━━ chapter fourteen
a game of chance

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    ━━If Percy was to be honest, a library wouldn't have been his first choice for someplace to visit. He has dyslexia and ADHD, he was a disaster kid at concentrating and reading. A whole building full of books? That sounded about as much fun as Chinese water torture or getting his teeth extracted. Though, as they jogged through the lobby, Percy figured Annabeth would like this place. It was spacious and brightly lit, with big vaulted windows. Books and architecture, that was definitely her...

    He froze in his tracks.

    "Percy?" Fiona glanced back, frowning. "What's wrong?"

    Percy tried desperately to concentrate. Where had those thoughts come from? Architecture, books ... Annabeth had taken him somewhere to show him something ... architecture. Something she had designed. Back home in━in━

    The memory faded. Percy slammed his fist into the side of a bookshelf. He was so angry, so frustrated with his missing memories, that he wanted to punch another bookshelf, but a hand was on his arm, and he faltered. It sent shivers, ones that calmed him down enough to see who it was.

    Fiona arched a brow in query, concerned, but also as if saying, don't lose your temper. Not here, not right now. "Percy?"

    She was right, of course. She's right about a lot of things, Percy has noticed. He had a quest to focus on, a harpy to save, and some information to get out of an old, stupid man. "I'm━I'm all right," he lied, sobering himself up. "Just got dizzy for a sec. Let's find a way to the roof."

    It took them a fair while, but they finally found a stairwell with roof access. At the top of the door was a handle alarm, but someone had propped it open with a copy of War and Peace. Fiona stepped through first, and Percy was quick to follow her.

    Outside, Ella the harpy huddled in a nest of books under a makeshift cardboard shelter. Percy and his friends advanced slowly, trying not to scare her. Ella didn't pay them any attention, isntead picking at her feathers and muttering under her breath, like she was practising lines for a play.

    Percy got within five feet and knelt down. "Hi. Sorry we scared you. Look, I don't have much food, but ..." he took some of the macrobiotic jerky out of his pocket. Ella lunged and snatched it immediately. She huddled back in her nest, sniffing the jerky, but sighed and tossed it away.

    "N━not from his table," she said. "Ella cannot eat. Sad. Jerky would be good for harpies."

    "Not from ... Oh, right," Percy realised. "That's part of the curse. You can only eat his food."

    "There has to be a way," Hazel frowned.

    "'Photosynthesis'," Ella muttered. "'Noun. Biology. The synthesis of complex organic materials'. 'It was the best of times, the worst of times; it was the age of wisdown, it was the age of foolishness ...'"

    "What is she saying?" Frank whispered.

    Percy stared at the mound of books around her. They all looked old and mildewed. Some had prices written in marker on the covers, like the library had gotten rid of them in a clearance sale. "She's quoting books..."

    "Farmer's Almanac 1965," said Ella. "'Start breeding animals, January twenty-sixth'."

    "Ella," he said, "have you read all of these?"

    She blinked. "More. More downstairs. Words. Words calm Ella down. Words, words, words."

    Percy picked up a random book━a tattered coppy of A History of Horseracing. "Ella, do you remember the━um━third paragraph on page sixty-two━"

    "'Secretariat'," Ella said instantly, 'facoured three to two in the 1973 Kentucky Derby, finished at standing track record of one fifty-nine and two fifths.'"

    Percy closed the book. His hands were shaking. "Word for word."

    "That's amazing," murmured Hazel.

    "I wish I could do that," added Fiona. (Always the competitor).

    "She's a genius chicken," Frank agreed.

    Percy felt uneasy, though. He was starting to form a terrible idea as to why Phineas wanted to catch Ella, and it wasn't because she scratched him. Percy remembere that line she recited, A half-blood of the eldest gods. He was sure it was about him.

    "Ella," he said, "we're going to find a way to break the curse. Would you like that?"

    "'It's Impossible'," she said. "'Recorded in English by Perry Como, 1970.'"

    "Nothing's impossible," Percy told her. "Now, look, I'm going to say his name. You don't have to run away. We're going to save you from the curse. We just need to figure out a way to beat ... Phineas."

