We'd 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, though the morning was sunny.

I won't lie, I might have used some hellfire to keep me warm on the way to the main street. Percy told us his conversation with Apollo- how he'd told him to look for Nereus in San Francisco.

Grover looked uneasy. "That's good, I guess. But we've got to get there first."

I frowned, I could try shadow travelling us there, but that would need multiple trips and leave me completely vulnerable.

We stopped in the middle of town. You could pretty much 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!" said Grover.

"Ah yes, coffee, the nectar of mortals." I said, suddenly craving some coffee.

"Yes," Zoe said. "Coffee is good."

"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you two go get us some food. Percy, Valen, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

We agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes.

Inside the store, we 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."

Percy bought a rubber rat for some reason, and then we headed back outside, standing 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—"

"I know," she told me. "I'm checking anyway."

Percy set the rat down on the railing. I lit a small fire in my hand, instantly feeling much better.

"Thanks." Percy said, huddling close to the flame.

I nodded tersely, my mind wandering back to the talk with the titan. Back then I had wondered what he had against the Lieutenant of the Hunt, but after rendezvousing with the group, I realized why. Really, it was so obvious.

"What are you thinking?" Percy asked, likely trying to make conversation.

"Just something the titan told me." I muttered without thinking, before widening my eyes. Shit!

"What did he tell you anyway?"

"Nothing much, just questioning my loyalties and talking about sacrifices. Seems he hates Zoe for some reason though, guess we're kindred souls there."

Percy frowned, "Zoe isn't that bad."

I snorted, "Please, her blatant misandry is proof enough of how she'd treat us had we not been fellow quest members."

Percy looked conflicted, "I had a dream on the way here."

"Okay? Not sure how that connects to this situation, but sure?"

"Just listen." Percy said, explaining his dream to me.

He told me how she had helped a male hero, giving him riptide, the same sword Percy was using. How she had betrayed her sisters in the process, resulting in her being disowned.

I furrowed my brows, "So let me get this straight, she betrays her family to help some guy, and knowing how Greek myths go he probably abandoned her. As a result she's releasing this pent up hatred on every male to walk the planet? How exactly is this supposed to change my mind?"

He shook his head, "It's not meant to change your mind, it's just to help you know her better."

"Why would I want that?"

He was saved from trying to explain when Zoe and Grover arrived with the drinks and pastries.

I shook my head, accepting my coffee and caramel muffin.

"We should do the tracking spell," Zoe said. "Grover, do you have any acorns left?"

"Umm," Grover mumbled. He was chewing on a bran muffin, wrapper and all. "I think so. I just need to—"

He froze.

I furrowed my brows, about to speak when a warm breeze rustled past us, 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. "Grover, thy cup."

Grover dropped his coffee cup, which was decorated with pictures of birds. Suddenly the birds peeled off the cup and flew away—a flock of tiny doves. Percy's rubber rat squeaked. It scampered off the railing and into the trees—real fur, real whiskers.

Grover collapsed next to his coffee, which steamed against the snow. We gathered around him and tried to wake him up. He groaned, his eyes fluttering.

"Hey!" Thalia said, running up from the street. "I just… What's wrong with Grover?"

"I don't know," Percy said. "He collapsed."

"He's not at risk of dying, just overwhelmed by something…godly?" I said.

"Uuuuuhhhh," Grover 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."

We made it to the edge of the town before the first two skeleton warriors appeared. They stepped from the trees on either side of the road. Instead of gray camouflage, they were now wearing blue New Mexico State Police uniforms, but they had the same transparent gray skin and yellow eyes.

They drew their handguns, and I got to work. Before they could fire, the gun exploded in their faces.

I wasted no time, shadow travelling behind them and with my sword wreathed in hellfire, I decapitated them before they could recover.

"Don't waste your energy fighting them," I said, noticing Thalia's fingers sparking, "They will regenerate from just about anything you do."

I heard a rustling of branches. Two more skeletons appeared on the road behind us. I saw one of the spartoi raise a phone to its head, speaking in clatters and clicks. They were calling for backup, not good.

