This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹

―xiii. the land without rain

"ARE YOU WEARING LIPSTICK?"

Naomi glared at Thalia, cheeks warm. "Shut up."

"What did she want with you two?" Bianca asked.

Naomi and Percy looked at each other, then looked away just as quickly.

"Oh, uh, not sure," Percy said, clearly lying. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything."

Zoë narrowed her eyes, looking from him to Naomi. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."

"For once, I agree with Zoë," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite."

"So, how do we get out of here?" Naomi asked, anxious to change the subject.

"That way," Zoë said. "That is west."

"How can you tell?" Percy asked.

Zoë rolled her eyes. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means that must west."

She pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars.

"Oh, yeah," Percy said. "The bear thing."

Zoë looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real."

"Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!"

They'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca said.

"That stuff... some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."

"Junk?" Grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?"

He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"

Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!"

"Look!" Bianca said. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"

She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink, and became a hair clip shaped like a crescent moon. "It's just like Percy and Naomi's swords!"

Zoë's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."

"But—"

"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."

Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.

"I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.

"You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" Percy asked.

She gave him a hard look. "Zoë is right, Percy. Things get thrown away here for a reason. Now come on, let's get across the yard."

"That's the second time you've agreed with Zoë," Percy muttered, but Thalia ignored him.

They started picking their way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, they would've got lost. All the hills looked the same.