ROYAL CRIES
━━ chapter sixteen

━━ DEATH AND ELISA had come face to face many times; and in many of their interactions, Elisa's life had been the one in question. Elisa had escaped Death time and time again, but she had lost people in those excursions.

               With each life Death took, it seemed some of Elisa's sanity dwindled away. Something she was very used to.

               Each time she lost someone else, a heavier weight settled on her chest. It was a constant reminder that she played some part in every death. Maybe Elisa hadn't been the one holding the knife, but she certainly had blood on her hands.

               It wasn't uncommon for Elisa to be a shell of a person, feeling total nothingness. It was also wasn't uncommon that she felt everything and more. Callum liked to have called it that Elisa was grieving—in her own, special unique way.

               In that moment, it felt like the world was crashing down around Elisa.

               At the edge of the junkyard, they found a tow truck so old it might've thrown itself away. But the engine started, and it had a full tank of gas, so they decided to "borrow" it.

               It's not like the owner will miss anyway, it was in a junkyard for a reason.

               Thalia was the one to drive. She didn't seem as stunned as anyone else.

               "The skeletons are still out there," she remained them. "We need to keep moving."

               She navigated them through the desert, under clear blue skies, the sand so bright it hurt to look at. Zoë sat up front with Thalia. Elisa, Grover, and Percy sat in the pickup bed, leaning against the tow wench. The air was cool and dry, but the nice weather just seemed like a slap in the face after losing Bianca.

               When Elisa wasn't trying to hold back sobs, one word was constantly repeated throughout her head: Nico.

               She had no idea what she was going to tell him. She knew she couldn't leave him in the dark about Bianca, his imagination would fill in the blank and create even worse scenarios than Elisa could ever tell him.

               She turned the statue in her hand, wiping off some of the sand on it.

               "It should've been me," Percy said, staring at the figurine in Elisa's hand. "I should've gone into the giant."

               He didn't know why he expected Elisa to come back with an agreement, but she stayed silent, staring blankly at the last thing Bianca had given her.

               "Don't say that!" Grover panicked. "It's bad enough Annabeth is gone, and now Bianca. Do you think I could stand it if ..." He sniffled. "Do you think anybody else would be my best friend?"

               Percy's gaze dropped. "Grover ..." he trailed off.

               The satyr wiped under his eyes with an oily cloth that left his face grimy. "I'm ... I'm okay."

               Grover was definitely not okay. Ever since the encounter that happened in New Mexico—whatever happened back there—he seemed really fragile, even more emotional than he normally was. Elisa knew better than to bring it up, knowing just how close to tears Grover was about Pan.

               She stared at Grover, watching him try and wipe away the oil on his face. She looked at Percy briefly, who was watching her. Elisa shrugged, putting the figurine away. She sat up, wincing at the metal digging into her back.

               "How are you?" Percy asked Elisa.

               Her answer was short: "M'fine. I just don't know what I'm gonna tell Nico."

               "I don't mind helping you tell him," Percy offered. "It was my idea, after all."

               Elisa shook her head. "You don't have to," she said. "It'll probably be better if I told him alone anyway since you two don't know each other that well."

               She added as an afterthought, "Don't talk that as a bad thing."

               Percy shook his head. "I knew what you meant."

               The thing about facing Death? Elisa couldn't dwell on it, otherwise the quicker it'll come for you again. And she couldn't leave Nico alone like that.

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The tow truck ran out of gas at the edge of a river canyon. That was just as well because the road concluded with a dead end.

               Thalia got out and slammed the door shut behind her. Immediately, one of the tires blew. "Great," she snapped. "What now?"

               Elisa squinted as she looked at the horizon. There wasn't much to see. Desert in all directions, occasional clumps of barren mountains strewn around. The canyon was the only thing interesting. The river itself wasn't very big, maybe fifty yards across, green water with a few rapids, but it carved a huge scar out of the desert. The rock cliffs dropped away below them.

