Love Against All Odds

Oskar - The JunkYard

"What did she want with you?" Bianca inquired once Percy shared his encounter with Aphrodite.

"Oh, uh, not sure," Percy replied, clearly not telling the truth. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything up."

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

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

Grover cast a scrutinizing gaze Percy's way. Being empathic, he could usually read his emotions, and I sensed he knew exactly what Aphrodite had discussed with Percy.

"So," I interjected, changing the subject, Percy looked grateful, "how do we get out of here?"

"That way," Zoe pointed, her gaze fixed on the west. "That is west."

"How can you tell?" Percy asked.

Under the full moon, I was surprised at how clearly I could see her rolling her eyes at Percy.

"Ursa Major," I said before she could.

Zoe looked at me with a hint of surprise.

"Ursa Major is in the north," she explained to Percy, "which means that must be west."

She pointed in the direction she indicated and then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out due to the multitude of stars.

"Oh, yeah," Percy remarked. "The bear thing."

I sighed at Percy's wanton ignorance; sometimes, I did wonder about him.

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

"You act like it was real."

"Guys," Grover intervened. "Look!"

We had reached the crest of a mountain of discarded items. In the moonlight, piles of metal glittered: shattered heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, crushed chariots, tons of shields, swords, and other weapons, and more modern items like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

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

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

"Junk?" Grover exclaimed as he picked up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side as if an axe had split it. "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!"

"Look!" Bianca exclaimed. She raced down the hill, tripping over bronze coils and golden plates. She picked up a bow that glowed silver in the moonlight. "A Hunter's bow!"

She yelped in surprise as the bow began to shrink and become a crescent moon-shaped hair clip. "It's just like Percy's sword!"

Zoe's face was grim. "Leave it, Bianca."

"But—"

"It is here for a reason. Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed." I said, withdrawing one of my daggers. "Don't take anything."

Bianca reluctantly set the hair clip down.

"I don't like this place," Thalia said, gripping her spear shaft.