GODS AND MONSTERS , pjo

09 , monster donut kids

CHAPTER NINE:
MONSTER DONUT KIDS

      "Thermos!" Percy screamed as we hurtled toward the water.

      "What?" I yelled back.

      What the hell was he talking about?

      But Tyson understood. He managed to open Percy's duffel bag and take out a thermos without losing his grip on it or the boat.

      Arrows and javelins whistled past us.

      Percy grabbed the thermos and yelled. "Hang on!"

      "I am hanging on!" Annabeth yelled exactly what I was thinking.

      "Tighter!"

      I listened.

      Tyson grabbed Percy and me by the backs of our shirts, Percy gave the thermos cap a quarter turn. Instantly, a white sheet of wind jetted out of the thermos and propelled us sideways, turning our downward plummet into a forty-five-degree crash landing.

      I screamed louder then I'm willing to admit.

      The wind seemed to laugh as it shot from the thermos, like it was glad to be free. As we hit the ocean, we bumped once, twice, skipping like a stone, then we were whizzing along like a speed boat, salt spray in our faces and nothing but sea ahead.

      I heard a wail of outrage from the ship behind us, but we were already out of weapon range. The Princess Andromeda faded to the size of a white toy boat in the distance, and then it was gone.

      As we raced over the sea, Percy and Annabeth tried to send an Iris-message to Chiron. They figured it was important they let somebody know what Luke was doing, and they didn't know who else to trust.

      The wind from the thermos stirred up a nice sea spray that made a rainbow in the sunlight-perfect for an Iris-message-but our connection was still poor. When Annabeth threw a gold drachma into the mist and prayed for the rainbow goddess to show us Chiron, his face appeared all right, but there was some kind of weird strobe light flashing in the background and rock music blaring, like he was at a dance club.

      They told him about sneaking away from camp, and Luke and the Princess Andromeda and the golden box for Kronos's remains, but between the noise on his end and the rushing wind and water on our end, I'm not sure how much he heard.

      "Percy," Chiron yelled, "you have to watch out for—" His voice was drowned out by loud shouting behind him—a bunch of voices whooping it up like Comanche warriors.

      "What?" Percy yelled.

      "Curse my relatives!" Chiron ducked as a plate flew over his head and shattered somewhere out of sight. "Annabeth, you shouldn't have let Percy leave camp! But if you do get the Fleece—"

      "Yeah, baby!" somebody behind Chiron yelled.

      "Woo-hoooooo!" The music got cranked up, subwoofers so loud it made our boat vibrate.

      "—Miami," Chiron was yelling. "I'll try to keep watch—"

      Our misty screen smashed apart like someone on the other side had thrown a bottle at it, and Chiron was gone.

      An hour later we spotted land—a long stretch of beach lined with high-rise hotels. The water became crowded with fishing boats and tankers. A coast guard cruiser passed on our starboard side, then turned like it wanted a second look. I guess it isn't every day they see a yellow lifeboat with no engine going a hundred knots an hour, manned by five kids.