The Lightning Thief: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

Seven days before the solstice, Percy, Grover, and Annabeth arrive in Denver. Annabeth suggests that they try to contact Chiron, so they wander around for hours. Finally, they reach a do-it-yourself car wash and Annabeth explains that they’re Iris messaging: the goddess Iris carries messages for gods and sometimes half-bloods. Once Grover creates a misty rainbow, Annabeth tosses a drachma into the rainbow and requests Half-Blood Hill. They can see Luke at the railing. Luke grins but says that Chiron is at the cabins; they’re having issues with campers. A big car blasting hip-hop pulls into the next stall, so Annabeth drags Grover away to deal with it.

Alone with Percy, Luke shouts that there have been fights because the campers are taking sides; it’s like the Trojan War all over again. Ares is on Poseidon’s side. Percy tells Luke everything, even his dreams. Luke insists that Hades stole the bolt using his helm of darkness; only someone invisible could steal it. After a minute of silence, Luke clarifies that he’s not accusing Annabeth. He asks if Percy is using the shoes. Percy lies that he is as the water shuts off. As the image cuts out, Luke says to tell Grover that no one will turn into a pine tree. Percy’s stomach drops.

Annabeth, Grover, and Percy stop at a diner. As the waitress asks if they can pay, they hear a rumble outside and a huge motorcycle pulls up. The man on it is handsome, wears wraparound sunglasses, and looks somehow familiar. A hot wind blows in as the man enters and everyone in the diner stands. The man waves his hand dismissively, and everyone sits down. When the waitress asks again if the trio can pay, the man says that it’s on him. He slides into the booth and Percy immediately feels angry and bitter. The man asks if Percy is “Seaweed’s kid.” Percy snaps back and ignores Annabeth’s warnings. He knows that this is Ares, the god of war. Ares says he has a proposition, and he pays for the meal with gold drachmas.

Ares says he needs a favor: he left his shield at an abandoned water park while on a date with his girlfriend. He doesn’t feel like getting it and he knows that Percy needs an opportunity to prove himself. Percy realizes that Ares’s power is making him angry and so he refuses the proposition. Ares says he already knows all about Percy’s quest—he’s the one who suggested that Hades stole the bolt—and if Percy agrees to help him, he’ll arrange transport for them to continue west. Percy refuses again, but he changes his mind when Ares says he has information on Mom. Percy asks what interrupted the date, but Ares cagily says that he’ll meet Percy back here when Percy is done. When Percy blinks, Ares is gone—but he knows that the encounter was real. He wonders if Ares really knows anything about Mom.

Percy says that they should forget Ares and go, but Annabeth says that they can’t. They head to the waterpark after they eat. It’s closed, padlocked, and looks creepy. Percy suggests that it’d be horrible to bring a pretty girl here for a date, but Annabeth warns him to be respectful—Ares’s girlfriend is Aphrodite. Grover uses the flying shoes to get over the barbed wire, but Annabeth and Percy climb over. They walk through the empty park, and Annabeth steals clothes for them at a souvenir shop. They discuss Aphrodite and Ares’s relationship: Aphrodite’s husband is Hephaestus, who’s disabled but clever, a combination that Aphrodite doesn’t find attractive. Hephaestus spends lots of time trying to embarrass Ares and Aphrodite when they’re together, which is why they meet at remote places like this.

They reach the Tunnel of Love ride. The pool is empty, but at the bottom is a boat with Ares’s shield in it. Percy says that he’s going to go down, and he asks Annabeth to come with him, but she’s embarrassed. She follows him down anyway. At the boat, Percy wonders why gods would meet here. Then, he notices mirrors all around—the gods must like staring at themselves. When Percy touches the shield, he feels a strand break: it’s a trap. The Cupid statues around the bowl shoot their arrows, creating a net over the bowl, and the slope is too steep to climb back up. Then, the Cupids’ heads open to reveal cameras. A loudspeaker booms that they’ll be broadcast live to Olympus in one minute as wind-up spiders pour out of the mirrors. Annabeth screams in terror.

Percy drags Annabeth to the boat. He kicks the spiders away and then notices the water pipes that would normally provide water for the ride. He tells Grover to turn the ride on. Grover can’t make it work, so Percy imagines the ocean. Water explodes out of the pipes just as the cameras click on. The water sweeps away the spiders and spins the boat before it starts down the ride. As they approach the end, Percy sees that it’s chained up, so he tells Annabeth to unfasten her seat belt so they can jump. They jump on Annabeth’s signal, and Grover catches them in the air. They have too much momentum and crash. The Cupids are still filming. Percy hates dealing with bullies; he says that they have to go talk to Ares.