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chapter iv

(the lighting theif)

ariana blows up a bus

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IT DIDN'T TAKE Ariana long to pack. She stuffed two changes of clothes, a toothbrush, hairbrush and her sketchpad into her bag. She looked at her wand, sitting on her nightstand, trying to decide whether to bring it or not. In the end, she stuffed it up her sleeve.

She put some seeds into her pocket, and made sure her ring was on her finger.

The camp store loaned her one hundred dollars in mortal money and twenty golden drachmas. The coins were as big as Girl Scout cookies and had images of various Greek gods stamped on one side and the Empire State Building on the other. The ancient mortal drachmas had been silver, Chiron told them, but Olympians never used less than pure gold. Chiron said the coins might come in handy for non-mortal transactions—whatever that meant. He gave Ariana, Annabeth and Percy each a canteen of nectar and a Ziploc bag full of ambrosia squares, to be used only in emergencies, if they were seriously hurt. It was god food, Chiron reminded them. It would cure us of almost any injury, but it was lethal to mortals. Too much of it would make a half-blood very, very feverish. An overdose would burn them up, literally.

Annabeth was bringing her magic Yankees cap, which had been a twelfth-birthday present from her mom. She carried a book on famous classical architecture, written in Ancient Greek, to read when she got bored, and a long bronze knife, hidden in her shirt sleeve.

Grover wore his fake feet and his pants to pass as human. He wore a green rasta-style cap, because when it rained his curly hair flattened and you could just see the tips of his horns. His bright orange backpack was full of scrap metal and apples to snack on. In his pocket was a set of reed pipes his daddy goat had carved for him, even though he only knew two songs: Mozart's Piano Concerto no. 12 and Hilary Duff's "So Yesterday," both of which sounded pretty bad on reed pipes.

They waved good-bye to the other campers, took one last look at the strawberry fields, the ocean, and the Big House, then hiked up Half-Blood Hill to the tall pine tree that used to be Thalia, daughter of Zeus.

Chiron was waiting for us in his wheelchair. Next to him stood Argus, the camp's head of security. He supposedly had eyes all over his body so he could never be surprised. Today, though, he was wearing a chauffeur's uniform, so Ariana could only see extra peepers on his hands, face and neck.

"This is Argus," Chiron told Percy. "He will drive you into the city, and, er, well, keep an eye on things."

Ariana heard footsteps behind them.

Luke came running up the hill, carrying a pair of basketball shoes.

"Hey!" he panted. "Glad I caught you."

Annabeth blushed, the way she always did when Luke was around.

"Just wanted to say good luck," Luke told Percy. "And I thought ... um, maybe you could use these."

He handed him the sneakers, which looked pretty normal. They even smelled kind of normal.

Luke said, "Maia!"

White bird's wings sprouted out of the heels, startling Percy so much, he dropped them. The shoes flapped around on the ground until the wings folded up and disappeared.

"Awesome!" Grover said.

Ariana nodded. "Luke, they're pretty cool."

Luke smiled. "Those served me well when I was on my quest. Gift from Dad. Of course, I don't use them much these days...." His expression turned sad.

Percy was silent. "Hey, man," he finally said. "Thanks."

"Listen, Percy ..." Luke looked uncomfortable. "A lot of hopes are riding on you. So just ... kill some monsters for me, okay?"

They shook hands. Luke patted Grover's head between his horns, then gave a good-bye hug to Annabeth, who looked like she might pass out.

He wrapped his arms tightly around Ariana. "Come back alive, little sis, alright? If you don't, I will drag you back from the Underworld myself."

Ariana smiled, hugging him back. "See you soon, big bro."

After Luke was gone, Ariana told Annabeth, "You're hyperventilating."

"Am not."

"You let him capture the flag instead of you, didn't you?"

"Oh ... why do I want to go anywhere with you, Ariana?"

Ariana exchanged a look with Percy. She stomped down the other side of the hill, where a white SUV waited on the shoulder of the road.

Argus followed, jingling his car keys.

Percy picked up the flying shoes and frowned. He looked at Chiron. "I won't be able to use
these, will I?"

He shook his head. "Luke meant well, Percy. But taking to the air ... that would not be wise for you."

Percy nodded, disappointed, but then his eyes lit up. "Hey, Grover. You want a magic item?"

His eyes lit up. "Me?"

