ON THIS SPRING DAY
━━━━━ chapter eleven
━━━━━ THEY RODE THE boar until sunset, which was about as much as Violet's ass could take. Imagine riding a giant steel brush over a bed of gravel all day. That's about how comfortable boar-riding was.
She had no idea how many miles they had covered, but the mountains faded into the distance and were replaced by miles of flat dry land. The grass and scrub brush got sparser until they were galloping ( do boars gallop? ) across the desert.
As night fell upon them, the boar came to a stop at a creek bed and snorted. He started drinking the muddy water, then ripped a saguaro cactus out of the ground and chewed it, needles and all.
"This is as far as he'll go," Grover informed the others. "We need to get off while he's eating."
Nobody needed convincing. They slipped off the boar's back while he was busy ripping up cacti. Then they waddled away as best they could with their sore saddles.
After its third saguaro and another drink of muddy water, the boar squealed and belched, then whirled round and galloped back towards the east.
"It likes the mountains better," Percy guessed.
"I can't blame it," Thalia said. "Look."
Ahead of them was a two-lane road half blown over with sand. On the other side of the road was a cluster of buildings too small to be a town: a boarded-up house, a taco shop that looked like it hadn't been open since before Zoë Nightshade was born, and a white stucco post office with a sign that said GILA CLAW, ARIZONA hanging crooked above the door. Beyond that was a range of hills ... but then Violet noticed they weren't regular hills. The countryside was way too flat for that. The hills were enormous mounds of old cars, appliances, and other scrap metal. It was a junkyard that seemed to go on forever.
"Whoa," she gasped, her eyes wide with shock.
"Something tells me we're not going to find a car rental here," Thalia said. She looked at Grover. "I don't suppose you got another wild boar up your sleeve?"
"Please say you don't," pleaded Violet. "I don't want my ass any flater than it already is."
Grover was sniffing the wind, looking nervous. He fished out his acorns and threw them into the sand, then played his pipes. They rearranged themselves in a pattern that made no sense to Violet, but Grover looked concerned.
"That's us," said the satyr. "Those six nuts right there."
"Which one is me?" Percy asked.
"The little deformed one," Zoë and Violet suggested simultaneously. The Hunter frowned at Violet, as if she couldn't believe she had the same thought as a daughter of Eros.
The son of Poseidon glared at the two. "Oh, shut up."
"That cluster right there," Grover said, pointing to the left, "that's trouble."
"A monster?" Thalia asked.
Grover looked uneasy. "I don't smell anything, which doesn't make sense. But the acorns don't lie. Our next challenge ..."
He pointed straight toward the junkyard. With the sunlight almost gone now, the hills of metal looked like something on an alien planet.
🌷
They decided to camp for the night and try the junkyard in the morning. None of them wanted to go dumpster-diving in the dark.
Zoë and Bianca produced six sleeping bags and foam mattresses out of their backpacks. Violet wasn't sure how they did it, because the packs were tiny, but they must've been enchanted to hold more stuff. She had noticed their bows and quivers were also magic. When the Hunters needed them, they just appeared slung over their backs. And when they didn't, they were gone. Violet couldn't help but feel jealous—it'd be so convenient to have a magical bow like theirs.
The night got chilly fast, so Grover and Percy collected old boards from the ruined house, and Thalia zapped them with an electric shock to start a campfire. Pretty soon we were about as comfy as you can get in a rundown ghost town in the middle of nowhere.
"The stars are out," Zoë said.
She was right. There were millions of them, with no city lights to turn the sky orange.
"Amazing," Bianca said, staring up in wonder. "I've never actually seen the Milky Way."
"This is nothing," Zoë said. "In the old days, there were more. Whole constellations have disappeared because of human light pollution."
"You talk like you're not human," Percy said.
Zoë raised an eyebrow. "I am a Hunter. I care what happens to the wild places of the world. Can the same be said for thee?"
"For you," Thalia corrected. "Not thee."
"But you use you for the beginning of a sentence."
"And for the end," Thalia said. "No thou. No thee. Just you."
Zoë threw up her hands in exasperation. "I hate this language. It changes too often!"
Grover sighed. He was still looking up at the stars like he was thinking about the light pollution problem. "If only Pan were here, he would set things right."
Zoë nodded sadly.
"Maybe it was the coffee," Grover said. "I was drinking coffee, and the wind came. Maybe if I drank more coffee ..."
Violet was pretty sure coffee had nothing to do with what had happened in Cloudcroft, but she didn't have the heart to tell Grover.
"Grover, do you really think that was Pan? I mean, I know you want it to be," said Percy.
Violet sent the boy a warning look, not wanting Grover to burst into tears right there.