    He waited for her to bolt for it, but she just shook her head. "N━n━no! No Phineas. Ella is quick. Too quick for him. B━but he wants to ch━chain Ella. He hurts Ella."

    She tried to reach the gash on her back. "Frank," Percy glanced back at the son of Mars, "you have first-aid supplies?"

    "On it," he brought out a thermos full of nectar and explained its healing properties to Ella. When he scooted closer, she recoiled and started to shriek. Then Fiona tried, and Ella let her pour some nectar on her back. The wound began to close. Percy hasn't seen this side of Fiona; this gentle, caring side who was careful not to hurt the harpy, and when she did, she was quick to apologise and tell her that it was all right. It was a complete opposite to the scowls she held, the sharp words she sprung off her tongue, and the closed-off manner she proclaimed. Her face was back to being gentle, and Percy got slightly lost just watching the purse of her lips as she concentrated.

    When she was done, she smiled warmly━a smile that fully reached up to her eyes. They sparkled. "See?" she said. "That's better."

    "Phineas is bad," Ella insisted. "And weed whackers. And cheese."

    "Absolutely," Percy agreed. "We won't let him hurt you again. We need to figure out how to trick him, though. You harpies must know him better than anybody. Is there any way we can trick him?"

    "N━no," Ella shook her head again. "Tricks are for kids. 50 Tricks to Teach Your Dog, by Sophie Collins, call number six-three-six━"

    "Okay, Ella," Fiona spoke in a soothing voice. "But does Phineas have any weaknesses?"

    "Blind. He's blind."

    Frank rolled his eyes, but Fiona just continued patiently, which was very unlike her. Or maybe it was exactly like her, and she just hid it. "Yeah, but besides that?"

    "Chance," said Ella. "Games of chance. Two to one. Bad odds. Call or fold."

    Percy's spirits rose. "You mean he's a gambler?"

    "Phineas s━sees things. Prophecies. Fates. God stuff. Not small stuff. Random. Exciting. And he is blind."

    Frank frowned, rubbing his chin. "Any idea what she means?"

    Percy watched the harpy pick at her burlap dress. He felt incredibly sorry for her, but he was also starting to realise just how intelligent she was. "I think I get it," he said. "Phineas sees the future. He knows tons of important events. But he can't see small things━like random occurences, spontaenous games of chance. That makes gambling exciting for him. If we tempt him into making a bet..."

    Hazel nodded slowly, understanding. "You mean if he loses, he has to tell us where Thanatos is. But what do we have to wager? What kind of game do we play?"

    "Something simple, with high stakes," murmured Fiona, leaning forward in her crouch thoughtfully. Percy could see her mind tick away. "Something with two choices━one you live, one you die or something. And the prize has to be something Phineas wants ... like, besides Ella. That's off the table."

    "Sight," Ella muttered. "Sight is good for blind men. Healing ... nope, nope. Gaea won't do that for Phineas. Gaea keeps Phineas b━blind, dependent on Gaea. Yep."

    Frank and Percy exchanged a meaningful look. "Gorgon's blood," they said simoultaneously.

    "What?" Hazel and Fiona asked.

    Frank brought out the two ceramic vials he had retrieved from the Little Tiber. "Ella's a genius," he said. "Unless we die."

    "Don't worry about that," said Percy. "I've got a plan."

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    ━━Percy had a stupid plan. Stupid for even his standards, and he is pretty sure that is saying a lot. He's reckless, but this was more than reckless. This was a stupid plan, and it was perfect. The old man was right where they had left him, in the middle of the good truck parking lot. He sat on the picnic bench with his bunny slippers propped up, eating a plate of greasy shish kebab. His weed whacker was at his side, his bathrobe smeared with barbecue sauce.

    "Welcome back!" he said cheerfully. "I hera the flutter of nervous little wings. You've bought me my harpy?"

    "She's here," said Percy. "But she's not yours."

    Phineas sucked the grease off his fingers. His milky eyes had settled on a point above Percy's head. "I see ... Well, actually, I'm blind, so I don't see. Have you come to kill me, then? If so, good luck completing your quest."

    "I've come to gamble."

