The Son of Neptune

cracking the ice under his sandals, and thrust his hands in the water. He brought out a killer whale in one fist. Apparently that wasn’t what he wanted, because he threw the whale back and kept wading.

‘Good breakfast,’ Frank said. ‘Who’s ready for a train ride?’

The station wasn’t far. They were just in time to buy tickets for the last train south. As his friends climbed on board, Percy said, ‘Be with you in a sec,’ and ran back into the station.

He got change from the gift shop and stood in front of the pay phone.

He’d never used a pay phone before. They were strange antiques to him, like his mom’s turntable or his teacher chiron’s Frank Sinatra cassette tapes. He wasn’t sure how many coins it would take, or if he could even make the call go through, assuming he remembered the number correctly.

Sally Jackson, he thought.

That was his mom’s name. And he had a stepdad … Paul.

What did they think had happened to Percy? Maybe they had already held a memorial service. As near as he could figure, he’d lost seven months of his life. Sure, most of that had been during the school year, but still … not cool.

He picked up the receiver and punched in a New York number – his mom’s apartment.

Voice mail. Percy should have figured. It would be like, midnight in New York. They wouldn’t recognize this number. Hearing Paul’s voice on the recording hit Percy in the gut so hard, he could barely speak at the tone.

‘Mom,’ he said. ‘Hey, I’m alive. Hera put me to sleep for a while, and then she took my memory, and …’ His voice faltered. How he could possibly explain all this? ‘Anyway, I’m okay. I’m sorry. I’m on a quest -’ He winced. He shouldn’t have said that. His mom knew all about quests, and now she’d be worried. ‘I’ll make it home. I promise. Love you.’

He put down the receiver. He stared at the phone, hoping it would ring back. The train whistle sounded. The conductor shouted, ‘All aboard.’

Percy ran. He made it just as they were pulling up the steps, then climbed to the top of the double-decker car and slid into his seat.

Hazel frowned. ‘You okay?’

‘Yeah,’ he croaked. ‘Just … made a call.’

She and Frank seemed to get that. They didn’t ask for details.

Soon they were heading south along the coast, watching the landscape go by. Percy tried to think about the quest, but for an ADHD kid like him the train wasn’t the easiest place to concentrate.

Cool things kept happening outside. Bald eagles soared overhead. The train raced over bridges and along cliffs where glacial waterfalls tumbled thousands of feet down the rocks. They passed forests buried in snowdrifts, big artillery guns (to set off small avalanches and prevent uncontrolled ones, Hazel explained) and lakes so clear they reflected the mountains like mirrors, so the world looked upside down.

Brown bears lumbered through the meadows. Hyperborean giants kept appearing in the strangest places. One was lounging in a lake like it was a hot tub. Another was using a pine tree as a toothpick. A third sat in a snowdrift, playing with two live moose like they were action figures. The train was full of tourists ohhing and ahhing and snapping pictures, but Percy felt sorry they couldn’t see the Hyperboreans. They were missing the really good shots.

Meanwhile, Frank studied a map of Alaska that he’d found in the seat pocket. He located Hubbard Glacier, which looked discouragingly far away from Seward. He kept running his finger along the coastline, frowning with concentration.

‘What are you thinking?’ Percy asked.

‘Just … possibilities,’ Frank said.

Percy didn’t know what that meant, but he let it go.

After about an hour, Percy started to relax. They bought hot chocolate from the dining car. The seats were warm and comfortable, and he thought about taking a nap.

Then a shadow passed overhead. Tourists murmured in excitement and started taking pictures.

‘Eagle!’ one yelled.

‘Eagle?’ said another.

‘Huge eagle!’ said a third.

‘That’s no eagle,’ Frank said.

Percy looked up just in time to see the creature make a second pass. It was definitely larger than an eagle, with a sleek black body the size of a Labrador retriever. Its wingspan was at least ten feet across.

‘There’s another one!’ Frank pointed. ‘Strike that. Three, four. Okay, we’re in trouble.’

The creatures circled the train like vultures, delighting the tourists. Percy wasn’t delighted. The monsters had glowing red eyes, sharp beaks and vicious talons.

Percy felt for his pen in his pocket. ‘Those things look familiar …’

‘Seattle,’ Hazel said. ‘The Amazons had one in a cage. They’re -’

Then several things happened at once. The emergency brake screeched, pitching them forward. Tourists screamed and tumbled through the aisles. The monsters swooped down, shattering the glass roof of the car, and the entire train toppled off the rails.

XXXIX Percy

PERCY WENT WEIGHTLESS.

His vision blurred. Claws grabbed his arms and lifted him into the air. Below, train wheels squealed and metal crashed. Glass shattered. Passengers screamed.

When his eyesight cleared, he saw the beast that was carrying him aloft. It had the body of a panther – sleek, black and feline – with the wings and head of an eagle. Its eyes glowed blood-red.

Percy squirmed. The monster’s front talons were wrapped round his arms like steel bands. He couldn’t free himself or reach his sword. He rose higher and higher in the cold wind. Percy had no idea where the monster was taking him, but he was pretty sure he wouldn’t like it when he got there.

He yelled – mostly out of frustration. Then something whistled by his ear. An arrow sprouted from the monster’s neck. The creature shrieked and let go.

Percy fell, crashing through tree branches until he slammed into a snowbank. He groaned, looking up at a massive pine tree he’d just shredded.

He managed to stand. Nothing seemed broken. Frank stood to his left, shooting down the creatures as fast as he could. Hazel was at his back, swinging her sword at any monster that came close, but there were too many swarming around them – at least a dozen.

Percy drew Riptide. He sliced the wing off one monster and sent it spiralling into a tree, then sliced through another that burst into dust. But the defeated ones began to re-form immediately.

‘What are these things?’ he yelled.

‘Gryphons!’ Hazel said. ‘We have to get them away from the train!’

Percy saw what she meant. The train cars had fallen over, and their roofs had shattered. Tourists were stumbling around in shock. Percy didn’t see anybody seriously injured, but the gryphons were swooping towards anything that moved. The only thing keeping them away from the mortals was a glowing grey warrior in camouflage – Frank’s pet spartus.

Percy glanced over and noticed Frank’s spear was gone. ‘Used your last charge?’

‘Yeah.’ Frank shot another gryphon out of the sky. ‘I had to help the mortals. The spear just dissolved.’

Percy nodded. Part of him was relieved. He didn’t like the skeleton warrior. Part of him was disappointed, because that was one less weapon they had at their disposal. But he didn’t fault Frank. Frank had done the right thing.

‘Let’s move the fight!’ Percy said. ‘Away from the tracks!’

They stumbled through the snow, smacking and slicing gryphons that re-formed from dust every time they were