The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, Book Three) (11 page)

On the other hand, if the vision of Bacchus offering her a silver goblet was false, maybe the other visions didn’t have to come true either—especially the one of her, Percy, and Jason drowning. Maybe that was just symbolic.

The blood of a female demigod,
Gaea had said,
and the blood of a male. Piper, my dear, choose which hero will die with you.

“She wants two of us,” Piper murmured.

Everyone turned to look at her.

Piper hated being the center of attention. Maybe that was strange for a child of Aphrodite, but she’d watched her dad, the movie star, deal with fame for years. She remembered when Aphrodite had claimed her at the bonfire in front of the entire camp, zapping her with a magic beauty-queen makeover. That had been the most embarrassing moment of her life. Even here, with only six other demigods, Piper felt exposed.

They’re my friends, she told herself. It’s okay.

But she had a strange feeling…as if more than six sets of eyes were watching her.

“Today on the highway,” she said, “Gaea told me that she needed the blood of only two demigods—one female, one male. She—she asked me to choose which boy would die.”

Jason squeezed her hand. “But neither of us died. You saved us.”

“I know. It’s just…Why would she want that?”

Leo whistled softly. “Guys, remember at the Wolf House? Our favorite ice princess, Khione? She talked about spilling Jason’s blood, how it would taint the place for generations. Maybe demigod blood has some kind of power.”

“Oh…” Percy set down his third pizza slice. He leaned back and stared at nothing, as if the horse kick to his head had just now registered.

“Percy?” Annabeth gripped his arm.

“Oh, bad,” he muttered. “Bad. Bad.” He looked across the table at Frank and Hazel. “You guys remember Polybotes?”

“The giant who invaded Camp Jupiter,” Hazel said. “The anti-Poseidon you whacked in the head with a Terminus statue. Yes, I think I remember.”

“I had a dream,” Percy said, “when we were flying to Alaska. Polybotes was talking to the gorgons, and he said—he said he wanted me taken prisoner, not killed. He said: ‘I want that one chained at my feet, so I can kill him when the time is ripe. His blood shall water the stones of Mount Olympus and wake Earth Mother!
’
”

Piper wondered if the room’s temperature controls were broken, because suddenly she couldn’t stop shaking. It was the same way she’d felt on the highway outside Topeka. “You think the giants would use our blood…the blood of two of us—”

“I don’t know,” Percy said. “But until we figure it out, I suggest we all try to avoid getting captured.”

Jason grunted. “
That
I agree with.”

“But how do we figure it out?” Hazel asked. “The Mark of Athena, the twins, Ella’s prophecy…how does it all fit together?”

Annabeth pressed her hands against the edge of the table. “Piper, you told Leo to set our course for Atlanta.”

“Right,” Piper said. “Bacchus told us we should seek out…what was his name?”

“Phorcys,” Percy said.

Annabeth looked surprised, like she wasn’t used to her boyfriend having the answers. “You know him?”

Percy shrugged. “I didn’t recognize the name at first. Then Bacchus mentioned salt water, and it rang a bell. Phorcys is an old sea god from before my dad’s time. Never met him, but supposedly he’s a son of Gaea. I still don’t understand what a sea god would be doing in Atlanta.”

Leo snorted. “What’s a wine god doing in Kansas? Gods are weird. Anyway, we should reach Atlanta by noon tomorrow, unless something
else
goes wrong.”

“Don’t even say that,” Annabeth muttered. “It’s getting late. We should all get some sleep.”

“Wait,” Piper said.

Once more, everyone looked at her.

She was rapidly losing her courage, wondering if her instincts were wrong, but she forced herself to speak.

“There’s one last thing,” she said. “The eidolons—the possessing spirits. They’re still here, in this room.”

Piper couldn’t explain how she knew.

Stories of phantoms and tortured souls had always freaked her out. Her dad used to joke about Grandpa Tom’s Cherokee legends from back on the rez, but even at home in their big Malibu mansion, looking out over the Pacific, whenever her dad recounted the ghost stories for her, she could never get them out of her head.

Cherokee spirits were always restless. They often lost their way to the Land of the Dead, or stayed behind with the living out of sheer stubbornness. Sometimes they didn’t even realize they
were
dead.

The more Piper learned about being a demigod, the more convinced she was that Cherokee legends and Greek myths weren’t so different. These eidolons acted a lot like the spirits in her dad’s stories.

Piper had a gut sense they were still present, simply because no one had told them to go away.

When she was done explaining, the others looked at her uncomfortably. Up on deck, Hedge sang something that sounded like “In the Navy” while Blackjack stomped his hooves, whinnying in protest.

Finally Hazel exhaled. “Piper is right.”

“How can you be sure?” Annabeth asked.

“I’ve met eidolons,” Hazel said. “In the Underworld, when I was…you know.”

Dead.

Piper had forgotten that Hazel was a second-timer. In her own way, Hazel too was a ghost reborn.

“So…” Frank rubbed his hand across his buzz-cut hair as if some ghosts might have invaded his scalp. “You think these things are lurking on the ship, or—”

“Possibly lurking inside some of us,” Piper said. “We don’t know.”

