[act three; chapter sixteen - meeting]
"We will never make it," Zoë said. "We are moving too slow. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus."
"Mooo," Bessie said. He swam next to Percy as they jogged along the waterfront. They'd left the shopping center pier far behind. They were heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was a lot farther than any of them had realized. The sun was already dipping in the west and Andromeda felt her chest tightening with panic.
"I don't get it," the raven haired boy said. "Why do we have to get there at sunset?"
"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoë said. "We can only enter their garden as day changes to night."
"What happens if we miss it?"
"Tomorrow is the winter solstice. If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis tonight."
And Annabeth could die, Andromeda thought bitterly.
"We need a car," Thalia said.
Donnie scoffed, shaking his head a few times. "A car, Thalia? Where are we, a bunch of teenagers, supposed to find a random car in San Francisco?"
It seemed Percy wasn't as concerned with that as everyone else. "But what about Bessie?" He asked.
Grover stopped in his tracks. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"
"Well, yeah," Percy said. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into the water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here."
"So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."
"But he was following me," He said. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?"
"Moo," Bessie said forlornly.
Andromeda, ever the amazing friend, decided now was the perfect time to make crude, sarcastic comments. "Oh, of course Percy. Because you are the compass of all sea creatures. The oh so feared supreme lord of cows and bathrooms—"
"Lea—"
Jokes on him, she wasn't done. "You know, when you get all cute and pouty like that, you kind of look like a puffer fish."
"Did you just call me cute, Glowstick?"
"Glowstick? Listen here you little Fish Face—"
"Alright!" Donnie clapped his hands together and wormed himself between the two, pushing them apart. "You two are done, gods, no wonder we can't leave you two to your own devices."
"I...I can show him," Grover said. "I'll go with him."
Percy stared at him and Andromeda...gods, she couldn't not see the pufferfish. But, on a more serious note, Grover was no fan of the water. He'd almost drowned last summer in the Sea of Monsters, and he couldn't swim very well with his goat hooves.
"I'm the only one who can talk to him," Grover said. "It makes sense."
He bent down and said something in Bessie's ear. Bessie shivered, then made a contented, lowing sound.
"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."
Andromeda didn't understand how they could possibly swim back to Long Island from California. Then again, monsters didn't travel the same way as humans. And, in all seriousness, things like that didn't make sense. She had fallen from the St. Louis Arch and survived, for gods sake.
Percy shut his eyes and she immediately knew that he was trying to concentrate on the waves, the smell of the ocean, the sound of the tide.
"Dad," He said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at sea."
"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big."
He thought for a second. Then he took off his coat, the others watching him surprised.
"Percy," Grover said. "Are you sure? That lion skin...that's really helpful. Hercules used it!"
As soon as he said that, Andromeda remembered something.
She watched as Percy glanced at Zoë, who was watching him carefully. She knew he realized who Zoë's hero had been—the one who'd ruined her life, gotten her kicked out of her family, and never even mentioned how she'd helped him: Hercules, a hero he'd admired (Andromeda never liked him, not even a little bit) all his life.
"If I'm going to survive," Percy said, "it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not Hercules."
He threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, flashing in the light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water.
The sea breeze picked up.
Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."
He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him in the water and let Grover take hold of his neck.
"Be careful," Percy told them.
"We will," Grover said. "Okay, um...Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way."
"Moooo?" Bessie said.
"Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And...it's long. Oh, let's just start."
"Mooo!"
Bessie lurched forward. He started to submerge and Grover said, "I can't breathe underwater! Just thought I'd mention—"
Glub!
Under they went. Andromeda yelled, "BYE! Good luck!" with a wave as they disappeared from view.
"Well, that is one problem addressed," Zoë said. "But how can we get to my sisters' garden?"
"Thalia's right," Percy said. "We need a car. But there's nobody to help us here. Unless we, uh, borrowed one."
Andromeda's face scrunched up with thought. There was one person in all of San Francisco that could help them in the way that they needed.
