I do not own Harry Potter or Percy Jackson.
WARNING: I am double-updating. If you have not read chapter twenty yet, go read chapter twenty.
Chapter Twenty-One: The Southwest
In the morning, they arrived on the outskirts of a little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said Welcome to Cloudcroft, New Mexico. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, helping to offset the negative effects Chrysa was feeling from the sunny morning.
Chrysa ended up casting warming charms on all of them. Everyone was freezing by the time they made it to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. Percy sidled up next to her as they walked.
"Apollo came by last night," he said quietly.
"I wondered if he might," Chrysa replied. "Did he come as himself, or as the homeless guy?"
"You knew?" Percy asked, surprised.
"I can tell," Chrysa stated. "He wasn't actually trying that hard to hide. Zeus wants Artemis found too, so as long as no one is blatantly breaking the rules, he's willing to overlook things. Did Apollo give you any advice?"
"He said he didn't know where Artemis was or what she was hunting, but he said to go seek out Nereus in San Francisco."
"Ah yes, the Old Man of the Sea. He can answer questions…if you can catch him. But we have to get there first."
They stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty see everything from there: A school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.
"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."
"There's a coffee shop," Rhanis said.
"Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."
"And pastries," Rhanis said dreamily.
Thalia sighed.
"Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Chrysa, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."
"Meet in front of the grocery in fifteen minutes," Chrysa said firmly. "If you need to use the bathroom, do so at whatever location you're at."
Inside the grocery store, they found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.
"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."
"Assuming Alamogordo taxis take credit cards, that won't be a problem," Chrysa said. "Thank you for the information."
The clerk looked lonely, so Percy bought a rubber rat and Chrysa grabbed a loaf of bread, peanut butter, and jelly so that they could make sandwiches later. She added two packages of Double-Stuf Oreos, argued for two minutes with Thalia and Percy over whether they should get puffy Cheetos or crunchy Cheetos before settling on Doritos, and a bottle of Nesquik chocolate milk. After paying with her AmEx, the color of which made the clerk's eyes widen, they headed back outside and stood on the porch.
"Wonderful," Thalia grumped. "I'm going to walk down the street, see if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."
"But the clerk said –" Percy argued, but Thalia cut him off.
"I know," she said. "I'm checking anyway."
Chrysa and Percy watched her go.
"ADHD's hard on all of you," Chrysa said.
"I think she's still upset about what we talked about last night," Percy added glumly as he set his rubber rat on the railing of the porch.
"Hey," Chrysa said, nudging his shoulder with hers. Well, his arm. At twelve, Percy had been almost her height. At fourteen, he was several inches taller than her, just as Annabeth was. Thalia was also taller than her, though not as much as the other two due to four years of living on the streets.
"It'll be alright," she continued. "Thalia's upset. You are too. How would you feel if you'd been away for a while and you came back to find out that Tyson betrayed us and you had to go fight him?"
Percy jerked away, looking angry.
"Tyson would never –"
"I know," Chrysa interrupted. "But that's what Thalia thought about Luke. They didn't have a mom that did everything to protect them like you did. They ran away from home because they couldn't stay any longer. And now, the person Thalia trusted with everything is her enemy. It's hard for her. Give her some time, and give her space."
A couple hundred yards away, Rhanis and Zoe came out of the coffee shop loaded down with pastry bags and drinks.
"How much time?" Percy asked despondently.
Chrysa laughed.
"More than you'll want to. Just don't bring it up, and try not to snap back at her."
Further conversation was interrupted when Zoe and Rhanis arrived with the drinks and pastries. There was hot chocolate for Percy and Thalia, coffee for the Hunters, and hot tea for Chrysa. They also distributed pastries.
"We should do the tracking spell again," Zoe said. "Chrysa?"
"After we eat," Chrysa said. "Then we'll see about calling a taxi."
Suddenly, a warm breeze rustled past, like a gust of springtime had gotten lost in the middle of winter. Fresh air seasoned with wildflowers and sunshine. And something else – almost like a voice, trying to say something. A warning.
Zoe gasped. "Percy, thy cup."
Percy dropped his hot chocolate cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly, the birds peeled off the cup and flew away – a flock of tiny doves. The rubber rat squeaked and scampered off the railing and into the trees – real fur, real whiskers.
Percy collapsed next to his hot chocolate, which steamed against the snow. They gathered around him and attempted to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.
