ｔｈｅ　ｔｉｔａｎｓ　ｃｕｒｓｅ

BEFORE THEY LEFT OLYMPUS, Percy decided to make a few calls. He also decided that he wanted Lucia to be there when he made them.

After stealing her away from her dance with a minor god they found a quiet fountain in a corner garden. Lucia watched in silence as Percy began to send an Iris message to his brother, Tyson,

"Tyson! Hey man! this is Lucia." Percy introduced

"Brother! New Friend!" Tyson cheered, his single eye gleaming innocently "Hi!

Lucia grinned and waved toward him "Hi Tyson"

They told him about their adventures, and Bessie—he wanted to hear every detail about the cute baby cow serpent—along with every detail about Lucia. Percy also assured him that Annabeth was safe. Then finally, Percy finished by explaining how the shield he'd made him last summer had been damaged in the manticore attack.

"Yay!" Tyson said. "That means it was good! It saved your life!"

"It sure did, big guy," Percy said. "But now it's ruined."

"Not ruined!" Tyson promised. "I will visit and fix it next summer. With new friend in it!"

The idea picked Lucia up instantly. She couldn't wait to meet him, the thought of being a part of something special like that made her feel like maybe she was special too.

"Seriously?" Percy asked, Lucia, saw the small glint of excitement in his eyes. "They'll let you take time off?"

"Yes! I have made two thousand seven hundred and forty-one magic swords," Tyson said proudly, showing me the newest blade. "The boss says 'good work'! He will let me take the whole summer off. I will visit camp!"

Lucia watched as they talked for a while about war preparations and their dad's fight with the old sea gods, and all the cool things they all could do together next summer, but then Tyson's boss started yelling at him and he had to get back to work.

Percy dug out his last golden drachma and made one more Iris message.

"Sally Jackson," Percy said. "Upper East Side, Manhattan."

Lucia's face brightened and before she could stop herself she leaned forward bumping into Percy and almost diving into the water "Sally!"

The mist shimmered, and there was Percy's mom at an unfamiliar kitchen table, laughing and holding hands with someone.

Lucia gasped and before she could call out for her a hand fell on her mouth. Percy whispered in her ear "He doesn't know, we'll call later"

Before he could cut the connection Sally saw them, her eyes got wide. She let go of the man's hand real quick. "Oh, Paul! You know what? I left my writing journal in the living room. Would you mind getting it for me?"

"Sure, Sally. No problem."

He left the room, and instantly Percy's mom leaned toward the Iris message. "Is that who I think it is! Lucia? You-You're alive? "

Lucia was basically jumping, she licked Percy's hand to make him let her go

"Luz!" Percy complained, "wait- You thought she was dead?!"

"Hi, Sally!" Lucia started to ramble "I am! I'm alive! Long story really but Percy found me in Maine and now I have two dads and I can scream like supersonic loud! oh and then there's the whole light thing! did I mention my other dad was Apollo? Also, you need to tell me how you met Poseidon--because wow. Oh, my gods! I missed you so much. How is everything? Where are you living now? Could I come over? Do you still work at the candy shop! Who's Paul!"

Sally looked at Lucia with a gentle smile "I missed you too sweetheart. I'm so happy to see you. Even happier to see you with Percy. Are you guys alright? Tell me what's happened!

Percy filled her in as quickly as he could. She sighed with relief when she heard that Annabeth was safe.

"I knew you could do it!" she said. "I'm so proud."

"Yeah, well, we'd better let you get back to your homework."

"Percy, I... Paul and I—"

"Mom, are you happy?"

The question seemed to take her by surprise. She thought for a moment. "Yes. I really am, Percy. Being around him makes me happy."

