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Rory couldn't believe how hard it was to find deadly poison.
All morning she, Piper, and Frank had scoured the port of Pylos. Frank initially hadn't wanted anyone to accompany him. But after some persuasion from the rest of the crew that, as demigods, there was safety in numbers — and that number was three — only then did he allow Rory and Piper to come with him. He figured their charmspeak, and Rory's ghostly powers, would be useful if they ran into his shape-shifting relatives.
As it turned out, their blades were more in demand. So far, they had slain a Laistrygonian ogre in the bakery, battled a giant warthog in the public square, and defeated a flock of Stymphalian birds with some well-aimed vegetables from Piper's cornucopia.
Rory was glad for the work. She had tried not to show it, but she had nearly burst into tears when Frank asked her to come along. She didn't have to volunteer, nor did any of her friends have to suggest her — she was actually wanted. Actually needed. Even if she wasn't crazed about going out on another mission, it felt good.
And she liked getting to spend more time with the others. Rory felt like she hardly went anywhere without either Percy or Annabeth (or both) by her side. It was fun getting to explore Pylos with just Piper and Frank — you know, while they searched for poison. Despite knowing her for almost eight months now, Rory never got to hang out much with Piper. Which she regretted, but during the months they shared at Camp Half-Blood, Rory was not in a great mental place. But really, when was the last time she was in a good place mentally? And same with Frank, she had rarely spent any time with him since starting this quest. Percy talked so highly of him, she wanted to get to know him better.
Around one in the afternoon, Rory finally put her powers to use. She spoke with an Ancient Greek ghost in a laundromat and got directions to an ancient stronghold where the shape-shifting descendants of Periclymenus supposedly hung out.
After trudging across the island in the afternoon heat, they found the cave perched halfway up a beachside cliff. Frank insisted that Rory and Piper wait for him at the bottom while he checked it out.
Neither of them were happy about that, but they stood obediently on the beach, squinting up at the cave entrance and hoping they hadn't let Frank walk into a death trap.
Behind them, a stretch of white sand hugged the foot of the hills. Sunbathers sprawled on blankets. Little kids splashed in the waves. The blue sea glittered invitingly.
Piper stared longingly out over the waters.
Rory bumped her shoulder. "Don't forget," she said. "You promised you'd teach me and Hazel and Annabeth to surf next time we're in California."
If California still existed after August first, but Rory didn't say that out loud.
