CHAPTER TWO —
pasiphae's son

"I'm worried about Percy." Grover told Chiron.

The end of the school year had come, and nothing else had tried to kill Percy at Yancy Academy, but Valerie's mind never rested. She had been monitoring Percy closer and as secretly as ever. After defeating a Kindly One, the Mist distracted everyone from ever acknowledging a Mrs. Dobbs had ever existed, a bubbly blonde woman, Mrs Kerr, taking her place. Of course, Valerie, Grover, and Chiron still knew of her, but the last two had been lying to Percy by defying whether there ever had been a Mrs. Dobbs.

According to Grover, this had been driving Percy insane and him going home for the summer and not coming back next year was deeply worrying for Grover, and Valerie, for that matter.

"I mean, a Kindly One in the school! Now that we know for sure, and they know too—"

"We would only make matters worse by rushing him," Mr. Brunner said. "We need the boy to mature more."

"But he may not have time. The summer solstice deadline—" Valerie began hurriedly.

"Will have to be resolved without him. Let him enjoy his ignorance while he still can."

"Sir, he saw her....and Valerie, he's been asking me again if a girl with cherry red hair goes here. I don't think he'll believe me anymore."

"His imagination," Mr. Brunner insisted. "The Mist over the students and staff will be enough to convince him of that, along with your secrecy," He pointed to Valerie.

"Sir, I...I can't fail my duties again." Grover's voice was choked with emotion. "You know what that would mean."

Valerie placed a comforting hand on her friend's shoulder.

"You haven't failed, Grover," Mr. Brunner said kindly. "I should have seen her for what she was. Now let's just worry about keeping Percy alive until next fall—"

A small thud sounded from outside of Chiron's office. The three of them turned to look at the doorway. Chiron went out into the hallway and cautiously checked up and down it and Grover and Valerie followed him.

"What is it?" Valerie asked her mentor.

"Nothing," he murmured. "My nerves haven't been right since the winter solstice."

"Mine neither," Grover said. "But I could have sworn..."

"Go back to the dorm," Mr. Brunner told them. "You two have got a long day of exams tomorrow."

"Don't remind us."

–

Valerie was sitting in a row behind Grover and Percy (again). The three of them were on a bus going back home for the summer.

Well, Percy was. Grover and Valerie were finally able to go back to camp.

The seats were tall so Percy and Grover couldn't see Valerie sitting behind them, but Valerie could still hear their conversation.

"What's Half—" Valerie heard Percy begin to ask.

"Don't say it aloud!" Grover yelped. "That's my, um...summer address."

"Okay," Percy said glumly. "So, like, if I want to come visit your mansion?"

"Or...or if you need me."

"Why would I need you?"

Valerie rolled her eyes – who doesn't need Grover?

"Look, Percy, the truth is, I—I kind of have to protect you."

There was a pause. Valerie smacked her palm to her head. What a great start.

"Grover," Percy said, "what exactly are you protecting me from?"

There was a huge sudden grinding noise underneath their feet. Black smoke poured from the dashboard and the whole bus filled with a smell like rotten eggs. The driver cursed and limped the bus over to the side of the highway.

After a few minutes clanking around in the engine compartment, the driver announced that they'd all have to get off. Valerie put a black cap on to try and slightly tone down her cherry-red hair and discreetly filed off the bus after Grover and Percy.

On their side of the highway was nothing but maple trees and litter from passing cars. On the other side, across four lanes of asphalt shimmering with afternoon heat, was an old-fashioned fruit stand.

Had it been any other time, Valerie would have relished in the various fruits, but what unnerved her were the three old ladies sitting in front of a maple tree, knitting very large socks. The Fates.

Valerie's eyes widened once she saw they were looking straight at Percy. She caught Grover's .

pale and panic-stricken face and pointed at the bus, silently signalling for them all to get back on.

Valerie was the first to get back on the bus, and was feeling very sickly as the bus got started back up again and moving.

"Grover?" Valerie heard Percy say.

