The Mark of Athena

Poseidonish water powers, they were not fish dudes to mess with. “So…we can go?”

“Soon,” Aphros promised. “I must check with Bythos. When he is done talking with your friend Gank—”

“Frank.”

“Frank. When they are done, we will send you back to your ship. And we may have some warnings for you.”

“Warnings?”

“Ah.” Aphros pointed. Hazel emerged from the kelp forest, escorted by two vicious-looking mermaids, who were baring their fangs and hissing. Leo thought Hazel might be in danger. Then he saw she was completely at ease, grinning and talking with her escorts, and Leo realized that the mermaids were laughing.

“Leo!” Hazel paddled toward him. “Isn’t this place amazing?”

They were left alone at the ridge, which must have meant Aphros really did trust them. While the centaur and the mermaids went off to fetch Frank, Leo and Hazel floated above the hill and gazed down at the underwater camp.

Hazel told him how the mermaids had warmed up to her right away. Aphros and Bythos had been fascinated by her story, as they had never met a child of Pluto before. On top of that, they had heard many legends about the horse Arion, and they were amazed that Hazel had befriended him.

Hazel had promised to visit again with Arion. The mermaids had written their phone numbers in waterproof ink on Hazel’s arm so that she could keep in touch. Leo didn’t even want to ask how mermaids got cell-phone coverage in the middle of the Atlantic.

As Hazel talked, her hair floated around her face in a cloud—like brown earth and gold dust in a miner’s pan. She looked very sure of herself and very beautiful—not at all like the shy, nervous girl in that New Orleans schoolyard with her smashed canvas lunch bag at her feet.

“We didn’t get to talk,” Leo said. He was reluctant to bring up the subject, but he knew this might be their only chance to be alone. “I mean about Sammy.”

Her smile faded. “I know…I just need some time to let it sink in. It’s strange to think that you and he…”

She didn’t need to finish the thought. Leo knew exactly how strange it was.

“I’m not sure I can explain this to Frank,” she added. “About you and me holding hands.”

She wouldn’t meet Leo’s eyes. Down in the valley, the Cyclopes work crew cheered as the temple roof was set in place.

“I talked to him,” Leo said. “I told him I wasn’t trying to…you know. Make trouble between you two.”

“Oh. Good.”

Did she sound disappointed? Leo wasn’t sure, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“Frank, um, seemed pretty freaked out when I summoned fire.” Leo explained what had happened in the cave.

Hazel looked stunned. “Oh, no. That would terrify him.”

Her hand went to her denim jacket, like she was checking for something in the inside pocket. She always wore that jacket, or some sort of overshirt, even when it was hot outside. Leo had assumed that she did it out of modesty, or because it was better for horseback riding, like a motorcycle jacket. Now he began to wonder.

His brain shifted into high gear. He remembered what Frank had said about his weakness…a piece of firewood. He thought about why this kid would have a fear of fire, and why Hazel would be so attuned to those feelings. Leo thought about some of the stories he’d heard at Camp Half-Blood. For obvious reasons, he tended to pay attention to legends about fire. Now he remembered one he hadn’t thought about in months.

“There was an old legend about a hero,” he recalled. “His lifeline was tied to a stick in a fireplace, and when that piece of wood burned up…”

Hazel’s expression turned dark. Leo knew he’d struck on the truth.

“Frank has that problem,” he guessed. “And the piece of firewood…” He pointed at Hazel’s jacket. “He gave it to you for safekeeping?”

“Leo, please don’t…I can’t talk about it.”

Leo’s instincts as a mechanic kicked in. He started thinking about the properties of wood and the corrosiveness of salt water. “Is the firewood okay in the ocean like this? Does the layer of air around you protect it?”

“It’s fine,” Hazel said. “The wood didn’t even get wet. Besides, it’s wrapped up in several layers of cloth and plastic and—” She bit her lip in frustration. “And I’m not supposed to talk about it! Leo, the point is if Frank seems afraid of you, or uneasy, you’ve got to understand…”

Leo was glad he was floating, because he probably would’ve been too dizzy to stand. He imagined being in Frank’s position, his life so fragile, it literally could burn up at any time. He imagined how much trust it would take to give his lifeline—his entire fate—to another person.

Frank had chosen Hazel, obviously. So when he had seen Leo—a guy who could summon fire at will—moving in on his girl…

Leo shuddered. No wonder Frank didn’t like him. And suddenly Frank’s ability to turn into a bunch of different animals didn’t seem so awesome—not if it came with a big catch like that.

Leo thought about his least favorite line in the Prophecy of Seven: To storm or fire the world must fall. For a long time, he’d figured that Jason or Percy stood for storm—maybe both of them together. Leo was the fire guy. Nobody said that, but it was pretty clear. Leo was one of the wild cards. If he did the wrong thing, the world could fall. No…it must fall. Leo wondered if Frank and his firewood had something to do with that line. Leo had already made some epic mistakes. It would be so easy for him to accidentally send Frank Zhang up in flames.

“There you are!” Bythos’s voice made Leo flinch.