| chapter twenty |
in which the oracle decides to head downstairs for a little chat
( and a bonus: a quest is issued! )

NIA WOKE WITH A START AND LOOKED OVER AT THE BUNK OPPOSITE FROM HERS. There was Zoë, shaking like she had just had a nightmare, too.

She looked over at Nia and immediately said, "Artemis—"

"—and Annabeth are in trouble," Nia finished. "I know! Come on — We have to get Chiron!"

The two hurried out of bed and stumbled to the Big House in the dark. Nia was so panicked, she didn't even register Grover sitting outside the cabin. She probably looked like a mess with her pajama pants, old t-shirt, and hair up in a messy bun, but Nia didn't particularly care at the moment. Nia and Zoë both rushed to the Big House where Argus was standing outside.

"Argus!" Nia called. "We have to talk to Chiron."

Argus simply shook his head.

"Let us in, you boil-brained lout!" Zoë said. "Artemis is in danger! She needs us!"

Argus narrowed all his eyes and was about to say something — probably something just as rude — but then Chiron came out in his pajamas and with his horsetail in curlers. "What's going—"

"Chiron, my mom is in trouble," Nia said, out of breath.

"We need permission to leave camp immediately," Zoë said, turning to Chiron.

"I'm afraid you can't," Chiron said softly. "The Hunters are supposed to stay here until you receive orders from Artemis."

"How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?" Zoë said.

Nia looked at the centaur, eyes pleading. "Chiron, please, you have to let us go!"

Chiron looked at her sympathetically and put a hand on Nia's shoulder. "I am sorry, my dear, but I cannot. The last thing that your mother would want is for you to be yourself in danger."

Zoë threw her hands up and stormed back off to Cabin Eight, fuming.

Nia slid down to the stairs of the Big House and put her face in her hands, knowing that Chiron was right. But her mother and best friend were in trouble and Chiron expected her to just stay put?

What was she going to do?

THAT NIGHT AFTER DINNER, CAPTURE-THE-FLAG STARTED. It was going to be a small game: just fifteen Hunters and about the same number of campers.

Zoë was still pretty upset, glancing resentfully at Chiron. She had told the other Hunters about her and Nia's dreams, and it had broken all of their hearts. Nia and the Hunters put their own issues aside; they now had a common worry: Artemis.

On the Camp Half-Blood team, there was Beckendorf and two other Hephaestus kids, a few from Ares, the Still brothers, some Aphrodite kids ( Silena Beauregard even grumbled, "I'll show them 'love is worthless'. I'll pulverize them!" ), and Nico and Naomi. 

The two of them were already best pals with a secret handshake, inside jokes, the whole enchilada. ( Naomi had even admitted to him how her dad died. She only told people she absolutely trusted. So far that list only included Nia, Percy, Annabeth, Grover, Chiron, Tyson, and now, Nico. )

That left Thalia, Percy, and Nia.

To be honest, Nia wasn't too focused on the game, even tuning everyone out. She was too worried about Annabeth and her mother. 

Suddenly, Nia heard Chiron's hoof thunder on the pavilion floor. He called, "Heroes! You know the rules! The creek is the boundary line. Blue team — Camp Half-Blood — shall take the west woods. Hunters of Artemis — red team — shall take the east woods. I will serve as referee and battlefield medic. No intentional maiming, please! All magic items are allowed. To your positions!"

Thalia said, "Blue team! Follow me!"

The campers cheered and followed. They all trooped up to Zeus's Fist, which was this huge cluster of boulders in the middle of the wast woods that looks like a huge fist sticking out of the ground if you look at it just right. But any other way, it looked like an enormous pile of deer droppings.

Chiron wouldn't let them rename it the Poop Pile, much to the whole camp's disappointment.

It was a good place to put the flag, anyway, since the boulder was over twenty feet tall and super hard to climb.

The blue team set their flag at the top and Thalia and Percy started dividing out the campers to their stations. Naomi and Nico were on guard duty with Beckendorf and the Still brothers, while Silena and her team had a decoy team to the left to try and attract as many Hunters as possible. Nia was sent off with Thalia's team to help.

