How Do You Say Gods- Titan's Curse

16: WE MEET THE DRAGON OF ETERNAL BAD BREATH

"So you will not be detecting a hint of minty freshness?" Magnus grinned. He didn't even freak out this time there was going to be a dragon.

"I'll give Grover mad props if he tries to seduce the dragon," Alex nodded along, scrutinizing the book in her hands and wondering how detailed this thing was going to be if the dragon ate someone, or fell for the goats sweat talk. Either way, she was excited to find out.

"I swear you two are certifiable," Percy said in exasperation, mildly concerned why Alex was trying to set his best friend up after his last disastrous date with Polyphemus.

"Hopefully its rank breath is its main attack, which means it can't breathe fire?" Jason offered. Thalia thought it was adorable how optimistic that was but decided not to tell him that.

... we cannot leave the Ophiotaurus." "Mooo," Bessie said.

"He was probably agreeing he didn't want to get left behind again," Will nodded for the poor thing. "I bet he's been mad offended this whole trip Percy never traveled with him before this."

"Do I want to know where he'd take me?" Percy asked wearily. Was Bessie going to drag him off to the alter where he was supposed to be sacrificed for his big choice?

... "We can only enter their garden as day changes to night."

"I wish more doors had physical limits like that," Alex grinned. "Reinforced business hours."

"The rush would be mad though," Magnus imagined actual murder going on rather than the occasional trampling to get to those sales. Alex, of course, didn't seem very concerned about that part.

"What happens if we miss it?"

Thalia gave Percy the concerned and very confused stare she hadn't managed at the time while running. Like he didn't know the answer to that?

Percy grimaced. "I was hoping she'd say something nice for once, like oh, we can sneak in through the backdoor."

"The girl who has never once started a sentence with the good news?" Thalia confirmed.

"I was being optimistic for her," Percy sighed.

...Or Annabeth will be dead, I thought, but I didn't say that.

He didn't have to. The painful squirming number he did in his seat said it for him. It was quite possible he was being attacked by an invisible assailant and just wasn't screaming out loud.

"We need a car," Thalia said... "what about Bessie?" I asked.

"Would he shrink to fit in a cat carrier?" Alex asked seriously.

"I vote we don't bring the world destroying cow-serpent to their front door," Jason frowned.

"I think he goes wherever he wants," Magnus uneasily reminded.

... he just popped into the water at Hoover Dam, now he's here."

"Could he just pop you over to where the entrance is?" Magnus asked with a frown. "Isn't it a little dangerous to be taking him to where Luke is going to be? I'm assuming it's not just a child of the big three that can use his entrails."

"We don't even attempt to try that," Thalia promised.

... Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."

Jason studied the book with unease. "Is it really a good idea to send Bessie to Olympus?" He didn't think it was entirely his instinctive distrust of these gods that made that sound like a bad idea.