Annabeth Chase and the Titan's Curse

Chapter 14 - I have a mother-daughter chat

For once I had a relatively okay dream. I found myself in a spacious paved courtyard, colonnaded buildings lining me on all sides. The day was warm and a cooling breeze blew through me, feeling relaxing and calming.

To my left was a small tree, thin leafy branches sprouting from a stunted trunk. An olive tree, I recognized, sacred to my mother. It was strange to see one growing in the middle of a courtyard but if I was where I thought I was, it was the origin of the tree.

"Why am I in Athens?" I asked out loud.

"I wanted to remind you of everything we are fighting for," a familiar voice replied.

I turned around to see my mother standing behind me, watching me with her usual piercing grey eyes. Instead of her usual jeans, hiking boots and flannelette shirt she wore traditional Ancient Greek garb, a long slim gown buckled at the waist and sandals that wrapped their way up her ankles. The only thing different about it was the plumed helmet upon her head, the spear clasped in one hand and her shield in the other, Medusa's head set in the middle. She looked ready for war.

I averted my eyes from Medusa's face instinctively. I'm met her before and managed not to look at her. I didn't want to do so now. "What do you mean? We're not at war."

"Yet," she chided. "How long do you think this so called peace will last once your beloved friend raises Kronos?"

I felt my ears tips turn pink. I was so not having this conversation with my absent mother. "He's not my beloved, Mother. He's barely a friend. And how can he raise Kronos? The Fleece is safe at camp. What other way can he do it?"

"There is always more than one way. Your friends know this. There is a creature in their custody that has the power to destroy the gods. Humans once had possession of this creature before. Only Zeus's quick thinking managed to stop them from using it last time. I cannot imagine what will happen this time if drastic action is not taken.

I felt my heart start to beat faster. "Percy . . ."

"Is unharmed, for now," Athena replied, her eyes narrowing. She obviously still didn't like my friend. I doubted that she would ever get along with him. "He, the daughter of Zeus, the satyr and Artemis's lieutenant are on their way right now. They have been searching for you and Artemis for some time. Although their journey has not been easy."

Visions flashed through me, Percy shooting packaged food in the open mouth of a lion, sitting in luxury cars (although I thought that part was pretty easy), fighting skeletons in circle formation, riding a massive pig down a snow slope and facing off a giant made of trash. Relief surged through me. They were looking for me. They didn't think I was dead.

"Time is running out though," Athena commented, watching me carefully. "They must arrive at Mount Othrys before the winter solstice. It is critical that Artemis is with the Council. She may provide the deciding vote, which will be necessary if we are to take action. I cannot allow the gods to tarry for another year while our enemies stir against us. It will mean our downfall and the destruction of the modern world."

"So why are you wasting time talking to me rather than helping my friends?" I asked, trying to keep anger our of my voice. Sometimes my mother could be unbelievably thick.

"You know as well as I do that the gods can split their minds to various areas. You don't need to worry. I have my eye on them. In fact, I might just have a chat with the sea spawn." A devious smile spread over her face and coupled with her armour, it looked pretty terrifying.

With effort I drew my attention back to the situation. "You haven't really answered me yet. Why am I here? Why Athens?"

"I wanted to remind you how the word changes," she replied, looking around at her former city. "This used to be my centre. The whole city worshipped me. I was their patron god. This is how it looked when Greece was the centre of the world power. Now look at it."

She flicked her spear and the scene changed.

The tree remained, virtually identical. But instead of four walls lining me, only one was still standing and it was pretty ragged and scratched too. The other three were little more than rubble, strewn across the area like a giant had had a hissy fit with his Lego blocks.

"In a way, this has been destroyed. It is no longer a symbol of power and wealth. Over time it has crumbled through memory until it is nothing more than a tourist spot. This is what the rest of the world will look like if Kronos rises. Is this what you want? Is this something you would like?"

"I don't understand," I said, hating to admit that in front of my mother. "What are you showing me this?"

"Incentive," she replied. "Keep this in mind. Now, I have war plans to return to. We will meet again soon. Oh, and please refrain from holding the sky again any time soon. I doubt I'll have the strength to save you again."

"Wait,' I protested. "Can't you tell me what you mean by incentive?"

But she had already waved her spear again and I found myself back in my cell, lying on my side. With a groan I managed to push myself into a sitting position, surprised at the strength my body had all of a sudden.

It was my mother, I realised. She must have parted some strength into me through the dream. I was still sore and exhausted, but not at the point that I wanted to drop into a coma. And if she was to be believed, she was the reason I'd managed to hold the sky for so long. I felt somewhat surprised and grateful for that. It made me feel as if I had a mother after all.

I wasn't strong enough to make it to my feet yet, so I sat on my bed to think. What did she mean by incentive? Was she trying to persuade me to do something?

It must have something to do with Luke. Or Percy. Either way, most of what my mother warned me against had something to do with boys. It must be hard for a maiden goddess to watch her children, who technically shouldn't be born in the first place, mingle with potential romantic partners. But I think it went deeper than that.

Sometimes I wished I was the child of the god of straightforwardness. I was seriously sick of all the riddles and double meanings. It would be nice for once to just get a simple answer.

But then I guess the gods couldn't have fun laughing at us. I just loved being a toy for them.