Prophesied Powder, PJO

5.3

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Chapter 48
Percy and Pat

Volume 5: The Last Olympian

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Percy doesn't recommend shadow travel if you're scared of: a) The dark, b) Cold shivers up your spine, c) Strange noises, d) Going so fast you feel like your face is peeling off. In other words, he thought it was awesome.

One minute, he couldn't see anything. He could only feel Mrs. O'Leary's fur, his fingers wrapped around the bronze links of her dog collar, and Pat clinging to his back, obviously silently freaking out. Considering Pat was deathly afraid of horses, Percy doubted he view hellhounds and shadow travel very differently.

In no time, the shadows melted into a new scene. They were on a cliff in the woods of Connecticut. At least, it looked like Connecticut from the few times Percy had been there: lots of trees, low stone walls, big houses. Down one side of the cliff, a highway cut through a ravine. Down the other side was someone's backyard. The property was huge—more wilderness than lawn. The house was a two-story white Colonial. Despite the fact that it was right on the other side of the hill from a highway, it felt like it was in the middle of nowhere. Percy could see a light glowing in the kitchen window. A rusty old swing set stood under an apple tree.

Percy couldn't imagine living in a house like this, with an actual yard and everything. He'd lived in a tiny apartment or a school dorm his whole life. If this was Luke's home, he wondered why he'd ever wanted to leave.

Mrs. O'Leary staggered. Percy remembered what Nico had said about shadow travel draining her, so he slipped off her back. "Pat, get down," Percy offered him a hand, then rolled his eyes when he saw Pat scaredy clinging to Mrs. O'Leary's fur, "We're done, pretty boy, get off the hellhound." Pat slipped off wobbling and took a moment to regain his bearings. In that time, Mrs. O'Leary let out a huge toothy yawn that would've scared a T. rex, then turned in a circle and flopped down so hard the ground shook. Nico appeared right next to the boys, as if the shadows had darkened and created him. He stumbled, but Pat caught his arm - Percy always found it so freaky when Pat caught things randomly or predicted things out of the blue; blessing of Apollo and all that.

"I'm okay," Nico managed, rubbing his eyes.

Percy frowned, "How did you do that?"

"Practice. A few times running into walls," Nico shrugged, "A few accidental trips to China."

Mrs. O'Leary started snoring. If it hadn't been for the roar of traffic behind them, Percy thought she would've woken up the whole neighborhood.

"That's sick," Pat laughed that harsh laugh that all of Aphrodite's children had. He slapped Nico's back, "You gonna sleep too?"

He shook his head. "The first time I shadow traveled, I passed out for a week. Now it just makes me a little drowsy, but I can't do it more than once or twice a night. Mrs. O'Leary won't be going anywhere for a while."

"So we've got some quality time in Connecticut." Percy gazed at the white Colonial house. "What now?"

"We ring the doorbell," Nico said.

Pat scoffed, "Will she even answer?" Percy had been thinking the same - his mom probably wouldn't have opened the door if three strange kids showed up at their apartment after all. 

Nico glanced away, "Yeah." He sounded off. Either way, the boys had no other option than to followed him as he led them down the walkway to the front door. The sidewalk was lined with those little stuffed beanbag animals you see in gift shops. There were miniature lions, pigs, dragons, hydras, even a teeny Minotaur in a little Minotaur diaper. Judging from their sad shape, the beanbag creatures had been sitting out here a long time—since the snow melted last spring at least. One of the hydras had a tree sapling sprouting between its necks.