09. THEO

Kekrops agreed to the compromise of leaving his guard mermen above deck with the Coach Hedge hologram, who ordered them to drop and give him twenty push-ups. The guards seemed to take this as a challenge. Theo wanted to stick around to see how they managed to hold their ground with such slipper lower halves, but Percy tugged her arm and the rest of them headed down to the mess hall for a 'get to know you' meeting.

"Please take a seat," Jason offered the king of Athens.

Kekrops wrinkled his nose. "Snake people do not sit."

"Please remain standing," Leo said. He cut the welcome cake and stuffed a piece in his mouth before anyone could warn him it might be poisoned, or inedible for mortals, or just plain bad.

"Dang!" He grinned. "Snake people know how to make Bundt cake. Kind of orangey, with a hint of honey. Needs a glass of milk."

"Snake people do not drink milk," Kekrops said. "We are lactose-intolerant reptiles."

"Same," said Theo.

"Me, too!" Frank said. "I mean... lactose intolerant. Not a reptile. Though I can be a reptile sometimes—"

"Anyway," Hazel interrupted, "King Kekrops, what brings you here? How did you know we'd arrived?"

"I know everything that happens in Athens," Kekrops said. "I was the city's founder, its first king, born of the earth. I am the one who judged the dispute between Apollo and Poseidon here, and I am the one who chose Athena to be the patron of the city."

"Dispute?" Percy wrinkled his nose. "I didn't know Apollo offended my father. I thought they were on good terms."

"My father isn't on good terms with any of the Olympians," said Theo, furrowing her brow. "But I can't remember an outright rivalry between him and Poseidon. Kekrops, do you mind filling us in?"

"I got it," said May, before Kekrops could open his mouth. She cleared her throat. "Once upon a time, Poseidon and Apollo fought alongside the Greeks in the Trojan War. Zeus punished the mortals of Troy and all of their allies after the war was finished. Poseidon and Apollo grew angry at Zeus and wanted to diminish his power, so together they created a plot to bind him down. Another god—Thetis—foiled their plan and warned Zeus of what they were doing."

"Narc," Leo added.

"As a consequence," May continued, unperturbed, "Zeus punished both Apollo and Poseidon, sending them down to Earth temporarily as mortals to build the walls of Troy. From my understanding, Apollo is angry with Poseidon for losing him his powers, even if it was only for a short time. And Poseidon is angry with Apollo because of the humiliation that came with being a mortal."

"So both of them are upset because their egos are so fragile." Percy nodded. "Gotta love the Olympians."

"But that happened in Troy," Theo said, frowning. "What does that have to do with you, Kekrops?"

"A majority of the Trojan war was fought in my lands," he replied. His eyes steeled as though he was picturing it like it was yesterday. "It was supposed to be under the protection of Athena, but Apollo and Poseidon's support of the Greeks angered Zeus and he demanded Athena stay out of the war entirely."

May scoffed. "As the goddess of war, I'm sure she was overjoyed to do so."

"She was not," said Kekrops, who either didn't understand sarcasm or just really wanted to make sure the message was clear. "In the end, after the Greeks won, Troy was destroyed. As this young Alvarez said, Apollo and Poseidon's punishment was to build the walls of Troy with their bare hands. After the construction was finished, they were so upset with each other, they wanted to battle it out—but not anywhere near their brand new completion. They came to Athens instead, where none of their hard work could possibly be in harm's way."

"Another point for the fragile egos," Percy noted.

"In any case," Kekrops said, nodding, "my people were facing danger. The original Athenians—the gemini."

"Like your zodiac sign?" Percy asked. "I'm a Leo."

"No, stupid," Leo said. "I'm a Leo. You're a Percy."

"Will you two stop it?" Hazel chided. "I think he means gemini like double—half man, half snake. That's what his people are called. He's a geminus, singular."

"Yes..." Kekrops leaned away from Hazel as if she somehow offended him. "Millennia ago, we were driven underground by the two-legged humans, but I know the ways of the city better than any. I came to warn you. If you try to approach the Acropolis aboveground, you will be destroyed."

Jason stopped nibbling his cake. "You mean... by you?"

"By Porphyrion's armies," said the snake king. "The Acropolis is ringed with great siege weapons—onagers."

"More onagers?" Frank protested. "Did they have a sale on them or something?"

"The Cyclopes," Hazel guessed. "They're supplying both Octavian and the giants."

Percy grunted. "Like we needed more proof that Octavian is on the wrong side."

"That is not the only threat," Kekrops warned. "The air is filled with storm spirits and gryphons. All roads to the Acropolis are patrolled by the Earthborn."

