The Mark of Athena

Page 60

“July First,” Piper said. “The Kalends of July.”
“Yeah.” Jason smirked. “The Romans would find that auspicious—the first day of the month named for Julius Caesar. Juno’s sacred day. Yippee.”
Piper didn’t want to push it, or make a celebration if he didn’t feel like celebrating.
“Sixteen?” she asked.
He nodded. “Oh, boy. I can get my driver’s license.”
Piper laughed. Jason had killed so many monsters and saved the world so many times that the idea of him sweating a driving test seemed ridiculous. She pictured him behind the wheel of some old Lincoln with a STUDENT DRIVER sign on top and a grumpy teacher in the passenger seat with an emergency brake pedal.
“Well?” she urged. “Blow out the candles.”
Jason did. Piper wondered if he’d made a wish—hopefully that he and Piper would survive this quest and stay together forever. She decided not to ask him. She didn’t want to jinx that wish, and she definitely didn’t want to find out that he’d wished for something different.
Since they’d left the Pillars of Hercules yesterday evening, Jason had seemed distracted. Piper couldn’t blame him. Hercules had been a pretty huge disappointment as a big brother, and the old river god Achelous had said some unflattering things about the sons of Jupiter.
Piper stared at the cornucopia. She wondered if Achelous was getting used to having no horns at all. She hoped so. Sure, he had tried to kill them, but Piper still felt bad for the old god. She didn’t understand how such a lonely, depressed spirit could produce a horn of plenty that shot out pineapples and birthday cakes. Could it be that the cornucopia had drained all the goodness out of him? Maybe now that the horn was gone, Achelous would be able to fill up with some happiness and keep it for himself.
She also kept thinking about Achelous’s advice: If you had made it to Rome, the story of the flood would have served you better. She knew the story he was talking about. She just didn’t understand how it would help.
Jason plucked an extinguished candle from his cake. “I’ve been thinking.”
That snapped Piper back to the present. Coming from your boyfriend, I’ve been thinking was kind of a scary line.
“About?” she asked.
“Camp Jupiter,” he said. “All the years I trained there. We were always pushing teamwork, working as a unit. I thought I understood what that meant. But honestly? I was always the leader. Even when I was younger—”
“The son of Jupiter,” Piper said. “Most powerful kid in the legion. You were the star.”
Jason looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t deny it. “Being in this crew of seven…I’m not sure what to do. I’m not used to being one of so many, well, equals. I feel like I’m failing.”
Piper took his hand. “You’re not failing.”
“It sure felt that way when Chrysaor attacked,” Jason said. “I’ve spent most of this trip knocked out and helpless.”
“Come on,” she chided. “Being a hero doesn’t mean you’re invincible. It just means that you’re brave enough to stand up and do what’s needed.”
“And if I don’t know what’s needed?”
“That’s what your friends are for. We’ve all got different strengths. Together, we’ll figure it out.”
Jason studied her. Piper wasn’t sure that he bought what she was saying, but she was glad he could confide in her. She liked that he had a little self-doubt. He didn’t succeed all the time. He didn’t think the universe owed him an apology whenever something went wrong—unlike another son of the sky god she’d recently met.
“Hercules was a jerk,” he said, as if reading her thoughts. “I never want to be like that. But I wouldn’t have had the courage to stand up to him without your taking the lead. You were the hero that time.”
“We can take turns,” she suggested.
“I don’t deserve you.”
“You’re not allowed to say that.”
“Why not?”
“It’s a breakup line. Unless you’re breaking up—”
Jason leaned over and kissed her. The colors of the Roman afternoon suddenly seemed sharper, as if the world had switched to high definition.
“No breakups,” he promised. “I may have busted my head a few times, but I’m not that stupid.”
“Good,” she said. “Now, about that cake—”
Her voice faltered. Percy Jackson was running toward them, and Piper could tell from his expression that he brought bad news.
They gathered on deck so that Coach Hedge could hear the story. When Percy was done, Piper still couldn’t believe it.
“So Annabeth was kidnapped on a motor scooter,” she summed up, “by Gregory Peck and Audrey Hepburn.”
“Not kidnapped, exactly,” Percy said. “But I’ve got this bad feeling.…” He took a deep breath, like he was trying hard not to freak out. “Anyway, she’s—she’s gone. Maybe I shouldn’t have let her, but—”
“You had to,” Piper said. “You knew she had to go alone. Besides, Annabeth is tough and smart. She’ll be fine.”
Piper put some charmspeak in her voice, which maybe wasn’t cool, but Percy needed to be able to focus. If they went into battle, Annabeth wouldn’t want him getting hurt because he was too distracted about her.
His shoulders relaxed a little. “Maybe you’re right. Anyway, Gregory—I mean Tiberinus—said we had less time to rescue Nico than we thought. Hazel and the guys aren’t back yet?”
