The Veiled Legacy | PJO - Book Two

three

Ariana stood in back of the chariot with Leo, Piper and Jason, while Butch, handled the reins, and Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device.

They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Ariana's jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.

The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open.

"This is so cool!" Leo said. He spat a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are
we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. "Is that. some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."

Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess and Ariana is the daughter of Hades and sort of Persephone? That's a confusing situation."

Ariana nodded. "Trust me it is."

Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

Ariana smiled. She had decided she liked Leo's attitude.

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

"Let's not get too violent." Ariana reminded Butch. Leo sent her a smile that said, 'thank you.'

"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're ... you think we're-"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

Piper stepped back. Ariana took a step forward. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot.

The wind roared. Ariana glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot except these looked more like horses than angels.

Piper started to say, "Why are they-"

"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth said.

"Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred.

A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north.

Annabeth and Butch tried to maintain control. The pegasi labored to hold the chariot in a flight pattern, but they seemed exhausted from their burst of speed, and bearing the chariot and the weight of five people was just too much.

"The lake!" Ariana yelled. "Aim for the lake!"

BOOM.

The biggest shock was the cold. She was underwater, so disoriented that she didn't know which way was up.

She just had time to think: This would be a stupid way to die.Then faces appeared in the green murk girls with long black hair and glowing yellow eyes. They smiled at her, grabbed her shoulders, and hauled her up.