The Mark of Athena

Piper had so many things on her mind, she thought she’d never sleep. But there was something peaceful about the rocking of the boat and the drone of the aerial oars as they scooped through the sky.



Finally her eyelids got heavy, and she drifted off.



It seemed like only a few seconds had passed before she woke to the breakfast bell.



“Yo, Piper!” Leo knocked on her door. “We’re landing!”



“Landing?” She sat up groggily.



Leo opened her door and poked his head in. He had his hand over his eyes, which would’ve been a nice gesture if he hadn’t been peeking through his fingers. “You decent?”



“Leo!”



“Sorry.” He grinned. “Hey, nice Power Ranger jammies.”



“They are not Power Rangers! They’re Cherokee eagles!”



“Yeah, sure. Anyway, we’re setting down a few miles outside Topeka, as requested. And, um…” He glanced out in the passageway, then leaned inside again. “Thanks for not hating me, about blowing up the Romans yesterday.”



Piper rubbed her eyes. The feast in New Rome had been only yesterday? “That’s okay, Leo. You weren’t in control of yourself.”



“Yeah, but still…you didn’t have to stick up for me.”



“Are you kidding? You’re like the annoying little brother I never had. Of course I’ll stick up for you.”



“Uh…thanks?”



From above, Coach Hedge yelled, “Thar she blows! Kansas, ahoy!”



“Holy Hephaestus,” Leo muttered. “He really needs to work on his shipspeak. I’d better get above deck.”



By the time Piper had showered, changed, and grabbed a bagel from the mess hall, she could hear the ship’s landing gear extending. She climbed on deck and joined the others as the Argo II settled in the middle of a field of sunflowers. The oars retracted. The gangplank lowered itself.



The morning air smelled of irrigation, warm plants, and fertilized earth. Not a bad smell. It reminded Piper of Grandpa Tom’s place in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, back on the reservation.



Percy was the first to notice her. He smiled in greeting, which for some reason surprised Piper. He was wearing faded jeans and a fresh orange Camp Half-Blood T-shirt, as if he’d never been away from the Greek side. The new clothes had probably helped his mood—and of course the fact that he was standing at the rail with his arm around Annabeth.



Piper was happy to see Annabeth with a sparkle in her eyes, because Piper had never had a better friend. For months, Annabeth had been tormenting herself, her every waking moment consumed with the search for Percy. Now, despite the dangerous quest they were facing, at least she had her boyfriend back.



“So!” Annabeth plucked the bagel out of Piper’s hand and took a bite, but that didn’t bother Piper. Back at camp, they’d had a running joke about stealing each other’s breakfast. “Here we are. What’s the plan?”



“I want to check out the highway,” Piper said. “Find the sign that says Topeka 32.”



Leo spun his Wii controller in a circle, and the sails lowered themselves. “We shouldn’t be far,” he said. “Festus and I calculated the landing as best we could. What do you expect to find at the mile marker?”



Piper explained what she’d seen in the knife—the man in purple with a goblet. She kept quiet about the other images, though, like the vision of Percy, Jason, and herself drowning. She wasn’t sure what it meant, anyway; and everyone seemed in such better spirits this morning, she didn’t want to ruin the mood.



“Purple shirt?” Jason asked. “Vines on his hat? Sounds like Bacchus.”



“Dionysus,” Percy muttered. “If we came all the way to Kansas to see Mr. D—”



“Bacchus isn’t so bad,” Jason said. “I don’t like his followers much.…”



Piper shuddered. Jason, Leo, and she had had an encounter with the maenads a few months ago and almost gotten torn to pieces.



“But the god himself is okay,” Jason continued. “I did him a favor once up in the wine country.”



Percy looked appalled. “Whatever, man. Maybe he’s better on the Roman side. But why would he be hanging around in Kansas? Didn’t Zeus order the gods to cease all contact with mortals?”



Frank grunted. The big guy was wearing a blue tracksuit this morning, like he was ready to go for a jog in the sunflowers.



“The gods haven’t been very good at following that order,” he noted. “Besides, if the gods have gone schizophrenic like Hazel said—”



“And Leo said,” added Leo.



Frank scowled at him. “Then who knows what’s going on with the Olympians? Could be some pretty bad stuff out there.”



“Sounds dangerous!” Leo agreed cheerfully. “Well…you guys have fun. I’ve got to finish repairs on the hull. Coach Hedge is gonna work on the broken crossbows. And, uh, Annabeth—I could really use your help. You’re the only other person who even sort of understands engineering.”



Annabeth looked apologetically at Percy. “He’s right. I should stay and help.”



“I’ll come back to you.” He kissed her on the cheek. “Promise.”



They were so easy together, it made Piper’s heart ache.



Jason was great, of course. But sometimes he acted so distant, like last night, when he’d been reluctant to talk about that old Roman legend. So often he seemed to be thinking of his old life at Camp Jupiter. Piper wondered if she would ever be able to break through that barrier.



