They begin to make their way to the House when Annabeth suddenly appears in front of her, carrying that Yankees hat from earlier.
"Annabeth..." Mara breathed out as Declan began to retreat slowly.
"Don't think about going anywhere, Carrot Top," Annabeth said as Declan cursed to himself.
"Where are you guys going?" Annabeth asked Mara who looked anywhere but those grey eyes of hers.
"To the Big House...We were going to ask Chiron something," She says and Annabeth looks at Declan, and back at Mara.
"I know what you are thinking, but I am not lying. I really am going to ask him something."
"The both of you?" Annabeth asks as she points.
"Yes, why do you care all of a sudden?" Mara says as she tries to push past her, but Annabeth stops her.
"What are you doing, Beth?"
"Are you mad at me for something?" Annabeth asked her burning question. Mara laughed.
"Not at all," Mara said, some bitterness in her tone. Declan stands there awkwardly as he watches the interaction.
"Something else?" Mara questioned as she clasped her hands together, waiting.
"You can't go right now," Annabeth said, in a rather nervous tone. "Chiron is busy."
"Fine I won't," She says, "Anything else?" Annabeth shook her head, tapping her cap against the palm of her hand.
She steps closer.
"Are you sure there's nothing going on?"
Mara sighed, pushing past her. Declan awkwardly waved goodbye, "I'll see you at breakfast, no wait. It's dinner. I mean lunch. maybe even training. Arts and crafts...Or maybe even the—"
"Let's go, Declan!" Mara called out, still walking away.
"Got it!" Declan weakly muttered as he followed after her.
Annabeth watched her walk away, presumably back to the woods. She frowned as she put her cap back on, her form shimmering and disappearing into thin air.
•
In the Big House, Percy sat in front of Chiron with Grover right beside him. It was time to discuss something rather important.
"Tell me, Percy," he said. "What did you make of the hellhound?"
Just hearing the name made Percy shudder.
Chiron probably wanted him to say, "Heck, it was nothing. I eat hellhounds for breakfast." But Percy didn't feel like lying.
"It scared me," he said. "If you hadn't shot it, I'd be dead."
"You'll meet worse, Percy. Far worse, before you're done."
"Done...with what?"
"Your quest, of course. Will you accept it?"
Percy glanced at Grover, who was crossing his fingers.
"Um, sir," he said, "you haven't told me what it is yet."
Chiron grimaced. "Well, that's the hard part, the details."
Thunder rumbled across the valley. The storm clouds had now reached the edge of the beach. As far as Percy could see, the sky and the sea were boiling together.
"Poseidon and Zeus," Percy said. "They're fighting over something valuable...something that was stolen, aren't they?"
Chiron and Grover exchanged looks.
Chiron sat forward in his wheelchair. "How did you know that?"
Percy's face felt hot. He wished he hadn't opened his big mouth.
"The weather since Christmas has been weird, like the sea and the sky are fighting. Then I talked to Annabeth, and she'd overheard something about a theft. And...I've also been having these dreams."
"I knew it," Grover said.
"Hush, satyr," Chiron ordered.
"But it is his quest!" Grover's eyes were bright with excitement. "It must be!"
"Only the Oracle can determine." Chiron stroked his bristly beard. "Nevertheless, Percy, you are correct. Your father and Zeus are having their worst quarrel in centuries. They are fighting over something valuable that was stolen. To be precise: a lightning bolt."
Percy laughed nervously. "A what?"
"Do not take this lightly," Chiron warned. "I'm not talking about some tinfoil-covered zigzag you'd see in a second-grade play. I'm talking about a two-foot-long cylinder of high-grade celestial bronze, capped on both ends with god-level explosives."
"Oh."
"Zeus's master bolt," Chiron said, getting worked up now. "The symbol of his power, from which all other lightning bolts are patterned. The first weapon made by the Cyclopes for the war against the Titans, the bolt that sheered the top off Mount Etna and hurled Kronos from his throne; the master bolt, which packs enough power to make mortal hydrogen bombs look like firecrackers."
"And it's missing?"
"Stolen," Chiron said.
"By who?"
"By whom," Chiron corrected. Once a teacher, always a teacher. "By you."
Percy's mouth fell open.
"At least"—Chiron held up a hand—"that's what Zeus thinks. During the winter solstice, at the last council of the gods, Zeus and Poseidon had an argument. The usual nonsense: 'Mother Rhea always liked you best,' 'Air disasters are more spectacular than sea disasters,' et cetera. Afterward, Zeus realized his master bolt was missing, taken from the throne room under his very nose. He immediately blamed Poseidon. Now, a god cannot usurp another god's symbol of power directly—that is forbidden by the most ancient of divine laws. But Zeus believes your father convinced a human hero to take it."