"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just…What's wrong with Percy?"
"We felt a god's power," Chrysa said briskly. "It was aimed towards Percy. I don't think it was malevolent though."
"Uuuuuhhhh," Percy groaned.
"Well, get him up!" Thalia said. She had her spear in her hand. She looked behind her as if she were being followed. "We have to get out of here."
They made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeletons appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road, wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms over their transparent grey skin and yellow eyes. They drew their handguns and aimed them at Percy.
Thalia tapped her bracelet, and Aegis spiraled to life on her arm. The skeletons didn't flinch. Their yellow eyes were focused on Percy.
Percy drunkenly pulled out Riptide, and Zoe and Rhanis drew their bows, but Rhanis was having trouble because Percy kept swooning and leaning against her.
"Back up," Chrysa said, pulling two knives – one celestial bronze, the other her favorite one of Stygian iron – from their hidden sheaths.
They started to – but then the branches began to rustle. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind them. They were surrounded.
One of the skeletons raised a cell phone to his mouth and spoke into it, but there were no words. He made a clattering, clicking sound, like dry teeth on bone. They had split up to find them. Now, they were calling their brethren.
"It's near," Percy moaned.
"It's here," Thalia pointed out.
"No," Percy insisted dazedly. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."
"We'll have to go one-on-one," Thalia said. "Four of them. Four of us. Maybe they'll ignore Percy that way."
"Agreed," said Zoe.
"The Wild!" Percy moaned.
"No," Chrysa said. "Percy is their goal. You three guard him. I'll take care of this."
A warm wind blew through the canyon, rustling the trees, Chrysa kept her eyes on the skeletons pointing guns at them, then charged.
The first skeleton fired. Chrysa deflected the bullet off the edge of her blade and kept charging. The skeleton drew a baton, so Chrysa cut his arms off at the elbows before slicing the celestial bronze knife through his spine, cutting him in half.
His bones unknit and clattered to the asphalt in a heap. Almost immediately., they began to move, reassembling themselves.
"Damn it," Chrysa muttered as she returned the celestial bronze knife to its sheath and pulled out another Stygian iron one. If normal weapons wouldn't work on these things, Stygian iron would.
After all, nothing took down the undead better than a metal forged in the realm of the dead.
The second skeleton clattered his teeth at her and tried to fire, but she knocked his gun into the snow before stabbing him through the breastbone with her knife. The whole skeleton burst into flames, leaving a little pile of ashes and a police badge. Before the first skeleton could get away, Chrysa stabbed it through the chest as well, with the same results.
She was doing well, until the other two skeletons fired at her back.
"Chrysa!" Thalia screamed.
Chrysa twisted impossibly fast, dodging at the same time as she deflected one of the bullets off her blade. The other missed her heart, but embedded itself in her shoulder instead. She grunted softly before calling, "I'm fine!" to reassure her companions.
She'd suffered worse than a single bullet hole.
Zoe and Rhanis started firing arrows at the third and fourth skeletons, while Thalia blocked the retaliating bullets with Aegis. Percy had turned towards the trees with his arms outstretched, looking like he wanted to hug them.
There was a crashing sound in the forest to their left, almost like a bulldozer. Unfortunately, the skeletons were wary of Chrysa now, and kept them all at baton's length, pressing them backwards.
"Plan?" Rhanis asked as they retreated.
Nobody answered. The trees behind the skeletons were shivering. Branches were cracking.
"A gift," Percy muttered.
And then, with a mighty roar, a massive wild boar came crashing into the road. It was thirty feet high, with a snotty pink snout and tusks the size of canoes. Its back bristled with brown hair, and its eyes were wild and angry.
"REEEEEEEEET!" it squealed as it raked the three skeletons aside with its tusks. The force was so great that they went flying over the trees and into the side of the mountain, where they smashed to pieces, thigh bones and arm bones twirling everywhere.
Then the boar turned on them.
Thalia raised her spear, but Percy yelled, "Don't kill it!"
"That's the Erymantheian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill it."
"It's a gift," Percy said. "A blessing from the Wild."
The boar said, "REEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe and Rhanis dived out of the way. Chrysa had to push Percy so he wouldn't get launched into the mountain as the skeletons had.
"Yeah, I feel blessed," Thalia said. "Scatter!"
They ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.
"It wants to kill us!" Chrysa said.
"Of course," Percy said. "It's wild!"
