𝒎𝒊𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒃𝒂𝒍𝒍 - 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒋𝒂𝒄𝒌𝒔𝒐𝒏 𝒙 𝒐𝒄

¸„.-•~*°˜¨ 𝑭𝑰𝑭𝑻𝑬𝑬𝑵 ¨˜ˆ°*~•-.„¸

"Tell me when it's over," Thalia said. Her eyes were shut tight. 

The statue was holding on to them so they couldn't fall, but still Thalia clutched his arm like it was the most important thing in the world. 

"Everything's fine," Percy promised. 

"Are... are we very high?" 

Phoenix looked down. Below them, a range of snowy mountains zipped by. 

Percy stretched out his foot and kicked snow off one of the peaks. "Nah," he said. "Not that high." 

"We are in the Sierras.'" Zoe yelled next to Phoenix. 

She, Zoe, and Grover were hanging from the arms of the other statue. 

"I have hunted here before. At this speed, we should be in San Francisco in a few hours." 

"Hey, hey, Frisco!" Percy and Thalia's angel said. "Yo, Chuck! We could visit those guys at the Mechanics Monument again! They know how to party!"

"Oh, man," the other angel said. "I am so there!" 

"You guys have visited San Francisco?" Percy asked. 

"We automatons gotta have some fun once in a while, right?" his statue said. "Those mechanics took us over to the de Young Museum and introduced us to these marble lady statues, see. And—" 

"Hank!" the other statue Chuck cut in. "They're kids, man." 

"Oh, right." 

Phoenix cringed 

"Back to flying." 

They sped up, so Phoenix could tell the angels were excited. 

The mountains fell away into hills, and then they were zipping along over farmland and towns and highways. 

Grover played his pipes to pass the time. Zoe got bored and started shooting arrows at random billboards as they flew by. Every time she saw a Target department store—and they passed dozens of them—she would peg the store's sign with a few bulls-eyes at a hundred miles an hour. 

Phoenix noticed Percy and Thalia talking.

She took out her knife, Dove, and noticed the handle was newly designed, perfectly marked with pink rhinestones and an engraving perfectly in the shape of a dove. Around the handle was a piece of paper attached to a string that read, Did some upgrades for you love. -Aphrodite.

Zoe noticed Phoenix admiring the detail of the knife and scoffed. 

"Of course," she muttered.

Phoenix looked up at her, "what?"

"Oh you know, just Aphrodite having to one up everybody."

"What do you mean?" Phoenix asked.

"Well I know she made that knife, and she just had to make it pretty. It's not for defense just for show. Just like all you Aphrodite kids."

Grover stopped playing his pipes and looked at the two girls.

"Um, Phoenix is a Child of Apollo," Grover said.

"Well-"

"Wait have you been lying to us Phoenix?"

"What? No?" Phoenix said confused. "I literally have healing powers."

Percy and Thalia were now listening in to the conversation. Phoenix assumed the statues were too.

"Okay..." Grover nodded. "So what is Zoe talking about."