The Weirdo's Curse

***The Weirdo's Curse*** is the third book in the *Perky Jackson and the Cursed Weirdos* series, written by Brick Riordan. It was published on May 1st, 2007.

In this book, a quest is undertaken by both the Hunters of Artemis and campers to save Ennabeth Chase and the goddess Artemis when it is realized that they have been abducted by the same forces. The quest they will undergo, however, is not all that it seems to be as secrets are revealed and the time of the Great Prophecy draws ever closer.

## Plot

### Westover Hall

In December, six months after The Sea of Creepy Weirdos adventure, Perky Jackson, Natalia Grace and Ennabeth Chase go to Westover Hall to meet Groovy Underwood, who had found two powerful weirdo siblings there, Beeyonca and DomiDom Yee Angelo. Natalia displays the ability to manipulate the Mist and tries to convince a resident teacher and the vice-principal there that the three belong to the school. The teacher is easily tricked but the vice-principal, who was actually a manticore in disguise wasn't tricked. Natalia manages to not let the three get kicked out before they could find Groovy.

Groovy soon informs them that Dr. Thorn, the vice-principal of Westover hall, is a manticore (a half scorpion, lion, and human monster), and is suspicious of the two cursed weirdos' true identities, and therefore he was not fooled by Natalia's trick of the mist. She formulates a plan to distract Dr. Thorn; however, the plan backfires on them. Perky, who is forced to dance to blend in with the crowd, sees Dr. Thorn attempting to sneak away with the two cursed weirdos. He is unable to spot Natalia, Ennabeth, or Groovy in the crowd and so follows Dr. Thorn.

As he nears Beeyonca and Dom, Dr. Thorn throws a thorn and it grazes his shoulder. Perky realizes that poison has entered his system. Perky is too weak to fight and instead, listens to the manticore as he talks about The Great Stirring. Perky tries to reassure Beeyonca who is panicking and Dom who is both overjoyed and scarred. Perky lets Dr. Thorn bring them to a cliff and they wait for the Manticore's allies to collect them. Perky tries hard to send a message to Groovy that he was in danger (cause they're *bonded*). It works and soon Groovy, Natalia, and Ennabeth show up and Dr. Thorn reveals his true form as a manticore.

### The Hunters

Suddenly, some silver arrows pass Perky and hit the Manticore. Thorn retaliates and shoots a volley of thorns to the shooters and more silver arrows come out and split them perfectly in half. The archers get out of the bushes. They are all adolescent girls wearing silver clothing. Natalia introduces them as the Hunters of Artemis. They are about to shoot when Dr. Thorn lunges at Perky and Natalia, knowing they are both weak and stunned. Ennabeth climbs on Dr. Thorn with her knife, but the hunters release their arrows, and he falls from the cliff, taking Ennabeth with him as she leaves her Yankee's cap behind.

Artemis appears and orders the Hunters to set up camp. Perky is invited to come and have a talk with the weirdo, who appears in the form of a girl around the age of twelve. She asks Perky to restate what Dr. Thorn mentioned and concludes that dangerous times are near. She decides to hunt a powerful monster, one that has the power to bring down the weirdos and Olympus. Before she goes alone to do so, Zoë Nightshade, her lieutenant, is placed in charge of the Hunters and is told to stay at Camp Cursed-Weirdo until Artemis returns. During their short stay at the outskirts of Westover Hall, Beeyonca chooses to join the Hunters and attain immortality and a new family, along with forswearing romantic love forever, while leaving Dom in the trust of those at Camp Cursed-Weirdo.

### Natalia Attempts to Drive

The group receives a ride from Artemis's brother Apollo who lets them use the sksksun chariot, with Natalia at the wheel. The combination results in a gut-wrenching experience for the group because Natalia is scared of heights and the sksksun chariot can fly. Soon, they arrive at Camp Cursed-Weirdo, almost crashing in the canoe lake. Perky and Natalia lead Dom to the Big House for a conversation with Mr. Pepsi D and Chickron. The two are quickly forbidden to carry out any rescue plans they have for Ennabeth, with Pepsi Dionysus stating that there is a small chance that she would survive.

### Perky's Latest Dreams

Chickron announces that a "friendly" game of Capture the Flag is going to be held against the Hunters, as it is a tradition at Camp Cursed-Weirdo. Perky returns to his cabin to learn that his father has installed a fountain for him, filled with golden drachmas to remind him to keep in touch with his family. Perky sends an Iris message to Tyson, only to learn that the *Princess Andromeda* is being protected by old spirits and that it was headed to the Panama Canal.

Perky soon has a dream in which Lasputin Castellan tricks Ennabeth into holding up a ceiling of a cavern. He later learns that the ceiling is actually the sky and that Ennabeth has actually taken over the former burden of Atlas. Perky tells Groovy of his dream, only to learn of the possibility that Ennabeth was considering joining the Hunters of Artemis. Perky attempts to seek help from the Oracle, but the Oracle does not respond. Later, after a humiliating defeat in Capture the Flag by the Hunters, Perky and Natalia are about to come to arms when Perky sees the Oracle *walking* towards Zoë. It was astounding as, according to Chickron, the Oracle *never* left the attic of the Big House (uhhhh, that's not creepy at all).

