Forgotten memories

Beauty in Death

I blinked, and just like that, I was back on Fifth Avenue. The noise of battle slammed into my ears again like someone had unmuted the world. Christine hadn't moved an inch. No sign she even realized I'd been... gone. Like nothing had happened at all.

She caught me staring and frowned. "What?"

"Uh... nothing. I guess." I shook my head, trying to clear the fog in my brain.

My gaze drifted down the avenue, Mr. D's warning echoing in my head. Nasty surprises. What could possibly be worse than everything we'd already seen? My eyes landed on a beat-up blue car parked in the mess of abandoned vehicles. The hood was all dented, like someone had gone at it with a sledgehammer. A weird chill ran down my spine.

Why did that car look so familiar?

And then it hit me—it wasn't just any car. It was a Prius.

Paul's Prius.

My stomach dropped. I bolted down the street without thinking. "Percy!" I yelled. "PERCY!"

He looked up from where he'd been checking the block, his face confused—until his eyes followed mine to the Prius. I saw the color drain from his face in an instant. He took off at a dead sprint, faster than I'd ever seen him move. Christine and Annabeth were right behind.

When I reached the car, I felt like the ground had vanished under me. Paul was slumped over in the driver's seat. Sally was in the passenger seat, head resting against the window, softly snoring like this was some peaceful road trip. Except it wasn't. Not even close.

How... how had I missed this? They'd been here—sitting here—in the middle of this war zone for who knows how long. A day? Maybe more? While all this chaos raged around them and not one of us had noticed.

"They—they must've seen those blue lights in the sky," Percy said, his voice cracking as he rattled the locked door handle. "I need to get them out. I have to get them out."

"Percy," Annabeth said gently, trying to calm him.

"I can't leave them here!" His voice shot up an octave, almost breaking. "I have to move them. I have to—" He pounded on the windshield so hard I thought it might shatter. His breathing was all over the place, ragged and fast. He looked... broken. Like all the weight of the last few days had finally crushed him.

"Percy, just—just hold on." Christine waved urgently to Chiron, who was down the block talking to some centaurs. "We can push the car to a side street, okay? They're gonna be fine."

But Percy didn't look fine. His hands were trembling so badly I thought he might drop Riptide. His eyes were wild, desperate, like a cornered animal.

Chiron galloped up and stopped short. "What's—oh, dear. I see."

"They were coming to find me," Percy said, his voice shaking. "My mom must've... sensed something was wrong."

"Most likely," Chiron said gently. "But, Percy, they will be fine. The best thing we can do for them is stay focused on our job."

That's when I noticed something in the backseat—and my heart just about stopped. Wedged behind Sally, seat-belted like a precious passenger, was a black-and-white Greek jar. About a meter tall. Its lid strapped down tight with a leather harness.

"No way," I whispered. "Percy...?"

Annabeth followed my gaze, then pressed her hand to the glass like touching it would make it go away. "That's impossible. I thought you left that at the Plaza."

"Locked in a vault," Percy said, hollow.

Chiron's eyes widened like someone had just stabbed him. "That isn't—"