CHAPTER FOURTEEN - I GET MAD AT A RAINBOW

Annabeth woke me up as the train rolled into Denver.

Thinking about what goes down there, I wanted to empty my already near-empty stomach of its contents. We used the last of my money in the dining car last night, somewhere in Kansas. I could feel the effects of not eating well weighing down on me. My fingers and toes were constantly cold, and I'd had a searing migraine since the day before, after seeing my best friend plunge to his almost-death. Things like that can mess with your brain.

As the train came to a stop, Annabeth spoke up. "Let's try to contact Chiron," she said to Percy. "I want to tell him about your talk with the river spirit."

He looked confused. "We can't use phones, right?"

"I'm not talking about phones."

Annabeth didn't care to elaborate. She led us through downtown Denver for about half an hour. I kept glancing up at the Rocky Mountains, feeling like I was enclosed in a bubble of rock. Even in the sweltering afternoon, I was cold. I ended up digging my jacket out of my backpack and putting it on.

Percy looked at me in concern. "It's a hundred degrees out, why are you putting on a jacket?"

I shrugged. "I'm pretty much always cold. You should have seen me when I moved up to Northern Arizona for college. You wouldn't think that Arizona would get that cold, right? Well, my first winter there, I woke up one day to three feet of newly fallen snow. I never left my apartment in less than two sweaters and my snow jacket."

He blinked in surprise, but composed himself quickly. "Sorry, I just don't think I'll ever get used to hearing you talk about college. I mean, I get that you had another life, but it's still a little weird to listen to you talking like you're still twenty."

I gave him a wide smile in response. "Well, seeing as how you were just a paperback book to me for eight years? I think we both have something that will always be a little weird."

"Touché."

Being absorbed in the conversation, I hadn't realized we stopped until I ran into Grover. It was a good thing he was quick on his hooves. He caught my arm and steadied the both of us before I sent us sprawling onto the asphalt.

After mumbling an apology, I saw that we stopped at an empty do-it-yourself car wash. Annabeth led us to the stall farthest from the street.

"What exactly are we doing?" Percy asked, watching Grover pull out the spray gun.

Ignoring his question, Grover said "It's seventy-five cents. I've only got two quarters left. Annabeth?"

"Don't look at me," she said, shaking her head. "The dining car wiped me out."

I swung my backpack off of my shoulder, trying to find that leather pouch that I have had no use for, until now. "Right, because we used your money in the dining car."

She sent me a glare, which I responded to with a bright smile.

Percy dug his hand in one of his pockets and pulled out a quarter, handing it to Grover.

"Excellent," he said. "We could do it with a spray bottle, of course, but the connection isn't as good, and my arm gets tired of pumping."

Percy narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about?"

"I-M'ing," I said, without looking up from my backpack. Where in the world was that pouch?

"Instant Messaging?"

"Iris Messaging," Annabeth corrected. "The rainbow goddess Iris carried messages for the gods. If you know how to ask, and she's not too busy, she'll do the same for half-bloods."

Percy let out a snort. "You summon the goddess with a spray gun?"

Grover toggled the spray gun to fine mist and turned it on, watching the light filter through the thick vapor. "Unless you know an easier way to make a rainbow."

"Found it!" I exclaimed, holding the drachma pouch in the air in triumph.

I struggled to my feet and dug out a drachma, tossing it into the mist. "O goddess, accept our offering."

The coin passed through the rainbow, disappearing in the golden shimmer.

"Show us Half-Blood Hill," I requested.

The rainbow shimmered and vanished, leaving behind a mirage about the size of a plasma-screen TV. I could see the strawberry fields and the Long Island Sound in the distance, from the porch of the Big House, which was apparently where we were.

I couldn't see Chiron anywhere, but standing on the porch was a tall guy with blonde hair. I felt the same rush of anger and annoyance in my chest as I always did when I saw him.

Unfortunately, I was the only one to feel that way.

"Luke!" Percy called.

After hearing his name, Luke whipped around, eyes wide. He looked a little confused for a second, but after recognizing us, his face broke into a grin, the scar bending around his cheekbone.

"Percy! Is that Annabeth, too? Thank the gods! Are you guys okay?"