### The Hunters, Weirdos and an Old Goat Team Up

A discussion is held about who is to go on the quest. It is decided that Zoë, Natalia, Beeyonca, Groovy, and Phoebe would go, leaving Perky protesting. When asked whether his determination was due to his desperation to rescue Ennabeth, Perky hesitates. In the end, the decision is final and there is nothing he could do to change it. Chickron tries to comfort him. Perky then sends an Iris message to his mother and finds her chatting with Paul Blowfish, her new boyfriend. Before the connection is cut, Seally encourages Perky to do what he thinks is right.

Later, Perky has another dream, in which Artemis takes Ennabeth's place holding the sky to save her from likely death. In the dream, the General tells Lasputin to kill Ennabeth, but Lasputin convinces the General to let him keep her alive until the winter solstice, as further bait. Perky awakens find Crackerjack, a pegasus, as the latter asks him to rescue a marine cow-like creature called the Ophiotaurus. Perky names the creature Bessie, not knowing what it is, thinking it is a girl, and not knowing its true power.

Upon his return, Perky finds Dom eavesdropping on the Hunters. Using Ennabeth's Yankees cap, he turns himself invisible and learns that Phoebe is bedridden due to a prank the Stole brothers pulled. He quickly stops Dom, who is attempting to follow his sister on the quest (which Perky figures out after the conversation between the Hunters). Perky promises Dom that he would try to protect Beeyonca, before taking off on Crackerjack and following the group.

### The Smithsonian

After many hours following the van containing the four, Perky and Crackerjack stop at a museum. From a distance, Perky sees Dr. Thorn and hears him confirming that Ennabeth is alive and that his dream had been true. Dr. Thorn does not go into the museum with the rest of them and instead goes somewhere else. Perky follows, and soon he sees the General and Lasputin. There the General creates skeletal warriors, which are almost impossible to destroy, by putting dinosaur teeth — dragon teeth, in actuality — into the soil and watering it with blood. Their original purpose was to kill Zoë and Beeyonca. The General is about to give them a cloth to get the Hunters' scent when Perky grabs it. However, the skeletons tear a chunk out of Perky's sleeve and inhale his scent, making him their target.

Perky quickly escapes using Ennabeth's Yankees Cap and notifies the others. Though the group (Zoë in particular) is rather surprised and angry as they realize he has followed them, they are interrupted when the Nemean Lion attacks. Nothing is able to pierce its hide, much to the displeasure of the group. However, Perky discovers a weakness and has an idea to expose it. He finds astronaut food in a gift shop and throws them into the Nemean Lion's mouth. The Nemean Lion is disgusted by the freeze-dried delectables and opens its mouth long enough for Zoë to shoot an arrow at it.

Zoë then gives Perky the trophy of the Nemean Lion's Pelt, saying that he was the one who defeated the lion fair and square, even though she was the one who shot the killing arrow. The lion pelt turns into a jacket as soon as Perky puts it on. The Skeleton Warriors, disguised by the Mist as gray security men, are now following Perky, but Zoë refuses to leave him behind as she realizes that he is the fifth quest member. They soon reach an area called the Sksksun West line after taking many trains to lose their followers. There, they meet a homeless person and share his fire. They are oblivious to the fact that the homeless person is actually Apollo.

### Junkyard of the Weirdos

Perky soon encounters Apollo again when they get on another train headed west. Apollo advises him to seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. Perky soon has a dream, in which he is given the sword Anaklusmos by a girl. Unbeknownst to him, he is in fact seeing through the eyes of Hercules and the girl, he later realizes, is Zoë.

With help from Apollo, they reach a small town in New Mexico. There they try to take a break when Groovy swoons as Pan's presence overcomes him. Following that, the skeleton warriors surround them, using handguns. Though Perky deflects a bullet and cuts down a skeleton warrior, it immediately forms back together, reassembling itself. Somehow, though, Beeyonca defeats a warrior, stabbing it right in the chest, with her knife blasting it to flames. This, however, does not stop another from shooting at Perky. Miraculously, Perky survives and realizes that the Nemean Lion pelt he wears is bulletproof. Groovy then senses Pan's presence again along with a wild gift from him — the Erymanthian Boar. The giant boar temporarily defeats the skeletal warriors and carries them further on to San Francisco.

It takes them to the Junkyard of the Weirdos, where Perky meets Ares and talks to Aphrodite (geddit? cause they're JUNK), at which point it is hinted that Ennabeth and Perky will most likely have a romantic future together (see Perkabeth). Aphrodite mentions that she likes Perky, and because of this, she would make his love life interesting. Eventually, the group enters the junkyard (located near Gila Claw, Arizona), where Beeyonca tries to steal a cowboy action figure for her younger brother. Because of this, she awakens a defective Talos.

The group battle the automaton when Beeyonca has a plan to defeat it. She enters via a maintenance hole in his left foot to destroy him. She succeeds in destroying the prototype Talos, but is electrocuted when Talos crashes into electric lines, causing him to short-circuit and crash to the ground. After failing to find her, Groovy tearfully announces that the next stage in the prophecy has been fulfilled: Beeyonca Yee Angelo has died in the desert, the land without rain.

