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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We had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of us, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. This is what I had seen in my dream. It hadn't been a cavern roof that Artemis was forced to hold. It was the roof of the world.
"My lady!" Zoe rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."
Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. I had never seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.
Zoe was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains. A booming voice spoke behind us: "Ah, how touching."
We turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Annabeth and Mariana stood at Luke's side. They had their hands cuffed behind their backs, a gag in their mouths, and Luke was holding the point of his sword to Mariana's throat.
I met Mari's eyes, trying to ask her a thousand questions. There was just one message she was sending me, though: RUN.
"Mari!" I shouted, then I realized the tears dripping down her face. She was silent, afraid Luke would kill her. Her mouth quivered so much it looked like she was trying to eat the gag.
"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let them go."
Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C. "That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again."
Thalia spat at him.
The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoe. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."
"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."
"Wait a second," Percy said. "You're Atlas?"
"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."
"You're not going to hurt Zoe" I said. "I won't let you."
The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter." I frowned.
"A family matter?"
"Yes," Zoe said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."
The horrible thing was: I could see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoe, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoe sometimes got when she was mad, though on him it looked a thousand times more evil. He was all the things I'd originally disliked about Zoe, with none of the good I'd come to appreciate.
