[A/N: I'm SO SO sorry about the long waits, everybody! Lately, I've been up in my own world and taking a long time to rewrite my Dani Phantom stories to correct them. I swear I'm not gonna abandon my unfinished stories until they were completed. Again, I'm so sorry!]

Chapter 11

Gretel Gets a Lamborghini

We were crossing the Potomac when we spotted the helicopter. It was a sleek, black military model just like the one we'd seen at Westover Hall. And it was coming straight towards us.

"They know the van," I said. "We have to ditch it."

Zoë swerved into the fast line. The helicopter was gaining.

"Maybe the military will shoot it down," Gretel said hopefully.

"The military probably thinks it's one of theirs," I said. "How can the General use mortals, anyway?"

"Mercenaries," Zoë said bitterly. "It is distasteful, but many mortals will fight for any cause as long as they are paid."

"But don't these mortals see who they're working for?" I asked. "Don't they notice all the monsters around them?"

Zoë shook her head. "I do not know how much they see through the Mist. I doubt it would matter to them if they knew the truth. Sometimes mortals can be more horrible than monsters."

The helicopter kept coming, making a lot better time than we were through D.C. traffic.

Thalia closed her eyes and prayed hard. "Hey, Dad. A lightning bolt would be nice about now. Please?"

But the sky stayed gray and snowy. No sign of a helpful thunderstorm.

"There!" Bianca said. "That parking lot!"

"We'll be trapped," Zoë said.

"Trust me," Bianca said.

Zoë shot across two lanes of traffic and into a mall parking lot on the south bank of the river. We left the van and followed Bianca down some steps.

"Subway entrance," Bianca said. "Let's go south. Alexandria."

"Anything," Thalia agreed.

We bought our tickets and got through the turnstiles, looking behind us for any signs of pursuit. A few minutes later we were safely aboard a southbound train, riding away from D.C. As our train came above ground, we could see the helicopter circling the parking lot, but it didn't come after us.

Gretel let out a sigh. "Nice job, Bianca, thinking of the subway."

Bianca looked pleased. "Yeah, well. I saw that station when Nico and I came through last summer. I remember being really surprised to see it, because it wasn't here when we used to live in D.C."

Gretel frowned. "New? But that station looked really old."

"I guess," Bianca said. "But trust me, when we lived here as little kids, there was no subway."

Thalia sat forward. "Wait a minute. No subway at all?"

Bianca nodded.

Now, I knew nothing about D.C., but I didn't see how their whole subway system could be less than twelve years old. I guess everyone else was thinking the same thing, because they looked pretty confused.

"Bianca," Zoë said. "How long ago…" Her voice faltered. The sound of the helicopter was getting louder again.

"We need to change trains," I said. "Next station."

Over the next half hour, all we thought about was getting away safely. We changed trains twice. I had no idea where we were going, but after a while we lost the helicopter.

Unfortunately, when we finally got off the train we found ourselves at the end of the line, in an industrial area with nothing but warehouses and railway tracks. And snow. Lots of snow. It seemed much colder here. I was glad for my new lion's fur coat.

We wandered through the railway yard, thinking there might be another passenger train somewhere, but there were just rows of freight cars, most of which were covered in snow, like they hadn't moved in years.

A homeless guy was standing at a trash-can fire. We must've looked pretty pathetic, because he gave us a toothless grin and said, "Y'all ladies need to get warmed up? Come on over!"

We huddled around his fire. Thalia's teeth were chattering. She said, "Well this is g-g-g-great."

"My feet are frozen," Gretel complained.

"Maybe we should contact camp." Bianca said. "Chiron-"

"No," Zoë said. "They cannot help us anymore. We must finish this quest ourselves."

I gazed miserably around the rail yard. Somewhere, far to the west, Anthony was in danger, Artemis was in chains. A doomsday monster was on the loose. And we were stuck on the outskirts of D.C., sharing a homeless person's fire.

"You know," the homeless man said, "you're never completely without friends." His face was grimy and his beard tangled, but his expression seemed kindly. "You ladies need a train going west?"

"Yes, sir," I said. "You know of any?"

He pointed one greasy hand.

Suddenly I noticed a freight train, gleaming and free of snow. It was one of those automobile-carrier trains, with steel mesh curtains and a triple-deck of cars inside. The side of the freight train said SUN WEST LINE.

"That's...convenient," Thalia said. "Thanks, uh…"

She turned to the homeless guy, but he was gone. The trash can in front of us was cold and empty, as if he's taken the flames with him.