"It's near," Grover moaned.

"In case you haven't noticed, they're already here." I said dryly.

"No," he insisted. "The gift. The gift from the Wild."

A gift would be really useful right now, but which god would be willing?

And then, Percy charged.

"No don't-!" I cursed under my breath, "Dammit, you attacks won't do anything."

Percy swiftly dismembered one of the skeletons, and bisected it at its waist before it could react. I had forgotten that he had more training than me. But his attacks were fruitless.

Warping right next to him, I waved my hand at the already reassembling bones, melting them to nothingness. The remaining skeleton clattered its teeth at us, his gun raised to point at my head.

My hand blurred as it moved, cutting off its arm, and I grabbed the falling gun. Pointing it at its head, I began infusing Hellfire into the bullets.

"Jackpot." I grinned, unable to stop myself from making the reference. The bullet ate through its skull, the fire eating the rest of its body.

There was a crashing sound in the forest to our left, like a bulldozer. Reinforcements were arriving.

"A gift," Grover muttered.

And then, with a mighty roar, the largest pig I'd ever seen came crashing into the road. It was a wild boar, 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.

Thalia raised her spear, but Grover yelled, "Don't kill it."

The boar grunted and pawed the ground, ready to charge.

"That's the Erymanthian Boar," Zoe said, trying to stay calm. "I don't think we can kill it."

"It's a gift," Grover said. "A blessing from the Wild!"

"And it's about to kill us if we don't kill it first." I said, brandishing my sword.

"Of course," Grover said. "It's wild!"

The boar said "REEEEEEET!" and swung its tusk. Zoe dived out of the way, Percy pushed Grover out of its path and I warped away.

"Yeah, I feel blessed!" Percy said. "Scatter!"

We ran in different directions, and for a moment the boar was confused.

"Can't we just kill the thing like we did the Nemean Lion?"

The boar, as if offended by my words, started charging straight at me.

"Val!" Percy warned, but by then I was already gone. The boar crashed into the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign instead.

"Keep moving!" Zoe yelled. The two of us ran in opposite directions. Grover danced around the boar, playing his pipes while the boar snorted and tried to gouge him.

But Thalia and Percy won the prize for bad luck. When the boar turned on us, Thalia made the mistake of raising Aegis in defense. The sight of the Medusa head made the boar squeal in outrage, and it charged at them.

Naturally, I followed behind. They ran uphill, dodging between trees as the boar mowed through them all.

"This way!" I heard Percy faintly yell, pulling Thalia into a railway tunnel.

For a moment I wondered if I should collapse the tunnel on the boar, but that would have trapped them on the other side.

The boar smashed into the covered tunnel, tearing through at full speed.

I shadow travelled behind, just in time to see Percy tackle Thalia down the bridge, sliding on Aegis. Moments later, the boar followed through.

The boar free-fell into the gorge with a mighty squeal and landed in a snowdrift with a huge POOOOOF!

Percy and Thalia were safe, and talking about something. A few seconds later Grover and Zoe came up behind me.

"Where are they?"

"Down there." I answered the satyr, and we began trudging downhill.

A few minutes later, we joined them in watching the boar struggle in the snow.

"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.

"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."

I scoffed, "A blessing my ass, this thing could've killed us."

"No shit," Thalia said irritatedly. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."

Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this giant pig can travel?"

"Fun," Percy said. "Like… pig cowboys."

Grover nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish… I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now."

"What's gone?"

Grover didn't seem to hear him. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.

"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."

She trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of us. Zoe went next, while Percy still looked conflicted.

"Wait a second," Percy said. "Do you two know what Grover 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?"

She stared at him like he was an idiot. "The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, when the boar got here, I felt the presence of Pan."

.

.

.

We rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as my back end could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was.

I have no idea how many miles we covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we 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," Grover said. "We need to get off while he's eating."

Nobody needed convincing. We slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then we waddled away as best we could with our saddle sores.

After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled around and galloped back toward the east.

"It likes the mountains better," Percy guessed.