    He froze. His mouth twched, and Phineas put down his shish kebab and leaned towrds Percy. "A gamble ... how interesting. Information in exchange for the harpy? Winner takes all?"

    "No," said Percy. "The harpy isn't part of the deal."

    The old man laughed. "Really? Perhaps you don't understand her value."

    "She's a person. She isn't for sale."

    "Oh, please! You're from the Roman camp, aren't you? Rome was built on slavery. Don't get all high and mighty with me. Besides, she isn't even human. She's a monster. A wind spirit. A minion of Jupiter."

    Ella squawked. Just getting her into the parking lot had been a major challenge, but now she started backing away, muttering, "'Jupiter. Hydrogen and helium. Sixty-three satellites'. No minions. Nope."

    Fiona put her arm around Ella's wings. She and Hazel were the only ones who could touch the harpy without causing lots of screaming and twitching. Frank and Hazel stayed at Percy's side, holding their weapons ready. Percy brought out the ceremic vials. "I have a different wager. We've got two flasks of gorgon's blood. One kills. One heals. They both look exactly the same. Even we don't know which is which. If you choose the right one, it could cure your blindness."

    Phineas held out his hands eagerly. "Let me feel them. Let me smell them."

    Percy pulled the vials back, a brow quirked. "Ah-ah-ah," he chided, "not so fast. First you agree to the terms."

    "Terms," Phineas was breathing shallowly, hungry to take the offer. "Prophecy and sight ... I'd be unstoppable. I could own this city. I'd build my palae here, surrounded by food trucks. I could capture that harpy myself!"

    "N━noo," Ella whimpered. "Nope, nope, nope."

    Phineas let out a villaneous laugh, which really didn't work with is bunny slippers. "Very well, demigod. What are your terms?"

    "You get to choose a vial," Percy said. "No uncorking, no sniffing before you decide."

    "That's not fair! I'm blind."

    "And I don't have your sense of smell," Percy countered. "You can hold the vials. And I'll swear on the River Styx that they look identical. They're exactly what I told you: gorgon's blood, one vial from the left side of the monster, one from the right. And I swear that none of us knows which is which." He glanced back at Hazel and Fiona. "Uh, you two are our Underworld experts. With all this weird stuff going on with Death, is an oath on the River Styx still binding?"

    "Yes," Fiona said, without any hesitation while Hazel nodded.

    "To break such a vow ... Well, just don't do it," the latter added. "There are worse things than death."

    Phineas stoked his beard, "So I choose which vial to drink. You have to drink the other one. We swear to drink at the same time?"

    "Right."

    "The loser dies, obviously. That knd of poison would probably keep even me from coming back to life ... for a long time, at least. My essence would be scattered and degraded. So I'm risking quite a lot."

    "But if you win," Percy pressed, "you get everything. If I die, my friends will swear to leave you in peace and not take revenege. You'd have your sighed back, which even Gaea won't give you."

    The old man's expression soured, and Percy knew he had struck a nerve. Phineas wanted to see. As much as Gaea had given him, he resented being kept in the dark. "If I lose," he said, "I'll be dead, unable to give you information. How does that help you?"

    Percy was glad he had talked this through with his friends first ahead of time. Frank had suggested the answer: "You write down the location of Alcyoneus's lair ahead of itme. Keep it to yoruself, but swear on the River Styx it's specific and accurate. You also have to swear that if you lose and die, the harpies will be released from their curse."

    "Those are high stakes," Phineas grumbled. "You face death, Percy Jackson. Wouln't it be simper just to hand over the harpy?"

    "Not an option."

    Phineas smiled slowly, "So you are starting to understand her worth. Once I have my sight, I'll capture her myself, you know. Whoever controls that harpy ... well, I was a king once. This gamble could make me a king again."

    "You're getting a head of yourself," Percy said. "Do we have a deal?"

    The old man tapped his nose thoughtfully. "I can't foresee the outcome. Annoying how that works. A completely unexpected gamble ... it makes the future cloudy. But I can tell you this, Percy Jackson━a bit of free advice. If you survive today, you're not going to like your future. A big sacrifice is coming, and you won't have the courage to make it. That will cost you dearly. It will cost the world dearly. It might be easier if you just choose the poison."