"Wait," Thalia said, having the same idea as the red haired girl. She started rifling through her backpack. "There is somebody in San Francisco who can help us. I've got the address here somewhere."
"Who?" He asked, watching the two girls sceptically.
Thalia pulled out a crumpled piece of notebook paper and held it up. "Professor Chase. Annabeth's dad."
After hearing Annabeth gripe about her dad for two years, Percy was expecting him to have devil horns and fangs. He was not expecting him to be wearing an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. He looked so weird, with his eyes bugging out through the glasses, that we all took a step back on the front porch.
Andromeda hadn't ever met the man, but she had heard many teary stories and seen many photos of Mr. Chase. In the old, water stained photos he hadn't looked much like his daughter, but standing in front of him now she realized how alike they looked. Their noses were the same, as well as the little dip in their top lips, or the single dimple on their left cheeks.
"Hello," he said in a friendly voice, "Are you delivering my airplanes?" Thalia, Zoë, Andromeda, and Percy looked at each other warily.
"Um, no, sir," Percy said.
"Drat," he said, sounding so much like his daughter Andromeda had to stop herself from smiling. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."
"Right," He said, though he had no clue what he was talking about. He glanced at Andromeda and his wide sea green eyes screamed, a little help please?
She cleared her throat and took a step forward, taking charge. "We're friends of Annabeth."
"Annabeth?" He straightened. "Is she all right? Has something happened?"
Andromeda nodded lightly, "I think you might want to sit down for this."
He paused and looked an awful lot like Annabeth again, the way that his eyebrows furrowed and his eyes seemed to sharpen. Gods, he looked so much like her.
"You'd better come in," he said.
It didn't look like a house they'd just moved into. There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a little kid's winter coat was spread on the floor. The whole house smelled like fresh-baked chocolate-chip cookies. There was jazz music coming from the kitchen. It seemed like a messy, happy kind of home—the kind of place that had been lived in forever.
It made Andromeda smile, but it didn't reach her eyes. It reminded her of two places: the home she was born in, in New Orleans and then the home she currently lives in while not at camp on Cape Cod. The homey feeling that radiated everywhere. Maybe it was the record player and all of the records at both houses or the warm, earthy colors that were scattered everywhere. Or maybe it was the large bookshelves that were completely full, or maybe it was the pictures that hung on the walls or sat on the shelves. Or maybe it was the board games and puzzles that were scattered on random tables or even on the floor. It was all so homey and lived in, and it made her reminisce on the days where life was so much more simple.
"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!"
"Bobby," Dr. Chase called absently, "don't take apart your brother's robots."
"I'm Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"
"Matthew," Dr. Chase called, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"
"Okay, Dad!"
Dr. Chase turned to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."
"Honey?" a woman called. Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. She was a pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun.
"Who are our guests?" she asked.
"Oh," Dr. Chase said. "This is..."
He stared at them blankly.
"Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"
They introduced themselves a little uneasily, but Mrs. Chase seemed really nice. She asked if they were hungry. They admitted they were, and she told them she'd bring them some cookies and sandwiches and sodas.
But when Andromeda stopped hiding behind her brother, Mrs, Chase's eyes seemed to widen and suddenly she seemed very curious. "Andromeda, are there any other names you go by, perhaps?" She asked. "I swear I've seen your face before."
The redhead blushed in embarrassment. "Oh, um. Andy, Dromeda, Dee, Ro, uh—but, um, but mostly Andy. She was the first person to ever call me that."
Mrs. Chase nodded with a small smile, and walked forward. She placed her hands on either side of the girl's face. "That must be it. Well, I must say thank you for taking care of my husbands girl. He may not make it seem apparent, and I have a feeling Annabeth doesn't either, but the way her eyes would light up when she talked about you is something I've only seen when she talked about architecture. So, thank you for being her friend."
Andromeda nodded her head and eventually, she returned to her friends.
Before they all went to follow Mr. Chase, the woman, said, "All right. Go on up to the study and I'll bring you some food." She smiled at Percy. "Nice meeting you, Percy. I've heard a lot about you."
