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︶꒦꒷♡꒷꒦︶
she think when she got back she might need to talk to Leo because he had said they were close. His idea of "close" needed some work.
After trudging half a mile through hot fields, getting bitten by mosquitoes and whacked in the face with scratchy sunflowers, they finally reached the road. An old billboard for Bubba's Gas 'n' Grub indicated they were still forty miles from the first Topeka exit.
"Correct my math," Percy said, "but doesn't that mean we have eight miles to walk?"
Jason peered both ways down the deserted road. He looked better today, thanks to the magical healing of ambrosia and nectar. The scar on his forehead had almost vanished. The new gladius that Hera had given him last winter hung at his belt. Most guys would look pretty awkward walking around with a scabbard strapped to their jeans, but on Jason it seemed perfectly natural.
"No cars..." he said. "But I guess we wouldn't want to hitchhike."
"No," Piper and Katherine agreed, gazing nervously down the highway. "We've already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea's territory."
"Hmm..." Jason snapped his fingers. "I can call a friend for a ride."
Percy raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah? Me too. Let's see whose friend gets here first."
Jason whistled. Katherine knew what he was doing, but he'd succeeded in summoning Tempest only three times since they'd met the storm spirit at the Wolf House last winter. Today, the sky was so blue, Katherine didn't see how it could work.
Percy simply closed his eyes and concentrated. Katherine and Piper look each other and roll their eyes, like; boys. then thunder crackled in the clear sky. Jason smiled. "Soon."
"Too late." Percy pointed east, where a black winged shape was spiraling toward them. "A black pegasus?" Piper said. "Never seen one like that."
The winged stallion came in for a landing. He trotted over to Percy and nuzzled his face, then do the same with Katherine who giggle and turned his head inquisitively toward Piper and Jason.
"Blackjack," Percy said, "this is Piper and Jason. They're friends."
The horse nickered. Donut? He asked and with some reason one of Katherine's abilities is to understand horse and other equines.
"Donuts," Percy said. "Always donuts. He can carry all four of us if—"
Suddenly the air turned cold. Katherine's ears popped. About fifty yards away, a miniature cyclone three stories tall tore across the tops of the sunflowers like a scene from The Wizard of Oz. It touched down on the road next to Jason and took the form of a horse—a misty steed with lightning flickering through its body.
"Tempest," Jason said, grinning broadly. "Long time, my friend."
