Percy Jackson The Complete Collection (32 page)

With a wave of Tantalus’s hand, the fire was extinguished, and the campers trailed off towards their cabins in the dark.

I couldn’t explain things to Tyson. He knew I was sad. He knew I wanted to go on a trip and Tantalus wouldn’t let me.

‘You will go anyway?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know,’ I admitted. ‘It would be hard. Very hard.’

‘I will help.’

‘No. I – uh, I couldn’t ask you to do that, big guy. Too dangerous.’

Tyson looked down at the pieces of metal he was assembling in his lap – springs and gears and tiny wires. Beckendorf had given him some tools and spare parts, and now Tyson spent every night tinkering, though I wasn’t sure how his huge hands could handle such delicate little pieces.

‘What are you building?’ I asked.

Tyson didn’t answer. Instead he made a whimpering sound in the back of his throat. ‘Annabeth doesn’t like Cyclopes. You … don’t want me along?’

‘Oh, that’s not it,’ I said half-heartedly. ‘Annabeth likes you. Really.’

He had tears in the corners of his eye.

I remembered that Grover, like all satyrs, could read human emotions. I wondered if Cyclopes had the same ability.

Tyson folded up his tinkering project in an oilcloth. He lay down on his bunk bed and hugged his bundle like a teddy bear. When he turned towards the wall, I could see the weird scars on his back, like somebody had ploughed over him with a tractor. I wondered for the millionth time how he’d got hurt.

‘Daddy always cared for m-me,’ he sniffled. ‘Now … I think he was mean to have a Cyclops boy. I should not have been born.’

‘Don’t talk that way! Poseidon claimed you, didn’t he? So … he must care about you … a lot…’

My voice trailed off as I thought about all those years Tyson had lived on the streets of New York in a cardboard refrigerator box. How could Tyson think that Poseidon had cared for him? What kind of dad let that happen to his kid, even if his kid was a monster?

‘Tyson … camp will be a good home for you. The others will get used to you. I promise.’

Tyson sighed. I waited for him to say something. Then I realized he was already asleep.

I lay back on my bed and tried to close my eyes, but I just couldn’t. I was afraid I might have another dream about Grover. If the empathy link was real … if something happened to Grover … would I ever wake up?

The full moon shone through my window. The sound of the surf rumbled in the distance. I could smell the warm scent of the strawberry fields, and hear the laughter of the dryads as they chased owls through the forest. But something felt wrong about the night – the sickness of Thalia’s tree, spreading across the valley.

Could Clarisse save Half-Blood Hill? I thought the odds were better of me getting a ‘Best Camper’ award from Tantalus.

I got out of bed and pulled on some clothes. I grabbed a beach blanket and a six-pack of Coke from under my bunk. The Cokes were against the rules. No outside snacks or drinks were allowed, but if you talked to the right guy in Hermes’s cabin and paid him a few golden drachmas, he could smuggle in almost anything from the nearest convenience store.

Sneaking out after curfew was against the rules, too. If I got caught I’d either get in big trouble or be eaten by the harpies. But I wanted to see the ocean. I always felt better there. My thoughts were clearer. I left the cabin and headed for the beach.

* * *

I spread my blanket near the surf and popped open a Coke. For some reason sugar and caffeine always calmed down my hyperactive brain. I tried to decide what to do to save the camp, but nothing came to me. I wished Poseidon would talk to me, give me some advice or something.

The sky was clear and starry. I was checking out the constellations Annabeth had taught me – Sagittarius, Heracles, Corona Borealis – when somebody said, ‘Beautiful, aren’t they?’

I almost spewed soda.

Standing right next to me was a guy in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. He looked kind of familiar, but I couldn’t figure out why.

My first thought was that he must’ve been taking a midnight jog down the beach and strayed inside the camp borders. That wasn’t supposed to happen. Regular mortals couldn’t enter the valley. But maybe with the tree’s magic weakening he’d managed to slip in. But in the middle of the night? And there was nothing around except farmland and state preserves. Where would this guy have jogged from?

‘May I join you?’ he asked. ‘I haven’t sat down in ages.’