               "There's a path," said Grover, pointing to what he was talking about. "We could get to the river."

               Elisa followed to where the satyr was pointing; it was a tiny ledge winding down the cliff face. She looked to Grover, saying, "I'd break my neck walking that."

               Grover blushed. "No, you wouldn't!"

               Percy frowned. "It's a goat path," he noticed.

               Grover shrugged. "So?"

               The son of Poseidon motioned to everyone else who didn't have animal legs. "The rest of us aren't goats," he said.

               "We can make it," Grover promised. He quickly reconsidered, "I think."

               "No," said Percy. "I, uh, think we should go farther upstream."

               Grover said, "But—"

               "Come on," Percy insisted. "A walk won't hurt us."

               They followed the river about half a mile before coming to an easier slope that led down to the water. On the shore was a canoe rental operation that was closed for the season, but Percy left a stack of golden drachmas on the counter and a note that said "IOU two canoes".

               "We need to go upstream," said Zoë. It was the first time Elisa's heard her talk since the junkyard. Her voice was frail and raw. "The rapids are too swift."

               "Leave that to me," Percy promised.

               Elisa helped Zoë push one of the canoes into the water, getting into the boat after her. The two were silent, and Elisa preferred it that way. What was she going to say to the Hunter? "Hey, sorry you lost one of your little band of girls, but now I have to inform her brother that she's dead!"

               No. It was cruel and unnecessary, and it would most likely end up with Elisa having an arrow sticking out of her forehead.

               Thalia was helping Grover push their canoe into the water as Percy walked over to them. Elisa wasn't entirely shocked that Zoë didn't put up a fight about Percy sitting in the boat with them.

               He leaned over the edge of the boat, leaving Elisa watching him curiously.

               "What are you doing?" she asked.

               Percy glanced back at her, quickly looking back to the water. "There are some naiads here."

               Elisa leaned over the edge of the boat with him. The naiads looked like regular teenage girls except for the fact they were breathing under water just fine. The naiads made a bubbling sound as Elisa leaned over the edge with Percy. Soon the naiads split up, each choosing a canoe to push along.

               They started so fast that Grover fell backward, with his hooves sticking up into the air. Elisa grinned slightly at the sight, looking back at Percy.

               "Got the naiads to do your dirty work?" she asked.

               Percy shrugged. "If they were willing to."

               "I hate naiads," Zoë grumbled.

               A stream of water passed between Elisa and Percy from the back of the boat. It hit Zoë straight in the face, who jumped backward.

               "She-devils!" Zoë screeched, holding her bow.

               "Whoa," Percy said. "They're just playing."

               "Cursed water spirits," Zoë snapped. "They've never forgiven me."

               "What'd you do to them?" Elisa asked.

               Zoë slung her bow back over her shoulder, sighing. "It was a long time ago. Never mind."

               They sped up the river, the cliffs looming up on either side of them.

               "What happened to Bianca wasn't your fault," said Percy. "It was my fault. I let her go."

               Zoë's shoulders slumped. "No, Percy. I pushed her into going on the quest. I was too anxious. She was a powerful half-blood. She had a kind heart, as well. I ... I thought she would be the next lieutenant."

               "But you're the lieutenant."

               Zoë gripped the strap of her quiver. She looked more tired than Elisa had ever seen her. "Nothing can last forever, Percy. Over two thousand years I have led the Hunt, and my wisdom has not improved. Now Artemis is in danger."

               "You can't blame yourself for that," Elisa said.

               "If I had insisted on going with her—"

               "You would've fought whoever captured her all by yourself?" Elisa asked. "Someone powerful enough that captured a goddess?"

               Zoë turned away from Elisa, staying silent.

               The cliffs along the river were getting taller. Long shadows fell across the water, making the air cold.

               Percy took Riptide out of his back pocket. Zoë saw the pen, her expression turning pained.

               "You made this," Percy said.

               Zoë set her jaw. "Who told thee?"