"So how is that a blessing?" Thalia asked.
The boar seemed offended and charged her. She rolled out of the way of its hooves and came up behind the beast. It lashed out with its tusks and pulverized the Welcome to Cloudcroft sign.
"Do we have to face all of Heracles' Labors on this quest?" Chrysa demanded.
"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. She and Rhanis ran in opposite directions. Chrysa danced around the boar, weaving in and out while the boar snorted and tried to gouge her. If she was gored, she'd live. The others wouldn't. Thalia and Percy managed to attract the boar's attention when it turned towards them and Thalia raised Aegis. The boar charged them.
They only managed to keep ahead of it because they were running uphill and they could dodge in and out of trees while the boar plowed through them.
Chrysa was left alone with the two Hunters.
"Catch your breaths," she ordered, trying not to wince as the bullet in her shoulder shifted slightly. At least her clothes were black, so the bloodstain wouldn't be too visible. She shifted her coat so that it would cover the hole in her sweater. "I'm going after them."
She stepped into the shadow of one of the pine trees and out again on the side of the mountain, just in time to see Percy and Thalia sliding down the mountain on Aegis like a snowboard, even as the Erymanthian Boar charged out onto a train trestle that buckled under its weight. The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF!
Chrysa looked down to see that Thalia and Percy had skidded to a stop beside the boar.
"You guys okay?" she called down.
"Down here!" Percy yelled back.
A few minutes later, all five of them were watching the boar struggling in the snow.
"A blessing of the Wild," Rhanis said thoughtfully.
"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."
"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She looked like she'd lost a fight with a Christmas tree, with pine needles all through her hair and clothes. "Explain this to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."
"It's our ride west," Chrysa said, the pieces clicking in her brain along with the aura of the god that she'd felt earlier. "Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"
"Fun," Percy said. "Like…pig cowboys. What happened to me?"
"The god used you to channel its power," Chrysa said. "The message wasn't meant for you. It was meant for your satyr."
"What message?" Percy asked, but Chrysa had already moved on. She walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. The boar was already starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. She reached into her magically reinforced messenger bag and stuck her hand, going nearly up to her shoulder before she found what she was looking for. She pulled out the apple and tossed it in front of the boar, even as she waved her wand and enchanted it. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.
"Automatic steering," Thalia muttered. "Great."
She trudged over and jumped on behind Chrysa.
Zoe and Rhanis walked toward the boar as well.
"Wait a second," Percy said. "Do you two know what Chrysa is talking about – this wild blessing?"
"Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong…I never thought I would sense that presence again."
"What presence?" Percy asked, even as all three climbed onto the boar.
"The Lord of the Wild, of course," Rhanis said. "Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, we felt the presence of Pan."
There wasn't much chance for conversation after that. Boar-riding was an uncomfortable situation, and Chrysa had to keep her focus on the apple she was using to guide it. Occasionally, she'd dig another apple out and allow the boar to eat the previous one. It wouldn't do to taunt the creature too much.
Over time, the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush grew sparser until they were galloping across the desert.
As night fell, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.
"This is as far as he'll go," Chrysa said. "We need to get off while he's eating."
No one needed convincing. They slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then they waddled away as best as they could with their saddle sores. After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, before whirling around and galloping back toward the east.
"It likes the mountains better," Perscy said.
"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."
Before them was a two-lane road half covered with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since the second time Chrysa had died, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said Gila Claw, Arizona hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was arrange of hills…but they were no ordinary hills. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars ,appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.
"Whoa," Percy said.
"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked over at Chrysa. "I don't suppose you have another wild boar up your sleeve?"
"Something's not right here," Chrysa said. There was something prickling at the edge of her senses. "Our next challenge…"
She pointed towards the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.
"We should camp for the night," Zoe suggested.
Chrysa reached into her bag again and pulled out the handkerchief-sized tent and placed it on the ground.
"Is that the same one we used before?" Percy asked, perking up.
"It is indeed," Chrysa said, tapping it with her wand. The others were startled when the full tent sprung up, the Hunters less so than Thalia. "In we go. Zoe and Rhanis, you'll have to share. You and Thalia will be on the left-hand side. Percy, you're with me on the right."
All five entered, and the three who hadn't experienced Chrysa's magical tent before looked shocked.
