JAWBREAKER

𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙩𝙚𝙧 𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙚

The next afternoon, June 14, seven days before the solstice, their train rolled into Denver.

They hadn't eaten a real meal since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas, and Warren had never wanted to take a shower so badly in her life. She felt revolting after her dip in the river and she hadn't been able to brush her teeth since the Twizzler incident. She tried to make do with rinsing her mouth out in the train bathroom and blotting herself with damp paper towels, but it really wasn't a good substitute.

The only bit of good news was that her enchanted drachma had returned to her coat pocket not long after they'd boarded. She always felt more secure with Ravager at her side.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth said as they got off the train. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

"We can't use phones, right?" Percy asked.

Warren shook her head. "She's not talking about phones."

They wandered around downtown Denver for half an hour, Annabeth leading the way. The air was dry and hot, in stark contrast from St. Louis' humidity. Everywhere they turned the Rocky Mountains were staring down at them, like a tidal wave about to crash into the city.  

Finally they found an empty do-it-yourself car wash.

The group veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping their eyes open for patrol cars. Any cop with eyes would see a group of car-less teens at a car wash and assume that they were up to no good.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."

Percy fished out his last bit of change and passed Grover a quarter.

"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?"

Grover fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing."

"Instant messaging?"

"No, doofus," Warren said. "Iris-messaging."

Annabeth explained to Percy, "The rainbow goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"

"You can summon me with a quarter-pounder with cheese," Warren said, and Percy rolled his eyes.

Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. Late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and shattered into colors.