The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, #5)

by Rick Riordan

Anyway, Rachel and I were driving along. It was a hot August day. Rachel’s red hair was pulled back in a ponytail and she wore a white blouse over her swimsuit. I’d never seen her in anything but ratty T-shirts and paint-splattered jeans before, and she looked like a million golden drachma.

Uhhhhh???? No percy no.

We’d spent a lot of time together this summer. I hadn’t exactly planned it that way, but the more serious things got at camp, the more I found myself needing to call up Rachel and get away, just for some breathing room. I needed to remind myself that the mortal world was still out there, away from all the monsters using me as their personal punching bag.

NO NO NO

She nodded. “And so…hypothetically, if these two people liked each other, what would it take to get the stupid guy to kiss the girl, huh?” “Oh…” I felt like one of Apollo’s sacred cows—slow, dumb, and bright red. “Um…” I can’t pretend I hadn’t thought about Rachel. She was so much easier to be around than…well, than some other girls I knew. I didn’t have to work hard, or watch what I said, or rack my brain trying to figure out what she was thinking. Rachel didn’t hide much. She let you know how she felt.

NO NO NO

“Good luck.” Rachel kissed me before I could even react. “Now, get going, half-blood. Go kill some monsters for me.”

NO NO NO

“So,” Beckendorf said, “I’m guessing you don’t want me to mention that little scene to Annabeth.” “Oh, gods,” I muttered. “Don’t even think about it.”

WHAT????

Annabeth ran in right behind him, and I’ll admit my heart did a little relay race in my chest when I saw her. It’s not that she tried to look good. We’d been doing so many combat missions lately, she hardly brushed her curly blond hair anymore, and she didn’t care what clothes she was wearing—usually the same old orange camp T-shirt and jeans, and once in a while her bronze armor. Her eyes were stormy gray. Most of the time we couldn’t get through a conversation without trying to strangle each other. Still, just seeing her made me feel fuzzy in the head. Last summer, before Luke had turned into Kronos and everything went sour, there had been a few times when I thought maybe…well,

Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek. “I’m glad you’re not dead, Seaweed Brain.” “Thanks,” I said. “Me too.”

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

“Percy,” Chiron said, “we didn’t want to tell you until you returned to camp. You needed a break with your…mortal friends.” Annabeth blushed. It dawned on me that she knew I’d been hanging out with Rachel, and I felt guilty. Then I felt angry that I felt guilty. I was allowed to have friends outside camp, right? It wasn’t like…

I found myself staring at her, which was stupid since I’d seen her a billion times. She and I were about the same height this summer, which was a relief. Still, she seemed so much more mature. It was kind of intimidating. I mean, sure, she’d always been cute, but she was starting to be seriously beautiful.

She threw down her scroll. “I knew we shouldn’t have shown you the prophecy.” Her voice was angry and hurt. “All it did was scare you. You run away from things when you’re scared.” I stared at her, completely stunned. “Me? Run away?” She got right in my face. “Yes, you. You’re a coward, Percy Jackson!” We were nose to nose. Her eyes were red, and I suddenly realized that when she called me a coward, maybe she wasn’t talking about the prophecy. “If you don’t like our chances,” she said, “maybe you should go on that vacation with Rachel.” “Annabeth—” “If you don’t like our company.” “That’s not fair!”

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

“But just in case. If you’re not able to call…maybe a sign that I could see from anywhere in Manhattan. To let me know you’re okay.” “Like Theseus,” Paul suggested. “He was supposed to raise white sails when he came home to Athens.” “Except he forgot,” Nico muttered. “And his father jumped off the palace roof in despair. But other than that, it was a great idea.” “What about a flag or a flare?” my mom said. “From Olympus—the Empire State Building.” “Something blue,” I said.

