My first year at Hogwarts is finally over. It was more fun than I thought it would be. Probably, magic and the adventure we had had something to do with it. I have made friends too! Hermione had started hanging out with us since the troll incident. And the twins were good friends to Lou and indirectly to me. Both were pranksters like Lou. After Riddle had fled, I fulfilled my promise to fluffy and took her to the underworld. She and the Cerberus have finally solved their issues. She is now responsible for guarding the palace. Teachers nearly had a heart attack. They didn’t broadcast it like the stone incident. Noone knew anything had happened at all. But the worry could be seen in their face. I felt sorry looking at Hagrid’s heartbroken face, but I can’t tell him about her whereabouts. Even if I said it, he wouldn't be able to comprehend it being mortal and all. And she herself wanted to leave him. She is very grateful to Hagrid for raising her but the creature of the underworld can’t be happy outside of it forever. He will have to come to terms with it. Which I am sure he will. Lou had at least managed to convince him that she was safe using the mist.
We arrived at king cross at five p.m. I then took her to the camp through shadow travel. It was about midday there. Everybody was busy at different classes.
We informed Chiron about our arrival and headed towards the Hermes cabin, then went to our respective bunks. I don’t know what Lou did, but I crashed straight to the bed. Shadow traveling through such a long distance was tiring.
I woke up sometime after midnight. Time lag is so annoying. It would have been a morning in Britain. I don’t know what to do now and I couldn’t go back to sleep either, so I travelled out of there to the underworld and headed towards the Cerberus. He always liked playing with me. Then I could hang out at Elysium for a while. There are lots of cool people out there.
I didn’t get a chance to do it though.
There were living people here in the underworld. They had already gotten past Cerberus too who was playing with a red rubber ball. Huh? So, they have figured out his weakness. There was someone smart there. According to my father, those who try to enter always fight with him with very low success obviously.
And was it Percy there? What is he doing here? Has father finally captured him? He didn’t look like he was captured, though. And what would the other two be doing here? There was Annabeth and a satyr with him. Well, the satyr was flying using winged shoes? I thought they belonged to Hermes and some few cabin members. And others were running after him. Perhaps they escaped? But they weren't running towards the exit, they were running towards..
Di immortales! They are running towards Tartarus.
I immediately enlarged my sceptre and slammed it. They froze when my shadow connected. Well, the satyr fell to the ground when the wings froze along with him. Other two collapsed as well when I released my hold. The Satyr immediately took out his shoes before it started flying and plunged straight into the Tartarus.
The satyr was scratched up pretty badly. His hands were bleeding. Others were panting too.
I went up to them and said, “What do you think you are doing? You would have fallen into Tartarus. You are lucky I was here on time. You would have been stuck there for eternity otherwise and nobody would have known.”
They paled.
“I don’t know how ...” the satyr panted. “I didn’t...”
"Wait," percy said. "Listen."
Listen what? Then there it was I heard something—a deep whisper in the darkness.
"We have to get out of here," I said. "Great evils lurk here."
Together, we dragged Grover to his hooves and I took them out of there through shadow travel.
Not a moment too soon it seems.
A cold blast of wind pulled at our backs, as if the entire pit were inhaling. For a terrifying moment, I lost ground, my feet slipping in the gravel. If we'd been any closer to the edge, we would've been sucked in.
But I managed to drag them all into the shadows and we emerged out somewhere in the asphodel fields.
I think I heard a wail of outrage. Someone wasn't happy we'd gotten away.
Who was it after anyway? Me ? Percy? But the shoes were dragging the satyr. What would a satyr be useful for them? And how did they manage to curse that show anyway? Well, I can find out later. Right now, I need to find out what these idiots are doing here.
“That was close." I said
"What are you doing here, anyway? I don't think you came here to visit the tartarus, did you? And Livings aren’t allowed in here.”
“We are here to visit lord Hades,” Percy replied. “thanks for the help though”
“It’s okay.” I said. “So, you weren’t captured then. That's good, get out of here immediately. Father punishes trespassers severely and father is angry with you to begin with. And you shouldn’t use god’s name so lightly. Names have power. Father must know of your location now if he didn't know before."
“What do you mean, father?” he asked. “I thought he wasn’t supposed to have children.”
