The Shadow Summoner | Book Three - PJO Universe

three

PERCY GETS A COLD

Much to Apollos disappointment, the Jacksons did not have a spare bow or quiver to lend him.

"I suck at archery." Percy explained.

"Yes, but I don't." He said. "This is why you should always plan for my needs."

"They have loads at camp." Ariana told the former god. "Especially in the Apollo, sorry your cabin."

Sally lent Meg and him some proper winter fleece jackets.

Once they reached the Prius, Meg called shotgun, which led to Apollo yet again complaining. He again suggested following them in a Maserati or a Lamborghini, but Percy admitted he had neither.

The Prius was the only car his family owned.
Sitting in the back seat, Apollo quickly became carsick. Percy braked and lurched forward.

"Doesn't your Prius have flamethrowers?" He demanded. "Lasers? At least some Hephaestian bumper blades? What sort of cheap economy vehicle is this?"

Percy glanced in the rear-view mirror. "You have rides like that on Mount Olympus?"

"We don't have traffic jams." Apollo said. "That, I can promise you!"

Meg tugged at her crescent-moon rings. Ariana wondered if she had some connection to Artemis. The moon was the goddesses symbol.

Meg turned and gazed out of the rear window, probably checking for any shiny blobs pursuing them. "At least we're not being -"

"Don't say it." Ariana warned.

Meg huffed. "You don't know what I was going to -"

"You were going to say, 'At least we're not being followed,'" Ariana said. "That'll jinx us. Immediately we'll notice that we are being followed. Then we'll end up in a big battle that totals Percys family car and probably destroys the whole freeway. Then we'll have to run all the way to camp."

Meg's eyes widened. "You can tell the future?"

"Don't need to." Ariana said.

Percy changed lanes to one that was crawling slightly less slowly.

"I've just done this a lot, my whole life to be exact. Besides -" Ariana shot Apollo an accusing look - "nobody can tell the future any more. The Oracle isn't working."

"What Oracle?" Meg asked.

None of them answered. For a moment, Apollo was too stunned to speak. And, believe Ariana, he has to be very stunned for that to happen.

"It still isn't working?" He said in a small voice.

"You didn't know?" Percy asked. "I mean, sure, you've been out of it for six months, but this happened on your watch."

"I just ... I assumed - I hoped this would be taken care of by now."

"You mean by demigods," Percy said, "going on a big quest to reclaim the Oracle of Delphi?"

"Exactly! I suppose Chiron just forgot. I'll remind him when we get to camp, and he can dispatch some of you talented fodder - I mean heroes -"

"Well, here's the thing." Ariana said. "To go on a quest, we need a prophecy, right? Those are the rules. If there's no Oracle, there are no prophecies, so we're stuck in a -"

"A Catch-88." He sighed.

Meg threw a piece of lint at Apollo. "It's a Catch-22."

"No." Apollo explained. "This is a Catch-88, which is four times as bad."