Lucia gazed at Percy. She almost died repeatedly, lost two of her friends, and was thrown into an unknown world of complete chaos. Yet she felt happier than she ever did in those four walls at Westover Hall; than she ever did in that penthouse in upper Manhattan. Being around him makes me happy

"Then it's cool. Seriously. Don't worry about me." He said

Considering the quest she'd just had, maybe she should have been worried for Sally. She'd seen how mean people could be to each other, like Hercules was to Zoe Nightshade, like Luke was to Thalia. She'd met Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, in person, and her powers scared her worse than anyone. How those powers would affect Lucia scared her even more. But seeing Sally Jackson laughing and smiling, after all the years she'd suffered with Percy's nasty ex-stepfather, Gabe Ugliano, She couldn't help feeling happy for her.

"You promise not to call him Mr. Blowfish?" she asked.

Lucia snorted "Oh you shouldn't have told me about that."

Percy shrugged. "Well, maybe not to his face, anyway."

"Sally?" Mr. Blofis called from their living room. "You need the green binder or the red one?"

"I'd better go," she told them. "See you for Christmas? Lucia, will you be coming? I still have your macaroni ornaments."

Percy looked toward Lucia expectantly

"I think I'm going to stay at camp." Lucia decided "But I promise to visit when I get the chance. And save me some blue gummy bears!."

"No problem," Sally smiled "You're always welcome in this house."

"Are you putting blue candy in my stocking?" Percy chimed in

Lucia giggled

Sally smiled. "If you're not too old for that."

"I'm never too old for candy."

"I'll see you then."

She waved her hand across the mist. Her image disappeared. Percy looked at Lucia, the both of them now sitting on the edge of the granite fountain

"You know you dont have to stay at camp." Percy said "We have a pull-out couch now. Gabe isn't there. We could tell Mr. Blowfish something and you could go to school with me and we-"

"Tempting offer" Lucia smiled before looking down "But she would find me somehow."

Percy frowned "I wouldn't let her take you. I promise."

Before Lucia could stop herself she blurted "You promised me you'd never leave me and that's exactly what you did"

"This is different." He insisted "I never meant to hurt you, Luz."

"It doesn't really matter Percy. because in the end, it hurt me all the same."  When she saw his face drop she continued "But- you came back. you tried. you apologized. And I know you didn't mean it."

"I wanted to protect you."

"What?"

"I saw my mom disappear in the minotaur's hands. I saw Grover get taken by a cyclops. At one point I thought Tyson died. And now I've seen Annabeth fall off a cliff." Percy took a deep breath in "Luz I was afraid that if you knew you would be in danger. so I didn't look for you. I didn't try and contact you. But I wanted to, through it all I wanted to go to you. Tell you everything. I didnt because if something happened to you-- if something happens to you I dont know what I would do with myself. I thought it was better if you were safe and far away from me than close and at-risk... but now you're here- and I know it's stupid but now that I know you're in this with me I dont want to let you go ever again."

Lucia felt herself become speechless, she blinked away tears. All at once, she flew forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"You're an idiot Kelp Head. The biggest Idiot I know. I can take care of myself! You idiot! You bobo! You-! I can't think of another insult!"

"I missed you" was all he said, he squeezed tighter "I missed you so much sunlight"

"Me too" Lucia mumbled against his shoulder before she broke away from him "But I still can't go with you. At least not now."

"But-"

"I want to learn how to heal." Lucia interrupted "I want to master archery, I want to get to know the strawberry fields, the nymphs, and naiads, the campfire songs, I want to know my brothers and sisters. I want to get on that climbing wall and reach the top. I want to get to know that place like you all have. Maybe next fall but right now Perce I want to stay there."

"Who's breaking the promise now" He quipped

Luz rolled her eyes in amusement and gave him a playful shove "Fine, then let's make a new promise.

He cocked his head to the side "And what would it be"

"We'll always find each other-- no matter what separates us, we will find each other."

Percy nodded, he met her eyes. He looked like he wanted to say something before stopping himself. He shook his head before opening his mouth to speak "I swear it, Luz, I swear"

☼

COMPARED TO MOUNT OLYMPUS, MANHATTAN WAS QUIET. Friday before Christmas, but it was early in the morning, and hardly anyone was on Fifth Avenue. Argus, the many-eyed security chief, picked up Annabeth, Grover, Percy, and Lucia at the Empire State Building and ferried them back to camp through a light snowstorm. The Long Island Expressway was almost deserted.