Jason clenched his fist. “If that’s true—”

“We have to take steps,” Piper said. “I think I can do this.”

“Do what?” Percy asked.

“Just listen, okay?” Piper took a deep breath. “Everybody listen.”

Piper met their eyes, one person at a time.

“Eidolons,” she said, using her charmspeak, “raise your hands.”

There was tense silence.

Leo laughed nervously. “Did you really think that was going to—?”

His voice died. His face went slack. He raised his hand.

Jason and Percy did the same. Their eyes had turned glassy and gold. Hazel caught her breath. Next to Leo, Frank scrambled out of his chair and put his back against the wall.

“Oh, gods.” Annabeth looked at Piper imploringly. “Can you cure them?”

Piper wanted to whimper and hide under the table, but she
had
to help Jason. She couldn’t believe she’d held hands with…No, she refused to think about it.

She focused on Leo because he was the least intimidating.

“Are there more of you on this ship?” she asked.

“No,”
Leo said in a hollow voice.
“The Earth Mother sent three.
The strongest, the best. We will live again.”

“Not here, you won’t,” Piper growled. “All three of you, listen carefully.”

Jason and Percy turned toward her. Those gold eyes were unnerving, but seeing all three boys like that fueled Piper’s anger.

“You will leave those bodies,” she commanded.

“No,”
Percy said.

Leo let out a soft hiss.
“We must live.”

Frank fumbled for his bow. “Mars Almighty, that’s creepy! Get out of here, spirits! Leave our friends alone!”

Leo turned toward him.
“You cannot command us, child of war. Your own life is fragile. Your soul could burn at any moment.”

Piper wasn’t sure what that meant, but Frank staggered like he’d been punched in the gut. He drew an arrow, his hands shaking. “I—I’ve faced down worse things than you. If you want a fight—”

“Frank, don’t.” Hazel rose.

Next to her, Jason drew his sword.

“Stop!” Piper ordered, but her voice quavered. She was rapidly losing faith in her plan. She’d made the eidolons appear, but what now? If she couldn’t persuade them to leave, any bloodshed would be her fault. In the back of her mind, she could almost hear Gaea laughing.

“Listen to Piper.” Hazel pointed at Jason’s sword. The gold blade seemed to grow heavy in his hand. It clunked to the table and Jason sank back into his chair.

Percy growled in a very un-Percy-like way.
“Daughter of Pluto, you may control gems and metals. You do not control the dead.”

Annabeth reached toward him as if to restrain him, but Hazel waved her off.

“Listen, eidolons,” Hazel said sternly, “you do not belong here. I may not command you, but Piper does. Obey her.”

She turned toward Piper, her expression clear:
Try again. You can do this.

Piper mustered all her courage. She looked straight at Jason—straight into the eyes of the thing that was controlling him. “You will leave those bodies,” Piper repeated, even more forcefully.

Jason’s face tightened. His forehead beaded with sweat.
“We—we will leave these bodies.”

“You will vow on the River Styx never to return to this ship,” Piper continued, “and never to possess any member of this crew.”

Leo and Percy both hissed in protest.

“You will promise on the River Styx,” Piper insisted.

A moment of tension—she could feel their wills fighting against hers. Then all three eidolons spoke in unison:
“We promise on the River Styx.”

“You are dead,” Piper said.

“We are dead,”
they agreed.

“Now, leave.”

All three boys slumped forward. Percy fell face-first into his pizza.

“Percy!” Annabeth grabbed him.

Piper and Hazel caught Jason’s arms as he slipped out of his chair.

Leo wasn’t so lucky. He fell toward Frank, who made no attempt to intercept him. Leo hit the floor.

“Ow!” he groaned.

“Are you all right?” Hazel asked.

Leo pulled himself up. He had a piece of spaghetti in the shape of a
3
stuck to his forehead. “Did it work?”

“It worked,” Piper said, feeling pretty sure she was right. “I don’t think they’ll be back.”

Jason blinked. “Does that mean I can stop getting head injuries now?”

Piper laughed, exhaling all her nervousness. “Come on, Lightning Boy. Let’s get you some fresh air.”

Piper and Jason walked back and forth along the deck. Jason was still wobbly, so Piper encouraged him to wrap his arm around her for support.

Leo stood at the helm, conferring with Festus through the intercom; he knew from experience to give Jason and Piper some space. Since the satellite TV was up again, Coach Hedge was in his cabin happily catching up on his mixed martial arts cage matches. Percy’s pegasus Blackjack had flown off somewhere. The other demigods were settling in for the night.

The
Argo II
raced east, cruising several hundred feet above the ground. Below them small towns passed by like lit-up islands in a dark sea of prairie.

Piper remembered last winter, flying Festus the dragon over the city of Quebec. She had never seen anything so beautiful, or felt so happy to have Jason’s arms around her—but this was even better.

The night was warm. The ship sailed along more smoothly than a dragon. Best of all, they were flying away from Camp Jupiter as fast as they possibly could. No matter how dangerous the ancient lands were, Piper couldn’t wait to get there. She hoped Jason was right that the Romans wouldn’t follow them across the Atlantic.

