Read Online The Staff of Serapis by Rick Riordan - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Rick Riordan
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began to shiver. And try as he might, he couldn’t stop thinking about his recent dreams.
Ever since the House of Hades, they’d gotten more vivid.
Sometimes Jason stood in the underground temple of Epirus, with the giant Clytius looming over him, speaking in a chorus of disembodied voices:
It took all of you to defeat me. What will you do when the Earth Mother opens her eyes?
Other times Jason found himself at the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Gaea the Earth Mother rose from the soil—a swirling figure of dirt, leaves, and stones.
Poor child.
Her voice resonated across the landscape, shaking the bedrock under Jason’s feet.
Your father is first among the gods, yet you are always second best—
to your Roman comrades, to your Greek friends, even to your family. How will you prove yourself?
His worst dream started in the courtyard of the Sonoma Wolf House. Before him stood the goddess Juno, glowing with the radiance of molten silver.
Your life belongs to me,
her voice thundered.
An appeasement from Zeus.
Jason knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t close his eyes as Juno went supernova, revealing her true godly form. Pain seared Jason’s mind. His body burned away in layers like an onion.
Then the scene changed. Jason was still at the Wolf House, but now he was a little boy—no more than two years old. A woman knelt before him, her lemony scent to familiar. Her features were watery and indistinct, but he knew her voice: bright and brittle, like the thinnest layer of ice over a fast stream.
I will be back for you, dearest,
she said,
I will see you soon
.
Every time Jason woke up from that nightmare, his face was beaded with sweat. His eyes stung with tears.
Nico di Angelo had warned them: the House of Hades would stir their worst memories, make the see things and hear things from the past. Their ghosts would become restless.
Jason had hoped that
particular
ghost would stay away, but every night the dream got worse. Now he was climbing to the ruins of a palace where an army of ghosts had gathered.
That doesn’t mean
she’ll
be there,
Jason told himself.
But his hands wouldn’t stop trembling. Every step seemed harder than the last.
“Almost there,” Annabeth said. “Let’s—”
BOOM!
The hillside rumbled. Somewhere over the ridge, a crowd roared in approval, like spectators in a coliseum. The sound made Jason’s skin crawl. Not so long ago, he’d fought for his life in the Roman Colosseum before a cheering ghostly audience. He wasn’t anxious to repeat the experience.
“What was that explosion?” he wondered.
“Don’t know,” Piper said. “But it sounds like they’re having fun. Let’s go make some dead friends.”
Ever since the House of Hades, they’d gotten more vivid.
Sometimes Jason stood in the underground temple of Epirus, with the giant Clytius looming over him, speaking in a chorus of disembodied voices:
It took all of you to defeat me. What will you do when the Earth Mother opens her eyes?
Other times Jason found himself at the crest of Half-Blood Hill. Gaea the Earth Mother rose from the soil—a swirling figure of dirt, leaves, and stones.
Poor child.
Her voice resonated across the landscape, shaking the bedrock under Jason’s feet.
Your father is first among the gods, yet you are always second best—
to your Roman comrades, to your Greek friends, even to your family. How will you prove yourself?
His worst dream started in the courtyard of the Sonoma Wolf House. Before him stood the goddess Juno, glowing with the radiance of molten silver.
Your life belongs to me,
her voice thundered.
An appeasement from Zeus.
Jason knew he shouldn’t look, but he couldn’t close his eyes as Juno went supernova, revealing her true godly form. Pain seared Jason’s mind. His body burned away in layers like an onion.
Then the scene changed. Jason was still at the Wolf House, but now he was a little boy—no more than two years old. A woman knelt before him, her lemony scent to familiar. Her features were watery and indistinct, but he knew her voice: bright and brittle, like the thinnest layer of ice over a fast stream.
I will be back for you, dearest,
she said,
I will see you soon
.
Every time Jason woke up from that nightmare, his face was beaded with sweat. His eyes stung with tears.
Nico di Angelo had warned them: the House of Hades would stir their worst memories, make the see things and hear things from the past. Their ghosts would become restless.
Jason had hoped that
particular
ghost would stay away, but every night the dream got worse. Now he was climbing to the ruins of a palace where an army of ghosts had gathered.
That doesn’t mean
she’ll
be there,
Jason told himself.
But his hands wouldn’t stop trembling. Every step seemed harder than the last.
“Almost there,” Annabeth said. “Let’s—”
BOOM!
The hillside rumbled. Somewhere over the ridge, a crowd roared in approval, like spectators in a coliseum. The sound made Jason’s skin crawl. Not so long ago, he’d fought for his life in the Roman Colosseum before a cheering ghostly audience. He wasn’t anxious to repeat the experience.
“What was that explosion?” he wondered.
“Don’t know,” Piper said. “But it sounds like they’re having fun. Let’s go make some dead friends.”
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