The Hidden Oracle (The Trials of Apollo, #1)

by Rick Riordan

Zeus needed someone to blame, so of course he’d picked the handsomest, most talented, most popular god in the pantheon: me.

Zeus did not answer. He was probably too busy recording my humiliation to share on Snapchat.

“As you wish,” I said. “Let’s find Percy Jackson.”

I understood why Poseidon had been so smitten with her. Sally Jackson possessed just the right combination of compassion, strength, and beauty. She was one of those rare mortal women who could connect spiritually with a god as an equal—to be neither terrified of us nor greedy for what we can offer, but to provide us with true companionship.

“Sure it is,” Percy said. “Some of the best demigods have gotten their start by blowing up toilets.”

Percy’s expression turned grim. He faced us. “You hear that, guys? A batch of cookies is depending on me. If you get me killed on the way to camp, I am going be ticked off.”

“That pretty much describes my entire life: Because Poseidon.”

“This is insufferable!” I complained. “How do demigods do it without an auto-win power?”

(And FYI, the Black Death was not my fault. I took one century off to lie around the beach in Cabo, and came back and found that the nosoi had gotten loose and a third of the continent was dead. Gods, I was so irritated.)

Apollo is so hilarious i love him

I will deny I ever said it—but the truth is we gods are a little in awe of you mortals. You spend your whole lives knowing you will die. No matter how many friends and relatives you have, your puny existence will quickly be forgotten. How do you cope with it? Why are you not running around constantly screaming and pulling your hair out? Your bravery, I must admit, is quite admirable.

“You’re Will Solace,” I said. “My, ah…erm—” “Yeah,” Will agreed. “It’s awkward.” My frontal lobe did a one-eighty inside my skull. I listed sideways.

WILLL !!!!

It warmed my heart that my children had the right priorities: their skills, their images, their views on YouTube.

Will laughed under his breath. “I’m terrified. But one thing you learn as head counselor: you have to keep it together for everyone else. Let’s get you on your feet.”

I wasn’t sure Rachel would want to see me. She would expect explanations from her Main Man, and while I had invented mansplaining and was its foremost practitioner, I had no answers to give her.

On the porch of the Big House, a dark-haired young man was waiting for us. He wore faded black trousers, a Ramones T-shirt (bonus points for musical taste), and a black leather bomber jacket. At his side hung a Stygian iron sword.

Nico!!!

“So it’s true. You’re completely mortal. There’s an aura of death around you—a thick possibility of death.”

Will put his hand on Nico’s shoulder. “Nico, we need to have another talk about your people skills.”

“Hey, I’m just stating the obvious. If this is Apollo, and he dies, we’re all in trouble.” Will turned to me. “I apologize for my boyfriend.” Nico rolled his eyes. “Could you not—” “Would you prefer special guy?” Will asked. “Or significant other?” “Significant annoyance, in your case,” Nico grumbled. “Oh, I’ll get you for that.”

SPECIAL GUY !!!

“And here I am.” The screen door opened. Chiron trotted out, ducking his head to avoid the doorframe.

Charon never change with the dramatic entrances

“Understood.” Will looked at Nico. “Will you be my buddy?” “You are a dork,” Nico announced. The two of them strolled off bickering.

At this point, you may be wondering how I felt seeing my son with Nico di Angelo. I’ll admit I did not understand Will’s attraction to a child of Hades, but if the dark foreboding type was what made Will happy… Oh. Perhaps some of you are wondering how I felt seeing him with a boyfriend rather than a girlfriend. If that’s the case, please. We gods are not hung up about such things.

Ally!

Will and Nico sat shoulder to shoulder, bantering good-naturedly. They were so cute together it made me feel desolate.

“Nico,” I said at last, “shouldn’t you be sitting at the Hades table?” He shrugged. “Technically, yes. But if I sit alone at my table, strange things happen. Cracks open in the floor. Zombies crawl out and start roaming around. It’s a mood disorder. I can’t control it. That’s what I told Chiron.” “And is it true?” I asked. Nico smiled thinly. “I have a note from my doctor.” Will raised his hand. “I’m his doctor.” “Chiron decided it wasn’t worth arguing about,” Nico said. “As long as I sit at a table with other people, like…oh, these guys for instance…the zombies stay away. Everybody’s happier.”

They are so fucking adorable

“Well,” Nico started, “you saw Percy. He and Annabeth are spending their senior year in New York. Hazel and Frank are at Camp Jupiter doing the Twelfth Legion thing.”

“Jason and Piper are spending the school year in Los Angeles with Piper’s dad. They took Coach Hedge, Mellie, and Little Chuck with them.”

