NEVER BE THE SAME . . . percy jackson

forty six: the emerald city.

PERCY WOKE UP after a while due to Brooklyn braiding his hair while he slept. He frowned as he propped himself up with one elbow, patting the top of his head with the other hand.

"What did you do?" he asked.

"Calm down, you big baby," she said, and, damn, he looked good with the sunrise behind him. "You look fine."

They bickered about it for a couple of hours, Ella putting in some input, until the sun rose and the boat stopped. That was when they mutually decided to wake up Hazel and Frank.

"Hazel." Percy, braids sadly undone from his hair, shook her shoulder. "Wake up. We've reached Seattle."

She sat up groggily, squinting in the morning sunlight. "Frank?"

Frank groaned, rubbing his eyes. "Did we just . . . was I just—?"

"You both passed out," Percy said. "I don't know why, but Ella told me not to worry about it. She said you were . . . sharing?"

"Sharing," Ella agreed. She crouched in the stern, preening her wing feathers with her teeth, which didn't look like a very effective form of personal hygiene. She spit out some red fluff. "Sharing is good. No more blackouts. Biggest American blackout, August 14, 2003. Hazel shared. No more blackouts."

Brooklyn shrugged. "Yeah . . . she's been talking about that most of the night. I still don't know what she's talking about."

Hazel pressed her hand against her coat pocket. She looked at Frank. "You were there."

He nodded, but didn't say anything else.

"Wait," Percy said. "You mean you guys shared a blackout? Are you guys both going to pass out from now on?"

"Nope," Ella said. "Nope, nope, nope. No more blackouts. More books for Ella. Books in Seattle."

They were sailing through a large bay, making their way toward a cluster of downtown buildings. Neighborhoods rolled across a series of hills. From the tallest one rose a cool white tower with a saucer on the top — the Space Needle. Sick.

Percy steered the boat toward the downtown docks. As they got closer, Ella scratched nervously at her nest of books.

Brooklyn started to feel edgy, too. She wasn't sure why. It was a bright, sunny day, and Seattle looked like a beautiful place, with inlets and bridges, wooded islands dotting the bay, and snowcapped mountains rising in the distance. Still, she felt as if she were being watched.

"Um . . . why are we stopping here?" Hazel asked.

Percy showed them the silver ring on his necklace. "Reyna has a sister here. She asked me and Brooks to find her and show her this."

"Reyna has a sister?" Frank asked, like the idea terrified him.

Brooklyn nodded. "Apparently Reyna thinks her sister could send help for the camp."

"Amazons," Ella muttered. "Amazon country. Hmm. Ella will find libraries instead. Doesn't like Amazons. Fierce. Shields. Swords. Pointy. Ouch."

Frank reached for his spear. "Amazons? Like . . . female warriors?"

"That would make sense," Hazel said. "If Reyna's sister is also a daughter of Bellona, I can see why she'd join the Amazons. But . . . is it safe for us to be here?"

"Nope, nope, nope," Ella said. "Get books instead. No Amazons."

"We have to try," Percy said. "We promised Reyna. Besides, the Pax isn't doing too great. I've been pushing it pretty hard, even in my sleep."