Princess Andromeda, Part I
Percy glanced toward Alison as she casually slipped off her sandals, kicking them aside with an almost careless flick. The gesture made him look at her, slightly confused; he realized a fraction of a second too late that it had not been casual at all.
Alison hurled one of her daggers straight at Percy’s neck without hesitating for even a moment. At the same time, she charged at him with another blade in hand.
Percy swung Riptide, striking the dagger out of the air and sending it straight into the sea, then shifted his sword smoothly to block Alison’s follow-up attack.
“The so-called son of the most powerful demigod… yet still just a child,” Alison said in a mocking tone.
Percy snapped his head to the side. Something brushed past his hair from behind before flying straight back into Alison’s empty hand.
It was the same dagger she had thrown into the ocean.
She attacked again immediately, sending it once more toward Percy’s throat.
Percy raised his free hand and caught her by the wrist, trying to throw her off balance with a kick to the stomach; however, Alison showed remarkable agility, leaping and twisting over his head and forcing him to release her. She used the motion to strike from both sides, both daggers aimed straight at Percy’s neck.
Percy ducked to evade.
Alison landed behind him, cushioning the fall softly with her bare feet, and stabbed toward Percy’s back as he spun around almost instantly to block with his sword.
The clash forced Alison backward under the strength of Percy’s blow. Even so, she did not stop, hurling her daggers with flawless precision; one aimed at his neck, the other at his heart.
With a downward slash, Percy knocked both blades aside once again.
But Alison drew another dagger from her back and used the opening to throw it at Annabeth, forcing her to raise her own blade to deflect it.
Percy seized the moment, closing the distance immediately as he drew his black sword and thrust straight toward Alison.
She twisted aside with speed and lifted her foot, driving a sharp kick toward Percy’s face. He tilted his head just enough to avoid it, but at that very instant a dagger appeared in his line of sight, pointed directly at his face.
By pure reflex, Percy released Riptide and caught the blade inches from his eyes.
As Riptide fell to the ground, Alison kicked the hilt, causing Percy’s own sword to slice his leg. A thin line of blood appeared at once, and Percy stiffened slightly; it was a novice mistake.
He looked back at Alison, who had already put distance between them again, throwing two more daggers toward Annabeth to keep her occupied.
“Surprised, little one?” Alison asked, her voice openly amused and mocking as she stared him down.
The word irritated Percy for a moment; his jaw tightened despite himself. He locked eyes with her as Riptide reappeared in his pocket, as it always did, and he drew it again at once. Then he cast a quick glance at the cut on his leg.
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“You might be stronger than the others, but you still lack experience. Something I have plenty of,” she said as her daggers returned to her hands on their own. “And you’re not the only one with special weapons,” she added, throwing two more blades in rapid succession; one at Percy, the other at Annabeth, before rushing straight at Percy with another dagger in hand.
Percy deflected the dagger aimed at him while watching Alison leap toward him. He sidestepped to evade and took a brief breath, as if he had already decided to end it.
“FUS RO DAH!” he shouted at nearly point-blank range.
Alison was blasted away at tremendous speed, crashing straight into the sea.
“Yeah. Tons of experience,” Percy said in a sarcastic, mocking tone as he heard the loud splash, just before he felt his voice cut out entirely. Even so, it felt worth it.
Judging by Annabeth’s dry, clearly irritated look, she did not seem to agree.
Percy just smiled at her, temporarily mute, and gave her a thumbs-up.
Annabeth rolled her eyes.
…
Annabeth and Percy entered the cabin as Tyson was packing everyone’s backpacks, getting them ready to leave.
Without saying much, Percy opened the bag they had taken; Alison’s; and dumped all of its contents onto the bed.
“What’s that?” Tyson asked.
Percy looked at him and started making signs to communicate.
“Oh. You used a shout again. Then it must have been someone strong,” Tyson said.
Percy hesitated for a moment before making a gesture that could roughly be understood as something along those lines.
He then turned his attention back to the bed, where Annabeth was rummaging through the items that had spilled from the bag. Aside from the kind of things a girl would normally carry and several ordinary daggers, there was a golden card that immediately caught everyone’s attention.
It had a scythe engraved on it.
That was enough to make both Annabeth and Percy turn serious.
“It’s Cronos’ mark,” Annabeth said gravely, looking at Percy. “Luke isn’t just here. This is his ship.”
Percy nodded in agreement.
The room fell silent for a moment as Percy seemed lost in thought. Annabeth as well, while Tyson watched the two of them without saying a word.
Then Percy began signing again, gesturing deliberately to get his point across. Annabeth, of course, did not understand most of it, so she looked at Tyson, waiting for a translation.
Tyson, who had been watching Percy closely, immediately understood what she wanted.
“Percy says that now that we know Luke is here, we should go find him, take him out, and end this once and for all,” he translated.
“What do you mean by ?” Annabeth asked seriously, looking straight at Percy.
Percy met her gaze for a moment before making a gesture even she could understand easily, sliding his hand across his own neck. Annabeth inhaled sharply.
“We’re not doing that. Are you crazy? There are too many of them, and even if you’re strong enough, you can’t do it. We have to capture Luke and hand him over so he can be properly punished by our elders,” Annabeth said quickly.
Percy narrowed his eyes slightly, his disapproval clear.
But Annabeth kept going, her tone firmer now.
“When Luke stabbed Thalia’s tree, it felt like watching my brother stab my sister in the back. No one is angrier at Luke than I am. But I don’t want to see him die. Even if you think Luke doesn’t want to be saved, or can’t be, I still believe he can be. Or at least, I have to try.”
Percy’s expression shifted subtly, growing more tense, but also more understanding.
“Luke hates the gods; maybe almost as much as you do. But you’re not trying to bring about an apocalypse. And I’m sure all of this is Cronos’ fault, poisoning his mind. If we can pull him away from Cronos, then maybe…” she trailed off, lowering her head.
Percy studied her for a moment before turning to Tyson and signing again. Tyson translated immediately.
“Percy says it’s fine. That we can capture him. He can handle that.”
Annabeth gave Percy a grateful look, paired with a faint smile.
She then quickly moved to the map provided in every cabin, showing the areas accessible on the ship, and spread it out on the bed. After studying it briefly, she pointed to a specific spot.
“Luke must be in the admiral’s suite. Glory matters to him, and he’d take the biggest room for himself,” she said seriously.
Percy nodded.
“There are still a lot of monsters around. How do we get him out?” Tyson asked, already able to smell them moving all throughout the ship.
Percy lifted his head and flashed both of them a smile.
