Project Percy (Kotlc Meets Percy Jackson)

Chapter 29

Annabeth alternated spending time with him at Cerulean Stables and at Viric Ridge. Athena was gone a lot, and she usually came back smelling of smoke. She never talked about it, and would dodge all of Percy's attempts to ask questions.

He wasn't giving up. If he couldn't get any new information, maybe he could make sense of the pieces he already had. He tried to fit the clues together.

Project Moonlark had to have something to do with the Black Swan. Whatever that was. And they had to be behind the fires. But...why set fires? Especially around humans? What would that accomplish?

The fires consumed his thought so much they crept into his dreams. Vivid nightmares of his human family, trapped in their apartment, surrounded by fire. He knew it wasn't real, but he still woke up shivering every night. It got so bad he slept with Davy Jones's tank by his pillow so he wouldn't be alone.

Pretty soon he was counting down the days until school resumed, which was how he knew he was going insane.

"Congratulations to everyone who passed their midterms," Magnate Frederick said during their first orientation. "I hope you enjoyed your six-week vacation, because it's time to get serious. Anyone who got lower than eighty-five percent on their midterms needs to step it up or you will not pass your finals."

Percy sighed. Aside from the seventy-nine in in elementalism, he'd received an eighty-one in metaphysics and an eighty-three in physical education.

"Your mentors also tell me there are one hundred nine Level Threes who haven't manifested abilities, and more than double that of Level Twos, which is unacceptable. Be prepared to be pushed much harder in ability detecting from now."

Groans chorused through the room.

The next week everyone looked sweaty and wilted as they trudged into study hall after ability detecting.

"What did they do to you guys?" Percy asked.

"Stuck us in an oven for two hours trying to figure out if we were Frosters," Jason grumbled.

"Which none of us were, because frosting is a stupid talent almost no one has," Connor, who was one of the one hundred and nine Level Threes still in ability detecting, added. He slumped into a chair. "What did you do in remedial studies?"

"Same old boring stuff."

Actually, he'd had a blast. Kym had him test his range of water control, and it was off the charts. Annabeth told him later that she'd almost had a heart attack when she saw the water stir near her, since he was halfway across the school. He couldn't blame her for her surprise. Even Kym hadn't known it was possible.

He fought off a smile, feeling guilty that everyone else suffered while he had fun. "What are Frosters?"

Leo fanned his face. "Cryokinetics. They freeze things by manipulating the ice particles in the air. It's totally useless. I don't know why they even test us for it."

"They have to test us for everything," Connor reminded him.

"Not true. They don't test us for pyrokinesis," Leo argued.

"Yeah, because that's a forbidden talent," Jason reminded.

"There are forbidden talents?" Percy asked.

"Only one," Jason clarified. "Beguilers and Inflictors - people who can inflict emotions onto you - are closely monitored, but Pyrokinetics are forbidden.

"Why?"

"Too dangerous."

"How can it be more dangerous than someone who can make you do whatever they want with their voice?"