Of all things he could ask. “Yours wasn’t supposed to either, but here were are,” I replied. “Now Get out immediately. I can take you out. Come.”
“I can't. I really have to meet him. So let us go. Or even better, you can take us to him can't you?” He said.
He really is a stubborn idiot it seems.
“Why do you want to meet him, anyway?” Though I do have suspicion as to why?
“To ask for the bolt in order to stop the war.” He replied. Beside him Annabeth hissed.
My anger rose hearing that. I gripped the sceptre so hard, it would have broken if it wasn't made up of one of the strongest metal in the world, then i slammed into the ground and the ground shook upon impact. They stumbled and nearly fell to the ground. I could feel my face heat up with anger. So he was really here for that. Does he really think father has it? His own helm is missing for god's sake. Granted, they don't know about it but still.. Why would he even take it? It would provide him extra powers granted, but what would be lightning be useful for the god of dead. If he really needed another powerful weapon, he would have it forged here in the underworld. A weapon that would suit him that the bolt.
And from everything I know which is a lot since I have been studying Greek history since I was seven years old. Father hasn't done anything except remain a dutiful king of the underworld. Then why this distrust? Why this hate? Other gods have done far more atrocious things than my father has. He rarely even ventures out of the underworld. So, Why were we treated so harshly?
“You know I am really tempted to let you go only to see how father reacts.” I replied. “ You probably will be suffer an eternal torture for that. And believe me I am really tempted to let you but I won't. You don't even know him, and you are saying what everyone does. So, Listen, bolt isn’t here. You can go.”
But, too late a group of skeletons had arrived.
One of them came in front of me and bowed.
“My lord has ordered the trespassers to be brought into the throne room. Your highness.”
Well, I did warn them. They were the one who didn't listen to me. Let them face the torture. That would teach them.
I turned towards them and said, "You will have to come now. Don't say I didn't do anything. Just hope father is in a good mood now otherwise you won't like the consequences.”
I used my shadow to make sure they don't run away, which I am sure they wouldn't as they wanted to meet him in the first place but just to be safe. I then took them out of the tunnel we were in, through Persephone’s garden into the palace proper and finally into the throne room.
Father was waiting there, sitting on his throne in all his 11 feet tall divine glory. If I hadn’t seen him like that before, I would have been pretty intimidated. Other three were, but they tried not to show it.
I stepped in front of father and bowed. “I brought the intruders, my lord.”
“You are brave to come here, Son of Poseidon,” he said in an oily voice. “After what you have done to me, very brave indeed. Or perhaps you are simply very foolish.”
He stood there for a while, thinking something. He must have made a decision because he stepped forward.
“Lord and uncle, I come with two requests.”
Does he have a death wish? Probably, or he is just stupid.
Hades merely raised an eyebrow, though. When he sat forward in his throne, shadowy faces appeared in the folds of his black robes, faces of torment, the trapped souls from the Fields of Punishment stitched in it, trying to get out.
"Only two requests?” Hades said. “Arrogant child. As if you have not already taken enough. Speak, then. It amuses me not to strike you dead yet.”
He glanced at the empty, smaller throne next to Hades’. It was shaped like a black flower, gilded with gold. Persephone’s throne. Probably wishing for her presence here. She could calm my father’s mood, but of course, Persephone would be above in the world of life with her mother, the goddess of agriculture, Demeter. Her visits, not the tilt of the planet, create the seasons.
Annabeth cleared her throat.
“Lord Hades,” he said. “Look, sir, there can’t be a war among the gods. It would be ... bad.”
“Really bad,” the satyr added helpfully.
“Return Zeus’s master bolt to me,” He said. “Please, sir. Let me carry it to Olympus.”
He shouldn’t have said that. Father was angry at him to begin with and to accuse him of thievery.
Hades’s eyes grew dangerously bright. “You dare keep up this pretense after what you have done?”
He glanced at his friends. They looked as confused like he had no idea what father was talking about. Either he was a great actor, as father claimed, or he really didn’t know.
“Um ... Uncle,” He said. “You keep saying ‘after what you’ve done.’ What exactly have I done?”
The throne room shook with a tremor so strong, they probably felt it upstairs in Los Angeles.
