“‘Baby man’?” Frank spluttered.
“Speaking to horses is a Poseidon thing,” Percy said. “Uh, I mean a Neptune thing. ”
“Then you and Arion should get along fine,” Hazel said. “He’s a son of Neptune too. ”
Percy turned pale. “Excuse me?”
If they hadn’t been in such a bad situation, Percy’s expression might have made her laugh. “The point is, he’s fast. He can get us out of here. ”
Frank did not look thrilled. “Three of us can’t fit on one horse, can we? We’ll fall off, or slow him down, or—”
Arion whinnied again.
“Ouch,” Percy said. “Frank, the horse says you’re a—you know, actually, I’m not going to translate that. Anyway, he says there’s a chariot in the warehouse, and he’s willing to pull it. ”
“There!” someone yelled from the back of the throne room. A dozen Amazons charged in, followed by males in orange jumpsuits. When they saw Arion, they backed up quickly and headed for the battle forklifts.
Hazel vaulted onto Arion’s back.
She grinned down at her friends. “I remember seeing that chariot. Follow me, guys!”
She galloped into the larger cavern and scattered a crowd of males. Percy knocked out an Amazon. Frank swept two more off their feet with his spear. Hazel could feel Arion straining to run. He wanted to go full speed, but he needed more room. They had to make it outside.
Hazel bowled into a patrol of Amazons, who scattered in terror at the sight of the horse. For once, Hazel’s spatha felt exactly the right length. She swung it at everyone who came within reach. No Amazon dared challenge her.
Percy and Frank ran after her. Finally they reached the chariot. Arion stopped by the yoke, and Percy set to work with the reins and harness.
“You’ve done this before?” Frank asked.
Percy didn’t need to answer. His hands flew. In no time the chariot was ready. He jumped aboard and yelled, “Frank, come on! Hazel, go!”
A battle cry went up behind them. A full army of Amazons stormed into the warehouse. Otrera herself stood astride a battle forklift, her silver hair flowing as she swung her mounted crossbow toward the chariot. “Stop them!” she yelled.
Hazel spurred Arion. They raced across the cavern, weaving around pallets and forklifts. An arrow whizzed past Hazel’s head. Something exploded behind her, but she didn’t look back.
“The stairs!” Frank yelled. “No way this horse can pull a chariot up that many flights of—OH MY GODS!”
Thankfully the stairs were wide enough for the chariot, because Arion didn’t even slow down. He shot up the steps with the chariot rattling and
groaning. Hazel glanced back a few times to make sure Frank and Percy hadn’t fallen off. Their knuckles were white on the sides of the chariot, their teeth chattering like windup Halloween skulls.
Finally they reached the lobby. Arion crashed through the main doors into the plaza and scattered a bunch of guys in business suits.
Hazel felt the tension in Arion’s rib cage. The fresh air was making him crazy to run, but Hazel pulled back on his reins.
“Ella!” Hazel shouted at the sky. “Where are you? We have to leave!”
For a horrible second, she was afraid the harpy might be too far away to hear. She might be lost, or captured by the Amazons.
Behind them a battle forklift clattered up the stairs and roared through the lobby, a mob of Amazons behind it.
“Surrender!” Otrera screamed.
The forklift raised its razor-sharp tines.
“Ella!” Hazel cried desperately.
In a flash of red feathers, Ella landed in the chariot. “Ella is here. Amazons are pointy. Go now. ”
“Hold on!” Hazel warned. She leaned forward and said, “Arion, run!”
The world seemed to elongate. Sunlight bent around them. Arion shot away from the Amazons and sped through downtown Seattle. Hazel glanced back and saw a line of smoking pavement where Arion’s hooves had touched the ground. He thundered toward the docks, leaping over cars, barreling through intersections.
Hazel screamed at the top of her lungs, but it was a scream of delight. For the first time in her life—in her two lives—she felt absolutely unstoppable. Arion reached the water and leaped straight off the docks.
Hazel’s ears popped. She heard a roar that she later realized was a sonic boom, and Arion tore over Puget Sound, seawater turning to steam in his wake as the skyline of Seattle receded behind them.
XXXIII Frank
FRANK WAS RELIEVED WHEN THE WHEELS FELL OFF.
He’d already thrown up twice from the back of the chariot, which was not fun at the speed of sound. The horse seemed to bend time and space as he ran, blurring the landscape and making Frank feel like he’d just drunk a gallon of whole milk without his lactose-intolerance medicine. Ella didn’t help matters. She kept muttering: “Seven hundred and fifty miles per hour. Eight hundred. Eight hundred and three. Fast. Very fast. ”
The horse sped north across Puget Sound, zooming past islands and fishing boats and very surprised pods of whales. The landscape ahead began to look familiar—Crescent Beach, Boundary Bay. Frank had gone sailing here once on a school trip. They’d crossed into Canada.
The horse rocketed onto dry land. He followed Highway 99 north, running so fast, the cars seemed to be standing still.
Finally, just as they were getting into Vancouver, the chariot wheels began to smoke.
“Hazel!” Frank yelled. “We’re breaking up!”
She got the message and pulled the reins. The horse didn’t seem happy about it, but he slowed to subsonic as they zipped through the city streets. They crossed the Ironworkers bridge into North Vancouver, and the chariot started to rattle dangerously. At last Arion stopped at the top of a wooded hill. He snorted with satisfaction, as if to say, That’s how we run, fools. The smoking chariot collapsed, spilling Percy, Frank, and Ella onto the wet, mossy ground.