               "I had a dream about it."

               Elisa felt a jolt up her spine. The dream she had back on the SUN WEST LINE was odd, even for her. She had never dreamed of an event like that. No one had turned insane, which made it memorable to her. She didn't think it was coincidental the sword called Anaklusmos looked exactly like the sword Percy wiled.

               Zoë studied Percy. Elisa wasn't sure what her next reaction would be, but the Hunter simply sighed. "It was a gift. And a mistake."

               "Who was the hero?" Percy asked.

               Zoë shook her head. "Do not make me say his name. I swore never to speak it again."

               "You act like I should know him," Percy noted.

               "I am sure you do, hero," said Zoë. "Don't all you boys want to be just like him?"

               Percy and Elisa exchanged a look, neither failing to notice just how bitter the Hunter sounded.

               "Your mother was a water goddess?" Percy asked next.

               "Yes, Pleione," said Zoë. "She had five daughters. My sisters and I. The Hesperides."

               Elisa frowned, trying to remember what tale she read about them. "They were the ones ... They were the ones who lived in the garden at the edge of the west, right? The golden apples and some dragon guarding it."

               "Yes," Zoë said wistfully. "Ladon."

               "But I read there were only four Hesperides," said Elisa. "You said five."

               "There are four now," said Zoë. "I was exiled, Elisa. Forgotten. Blotted out as if I never existed."

               "That's awful," Elisa sympathized. "That's horrible they would do that to their own sister."

               "Why'd you get exiled?" Percy asked.

               Zoë pointed to the pen in Percy's hand. "Because I betrayed my family and helped a hero. You won't find that in the legend either. He never spoke of me. After his direct assault on Ladon failed. I gave him the idea of how to steal the apples, how to trick my father, but he took all the credit."

               "But—"

               Elisa's eyebrows furrowed. The hero was there to steal golden apples and made an assault on Ladon, which meant ... Zoë was watching Elisa grimly. The two exchanged a look as the canoes slowed down.

               Elisa looked past Zoë and ahead of the boats and understood why. The river was blocked, and a dam the size of a football stadium stood in their path.

ˋˏ [ 👑 ] ˎˊ

"Hoover Dam," Thalia said. "It's huge."

               They stood at the river's edge, looking up at a curve of concrete that loomed between the cliffs. People were walking along the top of the dam. They were so tiny that they looked like fleas.

               The naiads left just as quickly as they came. Slowly, their canoes floated back downstream, swirling in the wake of the dam's discharge of vents.

               "Seven hundred feet tall," Percy said. "Built in the 1930s."

               "Five million cubic acres of water," said Thalia.

               Grover sighed. "Largest construction project in the United States."

               Elisa eyed the three. "You guys sounded like you read that out of a book."

               Zoë looked upon the Hoover Dam. "How do you know all that?" she asked.

               "Annabeth," Percy said. "She liked architecture."

               "She was nuts about monuments," said Thalia.

               "Spouted facts all the time." Grover sniffed. "So annoying."

               "I wish she were here," said Percy.

               Elisa looked at the monument. "Let's go up there, then," she said. "You guys can tell her all that you saw."

               Percy looked at her, then looked back to the people walking across the top. "Yeah, let's go," he said.

               "This plan is mad," Zoë decided. "But that's where the road is." She pointed to a huge parking garage next to the top of the dam. "And so, sightseeing it is."

ˋˏ [ 👑 ] ˎˊ

They had to walk for almost an hour before they found a path that led up to the road. It came up on the east side of the river. Then they struggled back toward the dam. It was cold and windy on top. A big lake was spread out beneath them, ringed by barren desert mountains on one side. On the other side, the dam dropped away, down to the river several hundred feet below, and water that churned from the dam's vents.

               Thalia walked in the middle of the road, far away from the edges. Grover kept sniffing the wind and looking nervous. He didn't say anything, but Elisa knew that meant he smelled monsters around.