Debris fell from the cavern ceiling. Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.
Hades bellowed, “Do you think I wasn't p war, godling?”
“You are the Lord of the Dead,” I said carefully. “A war would expand your kingdom, right?”
“A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?”
“Well...”
“Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone? How many subdivisions I’ve had to open?”
He opened his mouth, probably to respond, but father was on a roll now. It really was a sore topic. He always complained about it when we discussed the working of the Underworld.
“More security ghouls,” he moaned. “Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson. I control all the precious metals on the earth. But my expenses!”
“Charon wants a pay raise,” He blurted.
Of course he would. He always mentions it when he is with father. How much more does he want? He keeps the drachma, a dead soul needs to pay in order to enter the underworld. Which is a lot mind you. Do you have any ideas how many people die in a day?
“Don’t get me started on Charon!” Hades yelled. “He’s been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I’ve got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead just keep arriving. No godling. I need no help getting subjects! I did not ask for this war.”
“But you took Zeus’s master bolt.”
“Lies!” More rumbling. Hades rose from his throne, towering to the height of a football goalpost. “Your father may fool Zeus, boy, but I am not so stupid. I see his plan.”
“His plan?”
“You were the thief on the winter solstice,” he said. “Your father thought to keep you his little secret. He directed you into the throne room in Olympus. You took the master bolt and my helm.
Had I not sent my Fury to discover you at Yancy Academy, Poseidon might have succeeded in hiding his scheme to start a war. But now you have been forced into the open. You will be exposed as Poseidon’s thief, and I will have my helm back!”
“But ...” Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. “Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?”
“Do not play innocent with me, girl. You and the satyr have been helping this hero—coming here to threaten me in Poseidon’s name, no doubt—to bring me an ultimatum. Does Poseidon think I can be blackmailed into supporting him?”
“No!” I said. “Poseidon didn’t—I didn’t—”
“I have said nothing of the helm’s disappearance,” Hades snarled, “because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. So I searched for you myself, and when it was clear you were coming to me to deliver your threat, I did not try to stop you.”
“You didn’t try to stop us? But—”
“Return my helm now, or I will stop death,” Hades threatened. “That is my counterproposal. I will open the earth and have the dead pour back into the world. I will make your lands a nightmare. And you, Percy Jackson— your skeleton will lead my army out of Hades.”
The skeletal soldiers all took one step forward, making their weapons ready.
It should have terrified him, but the idiot looked offended instead. I would have been offended too if I had been in his place, but I see there things on a regular basis. These skeletons with decaying face carrying all kinds of weapons, ancient, mythical and modern could kill him in instant.
“You’re as bad as Zeus,” he said. “You think I stole from you? That’s why you sent the Furies after me?”
“Of course,” Hades said.
“And the other monsters?”
Hades curled his lip. “I had nothing to do with them. I wanted no quick death for you—I wanted you brought before me alive so you might face every torture in the Fields of Punishment. Why do you think I let you enter my kingdom so easily?”
“Easily?”
“Return my property!”
“But I don’t have your helm. I came for the master bolt.”
“Which you already possess!” Hades shouted. “You came here with it, little fool, thinking you could you threaten me!”
“But I didn’t!”
“Open your pack, then.”
He slung it off my shoulder and unzipped it . Inside was a two-foot-long metal cylinder, spiked on both ends, humming with energy.
I closed my eyes. Another flare of anger passed through me. So, father was right then. He really was the thief. Then a horrible feeling started on my chest. I had nearly managed to help them to escape. So does that mean everything I saw was an act? Probably, who knows? He played me so easily. He knew exactly what button to push. Hah! that would teach me not to believe my father when he explicitly warned me about it.. And there I was sympathising with the thief. I hope father punishes him harshly for playing with my trust like that. A torture that would make the punishment of Sisyphus and tantalus look like mercy.
“Percy,” Annabeth said. “How—”
“I—I don’t know. I don’t understand.”
“You heroes are always the same,” Hades said. “Your pride makes you foolish, thinking you could bring such a weapon before me. I did not ask for Zeus’s master bolt, but since it is here, you will yield it to me. I am sure it will make an excellent bargaining tool. And now ... my helm.
Where is it?”
“Lord Hades, wait,” Percy said. “This is all a mistake.”
