chapter fifty-one

─── the argument that's been brewing for months

          𝕬nxiety and me were good friends, especially when it came to prophecies. The last few times I'd been involved with them, I'd almost been killed by a cyclops, then the Stretcher, then Medusa, then the Furies and then a dragon had almost ripped me in half.

Trauma. Yay.

"Grover, take Travis and carry her back to the attic," Travis groaned, as he and Grover picked the mummy up and trudged towards the Big House. "We'll have a meeting of the camp leaders. Take ten minutes to change out of your armour and get cleaned up, and then meet in the dining room."

I nodded, sharing a look with Silena and Beckendorf, before we all dispersed back to our cabins. Eleven was practically empty, and I was more than ready to head for the showers, before a hand caught my arm.

"Luke," I turned to Brooke, who was looking conflicted. "I want to-need to come."

"What?" I questioned, cocking an eyebrow.

"If this is Puck, then I need to talk to him. I've got to try and persuade him to come back to the good side." Brooke shook her head. "You've all had your chance, now it's my turn."

"I see," I muttered, before nodding to the showers. "You use it then, I'll shower at Three. See you at the meeting, ten minutes, yeah?"

"Got it," She grabbed her spare clothes as I jogged to Three. I'd used the showers in Three before on multiple occasions, mainly when Eleven was too full up with new campers. As Andi was the only child of Poseidon at camp, she often let the other campers use her showers.

Stepping in, I quickly washed the sweat and water out of my hair. Getting out, I dried off, before pulling on jeans, an dark shirt and a thick hoodie, as the cold started to sweep through. Leaving my armour by Andi's, I picked Backbiter up and pulled on shoes, before heading out of the cabin to the Big House.

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions and most of us were underage. Mr. D sighed and turned it to diet coke, but none of us drank it.

Mr. D and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoe and Bianca (who seemed to be Zoe's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia, Brooke, Grover and I sat along the right, and the other head councillors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers (who'd replaced me)—sat on the left.

Five had no representative, as they were all injured.

Zoe started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca cut in. "You heard the prophecy. Five shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

A shiver ran down my spine as I began to drum my fingers across Backbiter. I knew what was in the West. It was where my quest had been, and the thought of it was making my scars burn. I knew if I scratched them, I'd scratch them till they bled, so drumming my fingers was the next best thing.

If Andi was here, she'd stop me doing either.

"You're missing something," Thalia said. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."

"There needs to be representatives from both camps to make this work," I reminded Zoe, who sighed and nodded at my words. Thalia bristled.

"Or do they?" Mr. D mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. " One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and two," I muttered, pulling myself from memories of the other quest to speak. "We're supposed to have five," I explained. "Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."

"Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."

Zoe grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need strength of numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail . What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody looked at Dionysus. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent he glanced up,

"Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," I said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Silena said, shaking her head. "It sounds like at least two of the five are going to die."

"One shall be lost in the land without rain," Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert." 

There was a muttering of agreement.

"And the Titan's curse must one withstand," Silena continued on her boyfriend's words. "What could that mean?"

I saw Chiron and Zoe exchange a nervous look, but whatever they were thinking, they didn't share it.

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Grover said in between bites of Cheez Whiz and Ping-Pong balls. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table.

I glanced at Thalia briefly, thinking of the prophecy. The thing was, she wasn't that close to twenty one, not like Andi was. Andi was nineteen, two more years and she'd be twenty one. It would be five years for Thalia so the gods were far more likely to try and kill Andi.

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" Dionysus said. Everyone looked at him. He glanced up innocently from the pages of Wine Connoisseur magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Luke is right," Silena nodded to me. "Two campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoe said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena huffed. "Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at," Zoe scoffed. "What would thy mother say?" 

"Don't talk about my mother." Silena started to get out of her chair, but Beckendorf put the conversation back on track.

"Stop it," When Beckendorf talked, you kind of had to listen. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

Zoe stood. "I shall go, of course, and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Brooke asked cautiously, her eyebrow cocked.

Zoe nodded.

"The one who put the arrows in Connor's helmet?" She continued, as I gave her a look.

"Yes," Zoe snapped. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Brooke said. "Just that Travis had a T-shirt for her from the camp store. It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You might want to send her to get it?"

"As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go." I shot Brooke a look, before rolling my eyes. Zoe was not going to be happy when something happened with Phoebe, but it would be amusing.

