chapter sixty-three

─── luke and i find our roles reversed

          𝕱lying and I didn't normally get along, but flying straight to the New York conference centre 600 floors above the Empire State building whilst Zeus was there? Death wish.

In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colours, from blood-red to indigo. The conference centre, which just looked like an Olympian temple, was full of life. The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. I caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things I couldn't name. 

Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest palace of all, the glowing white hall of the conference centre. This was one of the few places that all gods met at, but most had places of powers in other areas of the world.

Our pegasi set us down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before I could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves which was creepy to be perfectly honest.

Good luck, boss gal. Don't die! Blackjack called.

"Thank you." I didn't know why, but I had a sense of doom. I'd never seen all the gods together. I knew any one of them could blast me to dust, and a few of them would like to.

Hey, if ya don't come back, can I have your cabin for my stable? I looked at the pegasus.

"No," She snorted, before flying off with her friends as Brooke, Annabeth, Luke and I stood, regarding the palace. I reached for Luke's hand, intertwining our fingers as he sent me a reassuring smile, before we walked into the conference room together.

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations—even the newest one, Zoe the Huntress, making her way across the heavens with her bow drawn.

All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, and when they all turned to look at you, I felt like I'd been called into a meeting with the principal (something I was very familiar with).

"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.

"Mooo!" I turned, raising my eyebrows at, what looked like a sea cow, and Grover.

"What's that?"

"Bessie," Luke muttered, and I nodded, though it explained nothing. What was a Bessie?

A sphere of water was hovering in the centre of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Grover was kneeling at Zeus's throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw us, he cried, "You made it!"

He started to run toward me, then remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission.

"Go on," Zeus said. 

Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled. I turned to look at my dad, nerves curling around my stomach. I hadn't exactly been heroic on this quest, having been holding the sky and unconscious for large parts of it. No, Luke and Brooke had been the heroes. 

He nodded, as if to say it was okay.

Grover gave Brooke, Annabeth and me large hugs, clinging to us, before turning to Luke. "Luke, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Do what?" I asked, growing confused.

"Heroes," Artemis called. 

The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked toward us, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told us. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas's attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus's command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes..."

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"

She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colours like peacock feathers. The Lady Hera, who was regarding me with a small smile.

She was the goddess of family, so I could only hope that was in our favour.

On Zeus's right, my father, Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of the Forges, Hephaestus.

Hermes winked at me and Luke, a small grin on his face. He was wearing a business suit today, looking more and more like Luke each time I saw him, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. It was making me wonder what Luke looked like in a suit. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on, so I wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave me (or possibly Luke) a thumbs-up. Dionysus looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-leather throne, glowering at me while he sharpened a knife.

On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful grey-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Annabeth's mother, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled like she knew something.

All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole place didn't blow apart.

"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—"

"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry and save us all. "All in favour of not disintegrating them?"

A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at me and I fought the urge to scowl. "That one is dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got her here—"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "she is a worthy hero. We will not blast my daughter to bits."

The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other one."

"Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you—"

"Other one-" I cocked an eyebrow, and Luke gave me a sharp look, shaking his head. I huffed, shutting up.

"It is unfortunate that my uncle, Poseidon, as well as father, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods... such as Andromeda...are dangerous. As thick-headed as he is, Ares has a point."

"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute."

He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.

"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."

Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"

Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"

"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What ever we do, the Council must decide."

"I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy heroes who do us a great favour, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."

"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."

"I will reward them."

"Well," Zeus grumbled. "Perhaps. But the monster at least must be destroyed. We have agreement on that?"

A lot of nodding heads.

"Bessie? You want to destroy Bessie?" It was Luke who spoke up, his eyebrow cocked and I turned to look at him. This was a bizarre change of roles as normally I was the one questioning authority, not my lovely, normally quieter, boyfriend.

"Mooooooo!" Bessie protested.

My father frowned at my boyfriend. "You have named the Ophiotaurus Bessie?"

"Lord Poseidon," Luke bowed his head, "he's just a sea creature. You can't destroy him."

"Yeah, there's no need to kill the sea cow," I added on, grinning at my dad, who shot me a confused look.

Poseidon shifted uncomfortably. "Andromeda, the monster's power is considerable. If the Titans were to steal it, or—"

"You can't," Luke insisted, and my father spluttered as he was cut off. "Controlling the prophecies never works. Isn't that true? Besides, Bess—the Ophiotaurus is innocent. Killing something like that is wrong. It's just as wrong as...as Kronos eating his children, just because of something they might do."

Zeus seemed to consider this as I wondered why no one ever seemed to want to smite Luke. If I had said this, I would be dead! "And what of the risk? Kronos knows full well, if either Andromeda or Thalia were to sacrifice the beast's entrails, they would have the power to destroy us. Do you think we can let that possibility remain?"

"You have to trust them," Annabeth spoke up. "Sir, you have to trust them."

