DIVINE! | percy jackson

chapter sixteen - struck by temptation

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
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ESTELLA STARED in amazement at the world below. When she was a child, sometimes she wished she could grow wings and visit all the places in the world.

They flew over snowy mountains. While she's seen snow, Estella had never been near the top of a mountain before. It was thrilling to be so high up. Percy tapped her shoulder with a smirk and stretched out his foot to kick snow off of one of the peaks.

"We are in the Sierras," Zoe yelled. Behind her, Thalia clung to her body, and Grover did the same to Thalia. "I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a few hours."

"Hey, hey, Frisco!" Their angel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics Monument again! They know how to party!"

"Oh, man," the other angel said. "I am so there!"

"You guys have visited San Francisco?" Percy asked.

"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?" Their statue said. "Those mechanics took us over the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady statues, see. And--"

"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "They're kids, man."

"I mean, we're not that young," Estella chimed in. She always hated when adults restricted things from her due to her age, like the Great Prophecy. If she's able to fight monsters, why can't she hear something PG-13? Hank was just talking about kissing, wasn't he? "Percy and I are sixteen."

"Well we're hundreds of years old, so you're still young for us. Back to flying," Hank said.

The angels flew faster with more distance they covered. Each of their friends did something to pass the time. Grover played his pipes, Zoe started shooting arrows at billboards, and Thalia looked like she was singing something to herself.

Estella twiddled with her thumbs, watching purple magic sparks light up between them. She debated practicing casting spells, but she knew better than to deplete her energy right now.

From behind her, she could feel Percy gently touch the end of her hair. Her body stiffened at the small, yet intense gesture. He was silent as he did it and probably thought Estella didn't even notice. But she did. When it came to Percy, she always did.

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"WHERE YOU guys want to land?" Hank asked, waking Percy and Estella up from their naps. His head rested on Estella's shoulder, and when he lifted it, Estella felt cold.

"Um, sorry," Percy said.

"It's fine," Estella whispered meekly.

Estella shifted her attention from Percy to the grand city below them. She'd never been to California before, let alone San Francisco. It was even prettier than the pictures she'd seen.

"There," Zoe suggested. "By the Embarcadero Building."

"Good thinking," Chuck said. "Me and Hank can blend in with the pigeons."

They all looked at him.

"Kidding," he said. "Sheesh, can't statues have a sense of humor?"

It took them only a few moments to land because the streets were practically empty. An old man, however, was the only witness and he quickly ran off screaming about angels from Mars.

They said their goodbyes to the angels as they flew off to go party with more statues. Weird.

The five of them just stood on the dock, unmoving. They looked at each other, all with the same hopeless expression because nobody had any idea what to do. Percy was the first person to speak up, trying to make a plan to find Annabeth.