Sailing Solo

12

Previously:
Later, in his cabin, he sat at his desk with his lamp on, writing things out for the next day. Just because Will had banned him from training for the next week, doesn't mean he didn't have other things to do.

He had a lot to do. Like he said: he's running out of time.

Getting back from that morning's raid was difficult enough without the cyclopes getting stuck in a current. It stopped the entire trip because he was the son of Oceanus and it would have looked bad if they left him to get out of it alone. Besides that, Annabeth was working out how to break the news to Pontus that they failed to get Percy...again.

The primordial somehow got it in his head that if he kidnapped Percy Jackson, the camp and the gods would lose morale and eventually either surrender or loose because they do not have their best warrior. He said that was what his mother had done wrong in the Second Giant War.

Annabeth was not as confident that grabbing just Percy would do the trick, but it is a good start.

The problem is that this is the second raid with that mission in mind and they failed. Pontus is not going to be happy.

Annabeth knew from second hand experience that he was not so forgiving after multiple attempts to carry out his wishes.

-            -            -            -

"What do you mean, you lost them?" A dangerously soft voice coming from the trees ahead of Annabeth caused her to stop in her tracks. It sounded angry and powerful. It caused her very frame to shake as if she were to burst into dust at any moment. Fortunately, the sand she was walking on made her foot steps almost completely silent. So far, she has gone undetected.

Annabeth suddenly wondered if it would have been better to have Percy retrace the steps of the scouting party of monsters after all.

"They were being led by the daughter of Athena and son of Poseidon!" Another voice protested weakly. "We fought to the last man, like you said to after last time!"

Annabeth frowned. This is one of the monsters that had been chasing after the twins.

The sound of a blade entering flesh reached her ears and she could almost see the sneer in the powerful voice's answer. "Evidently not."

"What now, Lord Pontus?" A third voice questioned.

"You will gather another group to go sniff them out before they reach that blasted camp." The first voice said coldly but still in a soft manner "We need the leverage on the Nereids. This time, make sure they are not allowed to come to me until they've succeeded."

Now was her chance. Annabeth began walking again, making sure to step on a few leaves. The voices fell into an anticipatory silence. As she stumbled into the clearing a few feet away, she noted that there was much more than two beings and a pile of dust on the ground.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" The first voice turned out to be a tall man in a sharp looking suit in the venter of the pile of golden dust. He made a move with his head and a group of telchines came forward to grab a hold off her.

Annabeth attempted to run, but they caught her, one on each side, holding her arms. She held her head up confidently, though she was shaking in her shoes.

If she remembered correctly, Pontus was the primordial of the sea, son of Gaea with no father or of Gaea and Aether (depending on the myths you believed), father of sea life and the telchines. Considering how hard it was to fight Gaea, she hoped he wasn't interested in taking down the gods and destroying the world. She wasn't sure if she could take it. Or even that the camp could take it.