Rick Riordan The Battle of the Labyrinth - 04
“ Because your father was Atlas .” She nodded . “ The gods do not trust their enemies . And rightly so . I should not complain .
Some of the prisons are not nearly as nice as mine .” “ But that ’ s not fair ,” I said . “ Just because you ’ re related doesn ’ t mean you support him . This other daughter I knew , Zoë , Nightshade — she fought against him . She wasn ’ t imprisoned .” “ But , Percy ,” Calypso said gently , “ I did support him in the first war . He is my father .” “ What ? But the Titans are evil !” “ Are they ? All of them ? All the time ?” She pursed her lips . “ Tell me , Percy . I have no wish to argue with you . but do you support the gods because they are good , or because they are your family ?”
I didn ’ t answer . She had a point . Last winter , after Annabeth and I had saved Olympus , the gods had had a debate about whether or not they should kill me . That hadn ’ t been exactly good . But still , I felt like I supported them because Poseidon was my dad .
“ Perhaps I was wrong in the war ,” Calypso said . “ And in fairness , the gods have treated me well . They visit me from time to time . They bring me word of the outside world . But they can leave . And I cannot .”
“ You don ’ t have any friends ?” I asked . “ I mean … wouldn ’ t anyone else live here with you ? it ’ s a nice place .” A tear trickled down her cheek . “ I … I promised myself I wouldn ’ t speak of this . But —” She was interrupted by a rumbling sound somewhere out on the lake . A glow appeared on the horizon . It got brighter and brighter , until I could see a column of fire moving across the surface of the water , coming toward us . I stood and reached for my sword . “ What is that ?” Calypso sighed . “ A visitor .” As the column of fire reached the beach . Calypso stood and bowed to it formally . The flames dissipated , and standing before us was a tall man in gray overalls and a metal leg brace , his beard and hair smoldering with fire . “ Lord Hephaestus ,” Calypso said . “ This is a rare honor .” The fire god grunted . “ Calypso . Beautiful as always . Would you excuse us , please , my dear ?
I need to have a word with our young Percy Jackson .” *** Hephaestus sat down clumsily at the dinner table and ordered a Pepsi . The invisible servant brought him one , opened it too suddenly , and sprayed soda all over the gods work clothes . Hephaestus roared and spat a few curses and swatted the can away . “ Stupid servants ,” he muttered . “ Good automatons are what she needs . They never act up !” “ Hephaestus ,” I said , “ what ’ s going on ? Is Annabeth —” “ She ’ s fine ,” he said . “ Resourceful girl , that one . Found her way back , told me the whole story . She ’ s worried sick , you know .” “ You haven ’ t told her I ’ m okay ?” “ That ’ s not for me to say ,” Hephaestus said . “ Everyone thinks you ’ re dead . I had to be sure you were coming back before I s tarted telling everyone where you were .” “ What do you mean ?” I said . “ Of course I ’ m coming back !” Hephaestus studied me skeptically . He fished something out of his pocket — a metal disk the size of an iPod . He clicked a button and it expanded into a miniature bronze TV . On the screen was news footage of Mount St . Helens , a huge plume of fire and ash trailing into the sky .
“ Still uncertain about further eruptions ,” the newscaster was saying . “ Authorities have ordered the evacuation of almost half a million people as a precaution . Meanwhile , ash has fallen as far away as Lake Tahoe and Vancouver , and the entire Mount St . Helens area is closed to traffic within a hundred-mile radius . While no deaths have been reported , minor injuries and illnesses include —” Hephaestus switched it off . “ You caused quite an explosion .” I stared at the blank bronze screen . Half a million people evacuated ? Injuries . Illness . What had I done ? “ The telekhines were scattered ,” the god told me . “ Some vaporized . Some got away , no doubt . I don ’ t think they ’ ll be using my forge any time soon . On the other hand , neither will I . the
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