Percy Jackson: The Curse of Memory

Chapter 11.

Thalia's POV:

Did Thalia have an idea? Or did those words just slip out of her mouth? No. She did have an idea.

"Thalia? What are you doing?" Briar asked. Thalia winced. "If I can manipulate the Mist correctly, we can get it, " She explained, not wanting anymore talking. Percy and Nico stared at her in awe.

Thalia stared at the white light. She knew she hadn't done this in years. Hey, at least it was the color of an opalite. A for effort?

Nico seemed to understand what she was doing. "Everybody get back!" He commanded. They listened to him.

"Briar, step forward." That probably didn't help Nico. Thalia tried to sound calm. "You're crazy, " Briar mumbled. But she understood right away.

She grabbed hold of the nail in Hestia's palm and pulled with all her might, but it continued to crack. Every tug made the room colder. It started to get windy. Dust and paper flew around the room. Dirt peppered Thalia's face.

"I can't!" Briar yelled.
"Briar, do it again, with all the strength you have!" Thalia exclaimed over the wind.
"But it will crack-"
"I promise you, it won't."
Sure enough, it started cracking. Concentrate, Thalia told herself. The library started peeling away the more Briar pulled. Finally, the nail was released from the statue of the hearth goddess.

They weren't in the library anymore. They stood on a blue sidewalk with glowing lavender highlights. The wind screamed in her ears. It became two-hundred times worse. She would have blown away if she wasn't using one of her arrows to prop her up. "There!" Percy shouted. In front of them, a tall platform was holding up four sapphire's. Thalia didn't realize that she was roughly eight hundred feet up in the air until she almost fell.

Really?! She would have felt better with standing on lava than that high. She started sweating. Control your breathing, she said to herself. You're going to be fine. But even that was a lie.

"Look!" Briar said. "If we can all jump and grab one piece, then jump on the next platform, we can make it back to the library." She then glanced at Thalia. "Are you ok?" She asked."I'm fine," Thalia lied. She didn't need anyone else concerned about her.

Percy turned to Thalia. "Hey, are you really ok?" Thalia didn't want to respond. "I think, " She said. Briar put her hand on her shoulder. Thalia almost backed away. She wasn't used to the gesture, but Briar just gave her a weak smile. That just made her feel even worse. Percy smiled too.

Then she heard the sound of running in the distance. Briar turned so fast that Thalia thought she would rip her shoulder off. "Nico!" Briar and Percy shrieked. Thalia couldn't process what Nico just did.

He ran and jumped at the speed of light. But the second his shoes touched the platform, a piece of it fell off. Half of his shoe was hanging off. Briar looked horrified. Nico attempted to balance himself and was successful in the process. He grabbed a sapphire and jumped onto the next platform.

"Nico!" Briar shrieked again. Nico stared at her. But much more different than he did with Thalia or Percy. It gave Thalia chills. "Come on Briar, " He said.
Briar backed up, getting ready to run and jump. "Wait, Briar!" Thalia shouted. Briar looked over at her, puzzled. "Never mind, Thalia muttered.

Briar jumped. For a split second, she saw her fall. But Briar was standing right on the platform with Nico. How did Thalia not see her grab the gem? Weird. Percy's breathing slowed down. Thalia realized he was trying to calm himself. He backed up. Ran. Jumped. Grabbed a crystal. Jumped to everyone else.

She didn't realize it was her turn. Well, crap. She wished she could escape. There was no way in Tartarus she would make that jump. The platform was already shrinking. "Jump!" Briar yelled. How though? "Briar, I can't." For some reason, Briar's eyes softened. Well, maybe she could after all. There was one sapphire left floating in the air. The platform would finally disappear.

It seemed like everything was in slo-mo. She backed up. Then she ran, ran like she never did before. In mid-air she felt like everything changed. It was much easier to control. How did that work? Then she realized something again, the platform was almost gone. There was only room for her tip-toes. She wouldn't even be able to grab the crystal.

However, she felt invincible in the air. If she tried, she could. Or, well that would suck. She reached just as the tip of her shoe touched it. She still had some room to jump forward. The sapphire felt smooth against her hand. It fit perfectly in her palm. She held onto it for dear life.

Briar leaned forward and held out her hand. Nico grasped onto her arm and made sure Briar didn't slip. Thalia managed to grab hold of it. She was slipping. She pulled herself up, while Briar helped. She pulled enough, and they all fell back. "My neck!" Briar yelped. Thalia pulled herself fully up, a few rocks fell to nowhere. They sounded like beads clinking together. That calmed Thalia somehow.

Percy helped everyone up. "Lets get back to the library," He said. His green eyes twinkled with delight. "I know were to go next."

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Percy led the group back into the library. The smell of coffee drifted in the air. A cafe, probably. Thalia was willing to do anything for a blueberry scone right now.

"Hey, what are you kids doing here!" Said a raspy voice. A man who looked about one-hundred-sixty rushed over. "Oh! Mr. G-" Briar started to say.
"We aren't kids, old man," Nico mumbled. "You kids should learn to be more respectful!" The man shot back. Nico looked him dead straight in the eye.

The man pulled his flat cap over his eyes, a piece of white hair sticking out.

"I am respectful, you just haven't earned my respect yet. Maybe you should learn to be more respectful," Nico snapped.

Briar laughed nervously. "Guy's, this is Mr. Gullen. Mr. Gullen, these are um..." She searched for the right word. "My friends."

Thalia's eyes drifted to Mr. Gullen...or where he used to be. Only a milky colored feather sat there.