The Son of Neptune

XXXVII
Percy

AEROPLANES OR CANNIBALS? NO CONTEST.

Percy would’ve preferred driving Grandma Zhang’s Cadillac all the way to Alaska with fireball-throwing ogres on his tail rather than sitting in a luxury Gulfstream.

He’d flown before. The details were hazy, but he remembered a pegasus named Blackjack. He’d even been in a plane once or twice. But a son of Neptune (Poseidon, whatever) didn’t belong in the air. Every time the plane hit a spot of turbulence, Percy’s heart raced, and he was sure Jupiter was slapping them around.

He tried to focus as Frank and Hazel talked. Hazel was reassuring Frank that he’d done everything he could for his grandmother. Frank had saved them from the Laistrygonians and got them out of Vancouver. He’d been incredibly brave.

Frank kept his head down like he was ashamed to have been crying, but Percy didn’t blame him. The poor guy had just lost his grandmother and seen his house go up in flames. As far as Percy was concerned, shedding a few tears about something like that didn’t make you any less of a man, especially when you had just fended off an army of ogres that wanted to eat you for breakfast.

Percy still couldn’t get over the fact that Frank was a distant relative. Frank would be his … what? Great-times-a-thousand nephew? Too weird for words.

Frank refused to explain exactly what his ‘family gift’ was, but as they flew north, Frank did tell them about his conversation with Mars the night before. He explained the prophecy Juno had issued when he was a baby – about his life being tied to a piece of firewood, and how he had asked Hazel to keep it for him.

Some of that, Percy had already figured out. Hazel and Frank had obviously shared some crazy experiences when they had blacked out together, and they’d made some sort of deal. It also explained why even now, out of habit, Frank kept checking his coat pocket, and why he was so nervous around fire. Still, Percy couldn’t imagine what kind of courage it had taken for Frank to embark on a quest, knowing that one small flame could snuff out his life.

‘Frank,’ he said, ‘I’m proud to be related to you.’

Frank’s ears turned red. With his head lowered, his military haircut made a sharp black arrow pointing down. ‘Juno has some sort of plan for us, about the Prophecy of Seven.’

‘Yeah,’ Percy grumbled. ‘I didn’t like her as Hera. I don’t like her any better as Juno.’

Hazel tucked her feet underneath her. She studied Percy with her luminescent golden eyes, and he wondered how she could be so calm. She was the youngest one on the quest, but she was always holding them together and comforting them. Now they were flying to Alaska, where she had died once before. They would try to free Thanatos, who might take her back to the Underworld. Yet she didn’t show any fear. It made Percy feel silly for being scared of aeroplane turbulence.

‘You’re a son of Poseidon, aren’t you?’ she asked. ‘You are a Greek demigod.’

Percy gripped his leather necklace. ‘I started to remember in Portland, after the gorgon’s blood. It’s been coming back to me slowly since then. There’s another camp – Camp Half-Blood.’

Just saying the name made Percy feel warm inside. Good memories washed over him: the smell of strawberry fields in the warm summer sun, fireworks lighting up the beach on the Fourth of July, satyrs playing panpipes at the nightly campfire and a kiss at the bottom of the canoe lake.

Hazel and Frank stared at him as though he’d slipped into another language.

‘Another camp,’ Hazel repeated. ‘A Greek camp? Gods, if Octavian found out -’

‘He’d declare war,’ Frank said. ‘He’s always been sure the Greeks were out there, plotting against us. He thought Percy was a spy.’

‘That’s why Juno sent me,’ Percy said. ‘Uh, I mean, not to spy. I think it was some kind of exchange. Your friend Jason – I think he was sent to my camp. In my dreams, I saw a demigod that might have been him. He was working with some other demigods on this flying warship. I think they’re coming to Camp Jupiter to help.’

Frank tapped nervously on the back of his seat. ‘Mars said Juno wants to unite the Greeks and Romans to fight Gaia. But, jeez – Greeks and Romans have a long history of bad blood.’

