ｔｈｅ　ｔｉｔａｎｓ　ｃｕｒｓｅ

LUCIAS MIND WENT ON OVERDRIVE and the worst thing about it all was that she could see the family resemblance. Atlas had the same regal expression as Zoe, the same cold proud look in his eyes that Zoe sometimes got when she was mad, though on him it looked a thousand times eviler. Regardless of appearance, Lucia knew that Zoe was nothing like the man who stood in front of them she was good, strong, honorable, and most importantly—she was her friend.

"Let Artemis go," Zoe demanded.

Atlas walked closer to the chained goddess. "Perhaps you'd like to take the sky for her, then? Be my guest."

Zoe opened her mouth to speak, but Artemis said, "No! Do not offer, Zoe! I forbid you."

Atlas smirked. He knelt next to Artemis and tried to touch her face, but the goddess bit at him, almost taking off his fingers.

"Hoo-hoo," Atlas chuckled. "You see, daughter? Lady Artemis likes her new job. I think I will have all the Olympians take turns carrying my burden, once Lord Kronos rules again, and this is the center of our palace. It will teach those weaklings some humility."

Annabeth looked to be trying to desperately tell Percy something. She motioned her head toward Luke but Percy only stared at her in worry. Lucia hadn't noticed before, but her blond hair was streaked with gray.

"From holding the sky," Thalia muttered as if she'd read her mind. "The weight should've killed her."

"I don't understand," Lucia questioned. "Why can't Artemis just let go of the sky?"

Atlas laughed. "How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape." Atlas smiled. "Unless someone else takes it from you."

"That's extreme" Lucia muttered

He approached us, studying Thalia, Percy, and Lucia. "So these are the best heroes of the age, eh? Not much of a challenge."

"Fight us," Percy challenged. "And let's see."

"Have the gods taught you nothing? An immortal does not fight a mere mortal directly. It is beneath our dignity. I will have Luke crush you instead."

"So you're a coward," Lucia raised an eyebrow.

Atlas's eyes glowed with hatred. "He put in a good word for you Daughter of Apollo, told me about your blessing. Your use for us in the future is the only reason I won't smite you as we speak." With difficulty, he turned his attention to Thalia. "As for you, daughter of Zeus, it seems Luke was wrong about you."

"Wait hold on wh-" Lucia began but was immediately cut off

"I wasn't wrong," Luke managed. He looked terribly weak, and he spoke every word as if it were painful. If everyone didn't hate his guts so much, Lucia almost would've felt sorry for him. "Thalia, you still can join us. Call the Ophiotaurus. It will come to you. Look!"

He waved his hand, and next to us a pool of water appeared: a pond ringed in black marble, big enough for the Ophiotaurus. Lucia could swear she heard Bessie mooing for a moment.

"Thalia, call the Ophiotaurus," Luke persisted. "And you will be more powerful than the gods."

"Luke..." Her voice was full of pain. Lucia felt herself wanting to comfort her "What happened to you?"

"Don't you remember all those times we talked? All those times we cursed the gods? Our fathers have done nothing for us. They have no right to rule the world!"

Thalia shook her head. "Free Annabeth. Let her go."

"If you join me," Luke promised, "it can be like old times. The three of us together. Fighting for a better world. Please, Thalia, if you don't agree..."

His voice faltered. "It's my last chance. He will use the other way if you don't agree. Please."

Lucia didn't know what he meant, but the fear in his voice sounded real enough. She believed that Luke was in danger. His life depended on Thalia's joining his cause. And she was afraid Thalia might believe it, too.

"Do not, Thalia," Zoe warned. "We must fight them."

Luke waved his hand again, and a fire appeared. A bronze brazier, just like the one at camp. A sacrificial flame.

"Thalia," Lucia tried to reason "It's not the same Luke. This guy. this guy is insane!."

Behind Luke, the golden sarcophagus began to glow. As it did, Lucia saw images in the mist all around them: black marble walls rising, the ruins becoming whole, a terrible and beautiful palace rising around us, made of fear and shadow.

