They made it all the way to Bakersfield before the car broke down. It was an old beater and Annabeth was surprised it had lasted as long as it did. Still, she was disappointed when the engine sputtered and gave out.
Percy lifted the hood the old Turcell let out one last smoky breath.
"Sure you can't charm speak the engine to life again like you did with Festus?" He asked Piper.
Piper shook her head. "I don't think so."
"Bummer."
The sun had set and the fluorescent street light flickered overhead. A pair of headlights appears heading toward them.
Piper stepped forward, waving down the vehicle. Annabeth stood next to Percy and watched as their friend chatted with the driver. A few moments later the driver handed her a cellphone and Piper made a call.
A minute later the car drove away and Piper returned to the car. "Tow truck on its way. There's also a motel not too far from the mechanic.
Annabeth smiled at her friend. "Thanks."
Piper shrugged. "We're all in the same boat."
Percy stifled a yawn. "Probably wouldn't have this issue in a boat."
"It'd be kinda hard to get to the Grand Canyon from here in a boat," Annabeth said.
Piper noticed them first. "Heads up," she said.
A pair of attractive looking Women walking toward the three demigods. Attractive, that is, until the mist cleared and they saw flames around the women's heads. And the donkey leg.
"Empousai," Percy drew Riptide.
Annabeth and Piper drew knives. They stood ready at either side of Percy and the empousai hesitated.
Then the one on the left lunged. She was fast, and headed straight for Percy. Annabeth and Piper reacted at the same time, lashing out with their knives and slicing the vampire across the chest. She wailed as she disintegrated.
A split second later the second empousai attacked, sinking her fangs into Annabeth's exposed shoulder.
Annabeth cursed as she collapsed, but the bite didn't last long. Percy hurled himself at the monster, knocking the empousa off her feet and away from Annabeth.
"Percy!" She shouted.
He rolled away but not unscathed, deep cuts streaked across and down his arm, soaking his shirt sleeve deep crimson.
Piper leapt to action, stabbing the empousa right in the center of her chest.
She stood and turned around. "Oh jeez!"
Annabeth crouched next to Percy, examining his injured arm. "You shouldn't have done that, seaweed brain."
Percy grimaced. Piper rounded the car to retrieve a first aid kit and bottled water.
"Oh yeah, my bad, next time I'll just let you die," Percy said sarcastically. She rolled her eyes. He reached up and touched her shoulder, which bled from the deep bite mark. "You ok?"
Piper returned with the kit and bottle of water. She poured water over the laceration on Percy's arm. "I only found this one water bottle," she said glancing at Annabeth.
Annabeth checked her shoulder. "It's fine, mine isn't that bad."
Piper nodded and Annabeth opened the kit. She pulled out a plastic bag of ambrosia squares and fed one to Percy. She took a square for herself and zipped up the bag.
Piper took a long bandage and began wrapping his arm.
Piper finished and turned her attention to Annabeth's shoulder. She taped on a gauze pad and packed up the kit.
"Thanks Piper," Annabeth said.
"What are friends for?" Piper stood and returned to the car.
"Thank you too," Annabeth said to Percy. "I didn't mean that I was ungrateful. I just hate that you're hurt now."
Percy grinned. "I'll be alright. You shouldn't worry about it."
His smile faded as he looked past her. Annabeth turned to look.
A set of trash barrels and large cardboard boxes leaned against a brick wall. A motion behind the trash cans caught her attention.
She shot to her feet defensively but Percy grabbed her hand. She helped him to stand and he quietly led the way toward the barrels.
Percy held up a finger, a clear gesture for Annabeth to wait behind him. She stopped and watched as he walked forward a few yards and squat down by the trash barrel.
Percy spoke in a quiet voice, his tone gentle. He held up his hands in a non threatening gesture.
Annabeth frowned, she looked around. This situation seemed too familiar. Piper stepped up next to Annabeth. "What's wrong?"
