The Last Olympian

once:
    “Seven half-bloods shall answer the call.
    To storm or fire, the world must fall.
    An oath to keep with a final breath,
    And foes bear arms to the Doors of Death.”
    At the last word, Rachel collapsed. Nico and I caught her and helped her to the porch. Her skin was feverish.
    “I’m all right,” she said, her voice returning to normal.
    “What was that?” I asked.
    She shook her head, confused. “What was what?”
    “I believe,” Apollo said, “that we just heard the next Great Prophecy.”
    “What does it mean?” I demanded.
    Rachel frowned. “I don’t even remember what I said.”
    “No,” Apollo mused. “The spirit will only speak through you occasionally. The rest of the time, our Rachel will be much as she’s always been. There’s no point in grilling her, even if she has just issued the next big prediction for the future of the world.”
    “What?” I said. “But—”
    “Percy,” Apollo said, “I wouldn’t worry too much. The last Great Prophecy about you took almost seventy years to complete. This one may not even happen in your lifetime.”
    I thought about the lines Rachel had spoken in that creepy voice: about storm and fire and the Doors of Death. “Maybe,” I said, “but it didn’t sound so good.”
    “No,” said Apollo cheerfully. “It certainly didn’t. She’s going to make a wonderful Oracle!”
    It was hard to drop the subject, but Apollo insisted that Rachel needed to rest, and she did look pretty disoriented.
    “I’m sorry, Percy,” she said. “Back on Olympus, I didn’t explain everything to you, but the calling frightened me. I didn’t think you’d understand.”
    “I still don’t,” I admitted. “But I guess I’m happy for you.”
    Rachel smiled. “Happy probably isn’t the right word. Seeing the future isn’t going to be easy, but it’s my destiny. I only hope my family . . .”
    She didn’t finish her thought.
    “Will you still go to Clarion Academy?” I asked.
    “I made a promise to my father. I guess I’ll try to be a normal kid during the school year, but—”
    “But right now you need sleep,” Apollo scolded. “Chiron, I don’t think the attic is the proper place for our new Oracle, do you?”
    “No, indeed.” Chiron looked a lot better now that Apollo had worked some medical magic on him. “Rachel may use a guest room in the Big House for now, until we give the matter more thought.”
    “I’m thinking a cave in the hills,” Apollo mused. “With torches and a big purple curtain over the entrance . . . really mysterious. But inside, a totally decked-out pad with a game room and one of those home theater systems.”
    Chiron cleared his throat loudly.
    “What?” Apollo demanded.
    Rachel kissed me on the cheek. “Good-bye, Percy,” she whispered. “And I don’t have to see the future to tell you what to do now, do I?”
    Her eyes seemed more piercing than before.
    I blushed. “No.”
    “Good,” she said. Then she turned and followed Apollo into the Big House.
    The rest of the day was as strange as the beginning. Campers trickled in from New York by car, pegasus, and chariot. The wounded were cared for. The dead were given proper funeral rites at the campfire.
    Silena’s shroud was hot pink, but embroidered with an electric spear. The Ares and Aphrodite cabins both claimed her as a hero, and lit the shroud together. No one mentioned the word spy . That secret burned to ashes as the designer perfume smoke drifted into the sky.
    Even Ethan Nakamura was given a shroud—black silk with a logo of swords crossed under a set of scales. As his shroud went up in flames, I hoped Ethan knew he had made a difference in the end. He’d paid a lot more than an eye, but the minor gods would finally get the respect they deserved.
    Dinner at the pavilion was low-key. The only highlight was Juniper the tree nymph who screamed, “Grover!” and gave her boyfriend a flying tackle hug, making everybody cheer. They went down to the beach to take a moonlit walk, and I was happy for them, though the scene reminded me of Silena and Beckendorf, which made me sad.
    Mrs. O’Leary romped around happily, eating everybody’s table scraps. Nico sat at the main table with Chiron and Mr. D, and nobody seemed to think this was out of place. Everybody was patting Nico on the back, complimenting him on his fighting. Even the Ares kids seemed to think he was pretty cool. Hey, show up with an army of undead warriors to save the day, and