The old man looked up. I recognized the twinkle in his eyes, but his face....he looked like he'd aged forty years.
"If it isn't Odysseus," Poseidon said.
"Oh, come on, Dad," Alexandra pouted. "Seriously."
"What—what happened to you?" I asked. "Uh.. no offence- but-? Have I missed anything in the while I was gone?"
Poseidon didn't seem offended. "It's all right," he smiled. "The war has been hard on me."
"But you're immortal," I said quietly. "You can look... any way you want."
"I reflect the state of my realm," he said. "And right now that state is quite grim."
"Oh," I said, not knowing how to reply. I looked down at the mosaic.
"Ariana, this is my family," Alexandra smiled. "This is Amphitrite, my bestie and step-mom."
The lady in green armor stared at me coldly.
"And this is my brother Triton."
His double fish tails swished back and forth. He smiled at me, but there was no friendliness in his eyes. "Hello, Ariana Adler."
"What's going on here?" I asked.
Poseidon sighed. He raised his staff, and it changed into his regular weapon—a huge three-pointed trident. The tip glowed with blue light, and the water around it boiled with energy.
A huge sea serpent appeared from above us and spiraled down toward the roof. It was bright orange with a fanged mouth big enough to swallow a gymnasium.
Hardly looking up, Poseidon pointed his trident at the beast and zapped it with blue energy. Ka-boom! The monster burst into a million goldfish, which all swam off in terror. "The battle against Oceanus is going poorly."
He pointed to the edge of the mosaic. With the butt of his trident he tapped the image of a merman larger than the rest, with the horns of a bull. He appeared to be riding a chariot pulled by crawfish, and instead of a sword he wielded a live serpent.
"Oceanus," I said, trying to remember. "The Titan of the sea?"
Poseidon nodded. "He was neutral in the first war of gods and Titans. But Kronos has convinced him to fight. This is... well, it's not a good sign. Oceanus would not commit unless he was sure he could pick the winning side. We have been at war almost a year now. My powers are taxed. And still he finds new forces to throw at me—sea monsters so ancient I had forgotten about them."
"I can help," I said firmly. "I mean, it would also mean I could finally pay you back for all that I've done."
Poseidon's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
I took a deep breath. "I killed your son, the Cyclops Polyphemus."
Poseidon frowned at me. "So?"
"Oh come on!" I said. "So it's a problem when I let him live?"
"Obviously," Alexandra rolled her eyes. "Why do you think Athena wanted you to kill him ASAP?"
I put my palms on my face. "Someone just kill me already."
"Already tried that," Poseidon said. "Thrice in this lifetime, I think."
"Hey!" Alexandra protested. "That was you?"
"What? I'm just trying to be a good dad."
I rolled my eyes. "I can't believe this."
"Neither can I," Alexandra huffed.
"Neither can I, if you ask me," Amphitrite said.
I turned back to the mosaic. "If you wage war as you continue," I predicted, "you won't be able to hold back for long. I'd be careful if I were you."
"Gee, we never figured that bit out," Triton said.
"The best strategy right now is making sure all your forces aren't deployed yet. You have to keep morale up. Keep your best weapon yet on the ready, but don't use it. When the Titan of the Ocean finally does come up," I continued, "you're going to use it on him. Anything that can throw him far off will help. A few miles, a few meters, anything. We'll need time to rearrange armies. There's an ancient military formation- I've read about it... we have enough warriors for it."
"What are you suggesting?" Alexandra asked.
I racked my brains. "There's one military formation- it's incredibly famous too... I can't remember it."
"You mean a phalanx?"
"No-" I turned back to the mosaic. "Never mind that. I know the main bits. The formation begins with two soldiers standing back-to-back, with other such set of soldiers standing at a distance of three hands, drawing up seven circles and culminating in the end which is the place where the captured person or object is to be kept. Once drawn, the foremost soldiers come on either side of the opponent to be captured, engage briefly and then advance. Their place is taken up by the next soldiers on either side, who again engage the opponent briefly and then advance. In this fashion, a number of soldiers pass the enemy and proceed in a circular pattern. By the time the rear of the formation arrives, the oblivious enemy is surrounded on all sides by seven tiers of soldiers."
"Talk English," Triton said.
"See," Poseidon explained from his understanding, "the formation is going to be several circles of soldiers, like a labyrinth and when the opponent enters into the maze, we take them down one by one. Am I right?"
"Yes," I replied. "With the number of soldiers and mermen you have, I'm sure that half your soldiers will go just on defense. The other half can form a phalanx and charge at the opponent."
Alexandra smiled, impressed. "Athena always has a plan, Dad."
"Why do you always support her and not me?" Poseidon asked.
"We're cousins. I have to support her."
"Where's Percy?" I asked, only remembering the boy.
"He just left a few hours ago," Amphitrite said. "Didn't even help with the war."
"I asked him to leave, dear," Poseidon said, smiling.
Amphitrite huffed.
"On that note," Alexandra smiled, "you've done us a lot of help, Ariana. I think it's time you left for home."
"What?" I asked. "But I just helped you- I need to see this formation!"
Poseidon sighed. "As much as I require a lot of assistance on this, your fight lies in the world above. We will hold here. We have no choice."
"But I have a choice!" I said. "I want to stay and help."
"No," Alexandra said firmly. And I knew that that was the end of the line. "You're needed on land. Typhon and Kronos are greater threats. And although Percy Jackson is not so dumb as he makes out to be, he will still need assistance. From you."
I pouted. "But-"
"No ifs or buts," Alexandra said.
I gave up. "Okay."
The goddess' eyes softened. "It's alright," she said. "We'll hold as long as we can. The sea is more powerful than any other part of the world. Which is why I'm here. I'll be here to help my father. And you are needed to help your home. I've tried to do my best to heal you, Ariana. But- the hair..." she sighed. "Your hair is cursed."
I frowned. "Cursed?"
"The color that drained off," she said, "it's never coming back again. No magic can ever bring it back. Not even mortal hair dye."
I nodded. I already knew that. "Thanks for trying."
Poseidon turned to me. "You have been useful to us, Ariana," he said. "Remember your strength. Remember your past, and remember what you can do. You can hold the skies for years and still survive. Remember who you once were. Odysseus, you have my mercy. The sea stands by your side now."
"Wow," I smiled. "Ten thousand years later, I finally get my redemption."
Alexandra rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright, now let's get you out of here." She waved her hand at me.
Water swirled around me, and I shot toward the surface at speeds that would've caused any normal human to pop like a balloon.
***
Word of my arrival spread as soon as I walked out of the ocean. Our beach is on the North Shore of Long Island, and it's enchanted so most people can't even see it. Percy was standing there, waiting for me.
"Thank gods," he sighed, running to me. "Annabeth had almost threatened to kill me."
I smiled. "Annabeth has finally gotten some of that Athena in her, has she?"
"Finally? She's always unnerving, dude."
I laughed. "You have no idea," I said.
Together we climbed the sand dunes. A few hundred yards away, people were sitting down at the dining pavilion, looking around in a depressing silence.
"You told them about Beckendorf?" I asked.
"Yeah," Percy replied. "They're still taking it in."
I gazed across the valley and tried to remember how Camp Half-Blood looked the first time I ever saw it. From the dining pavilion, you could see pretty much everything. Hills ringed the valley. On the tallest, Half-Blood Hill, Thalia's pine tree stood with the Golden Fleece hanging from its branches, magically protecting the camp from its enemies. The guard dragon Peleus was so big now I could see him from here—curled around the tree trunk, lending up smoke signals as he snored.
To my right spread the woods. To my left, the canoe lake glittered and the climbing wall glowed from the lava pouring down its side. Twelve cabins—one for each Olympian god—made a horseshoe pattern around the commons area. Farther south were the strawberry fields, the armory, and the four-story Big House with its sky blue paint job and its bronze eagle weathervane.
In some ways, the camp hadn't changed. But you couldn't see the war by looking at the buildings or the fields. You could see it in the faces of the demigods and satyrs and naiads coming up the hill.
There weren't as many at camp as four summers ago. Some had left and never come back. Some had died fighting. Others—we tried not to talk about them—had gone over to the enemy.
The ones who were still here were battle-hardened and weary.
"There is little laughter at camp these days," Percy said. "Even the Hermes cabin doesn't play so many pranks. It's hard to enjoy practical jokes when your whole life feels like one."
I stood in silence for a moment, taking the view in. This was home. I took a deep breath in as a conch sounded, signaling my arrival.
People looked up from their dining tables towards us- no- towards me.
There was a sickening silence as everyone stared in surprise. I would be pretty surprised too. My hands were still pink around the wrists from the shackles, and there were a thousand scars in arms from all the times the empousai had scratched me.
I tried to smile, but I think it was more like just showing teeth.
"We have a meeting in ten minutes," Percy said. "You wanna join, Athena Cabin Counsellor?"
I smiled, "No, Percy. I'm no Cabin Counsellor. Annabeth is."
"But I'm still sure that we'll need you on this one."
I opened my mouth to reply, but I was immediately stopped by two huge figures pounced on me. Annabeth cried into my barely used shirt (courtesy of Alexandra) and Malcolm hung by my neck, hugging me tight. "What the hell," I muttered.
Chiron galloped towards me, smiling. "Had a good time?" he said, although his eyes were full of concern.
I laughed, and tears flew out of my eyes like rivers. I moved forward and punched the old centaur in the arm, and just as Annabeth had done, I cried into his green shirt that said MY OTHER CAR IS A CENTAUR. He wrapped his arms around my head in an attempt to hug me back. "It's okay. You're not going anywhere now," he said. "You're home."