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chapter twelve.
( titan's curse )
❝ jay's lament! ❞
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"This is just pairrr-fect," the manticore gloated.
I didn't care about Dr Thorn, to be honest. All I could stare at is Jay. Since when did he look so tired? He looked sick, he looked more than sick. His hair hung over his eyes, and the bags underneath were sunken and stood out like a sore thumb. He looked nothing like the Jay I used to know. He gave an annoyed glance at Dr Thorn—I knew that look. Jay had that I want to murder you you're so annoying look upon his face.
"What are you doing here, Jay?" I muttered. "Why?"
"You're back," he said. "Came back to life, huh?"
"No thanks to you."
He shrugged. "Every war has casualties."
I shook my head at him. That's not the Jay I knew. "You're not like this, Jay, come on."
"You don't know what I'm like," he sneered.
"I definitely know that you're better than this."
"Really?" Jay narrowed his eyes. "Well, tell that to Dad. You're his favourite, aren't you?"
I pursed my lips. I hadn't seen such hatred on Jay's face before. Jay had never given me that look before ... he despised me. That look made me want to cry. How could Jay hate me so much? We were so close ... he's my brother ...
Dr Thorn found the exchange amusing. "Long ago," he began, "the gods banished me to Persia. I was forced to scrounge for food on the edges of the world, hiding in forests, devouring insignificant human farmers for my meals. I never got to fight any great heroes. I was not feared and admired in the old stories! But now that will change. The Titans shall honour me, and I shall feast on the flesh of half-bloods!"
Jay just rolled his eyes. "We're here to get the cow, nothing else."
"Well, you're not getting him," I seethed. "Go back to where you came from, you cowards."
I sounded a lot braver than I felt. On either side of them stood two armed security guards. Two more stood on the next boat dock over, just in case we tried to escape that way. There were tourists all around—walking down the waterfront, shopping at the pier above us—but that wouldn't stop the manticore from acting.
"Where ... where are the skeletons?" Percy asked.
He sneered. "I don't need those foolish undead! The General thinks I'm worthless? He will change his mind when I defeat you myself!"
Jay looked rather unbothered by Dr Thorn's rant. He crossed his arms and gave him a glance. "No, you're not. We're meant to bring the cow in alive."
Dr Thorn's face was red with anger, "No! I don't need you either—I am a furious monster and you're just a puny half-blood—"
Their little spat allowed me to think of an escape. We had to save Bessie, and get Thalia away, but how? We were surrounded, and not all of us can breathe underwater.
"We beat you once before," said Percy.
"Ha! You could barely fight me with a goddess on your side. And, alas ... that goddess is preoccupied at the moment. There will be no hope for you now."
Zoë notched an arrow and aimed it straight at the manticore's head. Jay raised his sword, and the guards on either side of us raised their guns. I held out my hand. "Zoë, no! Don't!"
The manticore smiled. "The girl is right, Zoë Nightshade. Put away your bow. It would be a shame to kill you before you witnessed Thalia's great victory."
"What are you talking about?" Thalia growled. She had her shield and spear ready.
"Surely its clear," said Dr Thorn. "This is your moment. This is why Lord Kronos brought you back to life. You will sacrifice the Ophiotaurus. You will bring its entrails to the sacred fire on the mountain. You will gain unlimited power. And for your sixteenth birthday, you will overthrow Olympus."
That didn't make sense. I remember my father specifically telling me that Thalia wasn't the child of the prophecy, and neither was Percy. Bianca had died, which only left Nico to be the last child of the big three that I know of who wasn't mentioned. If he is, then Luke can never find out that he's the child of Hades. I may not have protected Bianca, but to hell will I protect Nico.
Thalia didn't say anything. She looked as if she was about to tell the manticore off, but she hesitated. I didn't like how she hesitated. The manticore smiled.
"You know it is the right choice," the manticore told her. "Your friend Luke recognised it. You shall be reunited with him. You shall rule this world together under the auspices of the Titans. Your father abandoned you, Thalia. He cares nothing for you. And now you shall gain power over him. Crush the Olympians underfoot, as they deserve. Call the beast! It will come to you. Use your spear."
"Thalia!" I said. "Don't do it! Snap out of it!"
"This is what you were meant to do, Thalia," said Jay. "Avenge yourself by destroying the Olympians. They have done nothing for us."
Thalia seemed torn. It scared me. "I ... I don't—"
"Your father helped you!" Percy said. "He sent the metal angels. He turned you into a tree to preserve you."
