DIVINE » l. valdez

xxvii

❝we're not brave, we're not strong, we're not soldiers ❞

Hina scrambled up the stairs, her feet slapping against the polished wood.

Coach Hedge and Piper struggled against their duct tape restraints while one of the monkey faced dwarfs did a jig around them. He was shorter than Hedge at around maybe four feet, with bowed legs. He wore over-sized green plaid pants that were pinned at his ankle and held up by bright red suspenders. On his top he wore a woman's striped pink and black blouse, his arms were lined with over a dozen presumably stolen gold watches. All of this was paired with a zebra print cowboy hat with the price tag dangling off the side.

Hina was no fashion diva herself, but the dwarf's outfit gave her a headache. 

Then, she realized the other dwarf was no where to be found.

"Duck!" Leo screamed, Hina dropping to the ground. An explosion rocked the boat, Hina's ears ringing. 

She managed a groan. The dwarf had gotten his hands on Leo's newest line of inventions: enchanted grenades. Leo had managed to find a rare vial of Apollo's music, powering the supersonic shock wave that hit the demigods. It wasn't enough to kill, but it was enough to make Hina tear up. 

Her ribs were aching just as much as they had the day she broke them, and she could barely move.

Pink dots danced along her vision, the grotesque face of a dwarf coming into focus. She tried to shout at the creature who studied the necklace around her neck. The dwarf let out a cheerful whoop, unclasping the chain and dropping it into his pocket. 

The dwarf danced his way over to Leo, leaving Hina trying to regain the feeling in her body. 

Jason stumbled over to Hina, helping the blonde shakily stand. As they rose, they watched the dwarf jump overboard, Leo's tool belt clutched in his hands.

"Hey! That's not yours," Hina yelled, the brown haired dwarf already out of sight. The red headed dwarf skipped along the deck, giving Coach Hedge a loud smooch on the cheek before following his friend overboard.

Frank had turned into a silver back gorilla, Hina wasn't sure why. He was passed out, his eyes rolled to the back of his head. It looked like Frank took most of the force from the flash grenade. 

"Piper!" Jason staggered to the helm and carefully pulled the gag out of her mouth.

"Don't waste your time on me!" she said. "Go after them!"

At the mast, Coach Hedge mumbled, "HHHmmmmm-hmmm!"

Hina figured that roughly translated to "Kill them!" knowing the satyr. 

She fumbled for her bow, before realizing it wasn't there. Hina cursed, glaring at the mess the dwarfs had created.

Below them spread the city of Bologna, a jigsaw puzzle of red tiled buildings and streets lined with rolling hills. A maze of streets ran through the city, hiding two kleptomaniac dwarfs. 

Leo turned to Jason. "You feeling good enough to control the winds? I need a lift."

Jason frowned. "Sure, but—"

"Good," Leo said. "We've got some monkey dudes to catch."

"I'm coming too," Hina said, earning a nod from Jason.

They touched down in a big piazza lined with ornate marble government buildings and tiny cafés. The streets were crowded with Vespas and bikes, but the square itself was empty except for a few elderly men sipping coffee and curious pigeons. 

No one seemed to notice the demigods that floated to the ground or the Greek warship floating overhead. They paid no mind to Jason, who wielded his golden sword, Hina with her bare feet on the pavement, or Leo who looked out of place without his tool belt.