underwater, unaware of the invasion. If Annabeth could get on board, she could use the ballistae; but there was no way to get around these three Romans.
She was running out of time. The eagles circled overhead, crying out as if to alert their brethren:
She needed help…some kind of distress signal to Coach Hedge, or even better—Percy.
“Well?” Octavian demanded. His two friends brandished their swords.
Very slowly, using only two fingers, Annabeth drew her dagger. Instead of dropping it, she tossed it as far as she could into the water.
Octavian made a squeaking sound. “What was that for? I didn’t say
Annabeth tried for a dumb-blonde smile, like:
“You other two…” He pointed his blade at Hazel and Piper. “Put your weapons on the dock. No funny bus —”
All around the Romans, Charleston Harbor erupted like a Las Vegas fountain putting on a show. When the wall of seawater subsided, the three Romans were in the bay, spluttering and frantically trying to stay afloat in their armor. Percy stood on the dock, holding Annabeth’s dagger.
“You dropped this,” he said, totally poker-faced.
Annabeth threw her arms around him. “I love you!”
“Guys,” Hazel interrupted. She had a little smile on her face. “We need to hurry.”
Down in the water, Octavian yelled, “Get me out of here! I’ll kill you!”
“Tempting,” Percy called down.
“What?” Octavian shouted. He was holding on to one of his guards, who was having trouble keeping them both afloat.
“Nothing!” Percy shouted back. “Let’s go, guys.”
Hazel frowned. “We can’t let them drown, can we?”
“They won’t,” Percy promised. “I’ve got the water circulating around their feet. As soon as we’re out of range, I’ll spit them ashore.”
Piper grinned. “Nice.”
They climbed aboard the
Piper nodded and raced off.
“Hazel, go find Coach Hedge and tell him to get his furry hindquarters on deck!”
“Right!”
“And Percy—you and I need to get this ship to Fort Sumter.”
Percy nodded and ran to the mast. Annabeth took the helm. Her hands flew across the controls. She’d just have to hope she knew enough to operate them.
Annabeth had seen Percy control full-sized sailing ships before with only his willpower. This time, he didn’t disappoint. Ropes flew on their own—releasing the dock ties, weighing the anchor. The sails unfurled and caught the wind. Meanwhile Annabeth fired the engine. The oars extended with a sound like machine-gun fire, and the
The three eagles still circled overhead, but they made no attempt to land on the ship, probably because Festus the figurehead blew fire whenever they got close. More eagles were flying in formation toward Fort Sumter—at least a dozen. If each of them carried a Roman demigod…that was a lot of enemies.
Coach Hedge came pounding up the stairs with Hazel at his hooves.
“Where are they?” he demanded. “Who do I kill?”
“No killing!” Annabeth ordered. “Just defend the ship!”
“But they interrupted a Chuck Norris movie!”
Piper emerged from below. “Got a message through to Jason. Kind of fuzzy, but he’s already on his way. He should be—oh! There!”
Soaring over the city, heading in their direction, was a giant bald eagle, unlike the golden Roman birds.
“Frank!” Hazel said.
Leo was holding on to the eagle’s feet, and even from the ship, Annabeth could hear him screaming and cursing.
Behind them flew Jason, riding the wind.
“Never seen Jason fly before,” Percy grumbled. “He looks like a blond Superman.”
“This isn’t the time!” Piper scolded him. “Look, they’re in trouble!”
Sure enough, the Roman flying chariot had descended from a cloud and was diving straight toward them. Jason and Frank veered out of the way, pulling up to avoid getting trampled by the pegasi. The charioteers fired their bows. Arrows whistled under Leo’s feet, which led to more screaming and cursing. Jason and Frank were forced to
