𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 [Jason Grace]

4

𝐎𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐚𝐮𝐧𝐬 hanging out on the side of the road.

"Hazel!" one of them cried. "Dante!"

He trotted over with a big grin on his face. He wore a faded Hawaiian shirt and nothing for pants except thick brown goat fur. His eyes were hidden behind little round rainbow-tinted glasses. He held a cardboard sign that read: WILL WORK, SING, TALK, GO AWAY FOR DENARII.

"Hi, Don," Hazel said. "Sorry, we don't have time—"

"Oh, that's cool! That's cool!" Don trotted along with them. "Hey, this guy's new!" He grinned at Percy. "Do you have three denarii for the bus? Because I left my wallet at home, and I've got to get to work, and—"

"Don," Dante rolled his eyes. He didn't have Hazel's patience or her kindness. "Fauns don't have wallets. Or jobs. Or homes. And we don't have buses."

"Right," he said cheerfully, "but do you have denarii?"

"Your name is Don the Faun?" Percy asked.

"Yeah. So?"

"Nothing." Percy tried to keep a straight face. "Why don't fauns have jobs? Shouldn't they work for the camp?"

Don bleated. "Fauns! Work for the camp! Hilarious!"

"Fauns are, um, free spirits," Hazel explained. "They hang out here because, well, it's a safe place to hang out and beg. We tolerate them, but—"

"Oh, Hazel is awesome," Don said. "She's so nice! All the other campers are like, 'Go away, Don.' But she's like, 'Please go away, Don.' I love her!"

"Go away, Don" Dante glared.

"Please, Dante? I won't tell anyone about you and—"

Whatever he was about to say next, he got distracted by the ground in front of them and gasped. "Score!"

He reached for something, but Hazel screamed, "Don, no!"

She pushed him out of the way and snatched up a small shiny object. Dante caught a glimpse of it before Hazel slipped it into her pocket. He could have sworn it was a diamond. Shiny.

His fingers itched to just take it. But this was his friend. Sort of. Plus, she really was one of the nicest Romans. Dante liked her. He didn't want her to hate him even more than the other Romans.

"Come on, Hazel," Don complained. "I could've bought a year's worth of doughnuts with that!"

"Don, please," Hazel said. "Go away."

She sounded shaken, like she'd just saved Don from a charging bulletproof elephant.

The faun sighed. "Aw, I can't stay mad at you. But I swear, it's like you're good luck. Every time you walk by—"

"Good-bye, Don," Hazel said quickly. "Let's go, Dante, Percy."

She started jogging. Dante and Percy had to sprint to catch up.

Percy gave him a questioning look. Dante shrugged in response.

"What was that about?" Percy asked. "That diamond in the road—"

"Please," she said. "Don't ask."

They walked in uneasy silence the rest of the way to Temple Hill. A crooked stone path led past a crazy assortment of tiny altars and massive domed vaults. Statues of gods seemed to follow them with their eyes.