News from Camp
"Is that enough?" Grover asked, hovering just above Harry, who was holding his wand steady, trying not to lose focus while keeping him up with "Wingardium Leviosa."
"We're about to find out. Can you see where we are?" Annabeth asked, turning the crystal in her hand until a faint rainbow formed for a moment, then nodded to herself.
Grover stuck his head out through the hatch, looking around as the wind rushed past. He turned his head side to side for a moment, then gestured for Harry to lower him.
Right then, the truck hit a massive bump. It jolted hard, and Harry lost focus for a split second.
Grover dropped straight down.
Face first.
"I think… we're getting close," he groaned from the floor.
"Ah… sorry," Harry said, wincing a little as he moved over to help him up.
Percy, who had just woken up, was still rubbing his eyes as he walked over to Annabeth, glancing briefly at Grover sprawled on the ground and Harry helping him up.
"There… we've got a signal," Annabeth said, adjusting the crystal again. The rainbow shifted; denser this time, more solid than it should've been. Percy watched it carefully. "Quick, the drachma, seaweed brain."
"Oh… right, yeah," Percy said, shaking his head slightly. He spotted Harry's bag nearby, grabbed a coin without thinking twice, and handed it to her.
Annabeth lifted the coin above her head with one hand, the crystal still in the other, and closed her eyes as she began to murmur.
"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering and show me Camp Half-Blood… the Big House."
The rainbow shimmered, twisting in front of them as the light spun and began to take shape.
A figure appeared; back turned to them; blond hair catching the light; leaning against a railing, staring out over the fields in the distance. It looked like the porch of the Big House itself, faint and slightly transparent, like it had been pulled into their world.
Percy recognized that back instantly. Like he'd seen it just recently.
"Luke?" Annabeth said, eyes widening slightly.
If not for the shimmering distortion, it would've looked like he was standing right there with them; though only half his body was visible within the glow of the projection.
The boy on the other side turned quickly, his face lighting up the moment he saw them.
"Annabeth? Percy? Thank the gods, you're okay. Is Grover alright?" he asked, worry slipping into his voice at the end.
"Yeah, we're fine. But where's Chiron?" Annabeth asked, confused.
"Busy. He's doing everything he can to keep the camp together. Everyone thinks there's going to be a war, and the cabins are already choosing sides. It's turning into another Trojan War situation. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon… more or less. Athena's with Zeus," he explained, his tone growing more serious.
"Ares?" Percy muttered, irritation slipping through again.
Harry stepped a little closer; not enough for Luke to see him; just enough to listen more carefully while Percy quickly explained what had happened with Ares blocking their path and all that.
Luke had that kind of presence; the kind that made you feel like you could just talk. Like he'd listen without judgment.
"Wish I was there. I mean… I wouldn't be much against the god of war, but still; I could've helped somehow," Luke said with a small sigh. "Unfortunately, we can't do much from here. But listen… it has to be Hades who stole the Master Bolt. He was on Olympus during the summer solstice. I was on a field trip; I saw him."
"But Chiron said the gods can't touch each other's magical items…"
"That's true. But Hades has the Helm of Darkness. How else would someone get into the throne room and steal the Master Bolt? Only someone invisible could've done it. I'm not saying it could've been you, Annabeth… you weren't even there. It'd be impossible," Luke added quickly, realizing what he'd just implied.
Annabeth didn't seem to take offense, which eased Luke a bit.
Meanwhile, Harry, standing slightly off to the side, had a faint frown on his face as he watched Luke closely. He had been paying far more attention to every word. His gaze dropped for a moment as he thought things through.
"Hey, just focus on your quest. Don't worry about the camp. I'll handle things here. You don't need distractions. Percy… are you using the shoes I gave you?" Luke asked, shifting the tone a little.
"Oh, yeah. Of course," Percy replied instantly, without hesitation; his eyes flicking briefly toward Grover, who was currently talking to the animals; wearing Luke's shoes.
"That's good. Makes me feel better knowing you've got something to help you out. But… Ares, huh? What was that like?" Luke asked, curious.
"Well… compared to the Furies on Friday, Chimera and Echidna on Monday, and Medusa on Sunday… it could've been worse," Percy said more casually now.
"Medusa was Saturday," Annabeth corrected lightly.
"Wasn't it Sunday?" Percy asked.
"There were no monsters on Sunday. Monday you got poisoned and almost died… and that same day we found Grover, who looked like he'd been locked inside a truck full of monsters and magical animals," she said, giving him a look as she corrected him.
"Right… okay, so Medusa was Saturday," Percy said, nodding.
Luke watched them for a moment, a small smile forming on his face.
"…What is this?" he asked.
"What?" they both said at the same time, confused.
"Did you two turn into an old married couple or something?" he teased.
