Hermosa/wtm/

11

We Visit The Garden Gnome Emporium

"She likes-"

∘₊✧───===================───✧₊∘

In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day.

"That is rotten luck." Colvin frowned.

So there we were, Draco and Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses.

Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once."

"That is bad." Percy said out loud.

"We know." Granger snapped.

"Really? Wow, I just thought cause you wix are so fuckin' stupid..." Percy snarked back at the beaver toothed ass, her New York accent thick.

I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Draco kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better."

"All our money was back there," I reminded him. "Our food and clothes. Everything."

"Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight-"

"What did you want me to do? Let you get killed?"

"You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine."

"Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine."

"Yeah, fine." Percy dripped the sarcasm from her tongue.

Draco rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, goat boy," said Draco.

Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans ... a perfectly good bag of tin cans."

We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry. After a few minutes, Draco fell into line next to me. "Look, I..." His voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave."

"We're a team, right?"

"Always Seaweed brain," Draco whispered.

"Not even the gods above will tear us apart." Percy grinned up at the boy she would love forever.

He was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died ... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world."

"So you were using her?" Remus asked the Malfoy.

"Before yes, but now and in that moment I regret it." Draco nodded to the werewolf.