claimed |PERCY JACKSON| [book 5]

XXIII

PERCY STOOD IN THE STREETS OF MANHATTAN, unsure of what to do. He found himself looking around. There was always gonna be apart of him missing now. She was a big part of his life and now... she was gone.

Nico ran up to him, and his face told Percy something was wrong, "It's Rachel," he said. "I just ran into her down on 32nd Street."

Annabeth frowned. "What's she done this time?"

"It's where she's gone," Nico said. "I told her she would die if she tried, but she insisted. She just took Blackjack and—"

"She took my pegasus?" Percy demanded.

Nico nodded. "She's heading to Half-Blood Hill. She said she had to get to camp."

"What was she thinking?" Annabeth said as they ran for the river. Unfortunately, Percy had a pretty good idea, and it filled him with dread.

The traffic was horrible. Everybody was out on the streets gawking at the war zone damage. Police sirens wailed on every block. There was no possibility of catching a cab, and the pegasi had flown away. Percy would've settled for some Party Ponies, but they had disappeared along with most of the root beer in Midtown. So they ran, pushing through mobs of dazed mortals that clogged the sidewalks.

"She'll never get through the defenses," Annabeth said. "Peleus will eat her."

Percy hadn't considered that. The Mist wouldn't fool Rachel like it would most people. She'd be able to find the camp no problem, but he'd been hoping the magical boundaries would just keep her out like a force field. It hadn't occurred to him that Peleus might attack.

"We've got to hurry." Percy glanced at Nico. "I don't suppose you could conjure up some skeleton horses."

He wheezed as he ran. "So tired . . . couldn't summon a dog bone."

Finally, they scrambled over the embankment to the shore, and Percy let out a loud whistle. He hated doing it. Even with the sand dollar he'd given the East River for a magic cleaning, the water here was pretty polluted. Percy didn't want to make any sea animals sick, but they came to his call.

Three wake lines appeared in the gray water, and a pod of hippocampi broke the surface. They whinnied unhappily, shaking the river muck from their manes. They were beautiful creatures, with multicolored fish tails, and the heads and forelegs of white stallions. The hippocampus in front was much bigger than the others—a ride fit for a Cyclops.

"Rainbow!" Percy called. "How's it going, buddy?"

He neighed a complaint.

"Yeah, I'm sorry," Percy continued, "But it's an emergency. We need to get to camp."

He snorted.

"Tyson?" Percy asked, "Tyson is fine! I'm sorry he's not here. He's a big general now in the Cyclops army."