The Mark of Athena

Bacchus— Ugh, do I have to call him Mr. B now? Anyway, he mentioned the twins in Ella’s prophecy. Two giants. Otis and, uh, something that started with an F?”

“Ephialtes,” Jason said.

“Twin giants, like Piper saw in her blade…” Annabeth ran her finger along the rim of her cup. “I remember a story about twin giants. They tried to reach Mount Olympus by piling up a bunch of mountains.”

Frank nearly choked. “Well, that’s great. Giants who can use mountains like building blocks. And you say Bacchus killed these guys with a pinecone on a stick?”

“Something like that,” Percy said. “I don’t think we should count on his help this time. He wanted a tribute, and he made it pretty clear it would be a tribute we couldn’t handle.”

Silence fell around the table. Piper could hear Coach Hedge above deck singing “Blow the Man Down,” except he didn’t know the lyrics, so he mostly sang, “Blah-blah-hum-de-dum-dum.”

Piper couldn’t shake the feeling that Bacchus was meant to help them. The giant twins were in Rome. They were keeping something the demigods needed—something in that bronze jar. Whatever it was, she got the feeling it held the answer to sealing the Doors of Death—the key to endless death. She also felt sure they could never defeat the giants without Bacchus’s help. And if they couldn’t do that in five days, Rome would be destroyed, and Hazel’s brother, Nico, would die.

On the other hand, if the vision of Bacchus offering her a silver goblet was false, maybe the other visions didn’t have to come true either—especially the one of her, Percy, and Jason drowning. Maybe that was just symbolic.

The blood of a female demigod, Gaea had said, and the blood of a male. Piper, my dear, choose which hero will die with you.

“She wants two of us,” Piper murmured.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Piper hated being the center of attention. Maybe that was strange for a child of Aphrodite, but she’d watched her dad, the movie star, deal with fame for years. She remembered when Aphrodite had claimed her at the bonfire in front of the entire camp, zapping her with a magic beauty-queen makeover. That had been the most embarrassing moment of her life. Even here, with only six other demigods, Piper felt exposed.

They’re my friends, she told herself. It’s okay.

But she had a strange feeling…as if more than six sets of eyes were watching her.

“Today on the highway,” she said, “Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male. She—she asked me to choose which boy would die.”

Jason squeezed her hand. “But neither of us died. You saved us.”

“I know. It’s just…Why would she want that?”

Leo whistled softly. “Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason’s blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power.”

“Oh…” Percy set down his third pizza slice. He leaned back and stared at nothing, as if the horse kick to his head had just now registered.

“Percy?” Annabeth gripped his arm.

“Oh, bad,” he muttered. “Bad. Bad.” He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. “You guys remember Polybotes?”

“The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter,” Hazel said. “The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember.”

“I had a dream,” Percy said, “when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said—he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: ‘I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!’”

Piper wondered if the room’s temperature controls were broken, because suddenly she couldn’t stop shaking. It was the same way she’d felt on the highway outside Topeka. “You think the giants would use our blood…the blood of two of us—”

“I don’t know,” Percy said. “But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured.”

Jason grunted. “That I agree with.”

“But how do we figure it out?” Hazel asked. “The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella’s prophecy…how does it all fit together?”

Annabeth pressed her hands against the edge of the table. “Piper, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta.”

“Right,” Piper said. “Bacchus told us we should seek out…what was his name?”

“Phorcys,” Percy said.

Annabeth looked surprised, like she wasn’t used to her boyfriend having the answers. “You know him?”

Percy shrugged. “I didn’t recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad’s time. Never met him, but supposedly he’s a son of Gaea. I still don’t understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta.”

Leo snorted. “What’s a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something else goes wrong.”

“Don’t even say that,” Annabeth muttered. “It’s getting late. We should all get some sleep.”

“Wait,” Piper said.