daylight - percy jackson¹

014

Before I left Olympus, I decided to make a call. It wasn't easy, but I finally found a quiet fountain in a corner garden and sent a voicemail to my father, Antonio Valente. I told him about our adventures, and my new friends, and Camp Half Blood—and I assured him that I was safe and happy. Finally, I got around to saying my goodbyes.

"Well, we're going back to camp right now, and things are okay. I'm okay. I guess I just wanted to tell you that."

I paused, unsure how to approach the subject, then I started to speak faster, like I might back out if I didn't say it all at once. I knew I would've.

"Look, I know we haven't been on the best terms. You've been... distant. And I get it—being a demigod kid is complicated. And maybe... maybe you didn't know how to handle that, or how to handle me. But I've changed a lot this year. I'm not the same girl who left you."

"I'm calling because... I want to maybe come home for Christmas. I know that sounds weird, maybe even... unexpected. But I miss you. And I think we should try—try to be a family again, even if it's just for a little while. I'm done pretending like I don't care, or like I don't want things to be better between us."

I paused again, not knowing what else to say.

"I'll be at camp for another couple weeks, so... if you want to talk or... or see me, just let me know. No pressure. But I'd really like to hear from you."

I bit my lip, my voice growing quite.

"Okay... I guess that's it. I hope you're doing okay. Bye, Dad."

Compared to Mount Olympus, Manhattan was quiet. It was weird to be in the city I called home with my friends. It was like two different worlds had collided. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, Percy, and me at the Empire State Building and ferried us back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As we trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, I half expected to see Thalia there, waiting for us. But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.

Chiron greeted us at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about our strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Annabeth, Percy, and I sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Beckendorf, Silena, and the Stoll brothers. It was nice to see my cabin again- Silena had tackled me in a hug when she saw me. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. I knew she must've had a difficult quest, because she didn't even try to pulverize me. She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"

Annabeth smiled at Percy and I gratefully. I had talked to her on the way back from Manhattan, and I'd learned we had more in common than I'd originally thought.

"Luke is alive," Percy said. "Annabeth was right."

Annabeth sat up. "How do you know?"

"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. I didn't blame her. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."