"See" Lucia held a hand out gesturing towards the sarcophagus "insane."

"We will raise Mount Othrys right here," Luke promised, in a voice so strained it was hardly his. "Once more, it will be stronger and greater than Olympus. Look, Thalia. We are not weak."

He pointed toward the ocean, and Lucia's heart fell. Marching up the side of the mountain, from the beach where the Princess Andromeda was docked, was a great army. Dracaenae and Laestrygonians, monsters and half-bloods, hell hounds, harpies, and other things Lucia couldn't even name. There were hundreds, more monsters than Lucia had ever seen. And they were marching toward them. In a few minutes, they would be there.

"Fucking insane" she mumbled exasperatedly

"This is only a taste of what is to come," Luke addressed her before his gaze fell towards Thalia. "Soon we will be ready to storm Camp Half-Blood. And after that, Olympus itself. All we need is your help."

For a terrible moment, Thalia hesitated. She gazed at Luke, her eyes full of pain, as if the only thing she wanted in the world was to believe him. Then she leveled her spear. "You aren't Luke. I don't know you anymore."

"Yes, you do, Thalia," he pleaded. "Please. Don't make me... Don't make him destroy you."

There was no time. If that army got to the top of the hill, they would be overwhelmed. Lucia met Percy's eyes as he finished looking around. He looked apprehensive, like he was afraid to make his next move. Lucia only nodded back in reassurance. She decided it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world to die fighting with friends like this.

"Now," Percy said. Together, they charged.

Thalia went straight for Luke. The power of her shield was so great that his dragon-women bodyguards fled in a panic, dropping the golden coffin and leaving him alone. But despite his sickly appearance, Luke was still quick with his sword. He snarled like a wild animal and counterattacked. When his sword, Backbiter, met Thalia's shield, a ball of lightning erupted between them, frying the air with yellow tendrils of power.

As for Percy, he did what he always did and acted like an idiot. He attacked the Titan Lord Atlas.

This time though Lucia had him beat.

"Give me the sky," Lucia told the goddess

"No, Lucia," Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. "You don't know what you're asking. It will crush you!"

"Annabeth took it!" Lucia reasoned "They need your help. I don't know what I'm doing I'm useless out there compared to you. This makes sense and you know it!."

"She barely survived...You... My brother... I can't. You can't ask this of me."

"I'll die anyway," Lucia said. "At least this way everyone has a higher chance. Give me the weight of the sky!"

She didn't wait for an answer. She took her hands and held the chains pulling as hard as she could with blinding lights she melted through them. Then she stepped next to her aunt and braced herself on one knee—holding up her hands—and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and Lucia bore the weight together. It was the heaviest thing she'd ever felt, as if she were being crushed under a thousand trucks. She wanted to black out from the pain, but she breathed deeply. She could do this.

Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and Lucia held it alone.

She didn't know if she screamed but it felt like she did.

Every muscle in her body turned to pure fire. Her bones felt like they were melting away, She sunk, lower and lower to the ground, the sky's weight crushing her slowly.

Don't give up. she concentrated on breathing. If she could just keep the sky aloft a few more seconds. She thought about Bianca, who had given her life so they could get there. If she could do that, Lucia could hold the sky.

Her vision turned fuzzy. Everything was tinged with red. She caught glimpses of the battle, but she wasn't sure if she was seeing clearly. There was Atlas in full battle armor, jabbing with his javelin, laughing insanely as he fought. And Artemis, a blur of silver. She had two wicked hunting knives, each as long as her arm, and she slashed wildly at the Titan, dodging and leaping with unbelievable grace. She seemed to change form as she maneuvered. She was a tiger, a gazelle, a bear, a falcon. Or perhaps that was just my fevered brain. Zoe shot arrows at her father, aiming for the chinks in his armor. He roared in pain each time one found its mark, but they affected him like bee stings. He just got madder and kept fighting.

Thalia and Luke went spear on sword, lightning still flashing around them. Thalia pressed Luke back with the aura of her shield. Even he was not immune to it. He retreated, wincing and growling in frustration.

