νεκρός || Annabeth Chase x Fem!OC

Vol. 2-19: This one is sad

PERCY

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"What did she want with you?" I instantly asked as soon as Tempest was done telling us about Aphrodite.

She lit a cigarette and shrugged. "Beats me. She said to be careful in this junkyard- it's Hephaestus's- and not to pick anything up. That means you, Percy."

"What did I do?!"

"You like touching random things," Tempest said. Unfortunately, she was right. She took a drag of her cigarette and the stink of tobacco clouded my lungs. It reminded me a lot of Gabe, and as much as I tried not to let it bother me, it really did.

Zoe narrowed her eyes. "The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Tempest. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."

"For once I agree with Zoe," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite."

"You can't trust me," Tempest pointed out. "Guys, chill out. It was fine. She's probably interested in me because I hate all of you."

I looked at Grover. Being a satyr, he has natural empath abilities, so I was hoping he could shed some light on the situation. But he just looked sad and disappointed, so I got the feeling he was as in the dark as I was. I looked at Tempest, but she was just smoking and staring at the stars.

"So," I said, anxious to change the subject, "how do we get out of here?"

"That way," Zoe said. "That is west."

"How can you tell?"

In the light of the full moon, I was surprised how well I could see her roll her eyes at me. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means that must be west."

She pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars.

"Oh, yeah," I said. "The bear thing."

Zoe looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real."

"Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!"

We'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

"Whoa," Bianca said. "That stuff... some of it looks like real gold."

"It is," Thalia said grimly. "Like Tempest said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."

"Junk?" Grover picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?"

He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"

Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!"