Pretty soon they'd laced the sneakers over his fake feet, and the world's first flying goat boy was ready for launch.

"Maia!" he shouted.

He got off the ground okay, but then fell over sideways so his backpack dragged through the grass. The winged shoes kept bucking up and down like tiny broncos.

"Practice," Chiron called after him. "You just need practice!"

Ariana stifled her laughter with her hand, but her eyes were bright. Percy found himself staring into them.

"Aaaaa!" Grover went flying sideways down the hill like a possessed lawn mower, heading toward the van.

"Need help?" Ariana yelled down after him, a laugh escaping her lips. She waved goodbye to Chiron and headed down to her goat friend. Leaving Chiron and Percy to talk.

ONCE PERCY FINALLY FINISHED talking with Chiron, Argus drove them out of the countryside and into western Long Island. It felt weird to be on a highway again, Annabeth and Grover sitting next to her as if they were normal teenagers. After two weeks at Half-Blood Hill, and a year in a magical school, the real world seemed like a fantasy. She found myself staring at every McDonald's, every kid in the back of his parents' car, every billboard and shopping mall.

"So far so good," Percy told Annabeth. "Ten miles and not a single monster."

She gave him an irritated look. "It's bad luck to talk that way, Jackson."

"Remind me again—why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you."

"Could've fooled me."

She folded her cap of invisibility. "Look ... we're just not supposed to get along, okay? Our parents are rivals."

"Why?"

She sighed. "How many reasons do you want? One time my mom caught Poseidon with his girlfriend in Athena's temple, which is hugely disrespectful. Another time, Athena and Poseidon competed to be the patron god for the city of Athens. Your dad created some stupid saltwater spring for his gift. My mom created the olive tree. The people saw that her gift was better, so they named the city after her."

"They must really like olives."

Ariana bit her lip, trying not to laugh.

"Oh, forget it."

"Now, if she'd invented pizza—that I could understand."

"I said, forget it!"

In the front seat, Argus smiled. He didn't say anything, but one blue eye on the back of his neck winked at Percy.

Traffic slowed them down in Queens. By the time they got into Manhattan it was sunset and starting to rain.

Argus dropped them at the Greyhound Station on the Upper East Side.

Argus unloaded their bags, made sure they got their bus tickets, then drove away, the eye on the back of his hand opening to watch them as he pulled out of the parking lot.

Grover shouldered his backpack. He gazed down the street in the direction Percy was looking. "You want to know why she married him, Percy?"

He stared at them. "Were you reading my mind or some-thing?"

"Just your emotions." He shrugged. "Guess I forgot to tell you satyrs can do that. You were thinking about your mom and your stepdad, right?"

Percy nodded, looking confused.

"Your mom married Gabe for you," Grover told the boy. "You call him 'Smelly,' but you've got no idea. The guy has this aura.... Yuck. I can smell him from here. I can smell traces of him on you, and you haven't been near him for a week."

"Thanks," Percy said. "Where's the nearest shower?"

"You should be grateful, Percy. Your stepfather smells so repulsively human he could mask the presence of any demigod. As soon as I took a whiff inside his Camaro, I knew: Gabe has been covering your scent for years. If you hadn't lived with him every summer, you probably would've been found by monsters a long time ago. Your mom stayed with him to protect you. She was a smart lady. She must've loved you a lot to put up with that guy—if that makes you feel any better."

Percy didn't react.

Ariana could clearly see that it didn't. He was good, but Ariana always had a knack for seeing people's true emotions. She could also tell the real reason for this quest.

He didn't care about retrieving Zeus's lightning bolt, or saving the world, or even helping his father out of trouble. Ans why should he? His father only acknowledged his existence when he needed something from son..

All he cared about was his mom. Hades had taken her unfairly, and Hades was going to give her back.

The rain kept coming down.

They got restless waiting for the bus and decided to play some Hacky Sack with one of Grover's apples. Annabeth was unbelievable. She could bounce the apple off her knee, her elbow, her shoulder, whatever. Ariana and Percy were not too bad.

The game ended when Percy tossed the apple toward Grover and it got too close to his mouth. In one mega goat bite, theirr Hacky Sack disappeared—core, stem, and all.

Grover blushed. He tried to apologize, but Percy and Ariana were too busy cracking up.

Finally the bus came. As they stood in line to board, Grover started looking around, sniffing the air like he smelled his favorite school cafeteria delicacy—enchiladas.