Annabeth shook her head. "He saw something… I think, maybe…"
Piper touched her hand comfortingly.
Percy looked over at them, again he made the "hold on" sign, one finger upright.
He returned his attention to the audience behind the trash can.
A moment later Percy held his out his hand and small fingers curled around his own. A small child stepped into the light.
"Oh my gods," Annabeth's words caught in her throat.
The girl had a rats nest of thick black hair. Streaks of grime coated her face and her clothes were dirty and torn. She held a brown teddy bear under her arm. The girl must have been 6 or 7, just like Annabeth had been when she had run away from her own home.
Percy gestured in their direction, looking over and locking eyes with Annabeth.
We have to help her, his eyes pleaded.
Well, obviously, seaweed brain. She thought back at him. The girl waved shyly.
Piper and Annabeth smiled in a friendly way and waved back. The girl looked up at Percy and he smiled. He continued to hold her hand as he stood and led her over to Annabeth and Piper.
Percy stopped in front of them and knelt down next to the girl.
"Shana, these are my friends," Percy said and he pointed at each of them, naming them for Shana. Then he looked up at Annabeth and Piper. "Shana sees monsters. Nobody believes her."
Piper knelt down and touched Shana's shoulder.
"I believe you," she said, and Annabeth couldn't tell if she was using charmspeak, or not. "I see them too."
Annabeth couldn't help remembering herself at that age. She had been so scared.
She knelt down as well and smiled at Shana. "You are such a brave girl. Those monsters can be so scary. But you know what? The monsters are scared of us. Especially Percy. We're gonna make sure no monsters can hurt you now."
Shana leaned forward and hugged Annabeth around the neck.
When Shana stepped back she reached for Percy's hand again. He took it and smiled at her reassuringly.
She leaned in close and whispered something in his ear.
He nodded. "Yeah, of course. Let's see if we can get you cleaned up first."
He stood and Annabeth and Piper followed suit.
Annabeth watched Percy rummage through the car, bringing out a package of baby wipes. A necessity on demigod quests.
"He's being so kind to her," Piper muttered. "I'm… impressed."
Annabeth nodded, watching him smile and laugh at something Shana said. Percy tugged out several wipes and carefully helped wipe off Shana's face.
Watching Percy care for Shana made Annabeth feel like she had been punched in the gut. She loved him so much.
"Who do you think her godly parent is?" Piper asked.
Annabeth shrugged. "I don't know. She hasn't said a word to us. Percy might have a better idea."
"Do we take her back to camp Jupiter? Or all the way to camp half-blood?"
"I guess it depends if she's Greek or Roman. If she's Roman she'll need to go to the Wolf house and train with Lupa before going to camp."
As Percy worked Shanna tapped his arm where the letters SPQR had been seared into his skin. She said something and Percy shot Annabeth and Piper a look of surprise.
"She's seen the tattoo before," Annabeth noted. "Maybe a family member. That's probably why she made a connection with Percy."
He returned his attention to Shana and said something. Shana's face fell and she started to cry.
Percy gave her a small hug, letting her weep on his shoulder.
A minute later she stood straight and wiped her eyes and nose. Percy said something and rescue into the car, pulling out Annabeth's backpack. He unzipped it and said something to Shana jerking his head toward Annabeth, then he put a finger to his lips. This is hers, don't tell her I touched it, she'll be mad at me. He seemed to say.
Shana laughed.
Percy took out a neatly wrapped roll of clothing. He unfolded it and shook it out. It was one of Annabeth's pajama T-Shirts- white with an upset Stewie Griffin frowning on the front.
Percy put back Annabeth's bag and handed Shana the T-Shirt.
Percy said something then placed both hands over his eyes. Shana looked over at Annabeth and Piper. The message was clear.
They also made a show of covering their eyes. Annabeth counted to 20 and then dropped her hands. Shana had put on the T-shirt, which was too big and hung down around her legs.
