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FIC: The Necklace of Harmonia, chpt 23
Title: The Necklace of Harmonia (Daughter of Wisdom 3)
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Chiron, Clarisse La Rue, Chase family, OCs, various others, Gen with slight Percy/Annabeth
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: After an eventful summer, Annabeth Chase is on her way to boarding school for the first time. With her friends Thalia and Percy close by, she's looking forward to spending the year in New York. But soon, she finds herself dealing with unfathomable dreams, tangled plots, and a mysterious necklace that keeps finding its way back to her. Worse still, her father wants her to move to the most dangerous city in the country. The choices Annabeth faces this year will have her questioning the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and family. And most of all, just what it means to keep a promise. An alternate PoV retelling of Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse. Part 3 of the Daughter of Wisdom series.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: Percy Stakes His Claim
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood, Thalia Grace, Chiron, Clarisse La Rue, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Nico di Angelo, Stoll brothers,
Word Count: 4,165
Chapter Summary: Nico di Angelo disappears from camp, causing Percy to make a momentous decision.
Notes: Canon dialogue is, as usual, from Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse.
Back to fic content page
After we finished our dance, Percy and I found Grover feasting on a tray of tin cans and double espresso shots. He was surrounded by a small group of satyrs, all hanging on his every word as he related the breakthrough he'd had in his quest for Pan.
'I swear it was the coffee,' he said. 'I felt him out there in the desert, I really did.' His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and he was nodding so quickly, it made me dizzy just to watch. He drained his espresso and chewed up the paper cup.
'I'm sure you did,' I said, pulling him away from the bottomless coffee supply. 'I think that's enough caffeine for now, though.'
'What do we do now?' Percy asked. 'Are you coming back to camp?'
'I … guess so.' I hadn't really thought about what I'd do in the immediate future. Would I still go back to St Catherine's? Now that Thalia had taken Zoë's place, I'd be alone there. Anyway, it was still winter break. I might as well spend it at camp while I figured out where to go from here.
Or you could spend it with your family, suggested a voice in my head.
'How are we getting back?' Grover asked. 'I have to tell the Council of Cloven Elders about Pan, and his gift, and-'
'Whoa, slow down, G-man,' Percy said, laughing. 'I guess we can get a taxi or something … but do you guys mind if I make a call first? I gotta let my mom and Tyson know we're okay.'
'You told them about the quest?' I asked.
'Well, yeah,' he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. 'They were really worried about you. They'll be glad to know you're okay.' He reached into his pocket, searching for a drachma, and his eyes widened. 'Oh. I almost forgot.'
He withdrew his hand. In it was my missing Yankees cap.
'You found it!'
'You dropped it at Westover Hall,' he said. 'I just held on to it until I could give it back.'
Our fingers touched when he handed it over.
'Thanks, Seaweed Brain.'
Percy smiled, and then he headed off to a quieter part of the garden, with a fountain perfect for making rainbows in the wintry sunlight.
Thalia came over to Grover and me. She'd apparently spent the whole party talking to Artemis.
'We're heading back to camp to pick up the rest of the Hunters,' Thalia said. 'And then Artemis wants to be off right away … so I guess this is goodbye. For now.'
Grover looked disappointed. 'You guys won't stay at camp for longer?'
Thalia shook her head. 'Monsters to hunt, creatures to protect …' Her eyes gleamed with excitement. 'Don't look so sad, Goat Boy. We'll see each other again. I'm still gonna be fighting Kronos. Just not under the damn prophecy.'
'Do you think this is how it was supposed to be all along?' I wondered. Chiron had spent the last few months trying to prepare Thalia, certain that Kronos's hand in bringing her back had placed her in the prophecy's spotlight. But now this confluence of choices-hers, Artemis's, Zoë's … even mine, indirectly-had thrown it back on Percy.
It was just like my mother had said: the consequences of our choices were so diverse, so unimaginable …
'Prophecies are complex.' Artemis appeared out of nowhere. 'Who can say how our actions affect them? Do not worry too much, Annabeth. You will do what is right, and that is enough.'
She smiled at Grover. 'I did not get a chance to thank you, my young satyr friend. Your assistance to my Hunters is much appreciated.'
Grover looked like he was about to faint with happiness. He stuttered over his reply, eyes wider than ever.
'Come,' Artemis said to Thalia. 'The chariot is ready.' It was parked at the foot of the palace hill, waiting with the four golden deer.
'Would you like a lift to Camp Half-Blood, my friends?' Artemis asked.
'Oh, yes!' Grover said. 'But Percy's …' He looked towards the garden fountain where we'd last seen Percy headed.
'He's making a call,' I said. 'Can you wait?'
Artemis shook her head. 'We must be on our way. You may come with us and I can send transport for Percy later.'
Grover looked torn, but I was less conflicted. 'We'll wait with Percy. But thank you.'
Artemis nodded. 'I will tell Chiron to send someone for you, then,'
Thalia gave us one last hug-'Say goodbye to Percy for me!'-and then she climbed into the silver chariot after Artemis. It leapt into the air and vanished among the clouds.
When Percy finished his calls, we took the magic elevator down to the ground floor. My Aphrodite-created dress disappeared once I left the elevator, reverting to my tattered t-shirt and jeans. The security guard on duty did a double-take, but muttered to himself, 'S'not my business,' and went back to reading his book.