"We're...uh...fine," Annabeth stammered. She was desperately trying to untangle her knotted hair with her fingers. "We though—Chiron—I mean—"

Luke's smile dropped. "He's down at the cabins. We're having some issues with the campers. Listen, is everything cool with you? Is Grover all right?"

"I'm right here," Grover said. He held the spray bottle out in a way to let Luke see him. "What kinds of issues?"

Our conversation was put on pause when a huge Lincoln Continental pulled into the stall next to ours. They must have had an upgraded sound system, because the bass from the subwoofers was so powerful that I felt it in the pit of my stomach. Seriously? Who needs that much volume for a car?

"Chiron had to—what's that noise?" Luke yelled.

Annabeth let out a sigh. "I'll take care of it! Grover, come on!"

"What?" Grover asked. "But—"

"Give Avalon the nozzle and come on!" she demanded.

Grover groaned, but handed me the spray bottle and walked away with Annabeth.

I tried holding the bottle so I could see Luke at the same time, but it didn't really matter anyways. Luke ignored me, like he has done since the first day I met him.

"Chiron had to break up a fight," he told Percy. "Things are pretty tense here, Percy. Word leaked out about the Zeus-Poseidon standoff. We're still not sure how—probably the same scumbag who summoned the hellhound."

"Yeah, I wonder who that could be," I muttered under my breath. They didn't seem to hear me, thankfully.

"Now the campers are starting to take sides," Luke continued. "It's shaping up like the Trojan War all over again. Aphrodite, Ares, and Apollo are backing Poseidon, more or less. Athena is backing Zeus."

Percy winced, and looked over at me. I wondered why Clarisse would want to back Percy. Probably because the Athena cabin was on Zeus's side. At least Lee made the call to stand beside Percy.

I glanced over at the next stall, where Annabeth was arguing with a heavily-tattooed guy in the driver's seat of the truck. He made a face at her, but cut down the stereo's volume nevertheless.

"So what's your status?" Luke asked. "Chiron will be sorry he missed you."

Percy launched into his explanation of the last few days, even including the dreams he was having. I frowned at that. I had to push him into telling Annabeth, but he told Luke everything so freely? The trust he had in this guy was dangerous. I just wished that I knew why I disliked him so much.

The spray bottle beeped in my hand, and I looked to Percy. "We've only got a minute left," I warned.

"I wish I could be there," Luke said. "We can't help much from here, I'm afraid. But listen...it had to be Hades who took the master bolt. He was there at Olympus at the winter solstice. I was chaperoning a field trip and we saw him."

I narrowed my eyes at Luke in suspicion. He didn't acknowledge me, as usual, but I saw his eyes flit over to me every once in a while.

"But Chiron said the gods can't take each other's magic items directly," Percy countered.

"That's true," Luke said. His eyebrows knit together in concentration. "Still...Hades has the helm of darkness. How could anybody else sneak into the throne room and steal the master bolt? You'd have to be invisible."

I raised an eyebrow and gave Luke a pointed look. Percy didn't say anything, instead opting for shuffling his feet and shoving his hands in his pockets.

Finally Luke seemed to catch on to the insinuation. "Oh, hey, I didn't mean Annabeth. She and I have known each other forever. She would never...I mean, she's like a little sister to me."

The music from the other stall cut off completely, making me turn and look to see what was happening. I caught sight of the driver screaming in terror, his eyes wide, and he and the passenger of the truck slammed their doors shut and peeled out of the car wash. Did Grover show them his hooves or something?

"You'd better go see what that was," I heard Luke say. "Listen, are you wearing the flying shoes? I'll feel better if I know they've done you some good."

Percy cast his eyes downward so he wouldn't give away his guilt. "Oh...uh, yeah! Yeah, they've come in handy."

Luke's face broke out in a grin. "Really? They fit and everything?"

The spray bottle shut off, so I put it back in its holster. The mist started to evaporate.

"Well, take care of yourself out there in Denver," Luke said, but the image of camp was fading quickly. "And tell Grover it'll be better this time! Nobody will turn into a pine tree if he just—"

But then the mist was gone completely, taking Luke and the camp with it. Even with Percy by my side, I'd never felt more alone. We watched as stray water droplets made their way to the wet, concrete floor.

Annabeth and Grover rounded the corner of the car wash stall, laughing heartily, but the laughter died in their throats when they saw our faces. Annabeth's smile faded. "What happened, guys? What did Luke say?"

