Chapter 212 - Council of Gods (1)

"There it is," Thalia's voice; she'd woken up. She was pointing toward Manhattan, which was quickly zooming into view. "It has started."

"What started?" Drako asked.

Then, he looked where she was pointing. High above the Empire State Building, Olympus was its own island of light, a floating mountain ablaze with torches and braziers, white marble palaces gleaming in the early morning air.

"The winter solstice," Thalia said. "The Council of the Gods."

They circled over midtown Manhattan, making one complete orbit around Mount Olympus.

Drako had never been here, so it was his first time seeing this place. It was amazing.

In the early-morning darkness, torches and fires made the mountainside palaces glow twenty different colours, from bloodred to indigo. Apparently, no one ever slept on Olympus.

The twisting streets were full of demigods and nature spirits and minor godlings bustling about, riding chariots or sedan chairs carried by Cyclopes. Winter didn't seem to exist here. Drako caught the scent of the gardens in full bloom, jasmine and roses and even sweeter things he couldn't name. Music drifted up from many windows, the soft sounds of lyres and reed pipes.

Towering at the peak of the mountain was the greatest of all, the glowing white hall of the gods.

Their pegasi set them down in the outer courtyard, in front of huge silver gates. Before they could even think to knock, the gates opened by themselves.

Blackjack and his friends flew off, leaving Thalia, Annabeth, Percy, Bianca and Drako alone. For a minute they stood there regarding the palace. And then, side by side, they walked into the throne room.

…

Twelve enormous thrones made a U around a central hearth, just like the placement of the cabins at the camp. The ceiling above glittered with constellations.

All of the seats were occupied. Each god and goddess was about fifteen feet tall, probably those were their true forms. They weren't humans, so their human form was just a façade while these giants forms were the true ones.

Drako looked into every god and goddess here. Ones were weaker than the other, but all of them were really powerful beings. And the two strongest were without a doubt the two brothers, Poseidon and Zeus.

"Welcome, heroes," Artemis said.

"Mooo!"

Drako had already noticed Bessie and Grover before.

A sphere of water was hovering in the center of the room, next to the hearth fire. Bessie was swimming happily around, swishing his serpent tail and poking his head out the sides and bottom of the sphere. He seemed to be enjoying the novelty of swimming in a magic bubble. Grover was kneeling at Zeus' throne, as if he'd just been giving a report, but when he saw them, he cried, "You made it!"

He started to run towards Percy, then he remembered he was turning his back on Zeus, and looked for permission.

"Go on," Zeus said. But he wasn��t really paying attention to Grover. The lord of sky was staring intently at Thalia.

Grover trotted over. None of the gods spoke. Every clop of Grover's hooves echoed on the marble floor. Bessie splashed in his bubble of water. The hearth fire crackled.

Drako studied the gods meanwhile.

Zeus was imposing, and very muscular, with shoulder-length black hair and gray/black neatly trimmed beard. Like Thalia, he had electric blue eyes. He wore a dark blue pinstriped suit.

Poseidon was dressed with beach shorts, a Hawaiian shirt, and sandals. He had a weathered, suntanned face with a dark beard and deep green eyes.

Next to Poseidon was a huge lump of a man with a leg in a steel brace, misshapen head, and a wild brown beard, fire flickering through his whiskers. The Lord of Forges, Hephaestus.

Hermes was at his side. He was wearing business suit, checking messages on his caduceus mobile phone. Apollo leaned back in his golden throne with his shades on. He had iPod headphones on.

Dionysus looked bored, twirling a gr.a.p.e vine between his fingers. And Ares, well, he sat on his chrome and leather throne.

On the other side of Zeus was his wife, Hera. She was, without a doubt, the second most beautiful goddess, only second to Aphrodite. She has long black hair; large, soft brown eyes that one could get lost in; and a face of regal and unapproachable beauty like that of a supermodel. She wore a dress that shimmered with colours like peac.o.c.k feathers.

