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

Chapter 21: We Reach Miami

***

"Call off the bug," Percy said once again. "If you're so strong, fight me yourself."

Luke smiled. "Nice try, Percy. But I'm not Ares. You can't bait me. My lord is waiting, and he's got plenty of quests for me to undertake."

"Luke-"

"Good-bye, Percy and Lillian. There is a new Golden Age coming. You won't be part of it."

He slashed his sword in an arc and disappeared in a ripple of darkness as the scorpions lunged.

I swatted it away with my hand and took off my bracelet, turning it into a sword, faster than ever. The thing jumped at me and I cut it in half in midair. Still I looked down at my arm, and once more I found my sleeve was ripped, and beneath the fabric I had a familiar scorpion sting. The thing had gotten me again.

I looked at Percy, and saw that he had one on his palm.

My ears pounded. My vision went foggy. Out of habit I grabbed my friend and brought him to the creek, submerging his hand. Nothing happened just as I expected. Percy had begun to black out, and the same happened to me. My vision grew dark, and I couldn't stand up.

'Sixty seconds' Luke had told us. Even if I was still moving faster than before, it wasn't enough.

It was ever enough.

I looked up towards camp and found Pitch standing on the other side of the river.

"Help him!" I shout. Even though this is just a nightmare I can feel the effects of the poison, making it hard to remember that this wasn't real. "Are you just going to stand there!"

Pitch doesn't move to help or get away.

My legs felt like lead as I pushed him from my mind, and Percy was practically limp in my arms. Even in the dream I could feel his burning forehead. I stumbled toward the camp, and the nymphs stirred from their trees.

"Help," I croaked. "Please... help Percy."

***

"Lillian, wake up."

I heard Grover whispering to me, but I didn't fully wake up until I felt his hand on my shoulder. Immediately I shot up, trying to get out of his reach without falling off the hippocampus.

In the distance, the sun was setting behind a city skyline. I could see a beachside highway lined with palm trees, storefronts glowing with red and blue neon, a harbor filled with sailboats and cruise ships.

"Miami, I think," Annabeth said to the group. "But the hippocampi are acting funny." Sure enough, our fishy friends had slowed down and were whinnying and swimming in circles, sniffing the water. They didn't look happy. One of them sneezed.

"This is as far as they'll take us," Percy said. "Too many humans. Too much pollution. We'll have to swim to shore on our own."

None of us was very psyched about that, but we thanked Rainbow and his friends for the ride. Tyson cried a little. He unfastened the makeshift saddle pack he'd made, which contained his tool kit and a couple of other things he'd salvaged from the Birmingham wreck. He hugged Rainbow around the neck, gave him a soggy mango he'd picked up on the island, and said goodbye.

Once the hippocampi's white manes disappeared into the sea, my friends swam for shore. The waves pushed them forward as I flew above them, and in no time we were back in the mortal world. We wandered along the cruise line docks, pushing through crowds of people arriving for vacations. Porters bustled around with carts of luggage. Taxi drivers yelled at each other in Spanish and tried to cut in line for customers. If anybody noticed us- five kids dripping wet with one who was dry and looking like they'd just had a fight with a monster -they didn't let on.