Upstairs, they walked into Dr. Chase's study and the sea green eyes boy said, "Whoa!"
The room was wall-to-wall books, but what really caught his attention were the war toys. There was a huge table with miniature tanks and soldiers fighting along a blue painted river, with hills and fake trees and stuff. Old-fashioned biplanes hung on strings from the ceiling, tilted at crazy angles like they were in the middle of a dogfight.
Dr. Chase smiled. "Yes. The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for."
Andromeda smiled as her amethyst eyes cast over everything, "It's that way in most wars. It's almost always one sided in the history books. It was that way during the Revolutionary war, the Persian war, so many."
He smiled at her and plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield, making airplane engine noises as he knocked down little German soldiers.
"Oh, right," Percy said.
Zoë came over and studied the battlefield. "The German lines were farther from the river."
Dr. Chase stared at her. "How do you know that?"
"I was there," she said matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste."
Dr. Chase opened his mouth in shock. "You—"
"She's a Hunter, sir," Thalia said. "But that's not why we're here. We need—"
"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr. Chase said. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"
"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Annabeth is in danger."
That got his attention. He set the biplane down.
"Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."
It wasn't easy, but they tried. Meanwhile, the afternoon light was fading outside. They were running out of time. It was an interesting thing, all of them explaining, but it seemed that Donnie was the one doing most of the talking. He filled in all of the things everyone else missed and with everything he said, he had a small, sympathetic smile on his face.
When they finished, Dr. Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands. "My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."
"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoë said. "And we need it immediately."
"I'll drive you. Hmm. it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."
"Whoa, you have an actual biplane?" Donnie asked.
"Down at Crissy Field," Dr. Chase said proudly. "That's the reason I had to move here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world. He let me restore the Sopwith Camel—"
"Sir," Thalia said. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."
Dr. Chase frowned uncomfortably. "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not, I...I can't just—"
"Snacks," Mrs. Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven, the chocolate chips still gooey.
Donnie, Thalia and Percy inhaled a few cookies while Zoë said, "I can drive, sir. I'm not as young as I look. I promise not to destroy your car."
Mrs. Chase knit her eyebrows. "What's this about?"
"Annabeth is in danger," Dr. Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but...apparently it's no place for mortals."
It sounded like it was really hard for him to get that last part out.
They all waited for Mrs. Chase to say no. Because seriously, what mortal parent would allow a group underage teenagers to borrow their car? To their surprise, Mrs. Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get going."
"Right!" Dr. Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys..."
His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat. The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."
"Right!" Dr. Chase said, Donnie letting out a small chuckle at the man's behavior.
Zoë grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. Now"
They hustled out the door and down the stairs, the Chases right behind them.
"Percy, Andromeda," Mrs. Chase called as they were leaving, "tell Annabeth...Tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."
The two took one last look at the messy living room, Annabeth's half brothers spilling LEGOs and arguing, the smell of cookies filling the air. Not a bad place to call home, Andromeda thought.
"We'll tell her," Percy promised.
They ran out to the yellow VW convertible parked in the driveway. The sun was going down. The redhead figured they had less than an hour to save Annabeth and rescue a goddess.
—🏹—
"Can't this thing go any faster?" Thalia demanded.
Zoë glared at her. "I cannot control traffic."
"You both sound like my mother," Percy said.
"Shut up!" they said in unison.
Donnie snickered and ducked to the side when the hand of his sister came into view, dodging the hit that, as a consequence, hit the back of Percy's shoulder.
Zoë weaved in and out of traffic on the Golden Gate Bridge. The sun was sinking on the horizon when we finally got into Marin County and exited the highway.
The roads were insanely narrow, winding through forests and up the sides of hills and around the edges of steep ravines. Zoë didn't slow down at all.
"Why does everything smell like cough drops?" Percy asked.
"Eucalyptus." Zoë pointed to the huge trees all around them.
"The stuff koala bears eat?"
"And monsters," she said. "They love chewing the leaves. Especially dragons."
"Dragons chew eucalyptus leaves?"