Something blue

“Father,” Nico said, “you promised that Percy would not be harmed. You said if I brought him, you would tell me about my past—about my mother.” Queen Persephone sighed dramatically. “Can we please not talk about that woman in my presence?” “I’m sorry, my dove,” Hades said. “I had to promise the boy something.” The older lady harrumphed. “I warned you, daughter. This scoundrel Hades is no good. You could’ve married the god of doctors or the god of lawyers, but noooo. You had to eat the pomegranate.” “Mother—” “And get stuck in the Underworld!” “Mother, please—” “And here it is August, and do you come home like you’re supposed to? Do you ever think about your poor lonely mother?”

“Husband, we talked about this,” Persephone chided. “You can’t go around incinerating every hero. Besides, he’s brave. I like that.” Hades rolled his eyes. “You liked that Orpheus fellow too. Look how well that turned out. Let me kill him, just a little bit.”

Hades glowered, smoothing the folds of his robes. “And so I shall. Your mother—what can I tell you? She was a wonderful woman.” He glanced uncomfortably at Persephone. “Forgive me, my dear. I mean for a mortal, of course. Her name was Maria di Angelo. She was from Venice, but her father was a diplomat in Washington, D.C. That’s where I met her. When you and your sister were young, it was a bad time to be children of Hades. World War II was brewing. A few of my, ah, other children were leading the losing side. I thought it best to put you two out of harm’s way.”

Nico was trembling. “But why did you free us from the casino?” “You know why,” Hades said. “This idiot son of Poseidon cannot be allowed to be the child of the prophecy.”

He glanced behind me and his eyes widened. I turned and found myself face-to-face with a Greek warrior. For a second I thought he was Ares, because this guy looked exactly like the god of war—tall and buff, with a cruel scarred face and closely shaved black hair. He wore a white tunic and bronze armor. He held a plumed war helm under his arm. But his eyes were human—pale green like a shallow sea—and a bloody arrow stuck out of his left calf, just above the ankle. I stunk at Greek names, but even I knew the greatest warrior of all time, who had died from a wounded heel. “Achilles,” I said.

The cord, a familiar voice said. Remember your lifeline, dummy! Suddenly there was a tug in my lower back. The current pulled at me, but it wasn’t carrying me away anymore. I imagined the string in my back, keeping me tied to the shore. “Hold on, Seaweed Brain.” It was Annabeth’s voice, much clearer now. “You’re not getting away from me that easily.” The cord strengthened. I could see Annabeth now—standing barefoot above me on the canoe lake pier. I’d fallen out of my canoe. That was it. She was reaching out her hand to haul me up, and she was trying not to laugh. She wore her orange camp T-shirt and jeans. Her hair was tucked up in her Yankees cap, which was strange because that should have made her invisible. “You are such an idiot sometimes.” She smiled. “Come on. Take my hand.” Memories came flooding back to me—sharper and more colorful. I stopped dissolving. My name was Percy Jackson. I reached up and took Annabeth’s hand. Suddenly I burst out of the river. I collapsed on the sand, and Nico scrambled back in surprise. “Are you okay?” he stammered. “Your skin. Oh, gods. You’re hurt!” My arms were bright red. I felt like every inch of my body had been broiled over a slow flame. I looked around for Annabeth, though I knew she wasn’t here. It had seemed so real.

I love New York. You can pop out of the Underworld in Central Park, hail a taxi, head down Fifth Avenue with a giant hellhound loping along behind you, and nobody even looks at you funny.

I took the risk of using my mom’s cell phone to call Annabeth for the second time. I’d called her once from the tunnel but only reached her voice mail. I’d gotten surprisingly good reception, seeing as I was at the mythological center of the world and all, but I didn’t want to see what my mom’s roaming charges were going to be. This time, Annabeth picked up. “Hey,” I said. “You get my message?” “Percy, where have you been? Your message said almost nothing! We’ve been worried sick!”

Everyone looked nervous, and I understood why. We were probably sending out so much demigod aura that every monster in the northeastern United States knew we were here.

She frowned. “What is it?” “What’s what?” I asked. “You’re looking at me funny.” I realized I was thinking about my strange vision of Annabeth pulling me out of the Styx River. “It’s, uh, nothing.” I turned to the rest of the group. “Thanks for coming, everybody. Chiron, after you.”