"Yeah?"

"What are you not telling me?"

"Percy, what did you see back at the fruit stand?"

"You mean the old ladies? What is it about them, man? They're not like...Mrs. Dodds, are they?"

"Just tell me what you saw."

"The middle one took out her scissors, and she cut the yarn."

"You saw her snip the cord."

Valerie stopped listening and began praying to the gods for an easy journey. She couldn't let anyone die on her one quest – she'd never be able to redeem herself.

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"You let Percy go!?" Grover exclaimed.

Unfortunately for the two friends, Percy had slipped away while Grover had been in the bathroom – fear always had a negative effect on his bladder.

"Well, I couldn't really stop him, I'm not real to him remember?" Valerie said, "Also he just like.. disappeared!"

"Are you serious?" Grover asked incredulously.

"No, I actually snuck him into my suitcase." Valerie deadpanned.

"That's not funny, Val,"

"You asked.."

Grover was really freaking out now. "This is bad! This is really bad!"

Valerie grabbed the frantic satyr by the shoulders and shook him. Hard.

"Hey! Don't panic, all we have to do is find him before the minotaur does. And.. he won't be far, I'm sure,"

So now Grover and Valerie were stuck with the task of searching for Percy, high and low, as to not fail the one task the two of them were set. Valerie hadn't been entirely sure Percy wouldn't be far.

But sure enough, the pressure of the Minotaur after them overtook them and they rapidly searched and travelled until they ended up outside a cabin in Montauk.

"Mrs Jackson!" Valerie yelled repeatedly, pounding desperately on the door as the rain from the hurricane soaked her and Grover.

They didn't have a lot of time, they needed to act fast if they wanted to make it to camp alive. The door flew open to reveal a terror-stricken Sally Jackson.

"We've been searching all night!" Valerie gasped.

"What were you thinking!" Grover said, wiping his face.

Sally Jackson looked back to her son in fear, understanding immediately.

"Percy," she said, shouting to be heard over the rain. "What happened at school? What didn't you tell me?"

Percy was frozen, staring at his best friend and the red-haired girl he'd been seeing everywhere, the one who had saved him from the Kindly One. She was actually real. She wasn't just in his head, like Grover had insisted. But what wasn't very real to him was his best friend having hooves instead of feet.

"O Zeu kai alloi theoi!" Grover yelled. "It's right behind us! Didn't you tell her?"

"Percy. Tell me now!" Percy's mother said to him.

Percy stammered something about the old ladies at the fruit stand, and Mrs. Dodds, and his mom stared at him, her face deathly pale in the flashes of lightning. She grabbed her purse, tossed her son his rain jacket, and said, "Get to the car. The three of you. Go!"

Grover and Valerie ran toward the small Camaro that was parked outside, the rain beating down relentlessly behind them.

They tore through the night along dark country roads. Wind slammed against the Camaro. Rain lashed the windshield. Valerie had no clue how Percy's mother could see anything, but she kept her foot on the gas.

Every time there was a flash of lightning, Valerie saw Percy look back at her, like she wasn't real and was about to evaporate at any minute. In any other circumstances, Valerie would've laughed at the dumb look on his face, but at this very moment there was a minotaur chasing them so she couldn't really laugh – it would be slightly inappropriate.

However, she made a mental note to mention it once they got to camp.

"So you're the girl who saved me from the Kindly One?" Percy asked, still staring at her.

"Yes.." Valerie said.

"And you two... know my mom?"

Valerie and Grover's eyes flitted to the rearview mirror.

"Not exactly," he said. "I mean, we've never met in person. But she knew I was watching you."

"Watching me?"

"Keeping tabs on you. Making sure you were okay. But I wasn't faking being your friend," he added hastily. "I am your friend."

"Um...what are you, exactly?"

"That doesn't matter right now."

"It doesn't matter? From the waist down, my best friend is a donkey—" Grover let out a sharp, throaty "Blaa-ha-ha!"

