𝒊𝒊𝒊. 𝐋𝐎𝐘𝐀𝐋𝐓𝐈𝐄𝐒

𝒙.

They'd arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny. 

Even with her magical parka from Circe's island, Noelle was freezing by the time they got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. As they walked, Percy told Grover and Noelle about his conversation with Apollo the night before—how he'd told him to seek out Nereus in San Francisco. 

Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first." 

Percy tried not to get too depressed about their chances. Percy didn't want to send his friends into a panic, but he knew they had another huge deadline looming, aside from saving Artemis in time for her council of the gods. The General had said Annabeth would only be kept alive until the winter solstice. That was Friday, only four days away. And he'd said something about a sacrifice. He didn't like the sound of that at all. 

Noelle decided to keep quiet about her dream from Artemis. She would bring it up with Zoë when she got the chance, but she already knew the Hunter wouldn't listen or agree with what Artemis had said. And frankly, neither would Noelle.

They stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much see everything from there: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store. 

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out." 

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover. 

"Yes," Zoë said. "Coffee is good." 

"And pastries," Noelle added, missing her own father's baked goods. 

Grover said dreamily, "And wax paper." 

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you three go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions." 

They agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable coming with the two demigods, but she did. 

Walking into the coffee shop, Noelle was greeted with the strong smell of coffee. That alone seemed to warm her up, the warm inside air helping as well. 

While they waited in the moderately sized line, Grover excused himself to go use the "little goat's room." Now alone with Zoë, Noelle began fidgeting with her fingers, contemplating telling her about the dream she had.

"Stop that. It is distracting," Zoë said. 

"Sorry." Noelle dropped her hands and decided to bite the bullet. "I had a dream. About Artemis."

Zoë's eyes darted to her, but her expression remained stoic. "What was in thy dream?"

Noelle told her what Artemis said and how the goddess had been controlling her dream. "Are you going to listen to her?" Noelle asked after finishing the story of her dream.

Zoë nodded. "If my lady is saying it is dangerous then we must save her before the danger worsens."

Noelle nodded in agreement at the finality in Zoë's voice, making it clear that was the end of the conversation. Grover joined them again conveniently when it was their turn to order. Noelle ordered for her and Percy: two hot chocolates and two blueberry muffins. Zoë ordered for her and Bianca: a hot chocolate and a coffee. Grover asked for a cup of coffee for Thalia (since they didn't have energy drinks) and a bran muffin for him.