LOVE THE WAY YOU LIE . . . hoo

XXXV.

NOTHING LIKE TOTAL failure to generate insane ideas.

As Mia stood there, a knife to her throat, the plan formed in her head. But she needed it to form faster if she wanted for Nico to be alive when she got to him.

Chrysaor couldn't be beat. At least not in single combat. But without his crew . . . maybe then he could be overwhelmed if enough demigods attacked him at once.

How to deal with Chrysaor's crew? Mia put the pieces together: the pirates had been turned into dolphin-men millennia ago when they had kidnapped the wrong person. She knew that story. And when Chrysaor said the crew wasn't afraid of anything, one of the dolphins had nervously corrected him. Yes, Chrysaor said. But he's not here.

Mia felt Frank's life force grow bigger and she glanced where it was strongest and spotted Frank, in human form, peeking out from behind a ballista, waiting. She resisted the urge to smile. The big guy claimed to be clumsy and useless, but he always seemed to be in exactly the right place when she needed him.

Hazel and Piper . . . Frank . . . the ice chest.

It was a crazy idea. But it was the one that came to Mia's head, so maybe she was crazy.

"Fine!" Mia shouted, so loudly that the dolphin-man holding her sliced a shallow gash into her throat. She hid her grimace from the pain as he let go of her. "Take us away, if our captain will let you."

Chrysaor turned his golden mask. "What captain? My men searched the ship. There is no one else."

Mia raised her hands dramatically, wiping the blood off of her throat casually. "The god appears only when he wishes. But he is our leader. He runs the camp for demigods. Doesn't he, Percy? Annabeth?"

At least, she still hoped he did.

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

"Woohoo," Percy muttered under his breath, though he seemed on board with Mia's plan.

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!" Mia looked at the pirate crew with sympathy. "Lord Dionysus will be severely cranky with you for having delayed our voyage. He will punish all of us. Haven't you noticed 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 Mia, but when she 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.

"Fakes!" Chrysaor roared. "Shut up, Amelia Starfury. Your camp director is not here. He was recalled to Olympus. This is common knowledge."

"So you admit Dionysus is our director," Mia said, somehow keeping a straight face.

"He was," Chrysaor corrected. "Everyone knows that."

Mia gestured at the golden warrior like he'd just betrayed himself. "You see? We are doomed. If you don't believe me, let's check the ice chest!"

She sauntered over to the magical cooler. No one tried to stop her. She knocked open the lid and rummaged through the ice. Jesus, if you're out there . . . She was rewarded with a silver-and-red can of soda. She brandished it at the dolphin warriors as if spraying them with deadly Gucci perfume. Hm. Maybe she should make that.

"Behold!" Mia shouted. Gods, she loved it when she could show her inner theater kid. "The god's chosen beverage. Tremble before the horror of Diet Coke!"