The Dark Prophecy

Lityerses is the son of King Midas, the legendary king with the golden touch. He and his father returned to the mortal world in The Heroes of Olympus series after Gaia, the earth mother, opened the Doors of Death. In the series, Leo’s crew killed Midas, but Lityerses survived because he had been turned into a gold statue. Lityerses, who goes by Lit in the mortal world, is known as an expert swordsman. He taunts Calypso that he will keep her alive long enough to kill her in front of Leo. Lit rushes toward Apollo, swinging his sword. Meg saves Apollo, dropping between him and Lit with her curved blades crossed in an x. It becomes clear that Meg—with her power over plants and soil—made the ivy grow and crashed the roof of the train station.

Meg’s sickle-like blades signify her mother, Demeter, the goddess of agriculture. Lit informs Meg that Demeter is also his mother, hence his skill with swords. Meg commands Apollo to leave with the griffins while she tackles Lit. Apollo is forced to obey as Meg is his demigod “master.” Calypso mounts Heloise while Apollo gets on the back of Abelard. Meg and Lit fight furiously. Apollo fires an arrow at the control panel and releases the combat ostriches, who charge at Lit. Apollo grabs Meg, and they fly up, only to be stymied by the net covering the enclosure. Calypso experiences a surge of magic and blasts the net away, the effort draining her. The group escapes.

Heloise and Abelard fly the group to the Waystation. Calypso climbs off the griffin and faints in Leo’s arms. Josephine says Calypso has overextended herself magically and takes her to be treated by Emmie at the infirmary. Apollo thanks Meg for saving him and tells her he doesn’t blame her for leaving with Nero. Initially uncomfortable with Apollo’s candor, Meg finally softens and agrees to a truce. In response to Meg’s improved mood, the hay the griffins are eating begins to sprout. Apollo realizes Meg is becoming increasingly powerful.

Britomartis summons the group. As the goddess of nets, Britomartis jumpstarted Calypso’s power to help her blast out of the netted enclosure at the zoo. The surge of magic was too much for Calypso as a mortal and endangered her. Leo is enraged Britomartis would knowingly imperil Calypso, but Emmie and Jo hold him back. With the griffins back safely, Britomartis now reveals to Apollo the way into the palace of Commodus.

The main entrance to the palace is hidden under the Soldiers’ and Sailors’ monument, but it must be avoided at all costs as it is heavily guarded. The palace must be entered through an old canal in the city that connects to the palace’s sewers. Emmie will show Meg, Leo, and Apollo the exact place they must enter the canal. The others will ready the Waystation in case of an attack. Britomartis then leaves. Apollo tells everyone the emperor wants to name the city after himself. Meg jokes about the name Commodus sounding like “commode” (175). Apollo asks Meg not to call the emperor by his name as it may reveal the location of the Waystation to Commodus. Meg shouts the name several times in defiance. Apollo is dragged into another vision.

Apollo sees himself in ancient Rome, disguised as a mortal called Narcissus, the trusted personal trainer of Commodus. Apollo is part of a plot to kill the emperor. An attempt to poison Commodus has already failed, and the vengeful emperor plans to kill half of Rome in return, including the priests of Apollo. As Narcissus, Apollo tries to dissuade Commodus, but Commodus brushes him off. Apollo has no option but to strangle Commodus to death in his bathtub. A dying Commodus guesses Narcissus’s true identity and mouths, “You. Blessed. Me” (182), referring to the time Apollo gave him his blessing.

In the present, Apollo’s guilt over killing Commodus is magnified by the sudden appearance of Agamethus. Agamethus uses the Magic 8 Ball to indicate they cannot stay at the Waystation much longer. Agamethus vanishes, and Apollo laments he has betrayed many people who loved him, such as Commodus and his son, Trophonius. Josephine comforts Apollo by telling him life allows one to change. Josephine once disguised herself as a man and worked for the gangster Al Capone. Artemis rescued her from a life of crime by making her a Hunter. Later, Josephine left the Hunters to lead a happy mortal life with Emmie. Apollo wonders how giving up immortality can make anyone happy. Jo replies that what matters is not how long one lives but having a purpose for living.

The evening before heading for Commodus’s palace, Apollo sings to calm Heloise the griffin while she lays her eggs. The next morning, Jo asks Apollo to wear a tracking device on his ankle through which he can activate a homing beacon in case of an emergency. Apollo, Meg, and Leo take a pedal boat to the sewers. Apollo tells his companions about his assassination of Commodus. Meg says Nero and the third member of the Triumvirate consider Commodus weak, which is why they have him in the middle of their empire. Apollo wonders about the whereabouts of Peaches, the karpos or grain spirit who was Meg’s constant companion. Meg informs him Nero is holding Peaches prisoner to punish her. Apollo promises Meg they will rescue Peaches. Meg spots a creature in the water of the canal.

Apollo recognizes the creature as a massive serpent, none other than the legendary Carthaginian Snake, considered virtually indestructible. The enormous serpent closes in on them and upturns the boat. Leo swims toward the grate that is supposed to lead to the sewers under the emperor’s palace and tries to open it. Meg stabs the serpent with her swords but to little effect. The serpent coils around Meg and begins to squeeze her. Leo works the grate open and shouts at the others to get in. Apollo feels a sudden welling of his power. He asks Leo to enter the tunnel and yells at the snake in a deep voice: “Begone, snake. I am Apollo!” (201) The frequency of his voice makes the old walls of the canal crumble and fall on the snake. Apollo grabs Meg and pulls her into the tunnel with him. The grate closes.