"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."

Ahead of us 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 before Zoe Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills… but then I noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.

"Whoa,"

"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Graver. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"

Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to me, but Grover looked concerned.

"That's us," he said. "Those five nuts right there."

"Which one is me?" I asked.

"The little deformed one," Zoe suggested.

"Oh, shut up."

"That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."

"A monster?" Thalia asked.

Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge…"

He pointed straight toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.

"Guys," I said, deathly pale, my voice trembling ever so slightly, "remember the line in the prophecy about a land without rain?"

They froze, realizing the situation we were in.

"One of us will die here." Percy gulped.

"Well, it was nice knowing you guys." I said, "If I live, I'll come to visit you from time to time."

"How is it that one moment you're scared shitless of dying and the next moment you're so casual about it?" Thalia asked, flabbergasted.

I shrugged, "It's not like I can change fate, might as well accept it."

I remembered what the voice had told me, maybe I could defy fate, but I wasn't sure.

Eventually we decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of us, bar me, wanted to go dumpster-diving in the dark.

Zoe produced five sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of her backpacks. I don't know how she did it, because the packs were tiny, but they must've been enchanted to hold so much stuff.

The night got chilly fast, so Grover and Percy collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.

Since I now had time to spend, I began thinking about my dreams, leaving Percy and Zoe bickering on who caused the world more damage. What did it mean by 'scion of thunder'? I was a son of Hades, not Zeus.

And the part about me not belonging, sure I felt out of place sometimes, but not belonging? That's a stretch.

The last line bugged me, however. 'Return to your roots, Scion of Thunder or they shall come to you.' My roots, that could mean the underworld, insinuating I die. Conversely, it could mean my mothers side of the family. I didn't know, she never told me who her parent was.

Although I suppose the red streak in my hair should narrow it down, not to mention my blue eye.

The sound of tires approaching alerted us all, and I quickly got up, Stormguard in hand. I noticed Zoe had knocked an arrow.

The headlights of a car appeared before us, a white limo. The back door of the limo opened right next to Percy. Before I could react, the point of a sword touched his and my throats.

"Easy there," The man said, "This is a friendly visit. Although I would cherish the opportunity to fight you."

He directed that last bit towards me. I rolled my eyes, warping away and sheathing my sword.

He was a big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a white muscle shirt, and combat boots. Wraparound shades hid his eyes, but they could not hide the flames lurking behind.

"Ares," Percy growled.

The war god snapped his fingers, and everyone's weapons fell to the ground.

"This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his blade into the ground. "Of course I'd like to take you people on in a fight, but someone wants to see the sea spawn here. And I never keep a lady waiting."

"What lady?" Thalia asked.

Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back."

"Thalia, daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. He tilted his head towards Percy, "I'm surprised you haven't beheaded this one yet."

Then, he turned to me, "Valen, son of Hades, grandson of-"

Thunder cracked in the distance, making him stop. Ares chuckled, "Alright, alright, I get it."

"What's your business, Ares?" she said. "Who's in the car?"

Ares smiled. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not her." He jutted his chin toward Zoe. "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," Grover managed, "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, goat boy?"

"Go on," Percy turned towards us. "I'll handle this."

As Percy walked in the Limo, we began reluctantly going back to the restaurant.

"Not you, kid." Ares appeared behind me, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You're still needed."

I sighed silently, nodding my head subtly towards the restaurant, telling them to go.

As Ares removed his hand, we stood in silence, faint voices came from inside the limo but I couldn't make anything out.

"So," I began, breaking the silence, "fought any wars recently?"

Ares snorted, "The last war I fought was the American Civil War, but not to worry, another war is coming, and soon."

I smiled uneasily, "You really like war huh?"

"Are you stupid?" Ares said, "Of course I do, but meaningless conflict does not amuse me."

"What about the incident with the lightning bolt?"

Ares raised an eyebrow, pushing down his sunglasses, allowing me to see the fire in his eyes. I stood unflinching.

