The Mark of Athena (The Heroes of Olympus, Book Three) (16 page)

“Afterward,” Percy said, “can we ask questions?”

“Of course! I’ll tell you everything you need to know.” Phorcys clapped his hands twice. On the wall under the glowing red sign, a new tunnel appeared, leading into another tank.

“Walk this way!” Phorcys scuttled sideways through the tunnel.

Frank scratched his head. “Do we have to—?” He turned sideways.

“It’s just a figure of speech, man,” Percy said. “Come on.”

The tunnel ran along the floor
of a gymnasium-sized
tank. Except for water and some cheap decorations, it seemed majestically empty. Percy guessed there were about fifty thousand gallons of water over their heads. If the tunnel were to shatter for some reason…

No big deal, Percy thought. I’ve been surrounded by water thousands of times. This is my home court.

But his heart was pounding. He remembered sinking into the cold Alaskan bog—black mud covering his eyes, mouth, and nose.

Phorcys stopped in the middle of the tunnel and spread his arms proudly. “Beautiful exhibit, isn’t it?”

Percy tried to distract himself 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 Percy’s throat like cough syrup. Unfortunately, it was a feeling he was used to.

“How do you know Frank’s last name?” he demanded. “How do you know he’s descended from Poseidon?”

“Well…” Phorcys shrugged, trying to look modest. “It was probably in the descriptions Gaea provided. You know, for the bounty, Percy Jackson.”

Percy uncapped his pen. Instantly, Riptide appeared in his hand. “Don’t double-cross me, Phorcys. You promised me answers.”

“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!”

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 two will make an excellent exhibit—the only 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
.
”

“You’re crazy!” Frank yelled.

“Don’t sell yourself short!” Phorcys said. “You’ll be our biggest draw!”

Frank ran for the exit, only to slam into a glass wall. Percy ran the other way and found it blocked as well. Their tunnel had become a bubble. He put his hand against the glass and realized it was softening, melting like ice. Soon the water would come crashing in.

“We won’t cooperate, Phorcys!” he shouted.

“Oh, I’m optimistic,” the sea god’s voice boomed. “If you won’t fight each other at first, no problem! I can send in fresh sea monsters every day. After you get used to the food here, you’ll be properly sedated and will follow directions. Believe me, you’ll come to love your new home.”

Over Percy’s head, the glass dome cracked and began to leak.

“I’m the son of Poseidon!” Percy tried to keep the fear out of his voice. “You can’t imprison me in water. This is where I’m strongest.”

Phorcys’s laugh seemed to come from all around them. “What a coincidence! It’s also where
I’m
strongest. This tank is specially designed to contain demigods. Now, have fun, you two. I’ll see you at feeding time!”

The glass dome shattered, and the water crashed in.

Percy held his breath until he couldn’t stand it. When he finally filled his lungs with water, it felt just like normal breathing. The water pressure didn’t bother him. His clothes didn’t even get wet. His underwater abilities were as good as ever.

It’s just a stupid phobia, he assured himself. I’m not going to drown.

Then he remembered Frank, and he immediately felt a surge of panic and guilt. Percy had been so worried about himself that he’d forgotten his friend was only a distant descendant of Poseidon.
Frank
couldn’t breathe underwater.

But where
was
he?

Percy turned in a full circle. Nothing. Then he glanced up. Hovering about him was a giant goldfish. Frank had turned—clothes, backpack, and all—into a koi the size of a teenaged boy.

Dude.
Percy sent his thoughts through the water, the way he spoke with other sea creatures.
A goldfish?

Frank’s voice came back to him:
I freaked. We were talking about goldfish, so it was on my mind. Sue me.

I’m having a telepathic conversation with a giant koi
, Percy said.
Great. Can you turn into something more…useful?

Silence. Maybe Frank was concentrating, though it was impossible to tell, since koi don’t have many expressions.

Sorry.
Frank sounded embarrassed.
I’m stuck. That happens sometimes when I panic.

Fine.
Percy gritted his teeth.
Let’s figure out how to escape.

Frank swam around the tank and reported no exits. The top was covered with Celestial bronze mesh, like the curtains that roll down over closed storefronts at the mall. Percy tried to cut through with Riptide, but he couldn’t make a dent. He tried to smash through the glass wall with his sword hilt—again, no luck. Then he repeated his efforts with several of the weapons lying around the bottom of the tank and managed to break three tridents, a sword, and a speargun.

Finally he tried to control the water. He wanted it to expand and break the tank, or explode out the top. The water didn’t obey. Maybe it was enchanted, or under the power of Phorcys. Percy concentrated until his ears popped, but the best he could do was blow the lid off the plastic treasure chest.

Well, that’s it, he thought dejectedly. I’ll have to live in a plastic gingerbread house the rest of my life, fighting my giant goldfish friend and waiting for feeding time.

Phorcys had promised they’d learn to love it. Percy thought about the dazed telkhines, the Nereids and hippocampi, all swimming in bored, lazy circles. The thought of ending up like that didn’t help to lower his anxiety level.

