We were a couple of hours behind, so I did a lot of quick learning. I had to get accustomed to seeing things under the mist, which was easier now that I knew what it was, but it still took me some time and a lot of squinting. I also was taught a few self-defense lessons, but I hoped it wouldn't come to that because I wasn't very strong or agile.
By five, we were ready to go. Kalos reappeared, and with the help of an enthusiastic Percy, we convinced Annabeth to let him come. We all got backpacks with a few basic supplies, and mine held Kalos. I said goodbye to Daisy and Chiron, but Mr. D stopped me before we left.
"Here, you might need this. Not that I care about your well-being at all, little brats." he sniffed.
He handed me a purple metal water bottle that smelled suspiciously like...
"Wine?" I asked as Kalos sneezed.
"Mr. D," Chiron said, eyes narrowing.
"Oh, fine. You know, in some countries the drinking age is as low as sixteen," he waved his hand and the bottle turned blue.
"Um, thanks," I said, not wanting to offend him. Why would a water bottle come in handy?
We got a ride to the station and waited for our bus.
"Wait, where are we going?" Percy suddenly asked. I was going to make a smart-ass remark but then realized... I didn't know either.
We both looked over at Annabeth, who smiled.
"Of course you know," Percy mumbled.
"You didn't bother to ask," Annabeth shrugged.
"Um, yeah, where are we going?" How did I not ask that?
She opened her mouth but paused. "I'm sure you know, Bella," she smiled at me.
"No, I'm sure I don't," I said, confused.
Did I know? I racked my brain.
"Just focus. I think you might."
"That sounds dumb," Percy rolled his eyes. "If you didn't tell her, how could she know?"
She ignored Percy. "Just try. Think about where we will be."
"Yeah, I don't think that's how this works," I said.
"Do it." she frowned, now serious.
"Sheesh, okay." It was scary how she went from happy to serious like that.
I did my best to focus on where we were going.
How would this even work?
Kalos snuggled my ear. I was just about to tell him to stop when I heard millions of little voices whispering things to me.
"...New Orleans?" I said before my brain could process the voices.
Her eyes sparkled. "Wow, that's so cool!"
"How did you do that? Also, why New Orleans?" Percy asked, moving out of the way as Annabeth grabbed my hands.
"How did you know I could do that...?" I asked.
She ignored both our questions.
"I was doing some research, and Hecate is the Titaness of Crossroads, which means she can see in the past, present, and future. And I guess you can too! I bet you have future telling dreams too, right?"
I thought about it. Sometimes I did dream about little things like future storms mistakes I might make, but I thought that was all coincidence.
"Um... I've never been able to do that."
"Your dog probably helps you. I mean, I never expected it to work, but Hecate is an old Titaness, so her creations are woven with great care. She's actually really brilliant if you-"
"Okay, bus is here!" Percy dragged Annabeth onto the bus.
I walked on, more than a little confused. "I just read the future?" I asked her.
"I mean, that's the only explanation, right? Well, perhaps not the only explanation. "You see, Hecate is also known for her creations being very powerful and complex in nature. In fact, if you look back all the way to the Golden Age..."
We spent the long bus ride listening to Annabeth tell us the history of the titans, which moved on to the history of the gods, then Alexandria, (where we were going,) and then New Orleans, and then...
I leaned over to Percy. "How long can she go?" I whispered as Annabeth read about the architecture of Alexandria off of an information pamphlet.
"Pretty long," he yawned. "Just nod and pretend you're listening."
Kalos whined and put his paws over his ears.
We traveled interstate 95 for about five hours until we got to Charlotte. By then it was close to eleven pm, so we set out to find a place to stay. My legs hurt from standing all day.
After poking around and looking at a map on my phone, we found a sketchy place named 'Sunrise Motel'.
"Um, do we have a reservation?" I asked, staring at broken signs on the door stating the rules and regulations of the run-down place.
"More importantly, do we have money?" Percy sighed.
I looked to Annabeth, very concerned. What does he mean 'do we have money'?
"We'll make it work."
"Okay, I did not sign up to be a convict," I frowned at her. I sort of felt like a criminal. None of the kids at my schools had ever been allowed in public unsupervised and with so much freedom, so this all felt really weird.
"I know, just..." Annabeth opened the doors. "Follow my lead."
I reluctantly followed Annabeth and Percy as Kalos jumped out of my bag.
"Just going to leave me alone again, huh?" I sighed. "Right when I could potentially need you." He dismissed me and trotted off.
"Do ya have a reservation?"