I thought Jason died Update; hahahaha I’m in trouble

“Well, Leo isn’t here. He died. Then he came back to life. And if I see him again, I’ll kill him.” Will elbowed him. “No, you won’t.” He turned to me. “During the fight with Gaea, Leo and his bronze dragon, Festus, disappeared in a midair fiery explosion.”

Now their kindness moved me more than a hundred sacrificial bulls. I couldn’t recall the last time someone had cared about me enough to curse my enemies with rhyming couplets.

A father should do more—a father should give more to his children than he takes. I have to admit that this was a novel idea for me. It made me feel even worse than before.

I wondered who Meg’s father had been to attract the attention of the goddess. Demeter rarely fell in love with mortals. Meg was unusually powerful, too. Most children of Demeter could do little more than make crops grow and keep bacterial fungi at bay. Dual-wielding golden blades and summoning karpoi—that was top-shelf stuff.

“We’ll watch out for him,” Austin said. “We’re all he’s got now.” I held back a sob. I couldn’t bear their concern. Not being able to reassure them, or even disagree with them, made me feel very small. A blanket was draped over me. Will said, “Sleep well, Apollo.”

Oh, gods—bacon! I promised myself that once I achieved immortality again, I would assemble the Nine Muses and together we would create an ode, a hymnal to the power of bacon, which would move the heavens to tears and cause rapture across the universe. Bacon is good. Yes—that may be the title of the song: “Bacon Is Good.”

“The style you fight in, with two curved blades, is the style of a dimachaerus, a gladiator from the late Roman Empire. Even back then, it was rare—possibly the most difficult fighting style to master, and one of the most deadly.”

You try to maintain good physical shape with push-ups, sit-ups, five-mile runs, obstacle courses, and other hard work that involves sweating. All the while, you know it is a losing battle. Eventually your weak, limited-use bodies will deteriorate and fail, giving you wrinkles, sagging parts, and old-person breath.

Exercise is nothing more than a depressing reminder that one is not a god.

“Sometimes, if you can’t find your way back, a beacon can help. Just got to find the right frequency.” “And…how long have you been working on this?” “Since he disappeared. Now I gotta concentrate. Can’t stop the race.” He turned his back on me and walked off.

I believe this grove is somewhere in those woods. I don’t know how or why. But the whispering voices…they are from this hidden Oracle. The sacred trees are trying to speak prophecies, reaching out to those with burning questions, luring them in.”

Will Solace sighed. He was, of course, tied to Nico. He propped his elbow on Nico’s shoulder as if the son of Hades were a convenient shelf.

Not all monsters were three-ton reptiles with poisonous breath. Many wore human faces.

RACHEL ELIZABETH DARE was one of my favorite mortals. As soon as she’d become the Oracle two summers ago, she’d brought new vigor and excitement to the job.

Nico rested his hand on Will’s shoulder. “Apollo, we were worried. Will was especially.” Seeing them together, supporting each other, made my heart feel even heavier. During my delirium, both of my great loves had visited me. Now, once again, I was devastatingly alone.

I sang of my failures, my eternal heartbreak and loneliness. I was the worst of the gods, the most guilt-ridden and unfocused. I couldn’t commit myself to one lover. I couldn’t even choose what to be the god of. I kept shifting from one skill to another—distracted and dissatisfied. My golden life was a sham. My coolness was pretense. My heart was a lump of petrified wood.

“You guys go,” Will told me. “The chariot is only designed for three, and after that shadow-travel, Nico is going to pass out any second.” “No, I’m not,” Nico complained, then passed out. Will caught him in a fireman’s carry and took him away. “Good luck! I’m going to get the Lord of Darkness here some Gatorade!”

Hellhounds are not fond of heights. When startled, they respond in a predictable way. The moment Percy’s faithful pet landed on top of the moving Colossus, she yelped and proceeded to wee-wee on said Colossus’s head.

MRS OLEARY!!!

That’s the nice thing about being human. We only have one life, but we can choose what kind of story it’s going to be.”

Perhaps she missed her powers, but she seemed genuinely happy to be with Valdez—to be young and mortal, even if it meant she could die at any moment. Unlike me, she had chosen to become mortal. She knew that leaving Ogygia was a risk, but she had done it willingly. I didn’t know how she’d found the courage.

“We’ll succeed,” Calypso said. “We must. So we will. I have been trapped on an island for thousands of years. I don’t know how long this mortal life will be, but I intend to live fully and without fear.”

he shared a deep friendship with Achilles after being raised alongside him;

ricky they were gay as fuck