Rick Riordan The Sea Monsters - 02
" Then you ' re lucky . Hubris isn ' t your fatal flaw ." " What is ?" " I don ' t know , Percy , but every hero has one . If you don ' t find it and learn to control it ... well , they don ' t call it ' fatal ' for nothing ." I thought about that . It didn ' t exactly cheer me up . I also noticed Annabeth hadn ' t said much about the personal things she would change — like getting her parents back together , or saving Luke . I understood . I didn ' t want to admit how many times I ' d dreamed of getting my own parents back together .
I pictured my mom , alone in our little apartment on the Upper East Side . I tried to remember the smell of her blue waffles in the kitchen . It seemed so far away . " So was it worth it ?" I asked Annabeth . " Do you feel ... wiser ?" She gazed into the distance . " I ' m not sure . But we have to save the camp . If we don ' t stop
Luke ..." She didn ' t need to finish . If Luke ' s way of thinking could even tempt Annabeth , there was no telling how many other half-bloods might join him .
I thought about my dream of the girl and the golden sarcophagus . I wasn ' t sure what it meant , but I got the feeling I was missing something . Something terrible that Kronos was planning . What had the girl seen when she opened that coffin lid ? Suddenly Annabeth ' s eyes widened . " Percy ." I turned . Up ahead was another blotch of land — a saddle-shaped island with forested hills and white beaches and green meadows — just like I ' d seen in my dreams . My nautical senses confirmed it . 30 degrees , 31 minutes north , 75 degrees , 12 minutes west . We had reached the home of the Cyclops .
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Chapter Fourteen
We Meet The Sheep Of Doom
When you think " monster island ," you think craggy rocks and bones scattered on the beach like the island of the Sirens .
The Cyclops ' s island was nothing like that . I mean , okay , it had a rope bridge across a chasm , which was not a good sign . You might as well put up a billboard that said , SOMETHING EVIL LIVES HERE . But except for that , the place looked like a Caribbean postcard . It had green fields and tropical fruit trees and white beaches . As we sailed toward the shore , Annabeth breathed in the sweet air . " The Fleece ," she said .
I nodded . I couldn ' t see the Fleece yet , but I could feel its power . I could believe it would heal anything , even Thalia ' s poisoned tree . " If we take it away , will the island die ?" Annabeth shook her head . " It ' ll fade . Go back to what it would be normally , whatever that is ." I felt a little guilty about ruining this paradise , but I reminded myself we had no choice . Camp
Half-Blood was in trouble . And Tyson ... Tyson would still be with us if it wasn ' t for this quest .
In the meadow at the base of the ravine , several dozen sheep were milling around . They looked peaceful enough , but they were huge — the size of hippos . Just past them was a path that led up into the hills . At the top of the path , near the edge of the canyon , was the massive oak tree I ' d seen in my dreams . Something gold glittered in its branches . " This is too easy ," I said . " We could just hike up there and take it ?" Annabeth ' s eyes narrowed . " There ' s supposed be a guardian . A dragon or ..." That ' s when a deer emerged from the bushes . It trotted into the meadow , probably looking for grass to eat , when the sheep all bleated at once and rushed the animal . It happened so fast that the deer stumbled and was lost in a sea of wool and trampling hooves . Grass and tufts of fur flew into the air . A second later the sheep all moved away , back to their regular peaceful wanderings . Where