𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐔𝐌 • Heroes of Olympus

IX

𝐈𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐀 well-known fact that the longer a noise stays, the more you get used to it. Your mind pushes it into the background, making it easier to ignore until you forget its existence altogether.

That is, until the noise stops.

Suddenly, there's a suffocating quiet. Then the quiet becomes peaceful. Serene. Tranquil. You thank whatever gods had made the noise stop, despite being unaware of it until a moment ago. It becomes hard to believe that you had ever been able to ignore such a noise.

That was what Andy felt right now. 

Ever since they'd escaped from Camp Jupiter, she'd had a strange feeling that something was terribly wrong. Now, at last, her head felt unburdened. They were finally on the right path. A tension that she didn't know existed had loosened, and Andy could've gotten drunk on the relief that followed. It almost made her forget just how much shit they were actually in.

Almost.

Walking over to Leo at the helm, her hair whipping about in the storm Jason had cooked up, Andy tried uselessly to hold onto her fast-fleeing relief. They'd escaped Charleston, but at what cost?

“Gimme a minute, Valkyrie,” Leo yelled over the roar of the wind as Andy approached, not taking his eyes off the sea. “Bit busy holding the ship together.”

Andy frowned. What did he think she was here for?

“Percy had talked to a Nereid in Charleston Harbor!” she shouted.

“Good for him!” Leo yelled back.

“The Nereid said we should seek help from Chiron’s brothers.”

Leo turned to her at last, confused. “What does that mean? The Party Ponies?”

“No idea,” Andy said. “But I’ve got coordinates. Can you input latitude and longitude in this thing?”

“I can input star charts and order you a smoothie, if you want. Of course I can do latitude and longitude!”

Andy rattled off the coordinates, hoping she hadn't misheard Percy during their escape. Leo somehow managed to punch them in while holding the wheel with one hand. A red dot popped up on the bronze display screen.

“That location is in the middle of the Atlantic,” he said. “Do the Party Ponies have a yacht?”

Andy shrugged helplessly. “Just hold the ship together until we get farther from Charleston. Jason will keep up the winds!”

“Happy fun time!”

Leo's forehead wrinkled with concentration as he turned his attention to the sea. 

Andy returned to her room as the Argo II rode over monumental waves. Heavy, writhing dread was making itself at home in her chest. With each second, it grew, threatening to crush her lungs and rob her of air. Her room seemed too small, her head too heavy, the lights too bright.

As she dropped onto her bed, Andy flicked the lights off, letting the glow-in-the dark stars on her ceiling come to life. She traced them with her eyes, as she had been doing since her first day aboard, looking for patterns. Her very own constellations. So far, she'd found 3; a heart, an arrow, and a sorry excuse for a pair of wings.

Something about the activity always made her feel better. She had glow-in-the-dark stars above her bunk at camp too, watching over her every night.

When she'd first gotten to camp, Andy had been beyond restless. After spending so much time with the Hunters, she had trouble sleeping in a cabin full of strange older boys who claimed to be her brothers. All the stories about what it actually meant to be a demigod hadn't helped either.