Hazel took a deep breath. ‘That’s probably why the gods have kept us apart this long. If a Greek warship appeared in the sky above Camp Jupiter, and Reyna didn’t know it was friendly -’

‘Yeah,’ Percy agreed. ‘We’ve got to be careful how we explain this when we get back.’

‘If we get back,’ Frank said.

Percy nodded reluctantly. ‘I mean, I trust you guys. I hope you trust me. I feel … well, I feel as close to you two as to any of my old friends at Camp Half-Blood. But with the other demigods, at both camps – there’s going to be a lot of suspicion.’

Hazel did something he wasn’t expecting. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. It was totally a sisterly kiss. But she smiled with such affection that it warmed Percy right down to his feet.

‘Of course we trust you,’ she said. ‘We’re a family now. Aren’t we, Frank?’

‘Sure,’ he said. ‘Do I get a kiss?’

Hazel laughed, but there was nervous tension in it. ‘Anyway, what do we do now?’

Percy took a deep breath. Time was slipping away. They were almost halfway through June twenty-third, and tomorrow was the Feast of Fortuna. ‘I’ve got to contact a friend – to keep my promise to Ella.’

‘How?’ Frank said. ‘One of those Iris-messages?’

‘Still not working,’ Percy said sadly. ‘I tried it last night at your grandmother’s house. No luck. Maybe it’s because my memories are still jumbled. Or the gods aren’t allowing a connection. I’m hoping I can contact my friend in my dreams.’

Another bump of turbulence made him grab his seat. Below them, snowcapped mountains broke through a blanket of clouds.

‘I’m not sure I can sleep,’ Percy said. ‘But I need to try. We can’t leave Ella by herself with those ogres around.’

‘Yeah,’ Frank said. ‘We’ve still got hours to fly. Take the couch, man.’

Percy nodded. He felt lucky to have Hazel and Frank watching out for him. What he’d said to them was true – he trusted them. In the weird, terrifying, horrible experience of losing his memory and getting ripped out of his old life – Hazel and Frank were the bright spots.

He stretched out, closed his eyes and dreamed he was falling from a mountain of ice towards a cold sea.

The dream shifted. He was back in Vancouver, standing in front of the ruins of the Zhang mansion. The Laistrygonians were gone. The mansion was reduced to a burnt-out shell. A crew of firefighters was packing up their equipment, getting ready to move out. The lawn looked like a war zone, with smoking craters and trenches from the blown-out irrigation pipes.

At the edge of the forest, a giant shaggy black dog was bounding around, sniffing the trees. The firefighters completely ignored him.

Beside one of the craters knelt a Cyclops in oversized jeans, boots and a massive flannel shirt. His messy brown hair was spattered with rain and mud. When he raised his head, his big brown eye was red from crying.

‘Close!’ he moaned. ‘So close, but gone!’

It broke Percy’s heart to hear the pain and worry in the big guy’s voice, but he knew they only had a few seconds to talk. The edges of the vision were already dissolving. If Alaska was the land beyond the gods, Percy figured the further north he went, the harder it would be to communicate with his friends, even in his dreams.

‘Tyson!’ he called.

The Cyclops looked around frantically. ‘Percy? Brother?’

‘Tyson, I’m okay. I’m here – well, not really.’

Tyson grabbed the air like he was trying to catch butterflies. ‘Can’t see you! Where is my brother?’

‘Tyson, I’m flying to Alaska. I’m okay. I’ll be back. Just find Ella. She’s a harpy with red feathers. She’s hiding in the woods around the house.’

‘Find a harpy? A red harpy?’

‘Yes! Protect her, okay? She’s my friend. Get her back to California. There’s a demigod camp in the Oakland Hills – Camp Jupiter. Meet me above the Caldecott Tunnel.’

‘Oakland Hills … California … Caldecott Tunnel.’ He shouted to the dog: ‘Mrs O’Leary! We must find a harpy!’

‘WOOF!’ said the dog.

Tyson’s face started to dissolve. ‘My brother is okay? My brother is coming back? I miss you!’