It was cold on the streets of Manhattan, a lot chillier than the temperature in San Francisco or the carefully-controlled climate of Olympus. Percy took one look at my ragged clothing and shrugged out of his coat, offering it to me. We shivered in the foyer for half an hour before Argus showed up in the strawberry van. Percy and I got in the back, letting Grover ride shotgun.
'Everything okay with Tyson and your mom?' I asked.
'Yeah. Sorry I took so long. Tyson wanted to hear everything.'
I grinned, imagining Tyson's wide-eyed curiosity. It had taken me a while to warm to Percy's Cyclops half-brother, but after Tyson had saved our lives a couple of times last summer, he'd more than proven that Percy's faith in him wasn't misguided. 'I miss him.'
'He'll be at camp next summer. He said he got time off.' Percy found a stray, half-squashed strawberry on the van floor and rolled it around in his fingers. 'And my mom … well, I didn't get to tell you this before, but she's got a new boyfriend.'
'Oh.' I remembered Percy's last stepfather, the one who made Janet look like a model stepparent. 'Are you worried that he'll be like Gabe?'
'What? No-it's not like that at all. Gabe was … well, she married him for me. To protect me, I mean. So I think she deserves to be happy now, you know? And if she likes Paul … I guess I'm happy if she is.'
His sincerity made my eyes mist up. It was really something, the way he trusted his mom to decide for herself, even when he might have to live with the consequences, too. I guess it helped that Sally Jackson was a super cool mom.
Then again, maybe my dad was kinda cool, too.
'Your stepmom,' Percy said suddenly.
'What about her?' I frowned. If he'd been to my dad's house in San Francisco, he must have met Janet there. 'Was she mean to you? I know she can be-'
'No, no, she was really nice! She made us snacks and everything. It's just, she told me to tell you that you had a home there. She wanted me to remind you.'
I was silent for a long time. 'She said that?'
'Yeah.'
I didn't know what to make of this. I was only just beginning to accept my dad's overtures. Something like this coming from Janet-and through Percy … well, it like if Ares had started adopting fluffy bunnies.
Our friends at camp were expecting us. They had already seen the Hunters off earlier in the morning (Silena Beauregard looked particularly pleased about it), so they'd been forewarned of our arrival. Chiron ushered us into the parlour of the Big House, where he had a roaring fire going. We warmed up over hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches, sitting in a circle with the other senior campers-Silena, Beckendorf, the Stoll brothers … and Clarisse.
She had finally returned from her mission-just popped up in Manhattan without warning, according to Chiron. Her hair was bleached blonde and cut jaggedly so that it hung unevenly around her ears. She actually looked sunburned, which clashed completely with the winter scenery outside.
'I got news-bad news,' she muttered to me.
'I'll fill you in later,' Chiron said. He raised his mug to Percy. 'The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!'
Percy blushed and stared into his mug.
The others wanted to know about our escape from Atlas's mountain. Apparently, they'd all heard the prophecy that had sent the Hunters on their quest. To my amazement, the Oracle had wandered out personally to deliver it.
I told them about the fight with Atlas, how Percy had freed Artemis and trapped him back under the sky, and how Thalia had fought Luke, leading to his fall from the top of Mount Tam.
Silena's face was very white as she listened to all this. She twisted the bracelet on her wrist so hard, she nearly snapped it. 'Luke is … dead?'
'No, I don't think so-'
'But you said he fell-what, fifty feet?' Beckendorf said sharply. 'How could he survive that?'
'Luke is alive,' Percy cut in. 'Annabeth was right.'
I straightened, surprised. He'd staunchly refused to believe it when I'd told him before. What had made him change his mind? 'How do you know?'
Percy seemed offended by my question. 'My dad told me,' he said, with a touch of steel in his voice. 'He saw him-Luke, I mean. He's back on the Princess Andromeda, and he's got Kronos's coffin on board. And he's going to attack us again.'
The room was quiet for a while, with only the crackle from the fireplace as we took in Percy's information. The knowledge that an attack was coming was bleak, but surely we had time to prepare. The gods were forewarned. Atlas was no longer free. Even if Luke had survived his fall, he wouldn't be in any shape to lead Kronos's army for a while.
And Thalia was no longer the centre of the prophecy. The only half-blood child of the eldest gods who could ever turn sixteen was sitting in front of me, scowling into his hot chocolate.
'Well,' I said bracingly, 'if the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out.'
Percy's eyes flickered towards me and back down to his mug. His expression was stonier than ever. I wanted to catch his eye, to tell him that it wouldn't be so bad-we would figure out a way to help him-but he wouldn't meet my gaze.
Chiron sighed heavily. 'Two years may seem like a long time, but it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But, if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here.'
Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers exchanged an uneasy look. Silena buried her face in her hands. Clarisse crossed her arms and looked grim. I guessed she must have discovered a lot more about Kronos's plans during her mission.
Chiron confirmed a moment later that she had. But before he and Clarisse could explain further, there was a knock on the door. I didn't immediately recognise the boy who traipsed in with snow on his shoulders and a big grin across his face. It wasn't until he said, 'Where's my sister?' that I remembered Nico di Angelo.
You could have heard a pin drop. My insides clenched horribly as I stared at the kid who was about to find out he'd lost his sister … to a quest I'd been responsible for.
Percy got to his feet. He looked as though he'd just been handed the weight of the sky again.
'Hey, Nico,' he said, and drew the boy aside. They headed out onto the snowy grounds.
'He will be all right,' Chiron said. 'Percy will break the news gently. And he is the best person to answer any questions Nico may have.'
'Did he get claimed yet?' I asked.
Chiron shook his head.
Clarisse cleared her throat. 'Kronos's attack,' she reminded us.
'Yes.' Chiron looked around at the six of us. 'Clarisse was on a secret mission for the past two months. We did not say anything because we did not wish to cause undue panic before we were certain. But now, she has found-'
'The Labyrinth,' Clarisse said.
'Like Daedalus's Labyrinth?' Beckendorf asked. 'What's that got to do with camp?'
I waited for Clarisse to answer, not liking the conclusion that was forming in my head. With the week I'd just had, I hadn't spared a thought for the Labyrinth and Clarisse's mission. But some parts of my adventure were starting to fall into place: the strange detour to Costa Rica with Thorn, my guarded underground cell, the mazes in my dreams.
'It's back,' Clarisse said. 'And Kronos is trying to use it.'
All four other counsellors began talking at once, their voices rising over each other's.
'What do you mean, back?'
'Is it a weapon?'
'Were you actually in the Labyrinth?'
'Shut up, all of you!' Clarisse raised her voice above the din. 'I don't know how or if it really is possible, but I do know it's not just in a single place. It reaches all over America. I went in under Phoenix and ended up in San Francisco. And then when I went back in …'
To everybody's shock, her voice actually shook. Her eyes grew distant. 'It's like it's alive,' she continued at last. 'The walls move, and the things down there …' She shuddered. 'I thought I'd never get out. There was this really weird section, like it was all sunny and hot even in the middle of winter.' She shook her jagged bangs out of her eyes, making her out-of-season tan more obvious.
'Costa Rica?' I guessed.
'Maybe.' Clarisse's eyes narrowed. 'How do you know?'
'I think I might have been in it.' I told them about my woozy journey with Thorn and the half-blood, Torrington.
'Huh,' Clarisse said. 'Well, that just proves it, right? Luke's people are using the Labyrinth. But they haven't figured it out. Because the damn thing's worse than a monster. And who knows where it goes? It's probably everywhere. Maybe even here. I don't know. In the end I got out in Manhattan, and I came straight to camp.'
'Thank the gods for that,' Chiron said. 'We were-'
He was interrupted by a huge explosion. Silena screamed. Beckendorf jumped to his feet so fast, his chair toppled over Connor's lap. Travis spilt his hot chocolate all over the carpet.
'It's coming from the mess hall,' Clarisse said. She snatched up her spear from the corner of the room.
We ran out to the dining pavilion, which was empty except for Percy. He stood before a long, jagged crack in the floor. It was as if someone had carved a twenty-foot line into the marble with a giant knife.
'What happened?' I asked. 'Where's Nico?'
Percy turned very slowly. His face was scrunched up like he was trying to figure out a difficult reading assignment. He had his fingers clenched around what looked like a chess piece.
'Skeletons,' he said shakily. 'Skeleton warriors-they were chasing us on our quest. Atlas grew them from dragon's teeth. They were tracking us-they must have followed me.'
'Skeleton warriors-like spartoi?' Chiron said sharply.
'Yeah, they, um, rose out of the ground.'
Clarisse jabbed her spear at the crack in the floor. 'Out of the ground?'
I knew what she was thinking. If our enemies had appeared from underground … could the Labyrinth be underneath us already?
Percy ran a hand through his hair. 'I was telling Nico about Bianca, and the ground, um, split apart. And they came out of it.'
'You fought them off?'
'Uh huh.' Percy wouldn't meet my eyes. 'I told Nico to run. He was really scared. I'd better go find him.'
Chiron murmured in assent. He knelt over the crack, running his fingers along it. I could tell he was alarmed by the thought that Kronos might have broken through this way.
Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the others, heading towards the woods.
'Percy, what-where are we going?' He was walking so fast, I had to jog to keep up.
'I need your help.'
'What weren't you telling us?'
We'd reached the edge of the woods. Percy paced back and forth between two snow-covered trees. 'Nico didn't run from the skeletons. And I didn't get rid of them. He opened the ground and they fell in.'
His hand fell open, revealing a tiny black figurine. Its metal face glowered at me, a perfect replica of the Lord of the Underworld.
'It's Hades,' Percy said. 'Nico's dad is Hades.'
+++
Percy must have called Grover on the empathy link or something, because he joined us a few minutes later, clutching a steaming mug of coffee. We headed into the woods to search for Nico di Angelo, but although we combed the trees for hours, he didn't turn up. It was like he'd vanished into thin air.
I still couldn't believe he was the son of Hades-which meant that Bianca had been the daughter of Hades. Two more children of the eldest gods. No wonder Thorn had been so excited to find them. I shivered, thinking about what could have happened if we hadn't intervened at Westover Hall. If the Titans had gotten to Bianca and Nico before us, would they have convinced them to kill the Ophiotaurus?
