𝐂œ𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐛𝐫𝐢𝐬é𝐬 [Percy Jackson]

36

Percy climbed out on deck and said, "Wow."

They had landed near the summit of a forested hill. A complex of white buildings, like a museum or a university, nestled in a grove of pines to the left. Below them spread the city of Atlanta—a cluster of brown and silver downtown skyscrapers two miles away, rising from what looked like an endless flat sprawl of highways, railroad tracks, houses, and green swathes of forest.

"Ah, lovely spot." Coach Hedge inhaled the morning air. "Good choice, Valdez."

Leo shrugged. "I just picked a tall hill. That's a presidential library or something over there. At least that's what Festus says."

"I don't know about that!" Hedge barked. "But do you realize what happened on this hill? Frank Zhang, you should know!"

Frank flinched. "I should?"

"A son of Ares stood here!" Hedge cried indignantly.

"I'm Roman... so Mars, actually."

"Whatever! Famous spot in the American Civil War!"

"I'm Canadian, actually."

"Whatever! General Sherman, Union leader. He stood on this hill watching the city of Atlanta burn. Cut a path of destruction all the way from here to the sea. Burning, looting, pillaging—now there was a demigod!"

Frank inched away from the satyr. "Uh, okay."

Percy didn't care much about history, but he wondered whether landing here was a bad omen. He'd heard that most human civil wars started as fights between Greek and Roman demigods. Now they were standing on the site of one such battle. The entire city below them had been leveled on orders of a child of Ares.

Percy could imagine some of the kids at Camp Half-Blood giving such a command. Clarisse La Rue, for instance, wouldn't hesitate. But he couldn't imagine Frank being so harsh.

"Anyway," Percy said, "let's try not to burn down the city this time."

The coach looked disappointed. "Allright, but you cupcakes try to leave some monsters for me. Don't bash them all"

"I'll make sure to leave the biggest baddest one for you, Coach" Hadrian walked up to them. His hair was still blue, like last night and he wore a sleeveless white tshirt that hung off him loosely. His cargo pants as well were baggy, but honestly, he could wear a trashbag and make it look good.

"I like your nails," Frank said, pointing to Hadrian's painted blue nails. Percy sighed with relief. After the day when Hazel and Frank had said some things that bothered Hadrian, Percy had pulled them aside and asked them if they had any problem with him being the way he was.

Of course the two had immediately shook their heads and from then on there hadn't been any other instances. Hazel had actually asked Hadrian to do her eyeliner once as well.

"Thanks," Hadrian grinned, clearly happy at the same thought, "although I have to ask, Annabeth, who the hell brings a full rainbow of nail polish colors on a trip of certain doom where we have to fight a dirt woman?"

"I won't let you use more nail polish if you keep being a little bitch about it" Annabeth said, which shut him up effectively.

"We should probably leave," Hadrian turned back to them.

"All right. But where to?"

Percy pointed toward downtown. "When in doubt, start in the middle."

Catching a ride there was easier than they thought. The three of them headed to the presidential library—which turned out to be the Carter Center—and asked the staff if they could call a taxi or give them directions to the nearest bus stop. Percy could have summoned Blackjack, but he was reluctant to ask the pegasus for help so soon after their last disaster. Frank didn't want to polymorph into anything. And besides, Percy was kind of hoping to travel like a regular mortal for a change. Hadrian seemed to like the change of pace as well.