She frowned at me. “What?”
“Look, I need to tell you something,” I continued. The words came stumbling out of me. “I couldn’t stand it if . . . I don’t want you to—”
“Percy?” she said. “You look like you’re going to be sick.”
And that’s how I felt. I wanted to say more, but my tongue betrayed me. It wouldn’t move because of the fear in my stomach. And then Artemis turned.
“I shall have a new lieutenant,” she announced. “If she will accept it.”
“No,” I murmured.
“Thalia,” Artemis said. “Daughter of Zeus. Will you join the Hunt?”
Stunned silence filled the room. I stared at Thalia, unable to believe what I was hearing. Annabeth smiled. She squeezed Thalia’s hand and let it go, as if she’d been expecting this all along.
“I will,” Thalia said firmly.
Zeus rose, his eyes full of concern. “My daughter, consider well—”
“Father,” she said. “I will not turn sixteen tomorrow. I will never turn sixteen. I won’t let this prophecy be mine. I stand with my sister Artemis. Kronos will never tempt me again.”
She knelt before the goddess and began the words I remembered from Bianca’s oath, what seemed like so long ago. “I pledge myself to the goddess Artemis. I turn my back on the company of men . . .”
Afterward, Thalia did something that surprised me almost as much as the pledge. She came over to me, smiled, and in front of the whole assembly, she gave me a big hug.
I blushed.
When she pulled away and gripped my shoulders, I said, “Um . . . aren’t you supposed to not do that anymore? Hug boys, I mean?”
“I’m honoring a friend,” she corrected. “I must join the Hunt, Percy. I haven’t known peace since . . . since Half-Blood Hill. I finally feel like I have a home. But you’re a hero. You will be the one of the prophecy.”
“Great,” I muttered.
“I’m proud to be your friend.”
She hugged Annabeth, who was trying hard not to cry. Then she even hugged Grover, who looked ready to pass out, like somebody had just given him an all-you-can-eat enchilada coupon.
Then Thalia went to stand by Artemis’s side.
“Now for the Ophiotaurus,” Artemis said.
“This boy is still dangerous,” Dionysus warned. “The beast is a temptation to great power. Even if we spare the boy—”
“No.” I looked around at all the gods. “Please. Keep the Ophiotaurus safe. My dad can 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.
“I’m only fourteen,” I said. “If this prophecy is about me, that’s two more years.”
“Two years for Kronos to deceive you,” 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 boy.”
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 boy and the safety of the Ophiotaurus.”
“You won’t take it under the sea!” Zeus stood suddenly. “I won’t have that kind of bargaining chip in your possession.”
“Brother, please,” Poseidon sighed.
Zeus’s lightning bolt appeared in his hand, a shaft of electricity that filled the whole room with the smell of ozone.
“Fine,” Poseidon said. “I will build an aquarium for the creature here. Hephaestus can help me. The creature will be safe. We shall protect it with all our powers. The boy will not betray us. I vouch for this on my honor.”
Zeus thought about this. “All in favor?”
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 honor them. Let the triumph celebration begin!”
There are parties, and then there are huge, major, blowout parties. And then there are Olympian parties. If you ever get a choice, go for the Olympian.
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. No fights to change the radio station. 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, and he was so cheerful I hated to tell him what had happened to his least-favorite son, Luke, but before I could even get up the courage, Hermes got a call on his caduceus and walked away.
Apollo told me I could drive his sun chariot any time, and if I ever wanted archery lessons—
“Thanks,” I told him. “But seriously, I’m no good at archery.”
“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. Last I saw her, she’d been dancing with some minor godling.
Then a man’s voice behind me said, “You won’t let me down, I hope.”
I turned and found Poseidon smiling at me.
“Dad . . . hi.”
“Hello, Percy. 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 won’t let you down,” I promised.
He nodded. I had trouble reading gods’ emotions, but I wondered if he had some doubts.
“Your friend Luke—”
“He’s not my friend,” I blurted out. Then I realized it was probably rude to interrupt. “Sorry.”
“Your former friend Luke,” Poseidon corrected. “He once promised things like that. He was Hermes’s pride and joy. Just bear that in mind, Percy. Even the bravest can fall.”
“Luke fell pretty hard,” I agreed. “He’s dead.”
Poseidon shook his head. “No, Percy. He is not.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“I believe Annabeth told you this. Luke still lives. I have seen it. 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.”
“How can he be alive?” I said. “That fall should’ve killed him!”
Poseidon looked troubled. “I don’t know, Percy, but beware of him. He is more dangerous than ever. And the golden coffin is still with him, still growing in strength.”
“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?”