Invisible ― Jason Grace

xxii. together

THEY SAILED OUT of the Colosseum and veered south over the rooftops of Rome.

All around the Piazza del Colosseo, traffic had come to a stand still. A crowd of mortals had gathered, probably wondering about the strange lights and sounds that had come from the ruins. As far as Camilla could see, none of the giants' spectacular plans for destruction had come off successfully. The city looked the same as before. No one seemed to notice the huge Greek trireme rising into the sky.

The demigods gathered around the helm. With a bit of nectar, the worst of Camilla's exhaustion and pain faded. Off to the side, Jason bandaged Piper's sprained shoulder. Hazel sat at the stern, feeding Nico ambrosia. The son of Hades could barely lift his head. His voice was so quiet, Hazel had to lean in whenever he spoke.

Frank and Leo recounted what had happened in the room with the Archimedes spheres, and the visions Gaea had shown them in the bronze mirror. They quickly decided that their best lead for finding Annabeth was the cryptic advice Bacchus had provided: the Emmanuel Building, whatever that was. Frank started typing at the helm's computer while Leo tapped furiously at his controls, muttering, "Emmanuel Building. Emmanuel Building." Coach Hedge tried to help by wrestling with an upside-down street map of Rome.

Percy knelt next to Jason and Piper, Camilla right behind. "How's the shoulder?"

Piper smiled. "It'll heal. You three did great."

"Gotta admit, I like you both better when you're not trying to kill each other," Camilla said.

Jason elbowed Percy. "We do work pretty well together."

"Better than jousting in a Kansas cornfield," Percy agreed.

"There it is!" Leo cried, pointing to his monitor. "Frank, you're amazing! I'm setting course."

Frank hunched his shoulders. "I just read the name off the screen. Some Chinese tourist marked it on Google Maps."

Leo grinned at the others. "He reads Chinese."

"Just a tiny bit," Frank said.

"How cool is that?"

"Guys," Hazel broke in. "I hate to interrupt your admiration session, but you should hear this."

She helped Nico to his feet. He'd always been pale, but now his skin looked like powdered milk. Part of Camilla wanted to wrap him in a thick blanket and send him straight to bed, though she doubted he'd appreciate the gesture.

"Thank you," Nico rasped. His eyes darted nervously around the group. "I'd given up hope."

"You knew about the two camps all along," Percy said. "You could have told me who I was the first day I arrived at Camp Jupiter, but you didn't."

Nico slumped against the helm. "Percy, I'm sorry. I discovered Camp Jupiter last year. My dad led me there, though I wasn't sure why. He told me the gods had kept the camps separate for centuries and that I couldn't tell anyone. The time wasn't right. But he said it would be important for me to know..." He doubled over in a fit of coughing.

Hazel held his shoulders until he could stand again.

"I—I thought Dad meant because of Hazel," Nico continued. "I'd need a safe place to take her. But now... I think he wanted me to know about both camps so I'd understand how important your quest was, and so I'd search for the Doors of Death."

The air turned electric—literally, like Jason had started throwing off sparks.

"Did you find the Doors?" Percy asked.