Percy Jackson - Beyond the Gods

Chapter 80: Chapter 80 - Party Room



A half-blood, child of the ancient gods,

Will reach sixteen despite all odds;

In endless sleep the world will fall,

The hero's soul, cursed blade shall reap;

A choice his days shall end,

To save Olympus or raze it down.

Percy repeated the prophecy he had heard from Luke during the mission in the Sea of Monsters while striking his sword at one of the training dummies.

He felt upset that Chiron and Annabeth hadn't told him about it when Poseidon claimed him. Though he hid his emotions well and tried not to think about it too much, he felt like a pawn, a piece meant to be sacrificed and discarded afterward. That was essentially what he was in the long run...

That's how he felt initially, until the worry replaced everything else. That prophecy could be about Ikki. He was the most likely candidate due to his overwhelming power that scared even the Gods—or at least he was until Thalia's rebirth, thanks to the Golden Fleece.

It had been a week since that day, and Camp Half-Blood had been way too busy for his liking.

Thalia spent two days in the infirmary regaining her strength, and Annabeth stayed with her the whole time. The two reunited, and Annabeth told Thalia all about her adventures over the last two years and all the enemies she, Grover, Percy, and Ikki had faced.

Thalia was impressed and seemed genuinely happy that Annabeth had grown up so well and was becoming an independent woman.

When Annabeth asked Thalia what she remembered from that night, all she could say was that she recalled lying on the ground with her eyes slowly closing, screaming as thunder rumbled above. Then, everything went dark, and it felt like she was just floating in the air for a few minutes before opening her eyes to see an older Annabeth and Percy staring at her.

Indeed, years had passed, but for her, it felt like just minutes.

Percy even tried to visit her to introduce himself and say hello, to which she responded in kind. At first, she was surprised that Poseidon had broken the oath as well, but attributed it to the Gods being incapable of keeping their pants up.

The memories of that day flashed in her mind. Still, Annabeth had to tell Thalia about Luke and his betrayal.

Thalia refused to believe it at first and yelled at them, saying they were lying. But after Chiron confirmed the story and told her that Luke had changed after her supposed death, she accepted it, though everyone could see the pain on her face.

Since then, she had been acting sad and moody most of the time. Percy couldn't blame her. Luke was her friend, probably her best friend. Finding out that he had betrayed her, even poisoned what was left of her, must have hurt...

Perhaps because of her moodiness, the girl had become quite arrogant. That proud side of a daughter of Zeus had taken over. She envied the attention Camp Half-Blood gave Percy; he could tell...

Moreover, when any camper mentioned Ikki Phoenix, the other son of Zeus, who was legendary among all half-bloods, she felt even more jealous. As if her best friend had taken her place, she also seemed bitter knowing how much Zeus appeared to care about her other sibling...

Speaking of her best friend, Percy wondered where he was. Was he okay? Why had he vanished out of nowhere? What was that gift Luke had referred to? Why couldn't even the gods find him? Was he... No, he had to be okay! He had to be okay... Percy couldn't lose him in such a senseless way...

With these thoughts, Percy ended the training dummy with a strike and grabbed the backpack next to him. Today was the last day of summer; soon, he would return home again to his mother. Maybe she had some news about Sophia...

With a sigh, Percy turned, sheathed his sword, and climbed Half-Blood Hill toward Argus to take him home.

On the Friday before the winter holidays, Sally packed Percy a suitcase and some mortal weapons and drove him to a new boarding school.

On the way, they picked up Annabeth and Thalia.

It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Rain and snow battered the road. Annabeth, Thalia, and Percy hadn't seen each other in months, but between the snowstorm and thinking about what they were about to do, they were too nervous to talk.

Except for Sally, who couldn't stop talking—she talked more when she was nervous.

When they finally arrived at Westover Hall, it was dark, and she had told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story about Percy there was, leaving him wanting to bury himself in a hole to hide his shame.

Thalia wiped the fogged-up car window and peered outside.

Westover Hall looked like the castle of an evil knight. It was all black stone, with towers and narrow windows, and a large set of double wooden doors. It stood atop a snowy cliff overlooking a vast frozen forest on one side and the gray, churning ocean on the other.

