𝙄𝙉𝙁𝙇𝘼𝙈𝙀𝘿; heroes of olympus

when in rome

ERITH JAY
"LISTEN, GUYS," ERITH started, once it was clear none of her friends had any plan. "I don't think the gods are going to be very happy with you if you kidnap us. They're on our side."

Chrysaor barked a laugh. "The gods are incapacitated, you stupid girl. I would think you would know, since your fool of a father has gone into hiding."

"I'm not talking about my father," Erith told him, trying to keep her tone steady even though her heart was practically beating out of her chest. "I'm talking about..."

Suddenly, it hit her.

It was a stupid idea, and a long shot. But it was all they had right now.

"I'm talking about our patron."

Chrysaor's face was full of skepticism. "What patron? There's no way your patron is better than our patron. The gods will all die. Gaea will make sure of that."

"Hmm," Erith hummed, trying to sound nonchalant. "If you say so. Guess you really do want to have your crew finished off."

Percy, who had been watching their interaction, caught her gaze. His eyes widened, as if his brain had finally kicked into gear. He began nodding. "Yeah, that's gonna suck for you guys."

One of Chrysaor's dolphin warriors chittered nervously, but Chrysaor silenced the thing with a sharp glare. He paced, then abruptly clapped his hands together. "Tell me who your patron is."

"Nah, it's alright," Percy told him. "Like you said, Gaea will kill us all or whatever. Take us away... if our captain, our patron, our god, will let you."

Chrysaor turned his golden mask. "What captain? What god do you speak of, Perseus Jackson? My men searched the ship. There is no one else."

Percy raised his hands dramatically. "The god appears only when he wishes. But he is our leader. He runs our camp for demigods. Doesn't he, Annabeth?" He nudged the girl.

Annabeth was quick. "Yes!" She nodded enthusiastically. "Mr. D! The great Dionysus!"

Erith fought back the smile about to break out on her face. Her friends were getting it. Maybe they had a chance, after all.

A ripple of uneasiness passed through the dolphin-men. One dropped his sword.

"Stand fast!" Chrysaor bellowed. "There is no god on this ship. They are trying to scare you."

"You should be scared!" Percy looked at the pirate crew with sympathy. "Dionysus will be severely cranky with you for having delayed our voyage. He will punish all of us. Didn't you notice the girls falling into the wine god's madness?"

Hazel and Piper had stopped the shaking fits. They were sitting on the deck, staring at Percy, but when he glared at them pointedly, they started hamming it up again, trembling and flopping around like fish. The dolphin-men fell over themselves trying to get away from their captives.

"Hurry!" Erith cried, putting fear into her voice, which wasn't hard. "He's going to drive us all crazy!" She tried to scoot away from Hazel and Piper as if they had an infectious disease.

"Fakes!" Chrysaor roared, but he didn't sound so sure as he looked at Erith. "Shut up, Erith Jay! Your camp director is not here. He was recalled to Olympus. This is common knowledge."