"What is it?" Percy asked.

"I don't know," he said tensely. "Maybe it's nothing."

But Ariana could tell it wasn't nothing. She exchanged a nervous look with Annabeth.

She was relieved when they finally got on board and found seats together in the back of the bus. They stowed their backpacks. Ariana kept slapping her wand nervously against her thigh.

As the last passengers got on, Annabeth clamped her hand onto her knee. "Ari."

An old lady had just boarded the bus. She wore a crumpled velvet dress, lace gloves, and a shapeless orange-knit hat that shadowed her face, and she carried a big paisley purse. When she tilted her head up, her black eyes glittered, and Ariana's heart skipped a beat.

It was Mrs. Dodds. Older, more withered, but definitely the same evil face. Ariana recognised her from when they were hunting Thalia.

Percy scrunched down in his seat, seeing the demons too.

Behind her came two more old ladies: one in a green hat, one in a purple hat. Otherwise they looked exactly like Mrs. Dodds—same gnarled hands, paisley handbags, wrinkled velvet dresses. Triplet demon grandmothers.

They sat in the front row, right behind the driver. The two on the aisle crossed their legs over the walkway, making an X. It was casual enough, but it sent a clear message: nobody leaves.

The bus pulled out of the station, and they headed through the slick streets of Manhattan.

"She didn't stay dead long," Percy said. "I thought you said they could be dispelled for
a lifetime."

"I said if you're lucky," Annabeth said. "You're obviously not."

"All three of them," Grover whimpered. "Di immortales!"

"It's okay," Ariana said, thinking hard. "The Furies. The three worst monsters from the
Underworld. No problem. No problem. We'll just slip out the windows."

"They don't open," Grover moaned.

"A back exit?" she suggested.

There wasn't one. Even if there had been, it wouldn't have helped. By that time, they were on Ninth Avenue, heading for the Lincoln Tunnel.

"They won't attack us with witnesses around," I said. "Will they?"

"Mortals don't have good eyes," Annabeth reminded him. "Their brains can only process what they see through the Mist."

"They'll see three old ladies killing us, won't they?"

Ariana thought about it. "Hard to say. But we can't count on mortals for help. Maybe an emergency exit in the roof ... ?"

They hit the Lincoln Tunnel, and the bus went dark except for the running lights down the aisle. It was eerily quiet without the sound of the rain.

Mrs. Dodds got up. In a flat voice, as if she'd rehearsed it, she announced to the whole bus: "I need to use the rest-room."

"So do I," said the second sister.

"So do I," said the third sister.

They all started coming down the aisle. Fuck.

"I've got it," Annabeth said. "Percy, take my hat."

"What?"

"You're the one they want. Turn invisible and go up the aisle. Let them pass you. Maybe you can get to the front and get away."

"But you guys—"

"There's an outside chance they might not notice us," Annabeth said. "You're a son of one of the Big Three. Your smell might be overpowering."

"I can't just leave you."

"Don't worry about us," Ariana said. "Go!"

His hands trembled, but he took the Yankees cap and put it on.

He disappeared. Ariana, Annabeth and Grover slid to the floor, hiding behind the row of seats. Ariana gripped her ring, ready to turn it into a sword at a moment's notice. She peeked over the edge. About ten rows up, Ms. Dot stopped, sniffing, and looked at an empty seat. Ariana could only pray Percy got past fine.

Apparently she didn't see anything. She and her sisters kept going.

They were almost through the Lincoln Tunnel when the Furies reached the back row. She heard Annabeth gasp in fear as the Furies hissed at them. Ariana stood up, with the most fearless expression she could muster up and glared at them, Annabeth and Grover on either side of her.

The furies smiled sickly at the, and let out a hideous wail.

The old ladies were not old ladies anymore. Their faces were still the same, but their bodies had shriveled into leathery brown hag bod-ies with bat's wings and hands and feet like gargoyle claws. Their handbags had turned into fiery whips.

The Furies surrounded Ariana, Grover and Annabeth, lashing their whips, hissing: "Where is it? Where?"
The other people on the bus were screaming, cowering in their seats. They saw something, all right.

"He's not here!" Annabeth yelled. "He's gone!"

The Furies raised their whips.

Ariana revealed her sword. Annabeth drew her bronze knife. Grover grabbed a tin can from his snack bag and prepared to throw it.

