The Veiled Legacy | PJO - Book Two

four

WINE DUDE MAKES AN APPEARANCE
(AND A CERTAIN EARTH GODDESS)

Ariana had trouble falling asleep that night.

Coach Hedge spent the first hour after curfew doing his nightly duty, walking up and down the passageway yelling, "Lights out! Settle down! Try to sneak out, and I'll smack you back to Long Island!"

He banged his baseball bat against a cabin door whenever he heard a noise, shouting at everyone to go to sleep, which made it impossible for anyone to go to sleep.

Ariana figured this was the most fun the satyr had had since he'd pretended to be a gym teacher at the Wilderness School.

She stared at the bronze beams on the ceiling. Her cabin was pretty cosy. Leo had programmed their quarters to adjust automatically to the occupant's preferred temperature, so it was never too cold or too hot.

The mattress and the pillows were stuffed with pegasus down (no pegasi were harmed in the making of these products, Leo had assured her), so they were uber-comfortable.

A bronze lantern hung from the ceiling, glowing at whatever brightness Ariana wished. The lantern's sides were perforated with pinholes, so at night glimmering constellations drifted across her walls.

Ariana had so many things on her mind she thought she'd never sleep.

But there was something peaceful about the rocking of the boat and the drone of the aerial oars as they scooped through the sky.

Finally her eyelids got heavy, and she drifted off.

It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before she woke to the breakfast bell.

"Yo, Ari!" Leo knocked on her door. "We're landing!"

"Landing?" She sat up groggily.

Leo opened her door and poked his head in. He had his hand over his eyes, which would've been a nice gesture if he hadn't been peeking through his fingers.

"You decent?" He said, with that lovely grin of his.

"Leo!" Ariana exclaimed, ready to throw hands.

"Sorry." He grinned. "Nice pjs!"

Ariana rolled her eyes.

Thought she was grateful for Annabeth ensuring she had her own clothes on the Argo II - she didn't exactly have time to pack back at Camp Jupiter.

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, we're setting down a few miles outside Topeka, as requested. And, um..."

He glanced out in the passageway, then leaned inside again. "Thanks for not hating me, about blowing up the Romans yesterday."

"I could never hate you, Leo. Even if you are annoying." Ariana told him softly.

From above, Coach Hedge yelled. "Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!"

"Holy Hephaestus." Leo muttered. "He really needs to work on his shipspeak. I'd better get above deck. See you around, Death Girl!"

By the time Ariana had showered, changed and grabbed a slice of toast from the mess hall, she could hear the ship's landing gear extending.

She climbed on deck and joined the others as the Argo II settled in the middle of a field of sunflowers. The oars retracted. The gangplank lowered itself.

The morning air smelled of irrigation, warm plants and fertilized earth. It reminded Ariana of her stepmother (Persephone) and her grandmother (Demeter).

Percy was the first to notice her.

"Hey Ari!" He greeted, grinning like a little kid.