𝑨𝑺𝑯𝑬𝑺 • 𝑃𝐸𝑅𝐶𝑌 𝐽𝐴𝐶𝐾𝑆𝑂𝑁 ²

TWENTY-ONE

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
—dumb armies

🗡🗡🗡

—RACHEL'S departure in Times Square was short and sweet ( the kind of sweet that even Judith liked as it meant one less red headed mortal ). She was thanked for her handy vision and was off after a swift hug from Percy. Watching from a few feet away, Judith tried to conjure up a memory of when she had hugged the boy herself, but came up short. She tried not to mope about it, but a frown had settled itself permanently on her face.

    Percy called a flock of six Pegasi, led by Blackjack's sleek black wings. The Pegasus brushed against her hand and she could imagine he was hoping to find some sugar cubes or more donuts. She shrugged and apologized quietly, making him whinny and turn back to Percy. She rolled her eyes at the animal, just knowing his dramatic tendencies had to be the son of Poseidon's influence.

The brown Pegasus that chose her as his rider was named Birdie, a fact that made Judith's frown loosen a fraction. Birdie was beautiful. His fur and feathers were the color of caramel and his mane was a darker toffee. It also nudged her to see if she had some food on her. Feeling gracious, she grabbed a granola bar from her pack and offered it up to him. He munched on it happily, his hoof scraping the ground in what she supposed was satisfaction.

Nico wasn't having the same luck with his. His Pegasus looked reluctant to let him mount, shying away from him at every turn. "Go without me!" Nico said finally. "I don't want to go back to that camp anyway."

"Nico," Percy began, "we need your help."

He folded his arms and scowled like a scorned child. Judith stood by him, tentatively resting a hand on his shoulder. "Nico," she chided. "Just come with us and see how it is. If you really don't want to stay, we won't stop you. You've proved to be more than capable on your own."

Percy and Annabeth looked like they wanted to argue with her about the proposition, but she stopped them with a glare. Slowly, his expression softened. "All right," he said reluctantly. "For you. But I'm not staying."

Judith chose not to pressure further. She'd come to realize Nico was not a fan of being told what to do ( something she could relate to ), and was not about to waste her breath on something that would only make them both angry. However, Percy and Annabeth looked like they wanted to continue the conversation. But with one swift glare to the both of them, they collectively decided to postpone it.

Once everybody was on a Pegasus comfortably, they shot into the air and soon they were over the East River with Long Island spread out before them. Though Judith was loathe to admit it, flying solo was a lot more disconcerting than with Percy; ironic considering he was a constant target of Zeus's wrath. She cracked her fear up to the fact that only that morning, she had been free falling through the sky and though Percy had ultimately been the one to cause the issue, he had also been the one to fix it.

Luckily, the trip was short-lived and they were at camp within the hour. They landed in the middle of the cabin horseshoe and were immediately met by Chiron, the potbellied satyr Silenus that Judith hated, and a couple of Apollo cabin archers. Chiron raised an eyebrow when he saw Nico but said nothing about his odd return.

After a quick rundown of their latest venture into the maze, Chiron was unsurprised to find Quintus had been Daedalus. And even more unsurprised to know that Kronos was on the rise.