Daughter Of Lightning - Book 2 (A Percy Jackson x OC fanfic)

CHAPTER 31

(Percy's POV)

We found ourselves in a trailer park at the edge of a lake. The trailers were all horse trailers, with televisions, mini refrigerators & mosquito netting. We were in a centaur camp.

“Dude!” said a party pony. “Did you see the bear guy? He was like: ‘Whoa, I have an arrow in my mouth!"

The centaur with the googly-eye glasses laughs. “That was awesome! Head slam!”

The two centaurs charged at each other full-force & knocked heads, then went staggering off in different directions with crazy grins on their faces.

Chiron sighed. He set Annabeth & Grover down on a picnic blanket next to me.

“I really wish my cousins wouldn’t slam their heads together. They don’t have the brain cells to spare.”

“Chiron,” I said, still stunned by the fact that he was here. “You saved us.”

He gave me a dry smile. “Well now, I couldn’t very well let you die, especially since you’ve cleared my name.”

“But how did you know where we were?” Annabeth asked.

“Advanced planning, my dear. I figured you would wash up near Miami if you made it out of the Sea of Monsters alive. Almost everything strange washes up near Miami.”

“Gee, thanks,” Grover mumbled.

“No, no,” Chiron said. “I didn’t mean... Oh, never mind. I am glad to see you, my young satyr. The point is, I was able to eavesdrop on Percy’s Iris-message & trace the signal. Iris & I have been friends for centuries. I asked her to alert me to any important commun-"

"Wait a minute. Where's Nora??" I asked, cutting Chiron off mid-sentence.

"She's fine, Percy. Don't worry." Chiron said pointing over to the campfire.

I looked over to where he pointed. Three party ponies were showing Tyson a paintball gun. While Nora sat beside him explaining how to use it. Her arm was still bleeding & wasn't bandaged..

“So what now?” I asked Chiron. “We just let Luke sail away? He’s got Kronos aboard that ship. Or parts of him, anyway.”

Chiron knelt, carefully folding his front legs underneath him. He opened the medicine pouch on his belt & started treating my wounds.

“I’m afraid, Percy, that today has been something of a draw. We didn’t have the strength of numbers to take that ship. Luke was not organized enough to pursue us. Nobody won.”

“But we got the Fleece!” Annabeth said. “Clarisse is on her way back to camp with it right now.”

Chiron nodded, though he still looked uneasy. “You are all true heroes. As soon as we get Percy fixed up, you must return to Half-Blood Hill. The centaurs will take you.”

“You’re coming, too?” I asked.

“Oh yes, Percy. I’ll be relieved to get home. My brethren here simply do not appreciate Dean Martin’s music. Besides, I must have a word with Mr. D. There’s the rest of the summer to plan, training to do. And I want to see...I’m curious about the Fleece.”

I didn’t know exactly what he meant, but it made me worried about what Luke said: I was going to let you take the Fleece..once I was done with it.

Had he just been lying?

I’d learned with Kronos there was usually a plan within a plan. The titan lord wasn’t called the Crooked One for nothing. He had ways of getting people to do what he wanted without them actually realizing his true intentions.

Over by the campfire, Tyson let loose with his paintball gun.

"Tyson!" Nora scolded him playfully as a blue projectile splattered against one of the centaurs, hurling him backward into the lake with a splash.

The centaur came up grinning, covered in swamp muck & blue paint, & gave Tyson two thumbs up.

“Annabeth,” Chiron said, “perhaps you and Grover would go supervise Tyson & my cousins before they, ah, teach each other too many bad habits? I know Nora is there, but she needs to be patched up & rested.”

Annabeth met his eyes. Some kind of understanding passed between them.

“Sure, Chiron,” Annabeth said. “Come on, goat boy.”

“But I don’t like paintball.”