undertake a quest, and when that chance comes, she’s taking it-even if that means teaming up with the son of her mother’s biggest rival. She thinks she’s prepared for everything that could happen, but right from the start, nothing goes to plan. And everything she thinks she knows about the quest, her life, and her family, may just be turned on its head. An alternate PoV retelling of The Lightning Thief.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: I Finally Get To Join A Quest
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Chiron, Grover Underwood
Word Count: 3,371
Chapter Summary: Annabeth's dearest wish finally comes true, but it doesn't quite play out the way she wanted it to.
A/N: You know the drill: canon dialogue is straight from canon.
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'I've got a question,' Percy said.
We were at my morning Greek lesson, a few days after his claiming, sitting on a rock by the canoe lake. His legs dangled over the water, skimming the surface from time to time. I'm not sure he even noticed he was doing it. His book lay open to a page on the Underworld-I'd left him to read the chapter after giving him a brief lecture on Hades's realm.
I motioned for him to go ahead, though I was mildly annoyed because he'd interrupted my thoughts. I'd been in the middle of working out my latest theory about how the summer solstice might fit with the Great Prophecy, and the distraction made it fly straight out of my head.
'So this care-bears dude ... he's like that thing that attacked me, right?'
I had to grab the book to see what he was referring to. 'Cerberus,' I corrected, feeling, for the umpteenth time, torn between exasperation at his irreverence and a childish urge to giggle at the silly name. 'He guards the gates of the Underworld.'
'Like prison gates. Right, like that's not bizarre at all.' His finger traced a circle on the rock. He looked up at me. 'Does anyone ever escape, then? Or is it, like, game over-once you cross the river, you're in for life.'
'Um,' I said, looking away. His green eyes were suddenly intent and focused, and when he stared at me like that, I lost my train of thought. I realised the casual phrasing of his question masked a burning desire for the answer. I remembered Grover saying the Minotaur had got his mother. 'Heroes have gone there and back. Not many-the Underworld's not exactly the kind of place you want to be sent on a quest-but some have reached it and returned to tell the tale. Remember Heracles? He even managed to borrow Cerberus from Hades.'
'Cuz he wanted a three-headed devil dog for a pet so much.'
'No, haven't you been listening? It was for a quest! It was his assigned task.'
'Yeah, okay,' Percy said. 'So what happened then? With Cerberus gone? Did all the prisoners like bust out or something?'
'It's not like that. Cerberus is just one line of defence to keep the dead in their assigned places-you know, like the Fields of Punishment, or Asphodel.'
'You're kidding. They named their prison "Asshole Dell"?'
I fought to keep from stamping my foot. Dealing with Percy was like being on a roller coaster ride: one minute I'd be feeling sorry for the kid, the next he made me want to tear my hair out. One second he was serious, like he was actually working his brains under that unruly mop of hair, then the next, so infuriatingly dense, like there was nothing in there but-but seaweed.
Stupid son of Poseidon.
'As-pho-del. It's where the souls go who've just been mediocre. Not fantastic, but not bad enough to earn eternal damnation.'
'Right. You said the hellhound came from the Fields of Punishment.'
'Yeah.' I was surprised he remembered.
He looked queasy, and I suppose I couldn't blame him. Thinking of the beast's claws sinking into his chest made me shiver, too.
'And the Fu-er, the Friendly Ones?'
'Kindly Ones,' I corrected. 'They're Hades's special lieuntenants.'
'Don't tell me the bull-man was, too?'
'Well, no, not particularly. But monsters all come out of Tartarus-that's the place even deeper below Hades-eventually, so in a way, you could say they're all from the Underworld.'
'Great,' he muttered, clenching his fist. He slammed it down on the rock, and the water in the lake shot up like a fountain. It created a huge wave when it crashed down again. Several canoes on the far shore overturned. Their campers yelled angrily at us.
'Sorry!' he called back. He looked at me sheepishly. 'It's still weird, being able to do that.'
I didn't really know how to respond to that. I'd never suddenly developed crazy supernatural powers.
'Never mind,' he said, when I didn't say anything. He picked up the book and continued stumbling through the ancient Greek.