"Yield!" Thalia yelled. "You never could beat me, Luke."

He bared his teeth. "We'll see, my old friend."

Sweat poured down Lucia's face. Her hands were slippery. Her shoulders would've screamed with agony if they could. She felt like the vertebrae in her spine were being welded together by a blowtorch. That's when she noticed she couldn't find Percy.

"I thought I was the stupid one sunlight."

Lucia didn't need to turn her head to know he was kneeling next to her. She didn't even have the strength to respond. She shook her head knowing what he was planning. She wanted to stop him, scold him and say that he really was the stupid one if he tried to help her. they needed him more than she did.

"Go-" she tried

"No." He refused, his arm brushed against hers moving to place his hand right next to hers on the cloud. He shifted slightly pushing a weakened Lucia to the side "I'm not leaving without you, Luz."

Then Together, they held the sky in their hands.

Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back toward me.

Lucia could feel Percys' breath on her cheek, he pressed himself closer to her ear "Be ready. Artemis is coming. "

Lucia didn't know what she was supposed to be ready for or what Artemis had to do with it but she was losing the ability to think through the pain. Her response came out in a jumbled mess.

"You fight well for a girl." Atlas laughed. "But you are no match for me."

He feinted with the tip of his javelin and Artemis dodged. Atlas's javelin swept around and knocked Artemis's legs off the ground. She fell, and Atlas brought up his javelin tip for the kill.

"No!" Zoe screamed. She leaped between her father and Artemis and shot an arrow straight into the Titan's forehead, where it lodged. Atlas bellowed in rage. He swept aside his daughter with the back of his hand, sending her flying into the black rocks.

Lucia wanted to shout her name, and run to her aid, but she couldn't speak or move. She couldn't even see where Zoe had landed. Then Atlas turned on Artemis with a look of triumph on his face. Artemis seemed to be wounded. She didn't get up.

"The first blood in a new war," Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.

As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backward, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her, Lucia saw him coming down on top of them and She realized what would happen. Lucia loosened her grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into them she held on to the body next to her. They let themselves be pushed out of the way and rolled for all they were worth.

The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas's back, almost smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the sky. But it was too late.

"Noooooo!" He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. "Not again!"

Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

Lucia's vision was blurry, she was incoherent as a hand removed itself from the back of her head down to her cheek. She looked up at green eyes.

"are you okay?" he asked in concern, he found a strand in her hair, and only when he started twirling it did she notice her dark brown hair had turned grey. She looked at him slightly dazed, a strip of grey now placed in his own dark hair. damn, why does that look so good on him?

"alive." she mumbled "see you do give me grey hairs Aquaman"

Percy who looked as out of it as she did let out a breathless chuckle, his hand not falling from its place on her cheek. "clearly it's mutual."

Thalia backed Luke to the edge of a cliff, but still, they fought on, next to the golden coffin. Thalia had tears in her eyes. Luke had a bloody slash across his chest and his pale face glistened with sweat.

He lunged at Thalia and she slammed him with her shield. Luke's sword spun out of his hands and clattered to the rocks. Thalia put her spear point to his throat.

For a moment, there was silence.

"Well?" Luke asked. He tried to hide it, but Lucia could hear fear in his voice.

Thalia trembled with fury.

Behind her, Annabeth came scrambling, finally free from her bonds. Her face was bruised and streaked with dirt. "Don't kill him!"

"He's a traitor," Thalia said. "A traitor!"

In Lucia's daze, She realized that Artemis was no longer with them. She had run off toward the black rocks where Zoe had fallen.

"We'll bring Luke back," Annabeth pleaded. "To Olympus. He... he'll be useful."

"Is that what you want, Thalia?" Luke sneered. "To go back to Olympus in triumph? To please your dad?"

Thalia hesitated, and Luke made a desperate grab for her spear.

"No!" Annabeth shouted. But it was too late. Without thinking, Thalia kicked Luke away. He lost his balance, terror, on his face, and then he fell.

"Luke!" Annabeth screamed.

