σɾɳιƚԋαʂ (ρʝσ x ɱαʅҽ σƈ)

I End Up on a 10-Year-Old's Shit List

I blushed.

Theo: She told you?

Thalia: No, but she was acting a bit giddy. I just put two and two together.

Theo: Okay. So, I guess this is goodbye?

Thalia: For now. I have a feeling we'll see each other again, though.

Theo: (smiles) Looking forward to it.

She and I hugged each other.

Thalia: See you around, Pinhead.

Theo: (chuckles) You too, Thunderstruck.

We separated. She playfully punched me on the shoulder before walking away.

Timeskip

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, Percy, Zoe, and me at the Empire State Building and ferried us back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, I half expected to see Thalia there, waiting for us. But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.

Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Annabeth, Zoe, Percy, and I sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. I knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she didn't even try to pulverize me. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

Like I had predicted, it took a while for the other campers to get used to Zoe. Fortunately, Beckendorf was the first to warm up to her. Silena Beauregard followed shortly afterward.

Everyone took a liking to Diego, who liked the attention he was getting as he was getting enough pats, scratches, and belly rubs to last 9 lifetimes.

Clarisse: I got news. Bad news.

Chiron: I'll fill you in later. The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!

Percy: Luke is alive.

Annabeth: How do you know?

Percy told us what Poseidon told him about the Princess Andromeda.

Annabeth: Well. If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out.

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked really old. I mean...he was really old, but he usually didn't look it.

Chiron: Two years may seem like a long time, but it is the blink of an eye. I still

hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here.

Percy: How do you know? Why would he care about camp?

Chiron: Because the gods use heroes as their tools. Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous...We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—