Zeus scowled. "Trust?"

"Annabeth is right," Artemis said. "Which is why I must first make a reward. My faithful companion, Zoe Nightshade, has passed into the stars. I must have a new lieutenant. And I intend to choose one. But first, Father Zeus, I must speak to you privately."

Zeus beckoned Artemis forward. He leaned down and listened as she spoke in his ear.

"What's going on?" I muttered to Luke, who sighed.

"I'll explain everything later," Luke muttered.

"Well, that sounds ominous. How bad is all of this?" I questioned, cocking an eyebrow as the gods discussed. "Why is Bessie important?"

"Puck wanted me to summon him to the mountain so you could kill him," Brooke shook her head. "My magical capabilities mean that it's easier for me to summon creatures and then you could have killed it and gotten power."

"Right," I still understood nothing. "And who does Artemis want to appoint lieutenant?"

"Thalia," All of us turned to look at Luke, who had caught Artemis' eye and was nodding to himself. "She's going to ask Thalia to join the Hunt."

"Why?" Annabeth asked. "We've just got her back, we can't lose her again."

"Because it sorts out the prophecy, doesn't it?" My brain finally began to work. "It means that there's only one person in line for the prophecy, me. They only have to keep an eye on one child of the big three."

"Yes," Luke shook his head, as I squeezed his hand tighter. "It would be good for Thalia. She's not handling the change of everything well. It would be good for her."

"But what about us?" I saw in Luke's eyes that he didn't have the heart to tell Annabeth that they were possibly the reason that Thalia would agree to leave. 

"Fine," Zeus waved Artemis off, who nodded and smiled as we tuned back into the conversation.

"Now for the Ophiotaurus," Artemis said.

"This girl is still dangerous," Dionysus warned. "The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the girl—"

"No." I once more turned to find my boyfriend taking my job and arguing with the gods. "Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. Lord Poseidon could hide him under the sea somewhere, or keep him in an aquarium here in Olympus. But you have to protect him."

"And why should we trust you?" rumbled Hephaestus.

"Andi's only nineteen," I nodded, glad that my boyfriend knew how old I was. "If this prophecy is about her, she's got two more years."

"Two years for Kronos to deceive her," Athena said. "Much can change in two years, my young hero."

"Mother!" Annabeth said, exasperated.

"It is only the truth, child. It is bad strategy to keep the animal alive. Or the girl."

My father stood. "I will not have a sea creature destroyed, if I can help it. And I can help it."

He held out his hand, and a trident appeared in it: a twenty foot long bronze shaft with three spear tips that shimmered with blue, watery light. "I will vouch for the girl and the safety of the Ophiotaurus."

"You won't take it under the sea!" Zeus shook his head, before his eyebrows furrowed. "We shall keep it here, move it between different areas of powers across the world. If we keep the creature moving, then there is less chance that our enemies will find them. All in favour?"

To my surprise, a lot of hands went up. Dionysus abstained. So did Ares and Athena. But everybody else...

"We have a majority," Zeus decreed. "And so, since we will not be destroying these heroes... I imagine we should honour them. Let the triumph celebration begin!"

There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. Let me tell you, it was amazing.

The Nine Muses cranked up the tunes, and I realized the music was whatever you wanted it to be: the gods could listen to classical and the younger demigods heard hip-hop or whatever, and it was all the same sound track. No arguments. Just requests to crank it up. 

Dionysus went around growing refreshment stands out of the ground, and a beautiful woman walked with him arm in arm—his wife, Ariadne. Dionysus looked happy for the first time. Nectar and ambrosia overflowed from golden fountains, and platters of mortal snack food crowded the banquet tables. Golden goblets filled with whatever drink you wanted. Grover trotted around with a full plate of tin cans and enchiladas, and his goblet was full of double-espresso latte, which he kept muttering over like an incantation: "Pan! Pan!"

Gods kept coming over to congratulate me. Thankfully, they had reduced themselves to human size, so they didn't accidentally trample partygoers under their feet. Hermes started chatting with me, slapping Luke on the back and embarrassing him in the process as I cackled.

Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot any time, and if I ever wanted archery lessons—

"Thanks," I told him. "But I think I'm going to need to focus on my sword fighting skills to beat Kronos."

"Ah, nonsense," he said. "Target practice from the chariot as we fly over the U.S.? Best fun there is!"

I made some excuses and wove through the crowds that were dancing in the palace courtyards. I was looking for Annabeth and Luke.

Then a man's voice behind me said, "You won't let me down, I hope."

I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me.

"Hi dad,"

"Hello, Dree. You've done well." His praise made me uneasy. I mean, it felt good, but I knew just how much he'd put himself on the line, vouching for me. It would've been a lot easier to let the others disintegrate me.

"I was unconscious for most of this, I would congratulate Luke,"

"You held the sky. That's no easy feat," He patted my shoulder.

"I won't let you down," I promised.

