The Blood of Olympus(127)

Zeus turned on his wife. Thunder shook the Acropolis. ‘Hera, do not dare take credit! You have caused at least as many problems as you’ve fixed!’

The queen of heaven blanched. ‘Husband, surely you see now – this was the only way.’

‘There is never only one way!’ Zeus bellowed. ‘That is why there are three Fates, not one. Is this not so?’

By the ruins of the giant king’s throne, the three old ladies silently bowed their heads in recognition. Jason noticed that the other gods stayed well away from the Fates and their gleaming brass clubs.

‘Please, husband.’ Hera tried for a smile, but she was so clearly frightened that Jason almost felt sorry for her. ‘I only did what I –’

‘Silence!’ Zeus snapped. ‘You disobeyed my orders. Nevertheless … I recognize that you acted with honest intentions. The valour of these seven heroes has proven that you were not entirely without wisdom.’

Hera looked like she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut.

‘Apollo, however …’ Zeus glared into the shadows where the twins were standing. ‘My son, come here.’

Apollo inched forward like he was walking the plank. He looked so much like a teenage demigod it was unnerving – no more than seventeen, wearing jeans and a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, with a bow over his shoulder and a sword at his belt. With his tousled blond hair and blue eyes, he might’ve been Jason’s brother on the mortal side as well as the godly side.

Jason wondered if Apollo had assumed this form to be inconspicuous, or to look pitiable to his father. The fear in Apollo’s face certainly looked real, and also very human.

The Three Fates gathered around the god, circling him, their withered hands raised.

‘Twice you have defied me,’ Zeus said.

Apollo moistened his lips. ‘My – my lord –’

‘You neglected your duties. You succumbed to flattery and vanity. You encouraged your descendant Octavian to follow his dangerous path, and you prematurely revealed a prophecy that may yet destroy us all.’

‘But –’

‘Enough!’ Zeus boomed. ‘We will speak of your punishment later. For now, you will wait on Olympus.’

Zeus flicked his hand, and Apollo turned into a cloud of glitter. The Fates swirled around him, dissolving into air, and the glittery whirlwind shot into the sky.

‘What will happen to him?’ Jason asked.

The gods stared at him, but Jason didn’t care. Having actually met Zeus, he had a newfound sympathy for Apollo.

‘It is not your concern,’ Zeus said. ‘We have other problems to address.’

An uncomfortable silence settled over the Parthenon.

It didn’t feel right to let the matter go. Jason didn’t see how Apollo deserved to be singled out for punishment.

Someone must take the blame, Zeus had said.

But why?

‘Father,’ Jason said, ‘I made a vow to honour all the gods. I promised Kymopoleia that once this war is over none of the gods would be without shrines at the camps.’

Zeus scowled. ‘That’s fine. But … Kym who?’

Poseidon coughed into his fist. ‘She’s one of mine.’

‘My point,’ Jason said, ‘is that blaming each other isn’t going solve anything. That’s how the Romans and Greeks got divided in the first place.’

The air became dangerously ionized. Jason’s scalp tingled.

He realized he was risking his father’s wrath. He might get turned into glitter or blasted off the Acropolis. He’d known his dad for five minutes and made a good impression. Now he was throwing it away.

A good Roman wouldn’t keep talking.

Jason kept talking. ‘Apollo wasn’t the problem. To punish him for Gaia waking is –’ he wanted to say stupid, but he caught himself – ‘unwise.’

‘Unwise.’ Zeus’s voice was almost a whisper. ‘Before the assembled gods, you would call me unwise.’

Jason’s friends watched on full alert. Percy looked like he was ready to jump in and fight at his side.

Then Artemis stepped out of the shadows. ‘Father, this hero has fought long and hard for our cause. His nerves are frayed. We should take that into account.’

Jason started to protest, but Artemis stopped him with a glance. Her expression sent a message so clear she might have been speaking in his mind: Thank you, demigod. But do not press this. I will reason with Zeus when he is calmer.

‘Surely, Father,’ the goddess continued, ‘we should attend to our more pressing problems, as you pointed out.’

‘Gaia,’ Annabeth chimed in, clearly anxious to change the topic. ‘She’s awake, isn’t she?’