Son of Hades

18 - The Last Olympian Pt. 2

-o-o-o-o-o-

I stepped through the portal and landed in New York. More specifically, the Empire State building. Mrs O'Leary was sniffing at almost everything. I chuckled and saw three white vans arriving in front of me. The doors slid open and a bunch of demigods came out.

I did a headcount: forty campers in all.

Not many to fight a war, but it was still the largest group of half-bloods I'd ever seen gathered in one place outside the camp. Everyone looked nervous, and I understood why. We were probably sending out so much demigod aura that every monster in the northeastern United States knew we were here.

"So what's the plan, Percy?" Annabeth asked me.

I pointed above the Empire State Building. "We defend Olympus," I said. We went into the lobby and the guy wasn't there. The place was empty so I took the card from the desk. We split into two groups since the elevator couldn't fit all of us.

"You look different."

I looked at Annabeth. "Tell you later," I said. "Let's go."

We passed under a big marble archway with statues of Zeus and Aunt Hera on either side. Annabeth madea face at the queen of the gods.

"Hate her," she muttered.

"Has she been cursing you or something?" I asked. Last year Annabeth had gotten on Aunt Hera's bad side, but Annabeth hadn't really talked about it since. I was snickering internally.

"Just a little stuff so far," she said. "Her sacred animal is the cow, right?"

"Right."

"So she sends cows after me."

I tried not to smile. "Cows? In San Francisco?"

"Oh, yeah. Usually, I don't see them, but the cows leave me little presents all over the place—in ourbackyard, on the sidewalk, in the school hallways. I have to be careful where I step."

"Look!" Pollux cried, pointing toward the horizon. "What is that?"

We all froze. Blue lights were streaking across the evening sky toward Olympus like tiny comets.They seemed to be coming from all over the city, heading straight toward the mountain. As they gotclose, they fizzled out. We watched them for several minutes and they didn't seem to do any damage, butstill, it was strange.

"Like infrared scopes," Michael Yew muttered. "We're being targeted."

"Let's get to the palace," I said.

No one was guarding the hall of the gods. The gold-and-silver doors stood wide open. Our footsteps echoed as we walked into the throne room.

Of course, "room" doesn't really cover it. The place was the size of Madison Square Garden. Highabove, the blue ceiling glittered with constellations. Twelve giant empty thrones stood in a U around ahearth. In one corner, a house-size globe of water hovered in the air and inside swam my old friend the Ophiotaurus, half-cow, half-serpent.

"Moooo!" he said happily, turning in a circle. Despite all the serious stuff going on, I had to smile. Two years ago we'd spent a lot of time trying to save the Ophiotaurus from the Titans, and I'd gotten kind of fond of him. He seemed to like me too, even though I'd originally thought he was a girl and named him Bessie.

"Hey, man," I said. "They treating you okay?"

"Mooo," Bessie answered.

We walked towards the throne room and a woman's voice said, "Perseus Jackson, we meet again."

Aunt Hestia sat the Hearth and smiled brightly. She wore her usual brown dress. I couldn't help but smile in return.

I bowed. "Lady Hestia."

My friends followed my example.

Next thing I knew, she was full out hugging me. I chuckled and hugged her back. "I missed you," she said. I smiled.

"Me too."

She regarded me with her red glowing eyes. "I see you went through with your plan. You bear the Curse of Achilles."

The other campers started muttering among themselves: What did she say? What about Achilles?

I nodded my head. "I'm sorry, I had too," I said and bowed my head. She sighed and lifted my chin.

"Do not worry. I am sure your father would be proud," she said and smiled warmly at me.

I smiled at her. "Thanks."

"Also," she said before whistling. There was a bird cry and everyone turned around. A flaming orange and red Pheonix flew in. I grinned and held out my arm.

She flew around the room before landing on my arm. I stroked her head gently. "You've grown, Selena," I said. She cooed softly and bowed her head. Someone cleared their throat and I turned around.

Annabeth was looking at us puzzled. "Are we interrupting something? I'm lost," she said and pointed in between us. I couldn't help but smirk.

"The great Annabeth Chase is lost," I said. She glared at me and I chuckled. Aunt Hestia placed a hand on my shoulder. "He is not who he say he is," she said. Everyone gasped. I gave her a pointed look. "Really? You make me sound like I'm the enemy," I said. She laughed and smiled kindly at me. She gestured towards the forty other demigods.

I sighed and faced them. "I am Percy Jackson."

"Son of Hades and Persephone." I waved a hand and the shadows started moving around the room causing them to shiver at the sight.

"Hera is my patron and I strongly dislike Poseidon," I said and crossed my arms. Selena landed  my shoulder. Everyone was gaping. I chuckled. Hestia whacked my shoulder jokingly.

"Look at what you did. You spoiled the demigods," she said jokingly. I huffed and grumbled, "They're fine."

She chuckled and her eyes suddenly became serious. "Be careful, Percy. You wield many powers. You are stronger than you think. But that also means you are vulnerable. Do not be tempted by what is ahead of your journey," she said.

I nodded my head. "I won't."

She smiled and disappeared in a flash of flames. I turned around and was faced with an angry Annabeth. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot on the floor. "You have a lot of explaining to do, Jackson."

-o-o-o-o-o-

A/N:..............................
I have nothing to say. So I hope you guys haven't given up on this story. Also, I'm not going to put all of the last olympian cause, it's too much info.

Okay, thanks bye.

Edit: Also, thank you for the 2k and 100+ votes.