𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟒: 𝐆𝐨𝐝𝐬, 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐀𝐧𝐧𝐨𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐬
December 17, 2019
THEY WERE JUST ABOUT TO LEAP OFF THE CHRYSLER BUILDING.
Suddenly, Blackjack whinnied in alarm and nearly threw Percy off of him. The son of Poseidon felt something snaking up his leg and reached for Riptide.
But when he looked down, the only thing there was a vine.
Grapevines were growing from the cracks between the stones of the building, curling around Blackjack's legs. One was wrapped right around Percy's ankle.
"Going somewhere?"
Damn it. Percy thought. Mr. fucking D.
The wine god was leaning casually against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his leopard-skin warm-up suit and black hair whipping around in the wind.
God alert! Blackjack yelled. It's the wine dude!
Mr. D sighed, the exasperation Percy could've sworn Alice had earlier before all over his face. "The next person, or horse, who calls me the 'wine dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"
"Mr. D," Percy grumbled, struggling to keep his voice level as the grape vines continued to wrap around his legs. "What do you want?"
"Oh, what do I want?" Dionysus asked with a sneer. "You thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of camp would not notice you leaving without permission?"
"Well... maybe," Percy sighed.
After all, he'd snuck out before.
"I should throw you off this building, minus the flying horse, and see how heroic you sound on the way down," Dionysus threatened, folding his arms across his chest.
Percy felt his hands ball into fists. The smart thing to do would be to shut up and accept the fact that he was caught. But Percy's mouth, as Olivia once told him, ran faster than his brain. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?"
Purple flames flickered in Dionysus' eyes, much like Alice's when she snapped at Zoë. "You're a hero, boy," he said. "I need no other reason."
"I have to go on this quest! I've got to help my friends. I've got to help Olivia!"
"Why? Because you're in love, you foolish boy?" Dionysus mocked him.
Percy felt his cheeks warm, and he knew he was blushing. Maybe he could blame it on the chilly air. "It's not that!" he argued. "I just care about her! She's one of my best friends, okay? That's something you wouldn't understand!"
Um, boss, Blackjack said nervously. Seeing as how we're wrapped in vines nine hundred feet in the air, you might want to talk nice.
The grapevines coiled tighter around Percy, and he could see the white van was getting farther and farther away. No! Not when he was so close to getting out of here and saving Olivia's life.
"Did I ever tell you about Ariadne?" Mr. D asked out of nowhere. "Beautiful young princess of Crete? She liked helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, also a son of Poseidon. She gave him a ball of magical yarn that let him find his way out of the Labyrinth. And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?"
Percy didn't exactly care, but he figured he might as well finish the story for Mr. D. "They got married," he said. "Happily ever after. The end."
Mr. D sneered again, a dark look on his face. "Not quite," he responded. "Theseus said he would marry her. He took her aboard his ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos, he... What's the word you mortals use today?... he dumped her. I found her there, you know. Alone. Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out. She had given up everything, left everything she knew behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal."
"That's wrong," Percy said. "But that was thousands of years ago. What's that got to do with me?"
Mr. D regarded Percy with cold, uncaring eyes. "I fell in love with Ariadne, boy," he shot back. "I healed her broken heart. And when she died, I made her my immortal wife on Olympus. She waits for me even now. I shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your ridiculous camp."
Percy's mouth dropped as he stared at the god in front of him. "You're... you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph-"
"Olivia reminds me a lot of her," Dionysus interrupted him. "Kind, sweet, full of joy. Just wanting to help their friends in any possible way they can. And one betrayal from the man they believed they'd always rely on sent them the other way. My Ariadne lost her family and her kingdom, her status as a princess. She was distraught, in tears. Your Olivia lost her smile, her light, her carefree nature. Anger was her poison."
"I don't see how-" Percy began.
"My point is you heroes never change," Dionysus huffed. "You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot. Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, ask Zoë Nightshade."
"What do you mean, ask Zoë?" Percy asked.
He waved his hand dismissively. "Go. Follow your silly friends."
The vines uncurled and vanished.
Percy blinked twice, amazed. "You're... you're letting me go?" he questioned. "Just like that?"
"The prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be one of them. But mark my words, Son of Poseidon, live or die, you will prove no better than the other heroes, and whether she likes it or not, Olivia will see it just the same as Ariadne once did. You sons of Poseidon are no good."
