cacoethes |PERCY JACKSON| [book 2]

IX

SELENA WOKE TO A SHIP'S whistle and a voice on the intercom- some guy with an Australian accent who sounded way too happy, "Good morning, passengers! We'll be at sea all day today. Excellent weather for the poolside mambo party! Don't forget million-dollar bingo in the Kraken Lounge at one o'clock, and for our special guests, disemboweling practice on the Promenade!"

The brunette sat up in bed and looked over at Annabeth "Did I hear that right?"

Annabeth shrugged and the two went over to Percy and Tyson's room, knocking urgently. Annabeth stuck her head in, her blond hair in a rat's nest. "Disemboweling practice?"

Once they were all dressed, they ventured out into the ship and were surprised to see other people. A dozen senior citizens were heading to breakfast. A dad was taking his kids to the pool for a morning swim. Crew members in crisp white uniforms strolled the deck, tipping their hats to the passengers.

Nobody asked who they were. Nobody paid them much attention. But there was something wrong.

As the family of swimmers passed them, the dad told his kids: "We are on a cruise. We are having fun."

"Yes," his three kids said in unison, their expressions blank. "We are having a blast. We will swim in the pool." They wandered off,

"Good morning," a crew member told the four, his eyes glazed over, "We are all enjoying ourselves aboard the Princess Andromeda. Have a nice day." He drifted away.

"Percy, this is weird," Annabeth whispered. "They're all in some kind of trance."

Then they passed a cafeteria and saw their first monster. It was a hellhound. A black mastiff with its front paws up on the buffet line and its muzzle buried in the scrambled eggs. It must've been young, because it was small compared to most. No bigger than a grizzly bear.

The weird thing was, a middle-aged couple was standing in the buffet line right behind the devil dog, patiently waiting their turn for the eggs. They didn't seem to notice anything out of the ordinary.

"Not hungry anymore," Tyson murmured.

Before the others could reply, a reptilian voice came from down the corridor, "Ssssix more joined yesssterday."

Annabeth gestured frantically toward the nearest hiding place, the women's room, and all four of them ducked inside. Something, or more like two somethings, slithered past the bathroom door, making sounds like sandpaper against the carpet.

"Yesss," a second reptilian voice said. "He drawssss them. Ssssoon we will be sssstrong." The things slithered into the cafeteria with a cold hiss-ing that might have been snake laughter.

Selena looked at Percy. "We have to get out of here."

"You think I want to be in the girls' restroom?" He asked and Selena almost smacked him,

"I mean the ship, Percy! We have to get off the ship."

"Smells bad," Tyson agreed. "And dogs eat all the eggs. Selena is right. We must leave the restroom and ship."

Then Selena heard another voice outside, one that chilled her worse than any monster's. "-only a matter of time. Don't push me, Agrius!"

It was Luke, beyond a doubt. She could never forget his voice.

"I'm not pushing you!" another guy growled. His voice was deeper and even angrier than Luke's. "I'm just saying, if this gamble doesn't pay off-"

"It'll pay off," Luke snapped. "They'll take the bait. Now, come, we've got to get to the admiralty suite and check on the casket." Their voices receded down the corridor.

Tyson whimpered. "Leave now?"

The other three demigods exchanged looks and came to a silent agreement. "We can't," Percy told Tyson.

"We have to find out what Luke is up to," Annabeth agreed. "And if possible, we're going to beat him up, bind him in chains, and drag him to Mount Olympus."