The Blood of Olympus (The Heroes of Olympus #5)(97)

‘Ceremony?’ Leo asked. ‘Oh … like, to wake Gaia.’

‘Even now it has begun,’ Kekrops warned. ‘Can you not feel the earth trembling? We, the gemini, are your best chance.’

Piper heard eagerness in his voice – almost hunger.

Percy looked around the table. ‘Any objections?’

‘Just a few,’ Jason said. ‘We’re on the enemy’s doorstep. We’re being asked to split up. Isn’t that how people get killed in horror movies?’

‘Also,’ Percy said, ‘Gaia wants us to reach the Parthenon. She wants our blood to water the stones and all that other psycho garbage. Won’t we be playing right into her hands?’

Annabeth caught Piper’s eye. She asked a silent question: What’s your feeling?

Piper still wasn’t used to that – the way Annabeth looked to her for advice now. Ever since Sparta, they’d learned that they could tackle problems together from two different sides. Annabeth saw the logical thing, the tactical move. Piper had gut reactions that were anything but logical. Together, they either solved the problem twice as fast, or they hopelessly confused each other.

Kekrops’s offer made sense. At least, it sounded like the least suicidal option. But Piper was certain the snake king was hiding his true intentions. She just didn’t know how to prove it …

Then she remembered something her father had told her years ago: You were named Piper because Grandpa Tom thought you would have a powerful voice. You would learn all the Cherokee songs, even the song of the snakes.

A myth from a totally different culture, yet here she was, facing the king of the snake people.

She began to sing: ‘Summertime’, one of her dad’s favourites.

Kekrops stared at her in wonder. He began to sway.

At first Piper was self-conscious, singing in front of all her friends and a snake guy. Her dad had always told her she had a good voice, but she didn’t like to draw attention to herself. She didn’t even like to participate at campfire sing-alongs. Now her words filled the mess hall. Everyone listened, transfixed.

She finished the first verse. No one spoke for a count of five.

‘Pipes,’ Jason said, ‘I had no idea.’

‘That was beautiful,’ Leo agreed. ‘Maybe not … you know, Calypso beautiful, but still …’

Piper kept the snake king’s gaze. ‘What are your real intentions?’

‘To deceive you,’ he said in a trance, still swaying. ‘We hope to lead you into the tunnels and destroy you.’

‘Why?’ Piper asked.

‘The Earth Mother has promised us great rewards. If we spill your blood under the Parthenon, that will be sufficient to complete her awakening.’

‘But you serve Athena,’ Piper said. ‘You founded her city.’

Kekrops made a low hiss. ‘And in return the goddess abandoned me. Athena replaced me with a two-legged human king. She drove my daughters mad. They leaped to their deaths from the cliffs of the Acropolis. The original Athenians, the gemini, were driven underground and forgotten. Athena, the goddess of wisdom, turned her back on us, but wisdom comes from the earth as well. We are, first and last, the children of Gaia. The Earth Mother has promised us a place in the sun of the upper world.’

‘Gaia is lying,’ Piper said. ‘She intends to destroy the upper world, not give it to anyone.’

Kekrops bared his fangs. ‘Then we will be no worse off than we were under the treacherous gods!’

He raised his staff, but Piper launched into another verse of ‘Summertime’.

The snake king’s arms went limp. His eyes glassed over.

Piper sang a few more lines, then she risked another question: ‘The giants’ defences, the underground passage to the Acropolis – how much of what you told us is true?’

‘All of it,’ Kekrops said. ‘The Acropolis is heavily defended, just as I described. Any approach aboveground would be impossible.’

‘So you could guide us through your tunnels,’ Piper said. ‘That’s also true?’

Kekrops frowned. ‘Yes …’

‘And if you ordered your people not to attack us,’ she said, ‘they would obey?’

‘Yes, but …’ Kekrops shuddered. ‘Yes, they would obey. Three of you at most could go without attracting the attention of the giants.’

Annabeth’s eyes darkened. ‘Piper, we’d be crazy to try it. He’ll kill us at the first opportunity.’

‘Yes,’ the snake king agreed. ‘Only this girl’s music controls me. I hate it. Please, sing some more.’

Piper gave him another verse.

Leo got into the act. He picked up a couple of spoons and made them do high kicks on the tabletop until Hazel slapped his arm.

‘I should go,’ Hazel said, ‘if it’s underground.’

‘Never,’ Kekrops said. ‘A child of the Underworld? My people would find your presence revolting. No charming music would keep them from slaying you.’

Hazel swallowed. ‘Or I could stay here.’

‘Me and Percy,’ Annabeth suggested.

‘Um …’ Percy raised his hand. ‘Just gonna throw this out here again. That’s exactly what Gaia wants – you and me, our blood watering the stones, et cetera.’