I Think All Demigods Need Private Lessons
The Queen Anne's Revenge came to a stop right at the edge of the island. Percy and Annabeth could not help but stare at it. It truly was a paradise island, almost unreal. Percy felt that simply calling it beautiful would be insulting its dazzling presence. This was probably the kind of island anyone would want to vacation on. Or retire to comfortably.
Well. If it had internet. And a provider willing to cross the Sea of Monsters. And somehow, a fast food place.
Right. Let's just say it's a nice island with green meadows, fruit trees, and white sand, Percy thought, nodding to himself.
Annabeth glanced at him from the side, confused by his silent shifts in expression.
"The Golden Fleece," Annabeth murmured, pulling him out of his ridiculous thoughts. It was the only explanation that made sense for a place like this to exist. "Did you stop thinking nonsense yet?" she asked as the anchor dropped, stopping the ship not too far from shore.
"More or less," Percy said calmly before scanning the beach, searching for something.
Until his eyes finally found it.
With a grin, he jumped straight into the water with a splash.
Annabeth let out a shout when she saw him leap, but he was already swimming toward the shore. With an irritated grunt, she had no choice but to jump in after him.
Percy stepped out of the water completely dry. Annabeth, on the other hand, complained briefly as her clothes clung to her, soaked.
Meanwhile, Percy walked toward an area where the sand looked slightly scorched. A black cylinder was half buried there, faintly glowing.
He grabbed it and pulled easily, revealing a very familiar spear.
"See? I told you. They're not that easy to kill," Percy said with a smile, showing Clarisse's spear to Annabeth.
Annabeth, squeezing water from her hair, noticed something as she looked at the weapon.
"Wait, Percy. Look," she said, pointing at the tip.
A piece of cloth was tied there. And written in what looked like blood was a badly spelled word: MIUERTE.
Or at least, that was what Percy understood.
"Uh… umm…"
Percy read the note and felt something uncomfortable twist in his stomach. It was not just that the word was misspelled. It was that someone had had time to write it.
He looked at Annabeth. And for the first time since arriving, neither of them had a clever answer.
…
Polyphemus walked through the cave, each step making it tremble slightly. On the ground, not far from him, tied side by side, were Clarisse and Grover, captured by the giant. Grover was visibly nervous, while Clarisse looked a little calmer with her usual irritated expression.
Polyphemus noticed Grover's nerves and bared his teeth in something that was definitely not a friendly smile.
"Relax, little goat. I will not eat you yet. I still have many uses for you. And I must wait for the demigods who will come looking for you. Everyone knows how dangerous they think they are," the giant said calmly. "Many have died believing themselves special. Missions. Prophecies. Gods whispering that they are chosen. Ha. For the gods, it is entertainment. For us, it is dinner. You fight, you bleed, you die… and you think that makes you important. Even with two eyes, you see nothing."
"For someone so lonely… you really cannot shut your damn mouth," Clarisse said flatly.
Grover began bumping into her to make her stop talking, which quickly turned into both of them awkwardly shoving each other.
"Heh. You are right. But solitude is not the same as silence," Polyphemus said, amused. "And you are lucky you are both still useful. When your friends arrive. After that, you will be devoured right in front of their eyes."
The giant rose smoothly and picked up a long shepherd's staff.
"See, Grover? I told you. Dogs that bark do not bite," Clarisse said mockingly.
Grover could not help but look at her in exhaustion.
Polyphemus gave them one last glance before walking toward the exit.
Grover let out a breath once he left and then looked at Clarisse.
"Are you sure you spelled the warning correctly? That Polyphemus is waiting for them?" he asked.
"I told you, yes. I wrote that if they come stupidly close, they will die," Clarisse said irritably.
"You wrote all that while I was distracting Polyphemus. I doubt you wrote that much," Grover said quickly.
"Well… I summarized it a little," she replied calmly.
…
"So what do you think this means?" Percy asked, since he could not understand the message at all.
"I have no idea," Annabeth said, frowning as she tried to decipher it.
Her gaze scanned the entire island. It was shaped like a saddle. On one of the mountains stood a striking tree, something bright and golden resting atop it, drawing her attention.
It was also the same place the spear had come from, if you traced the falling arc they had seen from the ship.
"Maybe she's trying to warn us about something," Annabeth said, staring directly at the tree.
Percy shifted his gaze there as well.
Before either of them could say anything else, strange bleating suddenly echoed across the island. Both of them turned away from the tree toward what looked like a meadow filled with sheep.
Enormous sheep. Almost the size of hippos.
They were bleating because a deer had wandered into their territory. Now, all together, they charged at it at frightening speed, surrounding it.
Before Percy or Annabeth could even finish gasping, the sheep parted again.
There was no deer anymore.
Only completely white, perfectly clean bones.
Not a single drop of blood.
Both of them just stood there with their mouths open.
Percy slowly closed his.
"Noted. Do not pet sheep. Do you think the note is referring to the hippo piranha sheep?" Percy said, unable to look away from the creatures that looked like sheep but were very clearly not normal sheep.
"Maybe," Annabeth replied, still staring.
"For now, it might be better to find another way," Percy said, scanning the area until his eyes stopped on a cliff that led directly toward the tree. The safest way up.
Well. Safe was a very generous word.
But when the alternative is carnivorous piranha sheep, a cliff technically qualifies.
So they did not really have another choice.
They climbed.
Percy did not have much trouble. As he had mentioned before, Miraak, during one of his training sessions, or more accurately punishments, had thrown him off a cliff and forced him to climb back up. Percy had known at the time that there was no real risk of imminent death because his teacher had been present. Still, he had learned not to look down.
He let Annabeth climb above him.
Well, technically she had taken that position after Percy very gallantly told her he could carry her on his back if she wanted. As if that had awakened some competitive instinct in her, she immediately began climbing first.
And Percy, just in case she slipped, stayed directly beneath her.
Which occasionally earned him a kick when Annabeth misstepped on a rock and ended up using Percy's face as a foothold.
"Sorry," she said for the third time after stepping on him.
Percy's hair was now full of dirt and dust from her sneakers, but with a completely flat expression, he kept climbing like nothing had happened.
When they were almost at the top, the sound of a massive rock shifting alerted them. Both pressed themselves flat against the cliff face, silent.
Annabeth carefully peeked over the edge.
She saw the enormous Cyclops step out of a cave, followed by a few smaller sheep. For a brief second, Annabeth caught a glimpse inside the cave.
Two figures tied up.
Grover. Clarisse.
It was only an instant before the rock slid back into place, sealing the entrance once again. The cave disappeared behind an enormous boulder that must have weighed tons. Polyphemus walked away, crossing a rope and wooden bridge, seemingly heading off to herd his sheep.
Once he was far enough, Annabeth and Percy pulled themselves fully onto the edge.
"I think I saw Clarisse and Grover," Annabeth said seriously.
"Wasn't Tyson with them?" Percy asked quickly.
"I'm sorry. I didn't see him," Annabeth replied, shaking her head.
Percy clenched his jaw for a second, took a deep breath, then nodded.
"Alright. For now, let's focus on getting the ones we know are prisoners out," he said, looking toward the enormous rock sealing the entrance.
"Don't do anything reckless—" Annabeth began.
Then she saw Percy blow into his hands and stretch slightly.
He pressed his body against the massive rock and started pushing with force.
It was impossible. There was no way he could move a boulder larger than Polyphemus himself. One that had to weigh several tons.
Annabeth was about to stop him.
Then she saw dust fall from the rock.
And the ground beneath it shift slightly.
Her eyes widened completely.
That should not be possible.