𝐒𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐄! percy jackson¹

ix. Sonny The Chihuahua

I raised both my brows this time, trying to stop the smile that was itching at the corner of my lips. I was still angry with Percy, but after our talk last night, I had kind of forgiven him. Maybe it was my fault that the both of us were arguing. I hadn't given him a chance.

"How about you save the world first, then we'll see, Seaweed Brain."

An amused grin tugged on Percy's face. "Seaweed Brain?" He nearly laughed. "How many nicknames do you have for me, Miss Sunshine?"

I grinned. "Oh, I have many."

We pulled into the Amtrak station downtown. The intercom told us we'd have a three-hour stopover before departing for Denver.

Grover stretched. Before he was even fully awake, he said, "Food."

"Come on, goat boy," Annabeth said. "Sightseeing."

"Sightseeing?"

"The Gateway Arch," she said. "This may be my only chance to ride to the top. Are you coming or not?" She linked her arm through mine, and I knew I had no choice in the matter. Grover and Percy exchanged looks.

Grover shrugged. "As long as there's a snack bar without monsters."

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The Gateway Arch was about a mile from the train station. Late in the day the lines to get in weren't that long, which was good for me since I could become very impatient when it came to lining up for things. We threaded our way through the underground museum, looking at covered wagons and other historical artefacts from the 1800s. Now, I'm gonna say this now, as a child of Apollo, I'm no fan of underground places. Where there is no sunlight, I always feel slightly drained. Every step lower underground, my powers lessen, and it takes a lot more work and energy to get them to work.

Annabeth bounced around excitedly, explaining to us every single artefact that was one display with bright eyes. She looked like she was in her element, which she probably was. She kept on telling us interesting facts about how the Arch was built, and Percy and Grover would keep passing me jelly beans.

But I had a feeling something wasn't right. I wasn't sure whether it was the lack of sunlight or my demigod senses, but my fingers were itching towards my necklace. Percy seemed to be also agitated. He kept looking around at the other people in the line. "You smell anything?" He murmured to Grover.

He took his nose out of the jelly bean bag long enough to sniff. "Underground," he said distastefully. "Underground air always smells like monsters. Probably doesn't mean anything."

Percy wasn't reassured. "Guys," he said. "You know the gods' symbols of power?"

Annabeth had been in the middle of reading about the construction equipment used to build the Arch, but she looked over. "Yeah?"

"Well, Hades –"

I cleared my throat. "We're in a public place ... you mean, our friend downstairs?"

"Um, right," Percy said. "Our friend way downstairs. Doesn't he have a hat like Annabeth's?"

"You mean the Helm of Darkness," Annabeth said. "Yeah, that's his symbol of power. I saw it next to his seat during the winter solstice Council meeting."

"He was there?" Percy frowned.

I nodded. "It's the only time he's allowed to visit Olympus – the darkest day of the year. But his helmet is a lot more powerful than Annabeth's invisibility cap, if what I've heard to be true ..."