               Elisa looked over the east side, and down to the churning river below. She started surveying everything around her. Thalia grabbed her right arm, pulling Elisa away from the edge.

               "There's a snack bar in the visitor center," said Thalia, pointing to what she was talking about.

               "Have you been here before?" Elisa asked curiously.

               "Once. To see the guardians." Thalia then moved her arm to point at the far end of the dam. Carved into the side of the cliff was a little plaza with two big bronze statues. They looked like Oscar statues just with giant wings raised above their heads.

               "They were dedicated to Zeus when the dam was built," Thalia said. "A gift from Athena."

               Tourists were clustered all around them. They seemed to be looking at the statues's feet.

               "What are they doing?" Percy asked.

               "Rubbing the toes," Thalia said. "They think it's good luck."

               "Oh!" Elisa gasped. "It's those statues! I've always wondered where they ever got the idea for that."

               "Why would they do that?" Percy asked.

               Thalia shook her head. "Mortals get crazy ideas. They don't know the statues are sacred to Zeus, but they know there's something special about them."

               "When you were here last, did they talk to you or anything?" Percy asked.

               Thalia's expression darkened. "No," she said sharply. "They don't do anything. They're just big metal statues."

               Elisa looked away quickly, watching the people there sightsee freely.

               "Let us find the dam snack bar," said Zoë. "We should eat while we can."

               Grover cracked a smile. "The dam snack bar?"

               Zoë blinked. "Yes. What is funny?"

               "Nothing," said Grover, trying to keep a straight face. "I could use some dam french fries."

               Even Thalia was starting to smile. "And I need to use the dam restroom."

               Percy started laughing loudly suddenly, soon causing Grover and Thalia to join in. Elisa smiled to herself, ignoring the odd looks of people passing by.

               Zoë looked at Elisa. "I do not understand," she said. "What is so funny?"

               The daughter of Dionysus shook her head. "I'll explain later."

               "I want to use the dam water fountain," Grover said.

               "And ..." Thalia tried to catch her breath. "I want to buy a dam T-shirt."

               Percy started laughing even harder but soon his laugh and smile faded away completely. And he wasn't the only one; Grover had stopped laughing, looking around, confused.

               "Did I just hear a cow?" the satyr asked.

               "A dam cow?" Thalia laughed.

               "No," Grover said. "I'm serious."

               Zoë listened for anything. "I hear nothing." She shrugged.

               "I don't hear anything, either," said Elisa, shaking her head. "I don't know what you two heard but I don't know how a cow can be anywhere near here."

               Thalia was looking at Percy, who looked confused along with frightened. "Percy, are you okay?" she asked.

               "Yeah," Percy said, sounding none too convincing. "You guys go ahead. I'll be right in."

               "What's wrong?" Grover asked.

               "Nothing," Percy said. "I ... I just need a minute. To think."

               Elisa was hesitant to leave Percy alone, but it seemed no one else was willing to say anything too, so she stayed quiet. But she knew by the looks on everyone's faces, that they were just as unwillingly as she was.

               The visitor center was packed with people. The four decided to split up; Thalia and Grover would get food while Elisa and Zoë would find a table large enough to fit five people.

               Elisa shoved her way through the crowd, staying clear of any men she saw as Zoë was walking behind her. Elisa spotted a round table with six seats. "Over there," she said, tilting her head back to grab Zoë's arm to lead her over. There were some crumbs on the table but she used a napkin and wiped them off.

               "Here," Elisa said, pulling a seat out and sitting down. "A table big enough to seat five."

               Zoë frowned as she sat beside the daughter of Dionysus. "Would thee explain the joke to me?"

               "The dam joke?" Elisa asked.

               Zoë nodded.

               Elisa grinned to herself. "Okay, well ..." she started. "So in English, there are words that sound the same but are spelled differently and mean different things—"

               "I know what homophones are," Zoë snapped.

               Elisa raised her eyebrows, giving the Hunter a look. "Do you want me to explain the joke or not?" she asked.

