The Betrayed One

Chapter 11

Beaches

Percy arrived to absolute chaos.

He was on his way to camp when Hades had his furies bring him right back to the Underworld. The demigod was told that a quest was already started and that he should keep an eye on the participants. Then he was forcibly transported and deposited on a rowboat. Percy had no idea where he was supposed to go, but he trusted his instincts and followed the weird lines on the sea. There were numbers on the lines in the water, and whatever numbers glowed were the numbers he followed.

He remembered the stories, somewhat wistfully, that Lauren used to tell him. If the odd color of the water was any indication, then he was in the monster-infested Sea of Monsters. Percy would never admit it, but he was very much relaxed at sea. He wished he wasn't but he found that he couldn't deny it. With the fresh and salty wind, and the vibrant green water that glittered more than any jewel, Percy could stay in the sea for years and probably never get tired.

Eventually, the tranquility came to an end, as female screams and male roars overloaded his ears. Thanks to his advanced eyesight, he was able to make out an island twenty-two nautical miles out. For a normal demigod or mortal, they would've had to been ten nautical miles away to see the island. As he got close, Percy started to see a small collection of marble white buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.

Really strange was an understatement. Percy saw a couple of pleasure yachts, a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. There was also a helicopter on a helipad, a short runaway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World WarⅡfighter. Some seemed to be on the move, though, as he slowly washed up on the shore and the yachts had begun to leave the ports. Percy noticed that the ships were modern and that some of the people on there were screaming their hearts out, their eyes never leaving the island.

It was when Percy truly arrived to the chaos, and his feet were on land, did he see everything in its entirety. There were screaming spa workers and pirates ransacking the island, which Percy deduced as a resort. Wait, Pirates!? Men who were dressed in breeches and stained white shirts broke the tiki torches for the luau, threw herbal wraps into the swimming pool, and kicked over tables of sauna towels.

The Ambassador of Hades felt a small inclination to jump in and help the ones who couldn't fight, but something else caught his eyesight. A flash of blonde, black, and brown caught his eyes, as he saw three young girls, all wearing orange t-shirts, sprinting down the hill toward the docks. The blonde, Annabeth Chase, the know-it-all. They didn't exactly become friends until Thalia introduced them to one another last Summer.

The brunette, Clarisse La Rue, the modern female barbarian. Percy thinks that while Ares was held to an oath to keep quiet, his hatred of Percy rolled off onto his demigod children. All of cabin five turned on him for no apparent reason, at least to the campers. Clarisse, however, has a small grudging respect for Percy, making their friendship strained but very much visible. The last one, Thalia, needs no introduction. Percy's favorite aunt, the resurrected daughter of Zeus, and the fabled Prophecy Child.

He carefully followed them, knowing getting caught wouldn't help him in the slightest. To Percy's delight surprise, he was blissfully unaware of Hestia's monthly visits. It was during the month of November when the Goddess of the Hearth revealed that his direct involvement got the attention of Olympus. Luckily for him, they had no idea who interfered, but that didn't mean he could get more careless. He eventually got close enough to hear their conversation.

"Come on," Clarisse's gruff voice was easily heard, "Circe isn't going to be distracted forever. We have to go!"

"Well, which ship?" Annabeth asked, and she turned to her side. "Thalia?"