    Percy's mouth tasted like Iris's sour green tea. He wanted to think that the old man was just taunting him, scaring him out, but something told him the prediction was true. He remembered Juno's warning when he had chosen to go to Camp Jupiter: You will feel pain, misery and loss beyond anything you've ever known. But you might have a chance to save your old friends and family.

    He glanced back apprehensively. Frank, Hazel and Fiona studied his face with concern. He had assured them that the odds weren't as bad as fifty-fifty. He did have a plan. Of course, the plan could backfire. His chance of survival might be a hundred per cent ━or zero. He hadn't mentioned that.

    (Like he said, stupidly perfect plan).

    "Do we have a deal?" he asked again.

    Phineas grinned. "I swear on the River Styx to abide by the terms, just as you have described them. Frank Zhang, you're the descended of an Argonaut. I trust your word. If I win, do you and your friends Hazel and Fiona swear to leave me in peace, and not seek revenge?"

    Frank's hands were clenched so tight Percy thought he might break his gold spear, but he managed to grumble, "I swear it on the River Styx."

    "I also swear," said Hazel.

    Fiona was the last. She glared at the old man. She did not want to swear, at all. She met Percy's gaze, as if asking for reassurance. He tried to give it to her with a simple nod, but he had a feeling she knew just how dangerous he was making this for himself. In the end, though, she sighed and nodded, "I swear."

    "'Swear,'" Ella muttered. "'Swear not by the moon, the inconstant moon.'"

    Phineas laughed. "In that case, find me something to write with. Let's get started."

    Frank borrowed a napkin and a pen from a food truck vendor, and Phineas scribbled something on it and put it in his pocket, swearing it to be the location of Alcyoneus's lair that they seeked. Percy drew his sword and swept all the food off the picnic table. Phineas sat on one side, Percy the other.

    The old man held out his hands, "Let me feel the vials."

    Percy gazed at the hills in the distance. He imagined the shadowy face of a sleeping woman, and sent his thoughts into the ground beneath him, hoping that the goddess was listening. Okay, Gaea, he said. I'm calling your bluff. You say I'm a valuable pawun. You say you've got big plans for me, and you're going to spare me until I make it north. Who's more valuable to you━me, or this old man? Because one of us is about to die.

    Phineas curled his fingers in a grasping motion. "Losing your nerve, Percy Jackson? Let me have them."

    Percy passed him the vials, and the old man compared their weight. He ran his fingers along the ceramic surfaces. Then he set them both on the table and rested one hand lightly on each. A tremor passed through the ground━a mild earthquake, just strong enough to make Percy's teeth chatter. Ella clawed nervously. Fiona glowered. The vial on the left seemed to shake slightly more than the one on the right.

    Phineas grinned, crazed. He closed his fingers around the left-hand vial. "You were a fool, Percy Jackson. I choose this oe. Now we drink."

    Percy took the vial on the right. His stomach was squirming, his teeth chattering. But he took a deep breath. The old man raised his vial. "A toast to the sons of Neptune."

   They both uncorked their vials and drank.

    Immediately, Percy doubled over, his throat burning. His throat tasted like gasoline, his insides boiled.

    "Oh, gods!" Hazel said behind him.

    "Nope!" Ella cried. "Nope, nope, nope."

    Percy's vision blurred. He could see Phieas grinning in triumph, sitting up straighter and blinking his eyes in anticipation. "Yes!" he cried. "Any moment now, my sight will return."

    "No!" Fiona seethed through gritted teeth. "No━you won the cowards way!"

    "That's what gambling is, my dear."

    Percy had chosen wrong. He had been stupid to take such a risk. He felt like broke glass was working through his stomach, into his intestines.

    "Percy!" Frank gripped his shoulders. "Percy, you can't die!"

    "Let him live!" Fiona cried out, though Percy didn't know who to. "Let him live━please, I beg of you!"

    He gasped for breath ... and suddenly, his vision cleared.

    At the same moment, Phineas hunched over like he had been punched. Fiona let out a tearful gasp, stunned. "You━you can't!" the old man wailed. "Gaea, you━you━" he staggered to his feet and away from the table, clutching his stomach. "I'm too valuable!"

