The Mark of Athena

Once more, everyone looked at her.

She was rapidly losing her courage, wondering if her instincts were wrong, but she forced herself to speak.

“There’s one last thing,” she said. “The eidolons—the possessing spirits. They’re still here, in this room.”

PIPER COULDN’T EXPLAIN HOW SHE KNEW.

Stories of phantoms and tortured souls had always freaked her out. Her dad used to joke about Grandpa Tom’s Cherokee legends from back on the rez, but even at home in their big Malibu mansion, looking out over the Pacific, whenever her dad recounted the ghost stories for her, she could never get them out of her head.

Cherokee spirits were always restless. They often lost their way to the Land of the Dead, or stayed behind with the living out of sheer stubbornness. Sometimes they didn’t even realize they were dead.

The more Piper learned about being a demigod, the more convinced she was that Cherokee legends and Greek myths weren’t so different. These eidolons acted a lot like the spirits in her dad’s stories.

Piper had a gut sense they were still present, simply because no one had told them to go away.

When she was done explaining, the others looked at her uncomfortably. Up on deck, Hedge sang something that sounded like “In the Navy” while Blackjack stomped his hooves, whinnying in protest.

Finally Hazel exhaled. “Piper is right.”

“How can you be sure?” Annabeth asked.

“I’ve met eidolons,” Hazel said. “In the Underworld, when I was…you know.”

Dead.

Piper had forgotten that Hazel was a second-timer. In her own way, Hazel too was a ghost reborn.

“So…” Frank rubbed his hand across his buzz-cut hair as if some ghosts might have invaded his scalp. “You think these things are lurking on the ship, or—”

“Possibly lurking inside some of us,” Piper said. “We don’t know.”

Jason clenched his fist. “If that’s true—”

“We have to take steps,” Piper said. “I think I can do this.”

“Do what?” Percy asked.

“Just listen, okay?” Piper took a deep breath. “Everybody listen.”

Piper met their eyes, one person at a time.

“Eidolons,” she said, using her charmspeak, “raise your hands.”

There was tense silence.

Leo laughed nervously. “Did you really think that was going to—?”

His voice died. His face went slack. He raised his hand.

Jason and Percy did the same. Their eyes had turned glassy and gold. Hazel caught her breath. Next to Leo, Frank scrambled out of his chair and put his back against the wall.

“Oh, gods.” Annabeth looked at Piper imploringly. “Can you cure them?”

Piper wanted to whimper and hide under the table, but she had to help Jason. She couldn’t believe she’d held hands with…No, she refused to think about it.

She focused on Leo because he was the least intimidating.

“Are there more of you on this ship?” she asked.

“No,” Leo said in a hollow voice. “The Earth Mother sent three. The strongest, the best. We will live again.”

“Not here, you won’t,” Piper growled. “All three of you, listen carefully.”

Jason and Percy turned toward her. Those gold eyes were unnerving, but seeing all three boys like that fueled Piper’s anger.

“You will leave those bodies,” she commanded.

“No,” Percy said.

Leo let out a soft hiss. “We must live.”

Frank fumbled for his bow. “Mars Almighty, that’s creepy! Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!”

Leo turned toward him. “You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment.”

Piper wasn’t sure what that meant, but Frank staggered like he’d been punched in the gut. He drew an arrow, his hands shaking. “I—I’ve faced down worse things than you. If you want a fight—”

“Frank, don’t.” Hazel rose.

Next to her, Jason drew his sword.

“Stop!” Piper ordered, but her voice quavered. She was rapidly losing faith in her plan. She’d made the eidolons