Percy Jackson: Daughter of Shadows

19. Yay, We're Screwed

Why is it that every time I exit one fiasco, another shows up? (Seriously, what the fuck?)

   Percy, Annabeth, and Nico all raced past me, rushing to the elevator. "Whoa, whoa!" I said, grabbing a hold of Percy. "What is going on?" "Rachel stole Blackjack!" Annabeth said, still running to the elevator. "WHAT?" Nico stopped running and turned back to me. "She's heading to get Half-Blood Hill. She said she had to get to camp" I groaned. "Let's go then. Gods, I'm getting too old for this."

    Top thing to hate about New York: the TRAFFIC.

  The traffic was horrible. Everybody was out on the streets gawking at the war zone damage. Police sirens wailed on every block. There was no possibility of catching a cab, and the pegasi had flown away. I would've settled for the Party Ponies, but they had disappeared along with most of the root beer in Midtown. So we ran, pushing through mobs of dazed mortals that clogged the sidewalks. 

   "She'll never get through the defenses," Annabeth said. "Peleus will eat her" "Well, won't that be delightful" I said sarcastically. "We've got to hurry" Percy glanced at Nico. "I don't suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses" He wheezed as he ran. "So tired... couldn't summon a dog bone" "Lilly?" "Don't look at me!" 

    Finally we scrambled over the embankment to the shore, and Percy let out a loud whistle. I sighed. Even with the sand dollar he had given the East River, the water there was pretty polluted. Then again, a war and the gods worst nightmare showing up probably didn't help. Three wake lines appeared in the gray water, and a pod of hippocampi broke the surface. They whinnied unhappily, shaking the river muck from their manes. They were beautiful creatures, with multicolored fish tales, and the heads and forelegs of white stallions. The hippocampus in front was much bigger than the others-a ride fit for a Cyclops.

     "Rainbow!" Percy called. "How's it going, buddy?" He neighed a complaint. "Yeah, I'm sorry," Percy said. "But it's an emergency. We need to get to camp" He snorted. "Tyson?" Percy said. "Tyson is fine! I'm sorry he's not here. He's a big general in the Cyclops army now" "NEEEEIGGGGH!" "Yeah, I'm sure he'll still bring you apples. Now, about that ride..."

   While they rode the hippocampi, I soared above them, a vein throbbing in my forehead. "I said I was sorry, Lilly!" "It's fine, Percy! Just focus on getting to camp!" I dove down to the shore and ran into Argus. Percy, Annabeth, and Nico came up behind me, their pants and shoes soaking wet. "Is she here?" Percy asked. Argus nodded grimly. "Is everything okay?" Annabeth said. Argus shook his head. We followed him up the trail. It was surreal to be back at camp, because everything looked so peaceful: no burning buildings, no wounded fighters. The cabins were bright in the sunshine, and the fields glittered with dew. But the place was mostly empty. 

   Up at the Big House, something was definitely wrong. Green light was shooting out all the windows. Chiron laid on a horse-size stretcher by the volleyball pit, a bunch of satyrs standing around him. Blackjack cantered nervously in the grass. "Lilly, Blackjack said Viktor's in the infirmary if you don't want to handle this" "No. I've got a bad feeling about this." 

 And as per usual when it comes to bad stuff happening, I was right.

   Rachel Elizabeth Dare stood at the bottom of the porch steps. Her arms were raised like she was waiting for someone inside the house to throw her a ball. "What's she doing?" Annabeth demanded. "How did she get past the barriers?" "She flew," one of the satyrs said, looking accusingly at Blackjack. "Right past the dragon, right through the magical boundaries" "Rachel!" Percy called, but the satyrs stopped him when he tried to go any closer. 

   "Percy, don't" Chiron warned. He winced as tried to move. His left arm was in a sling, his tow back legs were in splints, and his head was wrapped in bandages. "You can't interrupt" "I thought you explained things to her!" "I did. And I invited her here" I stared at him in disbelief. "You did what now?" "You said you'd never let anyone try again! You said-" "I know what I said, Percy. But I was wrong. Rachel had a vision about the curse of Hades. She believes it may be lifted now. She convinced me she deserves a chance" "And if the curse isn't lifted? If Hades hasn't gotten to it yet, she'll go crazy!" The Mist swirled around Rachel. She shivered like she was going into shock. "Hey!" Percy shouted. "Stop!" "Note to self, if this fails, I'm going to kill my dad" I said. Percy ran toward her, ignoring the satyrs. He got within ten feet and then bounced back and landed in the grass.