Icarus - Annabeth Chase

chapter seven.

The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself.

Instead, Grover, Percy and Akira were elected to carry her. She didn't figure that was because they were the most popular.

"Watch her head!" Grover warned as they went up the stairs. But it was too late. 

Bonk! Percy whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew. 

"Ah, man." He set her down and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?"

"I can't tell," Grover admitted.

Akira hauled her up and set her on her tripod stool, All of them huffing and sweating, except Akira, she looked perfectly fine. Who knew a mummy could weigh so much?

They assumed she wouldn't talk to them, and they were right. Akira was relieved when they finally got out of there and slammed the attic door shut.

"Well," Grover said, "that was gross."

Akira was still sour about her fight, she wished she could've at least drawn more blood but it was her fault for not using any weapons. She hadn't cooled down and every time she and Zoe made eye contact they would glare at each other, one keeping her hand on her knife and the other ready to squeeze her neck so hard the bones broke and her blood vessels popped.

"What will Chiron do?" Percy asked Grover.

"I wish I knew." He looked wistfully out the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there."

"Searching for Annabeth?"

He had a little trouble focusing on Percy. Then he blushed. "Oh, right. That too. Of course."

"Why?" Akira asked. "What were you thinking?"

He clopped his hooves uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder... if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe... maybe not all of them are evil."

"You mean Pan."

Akira hadn't talked much about Pan with Grover and just knew that he had been working unbelievably hard on trying to find him. She hoped the boy accomplished his goal sooner or later, he had worked so hard and if it was all for nothing Grover would be heartbroken, she didn't want that.

"I've let the trail go cold," he said. "I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He's out there somewhere. I can just feel it."

Akira didn't know what to say. She wanted to encourage him, but didn't know how. Her optimism had pretty much been trampled into the snow out there in the woods, along with their capture-the-flag hopes.

Before she could respond, Thalia tromped up the stairs. She was officially not talking to Percy now, but she looked at Grover and said, "Tell Percy to get his butt downstairs."

"Stop being fucking childish and talk. It's just a stupid game, get over yourself." Akira looked fucking pissed, she looked like that a lot now. 

"Me childish? You almost killed Zoe because of a stupid boy-" 

"Call him stupid and I'll fucking end you right here right now, Thalia." The girl knew she wasn't lying by the look on her face but that didn't stop her from glaring at her.

"Just get downstairs."

"Why?" Percy asked.

"Did he say something?" Thalia asked Grover.

"Um, he asked why."

"Dionysus is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy," she said. "Unfortunately, that includes Percy. You too Akira."