"There are four bedrooms and two bathrooms, along with the kitchen," Chrysa explained in response to their wide eyes. "No dining room though, so I suggest we eat outside. I tend to forget to clean in here, so crumbs end up staying around for a while. It is warded against bugs though. If you need to use the bathrooms, do it now while I start dinner. Then head outside. Try to start a campfire or something. I think I have marshmallows around here somewhere…"
A short while later, they were lounging around the campfire on foam mattresses that Zoe and Rhanis had produced from their packs. Chrysa served up hot bowls of stew and fresh bread with butter, and gave everyone either milk or water to drink. It was perfect to keep them warm in the chilly night air.
"The stars are out," Zoe said.
There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange. Chrysa had missed this sight.
"Wow," Percy said. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."
"This is nothing," Zoe said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."
"You talk like you're not human," Percy said.
Zoe raised an eyebrow.
"I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"
"For you," Thalia corrected. "Not thee."
"But you use you for the beginning of a sentence."
"And for the end," Thalia said. "No thou. No thee. Just you."
Zoe threw her hands up in exasperation.
"I hate this language! It changes too often!"
"If only Pan were here," Rhanis sighed. "He would set things right."
Zoe nodded sadly.
"Do you really think it was Pan?" Percy asked.
"He sent us help," Chrysa said. "I think he was trying to use your empathy link to get in touch with Grover. We'll find out if Grover felt anything once we get back to camp. Pan has waited for two thousand years. He can wait a few days more."
"What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Chrysa, "is how you destroyed two of the zombies when none of us could touch them. There are a lot more out there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."
Chrysa sighed and pulled out her favorite knife. The black metal seemed to suck in the light given off by the fire.
"The first time I tried, it didn't work," she said. "Celestial bronze does nothing against those things. You can't kill what's already dead."
"But that knife worked. What is it made of?" Thalia asked.
"Stygian iron," Zoe said softly. "It's very rare, rarer than celestial bronze, or Olympian silver. I haven't seen any in centuries."
"It can only be forged in the Underworld, and it's usually only Underworld denizens who use it. I have Thanatos as my patron, and he gave me a Stygian iron knife. It can kill mortals and monsters alike, and even affects the shades of the dead. That is why I was able to kill two of the skeletons."
Chrysa rubbed her shoulder absently. She really should remove the bullet and treat the wound, but she had to wait until the others went to be or they would worry. Still, though the bullet was mostly plugging whatever blood vessels it had hit, the bouncing ride on the boar had shifted it repeatedly. She'd lost a lot of blood, and she really needed to hurry up and heal the wound and take a Blood-Replenishing potion. Thankfully, it was one of the ones she kept in her emergency kit.
Before she could make any suggestions towards retiring, they were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere.
Chrysa was blinded for several moments, so Zoe had to pull her away as they pulled their mattresses out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of them.
The back door of the limo opened right next to Percy. Before he could step away, the point of a sword touched his throat.
Zoe and Rhanis drew their bows, Thalia her spear and shield, and Chrysa her knives. As the owner of the sword got out of the car, Percy moved back slowly, as the owner of the sword was pushing the point under his chin.
Chrysa glared as she recognized smirking man.
"Not so fast now, are you, punk?" Ares asked Percy.
"Ares," Percy growled.
The war god glanced around at them.
"At ease, people," he said. He snapped his fingers, and everyone's weapons – except for Chrysa's – fell to the ground.
"This is a friendly meeting," Ares said, digging the point of his blade a little further under Percy's chin. "Of course I'd like to take your head as a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."
"What lady?" Thalia asked.
Ares looked over at her. "Well, well, I heard you were back."
He lowered his sword and pushed Percy away.
Chrysa quickly moved between her brother and cousin before sheathing her knives.
"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. "And little Chrysocomê too! You're not hanging out with very good company."
"What's your business, Ares?" Thalia asked. "Who's in the car?"
Ares smiled, enjoying the attention.
"Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He jutted his chin toward Zoe and Rhanis. "Why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait. Only take Percy a few minutes."
"We will not leave him alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoe said.
"Besides," Rhanis mentioned, "the taco place is closed."
Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the closed sign flipped to open. "You were saying, Oceanid?"
"Go on," Percy said, faking confidence. "I'll handle this."
"You heard the boy," Ares said. "He's big and strong. He's got things under control."
"We just ate," Chrysa said flatly. "But the others will wait inside the tent. You and I can wait out here. I'm sure we can find something to talk about."
