Act II Chapter XLI: " I guess I could go for some sugar cubes too."

"It doesn't look like it's bleeding anymore," Percy whispered as he wrapped a bandage around Annabeth's shoulder. Nectar and ambrosia had healed most of the wound, but there was still a small bit that oozed out blood. Percy sat down next to Annabeth and stared ahead.

After he got over being stunned, it was too late. Reyna was gone into the darkness, and Annabeth was struggling to sit up as she gripped her shoulder. He took her inside and tended to her wounds. Annabeth did not say a word to him.

Percy sighed and looked at the broken window. Rain poured into the house, and he didn't know what to do. Wake May? Leave a letter? Just leave? Percy brought both hands to his face and studied the blood on them.

"Are you okay?" Annabeth muttered. Percy looked at her.

"No," Percy answered. He let out a tired breath. "Not at all."

"Are you in pain?" Annabeth questioned as she slowly stood and grabbed a fresh shirt out of her backpack. Percy averted his gaze to let her change.

"My head aches a little but not as much as the rest of my body," Percy explained. "How bad does your shoulder hurt?"

"Not as bad as it did before. Thank you," Annabeth said. "Do you want to change clothes?"

"Not if we're leaving now. We'll just get soaked," Percy muttered. He glanced back to make sure Annabeth had her shirt back on. Then, he turned toward. "Should we stay? Should we send a message to camp?"

"I don't know," Annabeth muttered. She sounded heartbroken and frustrated. Percy leaned on the wall and let out a shaky breath. He ran the events of the night through his head, but none of it made sense. Luke was dead, and Reyna had betrayed them. She stole the prophecy from them. "Why would she do that?"

"Thalia was worried that Lupa would want the prophecy, but..." Annabeth trailed off and took a deep breath. Her gaze moved to Percy. "Should we warn Chiron or just make it to the camp? Reyna's hurt, and I don't think she has any drachma on her."

"Should we look for her?" Percy prompted.

"Not in this storm," Annabeth decided. She took a deep breath. "Let's go back to camp, and we'll discuss it on the way. I'll find a phone and call a taxi. Can you get our things together?"

Percy nodded and moved toward their bags. He put his things back in his bag and slung it across his back. His gaze moved to the items that had fallen out of Reyna's backpack. He grabbed the backpack and checked inside for anything else. The main pouch was empty, but the front two pockets weren't.

The lower pocket had three vials in it. Upon looking at the vial and lifting it to the light, he found some kind of powder inside. There was also a folded map in a ziplock bag. Upon pulling the map out, he unfolded it and found various places marked in Latin.

None of the marks made sense, so Percy set it aside. He checked the other pocket and found a few packs of gum, a bag of jellybeans, and another bag of personal care items like toothpaste and deodorant.

Percy put everything back in the pocket and zipped it up. He placed everything else back inside besides the map. As Annabeth made it back into the living room, he looked at her, "I think I found something. It's a map."

Annabeth knelt by the map and studied it. A small frown touched her face. Percy spoke, "I know you read some Latin books. Do you know what it's saying?"

"It's just the old places that we camped," Annabeth began. She placed her hand to the left most mark on the map. "This is where we met up with Reyna, and it follows the path we took until our last stop before finding Camp Olympus. It looks like she just marked how dangerous it was and how many monster attacks we had."

"So nothing useful," Percy sighed.

"No," Annabeth answered. She folded the map back up and tossed it in the bag. Percy placed it over his shoulder. Annabeth grabbed her bag and Luke's as a shuddered breath left her. "The taxi will be here in a few minutes. We just have to meet him down the road."

"Let's go then," Percy whispered. He pulled his hood over his head, not that it would help much. The two of them left the house. Neither had the energy to say much as they trudged through the rain. Thankfully, it was starting to lighten up, but he was already soaked to the bone.

The two walked along the sidewalk but stayed closer to the thicket of trees to avoid as much rain as possible. Percy truly felt numb. He kept expecting to turn his head and see Luke right beside him. Or to look behind him and see Reyna trailing. But, there was no one there. Just him and Annabeth.

Percy wanted to find a nice bed, crawl up in it, and forget everything that ever happened. Most of all, he wanted to know why. Why did Luke have to die in such a cruel way? Why did Reyna betray them? Who did she steal the prophecy for? Was it Lupa?

"Maybe we should send a message," Percy muttered.

"We still have to get somewhere to be able to create mist to throw the coin into," Annabeth rebutted. They huddled closer to the trees. A sigh left both of them. Percy felt Annabeth's hand grab his, and he squeezed her hand tightly.

I could go for some sugar cubes.

"I guess I could go for some sugar cubes too," Percy commented.

"What?"Annabeth asked. Percy looked at her and frowned.

"You said you wanted sugar cubes," Percy began.

"No. I didn't," Annabeth returned. Percy frowned and looked around. He had heard a voice. "Percy, are you okay?"

"I have sugar cubes," Percy said as he raised his voice. Annabeth gave him an incredulous look. Next to them, there was a rustling noise. Percy turned to see a large mass of bushes and overgrown trees. After a moment, a head popped out from between two trees.

Percy stared at the horse that appeared there. The black coat of the horse made it hard to make out it's head from the shadow, and it didn't help that it had a black mane. Percy found himself smiling as he took a step forward and raised a hand out.

"Hey buddy, what are you doing out here? Did the storm scare you away from your barn?" Percy asked in a quiet voice.

Barn!? Do I look like I belong in a barn?

Percy recoiled as the voice shot through his head. The horse glared at him.

"You're beautiful," Annabeth began as she stepped forward and slowly held a hand out. The horse studied her hand for a moment before nuzzling it. Annabeth slowly began to pet his head.

Behind the ear!

"Behind the ears," Percy repeated. Annabeth looked at him but did as she was told. The horse neighed in happiness before suddenly pulling its head away, disappearing from sight.

"You understood him?" Annabeth asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Percy said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess that's a power of Poseidon, right? I can talk to horses? Or understand them?

Horse?!

Percy winced at the anger in the horse's voice. He heard more rustling, and the horse stepped out from the trees. Only, it wasn't a horse. A gasp left Annabeth, and Percy felt his jaw drop. This horse had... wings.

"A Pegasus," Annabeth whispered as she stepped forward.

"A Pegasus," Percy slowly repeated. "What is one doing all the way out here? Actually, you can understand me, so why are you out here?"

That mortal gives me sugar cubes and doughnuts most days. Why wouldn't I be here?

Percy repeated the answer to Annabeth, and her eyes seemed to gleam as she listened. Annabeth spoke, "Can you do us a favor and take us to New York? We'll buy you boxes of doughnuts and a whole bag of sugar cubes."

I can have you there before sunrise!

Percy sighed tiredly as he rested against the Pegasus. During the ride, he learned that the Pegasus was named Blackjack. Being able to see through the Mist, May would feed Blackjack all kinds of things like sugar cubes and burnt cookies. Blackjack stayed in the area for free food.

Percy also spent most of the ride in awe. There was just something about being so high in the sky with his arms carefully wrapped around the Pegasus. Unlike being in a plane, Percy felt free here. He wasn't worried that anything would try to strike him down. In fact, who would strike down such a majestic creature?

Annabeth's arms were wrapped tightly around his waist. His back was wet from her fresh tears, but he didn't mind. Especially as Annabeth's breathing grew soft and steady as she fell into what he hoped was a peaceful sleep. Percy kept his head against Blackjack's back, feeling his own eyes starting to droop close.

"You won't let me fall, right?" Percy asked in a quiet voice.

Course not, boss. Who else is going to give me all the doughnuts?

"Thank you," Percy mumbled. He adjusted his head and sighed. There were so many things they could have done differently with everything that had happened. They probably should have sent a message ahead. At the same time, Percy didn't care.

He was tired and exhausted. One of his good friends died in front of him for no reason. And another stabbed them in the back. Percy screwed his eyes shut and let out a tired sigh. The exhaustion of the day hit him, and he fell into a dreamless sleep.