Percy cleared his throat, and took my hand, pulling me away from the stall. "Not much," he said. "Come on, let's find some dinner."

*

We stopped at one of those age diners. You know, where the décor is modeled after a certain time period. We sat in a booth with a window overlooking the parking lot, Grover and Percy on one side, and me and Annabeth on the other. I was so hungry, I found myself staring enviously at a little boy eating a hamburger.

A waitress came over, walking slowly. She raised an eyebrow as she took in our disheveled appearances. "Well?" she asked.

Percy looked at the three of us. "We, um, want to order dinner."

The waitress placed a hand on her popped hip. "You kids have money to pay for it?"

Grover's lower lip started trembling. Annabeth looked about ready to pass out from hunger, and I was well on the way to following her.

I could see the gears turning in Percy's head as he tried to think of an excuse for us, when a loud noise caused the four of us to look out the window. A massive motorcycle was pulling into the parking lot.

It looked like the kind of bike I would see outside of this roadside diner in California, right next to the beach. It was a popular place for bikers, all looking like they came from a Sons of Anarchy convention. The headlight was fixed with a red bulb, and the gas tank had flame decals on it. Two shotgun holsters adorned the sides. The seat was leather, but it didn't look like normal leather. Instead, it looked like Caucasian human skin. Lovely.

The man on the bike was even scarier. He was big and burly, his arm muscles the size of my head. He had on the typical biker leather duster, along with a red t-shirt and black jeans. A long hunting knife was strapped to his thigh. He had on a pair of red sunglasses, and his face held the cruelest sneer I had ever seen in my life.

The doors of the diner blew open, bringing hot wind as the biker walked across the threshold. Everyone in the diner rose, but the man just waved his hand dismissively, and they all sat down again, conversations once again sprouting up.

The waitress blinked as if coming out of a trance. She asked us again, "You kids have money to pay for it?"

"It's on me," the biker said. He stopped in front of our booth, and looked pointedly at me. Quickly, I ducked down under the table and came back up in between Percy and Grover on the other side of the booth. The man grunted in reply and sat down next to Annabeth, crowding her against the window.

He looked up at the waitress, who hadn't moved this entire time. "Are you still here?"

He pointed at her, and her body stiffened. She spun around, and marched back to the kitchen. The ADHD part of me wondered what she was going to tell the cook to make for us, since we didn't actually give her any orders.

Percy's hands clenched the linoleum seat, causing me to jump out of my thoughts and focus on the situation at hand. His jaw was pulsing with anger, and the biker guy was staring at him, that same cruel sneer on his face.

Then the sneer contorted into a wicked grin. "So you're old Seaweed's kid, huh?"

I shared a look with Annabeth and Grover, who were both watching Percy to gage his reaction. What he did, however, wasn't expected by us. Well, by them, I guess. He crossed his arms and snapped back at the biker, "What's it to you?"

Annabeth looked at him in alarm. "Percy, this is—"

The biker raised his hand, effectively cutting her off.

"S'okay," he said. "I don't mind a little attitude. Long as you remember who's the boss. You know who I am, little cousin?"

Percy stared at him for a little longer, before recognition dawned on his face. "You're Clarisse's dad. Ares, god of war."

Ares gave us a nasty grin and took off his sunglasses. Instead of eyes, he had nuclear explosions in his empty sockets. "That's right, punk." He turned his fiery eyes to me. "So, you're the one who managed to snap my daughter's nose. Funny, you don't look like much to me."

I took a deep breath. He was baiting me, I knew it. I wasn't going to give him the satisfaction. "Well, a girl's got to stand up for herself, yeah?"

Ares gave me his signature grin and turned back to Percy. "And I heard you broke Clarisse's spear," he said.

Percy's face was stone. "She was asking for it."

Ares shrugged and leaned back against the booth seat. "Probably," he said. "That's cool. I don't fight my kid's fights, you know? What I'm here for—I heard you were in town. I got a little proposition for you."

The waitress came back and set meals in front of the four of us—cheeseburgers, fries, onion rings, and chocolate malts. Ares handed her a few gold drachmas in payment.

The waitress between him and the heavy coins nervously. "But, these aren't..."