Now, I know – a strange guy in the middle of the night. Common sense: I was supposed to run away, yell for help, etc. But the guy acted so calm about the whole thing that I found it hard to be afraid.

I said, ‘Uh, sure.’

He smiled. ‘Your hospitality does you credit. Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?’

He sat at the other end of the blanket, popped a soda
and took a drink. ‘Ah … that hits the spot. Peace and quiet at –’

A cell phone went off in his pocket.

The jogger sighed. He pulled out his phone and my eyes got big, because it glowed with a bluish light. When he extended the antenna, two creatures began writhing around it – green snakes, no bigger than earthworms.

The jogger didn’t seem to notice. He checked his LCD screen and cursed. ‘I’ve got to take this. Just a sec…’ Then into the phone, ‘Hello?’

He listened. The mini-snakes writhed up and down the antenna right next to his ear.

‘Yeah,’ the jogger said. ‘Listen – I know, but … I don’t care if he
is
chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn’t have a tracking number, we can’t locate his package … A gift to humankind, great … You know how many of those we deliver – Oh, never mind. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go.’

He hung up. ‘Sorry. The overnight express business is just booming. Now, as I was saying –’

‘You have snakes on your phone.’

‘What? Oh, they don’t bite. Say hello, George and Martha.’

Hello
,
George and Martha
, a raspy male voice said inside my head.

Don’t be sarcastic
, said a female voice.

Why not?
George demanded.
I do all the
real
work
.

‘Oh, let’s not go into that again!’ The jogger slipped his phone back into his pocket. ‘Now, where were we … Ah, yes. Peace and quiet.’

He crossed his ankles and stared up at the stars. ‘Been a long time since I’ve got to relax. Ever since the telegraph – rush, rush, rush. Do you have a favourite constellation, Percy?’

I was still kind of wondering about the little green snakes he’d shoved into his jogging shorts, but I said, ‘Uh, I like Heracles.’

‘Why?’

‘Well … because he had rotten luck. Even worse than mine. It makes me feel better.’

The jogger chuckled. ‘Not because he was strong and famous and all that?’

‘No.’

‘You’re an interesting young man. And so, what now?’

I knew immediately what he was asking. What did I intend to do about the Fleece?

Before I could answer, Martha the snake’s muffled voice came from his pocket,
I have Demeter on line two
.

‘Not now,’ the jogger said. ‘Tell her to leave a message.’

She’s not going to like that. The last time you put her off, all the flowers in the floral delivery division wilted
.

‘Just tell her I’m in a meeting!’ The jogger rolled his eyes. ‘Sorry again, Percy. You were saying…’

‘Um … who are you, exactly?’

‘Haven’t you guessed by now, a smart boy like you?’

Show him!
Martha pleaded.
I haven’t been full-size for months
.

Don’t listen to her!
George said.
She just wants to show off!

The man took out his phone again. ‘Original form, please.’

The phone glowed a brilliant blue. It stretched into a
metre-long wooden staff with dove wings sprouting out the top. George and Martha, now full-sized green snakes, coiled together around the middle. It was a caduceus, the symbol of Cabin Eleven.

My throat tightened. I realized who the jogger reminded me of with his elfish features, the mischievous twinkle in his eyes….

‘You’re Luke’s father,’ I said. ‘Hermes.’

The god pursed his lips. He stuck his caduceus in the sand like an umbrella pole. ‘ “Luke’s father.” Normally, that’s not the first way people introduce me. God of thieves, yes. God of messengers and travellers, if they wish to be kind.’

God of thieves works
, George said.

Oh, don’t mind George
. Martha flicked her tongue at me.
He’s just bitter because Hermes likes me best
.

He does not!

Does too!

‘Behave, you two,’ Hermes warned, ‘or I’ll turn you back into a cell phone and set you on vibrate! Now, Percy, you still haven’t answered my question. What do you intend to do about the quest?’

‘I – I don’t have permission to go.’

‘No, indeed. Will that stop you?’

‘I want to go. I have to save Grover.’

Hermes smiled. ‘I knew a boy once … oh, younger than you by far. A mere baby, really.’

Here we go again
, George said.
Always talking about himself
.