Thalia looked at Percy. "Anything to add?"

"Um, yeah," he said. "Keep sharp on defense. We've got four guards, two scouts. That's not much for a big forest. I'll be roving. Yell if you need help."

"And don't leave your post!" Thalia said.

"Unless you see a golden opportunity," Percy added.

"Just don't leave your post." Thalia scowled.

"Right, unless—"

"Percy!" Thalia touched Percy's arm and Percy yelped. Nia guessed that the daughter of Zeus had shocked him and rolled her eyes. "Sorry. Now, is everybody clear?"

They all nodded and broke into smaller groups. The horn sounded, and the game began.

AFTER ABOUT HALF AN HOUR, NIA'S THOUGHTS STARTED TO WANDER AGAIN. She wished that she could focus on the game, but no matter what she did, her head always went to that hill, and her mother's staggering under that weight—

Suddenly, Nia caught a glimpse of Percy dashing past her and falling into the snow. "What the—"

"Percy! What are you doing?" Thalia yelled. Before any of them could do anything, an arrow exploded at their feet and a cloud of yellow smoke billowed them. They all started coughing and gagging.

"No fair!" gasped Thalia. "Fart arrows are unsportsmanlike!"

Nia managed to get outside of the cloud of smoke, but the damage had been done. Zoë had Camp Half-Blood's flag and quickly bolted to the Hunter side, slamming into Percy for good measure.

"The Hunters win!" Chiron announced with no pleasure in his voice. Then he muttered, "For the fifty-sixth time in a row."

"Perseus Jackson!" Thalia yelled, storming towards him. "What in the name of the gods were you THINKING?"

Percy balled his fists and shook the flag. "I got the damn flag, Thalia! I saw a chance and I took it!"

"I WAS AT THEIR BASE!" Thalia said back. "But the flag was gone. If you hadn't butted in, we would've fucking won!"

"You had too many on you!"

"Oh, so it's my fault?"

"I didn't say that."

"Argh!" Thalia pushed Percy and blew him backward ten feet into the water. Nia's mouth dropped open and she clapped her hands to her mouth.

Thalia turned pale. "Sorry! I didn't mean to—"

A wave suddenly erupted from the creek, blasting into Thalia's face and dousing her from head to toe. Percy stood and growled. "Yeah. I didn't mean to, either."

"Enough!" Chiron ordered them.

Thalia held out her spear. "You want some, Seaweed Brain?"

"Bring it on, Pinecone Face!" Percy raised Riptide, but a blast of lightning came down from the sky, hit Thalia's spear like a lightning rod, and slammed into Percy's chest.

"Stop it!" Nia bellowed. "Both of you!"

But they didn't even register her words. Percy got to his feet and hundreds of gallons of water from the creek rose and swirled up, creating a massive icy funnel cloud.

"Percy!" Chiron pleaded.

Then Percy looked in the woods, and all the anger seemed to dissipate. The water splashed back into the creek. Nia widened her eyes in surprise and looked where he was, seeing something approaching in the distance.

"This is impossible," Chiron said, sounding incredibly nervous. "It. . . She has never left the attic. Never."

And yet, the Oracle shuffled forward until she stood in the center of the group. Mist curled around Nia's feet, turning the snow a sickly shade of green.

No one moved. Then the Oracle's voice hissed, I am the spirit of Delphi. Speaker of the prophecies of Phoebus Apollo, slayer of the mighty Python.

The Oracle looked at Percy, then turned to Nia. Approach, Seeker, and ask.

Glancing around, Nia swallowed hard, then stepped forward. "What do I need to do to help my mother and my friend?"

The Oracle's mouth opened, and a green mist poured out. A vague image of a mountain appeared. It was Artemis, her face twisted in an expression of pain. The Oracle spoke: 

Six shall go west to the goddess in chains,
Her daughter shall fight despite her pain,
Then use her moonlight to sustain,
And one shall be lost in the land without rain,
The bane of Olympus shows the trail,
Campers and Hunters combined prevail,
The Titan's curse one must withstand,
And one shall perish by a parent's hand.