The others looked reluctant, but they headed back inside the tent. Ares regarded Percy with loathing, though he opened the limousine door like a chauffeur.
"Get inside, punk," he said. "And mind your manners. She's not as forgiving of rudeness as I am."
Ares shut the door behind Percy after he climbed in, but not before Chrysa got a glimpse of who was inside, confirming her suspicions.
"So, you're still following around at Aphrodite's heels?" she said casually, leaning against the limousine.
Ares' face tightened. He was easy to wind up.
"Just because you're Dad's favorite doesn't mean I won't gut you," he growled.
"Ah yes, but you're not going to touch me so long as you don't want all three brothers after you," Chrysa replied, casually checking her nails. She'd lost a good portion of the nail polish she'd applied before heading to Maine, which really spoke to how much she'd been doing, since it was a magical, long-lasting, water- chip- fade- and everything else-resistant polish.
Thankfully, Percy's conference with Aphrodite finished before Chrysa could rile Ares up too much. He opened the car door and pulled Percy out.
"You're lucky, punk," Ares said, pushing Percy away from the window. "Be grateful."
"For what?"
"That we're being so nice. If it was up to me…"
"So why haven't you killed me?" Percy asked belligerently.
Ares nodded, like Percy had finally said something intelligent.
"I'd love to kill you, seriously," he said. "But see, I got a situation. Word on Olympus is that you might start the biggest war in history. I can't risk messing that up. Besides, Aphrodite thinks you're some kind of soap-opera star or something. I kill you, that makes me look bad with her. But don't worry. I haven't forgotten my promise. Some day soon, kid – real soon – you're going to raise your sword to fight, tand you're going to remember the wrath of Ares."
Percy balled his fists.
"Why wait? I beat you once. How's that ankle healing up?"
Ares grinned crookedly.
"Not bad, punk. But you got nothing on the master of taunts. I'll start the fight when I'm good and ready. Until then…get lost."
He snapped his fingers, and the world did a three-sixty, spinning in a cloud of red dust. Percy and Chrysa both fell to the ground.
When they stood up again, the limousine was gone. The road, the taco restaurant, the whole town of Gila Claw was gone. Even Chrysa's tent was gone. They were standing in the middle of the junkyard, mountains of scrap metal stretched out in every direction.
Chrysa immediately dug into her messenger bag.
"Oh, thank the gods he just put the tent away," she said with a relieved sigh. "That thing was expensive. I would have hated to have had to buy another. So, what did Aphrodite want, Percy?"
"Oh, uh, not sure," Percy said. He really was a terrible liar. But then again, to the goddess of secrets and lies, everyone was a terrible liar. "She said to be careful in her husband's junkyard. She said not to pick anything up."
Zoe narrowed her eyes.
"The goddess of love would not make a special trip to tell thee that. Be careful, Percy. Aphrodite has led many heroes astray."
"For once, I agree with Zoe," Thalia said. "You can't trust Aphrodite."
"So," Percy said. "How do we get out of here."
"That way," Zoe said. "That is west."
"How can you tell?"
The light of the moon easily revealed the Hunter rolling her eyes.
"Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "Which means that must be west."
She pointed west again, then at the northern constellation.
"Oh, yeah," Percy said. "The bear thing."
Zoe and Rhanis both looked offended. Chrysa supposed they would be. They'd both known Callisto.
"Show some respect," Rhanis reprimanded. "She was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."
"You act like it was real," Percy said.
"She was."
Before the argument could continue, Thalia broke in.
"Guys, look!"
They'd reached the crest of a junk mountain. Piles of metal objects glinted in the moonlight: broken heads of bronze horses, metal legs from human statues, smashed chariots, tons of shields and swords and other weapons, along with modern items, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.
"Whoa," Thalia said. "That stuff…some of it looks like real gold."
"It is," Rhanis said grimly. "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."
"Junk?" Percy asked, picking up a beautiful crown made of gold, silver, and jewels. It was broken on one side, as if it had been split by an axe. "You call this junk?"
Rhanis swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!"
"Everything is here for a reason," Chrysa said grimly. "Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."
"I don't like this place," Thalia said. She gripped the shaft of her spear.
"You think we're going to get attacked by killer refrigerators?" Percy asked.
"Chrysa's right, Percy," she said with a hard look. "Things get thrown away here for a reason. Now come on, let's get across the yard."
They started picking their way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and without the stars to guide them, they would have been lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same.