Kronos had already attempted to control the prophecy through Thalia. Now he had another chance. The thought was both frightening and consoling. On one hand, Kronos stood to gain another powerful half-blood ally. On the other, Nico was even younger than Percy. If the prophecy were to shift to him, the day of reckoning would not arrive for at least five years.
And even more optimistically, maybe Percy could avoid the prophecy entirely. Just as Thalia had unexpectedly side-stepped it with only a day to her sixteenth birthday, maybe this was the twist of Fate we needed to save Percy from its clutches.
Maybe I didn't have to fear a showdown between Percy and Luke after all.
I tried not to think about the fact that helping Percy escape the prophecy might mean shackling a ten-year-old kid to it. Maybe it made me an awful person, but I couldn't pretend I would rather Percy survived its foretold doom than Nico di Angelo. I mean, I'd known the kid for maybe five minutes, if that.
But Percy acted like Nico was his personal responsibility. 'It's my fault,' he said. 'He ran away from me.'
'He was probably just scared. You don't know-'
'He told me he hated me and wished I was dead. I think that's pretty clear.'
When the sun began to sink, we had to admit defeat. Percy kicked the ground angrily and sprinted out onto a ledge. It extended over a large, pristine patch of ice that had probably been a pond in summertime. Percy dropped to his knees on it and stared at the little metal Hades in his hand.
Grover and I ran up to him. I put a hand on Percy's shoulder.
'We have to tell Chiron,' I said. He'd help us find Nico. Once he heard about Nico's parentage, he'd know how important it was.
'No.'
'Um …' Grover bit his lip. 'What do you mean, no?'
Percy pushed himself to his feet and slipped the figurine into his pocket. 'We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realises that Nico is a-'
'A son of Hades!' I burst out. My breath came out in little puffs in the air. 'Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!'
'I don't think so. I don't think Hades broke the oath.'
I couldn't see how he could believe that. I mean, the proof was right there.
'He's their dad, but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long time, since even before World War II.'
Grover snapped his fingers in understanding. 'The Lotus Casino! Bianca told us, when we were on the quest. She didn't remember a lot of things, but she said she'd been in a hotel in Vegas-she and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born before the oath was made.'
'But …' I remembered our time at the Lotus Hotel and Casino vividly. Extracting ourselves had been hard enough, and the time we'd spent in there had been comparatively short. 'How did they get out?'
Percy ran a hand through his hair. 'I don't know. Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron.'
The air temperature felt like it had just dipped ten degrees. I wrapped my arms around myself, but the chill was inside me as well. Kronos couldn't have extracted the di Angelos, or we wouldn't have needed to send Thorn after them. The only person who could have known they existed was their father. And if he was the one who had hidden them away and brought them out after all this time …
I thought uneasily of the missing throne at the winter solstice council. The implications of revealing that a son of Hades was on the loose were suddenly crystal clear.
'If the Olympians find out-' Percy said.
'It might start them fighting among each other again,' I finished. It had been bad enough a year ago, when Kronos had tried to play the three eldest gods against each other. We'd only narrowly averted that war. 'That's the last thing we need.'
Grover nibbled at the edge of his coffee mug. 'But you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever.'
Percy ruffled his hair again. The setting sun illuminated his new grey streak, making it stand out vividly against the black. 'I don't need forever. Just two years. Until I'm sixteen.'
I stepped back, aghast. 'But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you.' Hadn't he realised? 'It might be about Nico. We have to-'
'No, I choose the prophecy,' he said firmly. The look on his face brought me back to Mount Tam, to the moment he'd seemed to age ten years. 'It will be about me.'
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Here was his chance to walk away, to find a loophole and save himself. Instead, he was stubbornly committing himself to it. 'Why are you saying that? You want to be responsible for the whole world?'
'I can't let Nico be in any more danger. I owe that much to his sister. I … let them both down.'
That old, familiar feeling of wanting to smack him and hug him at the same time washed over me. Stupid Seaweed Brain. So hopelessly loyal, even to the friends he'd only known for a short while.
You will do what's right, Artemis had told me. I should have known that Percy would, too. Even when Grover pointed out that Nico currently hated his guts, he stood by his refusal to let the kid suffer any more.
'Maybe we can find him. We can convince him it's okay, hide him somewhere safe …'
'If Luke gets hold of him-' The idea of Nico joining Luke and both of them turning against Percy made me feel sick.
'Luke won't. I'll make sure he's got other things to worry about.' Percy stared up at the sky as though making a silent promise to the gods. 'Namely, me.'
There was no answering rumble, no flash of lightning of across the skies, but as we trudged back through the woods, the air seemed to tighten around us like a noose. The first line of the Orobas's prophecy rang in my head: A circle of three, bound in love and hate.
Percy's choice had set us on a path towards the momentous lines of the Great Prophecy. Just like the Orobas had proclaimed, Luke and Percy's fates were intricately entwined. Maybe I was the third. Or maybe it was Nico di Angelo instead, a new player who could tip the balance of the precarious future. I couldn't tell how any of it would play out. Like my mom and Artemis had said, prophecies were complex, and so were the consequences of our actions.