"Believe me," Zoë said, "if you had dragon breath, you would chew eucalyptus too."
No one questioned her, but Percy did keep his eyes peeled more closely as they drove. Ahead of them loomed Mount Tamalpais.
"So that's the Mountain of Despair?" Percy asked.
"Yes," Zoë said tightly.
"Why do they call it that?"
She was silent for almost a mile before answering. "After the war between the Titans and the gods, many of the Titans were punished and imprisoned. Kronos was sliced to pieces and thrown into Tartarus. Kronos's right-hand man, the general of his forces, was imprisoned up there, on the summit, just beyond the Garden of the Hesperides."
"The General," He said.
Clouds seemed to be swirling around its peak, as though the mountain was drawing them in, spinning them like a top. "What's going on up there? A storm?" Donnie asked.
Andromeda glanced at him, raising her eyebrow, her expression saying, and you didn't listen to me when I explained this to you? But he didn't seem to take it seriously.
Zoë didn't answer.
"We have to concentrate," Thalia said. "The Mist is really strong here."
"The magical kind or the natural kind?" Percy asked.
"Both." Andromeda answered, her eyes stuck on the mountain.
Gods, something seemed so eerily familiar about Mt. Tam. There was just...something about it, like deja vu, in a way. Like a foggy memory that she couldn't quite place.
The gray clouds swirled even thicker over the mountain, and they kept driving straight toward them. They were out of the forest now, into wide open spaces of cliffs and grass and rocks and fog.
Percy happened to glance down at the ocean as they passed a scenic curve, and apparently he saw something that made him jump out of his seat.
"Look!" But they turned a corner and the ocean disappeared behind the hills.
"What?" Thalia asked.
"A big white ship," he said. "Docked near the beach. It looked like a cruise ship."
Her eyes widened. "Luke's ship?"
Andromeda wanted him to say he wasn't sure. It might be a coincidence. But she knew better. The Princess Andromeda, Luke's demon cruise ship, was docked at that beach. That's why he'd sent his ship all the way down to the Panama Canal. It was the only way to sail it from the East Coast to California.
Although it may not seem important, she really was curious who named the ship. Like, seriously, the Princess Andromeda of all names?
"We will have company, then," Zoë said grimly. "Kronos's army."
Percy was about to answer, when suddenly the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Thalia shouted, "Stop the car. NOW!"
Zoë must've sensed something was wrong, because she slammed on the brakes without question. The yellow VW spun twice before coming to a stop at the edge of the cliff.
"Out!" Thalia opened the door and pushed Percy hard. Donnie grabbed his sister by the arm and tugged her out of the car and just on time. The next second: BOOOM!
Lightning flashed, and Dr. Chase's Volkswagen erupted like a canary-yellow grenade. Percy probably would've been killed by shrapnel except for Thalia's shield, which appeared over him. He heard a sound like metal ram, and when he opened his eyes, they were surrounded by wreckage. Part of the VW's fender had impaled itself in the street. The smoking hood was spinning in circles. Pieces of yellow metal were strewn across the road.
He glanced over at Andromeda and Donnie, the two holding onto each other with a vice grip. There was a dark spot right next to them, stained into the road as if it had always been there.
Andromesa swallowed the taste of smoke in her mouth, and looked at Thalia.
"One shall perish by a parent's hand," she muttered. "Curse him. He would destroy me? Me?"
It took Percy a second to realize she was talking about her dad. "Oh, hey, that couldn't have been Zeus's lightning bolt. No way."
"Whose, then?" Thalia demanded.
"I don't know. Zoë said Kronos's name. Maybe he—"
Thalia shook her head, looking angry and stunned. "No. That wasn't it."
"Wait," Donnie said, glancing around. "Where's Zoë? Zoë!"
They both got up and ran around the blasted VW. Nothing inside. Nothing either direction down the road. He looked down the cliff. No sign of her.
"Zoë!" Percy shouted.
Then she was standing right next to him, pulling him by his arm. "Silence, fool! Do you want to wake Ladon?"
"You mean we're here?"
"Very close," she said. "Follow me."