               Zoë clenched her jaw and sighed. "Yes. Go on."

               "The joke is that 'dam'—like the Hoover Dam—sounds like a cuss word 'damn.' That's it, that's the joke."

               A crease appeared between Zoë's eyebrows as she regarded the people around them. "That is not funny," she decided.

               Elisa shrugged. "I think after what happened, we need to laugh."

               Zoë's eyes flashed and she looked down at the table. "I am sorry for your loss," she said.

               Elisa tried to swallow the burning in her throat. "Life moves on, so I will too."

               "You will not grieve Bianca?" Zoë asked.

               Elisa blinked quicker, looking at the salt and pepper shakers. She fixed them, making them side by side. "I've learned grieving can set you back. That it can get you killed."

               Zoë watched Elisa with unreadable eyes. "Then thou is not grieving properly."

               A smile twitched on Elisa's lips at Zoë's words; it wasn't humorous, it was cynical and jaded. "There isn't a proper way to grieve," she disagreed.

               "There is," Zoë promised. "I have spent two millennia searching for it."

               Elisa looked at Zoë from the corner of her eye. "Then what do you suggest I do?" she asked sarcastically.

               "To embrace the pain but not let it control you," the Hunter said. "You may not realize it, but you are letting your past control you."

               "That sword," Elisa changed the topic. She stayed silent for a moment, waiting for Zoë's reaction; the Hunter's face remained impassive as it could. "I had the same dream as Percy, I just think I was viewing it from your perspective ... What did Hercules look like?"

               Zoë sighed and closed her eyes. "I'm surprised you figured it out before Percy," she said.

               Elisa's brows furrowed. "Way to insult me ..." she grumbled.

               "That is not what I meant," Zoë quickly clarified. "Boys hear about these heroes, and want to be like them. I assume you never cared much for heroes."

               Elisa grabbed the metal tin that held napkins. She stuffed some back inside. "I never paid much attention to anything if it didn't concern me," she said.

               "And that has kept you alive?" Zoë asked.

               Elisa's face went stone-like; her lips pursed and her eyebrows pinched together. "We're not talking about me," she snapped.

               Zoë looked from Elisa back to the table. "I see much of myself in thee," she remarked. "Prideful and unwillingly, closed-off and rigid, inflexible and—"

               "Keep listing off more traits, why don't you?" Elisa snapped.

               A ghost of a smile appeared on Zoë's face. "Am I correct?" she asked.

               Elisa's face reddened. "Was it Hercules?"

               Zoë said, "Yes," but that could have been to both questions.

               And it probably was.

               Elisa sat back in her seat, sighing. "What you told Percy and me back in the canoe—?"

               "Hey, guys!" Grover said, carrying a tray of food with him. Thalia was right behind him, carrying a second tray. "I didn't know what to get you guys, so I got you the same thing as me."

               Elisa watched as Grover laid the tray down on the table. There were three burritos and medium-sized drinks on the black tray.

               "What'd you get?" Elisa asked.

               "It's called Guacamole Grande on the menu," said Grover.

               Elisa winced at the name, her stomach grumbling for something more than vegetables. She grabbed a burrito after Zoë, unwrapping it. Thalia sat down with two burritos and medium-sized drinks on her tray.

               Elisa was four bites in when Percy ran up to the table looking winded. She was in the middle of her fifth bite when he yelled, "We need to leave! Now!"

               "But we just got our burritos!" Thalia cried.

               Zoë was looking in the direction Percy had come from. She stood up and cursed in Ancient Greek. "He's right! Look!"

               Elisa dropped her burrito, standing up. She swallowed her fifth bite after seeing every exit blocked by skeleton warriors. And all skeletons were armed with batons and pistols.

               "Elevator!" Grover said. They bolted in that direction, but the doors opened with a pleasant ding, and three more warriors stepped out. Every warrior was accounted for, minus the one Bianca had blasted to flames back in New Mexico. They were completely surrounded.

