The Rogue Emperor (A Riordanverse Story)

Chapter 4: Frank Gets Sunburnt

Frank wouldn't have had the heart to tell Nico that he couldn't shadow travel again, so he was very happy when Nico told the group that he wasn't sure that he could get them all to St. Augustine without turning into shadows himself. The shadow travel from the Bay Area to Long Island made Frank so nauseous that he still hardly had an appetite nearly a day later. Instead, Reyna had talked Chiron into letting them borrow one of the camp's vans, claiming that it was the best alternative since Nico refused to get in a plane. It wasn't exactly the ideal, but it was probably the fastest given that Reyna drove at least 20 over the speed limit at all times.

They'd driven through the night and all morning, taking two-hour shifts, though he was sure Nico didn't have a license. About a half hour ago, they started seeing tourist signs for their destination which sparks a debate on how they should go about the finer details of the quest. Reyna was really uptight and Will wasn't helping the situation; for most of the last two hours they'd be arguing about practically nothing.

The thing was, they were pretty sure they had the right general location, but none of them had any idea where to start once they arrived. Frank figured they'd know when they saw it, but Reyna and Will were engaged in a heated debate about what was best for the quest. In his opinion, the team should defer to Nico as it was his prophecy, but he was curled up in the back seat trying to avoid conflict between his friend and his boyfriend.

After some heated words, the van crossed into the city limits of St. Augustine and proceeded to breakdown by the water. Grey smoke began pouring from the engine compartment, so they all scramble out of the car right before it catches on fire. Looks of horror cross all their faces as the van began to creak and char much faster than any of them had anticipated a car could.

Five minutes later they were left with a heap of metal and the smell of burning leather.

"Maybe we should have given the car a break like I suggested, Reyna," says Will, shooting their travel companion a nasty look. "Surprise, surprise, it overheated."

"Oh so you're a car expert now? We're on a time crunch, Will. My Hunters have been missing for weeks, your boyfriend's sister and her group of fellow Romans for longer. It was urgent we jump started this quest."

Nico rolls his eyes. "Stop arguing! It's not productive and there's not much we can do now about the van; we're on foot front here on out. C'mon!"

He storms off inland, forcing Frank, Reyna, and Will to follow, looking for a sign to lead them in the right direction.

They follow signs leading them to some of the more historic, tourist areas, hoping that there'd be some clues. It's the off-season, so the crowds are relatively thin, mostly older people. They search the supposed fountain of youth, some stone fort, and historic lighthouse without any leads, and a few cuts and bruises from a fight with empousai on vacation who thought Will looked like a tasty snack.

Frank could tell that Will and Nico were getting tired from all the walking. The Greeks didn't train by marching like the Romans did, in fact they didn't really train at all; it was a bit of a free for all when they fought compared to the cohort unity of the Romans. But Frank was getting tired too. Even though it was well past summer, the sun beat down on the back of Frank's neck and he could practically feel his sweat sizzling in the Florida heat. Reyna must feel it too because she leads them to a gazebo in the park by the lighthouse so they can get some reprieve and regroup.

They all remain silent, knowing fully well they are all just as frustrated as everyone else and they were all on edge. Honestly, Frank didn't know where to go from here. They had to have walked most of the city, hitting every popular spot, and they were no closer to finding the first couple than they were when their car nearly exploded on them. Generally, immortals were easy to spot, but who ever they were looking for clearly was evading them.