AN: I am so sorry it took so long to get this out. My computer crashed and I lost this chapter and chapter six that I wrote ahead. I had to rewrite it all and get a new computer which was hard because of how little money I had. I will get chapter six up as soon as I can.
Chapter 5
Cassie was lying down, taking the entire back seat of the Lexus. Zoe was talking to Bianca, "The Mountain of Despair that is the only place I can think of for Lady Artemis to go in search of this monster. It is due west and with the Titans returning…it is the only place that makes sense."
Bianca looked nervous, "what is the Mountain of Despair?"
Zoe explained, "Also known as Mount. Othrys, it was the headquarters of the Titans during the first war against the gods. Monsters are attracted to its lingering effects; a perfect place for a monster that is capable of destroying Mount Olympus would go."
Cassie sat up, "and as the heart of the west moves, so too has Mount. Othrys, where would it be now?"
Zoe looked disgruntled, like she didn't want to be having this conversation, "near San Francisco, a bad place for demigods."
Cassie looked worried, "what is this monster that could destroy Olympus and even the gods?"
Zoe shook her head, "I do not know. I have traveled with Lady Artemis for many years and I have never heard of one monster being able to do this. There are several that come to mind but they are huge, the gods would know where they were right away,"
Bianca looked nervous, "we'll find Lady Artemis."
"You're right, you will," a voice came from behind them. They all immediately noticed that it was the so-called homeless guy from before though Cassie had her ideas who he was the second she saw the train.
Those ideas were proven correct when Luna's voice came from behind him. "Daddy, what are you doing here?"
"You always were my smartest child Luna," Apollo said turning to Luna, "I am currently incognito so call me Fred."
That caused Cassie to have to try and hold back a laugh. "So why are you helping us, since I know that the gods cannot interfere?" Phoebe asked him
"It's the least I can do since you are all helping save my sister." Apollo answered before looking at Cassie, "So you are the daughter of Hermes. You know a lot of the gods seem rather fond of you, though it is no surprise since you will grow up to be a beautiful woman."
His words caused Luna to giggle, "You might want to wait till she is older to flirt with her, Daddy. After all the two of you will end up together eventually anyways so it shouldn't be too hard to wait."
"What does she mean?" Apollo asked Cassie.
"Don't really know she tends to be cryptic like that all the time. Like when she knew that Percy Jackson was hiding in the back of the camp van, or when she knew exactly who would be going on the quest." Cassie answered him not looking the least bit surprised.
It was all the information Apollo needed to know that his daughter had inherited more of his sight than he originally thought. Apollo sighed and sat down in a car opposite them, "I wanted to help you find my sister. Sure we fight all the time but what siblings don't?" He looked uneasy, "I'm forbidden from truly helping thanks to those pesky ancient laws but I can show my appreciation in small ways."
Luna nodded as she sat down on his lap, "like giving us this train as a ride west."
Apollo nodded and continued, "Even as the god of prophecy and the sun, I don't know exactly where Artemis is. She's…clouded from me, and I don't like it."
All three hunters looked at each other. Zoe responded, "It does look like a Titan is holding our Lady. I just wish it wasn't one I am thinking of…" she trailed off.
Phoebe and Bianca looked at each other, neither one having any idea of whom she was talking about.
Apollo stood up, "this train is going to get you across a good chunk of the country. I also think that you could use a good night's sleep after your day."
Zoe glared at him, "I am doing well, thank you." Bianca looked tired but nodded with her.
Apollo smiled as he looked at Cassie and Luna, who were already asleep, "Looks like some of you were tired."
Zoe and Bianca looked and saw that their companions were fast asleep. "I cannot believe this," Zoe muttered.
Apollo looked at her, still smiling, "Cassie's been using magic for hours I think you can cut her some slack. She alone kept all of you warm using warming charms, while Luna used them on Cassie."
Bianca looked surprised, "I was wondering why it was so warm."
Zoe admitted defeat, "I suppose we could all use sleep."
Bianca didn't need any more prompting and relaxed in her seat, Zoe staying awake to keep watch. When the train finally came to a stop later, they found themselves on the outskirts of a small ski town in New Mexico. The sign nearby said that the town's name was Cloudcroft but Cassie didn't really care. She had seen tons of small towns and cities like this one. The air was cold and there was snow everywhere. She shivered, what was with all the cold? Since they were in the mountains, there were pine trees in a nearby valley that were so thick they blocked out the sun.
"We have to find Nereus, he lives in San Francisco." Luna said simply
Grover looked uneasy as he responded, "that's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."
Cassie turned to see Zoe, she had said something about the Mountain of Despair, and how it was in San Francisco now that the heart of the west was in America. She also remembered that Nereus was the guy that the original Perseus had gotten the location for the lair of Medusa.
Trying to find a new way west was difficult. Once at the center of the town, all they saw was a school, a bunch of tourist shops and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store. "Great," Phoebe said, looking around. "No bus station, no car rental, no way out!"
Cassie and Bianca looked at each other it looked like they were trapped. "There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.
"Yes," said Zoe. "Coffee is good."
"And pastries," said Grover dreamily. "And wax paper."
He got a few weird looks but Phoebe sighed. "Fine, how about you two get us some food. Cassie, Bianca, Luna and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions." No one had a better idea so they separated with the understanding of meeting in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes.
Inside the store, they discovered some 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 unless you had your own car. "You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the clerk said doubtfully. "That's at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."
Cassie bought a warmer coat, and once outside and after making sure no one was looking she shrunk her old one down and placed it in her purse. "Wonderful," Phoebe grumbled. "I'm going to walk down the street. See if anybody in the other shops has a suggestion."
"I can pay for the taxi, though we would need two as there are six of us." Cassie said thoughtfully making the two hunters turn to stare at her. Internally she was glad that she had a card connected to her bank vaults that worked in the non-magical world.
"You can afford something like that." Phoebe demanded
"Yeah, I mean it's not like it's that much money." Cassie shrugged making Bianca look at her like she was crazy.
"Not that much money…" muttered Phoebe looking at her in disbelief.
"Let's get to the coffee shop and get something to eat and drink. Then I can call the cab." Cassie said as she started walking into the shop.
The four of them went and sat next to Grover and Zoe while the waitress came up to them. "What can I get you today?" She asked in a cheerful voice.
"I'll have a hot chocolate mixed with French vanilla cappuccino and a piece of baklava." Cassie said after thing for a little bit.
"I would like hot chocolate and strawberry shortcake." Luna added looking off into the distance again.
After they all made their orders the waitress went off saying that it would be there in a few minutes. The hunters agreed that Cassie should pay for the food and drinks as well as the taxi, though Zoe did look at her weird when she was told how Cassie thought two hundred dollars per cab ride for two cabs was not a lot of money.
Once they were all done they all walked outside to the area where they would wait for the cab, when suddenly Grover collapsed onto the ground. Cassie used a levitation charm to make Grover float after them while they headed towards the edge of town to wait for the cabs. They had almost made it when two skeleton warriors jumped out of the bushes followed by two more with guns.
"We need to fight them Bianca and I will take the skeleton warriors, Phoebe and Zoe take the ones with guns, and Luna you watch over Grover." Cassie said putting her leadership skills to work. Grover started to wake up which cancelled the levitation charm.
They fought for a while before Bianca stabbed a skeleton with her dagger causing it to go up in flames. Cassie then used her magic to form ropes to hold the skeleton that she was fighting while Bianca stabbed and destroyed it as well. Then Cassie used a spell to set the other skeletons on fire killing them.
They then got to the edge of the town when the cabs arrived and they split up with the campers in one cab and the hunter in another, and Cassie told both cab if they got them out of the mountains and went as far as they could fast enough that she would pay them an extra hundred dollars each. That comment made her get looks from Grover and the three hunters. It didn't take more than an hour before they came to an area where there was a cluster of buildings and Cassie paid the six hundred dollars for each cab and the extra hundred each that she promised.
There was a boarded up house, a taco shop that Phoebe was sure had seen better days, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILACLAW, ARIZONA hanging crookedly against the door. Past the buildings was what looked like a series of rolling hills, and then it was she noticed that they were just huge piles of cars, broken appliances, and scrap metal, a huge junkyard that seemed to stretch forever.
"Whoa," said Phoebe. Cassie had to agree, the junkyard was pretty big.
"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Phoebe said.
Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and did what he did back at camp. He threw the acorns into the sand and played his pipes. The acorns rearranged themselves into a new pattern.
Grover looked concerned, "that's us," he said, "Those six nuts there."
"That cluster there," said Grover, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."
"A monster maybe," Phoebe theorized?
Grover looked very uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge…"