Percy still had his face covered and Shana tapped his shoulder. He dropped his hands and nodded. It fits you perfect. She could almost hear his voice.
Percy stood and led Shana back to Piper and Annabeth.
"We should get her some new clothes," he announced.
Headlights approached and a minute later a tow truck parked in front of their car.
"I'll take that," Piper said and headed to the trucks window.
"If you're alright here," Percy said. "I'm going to take her across the street for a happy meal."
Annabeth nodded and Percy walked away with Shana.
Piper finished her conversation with the truck driver and he got out and began setting up the tow.
Piper placed a hand on Annabeth's arm. "Hey, are you ok? I imagine this is pretty hard for you."
Annabeth closed her eyes. Her imagination replayed the same moment from her own childhood. Hiding behind a trash can until her own heroes came to her rescue.
"Yeah," she said opening her eyes. "Yeah I'm okay. I glad we found her. I'm glad Percy found her."
They checked in at the motel and Piper walked to a nearby Walmart to purchase some new clothes, a toy and a picture book for Shana.
While they waited for Piper to return, Annabeth helped Shana wash her hair and combed it. Afterwards, Percy sat in a recliner and Shana climbed up on his lap. Whenever Percy head began to droop, Shana poked his face and laughed as he startled awake.
Finally, the game seemed to lose its fun and Shana jumped down, moving over to sit with Annabeth.
Annabeth put down her book and smiled at Shana. Shana showed her the toy that had come with her happy meal, a plastic character from some movie.
"Who's that?" Annabeth asked. "A superhero?"
Shana shrugged. Shana hadn't said very much to her so far. Actually, she hadn't said anything.
"You know," Annabeth said. "I used to be just like you… when I was your age, are you… 7?"
Shanna held up 6 fingers.
"Oh! Well when I was close to your age, I ran away from my home too. And I hid from a lot of monsters too. And one night my superheroes came and found me. Their names were Luke and Thalia. And they took me to a new home where no monsters could find me."
"Did your daddy die too?" Shana asked in a small voice.
Annabeth shook her head. "No."
Shana played with the toy superhero in her hand. "Oh"
Annabeth decided to change the subject.
"Shana," Annabeth asked. "You've seen marks like on Percy's arm?"
Shana nodded. "My daddy had them."
No wonder Percy had looked so surprised.
No wonder Shana had clung to Percy.
She was a Roman- a legacy.
"Was it just you and your daddy?"
She nodded. "He said my mommy had to go away when I was a baby. He said I was special. And I had to meet Lupa."
"You are special," Annabeth said. "Percy and I are going to take care of you. And Piper too."
Shana yawned. "He's nice. I love him."
Annabeth smiled. "I love him too."
When Shana was tucked into bed, sleeping deeply, annabeth quietly made her way to the bathroom, taking the first aid kit with her. She winced as she peeled away the makeshift bandage on her shoulder. The bite mark stung and her shoulder ached but it didn't look too bad. She removed her shirt and turned on the water. Carefully, she wiped a damp cloth over the wound.
A knock on the bathroom door startled her.
"Come in," she said.
Percy stepped into the bathroom, squinting against the bright yellow light. "You need some help?"
"Yeah, but maybe in a few minutes I was gonna jump in the shower."
Percy put his hands on her waist. "Hey, are you okay with all this happening?"
"What?" She suddenly became aware that she wasn't wearing a shirt, his hands were warm on her bare skin.
"Well, we're kinda taking care of a kid now, a lot sooner than we planned on."
Annabeth shrugged. "Well yeah, what else would we have done?"
He shrugged.
"She reminds me of you," he added. "Of that vision I had of you and Thalia and Luke."
"Yeah, I know. She reminds me of that too. But she's a Roman."
Percy's eyes widened and his grip tightened as if he remembered something exciting. "Yeah, she said her dad had tattoos like mine. And I think… I think she meant exactly like mine."
Annabeth raised her eyebrows. "You mean..?"
