Celestial Flames (Percy Jackson Universe)

The Harpy

I turned the drachma over in my hand. I took a breath and closed my fist with the coin in my palm. 

"O Iris, great goddess, please, accept my humblest offering," I said. I threw the coin into the rainbow. It shimmered in the mist of the coloured rays. I watched it as it rebounded off the wall, then bounced twice on the floor. 

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. 

"Elizabeth," Layla said softly. "That's the fifth time. I think it's time to call it quits." 

I sat on the edge of the couch in exhaustion. "I know, I know. You're right." 

"We're worried about them too," Layla said, sitting on the armrest beside me. 

"It's just a little weird, don't you think?" I asked. "How we can't reach any of them? I mean, they have sinks and stuff in there." 

"We don't know what's happening," Butch admitted. He closed the door to the stables at the back of the cabin. He fell into a red chair with a sigh of relief. "Mom's IMs have been lacking everywhere. At completely random times. It's not even her, it's the messages in general." 

I ran my hand over my face. "What do you think is happening?" 

"Nothing you need to worry about," Layla told me. "It's almost lights out. Go back to your cabin. Get some rest. You look like you need it." 

My eyes were heavy from the lack of rest due to nightmares. They had been building for months. "I'll try. I want my drachma though."   

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Before she left to find Percy, the sword arena was where Mrs O'Leary usually stayed. It was the only place that was large enough where she wouldn't knock down a wall accidentally by wagging her tail. That did make training a bit... difficult. But we're demigods. We're supposed to work around surprises and challenges. 

Such as a hellhound appearing from the shadows of the sword arena in the middle of training with the children of Nike. 

I sidestepped Allyson's swipe and sent one of my own with my bow. She backed up and swept her feet out from under her with the other side of the bow. She fell to the ground and tried to stab my feet. I danced away as she kept at it and got to her knees. She lunged, trying to tackle me. I turned at the last second and she landed on the ground once more. I grabbed her wrists and placed the tip of my bow against her neck. 

"You're dead," I told her. I let go and she rolled over. She wiped away the dirt from her face. I held a hand out to help her. She took it and got up. I wiped the dirt from her chin. 

"You go hard," she said. 

"You're the one who asked me to help train you," I pointed out. "With how monsters keep regenerating nowadays, you need to be at your top game." 

She scoffed. "You have no idea. The only reason I survived was because of my dad's training." 

"Training?" I asked. I threw a punch at her. She ducked and punched my stomach. I stepped back from having the wind knocked out of me. 

"He was a coronel, Army," she explained as she tried to kick me. I caught her foot and pushed her back. She landed on her butt. She swiped at me with her knife as I backed up. "Requested for retirement when I showed up. He works just outside town now at the Army Corps for Engineers." She thrust her blade but I blocked it and kicked her undefended stomach. She gasped for breath and backed up. I kicked her knees and she fell to the ground. The edge of my bow was placed by her neck. 

"He sounds like a good man if he teaches you a few tricks from the Army," I said, helping her up. 

Allyson rubbed her stomach. "He is. I'm one of the lucky demigods, my dad's a good guy. So are my aunts and uncles. They're good people."