“A mistake?” Hades roared.
The skeletons aimed their weapons. From high above, there was a fluttering of leathery wings, and the three Furies swooped down to perch on the back of the throne. I too readied my sceptre, waiting for order to attack.
“There is no mistake,” Hades said.
“I know why you have come—I know the real reason you brought the bolt. You came to bargain for her.”
Bargain? For what? I thought father said it was to threaten him?
He loosed a ball of gold fire from his palm. It exploded on the steps in front of me. And there was a woman who should be Percy’s mother from what I remember, which I think she is. He can’t have set everything up, right?
Percy looked speechless, so I guess she is. It means father took her captive? For what? To lure him here? I knew my father was harsh but.. At least she is not dead. He reached out to touch her, but the light was as hot as a bonfire.
“Yes,” Hades said with satisfaction. “I took her. I knew, Percy Jackson, that you would come to bargain with me, eventually. Return my helm, and perhaps I will let her go. She is not dead, you know. Not yet. But if you displease me, that will change.”
Percy really seemed nervous now. He kept checking his pocket.
"Ah, the pearls," Hades said, making Percy freeze. "Yes, my brother and his little tricks. Bring them forth, Percy Jackson."
He took out the pearls. Probably father’s influence.
"Only three," Hades said. "What a shame. You do realize each only protects a single person. Try to take your mother, then, little godling. And which of your friends will you leave behind to spend eternity with me? Go on. Choose. Or give me the Helm and accept my terms."
He looked at Annabeth and the satyr. I really should have asked his name. Their faces were grim.
"We were tricked," he told them.
"Set up."
Huh! So they came here with him thinking him to be innocent if he is trying to explain himself. But why risk their life then? I shouldn't be surprised I guess. He is planning to war in Olympus. What would two lives mean to him? But what's the purpose of bringing them?
"Yes, but why?" Annabeth asked.
"And the voice in the pit—"
Voice? Oh yes! That voice. I nearly forgot about it. How does that fit into all this.
"I don't know yet," he said. "But I intend to ask."
"Decide, boy!" Hades yelled.
"Percy." The satyr put his hand on his shoulder. "You can't give him the bolt,"
Of course he can't. My evil terrible father would use it to torture poor innocent mortals. It's his hobby, isn't it? Like my father wants that.
“I know that.”
“Leave me here,” he said. “Use the third pearl on your mom.”
“No!”
“I’m a satyr,” he said. “We don’t have souls like humans do. He can torture me until I die, but he won’t get me forever. I’ll just be reincarnated as a flower or something. It’s the best way.”
No he won't. Death, Thanatos obeys my father. He won't die if my father so wishes it. Though my father won't do that. He respects laws of death. But there are other ways to keep torturing some one without killing them.
“No.” Annabeth drew her bronze knife. “You two go on. Grover, you have to protect Percy. You have to get your searcher’s license and start your quest for Pan. Get his mom out of here. I’ll cover you. I plan to go down fighting.”
Wow, that's brave. But she won't go down fighting as she says it. She won't vanish into nothingness after she dies. She will just appear here, and this time that would be permanent. She will have to keep fighting for eternity.
“No way,” Grover said. “I’m staying behind.”
“Think again, goat boy,” Annabeth said.
“Stop it, both of you!” Percy said.
He then turned to the women "I'm sorry," he told her. "I'll be back. I'll find a way."
The smug look on father’s face faded. He said, "Godling ... ?"
"I'll find your helm, Uncle," I told him. "I'll return it. Remember about Charon's pay raise”
"Do not defy me—"
"And it wouldn't hurt to play with Cerberus once in a while. He likes red rubber balls."
The nerve of the boy to instruct us about Cerberus after meeting for a while. I play with him all the time. Thank you very much. Even before I came here, my father would let him go out every once in a while. How do you think fluffy was born? There are some servants whose jobs are only to entertain him.
"Percy Jackson, you will not—" he shouted, "Now, guys!"
They smashed the pearls at our feet.
