Stark's Deadly Daughter (S.P.N.D. Book 4)

Chapter 7: A Visit From Hermes

***

I sat outside Percy's cabin, fully dressed, invisible due to the Mist. Earlier, we agreed to meet each other past curfew. All we wanted was to talk about everything in private, even though it was against the rules. If we got caught we'd either get in big trouble or be eaten by the harpies.

After a few minutes of sitting there, I heard the door open behind me. Percy had grabbed a beach blanket and a six-pack of Coke from under his bunk. The Cokes were against the rules, too. No outside snacks or drinks were allowed, but if you talked to the right guy in Hermes's cabin and paid him a few golden drachma, he could smuggle in almost anything from the nearest convenience store.

"You ready?" He whispered to me as I stood up.

"Ready."

With that, I wrapped the Mist around us and we walked quietly to the beach.

***

I spread the blanket near the surf and popped open a Coke. Together, the two of us tried to decide what to do to save the camp, but nothing came to either of us. I knew Percy wished Poseidon would talk to him, give some advice or something. Myself, I wasn't sure if I wanted the same from my mother. Part of me felt like there was something she was hiding from me, but I had to talk to her first.

The sky was clear and starry. I was checking out the constellations dad had taught me- Sagittarius, Hercules, Corona Borealis -when somebody said, "Beautiful, aren't they?"

I almost spewed soda. It wasn't a voice I recognized.

Standing right next to Percy was a guy in nylon running shorts and a New York City Marathon T-shirt. He was slim and fit, with salt-and-pepper hair and a sly smile. He looked kind of familiar, but I couldn't figure out why.

My first thought was that he must've been taking a midnight jog down the beach and strayed inside the camp borders. That wasn't supposed to happen. Regular mortals couldn't enter the valley, but maybe with the tree's magic weakening he'd managed to slip in. But in the middle of the night? And there was nothing around except farmland and state preserves. Where would this guy have jogged from?

"May I join you two?" he asked. "I haven't sat down in ages."

Now, I know- a strange guy in the middle of the night. Common sense: I was supposed to run away, yell for help, etc. But the guy acted so calm about the whole thing that I found it hard to be afraid.

Percy said, "Uh, sure."

He smiled. "Your hospitality does you credit. Oh, and Coca-Cola! May I?"

He sat at the other end of the blanket, right across from my friend and I, popped a soda and took a drink. "Ah...that hits the spot. Peace and quiet at-"

A cell phone went off in his pocket.

The jogger sighed. He pulled out his phone and my eyes got big, because it glowed with a bluish light. When he extended the antenna, two creatures began writhing around it- green snakes, no bigger than earthworms.

The jogger didn't seem to notice. He checked his LCD display and cursed. "I've got to take this. Just a sec..." Then into the phone: "Hello?"

He listened. The mini-snakes writhed up and down the antenna right next to his ear.

"Yeah," the jogger said. "Listen- I know, but...I don't care if he is chained to a rock with vultures pecking at his liver, if he doesn't have a tracking number, we can't locate his package. ...A gift to humankind, great...You know how many of those we deliver- Oh, never mind. Listen, just refer him to Eris in customer service. I gotta go."