Frank drummed his fingers on the bundt cake cover. "So, what, we should just give up?"

Theo wanted to squeak "That sounds great!", but she knew that wasn't very Firm Leader of her.

"I offer you an alternative," said Kekrops. "Underground passage to the Acropolis. For the sake of the gods, for the sake of the world, I will help you."

The back of Theo's neck tingled. She remembered what she had been told so long ago: that the demigods would find friends in Athens as well as enemies. Perhaps the advice had meant Kekrops and his snake people. But there was something in Kekrops's voice that Theo didn't like—that razor-against-throat tone, as if he were preparing to make a sharp cut.

"What's the catch?" she asked.

Kekrops turned those inscrutable dark eyes on her. "Only a small party of demigods—no more than three—could pass undetected by the giants. Otherwise your scent would give you away. But our underground passages could lead you straight into the ruins of the Acropolis. Once there, you could disable the siege weapons by stealth and allow the rest of your crew to approach. With luck, you could take the giants by surprise. You might be able to disrupt their ceremony."

"Ceremony?" Leo asked. "Oh... like, to wake Gaea."

"Even now it has begun," Kekrops warned. "Can you not feel the earth trembling? We, the gemini, are your best chance."

Theo heard eagerness in his voice—almost hunger.

Jason looked around the table. "Any objections?"

"Just a few," Frank said. "We're on the enemy's doorstep. We're being asked to split up. Isn't that how people get killed in horror movies?"

"Also," Hazel said, "Gaea wants us to reach the Parthenon. She wants our blood to water the stones and all that other psycho garbage. Won't we be playing right into her hands?"

Percy caught Theo's eye. He asked a silent question: What's your feeling?

Theo bit her lip.

Kekrops's offer made sense. At least, it sounded like the least suicidal option. But Theo's instincts were on high alert, telling her that the snake king was hiding his true intentions. And Theo had a horrible track record with snakes.

Then she frowned. This guy was literally a serpent—the age-old symbol of deceit, lies, trickery. The amount of stories Theo had heard that involved a snake pulling some sort of deception, she couldn't count on both hands. How on Earth could she have thought for a second that this guy wasn't full of it?

Kekrops and Theo locked eyes. Although she had grown to hate her father, she once again found herself channeling him, using the powers he'd given her to discern what was real and what was lie.

"Your intentions," she said, as evenly as she could. "What are they?"

Kekrops looked to be seething with rage, but he clenched his teeth, seemingly unable to speak anything but the truth. "To kill you. We will lead you into the tunnels and destroy you."

Theo tried to keep herself from shuddering. "Why?"

"The Earth Mother has promised us great rewards. If we spill your blood under the Parthenon, that will be sufficient to complete her awakening."

"But you serve Athena," Theo said, frowning. "You founded her city."

Kekrops made a low hiss. "And in return the goddess abandoned me. Athena replaced me with a two-legged human king. She drove my daughters mad. They leaped to their deaths from the cliffs of the Acropolis. The original Athenians, the gemini, were driven underground and forgotten. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, turned her back on us, but wisdom comes from the earth as well. We are, first and last, the children of Gaea. The Earth Mother has promised us a place in the sun of the upper world."

"Gaea is lying," Percy said. "She intends to destroy the upper world. She won't give it to anyone."

Kekrops bared his fangs. "Then we will be no worse off than we were under the treacherous gods!"

He raised his staff, but Theo shouted before he could do anything: "No!"

She had no idea what was going on, honestly. It wasn't as though she had put Kekrops under any sort of trance; he had full control of his body. In fact, Theo was hardly doing anything to affect him. All she knew was that her father was incredibly skilled when it came to the art of theatre. She wondered if that extended to the art of lying, since acting was pretty much the same thing.

Either way—whether Theo was holding Kekrops in a trance or not—he lowered his staff and looked back to her. Maybe he just viewed her as the most powerful one present and therefore decided to respect her word.

That didn't inflate her ego, or anything.

"The giants' defenses and the underground passage to the Acropolis. How much of what you told us was true?"

"All of it," Kekrops said. "The Acropolis is heavily defended, just as I described. Any approach aboveground would be impossible."

"So you could guide us through your tunnels," Theo said. "That's also true?"

Kekrops frowned. "I could..."

"And if you ordered your people not to attack us," she said, "they would obey?"

"Yes, but..." Kekrops shuddered. "Yes, they would obey. Three of you at most could go without attracting the attention of the giants."

