LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . hoo

XXVIII.

AFTER A NIGHT of fighting a million monsters with the shadows and an occasional, lucky sword slash ( damn the handcuffs ), Mia sat on the railing of the crow's nest, kicking her feet back and forth as she listened to the others gather below.

They settled in the middle of a field of sunflowers, the air smelled like the earth, and Coach Hedge was yelling horrible ship-speak from his spot on the helm. Overall, it was a picture perfect morning.

"So!" Annabeth said loudly, plucking the bagel out of Piper's hand and taking a bite. Once upon a time, that would've been Mia and Annabeth, but it seemed like she'd replaced her. It's fine. It's not as if Mia's ride or die hasn't changed to Nico now. "Here we are. What's the plan?"

"I want to check out the highway," Piper said. "Find the sign that says Topeka 32."

Leo spun his Wii controller in a circle, and the sails lowered themselves. "We shouldn't be far," he said. "Festus and I calculated the landing as best we could. What do you expect to find at the mile marker?"

Piper explained what she'd seen in her knife, some kinda knife that lets her look into the future — a man in purple with a goblet.

"Purple shirt?" Jason asked. "Vines on his hat? Sounds like Bacchus."

"Dionysus," Percy muttered. "If we came all the way to Kansas to see Mr. D—"

"Bacchus isn't so bad," Jason said. "I don't like his followers much . . ."

He trailed off, grimacing as if remembering bad memories.

"But the god himself is okay," he continued. "I did him a favor once up in the wine country."

Percy looked appalled. "Whatever, man. Maybe he's better on the Roman side. But why would he be hanging around in Kansas? Didn't Zeus order the gods to cease all contact with mortals?"

Frank grunted. The big guy was wearing a blue tracksuit this morning, like he was ready to go for a jog in the sunflowers.

"The gods haven't been very good at following that order," he noted. Mia agreed. She knew very personally. "Besides, if the gods have gone schizophrenic like Hazel said—"

"And Leo said," added Leo.

Frank scowled at him. "Then who knows what's going on with the Olympians? Could be some pretty bad stuff out there."

"Sounds dangerous!" Leo agreed cheerfully. "Well . . . you guys have fun. I've got to finish repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth — I could really use your help. You're the only other person who even sort of understands engineering."

Annabeth looked apologetically at Percy. "He's right. I should stay and help."

"I'll come back," he told her. "Promise."

Mia bit her lip hard enough to draw blood. Percy and Annabeth had definitely gotten closer since she'd been gone — which made sense, after all, it's not as if they weren't friends. But the distance between them hurt, like the shoulder wound that she'd taken for Percy. Sometimes she still felt that phantom pain.

Frank slid his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the rail. "I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for Roman eagles."

"Why a crow?" Leo asked. "Man, if you can turn into a dragon, why don't you just turn into a dragon every time? That's the coolest."

Frank's face looked like it was being infused with cranberry juice. "That's like asking why you don't bench-press your maximum weight every time you lift. Because it's hard, and you'd hurt yourself. Turning into a dragon isn't easy."