The Shadow Summoner | Book Three - PJO Universe

three

GROVERS FRIENDS

Grover led them to the first intact greenhouse, which exuded a smell like the breath of Persephone.

That's not a compliment. Miss Springtime used to sit next to Ariana at family dinners (that she insisted on) and she was not shy about sharing her halitosis.

Imagine the odor of a bin full of wet mulch and earthworm poop. Yes, Ariana just love spring.

Inside the greenhouse, the plants had taken over. Ariana found that frightening, since most of them were cacti.

By the doorway squatted a pineapple cactus the size of a cracker barrel, its yellow spines like shish-kebab skewers.

In the back corner stood a majestic Joshua tree, its shaggy branches holding up the roof. Against the opposite wall bloomed a massive prickly pear, dozens of bristly paddles topped with purple fruit that looked delicious, except for the fact that each one had more spikes than Ares's favorite mace.

Metal tables groaned under the weight of other succulents-pickleweed, spinystar, cholla, and dozens more Ariana couldn't name.

Surrounded by so many thorns and flowers, in such oppressive heat.

"I'm back!" Grover announced. "And I brought friends!"

Silence.

Even at sunset, the temperature inside was so high, and the air so thick, Ariana imagined she would die of heatstroke in approximately four minutes.

At last the first dryad appeared. A chlorophyll bubble ballooned from the side of the prickly pear and burst into green mist.

The droplets coalesced into a small girl with emerald skin, spiky yellow hair, and a fringe dress made entirely of cactus bristles. Her glare was almost as pointed as her dress.

Fortunately, it was directed at Grover, not Ariana.

"Where have you been?" she demanded.

"Ah." Grover cleared his throat. "I got called away. Magical summons. I'll tell you all about it later. But look, I brought Apollo! And Meg, daughter of Demeter as well as Ariana Parker, daughter of Hades and Persephone and legacy of Poseidon."

He showed off Ariana and Meg like they were was fabulous prize on The Price Is Right.

"Hmph," said the dryad. "I suppose daughters of Demeter and Persephone are okay. I'm Prickly Pear. Or Pear for short."

"Hi," Meg said weakly.

The dryad narrowed her eyes at Apollo. Given her spiny dress, Ariana hoped she wasn't a hugger. "You're Apollo as in the god Apollo?" she asked. "I don't believe it."

"Some days, neither do I." He admitted.

Grover scanned the room. "Where are the others?"

Right on cue, another chlorophyll bubble popped over one of the succulents. A second dryad appeared-a large young woman in a muumuu like the husk of an artichoke. Her hair was a forest of dark green triangles.

Her face and arms glistened as if they'd just been oiled. (At least Ariana hoped it was oil and not sweat.)

"Oh!" she cried, seeing their battered appearances. "Are you hurt?"

Pear rolled her eyes. "Al, knock it off."

"But they look hurt!" Al shuffled forward. She took Apollo's hand. "Let me take care of these cuts, at least. Grover, why didn't you heal these poor people?"

"I tried!" the satyr protested. "They just took a lot of damage!"

Al ran her fingertips over Apollo's cuts, leaving trails of goo like slug tracks.