"How-"
"Now listen to what I say next carefully," Dionysus warned him. " I am letting you go for many reasons, including saving Apollo's daughter. But my greatest reasoning is my own daughter."
"The daughter you forced to go on this quest?" Percy snarked.
"I made my Alice to go on this quest because I know her destiny when it is done," Dionysus countered. "After what her mother put her through, she deserves to be happy. But I know from Olivia's premonitions that sometimes, though rare, a future can go astray. And now I want you to make Alice's future is secure. So no matter what you will have to do, even if it costs you your life, you keep my daughter alive. Are we clear?"
Percy was losing sight of the van. "We're clear," he muttered, anxious to leave.
"This is my daughter's future," Dionysus said, stepping closer. "I will not take it lightly. She may loathe me now for forcing her on this quest. But she hopefully will understand in a week's time. Make sure she lives to see it. If I lose my only daughter, Poseidon shall lose a son just as swiftly. I will not fear him. Are-we-clear?"
It hit Percy then. As much crap as he gave everyone, Dionysus was a father at the end of the day. Alice's dad, who'd been there with her for her entire life. He loved his daughter, that much Percy could always tell. He was just trying to do the same thing Apollo was for Olivia: making sure his daughter was safe.
Percy knew his mom would do the same for him. She had done the same for him.
"Crystal clear," he told Mr. D, nodding so the god knew he meant it this time.
He looked satisfied with Percy's answer this time. With that, Dionysus snapped his fingers. His image folded up like a paper display. There was a pop and he was gone, leaving a faint scent of grapes that was quickly blown away by the wind.
Too close, Blackjack said.
Percy agreed with a nod, m but he was actually more worried now. Mr. D only let him go because he thought they could-or would-fail big time on this quest. But more importantly-his daughter.
Percy had to make sure Alice found her way to the future that was meant for her, whatever it was.
"Come on, Blackjack," he said, trying to sound upbeat. "I'll buy you some donuts in New Jersey."
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ALICE WAS GOING TO TOSS ZOË NIGHTSHADE INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC. Thalia and Bianca were going right after her. The Hunter drove like a bat out of hell right into Maryland before she finally pulled over at a rest stop.
They wandered their way into a convenience store, where Alice bought herself a Diet Coke and a box of skittles she promptly stuffed into her bag.
A quiet meow grabbed her attention, and she turned to see a sad little gray kitten sitting on the ground next to her.
"Uh... hi?" she questioned.
The kitten approached her. She pawed at Alice's leg, nuzzling her shoe before walking off like a dramatic little fucker.
Alice followed the cat to where the others were finally leaving the store, and the cat vanished. Zoë didn't look too happy with Alice when she saw her. "What foolishness possessed thee to walk off without us?" she demanded.
Alice gave a shrug. "Hey, I didn't even want to be here," she replied. "I was content to stay at home and pray to any god listening that everyone was okay. You dragged me onto this quest, and if I die, you'll be next on my father's list. Don't blame me for being a little less than willing to listen to you."
"Okay, enough of that," Thalia said, standing between the two. They'd bickered the entire way here, and it seemed the daughter of Zeus was just as tired as Alice. "Alice, Grover was saying he thinks he can find Artemis' trail."
"Well... pretty sure," Grover clarified. "Ninety-nine percent. Okay, eighty-five percent."
"And you did this with acorns?" Bianca asked in disbelief.
"Honey, you joined a cult of preteen girls whose goddess killed a girl for being assaulted by said goddess' father," Alice said. "Acorns should be the least of your concerns."
"What?" Bianca wondered.
"Ignore her," Zoë said. "She is still furious that she was brought along onto this quest."
"No, shit, Sherlock," Alice grumbled. "I didn't ask to be brought along. I don't like men either, but you guys are just fucking weird."
Bianca looked at her like she was clutching her pearls. Apparently, Alice's language was intimidating her.
"I'm pretty sure I did it right," Grover said. "The tracking spell, that is."
"If you did, D.C. is about sixty miles from here," Bianca said. "Nico and I..." She trailed off with a frown. "We used to live there. That's... that's strange. I'd forgotten."
"I dislike this," Zoë said. "We should go straight west. The prophecy said west."