OoOoO
That night, I had a dream. I stood at the entrance to a golden temple. It felt like the kind of place that ought to be filled with quiet reverence, a peaceful sanctuary for worship, but the silence was torn by a loud squabbling, as though creatures in the ceiling were having a fight worthy of a pair of toddlers.
A woman with long raven-black hair knelt at the altar. When I entered, she looked at me and I saw that it was my mother-Athena. I dropped to my knees immediately.
'Rise, child.' I got up. Athena was standing now, smiling down at me. The noise overhead continued and she rolled her eyes at it.
'It's enough to give me a headache,' she said. 'Three days now they've been at each other's throats. I can't get any peace, not even here.'
'Who …' But I had the feeling I already knew. 'Lord Zeus? And …'
'My uncle is a fool,' Athena said contemptuously. 'He should have known claiming the child would annoy Father. And Father's being silly, too. That far-fetched accusation …'
The arguing stopped momentarily. Thunder rattled above us. The ceiling flashed threateningly. Then the squabbling started up again.
'He's mad that Poseidon had a kid,' I said.
'Well, that, too, though really, talk about the sword calling the dagger sharp. No, it goes beyond that, my dear. It's been going on for months. This is just the latest twist.' She turned her piercing grey eyes on me. 'You must uncover the truth. I told you before you would need to see clearly, to look past your emotions. Sometimes it is necessary for us to move past our rivalries, for the greater good. The quest depends on it.'
'The quest?'
She smiled mysteriously. A faraway look came into her eyes.
'If you're talking about Percy … well, he's okay, I guess. He's growing on me, a bit.' I mean, he was annoying, but he was also kind of cute, for a goofy kid.
'Just don't get too close. My children were not meant to fraternise with his.' She bent and kissed my forehead. 'Make me proud, my daughter. I must go. Look away.'
A bright light seemed to fill her from within. She grew as she shone and I averted my eyes quickly. I didn't know if a goddess's true form had the same effect in a dream, but I didn't want to risk being reduced to ashes to find out. A searing flash imprinted on the inside of my eyelids, and even with my fingers shielding my eyes, I swore I could see my mother smiling at me through the light. An echo reverberated around me: 'The quest depends on it … make me proud.' Then it all stopped-no more quarrelling voices, just pure, reverent silence.
When I woke up the next morning, I went straight to Chiron.
OoOoO
For the first time since I'd started asking for a quest, Chiron didn't turn me down. I told him about the previous night's dream, and also the Oracle's words the night Percy had arrived. Chiron listened, and then he steepled his fingers in front of his face and said heavily, 'Yes, I do believe you are right, Annabeth. I had hoped … but it seems there is no fighting it. The hellhound was just the beginning.'
'So Percy is the one.'
'Perhaps. Tell me, Annabeth, have you figured out the quest?'
'My mom-Athena said that … Zeus and Poseidon are fighting … and they need help to resolve it. Someone stole something … di immortales, it was something of Zeus's, wasn't it? His …'
'His master bolt,' Chiron confirmed.
I swore again. The situation was more dire than I had imagined. 'Who would dare … surely not Poseidon?'
'While Poseidon has not always been guileless in past attempts to usurp Zeus's power, I think it highly unlikely this time. I believe both brothers were sincere in their desire to maintain peace after the last great war. However, we must not forget that there is a third brother who may not have been quite as sincere.'
'You're talking about Lord Hades, aren't you?'
'Unfortunately, yes.'
'So if he stole it-or sent someone to-and he's been sending monsters after Percy, he must think that Percy's destined to retrieve it.'
'Yes.'
'Does Percy know yet?'
'He will, soon. Mr D has, ah, confirmed much of what you've deduced, and we will need to break the news to him. But as you've come to me … my dear, do you understand what this quest would entail?'
'We'd have to go to the Underworld.' I had to fight to keep my voice steady. Like I'd told Percy, it was the one place you didn't want to have to go for a quest. But I wasn't going to back down now. If I didn't take this chance, who knew if another opportunity would ever come around? 'We'd have to face Hades.'
'This is a dangerous quest,' Chiron agreed. 'Any of Percy's companions-assuming he takes on the quest, of course-would only incur the wrath of Hades as well. And any other … well, I hope that will not be the case, although …' He frowned, and changed tack suddenly. 'Remind me again, would you, of what happened during your winter solstice field trip?'
I was confused, but I tried to recall it for him. 'Well, everything seemed fine … the gods had their council, Hera didn't seemed to like us much but nobody seemed like they were actually angry about anything specific. And then Ariadne took our tour, and there was that concert by Hypnos that put us all to sleep …'
'The world in endless sleep …' Chiron murmured. 'No, not quite, but another sign that it is beginning.'
I was suddenly reminded of a dream I'd had many months ago, shortly after the winter solsttice, about a voice at the bottom of a cliff, telling me it had begun. I got the sudden feeling that Chiron was fitting together the pieces of something much bigger than a quest for Zeus's master bolt. The thing he'd just said about endless sleep … I had a feeling that I ought to know it.
'Sir, is that from the Great Prophecy?' I asked. 'One of the lines I missed?'
Chiron nodded. 'It is part of it.'
'Will you tell me those lines now?'
He studied me carefully. I tried to stand a bit straighter, look like I was ready. Finally, he said, 'No, I do not think it will help much, now. If you return from your quest … ask me again then, Annabeth, and perhaps the time will be ripe for the knowledge to come to you.'
I understood. It was like a test of some sort. Succeed in the quest, and I would prove myself capable of handling more.
'For now, though, you must put the prophecy out of your mind. And I must ask that you not relate it to Percy. It will only distract from your current goal, which is of utmost importance. The master bolt is too powerful a weapon to be left in the wrong hands. Remember, this was the bolt that defeated the King of the Titans himself.'
'Kronos,' I said. 'The father of the gods.'
'Yes. My own father, too, incidentally, although I don't like to advertise that fact. The gods defeated him by standing together in unity-a powerful force. But when rifts appear … well, I can only hope that some of the things I sense are wrong.'
'Sir?'
Chiron shook his head. 'It's probably nothing.' But he still looked unsettled. 'All right, my dear. Assuming you are still willing to take on the quest-'
'I am,' I said.
'-then all we need is our stalwart hero.'
OoOoO
Chiron sent me to go wait in his office while he proposed the quest to Percy. I sat at his deck, idly spinning the wheels on his chair while I studied the row of pictures he kept on the wall. I'd seen them before; they were a hall of fame of sorts, a photo montage of the great heroes he'd trained. Some of them had the grainy quality of photographs from the early eighties; others were older than that, black-and-whites that were possibly from the era of daguerrotypes. The oldest were painted portraits rather than actual photos: I recognised Heracles and Achilles among them. My pulse raced as I tried to imagine myself among them. Could I ever live up to their deeds?
My eye fell on a tall, athletic-looking blonde, who stood proudly alongside a dark-haired hero. Their hands were interlaced. A signature was scrawled so messily over the feet of the guy that I couldn't read it, but the girl had signed hers in proud, bold letters: Atalanta '13.
I grinned. The guy standing hand-in-hand with her must be her husband, Hippomenes, though I couldn't tell if they'd been married at the point the picture was painted. For a moment, I fancied myself as Atalanta, a brave bold heroine who ran like the wind. My mind supplied Luke beside me, smiling warmly, but that image didn't last. Hippomenes, with his dark hair and roguish grin, reminded me more of Percy, and that made the fantasy kind of awkward.
I heard the unmistakeable tread of footsteps plodding up the stairs to the attic, and my heart sped up. That had to be Percy, off to consult the Oracle, which meant he must have accepted the quest. I felt too jittery to sit still any more. I went back out to the porch.
Grover was sitting in one of the chairs, nervously tapping one hoof against the table leg. He shuffled the pinochle cards absently about the table, but didn't seem to have eaten any yet.
'Hey, Grover,' I said.
'Annabeth, you should not be here,' Chiron said. 'Percy has only just gone to the Oracle. We have not told him everything yet.'
'It can't hurt for her to know what's going on,' Grover said. 'I mean, she's going to be a part of this, too, right?'
Chiron pursed his lips. 'All right,' he said. 'But do not reveal yourself until we have finished telling him everything.'
'Sure,' I said, reaching for my Yankees cap. I smiled at Grover. 'Thanks.'
