Penelope Orion: Prophecies

Chapter 6

Piper's P.O.V.

AFTER A MORNING OF STORM SPIRITS, goat men, and flying boyfriends, I should've been losing my mind. Instead, all I felt was dread. It's starting, I thought. Just like the dream said. I stood in the back of the chariot with Leo, Jason, and Penelope, who was still asleep in Jason's arms, while the bald guy, Butch, handled the reins, and the blond girl, Annabeth, adjusted a bronze navigation device. We rose over the canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through my jacket. Behind us, more storms clouds were gathering. I looked back towards Jason and saw that Penelope's eyes were open.

"Jason! She's awake!" I yelled over the wind. Annabeth looked back at Jason and Penelope then looked back forward while Leo smiled with relief.

"Pen! You're okay!" Jason said. "How you feeling?"

"Like barfing." She simply said and Leo moved out of her way. She smiled. "Kidding, Leo." We all smiled and rubbed her head.

"Where are we going?" Leo asked.

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

"Half-Blood?" I was immediately on guard. I hated that word. I'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." Penelope finished

Annabeth looked back again. "You two seem to know a lot. 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.

"Leo, sé amable. Vamos a ser amigos con ellos. Además, cuando lleguemos allí quiero ver todos los pegasi." Penelope said. We all looked at her in surprise, except for Leo.

"Pen, I never knew you spoke Spanish." Jason said setting her down in the chariot.

"Uh, so, demigods," I said. "You mean you think you're... you think we're--"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Jason yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!" I stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot. The wind roared and Penelope screamed. I glanced behind us and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot - except these looked more like horses than angels. I 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. My stomach crawled into my throat. My vision went black, and when it came back to normal, they were in a totally different place.

A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. I saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake,and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. But before I could really process all I was seeing, our wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.