The Thief // pjo

Chapter Six // I Decide I Am Not a Fan of My Whole Family & I Make Literal Waves

    So, Annabeth decided that we needed to talk to someone named Chiron about our talk with the river spirit and the fact that I existed.

    I am pretty sure that Chiron was the centaur dude Percy told me about earlier, so I am pretty excited.

    But what I didn't get was how we were going to talk to him if phones were a big no-no for demigods because they attracted monsters.

    We wandered around in downtown Denver for a while, the air dry and hot, making all of us a little cranky. Which I feel like was kind of valid on the account that all of us had not eaten since the night before, and all of us probably smelled like a dumpster.

    We found a do-it-yourself car wash after a while, where Annabeth led all of us to the farthest stall from the street, keeping us out of the searching eyes of police officers or suspicious people.

    I stood next to Percy, leaning against the cool brick wall as I watched Grover pick up a spray gun.

    "What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, sounding as tired as I felt.

    "It's seventy-five cents," The satyr muttered. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

    "Don't look at me," The blonde shook her head, dark bags under her gray eyes. "The dining car wiped me out."

    Percy grabbed whatever money he could find in his bag, passing Grover a quarter in the end.

    "Excellent," Grover said, getting ready to insert the money into the machine. "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?" I asked, furrowing my brows.

    "I-M'ing."

    I blinked as I watched him set the spray gun to FINE MIST, "Instant messaging?"

    "Iris-messaging," Annabeth corrected, running a hand over her grimey face. "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."

    "Oh, that makes sense," I nod, shrugging.

    "You summon the goddess with a spray gun?" Percy asked incredulously.

    "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow," Grover shot back at him, pressing the release button and watching mist fill the air.

    A bright rainbow filled the space as the late afternoon light filtered through the stall.

    "Drachma, please," Annabeth held a hand out to Percy. I watched my brother hand her the coin before eyeing Annabeth as she declared, "O goddess, accept our offering." She threw the gold coin into the rainbow, not even phased as it vanished. "Half-Blood Hill."

    I was not sure what to expect, but when the beautiful image of strawberry fields and what I vaguely recognized to be the Long Island Sound came into view, I audibly gasped.

    "Woah..." I breathed.  

    The image was also focused on some kind of image where it looked like a sandy-haired person had his back to us.

    He had a bronze sword drawn at his side, his eyes pinned on something none of us could see.

    "Luke!" Percy called, making me jump.

The guy turned, and I would be lying if I didn't think he was handsome.

    The older teen had sky blue eyes, tanned skin from years of being in the constant sun, and was toned and muscled (probably from the training my friends told me about).