For a moment, nothing happened. Hades yelled, "Destroy them!" The army of skeletons rushed forward, swords out, guns clicking to full automatic. The Furies lunged, their whips bursting into flame. I slammed my sceptre.Just as the skeletons opened fire, the pearl fragments at their feet exploded with a burst of green light and a gust of fresh sea wind. They were encased in a milky white sphere which took them up towards the stalactites. My shadow just dissolved into the green light. Spears and bullets sparked harmlessly off the pearl bubbles as they went up. They slammed straight up in the ceiling, but instead of being crashed, they disappeared.
Hades yelled with such rage, the entire fortress shook and I knew it was not going to be a peaceful night in L.A.
“I will bring them back, father.” I said. “Where will the pearls lead them? It won’t take them to Atlantic, will it?”
“No, taking them out of here demands great power. It will take them only to the nearest sea. They are in Santa Monica.” He said. “Take furies with you.”
“Okay, father.” I bowed. I went out and whistled. Skotos came flying towards me. I climbed over him.
He flew straight into the shadow and we emerged out of the shadow of one of the boat sailing there. Furies followed behind me. Mortals noticed nothing. Mist was an amazing little thing. They didn't see a boy dressed in a skeleton jacket carrying a sceptre in an invisible horse and three terrifying furies with snakes for hair, bat like wings and evil looking eyes flying right beside them. They probably saw us as some harmless birds.
I flew for a while over and there I saw three people exploding out of water in the middle of the bay. They were picked up by a coast guard boat which dropped them at Santa Monica pier.
Furies tried to dive towards them, but I stopped them. I said them to wait and pointed where they were heading.
They were heading towards a man in black leather duster and sunglasses, an aluminium baseball bat propped on his shoulder. His motorcycle rumbling beside him, its headlight turning the sand red. He seemed to be waiting for them. An ally, perhaps? He had power in him. His very presence seems to demand a war, bloodshed. I can feel adrenaline coursing through my body, my anger blooming. It was perhaps due to his mortal appearance, or he was trying to mask his presence, so the effects weren’t overwhelming. Only one god’s presence would feel like this. Ares, god of war. But what was he doing here?
Furies noticed him too. They kept hovering there. Keeping an eye over them.
I stepped down to the ground, donned my invisibility cloak, and watched what was going on.
"Hey, kid," Ares said, seeming genuinely pleased to see them. "You were supposed to die."
Huh?
"You tricked me.” Percy said. "You stole the helm and the master bolt." Ares grinned.
"Well, now, I didn't steal them personally. Gods taking each other's symbols of power—that's a big no-no. But you're not the only hero in the world who can run errands."
What? Ares stole it, or at least a demigod in his order. So Percy is innocent? It was proving to be a tiring day with all kinds of conflicting emotions fighting inside me. It was getting so confusing. Who actually is the thief?
"Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice." The idea seemed to amuse him. "Doesn't matter. The point is, kid, you're impeding the war effort. See, you've got to die in the Underworld. Then Old Seaweed will be mad at Hades for killing you. Corpse Breath will have Zeus's master bolt, so Zeus'll be mad at him. And Hades is still looking for this ..." From his pocket he took out a ski cap—the kind bank robbers wear—and placed it between the handlebars of his bike. Immediately, the cap transformed into an elaborate bronze war helmet. My eyes widened. So Ares was the one who stole them just to create a war. That was so like him and unlike him at the same time. He really wouldn't steal them, would he? But the helm was here with him.i need to take it from him. I have three furies with me. I could probably win the battle with him if it really comes down to it.
"The helm of darkness," the satyr gasped.
"Exactly," Ares said. “Now where was I? Oh yeah, Hades will be mad at both Zeus and Poseidon, because he doesn't know who took this. Pretty soon, we got a nice little three-way slugfest going."
Yeah, slugfest that could totally wipe out humanity.
"But they're your family!" Annabeth protested.
Ares shrugged. "Best kind of war. Always the bloodiest. Nothing like watching your relatives fight, I always say."
"You gave me the backpack in Denver," Percy said. "The master bolt was in there the whole time."
"Yes and no," Ares said. "It's probably too complicated for your little mortal brain to follow, but the backpack is the master bolt's sheath. Just morphed a bit. The bolt is connected to it, sort of like that sword you got, kid. It always returns to your pocket, right?"
Interesting. That was a useful little feature to have in a weapon. Well my ring always stays in my finger so I wouldn't really have a need of it.