               Grover's eyes lit up, looking at the Guacamole Grande burrito in his hands. He reeled his arm back, yelling, "Burrito fight!" and slung it at the nearest skeleton.

               Grover's lunch hit the skeleton and knocked his skull clean off his shoulders. Elisa wasn't sure what the other kids in the café saw, but they went crazy and started throwing their burritos and baskets of chips and sodas at each other, shrieking and screaming ( with delight or terror, she wasn't sure about that either ).

               The skeletons tried to aim their guns, but it was hopeless with everything going on around them. Bodies, food, and drinks were flying everywhere.

               In the chaos, Thalia and Percy tackled the two other skeletons on the stairs and sent them flying into the condiment table. Then they raced downstairs, burritos and drinks flying past their heads.

               "What now?" Grover asked as they burst outside.

               No one had an answer for him. The warriors on the road were closing in from either direction. They ran across the street to the pavilion with the winged bronze statues, but that just put their back to the mountain.

               The skeletons moved forward, forming a crescent around them. Their brethren from the café were running up to join them. One was still putting its skull back on its shoulders. Another was covered in ketchup and mustard. Two more had burritos lodged in their rib cages. And none of them looked happy. They all drew their batons and guns and advanced.

               "Five against eleven," Zoë muttered. "And they cannot die."

               Elisa stared unwaveringly at the skeletons, raising Acantha as if it could protect her from bullets. "I'm not going down without getting a few hits in."

               "It's been nice adventuring with you guys," Grover said, his voice trembling.

               It seemed something caught Percy's eye. He glanced behind him and at the statue's feet. "Whoa," he said. "Their toes are really bright."

               "Percy!" Thalia hissed. "This isn't the time."

               His face morphed into realization. "Thalia," Percy said. "Pray to your dad."

               She just glared at the son of Poseidon. "He never answers."

               "Just this once," Percy pleaded. "Ask for help. I think ... I think the statues can give us some luck."

               Six skeletons raised their guns. The other five advanced with batons. Fifty feet. Forty feet.

               "Do it!" he yelled.

               "No!" Thalia shook her head. "He won't answer me."

               "This time is different!"

               "Who says?"

               Percy hesitated. "Athena—I think."

               "Try it," Grover pleaded.

               Thalia closed her eyes. Her lips moved in a silent prayer.

               And nothing happened.

               The skeletons closed in. Percy raised Riptide in defense. Thalia held up her shield. Elisa pushed Grover behind her as Zoë aimed arrows at a skeleton's head.

               A shadow fell over Elisa. She looked up, finding enormous wings swallowing them whole. But the skeletons looked up too late. A flash of bronze, and all five of the baton-wielders were swept aside.

               The other skeletons opened fire. The bronze angels stepped in front of the five and folded their wings like shields. Bullets pinged off of them like rain on a metal rooftop. Both angels slashed outward, and the skeletons went flying across the road.

               "Man, it feels good to stand up!" the first angel said. His voice was tinny and rusty, like it hadn't been used since he had been first built.

               "Will ya look at my toes?" the other shouted. "Holy Zeus, what were those tourists thinking?"

               "Trouble!" Percy shouted to them, pointing to some of the skeletons starting to re-assemble.

               "Get us out of here!" Thalia yelled.

               Both angels looked down at her. "Zeus's kid?" they asked.

               "Yes!"

               "Could I get a please, Miss Zeus's kid?"

               "Please!"

               The angels looked at each other and shrugged.

               "Could use a stretch," one decided.

               With ease, one angel grabbed Elisa, Thalia, and Percy, and the other grabbed Zoë and Grover. The angels flew straight up, over the dam and the river. The skeleton warriors shrinking to tiny specks below them, the sound of gunfire echoing off the sides of the mountains.

👑 JULY 25TH, 2022 / i know how much i'm spamming this story and idc but i'm learning to write what i want instead of what readers want