Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
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77
"Right," I said. "And I'm supposed to believe Kronos would spare the city."
"All he wants is Olympus," Prometheus promised. "The might of the gods is tied to their
seats of power. You saw what happened to Poseidon once his undersea palace was attacked."
I winced, remembering how old and decrepit my father looked.
"Yes," Prometheus said sadly. "I know that was hard for you. When Kronos destroys
Olympus, the gods will fade. They will become so weak they will be easily defeated. Kronos would
rather do this while Typhon has the Olympians distracted in the west. Much easier. Fewer lives lost.
But make no mistake, the best you can do is slow us down. The day after tomorrow, Typhon arrives
in New York, and you will have no chance at all. The gods and Mount Olympus will still be
destroyed, but it will be much messier. Much, much worse for you and your city. Either way, the
Titans will rule."
Thalia pounded her fist on the table. "I serve Artemis. The Hunters will fight to our last
breath. Percy, you're not seriously going to listen to this slimeball, are you?"
I figured Prometheus was going to blast her, but he just smiled. "Your courage does you
credit, Thalia Grace."
Thalia stiffened. "That's my mother's surname. I don't use it."
"As you wish," Prometheus said casually, but I could tell he'd gotten under her skin. I'd never
even heard Thalia's last name before. Somehow it made her seem almost normal. Less mysterious
and powerful.
"At any rate," the Titan said, "you need not be my enemy. I have always been a helper of
mankind."
"That's a load of Minotaur dung," Thalia said. "When mankind first sacrificed to the gods,
you tricked them into giving you the best portion. You gave us fire to annoy the gods, not because
you cared about us."
Prometheus shook his head. "You don't understand. I helped shape your nature."
A wiggling lump of clay appeared in his hands. He fashioned it into a little doll with legs and
arms. The lump man didn't have any eyes, but it groped around the table, stumbling over
Prometheus's fingers. "I have been whispering in man's ear since the beginning of your existence. I
represent your curiosity, your sense of exploration, your inventiveness. Help me save you, Percy.
Do this, and I will give mankind a new gift—a new revelation that will move you as far forward as fire
did. You can't make that kind of advance under the gods. They would never allow it. But this could
be a new golden age for you. Or . . ." He made a fist and smashed the clay man into a pancake.
The blue giant rumbled, "Uh-oh." Over at the park bench, the empousa bared her fangs in a
smile.
"Percy, you know the Titans and their offspring are not all bad," Prometheus said. "You've
met Calypso."
My face felt hot. "That's different."
"How? Much like me, she did nothing wrong, and yet she was exiled forever simply because
she was Atlas's daughter. We are not your enemies. Don't let the worst happen," he pleaded. "We
offer you peace."
I looked at Ethan Nakamura. "You must hate this."
"I don't know what you mean."
"If we took this deal, you wouldn't get revenge. You wouldn't get to kill us all. Isn't that what
you want?"
His good eye flared. "All I want is respect, Jackson. The gods never gave me that. You
wanted me to go to your stupid camp, spend my time crammed into the Hermes cabin because I'm
not important? Not even recognized?"
He sounded just like Luke when he'd tried to kill me in the woods at camp four years ago.
The memory made my hand ache where the pit scorpion had stung me.
"Your mom's the goddess of revenge," I told Ethan. "We should respect that?"
"Nemesis stands for balance! When people have too much good luck, she tears them
down."
"Which is why she took your eye?"
"It was payment," he growled. "In exchange, she swore to me that one day I would tip the
balance of power. I would bring the minor gods respect. An eye was a small price to pay."