"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" Sally asked as she stopped the car.

"No, thanks, Mom..." Percy said quickly. "I'm not sure how long this will take. We'll be fine..."

"But how are you going to get back? I'm worried, Percy."

Percy tried not to blush—it was bad enough relying on his mom to drive him to his battles. He missed his friend who had the innate talent of teleporting around; it would have made reaching this place much easier and saved him the embarrassment...

"It's okay, Mrs. Jackson," Annabeth said with a reassuring smile. Her blonde hair was tucked under a ski cap, and her gray eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep him out of trouble…"

His mom seemed to relax a bit. She thought Annabeth was the most balanced demigod to ever make it to eighth grade. She was sure Annabeth always kept him from getting killed, just like Ikki used to do. She was right, but that didn't mean Percy had to like it.

"All right, dears…" Sally said. "Do you have everything you need?"

"Yes, Mrs. Jackson," Thalia nodded. "Thank you for the ride."

"Extra sweaters? My phone number?"

"Mom..."

"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a gold drachma in case you need to contact camp?"

"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine," Percy said, getting out of the car. "Let's go, girls..."

His mom looked a little hurt, and he regretted it, but he was ready to jump out of that car. If she told one more story about how cute he looked in the bathtub when he was three, he was going to bury himself in the snow and freeze to death.

Annabeth and Thalia followed Percy out of the car. The wind blew, piercing through their coats like icy daggers.

As soon as his mom's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy..."

"She is cool..." Percy admitted and asked reflexively, "What about you? Do you keep in touch with your mom?"

As soon as he asked, he wished he'd kept his mouth shut. Thalia was great at giving death glares, especially with her punk outfits—the torn military jacket, black leather pants, chains, black eyeliner, and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave him now was a perfect "ten" on the evil scale.

"That's none of your business, Percy..."

"Let's go inside," Annabeth interrupted. "Grover should be waiting for us."

Thalia looked at the castle and shivered.

"You're right. What could he have found here to send an emergency call?"

Percy looked at the dark towers of Westover Hall and guessed, "Nothing good..."

The oak doors creaked open, and the three of them stepped into the hall amidst a swirl of snow.

The place was huge. The walls were lined with battle banners and display cases of weapons: old rifles, axes, and a lot of other stuff. Westover was commonly known as a military school, but the decor looked deadly.

Literally.

Percy instinctively reached into his pocket, where he kept his lethal pen, Riptide. He could already sense something was wrong with this place.

Something dangerous.

Thalia rubbed her silver bracelet, her favorite magical item. He knew they were all thinking the same thing.

A battle was coming.

Annabeth began to say,

"I wonder where…"

The doors slammed shut violently behind them.

"Ooo.k..." Percy muttered nervously. "I guess we'll be here for a while."

The three of them could hear music echoing from the other end of the hall. It sounded like dance music.

They hid their suitcases behind a column and started walking in that direction. They hadn't gone far when they heard footsteps on the stone floor, and a man and a woman stepped out of the shadows to intercept them.

Both had short gray hair and black uniforms with red trim, military-style. The woman had a slight mustache, and the man was perfectly shaved, which seemed a bit reversed. Both walked stiffly, as if broomsticks were taped to their backs.

"Well?" the woman asked. "What are you doing here?"

Percy realized he hadn't thought about anyone showing up to ask that. He had been so focused on reaching Grover and figuring out what was wrong that he hadn't considered someone might find three kids sneaking into a school at night suspicious.

Worse, they hadn't discussed it in the car.

"Ma'am, we're just…" he began.

"Oh!" the man interrupted authoritatively. "No visitors are allowed at the dance! You will be expelled!"

He had an accent—French, maybe. He pronounced the "x" like in "pixel." He was tall and had an aquiline face. His nostrils flared when he spoke, making it very hard not to stare at his nose, and his eyes were two different colors—one brown, the other blue—like a stray cat's.

Percy was about to knock out the two teachers, but at that moment, Thalia stepped forward and did something very strange.

She snapped her fingers. The sound was sharp and loud.