As they trudged back up Half-Blood Hill to the pine tree where the Golden Fleece glittered, Lucia imagined Thalia there, waiting for them. But she wasn't. She was long gone with Artemis and the rest of the Hunters, off on their next adventure.

Chiron greeted them at the Big House with hot chocolate and toasted cheese sandwiches. Grover went off with his satyr friends to spread the word about their strange encounter with the magic of Pan. Within an hour, the satyrs were all running around agitated, asking where the nearest espresso bar was.

Annabeth, Percy, and Lucia sat with Chiron and some of the other senior campers—Lee, Charles Beckendorf, Silena Beauregard, and the Stoll brothers. Even Clarisse from the Ares cabin was there, back from her secretive scouting mission. Lucia knew she must've had a difficult quest, She had a new scar on her chin, and her dirty blond hair had been cut short and ragged, like someone had attacked it with a pair of safety scissors.

"I got news," she mumbled uneasily. "Bad news."

"I'll fill you in later," Chiron said with forced cheerfulness. "The important thing is you

have prevailed. And you saved Annabeth!"

Annabeth smiled at Lucia and Percy gratefully

"Luke is alive," Percy said. "Annabeth was right."

Silena sat up. "How do you know?"

Percy told them all what his dad had said about the Princess Andromeda.

"Well." Annabeth shifted uncomfortably in her chair. "If the final battle does come when Percy is sixteen, at least we have two more years to figure something out."

Lucia had a feeling that when she said "figure something out," she meant "get Luke to change his ways,"

Chiron's expression was gloomy. Sitting by the fire in his wheelchair, he looked older than he usually did. And even more tired.

"Two years may seem like a long time," he said. "But it is the blink of an eye. I still hope you are not the child of the prophecy, Percy. But if you are, then the second Titan war is almost upon us. Kronos's first strike will be here."

"How do you know?" Lucia asked. "Why would he care about camp?"

"Because the gods use heroes as their tools," Chiron said simply. "Destroy the tools, and the gods will be crippled. Luke's forces will come here. Mortal, demigod, monstrous... We must be prepared. Clarisse's news may give us a clue as to how they will attack, but—"

There was a knock on the door, and Nico di Angelo came huffing into the parlor, his cheeks bright red from the cold.

He was smiling, but he looked around anxiously. "Hey! Where's... where's my sister?"

Lucia took a sharp breath in. Her body seized up and in her mind sparks and bronze metal taunted her. The room was dead silent.

Lucia stared at Chiron. She couldn't believe nobody had told him yet. And then she realized why. They'd been waiting for them to appear, to tell Nico in person.

That was the last thing Lucia wanted to do. But she owed it to Bianca and Nico himself.

"Hey, Neeks." Lucia got up from her comfortable chair. Nico ran forward, his small arms wrapping around her waist.

"You're okay!" Nico smiled "Lucia you're okay!"

Lucia looked toward Percy for help, there was a gnawing feeling in her stomach. "...Yeah, I'm okay.."

"Where is Bianca!"

"Let's take a walk, okay?" Percy stood "We need to talk."

He took the news in silence, which somehow made it worse. Percy took the lead in talking, he tried to explain how it had happened, how Bianca had sacrificed herself to save the quest. Lucia tried to cushion the blow by praising Bianca and repeating how much she loved him but she felt like she was only making things worse.

"She wanted you to have this." Lucia brought out the little god figurine Bianca had found in the junkyard. Nico held it in his palm and stared at it.

They were standing at the dining pavilion. The wind was bitter cold, even with the camp's magical weather protection. Snow fell lightly against the marble steps. Lucia figured outside the camp borders, there must be a blizzard happening.

"You promised you would protect them both," Nico said.

Percy looked like he was stabbed with a rusty dagger. Lucia realized quickly that Percy and Nico must have talked before Percy left for the quest.

"Nico," he said. "I tried. But Bianca gave herself up to save the rest of us. I told her not to. But she—"

"You promised them both!"

He glared at Percy, his eyes rimmed with red. He closed his small fist around the god statue.

