Sun kissed - Apollo.

51: The Chariot Race Ends With A Bang.

We arrived in Long Island just after Clarisse, thanks to the centaurs' travel powers. Percy rode on Chiron's back, but they didn't talk much, especially not about Kronos. I knew it had been difficult for Chiron to tell us. He probably didn't want to push him with more questions. I mean, I've met plenty of embarrassing parents, but Kronos, the evil titan lord who wanted to destroy Western Civilization? Not the kind of dad you invited to school for career day.

I rode on a Centaur that shone gold in the sun. We chatted the entire way to camp. I asked him all kinds of questions about what it's like to be a centaur, what it is like to live with the Party Ponies. He told me all kinds of stories about the parties he lived through, all the festivals and the fun things they had done.

When we got to camp, the centaurs were anxious 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.

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"). 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 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.

I wrapped my arms around Clarisse and hugged her really tightly. It took her a second to hug me back. "You did it." I told her happily.

"Couldn't have done it without you, Sea princess." She told me as she draped her arm over my shoulder.

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. They had shoved the laurel wreath in my hands and made me place it onto her head.

Nobody gave Annabeth or Percy a second look. It was as if they had never left. In a way, I guess that was the best thank-you anyone could give them, because if they admitted we'd snuck out of camp to do the quest, they'd have to expel us. And really, Percy didn't want any more attention. It felt good to be just one of the campers for once. Although they did give me enough attention but mostly because i'm everyone's favourite camper.

Later that night, as we were roasting s'mores and listening to the Stoll brothers tell us a ghost story about an evil king who was eaten alive by demonic breakfast pastries, Clarisse shoved my brother from behind and whispered in his ear, "Just because you were cool one time, Jackson, don't think you're off the hook with Ares. I'm still waiting for the right opportunity to pulverize you."

He gave her a grudging smile.

"What?" she demanded.

"Nothing," He said. "Just good to be home."