Sheets of fog were drifting right across the road. Zoë stepped into one of them, and when the fog passed, she was no longer there. Thalia and Andromeda looked at each other.
"Concentrate on Zoë," Thalia advised. "We are following her. Go straight into the fog and keep that in mind."
"Wait, Thalia. About what happened back on the pier...I mean, with the manticore and the sacrifice—"
"I don't want to talk about it."
"You wouldn't actually have...you know?"
"Percy." Andromeda hissed under her breath, shaking her head.
The daughter of Zeus hesitated. "I was just shocked. That's all."
"Zeus didn't send that lighting bolt at the car. It was Kronos. He's trying to manipulate you, make you angry at your dad."
She took a deep breath. "Percy, I know you're trying to make me feel better. Thanks. But come on. We need to go."
She stepped into the fog after the twins, and he followed.
When the fog cleared, he was still on the side of the mountain, but the road was dirt. The grass was thicker. The sunset made a bloodred slash across the sea. The summit of the mountain seemed closer now, swirling with storm clouds and raw power. There was only one path to the top, directly in front of us. And it led through a lush meadow of shadows and flowers: the garden of twilight, just like he'd seen in his dream.
If it hadn't been for the enormous dragon, the garden would've been the most beautiful place he'd ever seen. The grass shimmered with silvery evening light, and the flowers were such brilliant colors they almost glowed in the dark. Stepping stones of polished black marble led around either side of a five-story-tall apple tree, every bough glittering with golden apples, and he doesn't mean yellow golden apples like in the grocery store. Really, he means real golden apples. He can't describe why they were so appealing, but as soon as he smelled their fragrance, he knew that one bite would be the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted.
"The apples of immortality," Thalia said. "Hera's wedding gift from Zeus."
He wanted to step right up and pluck one, except for the dragon coiled around the tree, and apparently he wasn't the only one.
Andromeda was watching the tree curiously, her amethyst eyes with a dark gleam. Vines crawled along the ground, weaving around like it was a graceful dance, kind of like the vines on the hilt of Mania. She didn't seem to notice them, her eyes still stuck on the tree. She blinked hard and turned away, continuing to follow Zoë.
Now, Percy doesn't know what you think of when he says dragon. Whatever it is, it's not scary enough. The serpent's body was as thick as a booster rocket, glinting with coppery scales. He had more heads than he could count, as if a hundred deadly pythons had been fused together. He appeared to be asleep. The heads lay curled in a big spaghetti-like mound on the grass, all the eyes closed.
Then the shadows in front of them began to move. There was a beautiful, eerie singing, like voices from the bottom of a well. He reached for Riptide, but Zoë stopped his hand.
Four figures shimmered into existence, four young women who looked very much like Zoë. They all wore white Greek chitons. Their skin was like caramel with silky black hair that tumbled loosely around their shoulders. It was strange, but he'd never realized how beautiful Zoë was until he saw her siblings, the Hesperides. They looked just like Zoë—gorgeous, and probably very dangerous.
But, calling her beautiful was strange. Not because it wasn't true—it was—but he though a certain daughter of Dionysus with fiery red hair and the most beautiful amethyst eyes was his favorite kind of beautiful.
"Sisters," Zoë said.
"We do not see any sister," one of the girls said coldly. "We see two half-bloods and a Hunter. All of whom shall soon die."
"You've got it wrong." Percy stepped forward. "Nobody is going to die."
Donnie nodded in agreement, letting out a little huff. "Yeah."
The girls studied the two boys. They had eyes like volcanic rock, glassy and completely black.
"Perseus Jackson," one of them said.
"Yes," mused another. "I do not see why he is a threat."
"Who said I was a threat?"
The first Hesperid glanced behind her, toward the top of the mountain. "They fear thee. They are unhappy that this one has not yet killed thee."
She pointed at Thalia.
"Tempting sometimes," Thalia admitted. "But no, thanks. He's my friend."
"There are no friends here, daughter of Zeus," the girl said. "Only enemies. Go back."