"Neeks-."

"Dont call me that!" he yelled "Dont talk to me! I hate you!"

Lucia's eyes brimmed with tears. Those three words formed an open wound in her chest.

"I shouldn't have trusted you." His voice broke. "You lied to me. My nightmares were right!"

"Wait. What nightmares?" Percy started

He flung the god statue to the ground. It clattered across the icy marble. "I hate you!"

"She might be alive," Percy said desperately. "We don't know for sure—"

"She's dead." He closed his eyes. His whole body trembled with rage. "I should've known it earlier. She's in the Fields of Asphodel, standing before the judges right now, being evaluated. I can feel it."

"What do you mean, you can feel it?" Lucia whimpered

Before he could answer, They heard a new sound behind them. A hissing, clattering noise they recognized all too well.

Percy drew his sword and Lucia pulled out her new bow. Nico gasped. They whirled and found themselves facing four skeleton warriors. They grinned fleshless grins and advanced with swords drawn. Lucia wasn't sure how they'd made it inside the camp, but it didn't matter. They'd never get help in time.

"You're trying to kill me!" Nico screamed. "You brought these... these things?"

"No! I mean, yes, they followed me, but no! Nico, run. They can't be destroyed." Percy tried

"I don't trust you!"

"Nee-Nico." Lucia emphasized, "Nico, no one wants you to be hurt. Please run."

The first skeleton charged. Lucia knocked aside its blade, but the other three kept coming. Percy sliced one in half, but immediately it began to knit back together. Lucia blew another's head off with an arrow but it just kept fighting.

"Run, Nico!" She yelled. "Get help!"

"No!" He pressed his hands to his ears.

They couldn't fight four at once, not if they wouldn't die. They slashed, whirled, blocked, jabbed, and shot but they just kept advancing. It was only a matter of seconds before the zombies overpowered them. Lucia stumbled, two skeletons were about to get their bony hands on her.

"No!" Nico shouted louder. "Go away!"

The ground rumbled beneath them. The skeletons froze. Lucia and Percy rolled out of the way just as a crack opened at the feet of the four warriors. The ground ripped apart like a snapping mouth. Flames erupted from the fissure, and the earth swallowed the skeletons in one loud CRUNCH!

Silence.

In the place where the skeletons had stood, a twenty-foot-long scar wove across the marble floor of the pavilion. Otherwise, there was no sign of the warriors.

Awestruck, Percy looked to Nico. "How did you—"

"Go away!" he yelled. "I hate you! I wish you were dead!"

The ground didn't swallow them up, but Nico ran down the steps, heading toward the woods. Lucia started to follow but slipped and almost fell onto the icy steps. Percy's hand steadied her. When she found herself upright, she noticed what she'd slipped on.

Lucia picked up the god statue Bianca had retrieved from the junkyard for Nico. The only statue he didn't have, she'd said. A last gift from his sister.

Lucia frowned, she didn't remember seeing this face in Olympus. "Percy who is this".

He stared at it with dread "Hades, Lord of the Dead."

☼

ANNABETH AND GROVER HELPED THEM SEARCH THE WOODS FOR HOURS, but there was no sign of Nico di Angelo.

"We have to tell Chiron," Annabeth said, out of breath. She laid a hand on Lucia's shoulder who was clearly upset.

"No," Percy said.

The trio stared at him.

"Um," Grover said nervously, "what do you mean... no?

The words spilled out of him. "We can't let anyone know. I don't think anyone realizes that Nico is a—"

"A son of Hades," Annabeth said. "Percy, do you have any idea how serious this is? Even Hades broke the oath! This is horrible!"

"I don't think so," Lucia said. "I don't think Hades broke the oath."

"What?"

"He's their dad," She said, "but Bianca and Nico have been out of commission for a long time, since even before World War II."

"The Lotus Casino!" Grover said, and he told Annabeth about the conversations they'd have with Bianca on the quest. "She and Nico were stuck there for decades. They were born before the oath was made."

Lucia nodded.

"But how did they get out?" Annabeth protested.

