mastermind - percy jackson

x. the immortal flame

"ice snuffs out the immortal flame"

When they made it back to the Plaza, Thalia and Cassandra pulled Percy aside.

Annabeth had been quiet on the way back, and told them she was going to sleep, but it was obvious that the conversation with Prometheus had gotten to her head.

"What did Prometheus show you?" Thalia asked.

Reluctantly, Percy told them about his vision of May Castellan's house. Thalia started rubbing her thigh where her injury used to be, like she was remembering the old wound.

"That was a bad night" She admitted. "Annabeth was so little, I don't think she really understood what she saw. She just knew Luke was upset."

Percy looked out the hotel windows at Central Park. "Do you know what happened to May Castellan? I mean—"

"I know what you mean" Thalia interrupted. "I never saw her have an, um, episode, but Luke told me about the glowing eyes, the strange things she would say. He made me promise never to tell. What caused it, I have no idea. If Luke knew, he never told me."

Cassandra bit the inside of her cheek. She had a theory. But had it actually happened to May Castellan? Hermes must've had hundreds of lovers, and it could've been any of them.

"Hermes knew" Percy said. "Somebody caused May to see parts of Luke's future, and Hermes understood what would happen—how Luke would turn into Kronos."

Thalia frowned. "You can't be sure of that. Remember Prometheus was manipulating what you saw, Percy, showing you what happened in the worst possible light. Hermes did love Luke. I could tell just by looking at his face. And Hermes was there that night because he was checking up on May, taking care of her. He wasn't all that bad."

"It's still not right" Percy insisted. "Luke was just a little kid. Hermes never helped him, never stopped him from running away."

Thalia shouldered her bow.

"Percy" Cassandra said, "don't start feeling sorry for Luke. All demigods have difficult lives. I'm not trying to deny that he's had a hard life, but there are rules in place. Godly parents can't interfere with their kids lives. And Luke is the one who's made all of these bad choices. No one is forcing him to do this."

"But didn't your mom raise you?" Percy asked.

Cassandra looked down at the ground. "Yes. She did. And Zeus wasn't very happy about it. When I was running from my mother, she wasn't the only one I had to look out for."

It was quiet for a while.

Finally, Thalia cleared her throat. "I'm worried about Annabeth. If she has to face Luke in battle, I don't know if she can do it. She's always had a soft spot for him."

Percy narrowed his eyes. "She'll do fine."

"I don't know. After that night, after we left his mom's house? Luke was never the same. He got reckless and moody, like he had something to prove. By the time Grover found us and tried to get us to camp... well, part of the reason we had so much trouble was because Luke wouldn't be careful. He wanted to pick a fight with every monster we crossed. Annabeth didn't see that as a problem. Luke was her hero. She only understood that his parents had made him sad, and she got very defensive of him. She still is defensive. All Cassie is saying is... don't you fall into the same trap. Luke has given himself to Kronos now. We can't afford to be soft on him."

"You're right" Percy said.

Thalia patted his shoulder. "I'm going to check on the Hunters, then get some sleep before nightfall. You should crash too." She looked at Cassandra, "You too, Cassie."