Rick Riordan The Last Olympian - 05
She was as big and beefy as a rugby player , with a permanent scowl on her face , but she spoke gently to Silena . " Come on , girl ," she said . " Let ' s get to the Big House . I ' ll make you some hot chocolate ." Everyone turned and wandered off in twos and threes , heading back to the cabins . Nobody was excited to see me now . Nobody wanted to hear about the blown-up ship . Only Annabeth and Chiron stayed behind .
Annabeth wiped a tear from her cheek . " I ' m glad you ' re not dead , Seaweed Brain ." " Thanks ," I said . " Me too ."
Chiron put a hand on my shoulder . " I ' m sure you did everything you could , Percy . Will you tell us what happened ?"
I didn ' t want to go through it again , but I told them the story , including my dream about the Titans . I left out the detail about Nico . Nico had made me promise not to tell anybody about his plan until I made up my mind , and the plan was so scary I didn ' t mind keeping it a secret .
Chiron gazed down at the valley . " We must call a war council immediately , to discuss this spy , and other matters ."
" Poseidon mentioned another threat ," I said . " Something even bigger than the Princess Andromeda . I thought it might be that challenge the Titan had mentioned in my dream ."
Chiron and Annabeth exchanged looks , like they knew something I didn ' t . I hated when they did that .
" We will discuss that also ," Chiron promised . " One more thing ." I took a deep breath . " When I talked to my father , he said to tell you it ' s time . I need to know the full prophecy ." Chiron ' s shoulders sagged , but he didn ' t look surprised . " I ' ve dreaded this day . Very well .
Annabeth , we will show Percy the truth — all of it . Let ' s go to the attic ." * * * I ’ d been to the Big House attic three times before , which was three times more than I wanted to . A ladder led up from the top of the staircase . I wondered how Chiron was going to get up there , being half horse and all , but he didn ' t try . " You know where it is ," he told Annabeth . " Bring it down , please ."
Annabeth nodded . " Come on , Percy ."
The sun was setting outside , so the attic was even darker and creepier than usual . Old hero trophies were slacked everywhere — dented shields , pickled heads in jars from various monsters , a pair of fuzzy dice on a bronze plaque that read : STOLEN FROM CHRYSAOR ' S HONDA CIVIC , BY GUS , SON OF HERMES , 1988 .
I picked up a curved bronze sword so badly bent it looked like the letter M . I could still see green stains on the metal from the magical poison that used to cover it . The tag was dated last summer . It read : Scimitar of Kampê , destroyed in the Battle of the Labyrinth . " You remember Briares throwing those boulders ?" I asked . Annabeth gave me a grudging smile . " And Grover causing a Panic ?" We locked eyes . I thought of a different time last summer , under Mount St . Helens , when
Annabeth thought I was going to die and she kissed me . She cleared her throat and looked away . " Prophecy ." " Right ." I put down the scimitar . " Prophecy ."
We walked over to the window . On a three-legged stool sat the Oracle — a shriveled female mummy m a tie-dyed dress . Tufts of black hair clung to her skull . Glassy eyes stared out of her leathery face . Just looking at her made my skin crawl .
If you wanted to leave camp during the summer , it used to be you had to come up here to get a quest . This summer , that rule had been tossed . Campers left all the time on combat missions . We had no choice if we wanted to stop Kronos .
Still , I remembered too well the strange green mist — the spirit of the Oracle — that lived inside the mummy . She looked lifeless now , but whenever she spoke a prophecy , she moved . Sometimes fog gushed out of her mouth and created strange shapes . Once , she ' d even left the attic and taken a little zombie stroll into the woods to deliver a message . I wasn ' t sure what she ' d do for the " Great Prophecy ." I half expected her to start tap dancing or something .
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