"I'd love to keep going with that interesting theory… but I think I'll change the subject," Percy said, his tone turning a bit drier as Annabeth briefly avoided Luke's gaze. "We're heading to Las Vegas now. There's a place called the casino—"
Before he could finish, Harry; who had been silent the entire time, thinking; suddenly snapped his eyes open. He raised his wand and, without another word—
"Reducto."
The spell hit the crystal in Annabeth's hand, and it exploded, completely cutting off their connection with Luke.
Both Percy and Annabeth froze for a second before turning toward him.
"What was that?" Percy asked, frowning as he stared at his brother, completely confused.
Annabeth looked down at the shattered crystal in her hand, the pieces falling apart like grains of rice, then back at Harry; her expression just as confused, which was rare for her.
"I… um…" Harry hesitated for a moment, like he wasn't fully convinced by his own reasoning, but his frown didn't fade. "I don't have proof yet… but it's better if we don't tell anyone from camp where we're going. For now. No matter how much we trust them," he said, his tone serious.
"What are you talking about?" Annabeth asked, narrowing her eyes.
"I'm just saying we don't want another Ares interfering. And in case you forgot, there's still a not-so-friendly god in that place… one who happens to be related to most of them," Harry replied.
Percy stared at him for a moment, feeling like there was more he wasn't saying. His reaction had been way too strong. He frowned, trying to figure out what Harry had seen that he hadn't.
Annabeth, even though she wanted to argue, couldn't deny that what he said made sense. Still, she frowned.
Just then, Grover walked over with a smile.
"Alright, guys… I've got good news," he said. "What is it?" he added, noticing how quiet they were.
"Nothing," Annabeth replied, brushing the last bits of crystal from her hands.
Percy looked away from Harry. He'd ask later. Then he turned to Grover.
"What's the good news?"
Grover grinned immediately. "The guys driving this truck? Not good people. And all of this is illegal," he said.
"Yeah… we figured that out," Percy muttered.
"And that's good news because…?" Annabeth asked, giving him a look.
"If we're going to help them, we said we could do it. But we should've waited until we stopped. Honestly, we look pretty appetizing to that lion right now," Harry added, glancing toward the albino lion.
"No, no… that's not a problem anymore. They've already got a plan to escape. I mean, some of them are as smart as we are… maybe smarter," Grover said, glancing at the zebra.
At that moment, Percy realized he could almost understand them. Not fully; it was like listening to someone speak your language with a heavy accent. You don't catch every word… but you get the idea.
They had a plan. Just like Grover said.
Which made Percy wonder, briefly, if zebras were basically just striped horses… before shaking the thought away and focusing again.
"They were just missing one piece to open the cages," Grover added.
"And that was?" Harry asked.
"Thumbs," Grover said, raising both hands and wiggling them.
"And once they get out… they know what to do?" Annabeth asked again.
"Yeah. I mean… these guys are like artists. They know exactly what they're doing," Grover said proudly.
…
"Ahh!"
"Run!"
"Help!"
Harry, Percy, and Annabeth stood there, staring at the streets of Las Vegas as chaos unfolded around them. People were running everywhere. Cars had stopped abruptly, some crashing into each other as drivers jumped out and fled.
The lion; still thin, but roaring with everything it had; let out a thunderous roar that sent people scattering.
The antelope-like creature chased after people, who panicked at the sight of its horns. The zebra kicked wildly in every direction like an enraged horse.
"Looks dangerous," Percy said, glancing at Grover, who was watching with pride and nodding.
"They'll be fine. I gave them a satyr blessing. They'll make it back to the wild," Grover said calmly.
"I think he means the people," Harry added, watching as the lion roared again, causing another crash.
Grover looked back at the chaos. "Oh… them…" he said, just now noticing. "Well, I'm sure they'll… yeah, I don't know. But the animals are free," he finished.
"We should get out of here before the police show up. Remember… we're still kids who ran away from home," Annabeth said to Percy and Harry, who both nodded as that detail came back to them.
"But where are we supposed to find the Lotus Casino?" Percy asked.
As they turned, Annabeth lifted her gaze slightly.
"Maybe the one with the giant lotus on top," she said, giving him a look that was almost teasing.
"You saw it like two seconds ago… seriously," Percy muttered, while Annabeth, with a small smile, started walking ahead of them. "Sometimes you really shouldn't be that sarcastic," he added under his breath… though he didn't sound entirely convinced.
Harry gave him a look; like Percy wasn't exactly in a position to say that.
To be fair… neither was Harry.
Grover, meanwhile, nodded proudly as the animals began to move away from the city, no longer causing panic.
Then he finally noticed where they were heading.
He stopped for a moment and looked up.
In the distance, rising above the buildings of Las Vegas…
a massive structure shaped like a lotus towered over everything else.