I was standing on a beach, on the edge of a burning city.
Hades, a voice said in my mind. He isn't happy with the questers now. He wanted the bolt. And he didn't get what he wanted.
So Hades had caused an earthquake because he was mad at Annabeth and the others for not delivering the bolt to him. And now Ares is going to destroy Percy and take the bolt. It was already June 21. The summer solstice.
I looked back towards the beach and saw the trio, standing in the sand, sopping wet. Percy's face was fixed with concentration, Annabeth's with disappointment and shame, Grover's with his usual mix of confusion and worry. They turned and I saw who they were looking at; Ares, eyes flaming, motorcycle beside him.
"Hey, kid," Ares said, grinning happily. He was genuinely happy to destroy Percy. "You were supposed to die."
"You tricked me," Percy said. "You stole the helm-" The helm? "and the master bolt."
Ares grinned even bigger. "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."
"Who did you use? Clarisse? She was there at the winter solstice."
No Percy I thought. Clarisse is into fighting but not in this way. She wouldn't do that.
Ares eyes burned brighter. "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 ..."
Ares pulled out a ski cap and sat it down on his motorcycle. The ski cap glowed and transformed into a bronze war helmet. Hades's helm of darkness.
"The helm of darkness," Grover gulped.
"Exactly," Ares confirmed. "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."
"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," I 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? Anyway, 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?" Percy said. "Why send it to Hades?"
Ares's eyes became less fiery. He stared off into space. "Why didn't I ... yeah ... with that kind of firepower ..." I felt it. The same presence that Luke had when he was giving instructions to Ares. The feeling that time doesn't exist and that you should just submit and obey.
Ares focused again. "I didn't want the trouble. Better to have you caught redhanded, holding the thing."
"You're lying," Percy suggested. "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," Percy guessed. Well, we know he's not stupid. "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."
"I am the god of war! I take orders from no one! I don't have dreams!"
Percy paused, "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."
Ares snapped and out of the sand charged a huge boar, not unlike the one whose head hung on the door of cabin seven. It pawed the ground, waiting for his master's command to kill.
Percy stepped back into the water. "Fight me yourself, Ares."
He laughed, but his laughter had a sound in it that wasn't joy. Uneasiness, maybe. "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?" Percy said dauntingly.
"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 yelled, "Percy, run!"
The giant boar charged.
But Percy didn't move. As the boar rushed toward him, he uncapped a pen and sidestepped. A sword appeared in his hands. Percy slashed upward. The boar's severed right tusk fell at his feet - eww - while the disoriented animal charged into the sea.
"Wave!" Percy shouted.
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.
Percy turned back around 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 anger. "Watch it, kid. I could turn you into—"
"A cockroach," Percy suggested. "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 Ares's 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 and swung the baseball bat off his shoulder. "How would you like to get smashed: classic or modern?"
Percy lifted his sword.
"That's cool, dead boy," he said. "Classic it is." The baseball bat transformed into a huge, two-handed sword. The hilt was a large silver skull with a ruby in its mouth.
"Percy," Annabeth said. "Don't do this. He's a god."
"He's a coward," Percy told her.
She swallowed. "Wear this, at least. For luck."
Annabeth took off her necklace with all of her camp beads and a college ring, and tied it around Percy's neck.
Awww, I thought. Can they be any cuter?
"Reconciliation," she said. "Athena and Poseidon together."
"Thanks." Percy smiled weakly.
"And take this," Grover said. He handed Percy a flattened tin can. "The satyrs stand behind you."
"Grover ... I don't know what to say."
He patted Percy on the shoulder and stuffed the tin can in his back pocket.
"You all done saying good-bye?" Ares walked toward Percy, his black leather duster trailing behind him, his sword glinting like fire in the sunrise.
Please, I prayed to my mom. Don't let Ares kill them.
"I've been fighting for eternity, kid." Ares continued. "My strength is unlimited and I cannot die. What have you got?"
Percy continued backing into the water. A smart move. That could keep Ares from killing him. If Percy could continue playing smart, he could win. Ares doesn't really have brains. He charges into things without thinking much.
He sliced downward towards Percy's head, but he moved.
The water seemed to propel Percy into the air and he catapulted over Ares, 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.
Ares grinned. "Not bad, not bad."
He swung again and Percy was forced to jump back onto the dry land. He made an attempt to sidestep, to get back to the water, but Ares could tell. Being the War God, he knew strategies others would use. He evaded Percy, pressing very hard. Percy's face scrunched with focus. He continued backing away from the surf, looking for openings to strike. Ares's blade was much longer than Percy's though. It is hard to fight when your opponent has a longer weapon.
I wanted to shout to him and tell him to get in close. That's what Luke always told me when we were practising. Luke uses a sword, I use a dagger. Getting in close was the only way to strike him.
He stepped inside, thrusting towards Ares but Ares was waiting for that. He knocked the blade out of Percy's hands and kicked him in the chest. Percy flew backwards and landed in a sand dune.
"Percy! Cops!" Annabeth shouted.
I looked away from Percy and saw the flashing lights of the police cars. There's no telling what the mortals were seeing right now.
The cops were getting out of their cars as Percy stood up again.
Spectators were appearing, driven out of their homes from the earthquake. The cops were shouting instructions at everyone and to each other, trying to contain the fight.
Percy rolled as Ares struck the sand. Backing into the surf, Percy was getting Ares back in his turf.
"Admit it, kid," Ares said. "You got no hope. I'm just toying with you."
Percy tried to step back into the water but Ares's blade sliced through Percy's sleeve.
One of the cops shouted through a megaphone, "Drop the guns. Set them on the ground. Now!"
So that's what the mortals were seeing, I thought.
"This is a private matter!" Ares hollered. "Be gone.'"
He swept his hand, and a wall of red flames rolled across the cop cars. The police barely had time to dive for cover before their vehicles exploded. The crowd behind them ran, screaming.
Ares roared with laughter. "Now, little hero. Let's add you to the barbecue."
Percy had backed farther into the water. Ares raised his sword and suddenly, the water propelled Percy through the air, over Ares's head, and Ares was slammed in the face with a wave. Percy took the opportunity to strike Ares. Ares roared in pain, a sound louder than anything I've ever heard. The water was blasted away from Ares leaving a circle of wet sand around him, many feet wide.
Ares stared at Percy, his golden ichor - godly blood - spilling from his foot. He started towards Percy but he stopped. A chill filled the air and everything turned dull. Time slowed and the temperature dropped. It was a familiar feeling but at first, I couldn't place it. Then it hit me. When Luke convinced Ares, the same feeling filled the air.
The feeling disappeared.
The crowd had disappeared. Annabeth and Grover were standing on the beach, looks of shock on their faces, as the water filled in back around Ares.
"You have made an enemy, godling," Ares said, lowering his sword. "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."
Oh, that's not good. The war god is not a god to have as your enemy.
Ares began to change into his godly form.
I closed my eyes.
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**author's note**
the formatting thing from google docs to wattpad is messed up.. ughhhh... all the tabs turned into no tabs or just a couple inconsistent spacesss....
- Gem