The Heroes of Olympus, #2
The Son of Neptune
by Rick Riordan
Contents
XXVIII Percy
Overview
Percy challenges Phineas to a lethal gorgon-blood gamble to win the location of Alcyoneus and free the harpies. Gaea intervenes to keep Percy alive, letting Phineas die by his own choice. The note reveals Hubbard Glacier as the giant’s lair, and the team departs urgently to continue the quest.
Summary
Percy, Hazel, Frank, and Ella return to Phineas at the Portland food trucks. Refusing to trade Ella, Percy proposes a gamble: two identical vials of gorgon blood—one fatal, one healing. Under River Styx oaths, Phineas must prewrite Alcyoneus’s lair and promise the harpies’ freedom if he loses.
Phineas, eager for restored sight, agrees and writes the location on a napkin. As Percy appeals silently to Gaea’s grand plans, a tremor ripples through the lot. Phineas selects the left vial; Percy takes the right. They drink simultaneously.
Percy suffers briefly but recovers; Phineas begins to disintegrate, screaming that Gaea betrayed him. Bound by the oath and his own choice, Phineas dissolves to nothing but his robe and bunny slippers. Gaea’s voice confirms Percy forced her hand and warns of a more painful death to come.
Percy explains his wager relied on Gaea valuing him over Phineas to reach Alaska. He retrieves the napkin: Hubbard Glacier. Hazel recognizes it, though far away. With the harpies celebrating their freedom and raiding the food trucks, the trio hurries back toward their boat, mindful of their dwindling time.
Who Appears
- Percy JacksonProposes a lethal gorgon-blood wager, forces Gaea’s choice, survives, and secures Hubbard Glacier as Alcyoneus’s lair.
- PhineasBlind seer revived by Gaea; accepts the wager for sight; drinks poison and disintegrates, freeing the harpies by oath.
- GaeaManipulates fate to spare Percy over Phineas; warns Percy telepathically about future pain and his importance to her plans.
- Hazel LevesqueSupports Percy, soothes Ella, confirms the Styx oath’s power, identifies Hubbard Glacier as their distant destination.
- Frank ZhangBacks Percy’s plan, provides the oath terms idea, swears on the Styx, and witnesses Phineas’s demise in shock.
- EllaSkittish harpy with eidetic recall; refuses capture, reacts with facts and mutters, and is freed with the others after Phineas dies.