¹Royal Cries, p. jackson

014.

ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter fourteen

━━ DISTANCE WAS NOT so much of a problem in the Labyrinth; it was a lot shorter in the maze of madness. Still, by the time Rachel got them to Times Square, Elisa felt like she had just run the entire distance from New Mexico. She, Nico, Percy, Annabeth, Rachel, and now Grover and Tyson, all climbed out of the Marriott basement and stood on the sidewalk on the bright summer day, squinting at the traffic and crowds.

               Elisa had a hard time deciding which was less real—New York City or the crystal cave where she had watched Pan, the God of the Wild, die.

               Percy led the way into an alley, where the echoes from their footsteps were clamorous. Elisa flinched when the boy whistled as loud as he could, five times in a row.

               "What the hell?" the brunette demanded, rubbing her right ear.

               The son of Poseidon waved her off, looking up into the sky and placing his hand over his eyes to keep the sun out. A minute later, Rachel gasped with shock.

               "They're beautiful!" she gasped.

               A flock of pegasi descended from the sky, swooping between the skyscrapers. Blackjack, Percy's personal pegasus, was in the lead, followed by five of his comrades.

               Blackjack neighed to Percy and the boy nodded.

               "Yeah," responded the son of Poseidon. "I'm lucky that way. Listen, we need a ride to camp, quick."

               It still was weird to Elisa that Percy could communicate with horses—or any animal that was under Poseidon's domain. Elisa wasn't sure if she would ever be able to wrap her mind around it. ( Even if Castor and Pollux had suggested the idea of them being able to communicate with animals under Dionysus's domains, too. It just didn't seem possible to her—which she recognizes the irony in it all, they were descended from Greek gods. )

               Percy managed to convince one of the pegasuses to give Tyson a ride. Everybody started getting ready to fly back to Camp Half-Blood—except Rachel.

               "Well," Elisa heard the redhead say; Rachel was talking to Percy. "I guess this is it."

               Elisa uncomfortably caught Rachel's eye and sent a nod the mortal's way. The daughter of Dionysus wasn't sure if the nod was some sort of goodbye or an acknowledgment of how Rachel had truly helped in the end. Rachel smiled, her back straightening as if Elisa's approval was what she needed.

               The daughter of madness tried to walk away but Rachel grabbed her by the arm, looking like she wanted to say something.

               "Thanks, Rachel," Percy said. "We couldn't have done it without you."

               "I wouldn't have missed it. I mean, except for almost dying, and Pan ..." The redhead's voice faltered.

               "He said something about your father," Percy recalled. "What did he mean?"

               Rachel twisted the strap on her backpack. "My dad ... My dad's job. He's kind of a famous businessman."

               "You mean ..." Percy's brows furrowed. "You're rich?"

               Elisa rolled her eyes silently.

               "Well, yeah."

               "So that's how you got the chauffeur to help us? You just said your dad's name and—"