The Mark of Athena

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ANNABETH WAS TRYING TO CHEER UP HAZEL, regaling her with Percy’s greatest Seaweed Brain moments, when Frank stumbled down the hall and burst into her cabin.

“Where’s Leo?” he gasped. “Take off! Take off!”

Both girls shot to their feet.

“Where’s Percy?” Annabeth demanded. “And the goat?”

Frank grabbed his knees, trying to breathe. His clothes were stiff and damp, like they’d been washed in pure starch. “On deck. They’re fine. We’re being followed!”

Annabeth pushed past him and took the stairs three at a time, Hazel right behind her and Frank trailing, still gasping for air. Percy and Hedge lay on the deck, looking exhausted. Hedge was missing his shoes. He grinned at the sky, muttering, “Awesome. Awesome.” Percy was covered with nicks and scratches, like he’d jumped through a window. He didn’t say anything, but he grasped Annabeth’s hand weakly as if to say, Be right with you, as soon as the world stops spinning.

Leo, Piper, and Jason, who’d been eating in the mess hall, came rushing up the stairs.

“What? What?” Leo cried, holding a half-eaten grilled cheese sandwich. “Can’t a guy even take a lunch break? What’s wrong?”

“Followed!” Frank yelled again.

“Followed by what?” Jason asked.

“I don’t know!” Frank panted. “Whales? Sea monsters? Maybe Kate and Porky!”

Annabeth wanted to strangle the guy, but she wasn’t sure her hands would fit around his thick neck. “That makes absolutely no sense. Leo, you’d better get us out of here.”

Leo put his sandwich between his teeth, pirate style, and ran for the helm.

Soon the Argo II was rising into the sky. Annabeth manned the aft crossbow. She saw no sign of pursuit by whales or otherwise, but Percy, Frank, and Hedge didn’t start to recover until the Atlanta skyline was a hazy smudge in the distance.

“Charleston,” Percy said, hobbling around the deck like an old man. He still sounded pretty shaken up. “Set course for Charleston.”

“Charleston?” Jason said the name as if it brought back bad memories. “What exactly did you find in Atlanta?”

Frank unzipped his backpack and starting bringing out souvenirs. “Some peach preserves. A couple of T-shirts. A snow globe. And, um, these not-really-Chinese handcuffs.”

Annabeth forced herself to stay calm. “How about you start from the top—of the story, not the backpack.”

They gathered on the quarterdeck so Leo could hear the conversation as he navigated. Percy and Frank took turns relating what had happened at the Georgia Aquarium, with Coach Hedge interjecting from time to time: “That was awesome!” or “Then I kicked her in the head!”

At least the coach seemed to have forgotten about Percy and Annabeth falling asleep in the stable the night before. But judging from Percy’s story, Annabeth had worse problems to worry about than being grounded.

When Percy explained about the captive sea creatures in the aquarium, she understood why he seemed so upset.

“That’s terrible,” she said. “We need to help them.”

“We will,” Percy promised. “In time. But I have to figure out how. I wish…” He shook his head. “Never mind. First we have to deal with this bounty on our heads.”

Coach Hedge had lost interest in the conversation—probably because it was no longer about him—and wandered toward the bow of the ship, practicing his roundhouse kicks and complimenting himself on his technique.

Annabeth gripped the hilt of her dagger. “A bounty on our heads…as if we didn’t attract enough monsters already.”

“Do we get WANTED posters?” Leo asked. “And do they have our bounties, like, broken down on a price list?”

Hazel wrinkled her nose. “What are you talking about?”

“Just curious how much I’m going for these days,” Leo said. “I mean, I can understand not being as pricey as Percy or Jason, maybe…but am I worth, like, two Franks, or three Franks?”

“Hey!” Frank complained.

“Knock it off,” Annabeth ordered. “At least we know our next step is to go to Charleston, to find this map.”

Piper leaned against the control panel. She’d done her braid with white feathers today, which looked good with her dark brown hair. Annabeth wondered how she found the time. Annabeth could barely remember to brush her hair.

“A map,” Piper said. “But a map to what?”

“The Mark of Athena.” Percy looked cautiously at Annabeth, like he was afraid he’d overstepped. She must have been putting out a strong I don’t want to talk about it vibe.

“Whatever that is,” he continued. “We know it leads to something important in Rome, something that might heal the rift between the Romans and Greeks.”