Between Nets and Crowns

  “What happened to Percy?” Grover asked quickly.

  “I do not know. A giant wave swallowed him,” Clarisse replied while looking around, as if searching for something she could use. She picked up the rope made of wool from the net, nodded to herself, and set it aside in a corner before continuing to walk from one end of the cave to the other, looking for more useful objects.

  “And Annabeth? Was she not with you?” Grover asked.

  “She got swallowed by a wave too,” Clarisse said without paying him much attention.

  “What? And the camp? What about the camp?” Grover insisted.

  That finally seemed to truly annoy Clarisse. She stopped abruptly, ceased rummaging around, and looked at him with clear exasperation.

  “I do not know. Maybe the same wave swallowed everyone. It was a damn huge wave,” she replied harshly, as she grabbed what looked like a massive fishing hook. She nodded when she saw it could be useful and began to untie the net in order to attach it to the hook, forming something that resembled an improvised weapon.

  “Wait, you are just making me more confused. What the hell happened to Percy and Annabeth?” Grover said, staring at her.

  Clarisse paused for a moment and looked him in the eyes. Then she let out a sigh.

  “I do not know, all right. I do not even know if they are still alive. And I cannot answer all your questions because I do not even know what the hell I am doing myself,” she said with complete honesty. “Right now I need to focus on making a weapon or something that can get us out of here before the guy who caught you, and who probably went out to look for seasonings to cook me slowly, comes back,” she added in a serious tone.

  Grover was completely stunned when he heard that.

  Clarisse noticed and realized he needed a moment to process it.

  “I am sorry,” she said before sighing and continuing to assemble the hook.

  “No… that cannot be,” Grover murmured suddenly. “The empathy link with Percy… if he had died, I would know,” he said quickly, more as if he were trying to convince himself.

  Clarisse stopped again and glanced at him from the corner of her eye.

  “Yeah, I heard something about that from that idiot. He was asking if you would marry Polyphemus. Was it true that he would end up being something like your other boyfriend?” she commented while tying the knots again.

  Grover could not help but smile slightly. It sounded far too much like Percy not to be real.

  “But this is bad,” Grover said suddenly, his eyes widening as if he had just remembered something important.

  Clarisse looked at him, confused.

  “This is really bad, Clarisse. You did not fall into that net by accident. This is a…”

  “Trap!” a voice suddenly echoed, as something moved within the shadows.

  Clarisse dropped the rope and raised her spear at once to defend herself. She saw a massive fist coming toward her and, before she could react, it struck the shaft of her spear and sent her flying into the wall. She slammed into it hard, producing a dry, brutal sound.

  Suddenly, a massive surge of electricity fully illuminated the dark cave. Grover covered his eyes instinctively, as the enormous silhouette of a gigantic cyclops was completely revealed. The creature covered its single eye with an irritated growl.

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  “Aaah. Light. Too much light!” it shouted as it staggered back several steps.

  The electricity vanished, and the cave plunged back into darkness.

  Deep, furious growls echoed through the shadows, followed by heavy footsteps drawing closer to a completely frozen Grover. He lifted his gaze and found himself face to face with the enormous cyclops.

  The monster blinked several times with its single eye before bringing its hideous face close to Grover.

  “Hahaha… so it was not just one, huh. We will have a demigod feast. You have no idea how proud I am of having lured you in to use you as bait. It means the first one was just a little snack,” the cyclops said right in front of his face.

  Grover was completely pale.

  A sudden blow struck him, knocking him unconscious instantly.

  The cyclops then moved toward the place where Clarisse had been thrown. It stopped and frowned as it lowered its head and realized there was nothing there.

  “Graaah. Where is my food?” it roared while looking around, unable to clearly make out the shadows. It began to swing its arms clumsily, striking in all directions, knocking objects over that crashed into the walls and shattered into pieces.

  “Where are you?” Polyphemus shouted, until he suddenly stopped and closed his single eye, as if trying to rely on his hearing.

  A macabre smile spread across his face.

  He snapped his eye open, turning toward a faint sound of footsteps.

  “There you are!” he yelled before charging forward.

  But just before he could reach her, another surge of electricity exploded in front of his face, flooding the cave with light once again.

  “Aaah!” Polyphemus bellowed as he recoiled.

  Clarisse was standing there, blood on her mouth. Her spear was embedded in the ground, like an improvised torch that continued to release electricity in the form of light. One of her arms hung at an unnatural angle, clearly damaged by the impact against the wall.

  Clenching her teeth, she crouched beside Grover, lifted him with effort, and slung him over her shoulder.

  She cast one last look at her spear, still planted in the center of the cave.

  Then she slipped into an opening between the rocks and disappeared into the darkness.

  …

  Percy and Annabeth stepped out of their respective rooms wearing outfits completely different from what they had on before. That alone made Percy frown immediately, his expression clearly irritated as he looked at himself.

  He was dressed in a Greek toga in shades of white and blue, paired with a golden laurel tiara. The toga left some of the tattoos on his arms exposed, and although he felt uncomfortable, the truth was that it actually suited him very well.

  Then there was Annabeth.

  She wore a white silk dress, cinched with a golden belt that matched her golden hair, now styled more carefully, held in place by a laurel tiara of gold, finer and more feminine.

  “This is karma, right?” Percy said in a flat tone as he looked at his reflection in a glass door. “It is karma for making fun of Grover’s dress,” he added.

  He then looked at Annabeth, who was watching him while holding back a faint smile.

  “At least your dress looks good on you,” Percy said sarcastically. “But the tiara is unnecessary. I have an overwhelming urge to throw it as far away as possible,” he added, touching his head with clear displeasure.

  “For now, keep it. We need to see what they are really up to in this place,” Annabeth replied, looking at him intently.

  “Yeah, I know,” Percy said with an annoyed expression. “Anyone who smiles at me that much can never be a good person,” he added, in a pessimistic tone… or perhaps one born of experience.

  Then he watched as Annabeth pulled another tiara from her hands.

  That immediately earned Percy’s full attention. After all, he knew very well what it was and who had given it to her. He had only seen her wear it once, when she played Grover’s flute.

  “Are you going to wear the tiara the master gave you?” Percy asked, watching her closely.

  Annabeth looked at him for a moment.

  “No. You are,” she said.

  “What?” Percy replied, staring at her as if he thought she was joking. But Annabeth’s serious expression made it clear that she was not.

  “Great. Just what I was missing,” Percy muttered as he removed the golden laurel tiara and placed the completely feminine tiara Annabeth handed him onto his head. Then he put the laurel tiara back on top, which, fortunately, being larger, covered most of the other one. The rest was hidden by his hair, always a bit messy.

  Almost immediately, he felt the effect.

  His mind relaxed. It became calmer, more focused. Even colder. His expression shifted slightly, adopting a more serious, controlled look.

  “Remember. You are still you,” Annabeth said quickly when she noticed the change.

  Percy looked at her and nodded, forcing his face back into a more normal expression.

  “So… do I look like a Greek god now?” he asked with proud tone and an arrogant smile.

  Annabeth punched him in the stomach.

  “A little less arrogant,” she said, while, for some reason, she could not help fanning her face with her hand.

  At that moment, Hila approached them with the same kind smile she had worn ever since they met her.

  “Circe wants to see you now,” she said softly. “Please, follow me.”

  Percy and Annabeth nodded and began walking behind her.