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Chapter no 23

The Last Olympian (Percy Jackson and the Olympians, Book 5)

ME SAY G00D-BYE, S0RT 0F

Camp went late that summer. It lasted two more weeks, right up to the start of a new school year, and I have to admit they were the best two weeks of my life.

Of course, Annabeth would kill me if I said anything different, but there was a lot of other great stuff going on too. Grover had taken over the satyr seekers and was sending them out across the world to find unclaimed half-bloods. So far, the gods had kept their promise. New demigods were popping up all over the placeโ€”not just in America, but in a lot of other countries as well.

โ€œWe can hardly keep up,โ€ Grover admitted one afternoon as we were taking a break at the canoe lake. โ€œWeโ€™re going to need a bigger travel budget, and I could use a hundred more satyrs.โ€

โ€œYeah, but the satyrs youย haveย are working super hard,โ€ I said. โ€œI think theyโ€™re scared of you.โ€

Grover blushed. โ€œThatโ€™s silly. Iโ€™m not scary.โ€

โ€œYouโ€™re a lord of the Wild, dude. The chosen one of Pan. A member of the Council ofโ€”โ€

โ€œStop it!โ€ Grover protested. โ€œYouโ€™re as bad as Juniper. I think she wants me to run for president next.โ€

He chewed on a tin can as we stared across the pond at the line of new cabins under construction. The U-shape would soon be a complete rectangle, and the demigods had really taken to the new task with gusto.

Nico had some undead builders working on the Hades cabin. Even though he was still the only kid in it, it was going to look pretty cool: solid obsidian walls with a skull over the door and torches that burned with green fire twenty-four hours a day. Next to that were the cabins of Iris, Nemesis, Hecate, and several others I didnโ€™t recognize. They kept adding

new ones to the blueprints every day. It was going so well, Annabeth and Chiron were talking about adding an entirely new wing of cabins just so they could have enough room.

The Hermes cabin was a lot less crowded now, because most of the unclaimed kids had received signs from their godly parents. It happened almost every night, and every night more demigods straggled over the property line with the satyr guides, usually with some nasty monsters pursuing them, but almost all of them made it through.

โ€œItโ€™s going to be a lot different next summer,โ€ I said. โ€œChironโ€™s expecting weโ€™ll have twice as many campers.โ€

โ€œYeah,โ€ Grover agreed, โ€œbut itโ€™ll be the same old place.โ€ He sighed contentedly.

I watched as Tyson led a group of Cyclops builders. They were hoisting huge stones in place for the Hecate cabin, and I knew it was a delicate job. Each stone was engraved with magical writing, and if they dropped one, it would either explode or turn everyone within half a mile into a tree. I figured nobody but Grover would like that.

โ€œIโ€™ll be traveling a lot,โ€ Grover warned, โ€œbetween protecting nature and finding half-bloods. I may not see you as much.โ€

โ€œWonโ€™t change anything,โ€ I said. โ€œYouโ€™re still my best friend.โ€ He grinned. โ€œExcept for Annabeth.โ€

โ€œThatโ€™s different.โ€

โ€œYeah,โ€ he agreed. โ€œIt sure is.โ€

In the late afternoon, I was taking one last walk along the beach when a familiar voice said, โ€œGood day for fishing.โ€

My dad, Poseidon, was standing knee-deep in the surf, wearing his typical Bermuda shorts, beat-up cap, and a real subtle pink-and-green Tommy Bahama shirt. He had a deep-sea fishing rod in his hands, and when he cast it the line went way outโ€”like halfway across Long Island Sound.

โ€œHey, Dad,โ€ I said. โ€œWhat brings you here?โ€

He winked. โ€œNever really got to talk in private on Olympus. I wanted to thank you.โ€

โ€œThank me? You came to the rescue.โ€

โ€œYes, and I got my palace destroyed in the process, but you knowโ€” palaces can be rebuilt. Iโ€™ve gotten so many thank-you cards from the other gods. Even Ares wrote one, though I think Hera forced him to. Itโ€™s rather gratifying. So, thank you. I suppose even the gods can learn new tricks.โ€

The Sound began to boil. At the end of my dadโ€™s line, a huge green sea serpent erupted from the water. It thrashed and fought, but Poseidon just sighed. Holding his fishing pole with one hand, he whipped out his knife and cut the line. The monster sank below the surface.

โ€œNot eating size,โ€ he complained. โ€œI have to release the little ones or the game wardens will be all over me.โ€

โ€œLittle ones?โ€

He grinned. โ€œYouโ€™re doing well with those new cabins, by the way. I suppose this means I can claim all those other sons and daughters of mine and send you some siblings next summer.โ€

โ€œHa-ha.โ€

Poseidon reeled in his empty line.

