chapter thirty-seven

─── are sheep supposed to be carnivorous?

          𝕿here was only one evil thing about this island (a rope bridge across a chasm) and I was very disappointed with it. This was not living up to evil villain lair standards. I'd seen toddler rooms with more evil than this!

We sailed closer to shore and both Luke and I shared a look at the surge of power that overcame both of us.

"That's the Fleece, alright," Luke murmured. 

"If we take it away, will the island die?"

"It'll fade and go back to looking like it used to," Luke shook his head again. "But we're doing this for Thalia and the Camp. That's more important."

I nodded, reaching for his hand, as we continued to sail around the island. At the base of a ravine, several dozen sheep milled around, about the size of hippos.

Just past them was a path that led up into the hills. At the top of the path, near the edge of the canyon, was the massive oak tree I'd seen in my dreams. Something gold glittered in its branches.

"This is too easy," I said. "We could just hike up there and take it?"

"There's supposed be a guardian. A dragon or..."

That's when a deer emerged from the bushes. It trotted into the meadow, probably looking for grass to eat, when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal. It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves.

Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air.

A second later the sheep all moved away, back to their regular peaceful wanderings. Where the deer had been was a pile of clean white bones.

"Since when did sheep eat venison?" I broke the silence, turning to look at Luke. "That was not taught in my biology class!"

"Andi, look," Luke pointed down to the right, where a small boat had been run aground. "CSS Birmingham."

"Clarisse is here then," We both decided then and there that we should go and find Grover and whoever had come ashore, assuming they had gotten past the sheep. I was secretly hoping that Tyson was also alive.

We moored the Queen Anne's Revenge on the back side of the island where the cliffs rose straight up a good two hundred feet. I figured the ship was less likely to be seen there. The cliffs looked climbable, barely—about as difficult as the lava wall back at camp. At least it was free of sheep. I hoped that Polyphemus did not also keep carnivorous mountain goats.

Luke threw a pair of shoes at my face, that fluttered with wings. I recognized them as Hermes' flying shoes. I stared at them for a few moments, stunned.

"I thought we might need them,"

"Luke, you're trusting me with flying shoes and I love it!" I lunged forward to press a kiss to his lips, before putting on the flying shoes and hopping around the deck with growing glee. I had flying shoes!

Luke snickered at my excitement.

"Maia," His wings flickered to life and he took a running leap, flying into the air. He landed about ten feet up, and I copied him quickly, shooting myself up and into the air. We did this continuously, launching ourselves up the cliff as quickly as we could, but even at our fastest pace, my arms were steadily turning numb from gripping onto the rock.

"Ugh," I said, hauling myself over the edge.

"Ouch," hissed Luke.

"Garrr!" bellowed another voice.

If I hadn't been so tired, I would've leaped another two hundred feet into the air. I whirled around, but I couldn't see who'd spoken.

Luke slammed his hand over my mouth before I could screech in surprise.

The ledge we were sitting on was narrower than I'd realized. It dropped off on the opposite side, and that's where the voice was coming from—right below us.

"You're a feisty one!" the deep voice bellowed.

"Challenge me!" Clarisse's voice, no doubt about it. "Give me back my sword and I'll fight you!"

The monster roared with laughter.

Luke and I leant over the other edge, looking into the entrance of the Cylcops's cave. Below us stood Polyphemus and Grover, still in his wedding dress. Clarisse was tied up, hanging upside down over a pot of boiling water. I was half hoping to see Tyson down there, too. Even if he'd been in danger, at least I would've known he was alive. But there was no sign of him.

"Hmm," Polyphemus pondered. "Eat loudmouth girl now or wait for wedding feast? What does my bride think?"

He turned to Grover, who backed up and almost tripped over his completed bridal train. "Oh, um, I'm not hungry right now, dear. Perhaps—"

"Did you say bride?" Clarisse demanded. "Who— Grover?"

Luke and I facepalmed.

Polyphemus glowered. "What 'Grover'?"

"The satyr!" Clarisse yelled.

"Oh!" Grover yelped. "The poor thing's brain is boiling from that hot water. Pull her down, dear!"

Polyphemus's eyelids narrowed over his baleful milky eye, as if he were trying to see Clarisse more clearly.

The Cyclops was an even more horrible sight than he had been in my dreams. Partly because his rancid smell was now up close and personal. Partly because he was dressed in his wedding outfit—a crude kilt and shoulder-wrap, stitched together from baby-blue tuxedoes, as if the he'd skinned an entire wedding party.

"What satyr?" asked Polyphemus. "Satyrs are good eating. You bring me a satyr?"

"No, you big idiot!" bellowed Clarisse. "That satyr! Grover! The one in the wedding dress!"

