These Lifeless Things || p. jackson

XIII. For the Record, They Were Not Kissing

XIAO WASN'T SURE WHERE SHE WAS GOING, but Percy found her first—he toppled into her, nearly sending her into traffic. He had to hold her shoulders to keep her steady. "Come on, Lovebug. I don't need you becoming roadkill."

He seemed to be in an okay mood, but Xiao noticed the golden dust caking his shoulders. He wore a regular shirt and jeans, riptide in pen form sticking out of one of his pockets. He seemed perfectly ready to catch a movie and have a good afternoon.

Then a red headed girl came charging out of an alleyway, yelling, "Percy, wait up!"

Xiao raised an eyebrow. For the first time, she noticed the black smoke and ringing fire alarms. "Is this something to do with the monster dust you're covered in? And who is this?"

"Oh, Rachel—Xiao. Xiao—Rachel. Um, she's a friend, I guess."

"Hi," Rachel said. She looked vaguely familiar to Xiao, but she couldn't place her. Then she turned to Percy. "You are in so much trouble. And you still owe me an explanation!"

Police sirens wailed on the street.

"I want to know more about half-bloods," Rachel insisted. "And monsters. And this stuff about the gods." She grabbed my arm, whipped out a permanent marker, and wrote a phone number on his hand. "You're going to call me and explain, okay? You owe me that. Now get going."

"But—"

"I'll make up some story," Rachel said. "I'll tell them it wasn't your fault. Just go!"

She ran back toward the school, leaving Xiao and Percy in the street.

"You told a mortal," Xiao noted.

"No! She found out! There were these two empousai. They were cheerleaders, see, and they said camp was going to burn. Rachel can see through the mist. She saw the monsters before I did."

"That's not a reason to tell her the truth. You follow protocol."

"And let her think she's insane?"

"Wiping her mist with the mist would be easier."

"I don't know how to do that."

Xiao sighed. Smoke was billowing up from a building, a dark column that flickered in the wind. "I guess the afternoon is off. We should get you out of here. I assume the police will be searching for you."

"You're right," Percy said, sighing as he gazed out over the sea of cars. "We have to get to Camp Half-Blood. Now."

{ ♥☼♥ }

Percy handed Xiao her phone back, his expression one of worry. He'd just gotten off the phone with his mother, explaining what had happened and that he was going to stay at camp until things cooled down.

"You look different," Percy noted, frowning at her. "Like...glowy, almost."

Xiao had been told that before, despite how stupid it sounded. Ever since her dip in the styx, people told her that she seemed to be "a little more than human." But she never ended up telling most of them what it was, and she didn't think Percy needed to be an exception.

"What imagery, thank you," Xiao said.

"Any news on Luke and Katniss?" Percy asked. "Nico?"

"None that I know of." Xiao thought of her post-styx memory of rolling to a stop at Nico's feet. She decided not to mention that.

The taxi exited on Route 25A. They headed through the woods along the North Shore until a low ridge of hills appeared on their left. Xiao told the driver to pull over on Farm Road 3.141, at the base of Half-Blood Hill.