"Yikes!" Valerie said, feeling offended for Grover.

"Goat!" Grover cried.

"What?" Percy asked.

"I'm a goat from the waist down."

"You just said it didn't matter."

"Dude." Valerie said, "It matters."

"Blaa-ha-ha! There are satyrs who would trample you underhoof for such an insult!" Grover exclaimed.

"Whoa. Wait. Satyrs. You mean like...Mr. Brunner's myths?"

Valerie smacked her head with her hand.

"Were those old ladies at the fruit stand a myth, Percy? Was Mrs. Dodds a myth?" Grover asked Percy.

"So you admit there was a Mrs. Dodds!"

"Of course. There also is a red-haired girl, and she's sitting right next to me,"

"Then why—"

"The less you knew, the fewer monsters you'd attract," Valerie said, like that should be perfectly obvious. "They put Mist over the humans' eyes. We hoped you'd think the Kindly One was a hallucination. But it was no good. You started to realise who you are."

"Who I—wait a minute, what do you mean?"

The deep, rumbling bellow of the minotaur rose again somewhere from behind them. It was getting closer to them.

"Percy," Percy's mother said, "there's too much to explain and not enough time. We have to get you to safety."

"Safety from what? Who's after me?"

"Oh, nobody much," Grover said, obviously still miffed about the donkey comment. "Just the Lord of the Dead and a few of his blood thirstiest minions."

"Just a few of the most dangerous ones," Valerie added, nodding.

"Grover! Valerie!"

"Sorry, Mrs. Jackson. Could you drive faster, please?"

Percy's mother made a hard left. They swerved onto a narrower road, racing past darkened farmhouses and wooded hills and PICK YOUR OWN STRAWBERRIES signs on white picket fences.

"Where are we going?" Percy asked, evidently still in disbelief at everything that was happening.

"The summer camp I told you about." her voice was tight, and it was clear that she was trying to stay strong for her son, "The place your father wanted to send you."

"The place you didn't want me to go."

"Please, dear," Percy's mother begged. "This is hard enough. Try to understand. You're in danger."

Valerie's heart twinged. It reminded her of her own mother when it had been Valerie's time to head to camp-halfblood, moments before her death.

"Because some old ladies cut yarn."

"Those weren't any old ladies, those were the Fates." Valerie explained, "When they appear in front of you, it only means one thing. When you see them it means yo- someone is about to die."

"Woah. You were about to say you." Percy said.

"No I wasn't." Valerie said, but the look on her face gave it away.

"Yes you were."

"No, I wasn't!"

"She meant you, like 'someone.' Not you, you." Grover intervened.

"Kids!" Mrs. Jackson yelled.

She pulled the wheel hard to the right, and Valerie got a glimpse of the minotaur she swerved to avoid—a dark fluttering shape now lost behind them in the storm.

"What was that?" Percy asked.

"We're almost there," his mother said, ignoring his question. "Another mile. Please. Please. Please."

Valerie looked outside but was only met with rain and consuming darkness. She prayed and prayed to the gods that they'd get to camp safely and that the minotaur would never reach them and that no one at camp had found her secret gummy worm stash–

BOOM!

There was a blinding flash and Valerie felt her body being thrown onto her side and her muscles burning in pain. She turned her head to find that they'd swerved into a ditch and the roof of the car had shattered and rain was now pouring in.

"Ow."

"Percy!" Percy's mother shouted.

"I'm okay...." he replied.

But next to Valerie, Grover was a motionless lump next to her, blood trickling from his mouth.

"Grover!" Valerie cried, shaking the satyr desperately. She could not let anyone die on the quest, let alone one of her best friends.

"Food." Grover groaned and Valerie let out a breath of relief. There was hope.

"Percy," my mother said to her gaping son, "we have to..." Her voice faltered.

Valerie looked back. A flash of lightning – the minotaur was lumbering toward them.

"Who is—"

"Percy," my mother said, deadly serious. "Get out of the car."

