ANNABETH SOON APPEARED AND BEGGED to be apart of the quest, and Chiron agreed without a thought. He knew this quest was meant for them, that they were apart of something bigger.
Selena was happy that her best friend was coming along, but was overwhelmed. Another person she's going to have to protect.
Chiron gave Selena and Annabeth each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies if we were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded them. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn them up, literally.
Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, it had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, which Selena made fun of her for, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve.
Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's 'So Yesterday' both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.
Selena put on a jean jacket and stuffed her portable bronze knife in the pocket that was sewn inside. She placed a beanie on her head and grabbed a small satchel to put money into the Chiron had given Percy and herself. She didn't need much and didn't want to lug too may things across the country.
They waved goodbye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.
Selena paused at the base of the tree, "You should've been the one to go on this quest." She whispered out of ear shot from the others.
Chiron was waiting for them in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus. Today, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so you could only see extra eyeballs on his hands, face, and neck.
"This is Argus," Chiron told Percy. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."
Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes. "Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you." Selena laughed when Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around. "Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told Percy. "And I thought ... Um, maybe you could use these."
He handed Percy the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal. Luke said, "Maia!"
White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much that dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared. "Awesome!" Grover exclaimed.
Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days..." His expression turned sad.
"Hey, man," Percy smiled, "Thanks. "
"Listen, Percy..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... Kill some monsters for me, okay?"
They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a goodbye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out before wrapping his arms around Selena, "I'll save your bed for you."
"You better. Billy has been eyeing it up for months." She mumbled,
After Luke was gone, Selena turned to Annabeth "You're hyperventilating."
"Am not." Her face turned tomato red,
"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?" Percy asked,
"Oh... Why do I want to go anywhere with you, Percy?" She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road. Argus followed, jingling his car keys.
Percy picked up the flying shoes and had a sudden bad feeling. He looked at Chiron, "I won't be able to use these, will I?"
He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air... That would not be wise for you."
Percy nodded, disappointed, but then he got an idea. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"
His eyes lit up. "Me?"
Pretty soon they had laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch. "Maia!" he shouted.
He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.
"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"
"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawnmower, heading toward the van.
Before Percy and Selena could follow, Chiron caught the boy's arm. "I should have trained you better, Percy," he said. "If only I had more time. Hercules, Jason... they all got more training."
"That's okay. I just wish-" Percy stopped himself and sighed,
"What am I thinking?" Chiron cried. "I can't let you get away without this." He pulled a pen from his coat pocket and handed it to Percy. It was an ordinary disposable ballpoint, black ink, removable cap. Probably cost thirty cents.
"Gee," Percy said, "Thanks. "
"Percy, that's a gift from your father. I've kept it for years, not knowing you were who I was waiting for. But the prophecy is clear to me now. You are the one." Percy remembered the field trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, when he had vaporized Mrs. Dodds. Chiron had thrown him a pen that turned into a sword.
He took off the cap, and the pen grew longer and heavier in his hand. In half a second, Percy held a shimmering bronze sword with a double-edged blade, a leather-wrapped grip, and a flat hilt riveted with gold studs. It was the first weapon that actually felt balanced in his hand. He looked over at Selena who looked at the sword in awe.
Damn... she wished she had a godly parent to give her cool gifts.
"The sword has a long and tragic history that we need not go into," Chiron told him. "Its name is Anaklusmos."
"'Riptide,'" Percy translated, surprised the Ancient Greek came so easily.
"Use it only for emergencies," Chiron said, "and only against monsters. No hero should harm mortals unless absolutely necessary, of course, but this sword wouldn't harm them in any case."
Percy looked at the wickedly sharp blade. "What do you mean it wouldn't harm mortals? How could it not?"
"The sword is celestial bronze. Forged by the Cyclopes, tempered in the heart of Mount Etna, cooled in the River Lethe. It's deadly to monsters, to any creature from the Underworld, provided they don't kill you first. But the blade will pass through mortals like an illusion. They simply are not important enough for the blade to kill. And I should warn you: as a demigod, you can be killed by either celestial or normal weapons. You are twice as vulnerable."
"Good to know."
ARGUS DROVE THEM OUT OF THE countryside and into western Long Island, "So far so good," Percy turned to Selena, "Ten miles and not a single monster."
She gave him a small smile, knowing he probably just jinxed the quest for them, but Annabeth spoke up first, "It's bad luck to talk that way, Jackson."
"Remind me again, why do you hate me so much?" Percy asked her,
"I don't hate you." Annabeth responded,
"Could've fooled me." He grumbled,
She folded her cap of invisibility, "Look... We're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."
"Why?"
She sighed, "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."
"They must really like olives." Percy commented. Selena rolled her eyes, is that all he was getting out of this story?
"Oh, forget it." Annabeth sighed,
"Now, if she'd invented pizza, that I could understand."
"I said, forget it!" She exclaimed,
In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at Percy. Traffic slowed us down in Queens. By the time they got into Manhattan, it was sunset and starting to rain.
Argus dropped them at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side, and taped to a mailbox was a soggy flyer with a picture of Percy on it; HAVE YOU SEEN THIS BOY? Percy ripped it up and looked over at Selena, silently begging her not to say anything. She gave him a small nod and turned back to the others.
Argus unloaded their bags, made sure they got their bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch them as he pulled out of the parking lot.
Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction Percy was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"
Percy stared at him, "Were you reading my mind or something?"
"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"
Percy nodded and Grover continued, "Your mom married Gabe for you. You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."
"Thanks," Percy responded, "Where's the nearest shower?"
"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew; Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy if that makes you feel any better."
The four got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Selena took out her Polaroid camera and took pictures of her friends playing. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. The game ended too soon when Percy tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, the Hacky Sack disappeared-core, stem, and all.
Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but the other three were too busy cracking up.
Finally, the bus came. As they stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy-enchiladas.
"What is it?" Percy asked.
"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."
But Selena could tell it wasn't nothing.
Percy was relieved when they finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. The stowed their back-packs while Selena kept her satchel with her. Annabeth kept slapping her Yankees cap nervously against her thigh. As the last passengers got on, Selena's eyes widened in fear and she clamped her hand on Percy's knee, "Percy."
An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and Selena's heart skipped a beat.
It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face.