"We don't know," Percy admitted. "Bianca said a lawyer came and got them and drove them to Westover Hall. I don't know who that could've been, or why. Maybe it's part of this Great Stirring thing. I don't think Nico understands who he is. But we can't go telling anyone. Not even Chiron. If the Olympians find out—"

"It might start them fighting among each other again," Annabeth said. "That's the last thing we need."

Grover looked worried. "But you can't hide things from the gods. Not forever."

"I don't need forever," Percy said. "Just two years. Until I'm sixteen."

Annabeth paled. "But, Percy, this means the prophecy might not be about you. It might be about Nico. We have to—"

"No," Percy said. "I choose the prophecy. It will be about me."

"Why are you saying that?" She cried. "You want to be responsible for the whole world?"

"Percy" Lucia felt her heart becoming heavier in her chest. she couldn't choose for him, no matter how much it terrified her. If Percy was going to decide this she couldn't stop him. she couldn't do anything but be by his side. "...A-Are you sure?"

"I can't let Nico be in any more danger," He said. "I owe that much to his sister. I... let them both down. I'm not going to let that poor kid suffer anymore."

"The poor kid who hates you and wants to see you dead," Grover reminded him.

"He's grieving" Lucia defended "He's a good kid... he's just in pain"

"Maybe we can find him," Percy said. "We can convince him it's okay, hide him someplace safe."

Annabeth shivered. "If Luke gets hold of him—"

"Luke won't," Percy said. "I'll make sure he's got other things to worry about. Namely, me."

☼

LUCIA WASNT SURE CHIRON BELIEVED THE STORY PERCY AND ANNABETH TOLD HIM. She thinks he could tell they were holding something back about Nico's disappearance, but in the end, he accepted it. Unfortunately, Nico wasn't the first half-blood to disappear.

"So young," Chiron sighed, his hands on the rail of the front porch. "Alas, I hope he was eaten by monsters. Much better than being recruited into the Titans' army."

The idea made Lucia feel uneasy and nauseous. She almost changed her mind about telling Chiron.

"You really think the first attack will be here?" Percy asked.

Chiron stared at the snow falling on the hills. They could see smoke from the dragon guardian at the pine tree, and the glitter of the distant Fleece.

"It will not be until summer, at least," Chiron said. This winter will be hard... the hardest for many centuries. It's best that you go home to the city, Percy; try to keep your mind on school. And rest. You will need rest."

Percy looked at Annabeth. "What about you?"

Her cheeks flushed. "I'm going to try San Francisco after all. Maybe I can keep an eye on Mount Tam, make sure the Titans don't try anything else."

"You'll send an Iris message if anything goes wrong?"

She nodded. "But I think Chiron's right. It won't be until the summer. Luke will need time to regain his strength."

"Lucia?" Annabeth asked

"I'm staying at camp for now."

"Could I iris message you too?"

Lucia smiled from ear to ear. "Yes, I'd love that."

"Awesome," Percy praised. "My best friends are friends."

"Kelp Head" "Seaweed Brain"

Percy's smile fell "Okay I dont know if I like this anymore."

Annabeth and Lucia gave each other a high five

"Both of you better take care of yourselves." Lucia faked a glare "I dont want any more grey hairs. It's not my color"

The trio fell into a fit of laughter.

They were only interrupted by Grover, who stumbled out of the Big House, tripping over tin cans. His face was haggard and pale, like he'd seen a specter.

"Grover? What's wrong?" Lucia asked

"He spoke.'" Grover cried.

"Calm down, my young satyr," Chiron said, frowning. "What is the matter?"

"I... I was playing music in the parlor," he stammered, "and drinking coffee. Lots and lots of coffee! And he spoke in my mind!"

"Who?" Annabeth demanded.

"Pan!" Grover wailed. "The Lord of the Wild himself. I heard him! I have to... I have to find a suitcase."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Percy said. "What did he say?"

Grover stared at him. "Just three words. He said, 'I await you...'"

A/N- one more special chapter is coming soon before we begin the battle of the labyrinth :)