Quiet!
Martha snapped.
Do you want to get set on vibrate?

Hermes ignored them. ‘One night, when this boy’s mother wasn’t watching, he sneaked out of their cave and stole some cattle that belonged to Apollo.’

‘Did he get blasted to tiny pieces?’ I asked.

‘Hmm … no. Actually, everything turned out quite well. To make up for his theft, the boy gave Apollo an instrument he’d invented – a lyre. Apollo was so enchanted with the music that he forgot all about being angry.’

‘So what’s the moral?’

‘The moral?’ Hermes asked. ‘Goodness, you act like it’s a fable. It’s a true story. Does truth have a moral?’

‘Um…’

‘How about this: stealing is not always bad?’

‘I don’t think my mom would like that moral.’

Rats are delicious
, suggested George.

What does that have to do with the story?
Martha demanded.

Nothing
, George said.
But I’m hungry
.

‘I’ve got it,’ Hermes said. ‘Young people don’t always do what they’re told, but if they can pull it off and do something wonderful, sometimes they escape punishment. How’s that?’

‘You’re saying I should go anyway,’ I said, ‘even without permission.’

Hermes’s eyes twinkled. ‘Martha, may I have the first package, please?’

Martha opened her mouth … and kept opening it until it was as wide as my arm. She belched out a stainless steel canister – an old-fashioned lunch box flask with a black plastic top. The sides of the flask were enamelled with red and yellow Ancient Greek scenes – a hero killing a lion; a hero lifting up Cerberus, the three-headed dog.

‘That’s Heracles,’ I said. ‘But how –’

‘Never question a gift,’ Hermes chided. ‘This is a collector’s item from
Heracles Busts Heads
. The first season.’

‘
Heracles Busts Heads?
’

‘Great show.’ Hermes sighed. ‘Back before Hephaestus-TV was all reality programming. Of course, the Flask would be worth much more if I had the whole lunch box –’

Or if it hadn’t been in Martha’s mouth
, George added.

I’ll get you for that
. Martha began chasing him around the caduceus.

‘Wait a minute,’ I said. ‘This is a gift?’

‘One of two,’ Hermes said. ‘Go on, pick it up.’

I almost dropped it because it was freezing cold on one side and burning hot on the other. The weird thing was, when I turned the Flask, the side facing the ocean – north – was always the cold side…

‘It’s a compass!’ I said.

Hermes looked surprised. ‘Very clever. I never thought of that. But its intended use is a bit more dramatic. Uncap it, and you will release the winds from the four corners of the earth to speed you on your way. Not now! And please, when the time comes, only unscrew the lid a tiny bit. The winds are a bit like me – always restless. Should all four escape at once … ah, but I’m sure you’ll be careful. And now my second gift. George?’

She’s touching me
, George complained as he and Martha slithered around the pole.

‘She’s
always
touching you,’ Hermes said. ‘You’re intertwined. And if you don’t stop that, you’ll get knotted again!’

The snakes stopped wrestling.

George unhinged his jaw and coughed up a little plastic bottle filled with chewable vitamins.

‘You’re kidding,’ I said. ‘Are those Minotaur-shaped?’

Hermes picked up the bottle and rattled it. ‘The lemon ones, yes. The grape ones are Furies, I think. Or are they hydras? At any rate, these are potent. Don’t take one unless you really, really need it.’

‘How will I know if I really, really need it?’

‘You’ll know, believe me. Nine essential vitamins, minerals, amino acids … oh, everything you need to feel yourself again.’

He tossed me the bottle.

‘Um, thanks,’ I said. ‘But Lord Hermes, why are you helping me?’

He gave me a melancholy smile. ‘Perhaps because I hope that you can save many people on this quest, Percy. Not just your friend Grover.’

I stared at him. ‘You don’t mean …
Luke
?’

Hermes didn’t answer.

‘Look,’ I said. ‘Lord Hermes, I mean, thanks and everything, but you might as well take back your gifts. Luke can’t be saved. Even if I could find him … he told me he wanted to tear down Olympus stone by stone. He betrayed everybody he knew. He – he hates you especially.’