"That sounds... interesting." Connor said. The trio laughed out, "Oh itdefinitely was." Ariadne answered.
In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there,
"Aw thanks kid." Hermes said smiling.
Because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong.
"Aw thanks kid." Hermes said smiling.
For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.
Hermes shrugged his shoulders, "She has a point."
So there we were, Annabeth and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses, Grover was shivering and brown leaves falling from his hair, and his big green eyes turn brown and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."
"Man has he changed." Ariadne said.Annabeth agree wholeheartedly. You couldn't even compare thesmall scrawny Grover to the Lord of the Wild.
Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."
"All our money was back there," I reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything."
"And you guys survived?" Katie questioned.
"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-"
"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"
"You didn't need to protect me, Ariadne . I would've been fine."
"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."
Everyone snicker while Annabeth blushed. She glared at everyonebut only the ones that didn't know her flinched. Her close friends justthought she did not look scary sporting her blush.
"Shut up, Goat boy," said Annabeth .
Grover groaned mournfully. "Tin... a perfectly good bag of Tin cans."
Now Grover was blushing deeply while everyone else laughed.
We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry.
After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."
"We're a team, right?" She was silent for a few more steps.
"Yeah and a kick ass team at that." Leo said smiling.
"Oh definitely!"Everyone agreed.
"It's just that if you died... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."
"Wow Annie so sympathetic."
"Shut up Thalia!"
The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. I couldn't see anything of Annabeth expect a glint of her blond hair.
"You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her.
"No... only short field trips. My dad, it didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp HalfBlood is my home." She was fishing his words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop him. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not." If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice.
"Oh my gods seaweed brain stop being so observant!" Annabethsaid.
"Is the great Anna-"Connor was cut of by the pair of glares sent his way, mainly the silver ones.
"You're pretty good with that knife," I said.
"You think so?"
"Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me." I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled.
"I did." Annabeth answered.
"You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you... something funny back on the bus..." Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot,like the sound of an owl being tortured.
Everyone looked confused as to what made the sound.
"Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried.
Everyone burst out laughing while Grover blushed deeply. "ClassicGrover!" Nico choked out before everyone calmed down.
"If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out ofthese woods!"
Instead of finding a path, I immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on my head. Add to the list of superpowers I did not have: infrared vision. After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food.
Everyone groaned thinking about it
I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph prepared barbecue. This girl needed a double cheeseburger.
" This girl needs one too!" Thalia interrupted herself.
We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell. It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English.
"Tell me about it." Katie complained.
"Okay, well you see-"
"I didn'tmean literally Travis you idiot."
"Maybe 'you idiot' can be our always!"
"SHUT UP!" All the campers now had tears in their eyes fromlaughing while the gods were smiling.
Aphrodite on the other hand was squealing, "OH YOU TWO ARESO CUTE! YOU ARE LIKE MY SECOND FAVOURITE COUPLE,after Ariyna of course. And can I just ask what was with the 'okay'thing?"
Hearing that Travis stopped laughed and both him and Katieblushed deeply.
"I know right they are so cute! And the 'okay' thing isfrom the best love story! The Fault in Our Stars!" Demeter squealed.
Finally I translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little rents, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken.
"Wow, I never realized that." Grover said to Ariadne andAnnabeth. "I didn't either because of the trance. Only Ariadne isbecause she is so damn observant."
" Yeah I'm so damn observant."
Grover snicker quietly, "And I'm so damn-"
"Shut up right now youtwo!" Annabeth said sternly, "Last time you did this you went on forhours."
"Yes ma'am!" They both said in perfect sync.
I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers.
"Hey..." Grover warned.
"The lights are on inside," Annabeth said.
"Maybe it's open."
"Snack bar," I said wistfully.
"Snack bar," she agreed.
"Are you two crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird."
I had a bad feeling but I was too hungry to care.
Everyone groaned. "Never ignore a satyr." Artemis said sighing.
"Looks like Uncle Ferdinand." He said. We stopped at the warehouse door.
"Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters."
"Your high trained nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?"
"Meat!" He said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian."
"You eat cheese enchiladas," I reminded him.
"That has vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are... looking at me."
Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle-Eastern woman-at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady.
Poseidon paled even more and gripped his seat tight figuring out themonster.
Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?" "They're... um..." Annabeth started to say.
"We got separated from our tourist group," I said. "Our car didn't have gas and we walked to the gas station but it was closed and we only have cash no debit card. Anyways, we're lost. Is that food I smell?"
Everyone looked at Ariadne amused. "Wait that was actually a smart explanation." Remarked Athena.
"I know, i'm a quick thinker." Replied Ariadne.
"Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area." We thanked her and went inside.
Annabeth muttered to me, "Good work."
"Always have a strategy, right?"
The warehouse was filled with more statues-people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size.
Everyone started eyeing the book suspiciously, trying to figure outwho the trio was facing.
But mostly, I was thinking about food.
Everyone gave off a slightly nervous laugh while Jason smirked, "Ofcourse you are."
Athena looked at Ariadne, Annabeth, and Grover with wide eyes.Upon seeing this Ariadne quickly put a finger to her lips in a ' shh!'motion. Nobody else noticed as they were too wrapped up in thebook.
Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry, but I do impulsive stuff sometimes. Plus, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair-it made everything else go away.
"The food but a trance on you didn't it?" Athena questioned.Annabeth and Ariadne just soundlessly nodded their heads. Everyonevisibly paled and sat more on the edge of their seats.
I noticed Grover 's nervous whimpers, or the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, or the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us. Wait a damn minute, i kept my hand in my pocket just in case.
All I cared about was finding the dining area. And sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front.
"Please, sit down," Aunty Em said.
"Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am."
Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice kids."
"Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said. Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, so I figured it must've been my imagination. "Quite all right, Annabeth ," she said. "You have such attractive gray eyes, child."
"She know Annabeth's name." Malcolm stated.
Wait a minute statues, she was wary of Annabeth. How did she know Annabeth's name.
"And you have such beautiful green eyes, Ariadne ." She brushed her fingers in my auburn hair streak, and gazed into my eyes like she was admiring my beauty, or I probably reminded her of someone she used to date.
Wait how did she know my name. I would figure that out after I ate.
Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries. I was halfway through my burger before I remembered to breathe. Annabeth slurped his shake. Grover picked at the fries, but I know he's not a big fan of fries, but he still looked too nervous to eat.
"What's that hissing noise?" He asked. I slowly grabbed at my pen.
Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her head-dress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, but I was feeling satisfied after the burger, and a little sleepy, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess.
"So, you sell statues," I said, trying to sound interested.
"Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know."
"A lot of business on this road?"
"Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get." My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified.
"Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face."
"You make these statues yourself?" I asked. "Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her.
"It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth , a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a man who was chasing after me, you know, this lady with eyes just like yours she caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price."
Finally no one was confused by 'Aunty Em' anymore.
Leo quicklyspoke up to break the tiny silence, "Just to make sure we're all onthe same track that is Medusa right?"
"Bingo was his name oh."Ariadne replied. Everyonechuckled but still wondered how the Hades did she get out of this?
Wait. Eyes like Annabeth, that must be Athena.
"Such attractive gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been such a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those." She then looked at me again. "Such beautiful green eyes, my dear. I once loved a man with green eyes like those, and they were greener than the Mediterranean sea, much like yours." She reached out and stroke my cheek.
Poseidon and Medusa, he had raped her in Athena's temple and instead of punishing Poseidon she punished the poor mortal. Auntie Em is Auntie Medusa.
"EXCUSE ME?" Athena yelled, her eyes going a dark and stormygrey.
"I know that was really insulting Lady Athena but think of it frommy perspective. I saw my mom disappear less than a week ago, Igot attacked by a hellhound, got sent on a quest, and then attackedby the three furies and Medusa on first day. I think anyone in myposition would be mad." That seemed to shut her up.
"Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?"
"A pose?" Annabeth asked warily.
"A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children." Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot.
"I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Ariadne -"
"Please dearies."
I could tell Annabeth didn't like it, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues.
"Oh great." Everyone groaned.
Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone whip-armed woman.
"Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young man in the middle, I think, and the two young ladies on either side.
"Not much light for a photo," I remarked.
"Oh, enough," Aunty Em said.
"Enough for us to see each other, yes?"
"Where's your camera?" Grover asked. Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot.
"Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?"
"That would be creepy, being killed by a monster when they lastthing they said was a large smile." Leo said. Everyone chuckledtrying to break the nervousness surrounding the trio.
Grover glanced at the cement man and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand."
"Grover ," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear." She still had no camera in her hands.
"I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil..." She was reaching up to undo the wrap around her head.
"That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped.
"Look away from her!" Annabeth shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands used Grover and me both off the bench.
I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in the another, but I stayed put.
Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails.
More rasping-the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from... from where Aunty Em's head would be.
"Run!" Grover yelled. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, " Maia! " To kick-start the flying sneakers. I couldn't move. I stared at Aunty Em's gnarled claws,
"Such a pity to destroy a beautiful young face," she told me soothingly.
"Stay with me, Ariadne . All you have to do is look up." I fought the urge to obey. Instead I looked to one side and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens-a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents. Think, I told myself. How did Medusa die in the myth?
"The Gray-Eyed One did this to me, Ariadne ," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this."
"You see why I must destroy the girl, Ariadne . She is my enemy's son. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Ariadne , you need not suffer. Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked.
"Creepy." Apollo whispered to Hermes who nodded his head inagreement.
"Look, I know who you are and I know that isn't the real reason. My father had taken you on the cold floor of Athena's temple as you called for help. But she didn't help you she punished only you not him." I started.
Poseidon's looked angry for a few seconds before he calmed down.
"Ariadne !" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred pound hummingbird in a nosedive.
"If you just listen, I know you were a fair maiden. Maybe after this quest I could ask the Olympians to remove you and your sisters curses." I finished.
"Oh dont make me laugh dear. Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest, Ariadne? What will happen if you reach the underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dearest. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain."
All the gods looked uneasy at the statement
Right next to me, Annabeth 's voice said, "Ariadne !"
I jumped so high my feet nearly cleared a garden gnome.
"Jeez! Don't do that!" Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. "You have to cut her head off."
"What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here."
"Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You-you've got a chance."
"What?"
"Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?" She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster.
"That's terrible." Hazel whispered. The trio nodded their heads inagreement.
I grabbed the glass ball from a nearby pedestal not having time for Annabeth. Look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly. I told myself.
I took out my pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide elongated in my hand. I followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair. I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing.
"Hey!" I advanced on her, which wasn't easy, holding a sword and a glass ball. If she charged, I'd have a hard time defending myself.
"And you got out of this?"
But she let me approached-twenty feet, ten feet. I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really that ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be disorienting it, making it look worse.
"You wouldn't harm an old woman, Ariadne ," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't."
I hesitated, fascinated by the face I saw reflected in the glass-the eyes that seemed to burn straight through the green tint, making making my arms go weak.
Medusa cackled. "Too late." She lunged at me with her talons. I slashed up with my sword, heard a sickening schlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern-the sound of a monster disintegrating. Something fell to the ground next to my foot.
Everyone looked at Ariadne in shock. It took a few more minutesbefore Ares spoke up, "One slice, a day of training, while shewas awake and you managed to kill her?" Ariadne nodded sheepishlywhile blushing deeply.
"Wow." Was all the everyone could make out.Apollo, Zeus and Hermes, on the other hand, had their jawshanging.
It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces.
Everyone turned slightly green at the description.
"Oh, yuck," Grover said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming.
"I'm with you." Aphrodite said looking by far the greenist.
"Mega-yuck." Annabeth came up next to me, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move." Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice.
"Are you okay?" She asked me, her voice trembling. "Yeah," I decided, though I felt like throwing up my double cheeseburger.
"Why didn't... why didn't the head evaporate?"
"Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your Minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you."
Together, the three of us stumbled back to the warehouse. We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak.
" What are we going to do with the head?" Asked Grover
"Yeah what did you do the head? We all knew you killed Medusa butyou never said anything about the head." Will asked.
I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS!
I was angry, not just at Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice.
"You shouldn't think that way moon brain."
"And you werethinking different?" Ariadne asked innocently.
Annabeth glared whenAriadne laughed at her sudden silence.
What had Medusa said? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dearest. You would be better off as a statue.
"You don't think that do you?"
"Honest, sometime yeah I do, sorrypapa." She added in afterthought in response to the moon goddess' question.
I got up. "I'll be back." "Ariadne ," Annabeth called after me. "What are you-" I searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone 's, garden.
"You support her?" Katie asked a bit outraged.
Hades shook hishead sadly, "I don't but Persephone wanted something to decorateher garden more. But don't worry I looked for their spirits andpersonally made sure they got what I thought was fair judgement."
According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California.
"That's helpful."
I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket. In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes. Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins. I rummaged around the rest of the office until I found the right-size box.
"What are you doing Ari?" Rachel questioned.
I went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip:
The Gods
Mount Olympus
600th Floor, Empire State Building New York, NY
With best wishes,
Ariadne Jackson
Everyone was silent until all the Greeks burst out laughing. TheRomans looked worries while the gods had looks of amusement, though no god spoke their thoughts over their children'slaughter.
"OH MY GODS ARII!"
"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT!"
"ARIADNE YOU DAWG!"
"Please tell me you didn't."
"I always thoughtGrover was lying about that." Clarisse finished off all the Greeksshouting.
The Romans still looked shell shocked until Reyna crackeda smile and asked, "How are you still alive?" She looked at her deadon with a completely blank expression, "I ask myself that questioneveryday."
This time all the gods and all the Romans joined in onthe Greeks laughter.
"They're not going to like that," Grover warned.
Reyna leaned in for a quick peck after this.
"They'll think you're impertinent." I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch.
As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register.
The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop!
"I am impertinent," I said.
"At least you admit it."
"Yes dear Neeks, but I never denied it either."
"Don't call me Neeks and whatever!"
I looked at Annabeth , daring her to criticize. She didn't.
She seemed resigned to the fact that I had a major talent for ticking off the gods.
"UNDERSTATEMENT OF THE CENTURY!" Everyone screamed atthe same time, Ariadne blushed slightly but laughed all the same.
"Come on," She muttered. "We need a new plan."
"That the end." Apollo announced.