Rick Riordan
Percy Jackson and the Olympians
105
105
Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess
Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…"
She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods have done Olympus a great
service. Would any here deny that?"
She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually. Zeus in his dark
pin-striped suit, his black beard neatly trimmed, and his eyes sparking with energy. Next to him sat a
beautiful woman with silver hair braided over one shoulder and a dress that shimmered colors like
peacock feathers. The Lady Hera.
On Zeus's right, my father Poseidon. Next to him, a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel
brace, a misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of
the Forges, Hephaestus.
Hermes winked at me. He was wearing a business suit today, checking messages on his
caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod
headphones on, so I wasn't sure he was even listening, but he gave me a thumbs-up. Dionysus
looked bored, twirling a grape vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome-and-
leather throne, glowering at me while he sharpened a knife.
On the ladies' side of the throne room, a dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to
Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat
a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Annabeth's mother,
Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smiled at me knowingly and made me blush in spite of
myself.
All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole
palace didn't blow apart.
"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—"these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and
began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—"
"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry. "All
in favor of not disintegrating them?"
A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite.
"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and me. "These two are dangerous.
It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—"
"Ares," Poseidon interrupted, "they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."
"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."
Thalia blushed. She studied the floor. I knew how she felt. I'd hardly ever talked to my father,
much less gotten a compliment.
The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well.
But there is a security risk here with the other two."
"Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you—"
Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my
uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath not to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a
fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods… such
as Thalia and Percy… are dangerous. As thickheaded as he is, Ares has a point."
"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—"
He started to get up, but a grape vine grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him
back down.
"Oh, please, Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."
Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want
to protect these brats?"
Dionysus gazed down at us wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it
safest to destroy them?"
"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council
must decide."
"I will not have them punished," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy
heroes who do us a great favor, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I
will have none of it."
"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."