THE HEALER| Heroes of Olympus

VII

I told Jason what I had dreamed about. He understood immediately what spot Reyna was talking about.

He pulled Leo aside and suggested a course correction. Fortunately, Leo trusted  him enough not to ask why.

"Weird vacation spot." Leo grinned. "But, hey, you're the boss!"

While we ate lunch, I reported on my vision. My friends were quiet long enough for Coach Hedge to finish a peanut butter and banana sandwich, along with the ceramic plate.

The ship creaked as it sailed through the Adriatic, its remaining oars still out of alignment from the giant turtle attack. Every once in a while Festus the figurehead creaked and squeaked through the speakers, reporting the autopilot status in that weird machine language that only Leo could understand.

"A note from Annabeth." Piper shook her head in amazement. "I don't see how that's possible, but if it is –"

"She's alive," Leo said. "Thank the gods and pass the hot sauce."

Frank frowned. "What does that mean?"

Leo wiped the chip crumbs off his face. "It means pass the hot sauce, Zhang. I'm still hungry."

Frank slid over a jar of salsa. "I can't believe Reyna would try to find us. It's taboo, coming to the ancient lands. She'll be stripped of her praetorship."

"If she lives," Jasper said. 'It was hard enough for us to make it this far with nine demigods and a warship."

"And me." Coach Hedge belched. "Don't forget, cupcake, you got the satyr advantage."

We looked at Jason expectantly but he looked like he had zoned out.

"Jason?" Leo asked. "Argo II to Jason. Come in."

"Yeah, sorry." He touched the groove that Sciron the bandit had cut in his hair. "Crossing the Atlantic is a hard journey, no doubt. But I'd never bet against Reyna. If anyone can make it, she will."

"Well, I'd love to see Reyna again," Piper said. "But how is she supposed to find us?"

Frank raised his hand. "Can't you just send her an Iris-message?"

"They're not working very well," Coach Hedge put in. "Horrible reception. Every night, I swear, I could kick that rainbow goddess ..."

He faltered. His face turned bright red.

"Coach?" Leo grinned. "Who have you been calling every night, you old goat?"

"No one!" Hedge snapped. "Nothing! I just meant –"

"He means we've already tried," Hazel intervened, and the coach gave her a grateful look. "Some magic is interfering ... maybe Gaia. Contacting the Romans is even harder. I think they're shielding themselves."

I looked from Hazel to the coach, wondering what was going on with the satyr and how Hazel knew about it. Now that I thought about it, the coach hadn't mentioned his cloud nymph girlfriend Mellie in a long time ...

Frank drummed his fingers on the table. "I don't suppose Reyna has a cell phone ...? Nah. Never mind. She'd probably have bad reception on a pegasus flying over the Atlantic."

I thought about the Argo II's journey across the ocean, the dozens of encounters that had nearly killed them. Thinking about Reyna making that journey alone – I couldn't decide whether it was terrifying or awe-inspiring.

"She'll find us," Jason said.

 "She mentioned something in the dream – she's expecting Jason to go to a certain place on our way to the House of Hades." I said