LOVERS ROCK | L.V.

003

After a morning of storm spirits, goat men, and flying friends, Adrianna was losing her mind. All she felt was terrified. She had never been good with heights, and now she was flying thousands of miles above the ground. A very big height.

She stood in back of the chariot with Leo and Jason, while the bald guy, Butch, handled the reins, and the blond girl, Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device. And Piper stood uncomfortably next to them. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Adrianna's jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.

The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open, so Adrianna wondered if Jason would also catch her if she fell. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to imagine anything but falling to her death.

Leo looked over at Adrianna. Her features sharp, her silver eyes squeezed shut. She looked at Jason and watched how he was so calm in the air. Leo frowned as he looked at the expression on her face. He wanted her to be looking at him. If she just looked at him, he could tell her everything would be alright, that he was here. Most of the time is was just joking around when he flirted with her, but something about her drove him crazy. The chariot lurched again and Adrianna grabbed Leo's hand. "Not a word." She faced him and glared.

Leo grinned. "This is so cool!" He spit a Pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said. "The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Piper was immediately on guard. Adrianna knew she hated that word. She'd been called a half-blood too many times-half Cherokee, half white-and it was never a compliment. "Is that some kind of bad joke?"

"She means we're demigods," Jason said. "Half god, half mortal."

Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot, Jason. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess."

Leo choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Leo said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

"Rainbows, ponies," Leo muttered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

"Please." Adrianna sighed in agreement.

"Hey! You're the one that's holding my ha-- OW!" Adrianna shut him up by twisting his arm.

"Demigods," Piper said. "You mean you think you're ... you think we're-"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

Adrianna stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot.

The wind roared. Adrianna glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot-except these looked more like horses than angels. She started to say, "Why are they-"

"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. Adrianna's stomach crawled into her throat. Her vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.