Chapter 49
"Percy, wake up."
Salt water splashed my face. Clarisse was shaking my shoulder.
I blinked in confusion, until a foot slammed into my side.
"Hey, he's awake!" Hespera yelled.
"You didn't have to kick me, you know." I mutter as I stand up. "Man my body feels so stiff!"
"Why wouldn't it? You were sleeping for like two days, you exhausted your body, and pushed it quite to the limit." Hespera replied.
In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. I could see a beachside highway lined with palm trees, storefronts glowing with red and blue neon, a harbor filled with sailboats and cruise ships. "Where are we?"
"Miami, I think," She said.
"And the Fleece, did we get it?" I asked as I saw Clarisse and Grover walking towards us.
"Yeah, Ethan managed to sneak in and steal it while Silena charmspoke the sheep into not attacking as I held them at guard with my spear." Clarisse replied as she punched me right in the face.
"OW!" I exclaimed, although it didn't hurt much. "What was that for!"
"For taking on Polyphemus on your own and almost dying! We are supposed to work as a team!" Clarisse exclaimed annoyed.
"Geez, I'm sorry, but I wanted to go all out in the fight. Luckly I defeated him-"
"Yeah, just wait till Annabeth hears about this."
"You're threating me?"
"Yes I am."
"Touche" I replied as I docked the ship and we all got out as we wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for vacations. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish and tried to cut in line for customers. If anybody noticed us—six kids looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster—they didn't let on.
Now that we were back among mortals, Grover had put on his cap and sneakers. Even the Fleece had transformed from a sheepskin to a red-and-gold high school letter jacket with a large glittery Omega on the pocket.
Silena ran to the nearest newspaper box and checked the date on the Miami Herald. She cursed. "June eighteenth! We've been away from camp ten days!"
"That's impossible!" Clarisse said.
But I knew it wasn't. Time traveled differently in monstrous places.
"Thalia's tree must be almost dead," Grover wailed. "We have to get the Fleece back tonight."
Clarisse slumped down on the pavement. "How are we supposed to do that?" Her voice trembled. "We're hundreds of miles away. No money. No ride. This is just like the Oracle said. It's your fault, Jackson! If you hadn't decided to take a nap—"
"Percy's fault?!" Silena exploded. "Clarisse, how can you say that? He faught to—"
"Stop it!" I said.
Clarisse put her head in hands. Silena stomped her foot in frustration.
The thing was: I'd almost forgotten this quest was supposed to be Clarisse's. For a scary moment, I saw things from her point of view.
"Alright, lets get back to camp." I said as everyone grabbed on. Well except for Hespera. "Are you not coming with us?"
"No, I need to go back home. I have been gone to long, and I miss my family."
"Alright, guess this is goodbye."
"Yep!" Hespera replied as she turned and walked away as she vanished into the crowd. I manipulated the shadows around us as I electricity crackled and we vanished from the port.
<-------------------- >
We arrived in Long Island just in time, turns out while we were gone, alot had happened. The Party Ponies, had came and been helping defend the camp. Meaning that Chiron was back, turns out that the centaurs were anxious to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill.
Odyssius, Theseus, Perseus, and Taylor had done quite alot of modefications to the camp that Chiron and Dionysus weren't happy about. For example the most important thing they did was build the Hades Cabin, they did a good job.
Its walls, fashioned from ancient, weathered logs, stood tall and proud, adorned with intricate carvings depicting scenes of the realm of shadows. Each carving seemed to dance with life as if telling a silent tale of the underworld's mysteries.
Despite its rustic exterior, the cabin exuded an unmistakable elegance, with slender columns of obsidian flanking the entrance, their polished surfaces reflecting the faint glow of ghostly flames. A canopy of midnight-blue ivy cascaded from the roof, its tendrils weaving through the cracks in the logs like a cloak of shadows.
In the interior the walls were crafted from the same aged logs as the exterior, bore intricate carvings of skeletal figures intertwined with delicate vines, a reminder of the cycle of life and death that defined the realm of Hades. The air was thick with the scent of earth and night blossoms, mingling with the faint aroma of ancient scrolls and leather-bound tomes. Tall bookshelves lined the walls, filled with volumes of different scrolls, books, and tomes.
In the center of the cabin stood a grand hearth, its flames burning with a cool blue hue, casting dancing shadows across the room. Above it hung a tapestry depicting scenes of the underworld—rivers of Styx and Lethe, fields of asphodel, and of Cerberus guarding the gates.
Furniture made from dark, polished wood dotted the space, each piece exuding an air of quiet elegance. Plush armchairs beckoned invitingly, their cushions adorned with intricate patterns reminiscent of spiderwebs spun by the Fates themselves.
Soft rugs woven from hellhound fur lined the floor, their fibers cool to the touch and soothing to the soul. And in every corner, flickering torches and candles cast their gentle light, illuminating the space with a tranquil beauty. I would have to say that it was alot better than the original Hades Cabin in the series with coffins and bones.
The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius, which as near as I could figure was Latin for "really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blows-stuff-up". The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid.
Everybody looked weary and battered as we crowded around Thalia's tree. The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest branch, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus—the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.
Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green. Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt—the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.
Chiron had wanted a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.
In the meantime, Clarisse, Ethan, and Silena were carried on the shoulders of everyone, down to the amphitheater, where they was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire. I had took no part of it and given all credit to the three of them.
Turns out the three old heroes that were in charge of camp when we left, had returned to the underworld. Chiron was proven innocent somehow, as I didn't get Luke to admit what he did. I guess the Fates had my back.
Later that night, as we were roasting s'mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell us a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries, Clarisse shoved me from behind and whispered in my ear, "Just because I respect you and your my friend, Jackson, don't think you're off the hook. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you."
I gave her a smile.
"What?" she demanded.
"Nothing," I said. "You look cute when you try and threaten me."
<------------------------ >
The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled.
Taylor of course was happy that race wasn't canceled. And liked the idea of getting back in a chariot after our first experience, but she was happy to let me team up with Annabeth. I would drive, Annabeth would defend, and Taylor would act as our pit crew. While I worked with Lucifer, Taylor fixed up Hades and Athena's chariot and added a whole bunch of special modifications.
We spent the next two days training like crazy. Annabeth and I agreed that if we won, the prize of no chores for the rest of the month would be split between our two cabins. Since Athena had more campers, they would get most of the time off, which was fine by me. I didn't care about the prize. I just wanted to win.