The Shadow Summoner | Book Three - PJO Universe

thirteen

THEY GET KIDNAPPED (OF COURSE)

Perhaps, the physics expert, could explain to Ariana how pandai flew. Ariana didn't get it.

Somehow, even while carrying them, their captors managed to launch themselves skyward with nothing but the flapping of their tremendous lobes.

Ariana wished Hermes could see them. He would never again brag about being able to wiggle his ears.

The pandai dropped them unceremoniously on the starboard deck, where two more of their kind held Jason and Piper at arrow-point.

One of those guards appeared smaller and younger than the others, with white fur instead of black.

Judging from the sour look on his face, Ariana guessed he was the same guy Ariana had shot down with Grandpa Tom's special recipe in downtown Los Angeles.

Their friends were on their knees, their hands zip-tied behind their backs, their weapons confiscated.

Jason had a black eye. The side of Piper's head was matted with blood.

Apollo rushed to her aid (being the good person he was) and poked at her cranium, trying to determine the extent of her injury.

"Ow," she muttered, pulling away. "I'm fine."

"You could have a concussion." Apollo said.

Jason sighed miserably. "That's supposed to be my job. I'm always the one who gets knocked in the head. Sorry, guys. Things didn't exactly go as planned."

Ariana sat down next to him. "You were always passing out, weren't you?"

"You had your fair share of passing out too." Jason managed a small smile.

The largest guard, who had carried Apollo aboard, cackled with glee. "The girl tried to charmspeak us! Pandai, who hear every nuance of speech! The boy tried to fight us! Pandai, who train from birth to master every weapon! Now you will all die!"

"Die! Die!" barked the other pandai, though Ariana noticed the white-furred youngster did not join in.

He moved stiffly, as if his poison-darted leg still bothered him.

Meg glanced from enemy to enemy, probably gauging how fast she could take them all down. The arrows pointed at Jason and Piper's chests made for tricky calculations.

"Meg, don't," Jason warned. "These guys-they're ridiculously good. And fast."

"Fast! Fast!" the pandai barked in agreement.

Ariana scanned the deck. No additional guards were running toward them, no searchlights were trained on their position.

No horns blared.

Somewhere inside the boat, gentle music played-not the sort of sound track one might expect during an incursion.

The pandai had not raised a general alarm. Despite their threats, they had not yet killed them. They'd even gone to the trouble of zip-tying Piper's and Jason's hands.

Why?

Apollo turned to the largest guard. "Good sir, are you the panda in charge?"

He hissed. "The singular form is pandos. I hate being called a panda. Do I look like a panda?"

Apollo decided not to answer that. "Well, Mr. Pandos-"

"My name is Amax." he snapped.

"Of course. Amax."

Ariana studied his majestic ears, then hazarded an educated guess. "I imagine you hate people eavesdropping on you."

Amax's furry black nose twitched. "Why do you say this? What did you overhear?"