That was when the bus lurched. Ariana yelped as she was thrown to the right, along with monsters and mortals alike. The driver seemed to be wrestling for the wheel with the air. She grinned.

"Hey!" the driver yelled. "Hey—whoa!"

The bus slammed against the side of the tunnel, grinding metal, throwing
sparks a mile behind them.

They careened out of the Lincoln Tunnel and back into the rainstorm, people and monsters tossed around the bus, cars ploughed aside like bowling pins.

Somehow the driver found an exit. They shot off the highway, through half a dozen traffic lights, and ended up barreling down one of those New Jersey rural roads where you can't believe there's so much nothing right across the river from New York. There were woods to their left, the Hudson River to their right, and the driver seemed to be veering toward the river.

Suddenly, the emergency brake hit.

The bus wailed, spun a full circle on the wet asphalt, and crashed into the trees. The emergency lights came on. The door flew open. The bus driver was the first one out, the passengers yelling as they stampeded after him. Ariana pulled up Grover and Annabeth and pushed them to their feet.

The Furies regained their balance. They lashed their whips at Ariana and Annabeth while she waved her knife and yelled in Ancient Greek, telling them to back off. Ariana kept them at arm's length by slashing her sword. Grover threw tin cans. I l

That was when Percy pulled of the cap. "Hey!"

Ariana wasn't sure if she was mad because he didn't run, or glad that he was trying to save them.

Mrs. Dodds stalked up the aisle. Every time she flicked her whip, red flames danced along the barbed leather. Her two ugly sisters hopped on top of the seats on either side of her and crawled toward Percy like huge nasty lizards.

"Perseus Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said, in an accent that was definitely from somewhere farther south than Georgia. "You have offended the gods. You shall die."

"I liked you better as a math teacher," he told her.

She growled.

Annabeth and Ariana moved up behind the Furies cau-tiously, looking for an opening.

Percy took a ballpoint pen out of my pocket and un-capped it. It elongated into a shimmering double-edged sword. Ariana had to admit it was cool.

The Furies hesitated.

"Submit now," she hissed. "And you will not suffer eternal torment."

"Nice try," Percy told her.

"Percy, look out!" Annabeth cried.

Mrs. Dodds lashed her whip around Percy's sword hand while the Furies on the either side lunged at him. HE managed to keep a hold of his sword. He stuck the Fury on the left with its hilt, sending her toppling backward into a seat beside Ariana. She easily brought her sword through her neck, turning it to dust.

Annabeth got Mrs. Dodds in a wrestler's hold and yanked her backward while Grover ripped the whip out of her hands.

"Ow!" he yelled. "Ow! Hot! Hot!"

The remaining fury came at Percy again, talons ready, but he swung Riptide and she broke open like a piñata.

Mrs. Dodds was trying to get Annabeth off her back. She kicked, clawed, hissed and bit, but Annabeth held on while Grover got Mrs. Dodds's legs tied up in her own whip. Finally they both shoved her backward into the aisle. Mrs. Dodds tried to get up, but she didn't have room to flap her bat wings, so she kept falling down.

"Zeus will destroy you!" she promised. "Hades will have your soul!"

"Braccas meas vescimini!" Percy yelled.

Ariana wasn't sure where the Latin came from. She was too tired to care. She was pretty sure it meant "Eat my pants!"

Thunder shook the bus. The hair rose on the back of her neck.

"Get out!" Annabeth yelled at her. "Now!"

Ariana really didn't need any encouragement.

THey rushed outside and found the other passengers wandering around in a daze, arguing with the driver, or running around in circles yelling, "We're going to die!" A Hawaiian-shirted tourist with a camera snapped Percy and Ariana's photo'd, both with swords still in their hands.

The thought of Ginny reacting to what Ariana was doing was almost scarier than the furies.

"Our bags!" Grover realized. "We left our—"

BOOOOOM!

The windows of the bus exploded as the passengers ran for cover. Lightning shredded a huge crater in the roof, but an angry wail from inside told Ariana Mrs. Dodds was not yet dead.

"Run!" she said. "She's calling for reinforcements! We have to get out of here!"

They plunged into the woods as the rain poured down, the bus in flames behind them, and nothing but darkness ahead.

𝐑𝐀𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐀𝐊𝐒

oof, it has been too long. I just am so overwhelmed with school and shit. 

Anyway, check out my new Scott Mccall fic called "tainted heart"