WARNING: badly written but a rewrite is up on my page
REDAMANCY | Lorna and her friends are the demigods of the great prophecy. Together, they will sail to Rome, with a camp of demigods trying to kill them, to save a son of Hades, and follow the Mar...
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15. Trapped
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The tunnel ran along the floor of a gymnasium-sized tank. Except for water and some cheap decorations, it seemed majestically empty. Lorna guessed there were about fifty thousand gallons of water over their heads.
Phorcys stopped in the middle of the tunnel and spread his arms proudly. "Beautiful exhibit, isn't it?"
Lorna tried to distract herself by concentrating on details. In one corner of the tank, snuggled in a forest of fake kelp, was a life-sized plastic gingerbread cottage with bubbles coming out of the chimney. In the opposite corner, a plastic sculpture of a guy in an old-fashioned diving suit knelt beside a treasure chest, which popped open every few seconds, spewed bubbles, and closed again. Littered across the white sand floor were glass marbles the size of bowling balls, and a strange assortment of weapons like tridents and spearguns. Outside the tank's display wall was an amphitheater with seating for several hundred.
"What do you keep in here?" Frank asked. "Giant killer goldfish?"
Phorcys raised his eyebrows. "Oh, that would be good! But, no, Frank Zhang, descendant of Poseidon. This tank is not for goldfish."
At descendant of Poseidon, Frank flinched. He stepped back, gripping his backpack like a mace he was prepared to swing. A sense of dread trickled down Lorna's throat like cough syrup. Unfortunately, it was a feeling she was used to.
"How do you know Frank's last name?" she demanded.
"How do you know he's descended from Poseidon?" Percy added.
"Well..." Phorcys shrugged, trying to look modest. "It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Jackson."
Lorna did the familiar movement of rolling the ball on her ring. Percy uncapped his pen. Instantly, Riptide and Tremor appeared in their hands.
"Don't double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised us answers." Percy growled.
"After the VIP treatment, yes," Phorcys agreed. "I promised to tell you everything you need to know. The thing is, however, you don't really need to know anything." His grotesque smile stretched wide. "You see, even if you made it to Rome, which is quite unlikely, you'd never defeat my giant brothers without a god fighting at your side. And what god would help you? So I have a better plan. You're not leaving. You're VIPs—Very Important Prisoners!"
Lorna and Percy lunged. Frank hurled his backpack at the sea god's head. Phorcys simply disappeared. The god's voice reverberated through the aquarium's sound system, echoing down the tunnel. "Yes, good! Fighting is good! You see, Mother never trusted me with big assignments, but she did agree that I could keep anything I caught. You three will make an excellent exhibit—the twin demigod spawn of Poseidon in captivity. 'Demigod Terrors'—yes, I like that! We already have sponsorship lined up with Bargain Mart. You can fight each other every day at eleven AM and one PM, with an evening show at seven PM."
