Holding the sky

| looked at Annabeth. She was desperately trying to tell me something. She motioned her head towards Luke. But all | could do was stare at her. | hadn’t noticed before, but something about her had changed. Her blonde hair was now streaked with grey.
‘From holding the sky,’ Thalia muttered, as if she’d read my mind. ‘The weight should’ve killed her.’

‘| don’t understand,’ | said. ‘Why can’t Artemis just let go of the sky?’
Atlas laughed. ‘How little you understand, young one. This is the point where the sky and the earth first met, where Ouranos and Gaia first brought forth their mighty children, the Titans. The sky still yearns to embrace the earth. Someone must hold it at bay, or else it would crush down upon this place, instantly flattening the mountain and everything within a hundred leagues. Once you have taken the burden, there is no escape.’ Atlas smiled. ‘Unless someone else takes it from you.’

| reached down and felt Riptide back in my pocket. | couldn’t fight Atlas, even with a sword. And then a chill went down my spine. | remembered the words of the prophecy: The Titan’s curse must one withstand. | couldn’t hope to beat Atlas. But there was someone else who might stand a chance.
‘The sky,’ | told the goddess. ‘Give it to me.’
‘No, boy,’ Artemis said. Her forehead was beaded with metallic sweat, like quicksilver. ‘You don’t know what you’re asking. It will crush you!’
‘Annabeth took it!’
‘She barely survived. She had the spirit of a true huntress. You will not last so long.’
‘I'll die anyway,’ | said. ‘Give me the weight of the sky!’
| didn’t wait for her answer. | took out Riptide and slashed through her chains. Then | stepped next to her and braced myself on one knee - holding up my hands - and touched the cold, heavy clouds. For a moment, Artemis and | bore the weight together. It was the heaviest thing I’d ever felt, as if | were being crushed under a thousand trucks. | wanted to black out from the pain, but | breathed deeply. / can do this.
Then Artemis slipped out from under the burden, and | held it alone.
Afterwards, | tried many times to explain what it felt like. | couldn't.
Every muscle in my body turned to fire. My bones felt like they were melting. | wanted to scream, but | didn’t have the strength to open my mouth. | began to sink, lower and lower to the ground, the sky’s weight crushing me.

Fight back! Grover’s voice said inside my head. Don’t give up.
| concentrated on breathing. If | could just keep the sky aloft a few more seconds. | thought about Bianca, who had given her life so we could get here. If she could do that, | could hold the sky.

Atlas advanced, pressing Artemis. She was fast, but his strength was unstoppable. His javelin slammed into the earth where Artemis had been a split second before, and a fissure opened in the rocks. He leaped over it and kept pursuing her. She was leading him back towards me.
Get ready, she spoke in my mind.

The first blood in a new war,’ Atlas gloated. And he stabbed downward.
As fast as thought, Artemis grabbed his javelin shaft. It hit the earth right next to her and she pulled backwards, using the javelin like a lever, kicking the Titan Lord and sending him flying over her. | saw him coming down on top of me and | realized what would happen. | loosened my grip on the sky, and as Atlas slammed into me | didn’t try to hold on. | let myself be pushed out of the way and rolled for all | was worth.
The weight of the sky dropped onto Atlas’s back, almost Smashing him flat until he managed to get to his knees, struggling to get out from under the crushing weight of the Sky. But it was too late.
‘NOOOOOO!’ He bellowed so hard it shook the mountain. ‘NOT AGAIN!’
Atlas was trapped under his old burden.

TTC ch.17