Percy's mother threw herself against the driver's-side door. It was jammed shut in the mud. Percy opened the passenger seat door and got out, now stood outside. Valerie opened her own car door and clambered out, attempting to pull Grover with her.

"Percy—you have to run. Do you see that big tree?" Mrs. Jackson yelled from inside the car.

"What?" her son yelled back.

"That's the property line," Percy's mom said. "Get over that hill and you'll see a big farmhouse down in the valley. Run and don't look back. Yell for help. Don't stop until you reach the door. Valerie, you have to help him."

"Mom, you're coming too."

Her face was pale, her eyes filled deeply with sadness.

"No!" Percy shouted. "You are coming with me. Help us carry Grover."

"Food!" Grover moaned, a little louder. Valerie wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled him up swiftly.

"She can't come with us, Percy. She can't cross the property line." Valerie said.

"He doesn't want us," his mother told him. "He wants you. And Valerie's right, I can't cross the boundary."

"But..."

"We don't have time, Percy. Go. Please."

"Percy! You need to run! I can help Grover." Valerie yelled as she watched Percy stand there, anger taking over his expression.

"We're going together. Come on, Mom." Percy said, grabbing Grover's other arm.

"I told you—" his mother protested.

"Mom! I am not leaving you."

Percy didn't wait for his mother's answer and stumbled quickly with Valerie toward where the property line should be. His mother quickly replaced him in carrying Grover and the four of them made their way as fast as they could. The immense mass of muscle that was the Minotaur was approaching them faster than they were moving. Valerie watched Percy's eyes go wide in terror at the sight of it.

"That's—"

"Pasiphae's son," his mother said. "I wish I'd known how badly they want to kill you."

"But he's the Min—"

"Don't say his name," she warned. "Names have power."

The pine tree was still way too far—a hundred yards uphill at least. The Minotaur was hunched over the car, trying to sniff them out.

"Food?" Grover moaned.

"Shhh," Valerie told him.

"Mom, what's he doing? Doesn't he see us?" Percy asked.

"His sight and hearing are terrible," she said. "He goes by smell. But he'll figure out where we are soon enough."

As if on cue, the Minotaur bellowed in rage. He picked up the car by the torn roof, the chassis creaking and groaning. He raised the car over his head and threw it down the road. It slammed into the wet asphalt and skidded in a shower of sparks for about half a mile before coming to a stop. The gas tank exploded.

"Percy," His mother said. "When he sees us, he'll charge. Wait until the last second, then jump out of the way—directly sideways. He can't change directions very well once he's charging. Do you understand?"

"How do you know all this?"

"I've been worried about an attack for a long time. I should have expected this. I was selfish, keeping you near me."

"Keeping me near you? But—"

Another bellow of rage, and the Minotaur started tromping uphill. He'd smelled them. The pine tree was only a few more yards, but the hill was getting steeper and slicker, and Grover wasn't getting any lighter. Minotaur closed in. Another few seconds and he'd be on top of them.

"Go, Percy! Separate! Remember what I said." his mother yelled.

Although he was reluctant, Percy did what his mother asked, sprinting to the left. The Minotaur began bearing down on him, but Percy stood his ground. For a split-second, Valerie thought Percy was going to let the Minotaur eat him, but he jumped out of the way at the perfect moment.

Relieved that Percy had saved himself, Valerie panicked as the Minotaur now charged at them.

"You have to protect him, Valerie! You have to complete your quest. Do that for me, please? Protect my son." Mrs. Jackson pleaded to Valerie, her eyes swimming with tears.

Valerie nodded frantically, tearing up as well as the two of them laid Grover down on the ground. They were on the crest of the hill and the farmhouse was still half a mile away – there was no way that all of them were going to make it.

The Minotaur grunted, pawing the ground. He kept eyeing Percy's mother, who was now retreating slowly downhill, back toward the road, trying to lead the monster away from Grover and Valerie.

"Run, Percy!" she told her son. "I can't go any farther. Run!"