"Anyway," Ares continued, "I tinkered with the magic a bit, so the bolt would only return to the sheath once you reached the Underworld. You get close to Hades.... Bingo, you got mail. If you died along the way—no loss. I still had the weapon."
"But why not just keep the master bolt for yourself?" He said. "Why send it to Hades?"
Yeah, that’s a good question.
Ares got a twitch in his jaw. For a moment, it was almost as if he were listening to another voice deep inside his head. "Why didn't I ... yeah ... with that kind of firepower ..." He held the trance for one second ... two seconds....
What was that? He seemed to be communicating with someone? But with whom? Another person involved in this mess? His subordinate? His ally? Or the true thief?
Ares's face cleared. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught red-handed, holding the thing."
"You're lying," Percy said.
"Sending the bolt to the Underworld wasn't your idea, was it?"
"Of course it was!" Smoke drifted up from his sunglasses, as if they were about to catch fire.
"You didn't order the theft," He guessed. "Someone else sent a hero to steal the two items. Then, when Zeus sent you to hunt him down, you caught the thief. But you didn't turn him over to Zeus. Something convinced you to let him go. You kept the items until another hero could come along and complete the delivery. That thing in the pit is ordering you around."
The thing in the pit? Tartarus? Or it’s prisoners? There are numerous beings that would dare to do it there? Was Ares communicating with them then? Was it Titans? Kronos,? But why would he be communicating with them? They are god's enemies? Does he want war with Titans? But even the god of war can't want that type of war. Right? Or can he? Gods! It's so confusing.
"I am the god of war! I take orders from no one! I don't have dreams!"
"Who said anything about dreams?" Ares looked agitated, but he tried to cover it with a smirk. "Let's get back to the problem at hand, kid. You're alive. I can't have you taking that bolt to Olympus. You just might get those hardheaded idiots to listen to you. So I've got to kill you. Nothing personal." He snapped his fingers. The sand exploded at his feet and out charged a wild boar. The beast pawed the sand, glaring at them with beady eyes as it lowered its razor-sharp tusks and waited for the command to kill.
I tried to intervene but Percy stepped into the surf. "Fight me yourself, Ares."
Idiot he really seemed to have death wish. Challenging a god like that.
He laughed, but I heard a little edge to his laughter ... an uneasiness.
"You've only got one talent, kid, running away. You ran from the Chimera. You ran from the Underworld. You don't have what it takes."
"Scared?"
Does this idiot think he can win against the god of war who had spent eternity fighting?
"In your adolescent dreams." But his sunglasses were starting to melt from the heat of his eyes.
"No direct involvement. Sorry, kid. You're not at my level."
Annabeth said, "Percy, run!" The giant boar charged. As the boar rushed me, he uncapped my pen and sidestepped. A sword appeared in my hands. He slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at his feet, while the disoriented animal charged into the sea. He shouted, "Wave!"
Immediately, a wave surged up from nowhere and engulfed the boar, wrapping around it like a blanket. The beast squealed once in terror. Then it was gone, swallowed by the sea. I whistled, impressed. So he has already learned to control water or was it adrenaline working? It was impressive nonetheless.
He turned back to Ares. "Are you going to fight me now?" He asked. "Or are you going to hide behind another pet?"
Ares's face was purple with rage. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into—"
"A cockroach," he said. "Or a tapeworm. Yeah, I'm sure. That'd save you from getting your godly hide whipped, wouldn't it?"
Flames danced along the top of his glasses. "Oh, man, you are really asking to be smashed into a grease spot."
"If I lose, turn me into anything you want. Take the bolt. If I win, the helm and the bolt are mine and you have to go away."
Ares sneered.
He swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed? Classic or modern?”
He showed him his sword.
“That's cool, dead boy," he said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat changed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.
Percy was screwed. His only chance is Ares underestimating him, which, to be honest, was very likely. Gods do have habit of underestimating mortals.
"Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."
"He's a coward," he told her.
Wow, he really is very brave or very stupid. Seeing his behaviour till now it was probably both.
She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck." She took off her necklace, with her five years' worth of camp beads and the ring, and tied it around his neck.
"Reconciliation," she said.
"Athena and Poseidon together."
Percy smiled. "Thanks."
"And take this," the satyr said. He handed him a flattened tin can that he'd probably been saving in his pocket for a thousand miles.
"The satyrs stand behind you."
"Grover ... I don't know what to say." Finally! So Grover is his name. It was irritating to keep referring him as the satyr
He patted h on the shoulder. Percy stuffed the tin can in his back pocket.
"You all done saying goodbye?" Ares came toward him, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise. "I've been fighting for eternity, kid. My strength is unlimited, and I cannot die. What have you got?"
He said nothing, keeping his feet in the surf, backing into the water up to his ankles. At least he isn’t stupid to leave his power source cleaved downward at my head, but I wasn't there.
The water seemed to push him into the air and he catapulted over him, slashing as he came down. But Ares was just as quick. He twisted, and the strike that should've caught him directly in the spine was deflected off the end of his sword hilt.
He grinned. "Not bad, not bad."
He slashed again, and Percy was forced to jump onto dry land. He tried to sidestep, to get back to the water, but Ares seemed to know what he wanted. He outmaneuvered him, pressing him hard. He kept backing away from the surf. He couldn’t seem to find any openings to attack. His sword had a reach several feet longer Percy's . He needs to get closer.
He stepped inside with a thrust, but Ares was waiting for that. He knocked the blade out of his hands and kicked him in the chest. I went airborne—twenty, maybe thirty feet. He would've broken my back if he hadn't crashed into the soft sand of a dune.
"Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "Cops!"
What was cops doing here now? Car doors were slamming.
"There, officer!" somebody yelled. "See?" A gruff cop voice: "Looks like that kid on TV ... what the heck ..."
"That guy's armed," another cop said. "Call for backup."
They were talking about Percy. What had he done to have cops chased after him?
Percy rolled to one side as Ares's blade slashed the sand.
He ran for his sword, scooped it up, and launched a swipe at Ares's face, only to find his blade deflected again.
Ares seemed to know exactly what he was going to do the moment before he did it. Which was fair. He was god of war after all. He probably knows all the trick we can learn.
Percy stepped back toward the surf, forcing him to follow.
"Admit it, kid," Ares said. "You got no hope. I'm just toying with you."
Which he really was. Percy needs to take advantage of that.
A second cop car had arrived. Spectators, people who had been wandering the streets because of the earthquake, were starting to gather. Among the crowd, I thought I saw a few who were walking with the strange, trotting gait of disguised satyrs.
He stepped farther into the water, but Ares was fast. The tip of his blade ripped his sleeve and grazed his forearm.
A police voice on a megaphone said, "Drop the guns.' Set them on the ground. Now!"
"This is a private matter!" Ares bellowed. "Be gone.'" He swept his hand, and a wall of red flame rolled across the patrol cars. The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded. The crowd behind them scattered, screaming. They need to get out of here before they all get killed. I started using mist to convince them that, it was just regular skirmish between two people which has already been solved. I managed to get them all out but it was tiring. All demigods can learn to use mist but they can't use it like children bof hectate can. It's supposed to be used for single person not whole squad of police.
Ares roared with laughter. "Now, little hero. Let's add you to the barbecue." He slashed. Percy deflected his blade. He got close enough to strike, tried to fake him out with a feint, but his blow was knocked aside.
Ares was up to his thighs, wading in after him.
Percy kept standing there and seemed to be focusing on something. Ares came towards him, grinning confidently. Percy lowered his blade, as if too exhausted to go on.
Ares raised his sword. Then Percy jumped and landed on top of the wave, which formed as soon as he jumped. He went rocketing straight over Ares on a wave.
A six-foot wall of water smashed him full in the face, leaving him cursing and sputtering with a mouth full of seaweed. Percy landed behind him with a splash and feinted toward his head. He turned in time to raise his sword, but this time he was disoriented. He didn't anticipate the trick. Percy changed direction, lunged to the side, and stabbed Riptide straight down into the water, sending the point through the god's heel. The roar that followed made Hades' earthquake look like a minor event. The very sea was blasted back from Ares, leaving a wet circle of sand fifty feet wide. Ichor, the golden blood of the gods, flowed from a gash in the war god's boot. The expression on his face was beyond hatred. It was pain, shock, complete disbelief that he'd been wounded.
