These Lifeless Things || p. jackson

V. Can Skeletons Die?

THEY'D ARRIVED ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF A little ski town nestled in the mountains. The sign said WELCOME TO CLOUDCROFT, NEW MEXICO. The air was cold and thin. The roofs of the cabins were heaped with snow, and dirty mounds of it were piled up on the sides of the streets. Tall pine trees loomed over the valley, casting pitch-black shadows, though the morning was sunny.

Xiao was freezing by the time they got to Main Street, which was about half a mile from the train tracks. You could pretty much see everything from the middle of town: a school, a bunch of tourist stores and cafes, some ski cabins, and a grocery store.

"Great," Thalia said, looking around. "No bus station. No taxis. No car rental. No way out."

"There's a coffee shop!" said Grover.

"Yes," Zoë said. "Coffee is good."

"Coffee is excellent," Xiao corrected.

"And pastries," Grover said dreamily. "And wax paper."

Thalia sighed. "Fine. How about you three go get us some food. Percy, Bianca, and I will check in the grocery store. Maybe they can give us directions."

They agreed to meet back in front of the grocery store in fifteen minutes. Bianca looked a little uncomfortable going with the two of them, but she did.

Inside the cafe, they found out a few valuable things about Cloudcroft: there wasn't enough snow for skiing, the grocery store sold rubber rats for a dollar each, and there was no easy way in or out of town unless you had your own car.

"You could call for a taxi from Alamogordo," the barista said doubtfully. "That's down at the bottom of the mountains, but it would take at least an hour to get here. Cost several hundred dollars."

As Grover waited for everything else, Xiao leaned against the wall and sipped her balck coffee. Her folded up parasol leaned against the wall next to her. Zoë looked at her like she was some kind of demon. "How...you do not wait for it to cool?"

Xiao smiled deliberately and took a long sip of her still steaming drink. It scorched her throat, but it was a feeling she had come to like. Yes, she'd been told she was insane. A lot. "Weak, Nightshade."

Zoë's nostrils seemed to flare. The second her drink was ready, she snatched it from the counter and gulped it. Her eyes bugged, but she managed to get it down. Her eyes were watering when she set her drink back down.

"Enjoying yourself?" Xiao asked. "Feel proud?"

"I will shove an arrow through thine nostril," she threatened.

"It's not my fault you're fun to tease."

The barista called out Grover's name and brought out the two croissants they ordered. The wonderful taste was almost enough to quell the stone forming in her stomach. They had so little time to get to Annabeth and no idea how.

Zoë didn't look at Xiao as she polished off her food. She could tell the huntress was thinking about something, and she was always eager to hear what people thought of her: whether she was a monster or just conceited, it was amusing. Zoë's voice was even as she crumpled the bag it came in in a single fist.

"Artemis used to tell me that love is an arrow—its course always demands pain."

"And you disagree," Xiao knew, biting down a smile. "Or, at least, you have some thoughts to the contrary."

"I do not. I simply wonder your thoughts, oh so wise daughter of Aphrodite."

Xiao's answer was instant, and Zoë frowned as she said it. "I think Artemis and I see it from different perspectives, but I wouldn't say she's wrong. Love itself isn't kind, and nor is it a cure. It's up to the people involved." She savored the next sip of her drink. "Does that answer your question?"