"But I didn't—"
"Patience and listen, child," Chiron said. "Zeus has good reason to be suspicious. The forges of the Cyclopes are under the ocean, which gives Poseidon some influence over the makers of his brother's lightning. Zeus believes Poseidon has taken the master bolt, and is now secretly having the Cyclopes build an arsenal of illegal copies, which might be used to topple Zeus from his throne. The only thing Zeus wasn't sure about was which hero Poseidon used to steal the bolt. Now Poseidon has openly claimed you as his son. You were in New York over the winter holidays. You could easily have snuck into Olympus. Zeus believes he has found his thief."
"But I've never even been to Olympus! Zeus is crazy!"
Chiron and Grover glanced nervously at the sky. The clouds didn't seem to be parting around them, as Grover had promised.
"Percy...?" Grover said. "We don't use the c-word to describe the Lord of the Sky."
"Perhaps paranoid," Chiron suggested. "Then again, Poseidon has tried to unseat Zeus before. I believe that was question thirty-eight on your final exam...." He looked at Percy as if he actually expected him to remember question thirty-eight.
How could anyone accuse Percy of stealing a god's weapon?
"Something about a golden net?" Percy guessed. "Poseidon and Hera and a few other gods...they, like, trapped Zeus and wouldn't let him out until he promised to be a better ruler, right?"
"Correct," Chiron said. "And Zeus has never trusted Poseidon since. Of course, Poseidon denies stealing the master bolt. He took great offense at the accusation. The two have been arguing back and forth for months, threatening war. And now, you've come along—the proverbial last straw."
"But I'm just a kid!"
"Percy," Grover cut in, "if you were Zeus, and you already thought your brother was plotting to overthrow you, then your brother suddenly admitted he had broken the sacred oath he took after World War II, that he's fathered a new mortal hero who might be used as a weapon against you....Wouldn't that put a twist in your toga?"
"But I didn't do anything. Poseidon—my dad—he didn't really have this master bolt stolen, did he?"
Chiron sighed. "Most thinking observers would agree that thievery is not Poseidon's style. But the Sea God is too proud to try convincing Zeus of that. Zeus has demanded that Poseidon return the bolt by the summer solstice. That's June twenty-first, ten days from now. Poseidon wants an apology for being called a thief by the same date. I hoped that diplomacy might prevail, that Hera or Demeter or Hestia would make the two brothers see sense. But your arrival has inflamed Zeus's temper. Now neither god will back down. Unless someone intervenes, unless the master bolt is found and returned to Zeus before the solstice, there will be war. And do you know what a full- fledged war would look like, Percy?"
"Bad?" Percy guessed.
"Imagine the world in chaos. Nature at war with itself. Olympians forced to choose sides between Zeus and Poseidon. Destruction. Carnage. Millions dead. Western civilization turned into a battleground so big it will make the Trojan War look like a water-balloon fight."
"Bad," Percy repeated.
"And you, Percy Jackson, would be the first to feel Zeus's wrath."
It started to rain. Volleyball players stopped their game and stared in stunned silence at the sky.
Percy had brought this storm to Half-Blood Hill. Zeus was punishing the whole camp because of him. He was furious.
•
"It's raining!" Declan complained as his hair began to stick to his face. But then he realized.
"I can see that," Mara says as they finally make it to the Big House. They step onto the porch steps and Declan grabs Mara's arm.
"What are you doing, Tinman?"
"It's raining," Declan says again.
"Yeah, so?" Mara says as her hair now falls flat, wet and sticking to her own face. Her black shirt now damp.
"It never rains here," Declan says and Mara is still confused, "Which means something is happening."
"Climate change? I don't know," Mara shrugs and Declan pushes her along.
"We gotta ask Chiron now!"
As they make it to the porch, they begin to hear voices towards the side of the Big House. Seems Chiron really was talking to someone else. Declan decides to listen in to the best or abilities.
"Who is he talking to?"
"He's talking to..." Declan tries to hear harder from around the corner.
"Well, who?" Mara asks desperately.
"You know what? I can't hear with you in my ear like this," Declan says as Mara sighs. She decides to do it herself, walking into the shadow of the wall.
Declan peeks around the corner, finally seeing who it was.
"Okay, I can kinda see. It's Percy," Declan says to Mara, only to find her gone. He sighs a rather long sigh.
•
"So I have to find the stupid bolt," Percy said. "And return it to Zeus."
