Annabeth Chase and the Sea of Monsters

Chapter 18 - We catch up with our enemy

The centerpiece of the room was a coffin. It was at least three metres long and designed like a sarcophagus, but with Ancient Greek scenes of destruction, like Athens being destroyed and armies being slaughtered. Even though the sun streamed directly on its golden surface, the coffin radiated coldness rather than warmth or light, and made the rest of the bright and luxurious room seem dull and empty.

The room was obviously at the back of the ship seeing as the far wall presented windows facing out into the sea, revealing the bright sea and early horizon. Persian rugs covered the floors and there were sofas and a canopied bed arranged around the room. Most distracting was the mahogany table loaded with junk food like pizza, fizzy drinks and snacks.

Luke stood in the centre of the room, the smile I still found annoyingly endearing on his face. His unruly blonde hair was clipped short and he now wore a button-down grey shirt, khaki trousers and leather loafers rather than the usual orange Camp Half-blood shirt that I was used to seeing him wearing. He looked fitter too, a bit more toned down like he had been working out.

The only thing about him that was familiar to me was his scar, a jagged line that ran from beneath his eye and down his cheek. He'd got it three years ago on a quest when he'd lost a fight against a dragon. I thought scars usually faded over time, but this one hadn't. If anything, it looked more prominent.

"Well," he said, spreading his arms like he wanted a hug. "A little nicer than Cabin Eleven, huh?"

None of us replied. Tyson looked confused as he gazed around. Percy's face had hardened as he looked at Luke with a steely glint in his eyes. And me, well, all through the school terms, I'd held onto the hope that I was wrong, that Luke wasn't evil. But seeing him now, so proud of himself as he stood willingly in a ship full of monsters, I knew that my darkest fears had proven correct.

And it hurt worse than anything I'd ever felt.

"Sit," he ordered us, waving his hand. Three chairs skidded their way towards us, but none of us sat. Tyson because he wouldn't have fit, Percy out of complete defiance and me because I felt so stunned.

Luke didn't seem to be fazed by our stillness. Instead, he seemed to enjoy it.

"Where are my manners?" he asked, grinning. "These are my assistants, Agrius and Oreius. Perhaps you've heard of them."

The names rang a bell in my mind, but my head was too fogged up to think. I studied the twin giants closer and saw that they definitely weren't human. They wore only blue jeans seeing as their chests were covered in thick brown fur, like that of a bear. They stood way taller than what I considered to be a normal height and had claws for fingernails, snouts for noses, paws for feet and canine teeth. All-in-all, people you wouldn't want to play against in basketball.

"You don't know Agrius and Oreius's story?" Luke asked, sounding disappointed. "Their mother . . . well, it's sad, really. Aphrodite ordered the young woman to fall in love. She refused and ran to Artemis for help. Artemis let her become one of her maiden huntresses, but Aphrodite got her revenge. She bewitched the young woman into falling in love with a bear. When Artemis found out, she abandoned the girl in disgust. Typical of the gods, wouldn't you say? They fight with one another and the poor humans get caught in the middle. The girl's twin sons here, Agrius and Oreius, have no love for Olympus. They like half-bloods well enough, though . . ."

"For lunch," Agrius growled, revealing the gruff voice that had been taking with Luke before. I had a feeling that they had practiced that line. It sounded too set up.

"Hehe! Hehe!" Oreius laughed, not stopping for several minutes. We all stared at him.

"Shut up, you idiot!" Agrius yelled at him. "Go punish yourself!"