Bianca looked stunned. "Me? But...I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You will do fine," Zoe insisted. "There is no better way to prove thyself ."

Bianca closed her mouth and as much as I did want to protest, she was Hunter and I couldn't say anything against her going.

"And for campers?" Chiron asked. His eyes met mine, and I could tell what he was thinking. I shook my head, my scars still burning. I had a feeling that I knew where this would be going, the place we needed to be, and I wasn't sure if I could stomach it, even for Andi and Annabeth.

"Me!" Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong table. "Anything to help Artemis!"

Zoe wrinkled her nose. "I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood."

"But he is a camper," Thalia said. "And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely!"

Zoe wavered.

"Very well," Zoe said. "And the second camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her. I did.

"No," I shook my head, before motioning to Brooke. "Brooke should go. She's a daughter of Hecate and if anyone can talk Puck out of his madness, it would be her. That's our best bet."

"You won't go?" Zoe asked and I sighed. Turning to her, I shook my head. I felt like a coward, not throwing myself at the opportunity to help Andi and Annabeth, but I'd be no help if I spent the entire trip panicking.

"No." That was all I said on the matter.

"So be it," Chiron spoke. "Brooke and Grover will accompany Zoe, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods"—he glanced at Dionysus—"present company included, we hope—be with you."

The meeting ended and I stood up. Brooke sent me a thankful look, already hurrying off to go and pack, before I turned to Zoe who stood beside me.

"Get Andi, for me," I murmured, my fingers still drumming against Backbiter. "And Annabeth. I know that Artemis is your biggest thing to watch out for, but Andi and Annabeth are..."

"Don't worry," She squeezed my shoulder, nodding her head. "We'll make sure they get back to you in one piece."

"Thanks," I nodded, before trudging out of the Big House to go back to Eleven. Thalia was waiting for me, electricity crackling in her eyes.

"What was that?"

"What was what, Thalia?" I asked, walking down to the cabins as Thalia hurried to keep up with me.

"Why did you say I couldn't go on the quest?" She spluttered, before standing in front of me, her hand out. "One of us needs to go and save Annabeth and you don't seem to be offering yourself up!"

"You're fifteen," I reminded her. "You're a minor and you've only had three months training since you stopped being a tree..."

"I was fighting before then!"

"...With a balanced sword," I finished my sentence, shaking my head. "Train some more, but we're not risking Andi or Annabeth's life on you."

Maybe it was harsh, but I wasn't in the mood for this. I brushed past her, trying to leave the argument be, but she grabbed onto my arm, shocking me to the point my hair stood up. I cussed, glaring at her.

"What?"

"You won't risk Annabeth's life on me? Yet you're not lifting a finger to go and help either of them!" Thalia pointed out. "Why? You staying here to monitor me or something?"

"No."

"Then what is it? What's the reason Luke, hm?" Thalia glared. "The Luke I knew would have never left the people he loved."

"Don't you dare." I hissed, towering over her. "Where do you think I got this scar, Thalia? I know what's in the West, it's haunted my nightmares since I was sixteen! I'm no use to them on that mission, not when I'm still dealing with my PTSD. If I didn't have that anxiety, then I'd be on that mission. Never doubt what I would do, for either of them."

"You're letting your anxiety dictate what you do?"

"Yes." I nodded. "I have severe PTSD because I've been on the run since the age of 7, because I was on the streets for 7 years, because I got lured into a cyclops den at age 14, because I watched you die, because I got attacked and almost killed by a poisonous dragon and then watched my girlfriend and little sister fall off a cliff!"

Thalia scoffed, but I couldn't tell if she was annoyed with my reasoning, or with the fact that I was arguing back.

"I'm allowed to be recovering and I know what's best for this quest, and that's not to have me on it."

"But I should have been."

"I'm not losing you to. Andi and Annabeth are already gone." I shook my head.

"You're not losing me?"

"You're my sister."

"Oh." Thalia had perked up for a moment, before her mood dropped again, and I was reminded of the root cause of it all.

"I know that the real reason you're annoyed with me is about what happened before you died."

"We kissed," Thalia replied. "We kissed and I thought that we were dating and then I wake up and you're dating my cousin? You forgot me."

"No." I sighed at the thought. "I didn't forget you Thalia, but I grieved, and I moved on and I know that sucks because you've just been revived and all that, and you've got to get over all of this on your own terms. For you, it was three years, for me it was six."

She looked away.