Piper checked the time on the helm control. She hadn’t realized how late it was getting. “It’s two in the afternoon. We said three o’clock for a rendezvous.”
“At the latest,” Jason said.
Percy pointed at Piper’s dagger. “Tiberinus said you could find Nico’s location…you know, with that.”
Piper bit her lip. The last thing she wanted to do was check Katoptris for more terrifying images.
“I’ve tried,” she said. “The dagger doesn’t always show what I want to see. In fact, it hardly ever does.”
“Please,” Percy said. “Try again.”
He pleaded with those sea-green eyes, like a cute baby seal that needed help. Piper wondered how Annabeth ever won an argument with this guy.
“Fine,” she sighed, and drew her dagger.
“While you’re at it,” said Coach Hedge, “see if you can get the latest baseball scores. Italians don’t cover baseball worth beans.”
“Shh.” Piper studied the bronze blade. The light shimmered. She saw a loft apartment filled with Roman demigods. A dozen of them stood around a dining table as Octavian talked and pointed to a big map. Reyna paced next to the windows, gazing down at Central Park.
“That’s not good,” Jason muttered. “They’ve already set up a forward base in Manhattan.”
“And that map shows Long Island,” Percy said.
“They’re scouting the territory,” Jason guessed. “Discussing invasion routes.”
Piper did not want to see that. She concentrated harder. Light rippled across the blade. She saw ruins—a few crumbling walls, a single column, a stone floor covered with moss and dead vines—all clustered on a grassy hillside dotted with pine trees.
“I was just there,” Percy said. “That’s in the old Forum.”
The view zoomed in. On one side of the stone floor, a set of stairs had been excavated, leading down to a modern iron gate with a padlock. The blade’s image zoomed straight through the doorway, down a spiral stairwell, and into a dark, cylindrical chamber like the inside of a grain silo.
Piper dropped the blade.
“What’s wrong?” Jason asked. “It was showing us something.”
Piper felt like the boat was back on the ocean, rocking under her feet. “We can’t go there.”
Percy frowned. “Piper, Nico is dying. We’ve got to find him. Not to mention, Rome is about to get destroyed.”
Her voice wouldn’t work. She’d kept that vision of the circular room to herself for so long, now she found it impossible to talk about. She had a horrible feeling that explaining it to Percy and Jason wouldn’t change anything. She couldn’t stop what was about to happen.
She picked up the knife again. Its hilt seemed colder than usual.
She forced herself to look at the blade. She saw two giants in gladiator armor sitting on oversized praetors’ chairs. The giants toasted each other with golden goblets as if they’d just won an important fight. Between them stood a large bronze jar.
The vision zoomed in again. Inside the jar, Nico di Angelo was curled in a ball, no longer moving, all the pomegranate seeds eaten.
“We’re too late,” Jason said.
“No,” Percy said. “No, I can’t believe that. Maybe he’s gone into a deeper trance to buy time. We have to hurry.”
The blade’s surface went dark. Piper slipped it back into its sheath, trying to keep her hands from shaking. She hoped that Percy was right and Nico was still alive. On the other hand, she didn’t see how that image connected with the vision of the drowning room. Maybe the giants were toasting each other because she and Percy and Jason were dead.
“We should wait for the others,” she said. “Hazel, Frank, and Leo should be back soon.”
“We can’t wait,” Percy insisted.
Coach Hedge grunted. “It’s just two giants. If you guys want, I can take them.”
“Uh, Coach,” Jason said, “that’s a great offer, but we need you to man the ship—or goat the ship. Whatever.”
Hedge scowled. “And let you three have all the fun?”
Percy gripped the satyr’s arm. “Hazel and the others need you here. When they get back, they’ll need your leadership. You’re their rock.”
“Yeah.” Jason managed to keep a straight face. “Leo always says you’re his rock. You can tell them where we’ve gone and bring the ship around to meet us at the Forum.”
“And here.” Piper unstrapped Katoptris and put it in Coach Hedge’s hands.
The satyr’s eyes widened. A demigod was never supposed to leave her weapon behind, but Piper was fed up with evil visions. She’d rather face her death without any more previews.
“Keep an eye on us with the blade,” she suggested. “And you can check the baseball scores.”
That sealed the deal. Hedge nodded grimly, prepared to do his part for the quest.
“All right,” he said. “But if any giants come this way—”
“Feel free to blast them,” Jason said.
“What about annoying tourists?”
“No,” they all said in unison.
“Bah. Fine. Just don’t take too long, or I’m coming after you with ballistae blazing.”
Chapter 42
Finding the place was easy. Percy led them right to it, on an abandoned stretch of hillside overlooking the ruined Forum.