Celestial - a Percy Jackson fanfic [BOOK ONE]

Chapter nine

Packing went by quickly. I only had one change of clothes and toiletries, which I kept in a little knapsack. So I only brought that and the clothes on my body. Cabin eleven looked relieved to see me go, but also curious as to where. I didn't give them the time of day.

The camo store had given us one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas, which were as big as Oreos and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. Chiron said they may come in handy for non-mortal transactions. Annabeth, Percy, and I all got a canteen of Nectar and a Ziploc bag of ambrosia squares, only to be used in emergencies if we were seriously hurt. It was good food, able to cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. And too much of it could literally cause an overdose in a half-blood.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, a book of famous classical architecture, and a long bronze knife hidden in her shirt sleeve. Grover wore his fake feet and pants to pass as a human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his little baby horns. He had a bright orange backpack full of apples to snack on and a reed pipe, though he only knew two songs on it. Percy decided to leave his Minotaur horn in his cabin, only bringing a change of clothes and his toiletries.

We waved goodbye to the other campers, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.

At the foot of the tree waited Chiron and the camp's head of security, wearing a chauffeur's uniform. He also had eyes all over his body, I could see them peeping out from his sleeves and neckline.

"This is Argus," Chiron said. "He will drive you into the city and keep an eye on things." Pun intended, I hope.

There were footsteps behind us and we turned around to see Luke running up the hill, carrying some sneakers in one hand and a bronze blaze in the other.

"Hey!" He panted. "Glad I caught you."

I noticed Annabeth blushing.

"Just wanted to say good luck, you guys," Luke said. "And I thought... maybe you guys could use these."

He handed Percy the sneakers. They looked like literal regular sneakers.

Until he said, "Maia!"

White wings sprouted from the heels. It startled Percy so much that he dropped the shoes. They landed on the ground, flapping around until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days.." his expression turned sad before turning to me. "And I thought you could use this. It's my lucky blade."

He handed the bronze knife to me, and I happily accepted it. I had never had my own weapon before. Looking down at it, my reflection was so clear I could see myself like a mirror. I looked up and smiled at him.

"Thanks, Luke!" I said and gave him a small hug.

"Yeah, man," Percy added. "Thank you."

"Listen, Percy..." Luke said, scratching the back of his head nervously. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just... kill some monsters for me, okay?"

They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head, then gave a goodbye hug to Annabeth, who began blushing even harder. Then he retreated back the hill.

I laughed at Annabeth. "You're hyperventilating. You going to pass out?"

"I'm fine," Annabeth snapped back.

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?" Percy asked.