Maybe it was just his imagination, but Percy felt a gust of wind emanate from her hand and sweep through the hall like a wave.

The gust passed over all of them, making the banners on the walls flutter.

"Oh, but we're not visitors, sir," Thalia said evenly. "We attend this school. You remember us: I'm Thalia, and these are Annabeth and Percy. We're in eighth grade."

The teacher narrowed his two-colored eyes, seeming to hesitate.

He looked at his colleague.

"Mrs. Tengiz, do you recognize these students?"

Despite the danger they were in, Percy had to bite his tongue to keep from laughing. A teacher named Mrs. Tengiz? He had to be kidding.

The woman blinked, as if someone had just woken her from a trance.

"I... yes, I think I do, sir." She looked at the three of them, frowning. "Annabeth. Thalia. Percy. What are you doing outside the gymnasium?"

Before they could answer, they heard more footsteps, and Grover came running in, breathless.

"You made it! You—"

He cut himself off when he saw the teachers.

"Oh, Mrs. Tengiz. Dr. Thorn! I, uh..."

"What is this, Mr. Underwood?" the man asked. His tone made it clear he disliked Grover. "What do you mean by 'they made it'? These students live here."

Grover swallowed hard.

"Yes, sir. Of course, Dr. Thorn. I just meant I'm glad they made it… to the punch for the dance! It's delicious. And they made it themselves!"

Dr. Thorn glared at the three of them. Percy concluded that one of his eyes must be fake. The brown one? The blue one? He looked like he wanted to throw Percy off the tallest tower of the castle, but at that moment, Mrs. Tengiz said, a bit dazed:

"Yes, the punch is excellent. Now, let's go, everyone. You can't be outside the gym anymore!"

The group didn't wait for her to repeat herself, leaving with a series of "Yes, ma'ams," "Yes, sirs," and a few salutes because it seemed like the right thing to do.

Grover led the three of them quickly through the hall toward the music.

Percy could feel the teachers' eyes on their backs, but he didn't dwell on it too much. Walking next to Thalia, he asked quietly:

"How did you do that finger-snapping thing?"

"Are you referring to the Mist? Hasn't Chiron shown you how to do that yet?"

A knot formed uncomfortably in Percy's throat. Chiron was their main trainer at camp, but he had never taught Percy anything like that. Why had he taught Thalia and not him?

Grover pushed them toward a door with the word Gymnasium written on the glass. Despite his dyslexia, Percy could read it.

"That was close!" Grover said with relief. "Thank the gods you made it here!"

Annabeth and Thalia hugged Grover. Percy gave him a high-five. It was good to see him after so many months. He was slightly taller and had a bit more facial hair, but otherwise, he looked the same as ever when posing as a human—a red cap over his curly brown hair to hide his goat horns, baggy jeans, and sneakers with fake feet to disguise his furry legs and hooves. He wore a black t-shirt, and it took Percy a few seconds to read what was written on it: Westover Hall: Squad.

Percy wasn't sure if that was Grover's rank or just the school's motto. "So, what's the emergency?" he asked.

Grover took a deep breath.

"I found two."

"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, perplexed. "Here?"

Grover nodded.

Finding a single half-blood was already rare. Over the year, Chiron had put the satyrs on emergency patrol and sent them all over the country, searching middle and high schools for potential recruits. It was a time of desperation. They were losing campers and needed every new fighter they could find. The problem was, there weren't many demigods out there.

They wouldn't have this problem if Ikki were around. With his overwhelming strength, everything would be fine somehow, but since his disappearance, they had no choice. The satyrs were also instructed to send any information about him to camp, but even after months, they'd found nothing...

"A brother and sister," Grover explained, snapping Percy out of his thoughts. "They're ten and twelve years old. I don't know who their parents are, but they're strong. And we're running out of time. I need help."

"Monsters?"

"One." Grover looked nervous. "It's suspicious. I don't think it's certain yet, but today is the last day of the school term. I'm sure it won't let them leave without figuring it out. This might be our last chance! Every time I try to get close to them, it's there, blocking my way. I don't know what to do!"

The satyr looked at Thalia desperately.

