It didn't take me long to find the water park. It was old, run down and abandoned. I supposed it would be the perfect place for Ares to hide. There was no doubt in my mind who his girlfriend was. He had said the Tunnel of Love, which suggested he was here on a date but I couldn't ever imagine Aphrodite in a place like this.
The main gate was padlocked and barbed wire ran across the top. Slides, tubes and pipes curled in every direction, all dry. For a water park, it was seriously lacking water. The sight sent a shiver down my spine as I stared around the place. Pursing my lips, I prized my locket open and took a few steps back. I mumbled a prayer to my father as I took the bow and an arrow and pulled it back, aiming at the padlock.
My aim was flawless. The moment the tip met the lock, it sparked and exploded. There was a bark in the distance. And I would have recognised that bark anywhere. Face set, I kicked the gate and it gave way with a loud creak. Quickly, I slung my bow back over my shoulder and grasped at one of my belts, pulling out a sword and starting into the water park.
On the other side of the gate, things looked even worse. Every muscle in my body tensed to attack and my eyes were narrowed, scanning everything. I walked slowly, making no noise with my footsteps. Each attraction seemed to have a larger shadow than the last, as though the place was trying to engulf me and not let go.
There was another bark and the beautiful grey speckled wolf skidded around a corner, halting under a sign that read 'Thrill Ride of Love'. Sasha bared her teeth, growling in her throat. I stopped, staring and meeting her gaze. For a moment, she didn't move. Then, as suddenly as she had appeared, she straightened.
My lady? her amazed voice asked.
I smiled. "Who else?" I chuckled. "Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you? Besides, I told you I'd catch up." Sasha barked indignantly, but her tail wagged so hard it looked like it was going to fall off. She bounded toward me and jumped up like a little puppy, her front paws on my stomach. "Okay! Calm down. I was only gone for an hour or so!" She barked, backing down slightly. I laughed, bending down and ruffling her fur around her neck. Before I could move again, she licked my face and then rubbed the side of her head against my shoulder.
I began to wonder if Lady Hera had caught up with you. It is good to see you alive and well, my lady, she managed, when she had finally calmed down.
"Well, I was going for the whole let-her-think-I'm-dead-but-I'm-not-really thing, but it didn't last long. She kinda saw me."
That does not matter at the moment, my lady, Sasha dismissed, sniffing the air behind her. Right now, Perseus Jackson and Miss Annabeth are heading for Lord Ares's shield.
"What exactly are they doing?" I asked curiously, straightening out and heading for the ride. Sasha whined slightly in her throat.
They are retrieving Lord Ares's shield, my lady, she said. It is in a small boat at the bottom of an empty pool. The satyr did not look happy with going down, so Perseus told him to wait. Miss Annabeth refused to let him go alone. So she accompanied him.
Before I could stop myself, I choked. "Percy and Annabeth?" I blinked. "On the Thrill Ride of Love? Together?" Sasha's throat rumbled disapprovingly but I chuckled to myself, my hand tightening around my sword. "Moving on. What are the chances that this isn't a set up?"
Minimal, my lady, Sasha replied.
"And why was Ares here in the first place?"
A date with Lady Aphrodite, my lady.
"Brilliant." Suddenly, I stopped in my tracks. "Hang on a moment. Isn't Hephaestus always trying to catch them together?" Sasha halted just in front of me. Instead of replying, she whined worriedly. "I don't like this."
Neither do I, my lady, Sasha muttered worriedly. We both sped up, but I only made it to the entrance before the ground rumbled loudly. I spun around and my jaw dropped in horror.
A whisper of a figure was rising from the ground, as though being summoned from the dead. My immediate thought was Hades, and my stomach twisted painfully. The figure found its feet and suddenly it looked more solid. The guy looked tall and muscular, only a little smaller than Ares had appeared. His torso was bear, hundreds of scars trailing around his body. He wore what, to me, looked like a skirt made from metal plates, while he had flimsy looking sandals on his feet. In his hands he held a sword twice the size of mine and his eyes were narrowed. And locked on me.
"Sasha, go to Grover," I ordered.
I left you once my lady and you nearly died, Sasha said, almost coldly. I do not want to make the same mistake again.
"Sasha, you can't help me. Now go!" I snapped harshly, as the guy started toward me. He looked sort of like a Roman warrior and I knew he was actually dead. So, how do you kill a dead guy? Sasha barked indignantly and snarled at the warrior, but he didn't pay any attention to her. He only had eyes for me. She leapt at the warrior and jumped straight through him. Skidding on the other side, she stood in shock.
But she had managed to irritate him. He roared in outrage and lunged toward me. Luckily, I defended on instinct, whether I thought my sword was going to go straight through him or not. But the moment our swords met, there was the deafening sound of metal clashing together and my arms shook under the weight. The warrior roared again and pushed. I staggered back and leapt to the side, his sword skimming the skin on my arm.