The trip to Camp Jupiter, seeing Reyna in person, hadn’t helped. Neither did the fact that Jason had chosen to wear a purple shirt today—the color of the Romans.



Frank slid his bow off his shoulder and propped it against the rail. “I think I should turn into a crow or something and fly around, keep an eye out for Roman eagles.”



“Why a crow?” Leo asked. “Man, if you can turn into a dragon, why don’t you just turn into a dragon every time? That’s the coolest.”



Frank’s face looked like it was being infused with cranberry juice. “That’s like asking why you don’t bench-press your maximum weight every time you lift. Because it’s hard, and you’d hurt yourself. Turning into a dragon isn’t easy.”



“Oh.” Leo nodded. “I wouldn’t know. I don’t lift weights.”



“Yeah. Well, maybe you should consider it, Mr.—”



Hazel stepped between them.



“I’ll help you, Frank,” she said, shooting Leo an evil look. “I can summon Arion and scout around below.”



“Sure,” Frank said, still glaring at Leo. “Yeah, thanks.”



Piper wondered what was going on with those three. The boys showing off for Hazel and razzing each other—that she understood. But it almost seemed like Hazel and Leo had a history. So far as she knew, they’d met for the first time just yesterday. She wondered if something else had happened on their trip to the Great Salt Lake—something they hadn’t mentioned.



Hazel turned to Percy. “Just be careful when you go out there. Lots of fields, lots of crops. Could be karpoi on the loose.”



“Karpoi?” Piper asked.



“Grain spirits,” Hazel said. “You don’t want to meet them.”



Piper didn’t see how a grain spirit could be so bad, but Hazel’s tone convinced her not to ask.



“That leaves three of us to check on the mile marker,” Percy said. “Me, Jason, Piper. I’m not psyched about seeing Mr. D again. That guy is a pain. But, Jason, if you’re on better terms with him—”



“Yeah,” Jason said. “If we find him, I’ll talk to him. Piper, it’s your vision. You should take the lead.”



Piper shivered. She’d seen the three of them drowning in that dark well. Was Kansas where it would happen? That didn’t seem right, but she couldn’t be sure.



“Of course,” she said, trying to sound upbeat. “Let’s find the highway.”



Leo had said they were close. His idea of “close” needed some work.



After trudging half a mile through hot fields, getting bitten by mosquitoes and whacked in the face with scratchy sunflowers, they finally reached the road. An old billboard for Bubba’s Gas ’n’ Grub indicated they were still forty miles from the first Topeka exit.



“Correct my math,” Percy said, “but doesn’t that mean we have eight miles to walk?”



Jason peered both ways down the deserted road. He looked better today, thanks to the magical healing of ambrosia and nectar. His color was back to normal, and the scar on his forehead had almost vanished. The new gladius that Hera had given him last winter hung at his belt. Most guys would look pretty awkward walking around with a scabbard strapped to their jeans, but on Jason it seemed perfectly natural.



“No cars…” he said. “But I guess we wouldn’t want to hitchhike.”



“No,” Piper agreed, gazing nervously down the highway. “We’ve already spent too much time going overland. The earth is Gaea’s territory.”



“Hmm…” Jason snapped his fingers. “I can call a friend for a ride.”



Percy raised his eyebrows. “Oh, yeah? Me too. Let’s see whose friend gets here first.”



Jason whistled. Piper knew what he was doing, but he’d succeeded in summoning Tempest only three times since they’d met the storm spirit at the Wolf House last winter. Today, the sky was so blue, Piper didn’t see how it could work.



Percy simply closed his eyes and concentrated.



Piper hadn’t studied him up close before. After hearing so much at Camp Half-Blood about Percy Jackson this and Percy Jackson that, she thought he looked…well, unimpressive, especially next to Jason. Percy was more slender, about an inch shorter, with slightly longer, much darker hair.



He wasn’t really Piper’s type. If she’d seen him in the mall somewhere, she probably would’ve thought he was a skater—cute in a scruffy way, a little on the wild side, definitely a troublemaker. She would have steered clear. She had enough trouble in her life. But she could see why Annabeth liked him, and she could definitely see why Percy needed Annabeth in his life. If anybody could keep a guy like that under control, it was Annabeth.



Thunder crackled in the clear sky.



Jason smiled. “Soon.”



“Too late.” Percy pointed east, where a black winged shape was spiraling toward them. At first, Piper thought it might be Frank in crow form. Then she realized it was much too big to be a bird.



“A black pegasus?” she said. “Never seen one like that.”



The winged stallion came in for a landing. He trotted over to Percy and nuzzled his face, then turned his head inquisitively toward Piper and Jason.



“Blackjack,” Percy said, “this is Piper and Jason. They’re friends.”



The horse nickered.



“Uh, maybe later,” Percy answered.



Piper had heard that Percy could speak to horses, being the son of the horse lord Poseidon, but she’d never seen it in action.