Indigo Eyes

Chapter 52

After piling into the van, they'd been forced to ditch it soon after they realised that they'd been followed by a helicopter and a couple of black sedans. They were human mercenaries hired by the General. And thanks to Bianca's quick thinking, they'd headed down to the subway station where they jumped onto a train, Percy wearing his lion jacket as he made sure that Cressida had some ambrosia before they switched trains and a rather strange homeless man directed them to the Sun West Line which was a freight train heading west, exactly where they need to go.

An hour later and they were rumbling west, everyone snoozing in their own luxury car.

Zoë and Bianca crashed out in a Lexus on the top deck. Grover was playing race-car driver behind the wheel of a Lamborghini. And Thalia had hot-wired the radio in a black Mercedes SLK so she could pick up the alt-rock stations from D.C. Cressida was crashing in a purple Maserati as she plugged in her headphones, her iPod packed this time now that there was no Sea of Monsters to damage it.

She was interrupted however when Percy knocked on her window.

"Gods of Olympus!" she exclaimed as she woke with a start, her switchblade in hand as he opened the door and got into the driver's seat.

"I knocked and announced myself. You can't blame me for that," Percy said as she pulled her earphones out.

"An entire train full of cars and you pick mine?" she smirked as she leaned back in her seat, Percy tossing his backpack into the backseat.

"Yeah, well, considering Thalia kicked me out of her car, I figure you're least likely to kill me or make me wish I was deaf," he said, referring to Grover who was playing his reed pipes as he pretended to drive his Lamborghini.

"Fair enough," she admitted before Percy explained what Thalia had told him about her almost joining the Hunters. Thalia had declined because it would've meant leaving Luke and Zoë had grown angry before telling her that Luke would only let her down one day - and she was right.

"Grape Girl, have you -"

"No," she interrupted. "I haven't decided yet. I don't think I'll be able to until we get Annabeth back and finish this quest. It'll be good though. I can see what working with Zoë will be like."

"But -"

"Can we please not talk about this?" she asked as she lay on her side with the passenger seat fully reclined as she faced him. "Just ask me something else."

Percy considered it for a moment. "Ok, uh, why is the waltz your favourite dance?"

Her smile was nostalgic.

"My father taught me," she said. "I was eight, I think, and I had really bad nightmares, so I refused to sleep. So he said, if I was going to stay up all night, I may as well learn something. We used to dance from sundown till sunrise and when I would finally fall asleep, he'd promise me that I'd have no more nightmares."

"Did you?"

"No. My father managed to convince Morpheus, the god of dreams, to prevent me from having dreams at all. Since he couldn't help me learn how to use my powers, it was the next best thing."

Percy couldn't even imagine what type of horrors would await her in her nightmares - what Kronos would do to her if he was able to reach her in her dreams.

"Sometimes I wish I could dream though," she admitted and Percy stared at her strangely.

"Why?"

"Because then maybe I could see something that could help us find Annabeth the way you can."

"Trust me," Percy chuckled darkly. "You're not missing out on much. I don't even want to think about what my dreams will be like tonight."

"Oh, don't be afraid of dreams," said a voice behind them and both of them flinched as Cressida bolted upright. Somehow, neither of them were surprised to find the strange homeless guy from the railway yard sitting in the backseat. His jeans were so worn out they were almost white. His coat was ripped, with stuffing coming out. He looked kind of like a teddy bear that had been run over by a truck. "If it weren't for dreams," he said, "I wouldn't know half the things I know about the future. They're better than Olympus tabloids." He cleared his throat, then held up his hands dramatically: "Dreams like a podcast, Downloading truth in my ears. They tell me cool stuff."

"Apollo?" Both Cressida and Percy asked in confusion, wondering what the god was doing there and how he could be the god of poetry and still make a haiku so bad.

He put his finger to his lips. "I'm incognito. Call me Fred."

"A god named Fred?" Percy questioned, Cressida muffling a laugh as she bit her lips together.

"Eh, well... Zeus insists on certain rules. Hands off, when there's a human quest. Even when something really major is wrong. But nobody messes with my baby sister. Nobody."

"Can you help us, then?"

"Shhh. I already have. Haven't you been looking outside?"

"How fast are we going?" Cressida asked, finally noticing the blur of scenery that they were speeding past.

Apollo chuckled. "Fast enough. Unfortunately, we're running out of time. It's almost sunset. But I imagine we'll get you across a good chunk of America, at least."

"But where is Artemis?" Percy asked.

His face darkened. "I know a lot, and I see a lot. But even I don't know that. She's... clouded from me. I don't like it."

"And Annabeth?" Cressida asked nervously and the god frowned.

"Oh, you mean that girl you lost? Hmm. I don't know."

"What about the monster Artemis was seeking?" Percy asked. "Do you know what it is?"

"No," Apollo said. "But there is one who might. If you haven't yet found the monster when you reach San Francisco, seek out Nereus, the old man of the sea. He has a long memory and a sharp eye. He has the gift of knowledge sometimes kept obscure from my Oracle."

"But it's your Oracle," Percy protested. "Can't you tell us what the prophecy means?"

Apollo sighed. "You might as well ask an artist to explain his art, or ask a poet to explain his poem. It defeats the purpose. The meaning is only clear through the search."

"What in Hades is that supposed to mean?" Percy exclaimed.

"Don't you get it, Barnacle Brain? He doesn't know what it means," Cressida answered.

Apollo checked his watch. "Ah, look at the time! I have to run. I doubt I can risk helping you again, Percy, but remember what I said! Get some sleep! Oh, and your father was right, Cressida," he said, turning to the daughter of wine. "Preventing you from dreaming was a smart move to protect you and those around you as you learned to control your powers. But I don't know how much longer it will last."

Both demigods wanted to protest, especially Cressida who wanted to know what the absolute Tartarus that meant, but Apollo snapped his finger and both demigods were asleep.