"𝒯𝒽𝑒𝓇𝓂𝑜𝓈!" Percy screamed as they hurtled toward the water.
"What?" Annabeth must've thought he'd lost his mind. Zoe did for a second until she remembered the gifts Percy had gotten the night before. The blond was holding on to the boat straps for dear life, her hair flying straight up like a torch.
Tyson also understood. He managed to open Percy's duffel bag and take out Hermes's magical thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat.
Arrows and javelins whistled past them.
Percy grabbed the thermos. "Hang on!"
"I am hanging on!" Annabeth yelled.
"Tighter!" Percy yelled as he looped an arm around Zoe's waist.
Percy hooked his feet under the boat's inflatable bench, and as Tyson grabbed Annabeth, Percy, and Zoe by the backs of their shirts, Percy gave the thermos cap a quarter turn.
Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled the quartet sideways, turning their downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing.
The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the thermos, like it was glad to be free. As they hit the ocean, they bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then they were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in their faces and nothing but sea ahead.
Zoe heard a wail of outrage from the ship behind them, but they were already out of weapon range. The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone. The last thing Zoe saw before passing out, was her three friends' concerned faces.
---------------------------------
Zoe woke up to a pounding headache and Percy and Annabeth talking.
She was inside an old hideout that she, Annabeth, Thalia, and Luke had made. The inside was big enough for four. The walls were woven from plant material, like a Native American hut, but Zoe knew they were waterproof. Stacked in the corner was everything you could want for a campout—sleeping bags, blankets, an ice chest, and a kerosene lamp. There were demigod provisions, too—bronze javelin tips, a quiver full of arrows, an extra sword, and a box of ambrosia. The place smelled musty and Zoe knew it had been vacant for a long time.
"–about a gamble, and 'they'll take the bait'...I think he was talking about us." Annabeth was saying.
"The Fleece is the bait? Or Grover?" Percy asked. He sounded like he was right next to Zoe.
"I don't know, Percy." Annabeth said. "Maybe he wants the Fleece for himself. Maybe he's hoping we'll do the hard work and then he can steal it from us. I just can't believe he would poison the tree."
"What did he mean," Percy asked, "that Thalia would've been on his side?"
"He's wrong." Annabeth said, her voice wavering.
"You don't sound sure." Percy said.
"Percy, you know who you remind me of most? Thalia." Annabeth said. "You guys are so much alike it's scary. I mean, either you would've been best friends or you would've strangled each other."
"Let's go with 'best friends.'" Percy said.
"Thalia got angry with her dad sometimes. So do you. Would you turn against Olympus because of that?" Annabeth questioned.
"No." Percy answered.
"Okay, then. Neither would she. Luke's wrong." Annabeth stated.
Zoe had enough of their back and forth, finally deciding to let them know she was awake. "Could you guys not argue for five minutes, please? I've got a killer headache."
YOU ARE READING
❦𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓮❦ - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷
Adventure"𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓲𝓷𝓰𝓼 𝓘 𝓭𝓲𝓭 𝓙𝓾𝓼𝓽 𝓼𝓸 𝓘 𝓬𝓸𝓾𝓵𝓭 𝓬𝓪𝓵𝓵 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓶𝓲𝓷𝓮" 𝕀𝕟 𝕨𝕙𝕚𝕔𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕕𝕒𝕦𝕘𝕙𝕥𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕋𝕠𝕟𝕪 𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕣𝕜 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝔸𝕡𝕙𝕣𝕠𝕕𝕚𝕥𝕖 𝕗𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕤 𝕚𝕟 𝕝𝕠𝕧𝕖 𝕨𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝕥𝕙𝕖 𝕤𝕠𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕊𝕒𝕝𝕝𝕪...