I shifted my feet. โ€œUm, youย wereย kidding, right?โ€

Poseidon gave me one of his inside-joke winks, and I still didnโ€™t know whether he was serious or not. โ€œIโ€™ll see you soon, Percy. And remember, know which fish are big enough to land, eh?โ€

With that he dissolved in the sea breeze, leaving a fishing pole lying in the sand.

That evening was the last night of campโ€”the bead ceremony. The Hephaestus cabin had designed the bead this year. It showed the Empire State Building, and etched in tiny Greek letters, spiraling around the image, were the names of all the heroes who had died defending Olympus. There were too many names, but I was proud to wear the bead. I put it on my camp necklaceโ€”four beads now. I felt like an old-timer. I thought about the first campfire Iโ€™d ever attended, back when I was twelve, and how Iโ€™d felt so at home. That at least hadnโ€™t changed.

โ€œNever forget this summer!โ€ Chiron told us. He had healed remarkably well, but he still trotted in front of the fire with a slight limp. โ€œWe have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. We have upheld the honor of the camp.โ€

He smiled at me, and everybody cheered. As I looked at the fire, I saw a little girl in a brown dress tending the flames. She winked at me with red glowing eyes. No one else seemed to notice her, but I realized maybe she preferred it that way.

โ€œAnd now,โ€ Chiron said, โ€œearly to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrow unless youโ€™ve made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stragglers, and Iโ€™d hate to end the summer on a sour note!โ€

The next morning, Annabeth and I stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill. We watched the buses and vans pull away, taking most of the campers back to the real world. A few old-timers would be staying behind, and a few of the newcomers, but I was heading back to Goode High School for my sophomore yearโ€”the first time in my life Iโ€™d ever done two years at the same school.

โ€œGood-bye,โ€ Rachel said to us as she shouldered her bag. She looked pretty nervous, but she was keeping a promise to her father and attending Clarion Academy in New Hampshire. It would be next summer before we got our Oracle back.

โ€œYouโ€™ll do great.โ€ Annabeth hugged her. Funny, she seemed to get along fine with Rachel these days.

Rachel bit her lip. โ€œI hope youโ€™re right. Iโ€™m a little worried. What if somebody asks whatโ€™s on the next math test and I start spouting a prophecy in the middle of geometry class?ย The Pythagorean theorem shall be problem twoโ€ฆ. Gods, that would be embarrassing.โ€

Annabeth laughed, and to my relief, it made Rachel smile.

โ€œWell,โ€ she said, โ€œyou two be good to each other.โ€ Go figure, but she looked atย meย like I was some kind of troublemaker. Before I could protest, Rachel wished us well and ran down the hill to catch her ride.

Annabeth, thank goodness, would be staying in New York. Sheโ€™d gotten permission from her parents to attend a boarding school in the city so she could be close to Olympus and oversee the rebuilding efforts.

โ€œAnd close to me?โ€ I asked.

โ€œWell, someoneโ€™s got a big sense of his own importance.โ€ But she laced her fingers through mine. I remembered what sheโ€™d told me in New

York, about building something permanent, and I thoughtโ€”just maybeโ€” we were off to a good start.

The guard dragon Peleus curled contentedly around the pine tree underneath the Golden Fleece and began to snore, blowing steam with every breath.

โ€œYouโ€™ve been thinking about Rachelโ€™s prophecy?โ€ I asked Annabeth. She frowned. โ€œHow did you know?โ€

โ€œBecause I know you.โ€

She bumped me with her shoulder. โ€œOkay, so I have.ย Seven half- bloods shall answer the call. I wonder who theyโ€™ll be. Weโ€™re going to have so many new faces next summer.โ€

โ€œYep,โ€ I agreed. โ€œAnd all that stuff about the world falling in storm or fire.โ€

She pursed her lips. โ€œAnd foes at the Doors of Death. I donโ€™t know, Percy, but I donโ€™t like it. I thoughtโ€ฆwell, maybe weโ€™d get someย peaceย for a change.โ€

โ€œWouldnโ€™t be Camp Half-Blood if it was peaceful,โ€ I said.

โ€œI guess youโ€™re rightโ€ฆOr maybe the prophecy wonโ€™t happen for years.โ€

โ€œCould be a problem for another generation of demigods,โ€ I agreed. โ€œThen we can kick back and enjoy.โ€

She nodded, though she still seemed uneasy. I didnโ€™t blame her, but it was hard to feel too upset on a nice day, with her next to me, knowing that I wasnโ€™t really saying good-bye. We had lots of time.

โ€œRace you to the road?โ€ I said.

โ€œYou are so going to lose.โ€ She took off down Half-Blood Hill and I sprinted after her.

For once, I didnโ€™t look back.

โ€ŒKeep reading for a sneak peek at Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard, Book 0ne:ย The 3word of 3ummer!

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