A large woman with huge, long nails and crazy tall blue hair kept her eyes on her magazine, uninterested.
"Yeah, we're staying on the second floor, room 12. We lost our key, and some staff said we could get one here for the time being?"
I bit my lip, knowing how suspicious that sounded, especially coming from three teenagers.
"Sure, whatevah." She opened a drawer and handed Annabeth the key without looking up from her magazine once.
"Thanks," Annabeth flashed a smile, even though she didn't look at us. We left as fast as possible, up the stairs and to our stolen room.368Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJPsNmJy6m0
"Wow, that was lucky," Percy yawned.
"That was illegal," I said, a little shocked that we actually did that and got away with it. "How did you know that would work anyway?"
Annabeth opened the old door. "Fortuna's wheel." she showed me a pendant with a few letters engraved on it.
"I thought that was a T.V. show," Percy said, flopping on the bed.
"We should probably get some sleep. We'll have to get moving pretty early if we want to make it to New Orleans in three days."
"We only have three days?!" I said, shocked. "Does that include the whole 'subdue a titan of destruction' part?"
"Yes," Annabeth sighed. "We'll figure it out."
"What about food?" Percy groaned. "We don't have Grover to carry all our snacks."
"I thought you might say that," Annabeth threw his backpack at him.
"Ow!"
"There's a couple of granola bars in there, and we can stop for breakfast at the deli across the street. Where's your dog?"
"I guess he likes to sleep outside," I shrugged. I was pretty sure Kalos could fend for himself.
Our sleep was pretty okay. Nothing abnormal happened during the night, so the universe decided to make it up to us in the morning.
We walked over to the Deli, careful to avoid the secretary lady. Kalos met me at the front doors so I tucked him away in the bag, leaving a little opening for him to see and breathe.
The deli was really cute, actually. Lots of local artists' work lined the walls above the small red booths. The tile floor was black and white and the counters were a soft blue, just like an old-fashioned diner. It was pretty cozy.
In line, Annabeth started to look weird.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
"Don't tell me we don't have money for this," Percy sighed quietly.
"Actually, I was thinking Bella could... work her magic." Annabeth nodded to the guy at the till ahead of us, smiling.
Confused, I frowned, but then I got it. "Oh, absolutely not. Ew!"
"What are you guys talking about?" Percy looked confused.
"Come on, Bella. It's either this, or we walk to New Orleans. This is literally in your blood!"
"I've been to an all-girls boarding school for the last three years! I have no idea how to talk to guys!" I whispered.
"Please?"
I didn't want to charm a guy into getting free food, but I definitely didn't want to walk to New Orleans.
"Fine. Go sit down, and I'll... do whatever." I sighed, hoping my face didn't look as red as it felt.
"Thank you," Annabeth smiled and dragged a confused Percy to a table.
"Hey," I smiled, and tried to look more confident than I felt.
Just be like Heather. Just be like Heather. Just be like Heather...
"Uh, hey," The guy looked surprised for a minute, then smiled sheepishly. "What can I get you?"
It was almost like flipping a switch. The moment I smiled with the intention of tricking someone, it was like they fell under some sort of spell. It was... freaky.
I quickly ordered the sandwiches, pretending to be amused at his stupid jokes. Did this happen to all girls this easily, or was this my 'empousa charm' coming out? Either way, I hated how easy it was to manipulate him.
"That's $25.95," he smiled, "But you can have the drinks for free."
"Awe, thanks. But um, can I pay after I'm done? I might get some stuff later too." I felt so stupid. There was no way he would-
"Sure, if it means we can talk again." he winked.
I almost gagged but held it in long enough to look flattered.
I brought the tray of food as fast as I could and flopped onto the booth. "That was terrible," I groaned.
"He just let you have this?" Percy grabbed a sandwich.
"Yep. I promised I'd 'pay later'." I made air quotes with my fingers.
"He fell for that?" Annabeth asked, handing me a sandwich too.
"I guess so. I've lost my appetite now, though." I pushed it away.
So gross.
"Wait," Percy said, mid-bite. "You seduced him into giving you these?!"
I buried my burning face in my hands. "Ugh," I mumbled.
"I told her to do it," Annabeth said, not concerned at all. "Plus, he was the one who fell for it."
Gross, gross, gross!
I tore off a piece of bread and gave it to Kalos, who was snuggled into my lap.
"So..." Percy said slowly. "What else have you got away with...?"
"Ugh, nothing! I've never done that befo-"
I winced as a flying chair smashed through the glass just one booth ahead of us.
"What the-"
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