❦𝓕𝓪𝓿𝓸𝓻𝓲𝓽𝓮 𝓒𝓻𝓲𝓶𝓮❦ - 𝓟𝓮𝓻𝓬𝔂 𝓙𝓪𝓬𝓴𝓼𝓸𝓷

𝒳𝒱𝐼𝐼𝐼. 𝒟𝓇. & 𝑀𝓇𝓈. 𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓈𝑒

"𝓦𝓮'𝓵𝓵 never make it," Zoe said. "We're moving too slow. We can't just leave the Ophiotaurus, though."

"Mooo," Bessie said. He swam next to Percy as they jogged along the waterfront. They'd left the shopping center pier far behind. They were heading toward the Golden Gate Bridge, but it was a lot farther than it looked on foot. The sun was already dipping in the west.

"I don't get it," Percy said. "Why do we have to get there at sunset?"

"The Hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," Zoe said.

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

"What happens if we miss it?"

"Tomorrow is the winter solstice." The hunter stated. "If we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. And by then, the Olympian Council will be over. We must free Lady Artemis tonight."

Or Annabeth will be dead.

"We need a car," Thalia said.

"But what about Bessie?" Percy asked.

Grover stopped in his tracks. "I've got an idea! The Ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"

"Well, yeah," Percy nodded. "I mean, he was in Long Island Sound. Then he just popped into the water at Hoover Dam. And now he's here."

"So maybe we could coax him back to Long Island Sound," Grover said. "Then Chiron could help us get him to Olympus."

"But he was following me" Percy frowned. "If I'm not there, would he know where he's going?"

"Moo," Bessie said forlornly.

"I..." Grover took a deep breath. "I can show him. I'll go with him."

Zoe stared at him. Grover was no fan of the water. He'd almost drowned last summer in the Sea of Monsters, and he couldn't swim very well with his goat hooves.

"I'm the only one who can talk to him," Grover said. "It makes sense."

He bent down and said something in Bessie's ear. Bessie shivered, then made a contented, lowing sound.

"The blessing of the Wild," Grover said. "That should help with safe passage. Percy, pray to your dad, too. See if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."

"Dad," Percy said. "Help us. Get the Ophiotaurus and Grover safely to camp. Protect them at sea."

"A prayer like that needs a sacrifice," Thalia said. "Something big."

Percy hesitated, then took off his coat.

"Percy, are you sure? That lion skin..." Grover grimaced. "That's really helpful. Hercules used it!"

"If I'm going to survive," Percy said, sharing a look with Nightshade, "it won't be because I've got a lion-skin cloak. I'm not Hercules."

The son of Poseidon threw the coat into the bay. It turned back into a golden lion skin, flashing in the light. Then, as it began to sink beneath the waves, it seemed to dissolve into sunlight on the water.

The sea breeze picked up.

Grover took a deep breath. "Well, no time to lose."

He jumped in the water and immediately began to sink. Bessie glided next to him and let Grover take hold of his neck.

"I know it's clichè, but be careful," Zoe told them.

"Please," Percy added, nodding at Grover. "Stay safe, ok?"