In which, Adira Lancaster falls in love with her rival, Percy Jackson
OR
he falls in love with her first, unknowingly.
She only seemed to think about a rivalry. Nothing else. Zilch. Nada. Zip.
-disclaimer- I do not own the Percy Jackson Books, or an...
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When you think "monster island," you think of craggy rocks and bones scattered on the beach like the island of the Sirens.
The Cyclops's island was nothing like that. I mean, okay, it had a rope bridge across a chasm, which was not a good sign. You might as well put up a billboard that said, SOMETHING EVIL LIVES HERE.
But except for that, the place looked like a Caribbean postcard. It had green fields and tropical fruit trees and white beaches. As we sailed toward the shore, Annabeth breathed in the sweet air.
"The Fleece," she said.
I nodded. I couldn't see the Fleece yet, but I could feel its power. I could believe it would heal anything, even Thalia's poisoned tree. "If we take it away, will the island die?" Percy asked.
I shook my head. "It'll fade. Go back to what it would normally be, whatever that is."
I felt a little guilty about ruining this paradise, but I reminded myself we had no choice.
Camp Half-Blood was in trouble. And Tyson... Tyson would still be with us if it wasn't for this quest. We had to do it for him. And his honor.
In the meadow at the base of the ravine, several dozen sheep were milling around. They looked peaceful enough, but they were huge—the size of hippos. Just past them was a path that led up into the hills. At the top of the path, near the edge of the canyon, was the massive oak tree I'd seen in my dreams. Something gold glittered in its branches.
"This is too easy," Percy said. "We could just hike up there and take it?"
My eyes narrowed. "There's supposed to be a guardian. A dragon or..."
That's when a deer emerged from the bushes. It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves. Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air.
A second later the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.
Annabeth and I exchanged looks.
"Well... that's fucked up," was the only thing that got out of me.
"They're like piranhas," she said.
"Piranhas with wool. How will we—"
"Percy!" I gasped, grabbing Percy's arm. "Look."
I pointed down the beach, to just below the sheep meadow, where a small boat had been run aground... the other lifeboat from the CSS Birmingham.
We decided there was no way we could get past the man-eating sheep. Annabeth wanted to sneak up the path invisibly and grab the Fleece, but in the end I convinced her that something would go wrong. The sheep would smell her. Another guardian would appear. Something. And if that happened, I'd be too far away to help.