Her hand tightened on the shaft of her spear. "Thalia, come on," I took a step towards her. "The gods do some shit stuff, but if your father didn't do anything for you, you wouldn't be here today."
Percy game a desperate glance at Grover, and he knew what to do. He raised his pipes to his mouth and played a quick riff.
Jay shouted, "Stop him!"
The guards had been targeting Zoë, but before they could figure out that the kid with the pipes was the bigger problem, the wooden planks at their feet sprouted new branches and tangled their legs. Zoë let loose two quick arrows that exploded at their feet in clouds of sulphurous yellow smoke.
The guards started to gag. The manticore shot spines in our direction, but Percy covered us with his lion's coat and they ricocheted off harmlessly.
"Grover!" Percy siad. "Tell Bessie to dive deep and stay down!"
"Mooooo!" Grover translated.
"The cow ..." Thalia was still in a daze.
I pulled out my dagger. I wanted to fight Jay. I wanted to slit his throat—but I couldn't get close enough without Dr Thorn killing me with his poisonous spikes.
We ran up the stairs to the shopping centre on the pier, Percy dragging Thalia as he went. We dashed round the corner of the nearest store. I heard Jay shouting and ordering, "Get them!" Tourists screamed as the guards shot blindly into the air.
Scrambling to the end of the pier, we hid behind a little kiosk filled with souvenir crystals. Next to us, was a water fountain, down below, a bunch of sea lions were sunning themselves on the rocks. The whole of San Francisco Bay spread out before us: the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz Island and the green hills and fog beyond that to the north.
"Go over the side!" Zoë told Percy. "You can escape in the sea, Percy. Call on thy father for help. Maybe you can save the Ophiotaurus."
She was right. But I knew Percy too well. He would never leave us, he was too loyal.
"I won't leave you guys," he said. "We fight together."
"You have to get to word to camp!" Grover said. "At least let them know what's going on!"
The crystals shone in the sun, glinting rainbow across towards the water fountain—
Oh.
"Don't worry," I said. "That's no problem."
I raised my foot and kicked the water fountain. The top flew off, and water burst out of the busted pipe and sprayed all over us. Thalia gasped as the water hit her. The fog seemed to disappear from her eyes. "Are you crazy?" she asked.
But Grover and Percy understood. Grover was already finishing around his pockets for a coin. He threw a golden drachma into the rainbows created by the mist and yelled, "O goddess, accept my offering!"
The mist rippled.
"Camp Half-Blood!" said Percy.
View of camp shimmered right next to us. However, it wasn't Chiron. It was Mr D, wearing his leopard skin jogging suit and rummaging through the refrigerator. He glanced up lazily. "Do you mind?"
"Where's Chiron?" Percy shouted.
"How rude," Mr D took a swig from a jug of grape juice. "Is that how you say hello?"
"Hello, Mr D," I cut in. "We're about to die! Can you tell us where Chiron is, please?"
Mr D considered it. I could tell Percy wanted to scream his head off, but with a tug of his jacket and a swift look, he just settled with a glare. Behind us, footsteps and shouting—Jay and the manticore's troops were closing in.
"About to die," Mr D mused. "How exciting. I'm afraid Chiron isn't here. Would you like me to take a message?"
Percy turned to me, "We're dead."
Thalia gripped her spear. She looked like her old angry self again. "Then we'll die fighting."
Mr D rolled his eyes, "How noble." He stifled a yawn. "So what's the problem, exactly."
Before Percy would explode, I told him the story about the Ophiotaurus. "Mmm," he studied the contents of the fridge. "So that's it. I see."
"You don't even care!" Percy lost his temper. "You'd just as soon watch us die!"
"Percy!" I whisper-shouted. "Shut up!"
"Let's see," Mr D tapped his finger on his stubble chin. "I think I'm in the mood for pizza tonight."
Percy was so angry, I was almost glad that Dr Thorn screamed, "There!"
We were surrounded. Two of the guards stood behind him. Two other appeared on the roofs of the pier shops above us, and walking towards us, was Jay. He spun his sword in his hand, looking rather satisfied. Mr D arched a brow, unimpressed. "Oh, hello, Josh."
"It's Jay."
"Whatever."
"Excellent," said the manticore. He glanced at the apparition in the mist and snorted. "Alone, without any real help. Wonderful."
"You could ask for help," Mr D murmured to Percy and I, as if this were an amusing thought. "You could say please."
I whispered to Percy, "Do as he asks."
Percy gaped, "No, never in a million years!"
"Do you want us to die?"