Chapter 24
Author: shiiki
Rating: PG-13
Characters/Pairings: Annabeth Chase, Thalia Grace, Percy Jackson, Luke Castellan, Chiron, Clarisse La Rue, Chase family, OCs, various others, Gen with slight Percy/Annabeth
Fandom: Percy Jackson
Summary: After an eventful summer, Annabeth Chase is on her way to boarding school for the first time. With her friends Thalia and Percy close by, she's looking forward to spending the year in New York. But soon, she finds herself dealing with unfathomable dreams, tangled plots, and a mysterious necklace that keeps finding its way back to her. Worse still, her father wants her to move to the most dangerous city in the country. The choices Annabeth faces this year will have her questioning the meaning of friendship, loyalty, and family. And most of all, just what it means to keep a promise. An alternate PoV retelling of Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse. Part 3 of the Daughter of Wisdom series.
In this chapter
Chapter Title: Percy Stakes His Claim
Rating: PG
Characters: Annabeth Chase, Percy Jackson, Grover Underwood, Thalia Grace, Chiron, Clarisse La Rue, Silena Beauregard, Charles Beckendorf, Nico di Angelo, Stoll brothers,
Word Count: 4,165
Chapter Summary: Nico di Angelo disappears from camp, causing Percy to make a momentous decision.
Notes: Canon dialogue is, as usual, from Percy Jackson and the Titan's Curse.
Back to fic content page
After we finished our dance, Percy and I found Grover feasting on a tray of tin cans and double espresso shots. He was surrounded by a small group of satyrs, all hanging on his every word as he related the breakthrough he'd had in his quest for Pan.
'I swear it was the coffee,' he said. 'I felt him out there in the desert, I really did.' His eyes were wide and bloodshot, and he was nodding so quickly, it made me dizzy just to watch. He drained his espresso and chewed up the paper cup.
'I'm sure you did,' I said, pulling him away from the bottomless coffee supply. 'I think that's enough caffeine for now, though.'
'What do we do now?' Percy asked. 'Are you coming back to camp?'
'I … guess so.' I hadn't really thought about what I'd do in the immediate future. Would I still go back to St Catherine's? Now that Thalia had taken Zoë's place, I'd be alone there. Anyway, it was still winter break. I might as well spend it at camp while I figured out where to go from here.
Or you could spend it with your family, suggested a voice in my head.
'How are we getting back?' Grover asked. 'I have to tell the Council of Cloven Elders about Pan, and his gift, and-'
'Whoa, slow down, G-man,' Percy said, laughing. 'I guess we can get a taxi or something … but do you guys mind if I make a call first? I gotta let my mom and Tyson know we're okay.'
'You told them about the quest?' I asked.
'Well, yeah,' he said, like it was the most natural thing in the world. 'They were really worried about you. They'll be glad to know you're okay.' He reached into his pocket, searching for a drachma, and his eyes widened. 'Oh. I almost forgot.'
He withdrew his hand. In it was my missing Yankees cap.
'You found it!'
'You dropped it at Westover Hall,' he said. 'I just held on to it until I could give it back.'
Our fingers touched when he handed it over.
'Thanks, Seaweed Brain.'
Percy smiled, and then he headed off to a quieter part of the garden, with a fountain perfect for making rainbows in the wintry sunlight.
Thalia came over to Grover and me. She'd apparently spent the whole party talking to Artemis.
'We're heading back to camp to pick up the rest of the Hunters,' Thalia said. 'And then Artemis wants to be off right away … so I guess this is goodbye. For now.'
Grover looked disappointed. 'You guys won't stay at camp for longer?'
Thalia shook her head. 'Monsters to hunt, creatures to protect …' Her eyes gleamed with excitement. 'Don't look so sad, Goat Boy. We'll see each other again. I'm still gonna be fighting Kronos. Just not under the damn prophecy.'
'Do you think this is how it was supposed to be all along?' I wondered. Chiron had spent the last few months trying to prepare Thalia, certain that Kronos's hand in bringing her back had placed her in the prophecy's spotlight. But now this confluence of choices-hers, Artemis's, Zoë's … even mine, indirectly-had thrown it back on Percy.
It was just like my mother had said: the consequences of our choices were so diverse, so unimaginable …
'Prophecies are complex.' Artemis appeared out of nowhere. 'Who can say how our actions affect them? Do not worry too much, Annabeth. You will do what is right, and that is enough.'
She smiled at Grover. 'I did not get a chance to thank you, my young satyr friend. Your assistance to my Hunters is much appreciated.'
Grover looked like he was about to faint with happiness. He stuttered over his reply, eyes wider than ever.
'Come,' Artemis said to Thalia. 'The chariot is ready.' It was parked at the foot of the palace hill, waiting with the four golden deer.
'Would you like a lift to Camp Half-Blood, my friends?' Artemis asked.
'Oh, yes!' Grover said. 'But Percy's …' He looked towards the garden fountain where we'd last seen Percy headed.
'He's making a call,' I said. 'Can you wait?'
Artemis shook her head. 'We must be on our way. You may come with us and I can send transport for Percy later.'
Grover looked torn, but I was less conflicted. 'We'll wait with Percy. But thank you.'
Artemis nodded. 'I will tell Chiron to send someone for you, then,'
Thalia gave us one last hug-'Say goodbye to Percy for me!'-and then she climbed into the silver chariot after Artemis. It leapt into the air and vanished among the clouds.
