LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . hoo

XII.

"WE'LL NEED SOME of your food." Mia shouldered her way around the old man and snatched stuff off the picnic table — a covered bowl of Thai noodles in mac-and-cheese sauce, and a tubular pastry that looked like a combination burrito and cinnamon roll.

"Come on, guys," she tried keeping the glare off of her face as she led her questmates out of the parking lot. They stopped across the street.

"That man . . ." Hazel smacked the side of a bus-stop bench. "He needs to die. Again."

It was hard to tell in the rain, but she seemed to be blinking back tears. Her long curly hair was plastered down the sides of her face. In the gray light, her gold eyes looked more like tin.

"Hey," Mia muttered to Percy. "Hold these."

He took the food from her, and she wrapped her arms around Hazel, making sure that she didn't hit the bench again. "It's okay. We'll get him."

"Yeah, we will," Percy promised. "He's nothing like you, Hazel. I don't care what he says."

Hazel shook her head. "You don't know the whole story. I should have been sent to Punishment. I — I'm just as bad—"

"No, you're not!" Frank balled his fists. He looked around like he was searching for anybody who might disagree with him — enemies he could hit for Hazel's sake. "She's a good person!" he yelled across the street. A few harpies squawked in the trees, but no one else paid them any attention.

Hazel stared at Frank. She reached out tentatively, as if she wanted to take his hand but was afraid he might evaporate.

"Frank . . ." she stammered. "I — I don't . . ."

Unfortunately, Frank seemed wrapped up in his own thoughts.

He slung his spear off his back and gripped it uneasily.

"I could intimidate that old man," he offered, "maybe scare him—"

"Frank, it's okay," Percy said. "Let's keep that as a backup plan, but I don't think Phineas can be scared into cooperating. Besides, you've only got two more uses out of the spear, right?"

Frank scowled at the dragon's-tooth point, which had grown back completely overnight. "Yeah. I guess . . ."

Mia wasn't sure what the old seer had meant about Frank's family history — his great-grandfather destroying camp, his Argonaut ancestor, and the bit about a burned stick controlling Frank's life. But it had clearly shaken Frank up. She decided not to ask for explanations.

"I've got an idea." Mia nodded toward the street. "The red-feathered harpy went that way. Let's see if we can get her to talk to us."

Hazel looked at the food in Percy's hands. "You're going to use that as bait?"

"More like a peace offering," Mia said, letting go of Hazel and taking the food from Percy. "Come on. Just try to keep the other harpies from stealing this stuff, okay?"

Mia uncovered the Thai noodles and unwrapped the cinnamon burrito. Fragrant steam wafted into the air. They walked down the street, Percy, Hazel, and Frank with their weapons out. The harpies fluttered after them, perching on trees, mailboxes, and flagpoles, following the smell of food.

Mia kept a tight grip on the food. She'd seen how quickly the harpies could snatch things. She didn't want to lose her peace offering before he found the red-feathered harpy.

Finally she spotted her, circling above a stretch of parkland that ran for several blocks between rows of old stone buildings. Paths stretched through the park under huge maple and elm trees, past sculptures and playgrounds and shady benches. The place reminded Mia of Central Park, which made her sad.