mastermind - percy jackson

xv. balance

"all children of the gods will be welcomed and treated with respect."

The Three Fates themselves took Luke's body.

Three ghoulish grandmothers with bags of knitting needles and yarn.

It is done, one of them said.

The Fate held up the snippet of blue yarn—Luke's lifeline.

They gathered up his body, now wrapped in a white-and-green shroud, and began carrying it out of the throne room.

"Wait" Hermes said.

The messenger god was dressed in his classic outfit of white Greek robes, sandals, and helmet. The wings of his helm fluttered as he walked. The snakes George and Martha curled around his caduceus, murmuring, Luke, poor Luke.

Cassandra rolled her eyes.

Hermes unwrapped Luke's face and kissed his forehead. He murmured some words in Ancient Greek—a final blessing.

"Farewell" He whispered. Then he nodded and allowed the Fates to carry away his son's body.

Annabeth's knees buckled. Cassandra caught her, but she cried out in pain, and she realized she'd grabbed her by her broken arm.

"I'm so sorry" Cassandra said.

"It's all right" Annabeth said as she passed out in her arms.

"She needs help!" Percy yelled.

"I've got this." Apollo stepped forward. His fiery armor was so bright it was hard to look at, and his matching Ray-Bands and perfect smile made him look like a male model for battle gear. "God of medicine, at your service."

He passed his hand over Annabeth's face and spoke an incantation. Immediately the bruises faded. Her cuts and scars disappeared. Her arm straightened, and she sighed in her sleep.

Apollo grinned. "She'll be fine in a few minutes. Just enough time for me to compose a poem about our victory: 'Apollo and his friends save Olympus.' Good, eh?"

"No" Cassandra muttered.

"Thanks, Apollo" Percy said. "I'll, um, let you handle the poetry."

The next few hours were a blur. The gods set about repairing the throne room, which went surprisingly fast with twelve super-powerful beings at work. Cassandra, Grover, and Percy care for the wounded, and once the sky bridge reformed, they greeted their friends who survived.

The Cyclopes had saved Thalia from the fallen statue. She was on crutches, but otherwise she was okay. Connor and Travis Stoll had made it out with only minor injuries. Mrs. O'Leary had dug Chiron out of the rubble and rushed him off to camp. And Katie Gardner said that she'd seen Rachel run out of the Empire State Building.

Drew threw her arms around Cassandra, the second she saw her. They clung to each other for a minute, just happy to know that they were both still breathing.

Nico came into Olympus to a hero's welcome, his father right behind, despite the fact that Hades was only supposed to visit Olympus on the winter solstice. The god of the dead looked stunned when his relatives clapped him on the back.

Clarisse marched in, still shivering from her time in the ice block, and Ares bellowed, "There's my girl!"

The god of war ruffled her hair and pounded her on the back, calling her the best warrior he'd ever seen. "That drakon slaying? THAT'S what I'm talking about!"

She looked pretty overwhelmed. All she could do was nod and blink, but eventually she began to smile.

Cassandra didn't know where Aphrodite was, or if the goddess was even allowed to talk to, so she just wandered around congratulating all of the demigods and telling them that they did a great job.