"I know that it hurts that I'm dating Andi, but I'm not gonna break up with her to make you feel more comfortable." I shook my head, my arms crossed. "You've got to realise that yes, maybe in another life, we might have worked, but Thalia, I'm twenty-one and you're fifteen. It's illegal, for one, and two, I'm in love with Andi."

It sucked to come to that conclusion when the person you loved was missing, but it was the truth.

"I love you, Thalia, but as a friend and sister, nothing more." It was a harsh sentence, but she had to hear it and I was hoping this time it would get through to her. "You need to let me go, Thalia. You need to move on."

I pushed past her, walking away.

"You really love her?" Thalia called after me. I paused, turning back to her as I nodded. We might have only been dating for a year, but Andi was home and calm. She was everything I needed in my life, everything to keep me grounded, to push me further and support me. I loved her with every fibre of my being, though I'm not sure I'd ever admit that aloud, even to her.

But instead of saying all that to Thalia, I just shrugged.

"Yeah. I really do."

∘☽༓☾∘

Later that night, as I headed for final patrol around the camp, a thought occurred to me. Sally needed to know that Andi wasn't going to be home in a while, so that she could tell college and apply for an extension on Andi's essay. I let myself into Three, setting my sword down, before throwing a coin into the fountain at the back and praying that Poseidon didn't smite me for using it before Andi did.

"O goddess, accept my offering." The mist shimmered. The light from the bathroom was just enough to make a faint rainbow. "Show me Sally Jackson," I said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."

And there in the mist was a scene I did not expect. Andi's mum was sitting at her kitchen table, laughing hysterically with a guy. There was a big stack of textbooks between them and I cocked an eyebrow.

"Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?"

"Ah, I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want."

"Actually, I'd better use your bathroom. May I?"

"Down the hall," she said, trying not to laugh. The guy got up and left. As soon as he was gone, I cleared my throat.

Sally jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. Finally she focused on me. "Luke! Is everything okay?"

"I just needed to talk to you. Who's that?"

"Oh,  that's just Paul—um, Mr. Blofis. He's in my writing seminar."

"Mr. Blowfish?"

"Blofis. He'll be back in a minute, Luke. Tell me what's wrong." I sighed, before telling her as much as I knew. Her eyes teared up.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Jackson," I sent her a small smile. "There's a rescue mission for both Andi and Annabeth setting off tomorrow."

"Are you alright?"

"I'm fine,"

"Luke..." I shot Sally another smile, but it was less sure of itself this time. "It's not good to bottle things up, you know."

"I know but I've got other things to deal with at the moment. Thalia's having a bit of trouble adjusting to life at the moment and-"

"-and that's not on you. You're not her father, Luke. You've got your own problems and things to deal with," Sally reminded. "Look, do what you think is best and I look forward to having both you and Dree back home soon."

The toilet flushed down the hall in our apartment.

"I'm confident that you'll both be back soon,"

And with that, Sally Jackson waved her hand over the mist, and the connection dissolved, leaving me back to my thoughts.

When I went to sleep that night, I was back in that barren cave, the ceiling heavy and low above me. Andi was kneeling under the weight of a dark mass that looked like a pile of boulders. She was too tired even to cry out. Her legs trembled. Any second, I knew she would run out of strength and the cavern ceiling would collapse on top of her. Annabeth hunched beside her, whispering words of encouragement as Andi struggled.

"How is our mortal guest?" a male voice boomed.

It wasn't Kronos. Kronos's voice was raspy and metallic, I'd heard it taunting me many times before in my dreams. But this voice was deeper and lower, like a bass guitar. Its force made the ground vibrate.

Puck emerged from the shadows, looking at Annabeth and Andromeda. "She's fading. We must hurry."

I glared at him.

The deep voice chuckled. It belonged to someone in the shadows, at the edge of my dream. Then a meaty hand thrust someone forward into the light—Artemis—her hands and feet bound in celestial bronze chains.

Her silvery dress was torn and tattered. Her face and arms were cut in several places, and she was bleeding ichor, the golden blood of the gods.

"You heard the boy," said the man in the shadows. "Decide!"

Artemis's eyes flashed with anger. I didn't know why she just didn't will the chains to burst, or make herself disappear, but she didn't seem able to. Maybe the chains prevented her, or some magic about this dark, horrible place.

The goddess looked at Andromeda and her expression changed to concern and outrage. "How dare you torture a child like this! "

"She will die soon," Puck said. "You can save her."

