Seal of the Betrayed

Some Hard Truths

Ch. 2

The Olympian Council sat in waiting. Eleven immortal gods and goddesses sat in their thrones awaiting the arrival of their final member.

"Where is she?" Zeus grumbled in his throne as he glanced at his daughter's seat of power impatiently.

Apollo chuckled, "You know her pops, probably hunting down a man or something."

Before Zeus could respond, a flash of silver light appeared in the throne room as Artemis materialized, each arm draped around a hunter as they held her upright.

The Olympians all looked at her with worry before she picked her head up, the disfigured flesh that were once her eyes making them gasp in unison.

"What happened?" Apollo screamed at the two huntresses.

Artemis' head snapped up in the direction of Apollo's voice before it turned to the place where she knew her father was seated.

"You did this... You did this to me. You... You monster!"

Zeus' eyes widened and Apollo turned to look at his father with unimaginable rage. Before he could rant, Zeus stood up with his master bolt in hand, daring Apollo to open his mouth. When Apollo stopped glaring, Zeus turned to his daughter with concern.

"What do you mean? I would never harm my own child." The lord of the skies responded, still horror-struck at the sight of his disfigured daughter.

Artemis' face turned red with anger. She glared, or would have if she still had eyes, at her father.

"You took my huntress, the greatest friend I have ever known and cast her into Tartarus simply because she is the daughter of a Titan. That is why this happened. You did this to me."

Zeus' eyes widened, "That spawn did that to you? But how?"

Thalia led Artemis to her throne before turning to speak to the council, her eyes still rimmed red with tears from earlier.

"It wasn't just her. Percy was with her except he isn't Percy anymore. He is something different. Something I've never seen before. Something you turned him into when you all betrayed him." She snapped at the council.

"My son? He is still alive?" Poseidon asked quietly, his face stricken with a combination of fear and worry and perhaps a hint of hope.

Thalia's narrowed eyes turned in his direction, "He is not human. He is not Percy Jackson anymore. You killed him. You all killed him when you threw him into the pit!"

"I'm going to kill that son of a bitch!" Apollo bellowed.

A cold dark laughter erupted from all around them. The Olympians minus Artemis jumped to their feet with weapons out.

"Tsk tsk Olympians. I thought you would have learned from the little moon goddess. You no longer have any power over me." The voice said as it emerged from the shadows. Slowly walking into the center of the throne room, Perseus Jackson stepped foot on Olympus for the first time in more than a decade.

Zeus wasted no time in hurling his master bolt at the former savior of Olympus. As the bolt flew, Percy raised a hand casually. The bolt stopped in midair before Percy grinned as let the weapon fly straight into his chest.

An explosion lit up the room but when the light faded Percy stood in his spot still grinning and completely unharmed.

"Now that wasn't very nice uncle. Maybe you should use that weapon against someone who you could use it against." Percy said with sadistic grin.

Before anyone could say anything, he looked up and opened his mouth before black smoke began to fly out of his mouth. This continued for a bit before his body collapsed to the ground. The smoke disappeared from sight before a Thalia stumbled forward and fell to the ground clutching her throat until she stopped moving.