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"I’m Canadian, actually"

"Whatever! General Sher the city of Atlanta burn Cut a path of destruction all the way fro--now there was a deod!"

Frank inched away from the satyr "Uh, okay"

Percy didn’t carehere was a bad ohts between Greek and Ro on the site of one such battle The entire city below them had been leveled on orders of a child of Ares

Percy could i such a command Clarisse La Rue, for instance, wouldn’t hesitate But he couldn’t i so harsh

"Anyway," Percy said, "let’s try not to burn down the city this tiht But where to?"

Percy pointed toward don "When in doubt, start in thea ride there was easier than they thought The three of them headed to the presidential library--which turned out to be the Carter Center--and asked the staff if they could call a taxi or give them directions to the nearest bus stop Percy could have suasus for help so soon after their last disaster Frank didn’t want to poly to travel like a regular e

One of the librarians, whose na theht she e pulled him aside and assured him that Esther smelled like a normal human

"With a hint of potpourri," he said "Cloves Rose petals Tasty!"

They piled into Esther’s big black Cadillac and drove toward don Esther was so tiny, she could barely see over the steering wheel; but that didn’t seealing them with stories about the crazy families of Atlanta--the old plantation owners, the founders of Coca-Cola, the sports stars, and the CNN news people She sounded so knowledgeable that Percy decided to try his luck

"Uh, so, Esther," he said, "here’s a hard question for you Salt water in Atlanta What’s the first thing that coar That’s easy Whale sharks!"

Frank and Percy exchanged looks

"Whale sharks?" Frank asked nervously "You have those in Atlanta?"

"At the aquariuht don Is that where you wanted to go?"

An aquarium Percy considered that He didn’t knohat an Ancient Greek sea god would be doing at a Georgia aquarium, but he didn’t have any better ideas

"Yes," Percy said "That’s where we’re going"

Esther dropped the She insisted on giving theencies, money for a taxi ride back to the Carter Center, and a jar of homemade peach preserves, which for some reason she kept in a box in her trunk Frank stuck the jar in his backpack and thanked Esther, who had already switched froar to son

As she drove away, Frank said, "Are all people in Atlanta that nice?"

Hedge grunted "Hope not I can’t fight theo beat up soerous!"

It hadn’t occurred to Percy that they ht have to pay admission, or stand in line behind a bunch of fa at the elementary schoolers in their colorful T-shirts froe of sadness He should be at Ca into his cabin for the su pranks on the other counselors These kids had no idea just how crazy a suuess ait in line Anybody have money?"

Frank checked his pockets "Three denarii froe patted his gym shorts and pulled out what he found "Three quarters, two dimes, a rubber band and--score! A piece of celery"

He started e and the rubber band like they ht be next

"Great," Percy said His own pockets were e whether or not they could sneak in soia Aquariuhtly

"Ah, VIP visitors!" She had perky dilasses, braces, and frizzy black hair pulled to the sides in pigtails, so that even though she was probably in her late twenties, she looked like a schoolgirl nerd--sort of cute, but sort of odd Along with her Georgia Aquarium polo shirt, she wore dark slacks and black sneakers, and she bounced on the balls of her feet like she si read KATE

"You have your payment, I see," she said "Excellent!"

"What?" Percy asked

Kate scooped the three denarii out of Frank’s hand "Yes, that’s fine Right this way!"

She spun and trotted off toward the e and Frank "A trap?"

"Probably," Frank said

"She’s notthe air "Probably so fiend froreed

"Awesoot them past the ticket queue and into the aquariurinned at Percy "It’s a wonderful exhibit You won’t be disappointed So rare we get VIPs"

"Uh, you ods?" Frank asked

Kate winked at hier to her mouth "So over here is the cold-water experience, with your penguins and beluga whales and whatnot And over there…well, those are some fish, obviously"

For an aquarium worker, she didn’t seem to know e tank full of tropical species, and when Frank pointed to a particular fish and asked what it was, Kate said, "Oh, those are the yellow ones"

They passed the gift shop Frank slowed down to check out a clearance table with clothes and toys