Despite the warnings, they didn't leave everything alone. Percy picked up an electric guitar shaped like Apollo's lyre. Rhanis found a broken tree made out of metal. It had been chopped to pieces, but some of the branches still had golden birds in them, and they whirred around when Rhanis picked them up, trying to flap their wings. One of the tree branches got caught in Rhanis' white hair, and she had to be carefully untangled.
Finally, they saw the edge of the junkyard about a half-mile ahead of them, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between them and the road…
"What is that?" Thalia gasped.
Ahead of them was a hill much bigger and longer than the others. IT was like a metal mesa, the length of a football field and as tall as goalposts. At one end of the mesa was a row of ten thick metal columns, wedged tightly together.
Zoe frowned. "Those look like –"
"Toes," Chrysa said.
Percy nodded. "Really, really large toes."
Chrysa and Rhanis exchanged nervous glances.
"Let's go around," Thalia suggested. "Far around."
"But the road is right over there," Percy protested. "Quicker to climb over."
Ping.
Chrysa had knives in her hands in an instant. Thalia hefted her spear and Zoe drew her bow, until they realized it was only Rhanis. She had thrown a piece of scrap metal at the toes and hit one, making a deep echo, as if the column was hollow.
"Why did you do that?" Zoe demanded.
"I wanted to see if it was asleep," Rhanis shrugged.
Zoe looked furious.
"Now is not the time, Rhanis!"
"Come on," Thalia said, looking at Chrysa. "Around."
Chrysa nodded. Ten-foot-tall metal toes were not something she wanted to go near.
After all, if there were toes, why wouldn't there be the rest of a body as well?
After several minutes of walking, they finally stepped out onto the highway, an abandoned but well-lit stretch of black asphalt.
"We made it out," Zoe said. "Thank the gods."
At that exact moment, they heard a sound like a thousand trash compactors crushing metal.
Chrysa whirled around. Behind them, the scrap mountain was boiling, rising up. The body attached to the ten toes rose up – it was a bronze giant in full Greek armor, around two hundred feet tall. He gleamed wickedly in the moonlight. He looked down at them, and it was easy to see that his face was deformed. The left side was partially melted off. His joints creaked with rust, and across his armored chest, written in thick dust by some giant finger, were the words WASH ME.
"Talos!" Zoe gasped.
"Who – who's Talos?" Percy stuttered.
"One of Hephaestus' creations," Rhanis explained. "But that cannot be the original. It is too small, and the was destroyed in Crete besides. A prototype, maybe. A defective model."
The metal giant didn't like the word defective.
He moved one hand to his sword belt and drew his weapon, The sound of it coming out of its sheath was horrible, metal screeching against metal. The blade was easily a hundred feet long. IT looked rusty and dull, but that did not matter. Getting hit with something that size would be like getting hit by a battleship.
"Someone took something," Zoe said. "Who took something?"
She glared accusingly at Percy, who shook his head.
"I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a thief."
They all looked around at each other. Chrysa caught a glimpse of something in Rhanis' white braid. She reached out and pulled a metal twig out of her hair. They all stared at each other in horror, but didn't have much time, as the giant defective Talos took one step toward them, closing half the distance and making the ground shake.
"Run!" Zoe yelled.
They split up. Thalia drew her shield and held it up as she ran down the highway. The giant swung his sword and took out a row of power lines, which exploded in sparks and scattered across Thalia's path.
Zoe's arrows whistled toward the creature's face, but shattered harmlessly against the metal. Percy was clambering up a mountain of metal.
Chrysa and Rhanis ended up next to each other, hiding behind a broken chariot. Chrysa frantically tried to untangle the other metal twigs from Rhanis' hair.
"It's too late!" Rhanis said. "Leave it!"
Before Chrysa could reply, they heard a massive creaking noise, and a shadow blotted out the sky.
"Move!" Chrysa cried. She ran down the hill, Rhanis beside her, as the giant's foot smashed a crater in the ground where they had been hiding.
"Hey, Talos!" Percy yelled from his position atop a metal hill. The monster rasied his sword, looking down at Chrysa and Rhanis.
Percy threw something at the monster, which hit him in the shoulder. He turned around, even as Thalia raised her spear. Over at the highway, the downed power lines began to rise. They flew toward Talos' back leg and wrapped around his calf, sparking and sending a jolt of electricity up the giant's backside.
Talos whirled around, creaking and sparking.
