Chapter 6 - I Race Super-fast Horses
"Blackjack!" I yelled. Chiron or Dionysus could catch me any minute.
"Phew", I murmured, as my favourite Pegasus appeared, munching on an apple.
I climbed onto his back, and together we soared away.
A few hours later we arrived at London Olympic Stadium.
Blackjack was nudging my hand, so I held it out. In it, the Pegasus placed his apple core.
"Thanks a lot," I said sarcastically. There were no bins around, so I was stuck holding on to it.
The Stadium was massive. It reminded me of the arena at Camp. In it was a huge running track.
Beside the running track were three people, and a group of horses. Blackjack and I approached them wearily.
"Good evening, my dear," said a man. He was short, with a long beard. On the top of his head was a gold crown. "And who is this lovely horse?"
Uh oh. Humans were not able to see Pegasus through the mist. This man must not be human…
"Blackjack," I muttered, backing away.
"I am King Oenomaus," the man declared. I was sure I'd heard that name before… "Are you here for the race?"
"Wwwhat?" I stammered.
Suddenly, I remembered where I'd heard that name. In one of the Greek classes, Annabeth had mentioned how the Olympics had been invented. King Oenomaus had ordered that anyone who wished to marry his daughter, Princess Hippodamia of Elis, must first race against a team of magic horses. If the suitor won, the wedding would take place at once. If he lost, his head would be chopped off. The Gods liked watching this so much that they invented the Olympic Games, so that heroes and heroines all over Greece could show their strength and skill.
That was not something I wanted to try, but King Oenomaus wasn't having that. He shoved me forward. One of the other people with him lined up the horses. I looked at his other company. Sure enough, one of them was a girl of about twenty, with lustrous black hair. She must be Hippodamia.
I was about to leg it with Blackjack, when I caught sight of the trophy in the King's hand. It was gold and very large, but that wasn't what interested me. In the centre was the pearl.
I was desperate for advice from the Underworld, so I moved into place next to the horses.
"ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET, GO!" Oenomaus roared.
With a shock, I realized that Blackjack's apple core was still in my hand, but it was too late to do anything now.
The magic horses galloped forwards, and within seconds they were way ahead of me. I ran as hard as I could, but they were as fast as light.
I felt sick as I realized what this meant. I would have my head chopped off.
But, the Godly blood within me kept me fighting. I thought desperately. Then, it hit me! The apple!
I sprinted after the horses. Then, using all the strength I had, I chucked the apple after them.
It landed right in front of the horses. They looked down, startled, and started to sniff it.
While they were distracted, I caught up. Soon, I was streaking ahead of them. A few minutes later, the horses began to run again, but I was already at the finish.
I came to a halt where Oenomaus was standing. His mouth was hanging open with shock, and so was mine. In fact, that wasn't the only part of me that looked disgusting. My entire body was covered with sweat.
"Bravo, bravo!" Oenomaus praised. His lips were smiling, but his eyes weren't. I could tell he'd been looking forward to me, and judging by the look on Hippodamia's face, she had, too. Her rosy lips curved downwards in an expression of utter distaste.
"You have won the race!" Oenomaus presented me with the trophy. The pearl was finally mine.
"And tomorrow, you two shall be married!" Oenomaus said, faking joy.
"Yes…." I replied. "And…um…until then….goodbye!" I hurried towards Blackjack. There was no way I would marry that ghastly girl.
I waved at the King and his daughter. "See you tomorrow!" I lied. If only they knew I would never come back!
I clambered onto Blackjack's back and we flew away.
A/N: Thanks to everybody who has been reading this story. I hope you are enjoying it! Please review! If no one reviews then I don't know if it's any good