The Child of Artemis

Chapter 17

"This is stupid. Why did I do this? I should just turn back now."

Her thoughts were becoming a broken repeating record. It wouldn't shut up or leave her alone. Luckily, she didn't have to listen to it much longer.

The peak of the mountain lay only a few feet ahead. It was, surprisingly, flat.

In the center of the peak crouched a mountain of a man. He was almost as tall as the pine trees outside Luna's cave. His dark hair was at shoulder length, framing a broad, angry face.
His brow was knit together, his mouth split into a grimace. On his back, several large black rocks were balanced carefully. A dark, dusty vortex swirled up from the rocks, going to meet the sky. "No," she realized, "It's the sky."

Atlas.

Her Father.

Luna ducked down behind a nearby boulder as Atlas lifted his head. He let out a bellow of pain, one that shook Luna to her very core.

"Demigods!" He shouted, but was to out of breath for it to be loud. "Percy Jackson! How dare you return?"

"Oh gods, he's delirious from exhaustion." Luna thought as Atlas continued to rant about Percy. "What now?"

Suddenly, she noticed that he had fallen quiet. Suspiciously quiet.

"Well," Atlas' voice was a low rumble. "Who in the name of Olympus are you? I know you're hiding! Come out and face me!"

Luna sighed. "No time like the present." One of Pyron's favorite sayings flashed into her mind as she stepped out and around the boulder.

"Put your best foot forward."

"Never give up."

"Remember to think first, act later."

His voice carried her up the last of the slope, toward the Titan. Atlas watched her approach him, his expression changing from surprise, to anger, then confusion.

"Who are you?" He practically whispered. "What are you?"

Luna gulped. She really should have taken the time to form a plan.

"Well? Have you no tongue?"

Luna sighed.

"Atlas, I am your daughter. Luna."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Percy. Percy wake up!"

Percy moaned and waved lazily. "Just a few more minutes." He muttered.

A sharp kick between his shoulder blades woke him up fast. Percy sat up and glared at the form looming over him. When his eyes adjusted, he discovered it was Frank. "What was that for?!"

"Shhh." Frank pressed his hand over Percy's mouth. "We have company." He took his hand off Percy's face and pointed. It took him a moment to realized that he, and the rest of their crew and camp, had somehow been moved behind a thicket of brambles. A few feet away, Hazel and Jason were peering over the thorns, spying on something. Or rather, someone.

"Prometheus." Percy muttered angrily. The Titan sat a stone's throw away at the base of the mountain. He was sitting in a gaudy gold chariot, with an odd lump strapped to the back. Upon closer inspection, Percy found that it was a silver cage.

"He showed up a few minutes ago with Artemis." Frank muttered when he saw Percy staring. "But at the moment, we have more pressing problems. Luna's missing."