craving |PERCY JACKSON| [book 1] UNDER EDITING

XXIV

THE SUN WAS SINKING BEHIND the mountains by the time the four found the water park. Judging from the sign, it once had been called WATERLAND, but now some of the letters were smashed out, so it read WAT R A D.

The main gate was padlocked and topped with barbed wire. Inside, huge dry waterslides and tubes and pipes curled everywhere, leading to empty pools. Old tickets and advertisements fluttered around the asphalt. With night coming on, the place looked sad and creepy.

"If Ares brings his girlfriend here for a date," Percy said, staring up at the barbed wire, "I'd hate to see what she looks like."

"Percy," Annabeth warned. "Be more respectful."

"Why? I thought you hated Ares."

"He's still a God. And his girlfriend is very temperamental."

"You don't want to insult her looks," Selena added.

"Who is she? Echidna?" Percy joked and Selena rolled her eyes,

"No, Aphrodite," Grover corrected, a little dreamily. "Goddess of love."

"I thought she was married to somebody," Percy stated,  "Hephaestus. "

"What's your point?" Grover asked.

Percy let out a small huff, "So how do we get in?"

"Maia!" Grover's shoes sprouted wings. He flew over the fence, did an unintended somersault in midair, then stumbled to a landing on the opposite side. He dusted off his jeans as if he'd planned the whole thing. "You guys coming?"

The other three had to climb the old-fashioned way, holding down the barbed wire for each other as they crawled over the top.

The shadows grew long as they walked through the park, checking out the attractions. There was Ankle Biter Island, Head Over Wedgie, and Dude, Where's My Swimsuit?

No monsters came to get them. Nothing made the slightest noise.

The group found a souvenir shop that had been left open. Merchandise still lined the shelves: snow globes, pencils, postcards, and racks of-

"Clothes," Selena smiled, "Fresh clothes. "

"Yeah," Percy agreed, "But you can't just-"

"Watch me." She snatched an entire row of stuff off the racks and disappeared into the changing room. A few minutes later she came out in Waterland flower-print shorts, a big red Waterland T-shirt, and commemorative Waterland surf shoes. A Waterland backpack was slung over her shoulder, obviously stuffed with more goodies.

"What the heck." Grover shrugged. Soon, all four of them were decked out like walking advertisements for the defunct theme park.

They continued searching for the Tunnel of Love, "So Ares and Aphrodite, they have a thing going?" Percy asked, trying ot keep his mind off of the creepiness of the place,

"That's old gossip, Percy," Annabeth told him. "Three-thousand-year-old gossip."

"What about Aphrodite's husband?"

"Well, you know," Selena said, "Hephaestus. The blacksmith. He was crippled when he was a baby, thrown off Mount Olympus by Zeus. So he isn't exactly handsome. Clever with his hands, and all, but Aphrodite isn't into brains and talent, you know?"

"She likes bikers." Grover smiled

"Whatever." Annabeth huffed,

"Hephaestus knows?" Percy asked, looking around the park,

"Oh sure," Annabeth said. "He caught them together once. I mean, literally caught them, in a golden net, and invited all the Gods to come and laugh at them. Hephaestus is always trying to embarrass them. That's why they meet in out-of-the-way places, like ..." She stopped, looking straight ahead. "Like that. "

In front of them was an empty pool that would've been awesome for skateboarding. It was at least fifty yards across and shaped like a bowl.

Around the rim, a dozen bronze statues of Cupid stood guard with wings spread and bows ready to fire. On the opposite side of them, a tunnel opened up, probably where the water flowed into when the pool was full. The sign above it read, THRILL RIDE O' LOVE: THIS IS NOT YOUR PARENTS' TUNNEL OF LOVE!

Grover crept toward the edge. "Guys, look. "

Marooned at the bottom of the pool was a pink-and-white two-seater boat with a canopy over the top and little hearts painted all over it. In the left seat, glinting in the fading light, was Ares's shield, a polished circle of bronze.

"This is too easy," Percy said. "So we just walk down there and get it?"

Annabeth ran her fingers along the base of the nearest Cupid statue. "There's a Greek letter carved here," she said. "Eta. I wonder ..."

"Grover, you smell any monsters?" Selena asked the satyr,

He sniffed the wind. "Nothing."

"Nothing-like, in-the-Arch-and-you-didn't-smell-Echidna nothing, or really nothing?" Percy asked, his hands on his hips,

Grover looked hurt. "I told you, that was underground."

"Okay, I'm sorry." Percy took a deep breath, "I'm going down there."

"I'll go with you." Grover didn't sound too enthusiastic, but Selena had the feeling he was trying to make up for what had happened in St. Louis.

"No," Percy told him. "I want you to stay up top with the flying shoes. You're the Red Baron, a flying ace, remember? I'll be counting on you for backup, in case something goes wrong."

Grover puffed up his chest a little, "Sure. But what could go wrong?"

"I don't know. Just a feeling. Annabeth, come with me-"

"Are you kidding?" She looked at the boy as if he had just dropped from the moon. Her cheeks were bright red.

"What's the problem now?" Percy demanded.

"Me, go with you to the ... The 'Thrill Ride of Love'? How embarrassing is that? What if somebody saw me?"

"Who's going to see you?" Percy's face was red and he rolled his eyes, "Fine, Selena?" 

She smiled at him, "Let's go, Seaweed Brain."

The two slid down the wall of the pool and went over to the boat. The shield was propped on one seat, and next to it was a lady's silk scarf. Then Percy noticed something that they hadn't seen from up top, mirrors all the way around the rim of the pool, facing this spot. They could see themselves no matter which direction they looked. 

That must be it. While Ares and Aphrodite were smooching with each other they could look at their favorite people: themselves.

Percy picked up the scarf. It shimmered pink, and the perfume was indescribable-rose or mountain laurel. Something good.

 He smiled, a little dreamy, and was about to rub the scarf against his cheek when Selena ripped it out of his hand and stuffed it in the pocket of her satchel. "Oh, no you don't. Stay away from that love magic."

"What?"

"Just get the shield, Seaweed Brain, and let's get out of here."

The moment Percy touched the shield, he knew they were in trouble. His hand broke through something that had been connecting it to the dashboard. A cobweb, he thought, but then he looked at a strand of it on his palm and saw it was some kind of metal filament, so fine it was almost invisible. A trip wire.

"Wait," Selena said.

"Too late." Percy winced.

"There's another Greek letter on the side of the boat, another Eta. This is a trap."