"What better peace offering," Chiron said, "than to have the son of Poseidon return Zeus's property?"
"If Poseidon doesn't have it, where is the thing?"
"I believe I know." Chiron's expression was grim. "Part of a prophecy I had years ago...well, some of the lines make sense to me, now. But before I can say more, you must officially take up the quest. You must seek the counsel of the Oracle."
"Why can't you tell me where the bolt is beforehand?"
"Because if I did, you would be too afraid to accept the challenge." Percy swallowed. "Good reason."
"You agree then?"
Percy looked at Grover, who nodded encouragingly.
Easy for him. Percy was the one Zeus wanted to kill.
"All right," Percy said. "It's better than being turned into a dolphin."
"Then it's time you consulted the Oracle," Chiron said. "Go upstairs, Percy Jackson, to the attic. When you come back down, assuming you're still sane, we will talk more."
Mara watched from the shadows of the porch as they all stepped inside. She decided to follow after them to the best of her own ability.
•
Four flights up, the stairs ended under a green trapdoor.
Percy pulled the cord. The door swung down, and a wooden ladder clattered into place.
The warm air from above smelled like mildew and rotten wood and something else...a smell Percy remembered from biology class. Reptiles. The smell of snakes.
He held his breath and climbed.
By the window, sitting on a wooden tripod stool, was a mummy.
Looking at her sent chills up Percy's back. And that was before she sat up on her stool and opened her mouth. A green mist poured from the mummy's mouth, coiling over the floor in thick tendrils, hissing like twenty thousand snakes. He stumbled over himself trying to get to the trapdoor, but it slammed shut. Inside his head, he heard a voice: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and ask.
Percy was terrified to say the least.
The mummy wasn't alive.
He got the courage to ask, "What is my destiny?"
The mist swirled more thickly, collecting right in front of him and around the table. Suddenly there were four men sitting around the table, playing cards. Their faces became clearer. It was Smelly Gabe and his buddies.
His fists clenched, though he knew this poker party couldn't be real. It was an illusion, made out of mist.
Gabe turned toward him and spoke in the rasping voice of the Oracle: You shall go west, and face the god who has turned.
His buddy on the right looked up and said in the same voice: You shall find what was stolen, and see it safely returned.
The guy on the left threw in two poker chips, then said: You shall be betrayed by one who calls you a friend.
Finally, Eddie, their building super, delivered the worst line of all: And you shall fail to save what matters most, in the end.
The figures began to dissolve. At first he was too stunned to say anything, but as the mist retreated, coiling into a huge green serpent and slithering back into the mouth of the mummy, he cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"
The misty snake disappeared into the mummy's mouth. She reclined back against the wall. Her mouth closed tight, as if it hadn't been open in a hundred years. The attic was silent again, abandoned, nothing.
Little did he know, he had an audience of one in that room.
•
"Well?" Chiron asked him.
He slumped into a chair at the pinochle table. "She said I would retrieve what was stolen."
Grover sat forward, chewing excitedly on the remains of a Diet Coke can. "That's great!"
"What did the Oracle say exactly?" Chiron pressed. "This is important."
Percy got goosebumps even trying to repeat what she said, "She...she said I would go west and face a god who had turned. I would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."
"I knew it," Grover said.
Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"
He didn't want to tell him.
What friend would betray him? He didn't have that many.
And the last line—I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send him on a quest and tell him, Oh, by the way, you'll fail.
How could he confess that?
"No," he said. "That's about it."
He studied his face. "Very well, Percy. But know this: the Oracle's words often have double meanings. Don't dwell on them too much. The truth is not always clear until events come to pass."
"Okay," he said, anxious to change topics. "So where do I go? Who's this god in the west?"
"Ah, think, Percy," Chiron said. "If Zeus and Poseidon weaken each other in a war, who stands to gain?"
"Somebody else who wants to take over?" he guessed.
"Yes, quite. Someone who harbors a grudge, who has been unhappy with his lot since the world was divided eons ago, whose kingdom would grow powerful with the deaths of millions. Someone who hates his brothers for forcing him into an oath to have no more children, an oath that both of them have now broken."
He thought about his dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."
The girl in the shadows listened intently now.
Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."
A scrap of aluminum fell out of Grover's mouth. "Whoa, wait. Wh- what?"
"A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded him. "She watched the young man until she was sure of his identity, then tried to kill him. Furies obey only one lord: Hades."
"Yes, but—but Hades hates all heroes," Grover protested. "Especially if he has found out Percy is a son of Poseidon...."
