Annabeth Chase and the Sea of Monsters

Chapter 29 - I tell Percy a story

Percy really liked sailing. I didn't like it so much.

I spent the first few hours below deck in a hammock, struggling not to spew everywhere. The rocking of the ship made me queasy and I really didn't want to think about what I last had for lunch.

Percy spent the whole time on deck, the ship looking like it was reacting to his every movement. I guess it was part of him being a son of Poseidon. Everything in the sea was his to control.

It was some time after midnight before I felt well enough to go back on deck to keep Percy company. I don't know whether the dark helped get rid of the seasickness or whether I'd just adjusted to it by then. Either way, the sea breeze was nice on my face and I let my hair loose to flow in it. There must have been magic in my dress because as soon as I stepped off the resort, the dress had morphed back into the ragged and torn outfit I'd had on before, complete with my camp beaded necklace. In a way, it was a relief. The dress had felt too foreign and odd.

It was hard to see in the dark, but as we sailed, I could see a smoking volcano on an island. It was so hot that the sea around it bubbles and steamed like a mega spa.

"One of the forges of Hephaestus," I told Percy. "Where he makes his metal monsters."

"Like the bronze bulls?"

I nodded. "Go around. Far around."

The ship went in a wide arc around the island. The further away the better.

There was a comfortable silence for a moment as Percy concentrated on steering the ship and I on relaxing. Then Percy had to ruin it with his next question.

"The reason you hate Cyclopes so much . . . the story about how Thalia really died. What happened?"

I was tempted to ignore him, or lie and say my seasickness had come back. But then I relented. I had been planning on telling him before anyway.

"I guess you deserve to know. The night Grover was escorting us to camp, he got confused, took some wrong turns. You remember he told you that once?"

I couldn't see Percy well in the dark, but I thought I saw him nod.

"Well, the worst turn was into a Cyclop's lair in Brooklyn."

"They've got Cyclopes in Brooklyn?"

"You wouldn't believe how many, but that's not the point. This Cyclops, he tricked us. He managed to split us up inside this maze of corridors in an old house in Flatbush. And he could sound like anyone, Percy. Just the way Tyson did aboard the Princess Andromeda. He lured us, one at a time. Thalia thought she was running to save Luke. Luke thought he heard me scream for help. And me . . . I was alone in the dark. I was seven years old. I couldn't even find the exit."

I coughed, trying to cover up the emotion threatening to overcome me. It had been several years, but it was still hard to talk about. I didn't think Percy noticed so I continued.

"I remember finding the main room. There were bones all over the floor. And there were Thalia and Luke and Grover, tied up and gagged, hanging from the ceiling like smoked hams. The Cyclops was starting a fire in the middle of the floor. I drew my knife, but he heard me. He turned and smiled. He spoke, and somehow he knew my dad's voice. I guess he just plucked it out of my mind. He said, 'Now, Annabeth, don't you worry. I love you. You can stay here with me. You can stay forever'."

"What did you do?" Percy asked, sounding fascinated.

"I stabbed him in the foot."

I had the feeling if Percy had been drinking something then he would have spat it out. "Are you kidding? You were seven years old and you stabbed a grown Cyclops in the foot?"

"Oh, he would have killed me," I tried to sound nonchalant even thought the memory of it still scared me today. "But I surprised him. It gave me just enough time to run to Thalia and cut the ropes on her hands. She took it from there."

"Yeah, but still . . .that was pretty brave, Annabeth."

I was glad for the dark then as it hid my red face. "We barely got out alive. I still have nightmares, Percy. The way that Cyclops talked in my father's voice. It was his fault we took so long getting to camp. All the monsters who'd been chasing us had enough time to catch up. That's really why Thalia died. If it hadn't been for that Cyclops, she'd still be alive today."

Percy didn't answer. I guess there wasn't much to say after that. Then I realised that Percy must have been at the wheel the whole day. He must have been exhausted.

"Go below," I suggested. "You need some rest."

He nodded gratefully and dragged his way below deck, leaving the wheel to me. I steered thoughtfully, reflecting back on that fateful day. If Thalia had survived, everything would have changed. She could have been the child of the prophecy, the child of the Big Three. But if she had, then the prophecy would already have occurred. She would have had her sixteenth birthday by now. And where would that leave Percy? Would he have even been found?

I shook my head. It was too confusing to think about, even for me. There was no way we would find out anyway. You can't turn back the past.

I steered for a few hours, peering into the darkness ahead and making sure to sail well clear of the more deadly looking places. I tried to remember what lay in our path by recalling Jason's and Odysseus's journeys back in the ancient days, but not everything was recorded. But there was one thing that I did remember. And if I was correct, it was nearby.

The Siren's Island.

That story had always appealed to me. It was said that any one who listened to the Siren's song and survived would become wiser by tenfold. That was pretty difficult for a child of Athena to resist. We were always seeking after knowledge and this was a once in a lifetime opportunity. No one ever made it this far. I decided I had to do it. I had to listen to the Sirens.

I hurried downstairs to wake up Percy to find him tossing and turning in his hammock. His face was slick with sweat and he was making weird mewling sounds. It was horrible to see him like that, so I grabbed his shoulders and shook him as hard as I could.

"Ah!" he yelled, bolting upright, nearly head butting me in the face.

"Percy, you were having a nightmare. You need to get up," I told him.

"Wh-what is it?" he asked, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "What's wrong?"

"Land," I said, my nerves twisting as I thought about it. "We're approaching the island of the Sirens."