Never Accept a Free Drink
Luke did not expect Percy to be able to shake off the threat of the scorpion. Much less with such ease.
As he watched Percy approach, his sword pointed straight at his neck, he reacted with quick reflexes and a flicker of panic when he realized the blade was aimed at a vital spot. He raised the sword in his hand to defend himself.
The moment their swords clashed, another blade appeared in Percy's hand. Riptide, which snapped open immediately, thrusting straight toward Luke's throat.
Luke had no other option than to leap backward with all his strength and roll across the ground.
After rolling, he had to lift his head quickly. When he did, he saw Percy jumping toward him, his black sword cutting downward. That forced him to raise his weapon in a hurry to block, ending up pinned against the ground, barely stopping the blade that hovered dangerously close to his face as he defended himself with his own sword.
"A gift from Kronos, right? A normal sword wouldn't be able to withstand the one my master gave me," Percy said, with a hint of emotion in his voice that he himself did not fully notice. Yet if Miraak were there, he would have recognized it immediately. The pure thrill of battle. The emotion of a warrior.
Luke scooped up dirt from the ground and hurled it straight at Percy's face before rolling backward once more.
Percy raised his arm effortlessly to keep the dirt out of his eyes. Even so, he did not continue attacking. He simply stared at Luke, while Luke watched him with a wary gaze.
With just those brief exchanges, Luke's hand was already trembling slightly, as if it had been struck by a hammer. Percy's strength was no joke. Fortunately, Luke had enough experience not to be cut down the instant Percy attacked, always rolling away at the exact moment needed to evade lethal blows.
"When did you figure it out?" Luke asked, his eyes sharp.
He had noticed it from the moment Percy had seen him earlier on the training field. That strange look he threw at him from time to time. The same thing when Percy refused to drink the soda Luke had offered, which was still sitting there, on the stone where they had been seated before.
"Honestly, you were one of the main suspects on my board, along with a few others. But you confirmed it the moment you said you wanted to be my friend," Percy replied, spinning both swords in his hands as he walked into a more comfortable position, then settling into a guard stance. "Also, that ominous black thread," he added, pointing toward Luke's head.
Luke, of course, did not understand that last part. Nor the board. Even so, he did not stop staring at Percy seriously.
"So what? Are you going to stop me just to side with the Olympians? Those idiots who could not even imagine someone walking into their throne room and stealing their belongings so easily? Those arrogant beings who keep playing with the lives of their children," Luke said.
"No. I do not care one bit about the Olympians," Percy answered, his calm edged with something sharp. "But because of you, my mother was put in danger. And I was dragged into a stupid mission to save their stupid asses, while being bombarded by stupid lightning bolts."
Percy repeated the word "stupid" again and again, making his anger perfectly clear over how he had ended up in all of this because of Luke.
"So at least I am going to beat you up to blow off some steam," he said, before launching himself at Luke at a surprising speed.
Luke's eyes widened as he raised his sword on pure reflex, barely blocking Percy's bronze blade. Sparks flew as the weapons collided, and the sheer force behind Percy's strike shoved Luke backward immediately.
Then Luke felt a heavy blow to the stomach. A direct kick that sent him flying and rolling across the dirt. Even so, he recovered quickly, though he ended up clutching his abdomen while bracing one leg against the ground.
He breathed with anger and difficulty, staring seriously at Percy.
Luke stood up with a furious shout and attacked again, trying to cut him down. He swung his heavy sword with such precision that any other camper would have been torn apart.
But Percy simply shifted his shoulders, easily dodging every slash that seemed to graze him. So close, yet so far. Every one of Luke's movements was correct.
But none of them were enough.
He was facing Percy. And that alone decided the outcome.
Luke attacked with everything he had. Percy did not even change his breathing.
The same one who faced Ares and beat him at his own game, even when the god was fully prepared to kill him.
Once again, their swords crashed together, leaving them nearly face to face, staring directly at one another. A faint excitement showed on Percy's face, growing more visible by the second. If he looked into a mirror, it would be the same expression his master wore every time he faced someone powerful.
"You are just a pawn, all the same. What has your father ever done for you?" Luke said, as if trying to destabilize him with his words.
Percy's expression shifted as he pushed his sword forward with force, making Luke stumble back several steps.
"Who said I believe in him as my father?" Percy replied, his tone so calm it sounded as if he were asking about something trivial.
That threw Luke off, just slightly.
"If it were up to me, I would choose who I want as my father," Percy said calmly.
Luke stared at him, as if weighing that answer.
"Then why not join me, Percy? We will wage a crusade. We will defeat the gods themselves. We will send humans back to the caves, leaving only the strong behind. You are powerful. You would have the strength to—"
"No, thanks. I am going to be very busy training," Percy said, cutting him off without hesitation.
Luke frowned at the interruption.
"You are arrogant," he said, staring at him seriously. "Is that because you completed your first quest perfectly? You are lucky."
Percy just looked at him in silence. His gaze seemed to shift subtly toward the surroundings, as if he were noticing something, yet he let it continue.
"When I was sent on my first quest, to retrieve a golden apple, a quest that Hercules himself had already completed… that stupid Ladon gave me this scar," Luke said, gesturing toward his face. "And nothing happened. They just enjoy watching us fail or succeed at their stupid quests. We are nothing but entertainment. You should have seen it at the amusement park," he added, looking at Percy seriously.
Hearing that, Percy frowned slightly. It was as if Luke knew every step they had taken during their quest. That unsettled him, if only a little.
Then, faint clicks echoed around them.
Percy shifted his gaze once more, scanning the area. Several footsteps were approaching, slow and deliberate.
"You noticed," Luke said calmly. "I am not the only one who thinks this way, Percy. And if you are not going to join us, then you are our enemy," he added, raising both arms.
Immediately, several campers appeared around them. All of them held bows, arrows drawn and aimed straight at Percy. There were at least fifteen or twenty. Percy recognized many of them as children of minor gods, or unclaimed demigods. Most of them fell into that second category.
As Percy's gaze swept over each of them, he began to nod slowly, a faint smile forming on his face.
That reaction left them all confused.
They did not expect that smile. Not in a moment like this.
"I was right," Percy said, sounding almost pleased as he looked at the faces before him. They were the same ones he had drawn on his board, along with the reasons each of them would betray the camp. And he had been right. Well, obviously, a few were missing, but it was an acceptable margin of error.
"Open fire!" Luke shouted immediately, wanting to wipe that smile off Percy's face, which to him looked arrogant and mocking.
At once, the campers began releasing their arrows without hesitation.
Percy stopped smiling.
He raised both swords and, with complete speed and precision, began to move them around his body. Every arrow that flew toward him was struck aside by the blades, sparks flashing as they were deflected.
None of those present could help but admire him.
At the same time, fear began to creep in.
Luke also stared at him for a brief moment, regretting that he had not been able to bring Percy to his side. Without a doubt, Percy would have been a terrifying force on his team.
Even so, Luke used the moment to turn around and leave.
Just before he did, he felt something and turned back.
Suddenly, one of the arrows that had been shot at Percy was deflected by his sword straight toward Luke. He tilted his head at the last second. Even so, a thin line of blood ran down his cheek, just above the scar Ladon had left him.
Percy met his gaze, but did not take a single step to stop him.
"We will meet again, Percy Jackson," Luke said, before moving his sword.
Then, in the same way the scorpion had emerged from the darkness before, Luke vanished, swallowed by it.
He left Percy alone, still under a rain of arrows.
Percy watched him disappear for a moment, clicked his tongue, and then turned his gaze back to the campers who were still shooting at him.
"Put those away. Or you are going to regret it," he said, his voice flat and final.