Percy tried not to feel annoyed by that. Grover used to look to him for answers, but Thalia had taken precedence. Not just because her father was Zeus. Thalia had more real-world experience defending herself against monsters.

If Ikki were here, she wouldn't be acting so smug...

"Alright." Thalia naturally took charge and asked, "Are these half-bloods at the dance?"

Grover nodded.

"Then we're going dancing," she decided. Then she asked, "Who's the monster?"

"Oh," Grover said, glancing nervously around. "You just met him. It's the vice principal, Dr. Thorn."

The three of them were stunned by this information but quickly recovered and started planning their rescue mission.

One weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely wild whenever there's a special event that allows them to get out of their uniforms. Maybe it's because everything is so rigid the rest of the time that they feel the need to overcompensate when the routine is broken.

Black and red balloons were scattered across the gym floor, with kids kicking them at each other's faces or trying to strangle each other with crepe paper streamers taped to the walls. The girls wandered in groups as they always did, wearing heavy makeup, spaghetti-strap tops, brightly colored pants, and shoes that looked like torture devices. Every so often, they'd swarm some poor boy like a school of fish, giggling and shrieking. When they finally let him go, the boy would be covered in ribbons and lipstick marks. Some of the older guys looked more like Percy—awkward and hiding in the corners of the gym, as if they might need to fight for their lives at any moment. Naturally, in Percy's case, this was true.

"There they are," Grover said, nodding toward a pair of kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."

The girl wore a green beanie pulled low over her face, as if trying to hide it. The boy was clearly her younger brother. Both had dark, silky hair and olive skin, gesturing animatedly as they talked. The boy was shuffling some kind of cards. The sister seemed to be scolding him about something. She kept glancing around nervously, as if sensing something was wrong.

"Did you… well, have you told them yet?" Annabeth asked, looking at the two.

Grover shook his head.

"You know how it is. That would put them in even more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent gets stronger."

He glanced at Percy, who nodded.

As Poseidon's son, Percy never truly understood how half-bloods "smelled" to monsters and satyrs, but he knew that scent could mean death. The more powerful you became as a demigod, the more you smelled like monster lunch. That's why Percy worried about Ikki so much. Ikki was so powerful that his scent should cover the whole country, but the satyrs couldn't detect it. Percy feared the monsters could. He probably faced an army of them every day...

"Then let's grab them and get out of here," Percy finally said, decisive. He was starting to think of a plan when Thalia placed a hand on his shoulder.

The vice principal, Dr. Thorn, had stepped out from a door near the bleachers and was now standing next to the di Angelo siblings.

He gave a cold nod in their direction. His blue eye seemed to glint.

Judging by his expression, Percy guessed Dr. Thorn hadn't been fooled by Thalia's Mist trick, after all. He suspected who they were. He was just waiting to see why they were there.

"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered firmly. "We need to wait for an opportunity to grab them. We have to act like we're not interested in them. Distract him."

"How?" Even Annabeth seemed eager for direction.

"We're three powerful half-bloods. Our presence should confuse him. Blend in. Act natural. Dance a little. But keep an eye on those kids."

"Dance?" Annabeth asked, as if to confirm she'd heard correctly.

Thalia nodded. She tilted her head toward the music and grimaced.

"Ugh. Who chose Jesse McCartney?"

Grover looked offended.

"I did."

"Oh, my gods, Grover! That's so lame! Couldn't you play, like, Green Day or something?"

"Green what?"

"Never mind. Let's dance," Thalia said, pulling Grover reluctantly toward the dance floor.

Annabeth smiled.

"What?" Percy asked her.

"Nothing. It's just nice having Thalia back," she replied with a faint smile.

Percy looked at her. Annabeth had grown taller since last summer, which he found slightly unsettling. She didn't usually wear any jewelry except for her Camp Half-Blood bead necklace, but now she had small silver owl earrings—the symbol of her mother, Athena. She pulled off her ski cap, and her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders. For some reason, that made her look older.

"I wish Ikki were here," she said softly.