I wanted to wring Clarisse's neck, but it was too late. All I could do was watch as Polyphemus turned and ripped off Grover's wedding veil—revealing his curly hair, his scruffy adolescent beard, his tiny horns.

Polyphemus breathed heavily, trying to contain his anger. "I don't see very well," he growled. "Not since many years ago when the other hero stabbed me in eye. But YOU'RE— NO— LADY— CYCLOPS!"

The Cyclops grabbed Grover's dress and tore it away. Underneath, the old Grover reappeared in his jeans and T-shirt. He yelped and ducked as the monster swiped over his head.

"Stop!" Grover pleaded. "Don't eat me raw! I—I have a good recipe!"

I almost lunged over the edge to save him, but Luke grabbed my belt buckles and held me back. "Wait."

Polyphemus was hesitating, a boulder in his hand, ready to smash his would-be bride.

"Recipe?" he asked Grover.

"Oh y-yes! You don't want to eat me raw. You'll get E coli and botulism and all sorts of horrible things. I'll taste much better grilled over a slow fire. With mango chutney! You could go get some mangos right now, down there in the woods. I'll just wait here."

The monster pondered this. My heart hammered against my ribs. I figured I'd die if I charged. But I couldn't let the monster kill Grover.

"Grilled satyr with mango chutney," Polyphemus mused. He looked back at Clarisse, still hanging over the pot of boiling water. "You a satyr, too?"

"No, you overgrown pile of dung!" she yelled. "I'm a girl! The daughter of Ares! Now untie me so I can rip your arms off!"

"Rip my arms off?" Polyphemus repeated.

"And stuff them down your throat!"

"You got spunk."

"Let me down!"

Polyphemus snatched up Grover as if he were a wayward puppy. "Have to graze sheep now. Wedding postponed until tonight. Then we'll eat satyr for the main course!"

"But...you're still getting married?" Grover sounded hurt. "Who's the bride?"

Polyphemus looked toward the boiling pot.

Clarisse made a strangled sound. "Oh, no! You can't be serious. I'm not—"

Before Luke or I could laugh, let alone do anything, Polyphemus plucked her off the rope like she was a ripe apple, and tossed her and Grover deep into the cave. "Make yourself comfortable! I come back at sundown for big event!"

Then the Cyclops whistled, and a mixed flock of goats and sheep—smaller than the man-eaters—flooded out of the cave and past their master. As they went to pasture, Polyphemus patted some on the back and called them by name—Beltbuster, Tammany, Lockhart, etc.

When the last sheep had waddled out, Polyphemus rolled a boulder in front of the doorway as easily as I would close a refrigerator door, shutting off the sound of Clarisse and Grover screaming inside.

"Mangos," Polyphemus grumbled to himself. "What are mangos?"

He strolled off down the mountain in his baby-blue groom's outfit, leaving us alone with a pot of boiling water and a six-ton boulder. 

Luke and I tried for near to an hour, but the boulder wouldn't move. We yelled, tapped on the rock and tried to signal Grover or Clarisse but we couldn't tell if either of them had heard us. Even if by some miracle we managed to kill Polyphemus, it wouldn't do us any good. Grover and Clarisse would die inside that sealed cave. The only way to move the rock was to have the Cyclops do it.

In total frustration, I stabbed Riptide against the boulder. Sparks flew, but nothing else happened. A large rock is not the kind of enemy you can fight with a magic sword.

Luke and I slumped down with our back against the rock, watching the Cyclops move amongst the fields.

We watched as Polyphemus visited his carnivorous flock on the far side. Unfortunately, they didn't eat him. In fact, they didn't seem to bother him at all. He fed them chunks of mystery meat from a great wicker basket, which made me pull a disgusted face.

"The only way to get past him is to trick him," Luke muttered, spinning a dagger around his fingers.

"Okay. You're the son of Hermes and I'm notorious for getting into trouble. This should be a breeze," I said. "What trick?'

"I haven't figured that part out yet."

"Great."

"Polyphemus will have to move the rock to let the sheep inside."

"At sunset," I said. "Which is when he'll marry Clarisse and have Grover for dinner. I'm not sure which is grosser."

"Annabeth leant me her hat," Luke revealed, showing me the Yankees cap.

"Did you think to mention this at any point earlier, like when we were on a cruise ship filled with monsters?"

"No, not really," He shot me a trouble making grin that I couldn't stay mad at. I found the smirk way too attractive unfortunately. "I can get in that way. Invisibly."

"What about me?"

"The sheep," Luke grinned. I didn't think that I was going to like this idea. "How much do you like sheep?"

It turns out that I no longer like sheep.

"Just don't let go!" Luke said in between laughter, standing off to my right whilst being invisible. Easy for him to say. I was the one upside down on a sheep!