"Oh, like your tracking skills are better?" Thalia growled.
Zoë stepped toward her. "You challenge my skills, you scullion? You know nothing of being a Hunter!"
"Oh, scullion?" Thalia scoffed. "You're calling me a scullion? What the fuck is a scullion?"
"Shut up, shut up, shut up!" Alice shouted, taking her hands through her hair. "Let me check by my damn self at this point!"
"Oh, and I take it that the path shall open up to thee?" Zoë challenged.
"For your information, you don't have to be a Hunter to have good tracking skills," Alice said sharply. "Sometimes, all you need to do is be the stepdaughter of Ariadne."
"Mr. D's wife?" Thalia questioned. "How does she help? She's a minor goddess."
"First off, real damn rude," Alice said, glaring at Thalia as she bent to the ground to touch it. "Second, she gave me a blessing last time I went to Olympus. And third, she's a goddess of paths, mazes, and labyrinths. Are we not retracing a path?"
No one else said anything as the daughter of Dionysus placed her hands flat upon the ground. She concentrated on the paths around them, the wind blowing. She focused on how the footsteps vanished in the snow and how Artemis' hands would probably have touched the ground to track the scent.
In her mind, she saw the path despite her closed eyes. It lit up, gold and silver weaving together-a faded gold like Ariadne's thread for the path of the Labyrinth, and silver for every move the goddess made, keeping out whenever she strayed from her main path briefly.
Her eyes shot open as she fell against the ground. "That way," she said, pointing. "Grover's right. My stepmother's blessing helped me find the right path."
Zoë didn't look convinced, but she nodded reluctantly. "Very well. Let us keep moving."
"You're going to get us arrested, driving," Thalia grumbled. "I look closer to sixteen than you do."
"Perhaps," Zoë snapped. "But I have been driving since automobiles were invented. Let us go."
"Okay, grandma," Alice mumbled. "Let's get into the white van with tinted windows again and hope we don't get pulled over."
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AND SO THEY WERE OFF TO WASHINGTON.
The car ride was long and boring, and Alice was close to falling asleep. They'd been driving for half a day, and she could almost feel her follicles suffocating under her hat. Fortunately, the van finally started to slow down as it crossed the Potomac River into central Washington. A few blocks, later, Zoë parked the van at the curb.
"Come along," she said. "We've wasted enough time as it is."
"Sorry we can't move at the speed of light," Alice huffed as she got out of the van.
"You would've made for a terrible Hunter," Zoë said. "You have no maturity or morals."
"Says the girl who is several thousand years old but still fights with boys like she's in kindergarten," Alice shot back.
"Hey," Grover said, eager to change the subject before Alice blew up again. He pointed toward one of the big buildings lining the Mall. "I think we should go there. I just... the trail seems to go there."
Thalia nodded. "If Grover says we should go that way, we go that way."
They walked off and wandered for about three minutes before Grover stopped in front of the NATIONAL AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM.
That was how Alice ended up in this boring ass place. The purple-eyed girl just stood around while her fellow quest members wandered some more. They seemed as lost as her. The place was just as huge as it was boring.
The main part of the museum was one huge room with rockets and airplanes hanging from the ceiling. Three levels of balconies curled around, so you could look at the exhibits from all different heights. Luckily for them, it wasn't all that crowded. Only a few families and a couple of tour groups of kids were there.
Alice really just kind of stared at the exhibits for a long time until she turned and someone crashed into her. She slammed back into an Apollo space capsule, and Grover yelp of surprise rang in her ears.
Her instincts kicked in and grabbed the person who crashed into her by the wrist, swinging them over her shoulder. She looked back to see an actual human lying on the ground.
Zoë and Bianca appeared out of nowhere with their silver arrows pointed right at-
"Percy?" Alice questioned, eyes wide.
When Zoë realized who she had her arrow pointed at, she didn't seem anxious to lower her bow. "You! How dare you show thy face here?"
"Percy!" Grover said. "Thank goodness."
Zoë glared at him, and he blushed. "I mean, um, gosh," he stammered. "You're not supposed to be here!"
Alice stood wearily. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Luke," Percy huffed, trying to catch his breath. "He's here."
The anger in Thalia's eyes immediately melted. She put her hand on her silver bracelet. "Where?" she demanded.