He wondered if Phorcys was right. Even if they managed to escape, how could they defeat the giants if the gods were all incapacitated? Bacchus might be able to help. He had killed the twin giants once before, but he would only join the fight if he got an impossible tribute, and the idea of giving Bacchus
any
kind of tribute made Percy want to gag himself with a Monster Donut.

Look!
Frank said.

Outside the glass, Keto was leading Coach Hedge through the amphitheater, lecturing him on something while the coach nodded and admired the stadium seating.

Coach!
Percy yelled. Then he realized it was hopeless. The coach couldn’t hear telepathic yelling.

Frank bumped his head against the glass.

Hedge didn’t seem to notice. Keto walked him briskly across the amphitheater. She didn’t even look through the glass, probably because she assumed the tank was still empty. She pointed to the far end of the room as if saying,
Come on. More gruesome sea monsters this way.

Percy realized he had only a few seconds before the coach would be gone. He swam after them, but the water didn’t help him move as it usually did. In fact, it seemed to be pushing him back. He dropped Riptide and used both arms.

Coach Hedge and Keto were five feet from the exit.

In desperation, Percy scooped up a giant marble and hurled it underhanded like a bowling ball.

It hit the glass with a
thunk
—not nearly loud enough to attract attention.

Percy’s heart sank.

But Coach Hedge had the ears of a satyr. He glanced over his shoulder. When he saw Percy, his expression went through several changes in a matter of microseconds—incomprehension, surprise, outrage, then a mask of calm.

Before Keto could notice, Hedge pointed toward the top of the amphitheater. It looked like he might be screaming,
Gods of Olympus, what is that?

Keto turned. Coach Hedge promptly took off his fake foot and ninja-kicked her in the back of the head with his goat hoof. Keto crumpled to the floor.

Percy winced. His own recently whopped head throbbed in sympathy, but he had never been happier to have a chaperone who liked mixed martial arts cage matches.

Hedge ran to the glass. He held up his palms like:
What are you doing in there, Jackson?

Percy pounded his fist on the glass and mouthed:
Break it!

Hedge yelled a question that might have been:
Where’s
Frank?

Percy pointed at the giant koi.

Frank waved his left dorsal fin.
’Sup?

Behind Hedge, the sea goddess began to move. Percy pointed frantically.

Hedge shook his leg like he was warming up his kicking hoof, but Percy waved his arms,
No.
They couldn’t keep whopping Keto on the head forever. Since she was immortal, she wouldn’t stay down, and it wouldn’t get them out of this tank. It was only a matter of time before Phorcys came back to check on them.

On three,
Percy mouthed, holding up three fingers and then gesturing at the glass.
All of us hit it at the same time.

Percy had never been good at charades, but Hedge nodded like he understood. Hitting things was a language the satyr knew well.

Percy hefted another giant marble.
Frank, we’ll need you too. Can you change form yet?

Maybe back to human.

Human is fine! Just hold your breath. If this works…

Keto rose to her knees. No time to waste.

Percy counted on his fingers.
One, two, three!

Frank turned to human and shoved his shoulder against the glass. The coach did a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick with his hoof. Percy used all his strength to slam the marble into the wall, but he did more than that. He called on the water to obey him, and this time he refused to take no for an answer. He felt all the pent-up pressure inside the tank, and he put it to use. Water liked to be free. Given time, water could overcome any barrier, and it
hated
to be trapped, just like Percy. He thought about getting back to Annabeth. He thought about destroying this horrible prison for sea creatures. He thought about shoving Phorcys’s microphone down his ugly throat. Fifty thousand gallons of water responded to his anger.

The glass wall cracked. Fracture lines zigzagged from the point of impact, and suddenly the tank burst. Percy was sucked out in a torrent of water. He tumbled across the amphitheater floor with Frank, some large marbles, and a clump of plastic seaweed. Keto was just getting to her feet when the diver statue slammed into her like it wanted a hug.

Coach Hedge spit salt water. “Pan’s pipes, Jackson! What were you
doing
in there?”

“Phorcys!” Percy spluttered. “Trap! Run!”

Alarms blared as they fled the exhibits. They ran past the Nereids’ tank, then the telkhines. Percy wanted to free them, but how? They were drugged and sluggish, and they were sea creatures. They wouldn’t survive unless he found a way to transport them to the ocean.

Besides, if Phorcys caught them, Percy was pretty sure the sea god’s power would overcome his. And Keto would be after them too, ready to feed them to her sea monsters.

I’ll be back,
Percy promised, but if the creatures in the exhibits could hear him, they gave no sign.

Over the sound system, Phorcys’s voice boomed: “Percy Jackson!”

Flash pots and sparklers exploded randomly. Donut-scented smoke filled the halls. Dramatic music—five or six different tracks—blared simultaneously from the speakers. Lights popped and caught fire as all the special effects in the building were triggered at once.

Percy, Coach Hedge, and Frank stumbled out of the glass tunnel and found themselves back in the whale shark room. The mortal section of the aquarium was filled with screaming crowds—families and day camp groups running in every direction while the staff raced around frantically, trying to assure everyone it was just a faulty alarm system.