𝐌𝐀𝐃 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐏𝐎𝐖𝐄𝐑 | Percy Jackson¹

12. 𝘈 𝘎𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘣𝘺𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴, 𝘢 𝘏𝘦𝘭𝘭𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘏𝘰𝘱𝘦

"Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn't really paying attention to Grover. Instead, the king of the skies was staring intently at his daughter Thalia.

Grover trotted over. None of the gods said a word. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. The Ophiotaurus splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled.

Grover gave Annabeth and Thalia big hugs. Veronica was caught off guard when he gave her one, too.

Then he grasped Percy's arms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it!" he said. "But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Do what?" Percy asked.

"Heroes," Artemis called.

The goddess slid down from her throne and shrank to human size, a young auburn-haired girl in her place, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward them, her silver robes shimmering. She looked emotionless.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis explained. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas' attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus' command," Artemis continued, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes..."

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service," she said. " Would any here deny that?"

She looked around, meeting the gods' faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like peacock feathers. Hera, queen of the gods.

On Zeus' right sat Poseidon. Next to the sea god, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. Lord of the forges, Hephaestus. Hermes sat beside him, wearing a business suit and checking messages on a caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, and possibly wasn't even listening. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grapevine between his fingers. And Ares, was sharpening a knife while he glared at Percy from his chrome-and-leather throne.

To Hera's left, a blonde goddess in green robes sat on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a dark haired, gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. Athena, Annabeth's mother.

Aphrodite smiled at Veronica knowingly, leaving her confused and wondering what the hell that was supposed to be hinting at.

"I gotta say," Apollo broke the silence in the room, "these kids did okay."

He cleared his throat and began to recite a poem: "Heroes win laurels—"

"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, just as anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry as Veronica was. "All in favor of not disintegrating them?"

A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and Percy. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—"