Percy explained that he'd gone to the Natural History Museum. Apparently, Dr. Thorn (whoever the hell that was), Luke, and the General (also confusing for Alice) had been making some mischief.
"The General is here?" Zoë was almost rendered speechless. "That is impossible! You lie."
"Why would he lie?" Alice asked. "What would he gain from that?"
"Guys, listen!" Percy called. "Skeleton warriors-"
"What?" Thalia cut him off. "How many?"
"Twelve," Percy answered. "And that's not all. That guy, the General, he said he was sending something, a 'playmate,' to distract you over here. A monster."
Thalia, Alice, and Grover exchanged looks.
"We were following Artemis' trail," Grover started to explain. "Alice and I were pretty sure it led here. Some powerful monster scent... She must've stopped here looking for the mystery monster. But we haven't found anything yet."
"Zoë," Bianca said nervously, "if it is the General-"
"It cannot be!" Zoë snapped. "Percy must have seen an Iris-message or some other illusion."
"Why is it so hard to believe that he saw something?!" Alice demanded. "If he were a girl, would it be easier for you to grasp being wrong?"
Zoë sent Alice a glare that the purple-eyed girl shot back without fear or hesitation.
"Besides, illusions don't crack marble floors," Percy agreed, sending Alice an appreciative look.
Zoë took a deep breath, trying to calm herself. It seemed she had a personal connection to the General, but Alice wasn't going to ask questions.
"If Percy is telling the truth about the skeleton warriors," Zoë said, "we have no time to argue. They are the worst, the most horrible... We must leave now."
"Good idea," Percy agreed.
"I was not including thee, boy," Zoë said bitterly. "You are not part of this quest."
"Hey, I'm trying to save your lives!" Percy argued.
"You shouldn't have come, Percy," Thalia said grimly. "But you're here now. Come on. Let's get back to the van."
"That is not thy decision!" Zoë snapped.
Thalia scowled at her. "You're not the boss here, Zoë. I don't care how old you are! You're still a conceited little brat!"
"You never had any wisdom when it came to boys," Zoë growled. "You never could leave them behind!"
Thalia looked like she was about to hit Zoë. Alice felt like she'd beat her to the punch. She managed to restrain herself to just yelling.
"I'm sick of both of you! Always fucking fighting!" she screamed. "How about this, Zoë Nightshade? You leave Percy here to die, effectively dishonoring Artemis' name as a protector of children because he is still a middle school aged child, and when he does die, you face Poseidon's wrath when he learns that you are the one who let his son die."
"I will not be bullied into submission by a man!" Zoë argued.
"It doesn't matter that he is a man!" Alice yelled, grabbing Zoë by the shoulder. "What matters is that he is one of the most powerful gods on the Olympian council, and you just pissed him off. You may not fear my dad, but Poseidon will make you suffer like no other god can."
Alice had met Percy's dad once, two years ago. He'd been wearing a Hawaiian shirt, beach shorts, and sandals, but his eyes were cold, his face was hard, and his trident gleamed with menacing light. It was then she'd understood why he was known as the earthshaker. He may have ruled seas, the earth also fell into his domain. The only god that scared her more than Poseidon was her own father. Madness was a tricky subject, and not one she was well-versed in.
"You cannot intimidate me with threats, Alice Rosario," Zoë said bitterly.
"I don't mean to," Alice responded. "You're the one who's supposedly in charge. You can be the one to explain Percy's death to Olivia and Annabeth."
Whatever retort Zoë had died on her tongue at the mention of Olivia. Alice knew she hit a nerve. "Yeah," she said. "You can tell Olivia that you left Percy to die. See what she does."
Just as Zoë went to respond, a low growl resonated across the entire floor. Below the group, on the lower levels, a few adults screamed. A little kid's voice screeched with delight: "Kitty!"
Something enormous bounded up the ramp. It was the size of a pick-up truck, with silver claws and golden glittering fur. Alice gasped. "What the fuck is that thing?!"
"The Nemean Lion," Thalia said, her voice hushed. "Don't move."
The lion roared loudly, its fangs gleaming like stainless steel.
"Separate on my mark," Zoë ordered. "Try to keep it distracted."
"Until when?" Grover asked.
"Until I think of a way to kill it," Zoë said. "Go!"