"GUYS!" Grover yelled in the distance, just as the sound of gears grinding met my ears.
"SASHA! GO TO GROVER!" I shouted. She barked and leapt toward the Thrill Ride of Love, disappearing from view. As I stumbled to the side, I grasped my other belt and pulled out my second sword.
I dodged him again, my mind working overdrive. First things first, use the methods I knew worked already. The air around us dropped in temperature, well below freezing. But of course, he was dead already. The cold wasn't going to affect him. Still, it made me feel better, stronger. Next step. When the warrior came at me again, I let my sword met his and lightning crashed down on us. True, he staggered backward slightly, but he was still unharmed. All the lightning did was use up my energy.
"Great," I snarled under my breath, shuffling back a few steps with my eyes on the warrior. He didn't hurry to come after me, rather strode toward me purposefully and threateningly. It didn't do my confidence any good at all.
Somewhere in the distance, Annabeth screamed.
I didn't think about what I was doing when I did it. I spun and raced toward the Thrill Ride of Love, the warrior dragging his feet after me like a zombie. In front of me was a pool empty of water. Around the rim, there were maybe a hundred statues of Cupid. But their heads had popped open and video cameras replaced them. Spotlights surrounded the pool and lit the scene up like a Christmas tree. Over the speaker, a voice boomed; "Live to Olympus in one minute..."
"Oh, this just gets bloody better!" I groaned, blocking another attack aimed at my head and managing to side step before the warrior's free fist slammed into my face. He roared again and staggered toward me as I backed up.
"Acacia?" Grover's disbelieving voice came. "Gods, when you didn't show, we thought you were dead!"
"Not yet!" I shouted back, blocking with one sword and aimlessly plunging the other toward the warrior's chest. Much to my surprise, I felt it sink into his stomach and he cried out in pain. I was so surprised, I didn't move in time for him to back hand me with such force, I skidded back across the rim of the pool.
My lady! Sasha's voice exclaimed.
Groaning, I rolled on to my back and took a shaky breath. "Today is not my day," I complained, pushing myself to my feet and shaking my head to try and stop the dizziness.
The voice was still booming over the speaker; "Fifteen, fourteen..."
I had figured out I could hurt this guy, but no one else could. Had it been designed this way? Did that mean it was a test? From the corner of my eye, I could see Percy and Annabeth in the small boat, Percy clutching Ares's shield. They were trapped in Hephaestus's trap, obviously, and had no way to get out. For a second, I honestly believed that. The next, I was cursing myself so much, I nearly forgot to move as the warrior lunged his sword at me. As I jumped to the side, my eyes fell on the water pipes around the sides of the pool. I prayed to Poseidon as I bolted around the warrior, skidding to a halt and tightening my hands around my swords.
"PERCY!" I yelled.
"ACACIA?" was his reply.
"OH FOR THE LOVE OF THE GODS! YES! I'M ALIVE! IT'S A MIRACLE! GET OVER IT!"
The warrior roared and spun around, his feet slamming into the floor hard enough to make it rumble beneath me. I was just making him angry now and there would come a point I made him so mad, there would be no escaping him. It had to be now.
"WOULD YOU GET TO THE POINT?" Percy shouted back.
"WATER, EINSTIEN!" I screamed, blocking another attack. The warrior's sword was caught between both of mine and I hurried forward, moving the swords and plunging them into the wound I had made earlier. He roared in agony and black, thick liquid seemed to pour like blood down his front. I shifted out of his way, taking a deep breath.
The voice was still counting down; "Five, four..."
"NOW PERCY!" I pleaded.
"Two, one, zero!"
Water exploded out of the pipes, rushing into the pool. The boat was pushed up the side, but it didn't capsize. I raised a sword and slashed at the small wires stopping Grover and I getting to them and they snapped easily, just as the warrior let out a battle cry in a different language I didn't recognise and staggered toward me. I hesitated, then threw myself out of the way.
With a yelp of surprise, the dead warrior tumbled through the wires and into the water. For a moment, he panicked as though he couldn't swim, but his lifeless body simply floated on the surface. Percy's water couldn't harm him, but I could.
"Please Father," I muttered under my breath as I staggered up. "Please let this work." The warrior was trying to float toward me when I stepped back and dropped my swords.
My lady? Sasha's voice came in worried surprise.
"Acacia, what on earth are you doing?" Grover gawped.
"Go get Percy and Annabeth," I ordered. "You fly, right?" Grover seemed to think my words through, as I pulled my bow over my head again and took out an arrow. The warrior was almost at the rim, looking mildly pleased with himself. I pulled back the arrow, aiming just over his shoulder. The tip sparked dangerously.
