Rick Riordan: The Son of Neptune

‘You risked your life,’ Percy said. ‘You were willing to burn up to save the quest. Mars can’t expect more than that.’

‘Maybe,’ Frank said doubtfully.

Hazel squeezed Frank’s hand.

They seemed more comfortable around each other this morning, not quite as nervous and awkward. Percy wondered if they’d started dating. He hoped so, but he decided it was better not to ask.

‘Hazel, how about you?’ Percy asked. ‘Any word from Pluto?’

She looked down. Several diamonds popped out of the ground at her feet. ‘No,’ she admitted. ‘In a way, I think he sent a message through Thanatos. My name wasn’t on that list of escaped souls. It should have been.’

‘You think your dad is giving you a pass?’ Percy asked.

Hazel shrugged. ‘Pluto can’t visit me or even talk to me without acknowledging I’m alive. Then he’d have to enforce the laws of death and have Thanatos bring me back to the Underworld. I think my dad is turning a blind eye. I think – I think he wants me to find Nico.’

Percy glanced at the sunrise, hoping to see a warship descending from the sky. So far, nothing.

‘We’ll find your brother,’ Percy promised. ‘As soon as the ship gets here, we’ll sail for Rome.’

Hazel and Frank exchanged uneasy looks, like they’d already talked about this.

‘Percy …’ Frank said. ‘If you want us to come along, we’re in. But are you sure? I mean … we know you’ve got tons of friends at the other camp. And you could pick anyone at Camp Jupiter now. If we’re not part of the seven, we’d understand -’

‘Are you kidding?’ Percy said. ‘You think I’d leave my team behind? After surviving Fleecy’s wheat germ, running from cannibals and hiding under blue giant butts in Alaska? Come on!’

The tension broke. All three of them started cracking up, maybe a little too much, but it was a relief to be alive, with the warm sun shining, and not worrying – at least for the moment – about sinister faces appearing in the shadows of the hills.

Hazel took a deep breath. ‘The prophecy Ella gave us – about the child of wisdom, and the mark of Athena burning through Rome … do you know what that’s about?’

Percy remembered his dream. Juno had warned that Annabeth had a difficult job ahead of her, and that she’d cause trouble for the quest. He couldn’t believe that, but still … it worried him.

‘I’m not sure,’ he admitted. ‘I think there’s more to the prophecy. Maybe Ella can remember the rest of it.’

Frank slipped his book into his pocket. ‘We need to take her with us – I mean, for her own safety. If Octavian finds out Ella has the Sibylline Books memorized …’

Percy shuddered. Octavian used prophecies to keep his power at camp. Now that Percy had taken away his chance at praetor, Octavian would be looking for other ways to exert influence. If he got hold of Ella …

‘You’re right,’ Percy said. ‘We’ve got to protect her. I just hope we can convince her -’

‘Percy!’ Tyson came running across the forum, Ella fluttering behind him with a scroll in her talons. When they reached the fountain, Ella dropped the scroll in Percy’s lap.

‘Special delivery,’ she said. ‘From an aura. A wind spirit. Yes, Ella got a special delivery.’

‘Good morning, brothers!’ Tyson had hay in his hair and peanut butter in his teeth. ‘The scroll is from Leo. He is funny and small.’

The scroll looked unremarkable, but when Percy spread it across his lap, a video recording flickered on the parchment. A kid in Greek armour grinned up at them. He had an impish face, curly black hair and wild eyes, like he’d just had several cups of coffee. He was sitting in a dark room with timber walls like a ship’s cabin. Oil lamps swung back and forth on the ceiling.

Hazel stifled a scream.

‘What?’ Frank asked. ‘What’s wrong?’

Slowly, Percy realized the curly-haired kid looked familiar – and not just from his dreams. He’d seen that face in an old photo.

‘Hey!’ said the guy in the video. ‘Greetings from your friends at Camp Half-Blood, et cetera. This is Leo. I’m the …’ He looked off screen and yelled: ‘What’s my title? Am I like admiral, or captain, or -’

A girl’s voice yelled back, ‘Repair boy.’

‘Very funny, Piper,’ Leo grumbled. He turned back to the parchment screen. ‘So yeah, I’m … ah … supreme commander of the Argo II. Yeah, I like that! Anyway, we’re gonna be sailing towards you in about, I dunno, an hour in this big mother warship. We’d appreciate it if you’d not, like, blow us out of the sky or anything. So okay! If you could tell the Romans that. See you soon. Yours in demigodishness, and all that. Peace out.’

The parchment turned blank.

‘It can’t be,’ Hazel said.

‘What?’ Frank asked. ‘You know that guy?’

Hazel looked like she’d seen a ghost. Percy understood why. He remembered the photo in Hazel’s abandoned house in Seward. The kid on the warship looked exactly like Hazel’s old boyfriend.

‘It’s Sammy Valdez,’ she said. ‘But how … how -’

‘It can’t be,’ Percy said. ‘That guy’s name is Leo. And it’s been seventy-something years. It has to be a …’

He wanted to say a coincidence , but he couldn’t make himself believe that. Over the past few years he’d seen a lot of things: destiny, prophecy, magic, monsters, fate. But he’d never yet run across a coincidence.

They were interrupted by horns blowing in the distance. The senators came marching into the forum with Reyna at the lead.

‘It’s meeting time,’ Percy said. ‘Come on. We’ve got to warn them about the warship.’

‘Why should we trust these Greeks?’ Octavian was saying.

He’d been pacing the senate floor for five minutes, going on and on, trying to counter what Percy had told them about Juno’s plan and the Prophecy of Seven.

The senate shifted restlessly, but most of them were too afraid to interrupt Octavian while he was on a roll. Meanwhile the sun climbed in the sky, shining through the broken senate roof and giving Octavian a natural spotlight.

The Senate House was packed. Queen Hylla, Frank and Hazel sat in the front row with the senators. Veterans and ghosts filled the back rows. Even Tyson and Ella had been allowed to sit in the back. Tyson kept waving and grinning at Percy.

Percy and Reyna occupied matching praetors’ chairs on the dais, which made Percy self-conscious. It wasn’t easy looking dignified wearing a bedsheet and a purple cape.

‘The camp is safe,’ Octavian continued. ‘I’ll be the first to congratulate our heroes for bringing back the legion’s eagle and so much Imperial gold! Truly we have been blessed with good fortune. But why do more? Why tempt fate?’

‘I’m glad you asked.’ Percy stood, taking the question as an opening.

Octavian stammered, ‘I wasn’t -’

‘- part of the quest,’ Percy said. ‘Yes, I know. And you’re wise to let me explain, since I was.’

Some of the senators snickered. Octavian had no choice but to sit down and try not to look embarrassed.

‘Gaia is waking,’ Percy said. ‘We’ve defeated two of her giants, but that’s only the beginning. The real war will take place in the old land of the gods. The quest will take us to Rome, and eventually to Greece.’

An uneasy ripple spread through the senate.

‘I know, I know,’ Percy said. ‘You’ve always thought of the Greeks as your enemies. And there’s a good reason for that. I think the gods have kept our two camps apart because whenever we meet we fight. But that can change. It has to change if we’re to defeat Gaia. That’s what the Prophecy of Seven means. Seven demigods, Greek and Roman, will have to close the Doors of Death together.’