Chaos Rising |BOOK 2| Harry Potter x PJO |Alexandra Marine|

PIPER McLEAN

"AHHHH!!!!"

Festus' large wings creaked as the bronze dragon flapped them, trying not to crash.

But then, our luck has never really been good.

Especially after the Blip.

And especially after we started to cross the Sea of Monsters.

First there was Scylla and her sister.

Then the lotus eaters.

We sailed for hours. Now that we were in the Sea of Monsters, the water glittered a more brilliant green, like Hydra acid. The wind smelled fresh and salty, but it carried a strange metallic scent, too—as if a thunderstorm were coming. Or something even more dangerous.

So it came as no surprise when Festus had lost all his power and oil, and was currently on his way to crash into the sea, with us still on his back.

Leo crawled around the dragon like a spider, trying to fix Festus before a fatal crash. "I kept an oil can somewhere!" he said over and over again as we lost altitude gradually.

But it was too late.

The last thing I remember is staring at the sea in horror as we went crashing down.

When Calypso woke me up again, we were still sitting on a bronze dragon, except he was floating in the water like a boat. Leo had torn off his shirt to create a makeshift sail.

"What happened?" I asked stupidly. I already knew the answer.

"Festus went out of fuel," Calpyso said.

"Thankfully," Leo said, trying his best not to break down, "I already prepped for this situation. All I need is a few hours on land to fix him, and we should be ready to fly."

"I'm just glad he can float, seriously," I said, patting Festus' hard shell.

"We're low on supplies," Calypso informed. "We better make it to Circe's island quickly, or we won't be alive when we get there."

Leo sighed. "I already miss Festus. You girls are always so serious. Festus cracked so many jokes...."

I had to roll my eyes. "Leo, the fact that you can speak machine is already concerning," I said, grinning. "You don't want to get admitted into a mental asylum already."

Calypso snorted. "He tried to teach our little one to talk to Festus just a few days ago, and she's only two weeks!"

Leo grinned. "Well, what can I say?" he shrugged. "I'm just-"

But just then a seagull swooped down out of nowhere and landed on our makeshift mast.

"Land," Leo said so excitedly that the seagull flew in haste. "There's land nearby!"

I sat up. Sure enough, there was a line of blue and brown in the distance. Another minute and I could make out an island with a small mountain in the center, a dazzling white collection of buildings, a beach dotted with palm trees, and a harbor filled with a strange assortment of boats.

The current was pulling our dragon toward what looked like a tropical paradise.

"Welcome!" said the lady with the clipboard.

She looked like a flight attendant—blue business suit, perfect makeup, hair pulled back in a ponytail. She shook our hands as we stepped onto the dock.

Along with a bunch of pleasure yachts, there was a U.S. Navy submarine, several dugout canoes, and an old-fashioned three-masted sailing ship. There was a helipad with a "Channel Five Fort Lauderdale" helicopter on it, and a short runway with a Learjet and a propeller plane that looked like a World War II fighter. Maybe they were replicas for tourists to look at or something.