Mayfair's eyes darkened. "Theo, we'd be crazy to try it. He'll kill us at the first opportunity."

"Yes," the snake king agreed. "I would do that."

"Now that we know his plan, an ambush wouldn't exactly take us by surprise," Theo said pointedly, tipping her head. "We know they'll attack. We'd be ready. And plus, I think our friend here would be able to stay in line, at least for a little while longer, anyway."

"What could possibly make you think that?" said Jason. The look on his face made Theo think he couldn't decide between being concerned with the situation and being amused by Theo's confidence.

She shrugged, then clapped Kekrops on the shoulder, smiling. "We're buddies now. Right, Kekrops?"

"I despise you," he said honestly, "but it is true. Your knowing of our plan gives us much less chances of defeating you. I have no confidence that we could destroy any of you without the art of shock on our side."

"Great!" said Theo, smiling around the table. "So three of us will go down there with Kekky and disable the onagers just fine."

"Teddy and Kekky, sitting in a tree," Jason said. He seemed to have decided on amusement.

"So... who's going?" Frank glanced around at everyone. "I volunteer Hazel. You know, child of the Underworld, and all."

"Never," Kekrops said. "A child of the Underworld? My people would find your presence revolting. Nothing would keep them from slaying you."

Hazel swallowed. "Or I could stay here."

"Me and Percy," Theo said.

"Um..." Percy raised his hand. "Just gonna throw this out here again. That's exactly what Gaea wants—you and me, our bloodshed watering the stones, et cetera."

"I know." Theo tried not to show her dread on her face. "But it's the only good choice. The largest shrines on the Acropolis are dedicated to Poseidon and Apollo. Kekrops, wouldn't that mask our approach?"

"Yes," the snake king admitted. "Your... your scent would be difficult to discern. The ruins always radiate the power of those two gods."

"And me," May said. "If anything goes wrong, I trust Athena the most to at least try and help us."

Jason pressed his lips together. "I still hate the idea of splitting up."

"But it's our best shot," Frank said. "The three of them sneak in and disable the onagers, cause a distraction. Then the rest of us fly in with ballistae blazing."

"Yes," Kekrops said, "that plan could work. If I do not kill you first."

"I've got an idea," May said. "Frank, Hazel, Leo... let's chat outside. Percy and Theo, do what you're best at."

"What are we best at?" Percy said.

May waved a hand between the two of them and Kekrops. "Small talk."

May, Leo, Frank and Hazel left to talk strategy.

"Well." Percy turned back to Kekrops, sharing a glance with Theo. Then he sighed and rested his forearms on the table like he was accepting defeat. "So how about this weather, huh?"

Percy used to argue with Theo that being in the airport didn't count as visiting a city. She'd always argued that she had been to Nantucket before because a flight home from a Canadian obedience school visit had landed at the wrong airport after a bad storm. (She'd never made it to the obedience school, anyway, because her aunt decided Canada was too high-end for her, but that was a different story.)

Anyway, now Theo wondered if she could say the same thing about sewers.

From the port to the Acropolis, she didn't see anything of Athens except dark, putrid tunnels. The snake men led them through an iron storm grate at the docks, straight into their underground lair, which smelled of rotting fish, mold and snakeskin.

"I don't like this place," Theo murmured. "Reminds me too much of when I was underneath Rome."

Kekrops hissed with laughter. "Our domain is much older. Much, much older."

Theo slipped her hand into Percy's for comfort. She hated knowing how much history was trapped inside these walls—it really made her feel like she was back on her solo quest. But Percy's grip on her hand kept her grounded.

They passed through crude stone chambers littered with bones. They climbed slopes so steep and slippery it was nearly impossible to keep their footing. At one point, they passed a warm cave the size of a gymnasium filled with snake eggs, their tops covered with a layer of silver filaments like slimy Christmas tinsel.

More and more snake people joined their procession. Slithering behind her, they sounded like an army of football players shuffling with sandpaper on their cleats.

Theo wondered how many gemini lived down here. Hundreds, maybe thousands. Her faith that the three demigods could come out on top if things went awry... well, she was losing confidence by the second. She just hoped Kekrops kept holding his gemini at bay.

She thought she heard her own heartbeat echoing through the corridors, getting louder and louder the deeper they went. Then she realized the persistent boom ba-boom was all around them, resonating through the stone and the air.

I wake. A woman's voice, as clear as day.

May froze. "Oh, that's not good."

"It's like Tartarus," Percy said, his voice edgy. "You remember... his heartbeat. When he appeared—"

"Percy," Theo said, shutting her eyes. "Don't."

