The Titan's Curse

Percy and Grover carry the Oracle back to the attic. Percy feels down because everyone is upset with him for his actions during Capture the Flag and because the Oracle didn’t even address his question when she emerged to talk to Zoë. On the other side, Grover is distracted because he hasn’t been able to continue his search for the god Pan, and Percy feels bad for him.

Thalia appears, telling Percy through Grover (since she won’t speak to him directly) that Mr. D has called a meeting of all the cabin leaders, which includes Percy, to discuss the prophecy.

At the meeting, Zoë is prepared to leave immediately to go west with the Hunters, but Thalia reminds her that the prophecy mentioned that campers and Hunters would have to work together. Chiron also reminds them that the winter solstice is coming up in five days, and it is crucial that Artemis be at the meeting of the gods that day since she has been a vocal advocate for fighting Kronos. Percy suggests that the group be made up of 3 Hunters and 2 campers.

They will have to track Artemis’s path, which the prophecy suggested will be revealed by the “bane of Olympus” (89). No one is sure exactly what monster that refers to, but Chiron believes it will be very dangerous. One of the other campers also points out that it’s likely that two will die because of their godly parent, based on what the Oracle said. Percy is particularly concerned for himself and Thalia since Chiron had heard a prophecy saying that one of the children of the Big Three—Zeus, Hades, and Poseidon—would either save the gods or destroy them when they turned 16. As a result, they had all agreed not to have any more children, but both Zeus and Poseidon had broken that promise.

It is decided that Zoë, Bianca, and Phoebe will represent the Hunters while Grover, due to his tracking skills, and Thalia will go. Percy tries to argue that he should go, but Zoë refuses to travel with a human boy. Since the quest is for Artemis, Chiron agrees with Zoë.

Later, Percy doesn’t go to dinner, so Chiron comes to see him. He points out that he wishes Thalia wasn’t going, but he wouldn’t have chosen Percy since he and Thalia are so alike. Together, they would’ve been dangerous, as evidenced by their fight shortly before the Oracle showed up. He suggests that Percy spend the holidays with his mother, and Percy puts Riptide on his nightstand since he won’t need it if he’s going home. Chiron references that the Hunters don’t like that particular weapon but doesn’t explain why. He also says that he would’ve volunteered for the quest, but because Kronos is his father, it was likely too dangerous.

Percy calls his mom, who has a man named Paul Blofis over. He explains what happened, and to both of their surprise, she tells him to go on the quest since Annabeth means so much to him and she would do the same for him.

That night, Percy has another nightmare, seeing Annabeth holding a cave up. He also hears a male voice talking to Luke when he suddenly sees Artemis in chains. Artemis, seeing that Annabeth is struggling, trades places with him. The voice taunts her by saying, “Now you are out of the way for good! I knew you could not resist helping a young maiden. That is, after all, your specialty, my dear” (107).

Luke convinces the voice to keep Annabeth as bait, and he agrees, saying that she can stay alive until the winter solstice, at which point, “if our sacrifice goes as planned, her life will be meaningless. The lives of all mortals will be meaningless” (108). Artemis exclaims that they will never find the monster they’re looking for, but the voice replies and says that the Hunters are playing right into their hands. The dream ends with the evil voice laughing.

Percy wakes with a start, then hears knocking at his door. He opens it to see the pegasus Blackjack, whom he can communicate with since Poseidon created horses. Blackjack says that another sea creature needs his help, which is a regular occurrence for Percy, who gets up, grabs Annabeth’s invisible hat, and leaves.

Blackjack flies Percy to the Long Island Sound, where he dives straight down. There, several hippocampi (horses with fish tails) are distressed because another cow-like creature is stuck in a fishing net under a sunken boat. Unsure of what the animal is, Percy begins to refer to it as “Bessie” and directs the hippocampi to help him. When they finally free it, Blackjack flies Percy back to camp, where he sees Nico Di Angelo spying on the Hunters from the dining pavilion.