Then, the mist swirled and retreated back into the mummy's mouth. The Oracle sat down on a rock and became still, as if she might sit there by the creek for a hundred more years.

PERCY AND GROVER WERE BOTH ELECTED TO TAKE THE ORACLE BACK TO THE ATTIC ( and it wasn't because they were the most popular ).

Nia was still pretty upset at Percy for causing them to lose the game, but Thalia had decided that she wasn't going to talk to the son of Poseidon at all.

"Come on, Thalia," Nia said to her old friend. "You can't just not talk to him."

"I can sure try."

Thalia and Nia both tromped up the steps where Percy and Grover were standing. Thalia looked at Grover and said, "Tell Percy to get his dumb ass downstairs."

"Why?" Percy asked her.

Thalia turned to Grover and Nia. "Did he say something?"

"Um, he asked why," Grover said, and he and Nia shared a slightly exasperated look.

"Mr. D is calling a council of cabin leaders to discuss the prophecy that the Oracle issued," said Nia, crossing her arms and rubbing the goose-bumps that were still there.

"And unfortunately," Thalia grumbled, "that includes Percy."

THE COUNCIL OF CABIN LEADERS was held around a Ping-Pong table in the rec room.

Mr. D waved his hand and supplied snacks: Cheez Whiz, crackers, and several bottles of red wine. Then Chiron reminded the camp director that wine was against his restrictions and most of the campers were underage. Mr. D sighed and, with a snap of his fingers, turned the wine into Diet Coke.

No one drank that either.

Having councils of war in the rec room did alleviate some of the tension, but Nia kept biting her lip and wringing her hands. All she could think about was her mother and friend being captured and the Oracle's prophecy. At this point, she was grinding her teeth to stubs.

Mr. D and Chiron ( in wheelchair form, of course ) sat on one end of the table. Zoë and Bianca ( who had sort of become Zoë's personal assistant ) took the other end.

Nia, Thalia, Grover, Percy, and Naomi ( because she always came along, no matter what anyone else said ) sat along the right, and the other head counselors — Beckendorf, Silena, and the Stoll twins — sat on the left. The Ares kids were all currently resting up in the infirmary because of capture-the-flag, courtesy of the Hunters.

Zoë started it all off: "This is pointless."

"Way to be positive, Zoë," Nia said under her breath. Naomi stifled a laugh.

"Cheez Whiz!" Grover gasped. He started scooping up crackers and Ping-Pong balls and spraying them with topping.

"There is no time to talk," continued Zoë. "Our goddess needs us. The Hunters must leave immediately."

"West!" Bianca said. Nia was honestly kind of amazed at how different she looked after just a few days withthe Hunters. Her dark hair was braided like Zoë's now, so her face was actually visible. Shehad a splash of freckles across her nose, and her dark eyes vaguely reminded Nia of someone she had seen before, but she couldn't figure out who. Bianca looked like she'd been working out, and her skin glowedfaintly, like the other Hunters and Nia, as if she'd been taking showers in liquid moonlight. "You heard the prophecy. Six shall go west to the goddess in chains. We can get six hunters and go."

"Yes," Zoë agreed. "Artemis is being held hostage! We must find and free her."

Thalia spoke: "You're missing something, as usual. Campers and Hunters combined prevail. We're supposed to do this together."

"No!" Zoë protested. "The Hunters do not need thy help."

"'Your'," grumbled Thalia. "Nobody has said 'thy' in, like, three hundred years, Zoë. Get with the times.

Zoë hesitated before speaking again. "Yerrr. We do not need yerrr help."

"Forget it." Thalia rolled her eyes.

"And just because you think that you don't need our help, doesn't mean that you can go without it," Nia said. "Besides, she's not just your goddess; she's my mother. Even if the prophecy didn't allow it, you're not going without me."