Now, I'll admit it wasn't as hard as I'd thought. I'd crawled under a car before to change my mum's oil, and this wasn't too different. The sheep didn't care. Even the Cyclops's smallest sheep were big enough to support my weight, and they had thick wool. I just twirled the stuff into handles for my hands, hooked my feet against the sheep's thigh bones, and presto—I felt like a baby wallaby, riding around against the sheep's chest, trying to keep the wool out of my mouth and my nose.

In case you're wondering, the underside of a sheep doesn't smell that great. Imagine a winter sweater that's been dragged through the mud and left in the laundry hamper for a week. Something like that.

The sun was going down.

No sooner was I in position than the Cyclops roared, "Oy! Goaties! Sheepies!"

The flock dutifully began trudging back up the slopes toward the cave.

"I'll be close by," Luke whispered, before disappearing from my side. Or at least, I thought he had.

My sheep taxi started plodding up the hill. After a hundred yards, my hands and feet started to hurt from holding on. I gripped the sheep's wool more tightly, and the animal made a grumbling sound. I didn't blame it. I wouldn't want anybody rock climbing in my hair either. But if I didn't hold on, I was sure I'd fall off right there in front of the monster.

"Hasenpfeffer!" the Cyclops said, patting one of the sheep in front of me. "Einstein! Widget—eh there, Widget!"

Polyphemus patted my sheep and nearly knocked me to the ground. "Putting on some extra mutton there?"

Uh-oh, I thought. Here it comes.

But Polyphemus just laughed and swatted the sheep's rear end, propelling us forward. "Go on, fatty! Soon Polyphemus will eat you for breakfast!"

And just like that, I was in the cave.

I could see the last of the sheep coming inside. Luke better get to work.

The Cyclops was about to roll the stone back into place, when from somewhere outside Luke called "Hello, idiot!"

Polyphemus stiffened. "Who said that?"

"Nobody!" I could practically here the laughter in his voice. He was enjoying this.

The monster's face turned red with rage.

"Nobody!" Polyphemus yelled back. "I remember you!"

"You're too stupid to remember anybody," Luke stated in a matter of fact way. "Much less Nobody."

Polyphemus bellowed furiously, grabbed the nearest boulder (which happened to be his front door) and threw it toward the sound of my boyfriend's voice. I heard the rock smash into a thousand fragments and I winced, hoping that my boyfriend wasn't dead.

For a terrible moment, there was silence. Then Luke shouted, "You haven't learned to throw any better, either!"

Polyphemus howled. "Come here! Let me kill you, Nobody!"

"You can't kill Nobody, you stupid oaf," he taunted. "Come find me!"

Polyphemus barrelled down the hill toward his voice.

Now, the "Nobody" thing wouldn't have made sense to anybody, but Luke had explained to me that it was the name Odysseus had used to trick Polyphemus centuries ago, right before he poked the Cyclops's eye out with a large hot stick. 

I just hoped Luke could stay alive and keep distracting him long enough for me to find Grover and Clarisse.

I dropped off my ride, patted Widget on the head, and apologized. I searched the main room, but there was no sign of Grover or Clarisse. I pushed through the crowd of sheep and goats toward the back of the cave.

Even though I'd dreamed about this place, I had a hard time finding my way through the maze. I ran down corridors littered with bones, past rooms full of sheepskin rugs and life-size cement sheep that I recognized as the work of Medusa. Finally, I found the spinning room, where Grover was huddled in the corner, trying to cut Clarisse's bonds with a pair of safety scissors.

"It's no good," Clarisse said. "This rope is like iron!"

"Just a few more minutes!"

"Grover," she cried, exasperated. "You've been working at it for hours!"

And then they saw me.

"Andromeda?" Clarisse said. "You're supposed to be blown up!"

"Good to see you, too. Now hold still while I—"

"Romy!" Grover bleated and tackled me with a goat-hug. "You heard me! You came!"

"Yeah, buddy," I said. "Of course I came."

"Where's Luke?"

"Outside," I said. "But there's no time to talk. Clarisse, hold still."

I uncapped Riptide and sliced off her ropes. She stood stiffly, rubbing her wrists and quickly wrapped me in a side hug. "Thanks."

"You're welcome," I said. "Now, was anyone else on board your lifeboat?"

Clarisse looked surprised. "No. Just me. Everybody else aboard the Birmingham...well, I didn't even know you guys made it out."

I looked down, trying not to believe that my last hope of seeing Tyson alive had just been crushed.

"Okay. Come on, then. We have to help—"

An explosion echoed through the cave, followed by a shout of pain that I knew to be Luke's and my heart stopped.

∘☽༓☾∘

Hiya,

Andi no longer likes sheep, which I think is very fair and Luke just likes to withhold information from her cause it's slightly funny. Also, Andi being excited about flying shoes is the cutest thing.

Let me know what you think,

Love Li xx