Luke put his hand on her shoulder. “You’re part of our family now. And I promise I won’t let anything hurt you. I’m not going to fail you like our families did us. Deal?” “Deal!” Annabeth said happily.

Hermes’s eyes were steely cold. “I am his messenger. May I take a message?” Behind me, the other demigods shifted restlessly. This wasn’t going as planned. Maybe if I tried to speak with Hermes in private… “You guys,” I said. “Why don’t you do a sweep of the city? Check the defenses. See who’s left in Olympus. Meet Annabeth and me back here in thirty minutes.”

“Last thing.” Hermes looked at me. “She said to tell Percy: ‘Remember the rivers.’ And, um, something about staying away from her daughter.” I’m not sure whose face was redder: Annabeth’s or mine.

“Thank you, Hermes,” Annabeth said. “And I…I wanted to say…I’m sorry about Luke.” The god’s expression hardened like he’d turned to marble. “You should’ve left that subject alone.” Annabeth stepped back nervously. “Sorry?” “SORRY doesn’t cut it!” George and Martha curled around the caduceus, which shimmered and changed into something that looked suspiciously like a high-voltage cattle prod. “You should’ve saved him when you had the chance,” Hermes growled at Annabeth. “You’re the only one who could have.” I tried to step between them. “What are you talking about? Annabeth didn’t—” “Don’t defend her, Jackson!” Hermes turned the cattle prod toward me. “She knows exactly what I’m talking about.” “Maybe you should blame yourself!” I should’ve kept my mouth shut, but all I could think about was turning his attention away from Annabeth. This whole time, he hadn’t been angry with me. He’d been angry with her. “Maybe if you hadn’t abandoned Luke and his mom!”

“I will leave you now,” he said tightly. “I have a war to fight.” He began to shine. I turned away and made sure Annabeth did the same, because she was still frozen in shock.

Annabeth frowned. “That doesn’t make sense. But why were you visiting—” Her eyes widened. “Hermes said you bear the curse of Achilles. Hestia said the same thing. Did you…did you bathe in the River Styx?” “Don’t change the subject.” “Percy! Did you or not?” “Um…maybe a little.”

I told her the story about Hades and Nico, and how I’d defeated an army of the dead. I left out the vision of her pulling me out of the river. I still didn’t quite understand that part, and just thinking about it made me embarrassed.

Even in the dead of night, New York is never silent. But it was now. I felt like my best friend had suddenly dropped dead. “What did they do?” My voice sounded tight and angry. “What did they do to my city?”

“I’ll go with Percy,” she said. “Then we’ll join you, or we’ll go wherever we’re needed.” Somebody in the back of the group said, “No detours, you two.” There were some giggles, but I decided to let it pass.

“Wait here,” I told Annabeth. “Percy, you shouldn’t go alone.” “Well, unless you can breathe underwater…” She sighed. “You are so annoying sometimes.” “Like when I’m right? Trust me, I’ll be fine. I’ve got the curse of Achilles now. I’ll all invincible and stuff.” Annabeth didn’t look convinced. “Just be careful. I don’t want anything to happen to you. I mean, because we need you for the battle.” I grinned. “Back in a flash.”

“Thanks for coming,” I told him. “Hey, why do pegasi gallop as they fly, anyway?” Blackjack whinnied. Why do humans swing their arms as they walk? I dunno, boss. It just feels right. Where to?

I drew my sword. “Percy,” Annabeth said, “let me come with you.” “Too dangerous,” I said. “Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I’ll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can.” Michael snorted. “Thanks a lot.” I kept my eyes on Annabeth. She nodded reluctantly. “All right. Get moving.” Before I could lose my courage, I said, “Don’t I get a kiss for luck? It’s kind of a tradition, right?” I figured she would punch me. Instead, she drew her knife and stared at the army marching toward us. “Come back alive, Seaweed Brain. Then we’ll see.”

omg

“Percy!” Annabeth yelled. “You’ve already routed them. Pull back! We’re overextended!” Some part of me knew she was right, but I was doing so well. I wanted to destroy every last monster.

Michael and his archers tried to retreat, but Annabeth stayed right beside me, fighting with her knife and mirrored shield as we slowly backed up the bridge.

Annabeth and I stayed shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions.

We’d almost made it to the middle of the bridge when something strange happened. I felt a chill down my spine— like that old saying about someone walking on your grave. Behind me, Annabeth cried out in pain. “Annabeth!” I turned in time to see her fall, clutching her arm. A demigod with a bloody knife stood over her. In a flash I understood what had happened. He’d been trying to stab me. Judging from the position of his blade, he would’ve taken me—maybe by sheer luck—in the small of my back, my only weak point. Annabeth had intercepted the knife with her own body. But why? She didn’t know about my weak spot. No one did.

I locked eyes with the enemy demigod. He wore an eye patch under his war helm: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. Somehow he’d survived the explosion on the Princess Andromeda. I slammed him in the face with my sword hilt so hard I dented his helm. “Get back!” I slashed the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from Annabeth. “No one touches her!”

No one touches her. The angst.

“Bravely fought, Percy Jackson,” he said. “But it’s time to surrender…or the girl dies.” “Percy, don’t,” Annabeth groaned. Her shirt was soaked with blood. I had to get her out of here. “Blackjack!” I yelled. As fast as light, the pegasus swooped down and clamped his teeth on the straps of Annabeth’s armor. They soared away over the river before the enemy could even react.

I picked up, hoping for good news. Of course I was wrong. “Percy?” Silena Beauregard sounded like she’d been crying. “Plaza Hotel. You’d better come quickly and bring a healer from Apollo’s cabin. It’s…it’s Annabeth.”

“Percy!” Jake Mason clapped me on the shoulder. “We’re getting reports—” “Later,” I said. “Where’s Annabeth?” “The terrace. She’s alive, man, but…” I pushed past him.

Will unwrapped Annabeth’s bandages to examine the wound, and I wanted to faint. The bleeding had stopped but the gash looked deep. The skin around the cut was a horrible shade of green. “Annabeth…” I choked up. She’d taken that knife for me. How could I have let that happen?

I grabbed a canteen. Will cleaned out the wound with the godly drink while I held Annabeth’s hand.

“Come on, guys,” Travis Stoll said. “Let’s give Annabeth some space. We’ve got a drugstore to raid…I mean, visit.”

“This is all my fault.” “No,” Annabeth said weakly. “Silena, how is it your fault?” “I’ve never been any good at camp,” she murmured. “Not like you or Percy. If I was a better fighter…” Her mouth trembled. Ever since Beckendorf died she’d been getting worse, and every time I looked at her, it made me angry about his death all over again. Her expression reminded me of glass—like she might break any minute. I swore to myself that if I ever found the spy who’d cost her boyfriend his life, I would give him to Mrs. O’Leary as a chew toy.

“All right,” I told her. “I can’t think of anybody better to try.” Silena threw her arms around me. Then she pushed back awkwardly, glancing at Annabeth. “Um, sorry. Thank you, Percy! I won’t let you down!”

Once she was gone, I knelt next to Annabeth and felt her forehead. She was still burning up. “You’re cute when you’re worried,” she muttered. “Your eyebrows get all scrunched together.” “You are not going to die while I owe you a favor,” I said. “Why did you take that knife?” “You would’ve done the same for me.”

“How did you know?” “Know what?” I looked around to make sure we were alone. Then I leaned in close and whispered: “My Achilles spot. If you hadn’t taken that knife, I would’ve died.” She got a faraway look in her eyes. Her breath smelled of grapes, maybe from the nectar. “I don’t know, Percy. I just had this feeling you were in danger. Where…where is the spot?” I wasn’t supposed to tell anyone. But this was Annabeth. If I couldn’t trust her, I couldn’t trust anyone. “The small of my back.” She lifted her hand. “Where? Here?” She put her hand on my spine, and my skin tingled. I moved her fingers to the one spot that grounded me to my mortal life. A thousand volts of electricity seemed to arc through my body. “You saved me,” I said. “Thanks.” She removed her hand, but I kept holding it. “So you owe me,” she said weakly. “What else is new?”