This Dark Night ― Percy Jackson & Annabeth Chase¹

―xiv. naomi dual-wields like a badass

AT THE EDGE OF THE DUMP, they found an old tow truck.

Thalia drove. She didn't seem as stunned as the rest of them.

"The skeletons are still out there," she reminded them. "We need to keep moving."

She navigated them through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at. It had a three-seater interior, so while Percy and Grover sat in the back, Zoë and Naomi sat next to Thalia.

Naomi sat with her knees hugged to her chest, leaning her head against the window, cold from the A/C.

She stared at the little figurine that had cost Bianca her life. She wasn't sure what god it was supposed to be, but she was sure Nico would know.

She closed her eyes, her throat tightening with despair. How was she going to tell him? How do you break it to a kid that his big sister's never coming back?

Zoë and Thalia were talking, but Naomi barely heard them. She was stuck in the eye of a hurricane, her emotions raging around her but her insides numb. She should have said something—she should have known something would go wrong, she should have trusted that bad feeling from the beginning. Maybe then Bianca would still be alive.

But would she? It happened just like the prophecy said: One shall be lost in the land without rain.

One quest member was gone—one line fulfilled. Naomi couldn't stop thinking about the other two that predicted more death.

One shall greet death as a dear old friend. One shall perish by a parent's hand.

Which one of them would be next?

❊

The tow truck ran out of fuel at the edge of a river canyon. It was just as well, because the road dead-ended.

Thalia got out and slammed the door. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great. What now?"

"There's a path," Grover said. "We could get to the river."

Naomi tried to see what he was talking about, and finally noticed a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face.

"That's a goat path," Percy said.

"So?" he asked.

"The rest of us aren't goats."

"We can make it," Grover said. "I think."

Percy thought about it, looking at Thalia.

"No," he said. "I, uh, think we should go further upstream."

Grover said, "But—"

"Come on," Percy said. "A walk won't hurt us."

They followed the river for about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but Percy left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and an I.O.U. note.

"We need to go upstream," Zoë said, her voice rough. "The rapids are too swift."

"Leave that to me," Percy said.

They put the canoes in the water.

Thalia, Grover, and Naomi got into one, Percy and Zoë in the other.

As it turned out, Percy didn't need to control the rapids. A couple of naiads helped them out, pushing them up the river. They started so fast Grover fell into the canoe with his hooves sticking up in the air.