First Chapter

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Zoe, Grover, and I ran down the pier toward Percy, who was sitting at the edge of the dock next to a completely exhausted Nereus.

"You caught him!" Zoe called out.

Percy rolled his eyes. "You don't have to sound so surprised."

Nereus groaned. "Oh, wonderful, an audience for my humiliation. The usual deal, I assume? You'll let me go if I answer your question?"

"I have more than just one question," Percy said.

"Only one question per catch. That's the rule."

Percy thought for a moment and then sighed. "Fine, Nereus. Tell me where I can find this dreadful monster that could possibly bring about the end of the gods. The monster Artemis has been hunting."

"Oh, that's too easy," Nereus said with a malicious grin. "He's right here." He pointed at the water.

"Where?" Percy shouted.

"The deal is done!" Nereus cried, transforming into a goldfish and diving into the water.

"You cheated me!" Percy yelled, about to jump in after him, but I held him back.

"Wait!" I shouted. "What's that?" I pointed at a creature that was now swimming toward the dock.

"MOOOOOO!" bellowed the creature, which was definitely a monster. What normal being would be half cow, half snake?

"Oh, Bessie, not now," Percy muttered absentmindedly.

"Mooooo!" the creature bellowed again.

Grover gasped. "He says his name isn't Bessie at all."

"You can... uh, understand him?" Percy asked.

Grover nodded. "It's a very old form of animal speech. But he says his name is Ophiotaurus."

"Ophi-what?" Percy asked.

I rolled my eyes. Typical Percy, as uninformed as ever. "It's Ancient Greek and means 'serpent bull.' But what does he want here?"

"Moooooo!"

"He says Percy is his protector. And he's fleeing from the bad people. He says they're very close."

How anyone can say all that with a single moo is beyond me.

Zoe turned pale. "Wait a moment. You know this cow?"

Percy explained how he had met the cow and how it had then followed him.

I was this close to strangling him but managed to hold myself back. "And you just forgot to mention this until now?"

"Uh... yeah."

I was about to punch him when Zoe suddenly exclaimed, "I'm such a fool! I know his story!"

"What story?" Grover asked warily.

"The one from the Titan War. My... my father told me the story thousands of years ago. This is the beast we're looking for."

"Bessie?" Percy asked, bewildered. "But... he's way too nice. He could never destroy the world."

"That's exactly our mistake. We're looking for a huge, dangerous monster, but the Ophiotaurus topples the gods in a different way. He must be sacrificed."

"MOOOOOOO!"

"I don't think he likes that word," Grover said.

Percy pulled the Ophiotaurus closer and scratched his ears. "How could anyone hurt him? He's harmless," Percy said incredulously.

"But killing innocence grants power. Terrible power. The Fates made a prophecy eons ago when this being was born. They said whoever kills the Ophiotaurus and sacrifices his entrails to the fire will gain the power to destroy the gods."

"MOOOOOO!"

"Uh... maybe we could avoid the topic of entrails entirely."

"The power to destroy the gods..." I murmured, completely overwhelmed. Don't you want this power, Thalia? You heard Zoe. You could destroy the gods if you wanted... a voice suddenly whispered in my head.

"But how? I mean, what would happen?" I asked.

"No one knows. The first time, during the Titan War, the Ophiotaurus was killed by a giant allied with the Titans, but your father Zeus sent an eagle to snatch the entrails before they could be thrown into the fire. It was really close. And now, after three thousand years, the Ophiotaurus has been reborn," Zoe explained.

Oh crap. I was overwhelmed. I sat down on the dock and reached out my hand, and the Ophiotaurus immediately swam over to me. I placed my hand on his head and noticed he was trembling. So innocent, so naive, so defenseless... whispered the voice again. Why don't you just do it?

"We have to protect him," Percy said, snapping me out of my trance. "If Luke gets his hands on him..."

"Luke wouldn't hesitate," I said, clenching my fist. Then why are you hesitating? You could topple the gods. Maybe even the Titans. You could rule the world.

"The power to overthrow Olympus—that... that's enormous."

"Yes, it is, Thalia, quite right, it is," a very familiar voice suddenly said behind us.

Percy drew his sword and stood in a defensive position, Grover raised his reed pipes, and Zoe nocked an arrow on her bow. I turned around and looked Luke straight in the eyes.

"And it's a power that you will unleash."

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