craving |PERCY JACKSON| [book 1] UNDER EDITING

XVIII

THE NEXT AFTERNOON, June 14th, seven days before the solstice, the train rolled into Denver. 

The group hadn't eaten since the night before in the dining car, somewhere in Kansas. They also hadn't taken a shower since Half-Blood Hill, and they were sure that was obvious.

"Let's try to contact Chiron," Annabeth suggested, "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

"We can't use phones, right?" Percy asked,

"I'm not talking about phones."

They wandered through downtown for about half an hour, before they found an empty do-it-yourself car wash. The demi-gods and satyr veered toward the stall farthest from the street, keeping their eyes open for patrol cars. They were four adolescents hanging out at a car wash without a car; any cop worth his doughnuts would figure they were up to no good.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, as Grover took out the spray gun.

"It's seventy-five cents," he grumbled. "I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me," she said. "The dining car wiped me out."

Selena rolled her eyes before pulling out a quarter from behind Percy's ear, "Magic trick." She winked at him before handing the coin to the satyr. 

Unlike the others, she knew how to save her cash for emergencies.

"Excellent," Grover said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

"What are you talking about?"

He fed in the quarters and set the knob to FINE MIST. "I-M'ing." Grover answered,

"Instant messaging?"

"Iris-messaging," Selena corrected. "The Rainbow Goddess Iris carries messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

"You summon the Goddess with a spray gun?"

Grover pointed the nozzle in the air and water hissed out in a thick white mist. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."

Sure enough, late afternoon light filtered through the vapor and broke into colors. Annabeth held her palm out to Percy. "Drachma, please."

He handed it over. She raised the coin over her head. "O Goddess, accept our offering." She threw the drachma into the rainbow. It disappeared in a golden shimmer. "Half-Blood Hill," Annabeth requested.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then they were looking through the mist at strawberry fields and the Long Island Sound in the distance. The four seemed to be on the porch of the Big House. Standing with his back to them at the railing was a sandy-haired guy in shorts and an orange tank top. He was holding a bronze sword and seemed to be staring intently at something down in the meadow.