the_blood_of_olympus_-_rick_riordan

ass clubs.
‘Please, husband.’ Hera tried for a smile, but she was so clearly frightened that Jason almost felt
sorry for her. ‘I only did what I –’
‘Silence!’ Zeus snapped. ‘You disobeyed my orders. Nevertheless … I recognize that you acted
with honest intentions. The valour of these seven heroes has proven that you were not entirely without
wisdom.’
Hera looked like she wanted to argue, but she kept her mouth shut.
‘Apollo, however …’ Zeus glared into the shadows where the twins were standing. ‘My son, come
here.’
Apollo inched forward like he was walking the plank. He looked so much like a teenage demigod
it was unnerving – no more than seventeen, wearing jeans and a Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, with a
bow over his shoulder and a sword at his belt. With his tousled blond hair and blue eyes, he might’ve
been Jason’s brother on the mortal side as well as the godly side.
Jason wondered if Apollo had assumed this form to be inconspicuous, or to look pitiable to his
father. The fear in Apollo’s face certainly looked real, and also very human.
The Three Fates gathered around the god, circling him, their withered hands raised.
‘Twice you have defied me,’ Zeus said.
Apollo moistened his lips. ‘My – my lord –’
‘You neglected your duties. You succumbed to flattery and vanity. You encouraged your
descendant Octavian to follow his dangerous path, and you prematurely revealed a prophecy that may
yet destroy us all.’
‘But –’
‘Enough!’ Zeus boomed. ‘We will speak of your punishment later. For now, you will wait on
Olympus.’
Zeus flicked his hand, and Apollo turned into a cloud of glitter. The Fates swirled around him,
dissolving into air, and the glittery whirlwind shot into the sky.
‘What will happen to him?’ Jason asked.
The gods stared at him, but Jason didn’t care. Having actually met Zeus, he had a newfound
sympathy for Apollo.
‘It is not your concern,’ Zeus said. ‘We have other problems to address.’
An uncomfortable silence settled over the Parthenon.
It didn’t feel right to let the matter go. Jason didn’t see how Apollo deserved to be singled out for
punishment.
Someone must take the blame, Zeus had said.
But why?
‘Father,’ Jason said, ‘I made a vow to honour all the gods. I promised Kymopoleia that once this
war is over none of the gods would be without shrines at the camps.’
Zeus scowled. ‘That’s fine. But … Kym who?’
Poseidon coughed into his fist. ‘She’s one of mine.’
‘My point,’ Jason said, ‘is that blaming each other isn’t going solve anything. That’s how the