Bythos and Aphros floated over with Frank between them, looking pale but okay. Frank studied Hazel and Leo carefully, as if trying to read what they’d been talking about.
“You are free to go,” Bythos said. He opened his saddlebags and returned their confiscated supplies. Leo had never been so glad to fit his tool belt around his waist.
“Tell Percy Jackson not to worry,” Aphros said. “We have understood your story about the imprisoned sea creatures in Atlanta. Keto and Phorcys must be stopped. We will send a quest of mer-heroes to defeat them and free their captives. Perhaps Cyrus?”
“Or Bill,” Bythos offered.
“Yes! Bill would be perfect,” Aphros agreed. “At any rate, we are grateful that Percy brought this to our attention.”
“You should talk to him in person,” Leo suggested. “I mean, son of Poseidon, and all.”
Both fish-centaurs shook their heads solemnly. “Sometimes it is best not to interact with Poseidon’s brood,” Aphros said. “We are friendly with the sea god, of course; but the politics of undersea deities is…complicated. And we value our independence. Nevertheless, tell Percy thank you. We will do what we can to speed you safely across the Atlantic without further interference from Keto’s monsters, but be warned: in the ancient sea, the Mare Nostrum, more dangers await.”
Frank sighed. “Naturally.”
Bythos clapped the big guy on the shoulder. “You will be fine, Frank Zhang. Keep practicing those sea life transformations. The koi fish is good, but try for a Portuguese man-of-war. Remember what I showed you. It’s all in the breathing.”
Frank looked mortally embarrassed. Leo bit his lip, determined not to smile.
“And you, Hazel,” Aphros said, “come visit again, and bring that horse of yours! I know you are concerned about the time you lost, spending the night in our realm. You are worried about your brother, Nico.…”
Hazel gripped her cavalry sword. “Is he—do you know where he is?”
Aphros shook his head. “Not exactly. But when you get closer, you should be able to sense his presence. Never fear! You must reach Rome the day after tomorrow if you are to save him, but there is still time. And you
“Yes,” Bythos agreed. “He will be essential for your journey. I am not sure how, but I sense it is true.”
Aphros planted his hand on Leo’s shoulder. “As for you, Leo Valdez, stay close to Hazel and Frank when you reach Rome. I sense they will face…ah,
“Mechanical difficulties?” Leo asked.
Aphros smiled as if that was great news. “And I have gifts for you, the brave navigator of the
“I like to think of myself as captain,” Leo said. “Or supreme commander.”
“Brownies!” Aphros said proudly, shoving an old-fashioned picnic basket into Leo’s arms. It was surrounded by a bubble of air, which Leo hoped would keep the brownies from turning into saltwater fudge sludge. “In this basket you will also find the recipe. Not too much butter! That’s the trick. And I’ve given you a letter of introduction to Tiberinus, the god of the Tiber River. Once you reach Rome, your friend the daughter of Athena will need this.”
“Annabeth…” Leo said. “Okay, but why?”
Bythos laughed. “She follows the Mark of Athena, doesn’t she? Tiberinus can guide her in this quest. He’s an ancient, proud god who can be…difficult; but letters of introduction are everything to Roman spirits. This will convince Tiberinus to help her. Hopefully.”
“Hopefully,” Leo repeated.
Bythos produced three small pink pearls from his saddlebags. “And now, off with you, demigods! Good sailing!”
He threw a pearl at each of them in turn, and three shimmering pink bubbles of energy formed around them.
They began to rise through the water. Leo just had time to think:
PIPER HAD A NEW ENTRY in her top-ten list of
Fighting Shrimpzilla with a dagger and a pretty voice? Not so effective. Then the monster had sunk into the deep and disappeared along with three of her friends, and she’d been powerless to help them.
Afterward, Annabeth, Coach Hedge, and Buford the table rushed around repairing things so that the ship wouldn’t sink. Percy, despite being exhausted, searched the ocean for their missing friends. Jason, also exhausted, flew around the rigging like a blond Peter Pan, putting out fires from the second green explosion that had lit up the sky just above the mainmast.
As for Piper, all she could do was stare at her knife Katoptris, trying to locate Leo, Hazel, and Frank. The only images that came to her were ones she didn’t want to see: three black SUVs driving north from Charleston, packed with Roman demigods, Reyna sitting at the wheel of the lead car. Giant eagles escorted them from above. Every so often, glowing purple spirits in ghostly chariots appeared out of the countryside and fell in behind them, thundering up I-95 toward New York and Camp Half-Blood.
Piper concentrated harder. She saw the nightmarish images she had seen before: the human-headed bull rising from the water, then the dark well-shaped room filling with black water as Jason, Percy, and she struggled to stay afloat.
She sheathed Katoptris, wondering how Helen of Troy had stayed sane during the Trojan War, if this blade had been her only source of news. Then she remembered that everyone around Helen had been slaughtered by the
