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Son of Hades (Percy Jackson) Chapter 278: Equestrian (1)
🕑 Added 2025-05-19 17:34:56 +0000 UTC[Third Person's PoV]
Rain poured relentlessly in the dead of night, soaking the city in sheets of silver and cloaking the skyline in thunderous, rolling clouds. Every few moments, jagged streaks of lightning split the sky, casting brief, eerie light across the darkened buildings and glistening rooftops.
Atop one such rooftop stood two mysterious figures, motionless against the storm. Both wore long, black, elegantly tailored raincoats that billowed in the wind, their hoods drawn low to shadow their faces. Despite the obscurity, their eyes pierced the darkness — one pair glowed a deep, blood-red, the other shimmered like polished silver under moonlight.
They stood at the edge of the rooftop, silent and still, staring across the street toward a building opposite them. Their gaze was fixed on a single, lit window.
Inside that room, a young Black-haired boy lay sprawled across his bed, fast asleep, soft snores escaping his lips. Beside him, propped against the wall near the bed, was a large, glossy blue surfboard with a bright green gift ribbon tied neatly around it — a birthday gift, perhaps.
The two figures remained silent, but there was a subtle tension in the air, as if they were communicating telepathically. Beneath their feet, the shadows on the rooftop began to churn unnaturally, rising like smoke, swirling and twisting around them with sentient energy. Within seconds, the shadows surged upward and engulfed them completely, swallowing them into darkness.
They vanished.
A lingering wisp of darkness danced in the wind before it, too, faded into the storm.
Across the street, in the boy’s room, a disturbance crackled through the air as the same shadows manifested silently. The two cloaked figures materialized beside the sleeping boy, now hovering ominously over his bed.
Still soaked from the rain, one of the figures shifted slightly, and a single droplet of water slid from the edge of their hood. It fell gently, landing squarely on the boy’s cheek.
His eyes shot open.
Twin pupils the color of the sea stared up in confusion and shock at the two hooded figures looming above him. Before he could scream, they moved swiftly. One of them dropped a black potato sack over his head, muffling his shout into a strangled cry as he thrashed about in panic. Within seconds, they grabbed him by the arms, and once more, the shadows rose, curling around the trio like dark mist.
Then — silence.
The room was empty again, as if nothing had ever happened, illuminated only by a final flicker of lightning arcing across the sky.
---
Percy groaned as he was thrown unceremoniously into a chair. His heart pounded, and confusion clouded his senses. Before he could shout, the sack was pulled from his head, and his eyes snapped shut instinctively against the sudden brightness.
Blinking rapidly to adjust, he squinted at the figures standing in front of him.
The cloaked strangers pulled back their hoods and shrugged off their raincoats in dramatic unison — revealing themselves as none other than Lucian and Annabeth.
Both immediately burst into uncontrollable laughter, doubling over, clutching their stomachs, and wheezing between breaths.
“You should have seen your face! Oh my gods, that was priceless!” Annabeth cackled, tears forming in her eyes.
“That was perfectly executed!” Lucian added, grinning like a madman. “Ten out of ten.”
Percy blinked again. Once. Twice.
And then the realization slammed into him like a freight train.
He had been kidnapped — in his sleep — by these two lunatics.
“What the actual Hades is wrong with you two!?” he exploded, leaping to his feet. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”
Lucian and Annabeth whooped in victory, high-fiving each other with a triumphant smack before descending into fresh waves of laughter.
“We're sorry, Percy,” Annabeth managed through her giggles, “but come on! That was comedy gold.”
Lucian nodded, still chuckling. “You’ve got the survival instinct of a goldfish, man. You really need to work on that, hahaha!”
Percy groaned and sat back down, pressing a hand over his pounding chest.
“I am seriously starting to hate both of you right now,” Percy muttered, slumping back in the chair and exhaling sharply as he tried to calm his racing heart. “I already have a faint idea why you’d kidnap me, but couldn’t this have waited until tomorrow? Did it really have to be in the middle of the night?!”
“Sorry, Pers, but nope,” Lucian said, shaking his head with zero remorse. “Annabeth and I are going to be busy tomorrow, and we wouldn’t have time to help you. This was the only window.”
Percy groaned and rubbed his forehead, already feeling the beginnings of a headache. “This is about the potion, isn’t it? Since I already completed mine…”
“Yup,” Annabeth confirmed, just as Aerarius emerged silently from her shadow. The metallic owl flew in, wings flapping soundlessly despite its size. Clutched in its talons was a sleek black gift box, and perched smugly on its head was Nox, sitting cross-legged as if enjoying the ride.
“Alright,” Percy said, perking up slightly. “I’m actually kind of excited to get started. I wonder if I’ll get any new, cool, powerful abilities this time.”
“Doubt it,” Lucian and Annabeth said at the same time with perfectly timed deadpan delivery.
“Huh?! Why not?” Percy frowned as he began setting up the tools they handed him for potion-making.
Lucian crossed his arms and raised a brow. “Because the name of your potion is Equestrian, Percy. Think about it.”
“Hey,” Percy said, defensive. “I might not know exactly what that means, but it can’t be that bad!”
Annabeth sighed and rolled her eyes. “Percy… it’s just a fancy way of saying horse rider.”
“…”
“Please tell me you’re joking,” Percy said slowly, dreading the answer.
Lucian smirked. “Nope. Now hurry up, Horse Whisperer. I already gave you all the ingredients you needed for your birthday. So quit whining and get to work.”
Percy groaned again and dragged a hand down his face. “Alright, alright, but before I start, can I just ask—what the hell happened between you and my father? I’m not sure if anyone else noticed, but you were acting really weird. I mean, weirder than usual. I know you don’t like him for what he did, but still…”
Lucian clicked his tongue in annoyance and glanced at Annabeth. He gave a small nod and she sighed.
“Lucian just found out something recently,” Annabeth said gently. “Medusa is actually his godmother. So now what your father did to her… it’s a lot more personal. He was already furious, but now? It’s deeper than that. Honestly, we’re lucky it was your birthday, Percy. If it hadn’t been, Lucian probably would’ve launched himself across the table and punched him. He held himself back—for you—and I was actually impressed.”
Lucian shot her a glare, clearly annoyed that she’d shared that last part.
“What?” Percy said, eyes widening slightly. “Wait, really?”
Lucian grumbled and walked away, flopping down into a nearby chair with his legs crossed and one hand buried in his pocket. “Just get started on that stupid potion of yours so we can drop you off.”
Percy smirked faintly and nodded. “Thanks, Lu… seriously.”
“Get to work before I start regretting kidnapping you,” Lucian grumbled in annoyance.
Annabeth chuckled quietly, and Percy opened the box that Aerarius had delivered. He began sorting through the rare and magical components inside.
“Alright, let’s see… Ten strands of unicorn tail hair, ten milliliters of hippogriff blood, fifteen wing feathers from a pegasus, and one single scale from a hippocampus. Yup, everything’s here.”
Rolling up his sleeves and cracking his knuckles, Percy took a breath and began preparing the potion.
