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by
Rick Riordan
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September 18 - September 25, 2020
she’d told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me.
The woman had a wispy mustache, and the guy was clean-shaven, which seemed kind of backward to me.
The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. “I am Artemis,” she said. “Goddess of the Hunt.”
He went on asking questions. Did I fight a lot with Thalia, since she was a daughter of Zeus? (I didn’t answer that one.) If Annabeth’s mother was Athena, the goddess of wisdom, then why didn’t Annabeth know better than to fall off a cliff? (I tried not to strangle Nico for asking that one.) Was Annabeth my girlfriend? (At this point, I was ready to stick the kid in a meat-flavored sack and throw him to the wolves.)
“My Hunters follow me on my adventures. They are my maidservants, my companions, my sisters-in-arms. Once they swear loyalty to me, they are indeed immortal…unless they fall in battle, which is unlikely. Or break their oath.” “What oath?” I said. “To foreswear romantic love forever,” Artemis said. “To never grow up, never get married. To be a maiden eternally.”
I couldn’t help thinking how selfish it was of her, abandoning her brother like that.
Is it?
Thalia rolled her eyes. “You satyrs. You’re all in love with Artemis. Don’t you get that she’ll never love you back?” “But she’s so…into nature,” Grover swooned. “You’re nuts,” said Thalia. “Nuts and berries,” Grover said dreamily. “Yeah.”
didn’t want to be rude. I mean, I knew the legends about Apollo—or sometimes Helios—driving a big sun chariot across the sky. But I also knew that the sun was really a star about a zillion miles away. I’d gotten used to some of the Greek myths being true, but still…I didn’t see how Apollo could drive the sun.
“Wow,” Thalia muttered. “Apollo is hot.” “He’s the sun god,” I said. “That’s not what I meant.”
“Little sister!” Apollo called. If his teeth were any whiter he could’ve blinded us without the sun car. “What’s up? You never call. You never write. I was getting worried!” Artemis sighed. “I’m fine, Apollo. And I am not your little sister.” “Hey, I was born first.” “We’re twins! How many millennia do we have to argue—” “So what’s up?” he interrupted. “Got the girls with you, I see. You all need some tips on archery?” Artemis grit her teeth. “I need a favor. I have some hunting to do, alone. I need you to take my companions to Camp Half-Blood.” “Sure, sis!” Then he raised his hands in a stop
...more
“Green grass breaks through snow. Artemis pleads for my help. I am so cool.” He grinned at us, waiting for applause. “That last line was only four syllables,” Artemis said. Apollo frowned. “Was it?” “Yes. What about I am so big-headed?” “No, no, that’s six syllables. Hmm.” He started muttering to himself.
Looool, what are these two?
It seemed weird calling a teenager “sir,” but I’d learned to be careful with immortals. They tended to get offended easily. Then they blew stuff up.
“Brother,” Artemis chided. “You do not help my Hunters. You do not look at, talk to, or flirt with my Hunters. And you do not call them sweetheart.”
“Downsizing,” Apollo said. “The Romans started it. They couldn’t afford all those temple sacrifices, so they laid off Helios and Selene and folded their duties into our job descriptions. My sis got the moon. I got the sun. It was pretty annoying at first, but at least I got this cool car.”
The chariot is a manifestation of the sun’s power, the way mortals perceive it. Make sense?”
“Well,” said Apollo with a brave smile. “You were right, my dear. You had everything under control! Let’s go see if we boiled anyone important, shall we?”
He is worried about the war.” “What do you mean?” Tyson sighed. He stuck the sword blade out the window, where it made a cloud of boiling bubbles. When Tyson brought it back in, the metal was cool. “Old sea spirits making trouble. Aigaios. Oceanus. Those guys.” I sort of knew what he was talking about. He meant the immortals who ruled the oceans back in the days of the Titans. Before the Olympians took over. The fact that they were back now, with the Titan Lord Kronos and his allies gaining strength, was not good.
Five shall go west to the goddess in chains, One shall be lost in the land without rain, The bane of Olympus shows the trail, Campers and Hunters combined prevail, The Titan’s curse must one withstand, And one shall perish by a parent’s hand.
Whatever you say, boss. You’re the man. You’re my number one.
Anytime I was anywhere near the beach, the hippocampi would ask me to help them with their problems. And they had a lot of problems. Beached whales, porpoises caught in fishing nets, mermaids with hangnails—they’d call me to come underwater and help.
