186 Oracle

The fight between Drako and Zoë had evened out.

The two parted by inertia as swords clashed, and both returned to the charge. To Zoë's surprise, Drako was faster than her this time.

How was this possible?

It was then that she noticed something strange, which she should have seen much earlier. On this dark night, Drako's white skin was literally glowing.

Her platinum-coloured hair had now taken on a golden hue. It seemed as if a mighty golden flame possessed Drako's body. He was a hum—dragon torch!

The sword in Drako's hands, Laevatein, was gaining a golden colour similar to Drako's. The blade began to emit a searing heat, which was affecting everyone in the area save Drako.

Drako was pushing the boundaries of Laevatein!

Zoë was sweating from the heat, and from the intensity of the fight.

Now that the fight was more evenly matched, Zoë realized that not only was Drako faster than her, but his skills were superior to hers.

His skill with the blade was exquisite as if he were an ancient swordsman who had trained for centuries.

There was no way she could defeat him!

She stepped back quickly to draw the bow. If she could not defeat him at close range, then she would do so from afar.

She quickly ran into the woods, trying to win on the ground.

She realized instantly, however, that she had made a terrible mistake.

Drako's goal had never been to defeat her.

He only had to defend the flag!

"Phoebe, look out!" Zoë shouted when she realized.

But it was too late.

Drako ran to help his teammates, and it wasn't long before he knocked Phoebe out.

He returned to the top of the mountain to look at Zoë. He muttered a word.

Zoë read his lips perfectly.

"Come,"

It was a brazen invitation full of arrogance, but he could do it because he had all the advantage.

Zoë tried to shoot some arrows, but Drako easily deflected them with his sword.

It was obvious that the sword was not made of celestial bronze, but it was far more terrifying than one made out of it.

Zoë started to run towards the flag at full speed, but…

"Camp Half-Blood wins!" Chiron announced with pleasure. He shouted with joy, "We've broken the streak of fifty-six consecutive defeats!"

Percy was there, in their half of the territory, with the flag of the enemy team.

"We've won!" he shouted without believing it yet.

The Hunters had a run of fifty-six consecutive victories, and they had all been crushing victories. Now, they had managed to win.

"We've won!" The cries of Thalia and Silena, who had come running, were heard with joy.

"Drako, you're amazing!" Nico approached with glowing eyes.

"Haha, I only did what was in my hands."

Drako disabled all the skills he was using, and suddenly he felt much more tired.

Suddenly, Zoë got up and approached Drako with fury on her face.

"What tricks you used!"

She grabbed him by his shirt.

"Relax, baby, I didn't use any tricks," Drako said.

Even though Zoë was so aggressive, Drako was still smiling.

Just as he thought, he had won.

"There's no way you're stronger than me!"

"Tell me, old woman, you won't accept defeat. You're an embarrassment to the Hunters," Thalia said as she approached.

Zoë gritted her teeth as she released Drako.

"No, I accept my defeat—" She said before she interrupted herself by seeing something walk by in the distance.

Someone… something was approaching. It was shrouded in a murky green mist, but as it got closer, the campers and Hunters gasped.

"This is impossible," Chiron said. He sounded so nervous. "It… she has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the withered mummy that held the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the centre of the group. Mist curled around their feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

(https://riordan.fandom.com/wiki/Oracle_of_Delphi if you want to know more about the Oracle)

None of them dared to move, not even Drako. He felt like this old mummy was something important, something to respect. Then, her voice hissed in everyone's head.

"I am the spirit of Delphi," the voice said. "Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollos, slayer of the mighty Python."

The Oracle regarded Drako with its cold, dead eyes. Then, she turned unmistakably toward Zoë Nightshade. "Approach, Seeker, and ask."

