The Untold Story of Annabeth Chase

Chapter 48

The morning of the winter solstice, you could practically feel the anxiety in the air. Most of us had never met our godly parents before, and we had no idea what to do when the moment came. Were we supposed to approach them? Wait for them to come to us? Call them mom and dad, or by their names? Have a conversation, or just bow and move on?

We had been contemplating these questions and a million others for the past two weeks, and the 21st was no exception as we loaded into the camp strawberry vans and headed into the city.

The whole way to the Empire State Building, my van was full of nervous chitchat. The only one not partaking was Luke, who sat in the back with his arms crossed stubbornly, staring out the window.

When Silena finally turned around and asked him if he was excited to see Hermes again, his response was, "no, of course not. And you're all stupid to be this excited about meeting the gods. They don't care about us. You'll probably barely be allowed to speak to them. They'll only give you an audience long enough for you to tell them how amazing they are, and then we'll all be thrown out."

We sat in silence for the rest of the ride.

When we finally reached the city, we all climbed out of our vans and headed into the lobby of the Empire State Building, trying to contain our nerves. We waited in line for what felt like days, and then Chiron told us all to wait while he spoke to the front desk guy.

He wheeled forward and said a few words to the man, who nodded and handed him a key card. Chiron motioned us forward, and we all packed into the elevator. How we all fit, I have no idea. We waited as that elevator went up and up and up, listening to Clarisse and her friends complain about the Sinatra song playing over the speakers.

When we finally reached the six-hundredth floor, it felt like my heart had dropped all the way back down to the ground. I took a nervous breath as the elevator dinged and the doors slid open.

Before me was the most beautiful sight I had ever seen in my short life.

Leading us out of the elevator was a pathway of stones suspended in the air. I peeked out of the elevator and looked down, but all I could see were clouds and mist. I assumed that far, far below was the street, and if any of us were to fall off we would be flattened into a nice demigod pancake on the pavement.

I stepped out onto the walkway, hearing the rest of the camp gasp and ooh and ahh behind me. Chiron climbed out of his wheelchair, and we followed him as he clopped towards the city.

I was still trying to comprehend the stone walkway and the long, long drop on either side, trying to ignore what I saw in my peripherals. One thing at a time, I told myself, not quite knowing how much my brain could handle.

When I finally looked up, what I saw knocked all the breath from my lungs. I stopped in my tracks, and a few people behind me bumped into me, losing their footing and stumbling dangerously close to the edge of the walkway. But I was too busy trying to take in everything I was seeing to even notice.

Suspended in the air before me was the glittering peak of a mountain rising up majestically from the clouds. The stone path I was standing on led to polished white marble stairs, leading up to a collection of buildings perched somewhat precariously on the side of the mountain. I could make out a pathway carved out of the rock, winding from building to building and leading up to a massive palace sitting at the peak. It was easily twice the size of any of the other buildings, and seemed to shine just a little bit brighter. It was adorned with white marble statuettes, massive columns, and a set of gilded double doors. The palace of the gods.

As we walked closer and closer to the mountain, I couldn't tear my eyes away from the sight in front of me. My brain kept telling me I was imagining things, that there was no possible way this could be real. How could this massive chunk of rock be anchored above an entire city, just sitting here in the clouds? How much magic must it take to keep this here?