Zoë readied her arrows. Grover lifted his pipes. Thalia raised her shield, and I noticed a tear had fallen down her cheek. I gripped my dagger, suddenly ready to drag Jay and Dr Thorn to the ground. Jay met my eyes, and for a second, I thought I saw a glimpse of regret. I faltered, my dagger lowering. No, I told myself, but it was no use. I saw it. I saw it ... I saw the old Jay. I saw his lament.
I hadn't lost him yet.
And I knew straight away, I had fallen into the same trap last year. My fatal flaw: I can never let things go. No matter what I say, I can't let Luke go, and I can't let Jay go. I can't accept it—I can bring them back.
It left Jay's eyes as soon as it came, and he glanced at Dr Thorn. "Spare the daughter of Zeus, and Claire Moore. His Lord will want them alive. Kill the others."
The manticore didn't seem happy that Jay was giving him orders, and so he turned to the son of Apollo. "You will not tell me what to do, half-blood." He gestured to the guards. "Spare the daughters of Zeus and Apollo. Kill the others."
Jay rolled his eyes. The men raised their guns, and something strange happened. A rush came over me, like all the blood went to my head. I thought I'd pass out, when I smelt the familiar fragrance of grapes and wine—
SNAP!
It was if someone had clicked their fingers, and chaos rained. One guard put his pistol in between his teeth as if was a bone and began walking around on all fours. Two others dropped their guns and started to waltz with each other. The other started what looked like an Irish jig, and Jay ... Jay collapsed to the ground and started to kick his legs together as if he was a fish stranded on land.
I wanted to run over and help him, but I stopped myself. I watched him suffer losing his mind, it hurt, but I did it. I knew that if I ran over, it would be useless; someone would stop me. But that didn't mean it hurt not to. It didn't mean it made me want to cry.
"No!" screamed the manticore. "I will deal with you myself."
His tail bristled, but the planks underneath his paws erupted into grape vines that immediately began to wrap around his body. Leaves and baby grapes sprouted in clusters, ripening in seconds as he screamed, until he was engulfed in a huge man of vines. Finally, the grapes stopped shivering, and I had a feeling that the manticore inside wasn't there anymore.
"Well," Mr D shut his refrigerator. "That was fun."
Percy stared at him, horrified. "How could you ... How did you—?"
"Such gratitude," he muttered. "The mortals will cease out of it. As will the Apollo kid," he added at the look on my face. "Too much explaining to do if I made their condition permanent. I hate writing reports to Father." He stared resentfully at Thalia. "I hope you learned your lesson, girl. It isn't easy to resist power, is it?"
Thalia blushed as if she were ashamed.
"Mr D," Grover said in amazement. "You ... you saved us."
"Mmmm. Don't make me regret it, satyr. Now get going, Percy Jackson. I've bought you a few hours at most."
"The Ophiotaurus," Percy said. "Can you get it to camp?"
Mr D sniffed. "I do not transport livestock. That's your problem."
"But were do we go?"
Dionysus looked at Zoë. "Oh, I think the huntress knows. You must enter at sunset today, you know, or all is lost. Now goodbye. My pizza is waiting."
"Mr D," Percy frowned. He raised his eyebrow. "You called me by my right name," a small smile suddenly made its way on Percy's face. "You called me Percy Jackson."
"I most certainly did not, Peter Johnson. Now off with you!"
He waved his hand, and his image disappeared in the mist.
All around us, the guards and Jay were still acting crazy. My hand twitched. I wish I could relief Jay of this curse, but I couldn't. Not anymore. Percy noticed the look in my eye, and he pursed his lips. He didn't say anything. Instead, he turned to Zoë. "What did he mean ... 'the huntress knows'?"
Zoë's face was smoky, like the fog. She pointed across the bay, past the Golden Gate Bridge. In the distance, a single mountain rose up above the cloud layer. "The garden of my sisters," she said. "I must go home. But we'll never make it. We are moving too slowly. But we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus."
"Mooo," said Bessie. He sent a splash towards Percy with his tail. The son of Poseidon gave him a pouty look.
"I don't get it," he then said. "Why do we have to get there at sunset?"
"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoë said. "We can only enter their garden as day changes to night."
"What happens if we miss it?"
"Tomorrow is winter solstice. If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis tonight."
Or Annabeth will be dead, I thought, but I didn't say that.
"We need a car," said Thalia.
"But what about Bessie?" asked Percy.
Grover frowned, before suddenly he snapped his fingers. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"
"Well, yeah," said Percy. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into the water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here."
"So maybe we can coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."
"But he was following me. If I'm not there, would he know were he's going?"