"Heh, I like you kid." He smirked, "The thing with my father's lightning bolt was a mistake, Kronos tricked me into doing what I did, and I'm not very proud of it."

My eyebrows shot up, gods learning from their mistakes, taking some semblance of shame in their actions. The world must be ending.

Ares scoffed, "Don't look so surprised."

I shook my head, "Honestly, I expected gods to be self-centered, egotistical pricks."

Ares' glared at me dangerously.

"But, you guys have turned out to be more human than I thought."

It did nothing to calm him, "I should gut you right here, the audacity to say we gods are like humans."

I raised my arms placatingly, "It's not a bad thing, Ares."

Thankfully, Percy came out before Ares could run me through.

"Ares, dear." She spoke, a voice so melodious, so hypnotizing it made my knees buckle. "Could you perhaps send the young man you were speaking to inside?"

"You heard the lady," Ares grinned, shoving me forward.

I sighed, controlling my emotions before entering in.

What I saw confused me. I had deduced that Aphrodite was inside, but I didn't expect her to be so…chaotic?

One moment she was blond, the next a brunette. Her eyes kept changing colors, even to ones which didn't exist naturally. Even her skin kept changing from pale, to caramel, to bronze, to black. It was like she couldn't decide what form to take.

"This is unexpected." Aphrodite said, looking at her reflection as if this was beyond her control.

"What is?" I asked.

"This!" She said, pointing at her own reflection, "Normally my appearance changes to fit the preference of whoever I'm talking to, but it seems you don't have one."

I shrugged, "I haven't really thought much of love, kinda hard to do that when you're a hobo."

Aphrodite smiled, "But you have potential for love."

"Maybe I do, but I'm not really that interested in it at the moment."

"Why, may I ask?"

I tilted my head, my face betraying no emotion, "Love as an emotion only exists to make sure we mate and keep our lineage going. It's understandable that humans are willing to love and be loved, but a Demigod's life is short, too short for any of that. In the end, love would bring nothing but sorrow to us, when our lover inevitably dies."

"Do you truly believe that?" Aphrodite asked, somehow I could see the pity etched in her ever changing face.

I pressed my lips to a thin line, stopping myself from scoffing in the goddess' presence.

"Oh my dear child, you truly do believe that."

"Lady Aphrodite, the oldest camper I've seen is barely in his twenties." I deadpanned.

She shook her head, "Love isn't only about mating, it is much more than carnal desire. It exists in many forms, not only romantic. Do you not love your friends, your family?"

I narrowed my eyes; she made a good point. "I suppose I do."

"See? Everyone is capable of love, even the titans."

I raised an eyebrow at her.

"Okay, maybe not all of the titans."

I nodded, sighing, "I will…consider what you said, but now is hardly the time. Maybe I will find love one day, but until that day comes, my stand on love shall not change."

Aphrodite brightened, "I could set you and the daughter of Zeus up."

I wrinkled my nose in disgust, "She's my cousin."

She shrugged, "Zeus married his sister."

"Point taken, still I have no romantic attraction to any of them."

"Maybe the Lieutenant."

"By Hades, no." I said, horrified at the prospect, "I'd much rather drown in the styx. Besides, Artemis would have your head."

She sighed, before perking up once again, "Maybe you're into men."

And I was out of there before she could suggest anything else. I could swear I heard laughter behind me.

Before I knew it, Ares slapped my back, "Hah! You actually made her laugh. You got spunk, kid, I'll tell you that."

"Uh, thanks?"

Ares grinned, "I'll give you this gift, kid. May your sword strike true when you most need it."

I stood there speechless, even as the limo drove out and the world around me disappeared.

"Valen." I heard Percy call my name as they ran up to me. "What did she tell you?"

I shook my head, clearing myself of the shock. "She said I had potential for love, and offered to 'set me up'."

I glanced at the two girls, "I declined of course, I have no interest in love as of now."

Thalia narrowed her eyes, "Valen, who did she offer to set you up with."

I gulped, "You don't wanna know."

"Valen!" She warned.

"Shewantedtohookmeupwithyouandzoepleasedon'tkillme!"