Percy uncapped Riptide and rolled to the left, while Alice dipped down into a crouch. She flicked her wrists, her purple bracelets growing into twin daggers she held with ease. Arrows whistled past her, and Grover played a sharp tweet-tweet cadence on his reed pipes.
Alice looked up to see Zoë and Bianca climbing the Apollo capsule. They were firing arrows, one after another, all shattering harmlessly against the lion's metallic fur. The lion swiped the capsule and tipped it on its side, spilling the Hunters off the back. Grover played a frantic, horrible tune, and the lion turned toward him, but Thalia stepped into its path, holding up Aegis, and the lion recoiled.
"ROOOAAAR!" it snarled, clawing the air.
"Hi-yah!" Thalia yelled. "Back!"
The lion growled but retreated as if the shield were a blazing fire. Alice ran and jumped down onto its back, trying to stab it with one of her daggers. Sparks flew as the lion threw her off its back. She groaned as she hit the floor, but jumped back up and stomped her foot hard.
Vines snapped through the marble of the floor and wrapped around the lion, forcing it down. For a second, it looked like she and Thalia had it under control. Then Alice noticed that the lion was crouched beneath its bindings, leg muscles tensing. It was going to pounce. She was trying to figure out a clever way to distract it when-
"Hey!" Percy yelled.
Alice mentally facepalmed. Immediately, she felt like whacking Percy in the face. If he was within arm's reach of her, she just might've.
She watched as Percy charged the beast, slashing and slicing with Riptide. Or, at least he would have if the blade hadn't just clanged against its fur in a burst of sparks.
The lion raked at Percy with its claws, and causing a huge chunk of his winter coat to tear. Percy backed against the railing. Then the monster sprang at him, forcing the son of Poseidon to turn and jump.
Alice hastily threw a dagger at the lion, but it missed by an inch. She looked up, seeing that Zoë and Bianca were back to firing arrows, one of which was just barely zooming over Percy's head. The boy in question had landed on the wing of an old-fashioned silver airplane when he jumped. He'd almost fallen three stories below down, too.
Fuck, Alice thought. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
The lion jumped onto the aircraft with Percy, and the cords holding the plane began to groan. The lion swiped at him, and he dropped onto the next exhibit, a weird-looking spacecraft with blades like a helicopter.
After the lion roared again, Percy suddenly shouted, "Zoë! Target the mouth!"
The monster lunged at Percy. An arrow Zoë fired zipped past it, missing the monster completely. Percy dropped from the spaceship onto the top of a floor exhibit, a huge model of the earth. He slid down slowly before falling off.
The Nemean Lion growled and steadied itself on the spacecraft, but its weight was too much. One of the cords snapped. As the display swung down like a pendulum, the lion leaped off onto the model earth's North Pole.
Alice looked down at the groups of children running around screaming. "Grover!" she yelled. "Quickly! Clear the area!"
Grover nodded and tried to lead them away from the monster.
The spaceship's other cord snapped, dropping the exhibit to the floor with a loud crash. Thalia dropped off the second-floor railing and landed across from Percy, on the other side of the globe. The lion regarded us both, trying to decide which it wanted to kill first.
Alice Zoë and Bianca were above them, bows ready, but they kept having to move around to get a good angle. Alice climbed her way up several spacecrafts using grapevines to stand beside the Hunters, picking up her dagger on her way.
"There's no clear shot!" Zoë yelled. "Get it to open its mouth more!"
The lion snarled from the top of the globe.
"Thalia," Percy called, "keep it occupied."
The older half-blood nodded seriously. "Hi-yah!" She pointed her spear and a spidery arc of blue electricity shot out, zapping the lion in the tail.
"ROOOOOOOAR!" The monster turned and pounced. Thalia rolled out of its way, holding Aegis in its to keep it at bay, and Alice looked back, noticing Percy running for the gift shop.
"This is no time for souvenirs, boy!" Zoë yelled.
"Wait!" Alice shouted as she rolled onto the floor of the level the Hunters were on. "He might be onto something!"
Just then, Percy came out with armfuls of glittering packets.
The Nemean Lion, meanwhile, was snapping at Thalia, slashing at her with its claws. From what Alice could see, it kept its eyes narrowed to tiny slits. Thalia jabbed at the monster and backed up, but the lion just pressed her continuously.
"Percy," she called, "whatever you're going to do-"
The lion roared and swatted her like a cat toy, sending her flying into the side of a Titan rocket. Her head hit the metal and she slid to the floor.
"Hey!" Percy shouted at the lion. Then, in what seemed to typical Perseus Jackson fashion, he did something dumb and hurled his sword at the lion. It only bounced off the lion's side, but that was enough to get the monster's attention.
Percy charged the lion as soon as it turned to him. It leaped, and he threw what looked like a space food packet into its mouth.
The lion's eyes got wide and it gagged.
"Zoë, get ready!" Percy yelled.
Grover was playing another terrible song on his pipes while people ran around and screamed. Alice sighed and grew a vine again, sliding her way down until her feet hit the floor. She saw as the lion managed to choke down the space food packet as Percy ran off. It looked at him with pure hate.
"Snack time!" Percy yelled.
Alice facepalmed. There was no way he expected to be taken seriously after that.
The lion made the mistake of roaring at Percy, and the boy shot an ice-cream sandwich down its throat.
Before the lion could stop gagging, Percy shot in two more flavors of ice cream and a freeze-dried spaghetti dinner.
The lion's eyes bugged. It opened its mouth wide and reared up on its back paws, trying to get away from the insane teenage boy.
"Now!" Percy yelled.
The Hunters let their arrows into the lion's mouth quickly-two, four, six. The lion thrashed wildly, still choking.
"Why isn't it dead yet?" Bianca asked nervously.
"Oh, come on!" Percy shouted. "Why is it being difficult?"
Alice let out a muffled scream. "Die already!" she huffed. She thrust out her hand, and a vine shot straight into the lion's maw, coming out on the other side of its head. Thick thorns dripped with the beast's gold-tinted blood. It turned and fell backward. After a while, all was still.
Alarms wailed throughout the museum, annoying Alice further as too many sounds got into her head. She covered her ears as she ran to Percy's side from where she'd stood. Mortals were flocking to the exits. Security guards were running in panicky circles, confused beyond belief.
Grover knelt at Thalia's side and helped her up. She seemed fine, other then a little dazed look on her face. Meanwhile, Zoë and Bianca dropped from the balcony and landed.
Zoë eyed Percy cautiously. "That was... an interesting strategy," she said.
"Hey, it worked," Percy shrugged. He glanced at Alice warily, and she shrugged. "For the most part, at least."
The lieutenant of the Hunt didn't argue.
The lion began melting, the way some monsters did after being slain, until there was nothing left but its glittering fur coat, and even that seemed to be shrinking to the size of a normal lion's pelt.
"Take it," Zoë told Alice.
She frowned. "Me?"
"You put the final end to it with thy vines."
"Nah," Alice said. "Percy's idea was the only reason I had the opportunity. It's his. Besides, I don't really do lion pelts."
Zoë hummed. "Well, Percy Jackson?"
Percy stared at her. "What, the lion's fur? Isn't that, like, an animal rights violation or something?"
"Screw that," Alice said. "It's a spoil of war. You choked it on ice cream sandwiches. Take it."
Percy carefully lifted it. Then, slowly, the pelt shifted and changed into a coat-a full-length golden-brown duster.
"Not exactly my style," Percy murmured.
"Or your color," Alice agreed.
"We have to get out of here," Grover said urgently. "The security guards won't stay confused for long."
Alice looked over to see the security guards were scrambling in all directions except the group's. A few were even running into the walls or each other.
"You did that?" Percy asked Grover.
He nodded, a little embarrassed. "A minor confusion song," he clarified. "I played some Barry Manilow. It works every time. But it'll only last a few seconds."
He turned to Alice. "I know you don't like madness powers, so I handled it myself."
She gave him a vague smile. "Thanks, Groves."
"The security guards are not our biggest worry," Zoë said. "Look."
Through the glass walls of the museum, Alice saw a group of men walking across the lawn. Gray men in gray camouflage outfits. They were too far away for her to see their eyes, but their gaze already made her a little fearful.
"Go," Percy commanded the others. "They'll be hunting me. I'll distract them."
"No," Zoë disagreed. "We go together."
Percy stared at her. "But, you said-"
"You are part of this quest now," Zoë said grudgingly. "I do not like it, but there is no changing fate. You are the sixth quest member. And we are not leaving anyone behind."
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