"Yeah I think she's a descendant of Po- well, Neptune."
Annabeth let that sink in for a moment.
"That just makes me even more glad that we found her."
"Her dad's name was Marcus," Percy said. "And she said her mom left when she was a baby. Marcus took good care of her. He told her someday she would meet Lupa and find camp Jupiter. But he died and she's been alone since."
"How did he die?"
Percy shook his head. "I'm not certain… but I think… well, I don't think he died of natural causes."
"That's terrible. Did she..?"
"Yeah. I think so."
Several long moments of silence passed and Percy stepped away from her. Her skin felt cold where his hands had been. "Well, I'll let you have your shower."
He smiled at her and stepped out of the bathroom.
Annabeth washed quickly and wrapped herself in a towel. As she toweled off her wet hair something caught her eye.
There in the corner- she couldn't believe it had been here the whole time- a large hairy spider watched her with beady black eyes.
Annabeth yelped and scrambled up onto the counter. Seconds later the door flew open.
"Everything…?" Percy eyed her curiously up on the counter.
Annabeth slowed her breathing. She had to laugh at herself. She had faced Cyclopes, Giants, Titans, Hydras and even The Queen Mother of All Arachnids. By comparison, this garden variety insect shouldn't have bothered her. "Um… it's just a, uh, spider."
Percy glanced in the direction her eyes were pointing.
"Oh," he stepped into the bathroom, used a tissue to scoop it up crushed the arachnid between his fingers. He tossed the tissue in the trash.
"Thank you," Annabeth breathed a sigh of relief, letting her legs down to dangle. Then she flushed with embarrassment. "Sorry about that."
Percy rinsed his hands in the sink next to her. "No big deal."
He dried his hands and they locked eyes, each one trying to read the other's mind.
Fortunately, or unfortunately, Annabeth had a pretty good idea of his thoughts.
"Do you want help with that now?" He asked, gesturing to the mark on her shoulder.
"Um, yeah… that would be nice."
Percy set to work and a few minutes later it was neatly bandaged. She remained seated on the counter, her towel tightly wrapped around her body.
"What's the face?" He asked. "You're thinking about something really hard."
She pressed her lips together before answering. "More like trying hard not to think about something."
He seemed to lean a little closer. "How successful are you?"
She caught her breath. "Not."
He kissed her and she returned his passion- pulling him closer to her.
His left hand was on her knee. His injured arm resting against her thigh, the fabric of her towel not doing enough to suppress her tingling nerves.
"We're going to fail at this, aren't we?" She said, pulling back but only enough to break the kiss.
"You tell me," he said, his fingers inching toward the hem of the towel.
She pressed her forehead against his. "If I had things more under control, I'd tell you to stop."
Percy winced. "That was such a non answer."
Annabeth's fingers laced with his. "You didn't ask a question."
"Maybe I don't want to know the answer."
"What happened to the guy who confidently told me not doing this made a ton of sense?"
"That guy had that conversation with you fully clothed."
"You barged in here just after I showered, what did you expect?"
"I didn't have any expectations, and you forgot to lock the door. Plus, there was a spider. You would have stayed up here all night."
"I hate when you make valid points."
"Was this an argument?" Percy grinned. "Did I win?"
Annabeth rolled her eyes. "You should take a shower."
"Okay."
Neither of them moved.
"You're still here, Wise girl."
"You're in my way, Seaweed brain."
"Now it feels like an argument. Do you want help getting down?"
She smiled, holding his shoulders. "That would be nice."
He wrapped his arms around her waist and gently pulled her forward, off the counter.
Her bare feet touched the ground. He continued to hold her close to him.
"You're still holding me," she observed.
"I guess I don't want you to leave."
"Do you think I'm going to change my mind?"
Percy sighed. "A guy can hope."
She kissed him on his cheek before pulling herself away from his embrace. "When you're done I'll help you with your arm."
She left the bathroom, ensuring to lock the bathroom door on her way out.