The Demigod Grand Prix: Chapter Four

Richmond Stanford

IV

Cider

There were a lot of things that Richie Stanford did not expect from this race.

More poignantly, he didn't expect to be last.

He was getting tired. His father had overestimated his endurance and by now his ability to make the alcohol for the engine was running dangerously low. At the diner stop, when he'd arrived as everyone was just leaving, he'd basically ransacked the coffee out of the store in an attempt to stay awake later before taking a long snooze in his own vehicle, legs dangling out the passenger window.

He hadn't even realized the race was starting up again until someone drove around and gave his leg a hard slap from the window of their car. When he awoke, he just saw the flashing of a van and someones rainbow hair.

The one person who could look directly, or without shading, into his prismatic car without having their eyes fried. That daughter of Iris.....what was her name...?

Melanie. Yeah, Melanie Moseby.

At that point, he'd already begun making the drink for the car and he sped off, avoiding the detours that the other racers foolishly fell into. When the announcement came over the link for the places of cars, he was conveniently left out, and as such had to make an effort to even catch up.

So he produced it faster, until the back of the Apollo car came zooming into view.

Rich knew his reflectors wouldn't work, so he didn't bother activating them. As the son of the Sun God, it was likely that the prismatics would be nothing but a twinkle in his eye.

Just ahead, the Zeus and Demeter kids were neck and neck. They kept waving their arms at each other violently, mouths moving like they were yelling, but no sound came out. With an extra boost he sped right between them, nearly cleaving the Demeter girls arm off in the process.

Next up, Sasha, the daughter of Aphrodite. She was pretty....a nuisance, sure, but that didn't change her appearance. With quaking hands, Rich leaned out the window of the car and looked out to her rear-view mirror. She appeared to be talking to someone in the car, maybe over headset or something. Getting advice.

He reached to his belt and retrieved the golden pistol, guaranteed 100% accuracy, and aimed it at the spoked wheels. The tires were adorned with hearts, which would make aiming for the actual rubber a real chore, but it was doable. As he steadied his arm, the driver shrieked.

In one swift movement, the exhaust pipes of her car roared to life and released...apples...?

He watched as they came careening toward him, and an idea struck. He dropped the pistol to the floor of his car and moved both of his hands out, taking the apples and pressurizing them into cider.

Cider which, now that it was a liquid, could power his car.

With the extra, and magical, boost, he soared quickly past the driver, making sure to shine the prismatics before re-entering the race.

For at least six miles, there were no racers in front or behind. The link clicked on, and the voice of the announcer filled the car and surrounded Richie with satisfaction.

"In the lead is Hermes, followed by Artemis, Hestia, Hera, Athena, Hephaestus, Ares, Poseidon, Dionysus, Zeus, Apollo, and Demeter and Aphrodite fighting for last place!"