Zoë narrowed her eyes at her. "And now you choose to acknowledge that Artemis is thy mother?"

Everyone inhaled sharply and glanced at Nia; Zoë had struck a nerve. They all looked back and forth between Zoë and Nia like they were a tennis match.

Nia sat up in her seat immediately, staring Zoë down. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"What does thee think it means?"

Nia's silver eyes flashed dangerously at Zoë. Who the hell did she think she was? "Please, enlighten me." She started to get up out of her chair, but Percy put a hand on her shoulder and pushed her back down, shaking his head.

( Butterflies flew in Nia's stomach, but she ignored them. )

Even if Nia denied the truth to Zoë, it was known to everyone that Nia had some shame about being the sole child of Artemis. Not that she was ashamed of her mother, but she was a bit miffed by the fact that she was always the odd one out, always the one who people looked a little sideways, the one everyone expected more out of. She was, and always would be, the anomaly. At least Thalia, Percy, and Naomi had each other, for better or worse.

She was in her own category. She was alone.

Nia hated that fact. And Zoë bringing it up was just rubbing salt in the wound.

Nia pursed her lips and diverted her gaze from everyone else's.

After things settled down a little, Chiron spoke. "Nia is right; I fear the prophecy says you do need our help. Campers and Hunters must cooperate."

"Or do they?" mused Mr. D, swirling his Diet Coke under his nose like a wine glass. "One shall be lost. One shall perish. That sounds rather nasty, doesn't it? What if you fail because you try to cooperate?"

No one said anything.

"Mr. D," Chiron sighed, "with all due respect, whose side are you on?"

Dionysus raised his eyebrows. "Apologies, my dear centaur. Just trying to be helpful."

"We're supposed to work together," Thalia said. "I don't like it either, Zoë, but you know prophecies. You want to fight against one?"

Zoë grimaced, but Thalia had scored a point.

"So," Naomi said, "where do we go from here?"

"We must not delay," Chiron answered. "Today is Sunday. This very Friday, December twenty-first, is the winter solstice."

"Oh, joy," muttered Dionysus. "Another dull annual meeting."

"Artemis must be present at the solstice," said Zoë. "She has been one of the most vocal on the council arguing for action against Kronos's minions. If she is absent, the gods will decide nothing. We will lose another year of war preparations."

"Another deadline," Nia grumbled. "Those seem to be a reoccurring theme for us, huh?"

"Excuse me, young lady; are you suggesting that the gods have trouble acting together?" Mr. D asked Zoë.

"Yes, Lord Dionysus."

Mr. D nodded. "Just checking. You're absolutely right, of course. Carry on."

Naomi laughed out loud this time.

"I agree with Zoë," Chiron said. "Artemis's presence at the winter council is critical. We have only a week to find her. And possibly even more important: to locate the monster she was hunting. Now, we must decide who goes on this quest."

"Three and three," Percy suddenly said.

Everybody turned to him. Nia glanced at her friend. Huh?

"We're supposed to have six," Percy said, looking self-conscious. "Three Hunters, three from Camp Half-Blood. Make it fair."

Thalia and Zoë exchanged glances.

"Well, it does make sense," Thalia said.

Zoë grunted. "I would prefer to take all the Hunters. We will need the strength of numbers."

"You'll be retracing the goddess's path," Chiron reminded her. "Moving quickly. No doubt Nia's mother tracked the scent of this rare monster, whatever it is, she moved west. You will have to do the same. The prophecy was clear: The bane of Olympus shows the trail. What would your mistress say? 'Too many Hunters spoil the scent.' A small group is best."

Zoë picked up a Ping-Pong paddle and studied it. "This monster — the bane of Olympus. I have hunted at Lady Artemis's side for many years, yet I have no idea what this beast might be."

Everyone looked at Dionysus, who was flipping through a wine magazine, but when everyone went silent, he glanced up. "Well, don't look at me. I'm a young god, remember? I don't keep track of all those ancient monsters and dusty titans. They make for terrible party conversation."