I didn’t know exactly when cars were invented, but I figured that was like prehistoric times—back when people watched black-and-white TV and hunted dinosaurs.
clear,
I hated feeling like Thalia knew more than I did, so I kept my mouth shut.
“Zoë and I got into a fight. She told me I was being stupid. She said I’d regret my choice. She said Luke would let me down someday.”
“Apollo?” I guessed, because I figured nobody else could make a haiku that bad.
But nobody messes with my baby sister. Nobody.”
“In other words, you don’t know.” Apollo checked his watch. “Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, Percy, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! And when you return, I expect a good haiku about your journey!”
“Don’t blame yourself, Percy. You risked your life to save my brother and me. I mean, that was seriously brave. If I hadn’t met you, I wouldn’t have felt okay about leaving Nico at the camp. I figured if there were people like you there, Nico would be fine. You’re a good guy.”
“That’s why I wanted to join the Hunters so bad. I mean, I know it’s selfish, but I wanted my own life and friends. I love Nico—don’t get me wrong—I just needed to find out what it would be like not to be a big sister twenty-four hours a day.”
“Yeah, I feel blessed!” I said.
“The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan.”
“Oh, dear,” Aphrodite said. “Still in denial?”
My heart pounded. I didn’t want to answer, but her eyes drew an answer right out of my mouth. “Annabeth is in trouble.”
But a quest for true love—” “Wait a second, I never said—” “Oh, my dear. You don’t need to say it. You do know Annabeth was close to joining the Hunters, don’t you?”
But it’s been ages since we’ve had a good tragic love story.” “Whoa, first of all, I never said anything about love. And second, what’s up with tragic?”
“But…I don’t know where it’s going. My heart, I mean.”
“And don’t worry,” she said. “I’m not going to let this be easy and boring for you. No, I have some wonderful surprises in store. Anguish. Indecision. Oh, you just wait.”
“You’re so cute. I wish all my daughters could break the heart of a boy as nice as you.” Aphrodite’s eyes were tearing up. “Now, you’d better go. And do be careful in my husband’s territory, Percy. Don’t take anything. He is awfully fussy about his trinkets and trash.”
“You’re lucky, punk.” Ares pushed me away from the limo. “Be grateful.” “For what?” “That we’re being so nice. If it was up to me—” “So why haven’t you killed me?” I shot back. It was a stupid thing to say to the god of war, but being around him always made me feel angry and reckless. Ares nodded, like I’d finally said something intelligent. “I’d love to kill you, seriously,” he said. “But see, I got a situation. Word on Olympus is that you might start the biggest war in history. I can’t risk messing that up. Besides, Aphrodite thinks you’re some kinda soap-opera star or something. I kill you,
...more
Ares is something else.
“Don’t say that!” Grover panicked. “It’s bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if…” He sniffled. “Do you think anybody else would be my best friend?” “Ah, Grover…”
“Let us find the dam snack bar,” Zoë said. “We should eat while we can.” Grover cracked a smile. “The dam snack bar?” Zoë blinked. “Yes. What is funny?” “Nothing,” Grover said, trying to keep a straight face. “I could use some dam french fries.” Even Thalia smiled at that. “And I need to use the dam restroom.”
“There is always a way out for those clever enough to find it.”
“Hey, hey, Frisco!” our angel said. “Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics Monument again! They know how to party!” “Oh, man,” the other angel said. “I am so there!” “You guys have visited San Francisco?” I asked. “We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?” our statue said. “Those mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady statues, see. And—” “Hank!” the other statue Chuck cut in. “They’re kids, man.”
“Surely it is clear,” the manticore said. “This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus.”
Thalia raised her shield, and I noticed a tear running down her cheek. Suddenly it occurred to me: this had happened to her before. She had been cornered on Half-Blood Hill. She’d willingly given her life for her friends. But this time, she couldn’t save us. How could I let that happen to her?
I glanced at Zoë, who was watching me carefully. I realized I did know who Zoë’s hero had been—the one who’d ruined her life, gotten her kicked out of her family, and never even mentioned how she’d helped him: Hercules, a hero I’d admired all my life.
Damn it Hercules! Why did you have to do Zoë like that?
“Wait a second,” I said. “You’re Atlas?” The General glanced at me. “So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure something out. Yes, I am Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. Congratulations. I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl.”
“Yes,” Zoë said bleakly. “Atlas is my father.”
I looked at Thalia and Zoë, and I decided it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.
“Noooooo!” He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. “Not again!”