    Steam billowed out of his mouth━the same sicklly yellow vapour that rose from his ears, his beard, his blind eyes. "Unfair!" he screamed. "You tricked me!"

    "You didn't deserve this victory!" Fiona declared. "And so you shall lose!"

    He tried to claw the piece of paper out of his robe pocket, but his hands crumbled, his fingers turning to sand.

    Percy rose usteadily. He didn't feel cured of anything in particular. His memory hadn't magically returned. But the pain had stopped. He stood over the crumbling Phineas, looking as pitiful as he should. "No one tricked you," Percy spat down at his dying figure. "You made your choice freely, and I hold you to your oath."

    The blind king wailed in agony. Percy scowled, watching him turn in a circle, screming and steming━before he slowly disintergrated until there was nothing left but an old, stained bathrobe and a pair of bunny slippers. Percy took a deep breath, and was started as he felt no remorse for the man what-so-ever. Fiona was right. He deserved no victory; and so he lost. He recieved a coward's death.

    "That," said Frank, "are the most disgusting spoils of war ever."

    A woman's voice spoke in Percy's mind. A gamble, Percy Jackson, said the sleepy whisper, sending chills down his spine. And yet, there was a hint of grudging admiration. You forced me to choose, and you are more important to my plans than the old see. You and Fiona Midgrass are my important pawns in this game of chess. But do not press your luck. Pawns are made to die. When your death comes, I promise it will be much more painful than gorgon's blood.

    Fiona pushed past, kicking at the robes. There was nothing underneath━no sign that Phineas was trying to re-form. Percy watched her, his gut twisting at what Gaea had just said. She looked at him with something that was a mix between anger and awe. He thought she might punch him across the face, but then he did a very un Fiona thing━she leapt forward and hugged him.

    Percy stumbled back slightly, surprised to feel her arms wrap around his waist tightly and for her to burrow her head into his chest. He could feel his cheeks going red, and he awkwardly held her small frame as well, patting her back. He met Hazel and Frank's gazes like, um, pretty girl is hugging me, what do?

    Hazel just smiled at him, while Frank looked just as surprised Fiona was showing affection as he was.

    She pulled away quickly, and then punched him. Percy held his shoulder, startled once again. Fiona was bright red, as well. "Are you a dumbass?!" she asked fiercly. "You could have died━what is wrong with you? Do you want to die or something? Gods, you've got coral clouding your senses!"

    (Percy thinks that's as close of a I'm glad you're not dead, as he's going to get. So he took it). Hazel had swapped places with Fiona beside Ella, and shook her head at Percy, amazed. "That was either the bravest thing I've ever seen, or the stupidest."

    Frank scoffed in disbelief. "Percy, how did you know? You were so confident he'd choose the poison."

    "Gaea," Percy said. "She wants me to make it to Alaska. She thinks ... I'm to sure," he didn't mention Fiona, not wanting something else on her mind. She's had a rough couple of days. "She thinks she can use me as part of her plan. She influenced Phineas to choose the wrong vial."

    Frank stared in horror at the remains of the old man. "Gaea would kill her own servant rather than you? That's what you were betting on?"

    "Plans," Ella mumbled. "Plans and plots. The lady in the ground. Big plans for Percy. Macrobiotic jerky for Ella."

    Percy handed her the whole bag of jerky and she squeaked with joy. "Nope, nope, nope," she sang to herself, and Fiona smiled at her. "Phineas, nope. Food and words for Ella, yep."

    Percy crouched over the bathrobe and pulled the old man's note out of the pocket. It read: HUBBARD GLACIER.

    (All that risk for two words? For two fu━)

    "I know where that is," Hazel took it from his fingers, going ashen-faced. "It's pretty famous. But we've got a long, long way to go."

    In the trees around the parking lot, the other hapries finally overcame their shock. They squawked with excitement and flew at the nearest food trucks, diving through service windows and raiding the kitchens. Feathers and good boxes flew everywhere.

    "We'd better get back to the boat," said Percy. "We're running out of time."

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    a/n: *gasp* thEy hUGGeD!!!!!!!