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Ch. 9

Percy

My chest ached where it had been struck, but I ignored it as Blackjack shot north. Annabeth was getting heavy, so I adjusted her to a position that had her sitting on my pegasus's back, like she had been when she touched the ice ball. Yelling at Blackjack to fly faster, my thoughts drifted to the group I had been traveling with. I could barely remember their names, and I had no idea why I had been with them for so long. Perhaps as a spy? Mistress Khione was going to be pleased.

Two hours later, we arrived in Quebec. I knew I had never been here before, but Blackjack seemed to know where he was going. We wove through the city until we came to a large hotel shaped like a castle. Blackjack came down for a landing on a large balcony, where two very pale, very weird looking young men wit feathered purple wings. One was dressed in a hockey jersey and jeans, and the other looked like an angel from the eighties, with a disco shirt and powdery blue pants.

I greeted them,"Hello. Where can I find Lady Khione? I'm Percy. I'd like to help her however I can." The two young men glanced at each other. "Ah, Percy Jackson," the disco guy said. "We've been expecting you. I'm Zethes, and this is Callais. All of the Boreads call him Cal for short, for he can only speak two syllable words. Khione is not here now. Would you like to send an Iris message?" I nodded curtly. Zethes pulled out a small plastic fan thing, as well as a prism. As he pushed a tiny button near the blades of the fan, a gentle mist began to spray from a small nozzle. The Boread placed the prism in a ray of cold light, and a rainbow arched up into the mist.

I pulled a golden drachma from my pocket and tossed into the mist, where it disappeared. " Show me Khione, goddess of snow," I requested. The mist shimmered, and an image of the goddess rippled into view. "Ah, bonjour, Percy Jackson. I see my ice ball worked." I had no idea what she was talking about. "What do you mean, my Lady?" She waved her hand. "Nothing, mon serviteur. You are contacting me for a task?" I nodded. "Excellent. I have the perfect task for you." I leaned forward, eager for her response. "You will be in for a long journey," she warned. I shook my head vigorously. "Whatever you need, my Lady." She smiled coldly."Excellent." She gave me my instructions. I waved my hand through the Iris-message and turned to Blackjack before realizing that Statue Annabeth was still on Blackjack's back. I pulled her off gently and set her down. I turned to the Boreads. "You had better take care of her," I warned. "Otherwise you will be in her place." The two winged men nodded. "She will be safe, mon allié." I took one last look at Annabeth, determined to come back for her. Despite having no recollection of the people I was with before, I knew Annabeth was important. I knew I was going to come back.

I turned to Blackjack and stroked the white stripe in his mane. "You heard the Mistress, buddy. We've got work to do."

Piper

After giving up on chasing Percy, we turned southeast. This felt like the time Annabeth and Percy had fallen into Tartarus. We had just lost a big part of the team. Three team members in two days. Even Clarisse seemed subdued. She and Nico had stopped squabbling, much to Hazel's great relief. I was worried out of my mind. Frank was fiddling with his jacket, and Jason was blinking back tears. I guess he thought it was his fault that Annabeth and Percy were gone.

"Hey. Look at me." Jason turned toward me and looked into my eyes. "It's going to be okay," I murmured. "We'll find them. We've done the impossible before. We'll get through this." Jason sighed. "Thanks, Pipes. It's just... what if Leo's not the same when he comes back? What if Khione scars him so badly he won't be Leo? What if... what if he doesn't want to be rescued?" He growled in frustration. I recoiled at his words. I hadn't thought of that. I was still sure of one thing, though. "Jason, Leo wants to be rescued," I said firmly. "He was kidnapped by his archenemy. He's being held against his will. Besides, even if he wanted to help them, which will never, ever happen, do you think Khione would ive him one little ounce of freedom?" Jason nodded. "You're right. We need to get him back. It's just going to be really, really hard." I clucked in disapproval. "Like I said, we've done the impossible before." My boyfriend chuckled. Now that I had risen his spirits, I had to focus on that task on hand.

We landed near a Subway, so we could eat. After we ate, we decided to try and find someone who could direct us to the Freeze Blaster. We wandered across the street to the library and went up the steps and through the doors. As we slid out of the sunshine and into the cool AC, I heard a wispy small voice whisper,"The relic you seek is just up the street, a holy place of a church, to unlock its full worth, the one you must ask is a ghost of the past..." I froze and looked around, but the only person close enough to whisper at all was Jason, and he was answering a question Frank had asked. "Did anyone hear that?" I demanded. Everyone gave me weird looks except Hazel, who nodded, her eyes wide. "Let's go outside," I suggested.

We sat down on the shade of a large oak, its large, gnarled branches spread wide. I repeated what I had heard in the library, and Frank was the first to react by jumping up and yelling, "Well, let's go! Uh, any ideas of where to go?" Jason and Nico shook their heads, but Hazel's eyes lit up. "I know! I saw a sign in front of a big building that said 'Holy House of the Lord: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. That has to be it!" Clarisse grinned. "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

We ran up the street to the temple Hazel had described. Walking onto the well-kept property, I felt a sense of peace wash over me. I spotted a gardener who was tending some bushes. His tools were made of Celestial Bronze. I walked right up to and and asked, "Mister, can you help us find this relic of Hephaestus? It's called-" "-The Freeze Blaster? Yes, of course I can help you. It was put there in 1836. I was there!" It was then that I noticed his old fashioned suit, with the handkerchief thing sticking out the front, and his old fashioned boots. "Just find the bush shaped like a swan," the guy said. I could see it from here. "Thanks," I replied. "No problem," he grinned, and dissolved, leaving the shears on the ground where he'd been. We headed toward the bush, and when we got there, I saw a small bronze thing sticking out of the wing. I pulled it out, and suddenly, my friends and I were trapped in a glittering golden net. "What the heck is going on?!" Clarisse yelled, and a figure stepped out from behind a the bush. My heart stopped when I saw the evil grin on the person's face. "Miss me?" Percy Jackson asked darkly.

Uh-oh! Percy's mission was to get the Freeze Blaster! How will the demigods get out of this one?

For those LDS readers, who can tell me who the gardener is? It's somebody famous in those parts...

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