![]() Annabeth gestured dramatically to the wall she’d come from. If they’d let women warriors into their cult, they might have learned some common sense. But she was thankful for stupid male ghosts. “That is our most closely guarded secret!” Then maybe you shouldn’t put a statue of it on your altar, Annabeth thought. “The big mother knows all!” a ghost cried. “He emerged fully grown from the stone, holding his dagger and torch.” The screaming and wailing told her she had guessed correctly. “Mithras was born from rock,” Annabeth said, hoping she was right. “There is a third test, which I will pass.” “A third test?” the pater demanded. “Neither torch nor dagger,” Annabeth said firmly. Then it occurred to her: maybe the little statue of Mithras wasn’t stuck in the rock. She wondered why its legs were stuck in stone. Her instinct was to focus on the dagger or the torch, but instead she concentrated on the statue’s base. She stared at the altar statue, which was glowing brighter by the second. ![]() Maybe they’d thought they could beat the ordeal. They’d all chosen one or the other: fire or dagger. The failures of your predecessors will guide you. “Fire or dagger! Survive one, and then, perhaps!” Annabeth looked down at the bones of her siblings. But you will let me pass.” “You must choose an ordeal!” the pater insisted. She doesn’t want me to follow the Mark of Athena. This was one time she wished she didn’t know the answer, but she tried to maintain her calm. “The weaver…” Annabeth realized with a sinking feeling what the pater was talking about: the thing in the dark from Percy’s dream, the guardian of the shrine. Your wisdom is great, but that is all the more reason why you cannot leave. His pope hat tilted sideways on his head like a gas gauge dropping toward empty. “Mercy! Mercy!” At the front of the room, the pater trembled-either from rage or fear, Annabeth wasn’t sure which. Be silent and let me speak to your pater.” The ghost cringed. He had a raven badge on his toga-the same symbol as on the floor at her feet. She glared at the ghost who had just spoken. “It is impossible!” Unless you look around the room, Annabeth thought, her confidence growing. Some slapped their faces as if to wake up from a bad dream. The ghosts wailed and covered their ears. You want to kill me, just as…uh, as Mithras killed the sacred bull.” It was a total guess, but the altar showed Mithras killing a bull, so Annabeth figured it must be important. His other symbol is the dagger, which is why you can also be tested with the blade. You test your initiates with fire because the torch is the symbol of Mithras. She began to talk, pulling deductions from the top of her head. #The heroes of olympus the mark of athena pdf cracked#She looked desperately around the room-the cracked ceiling, the floor mosaic, the wall paintings, and the carved altar. The mortar was crumbling, but it was not weak enough for her to break through with brute force. ![]() Annabeth pressed her hands against the bricked-in doorway at her back. “Mithras shall do that for us!” The statue on the altar began to glow. “We do not need to kill you ourselves,” the pater growled. “Sit down.” The ghost looked embarrassed and took his seat. “The big mother!” “Kill her!” One of the ghosts charged, his hands out to strangle her, but he passed right through her. Mithras cannot hide anything from my sight.” “The magna mater!” a ghost wailed in despair. “Who are you?” “A child of Athena,” Annabeth said again. Apparently he hadn’t remembered there were victims of past punishments lying on the floor. If you do not choose, the god will choose for you!” “Fire or dagger,” Annabeth guessed. “The girl lies! Daughter of Athena, choose your way of death. “I know about them!” Another round of incredulous gasping. “But she might know about the ordeals!” another cried. “The girl has gleaned our secrets!” “Silence!” the pater ordered. ![]()
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