"What?!" Zoe said, outraged.

I grimaced, "Trust me, I had a similar reaction to that."

Thalia looked ready to run me through, sparks coming to life around her.

"Don't shoot the messenger!" I yelled, my hands raised.

Thankfully, she seemed to calm down, the miniature thunderstorm around her dying out.

"Um, I think we should move." Grover said, looking at the junkyard.

"That way," Zoe said, changing the topic. "That is west."

"How can you tell?" Percy asked.

I could see her roll her eyes at him. "Ursa Major is in the north," she said, "which means that must be west." She pointed west, then at the northern constellation, which was hard to make out because there were so many other stars.

"Oh, yeah," he said. "The bear thing."

Zoe looked offended. "Show some respect. It was a fine bear. A worthy opponent."

"You act like it was real."

"Knowing Greek mythology, it probably was." I muttered as we ventured into the junkyard.

"Guys," Grover broke in. "Look!"

We'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 more modern stuff, like cars that gleamed gold and silver, refrigerators, washing machines, and computer monitors.

I whistled, "There's a whole lotta precious metals and gems here."

"There are," Thalia said grimly. "Like Percy said, don't touch anything. This is the junkyard of the gods."

"Junk?" Grover picked 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?" He bit off a point and began to chew. "It's delicious!"

Thalia swatted the crown out of his hands. "I'm serious!"

"Anything thrown away in this junkyard must stay in this yard. It is defective. Or cursed."

"Yeah, we'd best follow that advice. Remember, one of us is supposed to die here."

And just like that, the mood darkened.

We started picking our way through the hills and valleys of junk. The stuff seemed to go on forever, and if it hadn't been for Ursa Major, we would've gotten lost. All the hills pretty much looked the same.

Whenever someone tried to pick something up, I had to forcibly bring them back. Someone being Grover and Percy.

"I swear to Zeus, you guys even so much as look at something and I'll throw you into the shadow realm."

Percy gulped, nodding. Seriously, did these guys not realize the situation we were in?

Finally, we saw the edge of the junkyard about half a mile ahead of us, the lights of a highway stretching through the desert. But between us and the road…

Ahead of us 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.

"They look like toes." Grover said, and a shiver ran down my spine.

"Really big toes." Percy added.

Zoe and Thalia exchanged nervous looks.

"Let's go around," Thalia said. "Far around."

No one argued. Yet as we were walking, something caught my eye, or someone to be exact.

A woman stood behind a refrigerator, partially hidden by it. Her red hair fell down to her back, her blue eyes lacking the usual mirth to them.

It can't be, I sensed her die.

Yet there she was, standing not fifteen feet away, as if taunting me. And then, she walked away.

My eyes widened, and without another thought, I ran after her, never once thinking about the consequences.

My mother walked fast, faster than I could keep up. Every time I tried to Shadow Travel closer, I always found her just out of reach. It was frustrating.

Finally, walking into a dead end, she turned around. Got you.

I took a step, "M-Mother…?"

Poor little boy, lost in a world not of his own.

She grinned, her mouth widening far beyond the capabilities of a human. And her skin melted off, her flesh half molten off. Old battle armor adorned 'her' body. A bare skull greeted me, and for some reason I felt like it was grinning.

Two more of the beings came up on my right and left. I clenched my fist, my longing, my sadness and guilt now nothing but a bubbling pool or rage.

Stormguard sprung out in my right hand, the tattoo of the dual pronged spear at the back of my left hand glowed, the bident materializing in my other hand.

I vanished from their vision, my sword embedded in the first skeleton's skull. I threw my spear, impaling the second undead to a car. I warped once again, my arms around the third's head as I came out.

I crushed it effortlessly,

But that wasn't all, six more of the beings arose from the ground, all glaring at me, their weapons glinting in the dark.

My spear flew back into my hand, and misty darkness burst around me.

My body blurred as I hacked and stabbed through the monsters, yet their numbers never seemed to thin.

And a roar that I didn't even recognize was mine, shook the heavens.