They all rushed to the cliff's edge. Below them, the army from the Princess Andromeda had stopped in amazement. They were staring at Luke's broken form on the rocks. Despite how much Lucia knew she was supposed to hate him, She couldn't stand to see it. It seemed impossible for him to have made it. The fall was fifty feet at least, and he wasn't moving.

One of the giants looked up and growled, "Kill them!"

Thalia was stiff with grief, tears streaming down her cheeks. Percy pulled her back as a wave of javelins sailed over their heads. They ran for the rocks, ignoring the curses and threats of Atlas as they passed.

"Artemis!" Lucia yelled.

The goddess looked up, her face almost as grief-stricken as Thalia's. Zoe lay in the goddess's arms. She was breathing. Her eyes were open. But still...

"The wound is poisoned," Artemis said.

"What?!"

Atlas poisoned her?" Percy asked.

"No," the goddess said. "Not Atlas."

She showed us the wound in Zoe's side. Lucia gasped as she remembered Ladon the dragon. The bite was much much worse than Zoe had let on. She cursed herself for not pushing more, for not doing more for her friend when she knew something was off. Lucia let out a sob at the realization that Zoe had charged into battle against her father with a horrible cut already sapping her strength.

"The stars," Zoe murmured. "I cannot see them."

"Nectar and ambrosia," Lucia said. "we need some now! "

Lucia knelt down, she tried to assess the wound, and remember even a fraction of what Will did in the infirmary but she had no skills in healing: She wasn't at camp long enough to learn. she had no idea what to do.

"Fuck!." Lucia huffed "Okay a hymn just let me remember a hymn!."

"Language." Zoe gave her a weak smile

Lucia only felt the tears fall faster at that

No one moved. Grief hung in the air. The army of Kronos was just below the rise. Even Artemis was too shocked to stir. They might've met their doom right there, but then they heard a strange buzzing noise.

Just as the army of monsters came over the hill, a Sopwith Camel swooped down out of the sky.

"Get away from my daughter!" Dr. Chase called down, and his machine guns burst to life, peppering the ground with bullet holes and startling the whole group of monsters into scattering.

"Dad?" yelled Annabeth in disbelief.

"Run!" he called back, his voice growing fainter as the biplane swooped by.

This shook Artemis out of her grief. She stared up at the antique plane, which was now banking around for another strafe.

"A brave man," Artemis said with grudging approval. "Come, We must get Zoe away from here."

She raised her hunting horn to her lips, and its clear sound echoed down the valleys of Marin. Zoe's eyes were fluttering.

"Hang in there!" Percy told her. "It'll be all right!"

Lucia knew it was best to stay silent

The Sopwith Camel swooped down again. A few giants threw javelins, and one flew straight between the wings of the plane, but the machine guns blazed. Lucia realized with amazement that somehow Dr. Chase must've gotten hold of celestial bronze to fashion his bullets. The first row of snake women wailed as the machine gun's volley blew them into sulfurous yellow powder.

"That's... my dad!" Annabeth said in amazement.

They didn't have time to admire his flying. The giants and snake women were already recovering from their surprise. Dr. Chase would be in trouble soon

Just then, the moonlight brightened, and a silver chariot appeared from the sky, drawn by the most beautiful deer Lucia had ever seen. It landed right next to them.

"Get in," Artemis said.

Annabeth helped Percy get Thalia on board. Then Lucia helped Artemis with Zoe. She wrapped Zoe in a blanket as Artemis pulled the reins and the chariot sped away from the mountain, straight into the air.

"Like Santa Claus's sleigh," Percy murmured, still dazed with pain.

Artemis took time to look back at him. "Indeed, young half-blood. And where do you think that legend came from?"

Seeing them safely away, Dr. Chase turned his biplane and followed them like an honor guard. It must have been one of the strangest sights ever, even for the Bay Area: a silver flying chariot pulled by deer, escorted by a Sopwith Camel.

Behind them, the army of Kronos roared in anger as they gathered on the summit of Mount Tamalpais, but the loudest sound was the voice of Atlas, bellowing curses against the gods as he struggled under the weight of the sky.