Helle // Apollo x oc

Part 20

Tuulis POV

Eventually we went outside to wait for them to return.

"Well, well," he said. "You didn't get yourself killed."

"You knew it was a trap," Percy said.

Ares gave a wicked grin. "Bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. You looked good on TV."

"You're a jerk." Percy says as he shoves the shield at Ares.

Annabeth and Grover caught their breath.

Ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. It changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. He slung it across his back.

I look at it amazed. "Thats sick"

"See that truck over there?" He pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "That's your ride. Take you straight to L.A., with one stop in Vegas."

The eighteen-wheeler had a sign on the back, which I could read only because it was reverse-printed white on black, a good combination for dyslexia: KINDNESS INTERNATIONAL: HUMANE ZOO TRANSPORT. WARNING: LIVE WILD ANIMALS.

Percy said, "You're kidding."

Ares snapped his fingers. The back door of the truck unlatched. "Free ride west, punk. Stop complaining. And here's a little something for doing the job."

He slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to me.

Inside were fresh clothes for all of us, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of Double Stuf Oreos.

Percy said, "I don't want your lousy—"

"Thank you, Lord Ares," Grover interrupted, giving him his best red-alert warning look. "Thanks a lot."

"Oh before I forget here" He snaps his fingers and a smaller leather jacket appears. He gives it to me, "Keep up the good work." He says referring to our common hobby of internet trolling. I am starting to think introducing him to reddit was a bad idea...

I grin and put the jacket on and even though it's a bit long the sleeves are just right. Damn it is a nice jacket. Maybe I should teach more gods different social medias... Would Artemis like pinterest?

"You owe me one more thing," Percy told Ares, trying to keep my voice level.

"You promised me information about my mother."

"You sure you can handle the news?" He kick-started his motorcycle. "She's not dead."

The news seemed to shook Percy. "What do you mean?"

"I mean she was taken away from the Minotaur before she could die. She was turned into a shower of gold, right? That's metamorphosis. Not death. She's being kept."

"Kept. Why?"

"You need to study war, punk. Hostages. You take somebody to control somebody else."

"Nobody's controlling me."

He laughed. "Oh yeah? See you around, kid."

"You're pretty smug, Lord Ares, for a guy who runs from Cupid statues."

Behind his sunglasses, fire glowed. I felt a hot wind in my hair. "We'll meet again, Percy Jackson. Next time you're in a fight, watch your back."

He nodded at me, and revved his Harley, then roared off down Delancey Street.