𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫. ── 𝐣𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐞

𝐢𝐢. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠

Andy POV

Andy stood in front of the chariot, adjusting the speed, while Impy, Brunette, and Hottie stood at the back. Butch, handled the reins, and Annabeth, adjusted a celestial bronze navigation device. They rose over the Grand Canyon and headed east, icy wind ripping straight through Aella's jacket. Behind them, more storm clouds were gathering.

The chariot lurched and bumped. It had no seat belts and the back was wide open, so Andy could tell that the teens were scared.  

"You won't fall," she said. "I'll make sure of it."

Hottie lifted an eyebrow. "What are you gonna do, fly?" He stepped outside the chariot and Andy quickly held up her hand, her body a blur.

"Woah," he said. "You're fast."

Andy, satisfied with the results, put him down.

Hottie stood right next to her, as she studied his face. Sky blue eyes, close-cropped blond hair, that cute little scar on his upper lip. His face was kind and gentle, but a little sad. And he just stared at the horizon, not even noticing her.

Meanwhile, Impy was being annoying.

"This is so cool!" He spit a pegasus feather out of his mouth. "Where are we going?"

"A safe place," Annabeth said. 

"The only safe place for kids like us. Camp Half-Blood."

"Half-Blood?" Brunette was immediately on guard. "Is that some kind of bad joke?" She questioned. Andy immediately responded.

"Calm your spatulas, low rise jeans. She means—"

"She means we're demigods," hottie said. "Half god, half mortal."

Andy rolled her eyes. "You could've let me finish."

Annabeth looked back. "You seem to know a lot. But, yes, demigods. My mom is Athena, goddess of wisdom. Butch here is the son of Iris, the rainbow goddess. And Andy—call her Aella—is the daughter of Hermes, god of... a lot of things, but mostly travelers and thieves." 

Impy choked. "Your mom is a rainbow goddess?"

"Got a problem with that?" Butch said.

"No, no," Impy said. "Rainbows. Very macho."

"Butch is our best equestrian," Annabeth said. "He gets along great with the pegasi."

"Rainbows, ponies," Impy muttered.

"I'm gonna toss you off this chariot," Butch warned.

"Please do." Andy replied.

"Demigods," Brunette said. "You mean you think you're ... you think we're—"

Lightning flashed. The chariot shuddered, and Hottie yelled, "Left wheel's on fire!"

Aella stepped back. Sure enough, the wheel was burning, white flames lapping up the side of the chariot. The wind roared. Aella glanced behind them and saw dark shapes forming in the clouds, more storm spirits spiraling toward the chariot—except these looked more like horses than angels.

Brunette started to say, "Why are they—"

"Anemoi come in different shapes," Annabeth said. "Sometimes human, sometimes stallions, depending on how chaotic they are. Hold on. This is going to get rough."

Butch flicked the reins. The pegasi put on a burst of speed, and the chariot blurred. And after the three demigods blacked out, (Aella rushing, once more, to save them all from falling off), they had reached the camp. A cold gray ocean stretched out to the left. Snow-covered fields, roads, and forests spread to the right. Directly below them was a green valley, like an island of springtime, rimmed with snowy hills on three sides and water to the north. Andy saw a cluster of buildings like ancient Greek temples, a big blue mansion, ball courts, a lake, and a climbing wall that seemed to be on fire. The place she called home. But before she could reminisce more, their wheels came off and the chariot dropped out of the sky.