Celestial - a Percy Jackson fanfic [BOOK ONE]

Chapter fourteen

Ares was waiting for us in the parking lot of the diner, smugly leaning up against his motorcycle.

"Well, well," he grinned. "You didn't get yourself killed."

"You knew it was a trap," Percy said.

"Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You guys looked good on TV."

Percy shoved his shield over. "Jerk."

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in their air like pizza dough. It molded into a bulletproof vest, which he slung across his back.

He looked down at me. "You were quite the talk of Olympus. You caused quite an outcry."

My brows furrowed. "Me? Why?"

He chortled. "Because what other demigod would be able to fly? You just outed yourself as Zeus's child, and nobody is happy about it."

My heart dropped. I hadn't even thought about the consequences of being one of the Big Three's child. Once again, their old path had been broken.

"Be careful, kid. You got a big ole target on your back," Ares said, then he pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "See that truck? That's your ride. It'll take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The truck had a sign on the back: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

"Oh, boy," I muttered.

Ares snapped his fingers and the back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it over to Percy. He unzipped it and inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and the cherry on top, a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

Percy looked angry. He was about to explode.

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover said before Percy could say anything rash. "Thanks a lot."

Reluctantly, Percy slung the backpack over his shoulder. He groaned at the diner, and I looked over. Inside through the window, I saw the waitress take a picture of us with a disposable camera. Great.

"You owe me one more thing," Percy said. "You promised me information about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?" Ares kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."

Percy's eyebrows raised and his mouth parted. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could she. She turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

"Kept? Why?"

"You need to study war, punk. Hostages; leverage. You take somebody to control somebody else," he flicked on his sunglasses. "We'll meet again. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."

He revved his Harley, then roared off down the street.

Annabeth was staring daggers at Percy. "You're so dumb. You don't want a god as an enemy, especially that god."

"Hey, guys," Grover said. "I hate to interrupt, but..."

He pointed over at the diner. At the register, two men in identical black overalls with a white logo on their ones that matched the truck behind us.

"If we're taking the zoo express," Grover said, "we need to hurry."

We had no other option. We ran across the street and climbed into the back of the rig, closing the doors behind us.