'Uh huh,' Grover said. 'Don't thank me too soon. I may still get you killed.'
'Did you volunteer for the quest, too, then?'
'I have to,' he said glumly. 'I won't get my searcher's license if I don't complete a quest with Percy.'
'Oh.'
He must have realised how that sounded because he said quickly, 'Not that I wouldn't follow him, anyway. He's-he's my friend.'
I felt a little annoyed at this. It was disconcerting, the way Grover had attached to Percy so firmly. I reminded myself that the two of them had been through quite a bit already. Then my annoyance was followed by a slight pang of guilt. I would have felt better if Grover had volunteered just so he could follow his career path. His declaration of loyalty made me feel a bit ashamed of my own reasons for volunteering. I found myself wondering whether Percy thought of me as a friend. And when it came to that, was he my friend?
We hadn't known each other for very long, and I still couldn't decide whether I liked him. He could be really frustrating, but in a way that made me almost want to laugh. I thought that beneath all of his goofiness, he was probably quite a decent person.
Of course, there was the inalienable fact that our parents didn't get along, that probably threw a wrench into the whole friendship business. Don't get too close, my mother had said. Still, she's also said to put rivalries aside.
I decided not to waste too much time thinking about it. I would accompany him and I would help him every step of the way. That was all that mattered, right?
As Chiron had instructed, I put on my cap and stood aside when Percy returned, looking pale and disturbed from his consultation with the Oracle. I didn't blame him. My own encounters with her hadn't exactly been steadying experiences.
'She said I would go west and face a god who had turned,' he told Chiron and Grover. 'I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned.'
That sounded good to me. A prediction for success, with no restriction on who his companions had to be.
'Anything else?' Chiron said suspiciously.
'No,' Percy said after a short pause. 'That's about it.' He didn't quite meet Chiron or Grover's eyes.
Chiron accepted this, and guided him through the logic of working out who had stolen Zeus's bolt. I had to give Percy credit-he reached the same conclusions as I had pretty quickly. He was probably smarter than his frequent stupid comments made him seem. And he didn't freak out when he learned that we were head for the Underworld in Los Angeles.
Well, neither had I, but I'd been gearing myself up for a quest for years. Still, my respect for him went up another notch.
Of course, being Percy, he then undid it by suggesting that he-son of the sea god-get on a plane.
Grover, who had practically consumed the whole card table by then, freaked out. 'No, Percy, what are you thinking?!'
Chiron, patient as ever, explained pretty succinctly: a god did not trespass lightly on another god's domain. That went tenfold if you were a demigod. Particularly if you were one who already had a god pissed off at you. As if to back Chiron up, lightning and thunder helpfully shook the sky outside.
'Okay, so I'll travel overland.'
'That's right,' Chiron confirmed, and moved on to the final logistics. 'Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help.'
I guessed that was my cue to appear. Before I could come forward, though, Percy said, 'Gee, who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?'
I'd meant to be nice about offering my help, say something light-hearted like guess we're on the same team again, but his sarcastic tone, like he already knew I'd offered and he didn't think much of it, irritated me.
He didn't want me.
I whipped off my cap and stared him right in the eye. I was gratified to see him look surprised and a little abashed. It helped, too, that he was just the littlest bit shorter than me. Intimidation didn't work well when you had to look up at someone.
'I've been waiting a long time for a quest, Seaweed Brain,' I told him coldly, determined not to let him see how much his comment stung. 'Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up.'
His initial shock melted away and he lifted his chin as though rising to a challenge. 'If you do say so yourself. I suppose you have a plan, Wise Girl?'
Coming from him, it felt like more of an insult than when Clarisse said it. Like it was something personal.
'Do you want my help or not?' This wasn't going the way I'd intended at all. I felt furious at him. This had to be why children of Athena weren't supposed to work with children of Poseidon. The natural rivalry was just too strong.
Percy didn't answer directly. 'A trio, that'll work,' he told Chiron.
I felt completely wrongfooted. And it hurt more than I was willing to admit, to have my help so grudgingly accepted. But it was all I was going to get: a reluctant alliance with the world's most annoying boy.
Focus, Annabeth, I told myself. Whatever it was, the important thing was that I finally did have a quest.
Chapter 9