Jason stopped amidships and leaned against the rail. The moonlight turned his blond hair silver.

“Thanks, Pipes,” he said. “You saved me again.”

He put his arm around her waist. She thought about the day they’d fallen into the Grand Canyon—the first time she’d learned that Jason could control the air. He’d held her so tightly, she could feel his heartbeat. Then they’d stopped falling and floated in midair. Best. Boyfriend. Ever.

She wanted to kiss him now, but something held her back.

“I don’t know if Percy will trust me anymore,” she said. “Not after I let his horse knock him out.”

Jason laughed. “Don’t worry about that. Percy’s a nice guy, but I get the feeling he needs a knock on the head every once in a while.”

“You could have killed him.”

Jason’s smile faded. “That wasn’t me.”

“But I almost
let
you,” Piper said. “When Gaea said I had to choose, I hesitated and…”

She blinked, cursing herself for crying.

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Jason said. “You saved us both.”

“But if two of our crew really have to die, a boy and a girl—”

“I don’t accept that. We’re going to stop Gaea. All seven of us are going to come back alive. I promise you.”

Piper wished that he hadn’t
promised
. The word only reminded her of the Prophecy of Seven:
an oath to keep with a final breath.

Please,
she thought, wondering if her mom, the goddess of love, could hear her.
Don’t let it be
Jason’s
final breath. If love means anything, don’t take him away.

As soon as she had made the wish, she felt guilty. How could she stand to see Annabeth in that kind of pain if Percy died? How could she live with herself if
any
of the seven demigods died? Already, each of them had endured so much. Even the two new Roman kids, Hazel and Frank, whom Piper barely knew, felt like kin. At Camp Jupiter, Percy had recounted their trip to Alaska, which sounded as harrowing as anything Piper had experienced. And from the way Hazel and Frank tried to help during the exorcism, she could tell they were brave, good people.

“The legend that Annabeth mentioned,” she said, “about the Mark of Athena…why didn’t you want to talk about it?”

She was afraid Jason might shut her out, but he just lowered his head like he’d been expecting the question. “Pipes, I don’t know what’s true and what’s not. That legend…it could be really dangerous.”

“For who?”

“All of us,” he said grimly. “The story goes that the Romans stole something important from the Greeks, back in ancient times, when the Romans conquered the Greeks’ cities.”

Piper waited, but Jason seemed lost in thought.

“What did they steal?” she asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m not sure anyone in the legion has ever known. But according to the story, this thing was taken away to Rome and hidden there. The children of Athena, Greek demigods, have hated us ever since. They’ve always stirred up their brethren against the Romans. Like I said, I don’t know how much of that is true—”

“But why not just tell Annabeth?” Piper asked. “She’s not going to suddenly hate you.”

He seemed to have trouble focusing on her. “I hope not. But the legend says that the children of Athena have been searching for this thing for millennia. Every generation, a few are chosen by the goddess to find it. Apparently, they’re led to Rome by some sign…the Mark of Athena.”

“If Annabeth is one of those searchers…we should help her.”

Jason hesitated. “Maybe. When we get closer to Rome, I’ll tell her what little I know. Honest. But the story, at least the way I heard it—it claims that if the Greeks ever found what was stolen, they’d never forgive us. They’d destroy the legion and Rome, once and for all. After what Nemesis told Leo, about Rome’s being destroyed five days from now…”

Piper studied Jason’s face. He was, without a doubt, the bravest person she’d ever known, but she realized he was afraid. This legend—the idea that it might tear apart their group and level a city—absolutely terrified him.

Piper wondered what could have been stolen from the Greeks that would be so important. She couldn’t imagine anything that would make Annabeth suddenly turn vengeful.

Then again, Piper couldn’t imagine choosing one demigod’s life over another, and today on that deserted road, just for a moment, Gaea had almost tempted her.…

“I’m sorry, by the way,” Jason said.

Piper wiped the last tear from her face. “Sorry for what? It was the eidolon who attacked—”

“Not about that.” The little scar on Jason’s upper lip seemed to glow white in the moonlight. She’d always loved that scar. The imperfection made his face much more interesting.

“I was stupid to ask you to contact Reyna,” he said. “I wasn’t thinking.”

“Oh.” Piper looked up at the clouds and wondered if her mother, Aphrodite, was somehow influencing him. His apology seemed too good to be true.

But don’t stop,
she thought. “Really, it’s okay.”

“It’s just…I never felt that way toward Reyna,” Jason said, “so I didn’t think about its making you uncomfortable. You’ve got nothing to worry about, Pipes.”

“I wanted to hate her,” Piper admitted. “I was so afraid you’d go back to Camp Jupiter.”

Jason looked surprised. “That would never happen. Not unless you came with me. I promise.”

Piper held his hand. She managed a smile, but she was thinking: Another promise.
An oath to keep with a final breath.

She tried to put those thoughts out of her mind. She knew she should just enjoy this quiet moment with Jason. But as she looked over the side of the ship, she couldn’t help remembering how much the prairie at night looked like dark water—like the drowning room she’d seen in the blade of her knife.