"Maia!" Grover said, the wings on his feet fluttering to life. He rose unsteadily and shot off toward Percy and Annabeth. I narrowed my eyes at the warrior and released the arrow.
It hit the water's surface and there was a loud crack. I didn't know if lightning would work the same as electricity, or if it should, but my prayers to Zeus and Poseidon might actually have paid off. The warrior roared for the last time, his body being encased by a harsh, painful jolt of lightning. The surface of the water cracked, the lightning travelling down the tunnel at the end, where Percy and Annabeth had disappeared from view. I hoped and prayed Grover got to them before the lightning did. My stomach twisted painfully at the thought of what might happened if he didn't.
The warrior had vanished. The lightning had disappeared down the tunnel. Sasha moved and slumped down to the ground at my feet, whining in her throat and placing her paws over her eyes. I breathed heavily, staring after the lightning in fright. Please, please, let them be okay. I prayed to my father to stop the lightning, prayed to my uncle to control the water. But in the end, neither could do anything to save their lives. They may have given us what we needed to succeed, but it had been Percy that had summoned the water and me that had summoned the lightning. If our fathers stopped this from happening, they were interfering, and the last time I checked, that was against their rules.
"Well, I suppose that was one way to deal with it," a gruff voice came. Like when Hermes visited me, I didn't turn. Some of the cameras shooting for Olympus were directed at me, but I didn't care. I had the strangest feeling they couldn't see the god.
He wore a jumpsuit, smeared in oil. Hephaestus was stitched over his top pocket. His leg clicked in a metal brace as he walked to stand beside me, his left shoulder was lower than his right and his head was misshapen. His black beard smoked and hissed, occasionally erupting in a wild fire then dying out. He scowled down at his invention.
"Thank you, Lord Hephaestus," I muttered. He snorted.
"A hero with manners," he grumbled. "Now there is a rarity."
I couldn't help but scoff. "I've been called a lot of things before," I muttered. "Rarity... I suppose that's nicer than usual."
Hephaestus considered me for a moment. "You aren't like most heroes," he said.
"Good job really, isn't it?" I asked, smiling slightly. "I think a normal hero would have gone insane. Honestly, I don't think it will take much more before I lose it."
"You think?"
"Maybe," I shrugged. "But if it helps, I guess it's worth it, right?"
He snorted again. "You are a very selfless hero, Acacia Grace. You pass the test. Don't let my lovely mother have an excuse to push me back off Olympus." At that, I turned, eyes wide. Hephaestus met my gaze, a single eyebrow raised.
"But I thought – I mean, Zeus-" Hephaestus snorted.
"She likes to tell people that, does my mother," he said, his voice gruffer than normal. "Makes her seem more likeable."
I let out a short, surprised laugh. "She could give a million dollars to Green Peace," I muttered quietly.
Hephaestus chuckled darkly. "You know, it might not be the worst thing to happen if you proved yourself," he admitted reluctantly, turning around and hobbling off.
Charming, Sasha said sarcastically.
"Sasha, do you know another way to get to where Percy, Annabeth and Grover ended up?" I asked her quietly, staring after Hephaestus. She immediately jumped to her feet and spun around.
I can try, my lady, she answered determinedly. Follow me. I pulled my bow over my head and it turned back into my locket. As I spun around, I scooped my swords up and shoved them back into their sheaths, allowing them to turn back into belts. Sasha broke into a run and, taking a deep breath, I raced after her.
She found Percy, Annabeth and Grover quickly. All three were lay on the floor, groaning and banged up, but alive. I skidded to a halt behind them, breathing heavily and muttering a thank you to Zeus and Poseidon under my breath. The sky rumbled a reply and, to me at least, it didn't sound disapproving, so I supposed I had done alright.
"When you've quite finished sleeping," I sighed heavily, smiling slightly. Percy raised his head, scowled at me, then groaned and slumped back to the floor. "Wimp." Annabeth pushed herself to her feet and staggered toward me, her eyes wet and red. "Oh no." Before I could complain anymore, she threw her arms around my neck and squeezed me tightly.
"Thank the gods that you're alive!" she sniffed, her voice shaking. I pulled a face at Percy and Grover, but hugged Annabeth back, just as tightly.
"Didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?" I said, repeating what I had said to Sasha. I wasn't good in situations like this. Percy groaned loudly, snatching up Ares's shield and pushing himself to his feet. He turned slowly and glowered up at the water ride, where cameras and spotlights were still pointed at us.
"We should go," Annabeth muttered quietly, glancing desperately at Grover. He nodded at her and clamped a hand around Percy's wrist, dragging him off to the side. I took a deep breath, eyes hovering on the cameras.
"Come on Sasha," I breathed. The wolf barked and trotted to my side, licking my hand that hung by my side. I smiled slightly, then turned and followed Percy, Annabeth and Grover. I had found them, we were all alive. But for how much longer?