"A hellhound got into the forest," Chiron continued. "Those can only be summoned from the Fields of Punishment, and it had to be summoned by someone within the camp. Hades must have a spy here. He must suspect Poseidon will try to use Percy to clear his name. Hades would very much like to kill this young half-blood before he can take on the quest."
"Great," he muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill me."
"But a quest to..." Grover swallowed. "I mean, couldn't the master bolt be in some place like Maine? Maine's very nice this time of year."
"Hades sent a minion to steal the master bolt," Chiron insisted. "He hid it in the Underworld, knowing full well that Zeus would blame Poseidon. I don't pretend to understand the Lord of the Dead's motives perfectly, or why he chose this time to start a war, but one thing is certain. Percy must go to the Underworld, find the master bolt, and reveal the truth."
Percy felt something whirling inside of him. Hades had tried to kill him three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound. It was his fault his mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame him and his dad for a theft they hadn't committed.
He was ready to take him on.
Besides, if his mother was in the Underworld...
"Wait. You said Hades has a spy?" Grover asked as he chewed on the can.
Chiron nods and then realizes what the satyr is trying to say.
"It can't be a coincidence," Grover said, reading his face.
"She is just a child," Chiron refused to believe it. "She is nothing like her father. And I would know."
"Are you sure, Chiron?" Grover asked, gritting his teeth in fear. "We can't trust anyone associated with him especially if he stole the bolt." He whispered the last part and Chiron held his hand up again.
Mara felt betrayed? She couldn't believe that on the surface, these people were so nice to her. But that deep inside, they held a fear and were sort of resentful towards her.
"Quiet, satyr."
Grover trembled at the thought of facing him and even facing his child that he may have recruited as a spy. But the satyr needed to complete a quest with Percy so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but Percy couldn't ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said he was destined to fail.
This was suicide.
"Look, if we know it's Hades," Percy told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads."
"Suspecting and knowing are not the same," Chiron said. "Besides, even if the other gods suspect Hades—and I imagine Poseidon does—they couldn't retrieve the bolt themselves. Gods cannot cross each other's territories except by invitation. That is another ancient rule. Heroes, on the other hand, have certain privileges. They can go anywhere, challenge anyone, as long as they're bold enough and strong enough to do it. No god can be held responsible for a hero's actions. Why do you think the gods always operate through humans?"
"You're saying I'm being used."
"I'm saying it's no accident Poseidon has claimed you now. It's a very risky gamble, but he's in a desperate situation. He needs you."
Percy didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored him for twelve years. Now suddenly he needed him.
He looked at Chiron. "You've known I was Poseidon's son all along, haven't you?"
"I had my suspicions. As I said...I've spoken to the Oracle, too."
Percy felt there was a lot Chiron wasn't telling him about his prophecy, but he decided he couldn't worry about that right now. After all, he was holding back information too.
"So let me get this straight," Percy said. "I'm supposed to go to the Underworld and confront the Lord of the Dead."
"Check," Chiron said.
"Find the most powerful weapon in the universe."
"Check."
"And get it back to Olympus before the summer solstice, in ten days."
"That's about right."
Percy looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts.
"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" Grover asked weakly.
"You don't have to go," Percy told him. "I can't ask that of you."
"Oh..." Grover shifted his hooves. "No...it's just that satyrs and underground places...well..."
He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt. "You saved my life, Percy. If...if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."
Grover was the only friend he'd ever had for longer than a few months. He wasn't entirely sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but he felt better knowing he'd be with him.
"All the way, G-man." Percy turned to Chiron. "So where do we go? The Oracle just said to go west."
"The entrance to the Underworld is always in the west. It moves from age to age, just like Olympus. Right now, of course, it's in America."
"Where?"
Chiron looked surprised. "I thought that would be obvious enough. The entrance to the Underworld is in Los Angeles."
"Oh," Percy said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane—"
"No!" Grover shrieked. "Percy, what are you thinking? Have you ever been on a plane in your life?"
Percy shook his head, feeling embarrassed. His mom always avoided traveling by plane and made excuses not to. Not to mention, her parents had sadly passed away in a plane crash.
"Percy, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God. Your father's bitterest rival is Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mother knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."
Thunder boomed again.
"Okay," Percy said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, I'll travel overland."
"That's right," Chiron said. "Two companions may accompany you. Grover is one. The other has already volunteered, if you will accept her help."
"Gee," Percy said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?"
The air shimmered behind Chiron. Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.
Mara's firm expression dropped into that of a surprised look.
It all makes sense now.
Annabeth didn't want Mara to see whatever hero stuff Golden boy was up too and how she was now apart of it.
