The Underworld's Child

24 | The Boar, Pan, And Stars With A Dash Of History

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"A blessing of the Wild," Grover said, though he now looked agitated.

"I agree," Zoe said. "We must use it."

"Hold up," Thalia said irritably. She still looked like she'd just lost a fight with a Christmas tree. "Explain to me why you're so sure this pig is a blessing."

"Please do," Elora chimed in.

After the boar crashed into the WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT sign, it turned on them. So naturally, they did the only thing they could do to avoid death by impalement or from being stomped over. They ran.

Bianca and Zoe ran in a direction, Percy and Thalia another, she ran with Bianca and Zoe and Grover danced around the pig while it snorted and tried to gouged him.

Does that make him a brave satyr or a stupid one?

The boar took notice of Percy and Thalia and chased them all the way up the hill. They were found down the mountain and with a few moments of them struggling down, they were with the duo.

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Grover looked over, distracted. "It's our ride west. Do you have any idea how fast this boar can travel?"

"Fun," Percy said. "Like… pig cowboys."

Grover nodded. "We need to get aboard. I wish… I wish I had more time to look around. But it's gone now."

"What's gone?"

Grover didn't seem to hear him. He walked over to the boar and jumped onto its back. Already the boar was starting to make some headway through the drift. Once it broke free, there'd be no stopping it. Grover took out his pipes. He started playing a snappy tune and tossed an apple in front of the boar. The apple floated and spun right above the boar's nose, and the boar went nuts, straining to get it.

"Automatic steering," Thalia murmured. "Great."

Thalia trudged over and jumped on behind Grover, which still left plenty of room for the rest of them.

Zoe and Bianca walked toward the boar.

Elora went on, though she did with great reluctance. She really do not want to get thrown off and stomped on.

"Wait a second," Percy said. "Do you two know what Grover is talking about—this wild blessing?"

"Of course," Zoe said. "Did you not feel it in the wind? It was so strong… I never thought I would sense that presence again."

"What presence?"

Zoe stared at him like he was an idiot.

"The Lord of the Wild, of course. Just for a moment, in the arrival of the boar, I felt the presence of Pan."

I guess the breeze and feel if Spring makes much more sense now.

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They rode the boar until sunset, which was about as much as her back could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was. Zero out if ten. No recommended. At all.

She have no idea how many kilometers they covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat, dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until we were galloping across the desert.