When Percy finished his calls, we took the magic elevator down to the ground floor. My Aphrodite-created dress disappeared once I left the elevator, reverting to my tattered t-shirt and jeans. The security guard on duty did a double-take, but muttered to himself, 'S'not my business,' and went back to reading his book.
It was cold on the streets of Manhattan, a lot chillier than the temperature in San Francisco or the carefully-controlled climate of Olympus. Percy took one look at my ragged clothing and shrugged out of his coat, offering it to me. We shivered in the foyer for half an hour before Argus showed up in the strawberry van. Percy and I got in the back, letting Grover ride shotgun.
'Everything okay with Tyson and your mom?' I asked.
'Yeah. Sorry I took so long. Tyson wanted to hear everything.'
I grinned, imagining Tyson's wide-eyed curiosity. It had taken me a while to warm to Percy's Cyclops half-brother, but after Tyson had saved our lives a couple of times last summer, he'd more than proven that Percy's faith in him wasn't misguided. 'I miss him.'
'He'll be at camp next summer. He said he got time off.' Percy found a stray, half-squashed strawberry on the van floor and rolled it around in his fingers. 'And my mom … well, I didn't get to tell you this before, but she's got a new boyfriend.'
'Oh.' I remembered Percy's last stepfather, the one who made Janet look like a model stepparent. 'Are you worried that he'll be like Gabe?'
'What? No-it's not like that at all. Gabe was … well, she married him for me. To protect me, I mean. So I think she deserves to be happy now, you know? And if she likes Paul … I guess I'm happy if she is.'
His sincerity made my eyes mist up. It was really something, the way he trusted his mom to decide for herself, even when he might have to live with the consequences, too. I guess it helped that Sally Jackson was a super cool mom.
Then again, maybe my dad was kinda cool, too.
'Your stepmom,' Percy said suddenly.
'What about her?' I frowned. If he'd been to my dad's house in San Francisco, he must have met Janet there. 'Was she mean to you? I know she can be-'
'No, no, she was really nice! She made us snacks and everything. It's just, she told me to tell you that you had a home there. She wanted me to remind you.'
I was silent for a long time. 'She said that?'
'Yeah.'
I didn't know what to make of this. I was only just beginning to accept my dad's overtures. Something like this coming from Janet-and through Percy … well, it like if Ares had started adopting fluffy bunnies.
Our friends at camp were expecting us. They had already seen the Hunters off earlier in the morning (Silena Beauregard looked particularly pleased about it), so they'd been forewarned of our arrival. Chiron ushered us into the parlour of the Big House, where he had a roaring fire going. We warmed up over hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches, sitting in a circle with the other senior campers-Silena, Beckendorf, the Stoll brothers … and Clarisse.
She had finally returned from her mission-just popped up in Manhattan without warning, according to Chiron. Her hair was bleached blonde and cut jaggedly so that it hung unevenly around her ears. She actually looked sunburned, which clashed completely with the winter scenery outside.
'I got news-bad news,' she muttered to me.
'I'll fill you in later,' Chiron said. He raised his mug to Percy. 'The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!'
Percy blushed and stared into his mug.
The others wanted to know about our escape from Atlas's mountain. Apparently, they'd all heard the prophecy that had sent the Hunters on their quest. To my amazement, the Oracle had wandered out personally to deliver it.
I told them about the fight with Atlas, how Percy had freed Artemis and trapped him back under the sky, and how Thalia had fought Luke, leading to his fall from the top of Mount Tam.
Silena's face was very white as she listened to all this. She twisted the bracelet on her wrist so hard, she nearly snapped it. 'Luke is … dead?'
'No, I don't think so-'
'But you said he fell-what, fifty feet?' Beckendorf said sharply. 'How could he survive that?'
'Luke is alive,' Percy cut in. 'Annabeth was right.'
I straightened, surprised. He'd staunchly refused to believe it when I'd told him before. What had made him change his mind? 'How do you know?'
Percy seemed offended by my question. 'My dad told me,' he said, with a touch of steel in his voice. 'He saw him-Luke, I mean. He's back on the Princess Andromeda, and he's got Kronos's coffin on board. And he's going to attack us again.'
The room was quiet for a while, with only the crackle from the fireplace as we took in Percy's information. The knowledge that an attack was coming was bleak, but surely we had time to prepare. The gods were forewarned. Atlas was no longer free. Even if Luke had survived his fall, he wouldn't be in any shape to lead Kronos's army for a while.
And Thalia was no longer the centre of the prophecy. The only half-blood child of the eldest gods who could ever turn sixteen was sitting in front of me, scowling into his hot chocolate.
'Well,' I said bracingly, 'if the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out.'
Percy's eyes flickered towards me and back down to his mug. His expression was stonier than ever. I wanted to catch his eye, to tell him that it wouldn't be so bad-we would figure out a way to help him-but he wouldn't meet my gaze.
Chiron sighed heavily. 'Two years may seem like a long time, but it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But, if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here.'
Beckendorf and the Stoll brothers exchanged an uneasy look. Silena buried her face in her hands. Clarisse crossed her arms and looked grim. I guessed she must have discovered a lot more about Kronos's plans during her mission.
Chiron confirmed a moment later that she had. But before he and Clarisse could explain further, there was a knock on the door. I didn't immediately recognise the boy who traipsed in with snow on his shoulders and a big grin across his face. It wasn't until he said, 'Where's my sister?' that I remembered Nico di Angelo.