"Come on!" Chrysa told Rhanis, pulling her further out of the way before yanking the twigs out of her hair.
"Ow!" Rhanis cried, even as Chrysa threw them to the ground in hopes that the monster would leave them alone. Nothing happened.
The giant continued going after Percy, who it seemed to think had sent the power lines. It stabbed its sword into a junk hill, missing Percy by a few feet, but scrap metal made an avalanche over him. Chrsya couldn't see him anymore.
"No!" Thalia yelled. She pointed her spear, and a blue arc of lightning shot out, hitting the monster in his rusty knee, which buckled. The giant collapsed, but immediately started to rise again. With its half-melted face, it was hard to tell if the giant felt anything.
He raised his foot to stomp, and Chrysa caught sight of a hole in his heel, like a large manhole. There were red words painted around it in Ancient Greek: For Maintenance Only.
"Crazy idea time," Chrysa said.
Rhanis looked at her nervously.
"I've heard of some of your ideas. But at this point, anything."
"There's a maintenance hatch on the bottom of the heel. There may be away to control the thing. Switches or something. I'm going to get inside."
"How?" Rhanis demanded. "You'll have to stand under his feet! You'll be crushed!"
"I'll live!" Chrysa argued. "Thanatos won't take me. Yeah, it'll hurt, but I'll live. I can't say the same for the rest of you."
Rhanis' jaw tightened.
"No. I'll go."
"You could die!" Chrysa protested.
"It is my fault the monster came after us," she said. "I am forty-six centuries old. I should know better. It is my responsibility."
Before Chrysa could protest again, her younger sister charged at the monster's left foot.
Thalia had its attention for the moment. Talos was big, but slow. If you could stay close to it and not get smashed, you could stay alive. At least, it was working so far.
Rhanis got right next to the giant's foot, trying to balance herself on the metal scraps that swayed and shifted under its weight.
"What are you doing?" Zoe yelled.
"Get it to raise its foot!" Rhanis yelled back.
Zoe shot an arrow towards the monster's face and it flew straight into one nostril. The giant straightened and shook its head.
"Hey!" Chrysa yelled. "Down here!"
She ran toward it and stabbed straight into its big toe. The Stygian iron caused the bronze to hiss as it peeled away from the wound. Unfortunately, the plan worked a little too well. Talos looked at her and raised his foot to squash her like a bug. Chrysa couldn't wait to see what Rhanis was doing. She turned and ran. The foot came down about two inches behind her and knocked her into the air. She landed on a sharp piece of metal that dug into her right shoulder, dislodging the bullet. She heard the clink as it came out.
Chrysa reached up, dazed. Her entire hand came away sticky. There was a lot more blood now.
The monster was about to finish her off when Percy, who had somehow dug himself out of the junk pile, threw his sword into Talos' thigh, cutting large gash into it.
The monster turned. Percy should have run, but his foot still seemed caught in the junk pile.
"Percy!" Chrysa shouted. She and Thalia both ran toward him – well, Thalia ran, Chrysa's pace was closer to a slow walk, despite her best attempts – but she knew they'd be too late.
The monster raised his sword to smash Percy, then he froze.
Talos cocked his head to one side, like he was hearing strange new music. He started moving his arms and legs in weird ways, doing the Funky Chicken. Then he made a fist and punched himself in the face.
"Rhanis!" Chrysa cried.
Zoe looked horrified.
"She is inside?"
The monster staggered around. They were still in danger. Thalia grabbed Percy and ran with him toward the highway, followed by Chrysa, who was still moving slowly, the fist of her hand pressed against her bleeding shoulder, attempting to slow the blood loss that was already making her dizzy. Zoe was already ahead of them.
"How will Rhanis get out?" she yelled.
The giant hit himself in the head again and dropped his sword. A shudder ran through his whole body and he staggered toward the power lines. Chrysa gasped as she realized the danger, and immediately stepped into the shadows.
She came out beside Rhanis just as blue electricity began to flicker around them. Rhanis screamed.
Chrysa grabbed her sister and pulled her through the shadows, falling out into the snow together. Chrysa barely managed to recognize that they'd made it before the blood loss caught up to her and she fell into darkness.
AN: Hope you enjoyed the double update! I'll be back on Sunday (hopefully). Wish me luck on Chapter 24 though, it is not cooperating.
AN2: Oh, and sorry about the cliffhanger.