‘I miss you, too.’ Percy tried to keep his voice from cracking. ‘I’ll see you soon. Just be careful! There’s a giant’s army marching south. Tell Annabeth -’

The dream shifted.

Percy found himself standing in the hills north of Camp Jupiter, looking down at the Field of Mars and New Rome. At the legion’s fort, horns were blowing. Campers scrambled to muster.

The giant’s army was arrayed to Percy’s left and right – centaurs with bull’s horns, the six-armed Earthborn and evil Cyclopes in scrap-metal armour. The Cyclopes’ siege tower cast a shadow across the feet of the giant Polybotes, who grinned down at the Roman camp. He paced eagerly across the hill, snakes dropping from his green dreadlocks, his dragon legs stomping down small trees. On his green-blue armour, the decorative faces of hungry monsters seemed to blink in the shadows.

‘Yes,’ he chuckled, planting his trident in the ground. ‘Blow your little horns, Romans. I’ve come to destroy you! Stheno!’

The gorgon scrambled out of the bushes. Her lime green viper hair and Bargain Mart vest clashed horribly with the giant’s colour scheme.

‘Yes, master!’ she said. ‘Would you like a Puppy-in-a-Blanket?’

She held up a tray of free samples.

‘Hmm,’ Polybotes said. ‘What sort of puppy?’

‘Ah, they’re not actually puppies. They’re tiny hot dogs in crescent rolls, but they’re on sale this week -’

‘Bah! Never mind, then! Are our forces ready to attack?’

‘Oh -’ Stheno stepped back quickly to avoid getting flattened by the giant’s foot. ‘Almost, great one. Ma Gasket and half her Cyclopes stopped in Napa. Something about a winery tour? They promised to be here by tomorrow evening.’

‘What?’ The giant looked around, as if just noticing that a big portion of his army was missing. ‘Gah! That Cyclops woman will give me an ulcer. Winery tour?’

‘I think there was cheese and crackers, too,’ Stheno said helpfully. ‘Though Bargain Mart has a much better deal.’

Polybotes ripped an oak tree out of the ground and threw it into the valley. ‘Cyclopes! I tell you, Stheno, when I destroy Neptune and take over the oceans, we will renegotiate the Cyclopes’ labour contract. Ma Gasket will learn her place! Now, what news from the north?’

‘The demigods have left for Alaska,’ Stheno said. ‘They fly straight to their death. Ah, small “d” death, I mean. Not our prisoner Death. Although, I suppose they’re flying to him, too.’

Polybotes growled. ‘Alcyoneus had better spare the son of Neptune as he promised. I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake the Earth Mother! What word from the Amazons?’

‘Only silence,’ Stheno said. ‘We do not yet know the winner of last night’s duel, but it is only a matter of time before Otrera prevails and comes to our aid.’

‘Hmm.’ Polybotes absently scratched some vipers out of his hair. ‘Perhaps it’s just as well we wait, then. Tomorrow at sundown is Fortuna’s Feast. By then, we must invade – Amazons or no. In the meantime, dig in! We set up camp here, on high ground.’

‘Yes, great one!’ Stheno announced to the troops: ‘Puppies-in-Blankets for everyone!’

The monsters cheered.

Polybotes spread his hands in front of him, taking in the valley like a panoramic picture. ‘Yes, blow your little horns, demigods. Soon, the legacy of Rome will be destroyed for the last time!’

The dream faded.

Percy woke with a jolt as the plane started its descent.

Hazel laid her hand on his shoulder. ‘Sleep okay?’

Percy sat up groggily. ‘How long was I out?’

Frank stood in the aisle, wrapping his spear and new bow in his ski bag. ‘A few hours,’ he said. ‘We’re almost there.’

Percy looked out of the window. A glittering inlet of the sea snaked between snowy mountains. In the distance, a city was carved out of the wilderness, surrounded by lush green forests on one side and icy black beaches on the other.

‘Welcome to Alaska,’ Hazel said. ‘We’re beyond the help of the gods.’