The Heir Part I: Heritage (A Percy Jackson Fanfiction)

Chapter Twenty-Six: "The Journey"

I take two steps out of the titan base and realize I am hopelessly lost. Canada is even stranger to me than New York— assuming we are even still in Canada. I mean, gods, Alabaster could have led us just about anywhere. I'll admit that I wasn't paying attention: I'm awful with directions. For all I know, I could be in Egypt.
I look around at the snow-capped evergreen trees. Okay, maybe not Egypt. Definitely too cold for that. I guess we could be in Germany? I don't remember crossing any oceans, but Alabaster could have just magicked them out of existence. Can he do that? I don't know.
For the sake of my sanity, I tell myself we're still in Canada— it's the easiest for my brain to process.
I know for sure that I need to find my friends. They have a three day head start, and I need to intercept them before they reach Camp Half Blood. Using my compass, I could find my friends easily. The only problem is, I don't want Astraeus to find the compass and use it against me. To him, it's a weapon. He'll use it to find Camp Half Blood, and he'll slaughter everyone. I don't want it falling into his sparkly hands.
I guess I've been out of the country now. Canada. Whoopee. I gotta say, if everywhere is as cold and full of titans as Canada is, I think I'll stick to New York, thank you very much. No offense to Canada. I guess maybe I should come back when I don't have to worry about Lord Ashtray.
Now that I think about it, New York is cold, too. Why can't there be titans in, like, California, or Arizona? Hawaii, maybe? Egypt, that would be nice, too. Someplace warm, with a beach, or maybe two. But no; all the titans live in the cold, dreary wilderness. To match their cold, dreary personalities, I guess.
Once I decide I'm far enough from Astraeus's lair, I fiddle with my backpack and pull out the magic compass.
"Where are my friends?" I ask.
The compass spins wildly, and then points straight ahead.
I guess I have to trust the compass, as weird as that sounds.
"What are you doing, Young Guardian?"
"Ack— Muffin! Gods, you scared me! What are you doing here?"
"Um..." Muffin says. "I'm coming with you."
"Really?"
"Don't sound so surprised, Young Guardian. Of course I'm coming with you." I can't stop a smile from spreading on my face, but I do stop myself from throwing my arms around him. I don't think he'd like that very much. "The real problem here is, you tried to leave me with Starface, even though he made it very clear that you should take me along."
"You're right," I say, hanging my head. "I'm sorry. I just thought you wouldn't want to come with me. I mean, these past three days, I've been so focused on escape that I didn't even come to see you. I got you stuck in that god-awful collar. Why would you want to follow me?"
"Young Guardian, you could walk me around in a collar of barbed wire, and it would still be an improvement over Tartarus."
"Yeah. I guess Tartarus was... the pits." I grin and point twin finger guns at him.
"I don't get it," he says. "What are you doing with your hands? And why are you smiling? Tartarus is a far cry from amusing."
"Oh my gods, Muffin. You're hopeless. We really need to work on your sense of humor."
"My senses are just fine, thank you very much," Muffin says. "We can work on this... 'humor' thing later."
I can't help but laugh a little bit. Apparently the majestic duties of the Prince of Hellhounds don't extend to things like puns and sarcasm. A real shame, too. No wonder Tartarus is no fun.
"So," Muffin says. "Why are you following that weird round thing?
" 'Weird round thing?' You mean the compass? It's a magic compass. It should lead me to my friends."
The compass led me right into an ambush. I walk a little further, into a clearing of trees, and suddenly, people come at me from all sides.
It takes me an embarrassingly long time to realize this isn't a titan ambush. It's my friends: Zane, Rem, Sam, Thalia, and Ruby.
"Holy shit guys!" I yell, holding my hands up. "You scared the shit out of me!"
"Oh we scared you, Oath Girl? Thalia says, her hands on her hips like an angry soccer mom. "Zane told us you can read minds? How's that for terrifying?"
"If it makes you feel any better, I didn't even know until I grabbed Astraeus. It helped me find a loophole in the oath."
"Someone needs to show that stupid titan how to appreciate hellhound royalty," Muffin grumbles. "He tried to put me in a dog crate! The indignities I must suffer!"
Thalia snorts, prompting a fierce glare from Muffin.
"Poor soul," she says, hiding a grin.
"This poor soul," I say before World War 3 can start, "has no sense of humor. He's ignorant to the beauties of life." That just sets Thalia off again, pissing off Muffin more and more.
"Will someone shut that Hunter up?" he snarls. "I want her severed head mounted on my wall."
"No maiming, Muffin."
"What? I didn't do anything! I only said I wanted to."
"Train your puppy," Thalia snaps, "or I'll shoot his teeth out one by one with my arrows."
"Both of you, stop!" I yell. "You sound like my siblings, and they're both under ten years old!"
"She's right," Zane says. "We can deal with this later. Right now, we have to get back to Camp Half Blood. And you have some explaining to do."
"Wait, we're bringing her?" Thalia jams her thumb in my direction. "She could be a spy, for all we know."
"I am a spy," I say. "A spy for you. Astra— the titan— thinks I'm totally loyal to him. He thinks I'm spying on you. In reality, it'll be the reverse. I can help you win this war. Just let me."
Thalia doesn't look convinced.
"I'm going to rip apart his army from the inside," I say. "Sow seeds of doubt. Plant false information. If he does manage to attack us, his soldiers will be falling on their own swords."
"I like this girl," Ruby says.
"How do we know you're not lying?"
"God, do I have to swear on the Styx for everything?"
"No," Zane says. "No more swearing for you, Oath Girl. Thalia, we just have to trust her."
"Guys," Rem says with a sigh. "We're still very close to the titan base. We're a long way from Camp Half Blood. We need to be prepared for a long walk, unless we want to get back on the shadow train."
"No," Thalia says. "No more underground."
"Ugh," Ruby agrees. "I hate it underground."
"Then we're walking," Rem says.
"Couldn't we hail a cab? Get the driver to take us to the border?"
"Sure," Thalia says spitefully. "When we manage to find actual civilization."
"We should save our money," Zane says. "Like for food. I'm starving."
"Me too," I say. "I didn't eat very much titan food in case it brainwashed me or something."
"Great," Rem says. "Every epic journey starts with a good restaurant."
"Then," I say. "Let the journey begin."