Well, he's no help, Nia thought. She honestly hadn't expected anything different.

Percy spoke. "Chiron, you don't have any ideas about the monster?"

The centaur pursed his lips. "I have several ideas, none of them good. And none of them quite make sense. Typhon, for instance, could fit this description. He was truly a bane of Olympus. Or the sea monster Keto. But if either of these were stirring, we would know it. They are ocean monsters the size of skyscrapers. Your father, Poseidon—," Chiron nodded to Percy and Naomi, "—would have sounded the alarm. I fear this monster may be more elusive. Perhaps even more powerful."

"That's some serious danger you're facing," Connor Stoll said. "It sounds like at least two of the six are going to die."

"One shall be lost in the land without rain," Beckendorf said. "If I were you, I'd stay out of the desert."

There was a murmur of agreement with his assessment.

"And the Titan's curse one must withstand," Silena said. "What could that mean?"

"One shall perish by a parent's hand," Grover said, still eating his food. "How is that possible? Whose parent would kill them?"

There was heavy silence around the table. Nia glanced at Naomi, Percy, and Thalia, who were all looking at each other.

"There will be deaths," Chiron decided. "That much we know."

"Oh, goody!" said Dionysus.

Everyone looked at him and the wine god glanced up innocently from the pages of his magazine. "Ah, pinot noir is making a comeback. Don't mind me."

"Percy is right," said Silena. "Three campers should go."

"Oh, I see," Zoë said sarcastically. "And I suppose you wish to volunteer?"

Silena blushed furiously. "I'm not going anywhere with the Hunters. Don't look at me!"

"A daughter of Aphrodite does not wish to be looked at. What would thy mother say?" Zoë scoffed.

Silena started to get up out of her chair, but the Stoll brothers pulled her back.

"Stop it," said Beckendorf firmly. "Let's start with the Hunters. Which three of you will go?"

"I shall go, of course," Zoë stood, "and I will take Phoebe. She is our best tracker."

"The big girl who likes to hit people on the head?" Travis asked cautiously.

"The one who put the arrows in my helmet?" added Connor.

"Yes," snapped Zoë. "Why?"

"Oh, nothing," Travis said. "Just that we have a T-shirt for her from the camp store." He held up a silver T-shirt that read 'ARTEMIS THE MOON GODDESS, FALL HUNTING TOUR 2002', with a huge list underneath. "It's a collector's item. She was admiring it. You want to give it to her?"

The Stolls' were up to something — Nia could tell by the looks on their faces — but she didn't interfere. Whatever their angle was, she was pretty sure that Phoebe deserved it.

But Zoë, obviously not used to the Stoll' brothers tricks, just sighed and took the shirt. "As I was saying, I will take Phoebe. And I wish Bianca to go."

"Me?" Bianca looked stunned. "But. . . I'm so new. I wouldn't be any good."

"You will do fine," insisted Zoë. "There is no better way to prove thyself."

Bianca closed her mouth, then nodded, looking dazed by the daunting task ahead.

"And for the three campers?" Chiron asked.

Naomi cringed. "Well, the second and third lines of the prophecy. . ." She trailed off. Everybody looked anywhere except Nia.

Nia rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on. Let's not pretend like we all don't know who the prophecy is talking about. It's obviously me. I'm one of the campers."

Chiron nodded, clear sadness in his eyes. "From the prophecy, that much is clear. What lies in store, well. . ."

"Well, the third line — And use the moonlight to sustain — must be talking about my freaky new moonlight powers," Nia sighed. "But that's pretty much all that I can figure from there." That reminded her — she would have to practice more with the moonlight.

". . .shall fight despite her pain," Thalia said worriedly. "Nia, do you have any idea what that means?"

Nia shrugged at the daughter of Zeus. "Not a clue. But apparently, I'll find out soon."

Silence.

"Well, that's not ominous at all," Percy mumbled, breaking the silence.

Naomi mumbled back to her brother, "Not the time, Perce."

No one spoke for a moment after that until Chiron finally spoke again: "And the two other campers?"