He limped toward percy, muttering ancient Greek curses.
Something stopped him.
It was as if a cloud covered the sun, but worse. Light faded. Sound and colour drained away. A cold, heavy presence passed over the beach, slowing time, dropping the temperature to freezing.
The darkness lifted.
What was that? It was something powerful. Was someone from Tartarus really doing this?
Ares looked stunned.
Annabeth and Grover stood on the beach, in shock, watching the water flood back around Ares's feet, his glowing golden ichor dissipating in the tide.
Ares lowered his sword.
"You have made an enemy, godling," he told me. "You have sealed your fate. Every time you raise your blade in battle, every time you hope for success, you will feel my curse. Beware, Perseus Jackson. Beware."
That was some serious curse. As a god of war, weapons lies in his domain. His weapon is going to fail him in one of his most important battle.
His body began to glow.
‘’’Percy!” Annabeth shouted.
“Don’t watch!”
I turned away as the god Ares revealed his true immortal form.
The light died.
I looked back. Ares was gone. The tide rolled out to reveal Father’s bronze helm of darkness.
He picked it up and walked toward his friends.
I walked towards them and undonned the cloak.
They all jumped. "Whoaa! What you doing here?" Percy asked
I ignored his question.
“I saw the whole thing.” I said. “ I am glad you really weren’t the thief. Now return the helm. You cn take the bolt to Olympus”
He handed me the helmet.
"Return that to Lord Hades,” he said. “Tell him the truth. Tell him to call off the war.”
I signalled for the furies to come down. They landed Infront of me. I handed the Helm to Alecto and said, “ Give it to father. And inform him of whom the real culprit was.”
She hesitated, then she turned towards percy and ran a forked tongue over her green, leathery lips. “Live well, Percy Jackson. Become a true hero. Because if you do not, if you ever come into my clutches again ...”
She cackled, savoring the idea. Then she and her sisters rose on their bats’ wings, fluttered into the smoke-filled sky, and disappeared.
"Percy ...” Grover said. “That was so incredibly ...”
“Terrifying,” said Annabeth.
“Cool!” Grover corrected.
“Idiotic” I added. “Furies and I would have taken care of it. I even had asked for backup. You are lucky he was underestimating you. You do realise that your sword is going to fail you in one of your most important battles right?
"What? " he asked.
"Didn't you hear his curse? He is a god idiot, god of war. Weapons falls in his domain. You are going to feel that curse sometime. Just be prepared. It's best not to make enemies out of gods. Every aspect of life and death is controlled by some god or another."
“i will deal with it when it comes." He replied trying to sound brave.
"Yeah! It won't harm you much though. You aren't totally dependent on sword for battle, try to learn to control your powers."
He looked a little relieved at that. Demigods lives are full of battle and to be helpless in one of those would be terrible.
"Anyway, Did you guys feel that... whatever it was?” he asked us.
We all nodded uneasily.
“Must’ve been the Furies overhead,” Grover said.
“No it wasn’t.” I said. “ Furies were here from the beginning. It’s something stronger.”
They shared an uneasy glance. They must have figured it out. It was the one in the pit. The one who wanted one of us or maybe all of us in the pit.
“We have to get back to New York,” Percy said.
“By tonight.” “That’s impossible,”
Annabeth said, “unless we—”
“Fly,” he agreed.
She stared at him like he was an idiot
“Fly, like, in an airplane, which you were warned never to do lest Zeus strike you out of the sky, and carrying a weapon that has more destructive power than a nuclear bomb?”
"Yeah! Pretty much like that." He said.
“You can fly in Skotos.” I said.
“And why would it be any different?” he asked a little sceptically.
“ He lies in my father’s domain. So it’s neutral ground. I can fly using thestrals like you can using Pegasus.” I replied.
“And wouldn’t your father strike me for daring to ride thestrals?” He asked.
I waved my hand. “Nah! He wouldn’t." I said. "Well, he would if it was any other thestral. But he is mine. He won’t strike you even if it’s only so that Skotos won’t be harmed. You are lucky that way. Anyway you have less chance of being striked down in it. Just don't go too high in the sky.”
He didn’t look convinced but reluctantly climbed over Skotos and flew towards New York.