"He sent us help," Grover insisted. "I don't know how or why. But it was his presence. After this quest is done, I'm going back to New Mexico and drinking a lot of coffee. It's the best lead we've got in two thousand years. I was so close."
Violet watched him sadly. She wanted to find Pan just as much as the satyrs. Maybe he couldn't fix everything, but he certainly could fix some of their problems.
"What I want to know," Thalia said, looking at Bianca, "is how you destroyed one of the zombies. There are a lot more out there somewhere. We need to figure out how to fight them."
Bianca shook her head. "I don't know. I just stabbed it and it went up in flames."
"Maybe there's something special about that knife," Violet suggested.
"It is the same as mine," Zoë said. "Celestial bronze, yes. But mine did not affect the warriors that way."
"Maybe you have to hit the skeleton in a certain spot," Percy suggested next.
Bianca looked uncomfortable with everybody paying attention to her.
Violet felt pity for her. "We'll figure it out," she promised. "But first, we have to figure out our next move. We need to get to a town or something."
"We have to get through this junkyard first," said Zoë. "After we get through this junkyard, we must continue west. If we can find a road, we can hitchhike to the nearest city. I think that would be Las Vegas."
"No!" Bianca said, shaking her head. "Not there!"
She looked really freaked out, like she'd just been dropped off the steep end of a roller coaster.
Zoë frowned. "Why?"
Bianca took a shaky breath. "I ... I think we stayed there for a while. Nico and I. When we were traveling. And then, I can't remember ..."
During the months Violet had stayed at Westover, she had noticed a couple of odd things about the di Angelos. One; they lack knowledge of current events, like major events that wouldn't be easy to not know. Two; the stuff they thought was current events ... definitely wasn't. Three; their memories were spotty. They could barely remember where they had been before Westover. And sure, kids with ADHD struggled with memory, but this was more than that.
Percy's eyes widened, and he looked over to Grover, who looked just as grim.
"Bianca," the son of Poseidon said. "That hotel you stayed at. Was it possibly called the Lotus Hotel and Casino?"
Her eyes widened. "How could you know that?"
"Oh, great," Percy said.
"Wait," Thalia said. "What is the Lotus Casino?"
"A couple of years ago," Percy said, "Grover, Annabeth, and I got trapped there. It's designed so you never want to leave. We stayed for about an hour. When we came out, five days had passed. It makes time speed up."
Violet's eyes widened. "Oh, gods. That hotel? Annabeth told me about it! She said it was nearly impossible to leave."
Bianca looked sick. "No. No, that's not possible."
"You said somebody came and got you out," Percy recalled.
"Yes."
"What did he look like? What did he say?" the black-haired boy pressed her.
"I ... I don't remember. Please, I really don't want to talk about this."
Zoë sat forward, her eyebrows knitted with concern. "You said that Washington, D.C. had changed when you went back last summer. You didn't remember the subway being there."
"Yes, but—"
"Bianca," Zoë said, "can you tell me the name of the president of the United States right now?"
"Don't be silly," Bianca said with a nervous laugh. She told them the correct name of the president.
"And who was the president before that?" Violet asked, her voice turning anxious.
Bianca thought for a while. "Roosevelt."
Zoë swallowed. "Theodore or Franklin?"
"Franklin," Bianca said. "F.D.R."
"Like F.D.R. Drive?" Percy asked.
Zoë only ignored him and said, "Bianca, F.D.R. was not the last president. That was about seventy years ago."
"That's impossible," Bianca said. "I ... I'm not that old."
She stared at her hands as if to make sure they weren't wrinkled.
Thalia's eyes turned sad. Violet guessed she knew what it was like to get pulled out of time for a while. "It's okay, Bianca. The important thing is you and Nico are safe. You made it out."
"But how?" Percy said. "We were only in there for an hour and we barely escaped. How could you have escaped after being there for so long?"
"I told you." Bianca looked about ready to cry. "A man came and said it was time to leave. And—"
"But who? Why did he do it?" Percy pressed, his expression turning frustrated.
"Percy," Violet chided him. "She says she doesn't remember, okay? We'll get to the bottom of this, but if Bianca doesn't remember then there's nothing she can—"
Before Violet could finish, they were hit with a blazing light from down the road. The headlights of a car appeared out of nowhere. Despite her aversion for the god ( and his aversion for her ), Violet hoped it might be Apollo, ready to help again. But the engine was too silent for the sun chariot, and besides, it was nighttime. The six grabbed their sleeping bags and got out of the way as a deathly white limousine slid to a stop in front of them.
The back door of the limo opened right next to Percy. Before he could step away, the point of a sword touched his throat.
Violet drew her bow, and she heard Zoë and Bianca drawing theirs. As the owner of the sword got out of the car, Percy moved back very slowly. He had to, because the sword was pushing under his chin.
The man that got out of the car smiled cruelly. "Not so fast now, are you punk?"