Grover thought about it. He came up with an idea, and I could tell he didn't like it. But in this situation, your own self didn't matter. And so Grover took a deep, brave breath. "I ... I can show him." He said. "I'll go with him." I stared at him. Grover was no fan of the water. He had almost drowned in the Sea of Monsters, and he couldn't swim very well with his goat hooves. "I'm the only one who can talk to him. It makes sense."
He bent down and said something in Bessie's ear. Bessie shivered, then made a contented 'moo'.
"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."
Percy nodded. He closed his eyes, his brows knitting together in concentration. "Dad," he said. "Help us. Ge the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at sea."
"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," I said. "Something big."
Percy gave me a glance, before he took off his coat.
"Percy," Grover said. "Are you sure? That lion skin ... that's really helpful. Hercules used it!"
His eyes fell on Zoë, who was watching him carefully. Percy pursed his lips. "if I'm going to survive," he said, still looking at Zoë, "it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not Hercules."
He threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, before—as it sunk into the waves—it dissolved into sunlight on the water.
The sea breeze picked up.
Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."
He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him and let Grover take hold of his neck.
"Be careful," Percy told him.
"We will," Grover smiled. "Okay, um ... Bessie? We're going to Long Island. It's east. Over that way."
"Mooo?" Bessie said.
"Yes," Grover answered. "Long Island. It's this island. And ... it's long. Oh, let's just start."
"Moooo!"
Bessie lurched forward, and Grover yelped. He started to submerge, and Grover realised something, "I can't breathe underwater! just thought I'd mention—" Glub!
Under they went, and I pursed my lips. I hope the prayer Percy sent included his father allowing Grover to breathe underwater.
"Well, that's one problem addressed," Zoë said. "But how can we get to my sisters' garden?"
"Thalia's right," Percy said. "We need a car. But there's nobody to hep us here. Unless we, uh, borrowed one."
He meant stealing, just so you know.
"Wait," Thalia said. She started rummaging through her bag. "There is somebody in San Francisco who can help us. I've got the address here somewhere."
"Who?" I asked, frowning.
She pulled out a crumpled piece of paper and showed us. "Professor Chase. Annabeth's dad."
° ° °
I've never met Annabeth's father. But I've heard a lot about him—nothing good. I expected someone with devil horns and voice when the door opened, I wasn't expected a plane nerd.
He wore an old-fashioned aviator's cap and goggles. His eyes looked like they belonged to a bug's, squinting down at us as if he was a great big Praying Mantis. We all took a step back on the front porch.
"Hello," he said in a friendly voice. "Are you delivering my aeroplanes?"
Thalia, Zoë, Percy and I looked at each other warily.
"Um, no, sir," said Percy.
"Drat," he said. "I need three more Sopwith Camels."
"Right ... Um, we're friends of Annabeth."
"Annabeth?" he straightened as if Percy had just hit him with an electric shock. "Is she all right? Has something happened?"
None of us answered, but our faces must have told him that something was very wrong. He took off his cap and goggles. He had sandy-coloured hair like Annabeth with intense brown eyes. He didn't look so weird now that he wasn't wearing bug goggles.
"You better come in," his voice was suddenly sounding very grave.
There were LEGO robots on the stairs and two cats sleeping on the sofa in the living room. The coffee table was stacked with magazines, and a kids winter coat spread out on the floor, as if it had been thrown. I didn't remember Annabeth living in San Francisco, which meant she must have moved recently, but it looked as if they had been living here for years.
"Dad!" a little boy screamed. "He's taking apart my robots!"
"Bobby," Professor Chase called absently, "don't take apart your brother's robots."
"I'm Bobby," the little boy protested. "He's Matthew!"
"Matthew," Annabeth's dad called again, "don't take apart your brother's robots!"
"Okay, Dad!"
I thought that was a very anticlimactic child fight.
Professor Chase turned back to us. "We'll go upstairs to my study. This way."
"Honey?" a woman called. Annabeth's stepmom appeared in the living room, wiping her hands on a dish towel. Now, I expected her to look like the devil, but she looked normal; a rather pretty Asian woman with red highlighted hair tied in a bun. "Who are our guests?"
"Oh," Professor Chase said. "This is..."
He stared at us blankly.
"Frederick," she chided. "You forgot to ask them their names?"
We introduce ourselves a little uneasily, but Mrs Chase seemed really nice, which was weird. She asked if we were hungry. We admitted we were, and she told us she'd bring us some cookies, sandwiches and sodas.
"Dear," Dr Chase said. "They came about Annabeth."
