Page 7 (1/2)
Chapter 1
Until she ht she was prepared for anything
She’d paced the deck of their flying warship, the Argo II, checking and double-checking the ballistae to make sure they were locked down She confir from the mast She reviewed the plan with the rest of the crew—and the backup plan, and the backup plan for the backup plan
Most important, she pulled aside their war-crazed chaperone, Coach Gleeson Hedge, and encouraged hi off in his cabin and watch reruns ofthey needed as they flew a ical Greek trireed satyr in gy “Die!”
Everything seemed to be in order Even thatsince the ship launched had dissipated, at least for now
The warship descended through the clouds, but Annabeth couldn’t stop second-guessing herself What if this was a bad idea? What if the Roht?
The Argo II definitely did not look friendly Two hundred feet long, with a bronze-plated hull, on for a figurehead, and two rotating ballistae ah to blast through concrete…well, it wasn’t the hbors
Annabeth had tried to give the Romans a heads-up She’d asked Leo to send one of his special inventions—a holographic scroll—to alert their friends inside the cah Leo had wanted to paint a giant e on the bottom of the hull—WASSUP? with a smiley face—but Annabeth vetoed the idea She wasn’t sure the Romans had a sense of humor
Too late to turn back now
The clouds broke around their hull, revealing the gold-and-green carpet of the Oakland Hills below theripped one of the bronze shields that lined the starboard rail
Her three crewmates took their places
On the stern quarterdeck, Leo rushed around like alevers Most helmsmen would’ve been satisfied with a pilot’s wheel or a tiller Leo had also installed a keyboard, monitor, aviation controls from a Learjet, a dubstep soundboard, and motion-control sensors fro on the throttle, fire weapons by sa his Wii controllers really fast Even by deod standards, Leo was seriously ADHD
Piper paced back and forth between theher lines
“Lower your weapons,” she murmured “We just want to talk ”
Her charmspeak was so powerful, the words flowed over Annabeth, filling her with the desire to drop her dagger and have a nice long chat
For a child of Aphrodite, Piper tried hard to play down her beauty Today she was dressed in tattered jeans, worn-out sneakers, and a white tank top with pink Hello Kitty designs (Maybe as a joke, though Annabeth could never be sure with Piper ) Her choppy brown hair was braided down the right side with an eagle’s feather
Then there was Piper’s boyfriend—Jason He stood at the bow on the raised crossbow platform, where the Romans could easily spot hiolden sword Otherwise he looked calet Over his jeans and orange Caa and a purple cloak—symbols of his old rank as praetor With his wind-ruffled blond hair and his icy blue eyes, he looked ruggedly handsorown up at Camp Jupiter, so hopefully his familiar face would make the Romans hesitant to blow the ship out of the sky
Annabeth tried to hide it, but she still didn’t co the rules, always doing the honorable thing He even looked too perfect In the back of her ht: What if this is a trick and he betrays us? What if we sail into Camp Jupiter, and he says, Hey, Roht you!
Annabeth doubted that would happen Still, she couldn’t look at hi a bitter taste in her ra Majesty, Queen of Olyods that their two sets of children—Roman and Greek—had to cooddess Gaea, akening froiants
Without warning, Hera had plucked up Percy Jackson, Annabeth’s boyfriend, wiped his e, the Greeks had gotten Jason None of that was Jason’s fault; but every time Annabeth saw him, she remembered how much she missed Percy
Percy…as soht now
Oh, gods Panic welled up inside her She forced it down She couldn’t afford to get overwhelmed
I’m a child of Athena, she told herself I have to stick to et distracted
She felt it again—that familiar shiver, as if a psychotic snow down her neck She turned, but no one was there
Must be her nerves Even in a world of gods and monsters, Annabeth couldn’t believe a nearship would be haunted The Argo II ell protected The Celestial bronze shields along the rail were enchanted to ward off e, would have sniffed out any intruders
Annabeth wished she could pray to her uidance, but that wasn’t possible now Not after last month, when she’d had that horrible encounter with her otten the worst present of her life …
The cold pressed closer She thought she heard a faint voice in the wind, laughing Every o terribly wrong
She almost ordered Leo to reverse course Then, in the valley below, horns sounded The Romans had spotted them
Annabeth thought she knehat to expect Jason had described Careat detail Still, she had trouble believing her eyes Ringed by the Oakland Hills, the valley was at least twice the size of Camp Half-Blood A small river snaked around one side and curled toward the center like a capital letter G, e blue lake
Directly below the ship, nestled at the edge of the lake, the city of New Ronized landmarks Jason had told her about—the hippodrohborhood of Seven Hills with its winding streets, colorful villas, and flowering gardens
She saw evidence of the Romans’ recent battle with an aruessed was the Senate House The forum’s broad plaza was pitted with craters Some fountains and statues were in ruins