He was a big man with a crew cut, a black leather biker's jacket, black jeans, a skin-tight white vest, and combat boots. Wraparound shades hid his eyes, but Violet knew what was behind those glasses—hollow sockets filled with flames. She recognized this man from the two winter solstices she had visited Olympus before.
"Ares," Percy growled.
The war god glanced at the boy's companions. "At ease, people."
He snapped his fingers, and their weapons fell to the ground.
"This is a friendly meeting." He dug the point of his blade a little further under Percy's chin. "Of course I'd like to take your head for a trophy, but someone wants to see you. And I never behead my enemies in front of a lady."
"What lady?" Thalia asked.
Ares looked over at her. "Well, well. I heard you were back."
He lowered his sword and pushed the son of Poseidon away. Percy stumbled into Violet, his face furious.
"Thalia, Daughter of Zeus," Ares mused. "You're not hanging out with very good company."
Thalia flared her nostrils, but kept her composure. "What's your business, Ares?" she said. "Who's in the car?"
The God of War smiled, enjoying the attention. "Oh, I doubt she wants to meet the rest of you. Particularly not them." He jutted his chin towards Zoë and Bianca. "Why don't you all go get some tacos while you wait? Only take Percy and Violet a few minutes."
The daughter of Eros squawked. "Why me?"
"We will not leave them alone with thee, Lord Ares," Zoë said.
"Besides," Grover managed, his teeth chattering, "the taco place is closed."
Ares snapped his fingers again. The lights inside the taqueria suddenly blazed to life. The boards flew off the door and the CLOSED sign flipped to OPEN. "You were saying, goat boy?"
"Go on," Percy told them. "I'll handle this."
"You heard the boy," Ares said, his tone mocking. "He's big and strong. He's got things under control."
Violet glanced at Ares, and then to the blacked-out windows of the limo. Reluctantly, she started to follow Grover when the god grabbed the top of her head like a basketball and kept her rooted to the ground.
"Don't think you can just sneak off, girl," said the God of War. "The lady wants to see you, too."
Violet grumbled and smacked his hand away, fussing about how long it took to braid her hair just right. Ares didn't pay her any mind, opening the limousine door like a chauffeur.
"Ladies first," he told her.
Violet gave him an annoyed glare and climbed inside.
The daughter of Eros stepped inside, steeling her nerves from a godly show down she probably wouldn't survive. However, what she found inside was much more intimidating than what any fight could dream of being.
The woman before Violet was wearing a blue summer dress, despite it being the dead of winter. Her chocolate brown hair curled away from her face to give the illusion of wind constantly blowing at her. She was the prettiest woman Violet had ever seen—unfairly gorgeous, like she didn't even have to try to shine. Her complexion was flawless, bared of any imperfections. Her eyes were framed by perfectly curled eyelashes. She had a smile that shined like stars.
Violet swallowed. "Aphrodite."
The goddess beamed at her, and the girl's heart stuttered when the smile looked like Connor Stoll's—crooked and uneven, but full of joy. Maybe she was in deeper than she realized.
"I know you would figure it out," the goddess told her. "Normally, they just stare. Not that I blame them, of course."
The daughter of Eros glanced around. "O-kay ... Um—why d'you want to talk to me?"
"Which lipstick, Violet?" asked Aphrodite, holding up two tubes of makeup. "Yves Saint Laurent or Christian Dior?"
Violet blinked. She looked at the two the goddess was holding out to her. One was gold with silver accents, inside the design of the silver accents was what she assumed was supposed to be the shade of the lipstick. The other tube was a glossy black with the Christian Dior logo attached.
"Um ... what are the shades?" she asked hesitantly.
Aphrodite uncapped them and showed her. To the naked eye, the two shades looked the exact same—a pretty, nude pink—but Violet knew better.
"YSL," answered the black-haired girl.
The Goddess of Love hummed with approval. "I prefer YSL myself, too. Here," she grabbed Violet's wrist and placed the gold tube in the girl's palm, "you can have it."
"What?" Violet's jaw dropped. "No, no. I can't take this. Take it back."
"Nonsense, Violet dear." Aphrodite shook her head. "I have plenty of lipsticks. I can have any shade I want."
"Wait, hold on." The goddess took the shade back and opened it, and she grabbed Violet's jaw. "Let's see how it looks on you!"
Violet couldn't respond, unable to do much but stare into Aphrodite's blue eyes as the lipstick was applied.
After she was done, the goddess pulled away, a satisfied smile on her crimson lips. "Oh—I knew that was the perfect shade for you. It compliments your skin so much!"
Violet fought the urge to wipe the makeup off. "Uh ... thank you. I guess."