Okay, this is where I expected Mrs Chase to go all raving lunatic and scream about Annabeth and tell us to leave and never come back, but she didn't. She just pursed her lips and looked concerned. What? "All right. Go on up to the study and I'll bring you some food." She smiled and Percy. "Nice to meet you Percy, Annabeth has said a lot about you."
I frowned. Said what?
Not that it matters.
She turned to me, "And Claire? I thought ... she's been awfully quiet about what happened the summer just gone, but ..."
"I'm alive," I said. "Hades brought me back."
"Right..." she glanced at her husband. "Um ... the food'll be up soon. Figure something out, won't you?"
Professor Chase nodded gravely.
We walked upstairs, and into Annabeth father's study and Percy said, "Whoa!"
The room was filled with books, like floor to ceiling—it looked like a child of Athena's heaven. I remembered that Annabeth told me her father is a history professor at the university, so the amount of aeroplane models and small war toys like miniature tanks, soldiers fighting along a blue painted river with hills and fake trees makes sense, but I didn't realise it that that meant this.
Dr Chase smiled, "Yes," he said. "The Third Battle of Ypres. I'm writing a paper, you see, on the use of Sopwith Camels to strafe enemy lines. I believe they played a much greater role than they've been given credit for."
He plucked a biplane from its string and swept it across the battlefield. He made engine noises as it knocked down some tiny Germans. Percy and I shared a glance.
Zoë came over and studied the battle field. "The German lines from further from the river."
Annabeth's father stared at her, "How do you know that?"
"I was there," she sat matter-of-factly. "Artemis wanted to show us how horrible war was, the way mortal men fight each other. And how foolish, too. The battle was a complete waste."
Professor Chase gaped, "You—"
"She's a Hunter, sir," said Thalia. "But that's not why we're here. We need—"
"You saw the Sopwith Camels?" Dr Chase said. "How many were there? What formations did they fly?"
"Sir," Thalia broke in again. "Annabeth is in danger."
That got his attention. He set the biplane down. "Of course," he said. "Tell me everything."
It wasn't easy, but we tried. Meanwhile, it was getting closer and closer to sunset. We were running out of time. When we finished, Professor Chase collapsed in his leather recliner. He laced his hands. "My poor brave Annabeth. We must hurry."
"Sir, we need transportation to Mount Tamalpais," Zoë said. "And we need it immediately."
"I'll drive you. Hmm, it would be faster to fly in my Camel, but it only seats two."
"Whoa," Percy frowned, "you have an actual biplane?"
"Down at Crissy Field," Dr Chase said proudly. "Thats the reason I had to move here. My sponsor is a private collector with some of the finest World War I relics in the world He let me restore the Sopwith Camel—"
"Sir," Thalia stopped him. "Just a car would be great. And it might be better if we went without you. It's too dangerous."
Dr Chase frowned uncomfortably, "Now wait a minute, young lady. Annabeth is my daughter. Dangerous or not, I ... I can't just—"
"Snacks," Mrs Chase announced. She pushed through the door with a tray full of peanut-butter-and-jam sandwiches and Cokes and cookies fresh out of the oven. They were chocolate chip and all gooey. I immediately went for the cookies, stuffing my face with them. I may have died and come back, but that doesn't mean I don't like cookies any less.
"I can drive, sir," said Zoë, "I'm not as young as I look, I promise not to destroy your car."
Mrs Chase knitted her brows, "What's this about?"
"Annabeth is in danger," Dr Chase said. "On Mount Tam. I would drive them, but ... apparently it's no place for mortals."
It sounded like it was really hard for him to get that last part out.
I thought Mrs Chase would say no. Like there had to be something about her that made Annabeth hate her so much. I need her to not seem so nice! But to my surprise, Mrs Chase nodded. "Then they'd better get going."
"Right!" Dr Chase jumped up and started patting his pockets. "My keys..."
His wife sighed. "Frederick, honestly. You'd lose your head if it weren't wrapped inside your aviator hat. The keys are hanging on the peg by the front door."
"Right!"
Zoë grabbed a sandwich. "Thank you both. We should go. Now."
She was right, and so we hustled out of the door and down the stairs. The Chases followed us.
"Percy," Mrs Chase called as we were leaving, "tell Annabeth ... Tell her she still has a home here, will you? Remind her of that."
"I'll tell her," said Percy.
We ran out to this yellow convertible outside. The four of us hurried in and Zoë started the car. The sun was setting low, and I think we have at least one hour to save Annabeth and bring her home.
*
heyyyylooooooooooo