You could have heard a pin drop. My insides clenched horribly as I stared at the kid who was about to find out he'd lost his sister … to a quest I'd been responsible for.
Percy got to his feet. He looked as though he'd just been handed the weight of the sky again.
'Hey, Nico,' he said, and drew the boy aside. They headed out onto the snowy grounds.
'He will be all right,' Chiron said. 'Percy will break the news gently. And he is the best person to answer any questions Nico may have.'
'Did he get claimed yet?' I asked.
Chiron shook his head.
Clarisse cleared her throat. 'Kronos's attack,' she reminded us.
'Yes.' Chiron looked around at the six of us. 'Clarisse was on a secret mission for the past two months. We did not say anything because we did not wish to cause undue panic before we were certain. But now, she has found-'
'The Labyrinth,' Clarisse said.
'Like Daedalus's Labyrinth?' Beckendorf asked. 'What's that got to do with camp?'
I waited for Clarisse to answer, not liking the conclusion that was forming in my head. With the week I'd just had, I hadn't spared a thought for the Labyrinth and Clarisse's mission. But some parts of my adventure were starting to fall into place: the strange detour to Costa Rica with Thorn, my guarded underground cell, the mazes in my dreams.
'It's back,' Clarisse said. 'And Kronos is trying to use it.'
All four other counsellors began talking at once, their voices rising over each other's.
'What do you mean, back?'
'Is it a weapon?'
'Were you actually in the Labyrinth?'
'Shut up, all of you!' Clarisse raised her voice above the din. 'I don't know how or if it really is possible, but I do know it's not just in a single place. It reaches all over America. I went in under Phoenix and ended up in San Francisco. And then when I went back in …'
To everybody's shock, her voice actually shook. Her eyes grew distant. 'It's like it's alive,' she continued at last. 'The walls move, and the things down there …' She shuddered. 'I thought I'd never get out. There was this really weird section, like it was all sunny and hot even in the middle of winter.' She shook her jagged bangs out of her eyes, making her out-of-season tan more obvious.
'Costa Rica?' I guessed.
'Maybe.' Clarisse's eyes narrowed. 'How do you know?'
'I think I might have been in it.' I told them about my woozy journey with Thorn and the half-blood, Torrington.
'Huh,' Clarisse said. 'Well, that just proves it, right? Luke's people are using the Labyrinth. But they haven't figured it out. Because the damn thing's worse than a monster. And who knows where it goes? It's probably everywhere. Maybe even here. I don't know. In the end I got out in Manhattan, and I came straight to camp.'
'Thank the gods for that,' Chiron said. 'We were-'
He was interrupted by a huge explosion. Silena screamed. Beckendorf jumped to his feet so fast, his chair toppled over Connor's lap. Travis spilt his hot chocolate all over the carpet.
'It's coming from the mess hall,' Clarisse said. She snatched up her spear from the corner of the room.
We ran out to the dining pavilion, which was empty except for Percy. He stood before a long, jagged crack in the floor. It was as if someone had carved a twenty-foot line into the marble with a giant knife.
'What happened?' I asked. 'Where's Nico?'
Percy turned very slowly. His face was scrunched up like he was trying to figure out a difficult reading assignment. He had his fingers clenched around what looked like a chess piece.
'Skeletons,' he said shakily. 'Skeleton warriors-they were chasing us on our quest. Atlas grew them from dragon's teeth. They were tracking us-they must have followed me.'
'Skeleton warriors-like spartoi?' Chiron said sharply.
'Yeah, they, um, rose out of the ground.'
Clarisse jabbed her spear at the crack in the floor. 'Out of the ground?'
I knew what she was thinking. If our enemies had appeared from underground … could the Labyrinth be underneath us already?
Percy ran a hand through his hair. 'I was telling Nico about Bianca, and the ground, um, split apart. And they came out of it.'
'You fought them off?'
'Uh huh.' Percy wouldn't meet my eyes. 'I told Nico to run. He was really scared. I'd better go find him.'
Chiron murmured in assent. He knelt over the crack, running his fingers along it. I could tell he was alarmed by the thought that Kronos might have broken through this way.
Percy grabbed my arm and pulled me away from the others, heading towards the woods.
'Percy, what-where are we going?' He was walking so fast, I had to jog to keep up.
'I need your help.'
'What weren't you telling us?'
We'd reached the edge of the woods. Percy paced back and forth between two snow-covered trees. 'Nico didn't run from the skeletons. And I didn't get rid of them. He opened the ground and they fell in.'
His hand fell open, revealing a tiny black figurine. Its metal face glowered at me, a perfect replica of the Lord of the Underworld.
'It's Hades,' Percy said. 'Nico's dad is Hades.'
+++
Percy must have called Grover on the empathy link or something, because he joined us a few minutes later, clutching a steaming mug of coffee. We headed into the woods to search for Nico di Angelo, but although we combed the trees for hours, he didn't turn up. It was like he'd vanished into thin air.
I still couldn't believe he was the son of Hades-which meant that Bianca had been the daughter of Hades. Two more children of the eldest gods. No wonder Thorn had been so excited to find them. I shivered, thinking about what could have happened if we hadn't intervened at Westover Hall. If the Titans had gotten to Bianca and Nico before us, would they have convinced them to kill the Ophiotaurus?