"Not without Annabeth," Andromeda said.
The girls glanced at the twins and one of them even sneered. "These two, however, are a risk. Thee see through the mist. Through the magic of the mountain."
Donnie tilted his head, "I'm not sure if that's a bad thing or not."
"And Artemis," Zoë said. "We must approach the mountain."
"You know he will kill thee," the girl said. "You are no match for him."
"Artemis must be freed," Zoë insisted. "Let us pass."
The girl shook her head. "You have no rights here anymore. We have only to raise our voices and Ladon will wake."
"He will not hurt me," Zoë said.
"No? And what about thy so-called friends?"
Then Zoë did the last thing anyone of them expected. She shouted, "Ladon! Wake!"
The dragon stirred, glittering like a mountain of pennies. The Hesperides yelped and scattered. The lead girl said to Zoë, "Are you mad?"
Andromeda laughed under her breath. "We're all a little mad. But Zoë? She's the most sane of us."
"You never had any courage, sister," Zoë said. "That is thy problem."
The dragon Ladon was writhing now, a hundred heads whipping around, tongues flickering and tasting the air. Zoë took a step forward, her arms raised.
"Zoë, don't," Thalia said. "You're not a Hesperid anymore. He'll kill you."
"Ladon is trained to protect the tree," Zoë said. "Skirt around the edges of the garden. Go up the mountain. As long as I am a bigger threat, he should ignore thee.
"Should," Percy said. "Not exactly reassuring."
"It is the only way," she said. "Even the three of us together cannot fight him."
Ladon opened his mouths. The sound of a hundred heads hissing at once sent a shiver down Andromeda's back, and that was before his breath hit her. The smell was like acid. It made her eyes burn, her skin crawl, and the hair on her arms stand. She remembered reading about the dragon in some books, specifically about how rank his breath was supposed to be. Apparently, they were all right.
Percy reached foreword and wrapped his hand gently around her elbow, pulling her closer to him. He wanted to draw his sword. But then he remembered his dream of Zoë and Hercules, and how Hercules had failed in a head-on assault. He decided to trust Zoë's judgment.
Thalia and Donnie went left. Percy and Andromeda went right. Zoë walked straight toward the monster.
"It's me, my little dragon," Zoë said. "Zoë has come back."
Ladon shifted forward, then back. Some of the mouths closed. Some kept hissing. Dragon confusion. Meanwhile, the Hesperides shimmered and turned into shadows. The voice of the eldest whispered, "Fool."
"I used to feed thee by hand," Zoë continued, speaking in a soothing voice as she stepped toward the golden tree. "Do you still like lamb's meat?"
The dragon's eyes glinted. The four demigods were about halfway around the garden. Ahead, they could see a single rocky trail leading up to the black peak of the mountain. The storm swirled above it, spinning on the summit like it was the axis for the whole world.
They'd almost made it out of the meadow when something went wrong. Andromeda felt the dragon's mood shift, his emotions change from what it was to...agitated, but not quite angry. Maybe Zoë got too close. Maybe the dragon realized he was hungry. Whatever the reason, he lunged at Zoë.
Two thousand years of training kept her alive. She dodged one set of slashing fangs and tumbled under another, weaving through the dragon's heads as she ran in our direction, gagging from the monster's horrible breath.
Percy drew Riptide to help.
"No!" Zoë panted. "Run!"
The dragon snapped at her side, and Zoë cried out. Thalia uncovered Aegis, and the dragon hissed. In his moment of indecision, Zoë sprinted past them up the mountain, and they all followed.
The dragon didn't try to pursue. He hissed and stomped the ground, but he was well trained to guard that tree. He wasn't going to be lured off even by the tasty prospect of eating some heroes.
They ran up the mountain as the Hesperides resumed their song in the shadows behind them. The music didn't sound so beautiful to me now—more like the sound track for a funeral.
At the top of the mountain were ruins, blocks of black granite and marble as big as houses. Broken columns. Statues of bronze that looked as though they'd been half melted.
Andromeda almost paused, drawing worried looks from the others as she shook her head, trying to shake the feeling away.