"No," Andi shook her head, before groaning and pushing back upwards. "'m fine."

My heart felt like it was twisted into a knot, and I longed to reach for my girlfriend.

"Free my hands," Artemis said.

Puck brought out his spear. With one expert strike, he broke the goddess's handcuffs. Artemis ran to Andromeda and took the burden from her shoulders. Andi collapsed on the ground and lay there shivering, as Annabeth tried to pull her upright. Artemis staggered, trying to support the weight of the black rocks.

The man in the shadows chuckled. "You are as predictable as you were easy to beat, Artemis."

"You surprised me," the goddess said, straining under her burden. "It will not happen again."

"Indeed it will not," the man said. "Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young child. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear."

Artemis groaned "You know nothing of mercy, you swine."

"On that," the man said, "we can agree. Puck, you may kill the girl now."

"No!'" Artemis shouted.

"We can't," Puck muttered. "Kronos wishes for her to be alive. The others will come for her, for both of them"

The man considered. "Then the dracaenae can guard them here. Assuming the girl does not die from her injuries, you may keep her alive until winter solstice. After that, if our sacrifice goes as planned, their lives will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless."

Puck walked to Andi's body, as Annabeth glared and tried to swipe at him. He exchanged some hushed words, before walking away as Annabeth was left to pull Andi to her feet and drag her away from the dark mass that Artemis struggled to hold.

"You will never find the monster you seek," Artemis said. "Your plan will fail."

"How little you know, my young goddess," the man in the shadows said. "Even now, your darling attendants begin their quest to find you. They shall play directly into my hands. Now, if you'll excuse us, we have a long journey to make. We must greet your Hunters and make sure their quest is...challenging."

The man's laughter echoed in the darkness, shaking the ground until it seemed the whole cavern ceiling would collapse.

I woke with a start. I was sure I'd heard a loud banging. I looked around the cabin. It was dark outside. None of the others were awake yet and I sighed, before running a tired hand down my face and sitting up. Reaching for my water bottle by the floor, my hand hit another bottle. 

Switching my light on, I saw a bottle of vitamins, Annabeth's Yankee cap and a backpack my by water bottle, along with my flying shoes.

"No," I hissed, rolling over in bed. When I opened my eyes, the things were right in front of me. "This is harassment, dad! I'm not going on the quest."

Something hit the door again and I glared up at the ceiling, before grabbing the bag.

"You're a shit father, making your son relive traumatic experiences you caused for this!" I shot the ceiling the finger, before tripping over a pair of flying shoes. "Not funny, dad." 

Pulling clothes on, I threw open the door to come face to face with a horse, the same black pegasi mare that Andi had freed last summer. I raised an eyebrow as she skittered away from Backbiter, wondering how she'd got up the steps.

"What do you want?" I winced as the bottle of vitamins hit my head, sending me forward. "Dad! Gods, I got the memo, I'm going!"

I turned to glare back at the cabin, where a snake was slithering out of view, before picking up the vitamins and reading the packaging.

"Of course, dad has vitamins so that I can hear animals, why ever not?" I muttered, taking the top off and eating one of the strawberry flavoured ones. 

Woah, the horse muttered, shaking her head. Try not to turn me into a horse kebab

She laughed at her own joke as I closed the cabin door.

"Evening, Blackjack," I muttered, grabbing my sword from where it lay conveniently by the door. Hermes had way too much fun planning this. "What do you want in the middle of the night."

It's actually five in the morning. Why are you still asleep is the question?

"Because it's five in the morning," I replied, rubbing the sleep out of my eyes. "Why are you here and shouldn't you be in the stables?"

Meh, the stables. You see Chiron staying in the stables?

"No."

Exactly. Listen, there's a sea friend that needs help. Normally, I'd go to Andi, but you know, she's not here.

"Yeah, I know," I muttered, before sighing. "I'll come and deal with it on Andi's behalf then."

You're the best!

I lifted my backpack over my shoulders, cursed my dad one more time for sending me on a quest that I technically wasn't invited on, and vaulted onto the horse's back. 

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

Blackjack and Hermes are just out to drag Luke on quests, and I love them for it. Hermes throwing things at Luke's head also brings me joy, and Andi is just straight up not having a good time. Sally and Luke's relationship is mother/son and Thalia, in this book, is very much like the song right where you left me by Taylor Swift. Who was in the right for their arument?

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx