~ Round Two ~
SAPHIRA
"The warehouse will be just a block down from us," Percy announces as they come to a stop in an alleyway.
They trekked the twenty minutes from the monsters' bar to the warehouse street that Greg had described. As Percy said, it's only at the end of this block, but this street is not particularly busy. If they try to move in for reconnaissance, there is a good chance they'd be spotted by monsters. They are at least downwind of the location, so they won't be scented from here, but they do need to think of a way to get eyes over that place and find out what they're dealing with.
"So, any ideas for how we can get some intel?" Percy asks. He turns to Annabeth. "Do you have that video shield?"
"I left it back home, and it wouldn't work here anyway," Annabeth replies. "We could try to take the rooftops to get a look, but even that would be risky without knowing if they have eyes on the high ground too."
Saphira is contemplating their options. If they mess this up, they could ruin their best shot at getting Asteria back. On another note, her patience is wearing thin and she's considering throwing caution to the wind and going in, knives, swords, and arrows blazing. However, she's not ready to play that card just yet. She needs to think about this very carefully.
Thankfully, one of them has an idea.
"I have a way we can check it out without getting spotted," Chloe pipes up. Saphira glances at her and nods for her to go ahead and explain, but instead of speaking, the healer instead turns her head up to the sky and gives a soft, two-tone whistle. Saphira recognizes it as a summoning call for the Hunt's animal companions, but she wasn't aware Chloe had one. Yet, sure enough after a few seconds, a gray and white falcon comes swooping down out of the sky into the alley, landing on Chloe's held-out arm. It chirps at her in greeting and fluffs out its feathers.
"Hello, Anita!" she coos, scratching the bird's chest.
"Hi, Chloe!"
Saphira can hear the falcon's voice in her mind. All hunters can understand the timber wolves and the falcons that serve them through a telepathic connection, a gift that they receive upon getting Artemis' blessing for joining the Hunt… something she is envious of not being able to have with Lykos.
"Mistress, I was wondering when you would summon me! I was beginning to think you had replaced me with another bird!" Anita chirps sadly.
"I would never!" Chloe replies. "It's simply been a hectic couple of days."
"You can speak to birds?" Percy asks.
"We can speak to our wolves and our falcons," Saphira explains. She looks back at Chloe and the falcon. "Since when did you get a falcon?"
Chloe sniffs. "A few weeks ago. You've been running off with Lykos so much you never noticed. I even told you about Anita, but I don't think you were paying attention to me."
Saphira winces inwardly at the revelation. She didn't mean to ignore her like that. "Sorry!"
"It's okay. I know spending time with him has been good for you. Besides, I'll get to hang out with you plenty during this quest," Chloe giggles, then returns her attention to the falcon. "Anita, can you do some reconnaissance for us? We need to know if there are any monsters around the warehouse at the end of this block."
Anita cocks her head at her, as if pondering the request. "I could… for a price."
The healer frowns at her playfully. "Are you trying to charge me for something you're supposed to do for free?"
"I am, mistress. I'd say about five strips of that lovely roast turkey you make oughta' cover my fee," Anita replies.
"Alright, fine, you troublesome little bird," Chloe says.
Anita begins to flap her wings in preparation to take off. "One bird recon mission coming right up!"
The falcon hops from Chloe's arm and ascends into the air, flying up out the alley from the way she came.
"So, now what?" Percy asks.
"Now, we wait," Saphira says. They retire to the sides of the alley, leaning against the brick walls. Only Lykos can't seem to relax very well, sitting upright in the center of the alley, staring at the only way in with his ears swiveling every which way. He's agitated; Saphira can see it in his slightly-raised hackles and swishing tail. He senses something. She knows because she can feel it too. A feeling in her gut is telling her that something is awaiting them in that warehouse, and that feeling is also saying that she may be about to have a shot at redemption and revenge when they get in there.
A couple minutes have passed by the time Anita returns to them, this time landing on a dumpster lid. Saphira and Chloe stand at attention to hear what the falcon has to report.
"It's a small force of monsters, mistress, but not the pushover kind," Anita chirps.
"What kind are we talking about?" Saphira asks, though that feeling says she already knows the answer.
"Empousai. I counted five of them on the ground. There did not appear to be any on the rooftops, though I still advise you to proceed with caution."
"What did she say?" Annabeth asks. Chloe relays the information to her, and the daughter of Athena looks concerned. "Five empousai? That's a tough fight."
"I know it is," Saphira replies. She thanks the bird for the intel while Chloe gives her further instructions.
"Thank you, Anita. You are free to go. I'll call you if I need anything else."
"I won't stay too far away. Farewell, mistress!" Anita spreads her wings and flaps her way into the air once again, quickly disappearing over the rooftops and into the skies.
"We can't walk in there like we did at that hideout," Annabeth says. "I say we take the high ground, get up on the roof. You two can take out at least a couple of them from there and if any make it past you, Percy and I will handle it."
Saphira nods her head in agreement before turning to Lykos. "You won't be able to get up there with us, so you just stay close on the ground and make sure that none of them escape if they try."
Lykos doesn't seem particularly happy with this plan, growling in response and gesturing his head at her. She knows what he's saying. He's opposed to the idea of not being close enough to protect her, but he can't climb and he's the best bet at ensuring no straggler can slip away.
"Lykos, you can't climb-" she tries to repeat herself, but in a sudden show of action, the wolf pivots around before suddenly sprinting at the wall, springing up on a closed dumpster and from there, wall-running vertically and finally launching himself upwards onto the lowest-hanging fire escape, clambering over the rails. He looks down at her with a narrowed gaze, clearly challenging her to say her doubts about his abilities now. She certainly had no idea he could manage that. Well, it's still not climbing, but he's proven that he can get onto the rooftops with them anyway.
"Well, now I know how lycanthropes are always somehow running around on rooftops," Percy remarks.
"I didn't even know he could do that," Saphira mutters. Still, despite this, she cannot have all of them on the roof. They need to cover both the low and the high points. It's the only way this will work. Crossing her arms, Saphira calls up to the wolf. "Not I am not impressed, but I still need you on the ground. You have to make sure that none of them can get away."
Lykos glares at her and shakes his head, replying to her with a series of low grunts and soft growls.
"Please, Lykos. I need you to do this… for me," she says. He continues to glare down at her, but after a few seconds, his gaze softens and he ends up leaping back down into the alley. He rumbles at her, but it's not his usual content or amused rumbling. It is the tone he uses to show he's not happy about something she's doing. Saphira sighs and places her hands on his cheeks. "I know you don't like leaving me. You know I hate it too, but we need to cover our bases. I'll have them with me up there. You don't need to worry."
He still doesn't look very happy, but he sighs and nods his head in concedement. Saphira smiles at him and straightens her posture, turning away to address the others.
"Let's get into position," she says. The party nods and they begin to climb up the fire escape ladder. Only Lykos pivots the other direction and lopes out of the alley onto the street. Saphira heaves a sigh, not liking their separation, but she knows it has to be this way. She climbs up after the others and begins to mentally prepare herself for the fight that she feels is about to happen.
. . . . . . .
On the rooftop overlooking the warehouse lot, Saphira and Chloe crouch side-by-side, peering over the edge of the parapet wall. They have not yet drawn their bows, for they have not yet seen any signs of the enemy. This made Saphira suspicious. Not even five minutes ago, Anita had reported that she'd seen five empousai here, but now the she-demons seem to have retreated into hiding. It's possible that they simply went back inside the warehouse but her instincts are warning her that something is up.
"Should we go down for a closer look?" Chloe asks with a hushed voice. Saphira shakes her head.
"Not yet. Something just doesn't feel right," she mutters.
"Maybe they went inside for a nap," Percy suggests. "Do empousai sleep?"
"Percy!" Annabeth softly scolds. "Shut it!"
"Yeah, you never know who might hear you trying to spy on them!"
The voice wasn't any of their own. Within the next second, Saphira and her party whirled around, the hunters with their bows in hand and strings fitted with silver arrows, taking aim at the five female demons that had been behind them. Two of them are familiar faces; Tammi and even more infuriating, Kelli. Saphira clenches her bow tight, itching to let her arrow fly right between the latter's eyes.
"Ugh, I can't believe you survived," Kelli spits in disgust, glaring at her. "You should have died from the blood draining out of your pathetic flimsy body!"
"Last I recall, you were dead!" Saphira retorts. Her response earns a furious smolder from the empousa.
"When I find your wolf, I swear I will skin him alive, right after I finish what I started with you!" she snarls. Saphira bristles at the threat to her friend, when suddenly, to her surprise, Percy places himself between her and Kelli.
"You're going straight back to Tartarus, Kelli!" he growls, pointing his sword at her. Kelli and Tammi look surprised to see him, but their surprise is short-lived as their expressions distort into rage.
"Perseus!" Tammi hisses as her claws lengthen.
"Sea brat! You don't know how long we've waited to see you again!" Kelli snarls.
Annabeth joins her boyfriend with her drakon-bone sword brandished and raised to level with the empousai's chest. "Even you have to see you're outmatched here," she says with a hard edge to her voice.
"Is that what you think?" Tammi growls.
"It's what I know."
"And you're supposed to be wisdom's daughter!" Kelli scoffs. "We're going to tear you and your boyfriend to pieces and feed them to the hounds, but first…" she returns her glare to Saphira. "I've got more present matters with the virgin!"
Saphira shoulders her way between Percy and Annabeth to assert herself at the lead. "You say that word as if it's an insult, but to me it is an honor, you soiled demonic whore!"
With that final roared insult, Saphira loses her restraint and lets her arrow fly. It would have struck right between Kelli's eyes if not for her insanely quick reflexes as she snatches the arrow out of the air before it can connect. She looks furious, as if she was insulted that Saphira actually tried to shoot her.
"You little bitch!" she screams and suddenly lunges forward. Saphira is ready for the attack, sidestepping while catching the empousa on the neck with the curved edge of her bow, twisting her posture around to throw Kelli against the parapet wall.
The fight explodes from there as Percy and Annabeth quickly intercept Tammi and the other three empousai, with the sea child bashing Tammi in the face with his shield and slashing at another empousa with his sword to drive her back. Annabeth chases the fourth empousa around the rooftop, swinging and stabbing, but the demon dances away from her every time. The first person to make a kill turns out to be Chloe. The healer fires her shot and nails one of the empousa in the back as it attempts to pounce on Percy from behind while he's busy with Tammi.
Saphira faces Kelli, swiftly nocking another arrow to her string and taking aim, but the empousa is fast. She flips herself onto her mismatched feet in time to duck out of the way of the arrow, and before Saphira can reload, she's closing the distance. She leaps high into the air with her bronze leg raised up over her head, bringing it down like a sledgehammer to crack the roof where Saphira had just been standing before she dipped out of the way. Her recovery from her miss is quick and she's already spinning around with her claws outstretched. Saphira brings her bow between them as a barrier while drawing back her string at the same time, and Kelli snatches the bow, trying to wrestle it out of her grasp. She grunts with the strain of keeping her grip, at the same time, trying to line up the arrowtip with Kelli's face. Twisting her bow, she manages to get it close enough for her to let it fly, and the silver projectile grazes the empousa's face, leaving a tiny cut in her cheek.
Kelli snarls and her hair bursts into flames, but it's daylight, so the harshness of the flames doesn't blind Saphira like it did before that night. Still, the sudden heat makes her instinctively recoil and in doing so, she's able to yank her bow free but she doesn't get the chance to use it again.
"I'll kill you!" Kelli shrieks as she tackles Saphira around the body… taking them both in a tumble over the parapet wall and right off the roof.
"Saph!"
Saphira can hear Chloe's cry just as they start falling, but it's too late. Her reflexes taking over for her, she swiftly twists them around so that Kelli is beneath her as they plummet, just before they crash down onto the hood of a van in the lot. Metal crumples beneath them and Saphira feels her body slam over Kelli's before she rolls off to the side and sprawls onto the ground. Even though her rival had taken the brunt of the impact, that was a high fall, and she's feeling the collision as an ache travels through her body. Despite this, she's able to force her recovery, scrambling to get to her feet. Her bow has landed somewhere on the other side of the van and there's no time to retrieve it as Kelli makes her recovery. At first, Saphira is appalled as to how even an empousa could get up this fast after that fall, but after a moment, she realizes that Kelli is rasping for breath. She's winded and she's hurt.
The advantage is hers.
Unable to help the dark triumph she feels, Saphira draws her knives and prepares to continue their fight.
"If it wasn't clear enough, this isn't going to go like last time," she growls.
Kelli bares her fangs. "Don't get cocky, hunter. Even like this, I can still tear out your heart. I can easily win this fight."
Before Saphira can make her retort, there is a deep, savage growl that sends a vibration through her body. Soft but heavy footfalls on the pavement draw both their attention to the corner of the van's front, where Saphira can see a large shadow looming around towards them. Lykos, with his cold yellow glare focused on the empousa. Kelli's eyes widen with fear when she sees him, backing away as he stalks, fear at seeing the one who had killed her only a few days ago.
And he looks furious.
Lykos prowls around to stand beside Saphira, not even for a second taking his glare off the empousa. Saphira can't help the smirk that crawls onto her face, nor can she help the dark desire stirring within her chest, the desire to make this demon suffer for what she did to her.
"Are you sure you can win?" she growls.
Kelli looks like she's close to panicking, and instead of responding, she turns on her heels and makes a break for it. She goes for a vault over the hood of the van, but that's as far as she gets. Not even Saphira was fast enough to make a move before Lykos when he lunges forth and snaps his teeth over Kelli's ankle. The empousa shrieks and claws at the van's hood, leaving deep gouges in the metal as she's dragged back by the wolf, dropping onto the ground where she twists around and flails her claws wildly at him. Lykos releases her ankle and ducks away, only to spring forward again and slam her body with the side of his head, smashing her into the van. He bites down on her shoulder and heaves his entire body in a sudden swing to hurl her all the way towards Saphira, and she's ready to meet her rival before she's even hit the ground.
With a spin, Saphira slams her elbow into the incoming empousa's face so hard that she does a full flip, landing on the asphalt in a heap. Kelli is dazed but only for a moment, and she rolls out of the way of Saphira's stab which strikes the ground instead. Saphira doesn't let her get away that easily and pursues her with a hard kick to the stomach that makes Kelli grunt heavily, following that kick with a swift punch to the jaw. The empousa staggers but maintains her footing, turning back towards Saphira with a murderous glare, lashing out with her left claws, then her right. Both strikes are blocked, with Saphira landing a light cut across her shoulder in retaliation. She ducks away from Kelli's lunge and she's prepared to evade the next pounce, but ends up not having to, thanks to her guardian.
Lykos intercepts Kelli's attack, catching her arm in his mouth and dragging to the ground where he changes his grip to her hip. The empousa's screams are garbled by his violent thrashing of her body, whipping his head side to side and doing a fine job of bruising her up. Several times, Saphira can see the moments that her head strikes the hard ground, before Kelli finally manages to twist herself out of his teeth, only for her arm to end up right back in them. Rearing up on his hind legs, Lykos swings her around in a pass-off back to Saphira.
Kelli tries to turn her rough handling to her advantage, swinging wildly at Saphira as she stumbles towards her from Lykos, but her efforts are in vain. Saphira easily slips past the claws and drives one silver blade through the empousa's outstretched wrist, twisting it upwards to expose the throat and attempting to send her second knife forth. Kelli just barely manages to stop the knife from reaching her throat, though she does so by putting her free palm between them and that gets impaled instead. Her cry of pain is cut short by Saphira's knee meeting her gut, before Saphira pivots herself around and, with a mighty effort, flips the empousa over her shoulder, flinging her into the side of the van hard enough to dent in the door.
No time is wasted in making sure she doesn't get away. Saphira flips one of her knives over to grasp it by the blade's tip, swiftly taking aim before hurling it as hard as she can. The knife stabs deep into Kelli's shoulder, straight through to pin her to the van's door. Kelli screams in pain and makes a move to pull out the knife, only for her wrist to become pinned to the van by the second knife.
"Fucking bitch, fucking little gods damned virgin, you…!" Kelli lets loose a string of curses and insults, but that's all she can do. She can't free herself despite her attempts, though a lunge and a snarl from Lykos puts an end to all that. Saphira quickly retrieves her bow and returns to get it trained on the empousa, before she remembers the rest of her party.
"Chloe!" she calls up to the roof, suddenly fearing for their safety. Did they kill the other empousai? Are they alright?
"Saph!"
A second later, a head of blonde hair pops over the parapet wall, wearing the relieved expression of Chloe, followed by Percy and Annabeth on either side of her, both looking just as relieved. Chloe vaults over the wall, much to their surprise, as she lands on the first fire escape. She runs down the stairs so fast she might as well be falling the entire way, finally springing from the second story escape to land in the lot. Percy and Annabeth don't share her kind of energy, only shaking their heads in disbelief at the sight of the healer leaping down as they take the stairs and ladder the rest of the way.
"Thank the gods you're alright!" Chloe exclaims, throwing her arms around Saphira's neck.
"With a little help," Saphira replies, nodding to Lykos who hasn't taken his eyes off the empousa.
"I don't understand how you can make those kinds of jumps without breaking a leg," Percy comments as he and Annabeth finally join them.
Annabeth zeroes in on the cornered she-demon, her gray eyes narrowing in thought. "Good call on keeping that one alive for questioning. We killed all the others up there." She points up to the roof.
"Bullshit! No way you won!" Kelli snaps at her before turning her gaze to the roof. "Tammi! Tammi!"
"Save your breath, Kelli! Your girlfriend's dead!" Percy says.
"She's my sister, you dense idiot!" Kelli retorts. "I swear, when I get my claws on you, I'll-"
"You won't do a damn thing!" Saphira turns on her with a snarl. "Except answer my questions and you will answer them truthfully or I will make this the most painful next couple hours of your life!"
Kelli hisses at her with a sneer on her face. "You're not gonna do shit! Whatever you can do, I bet you I've felt worse!"
Saphira is fuming inside, but she manages to keep her exterior appearing cool. She runs several ideas through her mind, before her thoughts settle on Lykos. Kelli showed an obvious fear of him when he appeared. She has felt his teeth already. She is probably not eager to feel them again.
"Lykos." At the mention of his name, the wolf perks his ears up towards her, but he keeps his eyes on Kelli, who looks fearful like she already knows what's going to happen. Saphira narrows her eyes and continues her request.
"Her hand."
Lykos doesn't even question her for a second. He simply steps forward with his jaws parting and a growl rumbling, while Kelli hisses at him and raises a hand in defense, only for him to snap his jaws over her wrist and, with a single twist of his head, rips her hand right off. Kelli screams a bloodcurdling scream, writhing and thrashing her legs.
"My hand! My hand! My fucking hand!"
Had it been a human or demigod screaming like that, Saphira would have felt such horror and sympathy for them. She'd never have even made that request to Lykos, but she feels nothing for the empousa. She's been itching for her revenge ever since last night, and now she's finally quenching her desire.
"Are you ready to talk now?" she asks with a cool tone that surprises her given the rage she feels churning within.
"Go to Tartarus!" Kelli spits back. Saphira clenches her fist. Okay, let's try this again.
"Lykos, her-"
"Wait!"
Kelli interrupts her, her voice scared and desperate with wide eyes staring at the wolf. "I- I'll talk! Just- just d-don't make him bite me again!"
Saphira crosses her arms, making sure Kelli feels her glare before continuing. "Answer truthfully and I promise that I will not ask him to again."
Kelli rapidly nods her head.
"Good. First question. Where is the girl? Where is Asteria?"
"She was just taken this morning! The gorgon sisters came to pick her up! They're probably already halfway across New Jersey by now!"
"Pick her up? For what? Where are they going?" Saphira demands.
"To deliver her to the higher-ups! They have a meet-up spot in Springfield, Illinois, at the Calvary Cemetery! They're meeting in three days!" Kelli quickly replies.
Annabeth now steps in to ask a question of her own. "Who are the higher-ups?"
Kelli hesitates, but a low growl from Lykos has her talking again. "They are the lieutenants to the Circle. I only know a few of them. Queen Scyllla of the dracaena, the Minotaur, Kampe, Arachne…" Wisdom's daughter pales and shivers at the mention of Arachne. "... and my leader, Aspa."
This time, it's Lykos who is noticeably unnerved. Saphira doesn't miss the way his mane bristles and how his ears fall back at the mention of Aspa. She noticed it when it was mentioned last night during the meeting, but he had declined to try to explain anything about it. She'll have to try to ask him again later.
"Who else?" she asks.
Kelli seems to be racking her brain desperately, probably wanting to avoid upsetting her, though Saphira is way beyond the point of being upset already.
"Lycaon was one of the higher-ups, but ever since he failed in his mission to destroy you hunters, he has yet to be seen or heard from. I would guess that he is serving punishment in Tartarus," Kelli says.
Saphira frowns and turns to Lykos. "Did you know Lycaon was involved in all of this?"
For the first time, Lykos takes his eyes from Kelli to glance up at Saphira. He shakes his head with widened eyes, showing he is just as surprised to hear about this as she is.
"You mentioned a circle. What did that mean?" Chloe asks.
"Not a circle. The Circle. The ones who are making all of this happen. Did you think we empousai were going through all this trouble just because we felt like it?" Kelli snaps at her.
"Who are they?" Percy asks.
"I don't know. Only the higher-ups know. They're the only ones who are spoken to directly. All I know is, the Circle isn't even the deepest this goes. What exactly, I don't know, but you five are delusional if you think you're going to be able to stop whatever is coming to you. The entire world is going to feel this storm!"
"We've heard that before," Annabeth retorts.
Kelli scoffs and snickers at her. "Trust me, sweetie. The war with Kronos and Gaea's uprising are nothing compared to what's approaching. Not even the Olympians will be able to stand against us! You are hopeless!"
"As I said, we heard that before," Annabeth repeats.
Saphira looks at the others. "Anyone else have something they think we should ask about?"
Everyone shakes their heads.
"Then we're done here. Chloe, send her back home."
Kelli's eyes widen in shock and rage. "What?! You promised you wouldn't hurt me if I talked?"
"No, I said I wouldn't set Lykos on you," Saphira retorts with a cold, hard tone.
"Never said anything about not shooting you," Chloe concludes as she pulls an arrow from her quiver and fits it to her string. Kelli screams and curses them all the way up until Chloe sends the arrow right between her eyes. Her screams fade as her body dissolves into sand, blown away by the soft breeze. Saphira steps forward to retrieve her knives from where they were left embedded in the van, then passes Chloe's arrow back to her.
"Well, I guess we're going to Illinois," Annabeth says. "Assuming Kelli was telling the truth."
"I don't think she was lying," Saphira says and nods her head at Lykos. "Her fear was genuine."
"Only one way to be sure. We'll have to go to Illinois and find that cemetery in 3 days," Chloe says as she shoulders her bow.
Saphira agrees. "Which means we'll need to move quickly."
"We won't make it on foot. Even as fast as you guys are," Annabeth points out, "and even if Percy and I could keep up with you for that long, we'd never make it on time. We need a ride."
Percy scratches his head. "I'd call for some pegasi, but I don't know how Lykos would be able to mount one, unless you can keep up with a flying horse."
He directs the last part to the wolf, who scoffs and rolls his eyes as if to say 'I'm fast, but not that fast.'
"What about the van?" Chloe suggests.
"I'm pretty sure you put this thing out of commission when you fell on it," Percy says to Saphira, pointing at the van.
Saphira frowns at him. It's not like she intended to.
"I mean there's like four more back there," Chloe says and jerks her head to the back of the lot. Saphira looks and sure enough there are more vans parked side by side in a single row.
Annabeth nods. "I could hotwire one if the keys aren't inside."
"One of you would have to drive as well," Saphira says. This gets her a look from Percy and Annabeth. The couple gaze at her questioningly, so she continues. "Chloe and I… we don't know how to drive a vehicle."
"Seriously?" Percy asks.
"We are taught how to forage, track, hunt, and fight… we are not taught how to man modern machines," Saphira admits, to which Chloe is nodding in agreement.
"I never got the chance to learn before I joined the Hunt," the healer says.
Annabeth shrugs. "That's fine. I have my license. Percy would have his license if he didn't keep failing the written part of the driving test."
Percy's change to a soft tint of red. "I can do the driving bit! It's just studying the manual and words and stuff that I struggle with!"
"Percy, I've seen you studying. You read a single page before you start browsing videos on your computer!" Annabeth accuses him playfully. "When this is over, you and I are going to sit down and I will make sure that you do it right."
Percy grumbles under his breath as the party heads to the van. Luckily it's unlocked and fortune seems to favor them a little more as Annabeth pulls down the visor for the keys to fall out into her hand. Percy takes the passenger seat while Saphira, Chloe, and Lykos climb into the back, and Annabeth starts the van.
"Wait, before we start heading to Illinois, can I make one request?" Percy asks, looking over his shoulder at Saphira. Curious, Saphira tilts her head and nods for him to continue. He takes a deep breath before he says, "can we make a quick stop at my place?"
"Perseus, the enemy has a big headstart on us," Saphira points out. She really wants to get moving and get on their trail. They need to get to that cemetery before Asteria is handed off because they don't know where she will be taken to after that.
"I know, I know, but I just want to tell my mom and stepdad where I'm going. The last time I disappeared without warning, it almost broke them, especially my mom… I can't do that to her again," Percy replies. His eyes are wide and pleading, but it's not his eyes that make Saphira reconsider. She will not be the one to deny someone else to say goodbye to their loved ones. She got to do so with Artemis and Thalia. It's only fair that he get to do the same.
"Okay, but after that we get on the road and we don't stop," she finally says. Percy's eyes light up with relief.
"Thanks, Saphira. I promise it'll be quick. My stepdad also has a map that could help us out. We can get it before we leave," he says.
Saphira nods. Better safe than sorry, should they get lost without a map to guide them on the road.
Annabeth sets the van into drive and begins to pull them out of the lot. "You'll love his mom. She'll make you feel like you are the greatest thing in the entire world just with her smile."
Interesting. This would be Saphira's first look into the life of a modern family. She's only ever had the Hunt and Artemis to look out for her. Her own mother had driven her away so she's curious to see... what a loving mother is like.