The Titan's Curse

ground.
    I sat bolt upright in bed, clawing at the sheets. There was no sound in my cabin except the gurgle of the saltwater spring. The clock on my nightstand read just after midnight.
    Only a dream, but I was sure of two things: Annabeth was in terrible danger. And Luke was responsible.

SIX

AN OLD DEAD FRIEND COMES TO VISIT
    The next morning after breakfast, I told Grover about my dream. We sat in the meadow watching the satyrs chase the wood nymphs through the snow. The nymphs had promised to kiss the satyrs if they got caught, but they hardly ever did. Usually the nymph would let the satyr get up a full head of steam, then she’d turn into a snow-covered tree and the poor satyr would slam into it headfirst and get a pile of snow dumped on him.
    When I told Grover my nightmare, he started twirling his finger in his shaggy leg fur.
    “A cave ceiling collapsed on her?” he asked.
    “Yeah. What the heck does that mean?”
    Grover shook his head. “I don’t know. But after what Zoë dreamed—”
    “Whoa. What do you mean? Zoë had a dream like that?”
    “I . . . I don’t know, exactly. About three in the morning she came to the Big House and demanded to talk to Chiron. She looked really panicked.”
    “Wait, how do you know this?”
    Grover blushed. “I was sort of camped outside the Artemis cabin.”
    “What for?”
    “Just to be, you know, near them.”
    “You’re a stalker with hooves.”
    “I am not! Anyway, I followed her to the Big House and hid in a bush and watched the whole thing. She got real upset when Argus wouldn’t let her in. It was kind of a dangerous scene.”
    I tried to imagine that. Argus was the head of security for camp—a big blond dude with eyes all over his body. He rarely showed himself unless something serious was going on. I wouldn’t want to place bets on a fight between him and Zoë Nightshade.
    “What did she say?” I asked.
    Grover grimaced. “Well, she starts talking really old-fashioned when she gets upset, so it was kind of hard to understand. But something about Artemis being in trouble and needing the Hunters. And then she called Argus a boil-brained lout . . . I think that’s a bad thing. And then he called her—”
    “Whoa, wait. How could Artemis be in trouble?”
    “I . . . well, finally Chiron came out in his pajamas and his horse tail in curlers and—”
    “He wears curlers in his tail?”
    Grover covered his mouth.
    “Sorry,” I said. “Go on.”
    “Well, Zoë said she needed permission to leave camp immediately. Chiron refused. He reminded Zoë that the Hunters were supposed to stay here until they received orders from Artemis. And she said . . .” Grover gulped. “She said ‘How are we to get orders from Artemis if Artemis is lost?’”
    “What do you mean lost? Like she needs directions?”
    “No. I think she meant gone. Taken. Kidnapped.”
    “Kidnapped?” I tried to get my mind around that idea. “How would you kidnap an immortal goddess? Is that even possible?”
    “Well, yeah. I mean, it happened to Persephone.”
    “But she was like, the goddess of flowers .”
    Grover looked offended. “Springtime.”
    “Whatever. Artemis is a lot more powerful than that. Who could kidnap her? And why?”
    Grover shook his head miserably. “I don’t know. Kronos?”
    “He can’t be that powerful already. Can he?”
    The last time we’d seen Kronos, he’d been in tiny pieces. Well . . . we hadn’t actually seen him. Thousands of years ago, after the big Titan–God war, the gods had sliced him to bits with his own scythe and scattered his remains in Tartarus, which is like the gods’ bottomless recycling bin for their enemies. Two summers ago, Kronos had tricked us to the very edge of the pit and almost pulled us in. Then last summer, on board Luke’s demon cruise ship, we’d seen a golden coffin, where Luke claimed he was summoning the Titan Lord out of the abyss, bit by bit, every time someone new joined their cause. Kronos could influence people with dreams and trick them, but I didn’t see how he could physically overcome Artemis if he was still like a pile of evil bark mulch.
    “I don’t know,” Grover said. “I think somebody would know if Kronos had re-formed. The gods would be more nervous. But still, it’s weird, you having a nightmare the same night as Zoë. It’s almost like—”
    “They’re connected,” I said.
    Over in the frozen meadow, a satyr skidded on his hooves as he chased after a redheaded tree