Grover stood up so fast he bumped the Ping-Pong ball scraps off of his lap. "Me! Anything to help Artemis!"

"I think not, satyr. You are not even a half-blood." Zoë wrinkled her nose at him.

Nia's blood started to boil. She hated when Zoë acted like this. The girl was lucky that she was a Hunter or Nia would've already pulverized her. "You know what—"

Thalia quickly cut Nia off. "But he is a camper. And he's got a satyr's senses and woodland magic. Can you play a tracker's song yet, Grover?"

"Absolutely!" Grover said with pride.

Having a satyr who can play a tracker's song was really useful, as they could trap enemies, grow plants, and ultimately even save lives. Grover's reed pipes had come in handy when he, Nia, Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke were trying to get to camp six years ago.

Zoë wavered. "Very well. And the third camper?"

"I'll go." Thalia quickly stood and looked around, daring anyone to question her. No one did.

Nia was glad. If there was anyone other than Naomi and Grover that she wanted to go with her, it was Thalia and—

Percy.

Suddenly, it occurred to Nia that Percy wasn't on the quest team. She bit her lip, knowing that the son of Poseidon would protest.

And sure enough, Percy looked up. "Whoa, wait a sec. I want to go too."

Thalia said nothing. Nia winced, looking guiltily over at Percy. Chiron was studying him, his eyes sad.

"Oh," Grover said, aware of the problem. "Whoa, yeah, I forgot! Percy has to go. I didn't mean. . . I'll stay. Percy should go in my place."

"He cannot," said Zoë. "He is a boy. I won't have Hunters traveling with a boy."

"You traveled here with me," Percy said, indignant. Nia sighed; she already knew that this was one battle that Percy wasn't going to win.

"That was different," Zoë waved her hand.

"What about Grover?" Percy demanded.

Zoë shook her head. "He does not count. He's a satyr. He is not technically a boy."

Grover immediately started protesting: "Hey!"

"I have to go," Percy said. "I need to be on this quest."

"Why?" Zoë asked him. "Because of thy friend Annabeth?"

Percy blushed. "No! I mean, partly. I just feel like I'm supposed to go!"

At that moment, Nia felt like punching Zoë, Percy, Annabeth, and the entire world in the face. But no one came to Percy's defense.

"No," Zoë said flatly. "I insist upon this. I will take a satyr if I must, but not a male hero."

"The quest is for Artemis," sighed Chiron. "The Hunters — and Nia — should be allowed to approve their companions."

Nia diverted her gaze from Percy's. If Zoë didn't want him to go, there wasn't much else that she could do. The lieutenant did spend much more time with her mother. Maybe she had more of a right. . . 

Besides, Nia was still a bit upset with Percy about Annabeth.

Percy sat down, not looking at anyone, and Nia felt a tiny bit of satisfaction.

Then Nia cursed herself. What was she doing? Being jealous of her closest friend in the world? She was the daughter of a maiden goddess, for gods' sake. Having a crush was one thing, but petty jealousy? Ugh, she hated this.

Chiron concluded the council. "So be it. Nia, Thalia, and Grover will accompany Zoë, Bianca, and Phoebe. You shall leave at first light. And may the gods—," he glanced over at Dionysus, "—present company included, we hope — be with you."

well then, we've got our first prophecy and official quest! ( especially since sea of monsters was a rogue mission ) 

honestly, i'm not the biggest fan of it ; the additions i made feel kind of awkward and i feel like it kind of stands out, but i kinda just had to get it out there and stop obsessing over editing and revising, you know?

but hey, i did it. ( and ooh, the things that i have planned for this one, you would not believe. )

and i would just like to give y'all a big thank-you. anybody who has ever even interacted with me on this book. every read, comment, vote, and add to your bookshelf honestly makes my day so much better

so please, don't hesitate to give me feedback and tell me what you think, even if you think that my story is the worst thing to happen since ranch dressing pop-tarts

and with that, i leave you for now! take care, everybody!

talk soon!

—icedcoffeemug