Stark's Protective Daughter (S.P.N.D. Book 5)

Chapter 7: Asked to Make Promises I Don't Know if I Can Keep

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Grover and Percy were elected to carry the Oracle back to the attic. Mr. D called a council of cabin leaders not much longer after they left, which I was only half wishing I could go. The other half was not wanting to be in the same room as Thalia and Percy. I knew Percy would tell me what the decision was when they were done, so I wasn't too worried.

Ginny had said she wanted to hang out, so we invited Althea and we talked, sipping hot cocoa for the time being. At some point Nico came over, and we just let him join the conversation, explaining the things necessary.

At some point I made a joke, which the others didn't realize entirely what it was, but Ginny understood what I meant. It was about Jack, but no one else could have guessed who Jack was. To be honest I was fine with that. It was nice that my sister knew who he was, but it kept my lives more... separated, I guess you could say.

"Wow. Some days I forget you have a sense of humor."

"Just because I'm not always joking doesn't mean that I don't have humor, it just means I don't use humor to hide my pain."

"No I don't," I say defensively.

Ginny gives me a look and I roll my eyes.

In the distance I see Percy come this way, sulking.

"I'll be back, guys." I saw, then darken the shadows below me, allowing myself to sink through them into the wind tunnel of shadows. I take two steps and appear right behind Percy.

"Hey," I say, and he jumps into the air.

"Don't do that, Lillian!"

"Sorry. What's wrong?"

He sighs, then I notice him playing with a drachma in his hand.

"I'll tell you later. I need to call mom. Want to join?"

"Sure."

We stood at the saltwater spring, Percy rubbing Chiron's coin in his hand as he contemplated what to say to Sally.

Finally, he took a deep breath and threw in the coin. "O goddess, accept my offering."

The mist shimmered. The light from the bathroom was just enough to make a faint rainbow.

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

And there in the mist was a scene I did not expect. Sally was sitting at that kitchen table with some... guy. They were laughing hysterically. There was a big stack of textbooks between them. The man was, I don't know, thirty-something, with longish salt-and-pepper hair and a brown jacket over a black T-shirt. He looked like an actor- like a guy who might play an undercover cop on television.

Percy and I were too stunned to say anything, and fortunately, Sally and the guy were too busy laughing to notice the Iris-message.

The guy said, "Sally, you're a riot. You want some more wine?"

"Ah, I shouldn't. You go ahead if you want."

"Actually, I'd better use your bathroom. May I?"

"Down the hall," she said, trying not to laugh. The actor dude smiled and got up and left.

"Mom!" Percy said.

She jumped so hard she almost knocked her textbooks off the table. Finally she focused on me. "Percy! Oh, honey! Lillian! Is everything okay?"

"What are you doing?" Percy demanded.

She blinked. "Homework." Then she seemed to understand the look on Percy's face. "Oh, honey, that's just Paul- um, Mr. Blofis. He's in my writing seminar."