"YOU GOT HIM!" Zoe said once the four ran up to Percy and Neureus.
"You don't have to sound so amazed," Percy said, obviously offended.
Nereus moaned. "Oh, wonderful. An audience for my humiliation! The normal deal, I suppose? You'll let me go if I answer your question?"
"I've got more than one question," He said.
"Only one question per capture! That's the rule."
Percy looked at his friends. This wasn't good. Percy needed to find Artemis, and he needed to figure out what the doomsday creature was. Percy also needed to know if Annabeth was still alive, and how to rescue her. How could he ask that all in one question?
"All right, Nereus. Tell me where to find this terrible monster that could bring an end to the gods. The one Artemis was hunting." Percy sighed.
The Old Man of the Sea smiled, showing off his mossy green teeth. "Oh, that's too easy," he said evilly. "He's right there."
Nereus pointed to the water at Percy's feet.
"Where?" Percy said.
"The deal is complete!" Nereus gloated. With a pop, he turned into a goldfish and did a backflip into the sea.
"You tricked me!" Percy yelled.
"Wait." Thalia's eyes widened. "What is that?"
"MOOOOOOOO!"
Viviene looked down, and there was Percy's friend the cow serpent, swimming next to the dock. She nudged Percy's shoe and gave him the sad brown eyes.
"Ah, Bessie," he said. "Not now."
"Mooo!" Grover gasped.
"He says his name isn't Bessie."
"You can understand her... er, him?"
Grover nodded. "It's a very old form of animal speech. But he says his name is the Ophiotaurus."
"The Ophi-what?"
"It means serpent bull in Greek," Thalia said. "But what's it doing here?"
"Moooooooo!"
"He says Percy is his protector," Grover announced.
"And he's running from the bad people. He says they are close."
"Wait," Zoe said, looking at Percy. "You know this cow?"
He was feeling impatient, but he told them the story.
Thalia shook her head in disbelief. "And you just forgot to mention this before?"
"Well... yeah." It seemed silly, now that she said it, but things had been happening so fast. Bessie, the Ophiotaurus, seemed like a minor detail.
"I am a fool," Zoe said suddenly. "I know this story!"
"What story?" Percy asked, growing confused with each passing minute.
YOU ARE READING
RED ¹ / Percy Jackson !
Fanfiction"I suggest you stop this nonsense." "No. No unless she does as I say, or I swear, I will murder Percy right here right now." "Don't you dare touch a single hair on Percy, do you hear me?" Viviene yelled, taking a step closer to her father. " I fucki...