"Yeah," Percy agreed with a small smile, though his eyes betrayed the sadness he felt at the absence of his best friend. The two of them had spent so much time together that Percy hadn't realized how much he relied on him until he was gone. "It would be a lot easier with him here."

"No news?" Annabeth asked, looking directly at him.

Percy thought about mentioning what Luke had told him but decided against it. He shook his head and said, "No. I thought Sophia might contact my mom, but she's disappeared too."

"Something must have happened…" Annabeth said, her concern evident. She tried to brighten the mood. "But we're talking about Ikki—the strongest half-blood in history. He'll be fine."

"Yeah, he's probably out there fighting some legendary monster or god…" Percy joked lightly, hoping it was true—that Ikki was okay and would soon return to Camp Half-Blood.

The atmosphere between them grew somewhat somber.

"So…" Percy tried to think of something to say, to change the subject and refocus on their current mission. Act natural, Thalia had said. You're a half-blood on a dangerous mission—what, in the world, is natural? "Uh, designed any cool buildings lately?"

Annabeth's eyes lit up, as they always did when she talked about architecture.

"Oh, my gods, Percy. At my new school, I'm taking perspective drawing as an elective, and there's this super cool computer program…"

She went on to describe how she'd designed a massive monument she wanted to build at Ground Zero in Manhattan. She talked about structural supports and facades and other things Percy barely understood. He tried to pay attention because he knew how much architecture meant to her—how she wanted to be a great architect when she grew up. But honestly, he felt a little disappointed that she seemed to like her new school so much.

It was the first time Annabeth had attended school in New York. He had hoped to see her more often.

She and Thalia were enrolled at a boarding school in Brooklyn, close enough to Camp Half-Blood for Chiron to help if they got into trouble.

Since it was an all-girls school, Percy attended MS-54 in Manhattan and rarely saw them.

After listening for a while, when she paused, Percy admitted, "That sounds cool. So, are you staying there the rest of the year?"

Her expression darkened.

"Well, maybe, if I don't…"

"Hey!" Thalia called out.

She was dancing to a slow song with Grover, who kept stumbling over his own feet and kicking her shins, looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake, so he had an excuse for being clumsy.

"Dance, you two!" Thalia ordered with a touch of authority. "You look like idiots just standing there doing nothing."

Percy glanced nervously at Annabeth and then at the groups of girls roaming the gym.

"Well?" Annabeth asked, crossing her arms.

"Uh, who should I ask to dance?" Percy said, eyeing the girls. Annabeth punched him in the stomach.

"Me, Seaweed Brain."

"Oh. Oh, okay."

So the two of them headed onto the dance floor. Percy checked to see how Thalia and Grover were managing. He placed his hand on Annabeth's waist, and she grabbed his other hand, as if preparing to throw him in a judo move.

"I'm not going to bite you," Annabeth said when she noticed his hesitation. She sighed. "Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"

Percy didn't answer. The truth was, they did. But he never danced at them. Usually, he was one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.

They shuffled awkwardly back and forth for a few minutes. Percy tried to focus on little details, like the crepe paper streamers and the punch bowl—anything except the fact that Annabeth was taller than him, that his hands were sweaty and gross, and that he kept stepping on her toes.

"What were you saying earlier?" Percy asked at some point, trying to distract himself. "Something about school problems?"

She pressed her lips together.

"It's not school. It's my dad."

"Oh." Percy knew Annabeth had a complicated relationship with her father. "I thought things were better between you guys. Is it your stepmom again?"

Annabeth sighed.

"He decided to move. Just when I was getting used to New York, he accepted this stupid job researching a book about World War I. In San Francisco."

She said the last words as if she were saying Fields of Punishment or Hades' gym uniform.

"So your dad wants you to move with him?" Percy asked.

"Across the country," she said miserably. "And half-bloods can't live in San Francisco. He should know that…"

"What? Why not?" Percy asked, confused.

Annabeth rolled her eyes. Maybe she thought he was joking.

"You know. It's bad out there."

"Oh," Percy said. He had no idea what she was talking about, but he didn't want to seem stupid. "So… are you going back to camp or what?"

"It's more serious than that, Percy. I… I need to tell you something."

Suddenly, she froze.

"They're gone."


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