THIS CHAPTER WAS A COLLAB WITH GeronimoEeemy1
Third person POV
The two half-bloods climbed up the stairs leading towards the attic. Both were immediately greeted by a musty smell.
Alex's POV
I was presented with the smell of dust and reptiles which reminded me of the myth of Python and the Oracle. Crowded around the attic were trophies and spoils of war. A jar filled with sickly green liquid sat on a low table. Inside was a dragon head. It was labeled HYDRA HEAD. Turning to the right was just about one of the worst ideas ever. Percy gagged. On a tripod stool was a mummy. Not just any old one, though. She was wearing old, colorful clothes like a hippie at the mall. I turned to to see Percy holding his stomach, looking almost as green as the Hydra head.
Looking at her sent chills up my 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 ten thousand snakes. I stumbled over myself trying to get to the trapdoor, but it slammed shut. Inside my head, I heard a voice, slithering into one ear and coiling around my brain: I am the spirit of Delphi, speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python. Approach, seeker, and face your destiny.
"What is our destiny?" Percy and I asked in sync. More green mist poured from the mummy's mouth it spoke:
Four shall go west and face the god who has turned
They shall find what was stolen and see it restored
One shall be left behind in the land of the dead
All shall be betrayed by one who calls them friend
And sea will fail to save what matters most in the end
Percy POV
At first I 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, I cried, "Wait! What do you mean? What friend? What will I fail to save?"
The tail of the mist 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 but a room full of mementos. I got the feeling that I could stand here until I had cobwebs, too, and I wouldn't learn anything else.
My audience with the Oracle was over.
Alex and I slumped in a chair at the pinochile table
"Well?" Chiron asked me.
I 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."
My ears were still tingling from the reptilian voice. "She . .. she said we would go west and face a god who had turned. We would retrieve what was stolen and see it safely returned."
"I knew it," Grover said.
Chiron didn't look satisfied. "Anything else?"
I didn't want to tell him.
What friend would betray me? I didn't have that many. Alex might help her father kill me, but she was a friend so far.
And the last line-I would fail to save what mattered most. What kind of Oracle would send me on a quest and tell me, Oh, by the way, you'll fail.
How could I confess that?
"No," I said. "That's about it."
He studied my face. "Very well, Percy, Alex. 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."
I got the feeling he knew I was holding back something bad, and he was trying to make me feel better.
"Okay," I said, anxious to change topics. "So where do we 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?" I 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."
I thought about my dreams, the evil voice that had spoken from under the ground. "Hades."
Alex, who had been quiet for almost the entirety of the conversation had a dark expression on her face.
Chiron nodded. "The Lord of the Dead is the only possibility."
A scrap of aluminum out of Grover's mouth as he scooted away from Alex. "Whoa, wait. Wh-what?"
"I'm not my father," Alex growled, her olive skin paling and her obsidian eyes angry.
"Alexa, we are aware you are not him. A Fury came after Percy," Chiron reminded. "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 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," I muttered. "That's two major gods who want to kill us."
"I still don't understand why I am on this quest," Alex muttered.
"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 and Alex should go because Poseidon is blaming her."
A strange fire burned in my stomach. The weirdest thing was: it wasn't fear. It was anticipation.
The desire for revenge. Hades had tried to kill me three times so far, with the Fury, the Minotaur, and the hellhound. It was his fault my mother had disappeared in a flash of light. Now he was trying to frame me and my dad for a theft we hadn't committed. The only person who would feel as bad as me would be Alex because she must be torn and confused.
I was ready to take him on.
Besides, if my mother was in the Underworld ...
Whoa, boy, said the small part of my brain that was still sane. You're a kid. Hades is a god. But Alex might be able to convince him...
Grover was trembling. He'd started eating pinochle cards like potato chips.
The poor guy needed to complete a quest with me so he could get his searcher's license, whatever that was, but how could I ask him to do this quest, especially when the Oracle said I was destined to fail? This was suicide.
"Look, if we know it's Hades," I told Chiron, "why can't we just tell the other gods? Zeus or Poseidon could go down to the Underworld and bust some heads." I noticed Alex was hiding in the shadows, but I couldn't blame her. Zeus and Poseidon will kill her when they find out who really had the bolt.
"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 we're 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. I am still not sure why Hades claimed Alex. Perhaps to buy himself time"
My dad needs me.
Emotions rolled around inside me like bits of glass in a kaleidoscope. I didn't know whether to feel resentful or grateful or happy or angry. Poseidon had ignored me for twelve years. Now suddenly he needed me.
I 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."
I got the feeling there was a lot he wasn't telling me about his prophecy, but I decided I couldn't worry about that right now. After all, I was holding back information too.
"So let me get this straight," I said, nodding towards the shadowy area where Alex must've been. "We're 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."
I looked at Grover, who gulped down the ace of hearts and gave an unsure smile to Alex, who emerged out of the shadows.
"Did I mention that Maine is very nice this time of year?" Grover asked weakly.
"You don't have to go," I told him. "I can't ask that of you.
"Oh ..." He shifted his hooves. "No ... it's just that satyrs and underground places ... well..."
"You don't have to go if you're uncomfortable," Alex said kindly. He took a deep breath, then stood, brushing the shredded cards and aluminum bits off his T-shirt.
"You saved my life, Percy, Alex. If ... if you're serious about wanting me along, I won't let you down."
I felt so relieved I wanted to cry, though I didn't think that would be very heroic. Grover was the only friend I'd ever had for longer than a few months. I wasn't sure what good a satyr could do against the forces of the dead, but I felt better knowing he'd be with me.
"All the way, G-man." I 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," Alex said. "Naturally. So we just get on a plane-"
"No!" Grover shrieked. "Alex, what are you thinking? Have either of you been on a plane in your life?"
We both shook our heads, and I was feeling embarrassed. My mom had never taken me anywhere by plane. She'd always said we didn't have the money. Besides, her parents had died in a plane crash.
"Percy, Alex, think," Chiron said. "You are the son of the Sea God and the daughter of the Lord of the dead. Your fathers' bitterest rivals are Zeus, Lord of the Sky. Your mothers knew better than to trust you in an airplane. You would be in Zeus's domain. You would never come down again alive."
Overhead, lightning crackled. Thunder boomed.
"Okay," I said, determined not to look at the storm. "So, we'll travel overland."
"That's right," Chiron said. "Three companions may accompany you. Grover is one, and Alex is one. The other has already volunteered if you will both accept her help."
"Gee," I said, feigning surprise. "Who else would be stupid enough to volunteer for a quest like this?" Alex shook her head in mock confusion.
The air shimmered behind Chiron.
Annabeth became visible, stuffing her Yankees cap into her back pocket.
"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," I said. "I suppose you have a plan, wise girl?"
Her cheeks colored. "Do you want my help or not?"
The truth was, I did. We needed all the help we could get.
"A squad," I 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. Rain poured down on the meadows that were never supposed to have violent weather.
"No time to waste," Chiron said.
We stepped outside of the big house and went to the cabins to pack.
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