Aphrodite's eyes twinkled like gems. "You take after your mother, you know. Dahlia is a very beautiful woman. I can see why Eros was drawn to her. I mean, there's the other rea—" She stopped herself, covering her mouth. She busied herself with giving the girl the lipstick tube. "Doesn't matter, no. I didn't come to talk about your mother's love life."
"And let's not," added Violet, her lips curled with disgust.
Aphrodite acted as if she hadn't heard her. "I came to talk about yours."
The daughter of Eros paused. "My love life? Talk about my love life, in the middle of a quest? You're, like, my grandmother!"
Aphrodite shuddered, as if that term scared her. "Don't call me that! I may be ancient, but that makes me sound old. Two separate things, just so you know."
"Of course they are."
"Besides, isn't that what grandmothers are supposed to do?" Aphrodite waved her hand. "And the gods don't have DNA, dear. So none of that matters. Unless you have the same godly parent."
"Whatever," Violet said, rubbing her sweaty palms on her pants. "Why talk about my love life? It's at a stand-still, you know."
"Only because you won't make any moves!" said Aphrodite. "I know all about your 'small'" —the goddess giggled— "crush on Connor Stoll. I must say—a son of Hermes? They have a bad rep these days. But maybe you like bad boys."
Violet's face burned, like a pot of lava was boiling beneath her skin. "Can we not? This is actually the worst."
"Poor Connor." The goddess tisked. "You say you like him, and maybe some part of you does, but your heart doesn't lay with him. Not completely."
The girl's eyebrows furrowed. "What?"
"Have you not noticed yet?" Aphrodite looked at her, looking stunned. "I figured someone like you would have noticed by now. Your dad is Eros after all."
"Notice what?"
"Where your heart wants to run to," said Aphrodite.
"Somewhere safe," Violet said dryly. "I'm sick of fighting for my life."
Aphrodite huffed. "That's not what I meant. I meant to someone. Although, you could consider them somewhere safe—in time, at least."
"I don't know what you're talking about." She shrugged. "And I don't like Connor like that."
"You're right," the goddess agreed. "It's just a schoolgirl crush. That's what they call it these days, don't they?" She waved her hand dismissively. "No—your heart yearns for someone else. Percy Jackson."
Violet snorted, and Aphrodite's wistful smile faded. "What?" she demanded.
"I just—" the daughter of Eros shook her head. "No way I like Percy. And he doesn't like me. He likes Annabeth."
Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Percy and Annabeth this. Percy and Annabeth that. Sure, it would be a rather nasty slap in the face of Athena if they liked each other, but Percy and Annabeth are nothing more than friends. I know these kinds of things."
Violet tried to fight back her sigh. She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "Well, you're wrong. Er—Lady Aphrodite. I don't like Percy, and he doesn't like me."
"Not yet." Aphrodite pointed a manicured finger at her. "But in time. That's why you went on this quest. Percy intrigues you."
Violet frowned. "Intrigues me? I saw him run into the tetherball pole before!"
"He has what you want—respect. People don't look down upon him for being a child of a minor god."
The daughter of Eros straightened. "That's not true!" she said quickly and hotly. She swallowed. "Besides—I went on this quest to save Annabeth and Artemis. They're in trouble."
"Oh—Artemis." Aphrodite rolled her eyes. "Just remember why you're on this quest, Violet. Artemis, her Hunters, and that monster—none of that matters here. What matters is following your heart."
Violet's eyes hardened. "You've read my heart wrong, then. I don't like Percy, and I'm not jealous of him."
The goddess didn't look offended by her tone. "Don't deny your heart of this. Curiosity isn't a bad thing."
"'Curiosity kills the cat,'" said Violet. "And frankly—I don't want to die."
"But some of the best love stories have been because people follow their curiosity," Aphrodite said.
"I'm not a love story!" Violet said. She took a deep breath, trying to control her anger. "Look—do you know where Artemis is? We need to find her before the winter solstice."
Aphrodite shrugged. "I'll leave the details for you and Percy to discuss. Ah—speaking of him, I'm afraid our talk must come to an end. But don't worry, Vi, I'll keep an eye on you two. It's been ages since I've had a love story that excites me as much as this one. You and Percy are great entertainment."
Violet bared her teeth, ready to repeat what she's been trying to say for the last five minutes, but the limousine door opened. Ares grabbed her by the arm and lead her out, grinning like some madman. She had a sick feeling he could hear every word that had passed between her and the Goddess of Love.
And just like that, her audience with Aphrodite had come to an end. And Violet couldn't say she was upset about it.
🌷 APR. 16TH, 2023 / aphrodite is such a slay
honestly she's so real for this
when i was first planning otsd, vi wasn't supposed to talk to 'dite and instead i was going to do what i did with royal cries where percy talked to aphrodite but i figured vi and aphrodite should talk
anyways,, thoughts?? opinions??