"Sorry." In the light of his sword, Percy's face was like a large firefly—a hovering, momentary smudge of brightness in the dark.

The voice of Gaea spoke again, louder: At last.

Fear washed over Theo, as it had in the Spartan temple. But the gods Phobos and Deimos were old friends to her now. She let the fear burn inside her like fuel, lighting her confidence on fire. She had grown so good at pretending to have faith in herself, at least for her friends' sakes. Why not for Gaea's, too?

"Screw off, dirt face," she murmured.

Finally they reached the top of a steep slope, where the path ended in a curtain of green goo.

Kekrops faced the demigods. "Beyond this camouflage is the Acropolis. You must remain here. I will check that your way is clear."

"Wait." May turned to address the crowd of gemini. "There is only death above. You will be safer in the tunnels. Hurry back. Forget you saw us. Protect yourselves."

The persuasion in her voice was thick and clear. The snake people, even the guards, turned and slithered into the darkness, leaving only the king.

Percy frowned. "We could've used that back on the ship, you know."

"Kekrops," Theo said, "you're planning to betray us as soon as you step through that goo."

"Yes," he agreed. "I will alert the giants. They will destroy you." Then he hissed. "Why did I tell you that?"

"Listen to the heartbeat of Gaea," May urged. "You can sense her rage, can't you?"

Kekrops wavered. The end of his staff glowed dimly. "I can, yes. She is angry."

"She'll destroy everything," May said. "She'll reduce the Acropolis to a smoking crater. Athens—your city—will be utterly destroyed, your people along with it. You believe me, don't you?"

"I—I do."

"Whatever hatred you have for humans, for demigods, for Athena, we are the only chance to stop Gaea. So you will not betray us. For your own sake, and your people, you will scout the territory and make sure the way is clear. You will say nothing to the giants. Then you will return."

"That is... what I'll do." Kekrops disappeared through the membrane of goo.

Theo shook her head in amazement. "Mayfair, that was incredible."

"We'll see if it works." May sat down on the cool stone floor. She seemed shaken by her own strength.

The others squatted next to her. Percy handed around a canteen of water. "You think the charm will last?"

"I'm not sure," May admitted. "If Kekrops comes back in two minutes with an army of giants, then no."

The heartbeat of Gaia echoed through the floor. Oddly enough, it reminded Theo no longer of her solo quest to find the Belvedere Apollo, but of one that took place way further back in her memory.

"It's like the Labyrinth," she said to Percy, managing a smile. "Like we're about to pop out the other side, right into Daedalus's workshop."

Percy exhaled a laugh, exhausted. "If only we had Rachel Dare here to guide the way."

They sat in silence for a long moment. Then May, who had been lost deep in thought, spoke up. "Do you guys ever think about your families?"

Theo and Percy shared a glance. She wondered if he was thinking the same thing as her: She couldn't remember a time May had talked about her family. Ever. But she was asking about Percy and Theo.

Percy's gaze became unfocused. His lower lip quivered. "My mom... I—I haven't even seen her since Hera made me disappear. I called her from Alaska. I gave Coach Hedge some letters to deliver to her. I..." His voice broke. "She's all I've got. Her and my stepdad."

"Goddamn Paul," added Theo.

That made Percy laugh, at least. She couldn't help but smile at the sound.

May laughed, too, even though she didn't know Paul. Her eyes were twinkly. "Theo, what about you?"

Theo swallowed, the smile melting from her face. She cleared her throat and tried to keep her tone positive. "I never really talked to my mom much. She died a couple years ago. And my only mortal family left—my aunt—she despises me. I don't know the last time I talked to her. She probably thinks I'm dead now. I think that's the best case scenario, anyway."

Percy took her hand. She wasn't sure she'd ever told even him any more than that. It was like some sort of wall always went up: Someone asked Theo about her family? Okay, but they can only get this far before they have to buy a premium subscription.

Then she realized there wasn't much else to say. Theo had an aunt that hated her, and no more family to account for. That made it hard to go on any further, she guessed.

"That means you never have to go back to her place," Percy pointed out, squeezing her hand. "You're free, Sunshine. That's cause for celebration."

Theo managed a smile. "I think so, too. But let's hold off on the cake and candles until we save the world."

At the top of the tunnel, the green membrane rippled.

All of them grabbed their weapons and rose, prepared for a flood of monsters.

But Kekrops emerged alone.

"The way is clear," he said. "But hurry. The ceremony is almost complete."

Via Chatter

Happy Thanksgiving!!! I'm thankful for all of you! I hope you guys can all celebrate with the people you love 🫂

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