Percy puts on Annabeth’s cap, making him invisible. He hears Zoë and Bianca talking. Phoebe got hives from centaur blood on a t-shirt that other campers gave her, so she can’t go on the quest. Zoë think it’s too dangerous and doesn’t want to choose someone else, suggesting that, since Camp Half-Blood is enchanted, it could be the land without rain, which would also mean that Phoebe’s ailment was also part of the prophecy. Bianca says that Zoë should tell Thalia about a nightmare she had, but she refuses. They leave for the Big House to depart on their quest.

Percy catches Nico as he tries to follow the two Hunters. He tells Nico it’s too dangerous for him to sneak onto the quest. Nico asks that Percy go instead, since he can be invisible with Annabeth’s cap on. He also begs Percy to promise to protect Bianca, which, against his better judgment, he does. While the rest of the group leaves via the camp van, Percy flies along on Blackjack.

Percy and Blackjack follow the van, driven by Zoë, into the city. They stop on top of the Chrysler Building, and as they depart, vines emerge, holding Blackjack in place. Mr. D appears. Percy insists that he let them go, and Mr. D tells him the story of Ariadne, who helped Theseus navigate the Labyrinth only to be left behind on Naxos. Dionysius found her there and married her. Mr. D says that she still waits for him on Mount Olympus while he leads the camp. Percy is confused about why he told him this story, to which Mr. D replies by saying, “My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you” (124). He believes heroes are selfish and says that Ariadne, Medea, and Zoë would agree with him.

Percy asks about the last of these, but then Mr. D lets them go, much to Percy’s surprise. Mr. D says that at least two will die on the quest and regardless of whether one of them is Percy, he will be no better than the other heroes.

The Hunters rest in Maryland, and Percy eavesdrops on the Hunters, Grover, and Thalia. Grover has done a tracking spell, which is taking them to Washington, D.C. Zoë believes that they should go directly west but reluctantly agrees to follow Grover.

When they arrive in Washington, Percy has Blackjack drop him off near the Washington Monument, telling him to go back to Camp Half-Blood because the pegasus is so tired. Percy then sees Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall, following his friends.

Grover stops in front of the National Air & Space Museum, but Dr. Thorn instead goes into the Museum of Natural History. Percy follows him, finding other monsters including Scythian dracanae. He spots Luke and the man whose voice was in his dream, though Percy can only see his hands. Dr. Thorn reports that he has spotted the demigods, Grover, and the Hunters, calling the mysterious man “General” as he does so.

Dr. Thorn volunteers to go after him, but the General stands and yells at him for being incompetent after what happened at Westover Hall. He reveals that he is Kronos’s senior commander and orders another soldier to plant several teeth in the soil of a dinosaur exhibit. The soldier waters them like seeds and kittens spring from them. The General yells at the soldier for getting the wrong teeth. Another one brings a different set, and the General reveals that they are dragon teeth from Sybaris and repeats the watering process. Zombies grow from the soil, and the General orders that a scarf taken from a Hunter be given to them since, once they have a scent, they will pursue it relentlessly. Percy decides to step in, taking the piece of cloth; however, a zombie scrapes at his arm and smells his sleeve. He runs.

Percy runs into the National Air & Space Museum, taking off his cap once inside. He runs into Thalia, Grover, and the Hunters, explaining what just happened. Zoë doesn’t believe that the General is in D.C., but Percy insists, and she says that they have to leave. She then tells Percy to go back to camp, but Thalia disagrees.

The Nemean Lion then appears to attack them. Realizing that its mouth is the only vulnerable spot, Percy tells Zoë and Bianca to aim there. When Zoë tells him that the lion needs to open its mouth more, Percy runs into the gift shop to get a pack of freeze-dried space food, which causes the lion to open wider when Percy throws them into its mouth. Arrows then strike it, and the lion goes down. Zoë tells Percy to take its pelt, which has shrunken to human-size and become a jacket. Confused, he does.

When Percy spots the zombies that are following his scent, he offers to stay behind, but Zoë begrudgingly says that they won’t leave anyone behind.