The Adventure That Lies Ahead | PJO x HP

CHAPTER 46

The least the Oracle could've done was walk back to the attic by herself.

Instead, Grover, Percy, and Isa were elected to carry her. Isa figured that was because Percy and Grover weren't the most popular, and she only helped because she wanted to even if she was a bit pissed at her brother.

"Put her down," Isa said coldly as she picked up her wand. Grover and Percy slowly sat her back down on the rocks.

Isa pointed her wand at the Oracle and said, "Wingardium Leviosa."

Those who were still there watched in awe as the girl carried the Oracle back to the Big House with magic that she learned how to do.

"Watch her head!" Grover warned as they went up the stairs. But it was too late.

Bonk! Isa whacked her mummified face against the trapdoor frame and dust flew.

"Ah, man." Isa levitated her a bit lower and checked for damage. "Did I break anything?"

"I can't tell," Grover admitted.

She levitated her up and set her on her tripod stool, Grover and Percy still trailing behind.

"Well," Grover said, "that was awesome."

Percy and Isa knew he was trying to keep things light for their sake, but Percy still felt really down. Isa was starting to calm down since she started to feel bad for her brother. The whole camp would be mad at him for losing the game to the Hunters, and then there was the new prophecy from the Oracle. It was like the spirit of Delphi had gone out of her way to exclude him and Isa⎼though they didn't tell each other that they visited her. She'd ignored their question and walked half a mile to talk to Zoë. And she'd said nothing, not even a hint, about Annabeth.

"What will Chiron do?" Percy asked Grover and Isa though mostly Grover since he knew his sister was mad at him.

"I wish I knew." He looked wistfully out of the second-floor window at the rolling hills covered in snow. "I want to be out there."

"Searching for Annabeth?"

He had a little trouble focusing on Percy. Then he blushed. "Oh, right. That too. Of course."

"Why?" Percy asked. "What were you thinking?"

He clopped his hooves uneasily. "Just something the manticore said, about the Great Stirring. I can't help but wonder... if all those ancient powers are waking up, maybe... maybe not all of them are evil."

"You mean Pan," Isa said.

Isa felt kind of selfish because she'd totally forgotten about Grover's life ambition. The nature god had gone missing two thousand years ago. He was rumored to have died, but the satyrs didn't believe that. They were determined to find him. They'd been searching in vain for centuries, and Grover was convinced he'd be the one to succeed. This year, with Chiron putting all the satyrs on emergency duty to find half-bloods, Grover hadn't been able to continue his search. It must've been driving him nuts.

"I've let the trail go cold," he said. "I feel restless, like I'm missing something really important. He's out there somewhere. I can just feel it."

Percy nor Isa didn't know what to say. They wanted to encourage him, but they didn't know how. Their optimism had pretty much been trampled into the snow out there in the woods, along with their capture-the-flag hopes.

Before Percy could respond, Thalia tromped up the stairs. She was officially not talking to him now, but she looked at Grover and Isa and said, "Tell Percy to get his butt downstairs."