The Second Jackson- Piper McLean book 1

Welcome to Canada

Lani

I was disappointed when the wheels fell off.

The horse seemed to bend time and space as he ran, blurring the landscape. So, as bumpy as the chariot ride was, it gave me time to think. I tried to remember more about the brand because thinking of Zoe made me feel homesick, but I couldn't remember what the goddess said. I could remember everything about the moment, down to the song I sang to Zoe, which I realized even though I was talking about the planets it made perfect sense as the names of Roman gods as well. I just couldn't hear what the goddess was saying to me after the brand was burned into my skin. Like someone had given me a movie to watch but the sound cut out at the last scene.

As memories of Zoe flooded my mind I had to try really hard not to cry. It felt like I was losing her all over again and I hated it. I wanted to kick and scream. I wanted to hit something. I wanted to hear her talk about anything. I wished I could see that confused look on her face whenever we made a joke she didn't understand. What I didn't want, was to feel the way I feel right now. Like cotton candy being pulled apart or taffy being stretched and twisted by those machines.

The horse sped north across Puget Sound, zooming past islands and fishing boats and very surprised pod of whales.

The horse rocketed onto dry land. He followed Highway 99 north, running so fast, the cars seemed to be standing still. Then the chariot wheels began to smoke.

"Hazel!" Frank yelled. "We're breaking up!"

She got the message and pulled the reigns. The horse was not happy about it based on the language he used as he slowed to a subsonic speed as we zipped through the city streets. We crossed a bridge and the chariot started to rattle dangerously. Arion stopped at the top of a wooded hill. He snorted with satisfaction, more or less saying 'That's how we run fools', but I don't think this horse can actually go a single sentence without swearing. Seriously that horse cusses like a sailor. The smoking chariot collapsed, spilling Percy, Frank, Ella and I onto the wet, mossy ground.

Frank stumbled to his feet, blinking a lot. Percy groaned and helped me unhitch Arion from the ruined chariot. Ella fluttered around in dizzy circles, bonking into the trees and muttering, "Tree. Tree. Tree"

Only Hazel seemed unaffected by the ride. Grinning with pleasure, she slid off the horse's back. "That was fun!"

"Yeah" Frank swallowed. "So much fun"

Arion whinnied.

"He says he needs to eat" I translated, not feeling like making a joke about the horse's language.

"No wonder. He probably burned about six million calories"

Hazel studied the ground at her feet and frowned. "I'm not sensing any gold around here... don't worry Arion. I'll find you some. In the meantime, why don't you go graze? We'll meet you"

The horse zipped off, leaving a trail of steam in his wake.

Hazel knit her eyebrows. "Do you think he'll come back?"

"I don't know" Percy said. "He seems kind of... spirited."

I noticed everyone was looking at me and forced a smile. "Yeah, spirited is one word for him" I laughed. Hazel and Frank just shrugged, but Percy kept sending me worried glances.

Hazel and Percy started salvaging supplies from the chariot wreckage. There had been a few boxes of random Amazon merchandise at the front, and Ella shrieked with delight when she found a shipment of books. She snatched up a copy of The Birds of North America, fluttered to the nearest branch, and began scratching through the pages so fast I wasn't sure she was reading, she might just be shredding.