In response, Ares pulled out his hunting knife and started cleaning his fingernails with it. "Problem, sweetheart?"

The waitress swallowed, then (wisely) left with the gold.

"You can't do that," I said, before realizing it. Ares glared at me, and I clamped my mouth shut.

Unfortunately, Percy didn't. "You can't just threaten people with a knife," he said, continuing my thoughts.

Ares laughed. "Are you kidding? I love this country. Best place since Sparta. Don't you carry a weapon, punk? You should. Dangerous world out there. This girl here," he said, nodding to me, "has got the right idea. Oh yeah, I can see the dagger in your sleeve. Which brings me to my proposition. I need you to do me a favor."

Percy blinked in surprise. "What favor could I do for a god?"

"Something a god doesn't have to do himself. It's nothing much. I left my shield at an abandoned water park here in town. I was going on a little...date with my girlfriend. We were interrupted. I left my shield behind. I want you to fetch it for me."

"Why don't you go back and get it yourself?"

Ares's eye sockets glowed dangerously. "Why don't I turn you into a prairie dog and run you over with my Harley?" He growled. "Because I don't feel like it. A god is giving you an opportunity to prove yourself, Percy Jackson. Will you prove yourself a coward?" He leaned forward. "Or maybe you can only fight when there's a river to dive into, so your daddy can protect you."

Percy's jaw clenched. To keep him from doing something stupid, I grabbed his hand that was balled into a fist, on his leg, and gave it a light squeeze. That seemed to relax him. "We're not interested," he said. "We've already got a quest."

Ares glared at him, and Percy flinched involuntarily after being shown the gruesome scenes that the god was making him watch. "I know all about your quest, punk. When that item was first stolen, Zeus sent his best out looking for it: Apollo, Athena, Artemis, and me, naturally. If I couldn't sniff out a weapon that powerful..." He licked his lips, the envy of having the master bolt written on his face. "Well...if I couldn't find it, you got no hope. Nevertheless, I'm trying to give you the benefit of the doubt. Your dad and I go way back. After all, I'm the one who told him my suspicions about old Corpse Breath."

I cocked my head to the side. "Why would you tell Poseidon that Hades stole the bolt?"

The god shrugged. "Framing somebody to start a war. Oldest trick in the book. I recognized it immediately. In a way, you got me to thank for your little quest."

"Thanks," Percy mumbled.

"Hey, I'm a generous guy. Just do my little job, and I'll help you on your way. I'll arrange a ride west for you and your friends."

"We're doing fine on our own."

Ares snorted. "Yeah, right. No money. No wheels. No clue what you're up against, except for little miss sunshine here," he said, gesturing to me. I scowled into my hamburger. "Help me out, and maybe I'll tell you something you need to know. Something about your mom."

Percy sat up straight, like he had been electrocuted. "My mom?"

Ares grinned. "That got your attention. The water park is a mile west on Delancy. You can't miss it. Look for the Tunnel of Love ride."

He should have just left it alone, but Percy being Percy, he opened his big mouth. "What interrupted your date?" He asked. "Something scare you off?"

Ares bared his teeth in warning. "You're lucky you met me, punk, and not one of the other Olympians. They're not as forgiving of rudeness as I am. I'll meet you back here when you're done. Don't disappoint me."

I blinked, and when I opened my eyes again, the god was gone. I slipped back to Annabeth's side of the booth, and looked at Percy.

"Not good," Grover said. "Ares sought you out, Percy. This is not good."

Percy looked out the window. Now that Ares was gone, he looked tired and dejected. "It's probably some kind of trick," he said. "Forget Ares. Let's just go."

Annabeth shook her head. "We can't. Look, I hate Ares as much as anybody, but you don't ignore the gods unless you want serious bad fortune. He wasn't kidding about turning you into a rodent."

"Yeah, that's going to happen a lot," I mumbled under my breath.

"Why does he need us?" Percy asked.

Annabeth thought for a moment, and then replied. "Maybe it's a problem that required brains. Ares has strength. That's all he has."

I nodded. "Even strength has to bow to wisdom sometimes."

Percy looked between the two of us, weighing the options. "But this water park..." Percy said. "He acted almost scared. What would make a war god run away like that?"

My three friends looked at me.

I let out a heavy sigh, and said, "Nothing good."