Indigo Eyes

Chapter 28

"I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU'RE – NO – LADY – CYCLOPS!"

The Cyclops grabbed Grover's dress and tore it away. Underneath, the old Grover reappeared in his jeans and T-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the monster swiped over his head. "Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I – I have a good recipe!"

Percy reached for his sword, as Cressida went for her bracelet but Annabeth hissed, "Wait!"

Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be bride. "Recipe?" he asked Grover.

"Oh y-yes! You don't want to eat me raw. You'll get E. coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I'll taste much better roasted over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go get some mangoes right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here."

Cressida was getting antsy as the monster pondered this.

"Roasted satyr with mango chutney," Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water. "You a satyr, too?"

"No, you overgrown pile of dung!" she yelled. "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me so I can rip your arms off!"

"Rip my arms off," Polyphemus repeated.

"And stuff them down your throat!"

"You got spunk."

"Let me down!" 

Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy. "Have to graze sheep now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"

"But ... you're still getting married?" Grover sounded hurt. "Who's the bride?"

Polyphemus looked towards the boiling pot and Cressida had to smirk at sweet old karma.

Clarisse made a strangled sound. "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not –"

Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like she was a ripe apple, and tossed her and Grover deep into the cave. "Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for the big event!" Then the Cyclops whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep – smaller than the man-eaters – flooded out of the cave and past their master. As they went to pasture, Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name – Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart and so on. When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway as easily as I would close a refrigerator door, shutting off the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming inside. "Mangoes," Polyphemus grumbled to himself. "What are mangoes?" He strolled off down the mountain in his baby-blue groom's outfit, leaving us alone with a pot of boiling water and a six-ton boulder.

"Still think we should've waited?" Cressida asked and both her friends just sighed.

******************************************************************

If climbing up the cliff took an eternity, Cressida didn't want to know how long they spent trying to move that boulder, it just wouldn't budge and the area around them was all rock too thick for Cressida to summon any vines. The rock was also too thick to get a signal to Grover and even if he did hear them, they had no idea.

In a frustrated move, Percy stabbed Riptide against the boulder, making sparks fly.

"Alright, Fish Face," Cressida said as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's calm down for a second."

The three of them sat on the edge of the ridge in despair and watched the distant baby-blue shape of the Cyclops as he moved among his flocks. He had wisely divided his regular animals from his man-eating sheep, putting each group on either side of the huge crevice that divided the island. The only way across was the rope bridge, and the planks were much too far apart for sheep hooves.

"Trickery," Annabeth decided. "We can't beat him by force, so we'll have to use trickery."

"Ok. What trick?" Percy asked and Annabeth sighed.

"I haven't figured that part out yet."

"Great."

"Get me within touching distance and I can make him believe whatever you want," Cressida said.

"Taking into account Polyphemus' size, strength and age, as well as your strength, I'd say you could only manage one command before you pass out," Annabeth deduced.

"So? Let's do this," she said determinedly.

"Ok, calm down, Grape Girl. Even if you do your magic voodoo thing on Polyphemus, we still need him to move the boulder.

"Magic voodoo?" Cressida questioned with a raised brow.

"Shut up."

"Regardless," Annabeth interrupted. "He'll be back to move the rock to let the sheep inside."

"At sunset," Cressida pointed out.

"Which is when he'll marry Clarisse and have Grover for dinner. I'm not sure which is grosser," Percy said with a grossed-out look on his face.

"Probably the Clarisse thing," Cressida said and Percy shrugged.

"I could get inside," Annabeth said, "invisibly."

"And why do I have a feeling that we're not going to like your plan for us?" Cressida asked as she turned to Annabeth.

"The sheep," Annabeth mused. She gave them one of those sly looks that made Cressida right to be wary of Annabeth's plan. "How much do you like sheep?"

Percy's head fell. "Please tell me that she's talking about the lamb chops they serve for dinner at camp."

"Unfortunately not, Fish Face."