A Cursed Hope (Sequel to A Dark Legacy)

Chapter One: HOLY CRAP IT'S AN OWL-

Unknown place—

"Perseus Jackson, age 17, reported dead." Percy murmured, looking down on a newspaper. "Well, that's nice. Whoever faked my death did me a great favor." He peered among the bushes that were behind a low wall, hidden in the shadows of night. A street was before him, dark with only the dimly lit streetlights. He sighed in relief as he pulled down his hood. No one could see him now, not at this hour.

He nearly jumped as he heard footsteps and the sound of something large and heavy scraping down the sidewalk. A boy, looking about 13 years old sat down on the wall, panting heavily. Percy stood there, frozen, unsure of what to do. If he got caught, then that would certainly put the CIA—or whoever was the police here in this country—on his tail.

The boy looked panicked, as if he was lost. Percy very carefully stepped forward, making sure not to make a sound. He glanced over the boy's shoulder and found that he was carrying a rather large trunk with an owl.

An owl.

Percy cursed silently. He absolutely hated owls.

The hairs on his back rose suddenly as his demigods sense went full-on alert. Someone—something—was watching him. Apparently, the boy had noticed this too and stood up suddenly. He clutched something in his hand, glaring into the darkness before muttering something under his breath. A light suddenly shone in his hand.

His...stick was glowing?!

And he also was wearing glasses. He looked like a mini-Percy with round glasses, in fact. Green eyes, tousled black hair.

The boy immediately saw Percy and yelped.

"Gah!" The boy stumbled back onto the pavement. Percy nearly fell over too, but he resisted the urge to shout.

"Shh!" He hissed, snatching a look over his shoulder and then fell over.

A huge, black dog gazed down at them. At first, he thought it was a hellhound and nearly took out his sword in defense, but the dog had vanished.

"What the—" Percy was cut short by a large BANG!

A bright light blinded both of them, making Percy's head spin.

A voice penetrated his sudden headache. Percy cracked his eyes open and saw a purple bus.

A freaking Barney the Dinosaur color bus.

A man's silhouette stepped out of the bus and a man, not much older than Percy, dressed in a purple uniform started to speak loudly.

"Welcome to the Knight Bus, emergency transport for the stranded witch or wizard. Just stick out your wand hand, step on board and we can take you anywhere you want to go. My name is Stan Shunpike, and I will be your conductor this eve—" His thick British accent trailed off as he saw the two boys. The boy grabbed at his stick and clenched his fists, narrowing his eyes suspiciously.

"What you two doin' down there?" He asked teasingly. The boy looked cross.

"Fell over." He said matter-of-factly, also donning an accent.

"I—also fell over." Percy added sheepishly, trying to do an accent as much as he could. Turns out, it was pretty convincing.

"'Choo fall over for?"

"I didn't mean to." Both of them replied, shooting each other annoyed stares. The young man named Stan looked quite amused.

"'Choo lookin' at?" Stan asked. Percy was barely able to distinguish the words.

"Him." The boy pointed at Percy.

"I saw a hell—I mean, a dog. It scared me." Percy shrugged, dusting his hands off.