Umbra

Chapter 28

They weren't as close as Leo claimed.

It became evident very quickly that they were in for quite a walk. Emilia wished she'd consumed a few more pancakes. They reached the road only after trudging half a mile through hot fields, where mosquitoes and scratchy sunflowers were ready to attack.

"Correct my math," said Percy, once they saw a billboard that indicated they were still forty miles from the first Topeka exit, "but doesn't that mean we have eight miles to walk?"

Jason peered both ways down the deserted road, carefully hovering his hand over the new gladius that hung from his belt. "No cars... but I guess we wouldn't want to hitchhike."

"No," agreed Piper, gazing nervously down the highway. "We've already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea's territory."

"It's a little early in the day but I could shadow-travel us there," offered Emilia, though she knew she didn't sound particularly enthusiastic about it.

"Hmm..." Jason snapped his fingers. "I can call a friend for a ride."

Percy raised his eyebrows. "Oh, yeah? Me too. Let's see whose friend gets here first."

Emilia wondered, too. Jason had successfully summoned Tempest three times since they'd met, but it worked best when it was stormy. Percy, however, had Blackjack. Emilia had met him a few times, and while pegasi weren't very fond of children of the Underworld, Percy insisted that Blackjack thought Emilia was pretty 'cool.' She'd admired the pegasus's undying loyalty to Percy– it was adorably unexpected.

Jason whistled while Percy simply closed his eyes and concentrated. Emilia and Piper waited patiently. Thunder crackled in the sky, prompting Jason to smile and say, "Soon."

"Too late." Percy pointed east, where a black winged shape was spiraling toward them.

"A black pegasus?" said Piper in disbelief. "Never seen one like that."

The winged stallion came in for a landing. He trotted over to Percy and nuzzled his face, then turned his head inquisitively toward the others. "Blackjack, this is Piper and Jason– they're friends. And of course you remember Emilia."

Emilia held out her hand, smiling as Blackjack tapped his nose against it, nickering happily. "Uh, maybe later," said Percy.

"What does Blackjack want?" asked Piper.

"Donuts," said Percy. "Always donuts. He might be able to carry all four of us if–"

Suddenly, the air turned cold. Emilia covered her ears as they started to pop. About fifty yards away, a miniature cyclone three stories tall tore across the tops of the sunflowers, touching down on the road next to Jason and taking the form of a horse– a misty steed with lightning flickering through its body.

"There he is," said Emilia, some of the shadows at her feet being sucked into Tempest's mane.

"Tempest," said Jason, grinning broadly. "Long time, my friend." The storm spirit reared and whinnied, leaving Blackjack to back up skittishly– it was probably weird for him to see a horse that wasn't really a horse.

"Easy, boy," coaxed Percy. "He's a friend, too." He gave Jason an impressed look. "Nice ride, Grace."

Jason shrugged. "I made friends with him during our fight at the Wolf House. He's a free spirit, literally, but once in a while he agrees to help me."

Piper and Emilia shared a smirk, the two thinking something along the lines of, Boys. Percy and Jason had become 'bros' about as quickly as they might've expected. Emilia wondered how much nicer it would've been for them to have met in a normal setting, like a chemistry class. They probably would fail with flying colors and maybe blow up their lab bench, but both of them just needed a chance to be boys.