He nodded. I had trouble reading gods' emotions, but I wondered if he had some doubts.

"Puck—"

"He's not dead, I know." I crossed my arms. "I tried, dad. I tried to save him."

"I know you did and I'm so proud that you tried," Poseidon and I continued to walk around the outskirts of the party, our conversation quiet compared to the music. "His boat sails from San Francisco with the remains of Kronos even now. He will retreat and regroup before assaulting you again. I will do my best to destroy his boat with storms, but he is making alliances with my enemies, the older spirits of the ocean. They will fight to protect him."

"What about Atlas?" I said. "What's to prevent him from escaping again? Couldn't he just force some giant or something to take the sky for him?"

My father snorted in derision. "If it were so easy, he would have escaped long ago. No, my daughter. The curse of the sky can only be forced upon a Titan, one of the children of Gaia and Ouranos. Anyone else must choose to take the burden of their own free will. Only a hero, someone with strength, a true heart, and great courage, would do such a thing. No one in Kronos's army would dare try to bear that weight, even upon pain of death."

"Puck did it," I said. "He let Atlas go. Then he tricked me into saving him and used me to convince Artemis to take the sky. Luke did it as well."

"Puck is an interesting case," Poseidon said. 

I think he wanted to say more, but just then, Bessie started mooing from across the courtyard. Some demigods were playing with his water sphere, joyously pushing it back and forth over the top of the crowd,

"I'd better take care of that," Poseidon grumbled. "We can't have the Ophiotaurus tossed around like a beach ball. Be good, Dree. We may not speak again for some time."

And just like that he was gone.

I was about to keep searching the crowd when another voice spoke. "Your father takes a great risk, you know."

I found myself face-to-face with a grey-eyed woman who looked so much like Annabeth I almost called her that.

"Athena." I bowed my head, trying to channel normal, sane Luke and be polite.

She smiled dryly. "Do not judge me too harshly, half-blood. Wise counsel is not always popular, but I spoke the truth. You are dangerous."

"You never take risks?"

She nodded. "I concede the point. You may perhaps be useful. And yet...your fatal flaw may destroy us as well as yourself."

"Great."

Athena looked almost sorry for me. "Kronos knows your flaw, even if you do not. He knows how to study his enemies. Think, Andromeda. How has he manipulated you? First, your mother was taken from you. Then your best friend, Grover. Now, Annabeth." She paused, disapproving. "In each case, your loved ones have been used to lure you into Kronos's traps. Your fatal flaw is personal loyalty, Andromeda. You do not know when it is time to cut your losses. To save a friend, you would sacrifice the world. In a hero of the prophecy, that is very, very dangerous."

I balled my fists. "That's not a flaw. Just because I want to help my friends—"

"The most dangerous flaws are those which are good in moderation," she said. "Evil is easy to fight. Lack of wisdom...that is very hard indeed."

I wanted to argue, but I found I couldn't. Athena was pretty smart.

"I hope the Council's decisions prove wise," Athena said. "But I will be watching, Andromeda Jackson. I do not approve of your friendship with my daughter. I do not think it wise for either of you. And should you begin to waver in your loyalties..."

She fixed me with her cold grey stare, and I realized what a terrible enemy Athena would make, ten times worse than Ares or Dionysus or maybe even my father. Athena would never give up. She would never do something rash or stupid just because she hated you, and if she made a plan to destroy you, it would not fail.

"Romy!" Annabeth called, running through the crowd as Luke and Brooke meandered along behind her. "Oh, mum."

"I will leave you," Athena said. "For now."

She turned and strode through the crowds, which parted before her as if she were carrying Aegis.

"Was she giving you a hard time?" Annabeth asked.

"No," I said. "It's...fine."

"You sure?" Luke wrapped his arm around my shoulder, cocking an eyebrow.

"Would I lie to you?"

"I'm not going to answer that question," He laughed, as I leant into his side. "Hey, come on, I owe you a dance."

"You do?"

"Yes, I do," He pulled me away from Annabeth and Brooke, who spoke in hushed tones about something of importance, and onto the dance floor. Reaching up, I wrapped my arms around his shoulders, leaning into his touch. 

The music sounded like it slowed, as Luke spun me around slowly in his arms. I reached up, tracing his scar with my hand and smiling at him.

"What?" He cocked an eyebrow.

"We still on for Christmas plans?" He nodded his head, before pulling me closer and tucking my head under his chin as I clutched onto his hoodie. "Am I going to die with this prophecy?"

"Not if I have anything to say about it." Luke promised, pressing a kiss to my forehead. "I love you too much to lose you."

"You love me?"

"Yes."

"It's a good thing I love you too," I told him, pulling back so that I could smile up at him. 

"Well, that's a relief," He chuckled, the grin that I adored plastering across his face. "Otherwise that would have made things slightly awkward."

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

Luke and Andi are sweethearts. We're coming to the end of Act Three, moving onto Act Four and these last books are my faves so!!

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx