ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter seven
━━━━━ THERE WAS SOMETHING so absurd about flying on a pegasus during the daytime, but there was no other choice. ( If you want to get technical, there were plenty of other choices to be made, but Violet had to get on this quest. ) If you're not careful about keeping the pegasus hidden from mortal eyes, you can cause a serious traffic accident on the Long Island Expressway. Percy had to keep Blackjack up in the clouds, which were fortunately pretty low in the winter. They darted around, trying to keep the white Camp Half-Blood van in sight. And if it was cold on the ground, it was seriously cold in the air, with icy rain stinging Violet's skin.
They lost the van twice, but Percy had a pretty good sense that they would go into Manhattan first, so it wasn't too difficult to pick up their trail again. And with traffic being so bad with the holidays around the corner, the van wasn't making very good mileage anyway. It was mid-morning before they got into the city. Percy landed Blackjack near the top of the Chrysler Building and watched the white camp van as it drove on and on.
"Why'd we stop?" Violet asked, peering around Percy to look around.
"Argus didn't stop at the station like I thought he would," said the boy, narrowing his eyes to keep them on the van. "That's where he dropped us off last time. He'd let us get wherever we needed to go with a Greyhound."
"And that's a big deal because ...?" prompted Violet.
"'Cause I thought that's how he always did it," admitted Percy.
Blackjack neighed, forcing his way into their conversation.
"Which girl?" Percy asked.
Violet looked quizzically at the pegasus. Soon, Blackjack neighed, saying something else to Percy.
"Zoë?" asked the son of Poseidon.
"Is Zoë driving?" Violet caught on. "Either Argus was that mad about the 'boil-brained lout' comment that he left them to fend for themselves or she said something even worse for him to leave."
Blackjack neighed and Percy sighed, going on to explain why taking a flying horse through the drive-thru would give every cop in a doughnut shop a heart attack. Meanwhile, the van kept snaking its way toward the Lincoln Tunnel. It had never even occurred to Violet that Zoë could drive. Well, the Hunter didn't look sixteen. Then again, she was also immortal.
"Come on," Violet said. "We need to catch up to them."
They were about to leap off the Chrysler Building when Blackjack whinnied in alarm and almost threw the two half-bloods. Percy clung onto the pegasus's mane as Violet grabbed the boy's shirt to stay on. Something was curling around the girl's leg like a snake.
Percy reached for Riptide, but there was no snake to get rid of. It was vines—grapevines, at that. Grapevines had sprouted from the cracks between the stones of the building. They were wrapping around Blackjack's legs, lashing down Violet and Percy's ankles so they couldn't move.
"Going somewhere?" Mr. D asked.
The god was leaning against the building with his feet levitating in the air, his wine-colored dress shirt and black hair whipping in the wind.
Blackjack gave a sharp neigh. Mr. D sighed in exasperation, glaring at the pegasus.
"The next person—or horse—who calls me the 'Wine Dude' will end up in a bottle of Merlot!"
"Mr. D." Percy sounded like he was struggling to keep his voice level and calm. The grapevines continued to wrap around their legs—tighter and tighter. "What do you want?"
"Oh, what do I want? You thought, perhaps, that the immortal, all-powerful director of Camp would not notice two half-bloods leaving without permission?"
Percy and Violet glanced at each other. She shook her head when the boy opened her mouth to talk, signaling she would try and do damage control.
"Well ... not exactly," said the daughter of Eros. "We just figured you wouldn't care too much."
Mr. D's purple eye twitched with annoyance; Violet's damage control hadn't worked. "I should throw you two off this building, minus the flying horse, and see how heroic you sound on the way down."
Percy's jaw clenched. "Why do you hate me so much? What did I ever do to you?"
Purple flames flickered in Dionysus's eyes. "You're a hero, boy. I need no other reason."
"I have to go on this quest! I've got to help my friends. That's something you wouldn't understand!"
Blackjack neighed nervously as the grapevines coiled tighter around them. Below them, the white van was getting further and further away. Soon it would be out of sight.
"Did I ever tell you about Ariadne?" Mr. D asked. "Beautiful young princess of Crete? She liked helping her friends, too. In fact, she helped a young hero named Theseus, also a son of Poseidon. She gave him a ball of magical thread that let him find his way out of the Labyrinth. And do you know how Theseus rewarded her?"
Percy glared daggers at the god, saying flatly, "They got married. Happily ever after. The end."
"No, they didn't, Percy." Violet shook her head. She knew this story and was pleased to say her father didn't have a hand in the outcome, so no way Dionysus would put any blame on her.
Mr. D sneered. "Theseus said he would marry her. He took her aboard his ship and sailed for Athens. Halfway back, on a little island called Naxos, he ... What's the word you mortals use today? ... He dumped her. I found her there, you know. Alone. Heartbroken. Crying her eyes out. She had given up everything, left everything she knew behind, to help a dashing young hero who tossed her away like a broken sandal."
"That's wrong," Percy agreed half-heartedly. "But that was thousands of years ago. What's that got to do with me?"
The God of Madness regarded Percy coldly. "I fell in love with Ariadne, boy. I healed her broken heart. And, when she died, I made her my immortal wife in Olympus. She waits for me even now. I shall go back to her when I am done with this infernal century of punishment at your ridiculous camp."
Percy stared at the god with a dumbfounded expression. "You're ... you're married? But I thought you got in trouble for chasing a wood nymph—"
"My point is you heroes never change. You accuse us gods of being vain. You should look at yourselves. You take what you want, use whoever you have to, and then you betray everyone around you. So you'll excuse me if I have no love for heroes. They are a selfish, ungrateful lot. Ask Ariadne. Or Medea. For that matter, ask Zoë Nightshade."
Violet took a closer look at the god. "What do you mean 'ask Zoë'?"
"Don't mind me saying this, Daughter of Eros," said Dionysus, peering at the girl with narrowed eyes, "but I'm shocked that Hunter wants anything to do with you considering your ... parents."
"What do my parents have to do with this?" Violet demanded.
Mr. D waved his hands dismissively. "Go. Both of you. Follow your silly little band of friends."
The vines uncurled from around their legs. Violet blinked in disbelief. "You're going to let us go? Why even talk to us then?"
"The prophecy says at least two of you will die. Perhaps I'll get lucky and you'll be one of them. But mark my words, Son of Poseidon," the god pointed a finger at Percy, "live or die, you will prove no better than the other heroes."
With that, Dionysus snapped his fingers. His image folded up like a paper display. There was a POP! and he was gone, leaving a faint scent of grapes that was quickly blown away by the wind. Violet stared where the god had once been, mulling over what he had said to her. As far as the daughter of Eros was aware, Zoë had nothing to do with the God of Love.
"Come on, Blackjack," Percy said, trying to sound upbeat. "I'll buy you some doughnuts in New Jersey."
🌷
As it turned out, they weren't able to buy Blackjack any doughnuts in New Jersey. Zoë drove south like a crazy person, and they were in Maryland before she finally pulled over at a service station. Blackjack nearly tumbled out of the sky, he was so tired.
"Stay here," Percy told Violet and Blackjack as he slid off the pegasus's back. "I'm going to scout."
"I should go with you," Violet said, trying to get off Blackjack's back.
Percy only shook his head, taking Annabeth's navy blue Yankees cap out of his back pocket. "Stay here," he insisted. "I got the invisibility cap. You don't. I won't take long."
That nasty feeling of uselessness came back ten times stronger, washing over Violet like a tidal wave. She knew Percy didn't mean any malice behind his words, but that was how the message was received. She watched with furrowed brows as Percy put the hat on top of his head and he shimmered into nothingness.
Blackjack clopped on his hooves nervously, only making Violet's anxiety worse. She didn't know what to do with herself while she waited; she plucked the string to her bow in a repetitive motion, ran her finger along the fading design in the wood, and watched Blackjack ruffle with his wings.
The two would pause whatever they were doing whenever it sounded like footsteps were getting closer or when a car got dangerously close to seeing them, but luckily, no one ever stopped by for an unexpected or unwanted visit.
Violet jumped a foot into the air when Percy shimmered into view beside her, grabbing her arm and pulling her over toward Blackjack. He told them what he had overheard.
"They're heading for D.C.," said the son of the sea. "Grover did some tracking spell on Artemis with acorns and they told him to go to D.C.."
"He performed a tracking spell with acorns?" Violet asked, climbing on Blackjack behind Percy.
"That's what Grover called it," said Percy, kicking the pegasus into motion.
As they continued south, following the van, Violet wondered whether Dionysus had been talking about. The gods were all intertwined—in one way or another; however, Mr. D said that he was shocked that Zoë even dealt with Violet after what her parents did stumped her. If Eros had done something to the lieutenant, surely Zoë would've made some off-hand remark about it.
Unless Dionysus was talking about Violet's mom, Dahlia. In that case, how the hell did Dionysus know anything about Dahlia? She was able to see through the Mist ( that was how she met Eros, after all ), and apparently, she had met the Hunters and even rejected a spot in their group, but what business did Dionysus have in that? He shouldn't have cared, either, since she was some 'low-life' mortal—most gods don't like mortals enough to keep any tabs on them, even the ones they have kids with.
"Hey," Percy broke the silence. "I'm sorry for what I said back at Camp."
Violet looked away from the grey sky and to the back of Percy's head. "What are you talking about?"
"I didn't mean to," he said, only making her more confused. "I didn't mean to imply that you, like, can't protect yourself. You totally can. I've seen you at archery practice. You can totally out-shoot some of the Apollo kids."
The daughter of Eros snorted. "Don't let them hear you say that or you'll be talking in curses for years."
The boy peered back at her curiously. "Why's that? I mean, they have to know you're just as good as they are."
"It's not that," said Violet. "They just don't like my dad, so they don't like me. Sorta like Athena and Poseidon, you know. Annabeth didn't like you at first because you were a son of Poseidon, not because you actually did anything to her."
"What happened between Eros and Apollo?" asked Percy.
"You know about Apollo and Daphne?" Violet said. "Eros caused that, even if it was totally Apollo's fault that it happened."
Percy raised his eyebrows knowingly. "I don't think Apollo will like you saying that."
"I don't really care," she admitted with a shrug. "Apollo made fun of Eros and my dad only showed him what he could do."
"So that's why Apollo was so cold to you back at Westover?" Percy asked.
"Yeah. It's a rivalry of sorts," she said. "Well, I don't if I could call it a rivalry but they don't like each other. So bad history, I guess."
Percy nodded. "I get it. Do you try and talk to the Apollo kids?"
"I think we try and just avoid each other," said Violet. "It's pretty easy for them since there's only me at Camp, but ... well, you see how full Cabin Seven is."
Thunder rolled across the ground in the distance. Violet rolled her eyes. "I didn't mean it as a bad thing!" she yelled to the sky. "It's just an observation. No need to get so offended ..."
The son of Poseidon shook his head, grinning to himself. "I find it funny," he admitted suddenly.
"Find what funny?" asked Violet.
The boy shrugged. "At first glance, you seem like a daughter of Apollo. You're bubbly and you smile a lot, and you're—well—sunny. Easy-going and light-hearted, you know. I remember when I first met you in Cabin Eleven I thought you were one of Apollo's kids, especially at archery practice that day. I wondered why you were staying there when there was a cabin for Apollo and then Luke told me you were a daughter of Eros."
Violet wondered if the boy was trying to insult her or genuinely was trying to be friendly in his own, weird way. She had just told him about her dad and Apollo's rivalry, and here he was, saying that he thought a daughter of Eros was a daughter of Apollo. Despite her confusion about Percy's intentions, a smile tugged on her lips.
"Thanks—I guess," she said. "Though, I'm not exactly sure if you mean it as a compliment."
Percy scoffed and rolled his eyes. "Of course it's a compliment!"
Violet's smile widened. "Well, thank you. At least you didn't mention anything about me being another 'love kid'. I hate when Dionysus does that."
The boy glanced back at her. "What are you talking about?"
She rolled her eyes, as if she hated even talking about it. "You know how the Aphrodite Cabin gets that reputation for being, like, useless because they don't like to fight? Well, a lot of people assume they don't like to fight because they aren't good at it but not because they could use get something resolved without violence."
"But your dad's Eros," Percy pointed out.
"Exactly," said Violet. "But a lot of people just lump us together. We're 'one in the same' because both of our parents are deities over love."
"That's really shitty," Percy sympathized.
"Yeah, you're telling me." The daughter of Eros took a deep breath and shrugged, pretending she wasn't as bothered as she truly was. "Not that it matters. I can kick people's ass either way."
Percy grinned back at her. "Yeah, I'm sure you can."
🌷
As they got closer to Washington, Blackjack started slowing down and dropping altitude. Violet heard his breathing getting heavier.
"You okay?" Percy asked the pegasus.
Blackjack responded but it sounded winded—if pegasus could sound winded.
"You don't sound so good," the boy responded, frowning.
"We've been running him for half a day, Percy," Violet said. "Nonstop, too. We need to give him a break."
"Right ..." the son of Poseidon mumbled, looking at the van in the distance.
Fortunately, the van had started to slow down while they were talking. It crossed the Potomac River into central Washington.
"Set us down there," Percy told Blackjack. "That's close enough."
Percy was pointing to the Washington Monument. Not once did Blackjack make a sound as he dropped toward the building. Violet and Percy slid off the pegasus's back, landing on freshly mowed grass. The van was only a few blocks away. Zoë had parked at the curb.
Percy looked at Blackjack. "I want you to go back to camp. Get some rest. Graze. We'll be fine."
Blackjack cocked his head skeptically.
"You've done enough already," Percy said. "We'll be fine. And thanks a ton."
Percy promised to be careful once last time, then Blackjack took off, circling twice around the monument before disappearing into the clouds.
Violet looked over at the white van. Everybody was getting out. Grover pointed towards one of the big buildings lining the mall. Thalia nodded, and the four trudged off into the cold wind.
Percy and Violet started to follow. But then the boy froze, pushing an arm out that knocked her in the shoulder. She looked at him, ready to ask what his problem was when he pointed to something nearby.
A block away, the door of a black sedan opened. A man with a grey military haircut got out. He was wearing dark shades and a black overcoat. Now, maybe in Washington, it'd be more expected for guys like that to be everywhere. But it dawned on Violet that she had seen this same car a couple of times on the highway, going south. It had been following the van.
The guy took out his cell phone and said something into it. Then he looked around, like he was making sure the coast was clear, and started walking down the mall in the direction of the questers.
The worst of it was: when he turned towards Violet, she recognized his face. It was Dr. Thorn, the manticore from Westover Hall.
Percy looked at her, pulling out the Yankees cap from his back pocket.
"No way," she hissed immediately. "I'm not staying behind again."
The boy frowned. It was clear to see he didn't like the idea of them following after Thorn while still visible. "Fine," he said. "Just make sure Thorn can't see you."
"Sure," Violet said. "I've been doing that since I was at Westover."
As the two ran after the manticore, Percy asked, "Did you know he was going to be here?"
"How the hell would I've known that?" asked the daughter of Eros.
"He survived the fall," Percy said suddenly, making the girl next to him look at him worriedly. "You know what that means?"
"That he survived ...?"
The son of Poseidon rolled his eyes. "It means Annabeth must've, too. Those dreams were right."
Violet faltered. The dreams may have been right ( and that meant her gut feeling was, too ) but that also meant Annabeth was being held prisoner somewhere. And with the other things Violet saw in her dreams, that made her so much more worried for her friend.
Thorn kept well back from the four questers, careful not to be seen. Finally, Grover stopped in front of a big building that said AIR AND SPACE MUSEUM. Violet recognized it as the Smithsonian. She had never been, but she had seen it in pictures.
Thalia checked the door. It was open, but there weren't many people going in. Too cold, and it was school holidays. They slipped inside. Dr. Thorn hesitated. Violet wasn't sure why, but he didn't go into the museum. He turned and headed across the mall. She didn't hesitate to follow him and she could hear Percy trying to catch up to her.
Thorn crossed the street and climbed the steps of the Museum of Natural History. There was a big sign on the door. At first, Violet thought it said CLOSED FOR PIRATE EVENT. Then she realized being closed for a pirate event didn't make as much sense as being closed for a private event.
Percy stooped the girl outside, holding onto Annabeth's cap again. "I'll go see what's going on," he said. "You stay out here and wait for Grover and them."
She wanted to argue but knew the boy was right. Percy followed Dr. Thorn inside, leaving Violet to slink against the rough wall of the building. Even though it was midday, she managed to find a shady spot to hide out. While the girl was leaning her back against it, it felt like the wall disappeared behind her.
Violet cursed and jumped up. She looked back to the wall, placing her hand against it. Maybe to make sure the wall truly hadn't disappeared, but while she put her hand against the wall, it was swallowed by the darkness; her hand disappeared into the blackness.
"What the fuck?" she hissed, pulling her hand back. Her hand felt cold, as if she had just dunked it into a bucket full of ice water.
Hesitantly, Violet put her hand against the wall. Her hand disappeared again, as if being swallowed by the shadows. The daughter of Eros stared at where her hand should've been, a mixture of shock and surprise written across her face. Slowly, she stepped closer and her arm was engulfed in the shadows.
She managed to fit her whole body into the shadows. She felt like she was trying to take a shower with ice water. And looking back into the world around her was really weird. It was like she was viewing everything through binoculars that had really wide lenses. Darkness consumed the edges of her vision but she could still see the outside world.
Violet stuck to the shadowy walls and entered the building. She snuck through a huge chamber full of mastodons and dinosaur skeletons. There were voices up ahead, coming from behind a set of closed doors. She hurried along, trying to reach the voices as quickly as she could ( all the while, making sure to stay close to the shadows ). Two guards stood outside. They opened the doors for Thorn, and she had to slink along the walls before they closed.
Inside, what she saw was so terrible she almost gasped out loud, which would've got her killed.
Violet was in a huge round room with a balcony ringing the second level. At least a dozen mortal guards stood on the balcony, plus two monsters—reptilian women with double-snake trunks instead of legs. She had seen them before—something called Scythian dracaenae.
But that wasn't the worse of it. Standing between the snake women—Violet swore he was looking straight at her, somehow knowing she was there—was Luke Castellan. Frankly, he looked terrible. The son of Hermes's skin was pale and his blond hair looked almost grey, as if he'd aged ten years in a matter of a year. The angry light in his eyes was still there, and so was the scar down the side of his face, where a dragon had once scratched him. But the scar was now ugly red, as though it had recently been reopened.
Next to him, sitting down so that the shadows covered him, was another man. All Violet could see were his knuckles on the gilded arms of the chair, like a throne. The girl cursed under her breath that the shadows around her didn't give her magical abilities to see through other kinds of shadows. But maybe that was a good thing, if she couldn't see whoever was in the shadows, hopefully, he couldn't see her.
"Well?" asked the man in the chair. His voice was just like the one she had heard in her dream—deep and strong, like the earth itself was talking. It filled the whole room even though he wasn't yelling.
Dr. Thorn took off his shades. His two-colored eyes, brown and blue, glittered with excitement. He made a stiff bow, then spoke in his weird French accent: "They are here, General."
"I know that, you fool," boomed the man. "But where?"
"In the rocket museum."
"The Air and Space Museum," Luke corrected irritably.
Dr. Thorn glared at the blond. "As you say, sir."
Violet got the feeling Thorn would just as soon impale Luke with one of his spikes as call him sir.
"How many?" Luke asked.
Thorn pretended not to hear.
"How many?" the General demanded.
"Four, General," Thorn said. "The satyr, Grover Underwood. And the girl with the spiky black hair and the—How do you say?—punk clothes, and the horrible shield."
"Thalia," Luke said.
"And two other girls—Hunters. One wears a silver circlet."
"That one I know," the General growled.
Everyone in the room shifted uncomfortably. Violet looked around, wondering if Percy had snuck inside with Annabeth's cap.
"Let me take them," Luke said to the General. "We have more than enough—"
"Patience," the General said. "They'll have their hands full already. I've sent a little playmate to keep them occupied."
"But—"
"We cannot risk you, my boy."
"Yes, boy," Dr. Thorn said with a cruel smile. "You are much too fragile to risk. Let me finish them off."
Violet grinded her teeth. She hated Dr. Thorn as much as she hated Luke—and considering what Luke had done to her friends, she hated the son of Hermes a lot.
"No." The General rose from his chair, and Violet got her first look at him. He was tall and muscular, with light brown skin and slicked-back dark hair. He wore an expensive brown silk suit like the guys on Wall Street wear, but you'd never mistake this dude for a broker. He had a brutal face, huge shoulders, and hands that could snap a flagpole in half. His eyes were like stone. Violet felt as if she were looking at a living statue. It was amazing he could even move.
"You have already failed me, Thorn," he said.
"But, General—"
"No excuses!"
Thorn flinched. Violet had thought Thorn was scary when she first saw him in his black uniform at the military academy when she and Grover had arrived for the expedition. But now, standing before the General, Thorn looked like a silly wannabe soldier. The General was the real deal. He didn't need a uniform. He was a born commander. Maybe some long-lost son of Ares that had turned bad.
"I should throw you into the pits of Tartarus for your incompetence," the General said. "I send you to capture a child of the three elder gods, and you bring me a scrawny daughter of Athena."
"But you promised me revenge!" Thorn protested. "A command of my own!"
"I am Lord Kronos's senior commander," the General said. "And I will choose lieutenants who get me results! It was only thanks to Luke that we salvaged our plan at all. Now get out of my sight, Thorn, until I find some other menial task for you."
Thorn's face turned purple with rage. Violet thought he was going to start frothing at the mouth or shooting spines, but he just bowed awkwardly and left the room.
"Now, my boy." The General turned to Luke. "The first thing we must do is isolate the half-blood Thalia. The monster we seek will then come to her."
"The Hunters will be difficult to dispose of," Luke said. "Zoë Nightshade—"
"Do not speak her name!"
Luke swallowed. "S-sorry, General. I just—"
The General silenced him with a wave of his hand. "Let me show you, my boy, how we will bring the Hunters down." He pointed to a guard on the ground level. "Do you have the teeth?"
The guy stumbled forward with a ceramic pot. "Yes, General!"
"Plant them," he said.
In the center of the room was a big circle of dirt, where Violet guess a dinosaur exhibit was supposed to go. She watched nervously as the guard took sharp white teeth out of the pot and pushed them into the soil. He smoothed them over while the General smiled coldly.
The guard stepped back from the dirt and wiped his hands. "Ready, General!"
"Excellent! Water them, and we will let them scent their prey."
The guard picked up a little tin watering can with daisies painted on it, which was kind of bizarre, because what he poured out wasn't water. It was dark red liquid, and Violet knew that it wasn't Hawaiian Punch.
The soil began to bubble.
"Soon," the General said, "I will show you, Luke, soldiers that will make your army from that little boat look insignificant."
The blond clenched his fists. "I've spent a year training my forces! When the Princess Andromeda arrives at the mountain, they'll be the best—"
The General gave a bark of a laugh. "I don't deny your troops will make a fine honor guard for Lord Kronos. And you, of course, will have a role to play—"
Violet swore she saw Luke turn paler when the General said that.
"—but under my leadership, the forces of Lord Kronos will increase a hundredfold. We will be unstoppable. Behold, my ultimate killing machines."
The soil erupted. Violet hoped she was far enough away in the shadows.
In each spot where a tooth had been planted, a creature was struggling out of the dirt. The first of them said:
"Mew?"
It was a kitten. A little orange tabby with stripes like a tiger. Then another appeared, until there were a dozen, rolling around and playing in the dirt.
Everyone stared at them in disbelief. The General roared, "What is this? Cute cuddly kittens? Where did you find those teeth?"
The guard who'd brought the teeth cowered in fear. "From the exhibit, sir! Just like you said. The saber-toothed tiger—"
"No, you imbecile! I said the tyrannosaurus! Gather up those ... those infernal fuzzy little beasts and take them outside. And never let me see your face again."
The terrified guard dropped his watering can. He gathered up the kittens and scampered out of the room.
"You!" The General pointed to another guard. "Get me the right teeth. Now!"
The new guard ran off to carry out his orders.
"Imbeciles," muttered the General.
"This is why I don't use mortals," Luke said. "They are unreliable."
"They are weak-minded, easily bought, and violent," the General said. "I love them."
A minute later, the guard hustled into the room with his hands full of large, sharp teeth.
"Excellent," the General said. He climbed onto the balcony railing and jumped down, twenty feet. Where he landed, the marble floor cracked under his leather shoes. He stood, wincing, and rubbed his shoulders. "Curse my stiff neck."
"Another hot pad, sir?" a guard asked. "More Tylenol?"
"No! It will pass." The General brushed off his silk suit, then snatched up the teeth. "I shall do this myself."
He held up one of the teeth and smiled. "Dinosaur teeth—Ha! Those foolish mortals don't even know when they have dragon teeth in their possession. And not just any dragon teeth. These come from the ancient Sybaris herself! They shall do nicely."
He planted them in the dirt, twelve in all. Then he scooped up the watering can. He sprinkled the soil with red liquid, tossed the can away, and held his arms out wide. "Rise!"
The dirt trembled. A single, skeletal hand shot out of the ground, grasping at the air.
The General looked up at the balcony. "Quickly, do you have the scent?"
"Yesss, Lord," one of the snake ladies said. She took out a sash of silvery fabric, like the kind the Hunters wore.
"Excellent," the General said. "Once my warriors catch its scent, they will pursue its owner relentlessly. Nothing can stop them, no weapons known to half-blood or Hunter. They will tear the Hunters and their allies to shreds. Toss it here!"
As he said that, skeletons erupted from the ground. There were twelve of them, one for each tooth the General had planted. They were nothing like Halloween skeletons, or the kind you might see in cheesy movies. These were growing flesh as Violet watched, turning into men, but men with dull grey skin, yellow eyes, and modern clothes—skintight grey vests, camo trousers, and combat boots. If you didn't look too closely, you could almost believe they were human, but their flesh was transparent and their bones shimmered underneath, like X-ray images.
One of them looked straight at Violet, regarding her coldly, and she knew that no amount of darkness would fool it. Her chest felt tighter than ever as panic started to set in. There was no way Violet would be able to fight her way out of this.
The snake lady released the scarf and it fluttered down toward the General's hand. As soon as he gave it to the warriors, they would hunt Zoë and the other Hunters until they were extinct.
Violet was reaching for the bow slung across her back. Maybe she would be able to shoot the fabric before it reached the skeletons. Shoot into the wall and then use the shadows to grab it and get the hell out. But then something weird happened,
Something plowed into the warriors, knocking them aside, and grabbed the scarf out of the air. Something did this that no one could see—Percy. He was here inside this horrid place.
"What's this?" bellowed the General.
A skeleton warrior hissed at something in front of it.
"An intruder," the General growled. "One cloaked in darkness. Seal the doors!"
"It's Percy Jackson!" Luke yelled from his seat. "It has to be."
With no time to think, Violet stayed inside the shadows and sprinted. She exited the room, the ice-cold feeling only growing as she looked back to see what was happening. Through the darkness, she heard a ripping sound and a chunk of fabric shimmered into view, in one of the skeleton's hands. He was holding the fabric up to his nose, sniffing the scent, and handing it around to his friends.
Before Violet could do anything—maybe shoot an arrow at the skeletons—the guards slammed the doors shut. With no other option, Violet ran.
🌷 MAR. 11TH, 2023 / i love and hate this chapter (mainly love for once)
this chapter is super important!!! and i'm sure you can tell as to why
yeah,, it's going to be a while before the shadows thing is going to be explained but it is purposeful and there is a reason and i'm really excited to write it tbh
but i want to ask what do you think is going on?? especially w/ the shadows?
what do you think mr. d was talking about when he talked about vi's parents??
anyways,, thoughts?? opinions??