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"we will never make it," zoë said. "we are moving too slow. but we cannot leave the ophiotaurus."
"mooo," the cow (bessie) said. he swam next to percy as we jogged along the waterfront. we'd left the shopping center pier far behind. we were heading toward the golden gate bridge, but it was far. much further than we realized. the sun was already starting to set.
"i don't get it," percy said. "why do we have to get there at sunset?"
"the hesperides are the nymphs of the sunset," zoë said. "we can only enter their garden as day changes to night."
"and if we miss it?" i asked, not really wanting to know.
"tomorrow is winter solstice. if we miss sunset tonight, we would have to wait until tomorrow evening. and by then, the olympian council will be over. we must free lady artemis tonight."
annabeth could also be dead, i thought.
"we need a car," thalia said.
"but what about bessie?" percy asked.
grover stopped in his tracks. "i've got an idea! the ophiotaurus can appear in different bodies of water, right?"
"well, yeah," percy said. "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 said. "then chiron could help us get him to olympus."
"but he was following percy," i said. "if he's not there, would he know where he's going?"
"moo," bessie said forlornly (the name grows on you).
"i... I can show him," grover said. "i'll go with him."
i looked at him. grover wasn't a fan of the water. the goat hooves made it hard for him to swim. he'd almost drown last summer in the sea of monsters (after his wedding was called off).
