Percy Jackson and the Hound of Hogwarts [Book 3]

Epilogue

Another long quest. More pain, more monsters, and more scars. We couldn't even talk about it. If we did, there was the chance we would be kicked out of camp. Draco and I. Tyson was gone to the forges with my dad, Poseidon. I missed my brother already, and all I had was a shield to remember him by. Otherwise, he was so far. So far from me. Still, I was thankful.

We were protected again, thanks to the Fleece, sealed inside our magical borders.

Still, my dreams were restless. I heard Kronos taunting me from the depths of Tartarus: Polyphemus sits blindly in his cave, young hero, believing he has won a great victory. Are you any less deluded? The titan's cold laughter filled the black. At least he had stopped asking for me to join him.

Then my dream changed. I was following Tyson to the bottom of the sea, into the court of Poseidon. It was a radiant hall filled with blue light, the floor cobbled with pearls. And there, on a throne of coral, sat my father, dressed like a simple fisherman in khaki shorts and a sun-bleached T-shirt. I looked up into his tan weathered face, his deep green eyes, and he spoke two words: Brace yourself.

I woke with a start.

There was a banging on the door. Grover burst inside without permission. "Percy! Draco... on the hill... he..."

The look in his eyes told me that something was terribly wrong. Draco had been on guard duty, protecting the Fleece.

I tore off my blankets, the blood in my veins flowing like ice. I threw on some clothes while Grover attempted to stammer out a complete sentence. "She's lying there... just there..." I didn't know who the she was, but I was still horrified. Maybe a new demigod had come running up the hill, and monsters got to her first. Draco would be shattered.

I ran outside, racing across the central yard, Grover beside me. Dawn was breaking and the whole camp was stirring. Word was spreading. Something huge had happened. Several people were already making their way towards Half-Blood Hill.

Chiron galloped up behind us, a grim expression on his face. "Is it true?"

Grover only nodded, his eyes dazed.

I tried to ask what was going on, but Chiron grabbed me and easily placed me on his back. Together we sped up the hill, where a small crowd had already gathered.

I half expected to see the Fleece missing, for everything we had fought for this summer to have been waste, but it was still glittering in the branches.

"Curse the titan lord," Chiron frowned. "He's tricked us again, given himself another chance to control the prophecy."

"What do you mean?" I questioned.

"The Fleece," He said. "The Fleece did its work too well."

Everyone moved out of our way as we moved forward. At the base of the tree, a girl was lying unconscious. Draco was knelt beside her.

"It healed the tree," Chiron said huskily. "And poison was not the only thing it purged."

When Draco saw us, he ran over, "It... she... just suddenly there..." his eyes were streaming with tears, and I jumped off of Chiron, wrapping him in a hug. I pulled away after a moment, and moved towards the unconscious girl.

"Percy, wait!"

I knelt by her side. She had short black hair and freckles across her nose. She was built like a long-distance runner, lithe and strong, and she wore clothes that were somewhere between punk and Goth -- a black T-shirt, black tattered jeans, and a leather jacket with buttons from a bunch of bands I'd never heard of.

She wasn't a camper. I didn't recognize her from any of the cabins. Still, I felt like I knew her from somewhere, like I had seen her before

"It's true," Grover panted from his run up the hill. "I can't believe..."

No one else came close to her.

I placed my hand on her forehead. She was cold, but when I touched her, my finger tips tingled as if they were burning.

"She needs nectar and ambrosia," I breathed. She was a half-blood. She needed help. I didn't understand why everyone was so scared.

I took her by the shoulders and moved her to a sitting position, her head propped on my shoulder.

"Come on!" I shouted at the others. "What's wrong with you people?" Let's get her to the Big House."

No one moved. They were all too stunned.

The girl took a sudden shaky breath. She coughed, and opened her eyes. They were startlingly blue. Electric blue.

The girl stared at me with wide and shaky eyes, shivering. "Who --"

"I'm Percy," I said. "You're safe now."

"Strangest dream..."

"It's okay."

"Dying."

"No," I assured her. "You're okay? What's your name?"

Even before she said it, I knew.

Her electric blue eyes bored into mine. I understood what the Golden Fleece quest had really been about. The poisoning of the tree. Everything. Kronos had done it to bring another chess piece into play -- another chance to control the prophecy.

Even Chiron, Draco, and Grover, who should have been celebrating, were too shocked, thinking of what this could mean for our future. I was holding someone who was destined to be my best-friend, or possibly my worst enemy.

"I am Thalia," the girl said. "Daughter of Zeus."

My oh my, look at how far we've gotten. Welcome to the end of the third book. I hope you guys have enjoyed your time here just as much as I have. It's amazing, seeing how many people have made it through this far. You guys should know that I really, really appreciate you. So, I will post the first chapter of the next book — Percy Jackson and the Triwizard Tournament — next Tuesday. So a week from now, and I'll be back to posting this as normal. A few warnings beforehand. The fourth book is not complete. It is not close to being complete. The fourth book is probably around three times the length of the first three books. I'm almost on chapter seventy. So, I will be posting along the normal schedule. Sort of. I have thought about changing the schedule to three set days a week. That way I can set an alarm, and won't end up ever having to write on Wednesdays. Also, a little later into the book, you'll notice that the chapter titles have gotten a little strange. At some point, I made the fun little game of coming up with the most interesting title I could. And by interesting, I mean weird. They've all got something to do with the chapter, but it makes writing a lot more interesting. Throughout it all, I'm thinking, what's this chapter gonna be called? So just be warned. And, the chapter length may change. Right now, the chapter length averages at about 1000 words. Very short chapters, but I post more often to make up for it. Now that the books are getting longer, I need to try to fit more words into the chapter, so I don't run out of chapters. I've done the math, and if I go at the rate I'm going at for the future books, it just won't fit. So if you notice the chapters are a bit longer (I believe I only did this later on), then know that that is why. I will also start putting a word count at the bottom of each chapter.

Anyway, I hope you guys have had one fantastic Tuesday, and I hope you have another amazing Tuesday a week from now, when I'll see you again. Love ya!