A dark-haired goddess in green robes sat next to Hera on a throne woven of apple-tree branches. Demeter, Goddess of the Harvest. Next to her sat a beautiful gray-eyed woman in an elegant white dress. She could only be Annabeth mother, Athena. Then there was Aphrodite, who smile at Drako knowingly and gave him a seductive look. Artemis sat between Athena and Aphrodite.

All the Olympians in one place. So much power in this room it was a miracle the whole palace didn't blow apart.

Grover gave everyone of them big hugs. Then he grasped Percy's arms. "Percy, Bessie and I made it! But you have to convince them! They can't do it!"

"Do what?" Percy asked.

"Heroes," Artemis called.

The goddess slid down from her throne and turned to human size, a young auburn-haired girl, perfectly at ease in the midst of the giant Olympians. She walked towards them, her silver robes shimmering. There was no emotion in her face. She seemed to walk in a column of moonlight.

"The Council has been informed of your deeds," Artemis told them. "They know that Mount Othrys is rising in the West. They know of Atlas' attempt for freedom, and the gathering armies of Kronos. We have voted to act."

There was some mumbling and shuffling among the gods, as if they weren't all happy with this plan, but nobody protested.

"At my Lord Zeus' command," Artemis said, "my brother Apollo and I shall hunt the most powerful monsters, seeking to strike them down before they can join the Titans' cause. Lady Athena shall personally check on the other Titans to make sure they do not escape their various prisons. Lord Poseidon has been given permission to unleash his full fury on the cruise ship Princess Andromeda and send it to the bottom of the sea. And as for you, my heroes…"

She turned to face the other immortals. "These half-bloods and Hunters have done Olympus a great service. Would any here deny that?"

She looked around at the assembled gods, meeting their faces individually.

"I gotta say"—Apollo broke the silence—" these kids did okay." He cleared his throat and began to recite: "Heroes win laurels—"

"Um, yes, first class," Hermes interrupted, like he was anxious to avoid Apollo's poetry.

"All in favour of not disintegrating them?"

A few tentative hands went up—Demeter, Aphrodite.

"Wait just a minute," Ares growled. He pointed at Thalia and Percy. "These two are dangerous. It'd be much safer, while we've got them here—"

"Ares," Poseidon interrupted," they are worthy heroes. We will not blast my son to bits."

"Nor my daughter," Zeus grumbled. "She has done well."

Thalia blushed. She studied the floor. It seems she hardly got a compliment from her father.

The goddess Athena cleared her throat and sat forward. "I am proud of my daughter as well. But there is a security risk here with the other two.

"Mother!" Annabeth said. "How can you—"

Athena cut her off with a calm but firm look. "It is unfortunate that my father, Zeus, and my uncle, Poseidon, chose to break their oath no to have more children. Only Hades kept his word, a fact that I find ironic. As we know from the Great Prophecy, children of the three elder gods… such as Thalia and Percy… are dangerous. As thickhead as he is, Ares has a point.

"Right!" Ares said. "Hey, wait a minute. Who you callin'—"

He started to get up, but a gr.a.p.e win grew around his waist like a seat belt and pulled him back down.

"Oh, please. Ares," Dionysus sighed. "Save the fighting for later."

Ares cursed and ripped away the vine. "You're one to talk, you old drunk. You seriously want to protect these brats?"

Dionysus gazed down at them wearily. "I have no love for them. Athena, do you truly think it safest to destroy them?"

"I do not pass judgment," Athena said. "I only point out the risk. What we do, the Council must decide."

"I will not have them punished, not when one of the two is my own Hunter," Artemis said. "I will have them rewarded. If we destroy the heroes who do us a great favour, then we are no better than the Titans. If this is Olympian justice, I will have none of it."

"Calm down, sis," Apollo said. "Jeez, you need to lighten up."

"Don't call me sis! I will reward them."

The gods were discussing like the group of the mission doesn't exist or doesn't have their own word. But there was someone whose status was at par with the gods.

"I think that all of you have to calm down," Drako said with a smirk. "Do you really think that you can do as you want while I'm here?"