She tried to sidestep, as she'd told Percy to do, but the monster had learned his lesson. His hand shot out and grabbed her by the neck as she tried to get away. He lifted her as she struggled, kicking and pummeling the air. Valerie tugged at her wrist, trying to find her gold bracelet, but was horrified to find her wrist bare – the bracelet had fallen off somewhere.

"Mom!" Percy cried.

Percy's mother managed to choke out one last word: "Go!"

Then, with an angry roar, the Minotaur closed his fists around Percy's mother's neck, and she dissolved before their eyes, melting into light, a shimmering golden form, as if she were a holographic projection. A blinding flash, and she was simply...gone.

"No!"

"Percy!" Valerie yelled as she scrambled around on her knees, trying to find her bracelet and blinking the rain mixed with tears out of her eyes. Percy ignored her and began taking off his red rain jacket. "What are you doing!?"

"Hey!" he screamed, waving the jacket, running to one side of the monster. "Hey, stupid! Ground beef!"

"What are you doing!" Valerie couldn't believe it: this kid was seriously about to fight the Minotaur by himself.

Finally!

A glint of gold caught Valerie's eye and clawed her bracelet out of the sticky mud while Percy miraculously jumped on to the Minotaur and landed on his neck.

The Minotaur's head slammed into the tree and staggered around, trying to shake Percy off of him. Thunder and lightning were still going strong. Valerie prepared to fire an arrow but the Minotaur was shaking himself around, bucking around like a rodeo. There was no clear target without hurting Percy as well. After all of this, there was no way she could let that happen.

Meanwhile, Grover started groaning in the grass.

Food!" Grover moaned.

The Minotaur wheeled toward him, pawed the ground again, and got ready to charge. Valerie aimed her bow and let go.

Missed.

Valerie prepared to fire again at the same time Percy grabbed one of the Minotaur's horns and pulled back with all his might. The monster tensed, gave a surprised grunt, then—snap!

Valerie gasped as the Minotaur screamed and flung Percy through the air. He landed flat on his back in the grass and his head smacked against a rock. The monster charged. Without thinking, Valerie shot another arrow at the Minotaur at the same time Percy drove the Minotaur's broken horn right into its furry rib cage.

The Minotaur roared in agony. He flailed, clawing at his chest and shoulder, then began to disintegrate—the same way Mrs. Dodds had burst apart. The Minotaur was gone.

The rain had stopped. The storm still rumbled, but only in the distance. Valerie sprinted toward Percy, who was weak and trembling with grief, her bow now a bracelet on her wrist again.

"Mom." he called, his voice shaking. Valerie's heart hurt for him: losing a mother was something she would never ever wish upon anyone. She felt irrevocably guilty – she could've done more to save his mother. She couldn't believe she missed.

"Percy," she said softly, kneeling in front of him, "We have to go."

Percy ignored her, still crying. "Mom."

"We've got to get Grover." Valerie gripped his arm and hoisted it around her shoulder, pulling him up. Percy didn't protest or acknowledge anything as she clambered the two of them toward Grover. Valerie then pulled her satyr friend up and stumbled toward the farmhouse, letting the two boys put all their weight on her. It was incredibly difficult trying to balance the body-weight of two twelve-year old boys (technically, Grover was twenty-four but who's really counting?), but it was the least she could do.

The moment the three of them reached the wooden porch, Percy collapsed onto the ground and Valerie saw Chiron and Annabeth, a friend of Valerie's, approach them.

"I did it." she gasped, as her knees buckled, all strength leaving her body. Annabeth caught her before she reached the ground.

"Nice to see you too." Annabeth chuckled.

They all looked down at Percy, and Annabeth said, "He's the one. He must be."

"Silence, Annabeth," the man said. "He's still conscious. Bring them inside."

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author's note!

this is prewritten and i was going to wait before publishing this but i felt bad for no updates so here's this!!! it's long too

I'm in the middle of exams rn so apologies if i go missing for like the next 6 weeks

lots of love x

published: 13th may 2024