Camp went late that summer. It lasted two more weeks, right up to the start of a new school year, and Ihave 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 stuffgoing on too. Grover had taken over the satyr seekers and was send-ing them out across the world tofind unclaimed half-bloods. So far, the gods had kept their promise. New demigods were popping up allover the place—not just in America, but in a lot of other countries as well. "We can hardly keep up, " Grover admitted one afternoon as we were taking a break at the canoe lake."
We're going to need a bigger travel budget, and I could use a hundred more satyrs."
"Yeah, but the satyrs you have are working super hard, " I said. "I think they're scared of you."
Grover blushed. "That's silly. I'm not scary."
"You're a lord of the Wild , dude. The chosen one of Pan. A member of the Council of—" "Stop it!" Grover protested. "You're as bad as Juniper. I think she wants me to run for president next."
He chewed on a tin can as we stared across the pond at the line of new cabins under construction. TheU-shape would soon be a complete rectangle, and the demigods had really taken to the new task withgusto. 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 burnedwith green fire twenty-four hours a day. Next to that were the cabins of Iris, Nemesis, Hecate, andseveral others I didn't recognize. They kept adding new ones to the blueprints every day. It was going sowell, Annabeth and Chiron were talking about adding an entirely new wing of cabins just so they couldhave enough room. The Hermes cabin was a lot less crowded now, because most of the unclaimed kids had received signsfrom their godly parents. It happened almost every night, and every night more demigods straggled overthe property line with the satyr guides, usually with some nasty monsters pursuing them, but almost all ofthem made it through. "It's going to be a lot different next summer, " I said. "Chiron's expecting we'll have twice as manycampers."
"Yeah, " Grover agreed, "but it'll be the same old place."
He sighed contentedly. I watched as Tyson led a group of Cyclops builders. They were hoisting huge stones in place for theHecate cabin, and I knew it was a delicate job. Each stone was engraved with magical writing, and ifthey dropped one, it would either explode or turn everyone within half a mile into a tree. I figured nobodybut Grover would like that. "I'll be traveling a lot, " Grover warned, "between pro-tecting nature and finding half-bloods. I may notsee you as much."
"Won't change anything, " I said. "You're still my best friend."
He grinned. "Except for Annabeth."
"That's different."
"Yeah, " he agreed. "It sure is."
In the late afternoon, I was taking one last walk along the beach when a familiar voice said, "Good dayfor fishing."
My dad, Poseidon, was standing knee-deep in the surf, wearing his typical Bermuda shorts, beat-upcap, 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 out—like halfway across Long Island Sound. "Hey, Dad, " I said. "What brings you here?"
He winked. "Never really got to talk in private on Olympus. I wanted to thank you."
"Thank me? You came to the rescue."
"Yes, and I got my palace destroyed in the process, but you know—palaces can be rebuilt. I've gottenso many thank-you cards from the other gods. Even Ares wrote one, though I think Hera forced him to.
It's rather gratifying. So, thank you. I suppose even the gods can learn new tricks."
The Sound began to boil. At the end of my dad'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 outhis knife and cut the line. The monster sank below the surface. "Not eating size, " he complained. "I have to release the little ones or the game wardens will be all overme."
"Little ones?"
He grinned. "You're doing well with those new cabins, by the way. I suppose this means I can claim allthose other sons and daughters of mine and send you some siblings next summer."
"Ha-ha."
Poseidon reeled in his empty line. I shifted my feet. "Um, you were kidding, right?"
Poseidon gave me one of his inside-joke winks, and I still didn't know whether he was serious or not."
I'll see you soon, Percy. And remember, know which fish are big enough to land, eh?"
With that he dissolved in the sea breeze, leaving a fish-ing pole lying in the sand. That evening was the last night of camp—the bead ceremony. The Hephaestus cabin had designed thebead this year. It showed the Empire State Building, and etched in tiny Greek letters, spiraling around theimage, 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 necklace—four beads now. I felt like anold-timer. I thought about the first campfire I'd ever attended, back when I was twelve, and how I'd feltso at home. That at least hadn't changed. "Never forget this summer!" Chiron told us. He had healed remarkably well, but he still trotted in front ofthe fire with a slight limp. "We have discovered bravery and friendship and courage this summer. Wehave upheld the honor of the camp."
He smiled at me, and everybody cheered. As I looked at the fire, I saw a little girl in a brown dresstending the flames. She winked at me with red glowing eyes. No one else seemed to notice her, but Irealized maybe she preferred it that way. "And now, " Chiron said, "early to bed! Remember, you must vacate your cabins by noon tomorrowunless you've made arrangements to stay the year with us. The cleaning harpies will eat any stragglers, and I'd hate to end the sum-mer on a sour note!" The next morning, Annabeth and I stood at the top of Half-Blood Hill. We watched the buses and vanspull away, taking most of the campers back to the real world. A few old-timers would be staying behind, and a few of the new-comers, but I was heading back to Goode High School for my sophomoreyear—the first time in my life I'd ever done two years at the same school. "Good-bye, " Rachel said to us as she shouldered her bag. She looked pretty nervous, but she waskeeping a promise to her father and attending Clarion Academy in New Hampshire. It would be nextsummer before we got our Oracle back. "You'll do great."
Annabeth hugged her. Funny, she seemed to get along fine with Rachel these days. Rachel bit her lip. "I hope you're right. I'm a little wor-ried. What if somebody asks what's on the nextmath test and I start spouting a prophecy in the middle of geometry class?The Pythagorean theoremshall be problem two. . . . Gods, that would be embarrassing."
Annabeth laughed, and to my relief, it made Rachel smile. "Well, " she said, "you two be good to each other."
Go figure, but she looked at me like I was some kindof trouble-maker. 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. She'd gotten permission from her parents toattend a boarding school in the city so she could be close to Olympus and oversee the rebuilding efforts. "And close to me?"
I asked. "Well, someone's got a big sense of his own impor-tance."
But she laced her fingers through mine. Iremem-bered what she'd told me in New York, about building something permanent, and I thought—justmaybe—we were off to a good start. The guard dragon Peleus curled contentedly around the pine tree underneath the Golden Fleece andbegan to snore, blowing steam with every breath. "You've been thinking about Rachel's prophecy?"
I asked Annabeth. She frowned. "How did you know?"
"Because I know you."
She bumped me with her shoulder. "Okay, so I have.
Seven half-bloods shall answer the call. Iwonder who they'll be. We're going to have so many new faces next summer."
"Yep, " I agreed. "And all that stuff about the world falling in storm or fire."
She pursed her lips. "And foes at the Doors of Death. I don't know, Percy, but I don't like it. I thought .. . well, maybe we'd get somepeace for a change."
"Wouldn't be Camp Half-Blood if it was peaceful, " I said. "I guess you're right . . . Or maybe the prophecy won't happen for years."
"Could be a problem for another generation of demigods, " I agreed. "Then we can kick back andenjoy."
She nodded, though she still seemed uneasy. I didn't blame her, but it was hard to feel too upset on anice day, with her next to me, knowing that I wasn't really saying good-bye. We had lots of time. "Race you to the road?"
I said. "You are so going to lose."
She took off down Half-Blood Hill and I sprinted after her. For once, I didn't look back.
THE END.
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