a story as endless as the ocean . pjo / allie jackson

1.8 brace yourself

1.8 The Single-Most Infuriating Letter You Will Ever Read in Your Entire Life

We arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. They seemed to be able to bend time as they galloped along, or something similar, at any rate.

I rode on Chiron's back, but we didn't talk much, and especially not about Kronos. I mean, I've met plenty of bad parents, but Kronos, the evil titan lord who wanted to destroy Western Civilization, and not to mention ate his children? Not the kind of dad you invited to school for career day.

When we got to camp, the centaurs were all really eager to meet Dionysus. They'd heard he threw some really wild parties, but they were disappointed. The wine god was in no mood to celebrate as the whole camp gathered at the top of Half-Blood Hill. I suppose he was disappointed we weren't going to be invaded and all of us be killed, after all.

The camp had been through a hard two weeks. The arts and crafts cabin had burned to the ground from an attack by a Draco Aionius (which as near as I could figure was Latin for "really-big-lizard-with-breath-that-blows-stuff-up", a.k.a, a Greek dragon). And that was one of less-injury causing attacks. The Big House's rooms were overflowing with wounded. The kids in the Apollo cabin, who were the best healers, had been working overtime performing first aid.

Everybody looked weary and battered as we all crowded around Thalia's tree.

The moment Clarisse draped the Golden Fleece over the lowest bough, the moonlight seemed to brighten, turning from gray to liquid silver. A cool breeze rustled in the branches and rippled through the grass, all the way into the valley. Everything came into sharper focus— the glow of the fireflies down in the woods, the smell of the strawberry fields, the sound of the waves on the beach.

Gradually, the needles on the pine tree started turning from brown to green.

Everybody cheered. It was happening slowly, but there could be no doubt— the Fleece's magic was seeping into the tree, filling it with new power and expelling the poison.

Chiron ordered a twenty-four/seven guard duty on the hilltop, at least until he could find an appropriate monster to protect the Fleece. He said he'd place an ad in Olympus Weekly right away.

In the meantime, Clarisse was carried on her cabin mates' shoulders down to the amphitheater, where she was honored with a laurel wreath and a lot of celebrating around the campfire.

To my delight, nobody gave Luke or me a second look. It was as if we'd never left. Really, that was the best thank-you anyone could give us, because if they admitted that we had snuck out of camp to do the quest, they would have to expel us. And I didn't want any more attention. It felt good to be just one of the campers for once. And Clarisse deserved the attention, she really did.

The next morning, after the party ponies headed back to Florida, Chiron made a surprise announcement: the chariot races would go ahead as scheduled. We'd all figured they were history now that Tantalus was gone, but completing them did feel like the right thing to do, especially now that Chiron was back and the camp was safe.

Tyson wasn't too keen on the idea of getting in a chariot after our first experience, but he was happy to let me team up with Luke. I would drive, Luke would defend, and Tyson would act as our pit crew. While I worked with the horses, Tyson fixed up the Hermes chariot and added a whole bunch of special modifications.

We spent the next two days training like crazy. Luke and I agreed that if we won, the prize of no chores for the rest of the month would be split between our two cabins. Since Hermes had a lot more campers, they would get most of the time off, which was fine by me. I didn't care about the prize. I just wanted to win.