daughter of heaven || percy jackson

1.10

⎯⎯ ୨ 1.10: i just wanna fuckin' feel right ୧ ⎯⎯

THE WAR GOD was waiting for them in the diner parking lot.

"well, well," he said. "you didn't get yourselves killed."

"you knew it was a trap," percy said.

ares gave them a wicked grin. "bet that crippled blacksmith was surprised when he netted a couple of stupid kids. you looked good on tv."

percy shoved his shield at him. "you're a bitch."

melanie caught percy's eyes, flashing her eyes with warning, but percy didn't seem to care. ares grabbed the shield and spun it in the air like pizza dough. it changed form, melting into a bulletproof vest. he slung it across his back.

"see that truck over there?" he pointed to an eighteen-wheeler parked across the street from the diner. "that's your ride. take you straight to l.a., with one stop in vegas."

the eighteen wheeler had a sign on the back, reading 'kindness international: humane zoo transport. warning: live wild animals.'

"you're kidding," percy said.

ares snapped his fingers. the back door of the truck unlatched. "free ride west, punk. stop complaining. and here's a lil' something for doing the job."

he slung a blue nylon backpack off his handlebars and tossed it to him. inside were fresh clothes for all of them, twenty bucks in cash, a pouch full of golden drachmas, and a bag of double stuffed oreos.

"i don't want your lousy..." percy started. 

"lord ares, thank you," grover interrupted, glaring right at percy. "thanks a lot."

she looked back at the diner, which only had a couple of customers now compared to a couple of minutes ago. the waitress who'd served them dinner was watching nervously out the window, like she was afraid ares might hurt them. she dragged the fry cook out of the kitchen to see. she said something, and he nodded. he held up a little disposable camera and snapped a picture of them.

oh, yeah. just what she wanted. guess the entire group would be on the pictures tomorrow.

"you owe me one more thing," percy growled. "you promised me information about my mother."

"you sure you can handle the news, kid?" he kick-started his motorcycle. "she's not dead."

"what do you mean?"

"i mean she was taken away from the minotaur before she could die. she was turned into a shower of gold, right? that's metamorphosis. not death. she's being kept."