"The ruins of Mount Othrys," Thalia whispered in awe.
"Yes," Zoë said. "It was not here before. This is bad."
"What's Mount Othrys?" Percy asked, feeling like a fool as usual.
"The mountain fortress of the Titans," Zoë said. "In the first war, Olympus and Othrys were the two rival capitals of the world. Othrys was—" She winced and held her side.
"You're hurt," Percy said, drawing Andromeda's attention. "Let me see."
"No! It is nothing. I was saying...in the first war, Othrys was blasted to pieces."
"But...how is it here?"
Thalia looked around cautiously as they picked their way through the rubble, past blocks of marble and broken archways. "It moves in the same way that Olympus moves. It always exists on the edges of civilization. But the fact that it is here, on this mountain, is not good."
"Why?"
"This is Atlas's mountain," Zoë said. "Where he holds—" She froze. Her voice was ragged with despair. "Where he used to hold up the sky."
Donnie nearly tripped as he stopped. "Used to? What do you mean, used to?"
They had reached the summit. A few yards ahead of them, gray clouds swirled in a heavy vortex, making a funnel cloud that almost touched the mountaintop, but instead rested on the shoulders of a twelve-year-old girl with auburn hair and a tattered silvery dress: Artemis, her legs bound to the rock with celestial bronze chains. This is what Percy had seen in his dream. It hadn't been a cavern roof that Artemis was forced to hold. It was the roof of the world and the sight of it sent a chill down Andromeda's spine.
"My lady!" Zoë rushed forward, but Artemis said, "Stop! It is a trap. You must leave now."
Her voice was strained. She was drenched in sweat. None of them had ever seen a goddess in pain before, but the weight of the sky was clearly too much for Artemis.
Zoë was crying. She ran forward despite Artemis's protests, and tugged at the chains.
A booming voice spoke behind them: "Ah, how touching."
They turned. The General was standing there in his brown silk suit. At his side were Luke and half a dozen dracaenae bearing the golden sarcophagus of Kronos. Just beside the blonde stood a young woman by the name of Eliza. Annabeth stood at Luke's other side. She had her hands cuffed behind her back, a gag in her mouth, and Luke was holding the point of his sword to her throat.
Percy met her eyes because Andromeda wouldn't, trying to ask her a thousand questions. There was just one message she was sending him, though: RUN.
"Luke," Thalia snarled. "Let her go"
Luke's smile was weak and pale. He looked even worse than he had three days ago in D.C. But his eyes weren't focused on any of them, well...except for Adonis Storm. Their eyes met and it was like the air was sucked from the top of the mountain. Memories of intimate walks in the dark and small kisses and stolen glances flashes behind their eyes, reminding them of the influence that something like love—Romeo and Juliet style—has on a person.
"That is the General's decision, Thalia. But it's good to see you again." Once more, his eyes weren't on Thalia. They were on the raven haired, wine purple eyed boy who didn't exactly know what to do with himself.
Thalia, not noticing the tension, spat at him.
The General chuckled. "So much for old friends. And you, Zoë. It's been a long time. How is my little traitor? I will enjoy killing you."
"Do not respond," Artemis groaned. "Do not challenge him."
"Wait a second," Percy said. "You're Atlas?"
The General glanced at him, regarding Percy. "So, even the stupidest of heroes can finally figure something out. Yes, I am Atlas, the general of the Titans and terror of the gods. Congratulations. I will kill you presently, as soon as I deal with this wretched girl."
"You're not going to hurt Zoë," The son of Poseidon said. "I won't let you."
The General sneered. "You have no right to interfere, little hero. This is a family matter."
He frowned. "A family matter?"
"Yes," Zoë said bleakly. "Atlas is my father."
🎵I know something you don't🎵
I feel kinda evil right now, but I don't know. Kinda like this chapter, kinda don't. It feels like it's taking forever to write these but I'm blaming it on how big the doc is so everything is a little slower when writing.
Anywho, were almost to the end of Titans Curse and I'm so excited!