Always Protect

Chapter 27

Annabeth looked past the monsters at her friend. She thought he was a Hufflepuff, not a brainless Gryffindor. So why was the idiot calling attention to himself? Scoffing to herself, her brain supplied the answer. Loyalty.

The kindly ones turned to the small preteen at the front of the bus.

"We know you have it. Give it back honey, and we'll make this quick."

"I don't have what you're looking for. But even if I did, I wouldn't give it to you!"

As the furies started advancing on him, Percy realized just how bad his half-formed idea was and lunged for the steering wheel.

None of the mug-mortals had noticed the three old demon ladies but they certainly saw the eleven year old boy wrenching the wheel out of the driver's hands and sending the bus spinning out of control.

"Hey, kid!"

"What the-?!"

"Hey!"

CRASH

The bus had fallen onto its side and a strong smell of gas permeated the air. Everyone immediately went for the emergency exit windows.

The confusion and chaos allowed the three demigods to escape the bus, and the monsters, with the rest of the people. As they were slipping out the window, a sickeningly sweet voice called out.

"Oh honey, don't you want your little brother back?"

Percy froze and would've stayed if the daughter of Athena didn't grab his arm and pull him along.

Slipping into the trees beside the road, Castor turned back in time to see the vehicle explode.

The three of them ran further into the woods.

"Alright, that just happened. What now?" Castor asked, running a hand through his blond hair.

"Now we follow the road as best we can while staying out of sight." Annabeth said, accepting her baseball cap back from Percy.

The black haired boy leaned heavily against a tree.

"What did she mean?" he whispered with wide eyes, staring at the dirt beneath his feet.

"What was that Perce?"

"What. Did she mean? Do I want my brother back? What the bloody hell did she mean by that?!"

The two blondes exchanged looks.

"Look, lots of hings are possible when it comes to Greek deities. She could've just been trying to get your attention..."

"Or...?"

"The Kindly Ones work for Hades, Lord of the Underworld. It's possible that she would've made a deal with you. The bolt for Harry."

Percy put his hands on his head and tried to blink the tears away. Breathing deeply to push down the lump in his throat that could either be a scream or a sob, he looked at the Ravenclaw girl.

"Harry's alive?"

"Not necessarily in the way you mean but it is possible to bring him back. But Percy, the Master Lightning Bolt rightfully belongs to Zeus. First of all, we don't know where it even is, and second of all, if we found it and gave it to Hades, it would start World War 3."

"So we find a way around it. Harry is my little brother. The only family I have left. I can't just-"

"Okay. Okay, we'll find a way. First we have to find the bolt. The prophecy said to go west so we'll find the nearest town and head west from there. Our best bet is to follow the road and we only have until Summer Solstice so let's get going." Annabeth said and the boys could practically see the plan forming in her mind.