### The Hoover Dam

Finding a truck in the junkyard, Natalia drives until they reach a river. There, they find some canoes, and Perky convinces a group of Naiads to steer them to the Hoover Dam. Perky, Natalia, and Groovy begin spouting facts about the Dam, indicating just how close their relationship is to Ennabeth, as the Hoover Dam was one of her personal favorites. After making some 'dam' jokes (hahaha), Perky gets separated from the group when he hears and approaches the Ophiotaurus. The 11 remaining skeletal warriors attack him, and as he tries to escape, he ends up with a tour group inside an elevator. As the group leaves the elevator, Perky is alone with the tour guide, who turns out to be Ethena. She is knowledgeable about his predicament and cryptically tells him that there is a way out for those who can find it.

Ethena leaves, and Perky dashes behind a wall to hide from the skeletons. He hears a noise behind him, and, thinking it is a skeleton, blindly slashes at a mortal girl who can see through the Mist, named Raquel Elizabeth Truth. Because she is normal-born, the blade passes right through her, as if it is an illusion. She saves Perky by confusing the skeletons, allowing Perky to escape to his friends. The group gets trapped on the dam but are saved when the giant metal angel statues given to F/ckboy Zeus by Ethena carry them off after Natalia prays to her father.

Reaching San Francisco, Perky wrestles Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea, and learns that Bessie the Ophiotaurus is the monster Artemis is seeking, for burning its entrails will give a person the power to destroy Olympus. Dr. Thorn appears with a small force of mortals, and he tries to convince Natalia to wield the Ophiotaurus' power. Perky manages to shake her out of her stupor, and as they are cornered, they manage to get an Iris message to Camp Cursed-Weirdo and see Pepsi Dionysus, the camp director. He saves them after Perky reluctantly asks for help. Groovy then takes the Ophoitaurus back to Long Island with Posasseidon's help after Perky sacrifices the lion's pelt to Posasseidon.

### Perky Takes the Weirdo's Curse

They go to see Ennabeth's father, Dr. Chase, to ask for help. Perky notes that the Chase home is one that 'looks normal' Dr. Chase lends them his car, and before they leave, Perky makes a promise to Mrs. Chase to tell Ennabeth that she still had a home there. As they drive up the mountain, the car explodes due to a lightning bolt that Rasputin threw to make Natalia angry at her father.

They complete the rest of the climb on foot to the Garden of the Hesperides, where Zoë meets her sisters and is poisoned by the dragon, Ladon. They continue to the place where Atlas used to hold up the sky, and they see Artemis taking on his burden. Ennabeth is bound and gagged by Lasputin and Atlas. Realizing that the prophecy made by the Oracle involved him, Perky takes the burden of the Weirdo's curse from Artemis.

In the ensuing fight, Perky could see the ruins of Mount Othrys, the rival capital of Mount Olympus, rebuilding itself. This could only mean that the Weirdos' chances of triumph are increasing. Atlas kills his daughter by throwing her against the rocks. Artemis kicks Atlas back under the weight of the sky, as only a Weirdo can be forced to bear the sky and the impact pushes Perky backward. The sky smashes against Atlas' back before he struggles to his knees, pinning him to the ground. In a battle between Natalia and Lasputin, Lasputin falls into a chasm; Perky assumes that Lasputin is dead, but it is later confirmed by Posasseidon that the traitorous weirdo had survived. Before leaving Mount Tam, Artemis turns Zoë into a constellation — the Huntress — as both a reward for the latter's services and as a reminder to the world of her existence. They then go to Mount Olympus via Crackerjack and his pegasi friends.

### The Council of the Weirdos and the Yee Angelo's Parentage is Discovered

When Perky, Natalia, and Ennabeth arrive, the weirdos have already started the meeting. Natalia chooses to take Zoë's place as the Hunters' lieutenant for her to never turn 16 and not be the weirdo of the prophecy. Perky experiences discomfort before she makes her decision, as he assumed that it would be Ennabeth joining the Hunters. Ares and Ethena suggest that the weirdos kill Perky because he will be the next weirdo of the prophecy after two years. Fortunately, many of the gods vote to let the heroes live after Artemis declares that if the heroes are punished, then the gods are no better than the Weirdos. Posasseidon also vouches to let the Ophiotaurus live. He states that it would be kept in Mount Olympus.

After partying with the gods, the group returns to camp. Perky tells Dom about Beeyonca's death and gives him the figurine of Hades, that Beeyonca meant to give to him. Dom throws the statuette away and tells Perky that he's going to the Wild West. Suddenly, four of the skeletal warriors appear and Dom unintentionally splits the earth to swallow them up. Perky figures out that Dom's father is Hades after this incident. The remaining seven skeletons are never seen again in the rest of the series. As Perky discusses Dom's abilities with Ennabeth, Groovy arrives, claiming that, while drinking coffee, he had heard Pan's voice speak three words in his head, *"I await you."*