Állaxe //HOO x m.oc\\ (ON HOLD)

5

Jace preferred wolves over horses when it came to riding.

It was way nicer to ride on Wolf— probably because she was soft and had fur. Arion wasn't that nice of a pony. Jace didn't like him. He went too fast and Jace was afraid he would fall off any second and embarrass himself. He didn't want that. Plus he wasn't excited about riding with Hazel. What if the girl would throw them into the sea and let them drown?

Ahead of them lay an island—a line of sand so white, it might have been pure table salt. Behind that rose an expanse of grassy dunes and weathered boulders. Hazel was sitting at the forefront with Leo behind her and Jace last. Annie told him to go with Hazel and Leo because it was the smarter choice (She just didn't want him around Percy).

The close contact made him a little uncomfortable, but it was the only way he could stay on board (or whatever you called it with a horse) so he had to keep shuffling closer to Leo so he wouldn't fall off. Arion wasn't a smooth ride so he had to move around a lot. Percy had pulled Leo to the side and explained Hazel's story to the kid who had explained it to Jace before they left.

Hazel was a daughter of Pluto. She'd died in the 1940s and been brought back to life only a few months ago. Hazel seemed warm and very alive, not like the ghosts or the other reborn mortals Jace had tangled with. She could be working for Gaea if she also came back from the underworld. Jace didn't trust her any more then he already did after knowing her story.

Arion thundered onto the beach. He stomped his hooves and whinnied triumphantly, like Coach Hedge yelling a battle cry. Jace dismounted first with Hazel and Leo following after him. Arion pawed the sand.

"He needs to eat," Hazel explained. "He likes gold, but—"

"Gold?" Leo asked.

"He'll settle for grass. Go on, Arion. Thanks for the ride. I'll call you."

Just like that, the horse was gone—nothing left but a steaming trail across the lake.

"Fast horse," Leo said, "and expensive to feed."

"Not really," Hazel said. "Gold is easy for me." Leo raised his eyebrows.

"How is gold easy? Please tell me you're not related to King Midas. I don't like that guy." Hazel pursed her lips, as if she regretted raising the subject. "Never mind."

"Pluto is the god of riches, that should mean gold is easy for her." Jace's words sounded nice if you wouldn't take notice of the glare he was sending Hazel.

"Uhh, yeah..." She mumbled.

"Cool." Leo said. He and Hazel were clearly uncomfortable with the situation. Jace didn't care.

"Well...one problem solved, anyway. This is lime." Leo said while grabbing a handful of sand. Hazel frowned.

"The whole beach?"

"Yeah. See? The granules are perfectly round. It's not really sand. It's calcium." Leo froze after talking for a good thirty seconds.

"Leo?" Hazel asked. "You okay?"

"Yeah," he said. "Yeah, fine." He started to fill the bag. Hazel knelt next to him and helped.

"We should've brought a pail and shovels."

"We could've made a sand castle."

"A lime castle." Their eyes locked for a second too long. Hazel looked away.

"You are so much like—"

"Sammy?" Leo guessed. She fell backward.

"You know?"