Indigo Eyes

Chapter 5

"Yes, we do," Cressida answered. "We'll take..."

Cressida was cut off when a rumble shook the whole building and a motorcycle the size of a baby elephant pulled up to the kerb. Cressida wasn't the only one who stopped talking, the whole diner did at the sight of the monstrous bike that looked to have a seat made out of human skin. And the guy who rode the bike, well he'd have made pro wrestlers run to their mothers.

His face was cruel and brutal, but it was also kind of handsome in a wicked, bad-boy biker way.

As he walked into the diner, it suddenly became hot and dry as the wind swept through, as if they were suddenly in the middle of the desert. All the people suddenly rose from their seats as if they were hypnotized before the biker waved his hand dismissively and everyone went back to their conversations.

The waitress blinked as if she'd forgotten what just happened and what Cressida had just said to her.

"You kids have money to pay for it?" she asked again, and the biker spoke up this time.

"It's on me."

He slid into their booth, cramming Annabeth into Grover and into the window. "Are you still here?" he asked the waitress who was gaping at her.

While Percy was fighting the bad feelings that began to boil in his stomach, Cressida was sitting there with her eyes closed as she took deep breaths, holding the locket Castor gave her as she thought of her brothers, trying to keep herself calm against Ares aura because she knew it wouldn't end well if she gave in.

"So, you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?" he remarked with a wicked grin.

"What's it to you?" Percy snapped as Annabeth flashed him a warning glare.

"Percy, this is-"

"S'okay," the biker said as he raised his hand. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

"You're Clarisse's dad," he said finally. "Ares, god of war."

"That's right, punk. I heard you broke Clarisse's spear."

"She was asking for it," Percy defended.

"Probably," the biker chuckled. "That's cool. I don't fight my kids' fights, you know? What I'm here for - I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."

Percy half heard what he was saying, and half focused on Cressida. "You alright?" he asked but she just kept breathing as Ares laughed again.

"The daughter of that old drunk has trouble with her powers, especially in my presence."

Cressida's eyes shot open, both of them flaring with purple fire and her jaw clenched. "I can control my powers just fine," she snapped, the flames growing darker and bigger. "And watch what you say about my father."

The fire behind Ares' glasses grew hotter and larger, and no one attempted to get between to two because no one would walk away unscathed. It seemed to be the world's most intense staring contest until Cressida simply flopped asleep on the bench. There was no fire, no explosion, not even any heat. It was just one second, she was awake and the next she wasn't.

"What'd you do to her?!" Grover exclaimed.

"Cressida? Cressida!" Percy called as he placed a finger under her nose, feeling for a breath since he didn't know how to find a pulse.

"Relax, punk," Ares said. "She ain't dead. She's sleeping," he explained as he began cleaning his nails with a knife. "She'll wake once we're done here."