𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃 𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐇 [Jason Grace]

31

𝐓𝐰𝐨 𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲𝐛𝐨𝐝𝐲 gathered at the mast.

Percy and Jason sat with their backs against the mast, their heads slumped in exhaustion. Annabeth and Piper were trying to get them to drink some water.

Frank scowled like he was trying hard to turn into a bulldog. "No sign of pursuit," he said.

"Or land," Hazel added. She looked a little green, though Dante wasn't sure if that was from the rocking of the boat or from the argument she had been having with Frank far from the group.

Dante scanned the horizon. Nothing but ocean in every direction. He wasn't particularly seasick like Hazel, but the sheer vastness of the ocean made him queasy. He'd almost drowned once and since then, he really wasn't fond of water. Now they were in the middle of the open sea, completely on their own, sailing to the Mare Nostrum, where all the scary monsters and nasty giants had come from. The Romans might not follow them, but they thought the eight were traitors. The place he had called home for the past six years had turned against him just like that.

Leo turned to Annabeth and Dante. "Did you find the map you wanted?"

Dante shared a look with her. Annabeth nodded, though she still looked pale.

"We'll have to study it," she said, as if that was the end of the subject. She sounded much more in control, much more of a leader on the ship than she had in the garrison. Dante didn't blame her. "How far are we from those coordinates?"

Percy had apparently heard from a nereid that they should find Chiron the centaur's brothers. Dante didn't know much about centaurs, he didn't even like them to be fair, since they had attacked on his home with the rest of the monsters, but he knew there was no way half horse people lived in the middle of the ocean.

"At top rowing speed, about two hours," Leo said. "Any idea what we're looking for?"

"No," Annabeth admitted. "Percy?"

Percy raised his head. His green eyes were bloodshot and droopy. "The Nereid said Chiron's brothers were there, and they'd want to hear about that aquarium in Atlanta. I don't know what she meant, but..." He paused, like he'd used up all his energy saying that much. "She also warned me to be careful. Keto, the goddess at the aquarium: she's the mother of sea monsters. She might be stuck in Atlanta, but she can still send her children after us. The Nereid said we should expect an attack."

"Wonderful," Frank muttered.

Jason tried to stand, which wasn't a good idea. Piper grabbed him to keep him from falling over, and he slid back down the mast. Dante had never seen him that drained before. Just thinking about the storm the two children of the big three had cooked up, made the hair on his arm stand up. It was an incredible show of power, far greater than anything Dante had ever seen.

"Can we get the ship aloft?" he asked. "If we could fly—"

"That'd be great," Leo said. "Except Festus tells me the port aerial stabilizer got pulverized when the ship raked against the dock at Fort Sumter."

"We were in a hurry," Annabeth said. "Trying to save you."

"And saving me is a very noble cause," Leo agreed. "I'm just saying, it'll take some time to fix. Until then, we're not flying anywhere."

Percy flexed his shoulders and winced. "Fine with me. The sea is good."

"Speak for yourself." Hazel glanced at the evening sun, which was almost to the horizon. "We need to go fast. We've burned another day, and Nico only has three more left."