We had about a week until the new year, and possibly, the end of the world. And the only thing on my mind was food.
We'd had some crappy food on the train that was nothing compared to what we'd had at Medusa's. Plus, we hadn't showered for ages either. We clambered out of the train, now at Denver, attached with putrid stenches.
"We should talk to Chiron," Annabeth said. "He'd want an update."
"True," I said. "Where are we going to find a spray gun full of water, though?"
"A car-wash, obviously," Luke said. "Come on, there'll be one around, somewhere."
We wandered around for a while, eyes peeled. It was icy and cool, just like everywhere else we'd been. I shivered, hugging myself for warmth. The Rocky Mountains surrounded us like giant tidal waves. We eventually spotted an empty do-it-yourself car wash. Once we made sure there were no patrol cars, we jumped for it.
"You guys got some extra change?" Luke asked, holding up the spray gun. I rummaged through my pockets, and handed him twenty five cents. "Thanks."
He set the dial on the spray gun to 'fine mist', and aimed it at the sky. The mist sprayed out, connecting with the faint sun and making a rainbow. If you have no idea why we're doing this, well, it's called Iris-messaging. You'll see what I mean.
"I've got the drachma," Annabeth said. She held it over her head. "O goddess, accept our offering."
She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared with a golden shimmer.
"Half-Blood Hill," she said.
Nothing happened, for a moment. Then an image appeared: the strawberry fields, the cabins, Long Island Sound. I felt an ache of homesickness. We appeared to be on the porch of the Big House.
"Where's Chiron?" I asked.
"Not here," a familiar voice said. "He's dealing with the campers."
Max Badmil. He walked in front of the screen, his hair messier than I remember. Seeing him made me feel even more homesick.
"Hey, Max," I said.
"Heya," Max said. "How's the quest going?"
"Could be worse," I shrugged. My friends gave me a look, and I tried not to think about the blowing-up-the-bus incident. "Um, so, what's happening with the campers?"
Suddenly, a big SUV pulled into the stall next to us, its hip hop turned up to full bass. It was so loud it shook the pavement.
"Chiron had to- what the Hades is that?" Max asked, frowning.
"We'll take care of it," Luke said. He put a hand on Annabeth's shoulder. "Come on, Annie."
Luke handed me the spray gun, and he and Annabeth ran off to deal with the SUV. I readjusted the nozzle, keeping the image of Max there.
"Trashy music," I sighed. "Hip hop is the worst. Anyway, what were you saying?"
"Chiron had to break up a fight," Max yelled over the music. "It's going crazy, Thalia. We're all taking sides: Zeus vs Poseidon. It's the Trojan War all over again! My cabin has gone with Poseidon - though I tried to convince them otherwise." He shrugged. Meanwhile, I heard Luke and some other guy yelling at each other, and the music decreased drastically.
"Disappointed," I shook my head. I gave Max a brief summary of everything that happened. It was good talk to him. Don't get me wrong, I love Luke and Annabeth, but I needed a break from them as well every now and again. Plus, it felt like… seeing home after a while. I'd been on the run for a good chunk of my life. Camp Half Blood had been a place where I finally felt… at home. Running around was, of course, amazing - the best years of my life, in fact, but I'd always wanted a real home. A place where I could feel stable.
"So Hades is the lightning thief, huh?" Max raised his brow. "Now that's a plot twist. We're all about Zeus vs Poseidon here and he was the one who stole the bolt?" He frowned. "Well, it does kind of make sense. He does have that invisibility cap thing or whatever. I saw it at the solstice." He then tilted his head. "But at the same time… Gods can't take each other's weapons. Is there anyone else that can turn invisible? I mean, like, aside from that stunt you pulled."
I found myself reaching for the Yankees cap. A gift from Annabeth.
"I guess he just got lucky," I said. I frowned. I hoped people wouldn't find out about the hat. Because then they wouldn't only blame me, they'd blame Annabeth, too. And I didn't want Annie to go through anything horrible ever again.
But in the end, it was all Luke's fault. Yet, I still loved him.
In the stall next door, a man screamed and the SUV backed up, skidding away.
"Sounds troubling," Max whistled. "You should check that out, Thalia."
I nodded. "See ya, Max. Tell Chiron all that happened. Okay?"
Max nodded. He became flustered. "See ya. And. Um. Take, uh, care. I guess."
I rolled my eyes. I turned off the spray gun, and hung it back on the wall. I couldn't get rid of the ache in my chest.
"Thalia?" Luke asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. Annabeth was next to him, giving me a concerned look.
"I'm hungry," I said. "Let's find a diner."
We got lucky and managed to find a diner pretty quickly. All around us, families were drinking malt shakes and chowing down on burgers.
Needless to say, I was insanely jealous.
"Maybe I can slide in the kitchen and steal something," Luke suggested, as we looked at our sad amount of money.
"Will the Mist work?" Annabeth asked.