"I've been waiting a long time for a quest, seaweed brain," she said. "Athena is no fan of Poseidon, but if you're going to save the world, I'm the best person to keep you from messing up."
"If you do say so yourself," Percy said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"
Her face turned a little red. "Do you want my help or not?"
Please say no, Mara thought to herself, No, no, no!
The truth was, Percy did. He needed all the help he could get.
"A trio," Percy said. "That'll work."
"Excellent," Chiron said. "This afternoon, we can take you as far as the bus terminal in Manhattan. After that, you are on your own."
Lightning flashed as the trio was decided.
"No time to waste," Chiron said. "I think you should all get packing."
They all quickly get up and make their way to their cabins, eyeing each other. Seemed they were on a quest now and they were stuck with one another.
Mara stood hiding behind a wall, half hidden in the dark and watching the newly made trio walk to their respective places. She decides to make herself known and approaches Chiron who sits there, having a moment to himself.
"I promise I am not working for my dad in that way, Chiron," She says, startling him.
"Ms. Anderson," Chiron says as he fully turns to face her. "How much did you hear?"
Mara puts on a firm expression, "Only that my dad is being accused of stealing a frickin' lightning bolt of all things and I am being associated to a list of crimes I did not commit."
Thunder cracked outside.
"No one is saying you did anything."
"Everyone is, sir," Mara says as she hangs her head. She feels tears coming on, "Since the moment I got here, I have never felt welcome. Something was always being held against me. And it got worse when everyone figured out who my father was. People do things like point at me..." She looked up at him, "insult me and they think it goes unnoticed."
"You should have come to me, Ms. Anderson," Chiron said, genuinely feeling bad for her.
But Grover's accusation lingered in his mind. "I could have helped you."
"I didn't have to come to you because I had my friends," Mara laughed, wiping her eye, "Well...Just one friend now. One of them found someone better who could give her what she wanted."
"Miss Chase?"
She looks way at the mention of her name.
"I'm used to it," Mara says, "But I just...." She stops and lowers her head, hiding her sadness. "But I really wanted to believe she wasn't using me. That she wouldn't discard me when she found something better. But Annabeth is just like all the other ones."
Chiron was surprised with the amount of anger and frustration that was put into that last sentence.
"Annabeth is a smart and very kind girl. She would not do such a thing," Chiron tells her, "Have you spoken to her of this? Friends often pull apart because of miscommunications."
"Except this wasn't a miscommunication or a misunderstanding, sir," Mara muttered, "She lied to me...She got what she wanted. Jumped at the opportunity and put me aside."
Chiron observes the girl as she leaned on the doorway. Tired, gloomy, and pale—But something was changing.
"Maybe that's why my father stole the bolt," Mara mutters to herself, making Chiron lift his head to look at her.
"He was tired of being cast aside by gods who cry over little lightning bolts," Mara said, the color in the room leaving, "Maybe he really just wanted to belong for once. To be seen. Because you and your crowd of gods always get what they want and put aside the outcast once you get it." She approaches Chiron and the table, "And when things get bad, you always blame the one that's easiest to pin the drama on: the outsider. That's all you people do!"
She slammed her hand loudly on the table. Her eyes turned black with hate and tears. Whispers could be heard as the room began to grow darker.
"Miss Anderson," Chiron straightened his posture.
"What are you—"
"I am tired, sir," Mara replied, "I am tired of being cast aside." With not a moment to waste, she storms up the stairs, disappearing into the dark.
"MISS ANDERSON!" Chiron calls out to her, "Don't go up there!" With the sound of the yelling, Declan rushed inside the Big House.
•
Mara makes it up to the top after traveling four flights of stairs, like last time. She pulls down the cord and up into the crusty attic she goes. She does what Percy did and goes up to the mummy in the corner.
She takes a deep breath and looks up at it, "What is my destiny?"
The green mist coils out of her mouth as suddenly her mother appears, sitting on the floor with a bag in her hands.
"Mom?" Mara mutters at the green misty figure. It obviously wasn't her but she had already begun to forget what her mother looked like. This was certainly overwhelming.
She looked just as sickly as the last time she saw her.
Her mother turned to her and spoke.
"You shall uncover the darkest of truths. You shall seek redemption in the depths below. You shall discover that which you know nothing about. You shall see that a new path is built on sacrifice and you shall discover that being alone will suffice," the mist whispered, its voice echoing with an ominous tone.
Her mother began to disintegrate and Mara stood there, stunned.
"Oh god, what did I do?" Mara asked herself.
A last minute choice that now led to a confusing future.
•