Zoë swallowed. "What must I do to help my goddess?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and green mist poured out. Drako saw the vague image of a mountain and a girl standing at the barren peak. It was Artemis, but she was wrapped in chains, fettered to the rocks. She was kneeling, her hands raised as it to fend off an attacker, and it looked like she was in pain. The Oracle spoke:

Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,

A forgotten giant must be lost in the land without rain,

The bane of Olympus shows the trail,

Campers and Hunters combined prevail,

The Titan's curse must one withstand,

A dragon shall die at a dragon's hand,

One shall perish by a parent's hand,

And one will be ordered against will.

Then, as they were watching, the mist swirled and retreated like a great green serpent into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became as still as she'd been in the attic as if she might sit by this creek for a hundred years.

...............…

The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself. Instead, Grover and Percy were elected to carry her.

After a few minutes of confusion, Dionysus called a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy. Since Drako was directly related to the prophecy (or they had come to that conclusion), he was also there.

The council was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room. Dionysus waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then, Chiron reminded him that wine was against his restrictions, and most of them were underage.

Mr D sighed. With a snap of his fingers, the wine turned to Diet Coke. Nobody drank that either.

"Hey! I want a beer!" Drako said.

Dionysus' eyes glowed, it seemed that he liked Drako much better now.

With a gesture, a cold beer appeared in Drako's hands.

Dionysus and Chiron (in wheelchair form) sat at one end of the table. Zoë and Bianca di Angelo (who had kind of become Zoe's personal assistant) took the other end. Thalia, Grover, Percy and Drako sat along the right, and the other head councillors—Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers—sat on the left. The Ares kids were supposed to send a representative, too, but all of them had gotten broken limbs (accidentally) during the capture de flag, courtesy of the Hunters. They were resting up in the infirmary.

Zoë started the meeting off on a positive note. "This is pointless."

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He began scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time for talk," Zoe continued. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"And go where?" Chiron asked.

"West!" Bianca said.

Drako was amazed at how different she looked after just a few days with the Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoe's now, so you could actually see her face.

She had a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded Drako of someone famous, but he couldn't think who. She looked like she'd be working out, and her skin glowed faintly, like the other Hunters, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight.

"You heard the prophecy. Six shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get five hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoe agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find her and free her."

"You're missing something, as usual," Thalia said. "Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this with them."

"No!" Zoë said while looking at Percy. "The Hunters do not need thee help."

(Correct me if I'm wrong with this ancient use of English. Thy is for you and thee for they, right?)

"Their" Thalia grumbled. "Nobody has said thee or thy in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times."

Zoë hesitated, like she was trying to form the word correctly. "Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help."

Thalia rolled her eyes. "Forget it."

"I fear the prophecy says you need our help," Chiron said. "Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" Dionysus mused, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like it had a fine bouquet. "One dragon shall die. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Sorry, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said stubbornly. "I don't like it either, Zoë, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Drako hadn't thought of it before, but it looks like Thalia and Zoë are facing off quite a bit. They don't seem to be getting along. What's more, Thalia seems almost not to be a Hunter, she's an odd case within the group.

Zoë grimaced, but Drako could tell Thalia had scored a point.

"We must not delay," Chiron warned. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," Dionysus muttered. "Another dull annual meeting."

���Artemis must be present at the solstice," Zoe said. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Krono's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Are you suggesting the gods have trouble acting together, young lady?" Dionysus asked.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're right, of course. Carry on."

"I must agree with Zoe," said Chiron. "Artemis' presence at the winter council is critical. We have only one week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and two," Percy said.

Everybody looked at him.

"We're supposed to have six," Percy said. "Drako is a must, and I don't think that we can count him as a normal Hunter. Three Hunters, two from Camp Half-Blood. That's more than fair."

Thalia and Zoë exchanged looks.

"Well," Thalia said. "It does make sense."

Zoë grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need the strength of numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess' path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Artemis tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, as she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent'. A small group is the best."

Zoe picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it like she was deciding who she wanted to whack first. "This monster—the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis' side form many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everybody looked at Dionysus, the only god present. He was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone got silent, he glanced up, "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

"Chiron," Drako said, "you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

Chiron pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of there were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters of the size of skyscrapers. Percy's father, Poseidon, would already have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps, even more powerful."