The Moon's Shine (PJO) - Chapter 11

Before he could choose, however, a thought came to him—and he cursed silently.

As the demigods were approaching, Percy again spun around and knocked on the gate—but this time in a pattern of three.

The mighty silver gate swung open, inviting him into the grounds.

Percy stepped onto the grounds, then turned to face the demigods.

The two boys had frozen in midstep, wearing the same shocked expression the spectating girls had adopted when the gate opened for Percy. But now, seeing that the way was open to the mysterious goddess' property, the boys rushed forward. Greed and desire shone in their eyes.

Before Percy could react, the boys were a step from entering.

And right in the way of the closing gate.

The boys couldn't stop themselves due to their momentum; they could only look on in fear as the huge, solid gate latched shut a few inches in front of them.

With a loud bang! the two demigods' skulls slammed into the silver gate. Swords skittered on the golden road as the men collapsed on the ground, nursing their wounds.

Percy smiled coldly at the men as the female demigods hurried forward to help their friends. "Pick on someone your own size."

With that, he spun on his heel and made his way toward the looming palace.

~~~

Artemis was nowhere to be seen.

Percy paced through the hallways of the west wing. He'd done this an hour ago. He'd even searched the rooms. But unless Artemis was invisible, the whole palace was empty.

However, that didn't mean the search was less than uneventful; even if Artemis wasn't here right now, she'd been earlier.

Percy could tell from her perfume.

It was spread only in the west wing—which made sense because Artemis spent most of her time in this part of the castle. But that meant that every time Percy went into a room, he had frozen as her scent washed over him.

In retrospect, maybe it was a good thing that the deity wasn't present.

Only, now, Percy couldn't help the frustration from seeping into his bones. He'd been searching for hours now. Where was she?

He thought back to his entrance; shouldn't she know he was on her castle grounds? After all, wasn't she the one controlling the gates?

Forget it, Percy thought defeatedly. She probably doesn't want to meet with me.

As he was thinking, however, Percy found himself staring through a window toward the greenery—and he faltered. The backyard!

Artemis, being the goddess of the forest, spent a lot of time in nature. And her backyard was a part of nature. Plus, she probably didknow he was here, meaning she was on the grounds.

So Percy hurried out of the nearest door into the outside world.

As he walked over the grass, the demigod experienced many things; birds chirping happily, the floral scent of plants, and the shock that he never once stepped in a pile of bird poop. But all of that couldn't drown out the feeling that he was an idiot.

Percy had searched throughout the palace far and wide; never once had he thought to look outside, even though it seemed like an obvious thing to do.

It just hammered in what almost everybody told him periodically: that he was a dense and stupid idiot.

Artemis wouldn't accept someone like him.

There. He said it.

As he thought about it, he became more convinced that he was going to die. Sure, he was best friends with Artemis, but she could've just been humoring him. She might not even like him more than a friend. Or maybe she hadn't realized his true personality yet. It happened with Orion, so why couldn't it happen with him?

It was a stupid idea to have listened to Lady Aphrodite, he thought. He'd listened to her, thinking that the goddess of love was much more experienced at this than him.

Only, he'd forgotten that deities only looked out for themselves—even if it meant leading a poor demigod to death.

But it was too late. Way too late.

He didn't realize the trees and plants slowly had been fading away until he was only a few feet from a certain golden-antlered hind, inside of a meadow.

The Ceryneian Hind gave him the stink eye. She looked very grouchy.Similar to me, in a way.

Percy gulped in fear as the hind snorted, lowered her head to point her sharp antlers at the demigod, and pawed at the ground.

Bulls and deities weren't the only animals he could lose his life to.

The Moon's Shine (PJO) - Chapter 11 - Page 2 (2024)

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