Kronos had already attempted to control the prophecy through Thalia. Now he had another chance. The thought was both frightening and consoling. On one hand, Kronos stood to gain another powerful half-blood ally. On the other, Nico was even younger than Percy. If the prophecy were to shift to him, the day of reckoning would not arrive for at least five years.
And even more optimistically, maybe Percy could avoid the prophecy entirely. Just as Thalia had unexpectedly side-stepped it with only a day to her sixteenth birthday, maybe this was the twist of Fate we needed to save Percy from its clutches.
Maybe I didn't have to fear a showdown between Percy and Luke after all.
I tried not to think about the fact that helping Percy escape the prophecy might mean shackling a ten-year-old kid to it. Maybe it made me an awful person, but I couldn't pretend I would rather Percy survived its foretold doom than Nico di Angelo. I mean, I'd known the kid for maybe five minutes, if that.
But Percy acted like Nico was his personal responsibility. 'It's my fault,' he said. 'He ran away from me.'
'He was probably just scared. You don't know-'
'He told me he hated me and wished I was dead. I think that's pretty clear.'
When the sun began to sink, we had to admit defeat. Percy kicked the ground angrily and sprinted out onto a ledge. It extended over a large, pristine patch of ice that had probably been a pond in summertime. Percy dropped to his knees on it and stared at the little metal Hades in his hand.
Grover and I ran up to him. I put a hand on Percy's shoulder.
'We have to tell Chiron,' I said. He'd help us find Nico. Once he heard about Nico's parentage, he'd know how important it was.
'No.'
'Um …' Grover bit his lip. 'What do you mean, no?'
Percy pushed himself to his feet and slipped the figurine into his pocket. 'We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realises that Nico is a-'
'A son of Hades!' I burst out. My breath came out in little puffs in the air. 'Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!'
'I don't think so. I don't think Hades broke the oath.'
I couldn't see how he could believe that. I mean, the proof was right there.
'He's their dad, but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long time, since even before World War II.'
Grover snapped his fingers in understanding. 'The Lotus Casino! Bianca told us, when we were on the quest. She didn't remember a lot of things, but she said she'd been in a hotel in Vegas-she and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born before the oath was made.'
'But …' I remembered our time at the Lotus Hotel and Casino vividly. Extracting ourselves had been hard enough, and the time we'd spent in there had been comparatively short. 'How did they get out?'
Percy ran a hand through his hair. 'I don't know. Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron.'
The air temperature felt like it had just dipped ten degrees. I wrapped my arms around myself, but the chill was inside me as well. Kronos couldn't have extracted the di Angelos, or we wouldn't have needed to send Thorn after them. The only person who could have known they existed was their father. And if he was the one who had hidden them away and brought them out after all this time …
I thought uneasily of the missing throne at the winter solstice council. The implications of revealing that a son of Hades was on the loose were suddenly crystal clear.
'If the Olympians find out-' Percy said.
'It might start them fighting among each other again,' I finished. It had been bad enough a year ago, when Kronos had tried to play the three eldest gods against each other. We'd only narrowly averted that war. 'That's the last thing we need.'
Grover nibbled at the edge of his coffee mug. 'But you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever.'
Percy ruffled his hair again. The setting sun illuminated his new grey streak, making it stand out vividly against the black. 'I don't need forever. Just two years. Until I'm sixteen.'
I stepped back, aghast. 'But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you.' Hadn't he realised? 'It might be about Nico. We have to-'
'No, I choose the prophecy,' he said firmly. The look on his face brought me back to Mount Tam, to the moment he'd seemed to age ten years. 'It will be about me.'
I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Here was his chance to walk away, to find a loophole and save himself. Instead, he was stubbornly committing himself to it. 'Why are you saying that? You want to be responsible for the whole world?'
'I can't let Nico be in any more danger. I owe that much to his sister. I … let them both down.'
That old, familiar feeling of wanting to smack him and hug him at the same time washed over me. Stupid Seaweed Brain. So hopelessly loyal, even to the friends he'd only known for a short while.
You will do what's right, Artemis had told me. I should have known that Percy would, too. Even when Grover pointed out that Nico currently hated his guts, he stood by his refusal to let the kid suffer any more.
'Maybe we can find him. We can convince him it's okay, hide him somewhere safe …'
'If Luke gets hold of him-' The idea of Nico joining Luke and both of them turning against Percy made me feel sick.
'Luke won't. I'll make sure he's got other things to worry about.' Percy stared up at the sky as though making a silent promise to the gods. 'Namely, me.'
There was no answering rumble, no flash of lightning of across the skies, but as we trudged back through the woods, the air seemed to tighten around us like a noose. The first line of the Orobas's prophecy rang in my head: A circle of three, bound in love and hate.
Percy's choice had set us on a path towards the momentous lines of the Great Prophecy. Just like the Orobas had proclaimed, Luke and Percy's fates were intricately entwined. Maybe I was the third. Or maybe it was Nico di Angelo instead, a new player who could tip the balance of the precarious future. I couldn't tell how any of it would play out. Like my mom and Artemis had said, prophecies were complex, and so were the consequences of our actions.
Chapter 24