Wildfires, Heroes of Olympus ₂

021, that's what you missed on GLEE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
FINLEY                  BRIGGS

"Hazel." Percy shook her shoulder. "Wake up. We've reached Seattle."

Finn kept kicking Frank with her foot. "Come on, Frankie. Get your ass up.

Hazel sat up groggily, squinting in the morning sunlight. "Frank?"

Frank groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Did we just... was I just—?"

"You both passed out," Percy said. "We don't know why, but Ella told us not to worry about it. She said you were...sharing?"

"Sharing," Ella agreed. She crouched in the stern, preening her wing feathers with her teeth, which didn't look like a very effective form of personal hygiene. She spit out some red fluff. "Sharing is good. No more blackouts. Biggest American blackout, August 14, 2003. Hazel shared. No more blackouts."

Finn shook her head cluelessly. "Yeah, we have no clue what she's talking about. She's been talking like that all night."

Hazel pressed her hand against her coat pocket, then she looked again at Frank. "You were there."

He nodded. He didn't say anything, but Finn could tell that something important had gone on between them. Hazel and Frank's bond seemed to have strengthened throughout the duration of the shared blackout.

Which brought Finn to:

"Wait," she said. "You mean you guys shared a blackout? Don't tell me both of you are going to pass out now on."

"Nope," Ella said. "Nope, nope, nope. No more blackouts. More books for Ella. Books in Seattle."

Finn gazed over the water. They were sailing through a large bay, making their way toward a cluster of downtown buildings. Neighborhoods rolled across a series of hills. From the tallest one rose an odd white tower with a saucer on the top, like an old spaceship.

Percy steered the boat toward the downtown docks. As they got closer, Ella scratched nervously at her nest of books.

Finn started to feel edgy, too. She wasn't sure why. Maybe she needed to lower her alcohol intake. It was a bright, sunny day, and Seattle looked like a beautiful place, with inlets and bridges, wooded islands dotting the bay, and snowcapped mountains rising in the distance. Still, she felt as if she were being watched.

"Um... why are we stopping here?" Hazel asked.

Percy showed them the silver ring on his necklace. "Reyna has a sister here. She asked me to find her and show her this."

"Reyna has a sister?" Frank asked, like the idea terrified him.

"Oh, nah," Finn shook her head adamantly. "We're not meeting a Reyna spawn."

Percy sent her a look. "Reyna thinks her sister could send help for the camp."

"Well, if Reyna thinks so," she muttered spitefully.

"Amazons," Ella muttered. "Amazon country. Hmm. Ella will find libraries instead. Doesn't like Amazons. Fierce. Shields. Swords. Pointy. Ouch."

Frank reached for his spear. "Amazons? Like... female warriors?"