Eleutheromania

22)

PERCY GRIPPED ONTO ME AS we ran to the ship. Percy was so distracted that he kept leading us the wrong way. I took charge and remember our steps leading us back on the ship.

      We interrupt probably a important conversation between Piper and Jason, but Percy had more important matters.

      We gathered on deck so that Coach Hedge could hear the story. When Percy was done, I thought he would pass out because he never took a breath.

      "So Annabeth was kidnapped on a motor scooter," she summed up, "by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn."

      "Not kidnapped, exactly," Percy said. "But I've got this bad feeling...." He took a deep breath, like he was trying hard not to freak out. "Anyway, she's—she's gone. Maybe I shouldn't have let her, but— "

      "You had to," Piper said. "You knew she had to go alone. Besides, Annabeth is tough and smart. She'll be fine."

      I knew Piper charmspeak him, hell I have been charm spoken by her many times now. I sigh, why do I have a weird feeling?

      His shoulders relaxed a little. "Maybe you're right. Anyway, Gregory—I mean Tiberinus—said we had less time to rescue Nico than we thought. Hazel and the guys aren't back yet?"

      "It's two in the afternoon. We said three o'clock for a rendezvous."

      "At the latest," Jason said.

      I pointed at Piper's dagger. "Tiberinus said you could find Nico's location...you know, with that."

      "I've tried," she said. "The dagger doesn't always show what I want to see. In fact, it hardly ever does."

      "Please," Percy said. "Try again."

      He pleaded with those sea-green eyes, like a cute baby seal that needed help. I wondered how Annabeth ever won an argument with this guy.

      "Fine," she sighed, and drew her dagger.

      "While you're at it," said Coach Hedge, "see if you can get the latest baseball scores. Italians don't cover baseball worth beans."

      "Shh." Piper studied the bronze blade. The light shimmered. She saw a loft apartment filled with Roman demigods. A dozen of them stood around a dining table as Octavian talked and pointed to a big map. Reyna paced next to the windows, gazing down at Central Park.

      "That's not good," Jason muttered. "They've already set up a forward base in Manhattan."

      "And that map shows Long Island," Percy said.

      "They're scouting the territory," Jason guessed. "Discussing invasion routes."

      I saw ruins—a few crumbling walls, a single column, a stone floor covered with moss and dead vines—all clustered on a grassy hillside dotted with pine trees.

      "We were just there," Percy said. "That's in the old Forum."

      The view zoomed in. On one side of the stone floor, a set of stairs had been excavated, leading down to a modern iron gate with a padlock. The blade's image zoomed straight through the doorway, down a spiral stairwell, and into a dark, cylindrical chamber like the inside of a grain silo.

      Piper dropped the blade.

      "What's wrong?" Jason asked. "It was showing us something."

      "We can't go there."

      Percy frowned. "Piper, Nico is dying. We've got to find him. Not to mention, Rome is about to get destroyed."

      Piper picked up the knife again.

      The vision zoomed in again. Inside the jar, Nico di Angelo was curled in a ball, no longer moving, all the pomegranate seeds eaten.

      "We're too late," Jason said.

      "No," Percy said. "No, I can't believe that. Maybe he's gone into a deeper trance to buy time. We have to hurry."

      "We should wait for the others," she said. "Hazel, Frank, and Leo should be back soon."

      "We can't wait," Percy insisted.

      Coach Hedge grunted. "It's just two giants. If you guys want, I can take them."

      "Uh, Coach," Jason said, "that's a great offer, but we need you to man the ship—or goat the ship. Whatever."

      Hedge scowled. "And let you three have all the fun?"

      Percy gripped the satyr's arm. "Hazel and the others need you here. When they get back, they'll need your leadership. You're their rock."

      "Yeah." Jason managed to keep a straight face. "Leo always says you're his rock. You can tell them where we've gone and bring the ship around to meet us at the Forum."

      "Exactly, without you this won't be able to happen," I added.

      "And here." Piper unstrapped Katoptris and put it in Coach Hedge's hands.

      The satyr's eyes widened.

      "Keep an eye on us with the blade," she suggested. "And you can check the baseball scores." That sealed the deal. Hedge nodded grimly, prepared to do his part for the quest.

      "All right," he said. "But if any giants come this way—"

      "Feel free to blast them," Jason said.

      "What about annoying tourists?"

      "No," We all said in unison.

      "Bah. Fine. Just don't take too long, or I'm coming after you with ballistae blazing."

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