the winemaker's daughter [ percy jackson & the olympians ]

chapter sixteen

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝚆𝙸𝙽𝙴𝙼𝙰𝙺𝙴𝚁'𝚂 𝙳𝙰𝚄𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝚁༉‧₊˚.[𝙿𝙴𝚁𝙲𝚈 𝙹𝙰𝙲𝙺𝚂𝙾𝙽 & 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙾𝙻𝚈𝙼𝙿𝙸𝙰𝙽𝚂]

chapter sixteen: annabeth's parents are pretty dope & ashanti busted some heads apparently

__________________________________________

"WE WILL never make it," zoë told doubtfully. "we are moving too slow. but we cannot leave the ophiotaurus."

"mooo," ophi said. he swam next to percy and ashanti ( who was strong enough to walk after percy fed her a couple of dionysus' magic wine grapes ) as they jogged along the waterfront. they'd left the shopping center pier far behind. they were heading toward the golden gate bridge, but it was a lot farther than ashanti had realized. the sun was already dipping in the west.

"i don't get it," percy admitted to them, he looked to zoë for an answer. "why do we have to get there at sunset?"

"the hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," zoë informed the boy, though for once, there was no malice behind her providing the information. "we can only enter their garden as day changes to night."

"what happens if we miss it?" percy asked, he bit his bottom lip as if he already knew he didn't want the answer.

"tomorrow is the winter solstice. if we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. and by then, the olympian council will be long over. we must free lady artemis tonight."

"or annabeth will be dead," ashanti breathed lowly to percy, not having the guts to say it any louder than that. he didn't respond, but his face showed he was thinking the same thing.

"we need a car," thalia declared firmly.

"but what about bessie?" percy inquired. they couldn't get a car, it would leave the sea animal defenseless.

grover stopped in his tracks. "i've got an idea! the ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"

"well, yeah," percy told the satyr. "i mean, he was in long island sound. then he just popped into the water at hoover dam. and now he's here."

"so, maybe we could coax him back to long island sound," grover pitched easily, and ashanti admit, it was a pretty good idea. "then chiron could help us get him to olympus."

"but he was following me," percy reminded the satyr. "if i'm not there, would he know where he's going?"

"moo," ophi said forlornly.

"i...i can show him," grover volunteered shakily. "i'll go with him." ashanti stared at him. grover was no fan of the water. he'd told ashanti how he almost drowned last summer in the sea of monsters, and he couldn't swim very well with his goat hooves.

"i'm the only one who can talk to him. it makes sense," grover said, coaxing percy to let him go. he bent down and said something in ophi's ear. the ophiotaurus shivered, then made a contented, lowing sound. "the blessing of the wild," grover said. "that should help with safe passage. percy, pray to your dad, too. see if he will grant us safe passage through the seas."

ashanti could tell percy didn't understand how they could possibly swim back to long island from california. "dad," percy prayed to poseidon. "help us. get the ophiotaurus and grover safely to camp. protect them at sea."