An hour later we were rumbling west. There was no problem about who would drive now, because we all got our own luxury car. Zoë and Bianca were crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Gretel was playing race car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock stations from D.C.

"Join you?" I asked her.

She shrugged, so I climbed into the shotgun seat.

The radio was playing the White Stripes. I knew the song because it was one of the only CDs I owned that my mom liked. She said it reminded her of Led Zeppelin. Thinking about my mom made me sad, because it didn't seem likely I'd be home for Christmas. I might not live that long.

"Nice coat," Thalia told me.

I pulled the brown duster around me, thankful for the warmth. "Yeah, but the Nemean Lion wasn't the monster we're looking for."

"Not even close. We've got a long way to go."

"Whatever this mystery monster is, the General said it would come for you. They wanted to isolate you from the group, so the monster will appear and battle you one-on-one."

"He said that?"

"Well, something like that. Yeah."

"That's great. I love being used as bait."

"No idea what the monster might be?"

She shook her head morosely. "But you know where we're going, don't you? San Francisco. That's where Artemis was heading."

I remembered something Anthony had said at the dance: how his dad was moving to San Francisco, and there was no way he could go. Half-bloods couldn't live there.

"Why?" I asked. "What's so bad about San Francisco?"

"The Mist is really thick there because the Mountain of Despair is so near. Titan magic-what's left of it-still lingers. Monsters are attracted to that area like you wouldn't believe."

"What's the Mountain of Despair?"

Thalia raised an eyebrow. "You really don't know? Ask stupid Zoë. She's the expert."

She glared out the windshield. I wanted to ask her what she was talking about, but I also didn't want to sound like an idiot. I hated feeling like Thalia knew more than I did, so I kept my mouth shut.

The afternoon sun shone through the steel-mesh side of the freight car, casting a shadow across Thalia's face. I thought about how different she was from Zoë-Zoë all formal and aloof like a princess, Thalia with her ratty clothes and her rebel attitude. But there was something similar about them, too. The same kind of toughness. Right now, sitting in the shadows with a gloomy expression, Thalia looked a lot like one of the Hunters.

Then suddenly, it hit me: "That's why you don't get along with Zoë."

Thalia frowned. "What?"

"The Hunters tried to recruit you," I guessed.

Her eyes got dangerously bright. I thought she was going to zap me out of the Mercedes, but she just sighed.

"I almost joined them," she admitted. "Luke, Anthony, and I ran into them once, and Zoë tried to convince me. She almost did, but…"

"But?"

Thalia's fingers gripped the wheel. "I would've had to leave Luke."

"Oh."

"Zoë and I got into a fight. She told me I was being stupid. She said I'd regret my choice. She said Luke would let me down someday...and Anthony would, too."

I watched the sun through the metal curtain. We seemed to be traveling faster each second-shadows flickering like an old movie projector.

"That's harsh," I said. "Hard to admit Zoë was right about Luke."

"She wasn't right! Luke never let me down. Never."

"We'll have to fight him," I said. "There's no way around it."

Thalia didn't answer.

"You haven't seen him lately," I warned. "I know it's hard to believe, but-"

"I'll do what I have to do."

"Even if that means killing him?" Thalia gave me a small glare before looking back out in her windshield again. "That's what I thought. I'm gonna go now."

When I was about to leave, she said, "Perci."

When I looked back, her eyes were red, but I couldn't tell if it was from anger or sadness. "Gretel never wanted to join the Hunters either. Maybe you should ask her why. She's your best friend after all."

Before I could respond, she raised the power windows and shut me out.


I sat in the driver's seat of Gretel's Lamborghini. Gretel was asleep in the back. I never got a chance to ask her about why she never wanted to join the Hunters, but I just guessed I could wait until later. I also wanted to know why they even though they never asked, but why they secretly wanted to recruit me.

As I watched the sun go down, I thought of Anthony. I was afraid to go to sleep. I was worried what I might dream.

"Oh, don't be afraid of dreams, sweetheart," a voice said right next to me.

I looked over. Somehow, I wasn't surprised to find the homeless guy from the rail yard sitting in the shotgun seat. His jeans were so worn out they were almost white. HIs coat was ripped, with stuffing coming out. He looked kind of like a teddy bear that had been run over by a truck.

"If it weren't for dreams," he said, "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." He cleared his throat, then held up his hands dramatically:

"Dreams like a podcast,

Downloading truth in my ears.

They tell me cool stuff."

"Apollo?" I guessed, because I figured nobody else could make a haiku that bad.

He put his finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."

"A god named Fred?"

"Eh, well...Zeus insists on certain rules. Hands off, when there's a human quest. Even when something really major is wrong. But nobody messes with my baby sister. Nobody."