"I'm not sure how I feel about manipulating mortals to give us free food," I said. "We can try and convince them we're homeless kids. That might work."
"Or they'll kick us out." Annabeth muttered.
I was about to reply, but then, all of a sudden, the biggest motorbike I'd ever seen pulled up to the curb. It was covered in bright red flames, and there was a shotgun holster attached to the side. The seat was leather… at least, I hoped it was. It sort of looked like Caucasian human skin. The red headlight almost blinded me.
The guy on the bike would've made pro wrestlers run for Mama. His muscle shirt was red, accompanied by black jeans and a black leather duster (his fashion sense wasn't so bad, honestly). A large hunting knife was attached to his thigh, and red wraparound shades covered his face. He was handsome in the way you'd describe a huge person - scary, but sexy. Not that I thought he was hot. His face was brutal, covered in scars, like he'd been in many fights. I recognised almost as soon as I saw him.
Ares, the god of war.
As Ares walked into the diner, people stopped and stared. The air was hot and dry, despite the cold, like it was preparing for some wild west scenario. The god waved his hand, and everyone went back to their conversations.
"I've got it covered," he said, sliding into our booth, and squishing poor Annabeth against the window. Luke had gone pale. A waitress came over to us, acting slightly robotic. She was staring at Ares with wide eyes. He waved his hand at her, and she zoomed off, headed to the kitchen. Ares stared at me, and I immediately felt like punching him in the face. He had that same fiery glare Max had, but like I said before, lacked everything that made him a good friend.
"Lord Ares," I forced myself to stay calm. Getting angry at the gods does not do you any favours. "What brings you here?"
Ares adjusted his shades. He glanced at Luke, who was looking at his feet. "Well, little sis, I heard you and your buddies were in town. I got a proposition for you."
"A proposition?" I asked. Luke's eyes were full of fear. He looked like he'd been stabbed.
The waitress came back, carrying trays full of food - cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, chocolate shakes. The food momentarily distracted me from Ares' vibe pissing me off. The god handed her some golden drachmas. The waitress looked like she was going to protest, but Ares had pulled out his hunting knife and begun cleaning his fingernails. She walked off.
"Classy," I said, sneering at my burger.
"Says the one in a world of trouble," Ares said. "You've got a lot of enemies at the moment, punk. Pretty dangerous place for you. Which brings me to my proposition."
"I don't think we have time to do any favours," Luke spoke up, his voice cracked.
Ares waved his hand. "Oh, I'm sure you do, Luke Castellan. 7 days. Plenty of time." He turned back to me. "I left my shield at an abandoned waterpark here in town. I was going on a little… date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."
I wanted to tell him to go and get it himself, but I held my tongue.
"We've already got a quest," Luke retorted.
"I already know about your quest, punk," Ares said, giving Luke a strange look. "Zeus sent out his best searching for it. I couldn't find it." He looked away, making Luke go even more pale. I reached my hand under the table and grabbed his. "And if I can't find it, you kids got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Old Seaweed and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."
"You told him Hades stole the bolt?" I asked.
"Sure," Ares said. "Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognised it immediately. In a way, you have me to thank for your little quest."
Now I glanced at Luke. He really did not look like he wanted to be there.
"Just do my job, and I'll help you punks on your way," Ares said.
"You can arrange a ride west for us?" I asked. "Food?"
"We're fine," Luke insisted. "We can handle ourselves. We've done it before."
"Yeah, right," Ares snorted. "You have no idea what you're up against. I heard that you three were on the run for a while, but you ain't invincible. You should take what's given to you."
Luke stared at his hands. I bit my lip.
"Where's the water park?" I asked.
"A mile west of Delancey," Ares answered. "You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."
"Right," I said. I stood up. "We should get going, then."
"That's the spirit," Ares smiled. Evilly. "I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."
He disappeared. I blinked, and wondered if the whole chat was a dream. I glanced out the window, and saw his bike had disappeared as well. I felt my whole body relax, and the anger seep out of me.
"You shouldn't have agreed to that," Luke said.
"What else was I supposed to do?" I snapped. "He's a god, Luke. You know how well defying the gods goes."
"She's right," Annabeth agreed. "We didn't have a choice."
"You don't understand," Luke said. He looked at me, more pale and broken than ever. He came up to me, and dropped his voice to a whisper. "Do you remember our… little chat… and I mentioned a god I made a deal with? The one that took the you-know-what?"
"Yeah?" I hissed back. "What about it?"
"Well…" Luke stared at his shoes. "He's that god."
I tensed up, and stupidly said, "Oh."
"He'll try to trick us, one way or another," Luke said. "Which is why we can't accept anything he gives us."
"What are you guys talking about?" Annabeth asked. Luke and I glanced at each other.
"Uh," I said. "Um… romantic stuff."
Annabeth frowned, suspiciously.
"We don't have to accept anything he gives us, then," I muttered back. "Like you said, we can get around these things. We've done it before."
Luke nodded. "I hope."