"Can you help us, then?"

"Shhh. I already have. Haven't you been looking outside?"

"The train. How fast are we moving?"

Apollo chuckled. "Fast enough. Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost sunset. But I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least."

"But where is Artemis?"

His face darkened. "I know a lot, and I see a lot. But even I don't know that. She's...clouded from me. I don't like it."

"And Anthony?"

He frowned. "Oh, you mean that boy you lost? Hmm. I don't know."

I tried not to feel mad. I knew the gods had a hard time taking mortals seriously, even half-bloods. We lived such short lives, compared to the gods.

"What about the monster Artemis was seeking?" I asked. "Do you know what it is?"

"No," Apollo said. "But there is one who might. If you haven't yet found the monster when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the Old Man of the Sea. He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my Oracle."

"But it's your Oracle," I protested. "Can't you tell us what the prophecy means?"

Apollo laughed. "You might as well ask an artist to explain his art, or ask a poet to explain his poem. It defeats the purpose. The meaning is only clear through the search."

"In other words, you don't know."

Apollo checked his watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, Perci, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! And when you return, I expect a good haiku about your journey!"

I wanted to protest that I wasn't tired and I'd never made up a haiku in my life, but Apollo snapped his fingers, and the next thing I knew I was closing my eyes.


In my dream, I was somebody else. I was wearing silk silver robes, and my hair was dark and long, braided down. I was pulling along a man and I was tightly gripping his hand. He had long, messy hair, wearing an old-fashioned Greek tunic, which looked a little too breezy, and laced leather sandals. The Nemean Lion's skin was wrapped around his back like a cape, and I was dragging him somewhere.

"Hurry!" I said. I sounded like I was afraid of something coming our way. "He will find us!"

It was nighttime. A million stars blazed above. We were running through tall grass, and the scent of a thousand different flowers made the air intoxicating. It was a beautiful garden, and yet the I was leading the man through it, as if we were about to die.

"I'm not afraid," he tried to tell me.

"You should be!" I said, pulling him along. My robes glowed faintly in the starlight.

We raced up the side of the hill. I pulled him behind a thorn bush and we collapsed, both breathing heavily. I didn't know why I was scared. The garden seemed so peaceful. And I felt like I knew what we were running from and how to escape it.

"There is no need to run," the man told me. His voice sounded deep and much more confident. "I have bested a thousand monsters with my bare hands."

"Not this one," I said. "Ladon is too strong. You must go around, up the mountain to my father. It is the only way."

The hurt in my voice surprised me. I was really concerned, almost like I cared about him.

"I don't trust your father," he said.

"You should not," I agreed. "You will have to trick him. But you cannot take the prize directly. You will die!"

The man chuckled. "Then why don't you help me, pretty one?"

"I...I am afraid. Ladon will stop me. My sisters, if they found out...they would disown me."

"Then there's nothing for it." He stood up, rubbing his hands together.

"Wait!" I said.

I seemed to be agonizing over a decision. Then, my fingers trembled, I reached up and plucked a long white brooch from my hair. "If you must fight, take this. My mother, Pleione, gave it to me. She was a daughter of the ocean, and the ocean's power is within it. My immortal power."

I breathed on the pin and it glowed faintly. It gleamed in the starlight like polished abalone.

"Take it," I said. "And make of it a weapon."

He laughed. "A hairpin? How will this slay Ladon, pretty one?"

"It may not," I admitted. "But it is all I can offer, if you insist on being stubborn."

My voice seemed to soften his heart. He reached down and took the hairpin, and as he did, it grew longer and heavier in his hand, until he held a familiar bronze sword.

"Well balanced," he said. "Though I usually prefer to use my bare hands. What shall I name this blade?"

"Anaklusmos," I said sadly. "The current that takes one by surprise. And before you know it, you have been swept out to sea."

Before he could thank me, there was a trampling sound in the grass, a hiss like air escaping a tire, and I said, "Too late! He is here!"


I sat bolt upright in the Lamborghini's driver's seat. Gretel was shaking my arm.

"Perci," she said. "It's morning. The train's stopped. Come on!"

I tried to shake off my drowsiness. Thalia, Zoë, and Bianca had already rolled up the metal curtains. Outside were snowy mountains dotted with pine trees, the sun rising red between two peaks.

I fished my pen out of my pocket and stared at it. Anaklusmos, the Ancient Greek name for Riptide. A different form, but I was sure it was the same blade I'd seen in my dream.

And I was sure of something else, too. The girl I was was Zoë Nightshade.